A DANGEROUS BARGAIN (The Sentinel Demons) (16 page)

“Did you really think I wouldn’t?” he rasped into her ear. “Shit. This place is even worse than I imagined. And I don’t have any of my powers here.”

He let go of her long enough to yank the t-shirt from his jeans and pull it over his head. Lifting her arms, he dropped the garment over her head, covering her nude body. “Not that I wasn’t enjoying the view, but I don’t think this is the place for me to be distracted by looking at you.” He kept his voice low, pulling her back into his arms.

I don’t know how I even got here. Or how to get out.
She clung to Zach, wondering if they were both stuck now.

“We’ll get out. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for a honeymoon destination,” Zach grumbled as his eyes scanned the area.

She bit her lip to keep from laughing, feeling safe now that Zach was here. “We aren’t married,” she reminded him in a hushed voice.

“We’re mated. And we will be married,” he informed her in an arrogant tone. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he pulled back to look into her eyes. They were glowing amber as he added, “Kat, you have to get out of here. I don’t have time to explain, but you have the power to get out. You just need to focus it. Try to center it in your gut and concentrate on where you want to be.”

“What about you? I’m not leaving you here.” Even if she did have the power, she wasn’t going without Zach. Obviously…he didn’t have the magic to escape. He had already admitted he was powerless in this realm.

Zach shook her lightly. “Leave. Concentrate. Do it now before we’re discovered.”

His face was fierce, but Kat could see the underlying concern in his desperate expression. He’d stay and perish just to see her safe. “No. I’ll find a way to take us both.”

“I’ll follow. Just gather your power and get out,” he demanded, his expression unyielding.

Kat knew he was lying. She was inside his mind and he wasn’t blocking their path of communication.

“She can’t. She’s stuck here and so are you. Mastering the art of realm-walking takes time and instruction.” The voice was deep, casual and yet chastising. “You both need help. If you had stayed long enough, Zach, I would have told you what to do.”

Kat turned, her eyes frightened, her knees nearly giving way in relief as she saw a disgruntled Kristoff, his arms crossed in front of him, obviously displeased.

Zach slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her against his body as he answered simply, “She’s my mate.”

With a small, veiled smile, Kristoff answered, “Glad you finally figured that one out.”

Kat was just opening her mouth to whisper a retort when she caught something unexpected, a movement off to her left. Two women were walking together, moving out of an alcove on the other side of the huge room and toward a large door. They were walking away, their back to her, but she had caught their profile as they’d turned, and they were definitely
not
Evils. “Women. Human females,” she said, her voice hushed and confused. “They’re alive. We have to help them.”

“No. We can’t. Not now,” the Sentinel king answered sternly. Stepping forward, Kristoff laid a hand on each of their shoulders and they all vanished, leaving the dismal surroundings of the demon realm behind.

*****

Zach let fly a very long string of curses as all three of them arrived in his bedroom. Holding Kat tightly against him, he glowered at Kristoff. His first instinct had been to protect his mate; his second to rescue the humans in the demon realm. “You knew,” he accused his king. “There are human females still alive in that realm. Why?” The Evils used humans and threw them away once they had served their purpose. As soon as their souls were drained, they no longer needed them.

Removing his hands from Zach and Kat, Kristoff folded his arms across his broad chest, his expression stony as he answered, “They’re still useful to the Evils or they would be dead. I was aware that they had prisoners, a few humans with souls that didn’t completely drain and reenergized after power was taken from them by the Evils. They are used over and over again by them,” Kristoff said sadly, his expression tight.

“Why didn’t you tell us? We have to-”

“You can do nothing, Zach. None of us can. It’s not time. We don’t have the power to rescue them. These are all women who made a demon bargain. I can’t pull them from the demon realm. They would pay the penalty of death for breaking their bargain. ”

“You’re able to transport there?” Zach answered. “Why didn’t you tell us that?”

Kristoff let out an audible breath as he answered impatiently, “For what purpose? I’m king. I can go there, but I pay the price for it, and so will you. And we can do nothing. We have no power there and we can’t take out prisoners right now. The only reason I could retrieve you and Kat is because you are not under an Evil’s bargain.”

Even as the Sentinel demon king spoke the words, Zach felt his entire body quake, and his internal organs burn like they had been set on fire with a very large torch. He released Kat and sank onto the bed, staring up at Kristoff, noticing his face was pale. “How do we pay for it?” he asked, afraid he already knew. “Kat?” he rasped as his skin started to burn white hot. Turning his eyes to his mate, she looked alarmed for him, but showed no signs of pain.

“Kat will be well,” Kristoff answered. “She’s a realm-walker, through a power given to her by a god and released when you were mated. She's now immune to the Evil’s toxins in any realm. You and I, however, are not.” Sinking into a chair, he continued, “We are protected against toxins on the human plane, but are infected with them the moment we enter the demon realm. If you would have waited, I would have gone to Kat once you located her so we weren’t both poisoned.”

Zach’s jaw was tight as he answered, “Would have gone anyway.” He looked up at Kat, her face tormented as she sat beside him and stroked his thigh. “She’s worth it.” Even as the excruciating pain tore through his entire body like a force of nature, Zach didn’t regret going after Kat. And he never would. He’d always go after her.

“You need to lie down,” Kat ordered, looking first at him and then at Kristoff.

The Sentinel demon king waved off her concern as he instructed, “Make him comfortable. He’s in for a rough ride.”

No shit. I feel like somebody is trying to remove my incinerated internal organs with a dull knife.
Still, Zach tried to close his thoughts, unwilling to have Kat suffer with him.

Two seconds later, Zach found himself flat on his back in bed, his body nude but covered by the sheets and quilt. He knew the change in position was courtesy of his king’s magic, but he didn’t have time to comment before his entire being was engulfed by a pain unlike anything he’d ever experienced, and he was thrown into the depths of Hell.

Kat choked back a sob as she watched Zach thrash with pain, his eyes tightly closed, his face ashen and tormented. Still dressed in only Zach’s t-shirt, she crawled into the bed with him, tears rolling down her face as she begged Kristoff, “Please. Tell me what I can do to help him.” The king sat stoically in the chair across the room, his own face strained.

“He won’t die. But he’ll hallucinate and feel so much pain that he might wish he was dead for the next two days,” Kristoff answered stiffly.

“I need to help him. Is this the same thing I felt when I was infected by the Evil’s claws?” she asked, her voice shaky.

Kristoff shook his head. “It’s different. You were injected but the toxins wore off fairly quickly, although I know you were in severe pain. Zach is truly infected. It’s more severe, a penalty as well as a poison. The intensity won’t stop for two days. It doesn’t improve during that time.”

“Oh God,” Kat moaned, not sure how Zach could withstand that level of pain for two days. “What about you?”

“I’m king. I’m more powerful, and it won’t be as severe for me. I’ve built up a tolerance since I’ve been to the demon realm before. I’ll be fine,” he answered, still entirely alert, but not looking very healthy either.

Zach groaned, and Kat flinched, sharing his pain. But even in his tormented state, she could sense him trying to block his thoughts. Stubborn demon. Wrapping her arms around his body, she tried to shelter him. “I feel so helpless.” And she hated it.

“You’re his mate, Kat. You can reach him, try to take away some of the anguish. I can guarantee most of his hallucinations will be about you. He’ll think you’re being harmed or killed. A Sentinel’s worst nightmare, not being able to protect the people he cares about,” Kristoff commented quietly.

If there was any chance she could ease Zach’s pain, she’d do it. He was in this condition because of her, because he’d come after her. “Why did you have to come after me? This is my fault,” she whispered softly to Zach, her voice both loving and frustrated.

Kristoff shrugged slightly. “Because he’s willing to risk anything for you.” Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees, staring intently at Kat. “This isn’t your fault, Kat. You had a different kind of dormant
radiant
power, something we’ve never seen before. What would happen with your magic as a realm-walker was an unknown situation to all of us. Even to me. But no Sentinels go to the demon realm again if we can avoid it. After this next forty-eight hours, you’ll understand why. I’ll help you control your new ability, but the time hasn’t come for us to rescue the human women there. We can’t. Not yet. The effort would be futile.” He nodded toward Zach as he finished.

“I understand. And I don’t want to see anyone else suffer like this. How can I help him? I love him,” she answered, desperate. If there was a chance to save Zach some of this torture, she’d do it.

Kristoff smiled slightly, looking satisfied with her answer. “It won’t exactly be easy on you.”

“I don’t care. Tell me.”

Kristoff explained patiently before fading away to deal with the fallout from entering the demon realm.

*****

Focus, dammit. Focus.
Kat had been concentrating on staying in the core of Zach’s mind for two straight days, but being constantly bombarded by his torment was almost unbearable. His body was racked with unceasing pain, and the focus of his hallucinations all seemed to be…her. He didn’t know what was real or imaginary, so he was experiencing every vision as if it were really occurring. And even though she knew everything he was seeing was an illusion, his pain was all too real. Trying to avoid being caught in the web of false scenes playing in his brain, she tried to watch the current scene of her being tortured and killed by the Evils as though it were a bad movie.
Really bad.

Her arms wrapped around his groaning, sweaty, and thrashing body, Kat broke through to Zach’s consciousness. “Zach. I’m alive. It’s just an illusion. I’m here with you,” she whispered softly, focusing on the small thread of his rational mind that she was holding onto…just barely.

Kat? No, you can’t be Kat. She’s dead.
His internal voice was as agonized and raw as his emotions.

“I’m here. I’m not dead. This will all be over shortly. Please. Hang on and trust me,” she begged.

It was a scenario they had been through over and over again in the last two days, and her body was screaming with emotional and physical exhaustion. Zach would calm for a short while and then the agony would start all over again. She’d tried to take some of his physical pain, but found it impossible. He wouldn’t release it to her. He might not be conscious, but his damn stubborn nature refused to let her take any of the burning pain that she knew accompanied his mental anguish. Every time she tried, he balked, holding onto his agony instead of letting her share it with him, bring it to a manageable level for him by taking some of it into her body.

Even in his current state, he’s protecting me.

“Kat!” Zach jackknifed into a sitting position, howling her name like a wolf in torment, his chest heaving as his eyes frantically scanned the dimly lit room.

“Zach? Are you okay?” She sat up, laying a hand on his muscular forearm.

His eyes were glowing, drilling into her like a laser as he jerked his head toward her voice. “Are you really here?” he asked in a husky voice, his eyes brimming with incredulous joy, but wary.

“I’m fine. You were suffering delusions from going to the demon realm. It poisoned you. You’ve been out for two days now,” she answered, running a hand up and down his arm to soothe him.

“Fuck.” He ran a hand down his face and through his sweat-dampened hair. “You were there, but I didn’t know whether your death was real or if we were together.” He lifted her bodily onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his trembling body. “You stayed with me. Tried to take my pain.”

“Yes,” she agreed softly, her mouth against his ear as she held him. “But you’re so damn bullheaded that you wouldn’t share.”

“I want to share a lot of things with you, sweetheart, but that kind of pain isn’t one of them,” he murmured as he tightened his hold, clinging to her like he’d never let her go, fisting large portions of his t-shirt that she was still wearing.

Exhausted, she laid her head on his shoulder. “We both need a shower. And food.” She had no more than said the words than her t-shirt was replaced with a clean, pink nightshirt. Zach was still naked, but his hair was dry and his body smelled wickedly masculine, like he’d just left the shower. The sheets beneath them were clean and dry. “Clean-up?” she asked, amused. He really was excellent at cleaning up messes.