Dream Warrior (28 page)

“It won't do any good. She's out of patience with my absence, and unless you have what she wants…” He looked around with an agonized expression that said he was going to miss their company. No doubt he'd miss not being tortured most of all. “Good luck to you.” Bowing his head, Jared vanished.

Delphine scowled as he left. “I feel so bad for him.”

“So do I. I wish there was some way to get him free.”

She sighed heavily. “I'm sure no one wishes that more than he does.” She glanced back at Nike. “Do you think we should be worried about Asmodeus?”

“Yeah,” Deimos said sarcastically. “Given the luck we've had, he's probably being disemboweled even as we speak.”

*   *   *

Asmodeus crept through the back hall where only rodents normally scurried. He was doing his best to stay out of sight, sound and smell range. Noir and Azura were raw with their fury right now, beating everything that came near them.

No wonder he'd left here. But that wouldn't save him if they happened upon him now. They would gut him and make him pay for leaving them.

“What are you doing?”

He jumped and almost screamed at the deep voice coming out of the darkness. “Dammit, Jaden,” he whispered angrily, “who unchained you?”

“Noir. He was afraid someone might free me while they were rescuing and fighting the Skoti. So I'm banished to the hallway where outsiders can't walk.”

Asmodeus screwed his face up as he saw the damage they'd done to Jaden. How could he even speak with the way his lips were swollen? But the most amazing part was how Jaden could use his powers to camouflage those wounds when demons summoned him to the outside world.

No one on the outside knew what horrors lived here in this hell realm.

Jaden leaned forward to gaze into the room where Asmodeus had been looking for a possible lead. “The gallu you seek is the one in the back of the room.”

“I hate it when you read my thoughts.”

“I know. Trust me, it's no privilege for me, either. I don't need to know how screwed up you are. I have my own issues.”

“Yeah … so any bright ideas on how I'm going to get to that gallu, kill it without getting bitten, and not get caught?”

“You won't have to.”

Asmodeus cocked his head as a wave of fear went through him. Was Jaden planning to kill him? “What do you mean?”

Jaden pulled a sparkling green amulet out of his pocket. “Take that to Jericho and tell him to free my … to free Jared from his master, and I'll take care of your gallu for you.”

Stunned, Asmodeus couldn't move. Dare he even hope for it? “Are you sure? Can you do that?”

Nodding, Jaden put the amulet in his hand. “Swear to me you won't keep it for yourself. 'Cause if you do, so help me—”

“I know, I know. You'll gut me. Don't worry, I won't betray you.”

“Thank you.” Jaden started away from him.

“Hey, Jaden?”

He paused and turned back to face him.

“Why is it so important to you that Jared goes free?”

“Because…” When he finished the sentence, his tone was so low that Asmodeus wasn't even sure he'd heard it correctly. “I'm the reason he was damned. Now go before the others find you.”

Asmodeus inclined his head to him before he used his powers to teleport out of the dismal hole back into the light hall where his friends were waiting for him.

Friends.

Who would have ever dreamed a demon like him could have something like that?

Delphine stood up from her chair as soon as she saw Asmodeus return. She looked to Nike, but the goddess was unchanged from her gallu form. “What happened?”

Asmodeus closed the distance between them. “Jaden said he'd take care of the gallu for us.” He handed the necklace over to Jericho. “And he told me to give you this so that you could buy Jared's freedom.”

Jericho gaped in disbelief as he held the expensive antique. “Are you serious?”

Asmodeus nodded.

And before Jericho could speak again, he heard Nike scream out in pain. She fell to her knees on the floor, where she rocked back and forth as if she were on fire. The other Skoti reacted the same way.

By the time Jericho reached the cage, Nike looked up at him, her eyes normal again. She was bewildered and scared. “Cratus?”

Jericho nodded as joy coursed though him. It'd worked. He couldn't believe it. Opening the door, he pulled his sister into his arms and held her close. “Are you all right?”

“I'm confused. I was in a hole and Zelos came to me with a demon. He was so angry. He told me to join them, but I refused. I don't trust Noir or Azura, and I will not forsake my people.” She shook her head. “Zelos called me a fool and then he made the demon bite me.” She wept against his shoulder.

Jericho soothed her. “Don't worry, Nike. Zelos is gone.”

“Gone where?”

“Deimos killed him.”

She gasped, then winced. “I wish I could be as sad for him as I was for Bia when she died. But there wasn't much about Zelos worth mourning. I only hope that by dying, he's finally found some peace.”

Her features stricken, Nike turned and saw Delphine standing off to the side. Her gaze narrowed thoughtfully as she looked back and forth between them. “I was right about my brother, wasn't I?”

Delphine smiled. “Absolutely, and I can't thank you enough.”

Nike cut a devious look to Jericho. “I have a feeling that's mutual.”

“It is. But that's all I'm saying on the matter.” Jericho stepped back from them. “Now, if you ladies don't mind, I have something I need to take care of.”

*   *   *

Jericho hesitated in the glassy dark hallway he'd visited earlier with Tory. Maybe he shouldn't be doing this.

Jared had been emphatic that Zephyra should never have the amulet. But after all Jaden and Jared had done for them, it seemed wrong to leave Jared enslaved. Having served that sentence in hell, he had a hard time delivering it up to anyone else. Especially when he didn't deserve it.

“What are you doing here?”

He paused at Medea's dangerous tone. “Do you always haunt the hallway?”

“No, but I can sense whenever a stranger is here and I don't like uninvited people in my domain.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “You can stand down. I'm not staying long. I'm only here to see your mother.”

“Mum?” she called, not bothering to take him to the study this time.

Zephyra came in hot and flustered. “I thought I told you not to—” Her voice broke off as she saw Jericho. “What are
you
doing here?”

Damn, could she have added any more loathing to that single word? A lesser man would have had to scrape himself up off the floor.

“I've come to get Jared.”

She snorted derisively. “Hell, no. He's back where he…” Her voice faded off as he pulled the amulet from his pocket and let it dangle from his fingers so that she could see it.

Her eyes eager and hungry, she reached for it.

Jericho pulled it back. “Not until you release Jared to me.”

She hissed. “Fine.”

“And,” he said quickly before she could act, “I want one promise from you.”

She looked at him as if he were the most repugnant creature ever made. “Are you insane? You're lucky you're still alive.”

“Believe me, I know,” he said with a bitter laugh. “But I'm not going to provide you with the means to hurt someone who's helped me. I will give you this on the condition that it's never used against Acheron or his mother. Ever.”

She rolled her eyes. “As if I'd be that stupid. With my luck it wouldn't work on them anyway and they'd kill me for the insult. Now give us the medallion.”

He pulled it back again. “Jared first.”

“Jared!” she snapped.

He appeared instantly by her side, his features drawn and tight. As soon as he saw Jericho, he narrowed his gaze suspiciously. “What have you done, Jericho?”

“A favor for a favor.”

Zephyra shoved him at Jericho. “I voluntarily release you from my service into his. Now go.”

Jared shook his head and panicked as he saw the medallion. “You can't do this!”

Jericho hesitated. The last thing he wanted to do was make a mistake in this. But surely Jaden wouldn't have sent this to him if it would kill them all. “Why?”

“Because I'd rather Jaden use it to barter his freedom. Please.” His voice was filled with agony.

“It's too late.” Zephyra snatched it from Jericho's hand. “Now get out before I feed you both to my Daimons.”

Jared winced as she and Medea vanished. A muscle worked in his jaw as if he wanted to curse.

Jericho felt bad for him. It had to be awful for Jared to find no joy in being free. “I'm sorry.”

“So am I,” he said wistfully.

“At least you're free now.”

Jared flicked at the thin containment collar around his neck. “Hardly.”

“I can remove it.”

He gave Jericho a flat, dead stare. “And I'll die when you do. Only the Source can free me from my punishment.”

“I don't need a slave, Jared. You'll have all the freedom you want.”

Jared nodded glumly.

Strange, Jericho would have thought he'd be happier than this. But then his freedom had been bought at the expense of Jaden's. Since he didn't know what they were to each other, he had no way of knowing how harsh that was.

Jared let out a deep breath. “Do I have to reside on the Isle with the others?”

“No. You can live wherever you want.”

Jared appeared relieved by that. “If you need me, call. I'm now yours to command in any way you see fit.” There was no missing the underlying venom in his tone. It was obvious others had used him well and left him bitter over it. “Now if I may take my leave … Master?”

“I'm not your master, Jared. Your life is yours to do with as
you
see fit. I have no need of a slave. But I'll always welcome a friend and an ally.” He held his hand out to him.

Jared hesitated as if afraid to take it. He frowned at Jericho before he finally shook his hand. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome. Now you better go before Zephyra makes good on her threat.”

Jericho waited until Jared was safely on his way before he returned to Delphine.

*   *   *

Noir slammed into the war room, with fury streaming through his blood. “We've been routed.”

Azura looked up, aghast. “By whom?”

“Who do you think?”

“Jaden,” she sneered. “I'll have him skinned for this!”

Noir had had the same thought himself. “There's nothing more to be done about it. The Skoti we'd taken have defected back to the Oneroi. Zelos is dead, killed by Madoc. Nike has been freed and Cratus restored.”

Azura cursed. With Cratus back at full strength, he could break Jaden free from them … or worse, find Cam and Rezar. That would be disastrous for them. “We have got to find Braith.” Everything in the universe was balance.

Their sister Braith was theirs. She was a necessary counterbalance, and no matter what, they needed her.

Noir growled low in his throat, “And the Malachai. We have to make sure we either kill him or convert him.” Because he alone held the power to overthrow all of the Source gods and wipe them out. If he ever absorbed their powers, not even Jared could stop him.

He would be able to destroy all creation and set the universe back to nil.

Those powers needed to be Noir's. With them, there was no pantheon or power who could stand against him.

Azura narrowed her gaze. “At least we have the gallu. They might be more effective than the Skoti for now anyway.”

He nodded. “But this will take much more careful planning on our part. The Greeks are more resourceful than I'd given them credit for.”

“No. Cratus was more resourceful. But that's all right. This is only one battle. The war will be ours.”

Noir inclined his head to her. “Yes, it will. As for Jaden…”

Azura laughed. “He's going to be a very sorry intermediary.”

“Yes, he will be, and I'm going to have fun with our new friends.”

She arched a brow at that. “What new friends?”

“The Greeks. It's time to let them know we will have no mercy on them. Besides, we have an ally they don't even know about … yet.”

Azura laughed. “True. And it's one they'll
never
suspect.”

*   *   *

Delphine sat in a small room with Madoc, Zarek and Zeth. By their dour expressions, Jericho knew something had happened while he was gone.

“What?”

Zeth shoved a brittle piece of parchment at him. As soon as he looked at it, words wrote themselves across it.

“Noir has officially declared war on us and on the Dark-Hunters. If we surrender his Malachai, he'll let us live. If we don't…”

Jericho laughed. “He's going to make our lives hell.”

“It's not funny,” Zeth snapped.

Undaunted, Jericho shrugged. “No, it isn't, but we knew this was coming.”

Zarek sat back in his chair and tucked his hands behind his head. “We have to find Cam and Rezar.”

Jericho agreed. “And train that damned Malachai.”

Zarek snorted. “Good luck on that.”

“Why?”

“He's a nasty little bastard. I wanted to kill him years ago, but Ash wouldn't let me. After all is said and done, Ash may be wishing he'd not held me back.”

After all was said and done, they might all be wishing that.

Jericho moved to stand beside Delphine's chair. “Well, there's nothing more to be done tonight. I, for one, am exhausted. I've been threatened, beaten, bitten and killed, and that was just in the last hour.”

Delphine shook her head at him. “You need someone to tuck you in, sweetie?”