Ryan screamed—a sound I hoped to never hear again.
“Shoot me again and he dies!” Rachel rasped, clutching at Ryan’s hand as he dropped his gun and went to his knees, his eyes wide and agony spasming across his face.
“No! Stop!” I shouted, fear for Ryan slamming through me. “Don’t pull any more from him! I’ll help you, I swear.”
Her breath came raggedly, and she seized his hair with her other hand. “Drop your gun!” she ordered. Blood pumped from several places in her torso, but even as I watched I could see the blood flow slow and then—grotesquely—the holes close. Ryan shuddered, face graying, and I realized with horror that she’d pulled from him and somehow used his essence, his natural potency, to heal herself.
“Stop pulling from him!” I yelled again.
“Drop your gun,” she ordered, “or I’ll suck him dry!”
If I shoot her in the head, would that stop her? The thought flashed through my mind and I dismissed it just as quickly. I was several feet away from her, she was using Ryan as a shield, and while I was a decent enough marksman, I didn’t trust my skill enough to be certain I wouldn’t shoot Ryan in the head instead.
I slowly lowered the gun. “If you swear not to kill him or me, I’ll … open another portal so you can get more of those pixie-things.”
Her eyes narrowed in distrust. “How?”
“I have the ability to open a portal between this world and another. So did my aunt.”
Her lips pulled back from her teeth. “Then do it!”
“I can’t work with this one,” I lied. “I have to create a new one. Swear you won’t hurt either of us, and I’ll open another one, just for you.”
“He’s really strong,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. Her hand tightened on Ryan’s arm and he gasped in pain. She actually licked her lips. “Never tasted anything like him before.”
I could feel Ryan’s essence pulsing erratically. “I can’t open this portal,” I said quickly, “but I can create another one. Up in the attic. It would take me only a moment … and it’s much bigger and stronger.” I dropped my voice. “But, if you kill him, I swear to you that I will call powers that you cannot even begin to comprehend, and you will be well and truly fucked.”
Distrust, fear, and hunger flickered in her eyes, but she jerked her head in a nod. “Lead the way,” she snapped, pulling Ryan to his feet. His breath rasped harshly, and his face was ashen. But he met my eyes and gave me a faint shake of his head. He thought I was giving in to her. Or maybe he suspected what I was planning to do.
“Try anything stupid and your boyfriend’s a goner,” she reminded me unnecessarily.
“He’s not my damn boyfriend,” I muttered as I turned and started down the hall toward the staircase. She followed, leading Ryan with the grip on his arm and his hair. He looked like shit, but there was still a murderous look in his eyes.
I opened the door to the attic and flipped on the lights. It was cool, bordering on cold, thanks to the AC vent that I’d left open. But more important, I had a diagram already sketched out, and the storage diagram beside it still brimmed with the potency I’d been siphoning into it for the past day.
Rachel exhaled softly as she entered the attic. “This is like that thing downstairs? It doesn’t look the same at all.”
I stepped to the edge of the diagram and picked up a piece of chalk, then turned to look at her. “You’re right. But comparing the portal downstairs to this one is like comparing a toy car to a Ferrari. You’ll have access to much more power than you could ever get with the other.” Holy shit, I hope I don’t fuck this up. She had to be stopped, but I also wasn’t about to let her loose to rampage through the demon realm.
But I knew she could be destroyed. Rhyzkahl had told me that much. I just didn’t know how.
Her eyes nearly glowed with hunger as she looked upon the diagram.
“Kara … no, you can’t do this,” Ryan rasped, then he hissed in pain as Rachel squeezed her hand on his arm.
“Oh, yes, she can,” Rachel replied with a low laugh. “Yes, this will do very nicely. Go ahead, do whatever you need to.” She lifted her chin imperiously to me.
I will. “Stand back and don’t touch any part of the diagram,” I told her. “This will take a couple of minutes.”
“Just get it done.”