Released (The Eternal Balance #3)(49)

That will not be my concern. Once I am gone, you will have to figure it out on your own. To remain and offer aid would mean your demise. Even now, I can feel your essence detaching. We must hurry if you wish to survive here.

There was a moment of hesitation.

You will never be clean, Jax Flynn. You must understand that. Though I will leave you to live out your natural life, you will always be Tainted. My essence will always be with you in some way.

I can live with that.

Good. Then I have but one last request. I wish to say good-bye to Samantha Merrick. Alone.





Chapter Twenty-Two


Sam


There, only a few feet away in the center of a small grotto, sat a small stone. It was at the center of a formation of rocks that sat on a mound of dirt surrounded by a pool of the clearest water I’d ever seen.

I gave Jax’s hand one final squeeze and started forward. Water splashed, increasing the bone-numbing chill that already racked my body, but I didn’t care. In fact, I’d never felt as numb as I did right then. I wanted to hope for more, to think that maybe Jax was wrong and maybe—just maybe—Van could purge the demon. But I’d seen it in his eyes. Resignation. Truth.

With a deep breath, I reached for the stone, but hesitated. I held my breath, almost expecting some witchy booby trap to come zooming down on us, but when nothing happened, I leaned in for a closer look.

It was beautiful. Deep red and slightly bigger than the one Sadie wore around her neck. “I can’t believe we did it. We beat them here…”

And without further ado, I wrapped my fingers around the rock and lifted it from its prison with great care. It was warm to the touch and felt…right. Like it belonged in my palm. Like it had been made to sit exactly there.

I couldn’t help it. Regardless of what he’d said, despite the fact that Van wasn’t here, I had to try. I was this amazingly powerful thing, right? There was an unparalleled source of energy humming through me. There had to be a way to tap into it. To make this happen.

Stone in hand, I turned to face Jax. He was confused—with his brows drawn in a deep V, he shook his head in a question. I stepped forward and brushed my fingers across his cheek. I let them slide slowly down his chin to his neck, almost lovingly. Then, without giving him warning, I wrapped my hand around his throat and squeezed hard.

“You’re finished, Azirak.” I jammed the stone against Jax’s forehead and closed my eyes. I concentrated like I never had before and pictured Jax—whole, happy, and alive. Free from the demon who’d shadowed his every moment from the second he drew first breath. It wasn’t until I heard a soft snickering that I opened my eyes. “What the—”

“The stone does not have the power to vanquish me, Samantha Merrick. Nothing does.”

Gone were Jax’s beautiful stormy gray eyes, replaced once again with the soulless black of the demon’s. “I thought maybe…” I backed away and fought the lump threatening to choke me. The stone, still in my hand, had gone cold.

“Your persistence and fortitude in the face of impossibility never fails to amaze me,” Azi replied, all traces of humor gone. “These traits are so rare among your kind.”

I shook my head, refusing to comprehend the words coming from his lips. My gaze fell to the stone in my hands, and in that moment, all I wanted to do was throw it. Smash it. Bury it beneath ten tons of concrete. It was useless. A stupid rock.

“So that’s it then? There’s nothing at all I—” A soft sob escaped me, and I crumpled to my knees. I was vaguely aware that the stone had slipped from my hand and rolled a few feet to my left. “Is he gone?”

Azi knelt down and lifted my chin so that we were eye to eye. “He is not, but there is little time left. Moments—maybe less—so please be silent and listen.” It took a deep breath. I watched as Jax’s shoulders shifted and his chest heaved, almost as though in pain. “You must be strong. The power that resides within you is a potent call to creatures of all alliances. You must destroy the Brim Stone and ensure that it never again becomes whole. This world is not ready for such power.”

“Destroy the stone? First of all, how the hell am I supposed to do that? And second—”

“I would not have taken things much farther,” it said, Jax’s voice barely above a whisper. “At my cabin. I would not have engaged in consummation with you through trickery.” Jax’s lips lifted with a smile. “This should prove to you that I am a rarity among my kind as well. That I am…changed. That you, Samantha Merrick, have changed me.”

Jax’s lips met mine in a bruising kiss that stole the air from my lungs and scrambled my brain just enough to have me kissing back. Azi wrapped Jax’s arms tight around me and squeezed, and just when I thought my lungs might actually pop, it eased up and pulled away enough to let his lips linger at my ear. “I love you, Samantha Merrick. Not as humans love, but as demons do—with ferocious intensity and sacrifice.” It pulled away farther. “I wish you happiness, Sammy. Live long and live well. Enjoy your mortal life with him and perhaps we will meet again.”

My mouth fell open, but I couldn’t say a word. Jax’s head snapped back, and a tremor ran through his body. I stumbled up and staggered away as he began to shake. He clawed at his neck, and a terrible noise spilled from his lips, an awful keening mixed with the sounds of choking.