Chain of Illusions (Bringer and the Bane) (2 page)

The cell the Bringers had constructed for her sat in the center of the room, out of reach of the stone walls, which had been warded to keep her in. The iron bars pressed against her back and wings like an icy reminder that though the Bringers were trying to help her, she was still subject to their decision of whether she would live or die.

“You look like a giant bird,” said a child’s voice from near the door.

Rell dragged her eyes away from her mindless scrawling and leveled her gaze on the small boy. Hayden, she’d thought she’d heard the human woman call him. His blue eyes were round and his brown hair tousled from the wind. Dirt smudged his face and the faint scent of fear mixed with unrepressed curiosity emanated from him. He’d been a regular visitor, though Rell suspected his mother didn’t know. “What kind of bird?”

“A love bird.” Hayden scooted forward a few inches, his pants scraping against the dirt floor. “Like the pretty green one in the painting in Lord Le Daun’s library.”

She cocked a brow. “You think I’m pretty?”

His head bobbed up and down. “Sometimes the light from the fire makes your skin sparkle, like jewels. And sometimes, like now, your eyes turn bright green.”

“My eyes turn green?”

He nodded again. Except for her reflection in the hot pools in the cavern of the Shadow World, where she’d raised Jade, Rell had never seen her demon reflection. Always she’d assumed her eyes were yellow, like the other Bane. The boy’s words pushed the darkness that threatened to steal through her soul back to a tolerable level. His unguarded innocence and honesty encompassed her like the warm blankets she refused to use.

“Thank you.” Besides Siban, nobody but the boy had ever made her feel like she wasn’t an abomination. Even Jade’s tireless struggle to help keep Rell’s humanity had been mired in the fact that Rell was a Demon Bane and not a normal sister. Every struggle they’d overcome, every move they had made had hinged on her being Bane. Rell’s time with Icarus, the Demon King’s son, had been based on the fact that the two of them were different from the other demons. It seemed that even among her kind, she did not fit in. “I think you would like flying.”

Hayden’s eyes widened. “Can you take me one day?”

She gave him a sad smile. He was so trusting, which would mean his death if he’d been talking to any demon other than her. “I don’t think we’ll get the chance, Hayden. The others are going to try and make me better tonight—human again.”

A frown creased his small face. “Will you still have your wings?”

Rell shook her head.

His scowl increased. “I like you the way you are.”

“Thank you.” A knot formed in her throat. “Perhaps when I am human we can hunt together. It’s not the same as flying, but it would still be fun.”

That idea seemed to placate him, but before he could answer the door swung open, bringing with it a blast of cold air and Siban. The boy scooted backward and pressed his back against the wall. Hayden stared up at Siban, the wonder in his eyes now replaced with fear.

“Does your mother know you’re here, boy?”

Hayden shook his head.

“Best run along to the house. There are warm biscuits and honey in the library.”

Hayden rose and skirted Siban’s large body but stopped at the door, turning back to Rell. “You promise we’ll go hunting?”

Her lips tightened into a smile and she nodded, unable to speak the promise she might not be able to keep. The healing the Bringers were to attempt on her had never been done before—by any of them. There was no guarantee she would survive the transition. The one consoling thought was that at least she would be free of the oppressive darkness inside her that constantly demanded she give in to its will.

Siban pulled the door closed behind Hayden and turned to face her. “It’s time.”

She pushed up from the floor of the cage and stood, ignoring the quiver in her legs that was more from nerves than fatigue or cold. “I’m ready.”

He approached the cage and wrapped his hands around the bars. “Everything is going to be all right, Rell. I’ll be there with you through the healing.” His troubled hazel gaze held hers. “We’ve already been through so much.” His voice cracked slightly. “When this is over, we’ll be able to start a new life.”

Together
was left unspoken. There was no need. From the first time they’d met, their paths had been joined. She’d secretly cared for him in the Shadow World, tending his wounds after Sha-hera and Vile had tortured him for information about the Bringers. She’d fed him when, trying to break his will, they had left him to starve. She’d given him the comfort of her companionship, which she’d needed just as much as he had.

“I hope you’re right, Siban.” Rell approached the door of the cell. “But if something goes wrong…”

“It won’t.” His jaw clenched and unclenched. “I refuse to lose you again.”

She nodded, unwilling to shatter his fragile conviction to save her. “What now?”

“I’ll need to carry you to the healing room. The floors and walls are still warded, as are the grounds. You’ll be burned and drawn back to the Shadow World if you touch anything.”

Her sister, Jade, and Ravyn, had been thorough in marking the area around Rell’s cell. The wards left the walls and the floor inside her prison free of magic. Even though escape would have been impossible, Rell had not even been tempted. There was nothing left for her in the world of the Demon Bane. There never had been.

Being reunited with Siban had eradicated Rell’s urge to flee and given her a small spark of hope that she really could be human again. Though, if they were successful in the healing, she doubted she would emerge as the same woman who had lost her soul to the Demon Bane thirteen years ago.

Dark thoughts pressed down on her. “I’ll warn you,” she said, trying to lighten the mood, “I think I’ve put on weight with the rich food my mother has been feeding me.”

He smiled. “It’s fortunate I’ve been brought to full power then. My new strength will come in handy.”

Rell cocked her head and scanned his body from head to toe. “I knew there was something different about you. I thought perhaps you’d bathed.”

“A bath?” He harrumphed and pointed to his Tell tattoo. “I’ve just gained the mythical powers of our people and you compare it to bathing?” He reached inside the pocket at the front of his tunic and pulled out the key to her cell. “I can see I’ll never suffer from an inflated ego with you around.”

A small laugh slipped from Rell, taking her by surprise. It had been a long time since she’d actually felt anything close to happiness. Interesting that the only times she could remember had been with Siban.

The key scraped against the lock, and the metal grated as the large bolt slid into its casing. He pulled the door open and stepped inside, slipping the key back into his pocket. “Your carriage awaits, my lady.”

Rell folded her wings tightly against her back and took a step toward him, stopping an inch away. He was ruggedly handsome. His features spoke of a heritage from the sand people, darker skin and sculpted cheekbones and chin. But what she liked best about Siban were his hazel eyes. Though he was a man of few words, his eyes spoke volumes.

She tilted her head. “Siban?” Her voice came out as a whisper. “Will you kiss me one last time—as Rell?”

Perhaps with the feel of his lips on hers she’d make it through the healing. If not, she’d cross through the Veil knowing he’d truly cared for her for who she had been—a Demon Bane.

He lifted his hand and caressed her lower lip with his thumb. “And I will kiss you every day for the rest of your life when this is complete.”

His head lowered to hers and his lips gently brushing against her mouth. Strong arms enveloped Rell, dragging her against his hard body. He dwarfed her, making her feel safe and giving her a sense that he could indeed chase the darkness from her soul.

Chapter Two

Siban lifted Rell’s tiny, warm body and cradled her against him. The Bane taint bit into his skin but he made no show of the irritation. Now at full power, the bite was stronger than he was used to, but he endured it without complaint. She wound her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulders. Nothing would stop him from saving her—nothing.

He maneuvered her out of the cell and strode across the room. Before opening the door, he stopped and turned to face her prison. “This is the last time you will ever have to be in here.”

She gave a slight nod and threaded her talons through his hair. With no more words, he turned and kicked the door open. The wind caught the wood, slamming it against the outside wall. She shivered in his arms, and he pulled her more tightly to him.

The partial moon was bright, its glow lighting the path back to the manor. Wind rustled through the trees, causing their branches to sway in a slow dance. Leaves rubbed against each other. Their movement created a swooshing sound that rose and fell with the force of the breeze.

The healing house stood closer to the manor, far inside the warded boundaries the Bringers had erected. Siban decided on the direct path across the grass, his mind sifting through what was about to happen. It took a minute before he realized the biting irritation, a Bringer’s alert that there was a demon near, had increased. His steps slowed. The sensation was different than Rell’s, stronger, more caustic.

“What is it?” She lifted her head and looked around the dark grounds.

“Can you feel that?” He didn’t know if the Bane could sense each other. The Bringers had never had the chance to question a demon. Always they’d just dispatched the creatures back to the Shadow World. “I think there is another demon close by.”

Rell was silent for a second and then looked at him. “Icarus. I recognize his presence.”

A twinge of jealousy pinched Siban. She and the son of the Demon King had formed a relationship during their quest to lure Jade and Luc into the Shadow World. Siban couldn’t help but wonder what that bond had entailed.

He scanned the trees, turning in a slow circle. Not used to his new Tell abilities, he forced his awareness outward in an attempt to locate the powerful demon. His senses sped across the ground like a psychic blanket, perceiving a thousand different details about the night. The wind, the life force of insects, and plants registered but did not disrupt the wholeness of his inquiry. The immense amount of information rushed through him, pounding along every nerve of his body. In an effort to cope, he stilled his mind and relinquished control over his Tell powers. They would guide him.

Even before he’d been brought to full power, he’d been able to sense when something was true or a lie. Now the intensity of his abilities nearly swamped him. His Tell slithered toward the demon. At the tree line, it began to vibrate, sending information and warning back to him.

“Yes, it’s Icarus,” he said. Instantly Siban understood the situation. Curiosity, and even a sense of hope, emanated from the pulsing darkness. He let his awareness linger on the demon, trying to absorb and understand all he felt. The information was an undefinable mass of impressions and darkness, but the demon didn’t feel angry.

“Will he attack?” Tension flowed through Rell’s body, her posture growing stiff in his hold.

“No, I think he’s waiting to see how you fair with the healing.”

She settled against him again. “Oh,” was all she said.

Icarus’s discovery that the Bringers had found Rell’s human body had led the demon to confront Jade, Luc, and Ravyn’s sister, Meran, after Rell’s capture. Bold in a way no other Bringer had ever dared to be with Icarus, Meran had approached and touched the demon. What surprised everybody was that Icarus hadn’t attacked, hadn’t stolen her away when he could have so easily picked her up and flown into the night.

Later Meran had divulged to the rest of the Bringers what she’d sensed when she’d made contact with Icarus. “He is searching for something. The darkness inside him is like nothing I’ve ever felt. He is at odds with his father, Vile, and he knows all is not as he’s been told.” After another deep breath, she’d said, “He’s been banished from the Shadow World.”

That was all she had shared with them, but Siban suspected there was more. One could not touch the Bane darkness and remain unaffected.

Turning his thoughts back to Rell’s healing, Siban continued toward the healing house, his strides eating up the ground. The quicker they converted her back to human, the safer she would be from Icarus’s influence.

They entered the room and Siban’s step slowed. He was surprised to see even more Bringers assembled. One woman, he knew instantly, though he’d never met her—Ravyn and Meran’s oldest sister Juna. Expected to arrive days prior, unforeseen circumstances had delayed her appearance. Beside her stood a fairly young-looking man. His dark auburn hair glinted copper in the candlelight and Siban couldn’t help noticing that he appeared trail-weary. A few days’ growth shadowed his chin and though his eyes were bright, dark circles puddled beneath them.

Siban sent up a prayer of thanks to the Saints that Juna had reached the manor in time for Rell’s healing. The three sisters, Ravyn, Meran, and Juna, were the Trilation. Three Bringers to battle the darkness and open or prevent the opening of the Abyss of Souls. They were also powerful Oracles and might be the extra measure of guidance Rell would need to pass from demon back to human.

Rell’s arms tightened around his neck. The crowd stepped back to allow them to pass. A few of the Bringers rubbed their arms, no doubt against the gnawing of the Bane taint Rell caused.

“Welcome, Rell.” King Gregory greeted them from halfway across the room. “We’ll try to make you as comfortable as possible.”

She peered at him, as if weighing how much she could trust him and then said, “Thank you.”

The urge to clutch the small demon to him, and never release her, overwhelmed Siban. This might be the last time he held her—the last time he’d see her alive. But he pushed his personal needs aside and set her on her feet. Uncertainty plagued him. Rell had only seen her human body once and it had been during the chaotic night of her capture. How would she react to seeing her body in its suspended, death-like state? Siban stepped back when Jade approached.

…

Rell had been at odds with her sister since the day she’d been captured. She waited for Jade to speak. The glow of the candles illuminated her face. No malice or anger registered there, giving Rell a measure of comfort. Instead of words of reassurance, Jade reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers, pulling Rell toward the line of Bringers standing several feet away. They parted to reveal a table she hadn’t noticed when they’d first arrived.

Rell’s heart beat faster, the realization of what lay beneath the white shroud taking hold. She stopped, tugging Jade to a halt.

Her sister turned. “Don’t you want to see her?”

Jade’s question confirmed what Rell had suspected. Though her sister had fought and sacrificed to keep Rell’s humanity intact, she’d always viewed her as something other than Esmeralda, her human sister. Rell stiffened her spine, refusing to show that the thought stung.

Her gaze drifted back to the shrouded figure. Did she want to see her body? Would it change anything? Whether or not it did, she needed to see. “Yes.”

Not releasing her hand, Jade pulled her forward until they stood next to the table. Two Bringers, one woman, one man, gently folded back the cover to reveal the porcelain features of the girl she’d once been.

Rell untwined her fingers from Jade’s and took a step closer, angling her body so she could view the face more clearly. Esmeralda, her old body, looked as if she were sleeping, though the coloring of the skin was more pallid than it had been when she’d been full of life. She reached and touched the cheek with the knuckle of her finger, making sure not to prick the skin with her talon. The soft flesh gave way under her caress but felt unnaturally cold.

Rell pulled her hand away, paused to take one final look, and then turned away. “I am ready.”

Having her body revealed had made no difference in her resolve to go through with the healing. The driving force was no longer just to be human, but to be with Siban and possibly repay the Demon Bane for all they had taken from her. She would do whatever it took.

Of her own accord, she walked to the large wooden slab and climbed onto it, dangling her legs over the side.

Siban moved to stand in front of her. “Are you all right?”

She nodded.

His voice dropped to a whisper. “I am here, fighting for you. Never doubt that.”

She nodded again and turned to place her feet on the wood. Siban rubbed her hand and stepped aside when Jade once again approached. Perhaps it was her possible impending death or being with Siban that had abated some of the darkness from her soul, but Rell wished that no animosity existed between her, Jade, and Willa. But the words wouldn’t come. She needn’t have worried. Once again Jade took the lead in making things right.

“I love you.” There was no waver in her sister’s declaration. “Mother and I will be here for you during and after the healing—no matter what happens.”

“I love you, too.” Rell reached for her hand and squeezed. “Thank you for everything.”

Willa moved forward with hesitant steps. Rell hadn’t spoken to her mother since she’d been captured; the anger and shame of keeping Willa’s existence a secret from Jade had fed the darkness. There were so many lies and misconceptions between them, but now, as Rell faced her uncertain future, all her hostility slipped away. Though she couldn’t bring herself to ask for her mother’s touch, a comfort she desired more than she would admit to even herself, she did need to make recompense of some kind. She looked at Willa. “I’m sorry.”

Without hesitation, her mother swooped in and wrapped Rell in a warm hug. “Just get through this so we can be a family again.”

The embrace stirred the sensation of memories long forgotten.
Love
.
Safety
.
Home
. Rell wrapped her free arm around Willa in a tentative hug. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of her mother. She smelled like the cooking fire, fresh air, and the herbs that permeated the healing room.

Rell let her arm slide back to her side when her mother released her. Instead of stepping back, the woman cupped Rell’s cheeks in her hands and looked at her. The blue eyes she remembered from when she was a child searched her face as if taking in every detail. “You are beautiful.”

A foreign sensation tingled along her nose and burned behind her eyes. Rell blinked away the irritation and looked at Jade, unsure how to respond to her mother’s compliment.

Jade’s brow furrowed and she reached to tilt Rell’s chin toward her. “Your eyes are green.”

Three of the Bringer women moved forward and poked their heads between Jade and Willa, peering at Rell as if she was a puzzle they were trying to figure out.

“Extraordinary,” said the older of the three.

The one named Ravyn grinned at Rell. “I think Siban has been a very good influence on you.”

She gave Ravyn a hint of a smile. “This we agree on, Bringer.”

“If you’re ready, Rell, I think we should get started.” The king gripped the arm of the first Bringer who had spoken and gently pulled her away.

Her sister and mother released her and stepped back from the table, their expressions strained impressions of hopefulness. Ravyn took her place in the circle of Bringers.

One small woman remained, smiling at Rell. She resembled Ravyn and the woman Gregory had pulled away, but was lighter in coloring. “My name is Meran. I am a Redeemer, which means I will help you through your transformation. If you lie back on the table, we can prepare you.”

The darkness inside Rell screamed not to submit to the Bringers. As if sensing her battle, Siban moved forward to stand directly opposite Meran and lay his hand against Rell’s back. “It’s all right. I’m going to help you through this, and I’ll be here when it’s over.”

Warmth spread along her skin, easing the tension and the impulse to resist the Bringers’ help. She held his gaze, drinking in the strength of his words and presence. Shifting her position, Rell reclined to lay flat on the table and settled into the curved opening between her wings. They cradled her, cushioning her head where they crisscrossed at their tips.

“We will need to restrain you,” said the Redeemer.

The urge to fight the Bringers reared up inside Rell again. Her lips pulled back in a silent snarl, and she bared her fangs in warning.

“It’s for your own well-being and the safety of those performing the healing. We don’t know what to expect.” Perhaps to strengthen the truth in her words, Meran gently laid her hand on her wrist. “Will you allow this?”

A tingle of heat trickled across the skin where the woman touched, soothing Rell’s alarm like a comforting balm. Letting her snarl slipped away, she inhaled and breathed out her resistance to the request of being bound. “Siban may bind me.”

The healer looked at him and he gave a single nod. Before stepping away, Meran reached under the table and brought up three, thick leather straps, one at Rell’s chest, one at her hips, and the last at her ankle. Siban mimicked her, producing the same straps on the opposite side of the slab, where he stood.

As he secured the first set of straps across her chest, Rell’s anxiety resurfaced. Though she could still move her arms from the elbow down, the tight binding immobilized her upper arms and chest.

A wave of terror gripped her mind when Siban tugged on the second set of straps, drawing her hips and forearms firmly against the table. She kept her breathing steady and stared at the dark rafters of the ceiling. The wind buffeted the front door, pounding it in a steady beat—matching her heart.

Slowly turning her head, she looked at her mother. Willa’s clutched hands were fisted against her lips, her eyes trained on her daughter. She lowered her hands and mouthed, “I love you.”

The straps pulled tight around Rell’s ankles, but she didn’t look away from the woman, so desperately needing the reassurance only her mother could give. Everything would be all right. It had to be. For the first time since being turned into a demon, Rell truly
wanted
to live.