A bolt of fear washed through Chase"s eyes. "He"s still alive?"
I was about to speak when a voice from the stairs answered for me.
"No, they haven"t been able to kill me," the voice said. "Just like you weren"t able to fight me. You tried your best, Detective, but you couldn"t do a thing when I was holding you down. When I made you kiss my feet."
Karvanak was standing there, in his Calvin Klein suit and polished shoes, his wraparound sungla.s.ses hiding the cruelty in his eyes. The light glinted off his shaved head, and he gave me a soft smile.
"Mistress Cat, you"ve stolen my toy. Haven"t you heard what curiosity does to kittens? I suppose I"ll have to teach you. And Fraale, you dare to turn on me? Both you and Vanzir will live in my h.e.l.l for a long, long, long time, and you"re going to rue every moment of every day that you still draw breath."
And then, in back of him, a tall man appeared. Dressed in a long, black robe, he looked vaguely Chinese, but it was hard to place his background. This was no biker, no FBH thug. No, power drifted off of him in waves, setting off an internal alarm that shrieked so loud I thought I was going to scream.
And then I knew-somehow I knew. I stared at the creature who looked so human but was so far from humanity that there was no center point on the line where the two could meet. One of the Scytatians, summoned from the deepest bowels of the Netherworld. A Scythe Reaper. A Scythe Reaper.
Karvanak nodded, looking pleased. "Oh, yes, be afraid. I know who you are, Death Maiden, and I know that you"re young. You can"t hope to fight a Scytatian, and neither can your friends."
I stood frozen in my tracks, the tattoo on my forehead shifting and pulsating in response to the being"s appearance.
Never moving my gaze, I said to the others, "Scytatians are from the realm of Death, the realm of the Harvestmen. I know this in my core. I can feel feel him. None of you can fight him-only me. And only because I have a direct connection to the realm of the Netherworld, so if I fall, get the f.u.c.k out of here. Because I guarantee you, if that thing touches you, it will rip out your heart and swallow it as a snack." him. None of you can fight him-only me. And only because I have a direct connection to the realm of the Netherworld, so if I fall, get the f.u.c.k out of here. Because I guarantee you, if that thing touches you, it will rip out your heart and swallow it as a snack."
And so we stood for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for that moment when the dam breaks and the battle begins.
CHAPTER 27.
Every battle is different. Every fight has its own spirit. Every haunted battlefield is rife with not only ghosts of the dead but the soul of the battle. And just so, every sword has a consciousness. Every blade, a name. Sometimes steel and silver remain silent until they are gently coaxed out of hiding. Sometimes they never reveal themselves. And sometimes, they wake up on their own.
My dagger tingled in my hand as I stared at the Scytatian. I sucked in my breath. Could it be? My blade had never spoken to me before, but now I heard the whisper of a woman"s voice, delicate and ethereal and cold as ice.
"Lysanthra," she whispered. "I am Lysanthra. And I am your blade."
Without moving my gaze, I answered as silently as the message had reached my ears. "I am Delilah. I"m Fae, human, and Were. And . . . I"m a Death Maiden."
I might hate the term, but I had to face it. Not only did I belong to three realms-Fae, human, and the realm of felines-but I also walked under the shadow of Death. I followed in the tracks of my master.
And with that acknowledgment, the truth I"d been hiding from for months faced me square on. No matter how much I"d tried to avoid my fate, I knew I had to face-and embrace-the person I was becoming.
Delilah, the Death Maiden. Delilah, obliterator of souls. Delilah, harvest woman of the dead.
My blade sent a bolt of energy reeling through my hand, and her gentle laughter rang in my ears. "Your father chose well to give me to you. Wake me, Delilah. I will help you walk through the darkness. I will teach you how to grow strong and keep your soul intact when all around you is madness."
Destiny in action. Fate on the move. "How do I wake you up?" I asked. "And why have you never spoken to me before?"
Lysanthra"s breath tingled through my elbow, through my shoulder, into my heart. "Only when I"m wielded by one who loves with the depth of her soul, and who fights to protect the one she loves, will I speak. You have been close to summoning me before, but today-today you fight with the desire to die rather than see the one you love destroyed."
Chase. It had to be Chase. I It had to be Chase. I was was in love with Chase. Despite the pa.s.sion I felt for Zachary and the betrayal from Chase"s lies, I still loved him. Fool? Maybe. But sometimes our hearts don"t play the logic game. Sometimes the Hags of Fate like to see us squirm. in love with Chase. Despite the pa.s.sion I felt for Zachary and the betrayal from Chase"s lies, I still loved him. Fool? Maybe. But sometimes our hearts don"t play the logic game. Sometimes the Hags of Fate like to see us squirm.
"Tell me what to do."
Lysanthra"s voice was so delicate she might have been the tinkle of wind chimes, the delicate call of a night-roaming bird to her mate. "Say my name three times aloud. And then I am yours. But you will not be able to kill this creature using me. For that, you must use your own powers."
I raised the blade. The Scytatian waited, silent and brooding. Karvanak looked impatient but didn"t seem in a rush to hurry things along. Smart move. The Scytatian could make mincemeat out of him in three seconds flat.
"Lysanthra, Lysanthra, Lysanthra!" I called out, raising the blade. A shaft of light burst from the tip, and I flushed, new strength flowing into my veins. Lysanthra fell silent, but I knew we were bound together.
Camille kept quiet, her gaze fixated first on my blade, then on my face. When Menolly started to speak, Camille shushed her and smiled gravely at me.
I turned back to the Scytatian and Karvanak. "You-demon sc.u.m. You"re so sure of yourself, so get your a.s.s over here and fight. The Scytatian"s got your back. What are you waiting for?"
Karvanak let out a low snarl, then he shimmered, and his head took the form of a tiger, claws ripped from his nails, and he stepped forward.
At that moment, the sound of a freight train came whistling down the steps, and a blur of white and silver crashed into the room, knocking over the Rksasa as the whirlwind whipped down the stairs. Straight out of the Ionyc Sea, Smoky landed in a crouch and rolled to straddle the demon.
Smoky promptly began to beat the c.r.a.p out of Karvanak, but the Rksasa was strong. He managed to get a hand free and clawed at Smoky, gashing the dragon across the face.
"Don"t you hurt him!" Camille leapt forward, yanking out the unicorn horn. She"d used it once in the past few days. How much power did it have left?
My question was answered as a shaft of ice burst forth, like a frozen bolt of lightning, zigzagging out of the tip of the horn. The ice bolt struck Karvanak directly on the head between his ears, distracting the demon long enough for Vanzir and Menolly to dive in and help out.
Karvanak roared, lunging at Vanzir. He knocked the dream chaser down and stepped over him to get to Zachary, who was trying to protect Chase. With one hand, he backhanded Zach and sent him flying against a wall, then turned to Chase, who was still in shock.
Menolly raced across the room, but Zach was faster. He scrambled to his feet and, head down, charged directly into the center of Karvanak"s stomach, driving him back. He was able to hold him off long enough for Menolly to grab Chase and pull him out of the way.
Karvanak growled and whirled, his foot squarely landing against Zach"s lower back, sending him to the floor. Smoky dove in, but then my attention wavered as I noticed the Scytatian bearing down on me.
I had no doubt it intended to kill everyone in this room. Once we were all toast, if Karvanak was still alive, my guess would be that he"d find himself next on the menu. Summoning spirits-even for a demon-never worked out quite the way it was planned.
I sheathed Lysanthra and focused on the swirling energy that pulsated a staccato throbbing beneath my tattoo.
"Hi"ran," I whispered. "Help me. I need you. I need your power. I need your strength."
A faint laugh, carried on the wind along with bonfire flames and graveyard dust drifted by. "I"m sending you help. Let go and change. Only you can kill this creature. Your sisters will die if you don"t."
And so I unleashed Panther. Hands to paw, spine lengthening, ears pointing, teeth growing long and sharp, fur coating my palms, coating my legs, coating arms and face and back . . . the world was bathed in gray scale as scents grew stronger, urges grew more difficult to control.
As the transformation fully took hold, I let myself flow into the opulent energy that imbued my Panther self. I sucked in a deep breath as mist rose around me, and I found myself facing the Scytatian. Everyone else had vanished, and once again, I was fighting alone, on the astral.
The creature had been cloaked in shadow-difficult to get a bead on when I"d been in my bipedal form-but now I could see him clearly for what he was: an avatar of Death. The shadows were gone, and he stood there in brilliant white, shining like magma working its way up to the surface of the world.
The Scytatian shone so brilliantly, he was difficult to look at, but my third eyelid shaded my eyes from harm, and I slowly moved forward. If I"d been a regular Were, my claws would not touch him, my teeth would bounce off. But with the energy of the Autumn Lord behind me, I had the power to defeat the being from the Netherworld.
I crouched as the Scytatian approached. One . . . let it get close enough . . . two . . . wriggle into just the right position and then-pounce! I grappled him with my front paws. For a fraction of a second, I felt my essence being coaxed out of my body as he sucked me into his energy field, but then I yanked myself back. He stumbled, just the briefest moment, but enough to tell me he hadn"t expected my strength.
And then we were wrestling. He took me down, his strength phenomenal. It was all I could do to keep him from squeezing me to death. If he got his arms around my neck, I"d be screwed for sure. I leaned my head back and drove my fangs deep into his shoulder as we rolled along the floor.
And then I made a mistake. I let go of him to try for a better grip.
He chose that moment to flip me over so he was beneath me, one arm around my belly, the other around my neck. My paws pointing toward the ceiling, I scrabbled but couldn"t free myself. He began to tighten his grip around my neck, his arm shutting off my windpipe. I squirmed but couldn"t get loose, and I didn"t dare transform, or he"d snap my neck like a toothpick. My tongue lolling out, I began to lose consciousness.
As the mist began to grow gray, I thought I heard a low growl from somewhere in the distance. I couldn"t see-everything was going black-but I prepared to give up the fight. My sisters were depending on me, but I wasn"t strong enough. I"d let them down. Menolly might escape, and Smoky and Rozurial, but this creature would finish the rest of them off, even Vanzir.
I began to spiral out of my body. Would I go directly to Hi"ran"s side? Or would I have the chance to see my ancestors first? I"d like to see Mother, at least once, before I pa.s.sing into the realm of the Autumn Lord.
Youch!
Something bit my tail. Hard. Hard enough to suck me back into my body. I opened my eyes, aware that the Scytatian had loosened his grip and I could breathe again. The next moment, he let go, and I sprang away as he leapt to his feet. Energy crackled around him as he began to summon something nasty.
I glanced around to see what the h.e.l.l had saved me, and to my surprise, I saw a leopard standing there. As spotted as I was black and with a piece of material hanging out of her mouth, she-I could smell she was female-blinked at me, then let out a low growl. She seemed terribly familiar. Yet whoever she was, she was dead on the physical realm. But here, she was lean and strong and-holy h.e.l.l, most important, she could affect the Scytatian! The rag in her mouth was from the edge of the Scytatian"s robe.
Just then, the Scytatian let loose with a bolt of energy, and I recognized the feel of it. Death magic. It wouldn"t affect my ghost-leopard friend, but it could affect me. I managed to dodge out of the way, and it hit directly where I"d been standing.
As I leapt to safety, the leopard gathered herself and charged toward the Scytatian. The creature from the Netherworld jumped to the side as I shook out the kinks. The leopard was going after him again, so I took the other side, and as the Scytatian lightly moved out of her way, I lunged behind him. The back of his legs met my body, and he went sprawling, crashing to the ground.
Ghost leopard dug her teeth into one arm, and I leapt on his chest. My paws holding him down, I stared down into the glowing white face. So beautiful, so brilliant I could barely discern his features. And then I went for the neck and bit deep. Ghost leopard raked at his gut, her spotted paw tickling my belly as she reached beneath me to get at the creature.
The Scytatian twisted, shrieking, and I tightened my grip on his throat, feeling his energy drain like air out of a leaking balloon. And then-just like that-he was gone. Vanished. Poof.
I stood there for a moment, staring at the ground where he"d lain p.r.o.ne. The ghost leopard wandered over to me and nuzzled me gently on the neck, then stepped back. I looked into her eyes. She was familiar, but I knew I"d never seen her before.
"Who are you?" I asked.
She let out a little growl. "You wouldn"t recognize me, I suppose, though I"ve been watching you all of your life. Are you all right?"
"I"m fine, I think. You"ve been watching me all of my life?" I c.o.c.ked my head to the side, the feel of my muscled body solid and comforting. I felt almost invulnerable when Panther came out to play, although I knew I wasn"t.
She gazed at me, her eyes glowing. They were the same emerald as mine. And then I saw a glimmer of light surround her, and a flutter of golden hair, and she began to vanish. I raced forward, suddenly understanding.
"Wait, don"t go! Come back!" As I loped over to where she"d been standing, I heard one last message from her.
"I"ll always be here, Sister. I"ll always watch over you."
And then she was gone. I stared at the empty spot as the scent of bonfire descended around me again, and then I closed my eyes and slid into unconsciousness.
When I came to, I was back in my usual form, with Camille patting my face. "Delilah, Delilah? Are you okay?"
I blinked against the sharp light that was filling the room and let her help me sit up. Where the h.e.l.l was I? As I glanced around, I realized that we were in the FH-CSI medical offices, and I was sitting on a table.
"How long have I been out?" I asked, wincing. My head hurt like h.e.l.l.
"About an hour. You hit your head on a pipe when you fell, but Sharah says you should be okay. How do you feel?" She pulled over a wheelchair and forced me into it. "No walking about until we know that you don"t have a concussion."
"Chase-how"s Chase? And Karvanak-" Panic took hold as I suddenly remembered how I"d gotten here. I tried to stand, but a whirl of dizziness forced me back into my seat. I must have really bonked my head, that was for sure.
As Camille pushed me into the hallway, images began to flood my mind. Karvanak. Chase. And-my sister. The ghost leopard. So it was true, I had a twin sister, and she died. As I tried to digest the knowledge, Camille guided me through a set of double doors. She pushed me through into a large room that held three beds and several chairs. We were in one of the recuperation wards.
Chase was there, sleeping in one bed. And on the bizarre side, Menolly was standing by his bed, holding his hand.
Zachary was in another bed, looking a lot like a mummy, wrapped in bandages. Smoky sat on a chair, and for the first time since we"d met him, he looked tired. Vanzir was there, too, sporting more bandages than I could count, and his arm was wrapped in a splint. Everybody looked covered in bruises, including Camille.
Morio and Sharah entered the room.
"Chase, Zach-how are they doing? Is Karvanak dead?" I motioned for Camille to wheel me over to Chase"s side. Menolly stepped away, giving me a soft smile which-for her-translated into a yeehaw.
"Chase will be all right, though there"s no way to ever reattach the finger," Sharah said. "It"s his mind I"m more worried about. They roughed him up. I can recognize the signs of torture, including those that don"t leave marks. He"s been through h.e.l.l. I"ve sedated him. Rest is vital to the healing process."
I stared down at my sleeping detective, wondering how we would weather this h.e.l.l. How would he fight these new demons come to haunt him?
"And Zach?" I said softly.
She shrugged. "He"ll recover, too, but it"s going to take a long time for his back to heal. If Karvanak had kicked him any harder, he would have broken Zach"s spine and left him paralyzed. As it is, he"s got a broken tailbone, two fractured vertebrae, a broken hip, broken leg, fractured wrist, and he"s taken a lot of soft tissue damage. I"m guessing he won"t be walking on his own for at least six months, and he might always have a limp. It"s too soon to tell."
"He was hurt saving Chase"s life," Menolly said. "He threw himself between Chase and Karvanak."
I pushed myself out of the chair, ignoring Camille"s entreaty, and cautiously made my way to Zach"s side. Images of the fight were flooding back. Blood, so much blood on our hands. My pulse quickened, and I suddenly realized that now, instead of dreading the memories, my adrenaline was shifting back into high gear. I felt myself itching to continue the chase, to follow the enemy and tear him apart.
"You saved Chase," I whispered, leaning down to kiss Zach"s forehead. "I remember now. Right before I shifted . . . I saw you jump between Chase and Karvanak." I looked back at the others. "What about him him? What about Karvanak?"
"In the end it took all of us to bring him down," Smoky said. He motioned to Camille, and she sat on his lap. He wrapped his arm around her waist and let out a long sigh. "He was a greater demon, but still . . . he was just one one demon. There are thousands like him in the Subterranean Realms." He left the thought unspoken that was running through all of our minds. Thousands of demons, waiting for Shadow Wing to open the floodgates. demon. There are thousands like him in the Subterranean Realms." He left the thought unspoken that was running through all of our minds. Thousands of demons, waiting for Shadow Wing to open the floodgates.
It was then that I noticed that Fraale and Roz were nowhere to be seen. When I asked about them, Menolly frowned. "They left after the fight. Roz said they needed to talk."
"Well, h.e.l.l. We saved the seal this time, but we almost lost two of our own." I walked back to Chase"s side and took his hand in mine. What would happen when he woke up? To him . . . to us?
"I take it everyone else is unscathed? More or less?" I asked, still holding Chase"s hand. His other hand was bandaged, and by his color, I saw that they had the infection on the run. But infections and lost fingertips couldn"t hold a candle compared to bad memories.
"Yeah," Camille said. She sucked in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it whistle out in a sharp stream. "And you-you saved us all. The Scytatian would have killed everyone there if you hadn"t . . . well . . . done whatever it was you did to him."
I blinked. I still hadn"t told them about the ghost leopard. About my twin. I tried to summon up the words, but this wasn"t the time. Right now, all I could think about was the bone-weary pain that ran through my body. About the fact that both of my lovers had been hurt. About the fact that my sword had spoken, my dead sister had come to fight by my side, and that my master-one of the Harvestmen-wanted me to have his child. I felt so overwhelmed, I didn"t know where to begin.
And then a miracle happened. Or maybe it was the Hags of Fate smiling on us for a brief second. Chase opened his eyes and gave my hand a squeeze. I motioned to Sharah.
"He"s awake. You said you sedated him."
"No," Chase whispered as Sharah scurried over. "I need to tell Delilah something before I sleep. Please?"
Sharah stood back and nodded to me.
I leaned down and put my ear near Chase"s lips. "What is it, sweetheart?"
He gave a slight shudder and then whispered, "I"m sorry. I"m sorry about Erika. I was an idiot. I thought . . . I don"t know what I thought, but please, tell me you won"t leave me? Promise me you won"t leave?"