Touch of the Angel (Demons of Infernum, #3) (28 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ronin screamed and waited for his body to shut down from the agony. In the whole grand scheme of things, he’d been tortured far worse before. The agony Mammon had inflicted on him and his brothers when he’d captured them last year made this all seem like a day at the park. Still, when one’s body was in excruciating pain, it didn’t really care that this wasn’t the worst sort of torment it had ever suffered. Either way, it still
fucking hurt.

The smell of his singed flesh suffocated his nostrils, making him gag on the stench. And the scalding heat of Asmodeus’s hand burning through layer after layer of skin and sinew was mind-wrenching. At this rate, he’d resemble a well-done steak within minutes flat. It was enough to make him vow to become a vegetarian. Not that he’d likely live long enough to fulfill that vow.

Why couldn’t he fucking pass out already?

Keegan, Taeg, and Dagan yelled at Asmodeus, alternating curses with pointed taunts. Trying to take some of the heat off him. Literally. But Asmodeus didn’t seem to hear them.

“Who’s the puppet now?” Asmodeus muttered, his eyes crazed. “Who’s the pawn?”

He clearly had something against Ronin. Maybe his feelings for Amara were more complicated than Ronin had surmised, and he was angry that she cared for Ronin. Or maybe he was pissed that Ronin had stolen his favorite toy. Who the hell knew?

At least she got out.
Thank the devil for that. When he’d seen her retreating out of the corner of his eye, his heart had practically stopped out of fear for her. He’d drawn out his screams, making them louder and more pronounced with the hope that it would egg the evil incubus into continuing his torture. Keep him from peering back. It had worked. Too well. Now it was all he could do not to beg for death.

Amara.
Please, please let her survive this. Let her get away. That was all he asked for. But his brain wouldn’t let him forget that no matter how far she tried to run, she was trapped inside this shield. No way out. No way for the others to come in.

Oh damn, what a mess he’d gotten all of them into. And Keegan, on the verge of fatherhood. The thought of Brynn’s child growing up fatherless was enough to make him howl in agony. So he did. Seemed the thing to do right now, anyway.

How the hell had the incubus gotten so strong? It just didn’t make sense. Not even the dark fae were this powerful. At least, not any he’d ever known.

Keegan shouted curses at Asmodeus. “Get off him, you evil fuck.”

“Yeah, is your dick so small that you have to get your kicks from torturing the injured?” Taeg said. “Why not try it on me, you piece of shit? Or are you afraid to get too close?”

“Hell, I bet he can’t even find his dick with a magnifying glass.” This from Dagan. “No wonder he’s such a fucking asshat.”

Ronin would have laughed if that had been at all physically possible.
I’m sorry, my brothers. So sorry
. They had been the only family he’d known after he’d been taken from Flavia and Lina. Together, the four of them had been through a lot of shit, and they’d come out stronger for all of it.
I love you
. He willed them to hear the words they could so rarely say to each other.
I love all of you.

His heart broke for Lina. He’d only now found her, and here he was about to abandon her again. If only he could guarantee that she would be watched over and protected.
Be safe, sis.

And Amara. He couldn’t even continue that train of thought. They’d had so little precious time together. Every moment with her had been one of joy and discovery, and he didn’t regret a single minute of it. Loving her had been worth every ounce of pain he now endured.
I’ll love you always.

The pain began to numb now that Asmodeus’s hand had practically incinerated his entire throat. For all Asmodeus’s talk about not killing Ronin, he was too caught up in the pleasure of torturing him to realize he was almost gone.

Fuck. Oh, fuck.

His last thought before he closed his eyes was that he hoped someone took the sick bastard out.
Please.

When he heard Amara’s voice, he thought he’d finally gone and done it. He’d died, and he was in his own personal brand of heaven. But then her words registered.

“Get off him, you stupid, no-good-for-an-excuse-of-a-demon prick!”

The burning pressure on his throat eased and the invisible bonds holding him in place broke, dropping him to the ground. Gagging, he brought a hand to his throat. His muscles gave a painful twinge as they wove themselves back together.

With a growing sense of horror, Ronin opened his eyes. Amara stood at the entrance to the kitchen, her arm around a badly beaten woman who resembled her enough for him to conclude she was Solara. The succubus he’d encountered at the club supported Solara’s other side, and three other women stood beside them.

Oh, no. Oh, hell no.

All this time he’d thought she was trying to escape, but in the end she’d walked right back into Asmodeus’s grasp.

What the fuck was she doing?

§

Amara had done a lot of frightening things in her life. Coming back to Asmodeus’s residence at the end of every night hadn’t exactly been easy. She’d done it, though, because she knew she had to. Still, she’d never been as frightened as she was now.

Asmodeus turned and noticed the other women surrounding her. His back straightened and he released Ronin. For one horrifying moment she thought she was too late, that Ronin was dead, but then he lifted a trembling hand to his throat.

Oh thank you. Thank you, thank you.

“Good, you’ve brought the others to witness the deaths of the Detainors.” Asmodeus snickered and turned, dismissing them as inconsequential.

“Stop!” Solara’s voice rang out stronger than Amara had ever heard it. Her limbs shook and her hand shot out in front of her. Asmodeus’s body whirled to face them, as if someone had grabbed and swung him around.

“What the hell?” he said.

Solara appeared no less surprised than Asmodeus. She leaned over and whispered to Amara, “Was that me?”

“Yes.”

Yes!
It was working. She hadn’t known if it would.

Asmodeus scrunched his brow and raised his hand. Energy coursed out of it and raced toward them, causing the tiny hairs on Amara’s arms to stand on end. Solara raised her hand again, and a current of power streamed out, clashing with Asmodeus’s in midair. The static electricity crackled the air and made Amara’s whole body tremble.

Asmodeus’s eyes widened with unmistakable panic. “What is happening?”

He flicked his hand and Amara’s body temperature rapidly rose. On impulse, she lifted her arms and examined the veins. They glowed red, and burning pain raced through her entire body.
Oh hell, he’s boiling my blood.

She screamed and doubled over, but she couldn’t escape the sensation of being boiled from the inside out.

“Amara!” Ronin yelled in a gurgling voice. Hand over his throat, he tried to crawl toward her.

“Stay there,” she ordered, gritting her teeth against the pain.

Keegan’s eyes grew wide. “What’s happening?” But he, Taeg, and Dagan were still immobilized against the wall. They couldn’t help.

Brianna collapsed on the floor. “No!” She flicked a shaky hand toward Asmodeus and he screamed.

Amara’s pain receded. She straightened to see that his veins were now glowing. Wide-eyed, she stared at Brianna.

“I can’t believe it,” Brianna whispered.

Amara didn’t bother to fight the grin that crept to her lips. Ronin hoisted himself up and exchanged an amazed glance with her. He’d figured out what was going on.

“How is this happening?” Asmodeus panted as he stared at his veins, which were now losing their red glow.

“Guess what?” Amara said. “All this time you thought you were simply taking from us, but you were also giving. Your sick, twisted powers are part of us now.”

“And we’re pissed,” Victorine said in a voice threaded with steel.

Wow, that was very impressive coming from the submissive Victorine.

Asmodeus shook his head in utter disbelief. “No. That’s not possible.
No
.”

“Why not?” Amara’s hands clenched into fists. “If you could do it, why not us? I wonder if your precious dark fae even bothered to think about the possibility.”

“No!” The silver orb in Asmodeus’s hand pulsed with light when he raised his hand and shot another round of energy at them. This time Solara was quicker in blocking it. The currents of power clashed and melded. They fell to the ground and then spread out. Electrifying heat shot through the room before the energy zoomed back toward Solara and slammed into her.

“Solara!” Amara reached for her, but the energy Solara emitted was too intense for her to get close. Her mother’s hair stood on end and electricity sparked from her fingers. She was frightening. Powerful. Her hand raised and Asmodeus slowly dropped to his knees. He tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn’t seem to cooperate.

Solara had paralyzed him.

The ball clenched in Asmodeus’s hand stuttered once and then blinked out. As if a switch had been flipped, Ronin’s brothers fell to the ground. They raced to Ronin’s side. Keegan picked up a discarded knife from the floor and sliced into his palm, spreading his dragon blood, with its restorative properties, all over Ronin’s ruined neck. Combined with Ronin’s own healing powers, it restored his flesh in less than five seconds. Keegan then repeated the process with Dagan and Taeg.

“Let’s kill this fuck.” Dagan started to rise, but Ronin stopped him.

“No.” He motioned toward Amara and the other succubi. “This is their fight.”

A rush of warmth spread through Amara. How well Ronin understood her.

I love you
, she mouthed.

Ronin smiled. “I know.”

Amara clasped hands with Brianna and Karen. Together, the six of them moved toward Asmodeus. He watched them approach, growing horror in his eyes. Good. Let him get a sense of what they’d felt with him. Fear, hopelessness, bleak resignation. They would never be able to repay the monstrosities he’d committed against them, but at least they could make sure he never did it to anyone else.

Amara observed him without terror for the first time since she’d discovered how evil he was. Funny how handsome he appeared, even now. How easy it had been to fall under his spell, to believe he was everything he seemed to be.

It was
so easy
.

So if that was the case, perhaps it was time to let go of all the grief and blame for what had happened to her and Solara. There was no room for it in her life anymore.

Asmodeus’s eyes moved from her to Brianna, then to Solara. With obvious effort, he forced his mouth to move. “Please, Solara. You know I...care for you.”

“No,” Solara said without mercy.

Karen released Amara’s hand and ribbons of energy streamed from her fingertips, floating Asmodeus into the air right in front of them. The words “I can’t believe this is happening” tumbled out of her mouth. She broke into a brilliant smile and experimentally flicked her fingers, pulling him closer.

At the same time, a liquid rush of fire coursed down Amara’s arms. Acting on pure instinct, she placed her hands on Asmodeus’s chest. Smoke rose off Asmodeus’s body where her hands touched his flesh.

“No. No!”

“Who’s afraid now?” Victorine let out a hoarse laugh, then gasped as her features began to distort. “What’s happening to me?”

Much to Amara’s amazement, Victorine turned into the large, wolflike thing that Asmodeus had been earlier.

“I feel strange. Something’s moving inside me,” Lynn cried. On her next breath, she let out a roar that morphed from human to animal, and the shape of her face changed until it resembled that of a huge panther.

Asmodeus’s terrified scream reverberated throughout Amara’s bones. The things Victorine and Lynn had turned into seemed to grow excited at the sound. Together, they closed their long, vicious fangs over Asmodeus’s head. With a snap and a pop, they tore it from his body.

She observed him with a sense of detachment. As if confirming that he was dead, the band clamped to her wrist expanded, clattering to the floor in unison with the bracelets of the other succubi.
Good riddance.

“Amara!”

She turned, only to be enveloped by Ronin. He squeezed her tight. “Are you okay?”

“Can’t...breathe.”

“Sorry.” He released his grip and tilted her head back to give her a kiss. “You’re okay. It’s okay.”

Yes
, she thought with amazement.
It really is
.

“Amara,” Solara said, her voice faint. “I don’t feel so goo—”

She fell to the ground without finishing her sentence.

“Mother!”

Ronin knelt beside her and checked her pulse. He set his hands on her, and her bruises and swelling disappeared. “She’s fine now.”

“Why isn’t she waking?”

Keegan dropped to his knees and examined her. “She’s likely worn out from all the energy she used on Asmodeus.”

Ronin gave her a reassuring smile and lifted Solara into his arms. “She’ll be okay. Promise.”

Amara nodded at him, then looked at the other succubi. Victorine and Lynn were back to normal. “It’s over,” she told them.

They all appeared shell-shocked and a bit lost.

“Yeah,” Brianna said. “I can’t believe this happened. That
I
did that.” She met Amara’s gaze. “Will it last?”

“I don’t know,” Amara said honestly. They were all flying blind when it came to their newfound powers. “What are you going to do now?”

Brianna and Victorine shrugged.

“Don’t know.” Karen lifted her hand and examined her fingers, which trembled. “I really don’t know.

“What about you?” Lynn asked.

Amara exchanged glances with Ronin. The loving expression in his eyes said it all. “I’m going home.”

“Can we get out of here now?” Taeg said. “Maya’s got to be worried as hell. She’s probably gonna kick my ass later for taking so damn long to defeat this guy.”

“Yeah,” Keegan said. “Let’s go.”