Fire with Fire (Demonblood Series #2) (22 page)

The guard nods. “As you wish.” I’m confused. I don’t see any sort of cage anywhere, just a series of smaller chambers inside the cavernous room.

The guard pushes me forward, and as I pass by Kieron I can’t help but stare. I’ve waited for so long to see his face. But his head is tilted down, and I only see top of his black hair. Xandria said he was sleeping, but I’ve never seen anyone be so still who was just
sleeping
. He looks like a statue hanging in suspended animation.

“Kieron! Kieron, can you hear me? Wake up, Kieron!” I yell before the guard clocks me again. This time my mouth fills with blood. I turn and spit it in his face. He just laughs and runs his forked tongue over his lips.

“You taste delicious,” he says with a salacious smile. “I think I’m going to nibble on your legs for dinner.”

“Try it and I’ll have your heart for breakfast,” I snap back.

Bones and I are pushed to the farthest corner of the room. Fortunately, I can still see Kieron from where we are. “Don’t make yourselves too comfortable. I have a feeling you won’t be staying with us very long.” The guard’s eyes flash and he snakes his forked tongue at me like a whip, cracking the air and slicing my cheek. He retracts it and smacks his gums. “Delicious,” he repeats.

I place my hand over the stinging wound and fight back tears of rage. I’ve really done it this time. This is
far
worse than I imagined, even in my worst case scenario…Aria dead, betrayed by Gyan, ridiculously outnumbered and walking right into a trap like the biggest, most gullible, incompetent idiot who’s ever lived…

That’s exactly it. I’m too stupid to live. I made the fatal mistake of trusting a
demon
for Satan’s sake.
Sure, Gyan, come along! The more the merrier. No big deal!
And now, because of my colossal stupidity, not only can I not rescue Kieron, I’ve probably signed the death warrants of Bones, Alik, and Khalil as well. After this fiasco, it’ll no doubt be for the best if the Hlbafa just do away with me. They’d be doing me and the world a huge favor.

Bones sits on his haunches at my feet, and I absently stroke the back of his neck. Even sitting, his head is still taller than mine. “Not phasing out, huh? Can’t say as I blame you. I’m sure I’m the last person you want to talk with right now. Sorry you have to be locked up with me—”

Bones pushes his cold nose up against my hand, which is still covering my sliced-open cheek. He makes a low whimpering noise and nudges my arm until I move it. Then he starts licking the side of my face, and with every stroke of his wide, moist tongue, the acidic burning eases until it’s gone.

“Thanks,” I whisper, wiping away a stray tear. I turn my head to hide my shame from Bones. Now is
not
the time to turn into an emotional, blubbering mess. Now is the time to think. Figure a way outta here.

“I’m not mad at you,” Bones’ gentle voice cuts in. “This isn’t your fault. None of us suspected Gyan was dirty.”

I glance up into his toffee eyes, relieved at the kindness I see in them. “Why didn’t Aria pick up on it?” I wonder, taking a few steps around to feel out the boundaries of our invisible cage.

“I guess she just wasn’t looking in his direction. He seemed like one of us, so why would she question it? And he probably knew to control his thoughts around her anyway…”

“That’s impossible, controlling one’s thoughts,” I say, more to myself than to him, as I recall my eternal struggles with my own mind.

“Not for pure demons it isn’t. It can become a bit taxing after a while. But it
can
be done.”

I move forward tentatively with my arms outstretched, and when the stabbing jolt of electricity sends me flying back into Bones’ arms, I know I’ve gone too far.

“You okay?” he whispers. I nod and shake it off, smoothing down my frizzed-out hair.

I glance over my shoulder at him as I resume pacing, slowly and carefully. One step too far and I’m toast. The first sensation of painful shocks is just a warning to let me know where the barriers lie.

We’re trapped.

“Think I can blast us outta here?” I ask Bones. He sits against the grey slab of stone and fidgets with a piece of straw, his arm resting on a raised knee. He shakes his head. “What about using these?” I hold up the bag of
veneficus calx
.

Bones shakes his head again, his wide eyes wary. “Don’t even
think
about it. They might not be able to penetrate the magic of the force field, and if they just bounce off it and land in here with us…”

“Well, we’ve got to do something! We can’t just sit here waiting to die! Or worse…”

“Lucky, relax.”

“Are you crazy? How can I relax? We’re trapped and probably going to die here. Doesn’t that bother you?”

Bones shrugs. “If that’s what’s meant to happen, then so be it. But I don’t think our story is coming to an end just yet, my pet. I think you and I are going to be getting into trouble together for a long time to come.”

“What makes you so sure?” I ask, only slightly mollified by his optimism.

Bones runs his tongue over his lips and lowers his voice. “Because whatever they do, at some point they are going to have to lower the shield. When they do, we can grab Kieron and get out of here.”

“But what makes you think we can—”

Bones leans closer. “Look, I’m still in communication with Alik and Khalil. So in case you thought we were alone in this, think again—”

Bones stops abruptly at the sound of footsteps. The guard pauses in front of Kieron’s cage and stares at him for a moment, then makes his way to stand in front of Bones and me.

“I don’t think your little friend in there wants to ever wake up,” he says with a derisive sneer. “Oh well. We had plenty of fun with him already. Now it’s your turn.” With a sickening cackle he lets his tongue fly across the cage like a lasso, slicing my arms and face with burning acid. I scream out in agony, but am unable to stop the whipping that seems to come at me from every angle all at once. Bones jumps in front of me, but time and time again, the tongue snakes around him, shredding my flesh to ribbons.

“Get down!” Bones barks as he phases back into a hellhound. I crouch on the stone floor, shocked and silent, shivering in agony. One last lashing sears across my scalp before Bones manages to cover me completely with his massive frame. I’m hardly able to breathe beneath the bulk of fur and muscle, but at least the vicious tongue can’t get me anymore. I don’t know if it’s attacking Bones now, if he’s taking the brunt of the slicing whips for me. I can’t think about anything but the searing pain screaming from every inch of my skin, and growing worse by the second…as if all the excruciating agony and unbearable suffering in the world has been released inside my body. I know that soon my racing heart will no longer be able to handle the torture and will stop beating all together. I almost welcome it.

“Now, Mr. Zoran. What did I tell you about eating our guests?” Xandria’s musical voice rings out. “I want them in good condition. Come now. Leave them be.”

My body quivers uncontrollably from the stinging welts, and blood rushes freely from the many deep gashes. Even the putrid air feels like burning acid on my skin. My labored breathing turns shallow; my heart pounds erratically. I feel Bones’ massive frame moving off me, followed immediately by the soothing sensation of his wide tongue lapping my wounds again and easing the pain.

He licks the top of my head and my face, and then my arms. Without hesitation I take off my corset so he can heal the gashes on my back and abdomen. I lie flat on my back as he leans over me, licking my broken skin clean and whole. The pain gradually subsides to a near tolerable level, and I lower my pants so he can soothe the burning on my thighs.

When he finishes, I silently dress and collapse in the corner. Nothing can stop the tears now. Curled up in a ball, I let them flow down my cheeks and onto the crunch of the straw floor. Bones comes over, wraps his arms around me and holds me tight.

“C’mon, Lucky Love. Stay strong. You’re tougher than this. I know you are.”

I turn my tearstained face to him. My throat is tight, my voice soft. “This has nothing to do with being
tough
, Bones. This has to do with the fact that I am so cursed and so damned that everyone who even gets close to me suffers and dies and it’s all my fault. Don’t you see?”

Bones wipes away a tear and brushes my hair away from my eyes. “No, actually, I
don’t
see. The only thing I see is you feeling sorry for yourself because your simple little plan didn’t go as smoothly as you’d hoped.”

“We’re going to die here,” I choke out. “You know that, right?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Since when did you give up so easy? What’s gotten into you? Where’s that piss and vinegar and firespitting attitude I love about you?”

I say nothing, as I have no answer for this. Was it seeing Aria’s head flying past me and Gyan’s mocking smile? Or was it seeing Kieron, one of the strongest and most resourceful demons I’ve even known, hanging like a helpless, petrified rag doll? Or, locked here in this invisible cage, is it the fact that I am totally and utterly at the mercy of my sadistic captors…that I can’t fight back against them, but only hide under Bones like a weak, scared kitten?

I let out a long, whimpering sigh and press myself against Bones’ warm body, resting my chin on the arm he has wrapped around my shoulders. We’re quiet for a long while, and I stare over at Kieron…still hanging limply…not moving.

“Bones, I have a question for you,” I say quietly.

“Shoot,” he whispers in my ear.

“What do you think happens to us when we die? Do you know? Where do we go? What becomes of us?”

He pauses before answering. “Well…it’s different for me than it is for you…”

“Really? How so?”

“Well, as a pure demon, by design I am immortal. I will never cease to be. I am as forever as the universe—”

“But other demons die all the time! They turn to dust and—”

“Only the shells die…the containers of our spirits. Never the being inside. That goes somewhere else…”

“Where?”

Bones shrugs. “It depends. Demons were designed to be immortal. But if they are weaker than an enemy they can be eliminated…removed from the scene. Natural selection, you might say. But the spirit remains intact...it’s eternal. When a demon dies, then the manner of death is taken into account. Sometimes they go to another dimension, recycled for other purposes. Maybe they stay in the underworld with other spirits and souls, maybe they come back here…”

“Wait…a demon can die but come back to life?” I ask, flabbergasted. How come I’ve never heard of this?

“Well, no, not come back to life as they were
before
they were killed. They
might
come back in a different form and live in Thiberoux, but usually they’d be unable to access the Portals to mortal worlds…only other demon dimensions. The mortal Earth is one of the most desirous places to be. If a demon is eliminated, for whatever reason, he is usually deemed unworthy of inhabiting the Sapies’ plane of existence and is sent elsewhere for punishment. But on occasion, I’ve heard of a few coming back as Jumpers.”

I scrunch my eyebrows. “What’s a Jumper?”

“It’s when a demon becomes human…sort of. They jump from human body to human body. They have limited powers and can’t stay in the same host for very long, as they wear them out. Sounds like a horrible way to live if you ask me…”

“Well, what do you think will happen to me when
I
die?” I ask, more subdued this time. But I’d better prepare myself for my inevitable fate. I’ve heard the humans tell their stories of heaven for the good people and hell for the bad. Of course, I know it’s not quite that simple, and their version of ‘heaven’ would be my version of ‘hell’…having to spend eternity with those nightmarish Light-angels.

“You, my dear, are a bit different.”

“So what happens?”

“I wish I could say for certain, but I can’t. A part of you will never die…you’ll live for eternity just as I will…”

“But?”

“But a part of you will be lost forever. You will forget who you were. When you leave this world, you’ll have no memory when you re-enter the next. You’ll be like a blank slate at every turn.”

“You say it as if you’re different—”

“I am. Unlike you, I
do
remember every life, every world I’ve lived in.”

“Wait, are you telling me you’ve died before?”

Bones chuckles. “Yeah. Many times, actually.”

My jaw is practically on the floor. “
Really?
That is sooo cool! Tell me everything you remember…”

“It’d just be easier if
you
could remember,” he says with a small grin. I’m confused, and he gently strokes my hair. “Lucky, this isn’t the first time you’ve led me to my death. Actually…it’s
at least
the sixth or seventh time.”