She wasn’t ready for him to stop touching her yet, so as soon as he stopped, she put the car in park and killed the engine, leaving the keys in the ignition.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“I can do this.”
“We can wait for help.”
“And let the demons do whatever it is they’re going to do to that baby? Fuck that. Let’s go get some.”
He nodded and lifted his hand to open his door. The instant his skin left hers, she was hit with a thousand scenes of blood and rot. Filthy, oily beasts fought each other for scraps of rancid meat, giving her an up close and personal view of their jagged teeth and feral, glowing eyes.
Thank God she didn’t see in smell-o-vision.
She had to make sense of the visions—to collect whatever information she could so that they didn’t go in there blind. With only the two of them, they had to be careful.
Rory gripped the strand of power running through her and tugged hard. She focused in on her eyes, the way she’d done to make them see in the dark, hoping it would sort out her visions. Instead, they grew only more vivid and blinding. The harder she tried, the worse it became until she was nauseated and panting with effort.
Finally, she let go of Cain’s power, feeling the ribbon snapping back into place.
Her normal fucked-up visions were back, but at least they weren’t in IMAX 3D anymore. They faded down until she saw one sight that made sense. A lean, beautiful man had a woman’s limp body over his shoulder. Under his other arm, he carried a toddler whose chubby limbs bounced as the Sanguinar hurried through a rocky passage.
Then, as she watched, another angle appeared, and another. Connal was being surrounded by creatures, and each one of them was closing in.
“We need to hurry,” she squeaked out.
“I understand. Let’s get you suited up.”
Rory didn’t waste time arguing. She felt his determination to see to her protection as an immovable force pounding through him. By the time she’d fumbled her way out of the car, he was there with a long leather coat. He slipped it on her arms, clearing away the rank visions as his skin brushed hers. A plastic shield went on over her head.
“I can’t see,” she admitted.
“Use my eyes.”
“How?”
“The luceria. Our connection is wide open. Use it to see what I see. Or you can stay here. I’ll go in and get them without you.”
Her instant gut reaction to that was to scream at him in denial. Not only did she want to help, but she also didn’t want to be standing around in the dark, blind and alone. But as rational thought seeped in, she realized the truth. She was going to slow him down. Maybe even get him killed. She hadn’t considered what it would be like to be this close to a horde of demons. It was just as bad as being in the city, only with bloody chunks instead of crappy late night infomercials.
Rory wanted to fight. She needed to fight. The urge burned through her so bright it blinded her to any other possibility. Only now, she realized just how stupid her lack of forethought had been. If she couldn’t see, how could she fight?
Cain grabbed her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “You’re giving up on me now? You haven’t even tried yet. Now pull yourself together and use the luceria.”
He was right. She couldn’t give up. Even now, that woman and her baby were being dragged deeper into the bowels of the earth.
Rory concentrated on the luceria, felt it hugging her neck. It warmed and vibrated in anticipation. She sensed his thoughts, felt his emotions. All she had to do now was filter all of that out and use his eyes. Certainly, seeing what he saw now shouldn’t be any harder than seeing the memories of something he’d seen before.
With that strategy in mind, Rory closed her eyes. The demonic images flared in more gruesome detail, but she tried to ignore them—tried to ignore her own eyes altogether. Only Cain’s eyes mattered.
Power wove around her, trickling out of the luceria to hug her close. She didn’t even have to try to take it from him now. It simply came to her as if it belonged inside of her.
The strands of power thickened, turning into resonant ribbons of energy. Something clicked into place, and she saw her face. She grasped onto that image, concentrating on her pink hair, glowing bright under the moon. Suddenly, the sight slipped past her, out of reach.
“Almost,” she heard Cain whisper.
More power glided into her, sinking into her skin and bone. She felt lighter, as if she could float away if she let go. Only Cain’s hands on her leather-clad shoulders kept her fixed on the ground.
Like tuning a radio, she searched for the right frequency, discarding those visions flowing from the demons.
There. Right there. She saw her head again, and this time, when she clutched on to the image, it stuck with her.
Pride filled his tone. “That’s it. Just like that.”
Before she even had time to smile at her success, her control failed, and her vision dissolved into a flurry of teeth, blood and fur. The strand of power she’d been holding snapped back into Cain, leaving her feeling like a pile of suckful failure.
“It’s okay,” he said. His voice was gentle, but she could feel him fighting his disappointment. “We have time for you to figure it out.”
“Just not now,” she added. She grabbed his hand so that she could see his face clearly, and almost wished she hadn’t.
His jaw was set with determination, and his shoulders were pulled back. Regret hovered in his eyes, and she knew she was going to hate the next words coming out of his lovely mouth. “I can’t take you down there. Not when you’re blind and compromised. I have to focus completely on getting that woman and her baby out.”
Rory nodded as an avalanche of frustration pinned her in place. “I understand. I’ll slow you down. Get in the way.”
His voice rang with apology, “Rory, I’m so—”
“No. Don’t be. It’s okay. You go in there and save those people. I’ll stay here.”
“You’re not fighting me.”
“There’s no time to argue. They need you. Go now. Before I change my mind.”
“If things get dangerous, drive away or put up a shield to protect yourself. The sun will be up soon. Synestryn will be coming back to hide.”
“I’ll be fine. Just go.”
Cain turned and left. A swarm of demon sights filled her eyes, making her sick.
Disappointment and rage shook her to her bones. She wasn’t afraid. If the demons came, she knew she could protect herself. But that wasn’t enough. Not even close. She wanted to be like Cain and help others, too. Her life had been all about her for too long. Isolation had managed to narrow her focus until she could hardly see past herself.
Cain had opened her eyes and shown her what she was missing. And now that she’d seen how it could be—how it was supposed to be—she knew she’d never again be happy settling for less.
She couldn’t just stand around doing nothing, so she stumbled back to the car, got in, locked the doors and latched on to Cain’s power. One way or another, she was going to make her brain see what she wanted it to see. And then she was going in after him.
* * *
Raygh felt his prey draw near. The urge to grab her mind and reel her in made him salivate, but he held fast, pretending he was still trapped and held in check. She’d stopped moving now, but the closer she got, the easier it became to feel her heartbeat. It would go still soon enough, but not until he’d given her the same pain and fear that had been visited upon his sons.
Once all of her screams were his, trapped for eternity within his memories, then he would drain her blood and carry her with him for all time. She would provide him with information and fuel his power, giving him the strength to find her friends—those who were also responsible for Raygh’s grief.
In fact, one of them was with her now. He sensed the man’s power radiating through her, and sent his demons out to gather the man’s blood.
It had been a long time since Raygh had tasted the power of a male Theronai’s blood. But that was about to change. Her mate possessed great knowledge. If anyone knew how to reach the Gate and the Athanasian blood that lay on the other side, it would be this man. And everything he knew, Raygh would soon know as well.
Chapter 28
Canaranth smelled Ella before he saw her. The sweet, light fragrance of her skin was unmistakable. His heart jumped with excitement and joy, and he broke out in a dead run, sprinting toward her.
Before he’d gone ten feet, his mind caught up with his emotions. If she was here, she was in terrible danger. Raygh destroyed all he touched. He didn’t care about how foolish it was to kill three Slayers when cultivating their blood was far smarter. He’d already killed one of the human children they needed. Nothing mattered to him beyond his rage, hunger and his whims. Zillah had been ruthless, but at least he had some sense of preserving their future.
Raygh was on a rampage of anger and grief, and Canaranth knew he wouldn’t stop until everyone who’d witnessed the death of his sons had been destroyed.
He had to get Ella out to safety—back into the hands of the Sentinels.
As Canaranth rounded a curve in the tunnel leading to the surface, he saw her body draped over the shoulder of a Sanguinar they’d had dealings with in the past—Connal. In his other arm was a small child—one who smelled familiar.
His son. The boy hanging limp in Connal’s arm was Canaranth’s son. He’d survived.
Shock and joy swelled under his ribs, stealing his breath.
That his son had lived was a miracle. Being able to see the boy with his own eyes was more than Canaranth deserved or expected. And Ella was here as well, her heart beating out reassurance that she was alive.
He took a step forward, reaching for his family before he realized he couldn’t let anyone know he was the boy’s father. Or how much he loved Ella. Down here, they would be tools used against him. If anyone suspected their connection to him, they would suffer for it.
So instead of revealing how much he ached to take them in his arms, he put on a mask of indifference and addressed the Sanguinar. “Why are you here?”
Connal stopped in his tracks. His pale eyes flared with light as he gathered his power. “I seek asylum. I bring tribute to Zillah.”
“Zillah is . . . no more. You need to take your tribute and leave now.”
Canaranth silently willed Ella to wake so he could see her face again, even as he begged her to stay asleep. Seeing him would be hard on her. And she might say something to give them away.
“Who is leader here?”
“I am,” lied Canaranth. “Now go before I gut you and feed you to my demons.”
Connal’s eyes narrowed. “You lie. Your heart is racing. Now, why would you lie to me?”
“Give me your tribute. I will take it to Raygh and request an audience for you.”
“No. I’ll take it to him myself. Take me to him.”
Connal’s eyes flared brighter, and Canaranth felt the sting of compulsion scamper over his mind. He tried to fight it, but he hadn’t fed in days, knowing that they needed to conserve what blood they had left. He was weak, and because of that, he turned and began walking.
