He took a swig of alcohol, relishing the raw burn in his gullet. If he couldn’t scour away the grief, at least he could savor the pain. He raised the bottle into the air.
“To you, Deth. One of us will be dead by morning.”
Lore hit the demon bars at midnight. He knew exactly who he was looking for, and sure enough, he found the tiger shifter, Sunil, at a poker table, doing his best to scam a vampire, a Sora, and an orange, horned thing of unknown species.
“Hey, man, can I talk to you?”
Sunil threw down his cards. “I’m out anyway.” He followed Lore to a corner table. “Heard you’re free. Congratulations.”
“Yeah. How’s Sin?”
“Haven’t seen her.”
A chill throbbed through Lore’s veins. “What do you mean, you haven’t seen her? How did you know I’m free?”
“The new Sem told me. He came to me for some healing after Deth was through with him.” Sunil shook his head, making his long, tawny bangs swish across his eyes like wiper blades. “The bastard waited until Tavin was crazed with lust, and then he brought in a whore. Turned Tav loose and watched the show. I don’t know what happened to the female, but damn, Tav’s broken. Afterward, Deth kicked him to me to patch up.”
That sick son of a bitch. Lore would take revenge for Tavin as well as for Sin. “Can you get me into the den?”
Sunil knocked back a swig of his beer. “Fuck that.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I like my head on my shoulders, thank you very much.”
“Sin could be in trouble.”
“You know I like your sister, man. But I can’t risk my life for her. I have kids to feed.”
“I know, and I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t important. I plan to re-up with Deth,” he lied.
“Then go through the normal channels.”
He couldn’t do that, because Deth would meet him in the Guild Hall, which was under a Haven spell similar to the one protecting Underworld General.
“I need to see Sin first.”
“Dammit, Sem—”
“Please.” Shit, Lore hated begging. But he sucked it up and added, “I’ll do anything.”
Sunil cursed. Long and hard. Finally, he growled, “I’ll get you through the barrier. You’re responsible for getting yourself inside Deth’s keep. And if we’re caught, I’ll save my own skin and say you forced me.”
Lore grinned. “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
Deth was as good as dead. All Lore had to do now was pay a visit to Eidolon.
Lore had earned a fierce ass-chewing from Brother Doctor.
“I’ve left you a dozen messages,” Eidolon said, as he spread his palm on Lore’s bare chest.
“Didn’t feel like answering.”
“How have you been?”
This was exactly why Lore had avoided Eidolon. He didn’t want to talk about any of this. Didn’t want to talk about it, think about it, didn’t want to be here, because he’d made love to Idess for the last time in this very hospital.
“I lost my mate,” Lore rasped. “How do you think I’ve been?”
“I’m sorry. If anything happened to Tayla…”
“You’d die. I know.” Lore took in a ragged breath. “Thanks, by the way. You know, for knocking me out the other day.” Whatever his brother had shot him up with had put him on his ass for a good twelve hours.
But when he’d awakened in a hospital bed, Idess was still gone, and he’d gone into a fresh meltdown.
Eidolon nodded. “You shouldn’t have taken off so soon.”
“’Cuz I so wanted to hang out here and watch everyone pity me.” He looked down at Eidolon’s hand. “A little to the right. The scar has to look real if I’m going to get past Deth’s goon squad.”
Eidolon adjusted his palm. “You sure you want to do this? If you wait, we can work out a plan to get Sin out of there—”
“Can’t wait. I need something to do.” He didn’t see any way for his brothers to help get Sin out of Deth’s contract anyway. This was their best shot.
“We could keep you busy.”
Lore snorted. “Doing what? Polishing the floors? Emptying the garbage? I’m good at killing people, not healing them.”
“We haven’t replaced our ME,” Eidolon said with a shrug, and Lore stared.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
“It’s perfect for you. You don’t have to worry about killing anyone.”
Lore shifted Eidolon’s pinky a hair to the left. “You should be doing standup.”
“I’m serious, Lore. We could use you.”
“Yeah, whatever. Tell you what. If Deth doesn’t kill me, you can do whatever you want with me.” He figured he wasn’t coming back, so hey, this would be just yet another promise to a sibling that he couldn’t keep.
Eidolon pressed his hand more firmly over Lore’s heart. “This is going to hurt.”
“Again, whatever.” There was nothing left in there to injure.
Eidolon’s
“Good luck,” E said. “You sure we can’t help? Wraith can get inside anything.”
“I can’t risk an alarm being raised before I get to Deth and Sin. He’ll kill her and get out before I ever hit the throne chamber.”
“If you change your mind, call.”
“You bet.” He reached out, shook Eidolon’s hand. “Thank you. For everything.”
E nodded. “If anything happens to you, we won’t stop looking for a way to rescue Sin.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Lore met up with Sunil at the demon bar, and together they headed to Sheoul. For the first time in thirty years, Lore couldn’t see the entrance to Deth’s keep. Sunil took Lore by the sleeve and guided him through an invisible—to Lore—barrier. Ahead, beyond a narrow walkway of frozen earth, boulders, and vicious booby traps, was the arched entryway to the den, where two of Deth’s henchmen kept watch.
This would be the first test.
Sunil revealed his mark to the guards, and after sliding Lore a good-luck glance, he disappeared inside.
“Well, Sem?” one of the guards snarled through tusks.
Lore lifted his shirt, revealing the palm-shaped mark they expected. For the space of a long, drawn-out breath, the guard stared, and Lore’s pulse jackhammered through his veins.
“Mark is fresh. Re-upped your contract, eh?”
Lore shrugged. “Discovered all I’m good at is killing.” Discovered Eidolon was good at making cosmetic scars, too.
The other guard cocked his thumb at the entrance. “Go.”
Relief made Lore’s knees weak, but he strode into the keep like he belonged. Like he wasn’t going to tear Deth’s fucking head off. He moved down the hall, boots thudding on the floor in time to his heartbeat. Ahead, the double doors to Deth’s chamber were closed.
Inside, there would be two Ramreels. Smiling, Lore whipped two blades from the weapons harness under his jacket. He didn’t even slow down when he reached the doors. He threw them open, and before the Ramreels could blink, he’d buried his blades in their throats.
Furious, Deth lurched out of his bone chair. Beside him, chained naked to the base of the throne, was Sin. What had that evil fuck done to her?
“Lore, no!” The concern in her plea only fueled the fires of his anger, which was rapidly turning inferno hot.
He dipped his hand into one pocket for a cutting tool and tossed it to Sin as Deth summoned more guards. An arrow pierced Lore’s shoulder from behind, and pain popped along every single nerve ending. The familiar haze came down over his vision, and for the first time in memory, he was glad for the rage.
There was nothing but weightlessness in the light. There was no sense of time, no hot or cold, nothing but a sense of peace. Then, suddenly, Idess was standing inside a white-marbled gazebo in the middle of the most beautiful world she’d ever seen. It was like marshmallow clouds raining diamonds all over fields of emerald grass and ruby roses.
Even her imagination couldn’t have spun this up.
Standing to her left were four angels, two females and two males, all wearing what Idess guessed were ceremonial robes. In crimson. Interesting color choice. In their hands, they held golden scythes.
Obviously, this was the Memitim Council. And none of them looked happy.
Idess dropped to one knee in a deep bow, and realized she was wearing a robe that matched theirs. It pooled around her bare feet like blood.
“Stand.” A male voice compelled her to her feet. “Do you know why you have been brought here?”
“For judgment,” she replied. “For failing my test.”
The auburn-haired female shook her head. “You did not fail.”
Idess frowned. “But Lore. I had relations with him.”
“He was not your test.”
Idess tugged her robe more snugly around her. “I don’t understand. Even if he wasn’t my test, is it not forbidden to know any male so intimately? Let alone a demon male?”
“Exceptions are made when the outcome is positive.”
Now she was really confused. “Outcome?”
