Band of Demons (The Sanheim Chronicles, Book Two) (40 page)

“In a minute, Elyssa will kill your boy and then your tune will change,” Aillen said.

He spat fire at her. She brought up the shield just in time, felt the heat but nothing more. She pressed forward again. Kate knew her power was ending, could feel midnight almost at hand. Her powers, too, were sorely drained from the effort of calling the soldiers. And yet she felt exultant. There was no doubt in her mind that Quinn would finish Elyssa—that they had won.

She smiled as their blades clashed and began pushing him back toward the trees. She let forth a furious barrage of blows, felt her momentum carrying the day. Sawyer was counterattacking less and less, his posture becoming more defensive.

In her mind’s eye, she could see Quinn begin his final charge toward Elyssa, then watched as he sliced off her head.

The effect on Aillen was immediate. He cried out in pain and fell to one knee.

“No!” he screamed.

Kate never let up, but continued to press her advantage.

He blocked and blocked again. Through the clash of swords, she thought she saw something unexpected—tears running from his red eyes.

She had no intention of stopping. She knew Quinn would ride toward her to help her. She thought to save this moment for him, but decided against it. Even as Quinn turned to talk to someone, Kate stopped playing with the broken monster in front of her.

With her left arm, she hurled the shield directly at him, a move he didn’t expect. He tried to use his sword to block it, but only succeeded in having the sword knocked out of his hand.

Kate didn’t hesitate. She took her sword and plunged it through Aillen’s heart.

She saw his shock and felt a sense of victory so complete it was almost overwhelming.

Aillen seemed to shrivel up before her. The silver in the sword infected his whole body. It spread out from his heart, racing along his arms, his torso, and finally through his face. Sawyer gave her one final look of pure hate—and then turned to dust.

Kate shouted in triumph.

We did it!
She thought to Quinn.
We’ve won.

Kate…

We’ve beaten him.

I’m so sorry, my love.

Only then did she reach out with her mind and saw Quinn staring at the ground in front of him, looking at the knife in his chest.

Kate started screaming and running across the field.

*****

Kieran looked at Sanheim.

“The deal has been fulfilled,” he said, his voice catching in his throat as he watched Quinn slowly die in front of him. “Give her back to me. You promised.”

But Sanheim just smiled.

“Of course,” he said. “Just wait a few minutes, and you’ll join her shortly.”

“What?” Kieran asked. “When Kate finds out, she’ll kill me. She’ll…”

His voice drifted off.

“Come now, Charles,” Sanheim said. “What did you think was going to happen? I’d give her back to you and you’d live happily ever after?”

“You promised,” Kieran said. “You made a deal.”

“And I will honor it,” he said. “Once you are in my domain. Once you’re dead.”

Kieran stared at the man, heard screaming from the field and knew that Kate was heading his way.

“You’ll regret this,” he said to Sanheim.

He didn’t know if he could make it, but he knew he had no real options. He jumped over the edge of the bluff, hoping the fall wouldn’t kill him.

By the time Kate reached Quinn, Kieran and Sanheim were gone.

*****

Kate held him in her arms. He tried to speak but couldn’t. She knew he was fighting dying with every last ounce of effort—for her.

Wanted to say goodbye
, he managed to say in her mind.

Don’t go
, Kate said.
Please don’t go.

No choice
, he said.

He looked up at her. Tears ran down her cheeks.

I knew from the moment I saw you in that coffee shop
, he said.
You are the love of my life.

I love you so much,
Kate thought.

She saw the light go out of his eyes, felt his body go limp.

“No,” she screamed. “No! Quinn. Please! Don’t leave me here! Please!”

But Quinn didn’t respond. His body lay motionless in her arms.

Slowly, she reached down, closed his eyes and sobbed.

“Ma’am,” a voice said behind her.

She didn’t look up. She knew it was Clinton Hatcher.

“We have to leave,” he said. “But we have prisoners. They’re human again. What do you want me to do with them? Are they still a threat?”

Kate didn’t think about her choice. No other option crossed her mind.

She looked at the spirit, knowing it was only a moment until Halloween was over.

“Kill them,” Kate replied. “Kill them all.”

And the night was alive with the sounds of screaming—and then silence.

Epilogue

The patient sat at the table, arms and legs still restrained.

“Quinn?” the first doctor asked. “Can you still hear us?”

The second one made notes on a pad of paper.

“Patient has been unresponsive for 10 minutes,” he said. “I think that’s it for the day. I’m sorry, Dr. Collins. I’m sure it’s disappointing to come all this way. You may have better luck tomorrow—if you can stay that long.”

The man sighed, looked disappointed.

“No, I’m afraid I can’t,” he said. “I have a conference I need to attend.”

“I don’t think we’ll get much more today.”

“It’s quite all right,” the man said. “You gentlemen can go ahead. I may just wait for another few minutes to see if I can’t coax the patient back into talking.”

“It’s against procedure to leave a doctor alone with this particular patient. We made that mistake early on—Dr. Miller here was nearly critically injured.”

“Gentlemen, the patient is restrained,” the man replied. “I’ll be fine. I don’t intend to stay very long in any case.”

The two doctors conferred in low voices. For a minute, the man was certain he would be denied, wondered what his plan would be then. Instead, Dr. Miller nodded in his direction. The two doctors looked briefly at the patient, then left the room.

The man stared at the patient.

“Quinn?” he asked. “Can you hear me?”

The patient didn’t look up.

“Quinn?” the man asked again. “We need to talk.”

The patient was staring at a spot on the table.

“Kate,” the man said finally. “Kate, you need to look at me.”

The patient stirred at that. The man saw eyes blinking, signs of life returning.

“Kate?” the man said. “Kate, look at me!”

“I’m not Kate,” the patient said, looking up. “My name is Quinn O’Brion.”

“I know it seems that way,” the man said. “Believe me, I know what this is like. But Quinn’s dead, Kate. Quinn’s been dead for three months.”

“No,” the patient said. “No.”

“Yes, Kate,” the man replied patiently. “He died on the battlefield. You can still hear him in your head. It’s like that at first. I know. I remember. I spent the first few years seeing her in the mirror every day, staring back at me where my reflection should have been. You have his memories, his personality, still inside of you. Sometimes it’s overwhelming.”

“Your reflection?” the patient asked, seeming more alert and engaged. “Who are you?”

“Who do I look like, Kate?” the man asked.

“You seem… familiar,” the patient said. Then her eyes widened, a gasp escaped her lips. She suddenly pushed forward, straining against her restraints.

“You bastard,” she said. “You fucking bastard. You killed me.”

“No,” the man replied. “I killed Quinn. You’re still alive.”

The comment seemed to shake the patient from her slumber. She blinked rapidly. For a minute, her eyes were wild, unfocused. Then they settled on the man in front of her.

Her lips curled back and her expression became almost savage. But for the first time in months, she was fully awake.

“Kieran,” she said and it came out like a hiss. “I’ll kill you, I swear it. My powers will come back one day. Then I’ll hunt you down.”

The man seemed unbothered by her reaction.

“I don’t doubt it, Kate,” Kieran said. “But you need to understand something first.”

“What could you possibly say to me?”

“I said I know what it’s like to lose your other half,” Kieran said. “My name—my real name—is Charles Kieran Collins. I was known as C.K. I was one half of the Prince of Sanheim 30 years ago. I was your predecessor.”

“But you said…”

“I lied, Kate,” Kieran said. “Remember I said that only one Prince of Sanheim had ever surrendered to another? I was that Prince.”

“I don’t understand.”

“They killed her, Kate,” Kieran said. “We were going to fight. But Grace found out about Elyssa and me and stormed out. It was a trap. Sawyer was waiting for her. He murdered her in cold blood. I was hell-bent on revenge—didn’t care that I would die. But it was already Halloween and Sanheim appeared. He offered me a deal. He offered me a chance to get Grace back.”

“You served them? You served the ones who killed Grace?”

“Yes,” Kieran said. “I did. Because I thought that if I helped defeat them, Sanheim would give Grace back to me.”

Kate started laughing. It was a bitter, broken sound.

“You absolute fool,” she said. “Why would you trust a single thing that man said?”

Kieran shook his head.

“For a long time, I convinced myself he would honor our agreement,” he said. “Even when I killed Quinn, I thought he might actually do it. But in my heart, I knew better.”

“But you killed Quinn anyway!” Kate said.

She pushed against the restraints again.

“Yes,” Kieran replied. “But I was making other plans as well.”

“I don’t care,” Kate said. “Nothing you say matters anymore. You killed Quinn. When I’m out of here, I will feast on your heart.”

“Listen to me very closely,” Kieran said.

“I’m going to kill you, Kieran,” Kate replied. “If I have to kill everyone in this facility on my way out, I will kill you.”

“Kate?”

“I swear it,” she said.

“Sanheim thinks this is over,” Kieran said. “He thinks he beat me—betrayed me and left me to die at your hands.”

“He’s right,” Kate said.

“No, he’s not,” Kieran replied. “Don’t you see? It’s the same cycle playing out over and over. Sawyer loses Anne and will do anything for his revenge. I lose Grace, and betray you and Sawyer to get her back. You lose Quinn and kill me. We have to break the cycle, Kate. It’s the only way.”

“I don’t care about any of that,” Kate said.

“But you should. Because I know something Sanheim doesn’t.”

“What?” Kate said, and it came out as a snarl. “What could you possibly know?”

“You are the last, Kate,” Kieran said. “I didn’t know what it meant before, but now I do. It changes everything. I know where Quinn is. I know how to get him back.”

THE END

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Band of Demons
is the second book in a trilogy called
The Sanheim Chronicles
. The third book,
Give the Devil His Due
,
was published on Oct. 1, 2013, for
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