He pulled away and inspected her wound. Concern lined his face.

“It’s not that bad,” she said.

“It’s not good.”

“I’ve had worse from sparring practice. Let’s just find the young.”

Eric limped toward them. She hadn’t noticed it at the time, but he’d taken a hit to the leg from one of those swords. Blood seeped down from his thigh to his foot.

“How bad?” she asked.

“No worse than yours,” said Eric. “They split up the young. I know where some of them are being kept, but didn’t see where the two boys were being held.”

“I’ll find the boys,” said Joseph. “You and Eric get the rest of the kids and head out.”

“There are too many demons here. And Treszka’s still out there.”

“Treszka?”

“The demon-queen bitch who rules this place,” said Eric. “She’s got juice, so be careful if you see her.”

“I can’t kill her,” said Lyka. “My vow forbids it.” Even now her vow to that demon was pounding on her, demanding that she hunt the queen down and deliver her.

A strange look crossed Eric’s face. “How long have I been gone? Is the moon full yet?”

“Yes.”

He nodded slowly in resignation, but refused to look her in the eye. “I don’t think I can kill her, either.”

It must have torn up Eric to admit that he was too weak to do the job. Her brother was a proud man, a strong warrior. For him, being unable to fight meant he really was as bad off as he looked.

“I’ll take care of her,” said Joseph. “But first we find the kids and get them to safety.”

Lyka didn’t want to split up. She didn’t want to be separated from Joseph and unable to help him when he ran into trouble again.

He gave her a smile that brightened his eyes. “We’ll be together soon, love. Until then, I’m still here.” He stroked her temple, then pressed his hand over her heart. “And here.”

If he kept this up, Lyka was going to disgrace herself by crying in front of her brother. It was the kind of thing he’d never let her live down.

She sniffed and turned to Eric. Standing right behind him was Treszka.

A dozen of those disturbingly human-looking demons appeared behind her, gathering around their queen. One of them had several short strips of silver duct tape clinging to its patchy fur—the remnants of its bindings.

It was the one she’d vowed to help claim Treszka as its own to possess as its mate. And now Lyka’s chance to fulfill that promise was standing right in front of her.

Treszka flipped back her long black hair to reveal that gaping mouth in the top of her head.

Before anyone could react, she sank her black fingernails into Eric’s shoulders and bit him with that horrible maw, ripping a chunk of flesh from his neck.

A look of shocked horror covered his face. She let go of him. Blood spurted several feet into the air with each beat of his heart. He fell to his knees, bleeding to death fast.

Eric’s blood trickled down Treszka’s pale temple as she looked at Lyka. “You’re next.”

Chapter 43

Joseph shoved Lyka aside as he charged Treszka. No way in hell was he letting this demon get his hands on his woman.

Eric’s hot blood hit Joseph as he passed. The man had only a few seconds to live, and Joseph wanted the Slayer to know he was avenged before he died.

Before he could reach the demon, a blast of searing power hit him, slamming him back into the stone wall of the cave.

Joseph shook his head to clear it, but everything was a little slower and hazier than it had been a minute ago.

“Really?” she said. “You really think it would be that easy to kill me?”

She stepped over Eric. Lyka was at his side, frantically trying to save his life. Blood surged out from between her fingers. She was drawing power from Joseph at a steady rate, fumbling to find some way to slow Eric’s bleeding.

As much as Joseph wanted to help, he didn’t dare let his attention slip from the demon queen headed his way.

She looked him up and down with approval. “I had considered using a Theronai to father my offspring. Now that I see you, I almost wish I had. If only your kind was as hearty as the Slayers. I really didn’t think a Theronai would be strong enough to survive playing with me, but now I wonder if I was wrong.” She lifted a hand. “Perhaps next time.”

Her attack hit him with an invisible force.

Joseph’s world exploded in pain. He felt like his skin was being ripped from his body one cell at a time.

He couldn’t think, could barely see. His hearing was fine, filled with the sound of his own voice lifted in agony.

Run! he tried to tell Lyka, but nothing got through. Their connection was already full, roaring with the flow of power.

Then suddenly, the pain was gone. He slid down the wall, rocks scraping his bare back. Even that felt good by comparison.

When his eyes finally started working again, he saw Treszka lying on the floor, pinned in place by an iridescent band of energy. Lyka’s hand was raised, bloody and trembling as she held the demon down.

“She’s yours,” said Lyka to the demon wearing bits of silver duct tape and hovering tentatively nearby.

It eased from the group, moving closer to its queen.

The tracking device was still glued to its back, where Nicholas had put it.

Treszka screamed and thrashed against Lyka’s bonds.

Another rush of power flowed out of Joseph as she strengthened the magic holding the demon in place. It was already wobbling, weakening with every passing second.

That’s when Joseph felt what she was doing with his power and realized that not only was Lyka pinning Treszka, but she was also using a tiny shield to patch Eric’s artery and slow the bleeding.

She was still new to wielding magic, and multitasking was draining her fast.

Joseph didn’t have much time left to act before his window of opportunity closed.

Tracker Demon inched closer to Treszka’s feet and pushed her velvet skirt up her legs. It lowered its mouth and a long black tongue spilled out to lick its queen’s skin.

Revulsion churned in Joseph’s gut, but he didn’t let it slow him down. As long as this demon lived, Lyka would be bound by her vow to it. She’d be trapped by her word, unable to kill the demon queen that was hell-bent on taking all of them down.