Infernal Bonds (25 page)

"How did the mating rituals go?" Quin asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

I punched him in the arm. "There are no mating rituals. Lysander is a hellhound. I did not choose him, the bond has produced some... feelings of protectiveness over him. Nothing more."

A cool feeling flickered in my chest, a sense of sadness descended over me. It was gone in seconds. I sighed and focused on the job at hand, the ritual was that evening. It was our last chance; we couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. Breakfast was quiet. Lysander refused to look at me, which suited me just fine. A feeling of excitement formed as we headed back to Kadrix's workshop. We were going to end this. The city would be ours again. Quin practically bounced into the workshop; he greeted Kadrix with a light kiss on the cheek. The elf bent him over and kissed him deeply. I looked away and admired the latest stack of books that had been precariously stacked in the corner.
 

When I heard them talking, I turned to face them and said, "How fascinating, I haven't seen elf mating rituals in person before."

Kadrix grinned at me; Quin blushed fiercely. I approached them, almost tripping over a brass bowl that had been left on the floor.
 

"What have you done to your hound, Evelyn? He looks as though you stole his favourite kitten."

I shrugged and said, "Tell me of this ritual and the weapons you're making."

Elise came through the back entrance and appeared behind Kadrix. Her hair was scraped back, a tan leather jacket hugging her delicate form and barely hiding the blades she had on her person.
 

"I've been doing some reading on the ritual, as it happens."

I didn't like where that was going.
 

"It mentioned a sacrifice, but there was something odd about the phrasing."

Kadrix scowled and dug out a large leather-bound tome from under the table behind him.
 

He threw it open and ran his finger down the page before he paused and muttered to himself, "A sacrifice of fire. So the person will be burned rather than cut."

Elise pursed her lips, but said nothing more until she looked at Lysander.
 

"Is there something wrong, Lys?"

She looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. I rolled my eyes; I hadn't done anything wrong. Lysander didn't answer her.
 

I got things back on track. "And where is this ritual being held?"

"Old Town Square, there's a convergence of lines and no fewer than two nodes there."

I curled my lip. "How are we supposed to hide that from the tourists?"

Quin said, "Matyas and the others are working on that, I believe they said something about saying a movie's being filmed there."

"Whatever works," I said.
 

Kadrix said, "As I have you all here, you can make yourselves useful. There are a few hours before we can leave."

I gave him a dark look. "You're the one who arranged to have us arrive this early."

"Yes, to help me put together the tools that will help you save this city."

I saw no reason in arguing; besides, I wanted to get a better grasp on how magic worked. I didn't like it, but there was something fascinating about it.
 

The hunters had done a good job. The usually busy square was empty, even the pigeons had vanished somewhere. It was a little eerie. We split up and positioned ourselves around the large square; Elise was quite certain that the ritual would occur somewhere in front of Kinský Palace, the elegant soft-pink-coloured building with stucco decorations and a red roof. Opposite it stood the tower, opposite in aesthetic with dark grey-brown stone, well-worn and beloved by thousands for its complicated astronomical clock. I wasn't surprised to find ourselves back there; it was the heart of the city, and it made sense that there was far more to it than some elegant architecture.
 

I casually leaned back against the tower wall; something about its old stone gave me a feeling of comfort. I idly ran my fingers over the silver bracelet without even realising I was doing it. Had I been too harsh on Lysander? It didn't matter. The sun was setting, a spectacular explosion of peaches, umbers, and violet bursting across the horizon. The temperature plummeted along with the sun, causing me to tuck my hands in my pockets, my patience waning. We were so close. I kept my eye on the rooftops, watching for shadows and witches. A good number were killed by the demon, but they were unlikely to be the end of it. None came. Instead, the hound strolled in the square alone. His pale blond hair stood out in the darkness; even in the dim light the confidence of his swagger was clear. I felt Lysander's hackles rise and ensured that there was nothing to hold him back within my mind.
 

The second hound, the other, casually made his way to the area in front of the palace. He looked around the square as though surveying his kingdom.
 

"Come out, come out, wherever you are. I know you're here, marrok."

There was still no movement along the rooftops. I moved in closer. Lysander emerged from the shadows and approached the other hound with his shoulders back and his chest pushed out. We each closed in around the hound, always looking for others. He was alone? Where was the sacrifice?
 

The other hound opened his arms wide and grinned, "Marrok Lysander, you will finally make our master proud, as the final sacrifice. A fitting ending for a pathetic runt such as you."

Lysander snarled, but held firm a good dozen feet away from him. Quin looked at me from my left near the small road that passed around the edge of the square. I held my hand up. This was Lysander's fight, we wouldn't interfere if we didn't need to. Still, I pulled my blades and edged closer; there was too much at stake to watch entirely unprepared. Elise came up on my right; Kadrix wasn't far behind her. The three hunters came from Celetná, the narrow street filled with tourist shops and boutiques. We slowly edged forwards, enclosing the hounds and forming a circle. Lysander held the other hound's eye; this was his fight, but we would end it if we needed to. A glance around told me that everyone had drawn their weapon of choice. It was down to my hound now.
 

An unspoken cue passed between the two hounds. The other launched himself at Lysander, his arms outstretched and teeth bared. It was a terrifying sight filled with pure malice and murderous intent. I gripped my blades tighter and hoped Lysander was worth my faith.

Lysander side-stepped the clumsy pounce with ease, but the other hound was prepared for his swift punch. Lysander's fist hit thin air, and the other hound landed on his feet just behind Lysander. I gripped my blades tighter, willing it to be over quickly. The other hound smashed his fist into Lysander's shoulder, forcing him to step forwards and lose his balance. He recovered quickly, turning on his heel and slamming his fist into the other hound's jaw. They moved incredibly quickly, their motions almost a blur to my eye. The other hound was relentless and aggressive, constantly pushing forwards and swinging his fists at Lysander. Lysander, however, blocked the blows with apparent ease and bided his time, carefully timing punches and kicks to the other hound's weak spots, causing him to snarl and snap at Lysander's face.
 

The other hound jumped back and shifted into his hound, a heavily muscled form with bright red eyes. Lysander followed suit. He snarled when the other hound sank his teeth into his haunch mid-shift. They were on each other in barely the blink of an eye. Teeth snapping on thin air, claws raking through coarse fur. They growled and snarled, rolling around on the ground. The other hound yowled when Lysander wrapped his jaw around his lower foreleg and snapped the bone, the crunch audible from where I stood. Blood trickled over Lysander's lips and coated his chin. The other hound kicked out, trying to get Lysander off him and put some space between them. Lysander yelped when the other hound tore a chunk out of his shoulder; it was enough for the other hound to give himself the room he needed.
 

He shifted back into his human form, his hand a limp mess that hung at the end of a ragged bloody arm. Lysander circled around him, still in his hound form. The other hound caught fire. I was momentarily blinded by the intense light. Lysander snapped at his thighs, but the other hound was too quick and kicked Lysander in the head, sending him flying a few feet. He landed with a heavy thud. I wanted to run to him, but he scrambled to his feet and shifted into his human form. Flame rippled over his body. Rage flooded my mind; bloodlust tinged my own thoughts.
 

The other hound was growing desperate. As Lysander circled around him, he tore off his useless hand, leaving a bloody stump. Matyas jumped back when the hand landed near his feet, a charred mess. The other hound pushed hard, lashing out at Lysander with everything he had. A forward kick, quickly followed by a right hook, none of which connected. Lysander danced around him, taunting him. The other hound's anger and desperation made his movements clumsy. He charged at Lysander, who stepped away at the last second. He grabbed the other hound's head and drove his face down onto his knee. The hound barely had a chance to growl before Lysander slammed his fist into the back of his neck. He swept his legs from under him and stamped down on his lower back, driving him into the floor where he stamped on the back of his head, twice. All that was left was a red mess.
 

The relief of victory didn't come. Instead, Elise screamed and dropped to her knees. Kadrix was close behind her. The air became heavy, the ground vibrated; something was wrong. So very wrong.
 

"The ritual was completed," Elise screamed.
 

I didn't understand. It dawned on me as I ran to Elise. The sacrifice would be of fire. The final needed to be a hellhound, it didn't matter which one. How had we missed it? There had been no marks on the ground. I pulled Elise tight to me and stroked her hair trying to soothe her.
 

She wept onto my shoulder. "The hellmouth will open at sunrise. Oh, Evie. What have we done?"

"We didn't know. We'll fix this."

She took a long deep breath and composed herself. "Go to Lysander. I will speak to my contacts."

I ran my hand over her hair once more before I released her. "We'll fix this, Elise."

She gave me a small smile. "We will. My lady wouldn't have it any other way."

Lysander was knelt near the body of the other hound, tears tumbled down his cheeks. I approached him slowly and knelt next to him, taking his hand in mine. I slipped my hand around his cheek, hooking my fingers under his jaw and pulled his face to look at me.
 

"You didn't know," I said quietly but firmly.
 

His eyes glistened with more unshed tears. "I failed you, mistress."

I took a deep breath and pulled him to me. "You didn't, but you are going to help us fix this."

"Whatever it takes, mistress. I promise. I can't lose this. I can't lose you."

"I know. I know," I whispered.
 

I ran my thumb along his cheekbone wiping away the last of his tears. Seeing such a strong predator crying, after the fight I'd witnessed only minutes ago, was surreal. I kissed between his eyes.
 

"You will make me proud. Now. Pull yourself together."

His mouth flickered with a smile. "Yes, mistress."

We stood together and walked to Kadrix and Quin; the hunters didn't dare approach.
 

"Is he ok?" I asked Quin.

He nodded. "He felt it, the shift in the energies. He's recovering."

Quin put his arm around Kadrix's waist and allowed the elf to lean on him while his colour returned. My head was reeling. We had mere hours to prepare for hell on Earth. How did we even prepare for that? I'd read about demons in books, but I hadn't seen more than two in my life, and they had been relatively low level. I knew that they were formed of fire and darkness; they required weapons of water and light to defeat them. I hoped that Kadrix had prepared for this better than we had.
 

After a few minutes, the hunters slowly walked over; they kept looking between Kadrix and Lysander.
 

Matyas said, "What do we do now?"

Quin said, "You gather everyone you can and meet us at the castle before sunrise. Tell them we're fighting demons."

They paled, but said nothing. They glanced between each other, mouths agape.
 

"Run! Time is ticking, you fuckwits!" I shouted.

They did so. They ran. I hoped they'd run quickly enough, although I doubted there was anything to be done. The fate of the city rested firmly on our shoulders, and Elise. Poor precious Elise.
 

Azfin and Haeyl had arrived not long after the hunters had run. They swept us up in the back of a large black car. Kadrix leant on Quin, his breathing shallow; concern was etched on Quin's face as he tenderly stroked the elf's back. Lysander looked out the window and refused to speak; I allowed him his time to brood and replay the fight and mistakes in his mind. The Sidhe explained that Kadrix felt the shift more keenly because he had connected himself to the city to aid in his alchemy and the hunt for the other hound. I fought against the sensation of being lost, of facing the mountainous task before us alone. Kadrix was so frail; logically, I knew that he would recover, but seeing him that way was frightening. We were deposited at Kadrix's workshop, our home away from home. The Sidhe left us, saying they were gathering allies and they would be there at the castle before sunrise.