A Tip of Balance Read online

  He moved toward me, but I raised the candelabra in front of me again to keep him away. He shook his head slowly and let out a tired sigh.

  “I will treat you like a queen, my dear, as long as you help me. As long as you tell me what the future holds.”

  “What’s wrong, Azazel? Your other Oracles aren’t effective enough? Why do you need me?” I retorted.

  “I feel like I will make a lot more progress if my Oracles are willing. The ones I have, unfortunately, were stupid and stubborn and have now been rendered mostly useless. Except for Abrille, of course. She’s still alive and kicking in her bubble,” he smiled.

  He noticed my confused frown, a surprised look raising his eyebrows.

  “You didn’t know her name? The good Oracle that has been trying to keep you and your friends away from me?”

  Abrille. The Nevertide Oracle, I realized.

  At least I knew her name now, but the way he spoke about her made me think she had been trying to help us, even when it didn’t seem like it. There were still many unanswered questions about her, but I had very little time and patience for her at that point.

  My stomach tightened into a painful knot as the image of Bijarki getting injured by the Destroyer’s spear kept replaying itself in my head. Those blades were fatal, their poison able to kill an incubus in minutes. The more I thought about it, the more unlikely his survival sounded.

  Fear raced through me, followed swiftly by grief. My legs were weak, and all I could think of was the fact that Azazel had separated me from the man I loved. Chances are he’d gotten Bijarki killed, and I didn’t know how to react to that.

  “I would never… I would never help you,” I murmured, trying to keep myself together. Bijarki kept collapsing right before my eyes, in a sick, inescapable loop.

  I noticed his Destroyer servant watching me from behind Azazel, frowning. Azazel, on the other hand, chuckled, further adding to my rage and unquenchable thirst for his blood. I was stuck between killer thoughts and Bijarki’s death while struggling to stay strong in front of my mortal enemy.

  “You know,” Azazel quipped. “Abrille has seen the events of tonight as they unraveled. I asked her to tell me what happened at the mansion after you left. Of course, I’ve been having trouble with her truthfulness about what’s beneath that shield, but after I informed her that I knew everything thanks to Sverik, and after a few rounds of good old-fashioned torture, she finally squealed a little more than usual.”

  “After I left? You mean after you took me!” I barked.

  “Okay, after I took you,” he laughed lightly. I wanted to kick him in the face.

  I didn’t say anything, waiting for him to continue.

  “I bet I know why you’re so distressed,” he grinned.

  I held my breath, a muscle twitching in my jaw as my heart bled.

  “You must be worried about the incubus you were in bed with when my Destroyers came to find you.”

  There it was. That self-satisfied smirk I longed to wipe off his face with an ax.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I’m pleased to inform you that your beloved Bijarki has survived the attack. I do not know how, and I’m very curious to find out! He’s alive, though. Abrille saw him right after you left the mansion,” he added.

  I stilled.

  Was he telling the truth? I had no way of finding out. My best option was to check the future as soon as I got the chance. In the meantime, I accepted the information because it was much better than thinking he was dead. I couldn’t cope with losing him, especially not after what I’d just endured.

  “Little Oracle, I can bring your incubus to you,” Azazel said softly. “I can make sure you are both well taken care of if you help me willingly.”

  I needed a moment to process the information. He was trying to persuade me, to buy me off with Bijarki. All I could think of were ways to make Azazel’s death as painful as possible.

  “What about my friends?” I asked. I wanted to see how much information he was willing to give in return for any form of cooperation coming from me.

  He raised his hand in a dismissive gesture and shook his head.

  “You need not concern yourself with them anymore, little Oracle. Your life is here with me now,” he replied. “I can get you your incubus and keep you comfortable here. That is better than Abrille or her predecessors ever got.”

  His desire to control the outcome of everything, including my own life, brought out the worst in me. I was angry. I was sore. I was worried sick about the people I loved.

  How dare he?

  I hurled the candelabra at him, but he dodged it, a flicker of amusement lighting up his face for a second. It hit his Destroyer servant in the chest before it fell on the floor with a loud and unbearable clang. The Destroyer hissed from the minor burns he’d sustained in the process, trying to wipe off the melted wax that had splattered on his leather tunic.

  Azazel shook his head again, squinting at me.

  “Well, you need some time to think about this. I’m not surprised. After all, this is all abrupt and new to you. I’ll be back later, little Oracle. I’ll be gracious enough to give you some time to think,” he said. “I trust you will make a wise decision in the end. Until then, Damion here is at your disposal for whatever you may need.”

  “The only thing I want is to see you hanging by the throat for all your heinous crimes!” I shouted after him as he left the room and the doors closed behind him.

  As soon as he was gone, I felt my whole body ready to unravel in an emotional wave of hate, anger, fear, and despair. I shivered as I stood there, my gaze following Damion. He quietly opened one of the drawers and pulled out clean bandages and a small vial of what looked like one of the disinfectants that Anjani had used back at the mansion.

  He slithered toward me, but I raised my hands to keep him away.

  “Stay away from me!” I barked. “Stay the hell away from me!”

  Damion stopped and took a deep breath. He didn’t seem aggressive, but I wasn’t interested in being anywhere near any Destroyer. His mere presence made my skin crawl.

  I didn’t move. I kept going over everything that had just happened, everything that Azazel had just told me. My options were limited, but if Bijarki was alive, Serena and the others had most likely killed the Destroyers or driven them away and cured the poison from his wound. This meant that they were still beneath the protective shield. The only questions that remained were who had betrayed us, and what were they going to do next?

  “If you want to avoid spending the rest of your life in a glass bubble, unable to help anyone that you love,” Damion said slowly, his gaze fixed on me, “you should be smart and think about helping Azazel willingly. There is no easy way out.”

  I couldn’t even stand the sound of his voice. I was stuck in here, a prisoner with bars on the windows, locks on the doors, and magic shackles preventing me from using my fire fae abilities. I was being asked to help a monster kill more innocent people and destroy an entire world to quench his thirst for power.

  I couldn’t get out yet, and I couldn’t allow him to put me in a glass bubble in the meantime. I didn’t want to be stuck here, unable to move or to help anyone.

  I needed Bijarki with me. I needed my friends and my life back. The dismal situation I found myself in began to eat away at me like wildfire, crackling through my soul until I felt hot tears streaming down my cheeks that I could no longer hold back.

  “Just get out,” I rasped, my voice barely a whisper and my lower lip trembling as I looked away from the snake. “Leave me alone.”

  Damion didn’t say anything, but I heard him open the doors, then close and lock them behind him. I was alone again, surrounded by luxurious fabrics and gold decorations. I was alone and in pain, scared for my life and the lives of my friends.

  I finally collapsed.

  I broke down as soon as my knees hit the cold floor, sobbing.

  There was nothing more I could do other than cry and pray
.

  Jovi

  We raced across the meadow toward the northwest coast as the sun rose lazily in the east, painting the sky in cool pinks and oranges to mark the beginning of another day. There were only a few wisps of white clouds stretching loosely above. Several hundred miles were still left to cover, but the toughest part, getting out of the “hot radius” in one piece without Destroyers or shape-shifters on our tails, was out of the way.

  My stomach was still the size of a painful marble, but I set my thoughts of concern regarding Anjani aside and focused on the road ahead. She was strong and fast, and this had not been her first rodeo of getting Destroyers to follow her around.

  Jax and Hansa rode ahead, both our stallions nearly flying over the tall grass.

  “What should I watch out for, going forward?” I asked, my fingers clutching the loaded crossbow as my horse feverishly galloped behind them.

  Jax had already briefed me on the Maras, the Tritones, and Grezzi’s incubi, so I had a good idea of what I was going to see once we reached the lagoon, then White City and the rogue camp. It wasn’t our destination that I was wary of, rather what lurked in the shadows on the way there.

  “Aside from shifters and large nocturnal predators, there isn’t much to worry about,” the Mara addressed my concern. “Keep those poisoned arrows handy, and we should be fine.”

  “There isn’t much going on around here,” Hansa added from behind Jax. “The shifters know when to pull back if one too many of them get hit with poisoned arrows, and the predators tend to stay away from us. They are more focused on the gazelles grazing on the edge of the woods.”

  I tried to think of ways to spark a conversation, but it wasn’t long before my mind drifted back to Anjani. I kept trying to convince myself that she was strong and fast, but I couldn’t seem to stop worrying in the end.

  “I hope the others made it out as well,” I said.

  “We’ll find out in a few hours, once Serena gets in touch with her telepathy spell,” Hansa replied. “It may be too early and unsafe for them to reach out. I’m starting to think we were the luckier ones in this deployment. All we have are meadows and clear forests ahead.”

  When I didn’t respond, she looked over her shoulder and frowned once her gaze met mine.

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about Anjani if I were you,” she said. “She’s been trained exceptionally well, Jovi. She knows how to divert attention without getting herself killed. No one knows these jungles better than her.”

  I found her words strangely reassuring. I trusted her judgment since Hansa had shaped most of Anjani’s upbringing. No one knew her better than her sister. All I had to do was wait until Serena opened the communication channel so I could hear Anjani’s voice myself and confirm Hansa’s trust in her abilities.

  “You know, Jovi,” she added. “While I appreciate the closeness between you and Anjani, you should start thinking about what comes next.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked while Jax continued to scan our surroundings.

  “If we get through this alive, you must remember that Anjani is going to inherit the Red Tribe one day, and, as a chief, she will not be able to hold a mate. You two can’t be together in the long run. I hope she’s made you aware of that,” Hansa said, her tone lower than usual.

  The thought of social barriers between Anjani and me hadn’t crossed my mind to such an extent. I’d wondered about who would follow whom, mostly whether I’d settle here in Eritopia or whether Anjani would consider coming back to The Shade with me. The first scenario made more sense, though. I’d grown strangely fond of this world and found it difficult to reject as a potential home if I had her with me.

  The way Hansa put it made me think I wasn’t welcome in Anjani’s life. We’d just confessed our love for one another. Why would I walk away from the best thing that ever happened to me because of some antiquated Red Tribe rule? It made no sense. I was convinced that if she were here, Anjani would agree with me.

  “I don’t get it,” I replied. “Why can’t we be together?”

  “Our tradition forbids it. Every time a succubus got close to someone, people got hurt, and many died as a result. We are not ourselves when we are in love. Anjani is free to leave the Red Tribe if she wants to be with you, but she’s spent her whole life preparing to lead our people. If I were you, I would speak to her before giving this relationship a shot.”

  “That doesn’t sound right,” I shot back. “Why does she have to choose when I only want what’s best for her? I would never intervene in her affairs. If anything, Anjani would have all of my support if she ever needed it. I think your traditions need revisiting, Hansa. I will not back down. We will find a way for this to work.”

  “I don’t know how things go in your world,” Hansa replied, slightly irritated, “but here, in Eritopia, all we have left are traditions. They’ve kept us strong and safe for millennia, and a little boy from another dimension will not change that.”

  “Maybe the Red Tribe should start considering changing its rules because it’s unfair. Should we succeed in ridding this world of Azazel, you will all have the chance to start anew, leave everything that didn’t work behind, and further develop your societies to be more inclusive. You will have the opportunity to mend fences and progress. You do not have to keep yourselves stuck in a previous century because you fear weakness in the face of love.”

  I understood her point of view. She’d been raised the same way, and traditions were probably the most precious of her possessions. I couldn’t help but wonder, though, if she would’ve felt the same way if Almus hadn’t met Elissa. I was willing to bet that Hansa would’ve bent a rule or two if it allowed her to be with the one she loved. It didn’t feel right to put a noose on Anjani’s freedom because of traditions. It wasn’t fair, no matter how noble and protective the customs were. Love was love, after all, and it didn’t listen to reason or law.

  “You’re too young to understand, Jovi,” Hansa replied, “but when you live for as long as I have, and when you realize that all people are bound to let you down one way or another, you, too, will agree that emotional attachments bring nothing but trouble. The survival of our species can’t and won’t depend on our emotions. Our family, our blood ties are all we have, and Anjani is well aware of that. Whether you like it or not, she will choose the Red Tribe over a male if she has to. Even if that male is you.”

  “We’ll make it work. Rules are not forever, Hansa. Time changes everything, and circumstances change. I’m sure you all have your bad history with the incubi. I mean, it’s why you chose to live separately. We’re not all the same, though. I’m not even an incubus!”

  “You are a male, and all males are the same,” Hansa said, gritting her teeth as her eyes flickered with contempt. “You are selfish and unreliable, and your desire to be stronger and smarter than everyone else will always end in disaster because you are all incapable of accepting our nature. The succubi are not for the weak, and all males are weak. I know you don’t like hearing this, but it’s the truth.”

  Jax glanced at us for a second, then scoffed as he nudged his horse to go faster, forcing Hansa to grip his waist even tighter.

  “I can’t help but feel offended succubus,” he scoffed. “We are not all the same, and you cannot punish us all for your poor choice of mates.”

  “What did you say?” Hansa was seething.

  I kept my distance, suddenly wondering whether she’d let this go or defend it to the point where she’d have to draw her sword. I wanted to warn Jax against annoying her, but he wasn’t intimidated.

  “You’re putting us all in the same trough for no good reason. Just because you’ve had some bad relationships does not mean we are all weak and selfish. You’re projecting your misfortunes on these young souls under the guise of traditions. You might as well face it,” the Mara didn’t hold back.

  My inner-wolf howled its appreciation.

  “Oh, please. You are all the same, whether you see it or not. Th
e moment a female comes around, you lose your senses. When a succubus comes around, the effect is doubled because of our seductive nature. When we love you back, we get ourselves killed because you can’t look after yourselves anymore, and you refuse to acknowledge our strengths. It’s been like that for centuries. You’re weak,” Hansa was not willing to give in anytime soon.

  “Perhaps I should remind you that you depend on me to not throw you off this horse and let you walk all the way to the lagoon. You shouldn’t be the one to decide your sister’s fate. That would be cruel and downright selfish,” Jax’s tone was low, his words sharp and eager to sting.

  The tension was beginning to build up between them. I probably could have cut the air with a knife. Thick with anger, indignation, and discomfort as Hansa was, she wasn’t ready to make any concessions. I couldn’t see her concede, anyway. She was the leader of fearless creatures, certainly not one to back down from a fiery debate.

  At least I hoped it was merely a fiery debate. The looks she gave him spoke of painful ways to die, nowhere near as polite as the actual verbal exchange.

  “Well, maybe I should remind you that you might be the one doing all the walking from here on out, and don’t even think of mind-bending me because you will immediately lose your eyes. The Red Tribe succubi put family and duty over everything else, and it has been this way for thousands of years. Neither you nor Jovi can change that,” Hansa kept her cool. “Nevertheless, what I’m trying to say is that Jovi can be with Anjani, but it will not last long. One day it will end because she will ascend to lead the Red Tribe. It will not work out in the long run. I’ve seen enough over the years to know I’m right.”

  That said, she looked at me once more. This time her expression was softer as if she felt sorry for me. I didn’t need her to feel sorry. I wasn’t going to let anything stand between Anjani and me, not even in the distant future.

  We’d been made for each other. We felt it every time our eyes met. Tradition could not triumph over our love, and I was determined to make sure of it.