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“My head! So much pain,” I moaned as the pressure became more intense.
“Come on. Let’s get you to safety. I’ll help with the pain.” Antoine’s voice was urgent.
I heard the flap of what sounded like giant wings, and then I was flying high above the sea. A panicked scream ripped from my throat, and I struggled. Antoine only held me tighter as we headed back to his home.
“Antoine, the voice in my head. He wants me to die. And pain!” I cried. “He’s giving me so much pain. I… I can’t go on much longer.” I clutched at my head.
“One way or another you’re going to die, bitch,”the voice roared.
We landed on Antoine’s front balcony, and he strode through the open door. Four people were waiting for us.
“He’s trying to kill her from inside her mind. Help me!” Antoine pleaded.
“Put her to sleep. He can’t reach her there,” I heard a woman say.
The angry voice continued to growl and rage at me, the agony increasing with every moment. Then there was heat, followed by a sense of calm, and I began to lose consciousness. Maybe I was dying after all. I only hoped that if I was, I wouldn’t be signing Antoine’s death warrant too.
* * *
Antoine
Donna’s pain was so intense, and her agony beat at me. If Gustav had been in her mind all this time, hurting her like this, I was surprised she hadn’t died long ago. My anger and rage at this demon were going to drive me insane. Hurting my mate like this before I even knew she existed. He’d played with her all this time, like a cat with a mouse. I knew they could pick up on our mates’ locations way before we did, but it terrified me how close I’d come to losing her.
“Bring her through to the bedroom,” Lorenzo ordered.
Lorenzo and Isabella were on the Hybrid council and answered only to the angels. Clement was the head of their order. If anyone knew how to help Donna, it would be them. Placing her down on the bed, I had to hold back my fear. She was so pale I wondered if she’d need more of my blood. And if I had to do that, how would she react? She was angry enough the first time.
Isabella approached the bed and placed a hand on Donna’s forehead. She hissed, her fangs appearing as she took her hand away.
“We don’t have much time, Lorenzo. We must banish him soon, or he’ll kill her.”
“What can I do?” I asked, my voice wavering.
Isabella indicated for me to approach the bed. “Sit with her head in your lap and place your hands on her temples. And whatever happens, don’t you dare move them away. You must maintain contact with her skin.”
Her tone was stern, and her dark eyes flashed in warning. I nodded, knowing better than to ask anything else.
Lorenzo ushered Jeanie and Mac from the room, then shut the door behind him. He began chanting, and Isabella joined in. It was something I’d heard about but never witnessed. It was a demon-banishing spell. As he wasn’t present in his form, we couldn’t use the good old-fashioned methods of salt and holy water.
Donna’s skin felt cool to start with, then she was warm to the touch. In fact, she was getting warmer by the minute. I was anxious but didn’t dare interrupt the chant. It required total focus. They spoke in an ancient language I’d never heard before. It was probably one the angels and vampires formed once they had the alliance and began to create Hybrids.
The scent of death filled the air, a bit like the smell that sometimes clung to demons and their familiars. Donna’s eyes flew open, only they were no longer green but bright red. Growls came from her, and she began to thrash around on the bed. The chanting got louder, drowning out the growls. Donna looked at me with such hatred that it made my stomach roll.
“Let her go, Hybrid. She belongs to me. I’ve lived in her mind for a while now and I know what’s good for her. You can’t have her. I’m taking Donna and her soul to hell.”
My mouth was about to engage when I remembered Lorenzo had told me to ignore anything she said. The sound of that demon’s voice coming from her made me feel sick yet again. Although it was difficult, I trusted Lorenzo and Isabella implicitly. Her body started to lift from the bed, but Lorenzo grabbed her by the ankles and held her down, whilst still chanting.
The heat from her head was getting worse, almost to the point of boiling, and I wondered if she’d survive this assault. But I had to believe that she would. Her hands went to mine, scratching and clawing at them in an attempt to free herself from my grasp. But they weren’t her hands; they’d become enlarged and gnarled with claws at the fingertips rather than human nails. My hands were covered in scratches and blood, but still I held on, my teeth gritting against the pain of the poison emanating from the talons.
There was a crack like thunder from overhead and the room turned darker. The chanting got louder, and Donna’s attempts to free herself from me had become less. Her growls were nothing more than soft whimpers. A loud shriek filled the room as black mist seeped from her mouth and evaporated in the air above us.
Donna slumped back on the bed and Lorenzo and Isabella’s chants became softer and finally stopped when the natural light came back to the room. My mate’s colouring had returned, and her skin was now a normal temperature. Her breathing was deep and even too.
“You can let her go now, Antoine. She’s safe,” Isabella assured me.
“We’ve added protection inside her mind so that no demon can infiltrate her again.”
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I said, still holding my gaze on Donna’s face. “I’ve never felt afraid like that before.”
