Page 55 of Jinx

I dragged myself to my feet, clawing at the tree trunk for support. Another heart-stopping shriek nearly sent me back to the ground. A second gryphon was perched on top of the overturned SUV, the ruined metal frame groaning under its weight. Quinn? Because obviously, if Bellamy was a mythical beast, then his twin must have been too. But no, this one looked different. His terrifying beak was a bluish grey, and the feathers running down his chest and throughout his wings were bright white. He clutched one of the remaining tires in his massive forepaw, piercing the thick rubber with ease.

The demons cackled, their appointed leader calling out in a sing-song voice, “Not enough!” At that, a dozen more of them appeared, melting out of the very shadows. These didn’t have faces, but I could feel their gaze crawling all over me. Without any further preamble, the ravine exploded into a nightmare. The faceless creatures swarmed Bellamy, impervious to his deadly claws. The other gryphon, who I’d concluded was Alaric, leapt into the fray.

He landed squarely on top of one, but it just poofed into smoke and reformed on his back to tear at his feathers. Alaric screeched a roar and gave a violent shake, trying to dislodge it. Bel swiped at it, but it just poofed away again. Terror like a lead ball sank heavy in my gut. There was no way for them to win.

While I’d been distracted by the fight, the demonic humans that came out of the van were closing in. They’d given the battle a wide berth, happy to let their shadow monsters fight it for them, and now they were coming for me. Running sounded like the best idea I’d ever had. I checked over my shoulder to gauge my path, and my blood turned to ice.

One of the faceless creatures had seized a still-very-human Quinn. It held him tightly, one spindly arm an unforgiving noose around his neck and the other binding his arms behind him. Quinn was so, so pale. Not the pale that came with fear, but the ashy pall of death. He was covered in more blood than I remembered, and it was clear that he’d been injured in the crash worse than he let on. He gasped against the creature’s grip, his breaths wet and thready. I hadn’t even fully formed the thought in my head before I was lunging toward him, only to be caught around the middle.

“I don’t think so.” The demon’s breath was rancid like rotten meat, and I gagged. “My pet won’t like it if you take its toy away.”

I struggled in her hold, but the strength she possessed was, well, inhuman. I was forced to watch as the creature plunged a shadowy tentacle deep into Quinn’s chest, making him scream. It was too much. The sound was too much.

“Stop!” I thrashed, an animal caught in a trap, but it was no use. I couldn’t break free any more than I could stop the light from dimming in Quinn’s eyes. He was going to die. I was going to watch him die.

“No!” My magic raged within me, refusing to accept our impotence. “Let me out!”

“How?!” I shrieked, helpless. My body was exhausted, limbs weak and trembling. There was no way I’d break the demon’s hold. Quinn was fading, and I couldn’t stop it.

“Claim him!”

My stomach twisted at the demand. Quinn didn’t want that. He told me he didn’t want that. But he also wasn’t dying when he said it. He would have to agree that the alternative was so much worse, right? He would agree that I couldn’t sit here and do nothing. Not when I could save him. When I could save them all.

“Wait!” I shouted through my sobs. “Wait, please. Wait.” I was babbling, buying time, but if it worked, I didn’t care. I’d spend the rest of my life begging if I had to. I just needed to get close to him. “Please let me…let me say goodbye to him. Please.”

The demon pressed her face close to mine. “Oh, but you sound so pretty when you beg.” She dragged her tongue up my cheek, and I fought to keep from retching. “Say it again.”

“Please,” I choked. “Please.” Please let this work.

I felt the demon’s lips curl into a wicked smile against my face. She pulled back and wrapped a clawed hand around the nape of my neck, squeezing so hard a pained whimper got stuck in my throat. She marched me forward the few steps it took to put me right in front of Quinn.

“Go on then,” she crooned. “Kiss your little love goodbye.”

“Foxglove,” he wheezed. The gold of his eyes was cold and flat, his face tight with agony. “Don’t. I’m not worth it.”

I fought for some semblance of a smile. “You’re wrong.” I swallowed hard, hating myself for what I was about to do but knowing it had to be done. “And I’m sorry.” Before the demon could change her mind and yank me away, I tipped forward. My lips barely brushed his cold, pale cheek before the world flickered out like a dying candle, and all that was left was darkness.

37

QUINN

The shadow blade felt like ice and electricity as it drove into my chest. It felt like burning alive. Even worse, because she was there, watching it all with horrified blue eyes. She struggled against the mimic holding her, writhing and thrashing. I would have felt proud of her for fighting if I could feel anything at all. It was all numb now.

I knew as soon as we crashed that I didn’t have much time before the ferryman came for me. But if I got Cordelia out, got my brothers out to keep her safe, then I could cross the Styx without regret. Rami and Lucian were on their way. My brothers would keep her safe. I was no use to the drift. My beast was broken. Maimed.

Cordelia was begging the mimic, words tumbling from perfect lips that I never got to taste. It was a mercy. If I’d been a weaker man, I’d have given myself to her eagerly, consequences be damned. It would have been tragic. Now she’d never have to feel the pain of a severed bond. The visceral agony of having part of your soul torn out after it had just been reattached. She would grieve, but at least she wouldn’t suffer.

The weight of death pressed down on me, and through the dark haze creeping over my eyes, I saw her approach. The mimic shoved her right up to me with a smirk.

“Go on then. Kiss your little love goodbye.”

My heart twisted with panic around the void’s poisoned blade.

“Foxglove, don’t.” She didn’t understand. She didn’t know what would happen if she bound me, only to lose me. Better that it end this way, now. “I’m not worth it.”

A brave smile ghosted over her beautiful face, lighting her water-damaged eyes for just a moment. “You’re wrong,” she croaked, voice thick with tears. “And I’m sorry.”

Before I could say another word, she leaned into me and sealed her fate. Her soft lips were just a whisper over my cold skin, but it was enough. Her magic ripped through me, so different than her gentle kiss. It filled me with a vision of crushing hope in return for an unyielding demand that I accept this. My beast keened, and we were helpless to resist.