Incubus (95 page)

the seal half-opened, they’d cast Illydia out of the world of men and into darkness, then worked to

reverse the ritual before the seal was rendered impotent.

I shivered as the images of that other plane filled my mind.
No sun fell in their world. It was a

place of envy, hatred, pain. Illydia had raged against the darkness for centuries. Her banishment

seemed permanent—until she and Seth had found one another again through the dream, and he’d come

to her with a plan.

Illydia’s hands released me and I scrabbled away from her.

I risked a look back at the main sanctuary door. Lucas was using a large candlestick holder as a

lever, trying to pry the wooden crossbeam out of its seat. Cassie was huddled against the wall, staring

at me with numb horror. I felt a wave of concern for her.

Illydia was studying me, her face registering shock. Seth, recovering, noticed this with a dry

chuckle.

“I told you,” Seth wheezed. “She’s stronger than she looks.”

I rubbed a hand against my throat. It hurt to swallow. With some effort, I stood, facing them down.

“I’d like to give you one more chance,” Seth said, straightening. His eyes gleamed with hard

triumph and I knew—flush with the energy he’d taken from Royal—he’d already managed to heal the

broken rib. “You’re powerful, Braedyn. More powerful than I think you realize. That makes you a

great ally. It also makes you a dangerous enemy. So you can see the unfortunate position that puts me

in.”

“Because you’re fond of me?” I asked, my eyes narrow slits.

“Yeah. Exactly.”

At that moment, Lucas managed to pry the crossbeam free. It hit the floor with a resounding thud

that echoed throughout the sanctuary. Seth glanced at Lucas, who tossed the candlestick aside and

reached a hand out to Cassie. Cassie was slow to react, and Lucas had to pull her to her feet. Seth

sighed, almost sounding bored.

“Tick tock, Braedyn,” he said.

“You know me,” I whispered.

I saw some of the amusement dim in Seth’s eyes. “I do.” He looked almost wistful. “I was just

hoping I might be able to appeal to your sense of self-preservation. Come on, Braedyn. You can’t fight

the whole Lilitu race single-handedly.”

“She won’t have to.”

I turned, my heart surging with new hope. Karayan strode in through the mission’s secret door

behind Illydia. She glanced at me, taking quick stock of my visible injuries. Her mouth tightened.

“Got your call,” she said. “It took me a minute to figure out where you were. Future reference?

You might want to include an address with your S.O.S..”

“Right,” I said. A slow smile spread across my face.

Seth looked from me to Karayan, considering. “This must be your ‘we-don’t-know-what-she-is-so-

we’ll-call-her-a-friend’ friend,” he said. “Karayan, is it?”

“And you must be the incubus.” Karayan looked thoroughly unimpressed. “I thought you’d be

taller.”

Seth’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Braedyn and I are talking right now. Look, I don’t mean to be

rude, but I can tell you’re low-born.”

Karayan’s cheeks flushed, but she met Seth’s eyes defiantly. “So?”

“So,” Seth gestured to Illydia. “Our mother was Lilith-born. Unless you’re ready to hang up those

sexy stilettos for good, you’ll turn around and walk out of here right now.”

Karayan’s eyes cut to me, uncertain. Then her gaze dropped to the ground.

Satisfied, Seth turned back to me. “Where were we? Oh, right. You were just about to give me

your decision.”

A sudden ringing echoed through the sanctuary—the unmistakable sound of metal sliding against

stone. Karayan had kicked something across the floor, directly toward me. I stopped it with a foot. It

was Senoy’s sword. I bent to pick it up, sliding my hand up the handle toward the guard. The sword

was perfectly balanced. I swung it around, regaining the feel for the weapon from my few sessions

with Hale.

Seth took an involuntary step back, suddenly cautious. I might not be the master with this weapon

that Senoy was, but it didn’t really matter. An angel’s blade could do serious damage to a Lilitu.

Including, it appeared, incubi.

I looked up, meeting Karayan’s fierce grin.

“Sorry,” I said to Seth. “I’m sticking with the home team.”

“Well,” Seth said. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

The next instant, Illydia turned and attacked Karayan. I heard Karayan’s short grunt of pain, but I

didn’t see what happened with her—Seth used the distraction to rush toward me.

I locked my eyes on him, clenching the sword tighter in my hands. Seth feinted to my left and I

swung clumsily out with the sword. I saw his smile return; he knew now that I wasn’t gifted with this

weapon. I adjusted my grip.
I just have to nick him,
I told myself.
Even a scratch will slow him down.

But Seth didn’t give me a chance. It became quickly clear why he never joined us for sparring

sessions in the basement. He was a brilliant fighter, his instincts spot on. He might have managed to

hide his skill from me when he’d let those boys at school beat him up—
One more trap he’d laid for

me,
I now realized—but he’d never have been able to hide his skill from Hale or Matthew or Gretchen

in a sparring match.

Seth danced around me, striking my lower back again. I stumbled, clinging to the sword like a

crutch. Dimly, I realized it was holding me back. Insane as it seemed, I had to get rid of the sword. I

needed my hands free to be able to defend myself, or Seth would slowly take me apart.

I fell back, circling Seth until I was between him and the mission’s main entrance. Behind me,

Lucas and Cassie were still struggling to move the beam locking the mission’s massive doors shut.

“Lucas,” I shouted. He turned, hearing me. I threw the sword toward him with all my might, then

spun back to Seth.

I heard the sword clatter behind me, then—half a heart beat later—I heard it scrape against the

floor as someone picked it up. Satisfied that Lucas had some way to defend himself and Cassie, I

brought my hands up in loose fists. Seth’s smile deepened.

“I’ve actually been looking forward to this,” he said. “After all that training, I’d love to see how

you hold up in a real fight.” He darted forward, jabbing for my face with brutal speed. I jerked back,

struggling to keep my footing. Seth fought fast. He didn’t pull his punches. I struggled to keep my

defenses up, blocking blow after blow. “You’re not half bad,” he said, smiling with exertion.

Press the attack,
I told myself grimly. If I kept him on defense, I’d have a better chance of

controlling the fight. I lunged forward, feinting. When Seth moved, I drove my other fist into the side

of his face. He took the punch like a boxer, shaking it off with a hard grin.

“You’re ready to play rough? That’s cool,” he said. Any illusions I had about controlling the fight

dispelled rapidly. Seth drove me back, foot by foot, until I knocked into one of the sanctuary’s

columns. He buried two fists into my stomach, one after the other. I gasped, my body trying to double

over, but Seth grabbed the front of my shirt and slammed my back against the column. He pinned me

there and stared levelly into my eyes. “A for effort.”

An overwhelming swell of terror pulsed through me. It was all I could do to keep my feet. Behind

Seth, Illydia approached, inspecting her nails nonchalantly. My eyes darted to the back wall where

Karayan slumped, breathing raggedly.

“That was fast,” Seth said.

“I was expecting more of a challenge.” Illydia shrugged.

“You break all your toys.” Seth shook his head, amused.

“Speaking of...” Illydia’s eyes shifted to my face.

“Right.” Seth glanced back at me, shrugging. “Nothing personal, but I can’t leave a powerful Lilitu

just lying around. Last chance. Wanna help change the world?”

I slammed my knee up into his groin. It connected solidly. Seth’s eyes bulged and he dropped to

one knee, releasing me instantly. I pushed off the column, diving for Illydia. She spread her arms,

ready for me. We collided, and Illydia staggered back a few steps. She recovered quickly, latching her

arms around me.

“Mine,” I heard Seth hiss behind me.

Illydia sighed, irritated. She twisted, dropping to one knee without letting go of me. The force of

her movement ripped me off my feet. She released me and I hit the ground, rolling to my side and

sliding a few feet away on the cold stone floor. Before me I could see Seth straightening. Murder

glinted in his eyes. I stood, ears still ringing from my fall.

Illydia and Seth moved in. They ringed me around, and a dull fear roiled through my stomach. I

turned my head, trying to keep both Seth and Illydia in view. It wasn’t possible. Seth swung and I

focused on him, blocking the blow and skittering back. Illydia swiped a claw across my back. My

sweater took the brunt of the attack, but I felt a cool draft along my back as her claw sliced a hole

through the knit. They took turns striking at me. All I could do was react, shying away from one

directly into the path of the other. If I glanced at Illydia, Seth pressed his attack. If I focused on

defending myself from Seth, Illydia raked a claw against my back. It was less than a minute before

Illydia’s claws finally ripped through the fabric of my shirt, slicing deep grooves into my skin. I let

out a hiss of pain, spinning to face her.

“Stop.” I panted. “Stop toying with me.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Illydia asked. “I don’t think you’ll like the alternative.”

I heard Seth chuckling at my back. I spun around to face him, and Illydia caught my arms and

wrenched them back. I jerked against her, but she held me fast.

“So, here we are,” Seth said. “I was hoping this would end differently, but I’m not totally

surprised.”

Karayan?
I closed my eyes, willing her to hear me.

Yeah, yeah.
She sounded tired, and I could feel the pain of her injuries through the link. But she

stirred on the floor. She looked up, and her eyes found me.
That doesn’t look good.

My daggers,
I thought at Karayan, picturing my fall through the window from the roof above.

Awesome. Crawling through broken glass,
she responded. But I felt her push slowly to her hands

and knees.

“Sorry there’s no time for a long goodbye, but I’d rather
not
be here when the Guard arrives.” Seth

rested a hand on my cheek. “It’s been real.”

“Seth,” I whispered, my voice catching in my throat.

His eyes didn’t leave my face. “I’ll make it quick.”

“Get your hands off of her,” Lucas said. He stood at the edge of the seal, Senoy’s sword in hand.

“Easy, lover boy.” Seth looked at him, irritated. “I’ll be around to deal with you in just a sec.”

“You’ll have to deal with her first,” Lucas said, nodding at something behind us with his head.

Seth and I turned at the same time.

Karayan approached, a Guard dagger clutched in each of her hands. “So I’m wondering,” she said,

keeping her voice light. “If we can’t see your powers, can you see ours?”

Karayan’s curving wings snapped down around her slender figure, trailing a smoky haze through

the air as they passed.

Seth jerked away from me, suddenly tense. “Illydia?”

“A ploy,” Illydia said, tightening her grip on me. “She’s got no fight left.”

“Care to make a bet on that?” Karayan moved forward with sure steps. Illydia released me, turning

to face Karayan. “No?” Karayan asked, her tone mocking. Illydia glanced at Seth, uncertain.

With her back to me, I grabbed Illydia’s arm, locking her elbow straight and throwing my weight

forward against her. Illydia let out a shrill growl and cloaked herself instinctively, stumbling forward.

It made no difference to us—both Karayan and I could see through the hazy protection of her

wings without any effort. Karayan moved, slicing one of the daggers across Illydia’s wing. Instantly

Illydia’s cloak vanished. She stood, reeling and wounded, in the heart of the mission.

Seth ran toward Illydia. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from us. “We’ll pick this up

later,” he said, heading back toward the seal.

Karayan,
I thought to her.

Way ahead of you,
she replied.
Keep them separated.

I sprinted for Seth. He saw me coming half a second too late. I jumped him and we fell crashing to

the floor as Illydia stumbled away from us. The impact knocked the breath out of both of us.

Here,
I heard Karayan in my mind. I looked up as Karayan tossed the dagger to me. I focused on

the flash of metal. The arc of the dagger seemed to slow, tumbling end over end in an almost lazy

spiral. It was a simple matter to push my hand forward and clasp the dagger’s hilt. Time snapped back