Page 39

Nika

I was laid out on a table, still paralyzed. He’d left me there for nearly ten minutes. My magic wasn’t reacting no matter how much I tried. I heard the demon moving around the room. Without being able to turn my head, I had a limited view.

The place looked decrepit. The ceiling was water damaged and falling apart. The walls, too. Paint had chipped off in several places, but I couldn’t see much else.

Dark hair dashed in and out of view as Rilas set up whatever ritual he planned to use. I only got a good look at him when he bent over and cut my cheek with a small knife. Blood slid down the left side of my face as he disappeared again.

I had so many questions, but I couldn’t ask a single one.

I was a hostage inside my own body. But I wasn’t completely alone.

The whispers of the dead were all around me, as if calling to something.

They weren’t calling to me. It was tough to explain, but they were beckoning someone to where we were.

“Bollocks,” I heard Rilas curse, the wavering firelight catching his shadow. “This won’t do.”

I heard the demon leave, and it felt like the first time since I’d been kidnapped that I could breathe.

I tried my magic again, but it didn’t respond.

Nothing did. I wanted to call out to the voices.

Maybe I could reach out to Tometi and Ryker.

I sensed a connection between us. There had to be.

I was the only one who could see, hear, and touch them.

But nothing happened. I still couldn’t move.

I was so frustrated by how unresponsive my body was and how I’d let my guard down.

There were ways to counteract enchanted items, but whatever hung around his neck was too powerful for me to fight in my current state.

It’d take more than sheer will to break it down.

I’d need to dig deep, and that was exactly what I’d been trying to do the entire time I was prisoner to this cold-as-shit metal table.

I searched for my magic or the lurking abilities that he’d locked away with the necklace he wore. I couldn’t sense the usual spark. If I hadn’t known better, I’d think he’d stolen that, too.

The guys had to know by now. Had Tometi and Ryker told Salvator? But Rilas had used a traveling stone. They wouldn’t be able to track us. They’d honestly need a miracle to get here before the asshole broke the bond and ruined everything we’d been working to do.

No. I wasn’t allowed to give up. Silas wouldn’t, so I couldn’t. I just needed to think out of the box. Father always said you were doomed the minute you gave up. I’d fight to the very end. Too much was at stake if everything went Rilas’s way now.

I focused on what information I could gather, like what I could see.

Were we underground? It should be almost dawn by now, but I didn’t see any sunlight coming through.

It was only firelight that kept us out of complete darkness.

Or maybe he’d traveled to another part of the world where it was still the middle of the night.

That was also a possibility. Something told me he’d gotten hold of a powerful traveling stone.

What I did gather was Rilas had been setting the stage for a blood ritual.

He could’ve taken me at any point, but he didn’t until now.

It meant he’d found something to break the bond, and it didn’t require his usual magic.

Blood magic was the next best, and magic like that always required a sacrifice.

Without access to my magic, I couldn’t sense who or what he’d brought to serve as the ritual’s blood sacrifice, but depending on the rarity, he might need several.

The most important part about using blood magic like this was I’d need to be an active participant.

Meaning, he’d have to give me some range of motion.

Could he control what parts were paralyzed with the gem?

Would he drop the hold he had over me under threat?

I could give the impression of compliance and wait until his guard was down, but I couldn’t send him back without achieving balance, and I didn’t have anything that could put Rilas in permanent stasis.

Unless…

Maybe I could do something as a Soul Collector.

Maybe I could hold him long enough to get word out to the guys.

I hadn’t attempted to take his soul. He was a demon, so I’d been worried to try.

It could make everything a hundred times worse, or maybe it’d buy us time.

I cycled through different angles to try in my head as I continued to home in on anything to help me.

The room was ominously quiet. Had he gone somewhere else entirely?

I couldn’t see anything to confirm, and without the usual tricks, I couldn’t sense anyone either.

It was torturous waiting on this table, hyper-focused on every sound, every sway of shadow, and never know what any of it truly meant.

Never know when he’d start the ritual and seal my fate.

But a relieved breath escaped me when a familiar voice broke through the quiet.

“There’s our pretty girl.” Ryker’s head popped into view, the usual smile on his face. “That fucking bastard used a knife on our girl, Tome! I’ll eat his fucking face.”

Tometi came into view, his gentle gaze taking in the state of me. His jaw clenched as he looked at my injury. It was the first time I’d seen the giant radiate fury that veered on homicidal.

A tear broke away from my eye and trailed down my face. Happy didn’t cover the feeling it gave me to see them. The whispering voices quieted. I didn’t have to understand them to know they’d summoned them here. It was their voices that led the two phantoms to where I’d been taken.

Growling, Ryker brushed back his hair in agitation. “I’ll gut that bastard like a fish and feast on his innards while he’s still alive to feel it all.”

Tometi nodded in agreement, saying nothing but every strained muscle suggested he’d join in.

After mumbling to himself, Ryker smiled down at me in that sassy way of his. “Oh, wait. Is this the part of the story where the handsome prince who just so happens to also be the wolf kisses the fair maiden, and they ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after?”

Tometi grunted, acting as if Ryker hadn’t spoken at all. “Can you move, Nika?”

I stared up, blinking once and hoping they took it for a no. Surprisingly, it was Tometi who understood the message first.

Nodding, he cradled his chin and stared down at me. “Is it magic?”

I blinked twice.

It was magic, but not his. I hoped at least he’d ask more questions to find out what sort Rilas had used on me. It’d be a guessing game if he didn’t, and it wasn’t likely to end well for us.

Ryker tried to touch me, but Tometi intercepted at the last second.

“Not yet, wolf. If he senses us in the other form, we’ll lose our advantage.

It’s better to find out what he did to her before we try to help.

” He crossed his arms and stared down at me with a tenderness that didn’t match the power radiating off of him. “Was it his magic?”

I blinked once.

“An enchanted item, then?”

I blinked twice.

“I’m usually the clever one in this comedy duo. Guess I’ve been dethroned tonight,” Ryker grumbled with a cute wink at me, trying to ease some of the tension. “Did you see anything on him, Tome?” he asked the bear while still looking at me.

“Not that I remember,” the bear replied, agitated.

Ryker tapped his chin before his eyes widened. “Wasn’t that asshole wearing a necklace? I thought it was odd because I’d never seen that brute wear one with that fancy assassin outfit of his. Not one single time.”

I blinked twice.

A proud grin split the wolf’s face. “See, I’m helping.”

Tometi grunted again. “The demon’s gone to deal with something, but once he’s back we’ll have our chance.

He didn’t sense us in this form. He might in the other.

” The giant’s evil grin made even me uncomfortable.

“You snatch it, and I’ll break it. That should disrupt the magic enough to drop its hold over her.

We can overpower him in all the suddenness. ”

Ryker whistled, impressed. “I keep forgetting how battle smart you are, big guy. Okay, so once she’s free…”

“We’ll have a fight on our hands. He’s lost his ability to take souls, right?” Tometi asked me.

I blinked twice.

It was clear he had, otherwise it would’ve gone differently tonight. He would’ve used his ability to freeze time, and he hadn’t. I would’ve known because the feeling echoed inside me every time. Tonight he hadn’t.

The giant hummed and scratched his jaw in contemplation. “Is there a way you can hold him with your magic?”

I blinked twice.

There was, but I wasn’t sure how long it’d hold him. He wasn’t as powerful with his Soul Collector abilities bound, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t break through my magic. I wasn’t as strong with it as Silas was. It was definitely not something I’d rely on for longer than ten or so minutes.

I still wasn’t sure how he healed from damage as a demon. Not much was mentioned in the journal, but if we did enough, we might buy ourselves more time.

Ryker cleared his throat and left my line of sight. Tometi watched him with a curious brow before the wolf was back, and the two shared a smile.

“How convenient,” Ryker said, laughing. I waited, and as if realizing I couldn’t see what they had, the wolf elaborated.

“I spy with my little eye…a pair of unbreakable handcuffs. Pretty sure he brought them as an extra measure to keep you compliant, but they’ll look better on him.

No offense, pretty girl. I just think you look better strung up by magic. ”

Leave it to Ryker to chatter as if we weren’t in a life and death, end of the world situation. But I was grateful he was his loosey-goosey self. It eased the feeling in my gut.

Tometi scowled. “Your eye is hardly little.”

Ryker sighed and rolled his eyes. “And…he’s back.”

“They aren’t likely to hold him long, but with her magic, it’d give one of us time to reach out to the others.

You’ll need to be quick when you grab them.

She’ll need help overpowering him.” Tometi peered around, his muscles shifting in frustration.

“He’s kept his weapons out of reach. I don’t see any left out. ”

Cackling, Ryker eyed the bear. “Um, hate to admit this, but aren’t you sort of a weapon all on your own? Didn’t you essentially break Sally’s face the other day?”

“I don’t know if physical attacks will be effective against a demon,” Tometi rebuked.

Shrugging, Ryker didn’t seem worried. “Maybe. Maybe not. Still fun to try. I’ll bet he has at least one or two weapons on him. These sneaky hands are bound to find them before he realizes.” He lifted his hands with a snarky grin.

“It’s settled then. As fast as we can, break the necklace, bind him, and do as much damage as possible.” Tometi caught my gaze. “The minute he’s subdued, Nika, you’ll call Silas.”

I blinked twice.

Ryker and Tometi disappeared, and I heard something off in the distance.

I could’ve sworn time crawled to a stop.

My pulse thundered in my ears. Had he gotten his abilities back?

No, it was only because the fear of getting it wrong made everything excruciatingly slow.

If he anticipated anything, he could turn the tables on us. We had one shot at this.

Tometi and Ryker peered down at me, waiting. Neither dared to speak in case he could hear them. It was smart. Salvator couldn’t see them, but he could hear them. It wasn’t worth the risk. We had a plan and the parts we played in it. Now it was just a matter of finding the perfect moment to act.

I waited for what felt like hours, heart thundering every second it took for whoever had come back to return to the room. And then I heard him.

Rilas was on the phone with someone, whispering into the receiver.

It was too low for me to make out, but he didn’t sound happy.

I got the distinct impression something he needed for the ritual was missing, or what he’d gotten wasn’t right.

I detected the rage in his tone despite his voice being too soft to make out the words.

At least the phone would be within reach. It’d be important to make sure it wasn’t broken in the fight.

I let the fear take me because Rilas would expect it. If I found any calm at all, it’d set off alarms, so I embraced the worry and potential loss if we didn’t do this right.

Ryker caught my eye, smirking. Then he did something I hadn’t been aware he could do. He signed at me using the same code as the one my father and I used. Had he learned how to do it with my memories and use of it with the boys alone?

Plans disrupted , he signed. He’s lost a blood sacrifice needed. Move forward with the plan.

Tometi nodded, and we all waited on bated breath for Rilas to come closer to the table.

He shuffled at the door’s threshold, arguing with whoever was on the other side of the call.

Finally, after minutes of waiting, he walked over.

His red eyes dropped to mine, and the side of his lip was lifted, completely oblivious to the two phantoms glaring at him.

“Not long now, Fated One. I’ll sever this bond—”

The two men didn’t wait for another self-righteous speech. Both touched me at the same time. Their bodies solidified, and they wasted no time acting on the plan we’d made only moments before.