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Karvanak strode into the room, followed by Vanzir and Jassamin. I swallowed the lump of fear that rose in my throat. They looked human, but that was mere illusion. They were ruthless killers, hungry for the seal, and it was my duty to keep them from getting it.
I held out my sword. "Come no further. You are not welcome here. Get your butt out of here, and we'll let you live."
Karvanak snorted. He began to shed his human form like a snake shed skin, and I found myself staring at a naked man's body with a tiger's head. His eyes narrowed, and he bared his teeth, pulling back his lips to snarl at me.
"We gave you enough time," Jassamin said. The djinn swung in beside her master. "You chose to ignore us."
Vanzir appeared on the other side. "Give us the seal now, and we'll make it easy." There was something in his voice—a hesitance, a pause, that made me give him a long look. He caught my gaze and held it, like in the parking lot, and I felt he was trying to tell me something, but I was too tired to understand.
"You know I can't give it to you; I can't let you have it. Shadow Wing must not be allowed to break the seals." I held my ground, trying to buy us some time. Show fear, and it would be over before I could breathe.
The Raksasa let out a growl and motioned to Jassamin. She nodded and moved forward. She was wearing a skintight PVC catsuit and thigh-high boots, and I swore that if she died and I managed to live, I was stealing her outfit. She threw back her head and laughed.
"Djinn against Moon Witch. Fitting, but you look bedraggled to me. Tired, sweetie?" And with that, she let loose and sent a blast of wind at me.
I braced myself, trying to throw up what shields I could. The bolt of air hit me head-on, but instead of breaking every bone in my body and sending me flying, seconds before it touched my skin, the gust parted and flowed around me on both sides.
What the… ?
"I am here. We will do what we can to protect you, though we can't give you the energy to cast spells."
The Master of Winds. The Elementals were trying to help me. Jassamin jerked back, staring at me quizzically. I took advantage of her confusion and leapt toward her, slashing out with the sword. The silver nicked her skin, and she let out a howl as the blade sizzled against her. Apparently djinns did not like silver. At least, not this one.
"Bitch," she said with a hiss, and backhanded me across the face. That blow struck, and I went flying back to land beside Feddrah-Dahns.
The unicorn began incanting something in a language I didn't recognize, as Chase grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. I had barely managed to stand when Jassamin was on us again, this time a razor-sharp scimitar in her hand. She swung wildly, barely missing me, but the blade made contact, landing on Feddrah-Dahns's shoulder before the unicorn could get out of the way. He let out a loud whinny as blood spurted to stain his milk-white coat. Mistletoe screamed, showering the ground with pixie dust.
A haze began to rise between the demons and us. I frantically glanced around the cave, searching for something more than the sword to use as a weapon.
Jassamin burst through the mist, her eyes watering. She was sans scimitar, but she was still aiming for me. I stumbled, trying to get out of the way, but there was nowhere to go from where I was standing. Instead of attacking, Jassamin grabbed my wrist and yanked me toward her. Her strength was immense; there was no way I could pull away.
"No!" I tried to focus the Moon Mother through me, but it was like trying to coax water out of an empty tap. I just couldn't muster the energy to summon the lighting. Not even a spark.
"Good, very good," Karvanak said as Jassamin pushed me into his arms. He gave me an insolent grin. "First the seal…"
"Please don't… Think of what you're doing. Do you really want to destroy two worlds? No one in their right mind can see the—" The feel of his fist smashing into my jaw shut me up, and I moaned, tasting blood in my mouth.
He laughed, then, and thrust his hand down my top, fumbling in my bra. A light glimmered in his eye that I didn't like as he felt for the seal. I froze, praying that some miracle would happen, but his fingers found it between my breasts, and he wrapped his hand around it the gem.
"If we had more time," he whispered, pulling me close, "I'd eat you up, I would. In so many ways, ending at the table. But I'm on a schedule…"
I heard Chase shouting and turned my head to see him grappling with Jassamin. "Chase, no! Leave her alone. She'll kill you!"
Karvanak barked again, a laugh so crude that it made me sick to my stomach. "You really believe we'd leave you alive? Stupid girl. You had your chance to live, and you declined. When Shadow Wing overruns this world, when we take control and enslave the herds of human sheep, then maybe your soul will look out from the dungeons of hell, knowing that you had a very special part in making our victory complete."
I struggled against him. He was going to kill me anyway. I'd rather go out in battle. "You can kill me. You can kill my friends. But there are others who will fight you to the end. There are still six spirit seals left. You can't hope to find them all."
Karvanak shrugged. "Let them come. Let them come in droves. Jassamin, Vanzir, kill these fools. I'm off to present our gift to Lord Shadow Wing." He polished the seal on his chest and looked at it, a glint in his eye.
"Oh, and Vanzir," Karvanak said, turning to the other demon, "this is your last chance. Fuck up again, and I'll send you over to Razor's. And you know what he'll do to you."
With that, he tossed me toward the dream chaser and turned toward the door. He'd barely gone two steps when a burst of noise came from the cave entrance. "Shit." Within seconds, Karvanak had shifted, and now he looked for all the world like Chase's identical twin. He raced toward the entrance.
"They're in there, the demons, and they're killing Camille!" His voice was the same timbre as Chase's as he disappeared out the mouth of the cave.
Before I could scramble to my feet, Smoky burst into the room, followed by Delilah and Menolly. Morio was hot on their heels.
"That wasn't Chase, that was Karvanak, under an illusion." I swayed but managed to remain standing. "He has the seal! Stop him!"
