Released (The Eternal Balance #3)(16)

It dragged the blade across the palm of Jax’s hand, and a moment later, a thin line of red welled up.

“Take his hand,” it commanded, extending Jax’s arm. “It is my Brim Stone. Given to me in the moment of my creation by Lord Lucifer. My essence lives in the human’s blood. I believe it will help you focus on what we seek.”

I hesitated. I’d never fully trusted Azi, but after seizing control of Jax’s body, what little trust I’d felt diminished even more. Still, our goal was technically the same. It didn’t want to die—and I didn’t want Jax to die. We were on the same side. For now.

With a deep breath, I took Jax’s hand. His body temperature was much cooler since Azi took the wheel. I cursed myself for not noticing earlier. “Okay. Now what?”

“Close your eyes.” The demon tightened its grip on my hand. “Concentrate on the blood. Feel the stain on your hands. The warmth of it seeping into you. Now,” it said, voice deepening. “Picture the stone.”

I kept my eyes closed even though I was pretty sure this was a waste of time. “How can I picture the stone? I’ve never seen it.”

“You don’t need to have seen it, Sammy. I—”

My eyes flew open. “Don’t.” Without too much thought, I gave the demon a good, hard shove. “Don’t call me that.”

Jax’s brows knitted together and the right corner of his upper lip lifted just a hair. “Very well. I thought it would make you feel—”

“Well, it doesn’t.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed—probably tighter than I needed to, but definitely not hard enough to cause it pain like I’d hoped—and closed my eyes. “Let’s get this done.”

“Picture the stone,” it said again. “Its smooth surface like glass. Its fire pulsing with life. With power. Reach out to its core, the power within caressing every fiber of your being. Picture…”

I knew Azi was still speaking, but its words drifted farther and farther away until all I could hear was a faint hum. I focused on the sound, chasing it as it grew gradually louder until the bedroom floor of the cabin fell away and I was weightless. Panicked, I opened my eyes.

I’m in a bar, the bartender in front of me pouring what looks like vodka into an older man’s cup. I try to check out the rest of the room, but for some reason, I can’t turn.

There’s movement in the other corner of the room and the girl glances up. “Welcome to Comraderies. Be right with ya.”

I try to talk, but a wave of dizziness washes over me. The girl disappears, along with the bar—

—and with a jarring echo inside my head, I was back in the cabin with Azi. “Oh my God.” The world listed sideways and strong arms caught me just before I crashed to the floor.

The demon lifted me in Jax’s arms and set me down on the bed. “Did you see it?”

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. The edges of the room were watery, and Azi’s—Jax’s—voice was slightly garbled. “I saw a girl.”

“A human?”

“Probably? No way to know for sure.”

“Who is she? Does she have the Brim Stone?”

I rolled my eyes. “And again, no way to know for sure. I heard her voice, but when I looked directly at her, her features were distorted. Fuzzy. The only clue I got was the name of the bar she worked at. Comraderies.”

It nodded and took several steps backward, then pointed to the door and said, “Let’s go.”

“Whoa.” I twisted and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “We need to find this place first. You’ve been around long enough to know it’s a great big world out there. I don’t even know what state it was in.”

“Then find it,” the demon commanded. It reached out and hauled me to my feet.

“Sure thing.” I reminded myself that throwing something pointy at it would only hurt Jax. “I’ll just pull the location out of my ass and we’ll be on our way.”

Jax’s eyes narrowed and the demon folded his arms. “Do not toy with me. Humans can’t do that.”

I stared, wondering for a brief moment if Jax had somehow managed to steal back control. Of course, it wasn’t him. The deadpan, almost irritated glare fixed on me was a neon reminder.

“How?” I threw up my hands and reached the doorknob. “How have you made it through so many lives?”





Chapter Seven


Azirak/Jax

It took some convincing, but Sam finally managed to persuade Azi to take her to a library. We found one and waited till it opened, and she’d been sitting in front of a public computer for the last hour now. As hard as it was to believe, there were actually three bars in the United States called Comraderies. Based on what she’d seen in her flash, she was able to rule out one because it was a biker bar. That left two to check.

“Which of the remaining two is it?” The demon was getting restless. It was sometime after ten in the morning, and it was pacing my body back and forth. It reminded me of the way Sam stalked the kitchen as she waited on the coffee machine in the morning.

Sam pushed the keyboard back. She stood and tossed the demon a nasty glare. The woman at the desk on the other side of the room had been watching us. Every time Azi moved in close to Sam, she stiffened, a puff of gray rising into the air around her. “How the hell should I know?”