Page 128 of The Demon's Fire
Cal hadn’t been the only threat to Skyler. The furious Kole took slow, deep breaths, checking his anger.Hell. She could already be in Cerberus’s hands. Look what had happened to Rein’s mate. They’d kidnapped her, almost selling Braelyn as a sex slave. What would they do to a bona fide descendant? Kole had never been the target on Darque. It was Skyler.
Doing an animus demon’s version of hyperventilating, Kole’s beast flickered, the crimson, blazing manifestation fading as quickly as it formed.
Slow your breathing.
Kole exhaled. Inhaled.Despite the self-talk, fire consumed him again when he pictured Skyler at the mercy of savage Aeternals. He drew back his fist and punched the wall, driving through it elbow-deep.
Alarik approached cautiously. “Relax.” The warlock-incubus director lifted a hand.
Kole felt a shiver as a calming spell washed through him. Though less agitated, he yelled out the door to Bounty. “Tell Rein to haul ass up here and get my Firebrands battle ready. Now.”
In seconds, Rein pushed through the door, flicked his gaze from Alarik to Kole, and eyed the hole in the wall. “Nice. You want me to sheetrock the place?”
Kole snarled. “You’re in charge, smartass. Skyler is Blood Coven. Your father’s incompetent ministry back-shelfed her sample. They just analyzed it. Surprise.”
“To be fair,” defended Alarik, “the Alliance chief legal officer said her heritage was more recent than the Karmic Schism and was not mage. The healer took her at her word. He moved on to more pressing priorities.”
“Since when do on-the-ball scientists take someone else’s word?” Kole’s digits lit up like tiki torches as his voice rose to a thundering pitch. As some sanity returned, he touched his fingertips together, dousing the flames.
“I know you’re…”
Kole interrupted. “Alarik, Skyler dreamed about Dermott camped near the cave about to attack.” He scrubbed a fist across his buzz-cut hair. “I just remembered. She also dreamed about Chay and Margo.” Kole paused to glare at Alarik. “Not a coincidence.”
Clearly unintimidated by Kole, Alarik said, “She’s a scryer of some kind. Amazing, though. It takes witches and warlocks hundreds of years to develop or manage this craft. What does she use as a medium?”
“What do you mean?” asked Kole.
“Crystal ball, water, mist, mirror, smoke, something else?”
“How would I know? Nothing.”
“Hmm. Highly unusual. A witch who can call up visions without a medium is strong indeed. She had to draw power to feed the spell. Did she use you?”
“Don’t know. Don’t give a shit right now. Feel me?”
Bounty interrupted. “Your Firebrands are assembled in the ready room. They’re armed and psyched to go. I filled them in a bit.”
Kole loaded blades into his chest harness. “Rein, don’t fuck up my office.” He poked Alarik on the shoulder with the blunt end of the axe he snagged. “You better hope she’s in great shape when we get to the Alliance’s headquarters.” He jabbed the warlock one more time for emphasis.
Alarik sighed, flicking the weapon off his shoulder.
****
Koleexited the Alliance’s gateway behind Dax and Brak. His jaw set and his eyes hawk-like, he shook off the usual fog which accompanied portaling to Earth. The Whorl did a number on him. His ears buzzed. His stomach flipped. “Let me out of here. Hate to travel that way. Demons aren’t meant to have their molecules scattered to the winds.”
The two Firebrands gave the irate commander plenty of space. Dax’s long black hair shimmered with static charge, and his dark eyes narrowed as they sized up the arrival room.
One Firebrand after another exited the Whorl. Ram’s head pivoted as he surveyed the arrival space as the vamp had done. He snatched a tactical sword from his back scabbard. Chay withdrew his war hammer.
Brak high-fived the ylve when he appeared. “Wow! What a fucking great ride. Right? Can’t ever get enough. I could bounce back and forth all day.”
Chay nodded, his grin toothy when it spread across his face.
Kole eyed the young carnal demon, amazed the crazy warrior had survived this long. “You’re an anomaly among the breed.”
Brak grinned. “Thanks, Comm.”
Dax drew his jungle bolo from its sheath, peering into the hallway. He signaled the all-clear.
