Chapter Four

 

Jade waited for Darkyn to return from his meeting with Kris. He gazed into the black flames of the fire in the hearth. This had been Sasha’s study less than a few days ago. He clenched his fists, not wanting to think about Sasha or Kris or how quickly he, too, could have the tables turned on him as he had done to Sasha.

He’d decided to sleep in here last night, unable to sleep in his bedchamber with the thought of Iliana’s body in the trunk beside the bed. He’d accidently hurt someone innocent, and he didn’t want the reminder. He wouldn’t do it again.

“It went exactly as expected,” Darkyn said as he walked into the study. “Kris refused to turn over Sasha or the vial. He underestimates me.”

“Kris values the Code and his duty more than he does anything,” Jade said with some bitterness.

“You said there is a weakness to the castle that will render the ground no longer sacred.”

“There is.”

At his silence, Darkyn moved closer, his dark eyes piercing and the growl in his chest audible. Jade looked away. Until now, he’d always thought he could turn back. No one but Iliana had died, and the only person he’d betrayed was Sasha, whose death Kris might eventually reward him for by welcoming Jade back into his life and his bed.

“I will have it from you!” Darkyn said and struck him hard enough to knock his breath out as he slammed into the wall. Jade gasped for a moment and steadied himself.

“I … can make it happen,” he said. “You cannot. You have to be in the castle to make it work.”

“You seek to betray me as your predecessor did.”

“No, Darkyn. I want my revenge against Sasha and Kris both, but there are innocent people there.”

“No Immortal is innocent.”

“Let me go to Sasha. I will make him our tool,” Jade said, his mind working fast to find a way to keep Darkyn from destroying everyone. Darkyn studied him and then withdrew a thin collar and approached. Jade flinched as it snapped into place around his neck.

“If you do not return by dawn, this will bring you back to me, and I will show you no mercy,” Darkyn warned.

“Will you consider sparing the rest of the Immortals, master?”

“You came to me to destroy those who have wronged you. I want revenge for my daughter’s treatment at Sasha’s hands, and I want the vial or the girl. I own you now, Jade. Do not question me again.”

Darkyn strode out, and Jade watched him, torn. Sasha and Kris were his enemies, not the rest of the Immortals! He had come to Darkyn in desperation, after Sasha had invited him to his bed and then dumped him off with the demons. He’d been spared for what he knew of the Immortals, and Darkyn had taken a personal liking to him.

A violent liking to him. Jade shuddered. Demons knew no other way.

It’s better to reign in Hell …

As Kris’s confidante of several hundred years, he knew most of the Immortal’s secrets. He’d been unable to shake the empty hole in his heart resulting from Kris flinging him to the side to pursue a human female. Even as he thought of his last moments with Kris, he felt his anger turn to resolve.

The Immortals deserved neither mercy nor peace, especially their leader. He was doing Kris’s next lover a favor. He’d use the tricks of manipulation he’d learned from Kris and Sasha both to get Sasha to do what he wanted. And then, the both of them would be gone. Forever. His revenge was all that would make him whole again.

Determined, he went to the one spot in Hell where he could cross into the shadow world. A demon guarded the tiny spot, no larger than a meter square. He opened a portal and crossed through. Long ago, before Sasha broke from the Council, he had stayed in a corner chamber overlooking the forest. Jade emerged from the shadow world into the chamber’s spacious closet and stood silently, listening.

He heard movement outside the closet and eased the door open far enough to peek into the well-lit room. Sasha sat before the hearth as if deep in thought. Jade couldn’t help the flash of anger he felt at the sight of such a creature comfortable and content.

“Sasha,” he said, flinging open the closet door. Sasha turned to face him, covering his surprise with a smile that made Jade’s skin crawl.

“Jade, my friend. How are you?” he purred.

“Seems I’m not as well off as you are. How quickly you found a safe place,” Jade replied.

“My brother Kris is too good, as you know.”

“He can’t protect you forever, Sasha.”

“I think he can and will. The fool doesn’t have the backbone to kill me as he probably should.”

More anger stirred as Jade bit his lip to keep from defending Kris. No matter how badly Kris had hurt him, it hadn’t been for a selfish cause like Sasha’s.

“That’s your plan?” Jade asked. “Stay here in this room forever?”

“Simple and effective.”

“You won’t get tired of it here or bored? I know your appetite for women and men, Sasha. Kris won’t tolerate what you do to them.”

“My … ways can be sated quietly.”

Jade crossed to the window and looked out, formulating a plan to let the demons into the castle using Sasha. He debated with himself again. Once he crossed this line, he could never return.

“You’re troubled,” Sasha said and rose. “I can ease that tension.”

“Darkyn sent me, Sasha.”

“I see the collar. I assumed as much. I’d be a bigger fool than Kris to return with you, Jade.”

“That’s not why I’m here. He is offering you a deal,” he said slowly. “If you can help him get to Kris, he’ll call it even and leave you alone.”

“And the Dark One?”

“Might help get you back in the Dark One’s favor, but I’m here for Darkyn only.”

“So, hand over Kris on a silver platter, and I’m free of those pesky demons,” Sasha mused.

“You can use the vial to blackmail your way back,” Jade added.

“It’ll be hard to get my brother alone outside the castle where Darkyn can snatch him.”

“Or you can bring the demons here.”

Sasha was quiet, and Jade faced him. He expected Sasha to sense his betrayal, but Sasha’s gaze glowed for a different reason.

“I’m impressed, Jade,” Sasha said. “I thought you too weak to think like I do.”

“You and Kris toughened me up.”

“We did. Unfortunate, but I like the result. I only know of one way to let the demons in. You are certain Darkyn will consider this repayment for his whore-daughter?”

“Absolutely,” Jade said without hesitation. “I haven’t even changed your apartment in Hell.”

Sasha considered him long and hard. Jade waited, hoping Sasha’s desire to return to Hell or take out Kris overwhelmed any suspicion he had.

“Speaking of my ways …” Sasha said, his gaze turning lustful. Jade swallowed hard, still hurt from his last night with Darkyn. If this was what it took to seal the deal with Sasha …

“I have to be back by dawn,” he said.

“I’ll be done with you by then.”

Resigned, Jade peeled off his shirt, the sense of triumph making him feel sick to his stomach.

 

* * *

Katie awoke to the healer’s cool touch on her arm. She struggled into a sitting position, her neck achy from her spot sleeping on the floor before the fire. Lankha worked his magic with his micro suede-covered hands and gentle touch. He was almost done when the burst of coolness awoke her, and she looked down to see him smoothing the skin around her faded wound.

“How’s Toby?” she asked, gaze going to the bed.

“Angel is well. Must resssst,” Lankha said. “And you must ressssst.”

“This is the least bad wound I’ve had yet.”

“Not for wound. For…” and he pointed to her stomach. She froze then looked around to ensure no one was there to overhear them.

“You’re certain?” she whispered.

“Yesss.”

“If you tell anyone, Rhyn will pull your arms and legs off like you’re a grasshopper!”

He gasped. She felt bad for scaring him but knew the alternative-- people like Kris or Sasha finding out-- would doom her. She’d have to pray Rhyn didn’t drop by her mind when she thought of it, or when she was trying to figure out what to do.

Her eyes went to Toby. She couldn’t raise a kid in a place of demons and psychos! She stood abruptly and crossed to the bathroom, wanting to be alone. She had no luck in life!

The next time I visit the human world, I’ll be leaving with two souls. Gabriel’s ominous warning suddenly made sense. Her body trembling, she sat on the edge of the Jacuzzi tub, staring into space. Urgency surged within her. There was nowhere she could run from Gabriel, who had orders to bring her and the life within her to Death. Was all truly lost?

Rhyn could never know. Tears began to spill down her face as she understood the depth of Gabriel’s pain. She sat in the bathroom and ran the shower to cover the sound of her crying, completely lost as to what to do.

“Katherine?” Hannah called with a loud knock.

“Just a sec! Almost done!” she belted and scrambled up to lock the door. She looked in the mirror, distraught, then scrubbed her face and turned off the shower. When she emerged, it was to the sight of a glowing, ecstatic Hannah, who sat on the edge of her bed talking to a sleepy Toby. The healer was huddled next to the fireplace, afraid to move with the presence of the newcomer. Katie’s jealousy stirred again.

“Toby,” Katie said, crossing to the bed. The baby angel gave a small smile that filled her with relief. He looked exhausted. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, Mama,” he said with a noisy sigh. “Hungry.”

“I’ll get you some soup and cocoa,” she said and rose. Her gaze went to Hannah, who looked so sunny, she wondered what had happened. “You wanna come, Hannah?”

“I’d love to!”

Her gush made Katie feel old and crotchety. Hannah had been a kept woman with no problems since meeting Gio, whereas Katie had always struggled to find her path. Hannah would be a basket case if she only knew the extent of Katie’s issues!

She walked to the door and pulled it open for Hannah in her straw-colored pants and light pink sweater. Hannah no longer wore her engagement ring, and Katie wondered why she was so happy when she must know by now Gio wasn’t coming back for her.

They entered the dining room, which was filled for brunch. Katie ignored the looks of those nearest her, and Hannah looked around, happy.

“Just need some soup to go,” Katie told the host, who snapped his fingers at a servant. “And whatever you want, Hannah.”

“Master Kris has ordered us to respect any wish you have, Miss Hannah. You’ll find our chefs the best in the world,” the host said, ignoring Katie to address her sister.

Hannah blushed, and Katie looked at her anew.

“You slept with him?” she asked. “That’s quick even by your standards.”

“Not so loud,” Hannah replied with an apologetic look at the host.

“Didn’t you just get dumped by one Immortal?”

“Kris explained everything to me last night, Katherine.”

“Explained what? That he manipulated Gio and now you?”

Hannah looked again to the host, who pretended not to hear despite being less than two feet away. Furious, Katie left before she made more of a scene that would embarrass her sister. She was pacing the hall in front of the dining area when Hannah emerged a short time later carrying a large tote.

“I suppose he explained what he did to me, too,” Katie snapped. “Or did he leave that part out?”

“He explained he’s tried to do his best but doesn’t always succeed, like anyone, Katherine,” Hannah said. “You’re making a big deal out of this. I’m an adult, and so is he.”

“You’re my sister. Don’t you find it odd he was so quick to come on to you?”

“He believes we’re meant to be.”

“And what do you believe?”

“I believe …” Hannah drifted off, looking around her. “I believe I could be very comfortable living here.” She smiled. Katie watched her walk down the hall toward her chambers, stunned. Hannah saw nothing but the gilded world around her; she had no idea about the dark underside to the Immortal world.

Katie had hoped to make her sister a confidante but knew it was impossible so long as Kris’s claws were wrapped securely around Hannah. Gabriel, Rhyn, Hannah. Those who might’ve been her friends were gone. Gabriel didn’t have a choice, Rhyn she was trying to protect, but Hannah … the sense of betrayal within her made her feel ill again. Of all the Immortals and creatures in the world, she felt even closer to the outcast that was her mate.

The answer became clear. She and Toby had to leave. There had to be somewhere she could go where they’d leave her alone, at least until Gabriel came for her. Her thoughts drifted to the Sanctuary, the only place she’d felt safe. When Toby was better, she’d take him and go. The convent would do a better job raising him than the Immortals. But now, she wanted a word with a certain Ancient.

Katie walked to Kris’s chamber on the floor below. She heard a muffled response to her knock and walked in, not caring if he bid her enter or get lost. Kris wasn’t there, but Sasha was.

She stopped in place. The door swung closed behind her, and fear trickled through her. She reminded herself she wasn’t defenseless with him this time. If she called for Rhyn, he would come.

“I’m looking for Kris,” she said, unable to help covering her neck with one hand.

“That makes two of us,” Sasha said and rose from his seat beside the fire. He looked her up and down in approval, his gaze lingering on her neck. She silently thanked Lankha for healing her without her asking him. “You look well.”

“Better than the last time we met.”

“You’re in one piece,” he agreed and circled her with predatory slowness. She tried to keep her breathing steady even as she wanted to run screaming and hide behind Rhyn. “Something is different about you, though.”

Her breath caught as she considered more Immortals than Rhyn might be able to read her mind. Sasha snatched her neck with one hand, his movement too fast for her to defend herself against.

“Don’t!” she cried, squeezing her eyes closed as she waited for the pain of him tearing into her neck as he had once before. He didn’t attack, simply let his cold power loose into her for a long moment before releasing her.

She opened her eyes, breathing hard. Sasha stepped back, a smile tugging up one side of his mouth.

“So simple,” he said. “They can find you on the Sanctuary, too. They can find you everywhere, except Hell.”

“Never going back there.”

“Unless …” He drifted off and crossed to the window, clasping his hands behind him.

“Unless what?”

“There’s one way to break your bond with Rhyn.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You know no one can force the bond to break,” he continued. “But if you and Rhyn voluntarily break it, you’re free.”

“There’s nothing you say I’d ever trust. Where’s Kris?” she demanded.

“You aren’t worried I’ll tell him your little secret?” His gaze went to her stomach.

“You’ll do what you will,” she said and took a step toward the door. “You almost ruined my life once. I won’t stick around for you to do it again.”

“Just remember, there’s nowhere you can run where we can’t eventually find you.”

She stormed out, blood pulsing and headache growing. She wiped sweat from her brow with a shaking hand. Sasha’s words echoed in her thoughts, and she tried hard to give them no credence. She didn’t know what he was doing there, but he couldn’t be trusted.

Even if he had one of her secrets. She felt like crying again. Now more than ever, she had to leave, before Kris and Rhyn discovered her secret and brought down what fragile supports were holding up her world. She retreated to her floor and saw Ully in the hall.

“Kris has me slaving away,” Ully whispered, looking around as if Kris was around the corner. “I just wanted to check on Toby. He looks better.”

“He is,” she agreed. “Is Kris with you in the lab?”

“He was, but he’s prepping for the Council meeting. I’m getting ready to test the immunity blood. I’m also making a special poisoned batch to give back to the demons.”

She shook her head, not sharing his excitement about his experiments. She entered the bedroom quietly to see Toby awake and trying to get an uncertain Lankha to play with his stuffed animals. Toby would make an awesome older brother, she realized, unlike her flaky sister. He’d need to be if she turned out to be much worse of a mother.

Grimly, she realized he may never have the chance, if Gabriel was ordered back for her.

 

* * *

Rhyn watched Ully inject one of the Immortals with some concoction derived from the immunity blood Sasha brought and lowered himself into a fighting stance. The Immortal rubbed the injection spot with a grimace, stretched, and climbed inside the ring in the lowermost basement in the castle.

Rhyn didn’t wait for him to settle himself but struck first with his long, oak bo, a blow that caught the Immortal by surprise. He struck again, this time drawing blood. Ully, looking exhausted, moved closer, and Rhyn waited as well.

The wound healed itself quickly. Ully nodded in approval and scribbled notes on his iPad. The Immortal launched himself at Rhyn, and the two sparred as the scientist watched intently. Rhyn enjoyed the feel of a weapon in his hand and facing a decent opponent. He restrained himself as much as possible to keep from injuring Ully’s test subject. Ully blew a whistle at last and motioned the Immortal over to check his wounds.

Rhyn looked around, agitated again by the sense that something else was wrong. He left the sparring level without saying a word to Ully and followed his instincts up a flight of stairs and down a narrow hall he recognized from his visit to their father’s catacombs with Kris. The door leading to his father’s corpse was locked, and he tested it. Kris had managed to create a barrier around the chamber to keep Immortals from trespassing via the shadow world.

“Rhyn, the rest of the Council is meeting now in the conference room off my chambers.”

He turned at Kris’s voice. His eldest brother appeared less frustrated than normal.

“You’re inviting me to attend?” he asked, amused.

“Unfortunately, you are a Council member.”

Kris disappeared into the portal behind him. Rhyn followed. They emerged in a small conference room with one wall made of windows. Their brothers were already there, three of them sitting across the table from Sasha. Sensing the level of tension in the room, Rhyn didn’t sit but leaned with his back against the wall, ready to launch across the table at whoever snapped first.

“I can guess what this is about,” Kiki said. His turquoise eyes stood out against his caramel-colored Oriental features.

“Yes, tell us, brother,” Tamer echoed in his husky tone. The largest of them all by half a foot, the giant was based out of Africa. “You have never once invited us here, maybe because we never agree on anything?”

“Maybe he thinks we’ll steal his things,” Erik, the blond Viking who watched over South America, said with a smile. “I saw a painting I may walk off with.”

“I had hoped to bring everyone together to discuss the baggage Sasha has brought with him, if you’ll all be reasonable,” Kris said. Everyone’s gaze fell to Sasha. For once, Rhyn was not the sore point.

“Hell that overcrowded they’re letting murderers walk?” Tamer asked.

“They’re still accepting prisoners, my dear Tamer,” Sasha purred.

“Enough. Every meeting we’ve had has been a failure and we’ve not had one since Andre became dead-dead,” Kris demanded.

“Our last one was about guarding your little meat-cicle, right, Rhyn?” Erik demanded. “She need more help with someone like you as a mate?”

“Why I called you all here was to finish the discussion we started at our last meeting about the immunity of two certain humans to Immortal powers,” Kris interjected. “Katie, Rhyn’s mate, and her sister.”

“I seem to have stolen the formula that will grant Immortal or demon this same immunity. I turned it over to Kris, and now the Dark One wants me dead-dead,” Sasha said.

“You have it?” Tamer sat up with interest. “I’ve heard the rumors through the demons in my territory. It works?”

“It appears to work. Ully is still working with it to verify,” Kris replied.

“You’ll grant us access to it?”

Rhyn smiled mercilessly at Kris’s uneasy look. He took in his predatory brothers, well aware they were as dangerous as any of the creatures he’d spent time in Hell with. He crossed his arms, interested to know Katie’s sister was as special as she was and wondering if Kris had already claimed her.

She looked like Lilith, the woman Rhyn killed when he discovered she’d plotted with the Dark One to kill the Council. His reward had been being sent to Hell, for what his brothers hoped was eternity.

“In exchange for your assistance, yes,” Kris said at last. “Sasha’s enemies are here in the forest. I don’t know how far the Dark One will go to get Sasha or his vial of blood back, but I imagine our time is short.”

“And you want us to do what exactly?” Erik asked. “I’m content to feed Sasha to the Dark One piece by piece if that means we keep the peace.”

“As am I,” Tamer seconded.

“Me, too,” Kiki said.

“Seems practically unanimous,” Sasha said, unaffected. “Except for you, Rhyn. Would you care to feed me to the Dark One in pieces?”

“I’d feed each one of you to the Dark One,” Rhyn replied. “Starting with Kris.”

Everyone chuckled but Kris, who levied a glare at him. He wasn’t sure what they expected of him; he’d never been included in any Council meeting.

“You’re no Andre, Kris,” Sasha said.

Kris’s eyes flared copper, then amber. “I have no intention of trying to be Andre. What I want is what Andre always tried to get us to do: to work together like the brothers we are.”

“Andre lost that battle when Sasha defected and Rhyn went to Hell,” Kiki stated. “We’re not a team, Kris. We’re barely allies.”

“I don’t answer to anyone,” Tamer added. “I respected Andre, but now that he’s gone, you’re lucky I agreed to come at all. I don’t need any of you, especially the headache Sasha is.”

“If you want the immunity solution, then you’ll work with me to protect our brother,” Kris said.

No one spoke. Rhyn observed each of his brothers, sensing a silent rebellion that seemed to elude Kris, the only of them to value duty over their own interests. Kiki and Tamer exchanged a look while Sasha seemed to be the only one pleased by the arrangement.

“No deal,” Erik said. “My part of the world is quiet. I don’t need the solution, and I don’t need the headaches.”

“You took an oath to serve the Immortals, their cause, and be a member of this Council,” Kris grated. “All of you, save Rhyn, who was never intended to set foot outside of Hell.”

“I took an oath to my father and then to Andre,” Erik retorted. “You are neither of them. In fact, I say we vote you out.”

“You can’t vote me out. I’m firstborn after Andre. Our father was second born, as was his father before him. It’s the way things have been for millions of years!”

“What are you going to do if we refuse to follow you? You don’t have it in you to kill any of us. You’re sworn not to, if I remember correctly,” Erik said. He rose. “Andre at least had that authority. Andre’s gone, and I need none of this shit. I vote the Council split. Anyone second me?”

“I will,” Tamer said.

“Very well. The Council is no more. Farewell, brothers, and stay the hell out of my part of the world.”

Erik disappeared, followed by Tamer. Kris was frozen in place, as if not yet registering what had happened. Kiki rose as well, his gaze going to Sasha.

“You know they don’t speak for me,” Kiki said. “But I’ll have to agree, Kris. You can have Sasha or you can have the Council. You’re too good a man to see that on your own, so I’m telling you.”

He left as well. Rhyn looked to Kris, then to Sasha, whose smile had faded.

“If I were you, I’d beat the shit out of each one of them till they did what you said,” Rhyn suggested.

“I prefer a more civilized approach,” Kris replied.

“Look where that got you. No one but Sasha and me left in your Council, and I doubt I was ever really a part of it.”

“My own brothers want me to break the Code to feed Sasha to the wolves,” Kris muttered. “Does no one take it seriously?”

“They know you don’t have it in you,” Rhyn said. “You can’t be respected without kicking some ass. I learned that lesson when Sasha tossed me in a pit with full-blooded demons and were-things.”

“Respect isn’t enough for someone in your position,” Sasha agreed. “They need to fear you, Kris, and thus far, none of them do.”

“Except Katie. Treat them as you did her, and you’ll find they fall into line.”

Kris looked up at Rhyn’s low voice, his gaze lingering. “I don’t condone the kind of brute violence you and Sasha do, Rhyn,” he said. “I won’t use force against my brothers. They’ll eventually remember their duty to the Code. Or they’ll soon realize the threat affects us all and be back.”

Rhyn pushed himself away from the wall. Kris was crushed, and Rhyn wasn’t sure how his eldest surviving brother hadn’t expected the rest of them to walk away. That Kris could attack his brother’s mate but refuse to strong-arm his brothers into fighting demons made his anger boil.

“Keep telling yourself that. The demons are planning something, Kris, and hoping someone comes to your rescue is stupid,” he returned.

“You’re one to talk, Rhyn. I wonder if Katie hopes you’ll rescue her every time something happens. You aren’t capable of caring for someone else or keeping her safe. But, if you do as Sasha says and break the bond, I will keep her safe, I swear it,” Kris said. “She’ll be-- ”

Rhyn walked out of the room, furious at his brother. It was all he heard anymore, that Katie would be safe and happy only if he wasn’t around. He forced himself to focus on something else.

The Council meeting was a bust, and there was more tension in the air than he could understand. For the first time in his life, he felt something akin to pity for Kris. The world needed a man focused on maintaining the balance between good and evil, and none of the brothers had the foresight or vision that Kris did. He was a dick, but Rhyn never wanted to be put in the position Kris was in.

Agitated, he jogged up the stairs to the level where Katie was. He’d paced in front of her chamber at some point every day for three weeks, wanting to tell her something, anything, to make her want to stay. The words never came, and he’d left frustrated each time. Hell toughened him up, yet this was one challenge he couldn’t figure out. Despite telling her he wouldn’t, he dropped into her thoughts to feel a little closer to her and was surprised to find she was packing to leave.

Without knocking, he strode into the chamber. She whirled to face him, moving too slow to hide the suitcase laid out on the trunk at the end of the bed in which Toby slept.

“You’re leaving,” he stated. “Plan on telling me?”

“You made it clear you read my mind. I didn’t think I needed to tell you anything,” she shot back.

“You still have five weeks.”

“Four weeks and five days,” she replied.

“I don’t give a shit. Your time here isn’t up.”

“I’m not doing this anymore, Rhyn. I’ve got Toby to think about, and raising him where he’s attacked by demons and subjected to the stupidity of the Immortal world-- it’s not happening. I’m fed up with aaaaall of this!”

“And you really think there’s somewhere safe for you to go?” he challenged. “Where demons and Immortals can’t find you?”

“The Sanctuary. I’ll become a nun or whatever those women are who live there.”

“A nun?” he echoed, horrified. “You’d go that far?”

“Is sex all you think about?”

“I only get one mate. If she becomes a nun, I’ll have to start fucking-- ”

“Stop there. God, Rhyn. There’s so much at stake, and you just …” She sighed.

“What’s at stake?” he asked, sensing again there was something important she was keeping from him. A haunted look crossed her face. “Kris doesn’t need your blood anymore. What makes you think he won’t leave you alone?”

“He told me so. Whatever issue is between you two, it’s too personal for him to forget, and he takes it out on me when you’re not around,” she said. “I realized he has no intention of letting me go even though he promised it. And with Hannah here, I can’t leave the Immortal world with her still in it. I’m leaving you, Rhyn.”

The words were forced, and he knew she was in love with him as much as she did. He watched as she tossed more clothing into her suitcase, certain what he wanted to say would only make her pack faster. So he stopped to think and pace. Lankha was huddled in a corner with his hands over his head. Katie had been crying earlier. Her eyes were red-rimmed.

Something was really wrong, and he couldn’t help but think it was more than him this time. She’d been acting squirrelly the past two days. No matter what, she’d be safer at the Sanctuary than at the castle, now that the Council was in disarray and the demons were plotting in the forest.

“I’ll take you there,” he said at last.

She paused and looked at him hard. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“Why?” she asked suspiciously.

“If you feel safer there …”

“And you’ll just let me go,” she said, anger sparkling in her eyes. He couldn’t figure out what the hell the puny human in front of him wanted.

“Things here are about to go to shit,” he said.

“How?”

“The Council disbanded. Sasha’s plotting something, and the demons are going to flood this place soon.”

“Are you serious?” She paled at his words.

“You better go soon,” he advised. “I’ll follow.”

“Rhyn, if you’re serious, then I can’t leave without Hannah.”

“She treats you like shit, along with that Gio ass.”

“She’s with Kris now,” she said. “But she’s my sister. That may mean nothing to you Immortals-- ”

“It doesn’t.”

“-- but to us lesser beings, family means something!”

“Which is why you’re doing your damndest to convince us both you’re leaving me,” he said and crossed his arms.

“Can’t you tell the Council not to disband?” she asked, visibly flustered.

“Me? Not the way it works, blood monkey.”

“Then what’re you going to do?”

“I’m going to watch the world fall apart.”

Her features darkened, and she turned away, saying, “I thought you had some level of honor or decency.”

“You’re the only one.”

“I’m taking my sister and going to the Sanctuary, where I’ll raise our child without you.”

“I told you, I don’t claim Toby. That little thing is yours.”

“You’re such a jackass! What was I thinking … it never would’ve worked anyway!” she snapped. Fury turned her face bright red. She flung a shoe at him hard, then a second. He deflected the first, but the second slapped his cheek. A knock at the door distracted his response, which wouldn’t bode well for either of them. She breezed by him and paused at the door to say, “Rhyn, I’m not talking about Toby,” before she wrenched it open.

Her meaning didn’t click, and he turned to see who had interrupted them.

“We have to find Sasha,” Kris said, ignoring her to push his way into the chamber. “Katie, take Toby and the healer to the basement with the warriors.”

“What’s wrong?” Rhyn asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Where’s Hannah?” Katie demanded.

“I’ll send her down. Go.”

Katie motioned to the healer, who scampered from his corner to the bed. She hurried to Toby and lifted the sleeping angel carefully before she and Lankha left. Rhyn joined Kris in the hallway and waited until Katie was out of earshot.

“Let me guess. The demons have crossed sacred ground,” he said dryly.

“And how do you know this?”

“I heard them plotting. You really think Sasha came here to throw himself on your mercy without some sort of back-up plan?”

“I’m doing what I’m obligated to do. Of course I suspected him of something,” Kris snapped. “I didn’t know what.”

Rhyn trotted to a window. The peaceful, snowy park was now swarmed with Immortals and demons fighting. Sasha hadn’t lost time in acting after the ill-fated Council meeting!

“How can he make something unsacred?” he puzzled aloud.

“The ground is sacred because our father is buried here. Even in death, he holds power.”

“He moved our father’s body?” Rhyn asked with a laugh. “Hope he chucked it off a cliff.”

“I’ve sent Immortals after it. Laugh all you will, Rhyn, but this is my home, and the refuge of our Immortal brethren. I don’t intend to lose it. If you give a shit about anything, you’ll get your ass out there and fight.”

Furious, Kris stalked away. Rhyn watched him, aware he was much more useful in another way. Kris’s Immortals appeared to outnumber the demons two to one for now, and Katie would call for him if she needed help. He opened a portal and crossed into the shadow world and then through a portal into a Japanese-style palatial estate overlooking Tokyo.

“Kiki!” he called, ignoring the startled servants scampering away from him.

“You just can’t give me a break, Rhyn,” Kiki grumbled. He trotted down a set of black lacquered stairs, an iPad tucked under one arm. “Did Kris send you?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then get out of my house.”

Rhyn snatched his brother by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the ground. The iPad skittered across the floor.

“I’m not Kris, Kiki. If there’s any part of you that thinks I won’t snap your neck like a twig in a hurricane-- ”

“Fuck, Rhyn! What’re you doing?”

Rhyn planted one foot at the base of Kiki’s neck and wrenched his head back. Kiki strained to breathe.

“I’m doing what Kris won’t. I’m not bound by those rules of his. Sasha needs to fry, and the Council needs to remain intact, or all Immortals die. I don’t particularly want the world to go to shit before I get a chance to enjoy my time away from Hell,” Rhyn said calmly. “Now, you can send your soldiers to the castle where the demons are staging an attack, and rejoin the Council, or I can bury you here in your front yard. Make your choice.”

Kiki wheezed for a long moment, then said, “Yes, fine. Let me go, you dick.”

Rhyn obliged and stepped back. Kiki glared at him, but Rhyn knew this brother to be the easiest of the three to sway. He was about to address Kiki again when Katie’s angry words hit him.

She hadn’t been talking about Toby.

“What?” Kiki eyed him warily. “I already agreed. Don’t look at me like I’m your dinner. I take it you’re going to see Erik next.”

“Yeah,” he managed. “Erik.”

Holy fuck. There was a hatchling growing within her.