Mentored in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights)

We went after it like a starving man jumps on a steak. I punched holes and created nails of swirling fire and ice, breaking apart his design so Penny and Emery could exploit the damage.

“He’s right on us,” Cahal said.

“What do we do?” Darius asked urgently.

What could we do? Keep going and hope for the best.

Twenty-Three

They are all there, Tatsu thought as they closed the distance to his daughter.

Not all. There are no vampires beyond Durant.

They’d stopped briefly at the Haedus sect, knowing full well that Reagan had escaped with her friends. The place was in chaos. Sure enough, they’d left not long before, having severely rattled and cowed the powerful conspector.

Lucifer hadn’t allowed himself to feel the pulsing of pride that she had donned her mantle even while running from it. He’d grabbed the briefest bit of info from the leader—none of the vampires helping her sounded like Vlad—and had taken off after her.

They are working on the wall, Tatsu said, as though he didn’t also have eyes.

Urgency pumped a solid beat within his chest. He could not let her get away. She would make a fool of him. She would show his weakness as a ruler.

She has showcased the strength of your bloodline, Tatsu said. He must’ve let his thoughts slip. She will show the powerful pedigree of her friends. Of her dragons. Of her person. She is your heir, through and through. She is worthy of the Underworld. Of the title of princess.

She is trying to escape all of those things, or don’t you know what fleeing in the middle of the night generally means?

She is trying to escape one she sees as a tyrant.

You’re on her side, are you?

I am on your side. You need to be on her side.

She won’t get through that wall. I used all my best conspectors to help form it. Maybe if she had a few hours, but not in mere minutes. I’ll have her. I’ll apologize and we’ll start again. This can be amended.

What is… He let the thought linger.

The illusion of the beach unraveled before his eyes. Magic ate through it like acid, ripping it into tatters and revealing what lay beneath.

His daughter stood with her friends, grouped around the wall and working on one spot.

If she wanted to break it more quickly, they should spread out, work at different parts of it. But then, there was only one with the magic to do that, he supposed. The other two, the mages, weren’t as strong. They could erode old constructs, but they seemed to need Reagan’s help on his latest work.

Faster, he said, leaning forward, his heart speeding up. We can reach them before they go. Faster.

They will attack.

The mages are nothing. I’ve confronted angelic magic before. Or how do you think I survived?

Reagan will attack, and Archion with her. He is a handful. If Saphira joins…

He shook his head. She might attack, that was true. But she lacked experience. She had brute power, but no finesse. No advanced knowledge. She would not stand a chance. He’d have her, and they could put all this behind them.

Fire flared in front of Reagan, followed by a swirl of what looked like frost. More, in patches, one location and then another. He could not see what else was happening, not from such a distance, but they were working fast, urgently. Another burst of fire, bigger than the last. A white crack wormed up his onyx wall.

“No,” he said, half standing, looking harder. It grew, the crack, before another one started. And another. “No! Go, Tatsu, go!”

She put on a burst of speed. She might not think this was the best course of action, but she was loyal—she’d help him now, just like he always helped her when she asked for something.

The wall began to erode. Cracks ran through the structure, racing for the sides.

How? He squinted, trying to see into the distance. He’d made that wall incredibly complex. It was some of his best work. “How…”

The hole kept getting larger, growing and growing. They now raced for their dragons, Reagan helping them mount with bursts of air, faltering slightly when it was her turn to lift. She was exhausted, panting from the effort; he was close enough to see that. Right on them now. They still had to get up to speed and fly over the Edges. They still had to exit, one dragon at a time—the exit too small for them all to leave together. He could grab at least one of her friends. She’d sacrifice herself for them.

Is this what you want? Tatsu asked as they closed the gap.

All three dragons had made it through the crumbling wall.

“Go,” he growled, willing her to go faster, half wanting to fly himself. He couldn’t compete against a dragon, though. He needed her.