She set the cup down and picked up another book, held it in her palms, and stared at the worn cover. It was merely a book of very old tales of faeries, elves, demons, and other fables.
As she opened the book to the table of contents, she blinked the tiredness from her eyes. She glanced at the table of contents and noted the section on demon fables before rifling through the pages until she reached the first tale. Disappointment tore at her gut as she saw a picture of a stereotypical demon with a hideous face, horns, and a forked tail.
Ericka bit the inside of her cheek, trying for control. She didn’t have time for tears. She flipped the next page and the next. She came to an abrupt stop when a few words caught her eyes.
Annwn. Realm of the Dead.
Butterflies batted her belly and she forced herself to slow down and read the passages. Annwn a place of beauty, almost Heaven, but not quite. The Realm of the Dead—it was Hell.
The butterflies dropped like lead as she read descriptions of each place in the afterlife.
A section brought her to a complete stop.
Stolen souls are taken to the Realm of the Dead where they serve the god of Death.
Surprisingly, Incubae and Succubae do not face the fate of the Realm of the Dead unless they fail in the tasks set forth to them by the gods and goddesses.
The only known way for a demon to escape the Realm is for a human to voluntarily release half of his or her soul and offer it to the demon. By doing so, the human will bind himself or herself to the demon. Because the demon shares the human’s spiritual essence, the demon neither fails nor completes his assignment.
Ericka’s heart raced and she could barely breathe. Half of her soul. Was she willing to give that much to save Aedan?
She closed her eyes tight. Imagined all the times he’d come to her and the bond she’d felt between them. He had sacrificed his own future for hers.
Am I willing to do it for him?
Yes. Yes!
Ericka sucked in another breath and released it, her skin tingling from the magnitude of her decision. She slowed and read the ritual carefully. She no longer felt tired. Instead, her body buzzed with energy, and it wasn’t just the caffeine.
She’d need three white candles, a lock of her hair, and three flat, water-smoothed rocks. After she gathered all of her supplies, she’d need to make up some kind of rhyming chant that expressed her desire to share her soul with Aedan. That would be the hard part.
Still in her robe, she dashed out of the condo to the beach and combed the line of kelp for smooth rocks. The salty air was moist and humid and wind tugged at her robe as waves slapped the shore. Over and over in her mind she worked on the words for a chant.
The sun peeked over the horizon, the faint morning light just enough to see by. When she’d found the rocks, she hurried back into the condo and grabbed three candles from her bedroom, along with a black marker, a lighter, and a pair of scissors. Slightly out of breath from rushing, she knelt on the kitchen’s tiled floor as she snipped a lock of her hair, then lit the candles. She tossed the scissors aside, along with the lighter and they clattered across the floor.
She grabbed the marker. Her hand shook as she drew a circle on the kitchen tile, around herself and the items beside her.
Ericka eased onto her haunches and stared at the candles. The flames danced, almost mesmerizing her. She swallowed then picked up the lock of hair.
God, she hoped the chant would work.
As she draped a third of her hair over each flame, the strands hissed and curled as they caught fire. The smell of burning hair overpowered scents of the vanilla candles.
Her heart pounded in a harsh rhythm and she chanted as she placed the hair on the candle flames.
All my love and half my soul,
I give to Aedan the Incubae.
With that gift, I demand his return this day.
Free him now, to find his true fate.
Gods and goddesses, I claim him as my mate.
Forever halved, twins sharing a soul,
Heart to heart, we will both be whole.
Tears stung Ericka’s eyes as she placed the three smooth, flat stones, one at a time over each flame. She snuffed them with the rocks, pressing the wick into the melted wax and burned hair.
When she finished, a breeze immediately swept the room, lifting her hair from her shoulders. Goosebumps prickled her skin and butterflies skipped in her belly.
Everything around her wavered like she was looking through a window of water.
Ericka’s lips parted and her heart thundered as she got to her feet. A stone archway appeared and she couldn’t see the condo’s kitchen anymore. On the other side of the wavering air was an enormous room with lots of other archways.
She raised her hand. Instead of air, she touched a rubbery surface. She pushed—
And tumbled through the archway.
Ericka screamed when the sucking sensation grabbed hold of her and the condo vanished. The sensation of being engulfed in goo surrounded her before she stumbled out of it and dropped to her hands and knees on a polished marble floor.
If her heart didn’t stop beating so hard it was going to explode.
“What the hell?” she said as cool marble chilled her knees and hands.
She glanced up from the floor.
Someone was in front of her.
Ericka’s gaze slowly traveled up the blue-robed form until she met the golden eyes of a gorgeous blond woman. Her beauty was marred only by her hard expression.
“Rise.” The woman motioned with her hand for Ericka to stand. “I wish to see the woman who cost my son his future.”
Ericka’s cheeks burned as she got to her feet and stood eye-to-eye with the woman. “I never wanted Aedan to go to the Realm of the Dead.” She spoke so fast she stumbled over her words. “Don’t let him be taken. Please.” When she finished speaking she was clenching her hands so hard her nails dug into her palms.
“It is…too late.” The woman’s voice softened. “My son has been banished to the flames.”
“No.” Ericka shook her head as her mind began to reel. “No, he can’t be.” Heat flushed her as if she was in the fire as a vivid image of him burning alive seared her mind.
Something the woman had said clicked. “You’re Aedan’s mother?”
She inclined her head. “I am Belisma, the water goddess.”
“A-a goddess?” Ericka’s brain stuttered at Belisma’s statement. But she managed to grasp one obvious thread. “If you’re a goddess, can’t you save him?”
Belisma stepped closer to Ericka and raised her hand. The goddess’s fingertips were cool as she brushed them along Ericka’s cheek.
The goddess stared thoughtfully at Ericka as she stroked her fingers through Ericka’s wild red hair.
She wanted to scream and stomp her feet but instead she felt the power of the goddess’s hold and didn’t move.
Belisma let her hand fall away. “You have offered a great gift to my son. Perhaps only half your soul, but you have also given of your love.” The goddess nodded as if to herself.
She continued. “I believe my son has earned his peace and his reward. His choice to spare you and love you is a powerful thing. In the eyes of the universe he should be free of the Realm of the Dead by right and fairness.”
Ericka swallowed, hope welling up within her, but she said nothing.
The goddess now had a faraway look in her eyes. “I will call for a Council session.” Her gaze met Ericka’s again. “They may disagree. Nothing is certain. You both may be saved, or both condemned.”
“Condemned?” Ericka whispered.
“If the Council does not make this exception for Aedan, you could be forced to join him in the Realm of the Dead—if you indeed choose freely to give him half of your soul.” Belisma’s expression hardened again. “Are you willing to take that risk, as he was willing to send himself to the Realm to spare you such a fate?”