"Someone who appreciates you in bed."
Allegra, he sighed into my mind.
"Oh, all right. I'm a Summoner. Or at least, I used to be before I burned up my Summoning equipment trying to overcome Eduardo."
And did you overcome him?
"No."
Is he here now?
"No, the demons got him. I'm assuming they did; I doubt if anyone could have survived the horde that Asmodeus called up."
Then you overcame him.
"Indirectly, maybe. Hey, are you supposed to be nibbling on my neck while you're grilling me?"
I can do anything I wish to do. I am a Moravian Dark One.
I waited for the other shoe to drop.
And you are my Beloved.
By which, I assume you're implying I too can do anything I want?
His fingers slid up the curve of my waist to cup my breasts. Anything, he breathed into my mind as I turned my head and found his mouth.
You have to feed. You are weak, and we need your strength right now. Blood is all I can offer you; please take it.
His tongue was fire in my mouth. The flames licked down my chest, filling me with need and hunger. You have so much more to offer, Beloved. I believe in you. I believe you can do anything you desire.
He merged with me then, his thoughts filling my head, my soul cleansing his, our hearts beating in time. His faith glowed bright, absolute faith in me, in my abilities, in us. I smiled as I kissed him, tears streaking my cheeks even as I slid my arms around him, his strength no threat to me, but an aid, a protection, a part of my life that I knew I wouldn't want to be without.
He pulled my hand forward and pressed the ring into it. Do it, Beloved.
I stared at it, doubt tugging at me.
I know you can.
The underlying power in magic, as I have said before, comes from the belief of the practitioner in her own abilities. If you don't believe, the magic won't work. I looked from the ring to Christian's eyes, those beautiful dark eyes that now were smiling at me, full of love and pride and quiet expectation that made warmth bloom inside me again.
"Will you still love me if I fail?"
"I will always love you, no matter what you do."
I held on to the belief he poured into my mind as I set the ring down onto the floor, patting my jeans until I pulled a crumbled piece of chalk from my hip pocket. Christian's hand rested warm and solid on my back, a reminder that I was not alone as I drew the circle. It was odd, this knowledge that I could be myself, be everything I had fought for, and still be a part of Christian, but I had no more time for introspection and other mushy types of thought, no matter how enticing they were.
I had a demon lord to send back to hell.
"Why is it never easy with you? Why must you insist on making even the simplest of matters difficult?"
A dull thud from the door reverberated around the small, soundproofed room.
I'm not being difficult; I'm being practical. Now bite me!
"I do not need to feed."
The door shuddered as another thud, louder this time, echoed into the room. The sword Christian had wedged into the door frame clattered against the metal, giving warning it was about to be dislodged.
Yes, you do. They drained you; I can feel how weak you are. Drink!
"I will not take from you when you need all your strength."
I'm not so hung up on my own independence that I don't realize that your strength is an integral part of mine, Christian. Either you drink my blood this very minute, or I won't do a thing about closing this circle. I figure those demons are going to break through in about five seconds, so either you bite me now, or forever hold your peace.
His fangs pierced the hollow of my throat, sharp needles of pain dissolving into a sensation of intimate ecstasy. He drank deeply, making my head spin with both the pleasure of his feeding and the power that surged through him as my blood gave him new life. The door shuddered, thought about giving, but changed its mind at the last minute and held solid once again. I knew the next blow the demons made would destroy it. It was now or never; either I believed in myself, or I didn't.
I turned my head and bit Christian's thumb, squeezing his finger over the circle until three drops of dark red blood landed next to Asmodeus's ring. Christian's tongue was warm on my neck; then he pulled away. I wiped the smear of red from his lips, using my blood to trace a binding symbol in the middle of the circle, my finger tingling with the familiar sensation of power.
"Asmodeus, sixty-seventh spirit of Goeth, commander of the thirty legions, I Summon thee by the power of thy own talisman. Come forth and be bound under my hand."
The demons were gathering for another assault on the door; I could feel their intentions pounding against us. Christian stood and prepared to defend me.
Belief is everything. I rose to my feet, grimly tracing protection wards around us, daring them to defy me. The wards allowed themselves to be drawn, wavered, then glowed red as power began to grow within me.
"Asmodeus, sixty-seventh spirit of Goeth, commander of the thirty legions, I command thee to appear before me!"
The demons slammed through the door as Asmodeus snarled into view, confined to the circle, held only by a few drops of blood and the combined belief Christian and I shared in my abilities. The demons stopped, unable to move so long as their master was bound by the circle.
"You do not have the power," the demon lord said with a sneer, his ravaged frame growing until it seemed to fill the room. "You cannot hold me, for I am all-powerful."
Christian stood before the demons, his belief in me flooding my mind, turning to power as we merged together, one will, one mind, one spirit. "Asmodeus, sixty-seventh spirit of Goeth, commander of the thirty legions, bend thee to my command!"
"You will not triumph over me! You are not strong enough to—"
"Asmodeus!" My voice cut through the demon lord's roars with the clarity of a bell, echoing throughout the room, sending the demons into a shrieking fit of cowering. Asmodeus twisted his body upon itself. I took a deep breath, throwing everything I had into the last few words. "Asmodeus, I return thee to the pit that spawned you!"
With a scream that shook the house to its foundations, Asmodeus turned into oily red smoke that hung in the air for a moment before slowly dissolving into nothing.
The demons left nasty little black marks on the floor as they disappeared with Asmodeus, dragged back to the infernal depths with their master.
Christian grabbed my hand and hauled me forward.
"Wait, the ring—"
"Leave it. The house is coming down."
He was right. The house, which shook as we sent Asmodeus back to hell, continued to shake and rumble above our heads. Loud crashes and ominous cracks from overhead had us racing down the small passageway, Christian more or less dragging me up the stairs to the kitchen. We made it through the back door just as the second floor crashed down onto the first, which sent it down onto the ground floor, and that to the basement. I clung to Christian, his hand holding my face against his chest as wood and glass and debris flew around us as the house came down.
I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight as we stood in the garden and stared at the remains of the Trust house. We said nothing. There was nothing to say.
Epilogue
Christian moved within me, deeper, harder, surging into me, filling me with more than just his body, giving me his heart and mind as well. Water splashed around us as we moved together, the small seat in the tub not designed for the purpose we were putting it to. Despite the pain in my thigh, my legs tightened around his hips as his mouth caressed my nape, licking me, nipping at my flesh as our bodies moved in an ageless rhythm. I scored his slick back as he nibbled my neck.