As it was, he’d already wasted precious seconds calling for backup. His only hope was that other allies in the field would be closer to Lyka than he was and would make it to her in time.

He kept trying to get her to tell him what was going on, kept trying to see through her eyes, but she didn’t understand what he wanted, wasn’t able to comply or didn’t want to. All he got from her was an occasional pull on his power and a whole lot of emotion. Fear, shock, fury.

Whatever was happening to her wasn’t good.

Joseph did what he could to feed her the energy she needed so she wouldn’t have to work so hard. With each passing minute he drew closer to her, easing the strain of drawing strength from him over a distance.

He should have taken more time to teach her how to use his power. He should have insisted that she let others find her brother. He should have found some way to control her before she’d bounded off into the woods, hot on the trail of a demon.

At least Joseph knew where she was headed. The tracker Nicholas had installed had worked like a charm—right up to the point that the signal vanished altogether.

Joseph hoped that the signal loss was due to the demon going underground rather than to the tracker being destroyed.

He slowed just enough to check his phone again and make sure he was still headed in the right direction. The screen was bright in the darkness of the forest, drawing a tiny swarm of bugs within seconds.

The last known location of the tracker was just up ahead, on the other side of a hill.

As he cleared the hilltop and looked down into the ravine below, he came to a dead stop.

There were demons down there. At least a dozen of them, all pale and naked, wielding those rustic swords. They scrambled toward a narrow opening in the rock like someone inside had wrung a dinner bell.

That wasn’t good. Based on Nicholas’s tracker, this was where that demon had gone. And that meant Lyka was inside.

Apparently, she was dinner.

Chapter 40

Eric grabbed Lyka’s arm and jerked her back behind the heavy bed. Several bits of wood, metal and stone embedded themselves in the mattress. A small knife slammed through and gouged into the bedpost, sticking there.

He tugged it free and looked at the choker his sister wore. “Let yourself get collared, did you?”

“I did it to save your hairy ass, so keep your opinions to yourself.”

Another volley of magic hit them, shoving the bed a few inches closer to the wall. There was no room left here to maneuver anymore. They were trapped, easy targets for Treszka to finish them off. They had to get out before she could do the job.

“You call this saving me?” he asked.

When she showed up, he’d never been so happy to see anyone in his life. And then he realized what it meant: she was stuck down here with him, too.

“Working on it,” she said.

“The bitch has dozens of demons under her control. I’m in shitty shape for a fight, and you didn’t even bring weapons.”

“Yes, I did,” she said. “You just can’t see them right now.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Kill the cunt.”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t?”

“Long story.”

The smell of demons assaulted his nose. He could hear their steps grow closer. They were in the room now.

“Might as well tell me now. We’re going to die down here.”

“Speak for yourself,” she said. “I just learned some new tricks, and I really want to live long enough to practice and get good at them.”

“Now works. You can practice now.”

The heavy bed was ripped away from the wall by a mass of demons. Treszka stood a few feet away, her hands on her hips.

She was carrying his young. At least that’s what she’d said. He didn’t want to believe her, but part of him must have, because he actually hesitated at the thought of killing her.

Then he remembered what she’d done to him. How she’d violated him. Hurt him. Left him bleeding, fevered and helpless, tied to her bed.

Just when he’d thought he was safe, she’d come back for more. She’d forced herself into his mind and made him burn for her. Made him beg.

Vomit crawled up his throat. Rage tingled across his skin.

“You think you can kill me?” she asked, a little smile playing about her lush mouth. She spread her arms. “Go ahead and try.”

Eric’s body tensed, preparing to charge, but that was as far as he could get. Whatever she’d done had cast a web of control over him, forcing his feet to stay planted where they were.

“We have a problem,” he told Lyka.

“Just one?”

“Are you sure you can’t kill her?” he asked.

“I’m sure.”

“Well, that sucks ass, because I can’t, either.”

Treszka laughed. “I’m done with both of them,” she told her demon guards. “Kill them.”

Chapter 41

Joseph slipped in behind the demons as they went in the cave. They were all too busy rushing to wherever they were going to pay him any attention. Even the ones who looked his way, nostrils flared at the scent of his blood, simply licked their lips and kept moving.

Whoever or whatever controlled them must have been more powerful than their constant hunger for Sentinel blood.

Lyka was in here. He could feel her presence nearby, growing stronger with every step. She was tired. Afraid. Without hope.

He’d let this happen. It was his job to ensure her safety, and here she was in a demon-infested cave, as far from safe as she could be.

I’m coming, love. Hold on.

He wanted nothing more than to rush to her side, but if doing so got him killed, he wasn’t going to be any help to her at all. It was better to be smart. Be careful. There was no way of knowing if one of the demons’ hunger would outweigh its obedience. But if it did, he’d be ready.

He followed the demons as they converged on a central location. He couldn’t quite see what it was—there were too many bodies in the way. But he could hear this strange, low hum spreading outward.

As it finally reached him, he realized that it was the demons making this noise.

She’s headed your way, Lyka whispered to his thoughts.

She who? His question reached her easily. She was no longer trying to keep him out. In fact, she seemed to welcome his presence, clinging to it like a lifeline.