Queen of the Darkness

13 / Kaeleer

A storm had been gathering all night—thunder, lightning, wind. Now, as dawn approached, the wind had turned fierce, sounding almost as if it had a voice. "Come," Tersa said, helping Karla over to a couch. "You must lie down now. Morghann, come over here and lie on the floor."

"What's going on?" Khardeen asked as Morghann obediently lay down on the floor near the couch. He retrieved a pillow and slipped it under his wife's head.

"It would be better for all of you to sit on the floor. Even the Keep will feel this storm."

The First Circle glanced at each other uneasily and obeyed.

"What is it?" Karla asked when Tersa placed an arm protectively over her and rested the other hand on Morghann's shoulder.

"The day has come for the debts to be called in and for the Blood to answer for what they've become."

"I don't understand," Karla said. "What does the storm mean?"

Lightning flashed. The wind howled.

Tersa closed her eyes—and smiled. "She is coming."

14 / Terreille

He'd cut it too close. He hadn't expected the ride on the Winds to be that rough or that Saetan's physical endurance would give out so fast—or his own. They'd had to drop from the Red Wind to the Sapphire and finally, on the last part of the journey, down to the Green.

They couldn't land at the Keep itself. Some kind of shields had come down all around the place. So he'd homed in on Lucivar's Ebon-gray Jewel—and the one small place in the shields that Lucivar was using his Jewels to keep open—and dropped them from the Winds as close as he could. It hadn't been close enough, not for two exhausted men trying to scramble up a steep mountain path.

Now, with the gate in sight and Lucivar's mental urging to hurry, Daemon half carried Saetan up the slope, fighting a fierce, howling wind for every step.

Almost there. Almost. Almost.

The sky was getting lighter. The sun would lift above the horizon at any moment.

Hurry. Hurry.

"Saetan! SAE-TANNNN!"

Daemon looked behind them. Hekatah was scrambling up the slope. The bitch must have ridden the Red Wind all the way in order to get there right behind them.

Not wasting his breath to swear, he picked up the pace as best as could, dragging Saetan with him.

"Sadi!" Hekatah screamed. "You lying bastard!"

"MOVE!" Lucivar shouted. He was using Craft to hold the gate open, straining physically and mentally to keep it from closing and locking them out.

Closer. Almost there. Almost.

Daemon grabbed the bars of the gate, used the strength in his Black Jewel to hold it open. "Get him inside," he said, shoving Saetan at Lucivar. Then he turned and waited.

Hekatah came up the slope, stopped a few feet away. "You lying bastard."

Daemon smiled. "I didn't lie, darling. I told you you were going to get everything you deserved." He let go of the gate. It slammed shut, and the last shield came down over it.

As he turned and ran across the open courtyard, he heard Hekatah screaming. And he heard a wild howling, a sound full of joy and pain, rage and celebration.

He crossed the threshold into the safety of the Keep a moment before Jaenelle unleashed the maelstrom.

*You musst wake,* said a deep, sibilant voice. *Youmusst wake.*

Daemon opened his eyes. It took him a moment to understand why everything looked a little...strange . , . and readjust. It took him another moment to confirm that he was still distantly linked to his body—and that his body was lying on the cold stone floor of the Keep where he and Lucivar and Saetan had fallen when Jaenelle unleashed her full strength.

*You are the triangle who helped sshape the web of dreamss. Now you musst hold the dream. There iss not much time.*

Groaning, he sat up and looked around. And was instantly wide-awake.

Mother Night, where are we?

He reached over Saetan's prone body and shook Lucivar.

*Hell's fire, Bastard,* Lucivar said. He raised his head. *Shit.*

Both of them reached for Saetan, shook him awake.

*Father, wake up. We're in trouble,* Daemon said.

*Now what?* Saetan growled. He raised himself up on his elbows. His eyes widened. *Mother Night.*

*And may the Darkness be merciful,* Lucivar added. *Where are we?*

*Somewhere in the abyss. I think.*

Climbing carefully to their feet, they looked around.

They were standing on the edge of a deep, wide chasm. Stretching across the chasm was an Opal web. Below them were webs the colors of the darker Jewels. Above them were webs the colors of the lighter Jewels.

*What are we doing here?* Lucivar asked.

*We're the triangle who helped shape the dream,* Daemon said. *We're supposed to hold the dream.*

*Don't go cryptic on me, Bastard,* Lucivar growled.

Daemon snarled at him.

Saetan raised his hand. They both fell silent.

*Who told you that?* Saetan asked.

*A sibilant voice.* Daemon paused. *It sounded like Draca, but it was male.*

Saetan nodded. *Lorn.* He looked around again.

Far, far, far above them, lightning flashed.

*Why did Jaenelle ask you to come to Hayll, Daemon?* Saetan asked.

*She said that the triangle had to remain together in order to survive. That the mirror had the strength to keep the other two safe.*

*She saw that in a tangled web?*

*No. The Weaver of Dreams told her.*

Lucivar began to swear.

Saetan's look was sharp, penetrating, thoughtful.

The lightning flashed a little closer.

*Father, brother, lover,* Saetan said softly.

Daemon nodded, remembering the triangle Tersa had traced on his palm. *The father came first. The brother stands between.* When they both looked at him, he shifted uneasily. *Something Tersa said once.*

*Warnings from Tersa, the Arachnian Queen, and Draca,* Saetan said. *A man might ignore one at his own peril, but all three?* He shook his head slowly. *I think not.*

The lightning flashed a little closer.

*That's all well and good,* Lucivar growled, *but I would prefer a straightforward order.*

*Thesse webss are the besst magic I can give you,* Lorn said irritably. *Usse them to hold the dream. If sshe breakss through all of them, sshe will return to the Darknesss. You will losse her.*

Lucivar puffed out a breath. *That's clear enough. So where—* He looked up as the lightning flashed again. *What's that?*

They all looked up, waited for the next flash—and saw the small dark speck plummeting toward the webs.

*Jaenelle,* Daemon whispered.

*She'll rip right through them,* Saetan said. *We'll have to use our own strength to try to slow her speed.*

*All right,* Lucivar said. *How do we go?*

Saetan looked at Daemon, then at Lucivar. *Father, brother, lover.* He didn't wait for an answer. He exploded upward, racing to intercept Witch before she hit the White web.

Lucivar watched for a moment, then turned to the webs, his eyes narrowed. *If she hits them in the center, she'll break through them. So we'll roll her.* He clamped a hand on Daemon's shoulder, pointed with the other hand. *Not so close to the edge that you'll risk hitting the chasm walls, but away from the center. Then twist and roll while you're using your own strength as a brake.*

Daemon looked at the webs. *What will that do?*

*For one thing, the counter-movement should slow the speed. And if she gets wrapped in the webs—*

*We'll form a cocoon of power.*

Lucivar nodded. *I’ll go up to the Rose. I don't know how much strength Saetan has left. If he's still able to hold her, I can add my strength to his. If not ... *

*Where should I be?* Daemon asked, willing to defer to Lucivar's ability and fighting experience.

*The Green. I should be able to hold her that far.* Lucivar hesitated. *Good luck, Bastard.*

*And you, Prick.*

Lucivar soared upward.

A moment later, Daemon heard Saetan's roar of defiance as the White web shattered. In the flash, he could see two small figures falling, falling.

He floated down to the Green web.

The Yellow web shattered. Then the Tiger Eye.

He heard Lucivar's war cry.

As the Rose web shattered, he saw a twirl of color as Lucivar rolled, fighting against the speed of the fall.

They hit the Summer-sky. Holding on to Witch's legs, Lucivar rolled the other way, catching most of the web before they crashed through.

The Purple Dusk. The Opal.

Daemon met him halfway between the Opal and the Green.

*Let go, Prick, before you shatter the Ebon-gray.*

With a cry that was part defiant, part pain, and part fear, Lucivar let go.

Rage filled Daemon. Love drove him. He and Witch hit the Green web. He rolled, but he didn't have Lucivar's skill. They broke through close to the middle of the web. He kept rolling so that when they hit the Sapphire, they were close to the edge. He rolled the other way, wrapping her in the web's power.

They broke through the Sapphire, but they weren't falling as fast now. He had a little more time to brace, to plan, to pour the strength of his Black Jewels into fighting the fall.

They hit the Red, rolled, clung for a second before falling to the Gray. Only half the Gray strands broke immediately. He strained back as hard as he could. When the other half broke, he rolled themupward while the web swung them down toward the Ebon-gray. He pulled against the swing, slowing it, slowing it.

When the other side of the Gray broke, they sailed down to the Ebon-gray. The web sagged when they landed, then stretched, then stretched a little more before the strands began to break.

His Black Jewels were almost drained, but he held on, held on, held on as they floated onto the Black web.

And nothing happened.

Shaking, shivering, Daemon stared at the Black web, not quite daring to believe.

It took him a minute to get his hands to unlock from their grip. When he was finally able to let go, he floated cautiously above the web. Near her shoulder, he noticed two small broken strands. Very carefully, he smoothed the Black strands over the other colors that cocooned her.

He could barely see her, only just enough to make out the tiny spiral horn. But that was enough. *We did it,* he whispered as his eyes filled. *We did it.*