Demon Dark (27 page)

I clasped the hilt of the dagger Breandan had given me, the one I should have used the first time I had gotten close to Cael.

Open yourself to the possibility that people loved you, still love you, you ll see that what you re doing is unbelievably crazy and stupid. I don t think even I could screw up this badly. Cael, I m standing right here for you!

He looked up, expression guileless, and my heart took flight. Then when he simply stared I realized he looked right through me. His milky orbs focused on mine, and he smiled. Shoulders shaking he covered his reddening face with his hands.

My heart wrenched. I reached to him, anxious to soothe his tears and offer comfort, my hands coming away from the dagger, deciding it was not the way, that I could do this without spilling blood.

He giggled.

The soft and creepy sound wasn t right at all. I paused, tilting my head at him trying to gauge his mood.

He giggled again, a wicked gleam in his eye, before his creepy giggle exploded into full-blown laughter.

Weak,

he chortled.

Even now with you precious Wyld at risk you fight to save one soul.

He laughed again.

You re a fool, a weakling.

He lunged forward and grabbed the dagger. Eyes narrowed, he pursed his lips before shaking his head at me.

Ah. For all your pretty words, I think you mean to kill me, Rae.

He opened his palm and the dagger lifted, hovering in the air. Cael smirked, and the blade climbed higher.

Distracted by his advancement, and distrustful of the dagger floating overhead, I moved back warily. The platform cracked and broke away beneath my foot, unable to bear my weight. I lost balance tilting back, wings jackknifing out.

Cael grabbed my wrist and pulled me into him. He snatched the blade from the air and held the tip under my chin, pressed it into my throat.

This might have done some actual harm to me in my weakened state,

he mused as he applied more pressure. My skin punctured under the tip and burned, the fear and feel of iron almost overwhelming.

Using this much magic drains me, you see. How am I ever to trust you if the moment my back is turned you thrust a dagger into it? Tell me that dear sister mine.

Sighing disappointedly, he pushed me away from him, back into the centre of the platform, to the heart of the power. He stood at the edge, haloed in the brilliance of his destructive magics.

Pushing myself up onto all fours, I ducked my head, ashamed of what he d realized. Then I remembered my purpose, that what he was trying to do justified my extreme actions.

I angrily lifted my chin in defiance.

Gods, Cael,

I said in a pained voice.

Have you left me any other choice? Would you listen to yourself? If you were me what would you do?

His mocking laughter cut off, and the brief animation it lent his eyes died. They became icy flints voided of compassion and care.

It s over, Priestess. I m simply finishing the destruction our dear mother started. It is poetic. The bastard son who was born from betrayal will be the one to end it all.

He sneered at me.

You, sister & I hope your death is

A flicker of movement behind him caught my eye

Lochlann landed in a crouch behind Cael, sword in hand. His face was drawn into a frightening warrior s scowl, and dry smears of blood slashed across his face.

I lunged forward and cried out reaching for Cael.

Without hesitation, Lochlann stood and swung his sword in an arc. It moved so fast the blade blurred into a falcate of silver. Completing the skilled move, he thrust forward with all his might, his aim exact, and his form faultless.

The deadly tip of the blade punched through Cael s chest. His torso wrenched forward suspended in a crescent of limbs.

Blood spattered across my face and neck. I roughly swiped at the hot gore, my fingers numb. It smelt like iron. Bile rose in my throat, and the bitterness prickled the tip of my tongue.

It didn t seem real. All was quiet and still, as if we stood in a vacuum devoid of any thought of feeling.

The blade pulled free, and my brother was tugged back with it, chest sinking inward. Cael swayed. Attempting to touch the ragged hole where his heart was, he keeled over.

The shock of the moment left me. I caught him under the arms and lowered down with his dead-weight, my legs weak and unsteady. We both rested on our knees, and I wrapped my arms around him to hold him close, whispering his name into his dark hair. His head drooped on my shoulder, and his limp body shook.

Hot blood spurted down my front and pooled around my knees.

Turning him gently, I maneuvered him onto his back and pillowed his head on my lap.

I dithered, hands flapping, not sure what to do. Taking a brief mental pause, I exhaled then pressed my hand down on his chest. The more I pushed the more blood flowed. He needed to heal. Would his body be able to after he had used do much of his energy fighting us then summoning his dark spell?

I focused on the magics I knew were possible for such a task, but nothing happened.

I tried to draw wasted power from the occasional geysers of magic that over spilled from the pillar of magic he d conjured, but it was all too intense, and my concentration too fractured.

We need Conall,

I mumbled.

He heals. I destroy things, he s the healer.

The red liquid flowed freely and thickly between my fingers. I pressed my other hand on top of the other. Ducking my head, I blew out a breath, my cheeks puffing out as I resisted the urge to retch. I whispered a prayer.

Please make it stop. Please. I won t ask for anything else again, I promise.

I kept up the chant, knowing it was not working, knowing his life was seeping away.

The sound of metal scraping leather jerked my head up.

Lochlann sheathed his blade behind his back.

It is done,

he said with more than an air of relief. He frowned when the magic around us continued to rage.

Tell him to stop his spell.

Wiping away tears streaking down Cael s deceptively young face, I patted him on the cheek to bring his heavy-lidded eyes up to mine. The golden irises were dulled. How could I have not looked into his face from the first and known he was kin.

Tell me how to stop this.

He coughed, a horrible wet sound that had blood spewing across his lips. His ribcage lifted, and his face contorted with pain. His chest rose jerkily and collapsed, more red oozed from the wound through his body. Already he healed naturally, keeping him with us longer, but the damage was too great for a fairy to survive.

He opened his mouth, his eyes trying to transmit something to me. I leaned down and tipped my ear to his mouth.

You,

he croaked and started to giggle again.

I jerked back, turned my head to the side to avoid showing him my pain.

I can t guess this on my own. Please,

I begged him,

tell me how to stop the spell.

I patted his cheek to keep him focused.

You can t want this. Think of your daughter. Think of Ana.

He chuckled and reached up to trace a tear as it flowed down my cheek with his bloodied hand.

You, sister. My birth sealed the destruction of our Wylds.

His eyes slid away, dimming.

Is it not apt your death can save them? The magic needs somewhere to go. Draw the force into you, and it will stop.

The air thickened with magics, sealing his oath of truth and he smiled at me again.

I just wanted my family to love me.

The manic smile melted from his face, and the light in his eyes died.

I held my brother, only for a few seconds, no time to linger as I wanted to. I wiped the tears from his cheeks and kissed his brow. Cael was my blood and so misunderstood. I could not help him or save him, not even from himself.

The world blurred out of focus entirely as my eyes watered. I sobbed, my body bent over double, rocking back and forth.

No,

Lochlann shouted.

Pulled back from my heartache by his bellow, I went over everything Cael told me. I could end his spell by finding the eye of the magic and drawing the power into me. It could work. I would burn alive pulling that much magical energy inside me and doing nothing with it. Acting as its destination rather than its channel, as Cael had done. But if I could control it for a few seconds, possibly I would survive long enough to disperse it. I was a direct connection to the Source; it was physically possible to absorb the power even as my body broke apart. Cael was powerful enough to pull this much magic into the world, and I was the only one strong enough to send it back again. It had to be me, the power of my bloodline.

The magic will continue to grow unless I stop it,

I said.

Cael managed to pull too much from the Source before you severed the connection. It s self sustaining, so we must staunch the flow.

Fine,

Lochlann bit out,

but not you. Conall will

I turned furious eyes to him.

Conall would do this for me without a second thought to himself, but I would never let him. How could I? Besides, he s not magically strong enough. The only other being who can wield that amount of power is me.

Lochlann watched, aghast, as I gently lay Cael s head down. I took the amulets from my brother s chest, and placed the leather cord around my neck.

The words of a dying mad man,

he ground out, further incensed by my tenderness, but I really didn t care.

Did Cael ever lie, Lochlann? He was bound to truth, and you know it. You felt magic answer his oath just like I did. He was many things, but not a liar.

You cannot expect me to

I spun to him, accusations of how our woeful lack of options was his fault leapt to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them, the blame a hard lump to digest. He already knew we were backed into a corner because of his rash actions. What good was it to throw it back in his face when he did what any ruler would do to try and save his people, the Wyld he was sworn to protect?

I exhaled sharply.

I do and you must.

He inhaled as if to bellow at me, but for all his huffing, he said nothing. His blue-green eyes blazed. Determination to have his way settled into the lines of his face.

You will not stand against me in this. He will never forgive me.

My shoulders slumped, and I was not going to hide it. The thought of Breandan learning I had chosen to stay here rather than return to him made me physically sick. Of course I wanted to leave I wanted to run to Breandan and hide, to have him hold me and protect me. I wanted his voice to be the last thing I heard. I wanted to breathe in the scent of sunlight and earth from his skin, and feel the firm smoothness of his chest as I burrowed closer. I wanted his heart to thud against mine as he kissed me.

What I wanted was not what the Wyld needed, so I would not go to him.

I would stay.

Moving closer to Lochlann, I sought the words to reason him through this, to force his hand.

And for once, I had the words the right words.

I clasped his head and tugged it down. His pale hair contrasted sharply with my tan skin, and I had to lift up onto my toes to meet him halfway. Like his brother, he was tall.

What about the Tribe?

I whispered.

Would you have our people die screaming in a river of fire? That is all that will be left if this magic is left to gather force. Already it s out of control, sucking more energy, tearing our home apart. Everything you have fought for will be gone.

I paused, ready to seal his wavering decision.

What about Daphne? You ll curse me for not doing this when you are forced to watch her burn.

Jerking violently, his teeth clenched as the thought rocked him to the core.

I

You re really going to attempt to deny what is plain to anybody who looks at the two of you?

I raised an eyebrow.

The girl climbed a tree, Lochlann. She hates heights, but when she heard you were up here with Cael, a man she s terrified of, she climbed it like one of us. I know you have a blood tie to her. She lied for you, didn t she? At the Meet she never told you to kiss me, she told you to kiss her. She compelled you.

His hands came up to cover mine on his head. His face was troubled.

She told me to press my lips to hers.

Um, say-so. You did a lot more than just press your lips to hers if I remember correctly.

I snickered.

Oh for god s sake, don t pout. I ve been there remember?

Yes, and look at how that ended.

He paused.

I m sorry that I did not stand by you at the Meet.

I m not,

I said softly.

You did what you needed to do, and it was the right thing. Don t apologize for doing what you do best.

Sighing, his eyes pressed shut as if he were in agony.

Don t ask me to do this.

He let go of my hands and clutched my shoulders.

You and I never see eye to eye, we probably never will, but you are my sister. I love you.

He paused.

Even if I don t particularly like you.

I rested my forehead on his chin and took what comfort I could from his embrace. He was a poor substitute for my Breandan, but that was not his fault. It never was. In his way, he was trying to reassure me, and I would forever be grateful.