Realm of Demons (The Desert Cursed Series Book 9) Read online

  Someone had to be stung by the scorpion tail necklace as the sun set. Maks hadn’t known that part of the deal.

  “What about us?” Bryce said. “What can we do to help while you’re gone?”

  I looked at Pazuzu. “Fill them in on what we’ve been doing. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

  The rhuk fluttered her feathers, dancing across the sand. “Can I help? I like the little one.”

  “Pace us,” I said. “I don’t want to hurt the aqrabuamelu unless he won’t give her up. He isn’t truly one of the bad guys. Just stuck, like everyone else, by Asag and his fucking games.”

  At least, that’s what he—Steven—had said, and I had no reason to doubt him seeing as he’d offered me a way out of being taken to the demon.

  “Does the aqrabuamelu have a name?” Lila asked.

  I grimaced as Balder leapt forward under me, my heels pressing into his sides. “Take a guess.”

  Lila tightened her hold on me as Balder galloped along. “No, you have got to be kidding me!”

  “Yup.”

  Maks burst out laughing. “Steve?”

  “Close,” I yelled. “Steven.”

  Lila groaned. “Well, the last Steve wasn’t too bad. I mean . . . he tried to help.”

  She wasn’t wrong about the rabisu leader who took the name of Steve. That being said, I wasn’t giving any man with the moniker of Steve much wiggle room until they proved otherwise.

  I urged Balder up and over the first sand dunes and stared out into the open space of the desert, fully expecting to see the massive scorpion ahead of us. Nothing, not even a whisper of the scorpion tail. Panic surged through me. “He’s huge, we should be able to see him.”

  I reached for the threads that tied me to my family. My brother, Kiara, Shem and the others ranged out behind us. Reyhan was part of that family too and I could touch her connection to me. . . “She’s . . . so far away,” I whispered, knowing that wherever she was, she was already out of reach.

  The sensation pulled me downward. “He’s under the sand.” Steven was after all a scorpion. He’d burrowed down deep in order to get back to Asag.

  “What about Fen?” Lila clutched at me.

  “He’s right with her.” I touched her side, feeling her fear for the other dragon that she did not want to admit she had feelings for. “He’s with her, Lila. That’s good. He can help protect her. He’s smart and strong.”

  At least that was what I was hoping. That they would keep each other safe while we did all we could to get to them. I didn’t want to think about what would happen . . . if Asag had his way. Bile rose through me, and I choked it back down. Giving way to the fear and the panic, the guilt and worry would get us nowhere fast. We had to focus on getting there to them above all else.

  “What do we do?” Lila asked. “How do we get to them?”

  I stared out over the desert, toward where Asag sat on his throne, thinking that he was safe. Thinking that no one would ever make it through his challenges.

  “We take the fight to the Beast from the East, and we break into the city of demons to do it. That’s all there is to it.” I turned Balder away, even though my heart ached. We weren’t leaving Reyhan, not at all. But there was no way we could get to her—at least not yet.

  I rubbed at my left hand. The nerves within it tingled and danced and when I looked down, I took note of the fact that my skin seemed more translucent. I flexed my fingers. Sparkles of magic danced under my skin.

  Was it that droplet of magic that had stayed with me? In freeing the source of all magic, a drop of it had stayed with me. Why, I had no idea. But the buzzing under my skin was a steady presence.

  I swallowed hard. Whatever it was, I would use it to free Reyhan, and stop Asag. Once and for all the demon would be dealt with.

  Flexing my hand, I could almost feel a sword pressed against my palm as the pull from a darker magic tugged at me. Nope, that was not good. Because the only sword I had on me was Lilith. And Lilith was a raging psychotic bitch—sister to Asag, and a demon in her own right—who of course couldn’t be trusted. She was worse than my flail which had tried to suck my life away on a number of occasions. A thousand times worse.

  And yet, I was stuck with her. Just sitting there on Balder’s back, my body tensed, the pressure of said sword on my back a steady reminder of her presence. Almost as if the sword had shifted in order to get my attention.

  I grimaced. “Knock it the fuck off, Lilith.”

  Lila hissed, Maks shot me a look and I shook my head. “It’s fine. She just moved.”

  “I think you should leave her behind,” Lila said. “Bury her deep in the sands.”

  I didn’t disagree on one level but . . . “And who would pick her up? Someone that she could manipulate, possess, and then Lilith would be free in this world. That’s worse than me lugging her around. Maybe we can do for her what we did for the flail, and release her soul along with Asag.”

  Release as in kill them both at the same time. Listen, let me have my dreams, alright?

  Trotting along, back toward the pride and Pazuzu, a groan spun us to the left.

  “What now?” muttered Lila. I agreed with her, we did not need any more surprises.

  Another long, low moan, and a delicate arm lifted, a flash of a gem on one finger, and a swath of red cloth sliding down to show the pale skin beneath.

  In the sand, face down, skirts partially covered by sand, was the figure of a woman that I thought had been killed. How in the world had she survived?

  “Mamitu?”

  Maks reached the goddess of the desert first, leaping off the black mare, water flask in hand. He lifted Mamitu up, offering her some water, pressing the flask to her lips.

  Her face was speckled with sand, but her eyes were bright despite how dishevelled the rest of her was. Lifting a hand, she managed to push the flask away. “No, no, you must not let me live. He can take me again if he realizes I’m not dead.” Her eyes swept past Maks to me, and it felt like we were at the beginning of our journey, when the hyena had spoken to us and warned us of the Beast from the East. “You are so close, Zamira, guardian of the desert. Do not waver. The fear will be heavy, but you, the three of you can do this. I believe in you. You must take what you have brought with you . . . take it all . . .”

  “Mamitu, please, anything that you can tell us will help.” Lila hopped back and forth across my shoulders as she spoke. “Anything? A weakness that Asag has?”

  “His weakness is simple, so simple and yet you could never guesssss . . .” Her breath slid out of her, a long ‘s’ that was drawn out, and her eyes took on the distant look that only death provided as she stared blankly up at the sky.

  “No,” I whispered as I reached for her body, even as she turned to sand and slid out of her own clothes, joining the dune that we sat on. Nothing but her voluminous red skirts were left. That and the single ring she’d worn. A glimmer of silver and red, the stone was rough-shaped, held tight by silver tendrils to the main part of the ring.

  “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” Maks whispered. “She is safer than the rest of us by a long shot.”

  I nodded. Mamitu was at peace now, and we were still up shit creek without a paddle, and a hole in the boat as the water poured in. I scooped up her skirts and the ring and mounted Balder.

  He turned his head back, nuzzling the skirts before blowing out a big snort. She’d been kind to him, to him and to us as best she could be considering how tied she was to Asag.

  “Let’s go. There is nothing we can do for her now.”

  Cassandra swooped over top of us. “The little one is gone?”

  I held up my hand. “Cassandra, can you help us still?”

  She landed on the sand next to us. The two horses stepped back to give her room. “The sky above the demon city and above Asag’s castle is impassable. If I could fly you straight there, I would.”

  Lila bounced across my shoulders to land on Balder’s neck. “Can you at least keep
picking off the golems?”

  The rhuk clapped her beak. “Yes, I will do that. There were a few around the city edges. I will go now and clear the spaces of them.” She didn’t wait for me to say anything more, just lifted off into the night sky.

  “That will help,” Maks said softly. “A great deal. The more golems she removes, the better.”

  Lila flexed her wings. “If I could shift bigger, you wouldn’t need the rhuk’s help.”

  I patted her back. “But until we have our abilities back, we do need her help. This is good. She’ll help clear the path.”

  With that, we turned and rode back toward my family. Our family.

  The herd of unicorns that had brought them in milled about, eyes watchful, horns catching the light of the stars above us. Night had fully fallen now, and with it a coolness trickled through the air. A few of the unicorns reached out and touched Balder on the side, but he didn’t slow. He didn’t so much as glance their way.

  As if he were no longer a part of them. I patted his neck. I understood his position, to be part of a family, but always somewhat on the outskirts. Looking in and wondering where you fit.

  Bryce had the Bright Lion Pride putting together a camp on the edge of the water, setting up tents and cookfires already, spots of light illuminating the night. He was a good leader, and the pride respected him. That at least had finally come to fruition—he’d always been destined to be alpha. At least in my mind.

  “Be wary.” I pointed out to the water. “There are things deep in the ocean that don’t play nice. And sometimes they can reach onto shore.”

  That had his attention. “We’ll set back another hundred feet. Put guards to watch all sides of the camp.”

  “Prudent.” I slid off Balder’s back and gave his neck another pat. I was here, but my mind and heart were already well ahead, thinking about Reyhan. Thoughts of her followed me as I took the ring of Mamitu’s and on a whim set it on my own finger. The skirts, though . . . I found myself stuffing them into one of the saddlebags.

  Keep Reyhan safe, Fen, please keep her safe. That was the only hope we had—that Fen would somehow keep her clear of the demon until we got to them. Until we rescued them and killed Asag.

  “What can we do?” Kiara’s voice pulled me around. I looked at the girl who’d inadvertently saved me from my first marriage, the girl who had become a woman I was proud to call part of my family.

  “Maks, Lila and I will sneak into the city and see if we can’t get close enough to get Reyhan out. That’s the first thing. Once she and Fen are clear, we can regroup and tackle Asag.”

  Pazuzu cleared his throat. “You don’t want to know what the last challenge is? The last test that you must complete?”

  I made myself look at him. Not because he was foul, but because I almost didn’t give a shit about another test, or even Asag. I just wanted to get Reyhan back, I wanted to save her, and screw the damn challenges. “Is it ridiculous?” Because yeah, the rest of them had been ridiculous. Stupid. Impossible.

  “It is in line with all that you’ve been doing. Because it is yet another impossible task.” His voice was . . . careful. “You must free the golden dragon.”

  I stared at him. “We are planning on freeing all the dragons anyway. Letting them go home to their families.” Just as soon as Reyhan was safe.

  He shook his head slowly. “More than that. The golden dragon is in a cage next to Asag himself. You must navigate the demon city of Trevalon, through to the castle, free the dragon and then, only then can you face Asag. Then you will be able to save the girl and your friend, Fen. The one thing that will open the cage is a unicorn horn, so you must take one with you.” Pazuzu looked us over. “If it were anyone else, I would have no faith that they could achieve the impossible. But I am inclined to believe after all I’ve seen that if anyone can do this, it is you.” He bowed from his waist to me. “I must wait here, Zamira. I cannot give you any other assistance.”

  Lila snorted and the ground sizzled with a bit of her acid. “Right, like that’s a shocker?”

  I stared at him. He and Mamitu had helped, but . . .just enough to make me feel like I was still very much on my own with my friends.

  I held out my hand to Pazuzu. “What about your other friend? Should I not have to go to him first? Like I came to you and Mamitu?” Damn my brain, I could not remember his name.

  Pazuzu shook his head. “You are going to him. He is the golden dragon. He can traverse the dreamscape to speak to us, but of the three of the guardians he is literally the most bound to Asag.”

  Maks held up a hand, drawing Pazuzu’s eyes to him. “Is it a true cage, or something else, like a spell that binds the golden dragon to Asag?”

  “Both.” Pazuzu dipped his head toward Maks. “A collar and chain bind him to the throne, and a spell keeps him from being able to think as anything but an animal. He is trapped inside the body. And while it is actually one of his forms, he is still trapped. The unicorn horn you carry will free him.”

  Lila let out a slow whistle. “He’s a dragon shifter?”

  Pazuzu gave her a nod. “Yes. The last.”

  Lila’s claws tightened on my shoulder, and her anxiety spiked through our connection. “Bad?” I asked.

  “Just . . . dragon shifters are dangerous because they can literally be anything. A dragon, a wolf, a hyena . . .” Her eyes shot to mine at the same time that a gasp escaped me.

  “Was there one other,” I asked Pazuzu, then tried again, “Another dragon shifter, a female?”

  Pazuzu looked straight at me. “Yes, his mate. She fled but was cursed to die if she tried to leave. She’d never dared before. She disappeared weeks ago. Why?”

  It was my turn to share a look with Maks and then Lila. “We met her. She gave us a warning as she died.”

  Pazuzu closed his eyes. “Do not tell the golden dragon that his mate is dead. It will break what is left of his mind.”

  I wanted to ask how could he not know that his own mate was gone. But then, that was easy for me. I was connected to my loved ones in the way that alphas were connected to their prides, packs, or chosen family.

  I backed away from Pazuzu. “Then we won’t tell him. I’ll let you have that honor when the time comes since he is your friend.”

  Lila grumbled something under her breath. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t ask, because you aren’t much of a liar.”

  No, I wasn’t much of a liar.

  Balder bumped my elbow, his dexterous lips pulling at the sleeve of my cloak. I nodded. “I agree, it’s time to go.” Reyhan and Fen were depending on us. We had to get to them.

  “Wait . . .” Bryce put a hand on my arm. “We are here to help you. You can’t just leave! So tell us, sister, what would you have us do? How can we help?”

  Chapter

  Three

  I looked my brother over, seeing the changes in him, seeing the growth and strength that had developed even just since I’d seen him last. He’d not always been a good person; pain and despair had made him miserable to even those he loved. Deep inside he’d always loved me. And I knew that.

  Even if he had been a fucking dink most days.

  The question was, did I need him and my family here, or did I just want the comfort of knowing we weren’t alone? I closed my eyes and bowed my head to think.

  The pride was strong, all of them good fighters, but against demons? Fuck. They didn’t have magic. They didn’t have special weapons like me.

  “Go home.” I spoke as I lifted my head. “Take the unicorns and ride out of here, tonight.”

  Gasps circled around the camp.

  Pazuzu choked. “What? You can’t send them home! It is part of the prophecy that an army—”

  I held up a hand, cutting him off. “I don’t want my family paying the price for this quest of ours. Maks, Lila and I chose to come here. We chose to find the dragons’ young ones. Us. Not Bryce, not Kiara, not any of you.”

  I could feel the anger bubbling around in the p
ride now. “You think we’re weak? That we can’t fight?” someone from the back shouted.

  I shook my head. “What I know is that this is not your fight. What I know is that our pride has done enough to protect and fight for our place in the desert. What you’d face . . . the demons, the golems, the monsters unknown, it is not something I’d wish on any of you. You are my family. And it is my job to protect you.”

  “And you are ours,” Kiara said.

  I smiled. “Which is why I am telling you it’s time to go. It’s time to leave.”

  The muttering was loud, and not at all happy. Bryce stared me down. “Many did not want to come, and now you’re proving them right.”

  I had no doubt about that. “I didn’t ask you to come, Bryce. I told you to stay away.”

  His face hardened. Yup, there was the fucking dink. “Fine.”

  “Fine,” I threw back at him.

  Pazuzu lifted his hands to the sky. “No, this cannot happen, you must stay! She will not survive without you!”

  Well that was . . . unexpected. Bryce paused. “My sister will do as she pleases. She always has and she has yet to die.”

  Pazuzu stood in front of Bryce. “A compromise then. There is a city, on the water’s edge. Tomorrow, make your way there, split up, spread out. See if you can convince anyone to fight with us, against Asag, but do it carefully. Then you are not in the front lines. Would that be sufficient?” He looked at me first.

  Fucking hell, I did not want my family anywhere near this city, Asag, his demons or whatever remained of the golems. “It is not. I want them gone.” The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that Bryce, the unicorns, all of them were in danger.

  Bryce gave a quick nod to Pazuzu, ignoring me. “We’ll find any shifters there first. And go from there.”

  He stared hard at me. “Don’t die.” That was the equivalent of I love you, but I’m pissed at you right now.

  I stared right back. “You either. Again.”

  He grimaced and turned his back on me.

  So much for getting my family to safety.