I laughed. “Sorry. When you’re the cat it’s hard to remember you’re really a badass demon.”
He sniffed, making his little nose twitch. “Damned straight, sister. I kicked that Defiler’s ass tonight.”
“Yes, you did. Where’d you learn to fight like that? I wouldn’t think a Mischief demon would have wicked street-fighting skills.”
He plopped his butt down on my lap. “It’s precisely because I’m a Mischief that I needed to learn how to fight. Irkalla’s got this stupid caste system, and we’re low on the totem pole. It was either learn to fight or become some Lust demon’s butt boy, you know?”
“In a weird way, yeah, I kind of do.” Granted, I’d never had one of my classmates try to sodomize me, but I understood having to defend myself from bullies. Growing up a mixed-blood among vampires wasn’t exactly a cakewalk. Despite my own status as the granddaughter of the Alpha Dominae, my classmates found plenty of opportunity to remind me I’d never be accepted.
“Sabina?” Giguhl said. “Are you sure this is the right train? Seems like one should have come by now.”
“Hmm, you might be right.” I rose, ready to put Giguhl back in his bag so I could go find the A train platform. Right then, a screech echoed through the tunnel. The hair on the back of my neck prickled. The sound hadn’t come from an inbound train. Instead, it sounded suspiciously similar to Stryx. I stilled, looking around for the owl, but the tunnels were now eerily quiet. Surely I’d been hearing things. What would an owl be doing down in the subway?
Shrugging off the feeling, I reached for the bag. Giguhl didn’t protest and ducked back inside. I left the top open, figuring he’d feel less confined that way.
I’d almost made it to the stairs back up to the entrance when a burst of magical energy hit me from behind. It shoved me forward, tripping on the first step. Out of instinct, I dropped the bag and swiveled, grabbing the gun from my waistband as I went.
The demon leaned against a concrete column next to the tracks. His posture was casual, but his appearance sent cold sweat down my back.
He was about the same size as Giguhl, but that was as far as the similarities went. This guy had black leathery wings, with red thorns at the tips. Ram’s horns jutted from his forehead and curled back over his massive head. A red leather kilt wrapped around his black hips. Scaly black skin covered the intimidating bulk of his torso and arms.
I aimed the gun between his glowing red eyes. “Identify yourself.”
He chuckled, a low, mocking sound. “You won’t live long enough for it to matter.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Humor me.”
“I am Eurynome.” He raised a black claw and a zing of energy sent the gun flying from my grip and into his. Eurynome caught and crushed the metal in one claw. My stomach twisted with fear. Vampires or mages I could handle. But demons were almost impossible to kill. And I knew enough about demon summoning to know I couldn’t banish him without a circle.
“Uh, Giguhl?”
“What?” Giguhl hissed from behind the trash can where he’d taken cover.
“Demon form! Now!”
The trash can he was behind flew across the platform, and a puff of smoke signaled his change from cat into demon.
Eurynome’s red eyes moved from me to Giguhl. I smiled. “Say hello to my little demon friend. Get him, Giguhl!”
Giguhl growled and launched at the other demon. He barely made it three steps before Eurynome launched a bolt of demon magic that sent Giguhl’s body flying into a column. He bounced off the concrete, leaving it cracked, and flopped to the ground. I ran over and knelt next to him. He groaned and opened his eyes. The horizontal pupils dilated and expanded as he shook off the daze. My smugness melted away in favor of fear. If Giguhl couldn’t touch Eurynome, what chance did I have?
As I tried to help Giguhl up, Eurynome threw back his head and laughed. The sound shook the walls around us. “Stupid girl,” Eurynome sneered. “Did you really think a pitiful Mischief demon could defeat the Duke of Death?”
I looked at Giguhl and mouthed, “Duke of Death?”
For the first time since I’d known him, I saw real fear in Giguhl’s eyes. He nodded. “He’s right, Sabina. There’s no way I can beat him. He’s too strong.”
I clenched my teeth and took a deep breath. No way was I going down like this—killed on a subway platform by a demon wearing a kilt. “Bullshit. We can do this together.”
Giguhl shook his head sadly. “There’s no way.”
“Listen to your minion, Chosen. Accept your fate.”
“Like hell.” I narrowed my eyes and crouched low, ready to fight for our lives. The familiar surge of adrenaline coursed through me. I might die tonight, but I’d die doing something I loved. Before I could take two steps, Eurynome hit me with a ball of something that short-circuited my brain and left every nerve ending on fire. I collapsed into a heap on the ground, totally helpless.
“Sabina, no!” Giguhl’s voice sounded far away, like he was speaking through a tin can attached to a string. I tried to open my eyes, but I didn’t have the power. I felt like millions of fire ants swarmed over my skin. They burrowed into my brain, my stomach, my throat.
Vaguely, I heard the sounds of a struggle. An enraged roar broke through the haze. Through the pain, I felt the air shift. A blast of heat and energy washed over my sensitive skin. I curled up against the onslaught of sensation. I raised my hands to block out what sounded like two freight trains colliding nearby.
Lost in my own agony, I didn’t notice when the tunnel went silent. I groaned as the world shifted. A rhythmic rocking motion followed. The movement intensified the pain, but I was helpless to stop it. A panicked voice yelled at me to hold on.
17
S o this is death.“Sabina?” That voice. Vaguely familiar, yet echoed as if the owner spoke through a tunnel.
“Wake up.”
Can’t. I’m dead.
“Open your eyes, dammit!” A sting on my cheek.
I swatted at the annoying prickle of pain. I didn’t want to feel anything anymore. I prayed for numbness to wrap me in its ambivalent arms.
“Get her some blood.”
Mmmm, yes. Blood.
“Stick it under her nose.”
Pour it in my mouth.
The ferric scent of blood tickled my nose. My gums throbbed. My fangs pricked my tongue, followed by the coppery taste of my own blood.
“She’s coming around.”
My face scrunched against light coming through my eyelids. For a moment, I saw the pink spiderweb veins there. Someone wrenched my lid open. I jerked away, hissing at the unholy bright light.
“C’mon, open up for me.”
Fingers dug into my jaw, forcing my mouth open. Then my throat filled with a pool of blood. Choking, I fought against my captor. “Swallow!”
The mass of liquid forged a painful path down my throat. Once it cleared my airway, I jerked up, coughing and sputtering. My eyes flew open. At first all I saw was a wall of white light. I blinked against the pain. Then, slowly, I could make out shadowed figures leaning over me.
Consciousness was a blessing and a curse. Blessing because I knew I was alive. Curse because I wished I were dead. My skin sizzled with pain, like I’d bathed in acid. Someone screamed. Me? Must have been, because my throat suddenly burned along with the rest of me.
“Is there anything you can do to stop it?” A male voice. Orpheus?
“No,” the first voice said. “The spell he used was meant to paralyze her. It won’t kill her, but right about now she probably wishes it would.”
“Can you ease her pain?” Despite my pain and confusion, I recognized this voice was Maisie’s. Something clicked in my fevered brain, and I tried to speak, to beg Maisie for help, but no words came out.
“The best thing I can do for her right now is knock her out again,” the first female said—Rhea. “The blood we just gave her will help her body fight off the spell, but it will work faster if she’s not also fighting the pain. When she wakes up, I can give her something to regain her strength, but until then we have to just wait for it to run its course.”
Maisie sighed. “Okay.”
I tried to struggle. Not because I didn’t want an end to the pain, but because there was one voice I hadn’t heard. Where was Giguhl?
But my struggles were useless. My body had become my prison. A new, intense pinch of pain came from somewhere near my elbow. Blessed unconsciousness descended.
“You’re one lucky lady,” Rhea said cheerfully.
I glared at her, feeling anything but. My extremities still prickled like they’d fallen asleep. My skin was sensitive even to the slightest breeze. I was so weak I couldn’t lift my arms, and my head hurt so bad even the slightest light made my eyes feel like they would explode.
Rhea sat on the edge of the bed. Her smooth, cool hands picked up my wrist to check my pulse. She kept her eyes on her watch for a moment and then set my hand down again with a nod. “You’ll be up and around in no time.” She gave my arm a little pat.
I gritted my teeth together. My fangs were throbbing. “I need blood.”
Rhea patiently smiled, as if she was used to dealing with surly patients. “We’re having some delivered.”
“Not the bagged shit. I need fresh.”
“Not possible. Even if we’d allow it, you’re too weak to subdue anyone long enough to bite them. Besides, bagged blood is just as nutritious as the fresh stuff.”
I wanted to yell, but I didn’t have the energy for a losing battle. As much as I hated the taste of Maisie’s bagged blood, it was more important that I regain my energy fast. But since I had to wait for even that, I figured I’d get some answers.
“Where’s Giguhl?”
“He’s resting. The fight with Eurynome took a lot out of him.”
I digested this. Relief he was alive flooded me, followed by awe. Somehow, Giguhl had managed to defeat Eurynome and carried my body out of harm’s way despite his own injuries. I owed that demon my life. “Is he wounded?”