AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She gazed at me, her eyes glowing. They were the same emerald as mine. And then I saw a glimmer of light surround her, and a flutter of golden hair, and she began to vanish. I raced forward, suddenly understanding.
“Wait, don’t go! Come back!” As I loped over to where she’d been standing, I heard one last message from her.
“I’ll always be here, Sister. I’ll always watch over you.”
And then she was gone. I stared at the empty spot as the scent of bonfire descended around me again, and then I closed my eyes and slid into unconsciousness.
When I came to, I was back in my usual form, with Camille patting my face. “Delilah, Delilah? Are you okay?”
I blinked against the sharp light that was filling the room and let her help me sit up. Where the hell was I? As I glanced around, I realized that we were in the FH-CSI medical offices, and I was sitting on a table.
“How long have I been out?” I asked, wincing. My head hurt like hell.
“About an hour. You hit your head on a pipe when you fell, but Sharah says you should be okay. How do you feel?” She pulled over a wheelchair and forced me into it. “No walking about until we know that you don’t have a concussion.”
“Chase—how’s Chase? And Karvanak—” Panic took hold as I suddenly remembered how I’d gotten here. I tried to stand, but a whirl of dizziness forced me back into my seat. I must have really bonked my head, that was for sure.
As Camille pushed me into the hallway, images began to flood my mind. Karvanak. Chase. And—my sister. The ghost leopard. So it was true, I had a twin sister, and she died. As I tried to digest the knowledge, Camille guided me through a set of double doors. She pushed me through into a large room that held three beds and several chairs. We were in one of the recuperation wards.
Chase was there, sleeping in one bed. And on the bizarre side, Menolly was standing by his bed, holding his hand.
Zachary was in another bed, looking a lot like a mummy, wrapped in bandages. Smoky sat on a chair, and for the first time since we’d met him, he looked tired. Vanzir was there, too, sporting more bandages than I could count, and his arm was wrapped in a splint. Everybody looked covered in bruises, including Camille.
Morio and Sharah entered the room.
“Chase, Zach—how are they doing? Is Karvanak dead?” I motioned for Camille to wheel me over to Chase’s side. Menolly stepped away, giving me a soft smile which—for her—translated into a yeehaw.
“Chase will be all right, though there’s no way to ever reattach the finger,” Sharah said. “It’s his mind I’m more worried about. They roughed him up. I can recognize the signs of torture, including those that don’t leave marks. He’s been through hell. I’ve sedated him. Rest is vital to the healing process.”
I stared down at my sleeping detective, wondering how we would weather this hell. How would he fight these new demons come to haunt him?
“And Zach?” I said softly.
She shrugged. “He’ll recover, too, but it’s going to take a long time for his back to heal. If Karvanak had kicked him any harder, he would have broken Zach’s spine and left him paralyzed. As it is, he’s got a broken tailbone, two fractured vertebrae, a broken hip, broken leg, fractured wrist, and he’s taken a lot of soft tissue damage. I’m guessing he won’t be walking on his own for at least six months, and he might always have a limp. It’s too soon to tell.”
“He was hurt saving Chase’s life,” Menolly said. “He threw himself between Chase and Karvanak.”>And with that acknowledgment, the truth I’d been hiding from for months faced me square on. No matter how much I’d tried to avoid my fate, I knew I had to face—and embrace—the person I was becoming.
Delilah, the Death Maiden. Delilah, obliterator of souls. Delilah, harvest woman of the dead.
My blade sent a bolt of energy reeling through my hand, and her gentle laughter rang in my ears. “Your father chose well to give me to you. Wake me, Delilah. I will help you walk through the darkness. I will teach you how to grow strong and keep your soul intact when all around you is madness.”
Destiny in action. Fate on the move. “How do I wake you up?” I asked. “And why have you never spoken to me before?”
Lysanthra’s breath tingled through my elbow, through my shoulder, into my heart. “Only when I’m wielded by one who loves with the depth of her soul, and who fights to protect the one she loves, will I speak. You have been close to summoning me before, but today—today you fight with the desire to die rather than see the one you love destroyed.”
Chase. It had to be Chase. I was in love with Chase. Despite the passion I felt for Zachary and the betrayal from Chase’s lies, I still loved him. Fool? Maybe. But sometimes our hearts don’t play the logic game. Sometimes the Hags of Fate like to see us squirm.
“Tell me what to do.”
Lysanthra’s voice was so delicate she might have been the tinkle of wind chimes, the delicate call of a night-roaming bird to her mate. “Say my name three times aloud. And then I am yours. But you will not be able to kill this creature using me. For that, you must use your own powers.”
I raised the blade. The Scytatian waited, silent and brooding. Karvanak looked impatient but didn’t seem in a rush to hurry things along. Smart move. The Scytatian could make mincemeat out of him in three seconds flat.
“Lysanthra, Lysanthra, Lysanthra!” I called out, raising the blade. A shaft of light burst from the tip, and I flushed, new strength flowing into my veins. Lysanthra fell silent, but I knew we were bound together.
Camille kept quiet, her gaze fixated first on my blade, then on my face. When Menolly started to speak, Camille shushed her and smiled gravely at me.
I turned back to the Scytatian and Karvanak. “You—demon scum. You’re so sure of yourself, so get your ass over here and fight. The Scytatian’s got your back. What are you waiting for?”
