She was here for vengeance, here to stop something monstrous from opening into Edinburgh; but in the end, she was also here to save her friend and her own life from the man who now stood above the altar reading from his book. He wore the armor he’d died in, though it was tattered and stained with the shadows of old blood.
He was but a shadow of the Roman general she remembered, but enough of him was there to make her skin tighten with ancient rage. Her daughters’ murders, her own brutal beating, the destruction of her village. Now he’d threatened her life and that of her friend. Her jaw tightened.
As quietly as she could, she crept through the forest at the edge of the clearing, ears and eyes alert for any sign of harpies on guard. Finally, she reached the tree line directly behind Paulinus. Vivienne was only a dozen feet from her, but Diana resisted the urge to go to her friend. She needed the element of surprise.
She crept forward on quiet mouse feet and raised her sword to strike. As much as she wanted to gloat, to lord it over him that she’d defeated him again, it would be stupid. Instead, she’d finish this quickly. But as she brought the sword down, he spun and stepped backward. Her sword sliced ineffectually through the air.
“You,” he said. The crazed light in his eyes gleamed and made a shiver run down her spine.
She lunged for him again, managed to swipe his arm with the tip of her blade. But no blood welled. As if she’d never touched him. He reached for his own blade, but not before she landed another swipe across his middle. Still, no blood.
Vivienne’s cry echoed across the clearing, distracting her. Suddenly, she felt two strong hands grip her arms. Her sword fell to the ground. In her peripheral vision, she caught sight of harpies on either side of her. Damn it. They were so fast.
Paulinus laughed, a deranged chuckle that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. “You’ve come to me, then,” he said.
“To destroy you forever.”
“That’s not how this will go, Boudica.”
She didn’t bother to correct him. For his purposes, she was Boudica.
“Let my friend go,” she demanded, thrashing in the arms of her captors.
“No.”
“You don’t need her. Why take her?”
He shrugged. “Mistake. But she was very good bait.”
Diana flailed in the arms of her captors, reaching back to claw at the face of one. It shrieked when she gouged its eye and loosened its grip. She dropped her weight to the ground, then kicked up and broke the hold of the other.
“Get her,” Paulinus roared.
She scrambled to her feet and snatched up her blade from where it had fallen. She swung it wildly at one of the demons, but managed only to draw a shallow cut upon its chest.
“Let my friend go,” she gasped, unsure of her ability to finish this and get Vi out as well. There were too many harpies. Two more approached from across the clearing. Paulinus’s laugh cut through the sounds of clashing swords and she knew he’d never let Vi go.
“Go, Diana, get out of here,” Vivienne cried.
Diana ignored her, pivoting on her heel to land a fatal blow to one of the harpy’s neck. Suddenly, pain blossomed at her own back. It burned through her, stealing her breath, and she fell to her knees. She struggled to rise, but before she could gain her footing, she felt herself being dragged backward through Erebus.
No. Esha was pulling her out. But she hadn’t finished yet. Paulinus was still alive. Vivienne was still trapped. Diana clawed at the ground to stay in Erebus, but the pull was too strong.
Chapter 30
“I wasn’t ready,” Diana cried as soon as she stood in the chamber. It was even darker than the forest in Erebus and it took her eyes a moment to adjust. Cadan was running his hands over her body. He cupped her face.
“The hell you weren’t,” he said.
Diana felt Esha’s hands at her back. “She looks okay,” Esha said. “I can see the mark on her soul, but it will fade since it isn’t physical.”
She pulled away from them both. “You should have let me stay.”
“Your sword dinna affect Paulinus,” Warren said. “And you dinna have a chance against five harpies.”
“I had no idea there’d be so many. We didn’t see them when we went in the first time,” Esha said.
“Damn it.” Diana stomped her foot. “I just really wanted to finish this, especially if it could be done without me dying.”
“That was no guarantee, not once their blades cut so deep and there were so many of them. You couldn’t get to Vivienne, and your blade wouldn’t work on Paulinus when only part of your soul was there. This plan gave you a greater chance of living. Not a certain one.”
Diana scowled. Esha was right. She’d held her own, but she’d been outnumbered. More importantly, her blade hadn’t affected Paulinus. But the sight of Vivienne, bound at the foot of the tree, stuck in her mind like a burr. She had to save her.
“We need a new plan. Fast. Can we talk about it in your office?” Diana asked Warren.