Seducing the Demon Huntress (8 page)

Black fire flared and silently she thanked Arawn for giving her the necessary moments to say goodbye.

“Okay,” Sarah whispered.

Kerilyn felt bittersweet pain as she gazed at the last of her family. Sarah was safe. She’d accomplished her goal. Now she had to ensure the damned king didn’t live to undo her work. Her body was tired and battered but she still had fight left in her. Arawn needed her.

“Don’t live my life,” she whispered to Sarah, pressing the box of salt into her little hands. With a last look at the girl she’d risked her life to save, Kerilyn forced herself to turn away. She’d be safe in the salt. No demon would be able to touch her.

Kerilyn, however, had no such protection.

Shots rang out as she emptied her clip on the demons standing between her and Arawn. The spirit lord was battling his brother, just as he’d promised he would. The sight made her chest tighten. Here she’d been doubting him and he’d come through, giving her the time she needed.

The demons gave the fighting brothers a wide berth and Kerilyn could see why. The pair were evenly matched. They even moved the same. Every time one attacked, the other moved to deflect the blow in perfect symmetry. Watching them was almost like watching a dance. A bloody, brutal dance.

Evenly matched, she thought, slamming a new clip into her gun. But Arawn had one thing Abaddon didn’t. Her.

Slicing through the last demon in her way, Kerilyn raced toward her lover.

“Stay back,” Arawn ordered, blasting his brother with more fire.

Kerilyn snorted at the command. Like hell she was letting him do all the heavy lifting. Aiming for Abaddon’s heart, she squeezed the trigger.

The demon king jerked as bullets hit his chest. He turned away from his brother and set his sights on her. An inhuman roar thundered through the warehouse as he bared sharp, pointed teeth at her. With a wave of his hand, her gun flew from her grasp.

She shrugged off her bag. Before it hit the ground she grabbed two more daggers and prepared to meet the oncoming king.

Abaddon charged at her with frightening fury. Every time she tried to attack he was there, anticipating her movements. Every blow was deflected. Arawn fought his brother with magic while she tried to use her knives, but neither of them made a dent. Abaddon’s rage added to his already considerable strength.

One of his brutal blows caught her in the stomach and she doubled over, dropping to one knee. Only a quick roll saved her from being torn to shreds by the king’s bare hands.

But demons had far more tricks up their sleeves than physical prowess and Abaddon was the strongest of them all. His royal blood gave him all the demons’ strengths with few of their weaknesses, both physically and magically. And against magic, Kerilyn had no defense.

Abaddon grinned, a vicious twist of his lips, and reached for her. The air froze in her chest as his fingers stretched toward her like claws. She tried to breathe but her lungs refused to work.

The panic was overpowering. Clawing at her throat, she fought to take in air. Her vision dimmed as she sank to her knees.

Wicked pleasure lit Abaddon’s eyes as he suffocated her. She tried to think of something, anything, she could do to save herself but drew a blank. Her time was running out.

Arawn, however, hadn’t left her alone. Rounding on his brother, he wrapped a powerful hand around Abaddon’s throat.

Kerilyn gasped as air rushed back into her body. The king obviously needed his powers to best his brother. For a moment all she could do was pant as her oxygen-starved body came back to life. She looked up at the fighting brothers and realized just how out of her depth she was.

Fire flared around them. Wind tugged at their hair as they fought. Both men were wounded and bleeding. Even without weapons, they were doing more damage than she’d ever be able to inflict.

Kerilyn narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t attack head on. Abaddon had proved that if he saw her, her attack was finished. But maybe she could use Arawn as a distraction.

Slipping one dagger back into the sheath at her hip, she crept to her feet. She’d have one chance, one blow. Had to make it count.

Arawn’s dark eyes met hers for a moment as she sidled behind his brother, careful to keep out of his line of sight. She met Arawn’s gaze, knowing all it would take was a slip on his part and she was done. Looked like she was trusting him to choose her after all.

She stepped quickly to the side, moving with Abaddon like a shadow. Closer and closer she crept.

When she was in position, she wasted no time on second guessing.

“Abaddon!” she called.

The king whirled toward her just as she struck.

Her dagger sliced through the air to lodge itself in his throat. Red eyes widened in surprise. It’d be a killing blow on any other creature, but this was a lord of the Netherworld. It’d take more than this to put him down.

But Arawn leaped forward. His hands pressed against the sides of his brother’s face as magical words dripped from his lips. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his spell. Weakened as Abaddon was, Arawn had all the advantage he needed.

Kerilyn watched the blood trickle from Abaddon’s lips. She couldn’t look away from the hatred in his eyes but even that terrifying emotion couldn’t stem the smile of triumph curving her lips. They’d done it. Arawn would send him back and they’d be free. She’d actually survived the night.

Red eyes narrowed even as wind whipped around them. Even Kerilyn could feel the rising magic playing across her skin. Every hair on her arms stood on end as Arawn’s power flooded the room. Abaddon started to flicker like static on a bad television set. Soon he’d be out of her life for another year.

She should have stepped back, should have broken the king’s mesmerizing gaze and moved away. If she had, she never would have been close enough for his hand to strike out.

Pain flared in her side, so sharp and encompassing it stole her breath away.

Satisfaction filled the red eyes she couldn’t look away from. Blood ran down Abaddon’s ruined throat, but he smile anyway.

They both knew he’d won.

Abaddon winced in pain, dropping his eyes from hers, and the connection broke. Finally able to look down, Kerilyn saw the demon king’s claws embedded in her flesh. A killing blow if she’d ever seen one.

A metallic taste filled her mouth and she knew it was blood. Her body was faltering.

Nothing felt real as she raised her hand and grabbed her dagger. With a last vicious twist she tore it from his throat, slicing through muscle and skin in the process.

Agony to match her own filled his eyes as he flickered from view. With a spray of blood the demon king vanished, banished back to his own realm for another year.

Without his support, Kerilyn crumpled to the ground.

“Kerilyn!” Arawn thundered, leaping to catch her.

She forced herself to keep her eyes open. Time was not something she had in spades and she didn’t want to waste a second of her last moments.

Arawn looked wild in a way she’d never seen before. The lord she knew was calm and collected. He never wore the panicked, desperate look she now saw in his eyes.

“You fought with me,” she whispered, coldness creeping into her body. “I didn’t really believe you would. Sorry.”

“Fool,” he charged without heat.

Kerilyn raised a weak hand and touched his perfect face. As last sights went, this one wasn’t bad.

“Looks like it’s our last Halloween after all,” she told him.

He caught her hand, pressing a kiss into her palm. “You’re going to let a demon get the best of you?”

She laughed painfully. “Don’t think I have much choice this time.” Blackness edged her vision but she didn’t want to close her eyes. Not yet. “Sarah,” she said, trying to force her lips to form the words. “Help her. Please.”

“Your niece has nothing to fear from me,” he promised her solemnly.

She tried to smile her thanks. There was so much she wanted to say. Apologies for not trusting him as she should have. Confessions of feelings she’d kept secret for too many years. But her tongue felt heavy in her mouth.

“Cold,” she whispered weakly, unable to express herself better.

Slowly the panic in his eyes was replaced by something else. His face filled with a strange expression of determination.

“I rule the dead,” he told her. “And I refuse to let you cross that line.”

Laying her on the ground, he grabbed her shirt and ripped it open, exposing her wound.

“I’m human,” she forced herself to say.

“I know,” he assured her. Turning his attention to her wound, he laid a cool hand over the torn flesh.

“What...?” Kerilyn tried to ask.

“Shhh,” he whispered. “Sleep.”

Kerilyn saw his hand start to burn with black fire before she lost her fight with unconsciousness and slipped into the darkness.

* * *

When she opened her eyes the first thing she realized was she was warm. The dead weren’t supposed to be warm. Her vision was still hazy, but she dimly made out the installation tubing running across the ceiling. Kerilyn twitched her fingers to make sure she still could. Surprisingly, there was no pain. Instead she felt someone’s arms wrapped around her as she was hugged tight against a chest.

Slowly, she twisted her head until she could make out the outline of black braids hanging beside her face. Raising her eyes, she saw a familiar face.

Arawn’s head bent toward hers, his eyes closed as if in pain.

Kerilyn had to swallow twice before she forced out one word. “Arawn.”

The arms around her stiffened and his dark eyes opened in shock. For once, his thoughts were not a mystery. Kerilyn had never seen such incredible joy before. Relief relaxed his face as a true smile curved his lips.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.

Weakly, Kerilyn smiled. “Me too.”

The memory of her wounds flooded back to her and she glanced over his shoulder. But instead of the army of demons she expected to see, the warehouse was empty.

“Sarah,” she breathed in panic.

“Shh,” Arawn replied. “She’s right here.”

With Arawn’s help, Kerilyn managed to sit up. Arawn had moved her closer to her niece and when she turned, there was Sarah huddled in her salt circle. The little girl watched her with large eyes, the salt container clutched to her chest. Kerilyn could only imagine the nightmares the child would suffer after this night.

“You’re alive!” Sarah exclaimed, scrambling to the edge of her circle. “Aunt Kerilyn, you’re alive!”

“Yeah,” Kerilyn said, leaning gratefully back against Arawn. “But the question is, why?” She tilted her head back to see him, waiting for her answers.

There was no forgetting the battle she’d fought. The wound in her side had been mortal. Not to mention the other injuries she’d received along the way. Without a doubt, she should be dead. Instead, all she felt was a little weak, and even that lingering complaint was fading with every breath. Her body was free of pain and when she glanced down at her left arm, she couldn’t see any of the scratches or bites she knew should be there. Even the blood and grit that should cover her body was gone, leaving her as fresh and whole as if she’d stepped from a shower.

“What did you do?” she demanded.

He looked grave. “Saved your life.”

“How?”

Reaching out he lifted the hem of her torn shirt. Kerilyn drew a sharp breath when she saw the black handprint now resting where her wound had once been.

“What the hell is that?” she said, touching the darkened skin.

“You were dying,” Arawn said. “So I let you, but only a little.”

“How can a person die a little?”

He touched her face, tilting her head up to him. “Do you think I cannot control death?”

A chill washed through her. With gritted teeth, she forced herself to crawl from the comforting warmth of his arms and turned to face him directly.

“Not human death,” she denied. “It doesn’t work that way.”

He nodded sharply. “Therefore I had to make you a little less human.”

Kerilyn gaped at him. Surely she’d misheard. He couldn’t have said what she thought he had. It was ludicrous. It was impossible. It was...terrifying.

“The mark on your flesh is not just any mark,” Arawn continued. “The black area is now spirit, not human. Since I control spirits, I could heal you once you had one foot in my realm.”

Kerilyn stared at the black flesh in horror. Gingerly she reached down to touch her side, hesitating only a second before she pressed her fingertips to the darkness tattooing her skin. It felt the same as it ever had. But if she truly was part spirit, then nothing was the same. She was one of the beings she’d feared her whole life. Where did that leave her? She breathed shallowly, trying not to let panic overtake her. How could she live as part spirit?

“I can explain everything to you,” Arawn told her, no doubt reading the expressions flying across her face. “But your niece has had enough trauma tonight. You should take her home.”

Kerilyn sucked in a sharp breath, looking at Sarah. He was right. She still had responsibilities. This was no time to let her fears take over.

Crawling to the circle’s edge, she held out her hand. “Sarah,” she said, trying to summon a reassuring smile. “Everything is ok. Want to go home?”

“Y-you said not to leave the circle,” Sarah protested.

“I know, honey, but things are different now. I’m here to make sure you stay safe.”

Sarah looked past her to Arawn.

“Don’t worry,” Kerilyn said. “He won’t hurt you. He’s a...friend.”

“Trust your aunt, child,” Arawn agreed.

Slowly Sarah unwound her arms from around her knees and shifted closer to Kerilyn.

“Good girl,” Kerilyn encouraged, pulling the child into her arms and hugging her tight. The little girl wrapped her arms around Kerilyn, holding on for dear life.

“I’m sorry,” Kerilyn said to her. “I’m so sorry we pulled you into this.”

“I want to go home,” Sarah whispered.

Kerilyn nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

She pushed herself to her feet, wobbling only slightly. Taking her niece’s hand, she turned to Arawn.