White Hot Kiss

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Things pieced themselves back together slowly. Sensation led the way, which was the first indication that something was very wrong. I couldn’t move my arms or legs. They were bound to the cold floor, the rope tight and cutting into my wrists as I strained forward.

Oh, crap.

Smell came next. The moldy scent was familiar, poking around in my head, but I couldn’t wiggle an exact memory free. When I was able to pry my eyes open, I was staring up at exposed metal rafters.

Candles didn’t cast much light, but in the flickering dance of shadows I could make out a basketball hoop without a backboard. My gaze dropped and tracked the visible scuff marks until they disappeared in a white line drawn in chalk—a circle. Straight lines streaked out, meeting the circle. I turned my head, wincing at the dull ache in my temples. More lines on the other side of me.

A pentagram slightly crooked. Oh, this was bad.

I was in the old gymnasium on the lowest level of my school, tied down in the middle of a pentagram and was that chanting? God. Craning my neck, I tried to see beyond the hundreds of white candles following the circumference of the circle.

In the shadows, there were things moving. Their soft chattering and piglike squeals turned my insides cold. Rack demons.

“You’re awake. Good.” A deep Southern drawl came out from the shadows. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

My chin snapped down, to my toes. Paimon had removed the jacket and untucked the red shirt. He came to the edge of the circle, stopped and glanced down. He took a step back, and my suspicion soared. “You’re not going to come in here?” I asked.

Paimon tipped his head back and chuckled. “That pretty little lopsided pentagram can easily be converted into a devil’s trap, and my Hermès loafers are not going one inch beyond that chalk.”

My hands curled into fists and I could feel the ring biting into skin. “That’s going to make doing this incantation hard, isn’t it?”

“Not at all, darlin’,” he said, kneeling down. That Mohawk of his had to be at least two feet high. “That’s what lackeys are for. Oh, lackey!”

To my left, another form pulled free from the shadows. I hadn’t seen him before, but his smile was beyond creepy. I swallowed as my eyes darted between the two demons. No one was going to show up and save the day. I didn’t know if Zayne had survived the Hellion. Roth probably didn’t even know I’d been taken. And unless I could Houdini my way out of these ropes, I wasn’t going to be able to do much to defend myself. At that moment I knew three things. I was screwed. Mankind was screwed. The entire universe was screwed.

“I confess I’ve been disappointed with Naberius. He should’ve been able to retrieve you without me stepping in. Show her how displeased I was.”

The lackey waved his left hand. Four of his fingers were missing. Only the middle one remained. “They’ll grow back. Slowly.”

“Painfully,” Paimon added with a gleeful smile. He rose fluidly. “Anyway, Naberius, spill the blood of Lilith. I don’t have all night.”

Like a dutiful little tool, Naberius stepped carefully over the circle and knelt. My heart dropped. “Wait.” Naberius grabbed my hand with that one finger. Metal glinted in his other hand. “Wait, I said!”

Paimon sighed. “Are you going to beg now? Come over to the dark side? You already had your chance, darlin’. When I get done, I’m going to kill you. Well, I’ll probably have a little fun with you first, but I will kill you.”

Panic clawed its way up my throat, but I knew if I caved to it, that would be the end. Heart pounding, I tried to tug the arm closest to Naberius, but the rope gave no slack. “Why?”

“Why?” He mimicked my voice.

“Why do you want to do this?” My mouth was dry. “Do you really want to start the apocalypse? Do you really think this is going to work?”

Paimon tipped his head to the side. “The apocalypse?” His laugh was deep and it echoed through the gymnasium. “Oh, darlin’, is that what the Wardens think?”

“It’s what Hell thinks, too.”

“The Boss thinks that? Fabulous. While the apocalypse sounds like a good time, I could give a flying rat’s ass about that.”

Surprise shot through me. “You...you don’t want out of Hell?”

“Oh, what demon doesn’t want out of Hell? Take me, for example. I’ve served the Boss for over two thousand years. I’d like nothing more than to say au revoir to that life, but I’m not here because of what I want. I’m here for what I need. Just like you, another means to an end.”

“I—I don’t understand.” I really didn’t.

His lips, wide and expressive, twisted into a smirk. “It’s rather ironic that you don’t. Kind of sad, too.”

“Is it?” Naberius was messing with my hand, trying to turn the ring around. “Then explain it to me? If I’m going to die, I’d like to know the real reason behind it.”

Paimon looked over his shoulder and then his gaze slid back to me. “Have you ever been in love?”

“What?” I so wasn’t expecting that question.

“I said, have you ever been in love?”

“I...” I didn’t know. I loved Zayne, but I didn’t know what kind of love that was, and Roth... I thought I could be in love with him, if given time. Or maybe I already was, in a little way. “I don’t know.”

“Interesting,” the demon answered. “When you’re in love, you’d risk anything to ensure your loved one’s happiness. Even the end of the world.” He shrugged. “When you’re separated from the one you love, you’d do anything to be reacquainted with that person. Anything. What? You look so shocked. Did you think demons couldn’t fall in love? We can. Our love is a little dark and twisted. We love until death. Most wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of our affections, but we feel what we feel all the same.”

I had no idea what him being in love had to do with raising the Lilin, unless he thought his lover would be reincarnated into one.

His eyes rolled. “I can tell you still haven’t figured it out. It’s your mother, darlin’. That’s why it’s ironic.”

“Lilith?” I squeaked.

“You can’t call her Mother? I’m sure that would warm her cold heart.”

“No. No, I cannot.”

He prowled along the chalk circle. “Your mother is being kept in the fiery pits—exactly where a devil’s trap will send a demon. With the Boss in Hell, no one goes near the pits or gets out. And the only way I can get her out is to lure the Boss topside. Apocalypse now or later, the Boss will venture topside if the Lilin are there. And a minute with my beloved is worth the risk of an eternity without her.”

“Which leaves the pits unguarded,” I finished. When Paimon clapped his approval, I was stunned. All of this had been to free Lilith because he loved her? That was so twisted and...

“Naberius?”

“Wait!” Terror was starting to overcome the panic, which was way worse. “How do you know the incantation will work? You don’t even have the Lesser Key.”

Paimon frowned. “Like I need the Lesser Key. I had Lilith—I helped her get free so she could have you.”

“You love her, so you helped her get knocked up by someone else?”

“It’s the only way that we can truly be together.” He shrugged. “And you’re ready. I can see the taint of your soul.”

I didn’t know what surprised me more: that the demon could see my soul, that I had a soul or that he thought it was tainted. I just stared at him as I continued to twist the wrist of my left hand, hoping to slide it free.

“When I learned that the Boss was sending Astaroth topside, I was sure it was my birthday. Obviously the Boss thought I needed the Lesser Key and he sent him to help me obtain it.” He threw his head back and laughed loudly. “Can it get any easier for me? All I needed was time for Roth to get in your pants. And it really was only a matter of time. He is a demon, after all. I can smell your carnal sin, Layla.”

I didn’t know what carnal sin he was smelling, but it wasn’t that. I started to point that out, because that put a major kink in his plans. My status was intact, and if he figured it out, there was no stopping him from remedying the problem himself.

I was screwed, but mankind and Earth weren’t if I let him believe this. The incantation wouldn’t work. The Lilin wouldn’t be reborn and he wouldn’t get to free Lilith. Numbness settled into my bones as I stared at the demon. I was most likely going to die, but there was the bigger picture. Maybe it was the Warden blood in me that made my fate easier to accept, because I wasn’t ready to die. There was so much of life I hadn’t experienced. It wasn’t fair.

Or maybe it was the humanity I’d picked up from Stacey and Sam.

Letting my head fall back against the cold floor, I stared up into the dark rafters. Beside me, Naberius finally got the jeweled part of the ring to face the right way. He brought the blunt edge of the knife down, cracking its surface.

I bit down as pain exploded along my hand and then cool, sticky wetness spilled across my fingers. The moment the liquid dripped onto the floor inside the circle, the candles flickered.

The chattering and chanting stopped.

“The dead blood of Lilith,” Paimon said. “The live blood of Lilith’s child.”

A quick flick of Naberius’s hand, and a sting sliced over my wrist. The cut wasn’t deep at all. Really just a pinprick as tiny beads of blood flowed. A thin stream ran down my arm, pooling in the fleshy part of my elbow.

“Now,” Paimon said. “There’s just the question of your taking a soul.”

He didn’t know that had already happened? I opened my eyes as a new anxiety burst through me. Paimon yelled something in a coarse, deep language. Movement followed, and I strained to see behind me.

Shadows broke free, and as they came closer to the candlelight, I cried out. No. No. No. This couldn’t be happening. I struggled wildly against the ropes.

Four Rack demons approached, two sets each carrying a hunched-over body. One set held Zayne and the other set held Roth. Both guys looked as if they’d played kissy face with a meat grinder. Their clothing was torn. Blood streaked their necks and chests.

Paimon smiled like a pleased parent. “Are you wondering how I got the Rack demons to do my bidding?”

“No,” I said hoarsely.

“Think about all the suffering they’ll be able to feed on once the Lilin turn Earth into a playground,” he said anyway. “Naberius?”

Standing, the demon backed out of the circle, careful not to disturb the chalk or candles. In his hand, that knife...

The candles flickered again, and my gaze darted to my arm. One drop of my blood had hit the floor and burned through it like acid. There was no time to wonder why.

“Let’s go back to my question about love,” Paimon said, coming to stand behind the Rack demons that held Roth and Zayne. “Do you love them? What if I wanted you to take the Warden’s soul?”

A low buzzing picked up in my ears as I met the blatant cruelty in Paimon’s eyes. “No.”

“I didn’t think you would agree so easily.” Paimon watched Naberius walk around Roth. His dark head was bowed and his shoulders barely moving. There wasn’t even a reaction as Naberius slipped the knife under Roth’s still chin. “They caught him coming to the Warden’s rescue. How utterly ridiculous is that? A demon helping out a Warden? Then again, he was probably coming to save you.”

I pulled on the ropes until my skin and muscles burned. “Let them go.”

“Oh, I plan to.” Paimon smiled. “If you don’t take the Warden’s soul, then Naberius here will gladly cut the Crown Prince’s head right off.”

“And I really, really want to do that,” Naberius added.

A pounding heart joined the buzzing in my ears. Horror poured into me. “No. You can’t—you can’t do this.”

Paimon laughed. “I can and I will. Either you take the Warden’s soul or I kill Roth. Now, I know how incredibly naive and stupid teenage girls are. But surely you’re not going to want to watch your first get beheaded, are you?”

Roth wasn’t my first—no one was my first, but that didn’t mean I could allow this to happen. Potent, helpless fury rolled through me, stretching my skin tight.

“And he won’t just die,” Paimon continued. “Oh, he’ll feel it.” Moving lightning quick, he grabbed a handful of Roth’s hair and yanked his head back. “Won’t you, Your Highness?”

A shudder rolled through Roth’s body and his eyes opened. “Screw you,” he spat.

“How terribly boring.” Paimon let go of Roth’s head, but it didn’t fall back. His eyes met mine. They were surprisingly alert for someone who looked like he was in such bad shape. Paimon glanced at Zayne. “Roth will end up in the fiery pits, which is worse than death.”

Terror formed painful knots in my stomach. I couldn’t take Zayne’s soul and watch him turn into the monster that Petr had. And I couldn’t let them kill Roth.

“What is your answer, Layla?”

A low, terrible rumble came from Roth’s chest. “Layla...”

My gaze swung back to him. His eyes were dilated, glowing. “I can’t.”

“Don’t,” he growled. “Don’t do—” The knife moved in, pressing against his neck until fresh blood welled up.

“Stop!” I screamed. My hands tried to curl into fists, but I couldn’t make them move. “Just stop!”

Paimon raised a hand and Naberius backed up. “Yes?”

“Layla, don’t say another word! You—” Naberius’s fist silenced Roth.

“I don’t need to take his soul,” I gasped out. “I’ve already taken a soul—a pure soul.”

Paimon stared at me for a moment and then he barked out a loud laugh. “Well, well. This is an interesting development.”

“Yes. Yes! It was a Warden. I took his soul.” My breath was coming out too fast and in a strange pattern. One breath in. Two breaths out.

“Huh. I didn’t see that one coming.” He looked perplexed, and I wondered if that was the taint he’d sensed and mistaken for the whole carnal-activity thing. It didn’t matter, though. He snapped his fingers.

The Rack demons dropped Zayne on the floor and he lay there, an unmoving lump of flesh and bone. A second later, Naberius was behind him and had grabbed a handful of blond hair and yanked Zayne’s head back, exposing his throat.

“Well, even with all that said and done, you know what they say about Wardens?” Paimon’s slow smile stretched across his face. “The only good one...”

Naberius waved the wicked-looking dagger, placing the deadly sharp edge to Zayne’s throat. “Is a dead one,” the other demon finished.

“No!” I screamed, and my back bowed.

Zayne’s bloodshot eyes opened into thin slits.

I threw my head back and my own scream deafened me. So many images flickered through my mind like a photo album, coming together and crashing gloriously in a moment of raw pain greater than any I’d known.

The rage unlocked the demon inside me.

As I wrenched forward, the ropes around my arms stretched. Thread unraveled, splitting at the ends, and then the twine broke. My legs were freed next. Seconds later, I was standing. Air didn’t pass through my throat. Fire did, scorching my insides and spilling through my veins. I was burning from the inside out. Muscles tightened. Hands curved into claws. My vision sharpened and tinted the world in red. Bones broke in a burst of pain and then fused back together. Static clung to skin that felt stretched too thin. Pieces of clothing tore as my body shifted, expanded with ropy muscles and grew. My sneakers split wide open and fell to the side.

Tiny strands of hair rose all around my head. Pain exploded along my back, but it was the good kind of pain—the kind that brought sweet relief as my wings unfurled, arcing high in the air above me.

As I lifted my hands, shock fluttered through me. My skin was black and gray, marbleized in a shifting blend of both species. A beautiful mixture of the Warden and the demon long since buried deep inside me.

“Get her!” screamed Paimon.

The Rack demons that had been holding Zayne shot toward me just as Roth reared back, breaking free of the demons holding him.

On autopilot, controlled by something innate and binding, I didn’t even think. Raising my head, I bared my teeth and hissed.

I caught the first Rack demon by the throat, digging my claws in. There was a satisfying crack and I dropped it. The second Rack demon I toyed with, catching it by the neck and lifting it into the air. The hoarse, piglike squealing brought a toothy smile to my face. Wheeling around, I tossed it through the wall above the bleachers.

Stepping out over the candles, I stretched out my wings.

Bloodied and beat up like no tomorrow, Roth grinned at me as he dropped one of the Rack demons. “You’re still hot as a stone freak.” His gaze dropped. “Maybe even hotter. Damn.”

“Get them!” Paimon roared. “Kill them! Do something!”

My head swung toward where he stood beside Zayne. Launching off the floor, I landed in front of the demon. Swinging my arm around, I backhanded him, throwing him into the air and spinning him around.

I knelt beside Zayne, gingerly rolling him onto his back. “Zayne?”

His eyes were open, blinking furiously. “I’m okay. The cut’s not deep at all.” He folded his hand around mine—his human hand over mine. The contrast was all the more startling because of our role reversal. His gaze traveled up my arm, where the sleeves of my sweater had split at the seams. His lips parted as he got a good eyeful. “You’re...”

“Layla!” Roth yelled.

Twisting at the waist, I swiped out at the Rack demon gunning for me. The thing went down, but there were dozens, if not hundreds, more. The whole gymnasium was full of them. And behind them, bigger and hairier creatures roared.

Hellions.

“I’m okay.” Zayne staggered to his feet. “I can fight.”

“I sure hope so.” Roth lifted his arm and Bambi came off his skin, coiling on the floor between us. “Because if you’re just going to lay there and bleed, you suck.”

Then Roth shifted. His skin turned the color of obsidian, sleek and shiny. He was bigger than both Zayne, who was now in full gargoyle mode, and me. The skin tone was different and he wasn’t rocking any horns, but the resemblance between us was still uncanny.

The three of us turned as one.

Beyond Paimon and Naberius, a whole horde of demons waited.

They charged forward. A chaotic mess of bodies, and there was no time to think as bodies crashed into one another. Taking down a Rack demon, I ducked out of the way of a Hellion, clearing a path for Bambi, who shot through the air and sank its fangs into the beast’s neck. The snake coiled itself around the Hellion, squeezing until the Hellion arched its back and roared. Black smoke poured out of its gaping mouth and then the Hellion imploded.

Roth went after Paimon, while Zayne had an obvious bone to pick with Naberius after the whole knifing-of-the-throat incident. Which sucked, because I would’ve really liked to knock that jerk around instead of picking off Rack demons.

“You have been such a pain in my ass,” Roth said, circling Paimon. “The Boss is going to have so much fun shoving hot pokers where the sun never shines.”

“Well, if it isn’t the harmless puppy of the family,” Paimon seethed. “The favorite Prince and the Boss’s little pet.”

“Don’t be a hater.” Roth lowered himself to the floor. It trembled under his weight. “You’re just jealous because you haven’t been granted permission to return topside since the Inquisition. You always make such a mess of things.”

“While you’re just a good little boy.” Paimon shook out his shoulders. Material ripped. Dark, gnarled wings protruded from his back. The fire spread over Paimon’s skin until he was nothing more than a flame in an Armani suit. “I’m going to enjoy breaking her. Burn her from the inside out. You’ll hear her screams from the bowels of Hell.”

Roth roared, charging Paimon. He met Roth halfway, their collision a burst of flames and then darkness. I scrambled back as Paimon launched Roth through the air and slammed him into a row of Hellions. Roth flew back, reaching into the flames and grabbing ahold of Paimon. Roth spun around, tossing the King at a cluster of Rack demons.

The doors to the gymnasium burst open.

Wardens swarmed the room, tearing through Rack demons like they were nothing more than paper. I recognized Abbot and Nicolai leading the attack. They headed straight to where Bambi had a Hellion cornered. The massive monster lurched forward, grabbing Bambi before she could wrap her powerful body around the beast.

Bambi was flung back into the bleachers, crashing through them.

Concern for the snake powered through me as I punted a Rack into the basketball pole and started forward.

“Layla?” Abbot’s voice rang loudly through the room.

I stopped and turned to him. The shock in his voice, mirrored in his expression, would’ve been funny any other time. “I guess I’m not a mule—not really.”

He might’ve responded but there were tons of demons to kill, and for the first time in my life, I threw myself into battle. The strength of a Warden coursed through me, as heady and powerful as tasting a soul was. The Rack demon’s claws didn’t even break my skin. I was stronger and faster than I could ever have imagined.

I caught up with Zayne, grabbing Naberius from behind. The demon fought wildly, but I held him in place as Zayne swung out, taking the head right off the demon.

There was no time to celebrate the victory. Roth struggled with Paimon, who no doubt had seen his dreams crash and burn by now and was trying to make an escape. I started toward them, but Zayne stopped me.

“No. I owe him this.”

It went against my instincts but I held myself back as Zayne dipped under Paimon’s arm and grabbed him from behind. The three of them staggered backward. I realized they were dragging him back toward the pentagram.

“Father,” Zayne shouted, and Abbot spun.

They were going to trap Paimon!

As the Wardens finished off the rest of the demons, Zayne and Roth pinned Paimon in the pentagram, holding him down face-first. Together, they tied Paimon down just as I’d been minutes before.

“Tell the Boss I said hi,” Roth said, forcing his knee into Paimon’s back as he tightened the last of the rope. “Oh, wait. You won’t be doing much talking. More like a whole lot of screaming.”

Roth stood and both he and Zayne turned to leave the trap as Abbot neared the pentagram. It was over, I realized. It was all finally over. My eyes moved from Zayne to Roth. Both of them in their real forms, which were as frightening as they were oddly beautiful.

In his demon form, Roth winked.

My lips twitched into a smile. I let out a breath and it was like shedding a skin. Muscles unclenched and shrunk. A few seconds later, I was me again, standing in shredded, stretched-out clothing and barefoot.

And then everything went to Hell.

Paimon let out an inhuman roar and his body contracted. Ropes burst and whipped out. The demon rose high and grabbed the closest target, dragging Zayne back into the circle. My heart plummeted and a scream got stuck in my throat.

“Do it,” Zayne yelled, his eyes widening on his father. “Do it now!”

Ice drenched my veins. Anything in the devil’s trap was trapped—human, Warden or demon. Zayne would go to the pits along with Paimon.

Horror seized me. “No!”

Roth whirled around, and in a flurry of motion, he grabbed Zayne and tore him free from Paimon’s clutches. Pushing him outside the circle, Roth then wrapped his arms around Paimon.

A new understanding sank in. There was no way Paimon would just sit docilely and stay in the trap. Ropes wouldn’t hold him. Someone had to, and Roth had just made that choice.

“Get her down!” Roth yelled, holding Paimon in the trap. “Zayne, do it!”

“No! No!” I raced forward, bare feet slipping across blood and gunk, just as Abbot tossed the black salt toward the trap. “Roth! No!”

In that tiny moment of time, just a flicker of a second, his golden eyes met mine. “Free will, huh? Damn. It is a bitch.” And then he smiled—he smiled—at me, a real smile, revealing those deep dimples. “I lost myself the moment I found you.”

My voice broke, and my heart...

Zayne’s arms wrapped around me and he turned, forcing me down onto my knees. His wings stretched out and then curled around me as his body bent, sheltering me.

Red light flashed, so brilliant and intense that it blinded me from underneath Zayne. A howling wind roared through the gymnasium. I screamed. I screamed because I knew Roth would make no sound as the fiery pits welcomed him. And I didn’t stop screaming. Not when the smell of sulfur choked me. Not when the blistering heat hit us, causing tiny dots of sweat to break out across my skin. Not until the wind, the heat and the smell of sulfur receded.

Then there was silence.

“I’m sorry,” Zayne whispered, and then he loosened his grip.

I tore free, taking a few steps toward the burned-out circle before my legs gave out. I fell to my knees. The space where Roth had stood with Paimon was scorched, the floor charred through.

Someone said something to me. Maybe Abbot or Nicolai. It didn’t matter. There was nothing they could say right now. Roth had sacrificed himself for me—for Zayne. A demon had chosen an eternity of suffering for someone else.

I couldn’t bear it.

Tears tracked down my cheeks, mixing with blood and soot. I lowered my head until my forehead rested against the floor and I did something I hadn’t done in forever.

I prayed.

I prayed for Roth. I prayed for the Alphas to step in. What he had done should’ve earned him a divine intervention. I prayed that the angels would descend into Hell and lift him up. I prayed until I wanted to scream again.

But prayers like this weren’t answered.

Something cool and slick nudged my hand, and I slowly lifted my head. Blinked once and then twice before I believed what I was seeing. “Bambi?”

The large snake coiled around my arm, raising her head until she rested it on my shoulder. A fresh wave of tears clouded my eyes, but not enough to prevent me from seeing a Warden coming toward us with a murderous look in his eyes as they landed on Bambi.

“Do it and it’ll be the last thing you do,” I warned in a voice I barely recognized.

The Warden stopped and then backed off. No one else came near us.

My gaze swiveled back to the circle. Near the stake on the right, a tiny hole had burned through the floor. Most likely a blowback from Hell and nothing like that charred spot in the center, on which Astaroth, the Crown Prince of Hell, had made a very un-demonlike stand.

I lost myself the moment I found you.

I stared at that spot.

Roth was gone.