He went down a small corridor to the large rock he’d hidden her things behind. He hadn’t anticipated her coming out to the caves. No one came here as a volunteer, and surely she could sense the anger and pain of the place. After this, he would put her stuff in a pod, something only he could open. He should have taken the extra precaution to begin with. She could probably curse him without tools as long as she had that mouth on her. But he had other uses for that mouth, so cutting out her tongue seemed extreme.
He returned a few minutes later with her bags of magical supplies, not sure what she’d need to do what he asked. When he tossed them to her, she just stared.
“You’re serious. You really want me to do magic? After you’ve spazzed out about it like you have?”
The demon glared and tossed her the bag with the scroll in it.
“What’s this?” She unzipped it and pulled out the parchment. When she saw what was on it, she dropped it like it was a bag of live snakes, hissing and waiting to strike.
She looked up, real fear in her eyes this time. It was a reaction he couldn’t seem to inspire. Yeah, it wounded his evil pride a bit. What was so bad about this other guy that Cain couldn’t match?
“Please, you have to kill me. If he’s back to these games, he knows where the other one is. He may even know where I am. I know him.”
Cain shook his head. “He can’t know where you are. And even if he did, he can’t get here. He has no access.”
She still hadn’t put on her clothes. Now that he knew, he could never forget how old she was. It hadn’t occurred to her to be embarrassed, even after being rebuffed. She stood and moved toward him, determination in her eyes. Her arms went around his neck, her lips crashing against his mouth.
This was new and intriguing. It was rare for a woman to be this aggressive with him without demon thrall involved. And he wasn’t even in his super-pretty form. The fact that she knew what he was and was still throwing herself at him, even with a death wish, was almost too novel to cope with.
As offended as he was that she didn’t seem scared of him, another part didn’t want to kill her. It was hard to kill an equal you were growing to respect. If he succeeded and she begged him to keep her, would he? Of course not. She was a new flavor of candy. She’d be stale within a week, just like the others.
Tam slid her hand down his pants while her mouth tangled with his. She pulled away, her eyes glittering with dark promise. “Come on, I’m so tired from all the magic I’ve done. I’m not fully recharged yet. It wouldn’t take that much work to kill me.”
At least one part of him was listening to her, standing at attention, ready to make good on the promise of death. But he pushed her away, his hands gripping her shoulders to keep her at arm’s length. “Put some clothes on.”
She pouted. “But why? Is this much naked flesh upsetting you? Why should you deny yourself? I mean nothing to you. Forget your stupid plan. I won’t ever beg you to keep me. Let’s get this over with.”
He wanted to shake the life out of her, but then he’d be left with a much younger Tam in her place, a prospect that was less than appealing. “Look at the parchment again.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Look at it!” he growled. Even as he gripped her, he was shifting into his demon form. With every form but his true form shed, he gave off every negative emotion in existence. Tam shrank back from the force of it, and he smiled.
“I’ve never successfully fed in this form, so it’s pointless for you to taunt me—not that you would. I’m sure you don’t want to sleep with this.”
She met his gaze, getting her bravery back as she got used to the new energy around him. “Eh. I’ve seen worse.”
He released her shoulders and took a step back. If she kept surprising him, he might make it his mission in life to keep her alive forever.
She glanced down and giggled. It wasn’t the response a man was ever looking for, but when she spoke, he realized why.
“You must have seven hundred pairs of pants.”
In the shift, he’d ripped them. Again. Like some fledgling demon who didn’t yet understand the size disparity between man and monster. She unnerved him too much to be concerned with wardrobe malfunctions.
“I need you to look at the bigger picture,” he said. “Things are going to get ugly with Anthony after this. He’ll use this to push his control further—in the name of safety. I’ve seen humans do it a thousand times, and vampires are no different when it comes to this. I might need you in a war. You promised you’d fight with me. If you do this spell, it might help us find The Cycler. If we destroy him, there’s no reason for you to die.”
Tears welled in her eyes. The moment of vulnerability took him aback, and he had to fight the urge to comfort her. Where in the hell had that urge come from?
“It’s not just that. I’m TIRED, Cain. I’m so tired, I can’t think straight. I can’t stand this eternal cycle. It’s so lonely. Every time I cycle, I have to hide and go somewhere different, uproot my whole life, meet new people. Everyone I meet, I know I’m going to lose. I can’t live like this anymore. I just want to be normal again. I just want to be happily oblivious to the truth. The only way out is Jack or you. Forgive me if I prefer your methods. I don’t want him to win, you’re right. But I don’t want me to win, either. I need out of this. I thought if I could get away from him, that I could do it. I thought if Anna became immortal I could do it, but it’s not enough. I just want out.”
Given her suicidal kick, if Cain managed to get her to beg him to keep her, to even want her life back, it would be a miracle. And then what was he going to do? Kill her anyway? He should. Even if she’d be beneficial in a war, the temptation to get her out of her death wish and only then deliver it was the kind of temptation he was rarely successful at fighting. There was a reason he was who and what he was, after all.
He punched the cave wall, causing a mini-avalanche of little rocks in the space where he’d cracked it. “I’ve had the same form for eight thousand years. You think I don’t get how hard it is? But I don’t get an exit ramp. Why should I give you one?”
“Forget it. If you’re not going to do something useful, just leave me alone.”
Cain picked up the scroll and held it out to her. “No. I need you to do this spell.”
“What spell?” she said, her voice rising in irritation.
“Look at the scroll again.”
***
Reluctantly, she took the parchment from his hands and unrolled it, looking down the list of names she’d tried not to look at before. Blood. In the little hearts beside her name. A lump formed in her throat at the most recent name that had been crossed out. Naomi. Her sister. She still remembered standing beside her in the cavern, agreeing about not adding their own blood to the potion. It had been a smart gut instinct. Why hadn’t she listened?