Demon Dark (16 page)

Maeve s skin grew colder.

I uncurled my fingers from hers, and shifted so I straddled Breandan s lap, locking my legs at the small of his back. Taking his head in my hands, I forced his chin up. I traced his dear features etched in pain. My breath hitched, and tears spilled from the corners of my eyes to roll down my cheeks. He lifted bloodshot eyes, the infinite depth of his gaze looking for solace in mine. I leaned over and rested my lips on his. He pressed back. A tear slid down his cheek and splashed on my neck. Deep sobs broke from him, and he ducked his head back down and hid his face in my hair.

Twisting away, knowing he needed more time, I stroked Maeve s fiery hair away from her face. Had you walked past you might think she slept beside Alec if you ignored the blood, ragged throat, and torn clothes.

I sat in a daze, searching for strength at the bottom of my heart.

I was aware of the bodies littering the copse being dragged away and a pyre built in the centre as we sat there.

Time passed silently.

Lochlann did not come back to sit with us.

I glared when a fairy Knight, Kian, approached us solemnly, bowing deeply and reverently. Sadness hung from him like a cloak.

Priestess, at Lord Conall s orders the pyre has been built. We saved a place for Lady Maeve at the top and arranged the humans below.

He swallowed.

It is custom for the Elder to place the body of the loved one upon the resting place, but Lord Lochlann seems,

another stricken pause,

overcome. He will not come when we call. What shall we do? The rest of the humans demand the right to bury their dead, but we have already covered them in oil and the torches are lit &.

He shrugged.

The dead must be put to rest.

Lochlann appeared from the shadows. He looked at me, and I looked away too much pain, too close to the surface. I already carried Breandan s burden and my own. I couldn t bear another.

I will honor my blood.

His voice sounded lifeless.

Lochlann bent down and gently scooped Maeve up into his arms. Breandan flinched. Alec didn t move, he stared as if she still lay beside him.

Lochlann rocked her from side to side as if cradling a newborn babe. She did look tiny in his arms, but Lochlann was uncommonly large. Love shone from his face as he gazed down on her, his one green eye darkening along with the other blue until they were both opaque. I wondered what memories he saw what moments of her life he relived to ease the pain. He hugged her close, the muscles in his arms and shoulders rippling with tension.

He placed her body onto the centre of the pyre as if she were crafted from glass. Kian stepped forward, arms loaded with flowers and rich leaves woven into intricate garlands. Lochlann placed them over his sister.

Twinkling lights appeared in the dark, lighting up the tree boughs in a myriad of colour. The leaves shimmered faintly. Hundreds of eyes blinked at us, and the shadows of willowy bodies silently moved among the trees. The Tribe had come to pay their respects.

Changed into his human form, Byron came for Alec. The Alpha clenched his fists. He looked to the heavens and sought the stars for what to say. The energy I felt when near him intensified, and when his head snapped down, he was no longer in doubt, but ready to say what needed to be said.

Kneeling down, he lifted Alec up by the shoulders, tenderly, as if the boy had come from his own flesh.

Now is time for you to be a man,

he said gruffly.

I know you Claimed her, but your people need you now. Take your pain and make it strength.

The twin were-lynxes writhed around Alec s feet, tails brushing the ground and heads dipped low. Their agitated movement was testament to their grief.

Coaxed by his Pride, Alec moved to the pyre.

I touched Breandan s hair. The inky locks were soft and lush. I pressed a kiss to his scalp and smelt the forest. Edgy, he pushed me away, off him, and stood. I sat there, hunched over, not ready to stand myself. To do so would make this real. After a moment, he pressed his legs into my back, needing the contact again. I sighed as his presence collided with mine and dropped my head back so it rested on his lower thigh. Our bond sought to soothe, and there was some relief as the pleasure of reuniting with him pushed through my sadness.

The deathly pallor of his skin warmed and glowed faintly. My own body pulsed in the dark.

Lochlann finished placing flowers across Maeve s stomach. He trembled, but his broad back was straight, chin tipped up as if he fought gravity dragging it to the ground. He stepped away from the platform of wood and vine and the grief I glimpsed in his eyes was frightening.

He staggered. Before he fell, Daphne was there, her arm around him lending support. He visibly stiffened, and for a moment, I worried he would toss the vampire away.

She had not known Maeve, but she must have felt her repressed grief for Tomas attacking her full force.

Lochlann sank to his knees and wrapped his arms around Daphne s waist. He burrowed his head in her lower stomach and cried each heaving sob stabbing me in the heart.

To see this lord on his knees shattered by grief intensified the sorrow. It was palpable in the air, a heavy pressure that all were forced to bow under.

The soft cries and murmurs of distress from the fairy people were carried to me on the wind.

Breandan took my hand and helped me up. His glittering eyes held such melancholy my heart ached. His fingers loosened their hold on mine, but I clutched them tighter and shook my head we would not stand apart in this. Come. His mind was so close to breaking point the impression for me to follow was vague and fuzzy, as if I received the thought through a stonewall.

But he did not move.

He stared at the pyre as if it would strike him down where he stood should he glimpse the body lying at the apex. I led him, tugging on his hand until he took one leaden step and then another.

Lochlann was still on his knees, body trembling. Daphne stroked his head and sent me a lost look, asking for help. I had none to give. She was on her own when it came to Lochlann.

Breandan took sharp, shallow breaths, preparing to take over from his distraught brother. He was struggling to hold on himself. How could he lead this if he couldn t even speak?

This gave me the strength to take control. I released Breandan s hand and stepped up onto the dais.

Kian whispered a rushed explanation of the ceremony to me. It was customary for the Elder to set the pyre in flames, but Lochlann made no move to do so, and I refused to ask Breandan.

Kian, after the ceremony could you please find Grace and bring her to me? And send Lily to help Daphne before she sleeps & if Lily has no complaints.

I didn t want to force a fairy to have contact with a vampire if they didn t want to, but it would be good if she knew it would make me happy for her to do so.

Lily and Grace had attended me the last time I was here. Their curiosity about me, and kindness in helping me bathe had coaxed me out of the worst of my melancholy after I believed Lex had died. They had made me feel more a part of this place than anything else.

Where shall we put Lady Daphne?

Kian asked quietly, only a hint of concern in his voice as his gaze wandered to Lochlann.

She ll find her own way, let her. She s secretive about where she rests during the day. It s her way of feeling safe.

Only after he left to do my wishes did I realize he had called Daphne Lady not just vampire as most fairies had a fondness of doing. As if using the demon s real name would taint them somehow. Fairies did believe names held a physical power, possibly not extending someone the respect of even their first name was some kind of psychological power they tired to impose.

Then I also realized Kian had followed my instructions without any questions or reluctance.

It gave me confidence that I belonged, that I was doing the right things.

Lochlann had prepared Maeve beautifully. Delicate features relaxed and graceful limbs wrapped in vines and flowers, she looked peaceful asleep. The bodies of the humans who d attacked us and not survived were carefully placed underneath.

The angry mutterings of the Clerics did reach my ears but was ignored. Few people had chosen to be buried behind the Wall, and even then, it was only allowed if you had some specific religious belief. The dead were cremated. It was sanitary, and stopped the land the humans lived on becoming more of a graveyard than a home.

Alec,

I said softly.

You have to let her go.

Bring her back,

he demanded in a low voice.

I know you can do it. You ve done it before, I ve heard the story. You did it before you fully understood how much power you controlled. You ve had practice since then.

I did something I had never before done to anyone but Breandan. I reached out and covered his hand with mine. I pried his fingers off Maeve and clutched his hand firmly.

I swore on magic I would never bring someone back like that ever again. Lex came back & wrong. It was selfish of me, and if you look into her eyes for long enough you ll see she hates what I ve done to her.

Then bring Maeve back as she was. Breathe life back into her, I know you can do it.

He gazed at me with gut-wrenching agony.

Please, do this one thing for me. I know I have no right to ask, but I can t I can t do this. I can t watch her burn

I don t have that power, I m not a god, Alec. I m just & me. I haven t changed that much since I brought Lex back. If it meant I didn t have to feel this pain, I d bring her back in a heartbeat, even if there were consequences. I promise you if I m ever blessed with the power to do it, I will. Right now, it s not possible. I don t have it in me, and nobody is more sorry of that than I.

Sinking into himself, he let go of my hand.

Both my arms climbed until they were high above my head, loosely arced into a graceful oval. Golden flames slashed with bursts of deep purple flickered at my fingertips, spread to cover the entirety of my hands. More tears pooled above my lashes it was the most beautiful magics I had ever done.

Lochlann abruptly stood, squared his shoulders, and raised his own hand. Green and blue sparks danced along his palm. Breandan too raised a hand to conjure a sphere of pulsing silver fire.

The blessing was straightforward; three words to release her from this world.

I pressed my eyes closed, and filled my heart with love and the memory of her. I wish I had the chance to know her better. We parted in anger, and how I regretted that. I wish I could have told her how much she had meant to me.

Be at peace,

I whispered.

Pouring from my hands, the golden flames swept across the pyre and doused it in liquid fire. Blue and green sparks rained from above, and a ball of shimmering silver light had the pyre flaring in a burst of brilliant light.

Alec cried out. Head in his hands, he staggered forward. Byron restrained him with an arm across the chest. He patted the side of Alec s face and murmured in his ear, all the while the Alpha faced away from the flames, unable to watch.

Lochlann turned and walked away, stopping Daphne with a murderous glare when she tried to follow. The vampire-girl shook her head eyes welling with blood. With a soft cry, she darted in the other direction; fading into a blur her speed was so swift.

The faceless crowd behind us dissipated, melting into the night. Conall took charge of the demon leaders, promising the Meet would continue after dawn. He knew without speaking it was my wish the humans be looked after and their wounds seen to.

The Tribe would lament our loss, rest, and prepare to face the battles to come battles that would bring more grief, more loss.

Breandan pulled me into his arms, and I held onto him tightly. Pressing my eyes closed, I swore to myself if I ever had the power, I would undo this.

We stood alone before the raging flames, withstanding the pain of watching her burn to make sure she was not alone. We stood until the pyre burnt to ash, floating away with the dawn on bitter winds.

***

I waded into the pool of water and shivered when the wetness climbed over my hips and waist. I dare not go any further since I couldn t swim. Breandan had assured me swimming was natural, and I would be able to so instinctively, but still I was cautious. I d heard drowning was an excruciating death, and I wasn t a fan of pain.

Breandan sat on the bank where I d sat once mourning the loss of a friend.

I d thought Maeve dead once before, and when I d seen her again my joy had been tremendous. Breandan and Lochlann had been confident during this time that she was alive. They believed they would have known if she was taken from them.

After the rush of adrenaline had passed this time, her absence had been clear to Lochlann, but not to Breandan.

I was curious as to why.

The longer I tried to puzzle it out the guiltier I felt. Did my hysteria over Cael and Ana being kin stop them from discovering her moments too late?

I shook myself.

Such thoughts did nobody any good.

The lush flowers surrounding the pool were closed up tightly, the petals dying in the colder air. The sunrays made the hoarfrost coating the ground glisten and the wispy mist weaving past the tree line shimmer.