Ruined (The Eternal Balance #1)(54)



“And the reverse?” Sam asked. “If I die?”

“If the reverse were true, and your death would kill our enemy, you would be dead already,” the female replied with a steely grin.

The idea of Sam taking physical damage because this demon, whoever the hell it was, had fed on her made me sick. We had to find a way to break this link.

“You said something about using Sam against me.” I had to keep my head in the game. “How do you mean?”

“If the demon is strong enough, it can actually control the feed. Make it do what it wants. Hurt itself—or someone else.” The male demon gave me a pointed glare. “If you have an attachment to this particular human, then it is no wonder Zenak sent one of his stronger soldiers to feed from her. I could easily have her attempt to assassinate you while you are using her.”

“Whoa,” Sam sputtered. Her face turned bright red. “Using me? No one uses—”

I cleared my throat while Sam glared at me from inside the circle. I’d definitely hear about this later. “If that was this Zenak’s plan, wouldn’t it have gone down already?” It was horrible, but the look on Sam’s face was priceless. I couldn’t help pushing it. Besides, it’d be worth whatever punishment I got. “My human toy was attacked a month ago.”

“There are many possibilities,” the male demon said. “Perhaps the link is weaker than anticipated. Possibly the soldier didn’t get enough to finish it. Or, maybe Zenak is biding its time.”

The female nodded. “Either way, Azirak is in danger. With even the weakest links, if the human is compromised in any way—substance abusers make great feeds—the demon can control them. This means any rested or altered state.”

“Great,” Sam mumbled. “So as long as I don’t do shots or fall asleep, I’m no danger to him?”

“Why, though?” I asked, ignoring her. “If it targeted Sam specifically to get to me, there must be a reason.”

The demon hadn’t followed Sam back to Harlow to kill her. I was the target all along. It linked to her to get to me.

“You are Zenak’s sworn enemy. It wants you dead, of course,” the male demon supplied. “And if that should happen, then we all lose.” He took a step toward me, and for the first time, flashed a truly threatening smile. “Your fondness for this human is a liability now that she is tied to your enemy, but out of respect, we will give you a chance to find the demon and get it to break the link. If you fail, we will break it ourselves.”

Sam brightened and a swirl of hope surged around her shoulders. “So we can break the link?”

“Of course,” the female said. She flashed Sam a disturbing grin. “Should the demon who fed from you choose to break the link, you will be free.”

Sam snorted, deflating. “Like that would happen.”

“Your death will also sever the connection,” the female added “It may not harm our enemy, but it will free Azirak from the danger you present.”

“Not my favorite option,” Sam mumbled, folding her arms.

The male shook his head and turned to me. Bowing, he repeated, “If you are unable to break the link, we will be forced to break it for you.”

He was saying that I had to find this demon and get it to break the link; if not, and I understood them right, they were coming to kill Sam? No f*cking way.

“If I’m your leader, then I command you to leave her alone,” I seethed, drawing myself up. I’d take them all on if necessary. One by one and piece by piece.

The demon seemed unimpressed. With a resolute shake of its head, it said, “We cannot take chances with your safety, my lord.”





Chapter Twenty-Four




Sam

I was beyond tired. I’d been sitting on the edge of the tub for almost twenty minutes. The steam from the shower had all but dissipated, leaving the room cold and damp, and any minute now, Jax would be banging on the door to see if I was still alive.

We’d made it back to Kelly’s a little after five in the afternoon. Heckle bid us farewell, promising to look into ways to break the link that didn’t require talking the enemy into giving up its best resource, or me taking the stairway to heaven. The look on his face said he wasn’t optimistic.

Jax ran over to check on Rick, then offered to scrounge up something from the kitchen to eat while I took a shower—probably in hopes that it would make me forget all about the “human toy” crap. Maybe that’s why I was stalling. If memory was correct, Jax couldn’t even manage macaroni and cheese without lighting something on fire. Unless things had drastically changed, I was going to starve.

Food or no food, I couldn’t stay in the bathroom all night. We needed to deal with this thing, but I had no idea how. There was a long, twisted history between us. Jax’s years away had built up the wall I kept around my heart, but the longer we spent together, the more it crumbled. I was sure the same thing went for him. One moment of weakness would be all it would take. I could slit his throat while he slept. I didn’t really believe there was anything that could make me hurt him, but it wasn’t a risk I wanted to take.

“Sammy?” Jax’s voice came from the other side of the door, followed by a soft knock. Right on cue. “Please tell me you didn’t fall asleep in there. I don’t want you going all demon assassin on my ass.”

Jus Accardo's Books