Through a Crimson Veil (30 page)

“I told you, I don’t want you dying for me!” She tried to pull away from him, but Conor held on.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do. If the Dark Ones want you, they’ll have to go through me. It’s that simple.”

Mika attempted to free herself one more time before sagging against his chest. “Damn you,” she said quietly.

Gathering her close, Conor bent until his mouth was next to her ear. “Bond with me, Mika. Give me a better chance against them. That extra power might make the difference.”

“It’s pointless.” But she didn’t sound adamant any longer. He knew he had her.

“When I square off with them,” he said, “I want every advantage, but if you won’t share the rites with me, I’m still going to meet them.” He debated adding more, but decided if he were too blatant, she’d catch on. Instead, he said, “We have to try.”

He thought she was going to argue further—he saw her reluctance—but with a sigh, she capitulated. “Okay.”

Something inside his chest eased at that one, unenthusiastic word. Conor knew he should feel guilty for playing on her need to keep him safe, but he didn’t. What he felt could be summed up in a single word: satisfaction.

“The female starts the rite,” he reminded her. No way in hell was he giving her a chance to think this through.

Mika rested her forehead against his shoulder, but Conor moved her far enough away to see her face. When she tried to drop her gaze, he caught her chin in his hand. He wanted her to look at him, to
see him,
when she spoke.

After a brief hesitation, she began. He’d heard the words before, while he was buried deep inside her, but they were more meaningful now. For the rest of his life, there would be no one else, and as Conor looked down at her, he couldn’t imagine ever wanting another woman. Mika was his in ways that went far beyond physical.

Her lips trembled as she finished speaking, and Conor brushed his mouth across hers before beginning his part of the rite. He didn’t understand most of what he said in this demon language, but he could feel power building. And as he reached the end, Mika repeated the closing words with him.

It was as if his entire life had lacked clarity, and at last, he’d adjusted the focus. Then came a flash. A thousand different images of Mika kaleidoscoped through his mind before they stopped short and he saw
this
Mika again. The shift was so sudden, Conor felt off balance, but as his gaze locked with hers, the world righted itself. She was his anchor, his sanctuary.

As soon as he stood steadier, Conor said, “Sebastian helped me memorize the words to the second rite. Do you know them, or do you need me to tell you?”

“I know them. Every demon in Orcus does, although it’s rarely used.” She turned her head and kissed his palm, looking up at him again. “You get to start this one—for all the good it’ll do.”

“Honey, try to remember our roles. You’re the optimist and I’m the pessimist,” he joked.

The corners of her lips tilted, the first smile he’d seen from her in what seemed like days. “I love you, McCabe,” she said.

“I know,” he replied. And he was only beginning to grasp how much. To say that they were tied was an understatement—
merged
was closer to the mark. Conor finally understood Mika’s reservations about joining, what with things unsettled between them, but she’d done it anyway
to keep him safe. This seemed more significant than the way she’d shielded him with her body, although he was unsure why.

The ritual was quick. A few sentences for him, a few for her, and then they closed it. “Nothing feels different,” he said.

“That’s because you don’t trust me,” Mika replied, freeing herself from his hold.

He wanted to draw her back—Conor felt cold without the heat of her body against his. But he resisted. “Do
you
trust
me?
You’re sure I’m going to hurt you emotionally. If not now, then in the future. Sounds like you don’t believe in me, either.”

Mika opened her mouth, shut it, paused, then said, “There’s something wrong with your argument, but damned if I can figure out what it is.” She smiled but looked strained. “Can we get out of here now? I’m sure the rats are plotting against us, and I don’t want to be here when they decide to attack.”

“Yeah.” Conor closed the distance between them and took Mika’s hand. “Let’s go home.”

Bonded. She’d bonded with McCabe. The thought kept echoing through her head as they made their way out of the dilapidated structure.

As a girl, Mika had spent hours daydreaming about meeting her vishtau mate. And although she’d known that demons rarely performed the bonding ritual, she’d fantasized about that too. But in her many scenarios, her mate had always demanded the permanency, because he loved her too much to do without her.

With maturity, Mika had started thinking more sensibly. It was unlikely she’d ever use the words she’d memorized. Most mates lived together, had children yet never bonded; and chances were that her life would follow that pattern as well. She’d reconciled herself to what would most likely
come to pass—at least, that’s what she’d believed. But when McCabe had ordered that she bond with him—not out of love, but to keep her safe—the caricature of her dream had left her feeling hollow inside.

Holding Conor’s hand more tightly now, she sidestepped the carcass of a rat. She couldn’t wait to exit and get away from the sights and smells here. This was something else she’d never imagined as a girl—performing her bonding rite in a derelict building. Mika shook her head. Time to give it up and deal with reality.

She loved Conor. Maybe they could make it work between them. Maybe he’d learn to believe in her. And maybe in a while, her heart would stop aching and she’d get over the fact that he’d bonded with her only to protect her and increase his powers.

McCabe let go of her hand when they were outside. “When we get home,” he said, “we’ll practice sharing power. I want you to be able to use my shielding capability.”

Mika opted not to repeat the trust thing. He knew, so why belabor the point? “I’m willing to try,” she said.

His lips quirked, and she felt her pulse kick up. His smiles were still rare, but were they becoming more frequent? She hoped so.

“Not just try,” he said, “succeed. Hell, honey, we’re both obstinate enough that we should be able to do anything we set our minds to.”

“If it were that easy, every demon would be capable,” she complained. She made a face at him. “You, me—stubbornness is a demonic trait.”

Conor stopped, gave her a quick kiss, and then urged her along once more. What the hell was going on with him tonight? Mika had expected him to complain about being lumped in with demons, but he hadn’t so much as grimaced. Granted, he’d come some distance in accepting his Kiverian nature, but she’d at least expected a sneer.

They approached the fence encircling the property, and
Mika scanned the area, trying to pick up any threats. Nothing. No one was close enough to trigger any alarm bells in her mind, and she bent over to get through the chain-link.

“Wait.” Conor stopped her from squeezing through the hole and studied the area. “Go ahead, but stay aware.”

Nodding to show she heard, Mika shimmied through the opening. As soon as she got clear, she moved forward and stood guard. Because of his size, Conor would be vulnerable when he went through, and she wouldn’t leave him unprotected.

“Mika,” he said when he stood beside her. “Stay close to me and stay alert.” His soft voice indicated he was worried about eavesdroppers, and she ran another scan.

Still nothing.

“You picking up a presence?” she asked.

“No.” He ran a hand over his nape and looked around, then Conor’s gaze met hers. “I just have a feeling something is off.”

She nodded. McCabe had been in dangerous situations for a long time, and his sixth sense would be very developed—not that she would discount any of his feelings, anyway. How many blocks away had they parked? Mika sighed silently. Once again, she hadn’t been paying attention. At least this time she’d been focused on how to approach the Council and not busy playing some game in her head.

The neighborhoods they walked through seemed more sinister than they had earlier—there were shadows everywhere and a million places for someone or something to hide. Conor didn’t rush, but he did keep moving at a good clip. There was a watchfulness about him, a sense of readiness that both relieved Mika and raised her level of anxiety. She had to be prepared too; she would never stand by and let him do all the fighting.

Every sound made her heart race. Every scurry of a rat made her think someone had caused it to run. Every whir of machinery made her nerves pull tauter.

With her superior vision, Mika didn’t need the streetlights to see, but the fact that they weren’t working added to the eeriness of the night. The area was deserted, and even a gang of werewolves would be a welcome sight right about now.

They rounded a corner, and Mika hesitated. There was a…stillness that was unnatural. “Conor,” she whispered.

“I feel it. We’ll go around. Come on.” His arm went to her waist to turn her. Not that she needed it; Mika was more than happy to go in another direction. She felt Mc-Cabe tighten his hold a nanosecond before she completed her pivot, and saw what had made him tense.

Without a word being exchanged, she and Conor turned again, but the way they’d been walking was blocked. The dark demons were making their move.

They were trapped.

With buildings on either side of them, there were only two directions to move, and the Dark Ones had both covered. Mika glanced over her shoulder—the first Bak-Faru had crossed a lot of ground. One shot: that’s all it would take to finish her off.

Up ahead on her left, there was an alley—a possible escape route if they could reach it quickly enough. But just as humans couldn’t outrun a bullet, demons couldn’t outrun an energy blast.

Maybe, though, McCabe could get away. The dark demons wouldn’t know he’d destroyed the grimoire. Without that info, they’d want him alive.

One glance at Conor’s face, though, told Mika not to bother suggesting he leave. He’d never do it.

“I don’t know what your powers are,” Conor said quietly to her, “but direct the strongest of them at the demon in front of us when I squeeze your waist. Got it?”

“Yeah.” If she combined a couple of her magics, like she had the second time she’d faced a Dark One, maybe she
could affect him in some small way again. Mika gathered energy and held it, awaiting McCabe’s signal.

For an instant, she almost felt him. It was as if Conor were reaching out for her, and instinctively she tried to close the distance, but a wall stopped her. The distraction almost made her miss his cue, but when his hand tightened, Mika released her whirlwind of thick air. At the same time, Conor discharged a blast of energy. Their two magics intertwined and raced toward the Dark One. She’d never heard of demons trying something like this before, but it was an incredible idea: their powers melded into one, a glowing cyclone that held her mesmerized.

The blond-haired Bak-Faru made no effort to move. In fact, he opened his arms, arrogantly daring the power to come to him. It did. The energy slammed into his body and tossed him several feet through the air before he landed on his backside. Mika smiled with satisfaction at the sight.

“Honey, there’s two of them,” Conor reminded her.

She stiffened and glanced behind her. While she’d been admiring their handiwork, the other Dark One had started strolling toward them. Why wasn’t he attacking? The small distance wouldn’t affect his powers.

Keeping himself between her and the black-haired demon, McCabe urged Mika toward the alley. She understood his goal now. Conor didn’t want a confrontation; he wanted to get away and fight the Dark Ones some other time. Like, maybe when they’d worked out how to share powers?

Another peek showed the dark demon was unalarmed by their movement, and by his compatriot’s struggle to regain his feet. The Dark Ones were here together, but acted always as individuals. Mika tried to decide if that gave her and Conor an advantage, but doubted the lack of teamwork would change the outcome of this clash. Those two
were
from the strongest demon branch.

The blond demon stood at last, but he didn’t appear entirely steady. She and Conor ran faster, but the alley remained
more than fifteen yards away. The Bak-Faru with the dark hair continued his unrushed pace. At ten yards from the alley, Mika knew why.

“It’s a trap, Conor.”

Cursing, she watched him size up the situation with this new piece of info. To escape, they’d need to make it past one of the dark demons. If they couldn’t, there was nothing to do but stand and fight. And die.

Conor used all his speed, pushing Mika back against one of the dilapidated structures with his body in front of hers. Mika could only peer over his shoulder, but she didn’t argue, not with the intensity radiating from him. Their position allowed a solid view of both dark demons. The blond one had recovered and strutted toward them the same as his compatriot; only, he looked pissed.

“This is pointless,” Conor called out. “I won’t allow you to harm her.”

There came no response; they simply continued walking.

“I destroyed the incantation—”

“Conor!” Mika protested. At the same time, the blond Bak-Faru threw back his head and roared in fury.

Conor ignored him and added; “And I don’t have a copy. It’s gone.”

The Dark Ones came to a stop and shared a glance. The rage on their faces was terrifying.

“He’s lying,” Mika said desperately. “While he did destroy the original spell, he does have a copy. He can still lower the veil.”

“What are you doing?” Conor demanded in a whisper.

Mika ignored him. The Dark Ones would be able to hear anything she said, and she couldn’t tip her hand—not when they were furious and the odds were already against her. “You know,” she said, addressing them, “that only a half-demon who is also an auric assassin can do this, and Conor may be the only one born of that description since our imprisonment in Orcus. Another like him may not come for millennia. Do you want to lose this chance?”

“Mika, be quiet.”

She shrugged him off. “They know what you are, as does the Council. It’s part of the legend, although most demons are unaware of all the details.” It was silly given the circumstances, but she wanted Conor to understand that she wasn’t betraying him. “I didn’t know myself until I was told today.”

The two dark demons met and started conferring; they were so enraged that their gestures were almost caricaturish. They would have been humorous if the situation weren’t so precarious.
Please let them believe me,
Mika thought.

“What were you thinking?” she asked Conor, her voice barely a breath of sound.

“No incantation means no need to consider you an obstacle.”

Mika gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. “You thought they would just walk away if you didn’t have the spell?”

McCabe nodded. Hadn’t he listened to her when she’d told him the Dark Ones were obsessive and irrational? They weren’t going to shrug this off and leave. Ever.

“You were wrong. If you don’t have the incantation, then your life becomes as worthless to them as mine. Luckily, you held on to a copy.” She tacked that on for the Bak-Farus’ benefit.

Although Conor never looked at her, Mika knew he finally understood what she was getting at. The dark demons were vindictive, and someone would pay if the spell was gone. Who better than the Council’s agent, and the half-demon idiotic enough to destroy the grimoire?

McCabe put his hand behind him, pressed it against her hip, and gave her a nudge to the left. If he thought they were going to get out of here because the Dark Ones were talking, he was mistaken. A burst of flame hit the wall close enough to singe the hair on her arm.

Before Mika could stop him, Conor pulled a gun. She
knew he didn’t want to stand and wait for the Dark Ones to kill them, but taking the offensive wouldn’t help their situation. He returned fire and some kind of orange beam shot out of the weapon, but the blond demon was a split second faster than the blast headed his way; while he was winged, the Bak-Faru avoided serious injury.

Before Conor could shoot again, the dark-haired demon directed heat at his gun; Mika could see the glow. McCabe fought to hang on, but when the weapon became unbearably hot, he had to drop it. The demon didn’t let up until the weapon became an unidentifiable lump of molten metal. Satisfied that the threat was taken care of, the Dark One held out a hand and emitted an invisible energy wave. Mika barely had time to sense its movement before it crashed into her.

Since Conor shielded her, he took the brunt of the attack, which drove him into her, hard. The wall stopped her, and she stopped McCabe. As soon as he recovered, he straightened, and she gasped for air.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Mika nodded, since she couldn’t yet speak. She’d had the wind knocked out of her, but was otherwise fine—for now. If a dark demon could hurl them so forcefully with no problem, how the hell were she and Conor going to get out of this mess? McCabe went back to protecting her, and she felt a shift in energy. He was adding power to his shield, she realized.

Pushing her hair out of her face, Mika decided they needed a plan. Her magic wasn’t much, but if Conor could continue to mix his power with hers the way he had earlier, maybe they could do some damage. And then there was his auric talent.

Of course, that would be a last-ditch, desperation move. If Conor fired, he would lose his shielding and be vulnerable. Assassins using the auric blast tended to attack and then get the hell out of Dodge. Only, McCabe wouldn’t run—not unless they were both able to get away.

Mika froze. The dark demons appeared to still be talking, but something told her they’d reached a decision. Mika jumped onto Conor, pushing him to the ground.

The shot burst overhead and left a three-foot hole in the brick building directly behind them. McCabe rolled, shoving her beneath him. She twisted, trying to see the Dark Ones. “Damn it, let me help you!” she cried.

“Stay still.”

Since he had a much better view of the situation than she, Mika obeyed instantly. Conor curved his body around hers, tucked his head in, and she braced herself. The dark demons released a barrage of energy; she could see the glow in her peripheral vision and sense it surround them. Some of the assault went astray, but the rest was absorbed by her vishtau mate.

McCabe didn’t flinch.

“Conor?” Mika whispered.

“I’m okay, just don’t move. I told you, I can absorb their energy.” He gave her a small smile. “And they’re going to be mighty unhappy when I fire this back at them.”

Mika grinned with sheer relief. He was all right. She repeated that over and over as the assault continued.

Their faces were only inches apart, and the more Conor was hit, the brighter his eyes glowed. This wasn’t caused by anger or arousal, but some third source—one she knew nothing about. Was it something unique to auric assassins?

The bombardment stopped suddenly, and McCabe lifted his head. “Oh, shit,” he said.

“What? What’s happening?”

“We’ve got more company.”

At his grim tone she twisted, trying to see what was going on, but he pressed her down, keeping her covered. She complained, “If you’re not going to let me look, at least fill me in.”

“The Council’s assassins have shown up.”

“Oh, no. There won’t have been enough time for word to reach them that their assignment’s been scrubbed,” she
answered his unasked question. “I’d guess the Council is making arrangements to contact them even now.”

Conor nodded. “I think our four friends are arguing over who gets to kill us.” He sounded torn between amusement and horror.

Mika sighed. “That won’t last long.”

“I know. Okay, we’re going to stand up—that will give us more options. I need you to move with me, keeping yourself behind my body. Got it?”

Mika nodded. Conor shifted slowly to his feet, and she maneuvered with him as he’d ordered. At last she was able to see their enemies again—just in time for a Dark One to attack one of the assassins. She would have watched further—anyone fighting a Bak-Faru was a spectacle not to be missed—but McCabe growled, “We can’t go left or right. How about up? How high can you jump?”

Unsure what he wanted of her, Mika looked at the adjacent building. With her talent for levitation and a boost from the wind and air…yeah, she could get to the top. “I think I can make it to the roof—although it’ll be close,” she warned.

“That’s five stories,” he said. He sounded shocked.

“Um, that wasn’t what you were asking?”

“The fire escape—Never mind,” he decided. He glanced over his shoulder at the squabbling demons. They were standing in the street, exchanging fire. “You’ll be vulnerable in the air, but I think it’s worth the risk. Get up to the roof and go down the other side of the building. Then run like hell.”

“What about you?” she demanded.

“Listen to me.” He glanced again at the skirmish, then bent down to glare into her face. “If you’re gone, I won’t have to worry about protecting you or getting both of us out of here. If you leave, you’re not deserting me, you’re helping me.”

As much as her heart rebelled at the thought, she knew
what he said was true. He was at a disadvantage with her present. “If you get hurt, I’ll make you pay for this—understand me?” she swore.

Conor smiled, his lips quirking up in that sexy way he had. “I won’t get hurt. Now get out of here before they get tired of fighting each other and decide to take care of us.”

She nodded and gave McCabe a quick kiss, then trailed her fingers along the side of his neck as she pulled back. “Be careful!” she ordered.

Crouching, Mika used a combination of her leg muscles and her ability to levitate to launch herself skyward. She thinned the air around her to reduce drag, and added a boost of wind. As she passed the fourth floor she began to lose momentum, and she willed herself to make it that last story.

Mika started to reach forward to grab the roof, but stopped at the last second. As she fell back to earth, Conor glared at her. “Why the hell are you here?”

Despite the danger in their situation, she smiled at his grumbling. “About a third of that roof is gone, and the surrounding walls look like they could collapse at any minute. I didn’t think it would take my weight, and I couldn’t reach the part of the roof that appeared solid.”

“Shit.” Conor looked over at the demons, and Mika followed his gaze. It resembled a shootout from some old Hollywood Western, only instead of guns, the combatants were using fireblasts and energy waves. It was amazing. She’d never seen anyone stand against the Dark Ones before, but the auric assassins not only were fighting, they were holding their own.

“Let’s try the power-sharing thing again,” Conor said. He must have read her skepticism, because he added, “Work with me here, honey.”

“You can’t force yourself to trust me,” she warned. He gave no response. Time was running out, so she gave up
the debate—it was better to simply go along. “Okay, ready when you are.”

She felt Conor reaching for her and Mika tried to visualize herself opening to him with every breath she took, with every beat of her heart. There was that sense of almost, but the barrier remained between them. It was thin—their own personal veil—but it held McCabe back as surely as if it were a fortress. She wiped away the perspiration that was dripping down his forehead toward his left eye.