Tomorrow, we’d go out into the great unknown in our desperate attempt to stop the world from ending. But whichever way that went, the changes she’d made in me were irreversible.
I was in love with Riza, the gemstone-eyed jinni, and she seemed partial to me, too.
Harper
We had our plan hashed out and Zane’s daemons prowling through the city, constantly paying attention. As a native of a daemon city himself, Ledar was bound to take advantage of the underground settlements and his own nature to move around undetected. However, it was one thing to be a daemon in a city of daemons, and a whole other thing to be a half-daemon expected to show up by a whole city of daemons. Something else entirely…
“I still don’t like this,” Ramin said to me, telepathically.
“He’s your son, I know. But it’s the only way for you to survive,” I replied. “We’ve been over this already.”
Caspian nodded firmly. “Neraka needs a true and faithful Fire Hermessi, not one of Brendel’s lapdogs.”
We’d picked out a rather isolated area of the city, on the southeastern border, that overlooked one of the surrounding lava lakes. It was hotter than the palace, given our proximity to the lake. The air rippled, scorching our throats, but we wiped the sweat off our faces and held our positions. Ledar was bound to sense Ramin’s presence the moment he arrived on Neraka.
Zane and Fiona were with us, hidden behind a stack of crates. To our right, old huts had been huddled together, their inhabitants temporarily relocated—daemon soldiers had taken their place, lying in wait for Ledar. Caspian and I had taken over one of the huts closest to Zane and Fiona, and Ramin had settled on a window perch, occasionally preening his fiery red feathers.
“What’s he saying?” Zane asked, glancing at Ramin.
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.”
