Clutch of the Demon (24 page)

"Granddad's been great," Linnea went on as she pulled the bed sheets so tight you could bounce a quarter on them. "He helped me get my job here, which I love even though I suspect the Master and Khan are in the mafia or something." She slid a hopeful glance at Cara who raised a brow. "I'll figure it out sooner or later. The weird thing is, I think even Granddad knows what's going on but he won't tell me." Linnea rolled her eyes. "I think I'm more worldly than people think. I mean, I have a porno on the Internet."

Cara snorted. "I must say, not a lot of people can say that. Maybe you should tell Aodhan or Khan."
 

When Linnea's eyes bugged in alarm, Cara grinned.
 

"Did Gael do a thorough background check on you?" Cara teased with mock solemnity.
 

Linnea's mouth dropped. "You wouldn't."

"Maybe Khan will loosen up once he hears you're a sexpot." She couldn't resist teasing Linnea who flushed a nice cherry color.

"I am
not
a sexpot! If I'd known he was gonna tape it, I never would've tried Viagra for the first time." Linnea bellowed. "I went insane! You don't know how many men called or knocked on my mom's door, begging for my number. Everyone thinks I'm a sex maniac. No one believes it was Viagra."

"This just keeps getting better and better," Cara wheezed as she laughed.

Linnea wagged a finger in her face. "Don't you dare say anything, Cara! We're friends and you can't rat me out. I learned my lesson. Ugly guys are just as bad as hot guys."

Linnea continued to rant as Cara crawled onto the clean sheets and sighed. Her eyes drooped as she listened to Linnea tell one horrifying dating story after another. Cara fell asleep with a smile on her face.
 

Cara just finished pulling on jeans and a top when the door flew open behind her. Fear was a nasty taste in her mouth as she whirled. A moment later, she dropped to her knees as a little girl with bright blue eyes charged forward. Sky hit Cara with such force that they toppled backwards. Cara's body went into spasms of pain, but she didn't care. All of the depression, worry and fear she carried drained away as Sky's magic seeped into her.

"Cara, we're in a castle!" Sky shrieked.
 

 
Cara stared into her sister's face. Sky's cheeks were flushed with color and the arms that wrapped around her were strong. Cara saw wisps of red hair beneath the crocheted cap and happy tears flowed down her cheeks. Her spirit was lighter than it had been in years. She felt cleansed and content and knew it was due to Sky's magic, which was back in full force.

"Are you really here?" Cara whispered.

"Mom said we might see leprechauns!" Sky shouted, obviously not paying attention to Cara's amazement.

Sky was lifted off of Cara and she saw her mother. Cara was dimly aware of Linnea coming over and luring Sky away with the promise of sugar cookies to give them time alone. Dawn pulled Cara upright and engulfed her in a tight hug.
 

"I never thought I'd see you again," Cara whispered.
 

"I know, honey. I know," Dawn soothed.

"What are you two doing here?" Cara asked.

"Aodhan called me."

Cara swallowed hard. "You told him everything."

"He needed to know."

"You don't know what he is."

"He told me you tossed yourself off a cliff and that he saved you. He told me about the bargain you made for Sky's life and how you stayed with him when you should have saved yourself." When Cara stared at her, Dawn sighed. "If I can handle Luc, I can handle anything, even a dragon. At least Aodhan's on our side."
 

"Which means I'm not on the same side as him," Cara said.
 

Dawn's eyes narrowed. "Aodhan says there's a way to fix this."

"Fix what? My soul?" Cara ran shaking hands through her hair. "I know my role in life."

"You know the role Luc created you for. Don't play into his hands."

This was an argument they'd been having since she was eight. No matter how much she explained the situation, Dawn never agreed with her.
 

"You can't stay here. It's not safe," Cara said in a low voice, eyes flicking to the open door.
 

"We're not leaving without you," Dawn said fiercely.
 

"Mom, you knew this day would come."

"I like Aodhan. He's a good man, dragon, whatever. He thinks there's a way around this. He wouldn't have flown us out here if he was planning to kill you."

"I don't know why he brought you guys here. It's not safe."

"Of course it is," Dawn said.
 

Cara could see that her mom's mind was made up where Aodhan was concerned. "Where is he?"

"He's in his office with that other man, Khan. He's lovely," Dawn said.
 

Cara stared at her mother before she shook her head. "Mom, you really see everything the way you want to, don't you?"

"He was very polite," Dawn said with a shrug.
 

Apparently, healing time was over and it was time to face Aodhan. He brought her family into this mess and the stakes were too high for her to continue avoiding him. She wrapped her arm around her mom's waist and led her out of the room.
 

"This castle is amazing," Dawn said and peered at the paintings that they passed. "And the artwork on the walls are priceless."

Cara grunted as they started down the stairs. Her body began to hum with pain and she grit her teeth as Dawn complimented the castle on everything from the runners, architecture and overall cleanliness. Cara could hear Sky's delighted shrieks coming from the kitchen and directed her mom in that direction.
 

"Where are you going, honey?" Dawn asked.
 

"I need to talk to Aodhan."

Dawn clapped her hands together. "Great. You do that. We'll be in the kitchen."

Cara approached the closed double doors of the office and twisted her hands together. Her heart was thumping double time in her chest. Her hand fluttered over the door handle before she gripped it firmly and pushed it open.

Chapter Sixteen

Khan and Aodhan stood in the middle of the office. Both of them turned in her direction when she walked in. Khan was dressed in a business suit, just like Linnea said while Aodhan was dressed more casually in jeans and a shirt. They were expressionless and the energy in the room was distinctly dangerous. The walk through the castle weakened her and she couldn't control her limp or the grimace of pain as she looked up at Khan. Now that his hands weren't crackling with lightning, it was easier to focus on him than Aodhan.
 

"I want to know what my family's doing here," she said.
 

Khan raised a brow and glanced at Aodhan before he said, "Aodhan says you insisted on visiting them in Montana. He thought it prudent to bring them here instead."

"It's not safe here," she snapped.

"This is the safest place in the world for them," Khan contradicted. "This castle is filled with magic that keeps it off the grid from humans. No one can enter without an Ancient's consent."

She considered that and something clicked into place. "Then how have the witches kept this place staffed all this time?"

"Only the leader of the coven can grant consent and there's extensive testing," Khan continued. "The staff can't be completely human. They have to have a glimmer of something
other
, which the cook has."

Cara folded her arms across her chest. "Her name's Linnea."

"I apologize for my actions the other night," Khan said.

Cara blinked. "What?"

"I apologize for trying to kill you."

She couldn't help it. She took her eyes from Khan and glanced at Aodhan who was doing a remarkable job of imitating a Greek statue.
 

"You were doing your job," Cara said uncertainly.

Khan examined her as if he'd never seen her before. It was clinical and intense and she had to resist the urge to take a step back. Khan inhaled deeply as if he was dissecting an unusual fragrance. She tried to remember if she'd put on deodorant.
 

"Luc was extremely clever when he picked your mother," Khan said unexpectedly.
 

She stiffened. "What?"

"Half witch, half demon. It's hard to decipher what you are because you're neither one nor the other and it makes you stronger than both."

She glanced at Aodhan to see how he was handling this discussion and looked away quickly.
 

"When Luc was possessing you, I couldn't figure out why he was using someone so young. Most of his puppets were male, distinguished, rich, and powerful. Your looks are too striking to blend well in a crowd and I thought Luc would be weak while using someone so young and untried. I miscalculated and Luc got away. I tried to find your body to figure out what you were and why he was so strong. It didn't occur to me that you didn't die after Luc jumped to another puppet." Khan raised his brow. "You can imagine my surprise when you walked into the room with Aodhan last night."

Cara nodded curtly. "I knew what you'd do. I was ready."

Khan eyed her. "How many times has Luc possessed you?"

Her nails dug into her arm. "Four times."

"You're incredibly strong. Rumor is Luc was only able to possess his spawn once before they disintegrated so he had to be careful." When Cara paled, Khan shrugged. "He experimented with different species and came up with you."

"I can die just as easily as any human."

"And you've had countless close calls."

She didn't respond to that. Khan cocked his head to the side.
 

"I didn't agree with Aodhan's choice when he saved you, but now that I've spent less than five minutes with you, I realize why he did it. Strength is rare."

She frowned. "I don't understand."

Khan glanced at Aodhan. Even though Khan's mouth didn't curve, Cara got the impression that he was amused.
 

"Most would have cracked under the pressure," Khan stated. "I should have known that a true demon wouldn't be able to reverse Morgana's curse. I owe you a debt for freeing my brother."

"No, you don't owe me anything," Cara said. "I'm not even sure how I broke the curse."

"Khan, leave," Aodhan bit out.

Cara stiffened, but didn't comment as Khan exited. She couldn't look at Aodhan without remembering the way he looked at her that night on the cliffs. Her heart felt as if it was being stabbed, but she didn't let any of that show on her face. She clutched her hands behind her back so he wouldn't see them shake.
 

"Whatever you choose to do with me, my mom and sister are innocent," she said hoarsely.
 

"You shouldn't be out of bed."

She straightened her spine, which hurt since it was still being healed after it had been shattered. "I'm better."

He took a step forward and she took one back.

"What do you think I'm going to do with you?" Aodhan asked.
 

"Use me as bait somehow."

She heard a low growl and looked up. Silver scales appeared on the sides of Aodhan's neck and his face shifted, morphing into something not human.
 

"You think I'd do that to you after all we've been through?" he asked, voice so low she could barely understand him. "You saved me."

"I didn't do anything."

His eyes narrowed and his anger filled the room. "The reason I couldn't tell you how to reverse the curse is because it had to be given freely."

Despite herself, she asked, "Was it my blood?"

The silence stretched so long that she shifted from foot to foot. She lowered her eyes because she couldn't bear to look at him. She could smell the familiar scent of him and despite her fear, she wanted him.
 

"Every curse has a loophole. Morgana made it something so ludicrous that even if someone found me, it would be nearly impossible to reverse the curse."

"What is it?" she asked.

His shirt rippled as spikes and scales tried to make an appearance. It was clear he was straining to control himself and she realized she wasn't going to like this. She braced for impact.

"To break the curse, someone had to love me as the beast."

Cara jerked violently and stared at him with her jaw hanging. "I-I- That's impossible!"

Aodhan didn't say anything as she gasped for breath.

"I don't love you!"
she shouted.

"Morgana told me how to reverse the curse before she left me trapped in the caves," Aodhan said in a lethal voice. "Even if someone stumbled into the caves as you did, how could I tell them to love me? She cursed me with it, knowing I'd never felt it in my life."

She shook her head. "I don't-"

"I saved Sky to soften your heart towards me. I took you riding to distract you from your homesickness and focus on me instead. I gave you everything I could to trick you into feeling something for me."

She backed away, even though he made no move forward. She felt jittery with panic and even while she longed to run from the office, she knew she wouldn't get far.
 

"Even if someone spent centuries with me, I never believed
anyone
was capable of feeling anything for me, much less, love."
 

"I don't even know what love is!" she said wildly.

"It's what you feel for Dawn and Sky. Love is sacrificing your life for theirs without a thought."

"I didn't-"

"You refused to leave me in the caves."

The blood drained from her head and she was suddenly, achingly cold. She was such an idiot. She fell for a being destined to kill her.
 

"You saw the worst in me, courtesy of the demon Luc planted in me centuries ago," Aodhan said relentlessly. "You tried to warn me when Luc possessed you and you slept on a sheet beside me as a dragon because I made you feel safe."
 

Cara shook her head as tears slipped from her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"