“They? They who?” His forehead creased and his eyes grew even more pale. That was never a good sign, if you were on the opposite side of the fence from him.
I quickly outlined everything that had happened. “They took her down to the Sub-Realms, and I can’t . . .” I paused as my cell phone rang. “Hold on.” I glanced at the Caller ID. Blocked. Frowning, I punched the Talk button and held it to my ear. “Yes?”
“Menolly D’Artigo. You know who we are, and you know what we want. You have seventy-two hours to collect all of the spirit seals that you own and bring them to us. We will contact you shortly before the deadline with directions on where to take them. You must have them by then, or the Were will die, and it will be a slow, lingering death at the hands of our Master.”
“How do I know she’s alive—” I started to say, then stopped myself. Chase had lost part of a finger when a demon general sought to prove that he had really captured the detective. I couldn’t put my Nerissa to that chance. But the opportunity to say anything was cut off when the line fell silent and I realized they had hung up.
“It’s come. The ransom demand. I have seventy-two hours to hand over all the spirit seals we have. But . . .” I glanced over at Roman.
“You can’t do that.” His voice was soft, but firm. “You can’t give them that much power, even for her life.”
I shook my head, tears forming. As they began to race down my face, Roman leaned forward to kiss them away. I crumbled into his arms and he held me as I sobbed in a way I couldn’t around anybody else. He would keep my predator at bay while I caved in to the despair and the aching hole that had seared itself into my heart.
After a time, he handed me a tissue and called for a maid. “Bring Lady Menolly a new shirt, please. Something . . . black.”
I wiped my eyes. “Will you help us? I need to find the two demons that are still over here so I can interrogate them. We need them alive. I need to find where in the Sub-Realms they took Nerissa. I have to know if they’re hurting her.” I felt desperate. I slid down on my knees in front of him. “Please, Sire . . .” I had never begged for anything except death from Dredge. Now, I would beg for Roman to help me with Nerissa, if that was what it took.
He gently took me by the shoulders and lifted me to my feet. “You need not beg me, nor grovel in my presence. Nerissa is my blood-oath sister, she is my wife, and she is—most importantly—your wife and your love. We will find her and bring her back safely.” And then he picked up the phone and called for the head of security.
Roman drew me down on his lap and, there, he silently held me until Trent, his chief guard and the one who monitored all scouting parties, entered the room a few minutes later. He saluted, then bowed. During life he had been a bouncer in a bar, and he was a big burly dude.
“I want you to gather as many men as you can possibly spare, and go out in pairs through the city. Menolly, tell him what we’re searching for.”
I outlined what the demons were like.
Roman waited till I was finished, then said, “We must take these demons alive, so be prepared. Silver shackles will hold them, so wear gloves. Silver chains will help to bind them, so again, gloves and heavy gear for all concerned. I want you to find them and bring them back here. And any guard that sloths off? Will be tossed in the feeding pit.”
I had never heard him use the term before, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what the “feeding pit” was, so I ignored it for now. As Trent took down all the information from us and then left, I felt oddly calm—almost numb. I mentioned it to Roman.
“You are entering a state where you’ll be able to be of more help than harm. I know how much you love her, but you will do Nerissa no good if you can’t control your emotions while we search for her. The men will report in every hour. I will call you immediately if we find anything, see anything, or catch anyone. Now go back to your family—you need them with you more than you need me right now, and that’s perfectly all right.”
“I don’t want to live without her, Roman. She . . . she brought me out of a pain that I never thought I’d be able to leave. I was just existing when I met her, you know? She gave me a reason to really, truly live again.” I felt so empty, so hollow that the entire world seemed to vanish around me, and once again, I felt like I was in a dark, deep hole, looking for the single star whose light had drawn me out of that inner abyss.
“I know.” He kissed me softly on the forehead. “Nerissa . . . I could grow very fond of her. She is a spark of life and brightness in the eternal night that both you and I inhabit. She’s unafraid, uninhibited . . . We will bring her home safely. I promise you, on the moon and stars, we will do all that is in our power.”