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Drakat leaned against a tree in the Trócaire House garden. From a distance, her dark form looked like a shadow cast by the branches overhead. Even close up, most humans would never notice her unless she moved.
A parahuman, whether vampire, shifter, elemental or fae, would smell her before they saw her, but the breeze blowing past from the direction of the house reduced the chances of that happening, even if there were anyone outside at the moment.
As it happened, the garden was empty, so that possibility was nil.
The carved oak door swung open, and a couple came out. Drakat stiffened as she recognized the woman as Char. A witch, by the scent of oak and clove rolling past her on the breeze. The man who followed her was also a witch, though his scent was lighter.
Either he didn't practice as often or he had less power than Char. Either way, it was an interesting detail. I wonder what his name is.
The thought fled as the couple got into a vehicle. Melting to the ground in a long transparent shade, Drakat flowed over the grass to the car and attached herself to its shadow.
She didn't know where they were going, but she was determined to find out.
COLE TUGGED THE SEATBELT over his lap and shoved the tongue into the buckle with a sharp, metallic snap. "What's the plan here?
"Simple. We find Ryleigh and Nate, pick them up, go back to Trócaire House and figure out a way to safeguard Caraigama."
"Do you think it’s bound to her or Nate?"
I sighed. "I don't think so. Amaryllis said it isn't. At least not yet, but..." I let the thought trail away. We both knew the laws governing the control of soul stones. They could be given freely, inherited, or claimed by bloodright. As far as we knew, none of those aspects applied. Amaryllis had said as much, but she hadn't known Caraigama had been found, either, until I told her. "The most important thing is to keep it away from the Countess. The stone is dangerous even in hands pure as the driven snow. I don't even want to think about the uses a demon would put it to."
"'The Countess.' Interesting way to refer to a demon," Cole said.
"But accurate, according to Imogen."
A smirk touched his mouth, then faded. "And if the demon finds Ryleigh and Nate before we do?"
A shiver rippled through me. Having had a taste of her abilities, I had no desire to fight Drakat face to face, but I knew if it came down to it, I would. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
He absorbed that response thoughtfully. "I still think you need to rest before we do this." I opened my mouth to respond, then closed it as he continued. "I know we don't have time, but... Char, are you sure you're all right? When I heard you scream, I thought you were dying."
I forced a laugh. "It kind of felt like I was dying," I said. The memory of Drakat squeezing blood from her finger rocked through me and I sucked in a hasty breath. "I think she was trying to physically pull me through the portal she made. Lucky for me, I have Doirsain. Without the boost she gave me, I don't know if I'd have been able to keep the countess from doing it."
"We're here," Cole said.
From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw movement in the backseat, and I jerked the steering wheel left, pulling to the curb and bumping half onto the crumbling sidewalk.
Cole stared at me. "What are you doing?"
I looked over my shoulder to inspect the backseat and he followed suit.
Nothing but shadows and leather.
Dropping back into my seat, I unbuckled the seat belt. "Sorry. I thought I saw... something."
I looked out the window, taking in our surroundings. Long rows of dilapidated houses, no space between them, obviously abandoned and left to rot. The block looked like a single building from corner to corner, the individual houses sharing their outside walls. Broken windows stared over the cracked sidewalk, to the patchwork street beyond. Nothing moved.
I rolled down the window and listened. The silence was ominous.
Cole twisted around, rechecking the back seat. "I don't see anything, Char."
That doesn't mean nothing is there, Sasha said. Do you smell that?
I did. The stench of burning iron drifted from the back of the car as if we were in a foundry. My heart pounded as I reached one hand for Cole's and squeezed, hard. His gaze met mine and I willed him to understand my message. Keep quiet. Don't ask questions.
I killed the engine. "I need something to drink. Come in with me."
"From where? I don't—"
"Come in and get something. You need to hydrate," I insisted through gritted teeth.
"Hydrate." He stared at me for less than a second, but it was too long. Shadows erupted from the back seat, solidifying into Drakat, talons flashing, lips snarling.
"Cole," I yelled. "Get out!"
He shoved the car door open and rolled out onto the street, and I counted us both lucky the neighborhood was abandoned. If he'd done that a few streets back, oncoming traffic would have smashed him flat.
Drakat ignored him, rushing for the door I was shoving closed as Cole rolled to his feet. I gripped Doirsain through my shirt, pressing it to my skin even as Sasha shot free, leaving the stone behind. I really needed to fix the setting on the amethyst.
Drakat boiled out of the car, a mixture of smoke and mass, landing on the sidewalk in front of me and lashing out. Her talons raked the air a fraction of an inch from my throat as I jerked backward.
"Sciath," I shouted, and a transparent oval barrier sprang up between us, lavender swirling through it like mist. Her next blow scraped against it, and I looked into Drakat's surprised face for an instant before she planted both hands and shoved me backward, the shield on top of me.
With a screeching cry, Sasha dropped on her, his great, leathery wings beating the demon about the head as his talons dug into her shoulders. Roaring with rage, Drakat jerked upright. She grabbed Sasha around the neck and pulled the wyvern over her shoulder to slam him into the ground.
"Sasha!" I cried. Two loops of what might have been leather hung from the inside of the shield and I slipped my arm through them, lifting it into position as I struggled to my feet.
Grabbing Sasha's paws, the demon swung him around twice before letting the stunned wyvern go. Sasha hurtled through the air, crashed into a building and slumped to the ground in an unconscious heap.
"You'll want to pick your protectors more wisely in the future." Smirking, the demoness turned to me, taking in the shield on my arm now instead of simply curved over me. "That won't save you either." Drakat advanced toward me, lightning dancing across her knuckles.
"This isn't even the half of what I can do, Drakat. But since my friend is hurt, I'll offer you a deal. Leave us alone, let me tend to Sasha, and we'll let you go," I said, edging toward the sidewalk. Eerie silence settled over the street. Even the birds were quiet.
I caught a glimpse of movement from the house to my left as I stepped up onto the curb, and fought against reacting. A curtain twitched and I thought maybe we'd found Ryleigh and Nate. Don't come out.
"'Let me go?'" Drakat laughed. "You witches are an arrogant bunch, I'll give you that. But you've put your foot in my business. An example must be made." She made a throwing gesture and four-inch, jagged bolts of dark light hurtled at me, striking my shield and winking out. I felt each impact like rain on tin, but nothing made it through.
Drakat circled me and I turned in place, keeping the shield between us. "Interesting that lightning had no effect," she said as we moved. "Let's try something else."
She lifted her hands, but this time, instead of aiming at me, she pointed above my head. A stream of green-streaked-black flashed out and I ducked as it hit the building. Scorched brick rained down, and I crouched, bringing the shield over my head.
Drakat sent another slash of black darting under the lifted shield and it bounced against the pavement before it hit me, scraping a layer of flesh two inches wide from my calf. Pained seared through me and I cried out.
The demoness grinned. "Score two for me." She lifted one hand high and kept the other low, sending two bolts at once.
Adjusting my intention, I widened the shield, curving it down around me, feeding more ley line energy into it until it almost touched the ground.
"Clever girl, but you really should learn to use offensive magick as well as defensive. And never forget, demons own the underworld." She curled her fingers into claws and turned them palm up. Snakes surged up from the ground, black jaws gaping.
One latched onto my leg, another bit my arm and hung on as I screamed.
Drakat laughed. She seemed to have forgotten all about Cole.
This was a mistake.
"Drakat," he shouted from behind her. Blood trickled thinly from his hairline. My eyes widened as I took in the silver spear in his hands. It was a foot taller than his own lean height, and glowed faintly blue in the morning sun. Goddess knew what it would have looked like at night.
Drakat spun to face him and I didn't waste time wondering what exactly he'd asked Solcruth, his own soul stone, to create. Knowing Cole, it was something incredibly specific and effective.
At least I hoped so.
Tightening my grip on Doirsain, I pulled more power from the ley lines, channeling it directly through my body. If I'd tried it without Doirsain to protect me, taking on that much magickal force would have burned me to ash. As it was, the snakes dropped away to join their brethren, writhing on the ground before disintegrating into smoky wraiths. I hissed as the energy burned away the venom already in my body from their bites. At least I wouldn't die from snake-bite though.
Cole held the spear in both hands like a cudgel, spinning it in wide circles to keep Drakat from closing in on him. She lunged, growling, and Cole brought the shaft tight to his side, the sharp, double-edged end pointed at her, ready to allow Drakat to impale herself.
Seeing the danger, Drakat twisted out of the way at the last instant. The fabric over her ribcage ripped, displaying a long, thin streak of dripping green, her blood smoking as the air hit it.
The demon howled in pain and clapped a hand to her side. "Bastard," she screamed at him. "I'll take that pig-sticker and use it to hack your off head and eat it!"
"You can try." Cole was panting, but he kept on the balls of his feet, the spear held waist-high across his body. "But celestial steel will burn a hole in your hands long before you can use it on me, or anyone else."
Drakat stumbled back a step. "That is not— A human can't wield celestial steel," she said, her voice stiff with shock.
"'Know your enemy,' Sun Tzu." Cole quoted. He thrust the spear at Drakat, forcing her to leap aside or be skewered.
"'Always take your own advice before giving it away,' Drakat." She thrust out a hand, uttering a word in a language I didn't understand. A wave of dark energy surged out of her palm toward Cole.
A curse. She's trying to curse him to death. I jumped between them, reshaping the shield as I moved, curving it into a bowl shape. I caught the wave with the lower edge. The demon curse flowed into the bowl, redirected to flow back the way it had come.
Drakat shrieked as the curse hit her, oozing and stinking like rotted meat. "Bitch! I will kill you if it is my last act on this Earth," she screamed. Drakat clawed the air and a hole opened. Through it, I could see a round room, one wall lined with books, and a table in the center.
"She's escaping," I yelled.
Cole threw the spear, but Drakat was already through, and the portal closed. The spear flew past the place she'd stood, falling to the asphalt where the last fragments of the demon curse oozed in misshapen globs and rivulets.
"Sasha," I yelled, running to the fallen wyvern's side. His silver scales rose and fell with each breath, and by the look of it, he had no broken bones. The bruised scrape on the back of his head seemed to be the worst of it. "Sasha, wake up. Are you all right?"
One purple eye opened. My pride is severely bruised, but other than that... He trailed off, twisting cat-like to get his hind feet under him. No major injuries. I think I'll survive. You, on the other hand, may need a hospital.
He'd grown to a full seven or eight feet with a twenty-foot wingspan, half again Drakat's size, and still she'd thrown him down like an empty candy wrapper, but he thought I needed a hospital?
Reducing his size, Sasha returned to my necklace, curling around Doirsain and putting his head under his wing.
I took stock of my injuries. A scrape on my leg that burned like fire, but didn't interfere too much with my ability to move, two snake bites that already looked infected. Nothing else, and I breathed a sigh of relief both that it wasn't worse and that Cole hadn't been badly injured.
What the hell are we up against?
