Ruined (The Eternal Balance #1)(53)

It flashed an image of the decapitated demon, and then another of Sam. Sam. It wanted to find Sam.

The crowd had thinned, fights breaking out among the ones that had been chasing us. It seemed the crowd had split into two distinct sides. Ones who wanted us, and ones who, oddly, wanted to help. Ahead, a small circle gathered around something. As I got closer, my heart sped up. It was Sam. Heckle was in the middle trying to hold them back.

“Sam!” I yelled, bolting forward. I expected the demons to turn on me, hoping it would give her the chance to make a run for it, but instead the crowd split, clearing a path. Carefully, I moved forward as the crowed—a group of ten—whispered and stared. Several even stepped back.

A second later, they all fell to their knees.

“Azirak,” one of the male demons said. He was the only one to then rise and come forward. “It is not safe for you here. Zenak’s army is close.”

“What the f*ck are you talking about?” To Sam, I said, “Are you okay?”

She nodded and made a move to come closer, but the crowd was on its feet and closing in a heartbeat. Heckle threw up his hands. “It’s okay. The human means him no harm. She, um, belongs to him.”

Sam started to protest, but I shushed her. “What the hell is going on here, Heckle?”

The same demon that stepped forward first held his ground, eyes on Sam. “She is not his. She stinks of Zenak.”

“Whoa.” I whirled on Heckle. “Zenak? Is that the name of the demon that attacked her?”

“She has been tasted by one of his clan,” a demon wearing a young woman’s face said. She bowed her head and flashed a tentative smile. “My lord.”

“Your what, now?” Sam squealed. At the sound of her voice, the crowd tensed.

“Be calm,” Heckle warned her. “No sudden movements.”

“Who is Zenak? And you’re the second one to spit that lord shit at me. What the hell is going on?”

“Zenak is the leader of our opposing faction,” the female demon supplied. “He has, apparently, turned your human against you.”

“No, he hasn’t.” Sam shouted. “And just so we’re all clear, I’m not his human.”

The female demon looked confused. “Not his? Isn’t that your attachment to each other? To mate? I mean, humans are amusing, but that’s all. Sustenance and toys, really.”

“A toy?” Sam let out a strangled cry, and I was sure she’d launch herself at the female demon, but Heckle grabbed her arm and slowly shook his head.

The female demon glared at Sam. “Please, my lord. If you would step away from the human, we would all feel more at ease.”

My patience was wearing thin and I wanted answers, so to humor them, I stepped to the outside of the circle. Azirak rumbled, but I stuffed it down. “Someone better start talking.”

The male demon bowed his head. “Do you not smell the link on her?”

The female smacked the male in the back of the head. “Fool. It’s obvious that Azirak’s mind is clouded. He doesn’t remember who he is and what he must do. Do you really think he’ll be able to smell a link?” The female bowed her head and sighed. “I’m sorry, my lord. There are rules we are bound to. I can say no more.”

“Say no more?” I roared. Azirak raged, flashing pictures too fast for me to really understand. There was blood, and an uneven, rocky terrain. One I recognized from earlier flashes the demon had shown. Thousands of bodies strewn across a blood-soaked field. Fire burned on scattered patches on barren land, the smoke drifting toward a pale gray sky. When it ended, I felt like someone had punched me in the gut.

“Are you well, my lord?”

“If you call me that one more time without telling me what the f*ck it means, I’m going to rip your goddamned heart out,” I spat.

The demon cringed, nodding enthusiastically. “Yes, my—Azirak.”

“We want nothing more than to tell you of the glorious past, and of the future we plan to forge, but it is physically impossible. The words will not spill from these pathetic human lips.”

I took a deep breath in an attempt to stay calm. “Okay. So what can you tell me? Anything useful?” I turned to Sam. “Anything about the demon that fed from her? Or how about this link you’re talking about?”

“We do not know the name of the demon that has fed from the human, only that he is one of Zenak’s—your enemy. There is one among us who might be able—”

“Havat,” Heckle interjected. “That’s why we’re here. He’s offered an exchange.”

The male demon nodded. “As expected. When some demons feed, they have the ability to create a link between themselves and their prey. Think of it as a symbiotic relationship that’s beneficial to the demon.”

This sounded bad. “Beneficial how?”

“The linked human is like a limited extension of the demon. It’s the part that takes all the bad so the demon doesn’t have to. If the demon is injured, the linked gets the wound.”

“What about the human?” Sam asked. The crowd turned, surprised. It was almost like they’d forgotten she was there. “What if I got hurt?”

The male demon kept its eyes on me. “It might feel pain, but it’s not going to do the demon any real damage. However, if the demon dies, the feed dies.”