His Darkest Salvation (20 page)

“There is no way one jaguar warrior can stand against my eagle knights.”

“But I thought . . .”

Nanauatl interrupted her once more, and she glared at him as he returned her look with a ghostly smile of his own. “In the human realm, my warriors are at full strength when the kiss of the sun touches their flesh.” His eyes glowed a feral red. “But these knights are unlike any you will ever meet.”

The heat of his words flickered across her skin like a physical blow. Which she supposed it was; he was, after all, literally breathing fire.

Jaden squared her shoulders, and though she hoped she appeared fierce, she had her doubts that even she was that good of an actress. In front of her, standing in a loosely connected semicircle, were seven full-fledged eagle knights.

They were tall, even the lone woman included in the bunch, and on a good day, with her fancy Jimmy Choos for added height, Jaden might come up to their chins.

Panic nipped at her gut, and she ignored the nausea that was having one hell of a party deep within. She needed to think, or quite simply, she’d most likely not see another sunrise.

“Well, shit, this hardly seems fair does it?”

Nanauatl arched an eyebrow, the tilt of his chin and line of his jaw aristocratic and condescending.

“You don’t care that the human realm is about to go the way of Armageddon?” she continued as she moved to the right. “Does their fate not matter?”

“I only care about guarding that which is mine.” His tone was cold, dead.

She reached down quickly, grabbed a large rock that lay at her feet, and whipped it at the female knight. The stone landed with a thud against the far wall. It had passed through her body, and Jaden glared at the bitch as the eagle knight laughed, the sound cutting through air like shattered glass.

The eagle knights were not wholly corporeal, the same as Nanauatl, and she studied them closely, looking for some sort of weakness.

But how could you fight something that had no essence? Nothing to inflict pain upon? No freaking head to cut off?

Her jaw ached from tension, and she struggled to relax. She knew they had no such problem. They would kick her butt around like a sorry-ass soccer ball.

Nanauatl’s mouth turned up into a smile. He wasn’t fooled by her bravado. Christ, her fear hung in the air like bad perfume.

Most of the knights stared at her in silence, their faces devoid of emotion other than the glimmer of light that shone from their eyes. But a few, including the woman, smiled at her wickedly.

It was a smile of anticipation.

Jaden clutched the charmed dagger at her side.

This was like a bad scene from
Star Wars.
Where the hell was her Obi Wan Kenobi? She was fighting the freaking Phantom Menace.

“Don’t you care?” she tried once more. “About what is seeping into the human realm? About stopping the evil before it has a chance to take root and grow?”

Nanauatl leveled his gaze upon her, and Jaden felt the full force of his power. She winced, her eyes protesting, as the light that shone from within him nearly blinded her.

“I will feed upon the flesh of the jaguar.” He looked to his knights and smiled. “
That
is all.”

They moved forward, and, instinctively, Jaden stepped back, her heart lurching as the back of her legs connected with another low-slung stone bench. She had nowhere and no room in which to run.

Her eyes methodically searched once more, but she knew it was no use. She blew out a breath and cracked her neck as she rotated her head and rolled her shoulders.

She grasped the charmed dagger in her hands, not sure if anything that Tess had done to the damn thing would work against what she faced; but at this point, it was pretty much all she had.

One of the phantom warriors rushed her, and she jumped up onto the bench, propelling herself forward into the air. She twisted as she gained height, her arm arcing downward as she catapulted overtop the knight. She sliced downward and nearly dropped the dagger at the sensation that crawled over her skin as her hand passed through whatever the hell it was that made up his body.

She landed inches from the line of scrimmage and moved to the side as instinct took over, barely missing the energy bolt that was thrown her way. She heard an unearthly howl rip through the room as the eagle knight behind her shouted his rage.

Silence fell between all of them, and time slowed down, ticking by in long seconds that felt more like minutes.

Jaden’s lungs expanded as she exhaled, and the beat of her heart was like a drummer on meth, wild and crazy.

Her long hair clung to her skin, and she angrily shoved it away, her chest heaving as she tried to focus. The dude behind her made a weird series of grunting noises, and she shifted slightly, keeping him in her peripheral vision.

It was then that a realization hit her. She would most likely die here.

Stunned, Jaden faltered and nearly dropped her weapon.

Such sorrow and sadness rifled through her that she was momentarily paralyzed. It was like a fist of pain had reached inside and grabbed her heart, squeezing until she couldn’t breathe.

Nanauatl shook his head, and laughter erupted from deep within his chest. It echoed around the stone walls like a macabre symphony, each note jarring and off-key.

“You should be very afraid, little jaguar. We will cut you to pieces and eat every last delicious morsel of your body.” He looked at the phantom knights and grinned wickedly. “It’s been much too long since we’ve had a sacrificial ceremony.”

Jaden shook her head but remained silent even as her ending flashed before her eyes. She wasn’t afraid of dying. In fact, for a jaguar warrior, to die in battle was the ultimate honor.

The pain that ripped through her was for all things lost and those that were no longer fixable. For the evil that had infiltrated her family and turned her father and brothers into monsters. For a mother who had long ago perished.

She felt tears prick the corner of her eyes, their heat stinging against her skin as an image of Julian shimmered in front of her.

She laughed, a hysterical outburst. God help her, but she couldn’t stop. She knew by the expressions on the eagles’ faces, that she’d shocked them.

Score one for team jaguar.

To think that Julian Castille would be the last memory she ever had was more than ironic. It was a fucking cosmic joke.

She gripped the dagger as the laughter inside her dried up.

Nanauatl stared at her hard, and she felt the whisper of death caress her cheek as a shiver crossed over her flesh. The eagle that she’d flown over advanced once more, and the six remaining started to chant. Ancient Aztec words fell from their lips as their voices blended, thickened with power.

The sun god stood back and watched, his entire body now emitting light as he fed upon the energy in the room.

Maybe he was the key? Chop off the head, and the rest would fall? Even though she knew that wasn’t literally an option, maybe there was still a way to do damage.

There was only one way to find out.

Jaden bunched her power into a tight fist that sat in her chest and flooded her limbs. Her legs were shaking with the need to act, and she screamed her warrior battle cry as she flew toward them.

She knew the lone knight was at her back, but she was fixated on their leader. It was her only hope.

She threw her body into the air, sideways, twisting as her legs ran up the wall. She tried to arch her back, to once more propel herself over the line of knights, but, sadly, it was anticipated, and she was sent flying.

Pain ripped along her rib cage, and nausea pushed up from her gut as the strange sensation edged along her flesh. Their touch was like poison, and as she rolled to the side, she literally saw stars from the force of the hit.

But she was up in an instant, ignoring the pain and the enemies that surrounded her. Jaden’s only focus was their leader, and as she felt the creepy touch of one of them at her back, she arced her arm around, and heard a hiss as the dagger passed through whatever the hell he was.

And yet it was too late. The entire game was over before it had begun.

Nanauatl’s hand slammed into her chest and she screamed as fire ripped across her flesh. The phantom knight behind her pinned her arms to her sides, and she thought she was going to toss her cookies as the intensity of his touch sent every single nerve ending into agony.

“I do admire your need to fight, little jaguar.” The sun god stood inches from her, yet the pain that had settled along her back took away much of her focus. Her eyes dimmed, and she struggled to hold on. She called upon her animal, even knowing that she couldn’t shift.

A haze of red clouded her vision, and she snarled as Nanauatl grinned down at her. His mouth thinned, and his voice deepened as his hand reached for her.

She could do nothing to avoid it and ceased struggling. There was no point.

She looked up at him, her body on fire, and she was surprised that she was able to speak.

“You had a chance to make things right,” she managed to get out. “To get over your small-minded vendetta and help humanity.”

His breath was flames across her face, but she refused to look away, and when his hand closed around her neck, she stilled.

“I care not what happens outside these walls,” he whispered. “Not anymore.”

Jaden closed her eyes, fighting the tears of helplessness that hung at the back of them. His fingers dug in deeper, spreading his special brand of pain along the flesh there, and she yelped as it burned bright.

Inside her body, the jaguar erupted in anger. She felt the flood of power once more, infusing her cells with such a rush that she reacted instantly, yelling her warrior cry as she jerked her arms and began to struggle in earnest.

Nanauatl gripped her hard and yanked her upward until he held her in the air like a puppet, her limbs moving erratically as the dagger fell from her fingers.

Deep, guttural sounds escaped from between her lips, and as a red haze infiltrated her vision, she met his eyes one last time. She felt shame at her weakness and sadness for an end that would come much too soon.

A realization came to her. Was there really honor in such a death? One that would leave so many things unfinished? She gritted her teeth and prepared herself, pushing the despair from her mind.

And she knew the bastard would enjoy her death immensely.

Chapter 15

J
ulian knelt, his nose wrinkling at the otherworld stench that hung in the air. He grimaced and looked up at Declan. The entire area was rank with it.

“A fresh kill,” Declan observed, his eyes scanning the area around them. “She’s definitely here.”

Julian stood quickly. He was anxious, on edge, and his animal clawed beneath his skin. He wasn’t used to feeling, and much preferred the cold wall of nothing he’d enjoyed over the last six months.

He rolled his tense shoulders, his eyes slowly sweeping the area as he did so. They’d made damn good time, all things considered. The jet had been a no-go. Jakobi was still in the area, and it would have been a red flag. They’d cut some time by driving to La Corone, and from there, they’d chartered a small flight.

It was eerily quiet. He glanced down at his feet once more. They might be too late.

Finn and Nico came jogging up from the other side of the ruins. Julian ignored the warrior and focused on the eagle knight.

“Any sign of Cracker?” They’d contacted Jaxon and learned the operative had been dispatched the day before, when the first reports of demon activity had surfaced.

His conversation with his brother had been short and to the point. There’d been no time to fill Jaxon in about his whereabouts over the past six months. That would have to wait. It had been enough to hear his voice and to know that Libby and Logan were safe, as were Jagger and Skye.

The tall blond man glanced at the goop that lay in clumps along the ground before meeting his gaze.

“No.”

Nico grunted, and Julian arched an eyebrow. “Care to share?” he asked, though he ignored the warrior and spoke to the eagle. He felt the other jaguar’s glare, and it pleased him to know that he was irritating him, even if only in this one small manner.

Finn smiled wryly and shook his head. “It’s freaky quiet. We caught a security guard partying it up with two ladies; but other than that, nothing.”

“Are we going to sit here all night or are we going to find Jaden?” Nico exploded. “She’s here. I can smell her.”

Julian turned his attention to the warrior, his golden eyes dark, his mouth set into a hard line. He felt his beast stir once more, and the urge to pound his fist into the jaguar’s face was heavy. He took a step toward him, growling as he did so.

Nico’s tone was possessive and touched on something inside Julian he didn’t care to explore; however, he couldn’t help the way it made him feel.

“
She’s mine.
”