Tainted Night, Tainted Blood

31



Ethan was waiting for me when I got home. I parked close to the garage and maneuvered Thomas from the back seat. Once I was through the front door, Ethan helped me get him down into the basement, though he stopped short of his lab.

“Maybe I should get things ready down there first?”

I nodded and he left to summon his demon. Thomas was propped up against the wall, eyes following me, but he had yet to show any signs of breaking free of his silver-induced paralysis. I removed my shoulder holster and belt, dropping them onto the table, and then slumped to the floor.

The pain in my back was still there, but it was finally starting to abate. I hated thinking that someone like me, someone who is supposed to be nearly indestructible, could suffer so much. I was just glad the healing process was finally kicking in full force. I still might not be fully functional for a few weeks, but I thought I could at least fight if I had to.

I opened my eyes and looked at Thomas. I didn’t want to have to fight him. Nor did I want to have to poison him with more silver. This needed to work. I wasn’t sure what I would do if it didn’t.

Ethan returned a few minutes later. We worked Thomas down into the lab. I might have been feeling a lot better, but I was still hovering on the weak side. Ethan was forced to bear much of his weight, making our progress slow.

Beligral was seated in his chair, waiting for us. He was smiling, displaying his full set of sharp teeth.

“Is this the creature you are so concerned about?” he asked, gesturing toward Thomas where we had gently lowered him to the floor.

I looked over at the demon. Oppressive heat, both real and imagined, slammed into me, and I had to take a deep breath before it overwhelmed me. How could Ethan stand this every single night?

“It is,” Ethan said. He retreated next to his workbench, leaving me standing over Thomas.

Beligral rose and walked to the edge of his circle. He looked down at Thomas, face unreadable. He didn’t smile, didn’t frown. He just looked at my brother like he was just another slab of meat.

“This just won’t do,” he said. He turned his burning gaze on me. “Would you mind letting me out so I can get a good look at him. I can do nothing from here.”

Ethan hissed in a breath, but I cut him off. “No,” I said. “I don’t think so.”

Beligral smiled slyly and shrugged. “Then there is nothing I can do for him. If you wish me to examine him for a way to repair the damage done to his mind, you will have to allow me to touch him.”

Just the thought of a demon touching Thomas made me sick. As much as he tried to look human, Beligral was far from it.

“Figure something out,” I said.

He sighed and thought it over. Or at least he pretended to. I think he knew what he was going to do from the start.

“Then bring him into the circle with me. There is no harm in that. I can examine him and you can stay out there where you think it is safe.”

Beligral’s eyes fell on me and I took a step forward. I felt suddenly calm, as if this was something I did every day. I wanted to save Thomas, and to save him, I needed to bring him to the demon, it was that simple.

“Kat, no!” Ethan cried out as I reached down to pick up my brother. He ran forward and grabbed me by the arm.

I blinked, and the heat and fear came rushing back. Had Beligral done something to me? Was I that susceptible to his gaze?

I shuddered. I didn’t know much about the sort of magic required to summon a demon, but I was pretty sure breaking the circle would release the demon to do whatever he pleased. I don’t think Ethan would be able to send him back either. And in my carelessness, I’d nearly given Beligral exactly what he wanted.

The demon laughed. His two voices intertwined, flowed over me like a blanket covered in maggots. I had to look away, close my eyes, and focus on something else to make the feeling go away.

“It seems we are at an impasse,” he said as his laughter died away. “I can do nothing trapped as I am. If you wish me to help your brother, you will need to figure out how to get him to me.”

I remembered something Ethan had said earlier. “Dismiss him,” I told Ethan. “Then I can drag Thomas into the circle and you can summon him again.” I paused. “Is that safe?”

Beligral was smiling at me like he knew something I didn’t. I kept my eyes averted, not wanting to consider how bad of an idea this really could be.

“I ... I think so,” Ethan said. “I’ve never had anyone inside a circle when I summon him. I guess there could be dangers.”

“But, really,” Beligral said, “what do you have to lose? He’s already damned as it is. I’m the only chance you have.”

I ground my teeth. I didn’t want to have to make this sort of decision. What if it went wrong? What if the demon did something even more damning to Ethan? Could I live with myself then?

“Do it,” I said, making the decision without really thinking about it. If I thought about it too hard, I would never be able to make the choice.

Ethan went about dismissing Beligral and resetting the circle. I knelt by Thomas and rested my hand on his arm. I felt the slightest flinch beneath my hand. It wasn’t anything to worry about, but it did make me feel bad.

“It’s ready,” Ethan said, bringing my head up. New candles were arranged around the circle. “I’ll redraw the safety circle once he is inside.” He held the piece of chalk so I could see.

I winced as I rose, Thomas in my arms. Ethan rushed forward to help. “I’ve got it,” I growled. Fresh blood oozed down my back, but I ignored it. Once this was over, I could heal all I wanted. Until then, I would bleed every day if that’s what it took to bring Thomas back.

I stepped carefully over the silver circle, not wanting to screw anything up by touching it. The inside of the circle smelled hotter than the rest of the room, like an oven that had just been turned off. I set Thomas down on the chair, figuring it was the safest place for him to be.

I stood there, looking down at him, wishing there was some other way. Could I really leave him in there with a demon? If something went wrong, I couldn’t get to him without setting Beligral free. Could I risk it?

“Kat,” Ethan said, “you have to get out.”

I didn’t want to, but I stepped out of the circle and went to stand by the workbench. I hated every minute of this. What had I been thinking in bringing him here?

Ethan redrew the chalk outline and then started his chant again. I watched him numbly, barely hearing the different inflections of his voice. The air got hotter, the tear between realms opened, and Beligral stepped out. This time, I was too distracted watching my brother to notice if I could see Beligral’s real face before the glamour came up.

Beligral gave both Ethan and I a casual glance before turning to Thomas. His back was to us, so I couldn’t see what he was doing as he bent over my brother. He made a clucking sound with his tongue, ran his hands over Thomas’s body from head to foot, and seemed to peer into his eyes, though I couldn’t see his face from where I was standing to know exactly where he was looking.

It seemed to go on forever. I didn’t feel any sort of power flowing from him, no spike in energies or heat that said he was doing anything mystical. As far as I could tell, the demon was simply going through the motions without really doing anything.

Finally, he straightened and turned to face me. He put his hands behind his back and stood straight up like he was about to give a long speech.

“He is too far gone,” he said. “There is nothing but pure instinct left. He will function on that, but nothing more. He’ll never recover.”

“No,” I said, refusing to believe him. After all I had gone through, it couldn’t end like this. “Try again.”

Beligral actually looked sympathetic when he spoke. “There is no need. His mind was destroyed when he was contaminated by both werewolf and vampire blood. There is nothing of him left to save.”

“No,” I repeated. “I’ve seen him. He’s getting better.”

“You might wish it, but it is not true.”

“I saw it.” I bit the inside of my mouth to keep from crying. Thomas couldn’t be gone. I know what I saw.

“I’m sorry,” Beligral said.

Hot tears burned my eyes and I refused to let them fall. “Then summon someone else who can,” I said. “There has to be a demon or something that can fix him.”

Beligral shook his head slowly. “There is not,” he said. “As much as we would all like to see a miraculous recovery, it is not possible.” He moved closer to the edge of the circle. “He is an animal now, barely human. He is of no use to you or this world.”

My hands balled into fists. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to charge him, to beat the very life right out of the damnable demon. He was lying. He had to be.

But I knew attacking him would be a mistake. What reason would he have to lie to me? If I did something stupid and broke the circle, I would only make things worse. I knew this had been a long shot.

“You didn’t try hard enough,” I said, keeping myself pressed against the table. I would not make another mistake here.

The corners of Beligral’s mouth twitched. “I did all I could.” He glanced back at Thomas, then looked back at me. “But all is not lost. We can salvage something out of this situation.”

“And what would that be?”

“Give him to me.”

I blinked. Did he really just say what I thought he did?

As if seeing the question on my face, he repeated himself. “Give him to me. He is of no use to you.”

“He is my brother.”

“Your brother is gone. This is just a shell.”

“No,” I said, “you’re wrong.”

He broke into a grin. “Am I?” he said. “I know more about his situation than you could possibly know. I felt his mind, or should I say, felt where his mind should have been. There is nothing there. I can still use him, however. Give him to me and I will call us even. I will remove your mark and you will never have to see me again.”

“No,” I repeated. “I will not let you have him. Ever.”

“I will free Ethan from his bonds.”

Ethan gasped beside me, but I refused to be swayed. I couldn’t let him take my brother from me. I would find a way to cure him.

“No,” I said again.

“Do you really have a choice?”

My throat seized. He had Thomas in the circle with him. I had seen Beligral open the way to his own realm on his own before. Did that mean he could take something across? If so, what was to stop him from grabbing Thomas now and dragging him to whatever hell he had come from?

I couldn’t let that happen.

“Dismiss him,” I said. My hands were shaking, my knees were weak. I couldn’t cross the circle and grab Thomas. Ethan was my only chance.

Ethan just stood there, staring dumbly at Beligral.

“Ethan,” I said. He turned to face me. “Dismiss him. Now.”

“No,” Beligral said. “I don’t believe he should. We aren’t done here.”

Ethan looked from me, to the demon, and back again.

“Ethan,” I said, “I will break the circle and let the bastard free before I let him take Thomas.”

“I ... I ...”

“Ethan!” I shouted, cutting off his stammer. “Do it!”

Beligral laughed, letting the full force of his nature out with it. The sound rumbled through me, shook me to my core. I staggered to the side, nearly fell. The air itself seemed to take on a thick consistency. I was suffocating.

This had been a mistake. Ethan seemed to be locked in place, afraid to obey one monster over the other. He was sweating profusely but didn’t seem nearly as affected by the thickening air as I was.

I was going to lose everything—Ethan, Thomas, my life. Nothing would matter anymore. If Beligral decided to walk off with Thomas, make him some sort of demon slave, I would have nothing to fight for. I would never be able to live with myself.

“Please, Ethan ...” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I was trapped, unable to do anything. I felt helpless.

Ethan looked at me, saw the pain in my eyes. He closed his eyes and took a breath that looked to have pained him; then he turned to face his demon.

Beligral’s laugh cut off. He was still smiling, as if he expected it to end this way the entire time. It was then I realized he had been playing us, seeing what we would do when he pressed us. This was all a game to him.

“Remember our deal,” he said. “I don’t want to have to remind you.” He laughed again.

And then he was gone.

Thomas was still in the chair, seemingly untouched by the demon.

“I’m so sorry,” Ethan said. “I never thought he would do that.”

“He’s a demon,” I said. “What did you expect?” I wiped my hand across my eyes just in case and was thankful to find no tears. “Help me get him upstairs.”

Ethan stammered a few words that made no sense and then rushed forward to help me get Thomas out of the chair. He helped me carry him up to the basement where the air wasn’t so oppressive.

“Kat,” Ethan started, but I shook him off.

“Forget it,” I said. “It was a bad idea. It’s over now. I’ll never have to see that bastard again.”

Ethan paled. “You made a deal,” he said. “You won’t be able to ignore that.”

“Watch me.”

He shook his head but said no more.

Thomas lay on the floor at my feet. The silver was still keeping him paralyzed, but he would come out of it in an hour or so. I really needed to figure out what to do with him before then. I didn’t want to have to stab him.

I hated to admit it, but there really was only one thing I could do. I couldn’t leave him here in the house. We had nowhere to put him. I doubted Ethan’s summoning circle would hold him back like it did the demon.

I was about to tell Ethan my plans to return Thomas to the Luna Cult Den when a faint knock came from above.

My blood ran cold. Who the hell would be knocking at this hour?

“Stay here with Thomas,” I said, grabbing my gun from the table. I checked to make sure it was still loaded and then headed for the stairs.