Call of the Siren (25 page)

Well said.
Lina grinned at Dagan. Somehow she thought he could probably relate.

Keegan cleared his throat, his voice noticeably softer when he said, “Maybe we can give him a chance.”

Taeg sighed, then shrugged. “As long as we move from this clearing in case he decides to give up our location, I guess I don’t see the harm in giving him a shot.”

“Don’t mean to break up the party,” Tenos called out from the other side of the clearing, his gaze still locked on the moon and the currents of energy he pulled down from it, “but this barrier is about to come down again. Might want to get everything in place.”

Keegan broke from the rest of the group and stalked across the clearing to where Rage stood. “You willing to help us, no matter the consequences?”

Rage gave him a casual nod. “Sure, why not?”

“It could mean your death, or worse,” Keegan warned him.

“Fuck, I’ve lived long enough.” Rage gave him an easy grin. “Besides, I could use a little excitement in my life.”

“In that case…”

When Keegan held out his hand, Rage’s tentatively hopeful expression said it all. The hybrid slowly reached out, as if he thought Keegan might pull away at the last moment, and shook Keegan’s hand.

Keegan shot him a quick grin. “Welcome to the club.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Belpheg stood in the massive clearing of his front lawn, a group of twelve strong men gathered around him. Flickers of energy pulled at him from the invisible shield. It was about to fall.

Let it.

He had everything he needed now. His men stood in place surrounding him, and the clan scrolls were in his hands. The only thing in question was the extent of his abilities.

This damned, failing body.

He should have had more than enough power to hold the shield in place, fill Mammon with the strength he needed, and perform the centering ritual. But he had to recognize the truth—he didn’t.

So he would sacrifice the shield, and he would use the power of the solstice moon to simultaneously grant Mammon additional power, perform the centering ritual, and call the Council members here. It would work.

It had to.

Failure was not an option, not after a lifetime of preparation to take the Council on. Give them what they deserved.

“Remain in place,” he called to his twelve as he rolled the scrolls and clutched them in one hand, using his connection to pull every available bit of power from the vellum pages, comprising his most prize possession. He raised both hands in the air and began to chant the words in his native tongue.

“Wava eterme, therso me, hirsue me, ectones flavone con eka shae. Reké flavone a lisha. Nivo me con mivafé tua.”

With me, through me, into me, ancestors fill my flesh with unending power. Bind my flesh to the earth. Fill me with unstoppable energy.

Immense pressure began to charge the air, weaving currents of electricity from each of the men to him. Their hair rose on end, creating an eerie impression of zero gravity.

“What’s happening?” Mammon called out.

It’s working.

Not as well as he would have liked. Though the bones of the zombies littering the field rattled and shook, the power he drew from them into Mammon was miniscule at best, something the demon could no doubt sense. But it was still working. Energy slowly wound through Belpheg’s body, filling him with hope and renewed determination.

It was going to work.

With an audible pop of electricity and a wave of power, the invisible barrier fell once more. He let out a low chuckle as the small army of zombies lining the property stumbled and staggered forward, heading straight toward them. No matter. He would use as much of their energy as he could to fuel Mammon.

“Where the hell did he come from?” Mammon suddenly muttered.

Belpheg followed the demon’s gaze to the left side of the clearing, where Mammon’s vampire-hybrid son had just strolled out from the forest. Keeping his eyes on the advancing horde of zombies, the vampire jogged to the perimeter of the circle.

“Where have you been?” Mammon asked him.

Rage glanced down at his gore-covered shirt before giving Mammon one of his signature, wild-eyed grins. “What does it look like? Fighting zombies.”

He sounded awfully happy about it, too. Imbecile.

Belpheg cast the vampire out of his mind. He was inconsequential now, and would most likely meet his death once this was all over. For now, there were more important things to worry about.

Like the fact that his other spell was beginning to work.

“What is that?” breathed one of his twelve men, his gaze on the shimmering figures that had begun to appear across the clearing.

“Is that…?” Mammon shifted uneasily in his spot as realization began to dawn.

“Yes.” Belpheg grinned. “I’ve called the Council members to us.”

His spell had weaved around the Council members’ souls, dragging their spirits into this dimension. Within minutes, their physical bodies would be forced to follow, since a corporeal body could not survive for very long without its life essence.

And once their bodies were again bound to their souls…

They would at last meet their rightful end.

…

Nestled into a spot at the edge of the forest, Dagan waited by his brothers for the invisible force field to fall. It was a less than comfortable spot, given that grisly zombies surrounded them on both sides. Their rotting stench floated over to him, singing his nostrils. Just being in their disgusting, drooling presence made his flesh crawl and his spine tingle. But at least he rested secure in the knowledge that the zombies weren’t after
him
this time.

Besides, with Lina at his side—with her hand tightly pressed into his—he might be able to withstand just about anything.

“Here it goes,” Tenos murmured from his spot several feet away.

A wave of energy whooshed through Dagan’s body, momentarily standing his hair on end. The barrier was down.

Acting on Brynn’s prior orders, the horde of zombies pushed forward without delay. Keegan waited for them all to pass before turning to the remainder of the group. “You all know what you have to do?”

The chorus of grim nods reflected their common understanding about the potential consequences of their actions.

“I’m not going to tell you it’s going to be okay. I don’t know what the future holds. What our chances are. But I know we need to act.” Keegan took a deep breath, his gaze raking over Tenos and Amara’s friends. “And I thank you all for laying it on the line to stand up with us.”

Amara’s mother Solara adopted an unusually stark expression. “We’re doing this for all of us, Keegan. That maniac has to be stopped, before he harms one more child or takes one more woman hostage. And we’re going to be the ones to do it. We’re going to stop him.”

Wow, those were the most impressive words that had ever come out of Solara’s mouth. Dagan nodded at her. “Well said.”

She gave him a saucy wink that was far more like her and blew him a kiss. From the way Lina’s hand tightened around his, she hadn’t missed the interaction. While she had nothing to worry about, he couldn’t help but be pleased by her reaction.

Keegan broke away from the group to go to Brynn, who stood with little Aegin snuggled safely in her arms. He’d apparently had quite an adventure, because after feeding he’d fallen straight to sleep. Not even the crowd of zombies they’d been surrounded by had been enough to keep his attention for long.

“I love you both,” Keegan murmured, closing his arms around Brynn and Aegin. “So, so much.”

“I know,” she answered tremulously. “I love you too. Be safe.”

Brynn and Keegan had decided she would remain behind while the rest of them attacked. The battlefield was no place for a baby, and Keegan would fight much better knowing he didn’t have to worry about protecting them. Still, she’d insisted on remaining close by, so she could keep an eye on the battle and direct her zombies if necessary. While they clearly didn’t need to be within earshot to respond to her commands, she’d never tested her range of control. And although Bram was clearly itching to join in the fight, he’d agreed to remain behind to protect Brynn and Aegin.

Dagan could only hope that if the unthinkable happened, if they all fell, Bram would help Brynn and Aegin safely escape. As long as some small part of their family remained alive, then any sacrifice they had to make would be worthwhile.

When Taeg moved forward to envelop Brynn and Aegin in a quick hug, Dagan followed his cue. “Take care of yourself.”

“You too,” Brynn whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Much as he felt like crying himself, knowing that the two of them remained behind lent Dagan strength. Through Aegin, part of them would go on living…and the knowledge of that was reassuring in a way he could never have imagined before the little guy came along.

“Ready?” Keegan asked. He drew the sword strapped to his back—Excalibur—and started through the brush.

“Stick together,” Tenos called out to them. “I can weave a spell of protection around us, but I don’t know how long it’ll last or how effective it’ll be against a fae of his power.”

Dagan let go of Lina’s hand to snatch the sword at his own back. Though it had been awhile, he’d been pretty decent at swordplay back in his Infernum days, where there had been no guns to wield. Swords worked better anyway, since the only surefire way to kill demons was by beheading—and hell, that worked for all other paranormals too.

“Stay by my side,” Lina said as she reached into her dagger holster and palmed two wicked-looking daggers.

Damn, but he loved the warrior-chick look on her—a perfect match to her take-charge attitude.

Shooting her a grin, he said, “Hey, that’s my line.”

She snorted, but didn’t respond as she drew her attention straight ahead, to what awaited them on the other side of the forest.

They spread out at the edge of the forest but stayed close together, the entire group forming one defensive line.

Without warning, Lina turned to him, her eyes shining with depth and ferocity. “In case we don’t come out of this one alive, I need you to know…I love you, Dagan.”

His heart stopped for one spellbinding moment.

“I tried not to,” she continued in a rush, “but it was hopeless from the very beginning, I think. You…honestly, you’re perfect.”

“I…” The world around them fell away. Ronin, the battle, none of that seemed important right now. Overwhelming gratitude warmed his heart, propelling him forward. He crushed her against him with his free hand, pressing his lips to hers in a long, heated kiss that could have gone on forever. It was over far too quickly, though.

Resting his forehead against hers, he whispered the words he’d longed to say for what had seemed like eternity. “I love you too, Lina.”

Before he could say anything else, Keegan gave the cue to proceed. After one last lingering look at Lina, Dagan pulled away and focused on the goal.

Together, they tromped through the final bit of forest and onto the edge of the castle grounds.

“Oh, shit.” Dagan stopped cold.

Right there in the middle of the castle grounds was a circle of twelve men. In the center stood a tall, dark-haired fae wearing long, black robes. His arms were stretched out to the sky, and fierce currents of electricity wound through and around him.

That wasn’t the worst part about it, though. Across from the circle stood a line of shimmering, translucent beings. Though he didn’t recognize their faces, he caught a glimpse of their eyes as the figures spun around, apparently trying to piece together what the hell was going on.

Those eyes were so damn familiar.

Council members.

“Oh, shit,” Lina whispered beside him.

They were too late. Belpheg had cast the circle.

Dagan’s gaze rested on their newly-discovered brother, Rage, who stood beside the circle, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

As useless as we expected.
Not that it stopped the sharp pang of disappointment in his chest.

Despite their efforts, Belpheg had formed his circle, and the Council members faced imminent death.

In other words, by all appearances, they were well and truly fucked.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Rage stood by the circle of twelve men, absorbing the residual pulses of energy that flowed from them to Belpheg. He did his best to appear uncaring and nonchalant, when inside he was freaking out just a little bit.

He’d never seen anything like this before. The apparent ease with which Belpheg pulled electricity from the sky, and through the twelve men surrounding him, was remarkable. Though the backs of his twelve bowed from the current of power flowing through them, Belpheg stood calm and upright.

For not the first time, it occurred to Rage that Belpheg probably had power like this pumping through him on a regular basis. No wonder his body had been falling apart at the seams.

Not so any longer, it seemed. The dark fae appeared renewed and reenergized.

Fuck
. He’d gotten here too late, hadn’t had any time to approach Maddox before Belpheg had started the spell.

One quick glance across the field told him the other group thought he’d betrayed them. The bitter, angry looks from the men who were his half brothers would probably have broken a saner individual. Combined with the dangerous aura of power pulsing off the dark fae, he had to fight his instinct to turn and slink out of sight. That would be the easy thing to do

Yet for once, he wanted to do something not because it was easy, but because it was right.

A particularly powerful blast of lightning wound through the sky before striking Belpheg’s outstretched arms. He shook from it, and his hands clenched before pulsing open to take in more power from his fingertips.

The scrolls fell from his hand, fluttering to the ground and coming to a stop by the feet of one of the twelve. Caught up in the power he absorbed, Belpheg didn’t even appear to notice.

He’s got a real hard-on for those damn scrolls.

Always stroking them. Never letting them out of his sight. He’d even brought them to the freaking battleground.

Almost as if they held some power of their own…

“Huh.”

He might be completely off base here, but at this point, anything was worth a shot.

As casually as he could, Rage sauntered over to the man closest to the scrolls. He tried to move in closer, but every time he got within a foot of the circle, a mind-numbing bolt of electricity shocked his system and tore a curse from his lips.

Maybe if he stuck his foot out…

Well, then maybe he’d be able to slide the scrolls toward him while remaining out of harm’s way.

…

Belpheg locked his gaze on the confused faces of the Council members. A bubbly burst of laughter wound through him. There were over a dozen of them, and within a matter of minutes, their bodies would solidify, making them all too easy to wipe out of existence. For now they remained unsubstantial, however. The hordes of advancing zombies passed right through them, seeking more corporeal sustenance. But the horrid creatures no longer concerned him…not with the power rising up within him.

“Welcome,” he said, using his resurging strength to magnify his voice across the entire field. He wouldn’t want to leave out the line of strangers who had just materialized from the forest. Even though the elf in their midst wove his moon magic to protect them, the Detainors and their measly backup were sadly out of their league here. Soon they would realize just how very much.

“You’re all just in time for the show.”

One of the Council members—a gorgon who appeared ageless and beautiful, but whose hair of long, silvery snakes spoke to her centuries of life experience—started to speak, but her voice was lost in the din created by the advancing zombies. And much as Belpheg tried to pull energy out of them and direct it into Mammon, it wasn’t working as well as he’d hoped.

It appeared the corpses were no longer of any use to him.

He flicked his hand, and the first line of zombies dismantled on a wave of power and electricity, dropping harmlessly to the ground.

Yes.
Felt so fucking good to be back in fighting shape.

He had but a moment to relish the look of fear on the Detainors’ faces as they realized the true extent of his power, before he magnified the voices of the Council members, allowing them to be heard.

The gorgon who’d dared speak paused when her amplified voice cut through the field. After taking a moment to compose herself, she began again.

“What’s the meaning of all this? What have you done?”

When the urge to laugh overtook him, he gave into it once again. “As if you don’t know. As if you haven’t all been preparing for this eventuality for the past several months.”

“But we
don’t
know,” the gorgon responded. “Who are you, and what have we done to you to make you respond in this manner?”

Her shaky but determined tone gave him pause. Could it be possible that not every Council member was involved in the incident leading to the demise of his people?

No, he wouldn’t even consider such a thing. Nothing would prevent him from at last taking the revenge he’d so desperately sought these many years. The revenge he’d tainted his very soul for.

The Council was responsible for his peoples’ deaths. They would pay accordingly.

But since he had a few more minutes until their bodies actually materialized at the scene, he would indulge her questions. For now.

“Allow me to enlighten you, Madame.”

…

Dagan watched in horror while Belpheg broke apart an entire group of zombies with nothing more than a flick of his wrist.

“Fuck me,” he breathed.

“Shit,” Keegan muttered, his tone strangled. “He’s more powerful than I thought.”

“What should we do, bro?” Taeg asked, shifting nervously in his spot. “Should we attack?”

Keegan shook his head. “Wait for my cue.”

The dark fae took a long, pregnant pause before resuming. “Forty years ago, the Council decimated my entire clan while they slept one night…for no other reason than you felt they had become too powerful to live. I, a child of twelve at the time, was the only survivor…saved and hidden away by a demon named Mammon.”

Dagan exchanged a heavy glance with Ronin. Lina had said Belpheg claimed the Council decimated his clan, but they’d dismissed it as the ravings of a lunatic. Could it possibly be true?

“You lie,” the Councilwoman spat, stiffening in clear anger and denial. “The Council serves to protect all species. To preserve life. Not to take it.”

Dagan’s thoughts exactly. Though he knew from firsthand experience that the Council didn’t always make the best decisions—actually, many of them were downright shitty—what Belpheg claimed went against everything the Council stood for.

And Mammon as a savior? Inconceivable.

Still pulling energy from the circle of men surrounding him, including one visibly aged Mammon, Belpheg lifted a hand. Another score of zombies dropped with that one casual gesture.

“Why would I lie about a thing such as this?” he asked, his gaze flicking over each and every one of the Council members’ images. “Why would I dedicate my entire life to destroying you without a justifiable reason?”

Belpheg had a point. No one would do such a thing without cause…nobody in their right mind, at least.

“Perhaps you weren’t personally involved,” Belpheg said to the voice who spoke, “but can you say the same for all of your fellow Council members?”

The Councilwoman’s mouth opened, but after a moment’s hesitation, she snapped it shut. She turned to face the other members, and they began to shift in their spots, uneasily murmuring words Dagan couldn’t quite make out. From the way they stared each other down, he had the impression they might be able to somehow read each others’ emotions.

“Who?” the Councilwoman finally asked, her voice hardening in condemnation. “Who among us would do such a heinous thing?”

The murmur of voices grew louder and louder, taking on a maddening cacophony that sparked an answering chorus in Dagan’s head. Finally, one of the Council members, a demon from the looks of it, dropped to his knees as if an invisible force propelled him. He bowed his head.

“I was against it…initially. But they persuaded me,” he confessed, his tone broken. “They warned me the clan was too powerful. That the consequences of a potential uprising from them were too dire to allow them to live.”

The snakes on the Councilwoman’s head slithered angrily, hissing in wounded indignation. “Who? Who convinced you of this?”

Lifting a shaking hand, the demon Councilman pointed to a tall, majestic gold elf.

“Sevin?” Tenos muttered, his incredulous voice barely carrying to where Dagan stood. “
No
. No, it cannot be.”

The gold elf’s brows furrowed in denial, and he shook his head wildly. “He lies.”

“I wish I did,” the demon murmured sadly. “Sevin and Codan approached me together and warned me of the clan’s dangerous powers. Since they lived on the same world as the clan, I believed them. It went against my better judgment, but I agreed.”

The Councilwoman scowled, and her gaze went past the gold elf to another Councilman, this one a dark fae whose skin tone wasn’t quite as bluish as Belpheg’s. The fae took one peek at Belpheg’s glowering countenance and took a quivering step back. “I don’t know what—”

“It was Codan’s idea,” Sevin interrupted, apparently deciding it would be wiser to give up his accomplice than continue to deny his guilt. “He told me the clan planned to rise against the Council. Politically, our hands were tied. We couldn’t act against the clan unless they attacked, and yet Codan assured me we wouldn’t survive such an attack.”

“You lie,” Codan yelled, pointing a furious finger at Sevin.

“I only acted in our best interests,” Sevin continued, his voice taking on a pleading tone. “You must believe me.”

His gaze locked on Codan, Belpheg slowly lowered his hands. Energy continued to wind around his circle and into his body, but at a distinctly less frenetic pace. His distress took on a palpable aura that tinged the air. “You would betray your own kind? Your own people?”

Codan drew back, his face growing disgusted. “Your clan was nothing like mine. You were deviants, and your leader was the worst of them. He thought because he had such great power that he was untouchable, but he was wrong, wasn’t he?”

Whoa. Talk about family drama
.

Dagan watched the fae Councilman with growing fascination. Could he really have orchestrated the decimation of an entire clan, people of his very own race, simply because he was jealous? Because that was exactly what it sounded like from here.

“They would have destroyed you, I tell you.” Unholy rage flashed in Codan’s eyes as he turned to address his fellow Council members. “I knew their leader personally, so trust me when I say they would have eventually risen up against us. The Council’s hands were tied, so the three of us did what needed to be done to protect us all.”

“No, Codan.” The Councilwoman shook her head, and her snakes hissed ominously as they slithered here and there. “That is not the way. We cannot sanction such an act.”

Codan didn’t respond, though his eyes bespoke his fury.

The Councilwoman turned back to Belpheg. “I’m very sorry for what happened to your clan. Surely you can now see that it was the action of a few misguided souls, not the entirety of the Council. They acted without permission and will be punished accordingly, but that doesn’t mean you should turn your wrath on the Council itself.”

To Dagan’s amazement, Belpheg’s slashing dark brows furrowed, as if he actually considered her words, and the heavy pulse of power surrounding him eased just a fraction. For one mind-numbing moment, Dagan thought that, just maybe, they had a chance of walking away from this.

But then Belpheg shook his head, his eyes going hard. “No.”

When the Councilwoman made to speak again, he interrupted her. “I’ve come too far to turn back now. Sacrificed too much.”

“But surely you won’t—”

“Silence!” Belpheg’s voice boomed throughout the field, sparking an unnatural quiet as even the wind appeared to stop blowing. “The risks I’ve taken, the lives that have been lost…they won’t be in vain. Whether the Council acted in concert or not, it’s clear that it is no longer fit to govern the people. It has grown too corrupt, and I bear the responsibility to stop it.”

The Councilwoman’s snakes hissed, and the remaining members shifted uneasily in their spots.

“If you choose to continue your strike against us,” the Councilwoman spat,” we will be forced to act.”

But hell, even Dagan recognized that for the obvious bluff it was.

“In a matter of moments, your bodies will solidify here on the field,” Belpheg replied. “Then we’ll see who the victor is. In the meantime, it’s past time to tend to my audience.”

Audience?

Oh shit, he meant
them.

Belpheg cast one glance toward where Dagan and the rest of his group stood before lifting his hands. The zombies he’d so easily dropped minutes before began to rise up, reshaping themselves into gory, grotesque figures.

With a flick of his hand, Belpheg propelled the corpses into motion…straight toward them.

“Kill them all,” he ordered in a dispassionate tone.