Life Cycle

Tam pulled away, and to her surprise, he let her go, a wary look on his face. She gestured to her shoulder bag. “Already packed. I’m like twelve steps ahead of you.” She didn’t mention that she could have already left and been out of Cain’s reach. Her curiosity over Henry’s words had won out over personal safety. The raven had never led her wrong before.



Was Henry confirming her suspicion that now was the time to go, and she’d chosen her executioner wisely? Any other interpretation was unthinkable.



She took one last look at her house and locked the door behind her, even though everything of value—real and imagined—was in her shoulder bag.



They walked a few blocks until they reached the Golatha Falls forest. Once inside the woods, Anna spilled everything about the meeting. Cain remained uncharacteristically silent. Tam couldn’t help looking over her shoulder as they went, as if Jack could somehow track them if he was being talked about. His power must be that dark and strong by now.



When the portal shimmered in front of them, Cain took her hand and pulled her through. The portal only recognized demons and apparently demon mates, since Anna had no trouble herself, but then she was linked to Luc through strong blood magic, her soul tied irrevocably to him.



Tam’s eyes widened when she entered the demon dimension. She’d heard about it, but she’d never seen it. Her mouth dropped open. “This place is so beautiful.” Certainly not what she expected, even if she’d always known it wasn’t full of fire and brimstone.



Cain smiled with something like pride as Tam continued to take in the scene before her. The weather was perfect, the sky dark and clear with brilliant stars shining overhead, glowing with brightness equivalent to the moon. There was no moon, but then, this wasn’t Earth. For all she knew—and she highly suspected this was true—the stars were some kind of illusion made entirely from magic. Though maybe technically everything in existence was an illusion made from magic.



Stretching endlessly before her was sand and cobblestone streets lit by torchlight. Colorful tents made of rich, expensive fabrics lined the streets as far as the eye could see. There was a marketplace and music and laughter. Seductive laughter.



A scantily clad woman danced to the music while a couple of males encouraged her. The woman felt human; the males, demon.



Tam turned sharp eyes on the demon leader, suspicion growing over what she was witnessing.



“Jackson likes to play with his food,” Cain said with a shrug. “He likes to make them dance.”



“Gross.”



His expression hardened. “Don’t come to my dimension and judge us. I should kill you rather than protect you. Do you know how much trouble your kind causes for mine? You represent our one true enemy, and I’ve chosen to keep you safe from the temporary, bigger threat. I might not continue to feel so generous if you don’t watch that mouth.”



Anna was still with them, so she couldn’t tell Cain what she really felt. She closed her eyes and dropped the shields she used to protect herself from demon thrall and sent a strong wave of feelings to him. He couldn’t read her exact thoughts, but he’d get the gist of her death wish.



The demon’s eyes widened, but he gave nothing of the exchange away. “You will have your own tent,” he said, stopping in front of a exquisite purple tent that must be hers. His gaze shifted to Anna and then back to Tam. “I’ll have a couple of my demons guarding you around the clock. They’ll go in shifts. Anna, you can go back to your mate now.”



“What? No. I can’t leave her here with you.”



“She’s a big girl. She doesn’t need a babysitter.”



“But—”



“He’s right,” Tam said. “And I have to speak to him privately, anyway.”



“Yes, I need to learn more about The Cycler,” Cain said.



“But why can’t I stay for that?”



The demon leader took a threatening step toward the brunette. “You are one of us now. That doesn’t just mean the perks of this world, but the responsibilities as well. When I say jump, you ask how high?”



“Luc wouldn’t let you hurt me. And... y-you can’t touch me.”



“Do you really want to be on my shit list? I’m eight thousand. Waiting for you to come into your powers is nothing to me. When that happens, your mate won’t be able to stop me. Or I could just take it out on him. Now run along to my brother and cry about what a Big Bad Wolf I am.”



Anna looked over at Tam, her eyes revealing her internal struggle.



“Go,” Tam said.



When Anna was a safe distance away, the witch turned to Cain and looked him right in the eyes. “I need you to kill me now.”



“I assumed as much. Care to tell me why—not that I’d ever turn down such a powerful meal. You weren’t suicidal the last time I met you. You were prepared to back us up in a war against Anthony.”



Tam flopped down on one of the thick, cushioned pillows on the ground, preparing to be much more honest than she was comfortable with. If she wanted him to agree to this, she had to lay all her cards out on the table.



“It’s different now. Jack will find me. It’s not a question. What you said about the meeting only confirms it. You may think I’m safe here, but anything could happen to end that safety. You’re old enough and strong enough to kill me. I may be strong, but he’s stronger. He’s killed so many of us now that I can’t fight him by myself. And I’m so tired of running and cycling. I didn’t know what I was asking for when I asked for eternal life.”



Cain crossed to a side bar and poured himself a drink. He raised the decanter and arched a brow in question, but Tam shook her head. The demon shrugged and put it down. He extended a hand and she took it, allowing him to guide her to the couch where they could sit together.



As his hand trailed along her collarbone, she tried not to pull away and equally not to want him so much. His gaze was assessing, evidence he’d done this millions of times.



“Exactly how old are you?” he asked.



“Closing in on two thousand.”



“Shit.” He took a drink.



She fought to keep the tears at bay. She wouldn’t display such weakness in front of him. “I don’t know how you do this. This is hell. I can’t imagine as long as you’ve been—”



“The difference in you and I is that I didn’t choose this.”



Tam looked away. “Are you going to lecture me now on my foolishness? I was young and stupid. I’d been taken into a secret magical order and was so proud of myself and what I’d achieved. I had no concept of the powers I was playing with or what I was asking for.”



Cain downed the rest of the brandy and put the snifter on the ground, then eased closer. His nearness made her heart flutter. He was the perfect predator, with prey that begged to be taken. She’d put her shields back up—force of habit. But even without thrall, his effect on a mere human could still be intoxicating.



“I prefer longer hair,” he said conversationally, his hand moving to the back of her neck.



She got chills as he stroked her skin, but she couldn’t let that comment lie there. “Well, let me grow it out real quick while we wait for a psycho to gruesomely murder me and take over the world. I’m glad to see you have your priorities in line.”



He laughed. “I don’t know if I hate you or admire you. I don’t normally let anyone speak to me like that.”



Tam flicked her wrist, turning her palm up, and focused her energy into a point of purple light that grew into an energetic ball that hissed like live electricity. “You think you can take me?”



“I think you’ve been touching yourself since the day you met me, dreaming about it,” the demon said, switching to innuendo that would have made him sound like a self-important jackass except for the fact that he probably brought to the table everything he implied and more.



She swallowed around the lump in her throat and found herself captured in his dark gaze. The energy ball whimpered and died in her hand. At least she hadn’t whimpered.



“That’s better,” he said. “I’m glad to see you’ve managed some manners in light of this favor I’m doing you.”



In any other situation, it would have been about the most offensive thing he could say, but he was doing her a favor. It wasn’t the favor of his precious presence or sex with him; it was the favor of a painless death to help her escape her pursuer and break the cycle she’d been trapped in for so long she wanted to stop counting the years.



“Tell me, to satisfy my curiosity before we do this, how exactly did you pull it off? How did you become immortal?”



She had no choice but to tell him. If she didn’t tell him, he wouldn’t give her what she wanted. “Jack was our leader. He was the one who was obsessed with it. We call it the fountain of youth now, but even before that version of the legend, there were stories about waters that gave eternal life. We found it, deep inside a cavern: a saltwater pool. Down in the depths, in the dark, we found this jellyfish that didn’t die.”



Cain nodded. “I’ve heard of it.”



“Right. But back then, nobody knew about them. That was where the species started. They’ve spread since then. The water at the bottom fed back into the ocean. Jack was convinced he felt the energy we were looking for there, but when we did a spell to reveal it, it was in the sea creatures, not the water. The whole coven worked together to create the ritual. I wrote the chant.”



She may as well have said I bear more responsibility for what has happened than most. And she knew Cain could surely read her well enough to know that. Demons could read emotions, after all. But he’d gone quiet, missing the opportunity to throw condemnation.



When he didn’t interrupt her with a smartass retort, she continued. “Magic like this usually requires blood of the creature to seal it. We used the jellyfish itself, but they are bloodless, so we sealed the magic with our own blood. It may be another reason Jack is after us all.”



“Explain better,” he said, growing impatient with what he must have thought was a coy explanation.



“The power of immortality was diffused to all of us. If I were crazy like him, I’d think I could stop the cycle altogether if I could kill everyone else in the coven. You don’t know who the other two are, do you?”



Cain shook his head. “We don’t.”



Tam stood and paced in front of the couch, unable to concentrate with him so close. “I could give you names of everyone, but we’ve all lost touch. After Whitechapel it was safer not to congregate together. We were too easy to track that way. Everyone has probably changed their names dozens of times, perhaps even the way they look. I have no doubt Jack has. And I don’t know which of us he’s already killed and which remain. Even I changed my name, though not much.”



“What was your name before?”



“Tamar. It’s a biblical name. In the first few centuries I was so enamored with myself and my new ability—to cycle and not lose memories—that I renamed myself Tamara. In certain areas of India it means lotus flower, a symbol of rebirth. I was being ironic. But I’m fresh out of irony now. Now I just want to end it.”



“I told Anthony and the rest that I’d protect you.”



She stopped pacing. “And you are protecting me. Killing me protects me and everybody else. You and I both know this whole death thing is a sham. It’s not real. We get it. I don’t need to prolong a life that has run on far too long. Don’t make me beg.”



Cain smirked. “So no sex games, then?”



Tam’s face scrunched at that. “You’re so gross.”



“You say it, but you don’t mean it.”



She would have argued with him, but he’d already moved in to capture her mouth in a kiss, pulling her back onto the couch. Startled, she let out a sigh against his lips.



“Let down your shields,” he growled.



Tam pulled back, suspicion in her eyes. “Why?”



“Aren’t you curious about what it’s really like to die in the arms of an incubus? Don’t you want the whole show? What other danger could I possibly pose for you if you’re embracing your own demise?”



She was curious.



She closed her eyes and tried to relax, breathing deeply. The shields stubbornly stayed in place, as if they were arguing with her—her last bit of self-preservation instincts coming in to protect her. After her periodic searches for someone to end this, she’d finally found the one who could do it. Cain was old enough and strong enough. As much as she disliked him, he could give her the best death. It wasn’t possible to go out of this world in a more pleasant way.



Still, a small part of her rebelled against the idea of so willingly going into Cain’s arms, sleeping with a monster she didn’t trust, and ending her life. The shields had to go, or she’d end up fighting him with magic until she was tapped. Tam focused more intently, calming her mind until she felt the mental defense system go down around her.



The moment the shields were down, pornographic images of the two of them together filled her mind, and she wanted him like he was oxygen itself. She gripped the sides of the couch as she felt the effects of his thrall. It was a potent cocktail of warmth and arousal. Like an orgasm and alcohol buzz rolled into one.



“Hold onto me, instead.” He gripped her wrists and moved her hands to his shoulders. His well-muscled, firm, solid shoulders.



She held his gaze, trying not to be taken by smoldering black eyes, so dark—like pools she could drown and die in. And very soon she would. He looked at her so intensely, she thought she might expire from the power of that stare alone. At some point while she’d been busy dropping her shields, he’d divested himself of his clothing. She’d had a dim sense of it when she’d touched him and was disappointed she’d been too overwhelmed to enjoy the show.