Red Blooded

“She’s right,” Lili said, appraising Selene. “I detect nothing as well.”

Rourke placed his hands gently on the door, testing. Nothing zapped him, so that was a good sign. “This door is thick,” he said. “But to bust it open will make a lot of noise.” Instead he grasped one of the two big handles and depressed it.

It didn’t move.

I asked Lili, “How did you two lovebirds go back and forth? You didn’t have to come through this locked door every time, did you? Shouldn’t there be a key in some secret cubbyhole or something?”

“There is no key,” Lili sighed. “I used magic, of course. He has found a way to block me already, but I will try.”

She moved in front of Rourke and placed her palms on the door, caressing it as she pressed one cheek to it listening for something.

Then she sprang back. “There’s something on the other—”

Before she could finish, the door burst open in front of us.

“Looking for me?” a very bored and familiar voice intoned.

19

The fake Selene stood sentry, dressed in her predecessor’s former glory. She wore a black leather corset with metal studs and a pair of the tightest leather pants I’d ever seen. Her hair was long, gorgeous, and bright red, and there wasn’t a mar on her perfect porcelain skin. She had the balls to cross her arms and lean up against the doorframe like it was no big deal that three shifters, one former goddess, and one witch-demon were standing there waiting to take her out. “We knew you’d try to come here, Lili. You are so very predictable.” She shook her head with a pitying expression.

Lili’s power jumped and cold fury whipped off her. “Of course I came back.” Lili calmly placed her hands on her hips, belying the inner turmoil I knew raged inside her. This had to burn. “I left some of my most cherished treasures here and I can’t leave this plane until I retrieve them.” Then, without so much as flinching or signaling her intent, Lili sprang, grabbing the doppelganger by the throat with one hand and by the hair with the other.

Hair that came out in Lili’s fist as they went down.

They were on the floor before anyone could blink. The clone struggled, but Lili was too quick. We all watched, our mouths slightly agape as they rolled twice more, and then, with one swipe, Lili tore out the doppelganger’s jugular and plunged her fist down her throat.

There was an awful sucking noise, followed by gushing and gurgling.

None of us had moved from the doorway.

“Well,” Ray chuckled, “I didn’t see that one coming.” He angled his head to the side. “That demoness has good form. Selene Two never had a chance.”

“Lili has good form because she’s a cold-blooded killer,” I commented. “This is another reminder that’s she’s dangerous.”

“You got that right,” Ray said.

After a few more seconds the clone went totally still and Lili rose, clutching something slimy in her hand. Before she could explain how she’d gotten the jump on the clone so quickly, the real Selene grabbed her own throat and stumbled forward, gasping for air.

Tyler stood the closest and managed to catch her in his arms as she collapsed, dragging her into the room and laying her out on the stone floor.

I knelt by her side. “What’s happening to her?” I asked Lili as Rourke and Ray came up beside me.

Lili went to a side table, plucked an ornate bowl from its resting place, and dropped something into it that landed with a squish. She bent over it for a moment, like she needed to examine it, and after finding it adequate she turned back to me, wiping blood off her hands and onto her jumpsuit. “I’m not sure. They must’ve been linked together somehow. The cloning has obviously gone awry.” She walked over, holding the bowl. “Maybe that’s why she couldn’t die in the first place? The two bodies are connected.”

I stood slowly, blinking. For a single second I felt like I was watching this entire scene from outside myself. I glanced into the bowl Lili held. “Is that her heart? You ripped it out through her neck?” I grimaced. It was smaller than a human heart. “That can’t be Selene’s heart. It’s too small.”

“It’s a demon heart, and it’s located higher on the chest than a human’s, which is why I opened her throat.” Lili said it like it was commonplace to rip someone’s heart out. “That clone was ninety-five percent Selene, five percent demon. Take out the five percent and it cannot function in the Underworld. The stronger the demon heart, the more powerful the clone. This was a fairly powerful heart, from one of our highborn demons, but not enough to deter me.” She shook the bowl and the mass slipped around. “The Prince underestimated me if he thought I could not disarm this clone in less than three minutes.”

I shook my head. “You know, you could’ve told us you had this handled. Or at the very least we could’ve held her down or something.” I peered at Lili out of the corner of my eye. “Constantly keeping us in the dark is not helping you.”

Lili shrugged. “If the clone had been smart, she would’ve used a spell. But the five percent demon gave her a big disadvantage. I had to act quickly to make it clean. Some demons can sense intent before it happens and I didn’t know which demon heart they’d used, so I cloaked my feelings.”

The real Selene continued to roll on the ground, her hands still tearing at her neck, her eyes wide. I knelt down next to her again as she rocked, her face turning a very dark shade of scarlet. I had no idea what to do.

“What’s happening to her?” Ray asked, kneeling next to me, his face a mask of confusion. “Can’t we stop this somehow?”

“I honestly don’t know.” I glanced over my shoulder at the listless, very dead clone lying a few feet away. “Ray, I think the bodies are connected somehow—possibly with one soul. It’s the only thing you detected keeping the real Selene alive, but wouldn’t the demons need her soul for the clone? I mean, that’s what demons always want—your soul. Taking it must be what allows the power shift to happen.” It was remarkable, really. Transferring a supernatural’s raw magic and power was unheard of in my world. If the sorcerers had truly teamed up with the demons and gained this knowledge, it would be a supernatural game changer.

Ray immediately raised his head in the air as his eyes shone silver.

I knew the moment he figured it out. His eyes snapped to mine. “The soul is split. You were right.” He shook his head, his forehead crinkling in concentration. “This is very wrong. My body is telling me it’s not supposed to be like this.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s highly unusual, and the universe doesn’t like when things like this happen. Very bad chi.”