The Sweetest Burn

  I turned at once to the ranger. “Please,” I started to say, but then Adrian went immobile so abruptly, I looked back at him in concern. He was staring over my shoulder, and when I glanced that way, the ranger was no longer alone in the doorway.

  Demetrius stood behind him.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  MY TATTOO ROARED to agonizing, glowing life, but with a surge of panic, I realized that I didn’t have anything to put into the sling. I should’ve stuffed my pockets with projectiles as soon as I realized that the weapon could manifest itself, but I’d been focused on trying to save Adrian. Then I’d turned my attention to saving the rest of the people, thinking with my heart, not my survival instinct.

  Adrian drew me tighter against him, and I expected him to launch us through the gateway even though Demetrius was sure to follow. Could I pull the sling out of my arm and find something to hurl at Demetrius before the demon caught us on the other side? From how fast Adrian had traversed between the realms, I doubted it. Fear caused my heartbeat to slam against my ribs, but Adrian didn’t pull us through the gateway. Instead, he let out a low, almost satisfied-sounding laugh as he stared at his demonic foster father.

  “Demetrius, I hoped you’d come back before we left. Zach’s on the other side of this gateway.” Adrian gave weight to the lie by flicking a taunting glance between the fireplace and the demon. “Come with us. I’d love to see him kick your ass again.”

  Instead of responding, Demetrius looked my way, and those coal black eyes seemed to burn into mine. Whatever disguise Zach had glamoured me with didn’t matter; he knew it was me, and the virulent hatred in his gaze raised gooseflesh over me despite my close proximity to the fire. Then he turned his attention back to Adrian, and that hatred melted away. In fact, something like exasperated affection crossed his features.

  “My son, haven’t you had enough of your rebellion yet?”

  “I’m just getting started,” Adrian replied, his tone luxuriant with hatred.

  The ranger laid a heavy hand on Demetrius’s shoulder, unable to see the ominous shadows that came from the demon. “This boy here is your son? He—”

  One of those shadows sliced across the ranger’s throat, turning his words into horrible choking sounds. He fell to his knees, blood spurting out from his neck. Then that lethal shadow rejoined the rest of the swirls behind Demetrius after bending toward me in what could only be called a wave.

  “How did you make it out of my old realm, anyway?” Adrian asked, with none of the shock I felt over what had just happened. “Ivy decimated it. You should be ash right now.”

  “There are two kinds of demons,” Demetrius said, his tone light. Almost bantering. “The kind that stand around to discover what the Davidian can do with a hallowed weapon, and the kind that hasten to the nearest exit to avoid finding out.”

  Adrian snorted. “So, you ran for your life like the coward that you are.”

  “Name-calling?” Demetrius scoffed with mild reproof. “Such a human trait. Didn’t I teach you better?”

  Adrian’s laugh was low and ugly. “Oh, you taught me many things that I will spend the rest of my life unlearning. Love to stay and chat, but Zach’s waiting.”

  Then he flung us backward, and the gut-churning, free-falling sensations of crossing from one realm into another began. They culminated with me landing face first in a room that looked identical to the one we’d left, except that none of the furniture was broken and it was far warmer in here.

  Adrian hauled me up before I could even say ow at my face-plant. “He’ll be right behind us,” he muttered, half carrying, half propelling me out of the room at a run.

  I tried to keep up, cursing my wobbly, still-icy-feeling legs. “But you told him that Zach was here.”

  He grunted. “That might buy us a few minutes, but he’ll call my bluff, guaranteed.”

  “Then let me get something for the sling!” I protested.

  Adrian’s arm tightened around me as he forced me to run down the stairs at a pace I could barely manage. “Don’t bother. If you’re close enough to hit him with the slingshot, then Demetrius is close enough to kill you with his shadows.”

  I still wanted to grab something that could be used as a projectile, but Adrian’s ashen coloring combined with his labored breathing made me channel all my energy into running under my own power instead. He looked more awful than I’d ever seen, and it wasn’t just from crossing the realms. He’d gotten a full-body assault hug from Oblivion, and here I was, having trouble recovering after only getting a brief grab on the legs.

  We made it into the main room downstairs when Adrian suddenly slowed. The family of four he’d pulled through was by the front door. Next to them was a police officer, and the cop went for his gun as soon as he saw us.

  Adrian pushed me aside so hard that I fell. “I told you, no police,” he growled as he launched himself at the cop.

  A gunshot went off and I screamed. Adrian’s velocity caused him to land on the cop, and for a few, frenzied seconds, the two of them rolled on the ground, knocking over anything in their way. I ran over, but in the moments it took me to get to them, another shot went off, and the pile of limbs went still.

  “Adrian!” I screamed.

  His dark gold head lifted. Blood smeared his face and he was paler than I’d ever seen him, but he managed a grin.

  “Minions. Easy to kill,” he muttered. Then he slumped over the cop’s body, which was starting to disintegrate into ashes.

  I rolled Adrian over, sucking in an anguished breath as I saw the bloody hole in his stomach. He’d been shot, and we’d used up all the manna we’d carried with us!

  “Help me carry him over to the couch,” I told the father, who was staring in shock at the ashes that, moments ago, had been a police officer. “Help me,” I repeated. “Grab his legs, I’ll get his shoulders.”

  After another dazed look at the ashes, the father complied. We got Adrian onto the couch, and I pulled out my cell phone, letting out a relieved sound when I saw that it still worked.

  “What happened to him? What’s going on?” the mother pleaded as she clutched her two sobbing children.

  “He wasn’t human,” I replied, dialing Costa’s number. “Adrian knew a minion would probably respond to a hysterical call about people being transported from a dark, icy version of this world. That’s why he told you not to call the police... Costa!” I said when he answered. “Where are you?”

  “Where are you?” was Costa’s instant reply. “Are you out?”

  “Yes. We’re at Scotty’s Castle and Adrian’s really hurt.” My voice cracked on the last word, but I refused to break down. Adrian’s life depended on me keeping it together. “We need manna and a way out of here. Right away.”

  “Got it. We’re about forty minutes east of Scotty’s on 276, so we’ll be there soon.”

  “Forty minutes?” I glanced at a window, which showed that night had already fallen. “That’s too long.”

  In the dark, Demetrius could walk around freely on this side on the realm. I started stuffing every sturdy, decorative knickknack I came across into my jacket. They weren’t as durable as rocks, but they were the best I could come up with at the moment. Adrian had said that they wouldn’t do any good if Demetrius were that close, but I’d rather have a bad chance than no chance at all. Demetrius could show up any second. The minion cop had gotten here lightning fast despite how it had only been minutes since Adrian had pulled the family through the gateway...or had it been longer?

  “How long have you been here?” I asked the father. At his confused look, I elaborated. “How long has it been since Adrian brought you through the fireplace? Ten minutes? Twenty?”

  “About an hour,” the father answered, and his wife gave a frightened nod of agreement.

  I almost whooped with relief. That
’s right, time moved differently in the realms, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Adrian had said that it might take Demetrius a few minutes to decide to call his bluff. With minutes there equating to about an hour on this side, we might have enough time to get away.

  And the minion cop hadn’t arrived here by gateway, so that meant there was a car here that I could steal.

  “Get going,” I told Costa, formulating my plan. “I’ll meet you on the way.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ALL THE TOURISTS’ cars had been pulled into the realm along with their owners, but as it turned out, the cop’s car wasn’t the only one in the parking lot. A gleaming black Ferrari was parked right outside the entrance to Scotty’s Castle.

  “Demetrius,” I muttered. It had to be his. Only he and Oblivion had come through the gateway, and Oblivion turned everything he touched to ice, so he couldn’t have driven this or any other vehicle.

  Out of curiosity, I tried the door. It was unlocked, with the keys resting on the passenger seat, no less. My lips curled into a nasty smile. Demetrius’s arrogance knew no bounds, but in this case, that was a good thing.

  I smashed the side mirrors and the rearview mirror, then turned to the father, who waited at the doorway with Adrian stretched out on a sheet behind him.

  “Change of plans,” I announced. “You’re not coming with me. You and your family are taking the cop’s car instead. Head for the nearest city, and then ditch the car once you get there.”

  “B-but—” he stammered.

  “You’re safer alone. Demons are coming for us,” I snapped. “Plus, Adrian told you not to call the police, yet you did, and that nearly got him killed. You’re going to make it up to him by doing exactly what I say. Now, help me get him in the car.”

  The two parents grabbed one end of the sheet and I took the other. Together, we used it like a stretcher to carry Adrian over to the car. It helped that Demetrius had been rude enough to park in a handicap spot right by the entrance. It also helped that he’d chosen to ride with the Ferrari’s convertible top down. Because of that, we were able to get him in the passenger seat much easier than if we’d been maneuvering around a roof.

  Still, I winced at every bump and jostle. I didn’t need to be a doctor to know that moving someone with a bullet wound was very dangerous, but staying here was even more so. Once Adrian was situated, I turned to the family.

  “Take your kids and leave now, and don’t tell anyone what happened here, ever. They have cops in every city, and they don’t like loose ends.”

  “We won’t say anything,” the wife said, with a nervous glance at her husband.

  I gave a pointed look at her two small children. “For their sakes, I hope you mean it. Now, go.”

  After that, I followed my own advice and put the Ferrari in Reverse. Even with normal pressure on the gas pedal, the car shot backward with unbelievable speed, causing me to almost hit a light pole. I gave a worried glance at Adrian. I’d put a seat belt on him, which had probably saved him from hitting the dashboard from the car’s momentum, but had the sudden jerk damaged things in him that I couldn’t see?

  If it had, then it was all the more reason to get to the manna as quickly as possible. With far less pressure on the gas pedal, I straightened the car out and got onto the road. 267 was a long, lonely stretch of highway, but in this case, that was a good thing. I had a fast car and no traffic to worry about, and I intended to make the most of both.

  “Hang in there,” I whispered to Adrian. “It won’t be long.”

  His only reply was a soft moan. I held tight to the steering wheel and gave the car more gas. It responded at once, bulleting down the road. I went as fast as I dared over the hilly terrain, cursing the curves and the lack of flatness in this section of the desert. This car was so powerful, one little error on my part could cause a crash, and I couldn’t risk that. Besides, if memory served, the topography would level out soon. Then I could open the throttle up and—

  A yelp escaped me as pain shot through my right arm. I glanced at it with dread and saw that the tattoo was starting to shimmer with gold. Even though I knew what that meant, I couldn’t stop myself from looking behind me. Through my wildly whipping hair, I saw a wall of darkness rushing toward me, and in the middle of that darkness was a pale, grinning face.

  Demetrius hadn’t waited minutes to call Adrian’s bluff. With the time conversion from that realm to this one, he must have only waited seconds.

  Despite a turn coming up, I gunned the gas. The back end of the car swung with a terrifying lurch, but then all four wheels returned to the ground. As soon as they did, I hit the gas again. This was hazardous, but anything less was suicide. Demetrius’s shadows could rip the car apart around us. After all, he’d almost killed me in a car the first time he and I had met.

  I risked another glance behind me. No more lethal shadows or leering face, but that didn’t make me feel any better. It only meant that the demon must be changing his tactics since he would never give up unless forced. I gripped the steering wheel with my left hand and began digging through my pockets with my right. When I felt several hard objects, I put them on my lap. Then, with a quick prayer that this wouldn’t be the last thing I ever did, I braced my knees against the steering wheel and took both my hands off it.

  At this speed, even the slight change in pressure caused the car to drift to the side. My left elbow joined my knees on the steering wheel to level it out, then I yanked at the glowing, throbbing tattoo with all the panic I had in me.

  Either my agonized scream woke Adrian, or it was the sling as it came out and a loop seared his skin. He jerked upright, his head swiveling around to seek out the danger. When he saw me knee-driving at ninety miles an hour, he grabbed the wheel even though it meant more contact with the glowing, hallowed rope.

  “Demetrius is here,” I gasped out, fear superseding the awful pain the ancient weapon caused. “He’s right behind us!”

  As soon as I said it, razors sliced over my head, so fast that I was blinded by blood running into my eyes before I had a chance to feel the pain. Adrian shouted, swerving the car, and another slice took me in the shoulder instead of my head. That’s when I realized what was happening.

  Demetrius was no longer behind us. He was on top of us.

  Amid my fear, agony and panic, another emotion grew. Rage. Demetrius had ordered my parents’ murder, imprisoned my sister, branded me as a killer and fugitive in the human world and tried to kill me more times than I could count. Starting now, I wouldn’t let him take anything else from me.

  “Hold the wheel!” I shouted, wiping the blood from my eyes.

  Then, with one foot still on the gas, I put a hard object in the loop of the sling and twisted around, snapping the weapon at the shadows poised above me for another strike. The projectile sailed right through them, but an unearthly screech let me know that I’d scored a hit. The shadows recoiled, and for an instant, I saw the demon within them. Demetrius’s mouth was open in a howl, and something like black blood poured from it.

  With a blind grab, I notched another object in the sling and let it fly. This time, the shadows pulled back before I could hit them. They whipped around the car, aiming for the tires. Adrian’s swerve kept them from reaching their goal, but it slammed me against the door and knocked my foot from the pedal.

  The car slowed at once. I reached in my lap, but the projectiles were now gone, scattered somewhere on the floor. Adrian was half on top of me, keeping the car on the road but also keeping me from getting more projectiles from my pockets. Above us, Demetrius drew his shadows inward, winding up for a final, fatal strike, all the while smiling at me with his mouth still stained from his blood.

  With nothing else to use, I ripped the necklace from my throat. As those deadly shadows descended, I balled the large diamond into the notch on the sling and hurled it at
the demon.

  Demetrius yanked his shadows around him like a shield. The diamond necklace disappeared inside that darkness, and for a heart-stopping second, nothing happened. Then the shadows exploded into wisps of smoke and an agonized roar reverberated through the night, so loud that it shook the ground beneath us.

  Adrian shoved his leg past mine to hit the gas pedal. The car shot forward, flinging me against the seat. Once more, blood clouded my vision from my freely running head wounds, but I saw a body drop out of the sky behind us, and when it landed on the road, it didn’t move.

  I turned around, grinning at Adrian even though I was racked with pain and also pretty sure I was about to pass out.

  “Best birthday present ever,” I managed to croak.

  Something large and winged rushed toward us from the opposite end of the road. Fear had me feeling around for something to hurl at it, until I saw its red, glowing eyes.

  Brutus’s victorious swoop around our car was the last thing I saw before I passed out from relief, or blood loss, or both.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  THE SMELL OF fresh-brewed coffee woke me. I inhaled, fantasizing about a cup with lots of sugar and cream, when I remembered what had happened right before I lost consciousness.

  “Adrian,” I gasped as I opened my eyes.

  My sister’s face came into focus. Jasmine’s forehead was creased with worry, but at that, it cleared and she flashed me a strained, if rueful, smile.

  “If he’s the first thing you think of, then that means you’re back to your old self.”

  I sat up, my hand going instinctively to my head. No bandages or slashes, so I’d been healed. Had he?

  “Is he okay?” I asked, looking around, but Jasmine and I were the only ones in the bus’s bedroom.

  “He’s fine now,” she said, to my great relief. “Although he was half-dead when Brutus flew the two of you back to us. Took all the manna we had on the bus to heal both of you.”