Claimed (25 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

G
alena hit dirt and rolled, coughing, her lungs screaming. Her Scope flew from her grasp. Bright light poured down on her, making her squint and blink. A dark silhouette leaned over her, and Galena flinched, expecting attack.

“How bad is it?” Tamasin asked, ripping Galena’s shirt down the middle and revealing a small round wound high on her chest.

The Ker pressed her fingers against the area around the wound, and Galena gasped. “I don’t know.” They were on a flat, sunbaked plain, cracked earth and brown as far as she could see. No trees. “What happened? Where are we?”

“Iowa, at the moment.” Tamasin put her arm around Galena’s back and helped her sit up, then pressed her Scope into the palm of her hand. After a few seconds upright, it became a little easier to breathe. “We have to move again. I’m sorry.”

“Why?” She wasn’t sure she could go very far. Her chest was throbbing, and the rest of her was cold, buzzing, hard to control. All she wanted was for the pain to end.

“Nader will follow us. It won’t take him—”

The lean olive-skinned man appeared not ten feet away, but with another whoosh of hot air, Tamasin pulled Galena through space, and they reappeared on a weathered cliff overlooking an ocean. Even through her pain, Galena was fascinated by the waves, the white froth and the churning water. Sh
e’d
never seen so much water. It—

Tamasin smacked her fingers lightly against Galena’s cheeks. “Remain conscious, please.” When Galena pulled herself back into the now and focused on Tamasin’s wide-set brown eyes, the Ker continued. “Did you get the evidence you needed?”

“Yeah,” Galena said, her voice shredded and weak. She closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath as some of the pressure in her chest lifted. “But Erin was there.”

“Who?”

“Erin. A Ker? She was Dr. Cassidy’s assistant.”

Tamasin scowled. “I don’t know a Ker named Erin.”

“She’s new. Newer than Eli.”

Tamasin shook her head. “Your brother is the newest Ker in Moros’s ranks.”

Galena didn’t have time to say anything else—she cried out as a sharp pain tore through her. She arched back, her chest feeling like it had been filled with fire.

Tamasin held her tight. “It’s the bullet. Working itself out of your body. We have to remain in this world long enough for that to happen.”

But as soon as she said it, Nader materialized again, this time down the hill. Tamasin cursed and yanked on Galena, who sucked in a lungful of burning air as she landed hard. Screams came from all around them, and Tamasin heaved her up to her feet. They were in the middle of a crowded city, though Galena had no idea which one. The street signs were in some Asian language, and the buildings were so high she couldn’t see the tops. It was daytime here, and people swarmed in the streets. Tamasin wrapped her arm around Galena’s waist and dragged her along the sidewalk as bystanders gaped.

Another sharp pain made Galena pitch forward, but Tamasin kept her on her feet. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to warn you that the woman was coming into the office,” she huffed as she carried Galena along. “There’s something wrong with Nader. He attacked me.”

And now he was chasing them. “Why is he doing this?” Galena gasped out. “Isn’t he supposed to protect me?”

“He is.” She looked down at Galena, her eyes sparking with crimson. “But he does not appear to be himself right now, and he is extremely dangerous.” She lugged Galena down a narrow alley, heading for the sound of thumping music and bright lights.

“Will he just keep following us?”

“Probably,” said Tamasin. “It’s possible we should separate.”

“Is there any place we could go that he couldn’t follow?”

“No,” said a deep male voice.

Galena stumbled to the side as Nader grabbed a handful of Tamasin’s braids and yanked her forward. “Nader, stop this!” shouted Tamasin as she shot hard punches to his middle. “What is wrong with you? Moros will destroy you.”

“He doesn’t control me now,” he growled, wrapping his arm around Tamasin’s throat. Here in the real world, he had no claws. No fangs. But he appeared terribly strong as he kneed Tamasin in the chest, twice, making the female Ker gasp for air. “Moros has ruled us for too long. I’m tired of doing his bidding. It’s time we ruled ourselves.”

He raised his arm and elbowed Tamasin between the shoulders. The impact came with a stomach-turning crack. Tamasin whimpered and slumped, her fingers curling into the folds of Nader’s shirt, her legs going limp.

Galena staggered back, the pain in her chest nearly unbearable. It felt like her rib cage was about to explode, spewing her heart onto the dirty concrete in front of her. Nader dropped Tamasin like a load of bricks and stepped over her. The female Ker’s legs were still, but her arms were moving. It looked like h
e’d
broken her back. And now he was coming for Galena. He held out his hand. “Give me the evidence you retrieved.”

Galena pressed herself against the metal railing of a stairwell as the agony reached a crescendo. She lifted a weak, trembling hand to her chest and felt a hard nub protruding from her wound. The bullet. But before her body had a chance to fully push it out, Nader grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the Veil. Galena fell backward through the now-gelatinous metal railing and tumbled down a flight of stairs, bouncing against the walls and steps like a rubber ball. She landed in a heap at the bottom, looking up at the tall buildings, the gray sky, and the brutal Ker who was watching her from above, his eyes glowing. “You’re the key to his destruction,” he said, his gaunt features contorting with rage. “You’re the way we’ll take him down.”

Galena clenched her fists, wanting to cry out from the pain, which had only intensified now that she was back in the dead gray Veil. Her body had stopped healing. But in her sticky, bloodstained palm, she felt a warm weight. Her Scope. As Nader began to descend the steps, she held it against her side and pressed her thumb to the raven, feeling a tiny, cool portal opening up. She had no idea to where. But anywhere far from here was good, so as Nader reached the halfway point down the steps, Galena flung the Scope wide and dove into the center of it, pulling it shut quickly.

She was in Dec’s apartment. His bedroom. Right in the spot sh
e’d
first kissed him. Suddenly the ache in her chest wasn’t just from the bullet that had carved its way into her sinew and bone. Where was he? Was he okay? She pushed herself to her hands and knees. She needed to open a window to the real world and crawl through so she could heal.

But hands closed hard around her neck, dragging her back in space and time.
The heavyset one grimaced as he pressed his thumbs against her throat, cutting off her air.
Her mouth opened, a prayer for oxygen, as claws tore through her skin. She landed on her back, her thoughts buzzing with voices from the past and the terror of her present.
Stay here,
she reminded herself.
Stay right here.

She looked up to see Nader’s face. Heat filled her mouth, and she coughed and wiped her lips, her fingers coming away bright red. Her vision blurred. “You’ll be human again soon,” Nader said. “And then we’ll kill you.”

Human again soon. Time was running out, and this Ker knew it. He knelt beside her. “Now give me the evidence.” His long black hair skimmed over his shoulders and hung between them as he looked her up and down. His gaze halted when it reached the bulge in her pocket.

Then a dark shape plowed into him, sending them careening across the soft floor of the apartment.

“Galena, get away from here!” Tamasin shouted as her clawed hand arced through the air, slashing across Nader’s chest. Like Eli had when h
e’d
been shot, sh
e’d
healed incredibly quickly.

Nader roared with rage and kicked Tamasin away. The two of them charged at each other, slamming together, their fangs bared. They became a blur of blood and claws.

Galena tried to move, but her body felt like it had been stuffed with concrete and wrapped in gauze. She was drowning in blood. Wait. She really was drowning. With a lurch, she flopped herself over, crimson flowing from her mouth as her cheek landed with a smack against the forgiving floor. Tamasin was right. She had to get out of here.

Her Scope was still clutched in her hand. As she tried to summon the coordination to turn it over, she watched Nader twist Tamasin’s arm so hard that the bones cracked, leaving the limb hanging limp from the woman’s powerful frame. Their blood dotted the Veil, shining red droplets on the dull gray surfaces.
Sticky red mess,
whispered Galena’s mind.

Yes, this dredged up her memories, but she wouldn’t push them away this time. It had happened, and sh
e’d
gotten through it. And that realization made it possible for her to flip the Scope. With halting, clumsy movements, Galena opened it and peered through the center. Dec’s cabin waited on the other side. A wave of longing rolled over her, dampening the pain for a moment. Would he be there? Would he be waiting for her?

The hope pulled her through the portal, her knees sliding through her own lost blood, every part of her screaming with pain. She left Tamasin behind, locked in horrific, bloody combat with Nader, who wanted to kill Galena to get to Moros. Who knew she might be human again soon, an easy target. If he defeated Tamasin, h
e’d
follow her here. But Galena didn’t have anywhere else to go. She couldn’t hide from a creature who could track her with his thoughts.

She compacted the Scope and opened a portal to the real world, crawling out onto the wooden floor of the cabin. In the small space, she could still detect Dec’s masculine scent. She smiled as she closed the Scope one last time and clipped it to its setting.

It was a cold, familiar weight on her skin, and the only comfort she had right now. The pain was gnawing at every part of her. Her body might be healing, but it was far from instantaneous.

And at any moment, Nader might appear, ready to rip her to shreds. Galena took a wet, unsteady breath. “Please, Dec,” she whispered. “Hurry.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

D
ec scrambled to his feet and took a few halting steps back as Eli came forward, his claws curling slightly at their razor-sharp tips. “Eli,” he said, keeping his voice level and patient. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything.” Eli grimaced and rubbed his chest with a sudden agitated jerk of his hand. He looked around, his eyes glowing red. “This is where it happened, you know. This is where I died the first time.”

Dec took in the piles of garbage, the broken windows covered in rotting boards, the transparent shadows of random people, sleeping or dead, slumped against the crumbling brick wall of one of the buildings.
This was the place where Galena and Eli were attacked.
The knowledge settled inside him like a ball of shattered glass. “Is she here? Did someone bring her here?”

“I thought you should see it,” Eli said, his voice low and rasping. “If things had gone the way they should have, I never would have been brought back to life. I never would have killed anyone. I would have died right here, and I would have gone to Heaven. I would be with my parents. I wouldn’t be
this
.” It came out as a hiss.

“And you wouldn’t have met Cacy,” Dec added, taking another wary step backward. He could feel the heat and the rage rolling off Eli. Something was very wrong. Eli sounded a lot like Trevor had, as h
e’d
explained his rage toward Moros.

Eli paused for a moment at the sound of Cacy’s name. “Cacy,” he whispered, his features softening.

“Yeah. And Galena—who knows what would have happened to her without you? She would have been alone.”

Eli’s brow furrowed. “I could never leave her alone.”

“Exactly. So whatever’s going on for you right now, whatever existential crisis this is, how about we talk about it over a bottle of whiskey—
after
we make sure she’s safe?”

Eli looked down at his clawed hands. “Galena,” he murmured. Then he raised his head, and the flame in his eyes had banked, giving way to lucid concern. “Where is she?”

Dec breathed relief. “She’s—”

“Oh, thank God. Here you are!” called a female voice. Erin came running up the side street, her red eyes wide. She grabbed Eli’s sleeve. “I thought I was going to be too late.”

Eli looked at her as her hand skimmed down his arm and found his, then her fingers wrapped over his own. The puzzled look on his face turned to a scowl. “You’re not.” His eyes flared with crimson, and he looked at Dec. “I was just explaining to Dec why this was the perfect place for us to be.”

Dec’s stomach dropped. “Eli—”

“No.” He slashed his claws through the air as Erin stroked the back of his other hand. “Do you know what Moros did that night? He set me on this path. And then he took my soul!” Eli advanced on Dec with his fangs bared.

“He did that to allow you to stay in this world, so you could protect Galena,” Dec shouted, his mind screaming alarm. Erin. She was doing something to Eli.

She was touching him like sh
e’d
touched Luke. Had she done this to Trevor, too? With his gaze riveted on their joined hands, Dec said, “Let him go, Erin. I don’t know what you’re doing, but—”

“I’m trying to help!” she said. “It’s not my fault that he’s so angry at Moros!”

“Moros is responsible for all of this,” Eli roared, looking monstrous, his face contorted with rage. “But he no longer controls me.” He rubbed his chest again.

“And who is controlling you, Eli? If it’s not Moros, who’s got your soul?” He glanced at Erin.

She shrugged. “Don’t look at me. Not my department.”

“Moros has stolen thousands of souls over thousands of years. He’s ruled us. Destroyed us at will, with a single touch.” Eli’s gaze was slightly unfocused, like he was looking into a past h
e’d
never lived. But then his focus sharpened once more. “I’m going to destroy him. By destroying
you
.”

Dec’s fingers rose to his Scope. “If you do anything to me, you’ll be hurting your own sister. You love her, Eli. Yo
u’d
lay down your life for her.”

For a split second, confusion flickered across Eli’s face, but then Erin smoothed her fingers along his brow, and the fury returned. “Moros has to pay for what he’s done. It’s worth anything I have to sacrifice.”

“Eli, get away from her,” Dec yelled, pulling his Scope from its setting. He hated to leave Eli here, but he had to get back to Psychopomps and back to Galena.

Erin’s brow relaxed, her concerned expression melting away. “Are you sure, Declan? Are you sure you want me to let him go?” She gave him a small, pitying smile. “Okay.” She lifted her hands into the air.

Eli leaped at him, and Dec threw himself to the side, slipping along the spongy concrete. “Eli, think about what you’re doing!” he called as his shoulder hit gelatinous curb and sank in. “Think about Cacy!”

Eli was crouched where h
e’d
landed, glaring at him. Erin had seated herself on a stoop nearby and was watching them both. “Do you know her?” he asked Eli, waving his arm at Erin.

Eli glanced at her as he rose to his feet. “Of course,” he said. “She’s new. I’m showing her the ropes.”

Same thing Trev had said. Same thing Luke had said. Luke’s exact same words, even. How many Kere had she done this to? “Are you sure she’s who she says she is?”

“You’re standing in the spot,” Eli said quietly, ignoring him. “You’re standing right where I took my last breaths. Galena was right there.” He pointed his clawed finger at the sidewalk a few feet from him. It would have been hard and cold and unforgiving at her back. She would have been gazing up at a narrow strip of sky as she lived the most horrifying moments of her life. Dec’s throat tightened thinking about it.

“Maybe she should have died that night, too,” Eli continued. “Maybe it would have been for the best.”

Keeping his arm at his side, Dec held the Scope between his fingers and slid his thumb over the raven, feeling the cool air of another place calling to him. He had no idea where. Was it where Galena was, waiting for him? If he went through it, would he bring the danger right to her? He pushed the Scope closed again.

“If sh
e’d
died, it would have been an even bigger tragedy than it already was,” he said. “She was strong enough to live. She was meant to live.”

“She can’t live,” Eli snarled. “Because if she does, Moros does, too. The Keepers are the only ones who can destroy him, and her death would force their hand.”

“It would destroy the fabric of fate, too, Eli. That can’t be what you want.”

“What I want is for him to pay for what he’s done to me!”

This time, Dec didn’t move fast enough. Eli barreled into him, and the Scope flew from his hand, landing at Erin’s feet. Dec threw a hard punch to Eli’s middle, but the Ker didn’t even flinch. He grabbed Dec’s arm, claws scoring his skin, and swung him up and over his head, throwing him across the street. Dec landed on a pile of garbage and sank through it, temporarily drowning in the sludge. But then Eli grabbed his leg and dragged him out. Dec’s back slid along the slippery ground.

“Do you know what time it is, Dec?” Eli asked. “Only a few hours until Aislin’s ultimatum. Can you feel the minutes passing? Do you know what’s going to happen when midnight comes? You’ll be human again. So will she. And when we Mark you, you’ll die.”

“You don’t want this, Eli.” Trevor’s anguish at having murdered innocent people would be nothing compared to what Eli would go through if he came back to himself and found out h
e’d
destroyed his own sister. “Think about Galena. Think about her.”

Erin casually leaned off the stoop and rubbed Eli’s back. “Yes, Eli. Think about it.”

“It’s her fault we’re even in Boston,” Eli snapped. “Her research. Her job. I had a job, too! I had a life. And I gave it all up to go with her. It’s her fault I’m a monster!”

Dec rolled to the side as Eli pounced, but he didn’t make it far. Claws pierced his leg, shredding fabric and skin and muscle. Pain surged along Dec’s bones. He dug his fingers into the road and tried to drag himself forward, but Eli slashed Dec’s back, making him writhe. “Just a few hours,” Eli was chanting. “It’ll be over in a few hours.”

Dec flopped onto his back and managed to get a leg up, shoving Eli away from him, but the Ker merely took a few staggering steps back before stalking forward again. “Eli,” Dec groaned. “This isn’t you. She’s doing something to you.” He glanced over at Erin, who was focused on Eli with an eerie sort of calm.

“She can’t do a thing to me,” said Eli. “She’s just a newbie.” He kicked Dec in the side. Air exploded from Dec’s mouth at the impact, his body instinctively curling in on itself. A second kick. A third. Dec wheezed, knowing that his shattered ribs were probably poking holes in the soft tissue of his lungs, his spleen. That blood was spilling into his chest cavity. Eli grabbed him and hauled him up, freakishly strong. “You’re part of this, too,” he growled, then slammed his fist into Dec’s stomach, turning Dec’s world red with agony.

Stop,
Dec tried to say.
Please stop.
But he couldn’t speak anymore. He landed flat on his back, trying to draw air. Eli stood over him, his legs on either side of Dec’s.

“Don’t do it,” Erin said in a bland voice. “Stop.”

Eli raised his arm and struck, ripping his claws across Dec’s chest. Blood splattered onto Dec’s face as he arched back with the impact, his arms splaying out, nerveless. Eli looked down at him. “That should be enough. I’ll be back to Mark you when midnight comes.” And then he vanished.

Dec lay there, looking up at the strip of gray sky above him, the only warmth coming from his own blood, flowing from his body. Was this what Galena had seen? What had she been thinking?

Erin’s freckled face appeared over his. “You poor thing,” she crooned, her brows knit together in false sympathy. “This really wasn’t personal. I want you to know that.”

“Trevor,” he whispered.

“He was almost as hard to convince as Eli,” she said gently.

“R-Ryla
n . . .
”

“Oh. Are you asking how he got loose? Do you know how easy it was to stoke the resentment of those guards? They were primed and ready. I didn’t even have to touch them.” She grinned. “Trevor did the heavy lifting there.”

“Wh
o . . .
ar
e . . . 
?”

“Who am I?” She caressed his cheek.

As soon as her skin touched his, Dec’s mind flooded with memories: His father rolling his eyes when Dec had told him he wanted to be a paramedic. Rylan laughing, thinking it was a joke. A parade of stupid fucking parties h
e’d
been forced to attend to keep up appearances, to please other people. All his asshole relatives who cared more about their money than anything else. His obnoxious sister who defied his orders right in front of the other paramedics. His power-hungry sister who used him like a pawn in her never-ending gam
e . . .
Every resentment h
e’d
felt, even in passing, came back to him in a roaring tidal wave of hatred and rage. Why hadn’t he retired years ago? Because he felt like he had to meet his obligations. Obligations. All these fucking obligations. And why wasn’t he able to retire now? Because of
her
. Because she needed him.

Because she needed hi
m . . .

Erin chuckled and pulled her hand away from her face. “
I’d
work on you a little more if I had time, but I don’t need you, so it’s not really worth the effort. I need to go make sure Eli follows through. The next part is really tricky. That guy’s devotion to his sister was hard to break through, and even harder to keep at bay.” She got to her feet, her red eyes glowing. “Don’t worry, Declan. I know the next few hours will be awful, but then it’ll be over. And you seem like a nice guy. I’m betting on Heaven for you.”

She disappeared.

The next part is really tricky.
Eli was going to do something to hurt Galena. And she would have no idea until it was too late. She trusted him with her life, but because of Erin—whatever that evil bitch was doing—Eli would tear that life from her with his claws. Dec tried to sit up, but his muscles weren’t obeying. His Scope was lying about five feet away. He could see it glinting in the weak light of the moon. With a shuddering heave, he managed to get on his side. His shaking arm stretched, his fingers flexed, as if his need could draw it toward him. All he had to do was get to his Scope—

Erin popped into the Veil again, right next to it. “I can’t believe I almost forgot this,” she said with a laugh as she scooped it up, then vanished again.

Dec stared at the place sh
e’d
been, disbelief and fear winding through his veins. He had no way back to the real world. No way to get back to Galena and warn her. No way to heal.

A wailing shriek sounded a few blocks away and was immediately answered by another. Dec closed his eyes as despair filled him. And for a moment, he held on to what Erin had said—
the next few hours will be awful, but then it’ll be over.
He only had to endure a few more miserable hours. Maybe the Shades would tear him apart. Maybe he would even lose consciousness. That would be a mercy.

But then Galena’s face appeared in his mind, pushing away his craving for oblivion. Sh
e’d
fallen into his life, which had felt as gray and pointless as his situation now, lying here in this alleyway. Sh
e’d
made him feel alive. Sh
e’d
made him curious. He wanted to know what came next. He wanted to be by her side when it happened.

Another screech tore through the Veil, closer this time. The Shades would be on him soon.

Dec’s fingers twitched. He had to move. If he wanted a chance to live past midnight, he was going to have to fight for it.