Given that the Fire Hermessi could only communicate with me in this Ekar form, I had to relay everything he said to Caspian, Fiona and Zane whenever necessary. “Well, he’s not getting cold feet, but he isn’t too comfortable with this, either. It’ll pass.”

“At least he’s a father who actually cares,” Zane grumbled, reminding me of Shaytan’s cruelty toward his own son. Ramin was trying to be a good father, even though he hadn’t had the opportunity to be actively involved in Ledar’s life. He didn’t want Ledar to be stripped of his Hermessi heritage, but we’d all agreed that it was the only way to save Ramin from certain death. He was already barely hanging by a thread, nestled inside an Ekar bird.

“It’s been more than a day since Ramin was attacked on Neraka’s moon,” Fiona said, changing the subject. “Since he’s still alive, Ledar will likely assume he’s weak and hiding somewhere, desperately clinging to life. I can’t imagine Ledar knows about the Ekar trick.”

“No, he doesn’t know,” I replied. “But you’re right. Ledar will be here soon enough. He’ll be looking for Ramin. And given what an evil psycho Brendel is, she’ll definitely want Ledar putting his father out of his misery.” I gave Ramin an apologetic half-smile, which I quickly smothered in sarcasm. “Your son’s coming to kill you. You know that, right?”

“I know,” he mumbled. “It’s why we’re using me as bait here.”

That had been the consensus in our group—baiting Ledar with Ramin was our best shot at saving Ramin. I was scared, deep down. A Hermessi child wasn’t as powerful as a full Hermessi, but I worried that, if we didn’t move fast or smart enough, Ledar might get the drop on us. As a vampire, I had every reason to fear fire, one of the few things that could actually kill me.

“What’s the intel?” I asked Zane. “Has anyone seen or heard of Ledar coming over?”

“There’s been some activity, yes,” he replied. “Someone matching his description has been spotted through the tunnels. He’s likely headed for Infernis as we speak.”

“Yeah, he senses his father. Just like we suspected.” I sighed.

A couple of hours passed as we waited, hidden in these slums of Infernis. Ledar would soon find Ramin, who kept his position on the window ledge. “Window” was a generous name for a square-shaped hole in the dried clay wall of the hut. None of us were comfortable with doing this to Ledar, but he hadn’t given us a choice from the beginning. He’d turned against his own father. He’d betrayed all those who lived and hoped for tomorrow. He’d chosen to be a part of the devastating force that would wipe us all out.

In my book, that would’ve gotten him a death sentence. Ledar was lucky. He would only lose his powers and any shot at a future elemental authority. Neraka didn’t deserve such a skeevy Fire Hermessi, anyway. Ramin was far more qualified—a good-natured entity, the very opposite of what Ledar and his boss, Brendel, represented.

One of the daemon soldiers positioned farther down the narrow alleyway that led up to our huts gave a short hiss. Zane crouched, lowering his head as he glanced at us. “Someone’s coming,” he whispered.

Caspian and I ducked as well, close to the window ledge. I used my True Sight to get a better view of the alleyway. Ledar walked up toward us, unaware that there was an entire welcoming committee here, looking forward to taking him down. How could he have known? We’d kept this secret limited to only one trustworthy garrison. We’d moved through the city with invisibility spells and red garnet lenses, making sure nobody spotted us along the way. We’d been careful.

Ledar, on the other hand, drew his overconfidence from the idea that Ramin could be killed easily, after the Hermessi had delivered the devastating blows. He stilled, just ten yards away from the window, noticing the Ekar bird in the window. Zane and Fiona were less than ten feet to his left, concealed by the pile of crates. None of us made a sound.

“Is… Is that you, Father?” Ledar asked, his eyes wide. His senses told him that Ramin was here, right here. It hadn’t taken long for him to pinpoint the source of that feeling—the bright-red-feathered bird that watched him intently with its amber-bead eyes.

“I’m not the kind to go down that easily,” Ramin said. I could hear him, unlike Caspian. Fiona, Zane, who, along with the other daemons knew not to intervene until I came out first. They didn’t need to know what Ledar and Ramin were discussing at this point—what mattered was the moment I’d come out, giving them the signal to jump in and assist, if necessary. “Did you really think I’d die without a fight?”

Ledar sneered. “Your time is up, old man. A new leadership is coming to Neraka.”

“First of all, I’m a Fire Hermessi. You are but the seed I planted in your mother’s womb, years ago. Second, I am sorely disappointed, son. Your mind is so weak, so easy to corrupt. You don’t deserve to become a Fire Hermessi, ever.”

“I’m afraid you no longer have a say in this, regardless of the tricks you use to keep yourself alive. Though, I must admit, this whole bird thing is impressive. I’ll give you that.”

“This ends now, Ledar,” Ramin replied.

Ledar’s hands lit up orange, fire burning from within. It was bright and powerful, licking at the air around him. Heat ripples moved outward as Ledar stepped forward, his daemon fangs out in a disgusting grin. To the untrained eye, this could easily be the end of Ramin.

My heart thudded. Ledar could easily kill his father, at this point. One fireball was enough. But he didn’t see me coming. I stretched a hand out to my side, reaching the crooked, wide-open doorway. Drawing from within, I channeled a barrier in the palm of my hand.

Before Ledar could release his swelling fire orbs, I pushed the barrier out. It smacked into his chest with such force that it knocked the air out of his lungs and threw him backward.

“I’m no longer feeling sorry for such a murderous son,” Ramin said.

I jumped out, joined by Caspian, Zane, and Fiona. The other daemons surrounded us. Ledar grunted from the pain, but he wasn’t ready to stay down. He tried to get up, his hands burning threateningly. I threw another focused barrier at him. It threw his head back and kept him down.

Zane pounced on him, pinning him against the hard, warm ground. Fiona slapped crystal casings over his hands. She’d procured them from the Nerakian fae sanctuary—the quick and skillful work of the White Witches. Ledar didn’t stand a chance. He struggled against Zane, and he tried to wiggle out, but Fiona was too fast. Ramin had taught me the spell and its procedure, and I, in turn, had instructed Caspian, Fiona and Zane on what needed to be done in order for us to successfully replenish Ramin’s Hermessi fire.

By the time we were done with him, Ledar had been brought up to his knees, hands securely locked inside charmed crystals. “What the hell are you doing?” he protested, snarling at us.

“Teaching you a valuable lesson,” I retorted and proceeded to draw the symbols that Ramin had taught me for the spell. I used white chalk for the main circle and first-stage runes. The Ekar bird flew from its window ledge and landed on my shoulder, watching me carefully as I prepared the ritual.

“You… Who the hell are you?” Ledar croaked as Zane held him down. Caspian and Fiona placed various herbs and crystals along the circle drawing, while the other daemon soldiers leaned in, quiet but curious.

“Stay back, fellas,” Zane said to them. “We don’t know how this magic works. It’s ancient stuff.”

The daemons nodded and put a couple more feet between them and our spell cluster. I used my claws to draw blood from Ledar’s upper arm. The crimson liquid spurted into a small wooden bowl, drawing a string of profanities out of him.

“You won’t get away with this! The Hermessi are on my side!” Ledar shouted.

Zane pointed to a Devil’s Weed sprig, which he’d put on the Hermessi child the moment he’d tackled him. “Nobody knows where you are,” I said. “Don’t you think you’d have gotten some backup by now?”

This was a lucky break, I thought. We’d moved fast and cautiously enough not to stir any of the other Hermessi’s attention. With Ramin being so weak, his fellow elementals couldn’t sense him as well as his own son, who was now in our possession. Ledar wasn’t getting out of here, not until we were done with him.

“Draw the second-stage symbols now, like I taught you, with his blood,” Ramin said to me.

I remembered the images he’d given me, telepathically, which I’d drawn for my crew, as well, and proceeded to recreate them with a bloody thumb along the white chalk circle. Ledar was pale as the realization dawned on him.

“You knew I’d be coming. He… He told you,” he snapped, scowling at Ramin.

“Ah, he finally figured it out.” Caspian chuckled.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we got a slow-poke genius on our hands,” Zane declared, laughing. It drew snickers from the nearby daemon garrison.

“You see, Brendel didn’t know about me,” I said to Ledar. “She didn’t know I was inside Ramin when he visited you on Yahwen. She didn’t know I’d heard it all. Ramin and I go way back, Ledar, and I have to say… I, too, am disappointed. Your father is one of the best things that ever happened to this planet, or even the entire In-Between, for that matter. You’d know that, had you bothered to get to know him before joining Brendel’s side.”

“What’s worse is that you decided to work for the ritual, instead of against it,” Zane grumbled. “You seem perfectly okay with all of us burning and dying. That’s not cool, buddy. Did you really think we’d just sit back and take it?”

Ledar blinked rapidly, red blotches spreading through his cheeks. This was shame. I could see it in his aura, burning orange and yellow. Shame and fear, because he knew this wasn’t going to end well for him.

“What are you doing?” he asked again.

“We’re taking away what makes you… well, you,” I replied dryly, finishing the last symbols from the second stage of the spell.

Ledar’s eyes bulged with horror. “My Hermessi power?”

“You don’t deserve it anyway.” I sighed. “You were going to use it on your own father. I must say, it’s disgusting, especially since Ramin only ever wanted what was best for you.”

“Then he should’ve come to me! He should’ve told me what I am!” Ledar growled. “He left me on my own, and I spent my whole life trying to understand these powers. Always an outcast, always out of place!”

“I felt you were better off on your own,” Ramin tried to explain. “There was no reason for you to know what you were until the time came for you to replace me. I was, however, working on my courage to come see you. I knew your lifespan was infinitely longer than that of a daemon. I wanted to talk to you. I just didn’t know how.”

“Brendel told me the truth about who I am and what I can do. She made me understand. She gave me purpose!” Ledar spat. “Unlike you, she didn’t hide this entire world and its opportunities from me.”

“Oh, okay, so because of your daddy issues, you decided we should all just burn and die, then?” I replied. “You selfish piece of crap! I have a husband! Fiona and Zane here, they have a baby. All these daemons… they have lives and families and people they love. You were just going to let us all die because you were pissed off with your dad?! Seriously, Ledar?”