Kaelin Black rose to his feet, towering over the others in the room, and despite how much it appeared he wanted to respond to Lord Allerius’ challenge, instead he simply bowed his head. “I will appreciate whatever help you can send. I do recommend, however, that you send your best,” he said, eyeing Kari. “That assassin was no common killer.” Before anyone could respond, he closed his eyes, concentrated for a moment, and then disappeared with a pop as the air rushed to fill the place where he’d stood a moment before.
Lord Allerius looked at Kari, but she shook her head. “I’ll have my answer for you by morning,” she said.
He bid her good night, and she and Aeligos made their egress.
Kari lay beside Grakin in bed, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. She could feel the rush of blood through her veins and the soft, fuzzy feeling below her skin, and she refused to allow her preoccupation with Kaelin Black to dull the pleasure.
The house was silent around them. Kyrie had gone to comfort her son at Tigron’s temple after Kari delivered the news; Aeligos was spending the night with Eryn; Sonja hadn’t come home from her studies under Maelstrom; and even Typhonix was out, probably at one of the taverns drinking and relaxing. Little Gray was fast asleep in his bed, and as the deeper night settled in around them, Kari met her mate’s ebon gaze in the darkness of their bedroom.
Grakin didn’t want her to go, but at the same time, he made it clear he would respect her decision either way. He loved and appreciated her as a demonhunter only slightly less than as a mate and the mother of his child. While he wanted her to be safe and stay close to their family, he also wanted her to be happy, and he understood that her work was something she found an incredible amount of fulfillment in. He was the first to encourage her to return to work when Little Gray was old enough to go extended periods without her. He never wanted Kari to feel trapped by her home life, and he made sure she knew that.
Kari was glad for his love and support. She didn’t want to leave, certainly not to aid someone like Kaelin Black, but at the same time, a part of her was growing increasingly restless as the years away from the front lines passed. Since the age of twenty-one she had always been on one long, never-ending adventure, and after her resurrection, the Apocalypse and the near-war on Tsalbrin had continued that trend. Her fire and drive weren’t dulled at all by her pregnancy or giving birth to Little Gray, and they scratched and clawed at her mind more and more each day as she felt the years go by. Kari wanted to be home for her mate and child but couldn’t deny the calling deep inside telling her that the world as a whole needed her, too.
She couldn’t help but think of Jol and the pain he was going through. As much as Kari wanted to help the people of Barcon, part of her wanted to hurt Black in some way while killing off the syrinthian assassin. She bit back the feelings; Kari didn’t want to be motivated by hatred or revenge. She was a defender and had become a demonhunter not because the demons needed to pay, but because people needed to be protected. She remembered Erik asking her on Tsalbrin if she hunted demons because they’d hurt her or her family personally. Thankfully, such hadn’t been the case—until now.
“Trust your instincts,” Grakin told her, and he propped himself up on his elbow when she regarded him. “You are one of the greatest demonhunters in the history of the Order, and your instincts are a large part of that. I would prefer you stay home with us, Kari, but if you feel you must see to this yourself, then I want you to do that. You must do as your heart commands.”
“If you could’ve seen Jol’s face…,” she said and bit her lower lip. Grakin stroked her face and then her hair as she composed herself, and she continued, “I just think of all the other people dealing with the same thing, and I have a hard time putting that in someone else’s hands. That assassin… I’ve never seen someone move like that before. I don’t even know what she is, but she’s deadly, and I don’t trust her or Kaelin Black. I feel like her being here has something to do with Tsalbrin and whatever Sekassus was up to. I want to go see for myself.”
Grakin kissed her forehead. “Then go,” he said. “Just do as Lord Allerius bid you and take some strong help with you. Do not agonize over this. I trust your instincts and will respect your decision.”
“I’m just afraid I might be letting my feelings cloud my judgment,” she said, and Grakin tried to hush her and wave off her concerns. “I’ve been on administrative duties for three years, and I know how it might look to the others if I suddenly return to front-line duty because my brother-in-law’s girlfriend got hurt.”
“No one will harbor such feelings, certainly not about you.”
“I might,” she said. “Why did something like this have to happen to rekindle the fire?”
The priest shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. “The fire never went out. Kari, you were already getting your body back into fighting form days after you gave birth to our son! You paced the floors of this house, itching to return to your work not long after that. The fire was never extinguished, you simply found another that burned brighter.”
She bit her lower lip again, and Grakin leaned in to kiss her. He continued, “You told me once that I spend so much of my time caring for others that I often overlook myself. The same can be said of you. You worry so much about being there for everyone, and you take too much of the world’s weight on your shoulders. So much so that you now feel guilty for taking a few years away from being a hero to raise your child well. You are a hero, Kari, to the world, to me, and especially to your son. You should not question your motivations.”
“So, you want me to go, then?” she asked.
“No,” he answered truthfully. “But I believe you need to, and I will not stand in the way of that. Indeed, I will stand behind your decision, as is my place as your mate.”
Grakin sat up as Kari rose and crossed to the wardrobe. She drew her blades from their scabbards and approached the west-facing window, and she opened the drapes so the floor was bathed in the strong light of two bright moons. With Grakin watching, she knelt down and touched the tips of the swords to the floor. She took in a deep breath and let it out in a long, calming sigh as she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind.
“Zalkar, I ask of you the right to vengeance,” she prayed aloud. “I ask this of you on behalf of my brother-in-law, and on behalf of all those this demoness has hurt. If you find my cause righteous, fill me with your strength and make me an instrument of justice. Grant me the power of your avatar that I may strike down the demon that has caused these people harm.”
Kari waited to see if her prayer was answered and glanced up at the two bright moons in the sky as though they were another set of eyes watching her. At first, she felt nothing, but then there was a distinct change. Like Jol quenching orange-hot metal in water, the longing in her heart was suddenly silenced. Kari assumed Zalkar had denied her request and was telling her to remain home and be a mother to her child.
Then she saw the light blue glow on the wall below the window, though, and her heart skipped a beat. Her deity’s symbol drew itself upon her chest, pulsed once, and then disappeared. She heard Grakin gasp behind her, and at the same time, she felt something she couldn’t immediately explain. It took only a few moments and a glance to her proud mate for Kari to realize what it was she felt.