Olivia watched in horror as a naked, reddened form slowly clawed its way out of the exposed carcass of the tree. He climbed to his feet, unconcerned with his nakedness. He stepped forward, the snow beneath his bare feet hissing and melting instantly at the heat from his skin. His gaze locked on Isabel, and something seemed to pass between them. He turned to Olivia, lying bleeding on the snow, and stalked toward her with agonizing slowness.
“Take one more step toward her, Nathaniel, and I will kill you.”
The demon looked up as Theo stepped in front of him. “Theodore Beckett.” His black eyes narrowed as a smile tugged at his lips. “You’ve caused me a great deal of trouble. I was most put out that I couldn’t carve my frustration out of your skin. I can’t tell you how delighted I am to have another opportunity.”
Theo looked at the creature he had known three hundred years ago as Nathaniel Boothe. He didn’t look exactly like the Nathaniel he knew; the eyes were different, the hair a slightly different color, the shape of his mouth was not the same, but regardless, it was Nathaniel. He knew it deep down in his gut.
Suddenly he understood what Sam had been trying to tell them about not raising a demon in its true form. That’s why Isabel had killed those men and harvested their organs and tissue. She had been building the demon a body. But not just any body, it was a prison of flesh. As long as he was trapped in that human form, he was at the mercy of the person who’d raised him. Isabel had bound Nathaniel to her, but the question was why?
Nathaniel raised his hand, but all Theo felt was a slight nudge as the demon aimed his power at him; it seemed to be deflected somehow. Nathaniel growled and tried again, this time more forcefully, but again Theo didn’t move. Diana’s crescent moon grew hot against his skin underneath his clothes, the amulet somehow protecting him from the demon’s supernatural power.
Smiling slowly, Theo stretched his hand and flexed his fingers. He felt the black and blue metal seared into his arm suddenly flow back into his palm and coalesce once more into a blade. The knife was a part of him now, and he could call it forth at will. Nathaniel snarled and reached for Theo, intent on physically harming him, but Theo brought his arm up and sliced across Nathaniel’s chest under the demon seal scorched into the flesh over his heart. Nathaniel stumbled back as the wound split open and bled.
“ISABEL!” Charles roared as he followed Theo through the tear in the barrier. His eyes were blazing with fury as he beheld his wife for the first time in twenty years.
“We have to go.” Isabel gripped Nathaniel’s arm and pulled him away from Theo.
“I’m coming back for you, Theodore,” he hissed darkly as he grabbed Isabel.
The circle suddenly exploded outward, knocking everyone to the ground and flattening the trees immediately surrounding the clearing like dominoes, and when they looked up, Isabel and Nathaniel were gone. Theo crawled over to Olivia and pressed his hand to her wound to stop the bleeding. He raised his head and found himself looking into the eyes of Olivia’s father.
“She’s lost a lot of blood.” Charles looked down at his daughter gently.
Jake and Mac approached Charles with their weapons drawn.
“Put the guns down, gentlemen.” He looked at them calmly. “Believe me, I could disarm you quite easily.”
Helga and Davis appeared behind Mac and Jake with weapons of their own trained on the two men.
“Looks like we have ourselves a little Mexican standoff. Put your gun down, Jake.” Charles looked at the young man who’d run tame in his house as a child. “Trust me, you’re going to want to hear what I have to say.”
“Jake,” Theo interrupted. “We need to get Olivia back to the house.”
Jake looked down at her and nodded, holstering his weapon.
“Let’s get her to Louisa.” His cool gaze locked on Charles. “And after that, you have a lot of explaining to do, Mr. Connell.”
30
“What the hell happened?” Louisa looked horrified as Theo laid Olivia out on the island in the kitchen, her blood pooling on the tiled top.
She retrieved a pair of scissors and started cutting away her clothes to get to the wound, ignoring all the other people crammed into the small room.
“She was shot,” Jake replied as he scooped a whimpering Beau off the floor before someone tripped over him.
“No shit, Sherlock,” she snapped as she tore away the material, revealing a large hole in Olivia’s shoulder, blood spilling out profusely. She grabbed a wad of surgical padding and pressed it hard to the wound. “Who the hell shot her?”
“Her mother,” Theo replied.
Louisa’s head snapped up to meet Jake’s gaze.
“It’s true, Lou,” he answered angrily. “Isabel West is alive. I saw her with my own eyes.”
Trying to focus on her patient, she looked across at Theo standing on the other side of the island.
“Theo, hold her tightly here and roll her toward you. I need to look to see if the bullet went straight through.” He did as he was told and watched as Louisa examined the back of Olivia’s shoulder. “There’s no exit wound.” She shook her head.
“What does that mean?” he asked in concern.
