he said with a shrug. “But I see no recognition in your face, Meilan. Have you truly forgotten me?”
“ That is not my name,” I growled as the blades of Shirajirashii begin to throb in my hand.
“Oh pish posh. Is that not the mighty blade Shirajirashii? Is it not wielded by the reincarnated Dirge Meilan?” His eyes narrowed, becoming slits of tortuous sapphire as he stepped so close that we were now eye to eye. “Show me what tricks you have learned in death. I have kept the promise I made to you the day of the siege. Remember?”
“No?” I growled, gritting my chattering teeth together.
“You don’t remember that I promised I would bring you back to life if you died before I could tear the life from you, myself?” he asked, staring past me into the distance.
His knee shot out like a bolt of lightning, striking my stomach so hard that it knocked the breath from my lungs. I tried to gasp but no air came, and I sank to my knees in the snow. I looked up at him, and he grinned at me.
“Is this… this pathetic excuse for a fighter, all that remains of the great Dirge Meilan? The Hyas Tyee hailed universally for the amount of destruction she could cause? If this is not all you have, you had better show me now.” His missile-like fist caught me under the chin, snapping my head back and flinging me backward into the snow. “Because if it not, then I will tell you simply. You are never going to get away from me. Not ever.”
I hit the ground and felt snow soak through my clothing, chilling me to the core. I clutched at the blades of Shirajirashii but my fingers were so numb from the cold that I could barely feel them in my hands. It was like trying to hold an icicle with gloves made of ice. I swallowed and rolled onto my hands and knees.
“I don’t know who you are, Mister. But keep it up, and I’ll be forced to kill you. You won’t like it much.” I looked over at him and gave him my best homicidal maniac grin. “And stop calling me Dirge Meilan.”
“And what should I call you?” He asked as he sat back on his haunches and regarded me like an interesting insect.
“Lillim,” I said, and my teeth started chattering together. “Lillim Callina.”
“Are you cold, Lillim Callina?” he asked, sweeping the cloak from his shoulders and draping it over me. The movement occurring so fast that I couldn’t have stopped it if I’d tried.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he bent down and scooped me up into his arms. It was like being next to a blast furnace. The chill melted away so quickly that, for a moment, I wanted to nuzzle against him. That was pretty much when I noticed the huge bat-like wings tucked up on his back. I swallowed, trying to throw myself away from him, but it was like being held in place by steel bars.
“You’re a demon!” I squawked as if he didn’t know it. “Not like a half-demon or something, but like a full on real deal demon.”
“I am Ordain. The second demon,” he said as he turned and began walking away from Warthor’s demesne, the snow under his feet melting away. “I’ve been watching you for a long time, Lillim Cortez Callina. Now go to sleep,” he added, blowing into my face. Warmth like a fresh sip of hot chocolate on a cold day slipped over me, tugging at my eyelids.
“No…” I mumbled, but my eyes were already drifting shut.
Chapter 6
Ordain was walking across on a crimson beach with me cradled like a baby in his arms. Bloody waves lapped against a shore of crushed rubies. There was nothing but miles and miles of red sand and scarlet water.
The sky above was filled with stars. They were so bright against the black backdrop, it reminded me of going camping with my dad when I was little. The huge outline of a pink planet loomed in the sky, like those pictures of Earth from the moon.
I wasn’t sure if we were in Hell or somewhere else, but I was under the impression that we were going to see Ordain’s home. Why? I still wasn’t sure because