by Brenda Trim
Crouching, he jumped and grabbed hold of the bottom of the ladder a story above his head. He pulled himself up, so he was climbing like the Devil was chasing him. A stone settled in his gut. Something was wrong.
Her bedroom window was open, and her curtains were flapping in the breeze. That stone developed razor sharp edges that cut into Dante. The scent of brimstone and rot was faint.
He was through the window at the same moment the front door crashed open. Dante had a blade in his hand in the blink of an eye. He caught himself before he threw the weapon at his long-time friend.
Zander inclined his head and headed for the kitchen while Dante scanned the room. The bed was a mess. Drawers were emptied and clothes were everywhere. There was a hint of copper in the air.
He noticed a few droplets of blood on the dresser, but there was nothing to tell him where she was. It was far messier than when he’d packed her bag the other day. Noise from a door off to the left caught his attention and he crept silently to it.
The panel was ajar, and he saw tiled flooring on the other side. Had to be her bathroom. With a shaking hand, he pushed it open and saw his reflection looking back at him.
The bathroom was in a similar state to the bedroom. Towels and shredded toilet paper were everywhere, along with makeup and brushes. The scent of rot was stronger here.
When he pushed the curtain aside in the bathtub, he saw why. There was the withered corpse of a spider demon in the basin. Black goo was everywhere. “There’s nothing here.”
“I doubt she was ever here. This is the same as when we rescued you the other day.” Dante turned to meet Axel’s gaze.
“We have to find her. She’s in trouble. I know it.” Dante lowered his head and tried to come up with where he could look for her. He doubted the archdemon would be dumb enough to go back to the basement after what they’d left for him.
He walked down the hall to find Zander and Izzy looking through the living room. Zander paused and ran a hand through his hair. “Do you sense her?”
Dante closed off everything around him and focused on Chloe. There was a sizzle along the fading bond, but nothing else. Shaking his head, he kicked a pillow. “Not a fucking thing. Dammit.”
Zander grabbed hold of his shoulders and shook him once. “Stop. This willna help your mate. I nearly let despair consume me when Elsie was missing. Once I calmed enough, I was able to follow our connection and find her.”
Dante lifted his face, barely holding back his snarl. “Elsie was bound by mating compulsions, plus she accepted you. Chloe told me she wasn’t going to mate with me last night.”
Zander grimaced and let Dante go. “You canna give up on her. Izzy is right. The Goddess paired you for a reason. We will find her. Let’s go.”
Dante followed as they left the apartment through the front door. “Where? This is a big city.”
Zander pushed the glass doors to the building open. “Then you’d better reach deep and force some energy into that bond.”
Dante did as Zander suggested. There was something to the west of where they were. Unsure where it was going to take him, he started walking. The Dark Warriors crossed the street at some point. It would have looked odd to have six large males walking with Izzy.
Several blocks later, Dante lost all connection to Chloe. Agony tore through his middle and he bent over clutching his stomach. He couldn’t catch his breath. He was aware of Izzy rubbing his back while Zander encouraged him to calm down and find his mate.
It wasn’t fucking working. It took several long minutes before he was able to stand up and focus on his surroundings. Seven Lively Sinz was a couple blocks from their location. What if he’d been following her connection to the bar?
Izzy placed her hand on Dante’s chest and looked into his eyes. “The connection to Chloe is here. It’s faint, but I see it. All you need to do is embrace it and let your soul call out to her.”
Dante swallowed through a mouth full of cotton. He wanted to believe the princess was right. It would mean Chloe felt something for him. It wouldn’t exist unless it was two sided to some degree.
Closing his eyes, he breathed in and out several times then focused on his angel’s scent. Caramelized vanilla and verbena. Her smile. Bright as the sun. Her deep brown eyes. Full of life.
A spark of electricity zipped through his center and spread out to his fingers. It faded quickly but left behind a glowing gold thread that was no thicker than a strand of hair. But it was there.
Dante latched onto that and followed it to the source. Zander and Izzy followed beside him as he walked down alleys and streets. He lost track of the Dark Warriors in his search for Chloe. He didn’t need the distraction.
Ten minutes later and he found himself in a busy Times Square. The bond had dimmed considerably and kept winking in and out of existence. She had to be close, dammit.
Bracing himself, Dante turned to the Vampire King. “Can you smell her?”
Zander lifted his nose and sniffed the air then took off across the space. “I smell something that way.”
Dante was beside him. After ten feet he caught what Zander smelled. It was Chloe. Her scent was strong. She had to be there. He ran down an alley a block over and stopped cold when he saw the pink Henley and jeans lying next to a dumpster.
A growl left his throat as he bent and picked up the clothing. Copper and sunshine teased his nose at the same time he felt something wet in his hand. He noticed the blood when he lifted the object in front of his face.
These were her clothes and she was bleeding wherever she was. “Please tell me she’s not dead.”
Izzy said something that Dante didn’t hear. Everything turned fuzzy as he gaped at the bloody clothing in his hand. This wasn’t happening. She’d been taken and was likely being tortured while he stood there with his dick in his hands.
He had no idea how to help her. He fell to his knees and screamed into the night. His inner demon pounded on the bars of its cage trying to reach its mate. He was minutes from losing his shit.
He needed to find Chloe before his beast took over and ravaged the entire city. He’d never felt such bloodlust before in his life.
Chapter 16
The blue-green lights coalesced to create a portal from Evzen’s house to the Virginia pack lands. Hayden smiled as the Guild Master stepped through with his mate, Braelynn. Braelynn was the daughter of Lady Angelica. The evil as fuck sorceress that created Angel’s Kiss.
For an instant when Hayden’s gaze landed on Braelynn’s dark hair his anger threatened to explode, but he managed to rein it in. She wasn’t her mother. In fact, she was the worst victim of that vile female. Angelica used Dark magic to find her Fated Mate and conceive Braelynn then she added Jace’s blood in an attempt to gain ownership of the Mystik Grimoire.
Hayden didn’t understand Angelica’s twisted desire to be in a position of power over all beings. Being leader wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. You had to make decisions that affected your kind for better or worse, most times with only half of the information. When things went to shit, and people died it was all your fault.
You were responsible for their well-being, and any danger they faced. It was the main reason he wanted to involve humans in their own protection. Hayden risked his kind daily with the humans taking on none of the risks for themselves.
“I’m glad you called, Hayden. I haven’t been able to find any information on Sterling’s current whereabouts. The fucker’s been evading me for the better part of a year.” As Guild Master, Evzen was the leader of the sorcerers and understood what it was like to be in charge. For the first time, Hayden noticed how much that was weighing on his friend.
Braelynn ran a hand over Evzen’s arm. The tension in Evzen’s shoulders lessened and the male’s expression softened when he looked at his female. “He’s slippery and learned Dark magic from my mom. I’d bet he created his own pocket in the Underworld and is holed up there as we speak.” Braelynn had never hidden her heritage and refused
to take repsonsibility for what her mother had done.
Hayden wanted to scream and curse. It wasn’t Braelynn’s fault, but his kind were suffering. “I’d bet you’re right, but it’s only a matter of time before he makes a mistake. He returns here frequently, or we wouldn’t have Angel’s Kiss on the market again.”
Evzen turned from his mate to Hayden. “So, you’ve confirmed it’s definitely the drug?”
Hayden waved a hand to the door of the mess hall and jerked his chin in that direction. “I will show you their houses on our way to the bar, but I’d say yes. The place is a disaster. I’ve only seen addicts live like that.”
He exited the building and waved to several females as he left. Evzen and Braelynn were right behind him. “I can’t believe the fucker found another source of angel blood. Illianna’s brothers continue searching for anyone that might have donated, but so far they keep coming up empty.”
They reached the cabins and Hayden held the door open then gestured for Evzen and Braelynn to enter. Evzen sucked in a breath then called his seven-foot Alder wood staff to his hand.
Evzen waved the pole in front of his body. “Seall.”
Hayden threw up a hand when bright red light filled the room. When it dimmed, he lowered his arm and sucked in a breath. There were easily a dozen spots on the coffee table and kitchen counters that glowed dark red.
“It’s definitely Angel’s Kiss. You mentioned a club? I need to know if one of mine is selling again.” Evzen’s words were a growl at that point.
Hayden nodded his head and turned on his heel with the Guild Master following behind. “There’s a human bar in Richmond the three missing shifters frequented. This might be a long shot. I haven’t been able to find any reports of humans dying from overdose.”
Evzen lifted his shoulders and climbed into Hayden’s rental car. “It’s better to follow up. We can’t bury our heads in the sand and hope this goes away. I hoped when they ran out of Ayil’s blood this would go away, but that isn’t the case. The only sure way to eliminate the drug is to remove those responsible for making it.”
Braelynn took the seat behind Evzen while Hayden jumped behind the wheel. “I just hope Sterling hasn’t taken anyone under his wing. There wasn’t anyone else she allowed close enough to teach her techniques, so he’s the only one she taught these secrets to.”
Hayden glanced at the female in the rearview mirror as he pulled onto the highway. “Did she keep a grimoire of her own? Do we need to worry about someone finding it and discovering the formula?”
Braelynn bit her lower lip and wrung her hands in her lap. “I never saw her with a journal, or anything, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one. She saw herself as the only true leader for supernaturals. I can see her wanting to document every brilliant thought she had.” The way she said that told Hayden she didn’t think her mother was all that smart.
Evzen turned to his mate. “Your mother was demented and malicious, but she was also smart. It would have been nice if she’d applied that knowledge to making our kind safer and finding a way to impede portals to Hell rather than embracing demonic ideals.”
Hayden snorted. “How did you turn out so good when she was the spawn of evil?” The growl that left Evzen’s mouth made Hayden instantly regret his words.
Braelynn’s hand snaked between the seats and ran over Evzen’s shoulder. “He’s right. And, it’s something I considered many times. There was always this voice in my head telling me my mother wasn’t always right. Somehow, I knew she was bad. It was Evzen’s soul keeping me sane. He’s the reason I didn’t join the dark side with my mom.”
Evzen brought Braelynn’s hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. You possess more Light than most angels I know.”
Hayden felt like in intruder as the mood turned heated. He shifted in his seat hoping to dispel some of the connection between the two, but it didn’t work. The couple got lost in one another.
Evzen said something back to Braelynn, but Hayden was trying to ignore the twinge in his chest. Everyone around him had found their Fated Mate, making him jealous. He wanted what they had.
Before Hayden had to engage in further discussion, they turned into the parking lot. The bar was a single building at the far end of a small strip mall. The outside was dark blue with a neon sign hanging above the door. The windows were small and covered with a film of some kind.
Evzen extended his hand and helped Braelynn from the back seat. “Remember this is a human establishment. We can’t do anything to expose our existence.”
Hayden’s upper lip lifted in a snarl while he bristled. “Fuck off, asshole. I know how to behave in public.”
Evzen took a step between him and his mate and stared straight at him. “I wasn’t talking to you, H. You need to let that paranoia go, buddy. I know you and Zander have disagreed on that topic, but despite that Zander respects the hell out of you. I was reminding my mate.”
Braelynn lifted her chin and took a position next to Evzen. “I’m still learning how to control my power and when I’m nervous it tends to get away from me. My mother didn’t only leave a legacy of death behind, you know.”
Hayden chuckled at the brave female. Not many would stand up to him. And even fewer would deprecate themselves in the process. “You are one of the strongest beings I have ever met. Not many would fight as hard as you to claim your birthright. Most would walk away and never look back. You’ve stood tall, accepted your parentage and strived to be better. I can only hope to be more like you when I grow up.”
Braelynn’s eyes had misted, but they cleared with his last words and she laughed at him. Shaking his head, Evzen bent and kissed the top of her head. “It’s a good thing I know you so well, otherwise I’d worry you were hitting on my mate.”
Hayden’s shoulders lifted then fell and he started for the doors with a smile on his face. The closer he got to the building the more the smell of sweat, alcohol and tobacco smoke filled his nose. It wasn’t a good combination, either. His stomach churned and roiled.
Music caught his sensitive ears. That combined with the smells, Hayden’s mind conjured an awful image. Thanks to the twang of the voice and the low beat of the music, he thought of smelly, sweaty humans crammed together on a dance floor. Shifters relied on scent to tell them many things. He was going to have to adjust and call his other senses to the fore.
The noise blasted his ears when he pulled the door open. When he staggered back a couple steps, Evzen was there to catch him and ensure no one caught his reaction. To him it sounded as if he was standing right in front of twenty-foot-tall speakers, but for humans it was like watching a moderately loud movie in their living room. He was glad there weren’t more than twenty-five people inside. He expected to see about ten times the number of bodies inside.
After a scan of the room, he headed to the left and a table where he could see the front door and the back hall at the same time. Evzen and Braelynn were right behind him. A waitress approached them and took their drink order as soon as they sat down.
Braelynn’s eyes were wide, and her head went this way and that. “Why would they sell in a…uh…place like this?”
Evzen moved his chair closer to her and perused the joint in a much slower fashion. “Because there is far less likelihood of being caught here. Every supe is on alert where this drug is concerned. No one wants to end up in a realm jail.”
Hayden’s head was bobbing up and down as soon as Evzen finished speaking. “It’s far worse than three-hots-and-a-cot in our system. They’d have to be a major masochist to take the risk by entering a realm owned bar. What I don’t get is why chance selling to so many humans?” Hayden leaned forward and lowered his voice even more. “Too many overdoses and realm police will be alerted.”
Hayden saw the waitress returning with their drinks and pulled his money from his pocket. He paid her after she deposited two beers and a margarita on the table. He took a sip and savored the barley and co
ffee flavor of the microbrew.
Evzen tapped the side of his mug. “I talked to Santiago and Orlando right before I left, and they hadn’t found anything suspicious in the area. I’d bet Sterling has instructed his sellers to move around every few days. He might allow them to come back, but I doubt he has them in the same place more than every couple weeks.”
“Then we’re wasting our time here. They won’t be here anymore, right?” Braelynn’s hair swayed as she spoke because she was still taking everything in. She was like a kid in a candy store.
Evzen ran his hand over her arm. Like a heat seeking missile, her head turned to the Guild Master and a smile spread over his mouth. Hayden sighed. This was going to be a long night.
Hayden replied despite the fact that the pair was locked in each other’s gaze. “If we can rule this location out then we aren’t wasting time. We can move out from here in a hundred-mile radius and visit a few bars each night. I’m going to find this asshole if It takes me a month.”
Evzen’s expression shifted from besotted to serious. “So far there isn’t one hint of anything supernatural here. No magical signatures. No Dark remnants. Nothing.”
“Fuck.” Hayden cursed.
Braelynn’s drink slipped from her hand and her hand went to her mouth. Hayden’s skin prickled like ants were crawling all over his body. His animals surged forward a second later. Evzen’s hands were roaming all around her shoulders. The sorceress had gone white as a sheet. What the fuck happened?
Hayden was about to ask when his eyes tracked Braelynn’s line of sight. “Goddess. Is that what I think it is?” Evzen looked at Hayden and he gestured across the bar with his chin. “A supernatural just walked in. I can’t smell exactly what he is with all the other crap clouding the air.”
Evzen’s head swiveled to the right and his eyes narrowed. He grabbed hold of his mate’s hand but addressed Hayden. “It’s a sorcerer. I can see his magical aura.”