There was no way for him to follow her, though he would have if he could. His future stretched out, bleak and desolate without her. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted a future. Why live when he knew that he was destined to suffer for as long as he drew breath?
He had what he wanted, what he’d prayed for. His body was whole, and he was able to fight as he’d been born to do, as he’d ached to do for so long while stranded in his bed, trapped in his useless body.
But what was the point of fighting, when good people like Grace were just going to die anyway?
He went back to his suite, gathered a few things. Sorrow hung over him, making his steps slow and sluggish. There was nothing here for him. Not anymore. He wasn’t sure if there was anything for him anywhere, but he couldn’t stay here, with all the reminders of what was now gone.
Torr felt lost and utterly alone as he drove through the gates of Dabyr. He’d already left his cell phone behind, and dismantled the tracking device in his car so that no one could find him. He didn’t want their pity or their company. All he wanted was to be left alone.
Grace was gone from the world, and there was nothing anyone could do to make that okay.
Iain heard Jackie’s panic and knew what was waiting for them wasn’t good. Impotent frustration seethed under his skin. He couldn’t shove past her and face the threat first. There was no room. She was on her own for a few more seconds.
Smoke billowed into the glowing tubelike shield, blocking his sight. It filled his lungs, making him cough out the acrid stench. His next breath was of clean, fresh air, but the smoke was still there.
Jackie’s magic. She must have heard him cough and given him what he needed.
Iain surged to his feet the second he cleared the shield, lifting his sword. The screams of demons filled the cavern. He could see through plumes of smoke that several more demons were on fire, but he couldn’t see Jackie. He couldn’t tell if she was in danger.
The monster inside of him threw back its head, howling in rage. Iain bore down on it, telling it to shut the fuck up.
He could still sense Jackie, like sunlight glowing against his side, so he moved in that direction, making careful steps so he didn’t bowl into her and slam her head into another wall.
Even the memory of the sight of her blood was enough to make his control stretch thin.
A dark shape leaped toward him, and he spun to attack, severing one of the demon’s front paws. The thing hissed at him, and it wasn’t until it was only a few feet away that he was able to see its face. It was human. Disturbingly so. The body of the demon was long-limbed and animalistic, but the face could easily have belonged to a teenage boy.
Iain hesitated—something he wouldn’t have done a few days ago—and that hesitation nearly cost him his arm. The thing shot at him, latching its teeth just under his shoulder. Its jaws stretched open wider than was humanly possible, and its eyes rolled back in its head.
The warding on his coat kept the teeth from making contact with his skin, but he was going to carry a bruise from the crushing bite.
Iain jammed his blade down into the thing’s neck and out the front of its chest. It went limp as its spinal cord was severed, and fell to the ground.
He kicked it away and moved closer to where he felt Jackie standing.
Iain found her finally, pressed into a deep crevice. Her hands were held up as if to ward off attack, and she was pale and sweating. Blood smeared her trembling fingers, and from her palms, he could sense a barely discernible flow of power.
He looked to see what she was doing, only to find at least twenty demons of different types fighting one another. They growled and bit, tearing flesh with their teeth. Beneath them, a pool of black blood spread out, widening as he watched.
“What the hell?”
She didn’t say a word, but he could sense her fatigue. She was pulling more power from him than she had ever before, and the strain was too much.
Iain had to get her out of here.
“Put a shield up at our backs and run,” he told her.
To her credit, she didn’t stop to argue or question him. She understood instantly what he meant and he felt a shift in the power she drew from him as she did as he asked.
Iain took her arm and lifted her out of the crevice toward the exit. They still had to squeeze through that narrow opening, but if they could get that far, he could hold off whatever came their way.
Jackie moved too slow for his comfort, but she was wounded and exhausted. He couldn’t expect her to go any faster and stay on her feet. He tried to take some of her weight, but as the tunnel narrowed, they had to go single file, and he had to leave her to her own power.
Anger coalesced in his gut. He never should have let her come down here. He should have taped her to the seat like he’d threatened. At least then she would have been safely aboveground.
Iain checked for danger on the other side of the crack, and when he saw none, he moved so Jackie could go through first. It took him much longer to squeeze through the narrow gap, and by the time he did, three more demons had found them.
That damn head injury was drawing them out, temping them with the scent of her blood.
Jackie sagged. He could feel her drawing more power from him, but it was slower now, as if she was too weary to handle more.
Fire flickered out of her fingertips, sputtering as it went. Two of the beasts leaped out of the way, lunging toward them.
Iain stepped up and took them out with a couple of swift slices. It was nothing fancy, but he had no time for style right now. It was all about efficiency.
He took her by the arm again and sprinted toward the opening. As soon as he had a clear line of sight, his pace slowed.
Their SUV had been pulled down into the hole by the rappelling lines and was now crumpled and blocking their exit.