Hot Blooded (Jessica McClain)

chapter 26

“Oh, my love, did you miss me?” Selene cackled from right behind Rourke, popping back into this plane again exactly like the winged devils had done. I wasn’t familiar with how teleportation worked, but I knew it was extremely rare and usually connected with the Underworld. Something to do with having one foot in both worlds, because transferring your body mass like that was tricky.

I blinked once and Rourke and Selene were on the ground in front of me, locked in battle.

His body began to morph as I watched, golden fur sprouting along his powerful arms. “You will answer for your deeds,” Rourke yelled, his voice full of malice. “Do you hear me? You will die a final death this time!” Blood poured from Selene’s lips as she grinned up at him. He smashed his fist into her neck just as she dematerialized. Rourke stood, fuming. “She’s going to be hard to catch,” he snarled, “and all I want to do is crush the life out of her.”

Now that we knew she could pop in and out, Selene was going to play with us like a kitten batting a ball.

Energy swirled around the cavern, bouncing off the walls. She was clearly enjoying her new lot in life as an Underworld whore. We all knew she couldn’t die no matter what we did to her now, and I had a sinking feeling that her final encore had always been to blow the mountain up like she had threatened earlier. Even if she was lost to the explosion, she wouldn’t die.

“We’re going to have to surround her,” I murmured to Rourke. “If we all come at her at the same time we might have a chance.” Tyler and Danny had gone back-to-back, each of them on high alert. Tyler clutched the pickax once again. “I’ve beaten all her magic so far, so it won’t hold me for long, if at all. If I can get her down without succumbing to her magic, I might be able to keep her in place long enough to do some damage.”

“Jess,” Tyler said. “Danny and I need to shift. There’s no way we can do this without a wolf counterattack. You bring her down; we rip her up.”

“Sounds good to me,” I replied.

They both dropped immediately and began to change into their wolf forms. It wouldn’t take them more than a minute.

“I can hear you,” Selene snapped from above us in an alcove. “You think you can best me by cornering me? Think again.” She twisted her wrist.

The spell hit me fully in the chest.

Her lines entered my body and left just as quickly, but the impact flung me backward. The only thing I registered before I hit the wall was Rourke’s frustrated snarl.

Selene gave a wicked shriek and I watched in horror as she materialized right next to him. “Rourke! Look out!” I yelled as I scrambled to stand. She touched a single glowing red finger to his torso and he spasmed once and crashed to the ground.

I had to get to her before she popped out of sight again.

This is all you. We sprang in a blur.

My wolf latched on to her neck and I snarled through the canines in my mouth, biting deeply into her, taking great joy in tearing her pristine flesh. She tried to pop away from me, her magic swirling around us, prodding my skin. I caught hold of it, my gold strands winding their way into her magic. I wove my power through her energy and synched it tight like a noose. “How does it feel now?” I roared, releasing her neck, blood dripping down my chin.

“You are not stronger than I am,” Selene spat, her mouth already moving; magic quivered at her fingertips. “I will always have my spells.”

“No, you really won’t.” I smashed my fist into Selene’s mouth. Her jaw cracked, stopping her spell in its tracks, blood racing down the side of her face. “You are not going to win this time. You’re reign is over. Do you hear me?”

She spit blood out of her mouth, her jaw completely healed. “Is that so, mongrel?”

The room shook with power.

Sulfur began to seep into the cavern from every corner. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it came from. My wolf howled, changing her focus from Selene to the new threat. I kept my hold firmly on Selene, my magic still keeping us intertwined. “You really did it, didn’t you?” I sneered at her in disgust. “You sold your entire soul to the Underworld. Not just part of it. You were banking on me being stronger than you, that I was going to win, so you sold yourself to the Underworld for help.” My hands slid up and clamped around her neck. “You’re nothing but a fraud, Selene. You deserve to die and go straight to hell. Lucky for you, it’s a very tangible place. I’m sure the Demon Lords have something special in store for you. It’s a shame we won’t be able to witnesses it.”

Selene twisted in my hold, her face hateful. “I win, you wench. Don’t you get it? The price of my soul makes me impossible to defeat. I made the deal of the millennium. Ultimate immortality. Nothing can best me now, so I can never truly die. The Underworld can’t take me if I can’t die, so they will never have me.”

Incredible power enveloped me. It was dark and smelled like thick, rancid eggs. It pulled at me, tearing my skin. “What—” I yelled as I was flung backward, like a giant hand had swiped me off my feet. My wolf snapped at the blackness that began to infiltrate our golden protection. I hit the wall and slid to the ground. “No.” I uttered the single word with all the power I had inside me and the blackness danced back. It came at me again. “I said, NO!” I interlaced the word with the color inside my mind, bonding my golden strands to my words.

The blackness shrank back and stayed away.

I stood.

Selene staggered back a step. “Impossible!” she screeched. “My power combined with the Underworld is no match for you. It can’t be—” Rourke took hold of her from behind, grabbing her by the hair, and slammed her into the wall. She crumpled, momentarily stunned. The sulfur smell wavered.

“I’m glad to see you,” I told Rourke, who had shaken off her spell this time on his own.

He growled menacingly. “Nothing is going to keep me from you again while there’s breath still left in my body.”

Shivers ran up my spine.

Selene moved, ruining the moment, and I paced toward her. “Looks like your Underworld bargaining skills need a little work, Selene. You should’ve asked for more. Maybe a basilisk or a Demon Lord sidekick? Something more than immortality, which you already had. Do you really think the demons are that stupid? Do you honestly think they’d offer you something so great without a single hitch?” I stopped in front of her. “I’d like to introduce myself as the hitch in your well-designed plans.”

“I’m not out of the running yet, mongrel.” Selene stood. But before she could pop out of sight, I lunged. My magic intertwined with hers immediately.

We tumbled to the ground.

“You were out of the running before you even started,” I whispered.

Selene snarled. Her body reverberated like a gong, and blackness enveloped me again. This time it shot into my nose and mouth.

I gagged.

“Looks like you just needed a bigger dose—” Selene broke my hold and flew away from me.

Rourke took her by the neck, snarling savagely. “You will not hurt what’s mine again. Do you hear me?”

I grasped at my throat.

Get it out. My wolf tore into it. She pulled on our resources as adrenaline shot through us. The black wavered, but continued its assault. I rolled onto the ground, trying to breathe. I looked up and saw Tyler and Danny, in their wolf forms, standing at my sides, each of them snarling. I turned on my side, raging at the blackness. “Get out of my body!” I yelled, my power shooting outward, electrifying the darkness in one single blaze of light. The black mass retreated like a smoke machine plugged into a vacuum. I coughed and stood up, catching my breath.

Selene twisted in Rourke’s grasp and popped out of sight. That was getting old.

Tyler put his big muzzle in the air, scenting, and then took off to the right. The moment she materialized he had his teeth around her throat, bringing her easily to the ground. Danny charged after them, circling, waiting for an opportunity to get in the mix and snapping his jaws. I met Tyler’s eyes for an instant before Selene reached up and took him by the neck. “Bye-bye, wolf boy.”

Red lines engulfed him.

“No!” I ran hard, colliding with Tyler, knocking him out of the way with my body. Before Selene could stand, I fisted her shredded leather bustier with one hand and forced her back to the ground. Her neck was torn—Tyler’s canines had bit deeply—but it was healing quickly.

She laughed up at me, trying in vain to dematerialize. “Can’t you see you won’t win? No matter what you do, I am stronger. I will keep defeating you until you are all on your knees, begging for your lives.”

“That’s not how this is going to work.” I punched my other hand deeply into her chest cavity. She gasped, her body spasming, surprise lining her features. I was going for the kill. I just had no idea how I was going to do it. Her heart sounded like the best idea. There was no way I was doing another run around with her. One of us would win; I just hoped like hell it would be me.

“You little bitch,” Selene shrieked, trying in vain to get away. Magic twisted around us, black and gold, each fighting to conquer the other. I had to find a way to kill her immortality quickly. If I did that, she would belong to the Underworld. I believed her when she said she couldn’t die—physically. But if one part of her died, it might be enough for them to come and retrieve her.

I held her down as she struggled, my hand closing around her heart. Everything inside of her bucked. Danny growled and barked, agitated, pacing around Tyler, who was in the process of changing back to human. He was no longer red.

“I think this is what you are looking for now, Ma Reine,” Naomi called as she flung something into the air.

Before I could catch it, there was a tremendous roar and Rourke’s fist shot out. Claiming the prize he fell to his knees beside me. “Let me help you with that.” He reared up and plunged Naomi’s cross into Selene’s body, right into the hollow of her neck.

Selene gurgled, still fighting. “Never… going… to win.” Her body convulsed once and went completely still. All her power evaporated.

The room stilled completely, the sulfur smell leaking away.

“Jesus,” I breathed, wiping the back of my free hand along my forehead to get rid to the sweat. “I guess that is what we needed.” I didn’t relax my other hand for an instant. Her heart beat around my fist, blood pouring from her wounds in earnest now that her powers were null.

She was still awake, but just barely. “Get that thing out of me,” she moaned. “It will not kill me. Once I’m free, my powers will come back and I will finish you for good.”

Rourke had her arms pinned down at her sides and Naomi hovered over us. “Ma Reine,” she said. “You need to kill her now. Completely. We cannot keep the cross in her forever, and she is right: once we take it, she will heal within moments.”

“Now that her powers are null I can feel something else in her body,” I said. “There’s a pulse of something alive in here.” It was pushing her to heal, fighting off dying. I had to grasp hold of it and finish it for good. I glanced at Rourke, who was taking it all in with a frown. “Rourke, I need to take her immortality and try to shred it. I’m not sure what it will do to me, but if something happens, or if I look like I’m in some kind of a coma when I’m done, it’s okay. Find my brother. He’ll know how to wake me up.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Rourke growled. “Let’s take her apart in pieces first and keep the cross in her there. If she doesn’t have arms, she can’t fish it out.”

“Non,” Naomi said. “Eventually the body will decompose and the cross will fall out. Once it’s gone, I believe her body will begin to regenerate once again.”

“If I don’t try to kill what’s inside of her,” I added, “the demons won’t come to get her. If I kill her essence, I think they will come to retrieve her. This feels right to me.” My hand was still gruesomely stuck in her chest cavity, my magic testing her blood. My wolf paced, sensing all the magics, both hers and the new demon power. Both were null. The cross had done its job in full and it felt like a lucky break. Whoever had crafted it was a powerful supernatural in their own right. “Plus, I refuse to look over my shoulder every hundred years to see if she’s back.”

Selene’s lips opened and there was a shallow cackle. “I will haunt you forever, make no mistake. My vengeance will preserve me.” I had no doubt her revenge would be all consuming, but I had to hope the Underworld would put her under heavy guard and wouldn’t risk losing their biggest catch.

Tyler snarled as he walked up to us, looking ragged but alive. He was naked as he bent to grab up a shredded pillow to cover himself. “I hope the demons hook you up to a whipping post for eternity, you sadist. No punishment they can mete out will be enough.”

“The demons will have better uses for me, all them involving my whip, I’m sure.” Selene coughed. “I will be back for my revenge.”

I met my brother’s eyes as they sparked with emotion. “Jess,” Tyler said. “Do what you have to do to get rid of her. That’s my vote.”

Rourke growled, but stayed silent.

Danny was still in his wolf form and I knew how Naomi would vote. I closed my eyes and focused inwardly. I’d made my decision.

Thin strings of gold poured out of me slowly. I directed them into Selene. Her body began to arch against the intrusion, her eyes rolling back in her head. This isn’t going to be easy, I told my wolf. But I know we’re stronger. I sent my power into her body in a constant stream. It built on itself, doubling the energy. Power swirled around us, leaking out of her, engulfing me. It sizzled in my veins. My body began to get physically hot as the intensity built.

For a single brief moment I felt completely alone.

My gold devoured Selene’s entire body. In my mind I could see her immortality manifested in tiny red beacons. No surprise there. They bit at my energy, fighting my power. Underneath me, Selene bucked and moaned. I pushed back. We’re going to have to give her a blast of our power at the end, when everything is saturated.

I wasn’t sure when to do it, when it had covered her enough.

Selene made the decision for me.

Her body flexed beneath me and she began to fight back in earnest. Red sprang to life where it hadn’t been a moment ago. Pressure built on its own. This is it. I threw more power at her. Let’s try to stay awake after this one, I told my wolf. She didn’t have time to agree with me.

I heard Rourke yell something, but I was lost to the fight.

Selene vibrated beneath me like a tuning fork. I held on. I tossed my head back, fairly sure I was screaming. I gave one last pull on my power. Once it was all concentrated, I yanked it back to me like a spring. Selene’s immortal essence flexed once and began to break apart, shredding under the force of my power.

Selene’s rage filled the cavern, finally getting through to my senses. “No. No!” she screamed, her back bowed to me. “I will not die!”

“Too late,” I ground out of my rough vocal cords. I pulsed with energy as I gave one more internal squeeze. The remaining red exploded into nothing right as I squeezed her heart.

Selene’s body went limp beneath me.

My eyes snapped open.

I fell forward, gasping for breath.

Rourke hovered behind me. Fur coated his arms as they wrapped around me, easing me back up. I leaned against the weight of his chest, exhausted. We both glanced down at Selene’s immobile body. I spoke first. “Just to be sure, we should take her apart next. Leave the cross in. I just have to catch my breath.”

“Anything,” Rourke whispered into my ear. “I will do any goddamn thing you tell me to do. I thought I’d lost you for a second there. Your whole body glowed with eerie light. I thought Selene was killing you with another spell. I tried to pull you back, but I couldn’t move you. Not even an inch.” He shook his head. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “But in the future, if I look like I’m glowing, it’s a safe bet not to mess with me.” My body had already morphed back to normal. I was getting good at snapping back to my human form quickly. It was becoming second nature.

I took a deep breath and turned to face Rourke.

He grabbed on to my face, his eyes searching. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, but I’m exhausted.”

His mouth covered mine deeply. I took him all in, my senses jumping for joy. I wanted to lick him, taste him, and feel him against me. My body burned for him. I pushed myself up against him. He growled with pleasure, his blond stubble tickling my chin as he kissed me.

I wanted to lose myself in him forever, but I couldn’t. I broke from him with supreme effort. “As much as I regret this, we have to get this over with.”

Rourke let me go reluctantly. He knew what was needed and moved me over, immediately kneeling by Selene’s head. “Do you want me to take it off? Her neck is damaged beyond repair, but her head is still attached.”

“I don’t know.” Her chest was open, and her neck was shredded. She wasn’t healing because the cross was still in her chest.

Rourke grabbed on to her head. “I’m not taking any chances. We take her head off and her heart out—whatever’s left of it.” But before he could do anything rocks began to shake from the walls. They rained down around us.

Instead of pulling Selene’s head off, Rourke jumped up with a roar and came at me, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me backward against him.

“What is it?” I yelled.

Sulfur poured into the room, making us all gag.

“Something’s coming,” he said. “Let’s go. The way Tyler came in is the back way. Head for the opening.” He herded me along.

“Do you know what it is for sure?” With the scent of sulfur, we knew it was coming from the Underworld.

“Whatever it is, it’s huge,” he said grimly.

“Jess,” Tyler said. “We’re right behind you. Go, go.”

Naomi gave a diminutive shriek as Danny wrapped his arm around her middle and picked her up. “You weren’t moving fast enough.” He’d changed back and was in his sheet once again. We all moved toward the opening. The only person who was missing was Ray. I had no idea what happened to him—if he had gotten out or if Eamon had indeed taken him.

The floor continued to shake, rocks tumbled, candles flickered, and the chandelier jumped. The power climbed quickly and it started to taste familiar. “Oh my God,” I gasped. “This is the same signature from the forest.”

An explosion ripped through the room, smashing Rourke and me into the wall, the others following, all of us tumbling into one another.

When the dust settled a single shape stood in front of us.

“Well, well, well. We finally meet.” A voice laced with sarcasm floated through the room. “I’ve heard so very much about you.”