Chapter 13
FRANTIC, I STUMBLED back, terrified. Something had gone wrong. Maybe the energy I had used to destroy Yerghan the Blade had transferred itself into Shade? Maybe I had sent his soul along with Yerghan’s into oblivion? Maybe Hi’ran had used me to punish Shade for something? I let out a cry and turned, wanting to run anywhere but here.
“Delilah, stop,” Smoky shouted. He reached out and grabbed hold of my wrist. “It’s all right, calm down.”
“How can it be all right? I just killed the man I love!” I struggled against him, but dragons almost always win out in a battle against the Fae.
He grabbed hold of my other wrist, holding me firmly. He gave me a little shake, staring down into my eyes. “Stop. Listen to me, Delilah. It’s okay. You didn’t kill Shade.”
I looked around, unable to see Shade anywhere. “If I didn’t kill him, then where is he? I don’t see him, Smoky!”
As I spoke, a wisp of smoke and shadow surrounded me, circling me, gently touching my skin. And then, it formed itself into a tendril, and stroked my nose. I suddenly calmed, looking up at Smoky, who nodded.
“But… How did he…” And then I knew. Hi’ran had given Shade a gift that no one else could. A gift I had prayed for, for months.
The shadow moved away from me. Then, slowly coalescing into a shape out of the shadows surrounding him, stepped Shade. His face was filled with wonder, and a joy that I hadn’t seen in a long, long time.
“I can’t believe it. How did you do that?” He shook his head, looking overwhelmed.
“The Autumn Lord did it. He told me to kiss you when I got back. He said he had a gift for you. I had no clue.”
And then I realized Trytian was still on the floor.
“Trytian? Is he all right?” I hurried to his side, sliding onto my knees beside him.
The daemon stared glassy eyed at the ceiling, his chest unmoving. Trytian was dead, and there would be no bringing him back. All of the conflicting emotions of the past week or so snowballed into one giant mire, sucking me down. I began to cry, not realizing until now how deeply I had valued Trytian’s help. He had been an asshole at times, but he was our ally, and he had given his life protecting me. I reached out, closing his eyes, and then looked up at the others.
“He’s dead.”
“We know.” Menolly crossed to my side, kneeling beside me. She took my hand, holding tight. As she cleared her throat, I tried to find my voice.
“What was life has crumbled. What was form now falls away. Mortal chains unbind and the soul is lifted free. May you find your way to the ancestors. May you find your path to the gods. May your bravery and courage be remembered in song and story. May your parents be proud, and may your children carry your birthright. Sleep, and wander no more.”
Even as our words faded away, I slumped down on the floor, leaning against Menolly, who rocked me gently. The damage in this war had grown old, and yet every time we lost someone it was a new wound, cleaving deep into our hearts. Trytian may not have been our favorite person, but he had been on our side and he had helped us time and again. And he had paid the final and highest price.
WE REGROUPED AT the Barrow. Camille took one look at us, scanning our faces, and she knew.
“We lost Trytian, didn’t we? How do we get word to his father?”
Vanzir’s expression was bleak. “I can send word through the Demon Underground. It will get there. I don’t know how long it will take, but it will reach his father’s ears.”
“Tell him that Trytian fulfilled his mission. He prevented Yerghan from killing us. Tell him… Tell him that we will avenge his son’s death.” It was the only thing I could think of to say.
“And what of Yerghan? Does he still live?”
I shook my head. “I took him out. For good. Forever. He will never cross the wheel again.” But I felt no joy in the victory. So much had happened. I was just tired. I wanted to rest and sleep and forget about all the damage and death that we had been through. As joyful as I felt over Shade recovering his powers, right now life felt a lot like an albatross around my neck and I just wanted this fucking war done. And afterward, I wanted to retire from the OIA. I wanted to kick back, and raise a garden, and live a quiet life.
Camille must have sensed my weariness, because she motioned for her servants to help us. “Go, bathe, eat, and rest. We can talk tomorrow morning. If Yerghan is dead, then we have a little breathing room.”
But the thought hung heavy in the room between us, unspoken, but as vocal as if someone had given voice to it, that we were one step away from the end. One step away from finally putting a stop to all the pain and anguish that this demonic war had cost us. I knew how to kill Shadow Wing, but that didn’t mean that it would be easy. But I knew where his powers were hidden, and that was half the battle right there.
Wearily, we all trooped to our private chambers.
Shade sat on the bed, slowly removing his clothes. He looked up at me, his eyes warm and luminous.
“Did you have to promise him anything for this? Please tell me you didn’t make a deal for this?”
And right then, I realized that he was terrified that I compromised myself for his comfort. I crawled on the bed beside him, folding my legs cross-legged, and rested my head against his shoulder.
“It was a gift, as I said. Hi’ran didn’t make me promise anything. I didn’t offer him my life. Or anything else. He already has everything that I own. Sweetie, he gave this freely and I was just the go-between. Welcome back. But I need you to know something.”
“What?”
“Even if you never got your Stradolan powers back, it wouldn’t matter to me. I have never seen you as impotent, or as half a man or anything like that. You’re the man I love, powers or not. Even if you somehow ended up human, with nothing but your heart, I would love you until the day you die. Until the day I die. You are my heart and soul, Shade. You are my mate. Hi’ran may have brought you to me, but it was fate. We’re meant to be together.”
He was crying now, the tears streaking down his cheeks. “When we were out in the Land of Wandering Souls, when you found me and I was so confused… I was afraid that one day you’d get tired of me. That one day, you’d be angry that I was chosen for you. That you didn’t have a choice in the matter. That’s really what my fear was. I could live without any powers as long as I have you.”
“Shut up, you beautiful man. Kiss me, kiss me, and make me feel whole again.”
And so he did, laying me back in the bed, kissing me all over. We were too tired to make love, but we lay long into the night, holding each other, saying nothing, letting our love buoy us up, and heal us.
IN THE MORNING, we gathered back in the Council chamber after sleeping late. Breakfast was spread across the sideboard, and smelled fantastic. I didn’t realize I was so hungry, and I piled my plate high. Menolly was missing, of course, she was deep into her sleep, but the rest of us were here. Except Trytian.
As we settled around the table, Camille lifted her glass.
“I want to toast to Trytian. He and I butted heads a lot, but in the end he came through for us. And he gave his life helping us. Here’s to the only daemon that I can probably ever call my friend.” She paused, glancing at Vanzir, and then smiled. “And that does not include demons.”
We all cheered, toasting Trytian’s memory.
I was still smarting from his death. I hated losing any member of our team, and the fact that he had died helping to protect me didn’t make it any easier. But we had lost a lot of people over the years in our war against Shadow Wing. Perhaps we could put an end to the collateral damage once and for all.
“I have some news,” I said, pushing myself to my feet. “I didn’t tell you last night because we were too tired, and there was no need given Yerghan’s death. But I need to tell you something. I’ve found a turning point in the war. When I destroyed Yerghan’s soul last night, before I did, I tore through his memories. I observed Shadow Wing through his eyes. I know what Shadow Wing’s weakness is.”
There was a sudden hush, and they all stared at me. I glanced around the room.
“Is it safe to talk here?”
Camille nodded. “Yes. Tell us what you found out. Anything that can help us is a great gift.”
I told them what I had seen. I edited out some of the torture scenes, not wanting to even speak the words. But I told them about the gems below Shadow Wing’s horns, and how I knew he sourced his power through there. I described them as best as I could.
“I’m not sure what they are, but they are the source of his power, and if we can destroy them or even remove them, we can kill him without much trouble.”
“You say they were like the spirit seals?” Trillian asked.
I shook my head. “In a way they reminded me of the spirit seals, in terms of the fact that they possess energy. But they aren’t spirit seals. I don’t know what they are. We need to do some research as soon as possible. Shadow Wing is going to figure out that Yerghan is gone sooner than later. I think we should follow through with our plan to gate him over here and destroy him as soon as he arrives. We have Yerghan’s possessions, including the soul-stealer sword. Shadow Wing touched it, that much I know. We can use that as an anchor to link to him. We just need a sorcerer powerful enough to cast a demon gate.”
“To that end, we have one,” Camille said softly.
I gazed into her eyes. “Shamas?”
She nodded. “I’ve been talking to him. He’s still very fuzzy on a lot of things, but he’s become very powerful since his death, and I think… I believe the Moon Mother has sent him back for this very reason.”
My stomach churned. “What do you think will happen to the Keraastar Knights once we’ve defeated Shadow Wing?”
She stared at the table, not answering. I broke into a cold sweat, thinking about Chase and his daughter. About Luke, and Venus the Moon Child, and all of the Knights.
“You can’t mean…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
“I don’t know,” she said. “The truth is, I don’t know what will happen to them. I don’t know how they play into this, but they do. And the outcome? At least for them? Remains a mystery, hidden from my sight. I don’t think I’m supposed to see the outcome because my seeing it might affect it.” She sounded defensive, and I backed off.
I let out a deep breath, trying to sort out everything in my mind. “So Shamas can cast a demon gate powerful enough to bring Shadow Wing over?”
“I believe he can, if he has the right anchor. And if you are correct, we have the anchors he needs. The question is, when do we do this?” She looked about as bleak as I felt at the moment.
“We need to find out what those jewels are before we bring him over here. And how to destroy them, if that’s what it’s going to take.” Smoky leaned forward, his hands pressed against the table. His hair moved as though it was agitated. “So we have research to do. I don’t think we have to move immediately, but we can’t let this linger. Meanwhile, we’ll be able to finish fixing the house for Delilah and Shade. And since Shade has his full powers back, we have more ammunition.”
“I’ll get right on the research,” Morio said. “I’ll start in as soon as breakfast is over and we’re done here. There has to be some mention of those gems, somewhere.”
“If worse comes to worse, we can visit Grandmother Coyote. She might be able to tell us,” Camille said.
That was a bucket of cold water in the face. I was already nervous, but the thought of visiting Grandmother Coyote to ask for her help in such an important matter was enough to nauseate me. Who knew what her price would be for that sort of aid?
“I know it seems frivolous to go forward with our wedding, given what we’re facing, but the Autumn Lord was clear. Shade and I have to get married as soon as possible, and since the equinox is coming up in just a few days…” I felt odd talking about wedding plans and Shadow Wing in the same conversation, but at this point, it was just another part of our new normal.
“Of course,” Camille said. “And it’s not like Shadow Wing can gate over here right now on his own. Your wedding will be beautiful, and we’ll enjoy the day, and we will make it as special as we can possibly make it. Do you still want to hold it down at Birchwater Pond?”
I nodded, glancing at Shade, who gave me a smile. “It’s only fitting. Do you mind?”
“Mind what?” Camille asked.
“If we have it there instead of here. I mean, we wanted to have it at the pond, but we’ve been staying out here so…” I wasn’t sure what I was saying anymore. I just felt so tired and in a tizzy that the words were babbling out like I was some sort of out-of-control brook.
“Of course not. That’s where we were always planning to hold it. We may have to wait on your honeymoon for a bit, but I hope you don’t mind.” She glanced around at everybody else, who was sitting there silently, listening to us. “And we’re all going to make it a wonderful wedding, aren’t we?”
“Of course we will,” Trillian said, perking up. I wasn’t sure if he felt as cheerful as he sounded, but I was grateful to him nonetheless.
“Thank you,” I said, reaching for Shade’s hand. “I never expected to be getting married in the middle of a demonic war, but I guess that seems to be the MO of the D’Artigo sisters.” And at that, everybody laughed and the tension finally broke.