We flew over the soldiers below and, without being asked, Shade dove lower and strafed them with dragonfire. Screams rose as we passed by, and I didn’t see how deadly the attack had been, but that pretty much guaranteed Shadow Wing would remember us with none too fond a thought.
We came to the Plain of Winds and the ride grew very bumpy. Nerissa leaned forward, and I pressed against her, trying to keep our balance as the gusts landed like walloping fists, ever-shifting. The next moment, we were in the Ionyc Seas. Dizzy from the ride and the winds, and now the currents of the sea, I let out a groan, but within moments, it seemed, we were out again, and we were over the hoodoos. There was one place near the Demon Gate that seemed big enough for Shade to land, and so he did. As we staggered off his back, stumbling around like we were all drunk, Shade shifted back into his natural form.
“Damn, that was one hell of a ride.” Even Trytian was reeling.
“Let’s get through that damned gate. Remember, if I immediately fall asleep, just arrange me on the table until nightfall.” And with that, I grabbed Nerissa, who looked dazed and exhausted, and headed over to the Demon Gate, never so happy to see a portal in my life.
One by one, we stepped through. And as the burning pain hit, I welcomed it in. Because I had Nerissa with me, she was alive, and we had managed to survive the Sub-Realms.
*
As I opened my eyes, after the first fury of waking subsided, I realized I was, indeed, lying on the table in Wilbur’s workroom. But Trytian, Trillian, Nerissa, Shade, and Vanzir were there—along with Wilbur, and none of them looked like they’d bothered to clean up. None of them were near enough for me to attack them, either.
Wilbur snorted. “Good aim, Dead Girl. You picked three minutes before sunset to return. So you’ve had the shortest nap in vampire history.”
I blinked. I actually did feel exhausted, and the weight of the trip hit me full force. “I kind of wish we had returned at sunrise so I could sleep it off.”
“You want I should create another Demon Gate for you to go through so you can come back in a while?” But the mountain man necromancer was laughing, and his eyes crinkled as he smiled softly. “I destroyed the other the moment I realized you were all back . . . well, those who made it.”
He paused, and I realized that he was talking about the five vamps I had taken with me. “We lost our men and Trytian lost his forces, too.” I turned to the daemon. “I owe you one. A big one.”
Trytian, for once, just shrugged. “No, you don’t. We’re in this together, and because of your mission, you managed to deal a heavy blow to Shadow Wing—one that will help us tremendously. I have to return to my father and tell him.”
And then I realized what he was talking about. I had a pocket full of spirit seals. Shadow Wing was left with none of them. The swirling energy suddenly surged through my body, even though I wasn’t wearing them, and my fatigue dropped away.
I sat up, cautiously. “Yeah, you’re right. Come on over to our house. We need to talk about this—all of us—and what it means. And Camille needs to . . . put these into hiding.”
Wilbur came with us; it only seemed right, given we had yanked him into our service again, and we headed across the street to our house. As we walked, I pulled Nerissa off to the side a little.
“How are you? Did they do . . . did they hurt you?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Oh, I’m terribly hungry and thirsty. But they were definitely using me for bait. And as far as I could tell, the demons wearing the spirit seals were there, waiting to take possession of the ones they expected you guys to bring to them. Shadow Wing must truly be off his nut if he thinks you’d trade them for me.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. How do you tell your loved one that you wouldn’t have bargained for her life because the price was too high? But Nerissa said it for me.
“I’m . . . listen. I’m so grateful to be alive, and back with you. But thank you for not doing as they asked. I had prepared myself to die. There’s no way we could ever give Shadow Wing the spirit seals and hope to keep him from destroying everything. I guess what I’m saying is that I didn’t expect you to come for me, and I would have understood if you hadn’t. I thought . . . I thought I heard Camille calling, but I guess that was my imagination.”
I smiled softly. “No, she was searching for you. We had to do something. But you’re right—in a war, you don’t hand over the ultimate weapon to your enemy to save a life.” I kissed her then, softly, on the cheek. We’d have our time later, but for now, we still had work to do.
*