Demon Dark (28 page)

I don t like you either,

I managed lightly. It sounded strained so I cleared my throat.

You big bully.

My face was grave as fear made my stomach roll. I had to get this out; time was too precious to waste. Suddenly, I was frantic. Heart pounding, I let go of his face and leaned back to look at him, gripping his forearms. My words came out in a jumbled rush.

Tell Conall I m sorry I couldn t keep my promise. Tell Ana she s beautiful, and to have many babies. Make sure Lex knows how much her friendship meant to me,

I frowned,

and tell Ro to go easy on the black magic.

The next one was achingly close to my heart, and to soften my command, I touched his lips gently. Eyes wide, he started at the move.

I demand you accept happiness, Lochlann. Take care of Daphne, this will be so hard on her. She tried to keep me safe, and I made it difficult for her.

I sighed and took my fingers away, rubbed my temple instead. My thoughts were dominated by the need to end the threat.

Tell the Tribe to never stop fighting, to never give in, and to love each other. And tell Breandan &.

Here at the last hurdle, my words failed me. I shrugged helplessly. How did you condense the depth of what I felt into words? My throat constricted, and my heart & it hurt & it bled. I fought past it, and managed a few shaky words, uttered on half breaths,

Tell him & that I &.

Lochlann s gaze drifted over my shoulder, unable to deal with my pain. His eyes filled with tears, but he blinked them back. He was a High fairy, after all. Lord of all fairykind, and though he had succumbed to tears once he would not be caught again.

The thought brought me a strange sense of relief. He would take care of them all. He was strong enough.

Lochlann pressed a kiss to my forehead. I was collecting kisses, it seemed.

I m sorry,

he rasped.

It was the way he said it, as if he wasn t losing me, but a larger part of his world, that set me on guard. His grip tightened on my arms, and I knew he didn t intend to let me go. Breandan had always said he was right to a fault.

Stubborn man.

Lochlann s weight shifted, about to jump with me in his arms.

With swiftness and dexterity innate to my kind, I broke his hold.

He staggered back. Raising his head, he caught my eyes and saw my final goodbye.

No!

he bellowed.

Pushing my arms forward, I summoned a burst of power to push him away. A gust of wind rushed past me and slammed into us, except its power flowed over and around me.

Lifted off his feet, Lochlann reeled back and disappeared through the wall of blue fire and black smoke.

Running away had never seemed such a splendid idea. Positively virtuoso, I d have said, if that moment you d asked me.

Gods of valor, hearken to me,

I murmured, trying the chant out for myself. They held power, those words.

Gift me the strength of my ancestors. Lend me the honor and bravery of my kind.

My voice lowered to a timid whisper, a shamed confession I could only voice with hushed breath.

I think on my own I ll fail.

Eyes scrunched shut, I waited for an answer of some kind. I wiggled my nose and peeked an eye open. Nothing. No surge of courage filled me, no sprit lifting sense of being protected washed over me.

Huffing in impatience and ditching the formal words I tried my own.

Fine. I get it. No sympathy for my bloodline huh? You know, this nightmare wasn t my fault.

I tapped my chest.

I was a victim, torn from my life and tossed into the middle of this. Yet here I stand, and believe me when I say I really don t want to be here.

I narrowed my eyes.

I get you re busy, and all important, and that I curse you with every other breath, but a little help wouldn t go amiss.

That nobody was answered me was exasperating. I bit my lip, shrugged. It had been worth a try.

Gods, where are you when you re needed?

I muttered. There was a convenient and distant rumbling of thunder.

Good enough,

I laughed.

Straightening my shoulders, I took off the amulets and closed my eyes. There was no point the key staying here with me. The next Priestess would need them to keep the grimoire safely locked.

My eyelids fluttered open, and I gasped as my spell took form. The amulets glowed red hot, broke apart, and then shot up into the sky to disappear from sight.

Smiling, I released a shaky breath, and the winds died. It was done. The fairy High Lord was alive and well, and the future of all kinds a step closer to being safe.

The leaves of ClanTree sheltering the heart of the Wyld were aflame. The bark and boughs edged with blue and purple fire. Snakelike tendrils of power seeped through the forest understory, an overflow of magic from the storm.

Now I was alone there was a moment of doubt. Okay, so maybe not so much a moment, but a full minute of arguing the benefit of between being a hero versus being a coward.

A final tremor of fear rippled through my body and I was myself again, afraid, but resolved to see this through.

The trick was not to hide from my fear, but to embrace it. That was real courage. To be fearless was foolish, but to be afraid and stand firm in the face of what scared you & that was bravery. The people I had come to know so well in so short a time had shown me what true bravery was, and they were confident I had plenty.

But was I strong enough?

From the distance sounds, fairy, vampire, shifter, and human fled. They ran screaming from the tower of death growing into the night sky. The dark was alive with pain. I closed my eyes and downed out the sounds of fright.

Primeval power rooted deep in the earth spewed into the heavens. Ropes of magic coiled in black and silver streaks. The tower swayed as it climbed, glowing and crackling with dark energy.

It was magnificent this evil innocence, a wickedness too potent to blame.

I reached out a hand and the hairs on my arms lifted. The magic called to me. Stiffening, I snatched my hand back, rubbed it jerkily on my hip. Peace and a sense of calm bloomed in my chest as I watched the beauty of the magic I never would have had the creativity to conjure.

Bizarrely, I d known this would happen, and had an

I told you so

moment with nobody to share it with. I wasn t meant to lead fairykind as the Priestess. Breandan, Conall, everybody I had met had tried to persuade me otherwise, but I knew. I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. I was merely a small thing in the grand scheme of things, a spark about to be snuffed. Had my destiny ever been different? Maybe if I had grown up around others of my kind, as Lady Rae, daughter of Sorcha, I might have ended up on the path that would have allowed me to be such a person. As it was, fate decided differently. Huh. I was okay with that, how could I not be? This life I had been given was about to end, but I would not have changed it. I would never regret being reunited with Conall. I would never regret meeting Breandan, and even knowing Tomas made a part of me rejoice. I had known true happiness in the presence of these people.

Small, and insignificant my actions may be perceived in future &

But in this moment, at this time and place, I am worth something.

I was going to save my family and friends. I was going to give them a chance to right so many wrongs. There were so many powerful forces of good striving for peace there was no way that could not be the outcome of my sacrifice.

How could I not be thankful and happy about that?

I tipped my head back so the ends of my hair brushed my lower back and looked straight up into the clouds. They were wispy in the eye of the firestorm. I could see the stars, diamonds sprinkled on black velvet. A few specks of snow fell on my cheeks, and I sighed, wiped the trickle of water they left from my face with my tears. It was so beautiful, almost as if the heavens cried for me. Surrounding me was fire; the forest burned and smelt like smoke, but when I looked up past the ring of flames, there was the night sky, and it wept.

Magics expanded, growing in power and force. The tunnel I stood in the centre of bloated and rose higher. If the magic climbed any higher Cael s mission would be accomplished the sky would burn, we would all burn.

I drew on the Source, and so little of it came I was shocked.

All magics rushed to this place, to this horror created to destroy.

Cael truly had been the most powerful being to grace this earth. My brother, misguided, and filled with hate for a family who had loved him, but had somehow isolated, and pushed him into insanity bred from centuries of loneliness.

Shaking off my wandering thoughts, I pulled deeper on the Source, demanding it come to me, making it heed me and the legacy present my blood to control it. Gathering enough calm to focus, my mind became fixed on tapping into the magics feeding the fire. These flames were magical and could be extinguished; I had to find my way past the magical barriers into the slipstreams to be able to dam it.

I shuddered, attention wavering. Pain. Love. Hope. The warmth of the bond flared, crammed with emotion, and tears came to my eyes.

Breandan was close.

Stanch weirs of enchanted flames quivered. The barrier bloated and split, the edges of the crack ripping away as a solid fist of magic punched through.

I gasped; stunned someone had breached the barrier, something even I had struggled to do.

Had Lochlann found a way back?

In a chaotic blur of limbs, a body dived through the opening, and crashed into a heap.

The melted edges of the barrier clogged, mending the puncture, locking me, and the recent arrival inside.

Dark head bowed, backed hunched over he swayed on all fours. His pointed ears twitched. Translucent stems of power crackled on his skin, and silver wings fluttered heavily before jackknifing out into a glorious spread of iridescent skin. Tail whipping jerkily from side to side, he trembled, moving too much effort.

He gathered himself, the intensity in the air increasing.

Grunting, shaking his head, he lurched up. His legs wobbled and he staggered before standing solidly on two booted feet.

His armor, leather plates covering his thighs and shins was cracked and gouged in some places. Newly healed scars slashed across his chest, and streaks of blood and gore spattered his torso. Powerfully spread wings curled to rest snugly on his back, and his tail now cracked smoothly from side to side, irritated.

Brow lowered, his mouth was a furious cut etched into a proud face. Jaw working, body rigid, he looked mad as hell. Silver eyes bored into me, but when they flickered, and rested on the blood spattered all over me they softened.

After everything, all the times it seemed hopeless, like I wouldn t make it to you in time, did you really think I would let you face this alone?

Breandan asked quietly.

That I wouldn t keep my word and come for you.

Sobbing, I covered my face with my hands, my composure crumbling to dust.

He came for me.

My knees gave out, but I never hit the ground because he was already with me, gathering me into his arms.

I relaxed into his tight embrace, letting his strength comfort me. He was my constant, the one thing I could depend on without fail. Nothing could be allowed to harm him.

The urgency of my task was thrust on me again. I pushed him away, unable to vocalize my demand that he leave. He held me closer and ignored my struggles.

You can t be here,

I mumbled numbly, panic stabbing me all over.

You have to leave. Now. When I start to pull the power to me

His lips caught mine. He kissed me gently, achingly sweet. I felt so much, too much. I would not be able to do this if I could not bear to be parted form him. How was I supposed to be able to give this up? How could the world be so cruel to me! To give me something so precious only to demand I sacrifice it to save a Wyld that was at odds with me.

Breandan sighed into my hair and rained kisses on my eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth. I basked in his love, absorbed as much of it as I could to keep hope alive in my heart even as it was crushed beneath the weight of what I must do to ensure he survived.

I cursed his infallible honor to be here with me to the dark and uncomfortable place. Hearing me, he chuckled tersely in my ear.

Ana?

I asked cautiously.

She s fine. Alec took the brunt of the fall, and I got her to safety. Daphne gave her the grimoire, she ll keep it safe.

I nodded at him repeatedly. My eyes widened with relief.

Good. Now go.

Rae-love, no matter what pain I know awaits, I will never leave you. My place is by your side. I made my choice the first time I laid eyes on you, and not once have I regretted it. I am with you.

He cupped my face in his hands and rubbed our noses together. He seemed glad, content.

If our Wyld ends, I must be where I belong. If it remains, and you must die for it, I will die with you. I do not fear it, because I know there will be more for us in the next world, but the thought of living on and not seeing the confusion on your face, or hearing the laughter in your voice, or seeing the moonlight kiss your skin &

He shook his head.

You belong to me, and I will never let you go.