They crouched. A few seconds later the slow, heavy beat of wings thumped above them, the down stroke sounding like the deep beat against a drum. Siban sent up a prayer that the Bane would pass over and no harm would befall them—but they were not to be so lucky.
Rocks tumbled from the ledge and the scraping of talons hissed through the quiet. All forest sounds ceased, as if sensing the danger from the Bane.
“I can smell you, Bringer.” A familiar voice from Siban’s nightmares drifted through the trees. “Come out and play.”
The urge to charge forward and slay the she-devil washed over him. Rational thought gave way to revenge. The need to pay the bitch back for the two years of torture she’d put him through choked out the caution he’d preached to Rell.
In an instant, Rell was there beside him and in his head, sending waves of love to him, reassuring him that he was not alone. His rage lessened and the realization that he would put her, and the rest of the party, in danger if he acted on his impulse slowly registered.
“You can’t hide from me.” Clawed feet shifted, sending more stones toppling down the side of the rock race. “I’m very good at hunting.”
Hiding was the last thing Siban wanted to do and from the look on Rell’s face, she had the same thought. Together they stood and walked toward Sha-hera’s voice and stepped out of the trees.
The demon perched on a ledge twenty feet above them. Two more Bane females that Siban didn’t recognize stood beside her. Sha-hera’s eyes rounded. “Well, well, well, now this is a surprise.” She circled a finger at Rell. “But how, I wonder, did you manage to become human again?”
The succubus to Sha-hera’s right glanced at her captain and back at them.
Sha-hera laughed. “Don’t you recognize our little Rell?”
All three demons stared at her with renewed interest. Siban stepped forward. “How about me, demon. Do you recognize me?”
The succubus’s gaze leveled on him and slowly narrowed, a smile creasing her lips. “Dark one, I wondered where you had gone.” As if understanding dawned, she looked at Rell. “Of course—she helped you escape. I should have known.” The demon slid her hand down her waist and over her stomach. “I missed you, Bringer.” Her lips formed into a pout. “Nobody to toy with. Nobody to torture.” She crouched. “But I’m so glad you’ve come back to me.”
“We won’t be joining you for any more—fun.” Siban drew his sword. “As a matter of fact, I’ve been meaning to end this relationship for some time.”
Rell followed suit and withdrew her blade. Sha-hera’s attention fixed on the glimmering blades. “Immortal weapons. Where did you get them?”
“The only thing you should be concerned about,” Rell said, “is an eternity within the Abyss.” Hatred washed through her. In a flash, the steel of the sword flared with a rush of blue flame and then tempered to a glow.
Sha-hera straightened and bared her fangs. “It will not be as easy as that, Bringer. There are three of us and only two of you.”
“You’re mistaken.” Okee stepped from between the trees, Odette by his side. Both had their weapons drawn.
The twins were strikingly beautiful, appearing far too innocent to be skilled in vanquishing demons, but the power rolling off them hinted otherwise.
Both demons accompanying Sha-hera hissed and crouched, readying themselves for retreat.
“Hold,” their captain barked. Her yellow glare slid back to the four Bringers. “What do you want here?”
“Our kinsmen,” Siban said. “And do not doubt, Bane, that we will get them.”
Leaves rustled behind them, but already he knew it was the rest of the group. The twins must have alerted them on their way to help. One by one the members of their party stepped from the trees with weapons drawn.
Sha-hera’s companions hissed and without waiting for permission, soared into the sky. Not so easily driven away, the captain stood her ground. “You do not know what you are up against, Bringers. If you believe you can free your friends, I’m afraid you will be sadly disappointed.” She shook her head. “Vile will never allow it and already the other two fly to warn him of your coming.”
Siban let his anger drift through him and focused its energy into his hand. Vibrations rippled down his arms and pooled in his palms. The sensation caused his hands to shake. Narrowing his focus, he concentrated on Sha-hera. When he felt somewhat in control of the roiling ball, he thrust his hands toward the demon. Like a peal of thunder, the pulsing ball hurled toward her and crashed into the rock below her feet. Stones exploded, sending chunks of rock in all directions.
Sha-hera soared into the sky, her angry screech echoing through the night. The heavy thud of her wings thumped several times. She swooped toward the group and again Siban heaved a pulsating orb at the demon, but this time his assault was followed by a volley of fire from Rhys, Gregory, and Ravyn. The demon swerved, barely escaping the attack. Rocks exploded behind her when the fireballs blasted into the side of the mountain.
The group jumped backward, diving toward the trees to escape being pelted by the falling stones. Sha-hera shrieked again and turned north, disappearing into the night without further words or an attack.
Despite not dispatching the she-demon who had made his life a living nightmare for two years, a sense of satisfaction filled Siban. One day he would face that bitch and it would be a fight he planned on winning.
Chapter Thirteen
The crunch of Vile’s footsteps as he paced the length of his chamber pounded inside Sha-hera’s head. She stared at his powerful back. The black tattoos covering his blue skin undulated with the tightening of his muscles when he moved, marks of his dedication to magic’s dark side.
He stopped and spun to face her. “Tell me again what your Splinter said.”
For the third time she repeated Fatima’s words. “Four Bringer women, bearing the mark of full power, caught her leaving the Council Chamber.”
Vile lowered his chin, his thick horns tipping toward her. “And they did not so much as imprison her?”
“No, they questioned why she was there and how she’d gained access to Illuma Grand.” Sha-hera bit back her resentment at being questioned as if she were a simple minion, and repeated the information. “She gave them the excuse that she was there to dance for Bagita.”
His brow furrowed and he straightened. “And what excuse did she use about being in the Council Chamber?”
“That it was in her nature to explore and possibly acquire a bauble or two that she could sell at a later date.” Sha-hera shifted her weight to her other foot. Vile had been interrogating her for the last hour, asking the same questions. “Fatima assured me that they suspected nothing.”
“Is that so?” Vile eased onto an oversize, ornately carved chair. “And you would believe her?”
“I made the consequences clear if she did not do as I asked.” Sha-hera clasped her hands behind her back. “Fear is a powerful motivator. I see no reason not to put faith in what she said.”
Vile stared at her, his talons drumming against the padded brocade arm of the chair. These were his private quarters and unlike the throne room, this chamber was luxuriously decorated. Instead of rotting food and carcasses, expensive rugs covered the floor. A plush bed took the place of the cold stone surface the slavering minions slept on, and a long table, complete with golden candelabra and books, sat to the far right of the chamber. Though expensively embellished, in Sha-hera’s opinion, the room’s size was too modest for a Demon King’s residence.