Released (Eternal Balance) Read online

  “She intended to use the stone,” I said, understanding.

  Van nodded. There was a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. Sadie had tried to kill her, but like Jax loved Chase when this all started, she still loved her sister. “Why wouldn’t I believe her? I mean, it’s not like she was lying. She had found a way to get Gray family magic—it just wasn’t hers.”

  “It was yours,” Azi said with a nod. There was a note of respect in his voice. Like he was proud of his demonic bitch for figuring a way around their no-abilities loophole.

  “Yep. There was just one small catch. In order to be a donor, I had to die. The whole thing was a little suspicious right from the start, and about halfway through the ceremony, I realized what she was up to. We fought—it wasn’t pretty. I finally managed to crack the stone in half, grabbed what I could, and got the hell out. I ran and never looked back.”

  I couldn’t imagine how she must have felt. To be betrayed by your own blood. My parents had betrayed me, giving my location to demons after I was adopted by the Merricks, but I’d never known them. The sting hadn’t been as personal as this. “And she never tried to find you?”

  Van laughed. “Oh, she tried. Almost did, more times than I can count. But I made friends with some powerful people and stayed off the grid.” She fixed her gaze on me. “Speaking of, how the hell did you two shmucks find me?”

  “I told you. The stone is mine. I am linked to it. I can find it anywhere.”

  Van met his gaze with challenge in her eyes. “That’s a wonderful story, but like I said, I don’t have the stone.”

  “It was in your possession long enough to leave an imprint.” The demon inhaled. “It left a stain. I can smell it.”

  Van shuddered. “Well, that’s not creepy at all.”

  The demon stood. “Enough. I want the stone. Now.”

  She stood as well. “And whose magic do you want to steal?”

  “I wish only to regain what is rightfully mine.”

  “If it was yours, then how did Sadie end up with it?” Van asked, suspicion coloring her tone.

  “Her name,” Azi said tightly, taking a step around the table, “was Malphi.” Another move, this one much more than simply menacing, but the demon only got two steps before collapsing with a growl.

  It wasn’t Jax in pain, but it was still his body. I couldn’t help myself. The chair went flying as I stumbled upright and flung myself to the ground beside him. He was shaking, face red and jaw tight. “Stop! Whatever it is you’re doing, stop.”

  Van came around to stand above us. There was no pity in her eyes. She was joined by the two women from the counter. “It’s not me. This is his doing. He intended to hurt me.”

  I grabbed the edge of the table and hefted myself up, hoping I looked as helpless as I felt. “I’m begging you. Make it stop. This is a demon, but Jax is in there. We have no idea what this is doing to him.”

  Seconds ticked by. If she didn’t do something soon, I’d be dreaming up my own version of harm. Finally, Van nodded to the woman on her left, a tall redhead with a pinched face and designer duds. She waved a hand and whispered something I couldn’t quite make out, and Azi gasped. Jax’s body went nearly limp.

  “Stay down,” I said. “Because I doubt they’ll make it stop if you pull that shit again.”

  Thankfully the demon listened. Azi stayed down, curling Jax’s fists tight. You didn’t have to be a demon whisperer to know the nasty things going through its head. Considered royalty where it came from, this had to be one hell of a pill for the thing to swallow, being taken down and controlled by a spell.

  “Thank you,” I said to the redheaded woman. To Van, I added, “Could I please talk to you? Alone?”

  She didn’t move. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but it almost looked as though the women flanking her grew a little taller.

  “Really? What could I possibly do to you?” I spread my arms wide. “In here? After your little magic trick took down something like him?” I pointed to Jax.

  It took a minute, but Van finally nodded, leading me away from the group. When she stopped a few feet away, I gestured to the door. What I had to say needed to be away from all prying ears.

  Once the door closed behind me, and the tiny bell at the top jingled cheerfully, I sighed. “You don’t know me, so you sure as hell have no reason to trust me, but I need your help…” I eyed the building. What I had to tell her needed to remain between the two of us.

  “They can’t hear anything we say, if that’s what you’re worried about. Even the demon. Magic,” she said with the smallest hint of a grin.

  I let out a relieved breath. “Good. So, will you help me?”

  “By giving that thing in there Sadie’s stone?” Her expression was stony, eyes narrowed and jaw tight. Van had seen things. She came across as average on first glance, but there was hardness to her. Scars that had shaped her, had fostered caution. I, more than anyone else I knew—other than Jax—understood her reluctance. We were similar, and under different circumstances I could see us getting along.

  “I don’t want you giving the stone to the demon. I want you to give it to me.”

  She snorted. “Because giving it to the demon’s whore is so much better?”

  A burst of anger flared, but I stuffed it down and focused on my goal. Jax. “That guy in there? The one whose skin that demon is wearing like a Santa suit? He’s my entire universe, and I want him—I need him—back.”

  “What’s that got to do with my sister’s stone?”

  “It’s crazy powerful. You said so yourself. I think I can use it to banish the demon and save Jax.”

  Van glanced through the window, gaze settling on Jax’s body. “What exactly are you basing this theory on?” She stuffed both hands into her pockets and turned back to me. “You’re…something. I can feel it. There’s a hum about you, I’m just not sure what it is. But you’re not a witch—that much I’m sure of. You have no actual power. How do you expect to wield the stone to banish a demon from a man’s body?”

  I shrugged, feeling slightly less confident about the whole thing than I had before. I had no idea how I was going to do it, I was only sure that there had to be some way I could. “Well, if you put it that way…” I had to do this. Had to win her over. If I couldn’t wield the stone, then maybe she could. Maybe she would… “You’re right. I’m not a witch. Wouldn’t know the first thing about pureeing toadstool and serving up lizard tongue—”

  “We don’t do that.”

  “Whatever,” I said. “But I am something. Someone. Someone who will do just about anything to save the man she loves.”

  “The stone is too dangerous. I have it well hidden.”

  “Then help me. I have no magic, but I promise you—I have power.”

  Her eyes narrowed even further. “What are you?”

  The words came before I gave it thought. “I’m what they call a Pure.” Maybe I shouldn’t be advertising that fact all over the place, but what did I have to lose? I’d already been claimed—by myself—so no one could snap me up and take my power for themselves. Not without my permission—which I had no intention of giving. “It’s—”

  Her eyes went wide. “I know what a Pure is,” Van said. The awe in her voice was outdone by the wonder in her expression. Wonder that was quickly displaced by something darker. “And you’re a liar. There’s no such thing as a live Pure.”

  “There is now,” I said, unable to keep the challenge from my voice. “Look, the whole thing is a long, complicated story—like the rest of this. One I don’t really have time to rehash right now. My heart stopped, I was activated, and I claimed myself. End of story.”

  “Oh.” She nodded. “So you have access to the largest source of otherworldly energy…and you’re hanging out with a demon? Guess we know which way you swing.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I already explained this to you. As long as that thing is wearing my boyfriend, then it’s my new BFF. If you help me, I can get rid of it an
d then focus on fixing this Pure thing.”

  Van snorted. “Fixing this Pure thing? What the hell does that mean?”

  “I didn’t ask for this,” I said. The vehemence in my voice surprised me a little. I hadn’t made a conscious decision about it, since Jax was my current focus, but the truth was I wanted this power gone. Claimed or not, I had no desire to live my life on the run from the grabby hands of heaven and hell and whatever the hell else might be lurking around out there. I wanted normal. “If there’s a way to get rid of it, to be normal, then I intend to do it.”

  Van laughed. “Get rid of it? Nothing short of a nuclear explosion can dissipate Pure energy. Unless you have the ability to go supernova, then you’re stuck with it.”

  “Whatever,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment. I mean, what did she know? There could be something out there, right? A way to right the disaster Heckle had caused. I’d just need to look harder—once this was all over. Maybe a different witch. Some kind of spell. A magic amulet… “I’m begging for your help, Van. I lost him once already. I can’t survive it again.”

  She studied me for a long moment, then glanced in through the window. “Say I believe your intentions are…pure. What happens to the stone after you get what you want?”

  I threw up my hands. “Nothing at all. You can take it back, toss it down a drain somewhere, or use it in some new age jewelry setting. I honestly don’t care. I have one goal and only one goal.”

  She watched me and gnawed on the corner of her bottom lip. For an endless minute, she said nothing, only stared.

  When I couldn’t take it anymore, I said, “Please. I think…I think you’re my last hope to get him back.”

  She looked from me to Azi, who was finally picking Jax’s body off the coffee house floor under the watchful eye of the other two witches. When she turned back to me, I saw sympathy. “Fine,” she said after a moment. “I’ll help you. But I want something in return…”

  “Anything,” I said. And I meant it, too. Teaming up with Van was just what I needed. With her help, I’d be able to free Jax. I’d be able to save him. For the first time in weeks, it felt as though I could breathe.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Azirak/Jax

  Azi didn’t trust the exchange that was taking place outside, but it had no choice other than to remain where it was. The two witches that stayed behind—the redhead who had removed the spell, and a tall blonde who regarded us with barely contained contempt—stood guard.

  Sam and Van were outside for close to ten minutes, and when they came back into the building, Sam was smiling. Van pushed past her and waved to the two women. “We’re good here.” They stepped away, their reluctance like a ten-ton weight in the air, and disappeared around the counter.

  She turned to me. “I’m agreeing to help.”

  Neither Azi nor I missed the not-so-subtle flicker of her gaze in Sam’s direction, and I had to wonder if they’d made a deal to double cross the demon. Azi wondered, too, but wasn’t concerned. It would keep the stone regardless of the witch’s plan. “You will return the stone to me?”

  “I’ll take you to where the stone is being kept. It’s protected.”

  “Protected how?” the demon asked, wary.

  Van rolled her eyes, and I couldn’t miss now how much like Sadie she looked. Azi noticed, too. The demon flashed the image of her lying at my feet, eyes wide and blood pooling beneath her, followed by a spike of rage. “Duh. By magic.”

  “And in exchange?” Nothing was free. The demon had learned that through the hard lessons I’d picked up on the streets. On my own at seventeen, surviving had taken compromise and sacrifice.

  Van looked at Sam. “In exchange, I want protection. From these things you say are coming after me.”

  “Of course,” Azi said. “If I let them kill you, I wouldn’t find the stone.”

  Sam’s disgust was obvious. It floated off her, thick tendrils twisting into the air. Van, on the other hand, was smug. She grinned and winked. “There’s something else.”

  “Such as?”

  “I want my magic back.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “When Sadie—” Sam cringed then went on. “When Malphi attacked Van to steal her magic, she didn’t finish the ritual, obviously, but she did get a good chunk of her magic.”

  Van folded her arms and fixed me with a determined stare. “You want what belongs to you. Then I want what belongs to me.”

  The demon’s irritation was like a brick tied around my neck.

  Don’t say anything stupid…

  “Well?” Van pressed.

  A barrage of images stormed through my head. Most came too quickly to make sense of them, but one stood out. It showed Azi, still in control of my body, standing over Van as she clutched her bleeding throat and gasped for air.

  If I didn’t do something, that vision would become reality, and we’d lose whatever chance we had at getting the stone. I couldn’t let that happen—even if it meant doing the unthinkable.

  Agree with her for fuck’s sake. She doesn’t need to know everything. You have no intention of giving the stone back to her? Big fucking deal. You don’t need to advertise it.

  The demon’s shock hit me hard. It couldn’t believe I’d suggested it lie.

  We’ve got a common goal. Sam. This is going to help her. To keep her safe. From here on out, we have to work together. As much as I hate you, it’s time for a truce.

  “Agreed,” it said, and I knew it was talking to not only Van, but me as well. I’d just made a deal with the devil.

  …

  I was in the white room again. Van insisted we get a full night’s sleep before venturing out, saying the stone wouldn’t be easy to get to. She even let us crash at her friend’s place.

  I had no concept of time while locked inside, but it felt like an eternity when Azi finally showed himself to me. “You are restless,” it said. The shadows wafted from its vaguely human form.

  “Ya think?” I snapped. I had a flash of my own—my hands wrapped around the demon’s smoky neck as they choked the life from it and took back my body.

  “Your thoughts are pointless. You cannot kill me.”

  “Stay out of my fucking head.”

  It regarded me for a moment and settled in the corner, once again beside the pencil. “You are growing weaker.”

  I wanted to argue, but the truth was, it was right. I sensed it. It was like I’d gone days without eating or sleeping. There was a heaviness in me, the kind that came from mental and physical exhaustion. “Sorry, shithead. If you think it’s going to be that easy to get rid of me, think again.”

  The demon sighed. Its form solidified for a second—just long enough to give me a peek at my own shadowy face—before reverting back to smoke. “I take no pleasure in your pain, Jax.”

  “I’m not in pain.” It was a lie and we both knew it. The demon felt what I felt, just like I felt what it felt. It’d started earlier this morning. A slight tremor in my gut. The intensity had been slowly increasing. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I wish that were true. Contrary to what you might think, I will miss you when you perish. I do not wish to be rid of you. If there was a way to stop it, to keep this from happening and spare her the pain—”

  Fucker. I’d never wanted to hit anything as bad as I did right then. “Maybe we should focus on the stone? On keeping Sam safe?”

  “Agreed.”

  “You don’t trust the witch.”

  “Of course not. Witches are not to be trusted.”

  “Sadie was a witch,” I said with a sneer.

  A rush of anger, followed by the smallest burst of sadness. “Then I suppose it was appropriate that Malphi was born into the body. She was not to be trusted, either.”

  I balled my fists tight and held my breath for a moment before blowing out slowly. “If Malphi was so untrustworthy, why the fuck am I being punished for taking the bitch out?”

  The demon’s an
ger spiked. Its shadowy form shot forward but stopped abruptly, inches from my face. “Mind your tone, human.” It let the threat hang before backing down and retreating to the other side of the small room. “It is true that Malphi was rash and unpredictable. She had betrayed me in many ways through the years. But, as I said, she was mine. You cannot take what belongs to a demon and not pay the price.”

  “What about Sam,” I countered. “This is killing her. What is she paying for?”

  “Sadly, Samantha Merrick suffers because of the connection between you. It has nothing to do with me locking you away.”

  “The hell it doesn’t!”

  The demon sighed. “I told you, it would have happened anyway. There is not enough space in this body for both of us indefinitely. It is regrettably unavoidable. You will fade.” It leaned a little closer. “If I were merciful, I would destroy you now instead of letting you linger, but I will not. That is your punishment.”

  Azi was in for a surprise if it thought I was going down without a fight—and it did. I felt its conviction with every pump of the heart within my own body. With every word. I didn’t know if it was something I could fight, but I’d be damned if I didn’t try. Still, I couldn’t rule out the possibility all together. It wasn’t just me I had to worry about. “And let’s say you’re right. That I do fade. What happens to Sam?”

  “I will watch over her for as long as she stays neutral.”

  “Neutral? What the fuck does that mean?”

  I couldn’t see the details of its face, but I got the impression that the demon was frowning. “If there is a chance she could be used against me…”

  “What? What happens if someone tries to use her against you?”

  Azi turned to me, and it was my own face, so much clearer through the shadows than it had been, that frowned back at me. “Please pray that doesn’t occur.”