Kiss of the Betrayer (A Bringer and the Bane Novel) (37 page)

Dread wound its way back into Jade’s good mood. Neither Icarus nor Rell would leave things as they were and if Sha-hera had meddled, as Jade was sure she had, they could expect Rell at any time, and more than likely with the Bane following close behind

“It will all work out.” Jade hugged her mother. “But now we need to prepare.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-
S
IX

Luc watched Jade pace in front of the hearth, wanting to tell her to sit down. The plan had been for everybody to act normally, go about their business as if they weren’t expecting a Bane attack, but that idea had quickly gone by the wayside. The tension seemed to be taking its toll on Jade.

She stopped and scrubbed at her arms. “She’s out there. I can feel her.”

“Are you certain it’s not another demon?” Ravyn asked, slipping a bolt into her crossbow.

“Yes, I’ve been with Rell long enough to know her irritating bite.” She walked to the window and peered out. “What is she doing out there?”

“Waiting,” Luc said.

She paced back to where he stood. “For what?”

“Until she’s ready to confront you.” He stood and took her shoulders in his hands. “Are you ready?”

Jade held his gaze for several seconds. “I have to be.”

They’d spent the day preparing the manor for the impending attack. Jacob had insisted that Delphina move the children to the inner chamber, where there were no windows. Using the instructions Ravyn had deciphered from the tomes, she’d warded the door. After that, she and Jade had cycled through the manor, weaving protection at any opening big enough to allow in the Bane.

Willa called forth her earth magic and cast protective spells around the grounds. Unfortunately, the manor spread for hundreds of acres. Even the gardens surrounding the manor were too big to fully ward. Many spots would not keep out the Bane.

Luc and his father had scoured the outbuildings, scavenging items they would need to construct an effective prison for Rell. After hours of discussing the connection between Esmeralda’s lifeless body and her demon form, Ravyn had convinced them that with the help of other Redeemers, there was a possibility they could transfer Esmeralda’s soul back into her Bringer body. Both Jade and Willa had only needed to hear this idea once before joining in on the preparations.

To construct a prison strong enough to hold a Bane was a daunting task. Though Luc could estimate Rell’s strength, having fought her, he didn’t know the full spectrum of her powers. In the end, they rigged an old bird cage–style brig, salvaged from one of Jacob’s ships, to hang from the ceiling in the middle of the drying house. Jade and Ravyn had left the cage unwarded. Once inside, the only way for Rell to get free would be for somebody to carry her out. In that same vein, the only way to get her into the cage was for somebody to carry her in. Luc doubted one of them could do the job on his own.

“It will work,” he said, holding Jade’s gaze. It didn’t matter if he believed that or not. She was ready to jump out of her skin at the slightest noise. “Trust us.”

“It has to work.” The last word rasped out.

He wanted to take her into his arms, but with everybody around, he didn’t know how she would react. He opened his mouth, but a shout from the front of the manor cut him off.

“Give me back my body.”

Everyone jumped to their feet. Delphina ushered the children into the room and shut the door. With no magical powers to draw on, they would be the most vulnerable. Willa would be next, but hopefully being Rell’s mother would stay the demon’s hand against her.

“I know you have it!” Anger laced Rell’s words. “Sha-hera told me.”

“Of course she did.” Luc strode toward the front door and flung it open.

Rell waited on the stretch of grass beyond the cobblestone drive, her wings flared. A faint path had been worn on the lawn where she had prowled back and forth. She stopped and glared at him. When Rhys, Ravyn, and Jade joined him, her bravado faltered, but it was Willa who stopped the demon in her tracks.

They needed to draw Rell closer, lure her within the range of their trap. If she sensed it was a trick, they would lose the element of surprise. Now everything was up to Jade and Willa.

Willa stepped toward the demon. “Hello, Esmeralda.”

“Mother?” Rell took a step forward, but stopped. “Why are you here?”

“For us.” Jade moved to stand beside Willa. “So we can be a family again.”

Rell shook her head. “Not us, you and her.”

“No, Esmeralda.” Willa kept her voice even, using Rell’s name to draw her in. “I love you both.”

The demon sneered. “You love this?” Rell held her arms out to display her demon form. “Everything Father used to fight against?”

“It’s not your fault,” Jade said. “We can help you.”

For the first time since Rell had barreled into his life, Luc saw real yearning to be accepted. “How—by freeing my soul?”

“Yes, but not by sending you through the Veil.” Jade and Willa took another step toward her. “Your body lives.”

Willa opened her arms. “Let us heal you and make you a Bringer again.”

Rell drifted forward. Only four more feet and she would be where they needed her to be.

“That’s not possible.” Three more feet. “And I will never be the daughter you lost.”

“I don’t need you to be the daughter I lost. I need you to be the woman you can be—without the darkness.”

Two feet. Luc glanced into the tree, where Siban waited, ready. He’d volunteered to take first shift after dinner and Luc had worried about how he would react when he saw a Bane. Not a few short months ago, Siban had refused to leave Alba Haven. Now here he was confronting the very creatures who had held him captive for nearly two years. Luc could not possibly comprehend the intractability it took for Siban not to slide into insanity, but he did grasp the strength the man possessed.

The Tell stared at the demon, unmoving, as if ready to pounce. Luc glanced away, not wanting to draw attention to the tree and praying that Siban stuck to the plan.

One foot. Rell stopped.

“And if this does not work?” the demon asked.

Neither Jade nor Willa were ready for that question. Their second of hesitation was all Rell needed to know that one way or another, she
would
be rid of her demon form. She crouched, preparing to launch. In a blur of movement, Siban tossed the net over Rell.

The Bane’s screeches pierced the night. Luc and Rhys leapt from the steps and tackled her as she thrashed about under the thick tangled webbing. Her clawing talons gouged at the men’s arms, but they managed to roll the net more tightly around her and finally pin her arms under the mass of rope.

With Rhys at her feet and Luc at the head, they hefted the net like a game bag and carried Rell toward the outbuilding. Her body convulsed and thrashed like a large fish out of water. The net slipped from Luc’s hands, his fingers clutching painfully at the net before Rell hit the ground, her curses spitting at them like venom from a sand cobra. He repositioned her body and secured a more firm finger hold before continuing toward the outbuilding.

Jacob ran ahead and opened the door. “You’ll need to get her out of the net first.”

“Easier said than done,” Rhys grunted when Rell gave a particularly firm kick.

“Watch out for her horns,” Luc said over Rell’s screams. “Father, we need manacles.”

Jacob ducked into the outbuilding while he and Rhys lowered her squirming body to the ground.

“Roll her over so she’s face down.” Luc straddled her and turned to Jade. “I need you to cut the rope just enough for me to get the shackles around her wrists.”

Jacob returned, dragging two thick sets of chains and manacles. Ravyn moved to stand on the other side of Luc and reached for the bonds. Working as a team, Jade cut a small hole in the layers of net near Rell’s hands while Luc immobilized her arms. Once finished, Ravyn took Jade’s place and snapped the restraints around the demon’s wrists.

“Now her feet.” He motioned with his head toward Rhys. “Do the same thing.”

Within minutes, Rell had been efficiently restrained and the net removed. To be on the safe side, Luc wrapped several lengths of rope around her chest to prevent her wings from opening. She now sat on the ground, silent and glaring.

Luc crouched in front of her, careful to not get within striking distance. She was still dangerous even though she was bound. “I am going to pick you up and carry you into this building. Inside is a cage where you will be housed until we can attempt to heal your human form.”

“And what makes you think your prison will hold me?” Rell hissed.

“Understand this.” His gaze held hers. “Once inside, you will not be able to touch anything but the cage that holds you.”

Fear flickered in her eyes but disbelief quickly replaced it. “You lie.”

“The entire building is sanctified.” He didn’t bother telling her the details of how it had been done. She didn’t need to know the nuances they’d discovered about warding. “If you place one talon on the ground, wall, door, or roof, your body will be incinerated.” He flicked an imaginary speck of dust from his sleeve. “I can’t say where you would end up, but I guarantee it won’t be pleasant.”

If she was not already the color, Luc would have sworn her complexion flushed to pale green. “So you wish to torture me now? For payback?”

“You will learn, Esmeralda, that some things you are forced to do are for your own good.” He risked her compliance and brushed a lock of hair over her shoulder. “Sometimes they are tough lessons, but ones that change your life.”

She made no reply and didn’t fight him when Jacob and Rhys helped Luc hoist her over his shoulder. He waited for her sharp fangs to sink into his back, but she did nothing, no attempt to get free, not a single complaint, not even a snide remark.

Jade and Ravyn held the cage steady while he lowered her inside. There was enough room for her and her wings, but no room to expand them. Rhys and Jacob reached through the bars and hauled her backward by the arms, allowing Luc to lock the door. Next Jade removed the rope from around Rell’s chest. Never once did the demon utter a word. Her gaze remained focused forward. She refused to look any of them in the face.

Luc released the manacles at her ankles while Rhys unlocked the bands at her wrists. Still she didn’t protest, merely rubbed her wrists and leaned against the bars.

Jade approached the cage. “You’ll thank us when this is over.”

The yellow reptilian gaze slowly moved to Jade, holding for a few seconds, and then refocused on the distant corner. Willa approached, but from the sizable distance she kept, Luc knew she was struggling with coming to terms with her Bane daughter.

“I do love you, Esmeralda.” Willa sniffed. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you again.”

Rell swallowed, clenching and unclenching her jaw. She may have been using silence as her defense, but Luc thought perhaps her mother’s words were having an effect.

“Rhys!”

Siban’s shout cut through the tense moment. Fire flared along Luc’s arms and instantly the Bringers broke into action.

Luc barreled out the door, shouting over his shoulder to whomever remained. “Lock her in.”

Screeches pierced the darkening sky. Luc skidded to a stop, the sight of swarming demons nearly paralyzing him. Jacob grabbed his arm and pulled him along behind him. “We need to move.”

A demon swooped, narrowly missing Jade. In one smooth action, Luc pulled the axe free from his waistband and threw it. With a heavy thud, the blade buried deep in the demon’s back, knocking it out of the sky. The creature hit the ground hard and exploded. A million sparks gathered and swirled, the first signs of a fiery vortex.

The smell of sulfur burned Luc’s nose, the heat from the flaring cloud searing his eyes. He grabbed Jade’s arm and scooped up the axe, dragging her away from the increasing pull of the spiraling band of fire. “Run!”

Everybody raced toward the manor, where Siban stood ready. Jacob and Siban would be at a disadvantage not having been brought to full power, but each could still be effective in the fight. The plan was that Jacob, Willa, and Delphina would defend the manor and give any aid they could, while Jade and Siban fought from within the warded areas.

“So this was Sha-hera’s plan,” Luc said. “To follow Rell and trap us all in one place.”

“We knew something was coming,” Jade picked up a crossbow and a quiver of arrows. “I just didn’t expect this many Bane.”

“It looks like her entire army,” Ravyn said.

Rhys scanned the sky. “At least now we have an idea of how big her forces are.”

The beast inside Luc roared with frustration at being kept contained. He shook his arms. “My dragon is being quite insistent.”

“I know what you mean.” Rhys turned to Siban and Jade. “Stay within the protected areas and send as many Bane as possible back to the Shadow World. Hopefully the warded weapons will have some effect on the demons.”

Siban turned and sprinted toward one of the hidden caches, but Jade hesitated, her eyes fixed on Luc. “Don’t be a hero.”

He pulled her to him and kissed her. Desperation and fear poured from her. She snagged her fingers in his tunic, clinging to him, and returned the kiss. But the moment was short lived. A demon dove and Ravyn spun, blasting the creature out of the sky.

Luc released Jade. “Don’t you be a hero either.”

She nodded, stepping away from him. Her stare drank him in for another second before she spun and dashed for the front of the manor.

Terror at the thought of losing her ripped through him. He
would
be back for her.

Luc tore his gaze from her departing back and turned. Rhys and Ravyn were already changing. The claws of Rhys’s black dragon pawed the ground, shredding the grass beneath them. Gigantic wings snapped outward and stretched, ready for flight. It swung its head to watch Ravyn, who was racing across the yard.

Luc had never seen her change and the sight was more glorious than he could have imagined. Ribbons of fire trailed from behind her, spreading orange light that crackled and popped along the ground. Demons swooped but banked away from her as if they had been burned. Fire sizzled along her body with a million glowing sparks. The flames flared and enveloped her like the closing petals of a flower. An instant later a phoenix burst forth and took to the sky.