Rory remembered what Ronan had done when he’d barricaded the demon inside that cage. She could picture the metal box in her mind, open and waiting for her to shove him inside. She was strong. She could do this.
Instinctively, she reached for Cain’s power to aid her efforts, but she couldn’t touch it. Something huge and evil loomed in her way. As she struggled, the visions flared to sickening brightness, shoving their way into her eyes like electrified knitting needles. Within some of those visions, she saw Raygh flinch. Whether he was also reacting to her visions or if she was gaining some ground, she had no idea. Either worked for her.
She refocused her efforts, trying to picture the demonic presence as bound and shrinking.
Sweat trickled down her back. Her muscles trembled with strain. The Godzilla of headaches rampaged through her brain like it was Tokyo. A stifled cry of pain erupted from her lips, but she’d made the sound herself with no demon-fueled compulsions.
“She’s beating you,” said Cain, his deep, gravelly voice warming her like sunshine. “She’s going to smash your mind flat until it’s nothing more than chunky pulp.”
His cheerleading efforts helped her ignore the pain and fight harder.
Something inside one of her visions caught her attention. Raygh was glaring at her, teeth bared as it growled in frustration. He wasn’t paying attention to the man with the dagger—the one who had lifted it to just the right angle to plunge it into Raygh’s neck.
The demon saw what she saw. She felt his awareness spark. He turned just in time to block the attack from his servant. The pale man’s wrist snapped audibly as it was bent down. The tip of the dagger dug into his forearm. Raygh’s anger was so powerful, she felt it blow back against her like hot, rotten breath.
But he was distracted now. Busy.
Rory shoved every scrap of willpower and strength she had at the demon’s presence in her mind, trapping it within a glowing bubble the way Ronan had done. The cage only lasted for a split second, but it was enough to break his hold on her.
She let go of the power holding Cain against his will. He hit the floor, landing on his feet. His sword came up in a powerful arc, slicing the demon’s chest open from stomach to chin. On the downswing, Raygh threw the man who’d tried to stab him in the way. Cain’s sword went right through him before he could slow or stop.
Rory felt his horror at what he’d done, his fury at the creature that had caused him to harm someone who’d tried to help.
Raygh tossed the pale man at Cain, knocking him off balance. He regained his footing and charged. An enraged bellow echoed off the cave walls.
She felt the demon gather his power, bursting free of the glowing bubble to take over her body once again. She fought back, screaming as pain sliced through her skull. The visions flowing into her from the monsters surrounding them grew brighter, more vivid. One part of her saw a mass of creatures swarming toward the man with the dagger. He was bleeding badly, struggling to swat them away.
Rory wanted to help, but she couldn’t move. Raygh had regained control of her limbs, locking her in place. She tried to fight him off, but she was so tired. Weak. Her heart was skipping beats, jerking around in her chest as if trying to break free.
That’s when she realized what was happening. Raygh was bleeding out, dying. And Rory was going to die right along with him.
“No!” screamed Cain. His desperation reverberated in her ears and inside her thoughts. He knew what was happening. She felt the dark knowledge seep into him, making him hesitate.
If Cain killed the demon, he would kill her as well.
Chapter 31
Ronan crouched in a small corner of his mind, waiting to strike at the demon that controlled his body. It had ravaged him, fighting the chains and tape that bound him until blood flowed freely from his broken skin.
Ronan couldn’t even muster the control he needed to heal himself. The demon didn’t care if he lived or died, it only cared about freeing his body to use as it willed.
As Ronan waited, feeling his body weaken drop after drop, he felt a sudden change. A flickering break in the demon’s control.
Without hesitation, Ronan sprang from where he waited, forcing his consciousness to swell and surge so there would be no room left for the demon.
It realized what had happened and fought back, snarling for control. Ronan wasn’t going to get another chance. He was too weak to do this again, and now the demon knew he was lying in wait. If Ronan was to be free, now was his chance.
His cells burned as he ripped power from them. His muscles trembled as they shrank. The tape binding him loosened as he turned his tissue into fuel, growing skinny and frail.
For a fleeting second, he felt Rory’s presence, recognizing her fighting spirit instantly. He’d had her blood. The demon inhabited both of them. They shared a space, linked together in a way Ronan had no time to understand. He simply accepted her presence as fact.
The demon was powerful, but its strength was fading. Something had happened. It was dying.
And it was going to take both Ronan and Rory with it.
No. He refused to allow that. His people needed Rory to survive and provide them with sustenance. One fewer Sanguinar left to feed was no tragedy. One fewer female Theronai left to feed his kind—left to bear children whose blood was strong—was.
As starvation ravaged his body, he knew what he had to do. He wouldn’t let his kind suffer as he did now, fighting back hopelessness, pain and despair. She and her future children were the key to Sanguinar survival. She had to live, no matter what.
Strengthened by his decision, Ronan did the only thing he could think to do. He found the lingering, weakened presence of the demon in her mind and pulled it from her. It fought his hold, but was no match for a Sanguinar with nothing to lose.