rylee adamson 10 - blood of the lost (37 page)

On this side of the Veil, there were more supernaturals to fight for us than on the other side.

Giselle’s words, what she’d said, actually sunk in. “Warriors. You said they came here to fight . . . .” I couldn’t breathe past the single possibility that lay ahead of me.

My mentor smiled and Erik gave a laugh. “Yeah, those two have been waiting a long time to see you. Go.” He pushed me and I started running in the direction he shoved. I ran, hopping on one leg and then the other to try and see further past all the people who’d come to greet me. The supernaturals around me parted, letting me through.

Ahead of me, two figures approached me at a walk.

He was tall, had light auburn hair, and moved a lot like a younger version of Erik. I knew his name was Bram, but that was it.

She could have been my mirror reflection except for the pitch-black hair. Her eyes met mine, tri-colors swirling. Green, gold, and brown, like mine. I skidded to a stop, but she kept coming forward. Elle, her name was Elle. My mother.

“Rylee,” she said my name, and I put my hands to the back of my head.

“Is this happening?”

A smile quirked her lips. “What did you think would happen if you died? That you would be left alone in the darkness? You’ve touched too many lives, Rylee. And you have made us so proud.”

She reached out to me and touched my cheek. I fell into her arms, and then my father wrapped his arms around me. Their strength was my strength, their hearts beat in time with mine.

For a few moments, I could be a child, protected from the world by parents who loved her.

Bram pulled back first, his eyes sparkling with humor. “Time to kill the demons, daughter.”

Daughter. Damn, that sounded nice.

“Yes, but how are we going to get all the way over there?” I pointed at the blackness. As big and obvious as it was, it had to be at least a hundred miles away.

He grinned. “All the warriors come here . . . even those we don’t expect sometimes.”

A bellowing roar that put Dox’s cry to shame shook the air, and I was running from my parents toward the blue, black, and silver dragon as he dropped toward me. Blaz, his wings shimmering in the bright sunlight, landed in front of me. He snaked his head out and I grabbed his face as best I could, another tiny piece of my heart healing. All the loss of the last year made sense, and even though they hurt me, I understood why.

“Rylee, you’re almost done.”

I looked up at him. “Your voice isn’t in my head.”

“Not here.” He grinned and winked one golden eye at me. He bent his front leg and I scrambled onto his back. No harness, but I wasn’t worried.

Other dragons dropped out of the sky, and across the open plain came the thundering of hooves. The warriors and heroes around me mounted, but they didn’t move forward. Their eyes all rested on me.

I lifted my hand into the sky, and slowly made a fist, but the words clogged in my throat. What the fuck was I doing? What would happen to these people I loved so dearly if they died a second time fighting for me? Would their souls be destroyed? I couldn’t bear it if that was the case.

“It’s not like the other side, Rylee,” my mother said as she climbed up behind me and settled on Blaz’s back. Mom looked at me with a wry twist on her lips. “This isn’t going to be a battle like all those you’ve faced so far.”

I swallowed hard. “You’re here, why is no one looking to you?”

“Because it is not my blood sealing the Veil. You have to direct it. That is the last thing you must do. We will guard your flank and your back as you face Orion one last time.”

She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m sorry, but I can’t believe I’m holding you again. It’s been so long since I said goodbye.”

Blaz looked back at me and I nodded. He launched into the air and I held my mother’s arms to me, thinking of Marcella. Perhaps one day I’d get the chance to hold her again, after she crossed the Veil.

As I stared at the seething darkness in front of us, I could only hope that was the case. That I didn’t fuck up this last step and doom the world to the demons.

No pressure, no pressure at all.

CHAPTER 48

LIAM

HE COULDN’T HEAR Rylee’s heart beating, and he thought perhaps his own had stopped. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Lurching toward her, he didn’t see Alex until the kid stood up and blocked him. “Lark said you can’t touch her.”

“I’ll fucking well touch her if I want,” he snarled. But Alex didn’t back down.

“Boss, Lark is trying to help her.” Alex pushed him back hard enough to make him stumble.

Liam reluctantly looked away from Rylee’s pale face. Lark was on her knees, her arms raised over her head as her whole body shook. “What’s she doing?”

Lark spoke softly. “I’m holding her spirit. Her body is close to true death, but if I can hang onto her long enough . . . .”

Faris leapt forward, shoving Liam aside. “You can put her back?”

Sweat dripped down the back of her neck and into her shirt. “Yes.”

“What can we do to help?”

“Right now, keep the demons off me. I need all my strength for this.”

Faris spun and Liam let him lead. The vampire leapt toward the demons, tearing heads off with his bare hands and eviscerating any that got within even twenty feet of the slab and Rylee’s body. Liam egged him on, giving him whatever strength of spirit he could.

Anything to keep Rylee safe.

CHAPTER 49

LARK

I’D LIED TO LIAM to keep him out of my way. I wasn’t at all sure I could put Rylee back into her body, but it was the only thing I could try. Holding onto her spirit was like wrestling with the wind. Her strength was still there, and though she wasn’t exactly fighting me, she wasn’t helping, either.

All around us, the demons kept coming. Though they were mortal now, and easier to kill, the sheer numbers would eventually overwhelm us. Even as I thought that, another of our people went down. The shaman, Louisa, and then the ogre, Mer.

The blond leader of the vampire nation, Doran, glanced at me. His green eyes met mine and in that split second I knew . . . he could help me.

“Doran, to me. Now!”

He didn’t hesitate and leaped the distance between us in two jumps. Our ranks tightened, the circle around us smaller from losing the shaman, ogre, and now Doran to my command. The wolves were down to only a few dozen and the half-breed trolls were down to less than ten.

“Elemental, I never thought I’d see you again. What am I saying? I knew we’d run into each other.” He gave me a wink, though it looked like an effort.

“Old history,” I spit out. “Not the time to discuss it.”

He grinned at me, but it was forced. “She’s fighting you, isn’t she?”

“Not intentionally. It’s in her nature to be difficult. Her spirit is strong and wants to move through the Veil, to pass over, and I’m about the only thing holding her here.” I wriggled my fingers, hooking them deeper into her spirit. Though she was deep in the Veil, I could feel her, but was barely able to hang onto her.

“When I bring her back, she will be bloodless.”

“Which means she won’t survive even if you can hang onto her.” He put a hand to my lower back and a flood of energy ripped through me.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” He leaned closer, looking Rylee over before letting out a slow breath. “Bloodless. Are you sure? Every last drop?”

“That’s the rules of the game, vampire,” I whispered, trying to conserve the energy he’d given me.

“Then I think . . . maybe I might be able to help.”

What in the seven hells was he talking about?

It took my fatigued brain more than a few beats to pick up what he was laying down. “Are you goose shitting on me?”

His grin was crooked and his eyes glittered. “Not even for a second.”

Mother goddess . . . there was a chance. Not a good one, and she might be pissed as hell if we managed it . . . but a chance.

“Do it. When the time comes, do it,” I said, digging into her spirit, holding it tighter. I bowed my head. “Not without a fight, Rylee. We aren’t letting you go without a knockdown, drag out, black and blue fight.”

I only could hope she would not want to kill us for what we’d done to her.

Of course, that was if she survived at all.