Demon Dark Page 24

  What did you say?

  Ana, book offered before her, walked up to me and kneeled.

  You felt it, didn t you?

  she asked me quietly.

  You were dying with her, but at the last moment, she pushed you away to save you. She used her power to resurrect those she had lost, but in her last moment on this earth, she acted not to save herself, but you.

  Rocking back and forth, tears finally broke past my unyielding control and ran down my face. I did not care who saw. I did not care that my weakness was clear for all to see. I was destroyed.

  She did not let me follow.

  Ana nodded, expression exasperated.

  Rae can be quite stubborn at the strangest of times. She wanted to save you, but by doing so, she severed your passing into the Otherworld. What she didn t know is that the bond of love between you is stronger than any force, even mortal death. Wielding such power and doing such wondrous deeds as she crossed over, she became divine, and though she pushed you away, tied to her as you are, you became a divine too. Yet your spirit retains your mortal body.

  She shrugged.

  It s quite straightforward. A divine spirit in a mortal body on this plane of existence

  Makes you a god,

  Maeve breathed in understanding.

  All great beings live again when they die and move on.

  Ana dragged in a breath and her eyes flickered, becoming unfocused. She saw the future and the smallest hope sparked in my heart. I had trusted her implicitly; following her instructions to keep from Rae that Cael was her brother. She had argued it was something Rae should discover alone. Knowing the he-witch was her brother might have prevented this. Was my faith placed in the wrong person all along? I had left Rae on the platform to ensure Ana s safety because she was Rae s kin and my friend. Had I made a mistake that had cost me the one I loved?

  As if she sensed my doubts, she shook her head sadly.

  I swear I never saw this future.

  Her sincerity was clear to me. I pushed thoughts of betrayal far from my mind even as she continued, needing to rid herself of lingering guilt it seemed.

  I would have warned you if I did, and I would have done other things to protect her. I love her too, always have, even when I ve not exactly been honest with her. I ve never lied to you Breandan. This possibility may have flashed past me at some point, but you know I can t see everything. I focus on the stronger paths, the ones that seem certain. Every decision she s made has been outside of what I thought she would do.

  Ana looked stressed, her face contorted as she tired to work through the muddle.

  First you both met before you were supposed to, but I thought her path was set straight after I spoke to her the first time. Then she didn t follow after Devlin and met my father before she was supposed to. When the vampire took her, it nearly ruined everything!

  Her face darkened.

  You should have dealt with him sooner than you did.

  I heaved a sigh as old emotion weighed me down. She did not understand that taking his life had torn at my heart. He had loved Rae, truly, and in the end, I understood his actions all too clearly. Tomas had been at odds with himself, with his duty. He d done the only thing he could do by accepting his fate when I beat him. His last thoughts had been to assure Rae of his love, I could not hate him or begrudge him the time he had stolen with her because of that. Yes, his love for her had nearly destroyed everything, but that seemed to be the nature of love. It was powerful enough to start life and to end it.

  Ana spoke on, heedless of my inner turmoil.

  We must do something about the vampire Queen, Gwendolyn, her visions are meddlesome. Ugh. And now Rae is dead when she is supposed to be alive.

  Pulling herself together, she grabbed my arm, her eyes fixed on the middle distance.

  There is away, I promise you, I see it. The bond, Breandan.

  The warm glow of Rae in my heart was gone. Empty. Cold.

  It is no longer there. I cannot feel it.

  Not as it once was but it is there. It s different now, primal and everlasting, a fundamental part of what you are. It s why you are no longer fairy. It s why you are a godling.

  Ana placed the book down on the ground and opened its magic imbibed pages with a wave of her slender fingers. Sparks of light blue and green tinkled to the ground.

  There once was a time when gods walked among us. There once was a time they were venerated and respected as members of communities. As time passed, and our troubles grew, our respect for them diminished. They left us. Often we call to them for aid, but they do not listen, they refuse to hear. They gave up on us a long time ago, and no longer listen to cries for help. The gods are little more than stories we tell to children.

  She paused, and her eyes darted to Ro then to the grimoire,

  At least some no longer listen.

  Pale light shone from the pages and illuminated her face. Wielded by the hands of good, the dark energy of the book had been transformed, but a sinister edge remained. Deadly vibes radiated from the heart of it.

  Then the humans took over the earth. They built cities and machines. They cut down forests and poisoned the air. They forgot that they were not the only beings that walked the night and day. Then came the Rupture. The more feral of us reached out and took back what was abused, yet the humans call us demons.

  Ana sniffed her distain.

  I bear them no ill will, but I do not like being hunted for simply being. I do not like being hunted because I can commune with the earth in ways they cannot dream. They will learn in time. The problem is their mischief has blinded us all to the real power growing and threatening our existence. We must look beyond petty squabbles of whom is nobler.

  Ana closed her eyes and the book shone brighter.

  The he-witch is my father, and he is the most powerful being I have ever known. The only person who comes close to his might has left us. We need her back if we are to survive.

  The flicking pages stopped.

  My gaze roved over the spell, and my skin crawled at the sacrifices demanded as payment.

  There are & consequences,

  I said in a dead voice.

  With magic this powerful there always is.

  Ana bowed her head.

  Rae has moved on, beyond the veil of this world to the next. There she would have been happy and at peace had you been by her side. You both would have lived an eternity of love and happiness safe in each other arms.

  She looked at me, her eyes shining with tears.

  We here would have suffered, but that would have been beyond your control. Yes, we need her, but we wouldn t have been able to bring the both of you back.

  Ana pressed her hand to her chest.

  But you re not together. You ve been separated, and we don t hold the power to send you to her. We cannot push things to the Otherworld, but we can pull something out if it s still tied to this plane. Her body fades, but if we bring her divine spirit back you ll be together again, and she can save us.

  Ana stood and faced the small group of people.

  We can bring her back,

  she repeated voice thick with emotion.

  Hearing this, Conall locked eyes with me. Heaving himself off the floor, he nodded grimly.

  Maeve and Alec gave their agreement without hesitation.

  The lower half of Daphne s face was covered in blood, red-rimmed eyes heavy. She mumbled and hiccupped a yes whilst shooting an apologetic look at Lochlann. Swaying on the spot, she was ready to drop, but was determined to be here for Rae.

  Baako rested his mighty hands on Wasp s shoulders. She tried to wiggle him off, but in the end gave up on subtly. Unsheathing her knife with flourish, she grinned when he backed off.

  Her eyeballs rolled when her attention fell on Rae s body.

  I sense we shall never be free of her nor can we defeat the he-witch without her. What point is there in arguing?

  A yelp from Amelia asserted where she, and her Pride stood on
the matter. She rubbed her tawny face on Rae s leg then flopped down alongside us. Her paws scratched at the wood as she settled. Amber eyes crisp with intelligence stared at me, unblinking, as her tail swished from side to side.

  Swiping a hand across her dirt-smudged face, Nimah added,

  If my father had survived, I believe he would have wanted us to help. We should have stood by her side in the first place.

  Bring her back to us,

  Lex pleaded.

  Her skin had returned to normal, deeply tanned, a few shades lighter than tree bark. Blonde hair and blue eyes contrasted startlingly with her coloring. Her face scrunched, features twisting as she fought her grief. The runes of protection tattooed on her cheekbones stretched into indistinguishable patterns.

  She was human again. Brought back to life instead of the undead perversion Rae managed by calling on the Loa. The stain of darkness surrounded her still, a testament to her Voodoo heritage, but I was glad for her. Rae had cared for her deeply.

  The Bokor had an arm slung around her shoulders. He nodded sharply, and his eyes were dark and clouded. Reeking of black magic, I knew soon he would turn and worship those we would stand against.

  He knew the price.

  The human, Samuel, stepped forward and bowed jerkily.

  Rae tried to save us. Without her conviction, who knows where we would be now. This he-witch threatens the existence of this world, and as a Lord Cleric of the Sect, I am sworn to protect humanity. You say Rae is the one who can stop him then we need her more than I understood. Whatever you need to make this happen you will get it. No questions asked.

  The funneled sleeves of his crimson blazer covered his hands as he stepped back and crossed his arms.

  Did my love realize how much these people cared and respected her before she was taken?

  As High Lord of fairykind, a race charged with the protection of the balance of life it is my responsibility to do what is best regardless of whom we may lose. No matter how painful.

  Daphne staggered as reached for him.

  Lochlann &.

  she mumbled.

  He held up a hand to silence her.

  Rae is my sister. She gave her life to right the wrong of her blood. She did not deserve to die, she and my brother deserve happiness.

  He tilted his chin back, and my heart sank. Without the power of the High Lord, this would not be possible. He knew that.

  I know that I cannot defeat Cael by myself. Had Rae not been there I would be dead, not her.

  His power gathered round him, but it did not seem as potent to me as before. Magics heeded Lochlann s presence, but first swirled around me, kicking up the dust.

  I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to see Rae brought back.

  With his decision final, Daphne s legs folded under her. Lochlann caught her before she fell into the sunlight and swiftly left to climb down and bury her somewhere deep and dark.

  I inhaled sharply and closed my eyes. I let hope seep into the icy part of my heart and let it warm me. It was done. Fierce determination swept over me, and those surrounding me gasped as I stood, Rae in my arms. My body was haloed with silver light. I could feel power radiating from my skin, a low pulse of energy that hummed. No matter how brightly I shone on the outside & inside & emptiness. Hollow. I would never be whole until she was with me again.

  With the help of Rae s own kin, and the power of my own, I would bring her back. I would use the magic in all races to call her back. Then I would hunt the one who tried to destroy her.

  I would show no mercy. I would destroy everything and everyone who threatened her.

  Drawing Rae closer, I took comfort that she wouldn t be lifeless for long.

  I followed Ana, making her way to the place of power. There was no time to waste, even now Rae s body felt lighter. I held her tighter, steeled myself for the oncoming battle.

  There were always consequences.

  I won t let you go,

  I whispered.

  Do you hear me, Rae-love? I m coming for you.

  ****