Page 179 of The Infernal Battalion

“What you’re doing for us is enough,” Winter said. “I know it can’t be easy for you.”

“It is not,” Feor said. “But you are right, I think. The Beast is coming, and our lives are as dust. What I can do, I will.”

“Mistress?” The voice from outside the curtained door was hesitant. “It’s the woman who arrived with your guest. She demands to speak with you both.”

“Of course,” Feor said. “Bring her here.”

A young man escorted Ennika through the curtain, guiding the blind girl until she reached one of the cushions beside Feor. She sat, and the student bowed and withdrew.

“Welcome,” Feor said. “My name is Feor. I understand you’ve come a long way.”

“I was hoping that you’d care for her here,” Winter said. “I thought it might help her to be around people who understood her condition.”

“Certainly. She’s welcome to stay with us as long as she likes.”

“We made a bargain,” Ennika said, turning her covered eyes on Winter. “I hope you haven’t forgotten.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Though I might have wanted to.

“A bargain?” Feor said.

Winter sighed. “Ennika wants to be free of her demon. She’s asked me to use Infernivore to devour it. But when I took the demon from Jen Alhundt, she never recovered, and she died not long after. My other... experiences with it have been similar. I’d hoped that you might have learned something from the archive.”

Feor frowned. “There is almost nothing on Infernivore in the archive. I searched, when I started to understand the tablets, but it has been used only a few times. Most who attempted it died at once.”

“I am willing to take the risk,” Ennika said. “I cannot live like this, with this hole in my mind where my sister should be. If I die, then at least we will be together in hell.”

Feor looked a little alarmed at Ennika’s casual reference to her own damnation. Her expression turned thoughtful.

“It is... possible that the experience would be less traumatic for a willing subject,” she said. “The soul grips the demon as much as the demon grips the soul. If the soul were prepared to release the demon, perhaps the damage would not be so great.”

“That’s a slim chance to hang your life on,” Winter said to Ennika. “You really want to go through with this?”

“Yes.” The blind girl straightened. “I am ready.”

“Wait,” Winter said. “You mean now?”

Ennika nodded. “Janus has said he will no longer be able to communicate. I am not... of use, anymore.” Her lip curved in a faint smile. “And if you intend to confront the Beast, then you will forgive me if I want to get our bargain fulfilled in advance.”

That’s fair enough. Winter looked down at her hands. “I suppose there’s no reason to wait. Feor...”

“Come,” Feor said, standing. “It’s possible you will be unconscious for some time, Ennika. We should get you in a bed first.”

The Khandarai priestess helped Ennika to her feet and led her out another doorway, through a basement passage. Winter followed, and found herself in a row of small cells, windowless and dry. Each was equipped with a bed, a chair, and little else, reminding Winter of a monastery. Feor guided Ennika to one of these cells and helped her to the bed, where she stretched herself out.

“You’re sure there’s no reason to wait?” Winter said quietly. “Nothing more you can discover in the archive?”

Feor shook her head. “We are in uncharted territory, I’m afraid. Try to be as... gentle as you can.”

“I don’t know how much control I have. But I’ll do my best.” Winter knelt, awkwardly, beside Ennika. “This will probably hurt. I’m sorry.”

“I am accustomed to pain.” Ennika held out her hand, and Winter grasped it. “Thank you for keeping your promise.”

Winter squeezed the girl’s fingers. She closed her eyes, letting herself feel the contact between them, the closeness of Ennika’s demon. As ever, the proximity drove Infernivore to a frenzy, a lashing at the back of Winter’s mind. She was so accustomed to holding Infernivore back, keeping it from leaping into Alex or Abraham at a moment’s casual contact, that it took her a few seconds to lower her guard and set it free.

The demon didn’t hesitate for an instant. As soon as Winter removed her mental leash, it surged across the boundary between Winter’s soul and Ennika’s, a torrent of energy passing through their linked hands. Winter could sense Ennika’s demon, a small, frail thing in comparison to the bulk of Infernivore. Soon the predator was wrapped around it, like a python smothering its prey. Infernivore’s energy spread through the other demon, changing it, incorporating it into its own substance.

In a bare instant, Ennika’s demon was gone, and Infernivore retreated from her body and back into Winter’s with the force of a tidal wave. Distantly, Winter heard Ennika scream, and her hand tightened on Winter’s hard enough that her fingernails drew blood. She thrashed for a moment, back arching, and then collapsed on the bed.