Devil May Cry (Dark-Hunter 11)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Sin couldn't breathe as his brother's harsh words rang in his ears. He looked down at Kat on his bed, and while she might be burning with a fever, there was no sign of her changing over into a demon. "What do you mean, she's converting? She wasn't bitten."

Zakar indicated her with his hand. "Trust me. I know the symptoms. She's becoming one of them."

Sin cradled her against his chest. Even though she was unconscious, her eyes were half-open. Her body was completely limp. Her features were as beautiful as ever. Calm. Serene.

She wasn't becoming a demon. He refused to believe it. There was no sign of her teeth changing. Of her hands deforming. She looked as she always did.

His brother was wrong. "She's just sick."

Zakar laughed at him. "An immortal goddess, sick? Have you lost your mind?"

"I get sick," he said defensively. "It's possible she gets sick, too."

"Do you really believe that?"

No, but he wanted to, desperately. He honestly couldn't cope with the thought of her becoming a demon he'd have to kill.

Sin tightened his grip on her, afraid Zakar might be right. "What can I do?"

"Kill her."

"Bullshit!"

There was no mercy in Zakar's eyes as he watched Sin. "You know what I know. There's no cure for this. There's no way back. Once the conversion starts, it's over for the victim. All you can do is put her out of her misery."

Still, he denied it. The thought of killing Kat...

He couldn't bear it. In only a short time, she'd come to mean way too much to him. "You're immune to the demon venom."

"Am I?"

A cold chill went down Sin's spine. "Zakar..."

Zakar laughed. "You were a fool to come for me, Nana." He leapt across the bed at him.

Releasing Kat to fall back on the mattress, Sin caught him, and they slammed into the wall. Zakar looked normal, except for the single set of fangs in his mouth. A tremor of anger went through Sin. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm your brother."

"No, you're not." He slugged his fist into Zakar's jaw, knocking him to the floor. This wasn't Zakar, this was something else entirely.

"Kytara!" Sin shouted. "If you can hear me, get your ass here now."

As Zakar stood up slowly and wiped the blood from his lips he tsked at Sin. "How pathetically weak you've grown that you now have to call for backup from a woman."

Sin raked his brother with a sneer. "She's not my backup. She's your babysitter." He blasted Zakar with a god-bolt.

And he didn't let up.

Zakar tried to run, but he couldn't. Every time he tried to stand, the blast would knock him back to the floor. With Zakar squirming in a corner, Sin kept him pinned until Kytara showed herself in the room.

She actually looked excited as she saw him frying his brother. "Good man. Kill the bastard."

But Sin didn't kill him. He couldn't do that to his own brother-he could only beat the shit out of him, and that only when Zakar deserved it.

As soon as Zakar was unconscious, Sin stopped pounding him with the bolts. He knelt by Zakar, who was slumped on the floor, and double-checked his pulse. It was strong and frantic against Sin's fingertips.

Satisfied that his brother would live, Sin laid him down more comfortably on the floor and covered him with a blanket. Sin looked up at Kytara, who was standing next to his bed. "What do you know about gallu conversions?"

She shrugged. "Not much really. I'm the other pantheon, remember? Why?"

"Because I think Kat was bitten by them." He went back to her on the bed. She was shaking now so badly that her teeth were chattering. And she still didn't wake or respond to him. "I need you to stay here while I get her help."

Kytara's face paled as she realized what was wrong with Kat. "There's no help for this. You know that."

He shook his head. There was no way in hell he was going to let Kat die. Not like this.

Or worse, kill her for it. There had to be something they could do. Anything, and he was willing to move the heavens and earth to save her. "I refuse to believe that." He picked Kat up from the bed and faced Kytara. "Watch Zakar for me. Don't let him out of your sight, and whatever you do, don't kill him."

She made an indignant squawk. "Are you kidding me? I'm not a babysitter."

He gave her the most hostile glare he could muster. "No, I'm not kidding. I don't want my brother dead. You said he's fractured. If that's the case, then we can fix him. But first I have to save Kat."

"It's impossible, Sin, and you know it. You're insane and you're wasting your time."

"We'll see." He paused before he left. "And Kytara, if my brother isn't still breathing when I return, the Oneroi are going to be the least of your concerns."

She gave him an indignant huff.

Ignoring her, Sin closed his eyes and flashed him and Kat to the last place he needed to visit...

Kalosis.

And he naturally manifested right in front of a Charonte who eyeballed him as if he were a prime steak on a plate. But Sin wasn't in the mood to deal with it. He ignored the beast.

"Apollymi!" Sin shouted as he walked down the long, narrow hallway with no idea where to go to find her. "I need you."

She appeared in front of him with her hands on her hips and her face flaming angry.

Until she saw Kat in his arms.

Apollymi's countenance instantly changed to one of concern as she rushed forward to place her hand on Kat's brow. "What happened?"

For some reason, that one single question coming from Kat's grandmother hit a raw nerve in him and all the repressed emotions he'd been holding back came rushing forward. His throat tightened as fear for Kat overwhelmed him.

But there was more to it than that. The thought of her dead...

Sin hadn't hurt like this in so long that it was all he could do to draw a breath. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't.

Swallowing against the lump in his throat, he spoke in a hushed tone. "I think she was bitten by a gallu demon and she's becoming one of them. I need you to heal her... please."

Tears filled Apollymi's eyes as she met his gaze, and he saw a hopelessness there that tore through him like fire. "I can't heal something like this."