His expression shifted. It went from arrogant self-assurance to sheer dread. I couldn’t read his emotional aura, which was pretty much the only thing I hated about daemons, but his body language couldn’t elude me.
“What are you talking about?” he murmured, eyeing me nervously.
“Ledar, you’ve been telling people you’re ready to betray the Hermessi for better prison conditions. Do you really think Neraka’s Water, Air, or Earth Hermessi will let you live much longer? Granted, you’ve still got the Devil’s Weed on you, but word travels fast, my friend. One of those prison guards is bound to say something to someone at some point, and a Hermessi will eventually overhear it. How do you think you’ll die? Sudden drowning? Or maybe this cell will just collapse and crush you? Can the Air Hermessi suffocate you, maybe?”
Suddenly, he was putty in my hands, as he slowly turned around to face me. His fingers twitched nervously, and I was ready to play out the rest of my cards. I crossed my arms and smiled at him.
“Tell you what, Ledar. Provided you give me good and useful intel, I will make sure you’re moved to another prison. Maybe one above the ground, with courtyard privileges, so you can get some sun and fresh air once a week or so. I’ll also have a steady supply of Devil’s Weed for you to wear, at least until we resolve our Hermessi issue. If you don’t, I’ll just turn around and walk out of here, wishing you the best of luck,” I said. “You tried to kill this planet’s Fire Hermessi to take his place. Rest assured, none of the daemons of Neraka like you. They will go to zero trouble to protect you.”
“Do you promise?” he asked, a muscle ticking angrily in his jaw.
“I always keep my word.”
He would’ve been stupid to turn me down. This prison was one of the most dangerous for someone like him. Its high-security quarters held some of Neraka’s deadliest daemons, many of whom had been fervent supporters of Shaytan. They were soul-hungry monsters, and they would never pass on an opportunity to torment or even kill Ledar—by comparison, his crimes weren’t half as bad, though still atrocious. If the Hermessi didn’t kill him, the other prisoners surely would as soon as he stepped into the courtyard.
Even here, they were allowed a weekly half-hour outside, and Ledar had yet to experience that type of gathering. I had a feeling he knew what would happen to him.
“I can also torture you and get my answers that way,” I continued, not liking his hesitation. “No one will care if you scream, and I won’t stop until you tell me everything and beg me to kill you, to end your misery.” A smile tested the corner of his mouth. “If you don’t believe me, I’m more than happy to do a demonstration. I am a vampire-sentry with absolutely nothing to lose, at this point, Ledar. Either you help me get ahead of the Hermessi somehow, or we all die. I will flay you alive, if I have to.”
He sighed, his shoulders slumping. With his back against the window, he scowled at me and nodded, his voice loaded with contempt. “Fine. Where do I start?”
“I don’t know. What information do you have that you consider to be useful to us, given our stated mission to stop the Hermessi’s ritual?”
“The Hermessi children,” he said. “Since you and Ramin first visited Yahwen, more of them have been swayed into helping Brendel. By the time I got here, more than half were already on her team. They were promised worlds of their own, powers that they could only imagine upon their ascension… much like me.”
My stomach churned, realizing that Derek and Sofia were walking into one hell of a problem. “What else?” I asked, knowing he wasn’t done. If I were to reach out to my great-grandparents, I might as well have all the data I could give them in one go.
“In return, all the children have to do is fight anyone who comes for them, including their own Hermessi parents, should they try it. Not to mention GASP. You guys are the worst, according to them. At the top of the enemy list, so to speak,” Ledar grumbled. “Brendel knew that, as soon as Ramin managed to escape from Yahwen, he’d send someone to rescue the children. She put measures in place.”
He noticed the look on my face and grinned. He was about to say something, but I raised my hand to silence him. “Don’t. I know what you’re about to say.”
“You sent people over there, didn’t you?”
I threw a mental barrier out, strong and concentrated enough to punch him in the gut. He doubled over, coughing and gasping. “I told you not to,” I snapped. “What else? Come on, Ledar, don’t hold out on me.”
Wheezing, he managed to straighten his back and eventually caught his breath, one hand resting on his stomach. My barrier was bound to leave a bruise. I gave him a few more seconds to gather his thoughts, ignoring Zane’s laughter outside. He and Caspian had been watching through the small grate on the cell door.
“I heard one of the guards talking earlier,” he said. “They mentioned that Sherus is missing. The Fire Star king. Right?”
My blood ran cold. “What do you know about him?”
“Brendel had plans for Sherus before she took him. I know she took him. He’s a Hermessi child.”
“Whoa. Wait, what?” I croaked, feeling my eyes bulging. I quickly understood the ramifications of Sherus’s condition, and it made my knees weak. We hadn’t heard from Nuriya regarding Taeral for more than a couple of hours, when they were still testing faster ways to search for Zetos.
“I’m sure you know how easy it is to confuse a fae with a Hermessi child,” Ledar replied. “From what Brendel said, that was the case with Sherus. His father, the patron Hermessi of the Fire Star, didn’t want anyone knowing about him. For good reason, if you think about it. Kind of like what Ramin did for me. Only, I wasn’t a fae to confuse my Hermessi child abilities with my elemental powers, like Sherus. I’ve always felt out of place.”
“Yeah, sorry to hear that. I’ll take a moment to feel sorry for you later,” I shot back dryly. “Go on about Sherus. If he’s a Hermessi child, what will Brendel do with him?”
He shrugged, further pissing me off. “I think she still has to make up her mind, since he’s also under the Hermessi’s influence. Right now, she’s using him as leverage against Taeral and Pyrr. She didn’t want the Fire Star to turn against her. Sherus will either be awakened and convinced to ascend as a Hermessi if Brendel decides to kill Pyrr, or he’ll die when five million fae are affected.”
I gasped, feeling my throat close up. Taeral needed to know this, as soon as possible. My great-grandparents, too.
“But what you’ll definitely find useful is that Sherus is being kept on Yahwen, with the other children,” Ledar added.
My head spun. The room moved, and my chest burned. Holy crap, this was unexpected. Taking deep breaths, I was quick to regain my composure. “So, security is going to be even tighter with Sherus there, right?” I asked.
Ledar nodded. “Definitely. Expect all the hostility you can get from these entities.”
I looked over my shoulder, finding Caspian’s and Zane’s heads in the door grate’s frame, their eyes wide and mouths gaping. They’d heard every single word, and they understood what it all meant.
“You know we have to tell Derek and Sofia, right?” Caspian said, his voice low.
“Try to reach them,” I replied. “Don’t stop until you reach them. I’ll finish debriefing Ledar, in the meantime.”
My hands trembled, so I balled them into fists as I turned my head to focus on Ledar. I heard Caspian’s boots in the hallway as he moved back to get in touch with Derek and Sofia via the comms system. If that failed, he could talk to Phoenix, first, with whom my great-grandparents had set up a Telluris link. Zane stayed close to the door, watching Ledar like a hawk.
Ramin’s son was nowhere near as menacing as before his powers had been taken. He didn’t take his eyes off me, aware that I was his last line of defense against the Hermessi and anyone else who might want to kill him.
All in all, I had an advantageous position here, and I knew Ledar would tell me absolutely everything he knew, if it would get him out of this place and into a safer prison. The promise of being above ground was a delicious bonus to someone who’d spend the rest of his life behind bars. Then again, the rest of his life could easily translate into a couple of days, maybe four or five, tops, if Taeral and his crew failed to get Zetos.
There wasn’t much else I could do for Taeral, though, except get as much as I could out of Ledar. I braced myself and continued with my line of questioning. Ledar answered as best as he could. I could tell that he was trying to oblige. He definitely wasn’t a fool.
But my mind was no longer here. Not completely. It wandered through the In-Between, toward Taeral and Yahwen, as I hoped that something good might come out of this, eventually. It has to work. It just has to.
Taeral
Pyrr had a choice to make, and I wasn’t sure he’d make the right one.
