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was dying. And then—when I thought my lungs would never work again, when I ready to step out of my body—Hi’ran gently exhaled into my mouth.
My life slowly returned to me, filtering in through my lips. As my chest rose and fell, sensation returned to my toes and fingers. My heart started to beat again, a staccato pulse, and I pushed away from him, staring with a terrible fear.
He laughed and stroked my face. “I told you, you’re one of many brides—but you are my only living Death Maiden. You will be revered and honored for your position, and when the time comes, you will be the one to bear my heir.” And then, before I could say a word, he vanished, leaving me whimpering as I sank to the floor slowly realizing just what his words meant.
CHAPTER 17
“Delilah? Delilah!” Camille’s voice echoed through the fog encasing my thoughts. I blinked, realizing that I was on my knees, curled over with my forehead against the floor, hands tucked over the back of my head.
The Autumn Lord’s words rang in my ears as I looked around. The wights were all dead, scattered around the chamber like so much debris. Everybody—except Smoky, of course—was covered with blood and muck. I moaned gently as Camille and Menolly helped me up.
“Can you stand?” Menolly asked, her gaze locked on mine. She knew. Maybe not what had happened, but that something had happened. She always knew.
I nodded. No way in hell was I ready to talk about what had just happened. Not when we still had a shade to take care of and the seal to find.
“Yeah. I got overexcited, I guess.” I shivered and pulled away. “Let’s just finish this and go home. I need to sleep.” What I needed was something to shake me out of my thoughts. Something to make me forget about the Autumn Lord and death and spirits and children conceived from Elemental Lords. My gaze landed on Zach. What I needed right now was a blond, gorgeous werepuma.
He blinked, returning my scrutiny, and slowly smiled. He could smell my arousal. I knew he could, because I could smell the same scent of desire emanating off of him. He wanted me as much as I wanted him.
Menolly glanced at Camille, and they both shrugged.
“Okay, if you’re all right, let’s get this over with.” Camille motioned toward the back chamber. The seal was in there and, no doubt, the shade.
As we waded through the blood and bodies of the wights, the cavern began to feel like it was closing in on me. I didn’t like underground spaces nor small rooms. Claustrophobia, Mother had called it, and she blamed it on my being a werecat. Cats didn’t like to be locked in, though they may like cozy corners. Mother had always said, “Never trap a cat, or they’ll scratch you to bits. Cats want the option to escape, even if they choose not to use it.” I’d always believed she was referring to me with her gentle, chiding manner.
I’d never been good at being a daughter, at least not the kind Mother knew how to cope with. I’d always wanted to be wandering through the woods, wearing boy’s clothing, chasing bugs, and climbing trees. A tomboy, that was what she called me, though she said it with love in her voice. I’d always wanted her approval, and I always felt like I could never measure up, even though she’d never once told me so.
Shaking thoughts of the past out of my head, I hurried to the front, where Roz and Vanzir waited.
“Has either of you faced a shade before?” I was hoping for a yes, but I’d settle for a No, but I know how to kill them. I didn’t get either.
“Nope,” Roz said. He shook his curly ponytail. “I’ve seen a lot of ghosts over the years, and dealt with a few spirits from the Netherworld, but shades—they play with the big boys. They’re usually found outside of ancient ruins and old battle scenes.”
Vanzir added his shake of the head. “Neither have I, though I’ve seen a few. They can be quite fierce, I understand. But I know that they hate light; they can’t stand the sun, and are seldom seen or felt during the day.”
“Wonderful,” I muttered. “We’re in a cavern, in the middle of the night. Perfect time and place for them to play spook central.”
Camille and Morio caught up to us. “Hey, we have an idea that just might work,” Morio said. “If they hate light, let’s fire up the sun. Camille has the unicorn horn; she can use it to heighten her powers with fire and lightning. If we send a shock wave of light through the cavern, it might give us the time we need to grab the spirit seal and run.”
Menolly cleared her throat. “You mean leave the spirit . . . well . . . alive? Not attempt to send it back to Hell—”
“Technically, we wouldn’t send it back to Hel anyway,” Smoky said. “Shades are usually from the Netherworld. Hel rules over the icy depths of the Underworld.”
“I wasn’t speaking of the goddess, you fire-breathing lizard.” Menolly shot him a withering look. “I was speaking literally, as in, Hell. You know, the place where the fiery dudes in red tights dance on the skulls of their enemies.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right. You know as well as I do that Lucifer is a god, not a devil, and that most spirits have nothing to do with the Sub Realms. Besides which, Shadow Wing is far more dangerous than any entity any mortal could think up. Let’s get serious here. If we can get out of this without a fight, so much the better. The shade isn’t causing problems, not that we know of. It’s probably bound to this spot. How many people do you think are going to come visiting? I, for one, just want to get the heck out of here, go home, and take a long bath.”
“Might be, probably not . . . there aren’t guarantees. The shade also might follow us, looking for the seal,” Menolly said. “Who’s to say it wasn’t sent here to protect the seal and to track anybody who manages to steal it? The spirits can’t speak. What do we do if it comes after us? Tell it we’re sorry, but we gave the seal away?”
“Well, yeah, I suppose you might be right. If you think you can dispel it, great, but I don’t want to get caught in a one-sided battle with it.” I frowned.
“Ladies, we don’t have time to quibble,” Roz said, interrupting us. He pointed toward the chamber door, where a shadowy figure had emerged.
The spirit was a black silhouette, a lot like the revenant we’d fought earlier, except it had glowing eyes. Red, of course. These things always seemed to have glowing red eyes. As it stared in our direction, it unleashed a wave of malevolent energy that rolled at us like a tsunami heading toward shore.
“Crap, it’s using some sort of energy drain,” Menolly said, racing toward it. I tried to stop her but could barely open my mouth.
As she swiped at it, her hand went clean through as if she was batting at mist. Startled, she stumbled back. The shade ignored her. Hands on her hips, Menolly contemplated the creature. I struggled to keep my thoughts clear, but that was about all I could do, the focused hatred coming our way was so strong.
