Forged by Fate (10 page)

He drew in a cleansing breath, basking in the sun that had peeked through the clouds. It was amazing how such beauty could be found so close to a gate to Hades. But if he was to figure out what was going on with Aggie and the sudden shift of power Theo felt in the pit of his stomach, a trip to Hades was in order.

His thoughts went to Sadie. She was in class, taking the final exam of her college career. Within days, she’d pack up her dorm room and start her new life.

Hopefully, she was beginning to see that her new life was more than just a new apartment and a new job. Theo wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait to claim her.

He ached to be with her now. The overwhelming desire was no surprise to him—she was his Mate, after all, and he’d withheld himself from pleasures his entire existence to be with her and her alone. But to hold her so close, especially the previous night, and not be able to join with her was torture. Watching her sleep, witnessing glimpses of her dreams, was overwhelmingly intimate, and he needed more.

But the unrest Aggie and his arrogant demon gang caused him was too much to ignore. He faced skyward and took in a deep breath.
Okay, Great One, help me find answers.

He spun around and took off, full speed, down the foothill to the south side where a gate was located. It had been where Aggie had first come through. Even then, months ago, Aggie had been strong. Theo hadn’t suspected just
how
strong, but he had seen it before in his existence.

Evil evolves. Adapts to survive. Hundreds of years ago, there’d been an upsurge in evil. Several Gatekeepers were killed in a battle overseas. As much as Theo wanted to deny it, this situation with Aggie felt the same.

To return to earth once stabbed by the Mavet and vanquished with the binding words? Yes. Things were changing.

He came to a stop between two massive pine trees: the gate. Unseen to the human eye, but still very real, a rip in reality shimmered before him. The wavering black void reeked of sulfur. Of evil.

“I knew you’d come.” Aggie’s deep voice sent Theo spinning around. “If you could see the look on your face.” Aggie grinned hideously, his fangs protruding from his tight lips.

Theo sent out a telekinetic alert to Justin, telling him he’d made contact with Aggie and to stay close to Sadie.

“Nice try, Shomrei.” Aggie grinned and glanced to the side.

On the ground to Theo’s left lay a crystal. It glowed white, and a subtle hum of energy radiated from it. As Theo looked around, he saw three more.
Shit.

“Fire agate that has been spelled just right and placed at each corner can hold even your telepathic connection to your Companion hostage.” Aggie paced before him, his hands clasped behind his back.

Aggie wore black clothing: a long-sleeved shirt with a collar that covered his entire neck, pants, and black boots. Surprisingly, he didn’t appear to be carrying a weapon that Theo could tell.
Magic
. He was tapped into some serious dark magic. Theo had heard of demon witches, some even born in Hades with the strongest ties to Lucifer’s power.

Shit.

“So predictable. Doing everything to figure the situation out. To keep your
Mate
safe.”

Theo puffed out his chest and reached for his daggers.

“Think about it. We got through a splice without your knowledge.” He inched forward. “And the other splice is so close to the campus…”

Theo’s gut dropped. Sadie and Justin.
No, they’re safe
. He would have felt something.

“You will come with us willingly. That should prompt the girl’s instinct to find you, and she
will
find you. Especially if she feels your pain.” A cruel laugh slid from Aggie’s mouth. “I’m an impatient demon, Theo. I’m sick of waiting for her to make her choice, and I need you two bonded.”

“Why? What are you planning?” Not that Aggie would tell him, but the question just spilled out.

Aggie couldn’t kill Theo. Gatekeepers were blessed with angelic protection along the neck. Impenetrable.

Until mated.

Aggie needed Theo mated so he could be killed.

A wave of fear slammed into him as he thought things through. Or Aggie could kill Sadie now, preventing Theo from ever coming into his full powers. That would give evil an advantage, because obviously things were changing if Aggie was battling through Theo’s vanquish.

Evil evolves
.

Not to mention Theo would live out his eternity half a person without his Mate. A fact that would, no doubt, give Aggie much pleasure.

“I see the options running through your eyes, Gatekeeper.” Aggie snickered, confidence—no, arrogance—oozing off his shoulders. “This is so much bigger than simply killing you. Though killing you is certainly a nice perk.”

Theo stepped forward, hands squeezing his weapons until they ached. A jolt of electricity blasted through him, sending him on his ass. A line of demons filed out from the trees behind Aggie.

“I brought some friends who have a vested interest in helping me send out the
bat signal
to your Mate.” A collective rumble emanated from the team of demons now siding up with Aggie.

Theo recognized them all, having vanquished them over the centuries. They’d have quite a time, indeed, bleeding him.

He analyzed his magical prison for any sign of weakness or a way out. To his left was a boulder flanked by two solid pine trees. To his right and behind Aggie and his team of demons lay the vast forest. Behind Theo the gate into Hades flickered. Magic—especially dark magic—wasn’t something he was particularly versed in, but one thing he
did
know was that his Mavet was a Heaven-made weapon. Blessed by The Great One himself, the Mavet had dominion over all things evil. Theo turned to his left and threw his blessed dagger at the gemstone with all his strength.

The jewel shifted and a blast of white erupted, followed by unholy bellows.

Theo leaped toward Aggie, but three demons intercepted him around the waist. The momentum jolted him back through the gate.

A wave of sulfur hit Theo like a cannon to the gut. Bones shattered beneath the weight of a demon’s shoulder to his ribs.

He fought for a gasp of air and glanced at his surroundings.

Too bad it showed another team of demons crawling out of the shadows of the great wall of granite looming above.
Hades.

Chapter Eighteen

A wave of nausea blasted into Sadie at her desk. She crouched forward and grabbed her stomach, biting back a scream.

It was as if someone had stabbed her with a salt-coated knife.

“Are you okay?” the girl sitting next to her whispered, then looked at the professor perched at the front of the class.

“Cramp.”

“That’s one hell of a cramp.”

“
Shhht
.” Professor Rigley stood.

Though barely three inches taller than Sadie, his bite was
way
worse than his bark. Any hint of cheating, and he’d fail you. One strike and you were out.

Sadie gulped in air, barely able to stave off vomiting.
I can do this.
One more question. Seven parts to it, though, both multiple choice and essay.

Even if she didn’t pass this one question, she’d aced the other nine.
No, focus.

She always got a rotten stomach from the stress of final exams, but nothing like this.

Hushed speaking filled the classroom, and she looked up.

“Shit,” she whispered and faced her paper again. Justin was talking to the professor. No. No. No. He couldn’t ruin this for her.

Another wave of agony rattled through her bones. The grimace leaked out before she could restrain it.

“Dude. You gonna puke?” The kid on the other side of her scooted back.

Sadie focused on her test, filling in the ovals beside the correct answers. Only a few more. Then a written portion. Her stomach gurgled, her heart hammered, and sweat dropped onto the paper.

The words on the paper shook as if her eyeballs were vibrating and couldn’t focus. Bile stung the back of her throat. Yep. She was done. One push of her chair and she was on her feet, but something dribbled down her face.

Warm, from her nose.

She touched her skin, and her finger came back crimson. Darkness nipped at the corners of her vision, and she swayed.

Chairs scooted, raking against the tile floor, and it rang like a gong in her mind. She grappled for the chair behind her to steady herself, but it shuffled away as if repelled by her.

More voices, louder.
Justin
. Yes, that was Justin’s voice. Looking through a tunnel, she reached for him, not quite sure if he was close enough, but it didn’t matter, maybe someone would steady her.

“Get out of the way.” Justin’s voice boomed. “Now.”

Sadie tipped forward. Warm hands grabbed her from beneath her armpits and held her up. No corners of tables or desks cutting into her forehead, so that was good.

“Stay with me, Sadie. Just hold on.”

“Grab…my bag.” Her body went weightless, floating. No, she felt strong arms beneath her. Under her legs, beneath her arms.

“I’ve got her. Open the door.” Voices ensued, squeaks of shoes on tile sounded.

“My test,” she whispered.

“Professor Rigley. She finished her test. You give her an A.” Justin’s voice left no room for negotiation.

And then the moving began. Whispers surrounded her as Justin whisked her through the hallway, holding her in his arms like a newlywed.

“Hold on. Almost out.”

Seconds later, he burst through the door and down the stairs of the building. “I need to get you out of here.”

“What’s happening?” Her stomach roiled again, followed by more stabbing pain in her side. So much she arched her back, and he nearly dropped her.

He stopped and set her on her feet, but held her close. “What? What’s the matter?”

“I was…hoping you…could tell…me.” Gasps for air between the words didn’t do much to stave off the darkness.

“Is she okay?” someone asked.

“Yes. Panic attack. I have her. Good-bye.” Justin’s voice was as commanding as ever, but Sadie couldn’t ignore the fear laced in there. Lots of fear.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Well, for one, you’re bleeding from the nose, all sweaty, and in pain without any sign of injury.” He scanned the area. A deep inhale expanded his chest, and he held it. “I can’t sense him. Nothing.”

She stood straight through the cramping muscles in her stomach. “Theo. Where’s Theo?” Her heart nearly launched into her mouth. Fear tightened around her intestines.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

“Walk. Keep moving.” Justin grabbed her arm and led her forward.

Several deep breaths cleared the darkness that had been threatening to overtake her. Control. She needed to take control. Focus.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Our place. I sense demons lurking. But I can’t sense my brother. That’s never a good sign.”

“Happen often?” Her gut churned as if she’d eaten week-old chicken or something.

“No. But when it does, it usually means trouble.” He looked at her. “How are you feeling now?”

“Ummm…better?” She took inventory. Faintly light-headed, that nasty bile taste, but her nose had stopped bleeding. “Yeah, better. Any ideas?”

“With you, anything is possible. You can hold a Mavet when you shouldn’t, and now, you just happen to be…sick right after Theo goes offline.”

“Where is he?”

“He went to Hades to investigate—”

“Hades? As in, he
chose
to go into Hades?” She slapped her hand to her head and tugged at her hair. “You can
talk
to him in Hades?”

“Um, usually, yeah…but if he’s fighting or, well, just not always.”

“Shit.” She picked up the pace to stay with him. “When
can’t
you reach him?”

“Sometimes when he’s focused, he doesn’t hear much. Like if he’s battling someone, hunting something down, or mentally shuting me out.” Justin cleared his throat. “When he’s with his Mate in certain…situations.”

“And.” She glanced at him.

“Death.”

“What?” Sadie stopped.

“Don’t worry. It’s not that. I’d know. Trust me.” He tugged at her hand to get her moving again. “Because I die if he dies, and I’m not feeling weak.”

“You die instantly?”

“No, there’s some lag time. A day. Maybe a week. But I’d feel the loss immediately. He’s not dead.” Justin clenched his jaw, and Sadie knew then that he might be lying. “But there’s something going on.”

They made a beeline to the parking lot beside her dorm.

“I’m the red Camaro at the end.”

“If Theo’s in Hades, why would you be taking me to your house?”

“I’m supposed to take you there if anything happened on his little…investigation. I can keep you safest there because it’s protected.”

“But what about Theo?”

“He’ll get out of whatever is happening. He can’t be killed.” Justin paused and glanced back toward the campus. His grip tightened around her hand. “Damn it.”

Sadie looked as well and saw three tall guys hurrying toward them. They were way too big to be human. They didn’t show it, but Sadie knew there were fangs beneath their tight lips. Claws hidden beneath the black gloves.

“You still have one of his daggers?”

She patted down her back pockets. “Doesn’t really fit in these jeans, you know? Give me my bag.”

“The dagger’s in there?”

“No. But I always carry nunchakus.” She shook her head. “Hello, black belt here.”

“Nunchakus won’t cut it against demons.” A growl vibrated through the air, and Justin tossed her bag to the ground. “We’re not going to make it to the car.”

“They wouldn’t attack us in broad daylight, would they?”

“Not many people out right now. College campus sleeps late. Those who do witness, they’ll be mind-wiped.”

“Shit.”

“Exactly.” He dug out a dagger. “It’s not a Mavet, but you can do some serious damage if you can behead them.”

“Did you say
behead
?”

“Doesn’t end them permanently like the Mavet, but it gets them out of your face for now. And if they’re first-timers, never been to Hades, it’ll send them there.”