Darkness Avenged (Guardians of Eternity) (14 page)

“And never out of control again, eh,
querida?
”

She nodded. Being stronger than every creature around her had taught her the danger of giving in to her emotions.

“When I become angry or frightened the people around me end up dead.” She shivered. “Sometimes a lot of people.”

The dark gaze swept over her upturned face. “And so you created a clan dedicated to peace?”

“Yes.” She smiled wryly. It had seemed so simple. She knew there had to be like-minded vampires who wanted to build an oasis of peace. The only rub was finding someplace where they could be safe from the demons who would take their desire for tranquility as a sign of weakness. They had to be protected. “And I went to the Commission to discover if there was a place where we could be separated from the violence of this world.”

“That’s when they sent you beyond the Veil?”

She lifted her hand, her fingers brushing over the golden medallion that remained warm to the touch no matter what the temperature. “With the assistance of this.”

Without warning Santiago’s low growl trickled through the hallway, his dark eyes flashing with fury.

“
Dios,
the bastards knowingly put you in danger.”

She shrugged. “They didn’t lie to me. I went beyond the Veil knowing the creature was there.”

“Only because you were so anxious to keep your people safe,” he snapped. “And they used that desperation to lure you into taking care of their problem.”

“The Commission rarely does anything out of the goodness of their hearts,” she reminded him. “Besides, the past no longer matters.”

Santiago’s power trembled with the need to explode. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was so pissed off.

As Nefri said, the Commission wasn’t a collection of do-gooders. They were ruthless leaders who would readily sacrifice an entire clan of vampires if they thought it necessary to protect the world.

But the thought that Nefri had been forced to choose between keeping her people safe and living on top of a potential time bomb . . . yeah, it pissed him off.

“The hell it doesn’t matter,” he muttered, lowering his head to capture her lips in a kiss of seething frustration. “But we can finish this discussion later.” As he pulled back, he met her puzzled gaze. “What?”

“I thought you were angry with me.”

“I have a habit of being an ass when I don’t get my way,” he readily admitted. He was hot tempered, but he was always willing to confess when he was in the wrong. He’d known there was a reason why she struggled so hard to keep him at a distance, but his pride had been pricked by her cold dismissal. Now he offered a rueful grin. “You’ll get used to me.”

“Will I?”

He swooped back down to steal another kiss. “Mmmm.”

Her hands lifted to lie against his chest and for one tantalizing moment Nefri allowed her lips to part, conceding to the scorching heat that blazed between them.

Then all too soon her hands were pressing him away. “Santiago.”

He nipped at her chin in punishment. “Is this important?”

She shivered in pleasure. “You need to call Styx so we can continue our search for Gaius.”

His tongue traced the full line of her lower lip. “Soon.”

“Santiago.” She gave a tiny moan before shoving hard enough to break his clinging grip. “We don’t have time for this.”

He shut his eyes, shuddering at his swift arousal.
Mierda
. What was it about this female that made him behave like a damned Were in heat?

“Unfortunately, you’re right,” he conceded in thick tones, opening his eyes to meet her wary gaze. “But I still have a few questions.”

“Very well.”

“How did the spirit escape?”

“Siljar claimed that when the Dark Lord was destroyed it left a void in Gaius’s medallion that the spirit used to enter this world.”

He took a minute to consider her words, at the same time sending out his power to make sure that Melinda remained in her deep sleep. The last thing they needed was the girl waking up in a panic.

“As good an explanation as any, I suppose.”

“They sent me to discover if it was the right explanation.” Nefri shrugged. “Is that all?”

He snorted. All?
Dios
. He had a thousand questions. Unfortunately they would have to wait. Instead, he forced himself to concentrate on the most pressing problems.

“I would be a lot happier if I knew precisely what this creature is capable of,” he growled.

“You know as much as I do.”

“Which is what?” He gave a frustrated shake of his head. He’d fought more enemies than he could count over the years, but while many had been immortal, they’d at least been creatures he could make bleed. This . . . thing was something he didn’t know how to fight. It made him twitchy. “It’s obvious the spirit is capable of stirring emotions.”

Nefri slowly shook her head. “Actually, it seems more likely that Gaius is the cause of the overwhelming emotions,” she said. “Or at least his bite is.”

True.

Which only made the crazy situation . . . crazier.

“So this creature infects vampires?”

She lifted her hands in a gesture of genuine bafflement. “It’s impossible to say until we manage to find them.”

“Dammit.” He pulled out his phone. “You warn the gargoyle he’ll need to stay while I call Styx.”

“And you claim that I’m bossy?”

He frowned. “Do you have a better suggestion?”

“No,” she denied, her expression one of cool challenge. “I just wished to point out that people in glass houses shouldn’t—”

With a quick motion that caught her off guard, he wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her against his body. “Shouldn’t do this?” He leaned down to press his lips to the tender curve of her neck. “Or this?” He nibbled down to the edge of her sweater, savoring the intoxicating scent of jasmine. “Or maybe this?” His tongue traced a throbbing vein back up her throat.

“Enough,” she protested, her voice unsteady as her cheeks flushed with arousal.

“Not nearly,” he muttered, but with a stab of regret, he released her.

The spirit had to be found before it could ignite the humans into mass genocide.

But once it had been destroyed, along with Gaius, then . . .

Then he was going to lock this woman in his private rooms and throw away the key.

 

 

 

Sally was as miserable as a witch could be.

Roke had done his part. With the natural command of a clan chief he’d managed to convince the guards that Styx wanted to see her in his study. Then, avoiding the plethora of demons, servants, and video cameras, he’d halted only long enough to slip on a leather motorcycle jacket he’d left just outside the dungeon doors, before leading her to a forgotten pantry near the kitchens.

It wasn’t until then that she had discovered that her magic refused to work.

She told herself it had to be some sort of dampening spell despite the lack of hex markings. If Styx had it in the dungeons, why wouldn’t he have it in the rest of the house? It made perfect sense.

But, deep inside she feared the interference wasn’t going to go away even when they were beyond the lair.

She’d never tried to use witch magic when she was using her natural talents.

Crap, crap, crap.

Absently rubbing the sleeve of her sweatshirt where it covered her inner forearm, she once again struggled to conjure a spell of illusion. It should be easy. It was a spell she’d performed a thousand times.

But there was nothing. Nada. Jack-squat.

Her magic was MIA.

And it was driving her crazy.

Almost as crazy as her arm. Why the hell was it itchy?

“How much longer is this going to take?”

With a tiny jolt, she realized that Roke had shifted to stand directly before her, his expression one of tender concern.

“I don’t know,” she muttered, ignoring her stupid stab of guilt. This vampire had held her prisoner, she reminded herself for the hundredth time. Why shouldn’t she do everything in her power to escape? Her sudden inability to conjure a simple spell of illusion had nothing to do with karma. “My magic . . .”

His eyes shimmered with a startlingly pale light in the darkness. “What is it?”

“It’s still muted.” She dropped her head, afraid the lie might be written on her face. “There must be something dampening my powers.”

“Well, Styx is nothing if not thorough.” He thankfully accepted her explanation, brushing a hand down her back in unspoken sympathy. “But, we can’t stay here.”

She bit her lip, afraid of leaving the pantry without her magic protecting them. “What are we going to do?”

“We have to get out of here before the guards realize that you aren’t meeting with the Anasso.”

“Yeah, I got that, but—” Her words broke off as her companion turned toward the shelves of canned food, holding out his hands as he walked from one end of the pantry to another. “Roke?”

“Sssh,” he replied, distracted.

She watched in baffled silence as he continued his pacing, his head tilted to the side so his raven hair brushed his shoulder. He looked like he was searching for something. But what?

French sliced green beans?

“Okay, you’re starting to weird me out,” she said, at last breaking the thick silence.

He chuckled, halting to shove aside the cans. “Have faith, my love.”

My love
. She grimaced. Man, but he was going to be sooooo pissed when her spell wore off.

And it would wear off. Even now she could feel her strength fading. In a half hour, maybe less, she would be completely drained and then . . .

She was thankfully distracted as Roke gave a sudden shove on the shelf and a section of the back wall parted with a low groan.

“A hidden door,” she breathed in shock. “How did you know?”

“I have a talent for sensing structural anomalies.” He offered a wicked smile. “Are you impressed?”

She briefly forgot how to breathe. God almighty, he was beautiful. Unreasonably, indecently beautiful, with an ability to make her knees go weak at the most inconvenient times.

“We should go.”

“Be careful,” he warned, pulling the narrow door wide before stepping into the darkness. “You won’t be able to see once the door closes.”

Hesitantly she followed him into the dusty shadows, grimacing at the choking darkness. Although she could see better than humans, she couldn’t match a vampire’s night vision.

“There’s no lights?” she complained, wiping away a cobweb that stuck to her hair.

“No, I would guess that these tunnels were intended for an emergency escape.”

He moved with fluid speed, indifferent to the steep decline of the passageway and the unevenness of the dirt floor.

“Great.” She stumbled over an unseen rock.

“Hold on to me.” He reached a hand back to capture her fingers in a tight grip. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Sally forgot the unnerving darkness and the suspicion that the neglected passageway was filled with creepy crawlies as their hands connected with a shock of raw excitement.

She bit back a small gasp. Blessed goddess. How could such a casual touch make her entire body clench with pleasure?

Roke was the one who was supposed to be under the sway of a binding spell, not her.

Unfortunately, her body didn’t care.

It was ready and eager to respond.

Trying her best to concentrate on anything but the awareness tingling in the pit of her stomach, Sally counted each downward step. They were at least six feet below ground, she judged when the path at last evened out and curved in a northern direction.

They continued on for nearly an hour before Roke at last slowed his steps and came to a halt.

Sally breathed a sigh of relief. Despite her grinding urgency to get away from Styx’s lair, she was increasingly drained by the energy necessary to keep Roke bound by her spell.

Any minute he was going to slip her leash and then . . .

She shivered. It didn’t bear thinking about.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, discreetly removing her hand from his grasp to lean against the dirt wall of the tunnel.

“This is the end of the tunnel,” Roke said, tilting back his head to study the narrow opening directly over him. “There’s an empty building above us.”

She pressed a hand to the stitch in her side. “You’re sure it’s empty?”

“Yes.”

“Thank god,” she muttered. “How far are we from the house?”

He paused, glancing back down the tunnel. “A few miles.”

“I suppose it will have to do.”

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to straighten from the wall. She’d barely taken a step forward, however, when Roke was standing directly in front of her, his hands rubbing up and down her arms.

“Let me go first; I want to make sure it’s safe,” he said.

Her heart skipped a beat as she met the pale silver gaze. There were the yummy flutters in the pit of her stomach at his touch, but more than that, there was a sense of . . . rightness.

As if she knew his touch from another time, another place.

“No,” she said, the curt rejection as much for her ridiculous thoughts as his offer.

Jeez. Talk about Stockholm syndrome. Next she would be fantasizing she was his mate.

Almost as if sensing her stupid thoughts, he leaned down to brush his lips over her furrowed brow. “I won’t be long, I promise.”

“Roke.” She grasped the lapels of his leather coat. “Please listen to me.”

His lips skimmed down the length of her nose before nibbling at the edge of her mouth. “Later, my love.”

Her fingers tightened on his jacket, wanting to jerk him even closer so he could kiss her properly. Heck, they were alone in the dark and for the moment they seemed safe enough. Why not enjoy a quick . . .

Wait.

What was she thinking?

“No,” she rasped. “I have to talk to you now.”

He lifted his head, but he remained close enough so that she could see the flash of his fully extended fangs even in the thick shadows. It should have reminded her that he was a lethal predator. Instead all she could think about was the fact he was obviously as aroused as she was.

“What is it?” he asked, the rough edge in his voice sending a shiver of anticipation down her spine.

Oh, she needed to get away from this man.

Before she did something truly stupid.

“I want you to return to the house.”

He stilled, his expression almost impossible to read in the darkness. “Did you leave something behind?”

She made a sound of self-disgust. “My sanity.”

“Sally?” He gently slid a hand beneath her hair to massage her nape. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Like she knew?

For a panicked minute her mind refused to work. She had to get rid of him so she could release her fading binding spell and hopefully have enough juice left to activate her hidden amulet. That should disguise her presence long enough to escape the area.

But how?

“We can’t outrun Styx’s guards, not while my magic is on the fritz,” she finally managed to blurt out.

“Once we’re out of the tunnels your magic will return.”

“Maybe or maybe not.” She shuddered as his hand continued to soothe her tense muscles. “I need you to distract them long enough for me to escape.”