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Killian smiled, detecting the truth in her voice. “You’re going to help me maintain power. In exchange, I will allow you to pick your own mate within the reaper clan. How do we remove the poison from my blood?”
She ran her fingers over the brass letter opener, wondering how many letters Killian received in the caves. Like everything else in the room, it was for show. A symbol of his importance. “The Bokor mentioned a talisman. Something that can call a demon. You need his blood to cure the infection.”
Killian sat forward. “I must call a demon. That’s the chalice I told you about, but I had no intention of bringing a monster over.”
Dannika shook her head. “All I know is a demon can cure you, but I don’t know the specifics of the spell, or how to do it.”
Killian rubbed his chin. “This is not what I had planned. I intended to use the demons, but at a much later date. I have other tasks to be completed first.”
Dannika shuddered to think about Killian’s plans, especially if they included demon warriors. “It’s your choice. Call a demon or die.”
Killian glanced at her. “I planned to call a demon, but this wasn’t what I was going to ask for.”
“It’s your choice, but the poison in your system will kill you. It has demon origins, so only a demon’s blood can remove it.”
Killian stood up, cursing under his breath. “We will cure me this calling. Next year we will call again and put my original plan in place.”
Dannika frowned. “Once a year? Is there a reason for that?”
Killian nodded. “For a single demon, yes. I do not wish to be overrun with the demon army. I won’t risk opening a permanent portal. The wards are stronger at certain times of the year. We will simply make a crack. One large enough for a lesser demon to pass into our world.”
Killian’s restraint surprised Dannika, and it showed on her face.
Killian smirked. “You have forgotten about my gift, Dannika. I see several futures where demons plague our world. The reapers die along with the shadows and the humans. I seek power, not an apocalypse. A lesser demon will not affect the balance, but if a highborn demon makes it to our world, then he will release the king. That marks the end for us all.”
She rubbed her hands on both arms, attempting to warm her body. “That’s scary as all hell.”
“It’s worse than you can imagine. I know, I’ve seen it. Julius would not show this constraint. He would use the chalice to gain power, and his ignorance would end in our destruction.”
“I believe you.” She did. Her brother would do anything to prove he was better than his father. To kill her.
Killian’s eyes roamed over her. “You’re much stronger than I thought you would be. Unlike your brother, you will sacrifice for what you believe in. Julius is so obsessed with power he doesn’t know the lines he cannot cross to get it.”
“But you do?”
Killian smiled. “I admit, I probably wouldn’t have believed our destiny if I hadn’t seen it. Foreshadowing is a rare ability. While I have shown Julius a future where demons rule us, slaughter us, he believes he can control them. It was a mistake our forefathers once made.”
Dannika sat in the chair opposite her father’s desk. “What are you talking about?”
Killian sat, glancing at the ceiling. “I see the past as well as the future. The Bokor who merged the demon souls with the shifters thought he could control the lesser demons. His attempt failed miserably and resulted in hundreds of lesser demons being released into our world. The infected were a disease upon the human world. It is not a mistake I would care to repeat.”
“I find your restraint surprising. Despite being a bastard, your gift gives you an insight that most reapers wouldn’t possess. Give up this dream of being the reaper king. I will help you maintain order. There may even be a way to return you to the shadows.”
Killian chuckled. “I wondered what your goal was. A few kind words, and some honesty about the demon world, and you spill your guts like you think I care.”
Her face hardened. “You’re a prick, but at least you don’t want a demon infestation.”
“The reapers are stronger without their demon overlords. We are the perfect hybrid. We retain our human form, our beauty, but possess the abilities bestowed by our demon. Once the shadows join us, we will rule humanity.”
“We have to agree to disagree on that. I will try to stop you from overthrowing the shadows, but Julius would raise a demon army to overthrow you. That’s not a chance I’m willing to take. For now, I need to save you. How do we make a crack in the portal?”
CHAPTER24
Ice slithered over Dannika’s skin as Killian’s shadow enveloped her. The sensation of flayed skin and breaking bone was a welcome distraction from the oily darkness surrounding her soul. Time moved differently in the pathways. A blink of an eye for one slipstream and minutes for the next. The current of moving molecules similar to the flow of water in a river. Some thicker pathways meandered lazily from one destination to the other, where others were rapid narrow currents, breaking every barrier in their path.
Dannika wouldn’t admit her relief at that first breath of dusty air as her body coalesced in a strange cave. She had no idea where they were, but they weren’t in Graydon County. The orange rock imbued with brown sediment lines was new to her. She contemplated asking Killian where they were, but it didn’t matter. While her navigation skills were sub par at best, her demon had an excellent memory. If she wished to return here, she could.
Killian pointed to a dark tunnel. “We walk from here.”
