Falling Blind: The Sentinel Wars (39 page)

She couldn’t just stand around doing nothing, so she stumbled back to the car, got in, locked the doors and latched on to Cain’s power. One way or another, she was going to make her brain see what she wanted it to see. And then she was going in after him.

*   *   *

Raygh felt his prey draw near. The urge to grab her mind and reel her in made him salivate, but he held fast, pretending he was still trapped and held in check. She’d stopped moving now, but the closer she got, the easier it became to feel her heartbeat. It would go still soon enough, but not until he’d given her the same pain and fear that had been visited upon his sons.

Once all of her screams were his, trapped for eternity within his memories, then he would drain her blood and carry her with him for all time. She would provide him with information and fuel his power, giving him the strength to find her friends—those who were also responsible for Raygh’s grief.

In fact, one of them was with her now. He sensed the man’s power radiating through her, and sent his demons out to gather the man’s blood.

It had been a long time since Raygh had tasted the power of a male Theronai’s blood. But that was about to change. Her mate possessed great knowledge. If anyone knew how to reach the Gate and the Athanasian blood that lay on the other side, it would be this man. And everything he knew, Raygh would soon know as well.

Chapter 28

C
anaranth smelled Ella before he saw her. The sweet, light fragrance of her skin was unmistakable. His heart jumped with excitement and joy, and he broke out in a dead run, sprinting toward her.

Before he’d gone ten feet, his mind caught up with his emotions. If she was here, she was in terrible danger. Raygh destroyed all he touched. He didn’t care about how foolish it was to kill three Slayers when cultivating their blood was far smarter. He’d already killed one of the human children they needed. Nothing mattered to him beyond his rage, hunger and his whims. Zillah had been ruthless, but at least he had some sense of preserving their future.

Raygh was on a rampage of anger and grief, and Canaranth knew he wouldn’t stop until everyone who’d witnessed the death of his sons had been destroyed.

He had to get Ella out to safety—back into the hands of the Sentinels.

As Canaranth rounded a curve in the tunnel leading to the surface, he saw her body draped over the shoulder of a Sanguinar they’d had dealings with in the past—Connal. In his other arm was a small child—one who smelled familiar.

His son. The boy hanging limp in Connal’s arm was Canaranth’s son. He’d survived.

Shock and joy swelled under his ribs, stealing his breath.

That his son had lived was a miracle. Being able to see the boy with his own eyes was more than Canaranth deserved or expected. And Ella was here as well, her heart beating out reassurance that she was alive.

He took a step forward, reaching for his family before he realized he couldn’t let anyone know he was the boy’s father. Or how much he loved Ella. Down here, they would be tools used against him. If anyone suspected their connection to him, they would suffer for it.

So instead of revealing how much he ached to take them in his arms, he put on a mask of indifference and addressed the Sanguinar. “Why are you here?”

Connal stopped in his tracks. His pale eyes flared with light as he gathered his power. “I seek asylum. I bring tribute to Zillah.”

“Zillah is . . . no more. You need to take your tribute and leave now.”

Canaranth silently willed Ella to wake so he could see her face again, even as he begged her to stay asleep. Seeing him would be hard on her. And she might say something to give them away.

“Who is leader here?”

“I am,” lied Canaranth. “Now go before I gut you and feed you to my demons.”

Connal’s eyes narrowed. “You lie. Your heart is racing. Now, why would you lie to me?”

“Give me your tribute. I will take it to Raygh and request an audience for you.”

“No. I’ll take it to him myself. Take me to him.”

Connal’s eyes flared brighter, and Canaranth felt the sting of compulsion scamper over his mind. He tried to fight it, but he hadn’t fed in days, knowing that they needed to conserve what blood they had left. He was weak, and because of that, he turned and began walking.

There was nothing Canaranth could do now. Not until Connal let go of his mind. But once he did, Canaranth would go and feed. And then he would come back for his family. He would take them by force if he had to, killing whoever got in his way, even if he had to drain every last Slayer they had to make it happen.

Apparently, he was more like Raygh than he’d thought.

*   *   *

This labyrinth of underground tunnels was much more extensive than Cain had suspected. Claw marks were evident on the walls where the rock had been scraped away to widen the passages. It had been done methodically, intentionally, as if they needed the space to move something big.

He made a mental note of it, but that was all the attention he could spare. This place was crawling with lesser demons, when it should have been mostly empty. The sun would be up soon, but until then, there shouldn’t have been nearly as many demons present as there were.

The sheer number of creatures kept him on his toes as he cut them down. The smell of their blood and his sweat was going to alert others of his presence, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. His priority had to be Ella and her baby.

Besides, the sooner he got this job done, the sooner he could get back to Rory. He didn’t like leaving her out there alone, unguarded. If not for her constant tug on his power, he would have been distracted with worry. But as long as she was drawing energy from him, she was alive. He took what solace he could from that.

A pair of sgath slinked out from a narrow crevice, their green eyes glowing with hunger. They were small, young, but they were also fast and ferocious. They worked in tandem, circling him so that he was continually flanked.

He bided his time, waiting for one of them to attack. With each second that ticked by, he felt the urge to hurry, but if he got himself killed, he’d be of no help to the humans.

Finally, the one on his left coiled to pounce. As it flew up toward Cain’s throat, he stepped aside and cut through its brother’s snout. One of its eyes winked out as the other sgath hit the cave wall. Cain used its moment of stunned confusion to lop off its head, then made quick work of the injured beast.

From down the corridor, he heard the telltale scratching of claws on stone. Hundreds of them. The scent of the sgath’s black blood pooling beneath them was like ringing a demon dinner bell.

The time for patience was over.

*   *   *

The instant Raygh smelled the child draped over the Sanguinar’s arm, he knew what it meant. The boy looked completely human upon first glance, but his scent gave him away.

Not only was the child half-Synestryn, he was Canaranth’s offspring.

Raygh stretched out his hands. “Give the child to me.”

The sudden tension that overcame Canaranth was more proof that Raygh’s first guess was correct. Still, his servant took the child from the Sanguinar and slowly carried him closer.

The slight hesitation to let go of the boy thrilled Raygh, showing him one more of the many weaknesses Zillah’s previous lieutenant possessed.

With a thought, Raygh woke the child, freeing him of the Sanguinar’s thrall. There were no tears or cries of fear. The child regarded him with calm, steady interest.

“He is ours,” announced Raygh.

“Of course,” said the Sanguinar. “Tribute in exchange for asylum. And food.”

“Come closer.”

The Sanguinar handed the sleeping woman to Canaranth, who cradled her as if she were a rare and precious thing.

Yet another weakness waiting to be used against him. It truly was disgusting to watch.

The Sanguinar knelt at Raygh’s feet, as was proper.

“I will accept your tribute. And your blood.”

“No,” said the Sanguinar. “My blood is my own. I will not allow you to control me.”

“I already do,” said Raygh. “You came here bearing gifts, seeking asylum. That means you have nowhere else to go. You are in my home, in my presence. You are already stripped of all control. The rest is mere formality.”

“Let me take the child from you, my lord, so you may more comfortably feed,” said Canaranth.

Raygh tossed the boy at him, watching in amusement as he chose between which precious thing he let hit the ground. In the end, Canaranth eased the woman down just in time to throw his body under the boy’s, allowing himself to take the brunt of the impact.

Interesting. And useful. If Canaranth was willing to suffer for the woman and child, then perhaps he wasn’t a lost cause after all. Raygh could use the humans to turn Canaranth into a true leader, rather than the weakling he currently was. Their kind needed more strong rulers.

“I will not give you my blood,” said the Sanguinar.

“I don’t expect you to give it. But I will take it.” And before the other man was able to move out of the way, Raygh grabbed him by the head and shoved his will into the Sanguinar’s mind.

Connal was his name. He was desperate. Lost. Weak.

Raygh held him still while he fed, sucking both blood and information from him.

Zillah had tricked Connal into drinking his blood by masking it inside a pregnant human. And now that he’d had a taste, he wanted more. Human blood, Sentinel blood—none of it sated him—only the blood of an altered human breeding vessel had filled the void.

Raygh pulled his mouth away, heedless of the blood that poured from Connal’s neck. “You think I’m going to give you the blood of my breeders?”

“Zillah did.”

Connal tried to break free, but he was weak compared to Raygh, who held him still without effort. “Zillah was a fool.”

The Sanguinar’s voice became a desperate whine. “I was useful. I helped him.”

“Yes, but now your people know of your treachery. You are useless to me.”

Connal healed his wounds shut, but the process was slow, proving just how little strength was left in him. “I can help. I can find more women for you—women like Beth.”

“Whom you killed.” Raygh had seen that in Connal’s memories.

“I needed her blood.”

Raygh studied him for a moment. Perhaps he could be of use, but if he would betray his own kind, he would betray Raygh as well. Better to not risk what was bound to fail. Besides, with the rest of the Sanguinar’s blood, Raygh would be strong enough to break through the last of the female Theronai’s defenses. Then she would come to him without a fight.

“And I need your blood.” He gripped Connal’s hair and bent his head back. The Sanguinar hardly even struggled as he died.

Chapter 29

C
ain wasn’t going to make it. Rory could feel his calm assessment of the situation as he tore through possible options for survival. She saw the wall of little demons sweeping toward him, like a fury, scaly flash flood. There was no way he was going to be able to take them all on before they killed him.

It took only one bite to take him down. One little poisonous scratch.

And then she realized what had just happened. All of the other visions had faded from her sight. She saw only through Cain’s eyes now. Her focus on him and his safety had been absolute, allowing her to control her sight.

Not that it did her much good. That’s all she could see, as if she were right there with him. How the hell was she going to make it into the cave and to his side when she couldn’t see to get out of the car?

Something tickled in the back of her mind, drawing her attention. Her fear for Cain grew until she was shaking with it. The only thing that mattered was getting into the cave. She had to go. Now. Before it was too late.

Rory pushed out of the car, landing on the cold ground. She scrambled to her feet, using the car as a frame of reference. The only sight she saw was of Cain’s powerful arms cutting through dozens of demons, their black blood making the earth beneath his feet slick.

The hood of the car was still warm. She tried to remember which direction the cave entrance was from here, but she’d never been good with directions, and had no clue which angle to take.

Still, the need to move drove her forward. She tripped on dips in the ground, but stayed on her feet, walking in shuffling steps in what she hoped was the right direction.

She must have veered off course, because she was pulled back to her left, as if an invisible rope had given her a hard tug.

This way.
She heard the thought whisper across her mind, its rasping voice cold and alien.

A surge of fear rose up in Cain and he shouted a wordless warning in her head.

Ignore him,
said the voice.
He needs you. Hurry.

Of course Cain didn’t want her to come and help. He was always worried about her safety. But this time, he was the one in trouble. Not her. He needed her, and she was not going to let him down.

Good pet. Hurry!

Pet?
That didn’t seem right, but she didn’t waste time worrying about it. The river of demons flooding around Cain’s feet was not slowing. He needed her to shield him.

Rory hurried as fast as she could. She fell twice, but was back on her feet in seconds, pushing forward. When her hands hit the cold rock near the entrance of the cave, a sense of elation cascaded over her, making her shiver.

More demons had surrounded Cain, but he had worked his way back into a crevice, protecting himself from attack on all sides. Each powerful swing was a killing blow, sending the heads and paws of multiple demons flying.

Stay away!
he warned.
It’s a trap.

A trap for him, based on the look of things.

He needs you,
whispered the cold voice.

Rory agreed. She found the curve in the rock, smelled the dank, fetid stench of decay and knew she’d located the opening. With one hand on the wall to guide her, she picked up speed and raced blindly toward Cain.