The evil in him was off the scale, his sinister vibe so malignant that she could feel it as prickles on her skin, and the closer he’d gotten to Shade and Eidolon, the redder their eyes got and the more vicious they’d been to each other.
After the brothers separated, the creature swiveled his head around to nail her with a bone-chilling stare. But there was no itch between her shoulder blades, and it occurred to her that she’d never experienced the demon-warning sensation in the hospital.
Or with Lore—the mansion incident could have been caused by other demons. Or with Sin. Or their brothers. And what did that mean?
Who are you?
“My name is Idess,” she said, still a little shaky over the failure of her evil sensor.
The thing smiled, a hideous baring of teeth that stretched shiny, scarred lips. Help me.
She’d assist the human spirits however she could, but this thing… she shuddered. “I cannot.”
Please. I was burned alive and cursed by my own family. I need only a small favor. There is something that can ease my suffering. Can you take me from this hospital?
Idess closed her eyes. This creature was evil, but he’d been hurt. By family. Her gut wrenched at that. Maybe what he was wasn’t his fault. In any case, getting him away from the hospital could only be a good thing.
“Where do you want to go?”
A peaceful park.
Well, that didn’t sound too bad. “We need to go through the parking lot.” She led the demon ghost-thing outside the ER, gripped his shoulder, which, under her touch, was solid. He told her where to go, and she materialized with him in a residential neighborhood.
“This isn’t a park—”
The creature laughed gleefully and darted away, disappearing into a copse of trees behind several houses.
Hoping she hadn’t made a huge error in judgment, she returned to the parking lot and slipped back into the waiting room, where she’d spent most of the three hours Lore had been in surgery. The first hour had been the worst—staff had repaired her shoulder, but her arm, his heraldi, had been constantly on fire, twice with such intensity that she’d cried out and fallen to her knees.
Now she sank into a chair near Sin and sat in tense silence. After much fidgeting, Sin kicked her feet up on a chair and leaned back. “If Lore dies, I’ll kill you.”
“Maybe you didn’t notice that I tried to save his life.”
“If you hadn’t kidnapped him in the first place, you wouldn’t have had to.”
“Did it escape your notice that I was the one chained up when you arrived?”
Grinning, Sin folded her hands over her abs. “He got one over on you, didn’t he? Must have pissed you the hell off.”
It had. Up until the point where he’d given her the most intense orgasm of her life. “Of course not. I let him restrain me.”
“Right.” Sin raked her gaze over Idess. “You so look like you’re into bondage.”
“How else do you explain his trying to keep you from killing me?”
Sin narrowed her eyes. “Cut the shit. What was going on? I know you’re protecting Kynan, so why not just kill Lore?”
“That’s a good question.” Eidolon strode into the room, and Sin leaped to her feet. Idess fought the urge to do the same, even though she knew Lore was out of danger. “He’s going to be fine, Sin.” He sounded better than he had when he was with Shade, but he looked worse. From his wildly grooved hair that spoke of a lot of fingers raking through it, to the dark circles under his eyes and his rumpled clothes, he was a mess. “And you,” he said to Idess. “What’s going on?”
There was no point in lying. Lore knew the truth, and maybe if she got on Sin and Eidolon’s good sides—assuming Sin had a good side—she’d get some help. Earn some trust.
“I have to protect him,” she said, meeting Eidolon’s gaze levelly. “He’s Primori like Kynan.”
“I don’t understand this Primori thing,” Sin said. “But right now, I don’t care. I need to see him.” She started past Eidolon, but he caught her by the arm, and Idess wondered if Sin’s Seminus power killed as the nurse had said Lore’s did.
“Out of the question. He’s recovering and needs rest.”
“Fuck you.” Sin jerked out of his grip. “I’m going to see him.”
“Sin.” Eidolon’s voice cracked like thunder in the small room. “You can’t.”
Idess’s heart stuttered. “This isn’t about his recovery, is it?”
“What’s she talking about?” Sin demanded.
“They’re going to keep him here,” Idess said, speaking to Sin but not taking her gaze off Eidolon. “Restrained. And you can’t see him because he’s afraid you’ll set him free. Isn’t that right, doctor?”
Sin settled into a fighting stance, fists clenched, body leaning aggressively forward. “You bastard.”
“I don’t have a choice, Sin.” Eidolon rubbed his eyes with one hand, working his fingers and thumb so hard Idess expected to see blood. “We’ll work something out. Just give me a day to talk to him. Think this through. We’ll come up with a plan that works for all of us.”
Idess stood. “Let’s give him twenty-four hours.” She squeezed Sin’s shoulder and hoped she’d get the message. Humor him.
“Fine,” Sin growled. “But at the end of the day, you had better set him free.” She wrenched away from Idess and slammed out of the room, leaving Idess alone with Eidolon, who stared at the door.
“This is a f**king nightmare,” he muttered.
“You feel like you’ve betrayed your brothers.”
He swung around to her. “I haven’t betrayed anyone.”
“That’s not how Shade sees it.” Out of nowhere, Idess pictured Rami and wondered if he knew what she’d done. Did he understand, or was he as furious as Shade?
“What do you know about that?”
“I overheard you arguing in the hall.”
Eidolon’s vile curse accompanied a violent adjustment of the stethoscope around his neck. “Shade doesn’t get it. No one has to die.”
“But you’ve still lost a brother.” Emotion made her voice rough, and she recognized that same misery in the demon doctor’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to fight to keep a brother, and then lose him anyway.”
“Then you know why I have to keep Lore safe. Now more than ever.”
Yes, she did. If Wraith sided with Shade, Lore would be all Eidolon had left. Losing him meant he’d gone through all this hell with his other brothers for nothing.
“Shade could come around,” she said in a quiet voice. “There’s still hope. What’s the saying… time heals all wounds?”
Eidolon laughed bitterly. “Doctors heal wounds. Time? All that does is allow wounds to fester.”
As he walked away, all Idess could do was pray he wasn’t right, because if he was, she could only imagine what five hundred years of festering could have done to Rami.
* * *
Hangovers sucked.
Lore couldn’t remember the last time he’d had one. He healed fast, which meant he rarely got them unless he’d overdone the drinking to the point of near-death. But he always remembered his binges, and as he peeled his eyes open he found that he had absolutely no memory of slamming shots or downing beers.
He jerked as one memory pierced his brain like a dull needle. Idess. Sin. Shit! With a panicked shout, he levered into a sit. He was at the hospital. But where—
“Hey.”
He snapped his head around to Idess, who was standing at his bedside, looking as if she hadn’t had a Gargantua-bone dagger impaled in her shoulder. “You’re okay.” His relief didn’t even seem strange. They should be enemies, but something had changed, and unlike Sin, he knew when to stop fighting and roll with it.
“I’m fine. And you are, too. But it was close.”
He swallowed, remembering the blade that had lodged in his throat. “Sin?”
“Eidolon won’t allow her inside. I’m only allowed in because he thinks I’ll behave.” She smiled, but it was forced. Something was wrong. And when he lifted his hand and discovered he was secured to the bed, he knew what it was.
“Eidolon intends to keep me from going after Kynan, doesn’t he?” From one set of chains into another. Unbelievable. “And that’s why Sin can’t see me, isn’t it? He’s afraid she’ll free me.”
“Yes,” she said. “I think he’s right to be concerned.”
“Sin can be a handful,” Lore muttered.
Idess raised a delicate eyebrow. “That’s one way to put it.”
Lore reached for her, only to be jerked short by the chain. “I’m sorry, angel.” He blinked. Had he just used “angel” as a term of endearment and not a snarky insult? He blinked again. Yes. Yes, he had. Huh. “I shouldn’t have left you alone in the bedroom. I didn’t think—”
She shut him up with a kiss. It was just a peck, but it was enough to derail his thoughts and wreck his emotions. His sister had nearly killed her, but here she was, smiling warmly and kissing him and being just way too good to be true.
“Took a page from your book,” she said, as she straightened. “It’s an interesting maneuver, kissing someone to shut them up or calm them down.” She paused. “I think I like it.”
A weird possessive instinct made his gut burn, and he wanted to tell her not to use that particular trick with anyone else. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at her. “Something’s off here. Sin wouldn’t stand for being shut out. She’d have found a way in here.”
“She’s not raising a stink… because I swore to release you myself.”
All kinds of red flags went up. “Why? So you can take me home and chain me to your bed again?”