After a few more seconds the clone went totally still and Lili rose, clutching something slimy in her hand. Before she could explain how she’d gotten the jump on the clone so quickly, the real Selene grabbed her own throat and stumbled forward, gasping for air.
Tyler stood the closest and managed to catch her in his arms as she collapsed, dragging her into the room and laying her out on the stone floor.
I knelt by her side. “What’s happening to her?” I asked Lili as Rourke and Ray came up beside me.
Lili went to a side table, plucked an ornate bowl from its resting place, and dropped something into it that landed with a squish. She bent over it for a moment, like she needed to examine it, and after finding it adequate she turned back to me, wiping blood off her hands and onto her jumpsuit. “I’m not sure. They must’ve been linked together somehow. The cloning has obviously gone awry.” She walked over, holding the bowl. “Maybe that’s why she couldn’t die in the first place? The two bodies are connected.”
I stood slowly, blinking. For a single second I felt like I was watching this entire scene from outside myself. I glanced into the bowl Lili held. “Is that her heart? You ripped it out through her neck?” I grimaced. It was smaller than a human heart. “That can’t be Selene’s heart. It’s too small.”
“It’s a demon heart, and it’s located higher on the chest than a human’s, which is why I opened her throat.” Lili said it like it was commonplace to rip someone’s heart out. “That clone was ninety-five percent Selene, five percent demon. Take out the five percent and it cannot function in the Underworld. The stronger the demon heart, the more powerful the clone. This was a fairly powerful heart, from one of our highborn demons, but not enough to deter me.” She shook the bowl and the mass slipped around. “The Prince underestimated me if he thought I could not disarm this clone in less than three minutes.”
I shook my head. “You know, you could’ve told us you had this handled. Or at the very least we could’ve held her down or something.” I peered at Lili out of the corner of my eye. “Constantly keeping us in the dark is not helping you.”
Lili shrugged. “If the clone had been smart, she would’ve used a spell. But the five percent demon gave her a big disadvantage. I had to act quickly to make it clean. Some demons can sense intent before it happens and I didn’t know which demon heart they’d used, so I cloaked my feelings.”
The real Selene continued to roll on the ground, her hands still tearing at her neck, her eyes wide. I knelt down next to her again as she rocked, her face turning a very dark shade of scarlet. I had no idea what to do.
“What’s happening to her?” Ray asked, kneeling next to me, his face a mask of confusion. “Can’t we stop this somehow?”
“I honestly don’t know.” I glanced over my shoulder at the listless, very dead clone lying a few feet away. “Ray, I think the bodies are connected somehow—possibly with one soul. It’s the only thing you detected keeping the real Selene alive, but wouldn’t the demons need her soul for the clone? I mean, that’s what demons always want—your soul. Taking it must be what allows the power shift to happen.” It was remarkable, really. Transferring a supernatural’s raw magic and power was unheard of in my world. If the sorcerers had truly teamed up with the demons and gained this knowledge, it would be a supernatural game changer.
Ray immediately raised his head in the air as his eyes shone silver.
I knew the moment he figured it out. His eyes snapped to mine. “The soul is split. You were right.” He shook his head, his forehead crinkling in concentration. “This is very wrong. My body is telling me it’s not supposed to be like this.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s highly unusual, and the universe doesn’t like when things like this happen. Very bad chi.”
“But that explains it, right?” I said. “Neither Selene can survive with half a soul. When the demons make a clone, I bet they take the whole soul. But Selene’s immortality must have torn it in two somehow.” Her godhood had tried to save her. My bet was that Selene had been the first goddess to ever make a deal with Hell, and that the demons had had no idea a goddess couldn’t die.
Now they did.
Ray angled his nose in the air again, sensing something else. His head turned back and forth like a bloodhound on the scent. He leaped up and rushed over to the clone and lowered his mouth over hers and inhaled.
I rose and took a step back.
Tyler and Rourke gathered behind me and Lili stood off to the side, all of us waiting to see what would happen next.
After a moment Ray lifted his head up, his eyes cascading to full black as his incisors snapped down. His vampire and reaper sides together as one. It was a bit chilling to see. He was a formidable supernatural who was currently on a mission. And his mission was to save Selene. It was the unlikeliest scenario I would’ve ever guessed would happen during my trip to the Underworld.
My wolf howled in my mind, urging us to stop whatever him. I’m not getting involved, I told her. It’s not up to us any longer. If her immortality tried to save her soul, there has to be a damn good reason behind it. We’re going to have to wait this out. If she lives and comes back from this at full strength, out for revenge, we’ll deal with it then. My wolf clacked her jaws at my foolishness. I know you disagree, but eradicating a proposed threat is not the answer. Clearly something else going on here.
Ray staggered over to the real Selene, who had stopped struggling and appeared to be unconscious. Ray placed his lips over hers and blew.
Her chest heaved once, twice, and by the third time she coughed and sputtered, bringing her arms over her head. She blinked her eyes open as she gasped, recoiling away from Ray. “What are you doing? Get away from me!” She shoved him back hard enough for him to lose his balance.
He thumped onto his backside and took in a few breaths of his own, resting his elbows on his knees, clearly worn out from his efforts. “Lady, I just saved your life,” he panted. “Don’t ask me how it happened, because by all rights that piece of your soul shouldn’t have lingered so long. But it did. And I wasn’t sure your body would take it back”—he paused—“but it did. I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but you have a powerful force working for you. And honestly, for the life of me, I have no idea why, because you’re a royal pain in the ass most of the time.” He rose, shaking his arms out. “And next time, a simple thank-you would suffice.”
Selene sat up, clearly bewildered.
I half expected her to start healing from all the previous demon torture immediately. But we all waited and nothing happened. Her hands flew to her hair and ran over her face. She leaped up and ran to a huge mirror mounted on a nearby wall. “It’s not working,” she wailed. “I feel more like myself, but my magic is not returning.”
I pushed my senses out to check for myself, but she was right, her signature hadn’t changed at all. I sighed. “Why don’t you give it more than seven seconds. You just got your soul back together and it may need some time to mend before anything starts regenerating.” I cleared my throat to put emphasis on the next part. “But I’m warning you, Selene, if your magic does come back, and you decide to pick up where you left off back at the arena, I will not hesitate to have Ray suck your soul right back out like that.” I snapped my fingers. “And once he does, it’s all over for good.”
She glared at me in the mirror, but kept her mouth shut. I took that as her accepting my mandate. At least for a few minutes.
I turned and addressed Lili, saying, “How long before you can get word to the Princess?” I was bone-tired, but there was no time to rest. “We need to let her know what’s going on. We will aid her, and once we do that, we leave this world behind for good.”
“The Prince will likely be by the Princess’s side for the rest of the day, as our rules dictate. Once she dismisses him, he will call a meeting with the Council of High Demon Lords to figure out what is to be done about you. He will not come back to his quarters until daybreak. Demons need very little sleep, so we do not use our homes like you do.” Her voice held a wistful note. “But I have the Princess’s private number and will try it now.”
Rourke stood next to me. “Where does the Prince keep his important information, demoness?” We were all standing in a foyer of sorts. It had tall, vaulted ceilings and was very clean. There were very few personal items scattered about, save some knickknacks on various tables. Some of the items looked as though they’d been collected from different planes, set around to remind the Prince of his travels.