In the Company of Witches (40 page)

As she turned a speculative gaze to her crew, Raina could see her considering it. Anything Raina said would turn her toward it, because Erica would know she was trying to protect him. So she’d have to fight her off, because no way in hell this Underworld skank was touching Mikhael.

“No time for that,” Erica decided. “I’ve stayed off the radar a long time. Having him alive and giving him a decoy to blame for all this will work better for me than having Lucifer digging into who killed one of his precious Dark Guardians. They’re his elite hit squad, you know. Treasures them like sons.” Glancing down, her face split with that horrible smile again. “Especially one with angel blood. Nope. Don’t want that kind of attention. A girl knows when it’s wise to be coy.”

As the demon fixed that intent gaze on her, Raina tensed. “Come with me without a struggle and I won’t kill everyone inside the house. You can sense their well-being, so you’ll know if I’m lying or not. I’ll leave him where he lies.”

Raina snorted. “You’ll just come back later and kill them, after you have me where you want me.”

“Possible. But it does give you time to come up with a plan to thwart me, doesn’t it? The alternative is I send my pets in there and they eat them alive. Sex demon is their favorite aphrodisiac. Better than oysters, because they can fuck them, then kill them. You have some delicate morsels.”

If only she’d considered it long before Marisa suggested it, teaching them how to handle the shielding magic and their own protections. She’d focused so much on keeping them safe, she’d forgotten the best thing to do for those she loved was to teach them how to fend for themselves, stand on their own two feet. But now wasn’t the time for regrets.

Raina had powerful friends. Plus, no matter what she meant to the male on the ground, when he woke up—and he
was
going to wake up, damn it—he was going to be majorly pissed off. He’d hunt this bitch to the ends of the earth. Unless Raina figured out a way to disembowel her first, her new mission in life.

She tried not to look at the paleness of his face or wonder again how badly he was hurt.
You let a girl get the jump on you, Mikhael. When this is over, I’m
so
not going to let you live that down
.

“Fine. But first I do this.” Using the athame, she nicked Mikhael’s wrist, brought it to her lips and swallowed the blood. Now she could sense his existence the same way she could her sex demons. Another way succubi were like vampires, in their ability to track through the blood. One big happy blood-sucking genus.

As she remembered Mikhael’s dry humor, she pushed away the thought of what it would feel like if his life impression disappeared off her radar. Of course he’d tease her about that, say something like,
I knew you cared.

“Bring out the youngest female. We’ll start with her.”

“No,” Raina said sharply. “I’m going with you.”

“Too late. An example is in order. I didn’t give you permission to take the Dark Guardian’s blood.”

Raina curled back her lip. “I don’t answer to you. If your filth takes one step onto that porch, I will fight you. Those in the house will fight you. We might all die, but what you do to one of us is a strike against all of us. You take me now, all your minions with you, I go quietly. For now.”

Erica eyed her, but Raina knew she was going to win this one, because she meant it. It was like she’d told Mikhael the night he’d come:
I won’t be your doormat.

“Fine.” Erica shrugged. “Drop your protection.”

“I’ll come out to you.” The protection would hold; she’d dedicate every ounce of energy to it as long as she could, no matter how it depleted her. Li and the others would know what to do once they were gone. The question was would it be too late?

She did know what it was to be out of control of the situation. She didn’t want her argument with Mikhael to haunt her now, but if she’d needed a slap in the face about the difference between his idea of control and Erica’s, she was getting that life lesson now.

Awesome, I get it. You can let me wake up now.

Li would do what she’d sent her beloved Cathair to do. Call Ruby, call Ramona. Get Derek. Goddess, the Light Guardian would never let her live it down if he found out that calling him had been her first thought when Mikhael went down. Given the adversarial relationship between the two males, Mikhael himself might have preferred the dismemberment and burning-oil option.

He’d get over it. Please, Goddess, let them all live to get past this moment.

The Lord helps those who help themselves.
Raina was a strong believer in that mantra, whether divine power showed itself as God or Goddess, or an amalgamation of both, so her prayer fit accordingly.

Give me the strength and opportunity to take this bitch apart. And make her suffer for Cathair. Please also let Mikhael be okay. But don’t tell him I asked for that
.

19

I
’VE NEVER LOST A BATTLE YET
.

How do I know that’s not an exaggeration, a boast? A lie?

Because I’m alive.

Do you anticipate everything?

You don’t want to be around the day I don’t.

“You should thank me for telling you how to kill Mikhael. It’s always good for a woman to know how to get rid of a man, because they all become irritating.”

Speaking of irritating. Coming back into painful consciousness, Raina tried to cling to the memory of Mikhael’s voice, but it was no use. Erica never got tired of hearing herself talk. In all fairness to the psychotic demon, she didn’t get much stimulating company, since her base of operations was a hole in the middle of nowhere, a rabbit warren of sorts. Plus she was surrounded by thugs who couldn’t speak, just grunt and drool.

Raina had no idea where they were, because she’d been put in a sack. To thwart any of Raina’s attempts to use magic to track her whereabouts or leave a trail, Erica had taken other measures as well.

Raina had bitten down on the instinctive panic as the fabric tightened around all of her, immobilizing her arms and legs. The suffocating feeling was alleviated only by the small hole Erica cut into the mouth area, managing to slice Raina’s lip at the same time. “Are you familiar with the principle of the iron maiden?”

Raina cried out as it felt like her body was speared in a hundred different places by sharp, short spikes. “A very real illusion, one of my favorites. No bleeding out, but oh so deliciously painful. It keeps your mind on things other than causing me problems. Here we go. I’d say hold on, because it’s a bumpy ride, but you can’t hold on to anything, can you? Entirely at my mercy.”

One of the thug demons had thrown her onto his shoulder, his ham hands handling her like a bull juggling china. That was when she lost consciousness, because whatever vortex they’d gone through to get to Erica’s hiding place had caused her head to hit something hard and unyielding. Rock, she thought, now that she was getting her bearings. She was no longer in the sack. She was in a cramped cage, naked. There was a steel collar on her throat and cuffs on her wrists, both spelled the way Elceus had done it to keep her succubus powers from working.

It was like waking up back in time, a time that still caused her nightmares, as Mikhael well knew. Erica had intended it that way, so Raina fought the fear, fought it with everything she had. She wasn’t a victim. She was never going to be a victim again.

Mikhael was right; she did love movies, and now she remembered
The Man in the Iron Mask
, Leonardo DiCaprio declaring:
“I wear the mask. It does not wear me.”

She had a problem Leonardo didn’t have, however. She was weak from blood loss and getting hungry. In short order, she’d be headed into ravenous, and it wasn’t the human side of her that wanted to feed.

Erica gave Raina an appraising look. “Salivating a bit, aren’t you? The pain helps accelerate that. But you’re not quite hungry enough. I want you so hungry you’d drain a baby if I gave it to you.”

Raina’s gaze narrowed to slits and Erica laughed. “Before you can give one of those tiresome speeches about how you’d never do such a thing, don’t worry. I’m not going to do that. I need your help with an experiment. I’m a student of your Craft myself, and I think, with your gifts, you can kill an incubus the way you can kill a human male. Your unique blend of witch and succubus magic will not only suck him dry, but make his power yours. You could become far more powerful than you are now, perhaps able to drink life energy with merely a look. You’d serve me far better that way.”

Fucking hell. Yes, in her studies, Raina had suspected the ability to do what Erica described lay within her grasp. For obvious reasons, she’d never pursued or honed it. However, both the Underworld and heavens were aware of the potential, which was one of the many reasons Raina knew they both kept a close eye on her relationship with her sex demons. When Isaac ran to her sanctuary, Erica had done her research, probably torturing an Underworld archivist. She’d discovered there was more of value at Sweet Dreams than Isaac. Raina and Mikhael had both focused on Isaac at her target. Now Raina and Isaac were both in the demoness’s hands, and she was wanting to play mad scientist with abilities no one should ever use.

When the she-demon looked pointedly at the far wall, Raina saw Isaac there, tethered by chain and collar, the chain bolted to the floor. The young incubus had been badly beaten. Not enough to be unconscious now, but possibly earlier. He was staring at Erica, his body rigid with terror. At Raina’s searing look, Erica shrugged.

“He was cooperative enough, telling us when you were both away from the house so I could set up my ambush. But when I was going to let my demons have their way with you while you were out, he got very difficult. Fortunately for you, they expended their sadistic cruelty on him while you had your nap. Kept them occupied and out from underfoot.”

Raina met Isaac’s gaze, though it was a little difficult, since his eyes were nearly swollen shut, his nose broken and mouth torn. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice a rasp. Even that sent him to coughing blood.

“Oh, enough about you.” Erica gave him a kick as she went by. Isaac didn’t make a noise; he just became paler and shuddered.

Raina made herself look away, take note of her surroundings. It was a large cavern, uncomfortably warm, thanks to a gaping pit in the center that emanated heat.

“Do you like my fire pit?” Erica caught her scrutiny. “A direct drop through the Underworld to the Earth’s core. It goes on for miles. I’ve thrown creatures down there, just to see how long I can hear their screaming. It takes a couple moments for that short, lovely shriek of death to reach my ears, long after they’re already burning.”

Raina didn’t respond. She saw other tunnels leading off from this one. Escape routes, or rooms for more supplies? Erica’s demons would be coming and going eventually, giving her intel on what lay beyond this chamber.

“In your pathetic attempt to determine your escape options, you haven’t noticed my newest acquisition. Other than you, of course.” Erica nodded to the far wall, where what looked like a silver flute with elaborate markings and scrollwork was laid in brackets. “With that, I can take a soul, hold on to it, make the body do as I desire. Forever. The power that thing holds will enhance my own considerably. I can use it as a battery charger. Even better than a vibrator, something I’m sure you know a great deal about, with your tedious attempt to suppress your succubus power. You won’t be doing that anymore.”

She would happily shove that thing where a vibrator would go, just to see Erica yelp. But Erica was on to another topic.

“I’m sure you’re worrying about the Dark Guardian. Don’t waste your concern. That particular male is very affirmative action. He likes his pussy as diverse as I like my weapons. You were just his latest notch. But don’t get down in the mouth about it. No one wants to be an angel’s chosen. There’s no divorce for them. They only choose one love, ever. He never has, though. Almost thirteen hundred years, if you can believe it. Too much human to him, too much darkness.”