Cambion Lord

by Brenda Trim

  Dante’s forehead wrinkled and he crossed to her side of the island and ran a hand over her scars. She couldn’t help her shudder. “That’s why they aren’t thick and ragged. How have we never heard about those like you before?”

  Chloe turned her head and met Dante’s blue eyes. “I’ve never met another Fallen like me. As far as I know I’m the only one. I guess it’s possible there are others, but I can’t say for sure.”

  Zander opened a cupboard and grabbed a short tumbler. “Can I get some Midleton?” Ty nodded and opened a door to the right where he disappeared. “Let’s assume you are the only one. Can angel blood free Lucifer from the Underworld?”

  Ty returned holding a bottle of extremely rare whiskey and handed Zander the bottle. Chloe gaped when she saw the limited-edition release from the closed distillery. She’d read about the company selling bottles from the remaining casks over the next few years up to their 200th anniversary. When the king pulled the top off the crystal decanter, the scent of malt filled the air. She snagged a glass and pushed it in front of the king. It’s the little things like this that make life worth living.

  Chloe accepted the glass of scotch. “No. Our blood doesn’t have that power. Otherwise he would have been free days after he was bound there. Angels have been taken by demons from the moment the Great War ended, and none have been able to free the Devil.”

  Dante stepped next to Chloe and grabbed the burger he’d made. “So how did the archdemon in New Orleans manage to bind Lucifer’s soul to Lia? They almost broke him free from the Underworld.”

  Izzy pushed off the wall and set her empty can on the counter. “Lia has a unique aura. Actually, it reminds me a bit of Chloe.”

  Chloe took her first sip of the Midleton and groaned. That whiskey gave delicious a new meaning. “In what way?”

  She would love to see what the vampire princess saw. Then again, maybe not. The young female was obviously haunted. Isobel tapped the counter as she kept her gaze on Chloe. “Your aura is constantly shifting colors. It goes from bright red to dark grey to green and blue and even pink. Demons are almost always black.”

  Chloe took another bite of her burger. Her limbs were getting heavy as they talked. She was going to need to lay down soon. “What color are your kind?”

  Izzy tilted her head in Jett and Lucas’s direction. “The colors vary. Lucas is green and Jett is teal. My dad is reddish-orange and Dante is red. My instinct tells me the demon wanted you, and Lia, because of this uniqueness. I have no idea what it means precisely, but I suspect it’s your inner strength and angelic power.”

  “I thought Lia was human.” At least that’s what Chloe recalled from information Dante shared with her earlier.

  Dante nodded his head and stuffed the rest of his food in his mouth. “Lia is human. But she has bonded to Araton.”

  “That’s right. You said he mated her. You might be onto something there. I haven’t heard about angelic and human combinations, but it’s possible demons can manipulate the power in those individuals to their needs. I don’t fit into that category though. I think you’re wrong about why the Daeva took me.”

  Dante shook his head and grabbed her hand. “I swear some of the injuries on your abdomen could have been dark runes. I think they want you for another attempt to free Lucifer. We need to err on the side of caution.”

  Zander set his empty glass down. “We have no proof either way at this point. But I agree with Dante. We were unprepared in New Orleans and too many lives were lost. It’s better if we can take a proactive approach here. And, if we are wrong, we can hunt the asshole down that hurt you and make sure he will never harm anyone else.”

  Chloe shrugged her shoulders. “I have no problem with you hunting the attractive but evil asshat down.” Dante growled low in his throat. The sound vibrating up and down her spine. Ignore the sexy cambion. “I appreciate you picking me up and bringing me back here. It saved me what could have been a lot more pain. I’ll be out of your hair after I get some rest.”

  Dante gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him. “You aren’t leaving here. We can keep you safe here.”

  Chloe shook her shoulders and dislodged his hands. “No thanks. That’s not necessary. I may not have my angel fire, but I still have my blade. Now that I’m aware, I won’t be caught off guard like that again.”

  “You should stay here with us,” Isobel interjected as her gaze traveled from her to Dante and back again.

  Zander released a sigh and gazed away from his daughter, hiding his concern. “If the demons are planning a ritual, we need to stop it. They might already have the blood they need from you. But if you can lead us to where they kept you, we can make sure they never get a chance to use it.”

  “We can protect you, Chloe. Until this is under control, it’s the best option for you.” The circles under Dante’s eyes seemed to darken with his promise. This cambion needed to get laid. And soon. For a second Chloe wanted to offer to help since they’d all offered to keep her safe.

  It wasn’t because they were being magnanimous and selfless, but because Dante was sex personified and it had been way too freakin long since she’d been laid. For at least a century after she fell, Chloe went from bed to bed and explored physical pleasure. It was the only thing that kept her from losing her shit during those early days.

  Being with Dante was a bad idea. She wasn’t that broken angel anymore. She was a big girl and needed to keep her distance.

  Chloe smiled at Dante and bobbed her head. “I’ll agree to a couple days and I will try to take you back to the basement where he held me. After that I’m gone. I don’t want to be in the middle of this bullshit.”

  Izzy pinned Chloe with her Sapphire eyes. “You can’t stay on the sidelines forever, Chloe. There will come a time when you must take a stand and pick a side.”

  Chloe’s mouth fell to her chest and her eyes went wide. What the actual fuck? “I don’t have to do a damn thing. I don’t belong to Heaven. I don’t belong to anyone. And on that note, I’m going to get some rest. This dark energy refuses to let go so my ribs can heal.”

  Dante took Chloe by the elbow when she went to leave the kitchen. “I’ll show you to the room you can use.”

  Heat filled Chloe’s veins and his proximity wreaked havoc on her libido. Her saving grace was her agony, fatigue, and swirling mind. Isobel’s words felt like a portent and that didn’t sit well with Chloe. The last time she’d chosen a side had resulted in the biggest mistake of her life. No way was she going to repeat that fiasco.

  Chapter 7

  Dante knocked and couldn’t stop his feet from shuffling. His chest constricted and sweat broke out on his brow. “You never finished your burger, little evergreen. I brought it so you can get some food in you before you sleep,” he called out. Tilting his head, he strained to hear through the soundproof panel.

  Doors were the only weak point in the rooms. It was how he’d been getting the sexual energy he needs for months. It was impossible for him to hear if Chloe was going to open the door or not.

  Smooth move, jackass. Here’s your burger? Yeah, he had to acknowledge that, while Elsie’s Vietnamese burgers were delicious, bringing the sexy fallen her partially eaten food wasn’t the least bit sexy.

  The sound of the knob turning warned him a second before the panel was yanked open to reveal a pissed off Chloe. She quirked an eyebrow at him. “You brought me my food?” Damn she looked perfect in his t-shirt. Seeing her standing there with his clothes on turned him into a possessive beast.

  Nope. Not going there. Dante glanced at the plate in his hand and shrugged his shoulders. “You went through hell. I figured this would help you rest better.”

  Chloe stood to the side, holding the door open and gestured to the room. “You mean you will sleep better if you fuck me before heading to your room. How long has it been?”

  Dante’s entire body jerked, and he almost dropped the plate in his hand. He managed to catch it before the food ended up on the f
loor. “Is it that obvious? Before you answer that I didn’t come here to get you into bed. I thought I was hiding how fucking hot I find you.”

  Chloe chuckled at that, but the sound wasn’t vibrant. “You can’t help it. You’re ruled by your nature, and I’m irresistible.”

  Dante smiled and set the food on the bedside table then crossed to the other side of the room. “As much as I like seeing you in my clothes, I figured you’d want some of your own. If you give me your address, keys and a list then I’ll grab it for you while you sleep.” If he stayed too close, he would make a move on Chloe and that was the last thing she needed right now. Her skin was losing its color and the bruises stood out starkly.

  Chloe bit the egg roll she’d brought to her mouth and watched him while she chewed. “Why are you doing all this for me? You guys should hate me because of what I am.”

  “I don’t know your story but it’s clear to us you’re different. Zander would have killed you on the spot if you were remotely like Crocell or her sister. It’s our job to help. Of course, you can always walk around here naked.” Dante waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  Chloe shook her head sank to the bed as she continued eating the egg roll. “No thank you. I don’t want to tease the resident sex demons. Given your dark circles and the pheromones leaking from your pores, I don’t think you could handle it very long. I don’t have my keys. No idea where I lost them. Give me your phone.”

  Dante pulled it from his pocket, unlocked it and approached the bed. Keeping his distance, he handed it over to her. She tapped on the screen. “Here’s my address and what I’d like you to grab. If I didn’t hurt everywhere, I would go myself. I don’t like owing anyone.”

  Dante understood. Nothing was free and few helped without expecting something in return. “You owe the Dark Warriors nothing, but we would appreciate your help in hunting down the archdemon that tortured you.”

  Chloe’s shoulders fell from being bunched beneath her ears. “I knew you were too good to be true. I’ll help as soon as my body expunges the dark wounds and I can walk without feeling like razors are shredding my chest wall.”

  Dante nodded and clenched his jaw to keep from growling or cursing. Demons were the worst beings alive. They maimed and killed without consideration for what their victims suffered. Seeing Chloe injured and knowing she was harmed by a weapon that immortals struggled to heal, made his blood boil and his inner demon rattle the cage he had locked it in.

  “Get some rest. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Dante turned and left the room without looking back.

  Dante stood in the alley, wondering if he had enough energy to jump to the lower level of the fire escape. He should have sought a female but the need to do something for Chloe compelled him. No doubt it was just another excuse he’d conjured for his continued delay tactics.

  There was no way a Fallen Angel twisted him in knots and made him think of things he’d never even entertained before.

  Crouching down, Dante pushed off the ground and sprang into the air. “Fuck!” He was about two feet shy of landing on the ladder. Reaching out, he tried to grab the metal. It slipped through his fingers. Before he fell to the smelly alley floor, he wrapped three digits around a step and caught himself.

  Agony shot through his shoulder. Fatigue on a cellular level made it difficult for him to haul his ass onto the steps. Voices from behind him, sent his heart pounding. He’d been loud as hell and humans no doubt caught him.

  Bracing himself with his hands on the side rails, Dante turned his head and smiled at the older female with a scarf over her hair. Unleashing his pheromones, he prayed the wind carried some to her, then smiled. “I’m surprising my girlfriend. I want to draw her a bubble bath and make her lunch. She pulled a double at the hospital.”

  The woman’s wrinkled hand went to her chest and she sighed. “She’s a lucky one. My Dave never so much as lifted a finger for me. Granted I worked in an office, but still. It would have been nice to have him cook for me.”

  Dante shook his head. “Shame on him. He should have doted on you and given you the world.” He sent her one more smile and continued climbing.

  The woman watched him for a few more minutes before she ducked back into her apartment. Dante reached Chloe’s apartment and prayed the window was unlocked. The pane slid open easily. Her sultry scent gave new life to his inner demon and had his cock hard in two seconds flat.

  He had to find a female on his way back to Jessup House. The hold he had on his dark side left him no choice. Climbing through the opening, he noticed the cover on her bed was tossed to the side. There were clothes on the floor near the closet and detritus on her dresser was in disarray.

  Opening one of her drawers, he grabbed a stack of underwear and set them on the bed. He needed a bag to put this in. Checking the closet, he found several large black totes. Noise from the outer room immediately shifted him into warrior mode.

  Dante exited the closet on quiet feet and set the canvas on her bed. Sticking close to the wall, he pushed the door open with his foot and peered through the opening. There was a bathroom to the left in a short hall, but he couldn’t see anything else.

  Reaching for the waist band at the back of his pants, he grabbed his sgian dubhs. Who the hell was in her house? Chloe hadn’t mentioned living with anyone. Was the archdemon there?

  The cloying malevolence wasn’t present, and his skin didn’t prickle with a million needles. It could be one of the archdemon’s skirm. Or several of them. That didn’t concern Dante. Skirm were child’s play for him.

  Stepping into the hall, he headed for the living room. The kitchen was to his left. There was nothing obvious in the larger open area. Must have been one of the neighbors. He forgot that few apartments had soundproofing. With his sensitive ears, he was able to hear most movements and conversations in the surrounding homes.

  Turning, he needed to finish packing and find a female to fuck. Something knocked into him from above before he took two steps. His blades flew from his hands and skittered across the room when he hit a chair.

  Ass over ending it, he tried to catch sight of what attacked him while he was stumbling over the tall back. Wood cracked beneath him and his side hit one of the wooden table legs when he finally stopped moving.

  Thuds above him, told him whatever it was had just landed on the top of the kitchen table. A quick scan of the floor had Dante cursing. His weapons were near the sofa on the other side of the room. There was a knife block behind him on one of the counters. Rolling toward the cabinets. Dante sprang to his feet the second he was out from under the table.

  “Ah shit.” The curse slipped from his mouth when he finally saw what he was facing. Eight long legs attached to an hourglass shaped body with about fifty eyes all looking at him.

  Let’s see how you do with a few less appendages. Dante jumped to the side and wrapped his hand around one of the knives. When it came free, the spider laughed while he silently cursed. “Don’t underestimate small blades.” Before the demon made a move, Dante threw the weapon, aiming for one of its countless eyes.

  Turning, he grabbed the largest knife from the block. A loud screech behind him told Dante he’d hit something vital. Air shifted and he fell to his knees while lifting the hand holding the blade. The metal sliced through the abdomen of the spider as it moved over his head.

  Dante rolled away from the kitchen and got to his feet. There were two other demons crouched in the corners of the room. Three against one wasn’t the worst odds, but he needed his weapons. The steel didn’t do nearly enough damage. Black blood dripped from the open wound to the tile floor.

  The hair on the legs of the demon all twitched and moved. It sounded like leaves blowing down a street. The injury started healing over. That didn’t buy him much time. On instinct, Dante reached out and grabbed the beast by one of its legs.

  Pain arched through his hand and fingers. Before he let go, he threw the spider at the wall with all his strength. He needed to buy more tim
e. Jumping into action, he raced toward his sgian dubhs, but his vision blurred.

  Shaking his head, he ignored the way his hand started going numb and threw the butcher knife in his hand to one of the other spiders on the ceiling then dove for his weapons. The sound of a branch scrapping across glass made Dante flinch, but he managed to get to his weapons.

  His numb hand refused to cooperate, so he stuffed one blade in his waist band while palming the other in his uninjured hand. Thuds surrounded him as one of the demons fell from above. A white handle caught his eye. The butcher knife lodged itself in the spider’s side.

  Black blood dripped on Dante’s arm, making it sizzle. His right arm swung in an arc as a second demon headed his way. It faltered and fell to one side. To his surprise, one of its legs stood up without the body.

  Dante kicked out, catching the demon hovering above him by surprise. Seemed it was shocked by the sight of its friend losing a leg. The smell of brimstone and rancid meat filled the room making him gag. The burger he’d eaten earlier threatened to come back.

  A hairy leg smacked into his side when he was trying to get to his feet. The breath rushed out of his lungs and the hairs got caught in his shirt. The same burn he’d felt in his hand, spread from the spot he’d been kicked. Dante’s inner beast rattled the cage, wanting out. If he let it out now, he’d be able to kill these spiders but there was no guarantee he would be able to wrangle it under control again.

  Taking a deep breath proved to be impossible. So, Dante settled for swiping out and ended up slicing through the side of the spider’s face that was above him. Poisonous blood splattered his clothes and burned holes in them.

  Dante cursed and finally climbed to his feet. Two spiders were injured while another was scuttling across the ceiling for the window. The demon with seven legs jumped in his path while the one with half a face limped toward him from the side.