Succubi Are Forever (20 page)

Zane was gone. He was really, really gone.

I was going to have to endure eternity without him.

“They’re all dead?” Remy asked weakly. “All the vampires? That means Sophie’s gone too. And probably Ashara and Yue. They only had a vampire master left. Holy shit.”

“I don’t care about Ashara and Yue,” I said between sobs. “Phryne did this. She called the demon on me. She wanted to slow me down.”

Instead, she’d ripped out my soul.

Remy continued to stroke my shoulders and hair, and I felt her shake her head. “I don’t understand. Why would Phryne do something so stupid?”

I said nothing. I just cried harder.

Remy continued to rock me, and I kept crying. I just couldn’t stop crying. All I could think of was Zane. I didn’t even have his body to mourn. A body I could fix. We could get the right spells, bribe a warlock…

All I had was a feather. A single goddamn feather.

Footsteps shuffled somewhere in the maze. Hope shot through me, hard and pure. “Zane?”

But the man that came around the corner wasn’t Zane.

Noah turned the corner, gun in hand, his hair tousled with sleep.

My heart crashed all over again.

Noah stared at me and Remy, then at the piles of clothing that marked all that was left of the vampires. “The halo… I don’t feel it. It’s gone?”

“The vampires are gone, Noah,” Remy said softly. “All of them. The queen was here. I think… I think the demon Jackie owed a favor to called it in, and then she destroyed the queen. The vampires are all gone.”

Footsteps to my side. Then, Noah knelt next to me—standing in Zane’s ashes. How
dare
he. I pushed at him, weakly, my lips curling in a snarl. “Move. You can’t stand there.”

He knelt, ignoring my wishes. His hands cupped my cheek, and I struggled to pull away, but I was feeling too weak, too shattered.

“Oh, Jackie, I’m so sorry,” Noah said softly, and there was pain and understanding and pity in his voice. “Phryne must have found out about the demon. No one else would do such a thing. I’m so sorry.”

His soft, understanding apology broke me all over again. I fell into his arms, weeping. “I loved him, Noah. I loved him and he’s gone.”

He held me close. “I know, Jackie. I know.”

~*~

Ethan appeared at the entrance of the tomb a short time later, and the men helped us out of the cave. Noah carried me, all earlier traces of angry, bitter Noah gone. He only held me tight as I continued to silently weep, bitter tears sliding from my eyes as if they’d never end. He’d carried me up the endless steps and eventually out into the light again, with Remy filling him in on all the details of what had happened.

As we moved into the sunlight and I saw the sky again, my heart was a dull black ache in my chest. I stared up at the delicate golden-pink skies, the exact color of Phryne’s sunrise hair.

Phryne. That
bitch
. She was somewhere around here. I struggled in Noah’s arms and he gently set me down.

“Jackie?” He asked in a low, questioning voice. “You okay?”

“I want to find Phryne,” I said. “Where is she?”

“That tramp shot me in the back of the head,” Remy grumbled. “I wouldn’t mind finding her either and giving her a piece of my mind. What little she hasn’t shot away, anyhow.”

“I don’t want to give her a piece of my mind,” I said blackly. I reached for the gun at Noah’s belt. “She called a demon on me. She threw paint on me so it would know just where to find me. I want to fucking
destroy
her.”

As my hands closed on Noah’s gun, he stepped aside. “Don’t,” he warned me.

A freaking command. I glared at him.

“You can’t go brandishing a gun back at camp,” he said calmly. “The demon might still be down there. And if she is, she’s going to be extremely powerful. We need to be careful.”

“My mother’s down there, the man I love is dead, and the woman responsible for this is getting away scot-free,” I snapped, pushing him aside. “So you’ll forgive me if I skip rational right now and move straight to pissed-the-fuck off.”

To my relief, they let me go, and I stormed down the ladders in a fury, making it down the cliff wall in record time. My stomach rumbled, but I ignored it—food didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered except destroying Phryne.

She was going to pay, and I was going to make it
hurt
.

By the time I got to the ground, I could see the camp in the distance. I raced for it, alarm shooting through me. I could see no one. I charged through the tents, shoving through them and lifting flaps hurriedly. “Mom? Mom?”

“Over here, honey,” a familiar voice called, and relief flooded through me. I raced out to the camp and realized that she was at a nearby dig, squatting in the sun with a floppy hat on, her assistants at her side. They all looked at me as if I’d gone insane.

“Where’s Phryne?” I asked.

“Who?” Mom looked at my appearance and wrinkled her nose. “Did you trip and fall, Jackie? Your bandage is soaked with blood and you’ve got dirt all over your face.” She climbed the ladder as I stood there, and squinted at me. Then, she licked her thumb and began to wipe at my face, frowning. “You’re a mess, honey.”

I touched a hand to my cheek. I was covered in Zane’s ashes. At the thought, tears welled up again but I forced them back. “I’m fine, Mom. Go back to your dig.”

“Is that a bandage on your head? And what’s with all this paint?” She froze. “Did you spill that paint at the ruins?”

Count on Mom to think about the ruins. “Nope. They’re fine. I promise.”

“I’m going to have to check for myself. If you dripped paint on anything, Jackie, I’m going to be furious at you.” She shook her head at me, disappointed. “I thought you’d be more careful with these sorts of things.”

“Guess not,” I said, feeling dead inside. “Did you see another woman around here? Light red hair? Kind of pretty?”
Kind of dead the moment I lay my hands on her?

Mom gave me a puzzled little nod and patted my back. “I don’t know who you’re looking for, honey. Maybe your little friend with the tattoos and the knives? We were having a nice conversation and then she wandered away. Dropped all her things over there on the ground and disappeared. Very odd girl.”

Sophie. I closed my eyes, imagining her belt of weapons lying in a pile of ash. I wanted those knives. She’d have something to carve a buttload of misery and pain into Phryne. “I’ll take them,” I said softly. “We’re leaving now.”

“Call me when you get home,” she said in a surprisingly motherly tone, and then returned to her dig. “We’re in the middle of photographing everything before it gets disturbed by the wind, so don’t mind me if I don’t get out and hug you.”

“I don’t mind,” I said softly. I wasn’t surprised. Why would I have expected her to change? To see my agony? All she saw were artifacts. All she ever saw were artifacts. “Bye, Mom.”

~*~

Sure enough, Sophie’s things were in a neat pile at camp, also covered in that same awful, gritty ash. I fastened her gun belts around my waist, picked up her daggers and strapped them on. By the time Noah and the others found me, I was covered in her weaponry.

To my surprise, Noah had a stricken look on his face at the sight of the weapons. “Not… Sophie?”

“Zane was her master,” I said flatly. “He dies, she dies.”

“I didn’t know,” he said in a low voice. He closed his eyes, shook his head as if shaking off the loss. “I… liked her. She had a fierce spirit.”

I was sure that wasn’t all he’d liked, but I said nothing. “I want to leave here,” I said in a desperate voice. “Please, can we go?”

“Go where?” Remy asked. “That demon is out there with the halo. If she’s moving around, that means she’s not constrained by hallowed ground anymore. She could be anywhere. Doing anything.”

“We can’t stop her. Not if she has the halo. The most we can do is warn the others to steer clear and hope that she manages to amuse herself in quiet ways before we can figure out a way to contain her,” Noah said in a grave voice. “With that power, she’s going to be close to unstoppable.”

“I don’t care about the demon,” I said. “I’m going after Phryne.”

A flash of annoyance crossed Noah’s face. “Jackie, I realize you’re hurting right now, but that isn’t rational.”

“I am
not
rational,” I said to him, my fists clenching hard enough to draw blood. “I know that, and I don’t care. I want to
hurt
her.”

“We’re going home and we’re going to talk about this first,” he said. “My hotel back in the city. We’ll go there.”

~*~

There’d been no conversation on the way to Noah’s hotel. We were a shell-shocked group, no one in the mood for talking. Instead, my mind replayed the scene over and over again.

Zane’s fingers reaching for me.

I love you. Never forget that.

Then dust.

Everything was dust. My heart, my soul, all dust.

The hotel was, of course, a Holiday Inn, since everything else didn’t seem remotely close to Noah’s posh standards of travel. Even this seemed a bit out of his element. He’d made up for it by renting an entire half of the top floor, it seemed. If there wasn’t a penthouse available, Noah would make his own. Typical.

He’d suggested purchasing rooms for Remy and me, but that idea was quickly shot down, and even Noah didn’t seem to mind. No one wanted to separate. Not while we were feeling vulnerable and in shock.

Noah’s assistants had followed us into the hotel, and Noah sent them off with tasks to keep them busy (and out of our hair) before shutting the door. I sat down at the table in the kitchenette of the hotel room, staring at nothing. My shirt was still splattered in paint, but worse was the ash and blood staining it. I felt the insane urge to rip it off.

“How is your head?” Ethan murmured to Remy. I looked over to see him carefully brushing her hair off her forehead, then tenderly pressing a kiss there.

Remy’s lower lip trembled. “Hurts.”

His fingers were gentle as he brushed a knuckle along her jaw, caressing her, comforting her with aching tenderness. “What can I do to ease your pain, Remiza?”

She leaned into his caress, but shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I—”

“She needs healing,” I said. We all knew what that meant.

To my surprise, Remy hesitated. She moved to the table and sat next to me, her face drawn with pain. She hadn’t had the healing that I had earlier, thanks to Zane.

Ah, Zane. That black agony in my heart flared again.

Remy clasped my hand. “I’m not going to leave you just when you need me, Jacks. I’m here for you. We both are.”

“I’m okay,” I said softly, and squeezed her hand. “Noah’s here. You need to take care of yourself.” My voice wobbled a little. “I can’t lose anyone else.”

Remy’s eyes filled in sympathy. “Oh, Jacks, I know. I cried for weeks when I lost my master, and I didn’t even like the bastard. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now.”

I nodded, the knot in my throat huge. I couldn’t talk about this anymore. Didn’t want to. I looked over at Ethan, where the big warrior hovered protectively behind Remy’s chair, waiting to help her. “Remy needs healing right now, Ethan. Please.”

The Enforcer’s eyes flashed silver and he nodded, pulling Remy’s chair out. She protested, but not much, I noticed, and when he scooped her into his arms, she put hers around his neck and laid her head against his chest wearily.

“We will return later, Jackie Brighton,” Ethan said to me, his face grave. “And if you should require my assistance, I shall . . .” He swallowed. “…assist you.”

My mouth twisted in a wry smile despite the ache in my breast. “I don’t need healing, Ethan, but thank you for offering to make the sacrifice.”

Ethan worshipped the ground Remy walked upon, but I was barely tolerated. I knew his offer had been an extension of friendship, nothing more. He wanted sex with me about as much as he wanted to hit himself in the nuts with a hammer, but he’d offered because he knew I was hurting.

He looked incredibly relieved when I declined, and I was too numb to be insulted.

I made a shooing motion at the two of them. “I’m fine,” I stated again. “I’m alive. And Noah’s here.”

Noah. A fine piece of irony that he was the master I would be spending eternity with. My entire being ached with sadness at the thought.

Ethan carried Remy out of the room, whispering sweet nothings in her ears, and I watched as he kicked the door to the bedroom shut.

Good for Remy. After so many centuries of being alone, she had someone who was completely and utterly devoted to her. I was happy that Ethan hadn’t been permanently obliterated with the queen’s death like Sophie had. His sleep-hold had been removed the moment Ashara had turned into so much dust. At least there was one bright spot in things. Remy wouldn’t have to suffer like I was suffering.

Noah approached the table, a pair of shot glasses in hand and a bottle of Glenlivet. He set the two glasses down, opened the bottle, and poured. Then, he nudged one toward me. “Drink.”

Another command. I picked up the shot and raised it to my lips, then tilted my head back and downed the entire thing. The whisky burned in my throat, and I coughed in surprise.

“It’s strong,” he warned me, too late. Then he pushed the second glass in front of me and refilled the first.

I took the other shot and downed it as well. I hadn’t eaten in I didn’t know how long, and my head was buzzing after the two shots. My mouth was full of the syrupy, smoky flavor of the Scotch, and my stomach was burning with heat. Good, but not enough to make me forget. Not nearly enough.

Noah sat in the chair next to me and poured himself a shot, downing it quickly. He refilled his glass. “Another?”

“I don’t want to get drunk, Noah,” I said quietly. “That’s not going to fix anything.”

“No, it won’t. But it takes the edge off for a little, at least.” And he nudged the new shot toward me. “Drink.”

“I hate it when you do this,” I said, grabbing the shot glass and tossing it back. “If you’re trying to make me despise you, mission accomplished.”