Call of the Siren (26 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

As Lina watched in horrified fascination, a horde of zombies rose up. Limbs and heads attached to torsos, and the reanimated corpses headed straight for her and the others.

Too many of them.

No way they’d be able to take them all on.

Holding her daggers at the ready, she yelled at Keegan, “Can Brynn take back control of these guys?”

“Don’t know,” he called back. “I doubt she even knows what’s happened.”

Oh boy, this was not good.

How freaking powerful was this fae, that he could reassemble and command any army of zombies with no more than a single flick of his wrist?

Too powerful, that’s how.

They were so screwed.

“Um…time to do something, Keeg,” Dagan muttered beside her.

For some reason, Lina’s gaze landed on Rage. He scraped his toe toward the circle, and it took her a minute to realize he was trying to get at the scrolls that had fallen to the ground.

“What is he up to?” Lina said, shouldering Dagan and nodding toward Rage.

Before Dagan could respond, Rage succeeded in sliding the vellum sheets toward him, so that an inch or two extended outside the circle. He bent and grabbed them, just as a wave of flame wound through the field, melting the sinew from the first line of corpses headed their way.

She glanced over to see Keegan spraying a long arc of fire from his mouth.

Yes
!

Keegan didn’t have full control of his ability to breathe fire, but when he managed to call it forth, it was quite a sight to behold.

Rage straightened with the scrolls in his hand and turned toward the blaze.

“Holy shit.” He let out a whoop of impressed laughter and pumped his fist in the air. “Fucking A!”

O-kay.

Whatever response she might have expected from him, it certainly wasn’t that one. Didn’t he realize he was on the wrong end of the fire? Especially considering he’d done jack-squat to come to their aid. But there he was, hooting and hollering like Keegan’s fire-breathing was the coolest thing he’d ever seen.

Belpheg didn’t seem to share Rage’s sentiment, however. The dark fae scowled and jerked his fingers at the zombies that hadn’t been fried. They launched forward in triple speed.

“Watch out,” Taeg yelled.

Hell ya, it’s go time.

Even though they were in deep shit, Lina couldn’t help the anticipation that built as she leaped to the nearest group of corpses. This was when she felt most empowered, with a knife in her hand. And if she was going to go down, she was going to kick some ass first.

“Come and get it, ass-faces.” She incapacitated one with a vicious spin kick while she slice-and-diced two more until they fell to pieces.

Dagan bounded into place beside her and hacked away at four on-comers. Three others approached, snapping at him with their slimy, gaping maws.

“Watch your back,” Lina called, whirling to help him out.

“Only if you watch yours,” he shot back.

He could take care of himself, no doubt. But she couldn’t help but worry. And that made her fight even harder.

After taking out three more flesh-eaters, she glanced up to see Belpheg aiming two long fingers at Keegan.

“Keegan, look out,” she yelled.

Tenos might have woven a field of protection around them, but something told her Belpheg would be able to bypass that in a hot second.

But before Belpheg could act, Rage stuck the fingers of his free hand in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle that carried halfway across the freaking field. “Yo, Belpheg!”

The dark fae’s gaze slid over to Rage before turning dismissively away. But then he did a double take. His fingers shook, and the horde of zombies he’d called up froze in place.

“What the hell?” Lina lowered her bloody dagger, glancing around in confusion at the sudden quiet that had fallen over the field.

Dagan took his place back beside her, his mouth open and his gaze locked on his long-lost brother.

“What’s he up to?” he murmured.

She shook her head and turned to the dark fae, her body poised to move at the slightest flicker of movement from any of the frozen corpses.

“What are you doing?” Belpheg growled.

“What? With these?” Rage reached into his pocket and drew out a silver-plated lighter. He flicked it on and held the scrolls over it, carelessly rolling the precious—and highly flammable—vellum between his fingers. “They aren’t important, are they?”

“You insolent fool.” Belpheg gave Rage his full attention, his hands dropping to his sides.

Oh shit.
Lina exchanged a loaded glance with Dagan.

Rage was onto something here. Apparently he knew something they didn’t about those scrolls.

“I took you into my home, and this is how you repay me?” Belpheg’s face contorted in an anger so fierce that he didn’t even seem to notice the energy surrounding his twelve wind down, freeing the men from their paralyzed comas. “I’ll kill you!”

Rage gave Belpheg a cocky grin. “Not without risking setting your scrolls on fire.”

Belpheg growled, his eyes flashing fiercely in the night. “For this betrayal, I’ll devour your soul!”

“Eh.” He gave a nonchalant shrug. “I wasn’t using it anyway.”

Lina chuckled, despite herself. “Wise-ass.”

“Yeah.” Dagan grinned. “I think I might like him.”

No surprise there. Rage was sort of starting to remind her of Dagan.

“What are you doing, idiot?” Mammon spat.

Grinning widely, Rage turned and took a few steps toward one of the incubi standing in the circle.

“What are
you
doing?” Rage asked the incubus, his grip tight on the lighter. “This is crazy, and you know it.”

“Wow,” Dagan murmured. “I’m beginning to think our long-lost brother has a few screws loose.”

The incubus shook with unspent power, and his brows furrowed. “What?”

“Do you really think it’s fair to destroy a whole group of people just because of the actions of a few?” Rage looked pointedly at the disembodied Council members lining the field. “Wouldn’t that make us just like those three assholes out there?”

“I…” The incubus slowly shook his head. “What can I do? I’ve already traded my soul.”

Ouch.
Lina didn’t even dare contemplate what that entailed, or what the consequences would be if he betrayed Belpheg.

“You can make a stand,” Rage said softly. “Isn’t that what you told me you wished you’d done as a child? Stand up for yourself, no matter the consequences? Be brave for once?”

From the way the incubus’ muscles tensed and his eyes shadowed over, Rage’s words had clearly struck a chord.

“I know this doesn’t feel right to you,” Rage continued. “I know you see the wrong in it. Because I sure as hell do.”

Belpheg’s voice was a low, rumbling growl that shot ribbons of energy throughout the vast field. “What sort of game are you playing at, vampire? Maddox has pledged himself to me. You cannot sever that bond. All you’ve done is ensure your death comes sooner and far more painfully than I’d originally intended.”

“Fucking awesome,” Rage drawled sarcastically.

“Yeah,” Lina said drily, “definitely missing a screw or two.”

Now…” Belpheg took an ominous step toward Rage, holding out his hand. “
Toss me
the scrolls.”

Rage’s hand began to shake, then his entire body. He let out a muffled whimper that made it clear whatever Belpheg was doing to him, it did
not
feel remotely good. But before he could do or say anything else, the incubus spoke up.

“Don’t do it.”

Startled, Lina turned her gaze back to the incubus.

“You’re right,” the incubus continued, his tone low and resigned. “Some things
are
worth dying for. Worth even the loss of your soul.”

Her breath caught as he suddenly doubled over, screaming in agony.

What the hell?

Lina exchanged a bewildered glance with Dagan.

“You think you’ll stop me?” Belpheg yelled, his face screwed up in rage. “You
can’t
stop me!”

The incubus visibly collected himself, shoving a fist in his mouth. He straightened and took a deep, shuddering breath. In a voice laced with pain, he said, “Wanna bet?”

Lina watched the scene unfold in amazement, barely able to believe her eyes when the incubus stumbled out of the circle.

Belpheg lunged forward, screaming, “No!”

A current of wild energy blasted out from the circle, knocking her and Dagan to the ground. She clapped her hands over her ears and protected her head, letting out a yell at the vicious thrum of power slamming through the field. It twisted her insides, wrenching her gut and making her feel like her brain was about to be sucked out through her nostrils.

A low clap of thunder sounded out, and then, with a pop, the world righted itself once more.

Oh my gods.

Panting for breath, Lina lifted her head. She sought Dagan’s gaze out. The wild,
oh-shit-I-can’t-believe-it
look in his eyes confirmed what she’d already suspected.

Belpheg’s circle of power had just been broken.

…

Belpheg watched in horror as the spirits of the Council members began to dissipate, one by one, their souls harmlessly returning to their bodies.

“No.
No!
”

Shattered, he could do no more than watch in hopeless fury as the three men responsible for his clan’s decimation disappeared from his view…and his reach.

This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t.

Shaking with fury, Belpheg turned to Maddox. The damned incubus had betrayed him! The urge to strike him down was overwhelming. But if he killed the incubus now, he would have no twelfth, and absolutely
no
chance of reforming the circle.

He swiveled toward the treacherous vampire instead, but the man was already halfway across the field. Belpheg’s precious scrolls were clutched tightly in Rage’s hand as he raced toward the group of brothers he’d decided to aid.

“No!” He lifted a shaking finger, and a strong burst of energy shot from it—the remnants of the rapidly disintegrating power he’d gathered from the circle. The bolt flew straight toward the vampire’s neck with enough force to sever his head from his body.

At the last moment, one of the women who stood with the Detainors lifted her hand, and an answering bolt of energy stopped his blast.

Damnation.
The woman must be one of the succubi who’d destroyed his original twelfth, Asmodeus.

How dare she use the power he’d inadvertently given her against him? This treachery wouldn’t stand. He wouldn’t allow it!

Gritting his teeth, Belpheg turned to Mammon and the remainder of his twelve. Their circle might be broken, his energy wavering, but his twelve still retained the impressive powers they’d gathered over these many months. And for now, he still had control of the zombies.

“Use the corpses as cover,” he ordered his twelve. “Kill them all.”

Belpheg flicked his wrist to propel the zombies toward Mammon’s sons before turning his attention to Maddox. In all the confusion, the incubus had attempted to flee and had almost made it to the edge of the forest.

Nice try, but you fail.

He wound a bubble of energy around the incubus and lifted him in the air, propelling the flailing man toward him. Belpheg might not be willing to kill one of his twelve—not yet, at any rate—but that didn’t mean he couldn’t cause him a great deal of pain.

The man needed to learn the consequences of betraying him…and they were far more agonizing than the mere loss of his soul.

If Maddox wouldn’t agree to rejoin his cause and reform the circle, then he would suffer more than any man in existence had ever suffered.

…

Dagan was still on his knees—still reeling in disbelief that their newly discovered brother had not only
not
betrayed them, but actually managed to sway one of Belpheg’s twelve minions into leaving the circle—when all hell broke loose.

“Now,” Keegan yelled.

Dagan had no more than a moment to exchange one last meaningful glance with Lina before she grew her wings and flew after Ronin. Right into the thick of the action, despite knowing Belpheg had transformed his minions with an array of superpowers.

Much as it terrified him, it also made her who she was, and he loved her for it.

He took a precious second to let out a brief, desperate prayer.

Please, let her be okay.

A quick glance across the field confirmed that Keegan had joined Ronin and Lina in flight, and they were now engaged in battle with the incubi. Before Dagan’s very eyes, Taeg dissipated into his air form. When one of the incubi aimed a bolt of energy at Keegan, a burst of wind that could only be Taeg knocked him halfway across the field. The image would almost be laughable if their situation wasn’t so dire.

“You okay?” he yelled over to Maya, who’d converged with Amara and the other succubi to battle the horde of zombies Belpheg had taken command of.

Maya let out a banshee yell and effortlessly hacked a zombie in half before tossing him a quick grin. “Peachy.”

Yeah, she was in her element here. No surprise she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Satisfied the women were more than holding their own, he redirected his gaze toward the battle halfway across the field.

That was when his eyes met the one person he hated most in the world.

Mammon.

His gut clenched, and his jaw tightened at the sight of the man who’d delighted in torturing him for so many years. Who’d made him believe he wasn’t worthy of love.

Mammon had joined two other incubi in battling Keegan, but once their gazes locked, he changed directions, heading straight for Dagan.

Just like my damned father.
Always going for the weakest link.

An old, familiar burst of panic threatened to overwhelm Dagan. How many times had he been here before, cowering in terror while his sadistic father advanced?