front of the train.”
“That’s good. Smart of you.”
Only, that wasn’t good. As much as he’d been hoping to get by with a sleight of hand regarding the soul bringer, now the Nacht März call had not been issued. Vika’s and Libby’s souls were still in jeopardy. Could he find the pieces of the whistle and reassemble them before the forty-eight-hour deadline passed?
“He was here,” she said on a breathless gasp. “Reichardt.”
“What?” He lifted her into his arms and hugged her close. Why was she so cold? Humid air cloaked the tunnel depths. “You should have given him the whistle.”
She shook her head vehemently. “Couldn’t sacrifice all those mortals. Unthinkable. He took...my soul.”
“No, no, Vika, no!”
“I will...survive.” She coiled into him. “Take me home.”
* * *
He’d failed her. He had only wanted to prevent the soul bringer from taking his lover’s soul. And because of his idiot macho rivalry with the warlock, instead he’d handed Vika’s soul to Reichardt on a silver platter.
He set her down on the couch in her living room and brushed aside the hair from her face. She’d walked up the front steps with him, but she was exhausted. She mumbled something about her mala beads in the bedroom, and CJ figured she wanted them. He rushed upstairs to claim the strand of jade beads from the vanity. He draped them over her fingers, and sleep took her as soon as she closed her eyes. He grabbed the red blanket from a nearby chair and covered her to the shoulders.
Salamander jumped onto the back of the couch. The cat mewled warningly at CJ.
“It was my fault,” he said in agreement. “I’m sorry.”
He touched Vika’s pale cheek with his fingers. No rosy blush there. She was cold because she now had no soul.
“Misfortunate lover, mine. I will get it back for you,” he vowed. “If I have to go to Above and Beneath and sort through the eternity of souls within. I promise you.”
He kissed her forehead and stood.
The chandelier was lit, so he flicked it off. It was nearing morning but still dark. Hell, he didn’t need the light anymore. He was free of demons. He should be celebrating. And yet, the inner triumph meant little to him.
He would take on a world of demons in trade for Vika’s soul. And her sister’s soul.
Wondering where Libby was, he pushed open the swinging kitchen door and saw the legs stretched out from beyond the counter.
“Oh, hell.”
He rushed to find Libby on the floor, her hands spread open, eyes closed. Cold to the touch. “That bastard.”
Lifting her, he carried her upstairs to her bedroom and laid her on the bed, covering her with a blanket and making her the same promise he had made to Vika.
“The soul bringer and I are going to come to terms.”
And he suspected one of them wouldn’t survive. But in his heart, he had no idea which of the two of them it would be.
* * *
Ian Grim opened his eyes and stared at the rising sun. Arms stretched out above him and legs sprawled across the gravel, he felt every painful ache, every broken bone and cut that abraded his skin. But it felt...great.
He was healing, slowly. Certainly Jones had taken a lot out of him. A fine match.
But the dark witch had also given him something he hadn’t expected, and he would not begrudge this gift. For indeed, the two demons he felt roil within his soul had been gifts.
“War and Pain,” he muttered, and chuckled at the back of his throat. “I can work with you two.”
Chapter 25
Vika woke in the cool morning light of her living room. The scent of spice welcomed her with a gentle slap to her senses. A rose-embellished porcelain teacup sat on the coffee table, steam wafting from the amber surface.
“You’re awake,” her lover’s voice spoke from somewhere nearby. He sat in the winged chair across the room where shadows yet reigned. “I thought clove and cinnamon would appeal.”
“Thank you.” She sat up and, almost dropping the jade beads, slipped the strand about her wrist, coiling it a few times. Having the prayer beads close gave her solace. She rubbed her palms up and down her arms, feeling inordinately chilled for the middle of summer. She sipped the sweet brew. That hit the spot. Her core felt frozen, stained by darkness. The tea warmed her a little— “The light!”
What sat across from her in the shadows, acting as if her lover?
CJ stood and approached her, his