twenty-six

Tegan stalked through the castle, every hair on edge. Adriel walked beside him, his face grim. His knuckles were bloody from having dealt with Lucille. He’d tried to get more answers from her, but all she’d done was laugh. The blood-curdling sound had been echoing through the hall by the time Adriel had stepped out.

Flexing his fingers, the demon asked, “Do you really think Rico is a double agent?”

“I don’t know,” Tegan said as they headed for the elevator, “but until I’m sure, he goes nowhere alone.”

The king bent his neck from side to side, his bones cracking as he did so. “Shall I imprison him?”

Tegan’s brows furrowed as he glanced at the demon. It wasn’t like Adriel to ask for permission. Normally, he would just issue a decree and then force it should anyone disagree. But then again, he reasoned, Rico was one of his. Diplomacy wasn’t completely ignored by drazics. Just mostly.

“No,” the berserker said with a shake of his head. “I want answers first.”

Adriel’s eyes narrowed even as he nodded. It was obvious that he hadn’t liked Tegan’s answer. But again, he didn’t push. The berserker’s frown deepened.

Lifting his knuckles to his lips, the demon licked the blood clean off. “But how will you go about getting them? Sebastian’s men are loyal. They love him. You’ll never get one to talk.”

Just like Lucille hadn’t. Just like all of Sebastian’s people didn’t. To even join his ranks, one had to undergo severe torture to prove their loyalty. It was why Tegan had pulled out every mole he’d had in the vampire’s camp. There was still one double agent left, but he or she wasn’t an Elv’ve’Nor. And according to Jack, they would not be anything soon. Charlie had unknowingly revealed their existence while trying to get her son back. Sebastian would find them and he would kill them… If he hadn’t already.

“Gabriel can unravel Rico’s secrets,” he explained.

“That bastard is here?” Adriel sneered. Looking at Tegan, he hurriedly added, “I’d thought he’d left.”

“He did, but Xeno can call him back.”

“Xeno…” His voice was cold enough to burn. “Wasn’t she with Lucille thirteen years ago?”

Tegan flicked him a glance, wondering if the demon knew she was the angel he was looking for. The one whose blood had been in the holy grenade that had nearly killed him. The one who Charlie had used to make the angel hybrids that had destroyed the entrance to Hel’s Exit.

“What are you getting at?” Tegan asked.

The king frowned. “I’m only thinking… Sebastian is smart; he’s played you like a fool every step so far. What’s to say Rico is his only agent? What if Xeno had been converted to his cause?” He paused. “I mean, don’t you think it’s a mighty fine coincidence? Sebastian survived in the shadows for over three thousand years only to get caught by three demons barely past their ascensions? Demons who just happened to stumble upon his lair?”

Tegan’s gut tightened.

“Sebastian was there in the end,” Adriel purred. “So how did they escape one so powerful?”

Fuck.

He didn’t want to believe it, but it made sense. Xeno was the one who had suggested giving Emma up to Sebastian. She was the one who had demanded to speak to Lucille, which had ended with two of his agents dead. She had even come right out and said it: I will not stand with them.

Tegan shook his head. No. Gabriel would have known if something wasn’t right with her…wouldn’t he? Or was he in on it too? An archangel had cured Elizabeth, after all. Left infected, she would have had godlike powers for a week, but she also would have died soon after. And Sebastian was playing the long game. Tegan was certain of it.

His steps faltered. But what if she wasn’t even Xeno anymore? Her personality was completely different. She used to smile. She used to laugh. But she didn’t now. He’d assumed it was because of the trauma she had gone through, but what if it was something else? What if Sebastian had killed Xeno and replaced her with a skinwalker?

It would explain her dwindling powers. For unlike a trickster, a skinwalker wasn’t mortal. They were born from the shadows of the titans and so could access the power of their hosts. They couldn’t do it for long and it was always a dwindling supply, but Xeno hadn’t been at full strength since she’d been rescued.

If it had even been a rescue…

His sixth sense churning, the berserker picked up his pace. He wanted to believe that this was impossible, that Xeno was truly loyal to the cause, but he’d been wrong before. He had trusted Zedric and Koran once upon a time and look what had happened there. He’d lost three full teams in seconds and the others had needed the power of a god to survive.

Tegan wouldn’t make that mistake again. Sebastian had gone through a lot of trouble to make sure Lucille ended up in the right prison, and he needed to know why.

Galvanor, call a meeting in the main living room, he commanded as he and Adriel stepped into the elevator. Everyone is to be there, even the four slaves.

They had just passed the sixth floor when Galvanor replied, I can’t find Rico and Adriel isn’t responding.

Tegan froze as all of his senses tuned in to the man behind him. His eyes stayed forward though. His hands stayed relaxed at his sides.

Galvanor was still fairly weak, he reasoned. The king was relatively old. Adriel probably had a natural mental block that the persapic couldn’t pass in his current state…

And yet, Tegan’s sixth sense told him that that was bull shit.

Galvanor, he said slowly. Where’s Adriel?

On the eighth floor –

Tegan bolted into action, but he wasn’t fast enough. Adriel had already been standing behind him so he’d had an advantage. Grabbing Tegan’s head, the king slammed it into the closed doors.

Blood splattered as Tegan’s nose cracked. Throwing an elbow behind him, he slammed it into Adriel’s side. The king hissed; his hands relaxed, confirming that it wasn’t really him. Adriel would have suffered the pain to keep his grip.

Pivoting, Tegan kicked out in front of him. His foot landed square in the man’s stomach, knocking him into the other side of the elevator. The metal crumbled beneath his weight.

An unsettling roar filled the box as the demon rose to his feet and dug his claws into his own chest. In one swift motion, he ripped the skin away as if it had been a threadbare shirt.

Eyes widening, Tegan watched as Lucille stepped out of the carnage. She was bloodied from head to toe. An eye was missing, as was half her face.

“Surprise, surprise,” she purred. Flexing her arms, she unsheathed her claws and jumped for him on a scream. He spun out of her way, barely missing being cut open from his chin to his navel.

Laughing wildly, she slammed her fist into the buttons. The elevator chimed as its doors started to open.

Desperately, Tegan lunged forward in an attempt to stop her from escaping. He grabbed her around the waist, causing her to stumble forward. Snarling, she dug her claws into his back and used his momentum to flip him over her head. Gods, she was strong.

As he slid across the floor, Tegan had one coherent thought. The bitch wasn’t a fucking vampire.

With a wild cackle, Lucille jumped on top of him before he could regain his feet. She slammed her fist through his chest. Digging around his ribcage, her fingers searched for his heart.

Before she could find it, he curled up at his waist and crossed his legs around her neck. He slammed his legs back down, keeping her locked in their embrace. As she fell backwards, her hand popped out of his chest, but not before she’d snapped off one of his ribs.

Screaming, Lucille stabbed him with his own bone. She pierced his shin once, twice, three times before he finally released her. His Rage wanted to rip free, but Tegan refused to give in to it. If Lucille changed her form again, he needed to be lucid enough to notice.

“You fucker!”

Scrambling to her feet, she raced across the open foyer. Tegan tried to follow, but by the time he managed to drag himself onto his knees, she was already gone.

Galvanor, he said weakly. Get everyone to the fifth floor. He broke off as he tried to stand. Lucille, he panted, is loose and she can change forms. She’s not a vampire.

We’re on our way.

Gritting his teeth, Tegan looked down at his leg. He grabbed the rib bone sticking out from just below his knee. A gasp escaped him as soon as he touched it. Fuck, this was going to hurt. With a deep breath, he ripped it free.

His leg buckled. Agony shot through him as he fell back to the ground. Stars dotting his vision, blood poured from his lips and chest. Groaning, Tegan took a moment to catch his breath. Sweat beaded on his forehead, then ran down his nose and dripped onto the floor.

A rush of footsteps echoed up the stairs. Then there was the wrench of a door and quite a few shouts of his name.

Hurrying over to him, Rogan helped him to his feet as Xeno began to heal his chest wound.

“What happened?” Pyro demanded.

“Lucille –”

He was cut off by a scream. Hunter was standing in front of the elevator, looking at the carnage of Adriel’s flesh.

“Hel’s fire. Adriel!” Rahu roared as he rushed forward.

“It’s not him,” Tegan informed them. He wasn’t sure if Adriel was dead upstairs, but he was certain that the skin in the elevator wasn’t actually his. Skinwalkers were the only race that literally took the skin off their victims. They were insanely strong, like Lucille had been, but they also didn’t look human. They were monsters living in mortal flesh, whereas Lucille was –

Fuck, he didn’t know what she was, but she wasn’t a skinwalker. Normally that statement would be cause for celebration, but not today. Not when he knew she was most likely something far, far worse.

“You better start talking,” Pyro growled.

“We don’t have time. Lucille was planted here by Sebastian.”

“That’s impossible. Matakyli –”

“She what? Just happened to stumble upon Sebastian’s hideaway when nobody had been able to find him for over three millennia?”

The demon’s eyes narrowed. “Even if you’re right, which you’re not, Lucille is as weak as an eknor demon. She couldn’t have done –”

“She’s not a vampire! Look, whatever Sebastian wants her to do, it’s going down today. We need to find her and stop her before that happens.”

Pyro’s jaw clenched, but he nodded in agreement. Before Tegan could start issuing orders though, a loud shriek blared overhead. Hel’s Exit was calling.

“Fuck!”

“Take Emma!” Rogan commanded. He knew that that was the safest place she could be. With her ability to control the dead, she’d be better off with them than with a crazed lunatic following Sebastian. “I’ll stay here this time.”

Nodding, Pyro headed for the stairs. Emma was in her bedroom and the only place he could phase was to Hel’s Exit. After throwing one last look at the mess in the elevator, Rahu vanished into thin air.

“So if she’s no vampire, then what is she?” Rogan demanded.

“I don’t know, but she’s strong.”

“Jesus Christ! Is that your bone?” Hunter stared at the broken rib at Tegan’s feet. “Fuck, that’s your bone,” he said with a shake of his head. Pulling out his gun, he knocked off the safety.

Ignoring Hunter’s outburst, Tegan addressed them all. “We move in threes. If you see anyone alone or in pairs, shoot first and ask questions later. I don’t know how she can do it, but Lucille can change her shape and Rico… I don’t even know if that was really Rico we brought back. So you trust no one alone or in a pair.”

Jack turned to Charlie and Tony. The kaprosuchus was with them too. Without a word, he touched the three of them and phased away. In another second he was back.

Everyone looked at him warily. Hunter even raised his gun a little. Xeno stepped in front of him, her hands bathed in a light glow.

“Oh, yeah, fuck.” Jack shrugged. “Well Lucille can’t phase, can she?”

Tegan had no idea, but he wasn’t ruling it out. Until they knew what she was, he’d act as if she had every godsdamn ability out there.

“You” –he nodded at Adriel’s lifemate– “and I will go with Jack,” he said finally. Looking at the others, he directed, “Split up the slaves. Which of you four is the strongest?”

“I am,” Adriel’s lifemate said.

“Who’s next?”

“Me,” one of the new demon slaves answered.

“Then you’re with Xeno and Hunter. Now let’s move.”

They fanned out. Galvanor, Rogan, and one of the new slaves stayed in the foyer, guarding the only exit off this floor. The other three teams swept through the master suites. There were six of them and each had two levels. It was going to take time to cover them all, but it was inevitable that they’d find Lucille in the end. She had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

Following her blood trail, Tegan stopped at the door it disappeared under. He and Jack stood against the wall on either side of it. Everyone else kept their eyes peeled on the other doors in case this was a trap.

Pulling his sword, Tegan then nodded at Jack. Moving swiftly, he breached the room, his eyes sweeping for any sign of a target. Seeing nothing, he followed the bloody footprints up the stairs. Jack and Adriel’s lifemate trailed behind him, the latter holding the same knife the king had ordered her to use on herself earlier.

Galvanor, are you feeling anything? Tegan asked as he reached the top of the stairs. There were six doors ahead of them and Lucille’s bloody trail had mysteriously disappeared.

No.

A scream erupted from another suite. Shooting a look at the other two, Tegan vaulted over the banister. He landed on his feet on the ground floor. Pain ricocheted through his chest. Xeno had healed his wound to the best of her ability, but she hadn’t been able to regrow the bone Lucille had taken.

Shoving his sword into the carpet, Tegan used it to help himself to his feet. He staggered to the door, then into the hall. Malphas, the only slave Adriel had kept from before, ran towards him. Horror twisted his face. There was a large gash across his chest.

Pointing behind him, he gasped, “She…she…”

Tegan looked in the direction of the suite Malphas had come from. The door was hanging off its hinges. He could see a blood stained sofa from where he was, but little else.

Focusing on the room, Tegan was caught off guard when Jack shoved him aside. The berserker staggered a few steps as the god pulled a blade out of thin air and slammed it into the demon’s stomach.

Jack wrenched the knife sideways, twisting it to do as much damage as possible. The scream that came out of Malphas’ mouth stopped Adriel’s lifemate in her tracks. It wasn’t a masculine scream. It was feminine and raw.

The illusion of Malphas vanished in the blink of an eye. A dark haired lass collapsed against Jack, her mouth gaping in her struggle to breathe. Tegan swore as he realized that this woman wasn’t Lucille. She had to be the trickster that had fooled them into believing she was Rico, which meant –

“Rogan!” Tegan shouted as he swirled to face the stairs, the only exit off this floor.

The elementalist was down on his knees, a hand clasped to his neck. Blood dripped down his chest as he gritted his teeth. The slave behind him stood still in shock, but Galvanor collapsed like a puppet without strings.

Tegan’s heart jolted as he took everything in in the split second he had to react. Someone said something behind him, but he wasn’t listening. He was already bolting for the stairs, his pulse hammering in his ears.

Xeno would heal Rogan. Jack would deal with the female trickster who had distracted them while Lucille had escaped. The others would be behind Tegan or they wouldn’t, but he didn’t care.

Because Galvanor hadn’t fallen from a wound. There had been no blood on his skin, no wound. He had simply passed into the astral plane, revealing a secret that he had kept highly guarded for years.

And there was only one reason Galvanor would do that.

Lucille must have given him reason to believe that she was heading for Matakyli. The demoness was in the hospital ward…and so was Phoebe.