“Steel your spine, Sabina. Padlock your guilt. He’ll feed off it and prevail.” Her head jerked like a bird’s. “He’s almost here. Be strong, daughter mine. This is all a dream and dreams can be controlled.” She touched the center of my forehead with her finger. “The Great Mother sends you her blessings and strength, but victory is not assured. You must survive to fulfill your destiny. No matter the cost. Do you understand?”
I nodded mutely. I had no idea what the hell was happening, but then maybe I wasn’t supposed to. This realm was not the provenance of logic or reason. Emotion and instinct were the monarchs of this dark kingdom, this fortress of symbol. I closed my eyes, trying to herd my tangled thoughts.
A kiss as gentle as butterfly wings tickled my skin. When I opened my eyes, she was gone. My mother was gone.
“Sabina?” Giguhl whispered. “What the f**k is going on?”
A low growl echoed through the cavern. The hairs on the back of my neck went stiff. I turned slowly to locate the source of the threat. Two glowing eyes peered at me from across the lake. Dropping Giguhl, I fell into my fighting stance.
Time slowed. Blood oozed. Pulse throbbed.
Thump… thump… thump.
The stag stepped out from the darkness, his red antlers and green eyes shockingly chromatic in the drab underworld. In the foreground, Maisie knelt on the shore. She wore a white chiton, the right strap drooping over one shoulder. She hummed to herself. Her melancholy tune drifted across the pool and reached my ears. The sound made static crawl under my skin.
“Maisie?” I called.
She didn’t look up from the skull she cradled in her arms like a baby.
I started running before my thoughts registered the action. Instinct screamed for me to grab Maisie before the stag could reach her. I shot forward, directly across the water.
But with each step, the opposite shore grew farther away. My feet pedaled uselessly, like running on wet glass. The faces returned, taunting me from their wet grave.
My heart pounded and sweat beaded on my upper lip. The stag stood over Maisie now. She looked up and the beast stroked her face with its velvet muzzle. Her head shook from side to side, defiant despite her obvious fear.
“Maisie!” I screamed, but the sound shattered on the air. A movement along the shore caught my eyes, a flash of gray among the obsidian sand. Giguhl was making his way around the lake, unnoticed by the stag or Maisie. I snapped my mouth shut instead of calling to him.
Pull yourself together, Sabina. You control the dream, remember?
I stilled and gathered my powers in my solar plexus. Instead of fighting the parade of images, I lassoed my will and focused on my goal.
To the shore.
When I looked down, my feet were already on the black sands. The stag looked up, his green eyes widening. His head tilted. “I knew you’d come.”
Ignoring the beast, I ran to Maisie. “We need to go.” I pulled at her. I pleaded. I cajoled. And finally, I threatened. But she refused to budge.
As I struggled with my sister, the stag began to morph. Bones popped, skin stretched grotesquely.
Maisie fought me, scratching at my arms and face. Only instead of screaming or crying out, she laughed. Cackled even as she drew blood. “Not until it is done,” she said in a singsong voice. I bent down to lift her and run like hell. The laughter cut off. “No! Not until it’s done!” She kicked and rolled, falling back to the black sand.
“Sabina,” a gentle male voice called. The sound of my name on his lips made my skin go icy hot. I looked up slowly to see not a beast before me but a man.
Cain.
His face, a study in masculine beauty, more perfect than Michelangelo’s David or any of Hollywood’s leading men. His olive skin emphasized his light green eyes, which glowed like poisonous neon. His long, red hair—the color of the shiny red apple that tempted Eve—fell across broad shoulders. The finely muscled chest formed a perfect V, tapering down to his sex, which stood proudly against his washboard abdominals. He had no shame over his nudity. Instead, he preened for me, like a peacock.
I stood slowly, my muscles taut in preparation for an attack. “Get away from her.” My voice emerged surprisingly powerful despite the fear clawing at my throat.
“It’s not her I want.” He held out his hands. “It’s you, Lamashtu. It’s always been you.”
“I am not f**king Lamashtu,” I said, my volume rising. “I am Sabina Kane. And you can’t have me.”
His eyes darkened. “Oh, but you are her. Just as she is you. And you’re both mine.”
“Listen, ass**le,” I said, placing my hands on my hips. “It’s time to move on already. Lilith chose Asmodeus. She doesn’t want you either.”
“She is mine!” His scream bounced off the cavern walls, making the stalactites tremble.
I flinched and moved to shield Maisie. “All right,” I said, lowering my voice into what I hoped was a calming tone. I felt anything but calm, but I knew that angering him further would diminish our chances of surviving this confrontation. “Tell me what you want.”
“You think you’re so clever. I’ll admit I worried when that mongrel god appeared two nights ago,” he said, his mouth tightening in anger. Then as suddenly as the frown appeared, it dissolved into a grin. “Too bad you didn’t protect her the next night.”
My stomach cramped. He was talking about the incubation. The next night, I’d left without saying good-bye to Maisie, the night of Mac’s mating. I’d promised my sister I’d come see her after that, but I had gotten so wrapped up in my own drama that she’d slipped my mind. But she obviously hadn’t slipped Cain’s.
“I didn’t ask how,” I said, raising my chin. “I want to know why. So I’ll repeat: What do you want?”
He spread his arms and smiled a smile he probably thought was charming. It turned my stomach. “You’re going to free me from this infernal prison.” He motioned to indicate the Liminal as a whole. “And then you’re going to take me to Irkalla to claim what is mine.”
My mouth fell open. “You can’t be serious. Why would I release you?”
“Because if you don’t,” he said, his lip quirking, “I’ll kill your sister.”
“Not if I kill you first.”
He tilted his head to the side. “I admire your bloodlust, my darling, but we both know if you kill me, your sister will die anyway. Along with the six other beings you love most in this world.”