Page 51 of Between Bloode and Death (Between the Shadows #5)

CHAPTER

FIFTY

Why do you not have all your power? Why would you give it away? Ilu sounded annoyed.

Val mentally shrugged.

And then she wasn’t an idea anymore.

She stood in that grassy point of perfection Ilu had shown her, talking to a mirror image of herself. Val wore jeans and a tee-shirt, feeling human. Ilu wore smoke and didn’t have eyes. Weird, but Val appreciated being able to talk to someone and not at someone.

“I was never taught necromancy because my parents died before they could teach me. I learned by doing it all myself. And the way I commanded the dead was to give them a piece of me. Of you, I guess.”

“Good guess.” Ilu was snarky, imagine that. “Well? Go get the rest of me. I cannot be complete like this, even if we are super powerful at present.”

“No.”

Ilu opened her mouth and closed it. Then said, “No?”

Val took Ilu’s hands in her own. The deity looked down and tightened her grip, seeming to marvel at the connection.

In a gentle voice, Val said, “Ilu, you seem very alone.”

“I have always been such.”

“Well, wouldn’t it be nice if you could experience togetherness? Love?”

“Mating?” Ilu stared into Val’s eyes.

“Uh, you want to have sex?”

“Copulate? Oh no. Well, I don’t think so. But I am curious about mating. Your dragon is greedy. The creatures have never been jealous of anything but a hoard, and he views you as if you’re his treasure.”

Val smiled. “He has good taste.”

Ilu gave a slow smile. “Perhaps he does at that.”

“I would give you my life if you would leave this world intact. It’s not perfect, but it’s full of good and bad. Death is about balance.”

“You have the right of it.”

“And Ilu, if I die, I’ll stay with you. You don’t have to be alone if you don’t want.” Val didn’t want to make that concession, but she meant it.

“I am not so pathetic I can’t stand my own company.” Ilu huffed. Yet Val felt the being’s loneliness. “I would go to the Beyond if I could, but my kind are not meant for that. We are meant for—”

“Living,” Val answered. “I’m just a human, but I know life the way few humans do. I can stand in the space Between. Probably because you’re a part of me.”

Ilu nodded.

“Would you like to live with me? To experience a house of vampires and shifters? To know pain and laughter, love and sadness?”

“To know the great Balance.” Ilu thought about it then sighed. “Perhaps I would at that. But we have made our bargain. A life for a life. I cannot undo it.”

“Oh. I see.” Val had finally gotten through only to find herself bound anyway. She couldn’t help crying at the thought of all she’d lose. And to think, she’d once naively assumed she’d be fine giving her life to kill Vladimir. If only she’d never met Khent.

She cleared her throat. “Would it be okay if I said goodbye to my mate? And could I watch them finally end what Talon and I started two decades ago?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you, Ilu. Just one more thing, if you would.”

Ilu waited.

“Could you please not destroy the world? I get the feeling you love chaos, but trying to live in a world like mine is full of nothing but chaos. It’s just a different kind.”

Ilu seemed puzzled. “I hadn’t thought about it like that. It would make for a unique existence, I suppose.”

“Yes. Because the end of everything is just the end. But life is full of wonders and surprises. Nothing is static.”

“Ever-changing. This, I think I would like.”

Not happy but relieved she’d gotten through, Val thanked the god.

“Say your goodbyes then, Valentine.” Ilu stepped back.

Val fully entered her body again and saw Khent studying her intently. Seeing her, he shrunk to his normal size, in a man’s shape once more. He hugged her to him and kissed her soundly, his heart racing, like hers.

“Ilu’s letting me say goodbye.”

He froze. “No.”

“Yes. But Ilu won’t destroy the world. We made a bargain, and it can’t be broken. A life for a life, Khent.”

“Ilu can have mine.”

“Vampires don’t have lives like humans. You can’t—”

“But I can,” Talon said, inserting himself between Khent and Val.

“No.”

“Yes. Please, Val. This is why I’ve lived so long with you. To be here when you need me.”

“Talon, no.” She cried harder. “You’ve been through so much already.”

“Yes, and I deserve a chance to see Ava again. Hecate made me a deal.” He wiggled his eyebrows while tears tracked down his cheeks.

“I miss her so much, Val. We have the kind of love you and Khent share. You know it hurts, so much, to have to be apart. But I’m close to seeing her again. That’s if Ilu would have me.”

Ilu returned to look him over. “Offered freely? Such a powerful shifter, aren’t you? Yes, I would accept. But that will not negate my tie to Valentine. I will be with you and yours always.” Ilu stared at Khent. “And that is not negotiable.”

Khent stared into Ilu’s smoke-filled gaze, aware this was why Shai had told him to accept his fire. Valentine was the last of her line, the only one Ilu could cling to. The only one who could perpetuate the deity into another lifetime. If he killed her now, Ilu would be a threat no more.

And a threat she was. Not just an ancient deity—and referring to Ilu as female didn’t quite fit either, but inside Val, the descriptor would have to do—but Ilu had a powerful presence, one filled with a primeval chaos Hecate would never approve.

And neither would any of the gods, since Ilu felt so much…more.

The deity seemed to know it, even to expect death.

But Khent would never, ever, hurt his mate. Call it a biological imperative to protect his future child or a conditioned response stamped into his forefathers. He didn’t care. He only knew that life was not worth living without Valentine by his side. A fact he could never have predicted.

He still loathed most humans. Still thought them weak and less than useless. But not Valentine. She was worth everything. His life, his pets, hell, his lab.

“I told you before I would give you my life for hers, Ilu. If you remain in Valentine, you will also have a part of me to add freely to your bargain. For all that I am and all that I can be, Valentine Darkmore is my mate. In this life and the next.”

Ilu studied him and smiled. “I feel I will come out the winner in this bargain.”

“If that makes you happy.”

Ilu laughed, surprising herself, from her expression. “I do believe I am happy, reaper. But I will need the shifter.”

Ilu—no, Val—wrapped her arms around Talon. “I love you so much. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too. But Val, this is right. I get to see Ava again.” He pulled back, and they watched Talon, even as his eyes filled with smoke. Blackness overtook his body until he faded away, smiling until the end.

Val dissolved into more tears, and Khent held her, feeling her sorrow as his own.

Something in her settled, and Ilu faded until the deity remained a buried piece inside his mate, there but observing. That would take some getting used to, but Khent would do anything to keep Valentine close.

He wished Talon well then realized this mess wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

Rolf and some female were arguing and battling each other when not striking at a continuous assault of demons. Vladimir argued with Nergal, both of them fighting over the staff. And that shouldn’t have been an issue since Nergal could kill everyone in his domain with a snap.

So why was Vladimir not dead yet?