41. Chapter Forty-One

Iwasn’t going to die down here.

I threw my elbow backwards, dislodging his fangs. They ripped my skin as I pulled away from him. The pain was short and sharp, but my skin immediately knitted back together. Vampire healing was definitely a bonus.

Mordecai laughed, his mouth wide and my blood dripping down his chin. He shot forward, grabbing my shoulders and, taking advantage of my momentary dizziness, he pushed off the floor, hurtling us through the hole in the ground and into the night sky.

Fuck. I was going to empty my stomach contents.

My demon rose up, buzzing under my skin as she compensated for the blood loss Mordecai had just inflicted. I pulled up my knees and thrust both my feet into his torso, dislodging his grip. I tumbled through the air, hair whipping about me as I tried to spot the ground that was rapidly rising to meet me.

I hit the cemetery floor, rolling on impact across the dirt. I scrambled to my feet and readied myself for whatever Mordecai was going to throw at me next. It was then that I finally caught sight of his machine.

Stood some way behind Elspeth’s resting place, three arches connected at a single point, above which sat the lapis lunae encircled by thin rings spinning around it. Runes glowed along each length of the arches as well as in a circle that surrounded it. To the side was a stone table where a body lay, connected to the machine by a thin rope of magic. Judging by the colour of the blonde hair, it was Selene and the magic that Mordecai had syphoned. If I wasn’t looking at the place of my demise, I think I’d be a little in awe of it.

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Mordecai said with reverence as he appeared next to it. “I built it just for you. Impressed?”

A little. “Nope. Looks like shit.”

His face dropped, the wide smile vanishing. “You’re gong to die here.”

“Not if I can help it.”

Mordecai’s chest rumbled as he took a few steps closer. “This is your fate, little one. Your purpose. You won’t escape it.”

Shit. My eyes darted around but the guys were all occupied with the distractions Mordecai brought with him. I was on my own. Well, not completely, I thought as I felt my Sin Reaper waken to full strength.

An explosion rocked the ground and Mordecai used it to his advantage, moving faster than I could see. One moment he was in front of me, the next, he’d run past me, swiping his claws against my skin and ripping my arm into shreds. I healed quickly, but it didn’t mean I was immune to the pain. It hurt like a motherfucker.

I attacked, getting a few hits in against him, but he was faster than me, more precise than me and I struggled to make any real sort of impact. I ducked and defended, and then realisation hit me.

I was a fucking idiot.

I whipped out my shadows, pulling them into solid shapes with sharp points. I hurled them at him, revelling in his gasps of pain as I sliced him as if they were knives. My scythe was in my hand before I could even think about it, blocking his attacks and providing me with the shield I desperately needed.

There was a niggle in the back of my mind, halting my attack and causing hesitation when I tried to use my scythe. I couldn’t use my demon to kill him, but I could sure use her to defend me.

“Give it up, Lori. Why fight the inevitable?” Mordecai screamed, his voice a shriek in the night air.

“Because if I give up, who will stand against you? Who’ll stop this madness?”

He launched at me again, but I took a sideways step, dodging his attack before bringing a shadow blade down on him in a sharp arc. Something warm and wet splashed my face and a painful scream rent the air.

A moment of silence descended as I took in the deep wound I’d inflicted on the vampire. A large gash split the shoulder of his long black coat and blood seeped through it. Shock crossed his face as the first flash of fear flickered in his eyes.

I charged at him again, my battle cry loud and fierce. I wasn’t going to let him win. I slammed my hands into his chest, pushing him backwards towards the machine.

“All you need to do is stand in the circle, Lori. Can you do that for me?”

“And make all your dreams come true?” I snarled. “Not a fucking chance.”

We came together again, a clash of fists and fangs, of snarls and snaps. He thrust out a hand, palm flat against my chest, and I flew backwards. My back crashed into the thick trunk of a tree and my breath left me, forced out by the impact.

Then Mordecai was there, right in my face, his body nestled against mine, pinning me to the tree. My blood still coated his chin, and I noticed the wound in his shoulder from my shadow blades was still bleeding. It had slowed down, but it hadn’t completely healed yet. Interesting.

“You know, I was going to make this easy for you,” he sneered, “but now, I think I’ll take my sweet time.”

“Why? Because I pissed you off?”

He barked a laugh. “No, because I just fucking feel like it.”

Mordecai’s eyes gleamed a bright ruby red as they traced the lines of my face. I thought about the moments when I’d caught a glimpse of something warm beyond the madness. Perhaps it wasn’t too late. Perhaps I could still save him.

“It’s not too late, Mordecai,” I said softly.

His mouth kicked up a grin. “Oh, Lori. Are you trying to save me? How noble.”

“Please,” I said, cupping his face in my hand. “Let me help. I know there’s still some good in there.”

“Lori, I…” His words trailed off and his eyes took on a distant look and lost a bit of their brightness.

Was I getting through to him? I wrapped my fingers in the silken strands of his hair and pulled him close, bring his forehead to mine. “Mordecai, don’t let this be the end.”

He took a deep breath and swallowed. “It’s all I know, Lori. All I yearn for. I can’t… I won’t…”

Then the world plunged into darkness as a glow tainted with blood covered the moon. We both looked up at the night sky and watched in fascination as the red light deepened, casting an eerie glow over the cemetery.

“I’m sorry, Lori. I wish things were different, but they aren’t.”

Pain lanced through my shoulder as Mordecai plunged a long dagger through the hollow of my shoulder. It tore through muscle and cracked the bones on the way through my body. There was a jolt as the tip buried itself in the tree behind me and a scream ripped from my throat. Raw and primal. Poison seeped into my veins as whatever magic Mordecai had covered the dagger in began to take hold. My limbs went numb. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t pull the dagger out. I felt so fucking useless. My body started to shut down to the point where I was only managing to stay on my feet because of the dagger buried in the tree behind me. My powers faded and coldness seeped into my bones. This was it. I was dying.

“Such a walking fucking cliché,” he mocked. “The heroine who wants to save everyone. But look at you now. Broken. Beaten. And your band of merry little assassins is spread out, being picked off one by one and for what? Because you think you’re right. You think I’m the bad guy.”

“Go to Hell!” I spat.

“Oh, I plan to. I’m going to go to the Underworld and tear it down, piece by fucking piece.”

Mordecai’s machine started to whir and a bright glow the same colour as the bloody moon poured from the runes that were littered over its surface.

Oh, fuck. It was starting.

He glanced back at the machine, then up to the sky where the moon was completely red. “It’s almost time. Your death will be a glorious thing. It will wipe out Lucifer, destroying everything he’s built, and the throne will be mine for the taking.”

I needed to destroy the machine, but how? I had to stop this, but I couldn’t move. Tears of impotence burned at the edges of my eyes.

“You’ll never be king. Never be worthy of the throne.”

“Worthy?” he shouted. “You think Lucifer is fucking worthy?”

Mordecai’s eyes flashed before he wrapped his hand around the dagger and pulled it back out the tree and out of my body. I screamed at the white-hot pain and sank to my knees, unable to bear my own weight.

“It’s not about being worthy. Lori, have you not been listening? This is about winning.” Then he wrapped his hand in my hair and dragged me the short distance across to his machine. I tried to kick and break his hold, I really did try, but I couldn’t seem to get my limbs on board. He threw me into the middle of the circle, and I landed in a heap on my side. He stepped over to me and, using the toe of his boot, rolled me onto my back.

I tilted my head back and looked deep into his eyes. “Do you know what I think? I think you’re pathetic. Weak. You have all these mages doing your dirty work and for what? So you can keep your hands clean. You’re too much of a pussy to get them dirty.”

His eyes flashed a bright red and he twirled the dagger between his fingers, his intent clear. It was a beautiful dagger, all ruby gems, diamonds and sharp lines.

“Go on!” I screamed at him. “Do it!”

Mordecai raised the dagger, and I squeezed my eyes shut. No time to say goodbye. No time to worry about how much pain there’d be, I just thought about all those I’d be leaving behind.

But the pain never came.

There was a grunt from somewhere above me, followed by an unmistakable coppery smell.

My eyes flew open. “Fenris… no!”

Blood poured from his abdomen as Mordecai screamed in the background.

Mordecai lunged again, but Fenris didn’t move, blocking the attack on me with his body. The blade plunged into his back. There was blood everywhere. Pouring over my hands as I tried to stop Fenris bleeding to death above me. And my sobs were so loud. No, please no. Why wasn’t he moving?

Lightning sparked around us as Fenris tried to retaliate but he couldn’t keep Mordecai away. He was too determined, too angry, too focussed on his revenge to be stopped.

Another swing of the knife. Another stab wound in his back.

“Do something!” I screamed up at him.

“I am,” he replied softly, his brown eyes soft and full of love. “I’m saving you.”

I could feel his magic humming along my skin, building in the air around us. Panic rose in my chest. No. Not that. Anything but that. “What are you doing?”

“Hush. It’s okay,” he said softly.

“No, no, no.”

“Close your eyes.”

It took me a second to realise what was happening, but I squeezed them shut just before Fenris exploded into a massive ball of pure elemental energy.

A last defence.

A last resort.

I sensed the light dim and opened my eyes. Mordecai was nowhere to be seen, demons had been flung in different directions, and the lapis lunae sat in pieces on the floor next to me.

Fenris fell to the side, his chest heaving. Oh, God. There was so much blood. It was everywhere. His clothes were soaked in it. It pooled beneath him as he lay there, coughing up yet more blood. I scrambled to my knees, my limbs still refusing to cooperate, but I managed to pull his head into my lap and cradle his face in my hands.

“What did you do?” I asked on a sob.

His hand wrapped around my wrist. “What had to be done.”

“Lori! Fenris!” Jasper yelled as he fell to the ground next to us.

The others joined us, standing close and forming a circle to protect us.

Fenris was dying.

I closed my eyes, searching for the ribbon of his soul. It was there, but faint. The colour almost faded. I could fix this. I could pull on it and strengthen it. Infuse the life spark. I’d done it with Iveri, I could do it now. I tried to reach for it, but it pulsed and stung me, refusing to cooperate.

Fenris groaned. “Stop… Lori. You can’t fix this one.”

I opened my eyes and found his brown ones staring up at me. My own eyes stung with the tears I desperately wanted to shed, but I needed to think. To focus. There had to be something we could do.

But I knew there wasn’t. He was fading and there was nothing anyone could do. I couldn’t save him. I had the power of life but because I’d already used it on him, I couldn’t save him again. Which was stupid.

I held him tighter, stupidly hoping that would keep him with me. “Please, don’t die.”

He coughed a wet, raspy chuckle. “Not sure I can do that.” He held his hand up. “My ring. Take it.”

“No, I—”

“Lori, please.”

He locked gazes with me, and I hated how this felt like a sense of finality. An ending. I didn’t want it. I just wanted Fenris.

I pulled the ring from his finger, a sob escaping. I tried to keep it in, to be strong, but the pain was too much.

“I choose you, Lori,” he said, his voice faint.

I slipped the ring onto the ring finger of my left hand and let it resize itself to fit my much smaller digit. Then the dam I’d been hiding all my emotion behind burst and tears fell freely down my face.

“Please, don’t go,” I sobbed. “I love you.”

He smiled weakly. “I love you, too.”

Then he was gone.