“You disagree?” The demon tried to inject mirth into the host’s tone, but he still sounded lifeless and sour.
Talia remained silent. She didn’t want to goad him to hurt Adam any more than he already had.
“Why don’t we go see, shall we? Let’s see how your Adam fares.” The host’s head jerked toward the group of wraiths. “Martin, bring our lady banshee along. I’m finally about to be entertained.”
“Blink once for yes, and twice for yes-right-now.” Jacob’s laugh puffed fetid air on Adam’s face.
Adam closed his eyes, shutting out the small, windowless utility room and his brother’s contorted expression. Adam tightly sealed his eyes so there could be no confusion: Never. Ever. Would he become a wraith.
He would have answered a definitive and resounding NO, but his mouth was taped shut. He’d have flipped Jacob the bird, but his hands were taped behind his back and had long since gone numb.
“How much do you want to bet you will?” Jacob sounded happy. Delighted even. The tables had been turned, and he was enjoying every minute of it.
Adam kept his eyes closed and assessed his situation. There was no getting out of here alive. Not only was he bound to a chair like Custo had been, but he was pinned to the chair by a knife in his side. The blade pierced the flesh at his side and was rammed into the wooded backrest. Hurt like bloody hell.
But maybe…just maybe…if he pulled hard and fast against the blade, he’d hit something vital and bleed out quickly. Maybe he could bring on Shadowman yet.
Something clicked—the latch of the door—and a rush of rotten air circulated through his holding cell.
A wave of dank hopelessness swamped Adam. He could name the source of the feeling: the demon and his host were back. The demon’s dogs whined in the corridor.
Adam gritted his teeth in a show of pain to cover his inner determination. Providence had just handed him the opportunity of a lifetime. Just a few more moments to let the demon get all the way inside the room and Adam would throw his weight to the side to drag the blade into his belly. He prayed the knife was razor sharp.
Ready, set, g—
A woman sobbed, low and hoarse.
Adam froze, his thundering heart clutching hard. He opened his eyes.
The demon snake and his host entered, grin jacked up while his eyes wildly tracked around the room. Behind him, Talia was grasped in the unforgiving hands of a wraith.
The sight was a sucker punch to Adam’s soul.
Talia. How? Had to be a trick.
Talia swayed forward with a choked cry, but the wraith brought her roughly back.
Not a trick. She was really there.
Adam’s myriad hurts vanished beneath a storm-surge of terror. The threat of Jacob’s kiss was nothing to this. In fact, nothing Jacob could do to his person scared him anymore.
Abigail had warned him that he hadn’t yet known true fear. He should have listened when he had the chance. True fear has nothing to do with what might happen to you, however painful or vile that might be. True fear is all about what might happen to someone you love.
The host canted his head toward Jacob. “I told you I don’t tolerate weapons aboard my ship.”
Jacob huffed and pulled the knife out of Adam’s side with a searing twist. “He’s tied to the chair. He can’t do anything.”
With the knife gone, the chance was lost. Panic shuddered Adam, but a glance at Talia’s white face, and he brought himself sharply under control. The only thing he had left under his power was himself. Giving in to fear would not help anything. He had to hold it together for her. Stay with her to the end.
“Are you arguing with me?” The snaking black demon flexed its menace on the host’s body.
Jacob ducked his head in sudden obedience. “Of course not.”
The host gestured, sharp and perfunctory. Jacob handed the blade to the other wraith, who released Talia and left the room. The door shut with a devastating click.
Talia dropped to the floor at Adam’s knees, her hands fluttering at his side where the blade had pierced him. Blood now seeped through his shirt, but not enough for a mortal injury; Jacob had chosen the spot too well.
Jacob grabbed a fistful of Talia’s hair to haul her upright again. She whimpered as her shoulders followed the oblique angle of her body.
Adam strained against his bonds, growling.
“Let her be,” the host said. “This will go more quickly if they have a moment together.”
Talia fell back onto Adam’s lap. Adam ached to pull her into his arms, to cover her body with his so she could be safe. No torture was more painful than Talia, weeping on his lap.
Finally she brought her shining upturned eyes to his.
Adam’s gaze fixed on hers with a million questions. Why was she here? Why wasn’t she hiding in shadow? She could do things in shadow. Escape. Save herself.
Of course she understood him. Of all the people on this earth, Talia was the only one who could really understand him.
“I couldn’t let you do it alone,” she said, her voice rasping with effort. “You should have waited for me.”