Infernal Bonds (21 page)

Lysander snarled, “We must help them."

I dropped my throwing knives into my hands and made the decision; we couldn't afford to wait. There were just too many of them. Lysander exploded from our hiding place, his long legs propelling him down the road at the closest enemy. That happened to be a surprised little witch, who was sent flying into the yellow-brown stone of the tower. She never stood a chance. I took off after him, my knives in my hands ready to take down anything that got close enough.
 

The hunters had sprung into action, not that I had a chance to see how they were getting on. The witches were beginning to surround me. They danced through the darkness, rasping laughter cutting into my ears almost as clearly as the invisible blades that slashed at my limbs. I took a moment to aim before I threw the knives at the closest witch. She dropped, but the rest closed in too quickly. I plunged my hand down into a small bag and pulled out one of Kadrix's small green orbs. I hoped that I'd remembered right. I threw it down at the feet of the witch to my left. It exploded with a blinding white light, and a number of witches screamed. My vision cleared after two seconds; I saw three witches crumpled on the floor and two more running around yelping while trying to put out the fires on their robes. Kadrix hadn't done a bad job.
 

I ran at the closest witch that was on fire and slashed her throat; she fell down to her knees with a gargle. Lysander's snarl grabbed my attention. I looked around trying to locate him in the maelstrom. Zombies were flailing and snapping at the hunters and Quin, witches were cackling at Elise who looked almost tranquil, and a pain in my thigh pulled my attention away from the search for my hound. A witch had her hand pulled back, ready to strike me again; I batted her arm out of the way and thrust my blade through her mask into her face. I kicked her away from me in frustration before I dove into the chaos, hoping to find my hound before long.
 

More witches surrounded me before I'd managed to get more than three steps. My patience was waning; there was still no sign of either hound. I threw a blue orb down at the feet of the witches in front of me. Three witches froze, stuck in their pose. I wasted no time in slitting their throats. Their numbers were thinning, finally. Elise caught my eye; she was a blur of white weaving her way between a group of zombies and witches. Her blades sliced through flesh and bone much like a hot knife through butter; she looked like she was performing a ballet rather than fighting magical abominations and wretches. Her face was a vision of serenity, her movements elegant and graceful as she ducked under clumsy attacks, extended her legs in lightning fast kicks, and slipped between them as though she were an eel in water. It was truly beautiful to watch.
 

The hunters were quite another thing. They were aggressive in their attacks, powerful and blunt with their punches and broad slashes to the abdomen. I finally spotted my Lysander. He was in his element. His beautiful blue eyes danced and fire rippled up over his closed fists as he shattered zombies’ faces and wrenched limbs from witches. I grinned as I hacked my way through the zombies and witches between us to fight at his side. He was my hound, and I couldn't help but be a little proud of him. Together we finished off the remaining assailants. Limbs, blood, and gore covered the ground around us. Yet, there was still no sign of the other hound. The sky was black, thunder crashed overhead. White lightning struck the small lightning rod atop the tower. Elise's face turned ashen, Lysander's mouth dropped open. The Sidhe sauntered up; Azfin daintily dropped a witch's head.
 

His eyes flickered a dark amber, his mouth tightened. "It seems the hound completed the ritual."

I looked from Elise to Lysander, willing them to say something. Elise covered her face with her hands, Lysander dropped his head.
 

"I'm sorry, mistress,” he said quietly.
 

My heart dropped. It had all been for nothing.
 

"How...?"

Azfin snarled, "The witches must have warned him."

"You're sure?" I asked.

He gave me a dark look, complete with a flash of his pointed teeth. "Yes."

"Now what?" Matyas asked.

"We find the witches responsible, and kill them," Haeyl said icily.
 

Elise stood a little taller, her mouth fixed in a tight line. "Yes. As Haeyl said. We kill the bitches."

Quin had called in a clean-up crew to deal with the mess the witches and such had left behind. Lysander paced, refusing to look at me. Elise wasn't much better. I hadn't seen her lose her cool and maintain an agitated state before. The Sidhe were themselves. Quin remained behind to make sure the crew got the place right; I took everyone else up to Elise's sanctuary, or at least the park around it, given the Sidhe still weren't allowed inside. No one said a word on the journey there. We piled into a taxi, none of us in the mood to deal with public transport. The Sidhe burst out of the taxi, leaving me to pay the driver, who gave me a dark look and muttered something. I shrugged him off and wrapped my arm around Elise's shoulders. Lysander trailed behind us while the Sidhe stormed ahead. They growled between themselves in some fae tongue. I snapped at them to shut up and calm down. Elise sighed heavily and leaned her head against mine for a moment.
 

"My beautiful city is crumbling beneath my feet, thanks to those witches," she said.

I squeezed her shoulders. "They won't win this. We won't let them."
 

My words felt weak, but I had to try. She'd always been my rock; I didn't know how to comfort her or give her what she needed.
 

She nodded to herself and stood up straighter.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "You're right. I will consult my lady on what our next steps are to be. She prepared me for this, I always knew I would need to fight." She kissed my cheek. "Thanks, Evie. I'll take the Sidhe."

"Thanks," I whispered.
 

I was in no place to deal with their high-strung shit. Whatever patience I may have had had long since evaporated. The witches were trying to destroy my city, my home. I was not going to allow them to succeed. Rage bubbled within me. Lysander caught up and walked beside me when Elise walked ahead to the Sidhe. His head hung low; he refused to say a word or raise his eyes. His shoulders were hunched, his feet dragged a little. I led him over to a small wall on the other side of the little square affair in front of Elise's church. We sat under the heavy clouds in the faintness of the single light at the edge of the path.
 

I ran my fingers through his thick hair and said softly, "Talk to me."

He slowly raised his eyes and said, "I failed you."

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to allow the frustration to slip away. "You did no such thing. You killed many witches today, and zombies."

His muscles relaxed a little, but his mouth remained in a frown. I ran my thumb along the edge of his ear.
 

"I will not allow my hound to give in so easily."

The corners of his mouth tugged upwards and his eyes sparked a little. "Your hound, hm?"

I put my hand down in my lap and sighed as I ran my fingers over my silver bracelet with my other hand. Like it or not, I was growing attached to him. He was proving to be a useful and resourceful pet, a companion.
 

I looked up into his eyes and said, "Yes. Mine."

He nuzzled his face against my neck. "I'm glad to be yours, Evelyn."

I ran my fingers through his hair once more. "I know you'll make me proud."

It was as much a command, a threat, as a soothing comment.
 

His hot breath trickled down my neck, his words burned in my ear, sweet promises of so much more. "I will."

Quin and Kadrix emerged out of the darkness, their faces slightly flushed and hair a touch messy. Kadrix's arm was wrapped around Quin's waist. Lysander growled softly as my protectiveness over my twin flared up; I'd skin the elf alive if he so much as thought about hurting Quin. It faded quickly when I saw the faint glow to Quin's skin, the happiness that shone from within him. I hadn't seen that from him since before our parents had vanished. I hadn't realised that I was leaning into Lysander as I watched Quin and Kadrix approach Elise's church, apparently unaware of us watching them.
 

"I would give you that, if you'd let me," Lysander whispered in my ear.
 

The thrill of his breath on my skin, of the images he offered me, sent shivers skittering down my spine and butterflies wheeling in my stomach. I closed my eyes tight and pushed it aside; he was a hound, a pet. A companion at best. Christian had left me for a nymph, what awful thing would a beast such as him do to my already-fragile heart? He settled next to me, his muscles relaxing as he leant against me. We each took comfort in the quiet presence of the other. A moment of peace and sanctuary in the chaos that exploded around us.
 

After a long while, he simply said, “Why?"

His voice soft, tinged with pleading, to know, to understand. I refused to look at him. Instead, I focused on the bracelet and cursed it for stripping my ability to lie. To protect him. His fingers traced my jawline, his lips dangerously close to mine.
 

“I would give you the world, Evelyn."

I looked into his eyes, wishing he were human, and said, “At what price?"

I could no longer bear to be alone with Lysander. The weight of the emotion was too great. The hunters had returned home once we'd finished with the failed ambush. They had no useful information, and none of us were particularly comfortable having them deal with the Sidhe or enter Elise's sanctuary. Lysander and I had headed inside not long after Kadrix and Quin; there was no reason to raise suspicions, and we needed to wrap things up as quickly as possible. The other hound was getting close to the final ritual. There was no time left to enjoy the little moments. Lysander stayed a little back from me, the comfort of his presence no longer offered.
 

Elise was glaring at Azfin while Haeyl lounged out on one of the seats. Kadrix and Quin stood a little too close to each other, their stances of crossed arms and squared shoulders mimicking each other.
 

"Are they causing trouble, Elise?" I said sweetly as I walked into her sanctuary, the altar behind her, complete with flickering white and silver candles.
 

Azfin smirked at me over his shoulder.
 

"We wouldn't do such a thing, Evelyn,” he said.
 

"Of course you wouldn't, Azfin," I said nonchalantly.

"They refuse to submit themselves to the required ritual," Elise said, growling without taking her eyes off Azfin.
 

I stood next to Azfin, my fingers running over the hilt of my blade.
 

"And why is that?" I asked.

Haeyl's voice rumbled, "Because we are not of your kind. We do not work the way you do."

"Sounds like you're scared," I said sweetly.
 

The Sidhes' eyes flared, both looked at me, their teeth on full display. I pursed my lips and raised an eyebrow. Azfin broke first. He waved his hand.
 

"Fine. For the sake of the city."

Haeyl muttered something. I leaned forward towards him.
 

"You wouldn't be foolish enough to be looking for a deal or sacrifice, would you?" I asked.

His eyes narrowed and he sat up properly before he grumbled, “No."

I smiled sweetly and stood up tall. “Good boy."

He flashed his pointed teeth at me; I fluttered my eyelashes at him innocently before I looked to Elise.
 

She took a deep breath and said, "We have no artifact from the witch to find them, so I need to use the energy from each of your memories and contacts with them."

It sounded complicated, but I had complete faith in her. Kadrix went to say something, but I shot him a dark look; his tracker had already failed.
 

"Evie, come and help me gather the supplies."

I felt a lecture coming on. Still, I followed her into the back room. I hadn't stepped foot in her supply room more than twice in the time that I'd known her; it wasn't my domain. The walls were covered in shelves with tables and drawers filling the space in the middle of the floor. She gathered up an arm full of white and silver tapered candles, which she handed to me.
 

"So, what happened with Lysander out there?" she asked.
 

There was no wriggle room left between her words. I sighed softly.
 

"He made... grand offers. Offers I can't accept."

"Why not?"

"Because of what he is."

"Oh, really, Evie. What's the real reason?"

"He's a hellhound!" I hissed.

"You know better than to give me that. What's really stopping you?"

I leaned back against the shelf behind me, the candles in my arms suddenly feeling very heavy.
 

"After Christian..."

"You have to move on at some point,” she said while looking through a particularly deep drawer.
 

I squeezed my eyes shut, I knew she was right, but I could do it with a good human man.
 

"Evie, you're being foolish. Stop letting your fear rule you,” she said.

She stood up with a victorious grin on her face as she held a ball of pure white thread in her hands.
 

"Now, help me put those Sidhe in their place."

I laughed. "It'll be a pleasure."

Kadrix and Azfin were having a silent stand-off when we returned. Each of them stood rigidly, glaring at each other. The elf's ears were beginning to turn an interesting shade of pink. Elise allowed her breath to escape between her clenched teeth, making a hissing sound that caught everyone's attention.