situation could"ve gotten any worse, it just did.
Refusing to look down, Indigo tugged nervously on the lapels of her cloak.
There were many ways to travel as a priestess, none of which involves a
broom as many humans may think, but either way, Indigo preferred to stay
planted on the ground.
Dominique, on the other hand, had always been one to soar through the
skies, and since she was the chauffeur tonight, Indigo would have to suffer her
means of transportation.
“I hate traveling like this,” Indigo murmured, hearing her voice echo within
the transparent sphere.
In spite of her fear of heights, she glanced down at the city lights whizzing
by beneath them. Hardly any sense of movement could be felt as they traveled at
an unnatural speed through uncharted drift zones.
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The sight brought a small smile to her face, but her smile diminished when
she caught a glimpse of the two small puncture marks on Dominique"s neck.
“I should"ve known you were fucking him.”
A quirky smirk tilted the corner of Dominique"s mouth. “You"ve become too
attached to the Xsonri.”
Indigo raised her hand for silence. “Don"t you dare judge me,” she retorted,
diverting her eyes toward the jet, which quickly shrunk out of view.
“He marked your bed mate in the same place and you have the nerve to be
snippy with me?”
“Don"t go there, Dominique.”
She didn"t need to be reminded Demetri marked Amaya. The nymph"s desire
for the bite would"ve probably gotten her killed by one of her other fanged clients
if he hadn"t scored her. For some reason vamps found it distasteful to bite a human
already marked, particularly those marked by Demetri. So yes, he basically saved
Amaya"s life, but Dominique, on the other hand went after him for more than just a
bite.
“He had his reasons for marking Amaya.”
“Were his reasons not the same for me?”
“You fucked him out of spite, Dominique!” Indigo shouted, rocking the
flying sphere.
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“Oh please, get over it.” Dominique sat down at Indigo"s feet and tucked her
legs beneath her. “If you didn"t want me sampling your pet vamp then you
shouldn"t have been bragging about how great his bite was.” She looked up to the
passing stars and chuckled. “You know how curious I am.”
Indigo opened her mouth to rail at her again, but thought better of it. She
was already feeling woozy from the last roll of the traveling globe. Balling her
hands into fists, she glared down at Dominique. Those beautiful ashen touched
eyes that stared back at her softened her stance.
Dominique reached up, took her hand and pulled her down next to her.
Indigo looked away wishing there was room to put distance between them,
but their mode transportation wouldn"t allow it. Anywhere she moved she would
slide right back to her.
“Calm your emotions. You cannot appear before the council this way. Your
agitation will make Sable suspicious.”
A snide remark sat on the edge of Indigo"s tongue, but she restrained herself
because in all honesty, Dominique was right. Sable would drop her to her knees in
a heartbeat and choke the spirit energy out of her if she came before the council
huffing and puffing over her love affair with Demetri.
“Your sentiments for him are jeopardizing the mission.”
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She cut a glare at her. “Not helping to ease my emotions, Dominique,” she
retorted in a warning tone. “If you want me calm, then I suggest you think of
something else to talk about.”
Dominique fingered the back of her hand. “Tell me, has the creature taken
your heart?”
“No,” she replied, slowly taking Dominique"s hand in hers. “Only my body…
and sanity.”
“Now that, I can understand. If there ever was a being other then you who
could take my body to heights unknown…” She closed her eyes and moaned.
Sneering, Indigo snatched her hand away. “Are we there yet?”
“Indigo, you have to understand there was no emotion in what Demetri and
I shared. It was only sex. Through my mind, he saw my curiosity and fed it. That
was it. It"s his nature.”
“Whatever.”
“Vampires are sexual creatures. Sex is their way of connecting with what
once was and will never be again. It"s their outlet. Just because he"s a Xsonri
doesn"t exempt him from that ingrained need.”
“Demetri is different,” she blew out on a hard breath, already irritated by the
topic of choice. “The only time that part of him takes over is after a kill. Any other
time he has sex for the mere satisfaction. It has nothing to do with what he is.”
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“Ahh, but it does. How many innocent people do you think would die if he
didn"t fuck on a regular basis?” Dominique jested with laughing eyes. “Go ahead,
throw a number out there. I guarantee whatever number you come up with
wouldn"t nearly be enough.”
“Oh, so you"re saying you"re a modern day hero? You saved hundreds of
human lives by laying with a demon vampire. Good for you.”
“Don"t be so melodramatic.” Leaning back, Dominique curved her body with
the shape of the sphere. “I used to wonder why he"d spend hours on end staring at
the stars, not speaking, nor moving as if he were a mannequin.”
Indigo looked at her hard. “Yes, and he probably became irritable when you
mentioned it, right?”
She nodded. “When I first saw him in that state, I assumed he was
communicating with someone at a distance or listening for the sounds of demons
to destroy.”
“If you know this, why is it so hard for you to believe what I"m telling you?”
“It"s not that I didn"t believe you. Demetri is the strongest creature in this
realm, of course I believe you. I just didn"t want Father Shannon to believe you.”
Indigo perked up and stared questioningly.
Dominique chuckled. “Demetri didn"t want him to know and I don"t think
the priest"s safety is the only reason why. I truly believe there"s a missing piece to
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the prophecy and I suspect Demetri is right at the center of it. But the problem is, I
don"t think he"s aware of this.” Glancing down, Dominique took her hand then
stood, pulling her to her feet. “We"ve determined there"s a warlock behind the
release of the demons, but who is he working for?”
White clouds surrounded them as they hovered over a serene plain. “Yes,
because a warlock can"t absorb her blood,” Indigo added.
Within the ground a hollow passageway formed.
“Neither can the Chingi.”
“What?” Indigo gasped just as the sphere was sucked into the hole. Through
tunnels they went, left, right, down then right again, shifting in nauseating speeds.
Close to erupting, her stomach rumbled. She closed her eyes and squeezed
Dominique"s hands.
“You are to clear this discussion from your mind before we arrive,”
Dominique pushed out in a rush.
As if she needed to be told that.
They landed in the center of the icy fortress, the convocation spot for the
&nbs
p; coven. The globe dissipated around them and freezing temperatures attacked her
exposed skin. Quickly, they conjured gloves and scarves then drew the wooly
hoods over their heads.
“Remember what I told you,” Dominique warned, nodding toward a wall of ice.
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Swallowing hard, Indigo advanced with Dominique at her side and melted
through the ice wall to enter the huge crystallized hall. They ambled past a few of
their coven sisters scattered about, exchanging smiles and nods.
“Come forth ladies and take your seat at the council table.”
Sable"s tone was stern and demanding. She was pissed about something, and
Indigo could bet her soul"s force Sable"s displeasure had everything to do with her.
The vastness of the round table carved out of ice glowed in recognition as
she neared it. High Priestesses from across the world sat at the table, their hands
clamped together, staring at her with judgmental eyes.
“Priestesses of the forces beyond, we come to you at your request.”
They all nodded and she took her seat, as did Dominique. Indigo"s spiritual
symbol lit up on the table before her, indicating the connection with her sisters.
She closed her eyes and opened her mind to those before her. It was custom to do
so.
In the past, those who dared to come before the council with their mental
domain locked were immediately disciplined. They didn"t take the time to break
though a mind barrier. No. They"d just simply strip the offender of their powers.
Even though there were things in her mind she knew she"d be reprimanded
for, she wasn"t foolish enough to confine her cerebrum in their presence. However,
she"d been given the ability to hide her thoughts and memories deep within her
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psyche. One can see only what she wanted them to—a useful skill acquired
through Demetri.
“Sister Priestess, you were given specific orders to keep the vampire Demetri
occupied ― away from the humans and most importantly, blinded from the
knowledge of the Dragon Goddess.”
It wasn"t a surprise Kaverti, the Indian priestess was the first to speak on
the topic of Demetri. She"d never been the type to beat around the bush.
“With all due respect, my sister, Demetri is very much so occupied,” Indigo
retorted, trying to keep her tone subtle. “With the number of demons passing to
this realm, he hasn"t the time to—”
“Apparently, the demons are secondary to him now.”
“What do you mean?” She looked to Sable, whose face was expressionless
then back to Kaverti, who wore a smug grin. “Destroying demons are never
secondary to him.”
They glanced at one another then brought their cynical glares back to her.
They knew something pertaining to Demetri and the longer they withheld it, the
more anxiety formed in the pit of her stomach.
Sable crooked her finger beneath her chin. “Perhaps you can explain to us
why the creature is so interested in Sharayna Piers.”
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She swallowed a sigh of relief. “The singer? No. You"re mistaken,” she
disagreed distastefully. “He would never go for someone like, like her. She"s below
him—a hood rat.” Demetri wouldn"t be interested in some self-absorbed, hip hop
diva from the gutter, would he? And when did he have the time to play with some
human when all of this was going on? “He has class and she"s just too—”
“Careful sister Indigo. Your emotions for the creature are screaming from
your words,” Cypress, the Greek priestess warned. “Jealousy is a distasteful
emotion for a woman of your stature.”
“Well said, sister Cypress,” Sable acceded coolly, her glare unwavering. “For
your information, sister Indigo, he openly confronted that hood rat last night and
then visited her at the hotel where she stayed.” Her expression softened. “He"s
courting her.”
Last night? Impossible! He left her in a rush last night to go find the…Oh by
the Gods, then that meant…She quickly erased what began to play on her mind.
“No,” she disagreed with the shake of her head. “That"s nonsense—”
“He"s courting her!” Sable"s voice boomed throughout the icy hall. “Yes, we
are very aware he was with you last night, but not the whole night, correct?” She
snorted in disgust. “If you were paying attention to him like you were ordered to
do then you wouldn"t be sitting here stupefied by his actions.” She yanked her
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hood from her head, revealing her thick mass of golden-brown hair. “He must be
diverted from this obsession before he turns her.”
Indigo glanced at Dominique to get a glint shot right back at her.
The coven had no idea.
“You must get to him before he connects with her. The last thing we need is
another demon vampire walking around with power such as his. It would prove to
be even more difficult to destroy him if he makes another.”
“What! Destroy him?” Indigo shot to her feet. “I won"t have it!”
Dominique grabbed her hand, squeezed it and yanked her back down.
Indigo winced then glared at her.
“Watch your tone in front of the council. Contain your emotions,” Dominique warned
with the squint of her eye.
Rubbing her hand and mumbling beneath her breath, Indigo rolled her eyes
back across the table to be met several angry scowls.
“Your outburst is insulting sister,” Cypress sneered, pulling her hood back,
shaking her brunette locks. “Have you forgotten what the creature has done to this
very coven? Have you forgotten what he did to our sister Sable"s brother in blood?
You are lost!”
She dipped her head. No she hadn"t forgotten. She hadn"t forgotten the
death of Desa, her sister priestess. The young woman wanted retribution for the
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death of Sable"s brother, her lover. Tears of anguish had wrenched the poor soul"s
heart for many nights before she gathered up the strength to confront Demetri.
A huge mistake, which cost Desa her life.
“Is what"s between his legs more important than your love for this coven,
your family?” Indigo brought her head up and held Sable"s glassy gaze. “Yes, I
know, my brother was no saint and had flirted with the forces of hell, but he is a
mere speck on a windshield compared to what Demetri could do if he chose to. His
unpredictable nature, his lust for blood, his dark power which is ignited with a
thought—there are so many reasons why he must be terminated.”
“But how can you see this as the sole solution? He only destroys those who
are evil,” Indigo reasoned. “He doesn"t go after the innocent. If you talk to him,
you"ll see he"s—”
“Yet he fed from your bed mate. You are blind child.” Cypress"s words were
coated with disappointment. “All it takes is a whisper from the dark lord to turn
him into a plague walking the earth. Don"t you understand? He is closer to hell
than any of the creatures he demolishes.”
“And on top of that, he"s unmanageable. He won"t abide by our rules set for
the supernatural,” Kaverti added. “And now, to find he"s obsessed with a human
who has no idea of his true nature. A celebrity, might I add, which is
forbidden. If
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he turns her, the world will become aware of what we"ve worked so hard to keep
hidden. He"s gone too far this time and must be stopped.”
Silence fell between them as Indigo eyed every member of the council. “You
question my loyalty to the coven, yet you use me as a pawn,” she stated softly,
dropping her eyes to her animated symbol shining through the table.
“No Indigo. I had faith that you wouldn"t fall for his charm when I charged
you to bewitch him.”
“But you didn"t tell me you had planned to kill him.”
A tsking sound came from Kaverti. “We assumed you"d know, considering
what he has done.”
“You assumed wrong,” she whispered, casting a quick glare at Kaverti.
Sable exhaled deeply. “You have every right to be upset with this new turn
of events.” Stunned by her words, Indigo perked up. “I knew he wouldn"t pass your
beauty,” she admitted. “But it was foolish of me not to consider the physical side of
the situation, and how it would affect you. I was eager for his passing after Desa"s
death. I needed him to have trust in you. And then, as soon as the trust was
confirmed, I would"ve ordered you to kill him. Since the creature thrives on
physical attention―what better way to take him out?” An almost sadistic
expression fell over her face then it quickly vanished. “That was the plan. My back
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was against the wall when I found he"d seduced you with his bite. And in doing so,
he"s weakened your connection with us when you are with him.”
Little did Sable know, she allowed him to do so. When she first met him,
she surrendered her mind and body to him, which allowed him to sever the
connection with the council while he made love to her.
“The wretched creature holds you in his thrall with lust,” Sable sneered
through clenched teeth. “I should"ve known he would do something like that,
being you"re one of my sister priestesses.” Her expression softened. “That"s why I
sent Dominique in.”
Indigo turned to Dominique and met her sorrowful expression. So, she
didn"t go to him at her own free will. She was only following orders.
“The creature has a weakness for beautiful women born in magic.
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