To Summon a Demon (10 page)

reawakened her to the pleasures of life.

Gaap bled from half a dozen wounds. Both thighs and one bicep seeped, and one particularly strong zap had pierced his neck. Yet he stood strong and ready to attack.

Why wasn’t Leraye helping Gaap out?

Lili glanced surreptitiously up into the oak’s canopy. Leraye seemed frozen. Nothing moved. She watched him from the corner of her eye, unwilling to give away his presence to the Fae but needing to understand.

She counted twenty blinks of her own eyes before realizing that he was truly frozen. Some force compelled him to an absolutely solid form. Nothing twitched or moved at all.

It was up to her.

Her fingers curled under her sleeve around the iron dagger that she’d stolen from the Demons as they had loaded up on weapons before coming to the clearing.

“Why me?” Gaap asked conversationally.

“Take out the leader and the entire regiment will fall,” the Fae mocked. “You know this.”

“Fight like a warrior,” Gaap taunted. “Instead of hiding behind a pretty, shimmery shield.”

“You think I'm that stupid?” The Fae hissed and threw another bolt of electricity at Gaap which pierced the leather on his chest with a vicious slice.

Her Demon didn’t even flinch.

“We want you gone,” the Fir Bolg assassin snarled.

“I’m thrilled to realize I’m that much of a pain in the ass.”

“Back to the depths of Hell from whence you were banished before. The world is in complete disarray. We're practically back to the stone age.”

With every step the Fae took, Lili’s resolve strengthened. She would not let the Fae win.

“What will it take for you to surrender to your fate?” the Fae said.

Lili bristled.

Gaap threw another iron star. The sparks as the iron hit the shield lit the darkened clearing like fireworks in the sky.

The darkened clearing.

She had to gamble, had to hope this would work. Hope that she could save Gaap. She refused to be his destroyer. Lili studied the shimmering shield that protected the Fae and lit the clearing.

And knew what she had to do.
I love you
, she sent to Gaap.

And then she said, “He fears the dark.”

The crushing sense of betrayal squeezed his chest. She had taken his darkest secret and revealed it to the Fae.

You bitch.
Love? That was not love. Rage roared through his brain cutting off all other thought.

“Ah, and here I was beginning to think you’d had a change of heart.” The evil laugh that came out of the Fae curled through Gaap’s bones.

“Not a chance.” Her amethyst eyes were fierce, as sharp and lethal as the geodes beneath the Earth’s surface. “I want revenge.”

So did he. This final treachery broke him. As if he could literally hear the crack, his heart rent in two. He had waited for Leraye to strike, taking the small hits, trying to lure the Fae into complacency. But the time to act was now. What the hell was Leraye doing?

Gaap shifted his attention from the Fae to Lili. Her face was white, miserable. Sorrow haloed her body like a shield.

A shield
.

The anticipation on the Fae's face was priceless.

The clearing went stone cold dark. The Fae had dropped his glimmering light shield.

For an instant Gaap was plunged into that deep well of fear before instinct kicked in.

As he threw himself to the ground in a barrel roll, he reached unerringly for the throwing stars.

Gaap heard the whisper in his mind.
Trust me.

Her blade whooshed through the air.

The iron knife embedded in the Fae’s black heart and light poured from the mortal wound to illuminate the clearing once again.

A new unit of Fir Bolg assassins swarmed over the Faery mound.

As one, they converged on Lili.

She dropped to the ground, covered her head, and tried to protect her body from the physical blows they rained down upon her.

Thank Gods, they must not have the electric pulse weapon capabilities like their leader. It took a very strong magick talent to focus the pulse. Even so, Lili and Gaap were still outnumbered.

Gaap began to throw the iron stars left and right and he felled several Fae as he ran toward her.

But Gaap didn’t have enough weapons to slay them all.

Things slowed preternaturally, the sound of the crickets in the early evening air, the happy babble of the stream tripping over the rocks, the thuds and grunts as the assassins beat up his defenseless Lili. She had given up her purloined weapon to save him.

She did love him.

And Gaap knew what to do.

Hold your breath when I tell you.
He pushed the words toward her, calling on his power even as he struggled against his weakened system. Blood trickled from multiple wounds. He’d forgotten that in this clearing his body’s ability to heal was stunted.

The rush of the water grew louder.

The glorious sensation of power welled up within him. Magick from the rising moon gave him strength, and Gaap concentrated on the burgeoning water. His power swelled as he commanded the water to come to him.

Gathering force, the small stream from the brook transformed into a giant tidal wave.

The roar of the water began to distract the assassins as the wave built and built and built until it crested at over a hundred feet.

If there was one thing the Fae feared more than iron, it was water.

“Now,” Gaap roared as the wave broke and rushed toward the Fae assassins. The thunderous crash shook the clearing.

The Fae assassins screamed and ran out of the enchanted glade. If the mighty swath of water touched them, they would be dead. Gaap grinned ferociously, as they scattered like terrified mice. The slower ones drowned in the fury of his wrath.

As the wave ebbed back toward the creek, Lili’s limp body bobbed on the surface of the water along with the slain Fae. Struggling through the pain from the multitude of wounds, Gaap ran toward her. Her black hair floated in an obscene halo around her head. She lay unmoving in the swirling death wave, the utter stillness of her body a warning that she hadn’t escaped the water's fury.

Fear trapped in his throat. He scanned the area, his gaze constantly moved, searching for any assassins foolish enough to stay.

“Gods, Lili.” She floated on top of the Faery mound, where she lay silent and still as death. Gaap finally reached her and ran his hands over her as he silently begged the Gods for her life.

There were no Gods in the clearing to hear him.

Gaap rolled Lili onto her side and pounded her back until she began to cough in harsh, wracking sobs. Her dress was plastered to her body, ripped where the Fae had scored her skin. Her beautiful face was already beginning to turn black and blue. Huge bruises marred the proud tilt of her cheekbones, and her soft, beautiful mouth was swollen and misshapen.

Gaap lifted her into his arms. He was amazed at how slight her body felt in unconsciousness.

Her breath rattled in her throat as he raced to the oak tree. Her lashes were dark against the fragile skin of her cheeks. Looking up into the leafy canopy of the oak tree, he could see Leraye frozen solid.

“Faery spell.” Her voice croaked out of her throat.

He needed to get Leraye down from the tree. “Leave me,” Lili said.

The massive roots of the oak tree split the ground like veins popping from skin. He lay Lili down and nestled her between the rifts. His heart filled with love. “Thank you for saving me.” Gaap brushed a tender kiss over her battered mouth.

A flash of power sparked through him.

Gaap climbed toward his frozen friend. He kept the water swirling in a gentle whirlpool on the ground, to keep away the Fae while he rescued his friend. When he reached Leraye, he pressed a hand to his skin. Warm to the touch. Gaap placed his hand over his friend’s chest and felt his heart beating in a slow, somnolent rhythm. But no breath passed through his nose and his eyes were static and vacant as if his spirit were gone.

Gaap pushed his shoulder into the hard, rigid muscles of Leraye’s stomach and heaved him onto his shoulder. Since Leraye had been frozen in a crouch, the maneuver wasn’t as difficult as it could have been.

He vaulted carefully to the ground, grunting under his friend's dead weight. Gaap placed him carefully on the ground and wondered what sort of magic could keep Leraye frozen in stasis.

He had to get them all out of the clearing.

No way in hell would he leave Lili. He couldn’t leave her. She was more than just a means to an end. With her courage and fierce will to survive, she’d filled a place in his heart he hadn’t even realized was empty. But he couldn’t leave Leraye here either.

The Fae were going to be angry at the loss of their head commander and the Fir Bolg assassins.

The Demons must be more on guard than ever.

His wounds continued to bleed, like tiny rivers through the leather and cotton of his clothing. His head swirled and stars danced in his vision.

He didn’t have much time left.

Gaap placed Lili on top of his friend. She had passed out again. He wiped the sweat from his eyes, surprised when his fingers came away coated with blood.

Gaap blinked.

He wasn’t healing.

Gaap drew on his magick power and with a super effort, he lifted the Leraye and Lili into his arms and trudged toward the edge of the clearing. With every step the strain on his muscles increased. Fatigue ripped at his legs. His wounds oozed warm trails of blood over his skin.

A Demon battalion lay just beyond the magickal barrier of the clearing. The plan had been for Leraye, secreted in the oak, to contact the army when the time was right. Clearly the plan had failed.

All he needed was to bring one soldier into the Faery enclave and he’d be able to take his friend and his lover home. As he stumbled nearer to the barrier of the clearing, the sky brightened.

Light from the full moon illuminated the forest.

Gaap trudged forward. He only needed to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

His lungs burned. His muscles had passed the point of fatigue and become like bricks. His fingers cramped at holding onto their weight but he knew if he let go he wouldn’t be able to pick them up again.

Gaap stumbled over a tree root. His knees hit the ground with a thud. The impact sang up his body and brought a new level of pain to his deadened limbs. Blood ran into his left eye and obscured his vision.

He sent messages to his limbs to get up. But his legs refused to obey. A strong gust of wind swirled through trees and the force pushed him over. His body hit the ground in a jarring thump.

Gaap groaned.

He had to get up. His vision hazed. But, he refused to fail.

Until he got them out of this clearing, they were all in danger.

Lili moaned. He thought about that surge of power a few moments ago and the boost in energy he’d experienced.

Could it be?

Vetis, the Demon of Corruption, had insisted that love was enhancing his energy but Gaap hadn’t really believed him.

Gaap leaned over Lili. Her eyelids lifted and she stared at him blearily, her amethyst gaze filled with pain. “Kill me with a kiss,” she demanded.

He had to try. His strength was nearly gone.

Gaap pressed his lips to hers. He poured his love into the gentle kiss, but he didn't want to hurt her. Her lips clung to his as a tear tracked down her sweet, battered face.

A surge of power nearly knocked him down. The energy was so great his body buzzed with a surfeit until Lili lost consciousness again.

Lili lay on a bed of soft goosedown feathers, the satin slippery against her battered body. Gods, she ached. Everywhere. The region around her heart was the worst.

Emptiness surrounded her like a cloak.

Sorrow sucked at her heart. Warm tears trailed down her cheeks. The emotions she’d thought dead and buried with Brian wrapped around her heart and squeezed her so tightly that her breath barely passed her lips. Her last memory was of waiting for Gaap to strike her down.

The salt from her tears stung the cuts and bruises on her face.

The physical pain brought her an emotional comfort she needed. She deserved pain, deserved abandonment for her betrayal. He’d spared her life, an unnecessary kindness. But after her betrayal, how would she ever live with herself?

She curled into her body and absorbed the scents and sounds around her. The covers were soft beneath her. The ocean waves shush-shushed as they lapped at the sand, and the briny scent of the sea lingered in the air. Seagulls squawked as they swooped over the crashing waves.

The ocean. Her salvation. Surcease from her sorrow.

As the softness finally registered, she realized that was wrong. There was no grainy, cool wet sand. No rough wool blanket beneath her, only a soft susurrus of breath in her ear.

Her heart thudded in her chest as rough fingers brushed at her tears. “Don’t weep,” Gaap whispered, his breath warm against the throbbing bruises on her face.

He hadn’t sounded angry. If anything, she heard a hint of sadness in his voice. She held her breath and slowly raised her eyelids. Her heart thundered in her ears and she waited for his wrath.

And yet she hoped for something else entirely.

She stared into the intense brown and gold of his eyes, so close that she could see the light sparkling as he gazed at her. The bright blue of the daytime sky blazed above their heads.

She lay on her back on the beach, in the protected cove where she first summoned him.

“How--”
Why?
Was what she really wanted to know but she couldn’t voice anything more as her throat closed and emotion swamped her. “You had a knife.” She remembered him leaning over her. “You didn’t kill me.”

“I kissed you.” He grinned broadly.

“And then you....”

“Carried you both out of there.”

He carried them both? “Is Leraye recovered then?”

“No.” Gaap’s gaze shifted to the open sea. “He is still in a state of stasis.”

“But he’s not dead?”

“He appears to be alive, just...not aware.” He frowned.