The screams roared louder, higher, the wraiths came faster and harder, and the swords above slashed slower and more awkwardly. Someone fell next to her, and the slamming and clattering of hooves against stone and dirt told her that their horses had escaped.

But the black fog began to swirl, tighter and tighter, coiling, and screaming, and she saw… Oh, yes! It was being dragged back into the crevice, the red eyes of the wraiths wide and burning, then narrowing as they fought the draw, the pull down back into the depths.

She held the orb, watching that the light never wavered from the crevice, even as another swipe of claws set her to nearly stumbling… She saw smoke curling up, and suddenly, the red eyes were set in humanlike faces as they swirled and whirled into a powerful vortex back into the crevice.

The shrieks lessened, the black fog thinned, dragged below, and she still didn’t move, watching the orb send them all to Hell, even though her hand shook and her back screamed with its own pain. This went on and on, and she realized that the demons were not only coming from the whirling smoke around them, but from all over… for the sky streaked with dark roiling fog and clouds, even as the moon became more and more exposed… burning brighter and stronger through dark gray clouds tinged with white.

Suddenly, in front of her stood the man with empty eyes and the curly-brimmed hat. Adolphus. His eyes were burning, his teeth long and yellow and sharp, and he was lunging toward her, black and dark and evil… The smell of malevolence filled her nostrils as the careening shriek swelled in her ears, reverberating painfully through her body. And then he shriveled and wrinkled, his face melting into a long, drawn-out image, swirling down into the ground as his lips moved, shouting at her, screaming… And then he was gone, in a nasty coil of black smoke.

And at last, there was silence. The orb still glowed in her hand, but the fog had gone. The black wraiths sucked back down into nothing, and Victoria saw the black crevice begin to smoke harder and faster, thick and musty. Curls billowed up and out, and Max rode forward close to it, pouring holy water down into the crack from three different bottles.

A last puff of smoke, and the ground began to crumble into itself.

The portal was closed.

Twenty-two

Wherein Our Heroine Sets the Record Straight

Victoria actually slept that night.

She made her way to the small chamber while Max sat in the tavern with Michalas and Brim. All of them had wounds that needed to be attended to, but the three men opted to have a few celebratory mugs of ale first.

Victoria wanted nothing but to find a bed and sleep. So tired. She was so tired.

And tomorrow, they would start again and go after Sebastian. And come face-to-face with Lilith.

Her mind whirled and churned as she used a basin of hot water to wash away much of the gritty blood and grime. Then, her back still aching from the deep slash of claws, she tottered to the narrow pallet and was asleep before she knew it.

Max was with the others. Safe, only one floor below her. She could sleep.

Sometime near dawn, she woke to a presence in the room.

At first, she tensed, reaching for a weapon, waiting to see if her neck felt chill to determine if it was stake or blade that she needed… but then she realized who it was and relaxed. She felt the narrow bed shift with his weight and the comfort of his warm body ease into the narrow space on the bed behind her. His hand slimmed down over the curve of her side as though to ascertain she was really there, and then, tucking her head under his chin and his arm around her belly, he settled, warm and solid, against her. And they slept.

When she woke, the sun had risen high in a cloudless sky and blasted hot through the slit of a shutter, aimed right at her closed eyes. She moved, felt the aches seep through her muscles, and gritted her teeth. Perhaps she should have put something on her wounds.

Shifting so that the sunbeam wouldn’t blind her, she opened her eyes and glanced quickly around the room. The other pallet was empty, and no one slept on the floor. Obviously, Brim and Michalas had found another place to rest last night.

Victoria turned gingerly, nearly falling off the narrow bed, and found Max watching her from very close quarters.

“Good morning,” she said, suddenly wishing for a drink of water.

“It is.”

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said, reaching to touch his bruised, cut face. Blood had dried on it, and the stubble from yesterday had grown into full-fledged whiskers. His eyes were so close she could see coppery-brown flecks in the dark irises.

“You tried to kill me. Are you still angry?”

“Yes. In fact, I’m quite furious. But that’s not why I attacked you-I thought you were a demon. Now I’m just relieved that you’re here. We’ll probably fight about it when this is done.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“It’s not amusing,” she said, trying to keep from smiling at the interested glint in his eye. The last time they’d had a ferocious battle, they’d ended up in his bed. “I’m Illa Gardella. Your leader.”

He had the temerity to snort. “By virtue of your bloodline and family tree, indeed. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a brain and cannot make decisions. And that I don’t have vastly more experience than you. Your aunt,” he continued louder, overriding her angry reply, “considered me her most trusted confidant. And certainly didn’t attempt to overrule my opinions.”

“Never?”

“Rarely. She trusted me. You’ll have to learn to do so, too.”

“I already do, but, Max… you cannot just disappear like that.”

“It was the only damn way.”

“I disagree.” Her voice became more strident.

“Then disagree, Victoria. But you cannot argue that I know Lilith better than you-better than any bloody other mortal, to my great dismay. I knew there was only one way to get those rings, and I was willing to take that chance-and not willing to endanger you as well. What did you think? That you could walk in and she’d hand them to you?”

“Of course not,” Victoria snapped. Her brows drew together in annoyance. “But she must have wanted the portal closed as much as we did. The demons are her enemies, too. It would have been to her benefit.”

Max nodded, his eyes sharp and serious. “Most any sane person would agree. But Lilith knew we would move Heaven and Earth to close that damn portal, so she was in the stronger position. If you had come, she would have had both of us. It was better that she only had me. And I knew you’d come after me.”

“But it was a great risk you took.”

“Every day is a risk, Victoria. That will never change. Do you understand that?”

She nodded reluctantly, her anger fading. Being with him would be the highlight, the sweetest part of a life that would always be filled with danger. Such was their destiny.

He shifted against her, his long legs tangling with hers. “There’s one other thing you must understand. I had to do it to prove to myself that I could. That I could do what had to be done, despite… you. How much I care for you. If I couldn’t make the right decision, then… then I would be no better than Vioget had been for all those years.”

“Max.” Her stomach fluttered. She drew in a breath to tell him she loved him, too. But once again, he cut off her words.

“And don’t think you’re going after Vioget by yourself, just to teach me a lesson.” His expression sharpened as he looked at her.

Anger flared again, but she tamped it back. Later. For now, she wanted to bask, so she shook her head against the pillow, brushing his warm arm. “No. I might have done that… once upon a time, but not now. I’m not quite as foolish as you make me out to be.” Those last words came out hard and annoyed.

“I don’t think you’re foolish. I haven’t thought so for a long time.”

Part of her wanted to follow that trail of thought, but prudence and worry won out. Time for flirtation and teasing later. “What happened, Max?”

His mouth tensed, and he pulled slightly away to lean against the wall behind him. She realized how small a space he’d squeezed himself into and shifted a bit to allow more room. “Vioget came and offered himself in exchange for my release.”

“What?” Victoria sat up and would have tumbled off the bed if he hadn’t grabbed her arm. “He offered himself?”

Max nodded. “You must know the rings cannot be removed, and so he proposed an exchange-himself and the rings for my release.”

“But why? Why on Earth did you not simply kill her? He came in…” She couldn’t speak any longer. What sort of addled men did she know, who insisted on sacrificing themselves to the depraved vampire queen? Couldn’t they find some other way to meet their objectives? Did they have some sort of hesitation about violence against a female? Even an undead one?

Blasted fools.

“He could have left with me, Victoria. But I think… I believe he came for some other purpose. He told me…” His voice trailed off, then began again, stronger and rushed, as though to get the words out before he changed his mind. “He did it for you.”

“For me.” Her stomach dipped and squirmed, and she had to look away for a moment. Sebastian had sacrificed himself to Lilith for her… for her happiness. He’d released Max, his rival, so that she would be happy. The very thought made her want to cry. Again.

She met Max’s eyes. He added, “Do you think me selfish for allowing it?”

“Selfish?” Max, selfish? “You?” She shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. And aside of that, did you really have a choice?”

“I could have refused to go.”

Victoria snorted, unable to help herself. “And then both of you would have been trapped by Lilith. Both of you selfless, idiotic men. Then I would have had to come rescue two of you.”

He moved forward and covered her mouth with his in a firm, solid kiss, as though to drown out her lecture. “Victoria,” he said, pulling away after a moment. “There’s more, and before you go racing off to save him, I must tell you about it.”