“I second that. I’ve no desire to be tortured by one of those beasts. Again. Ever.” Baal put emphasis on the last part of his statement and Katie wondered what they had done to him. Probably best to never find out.
“I can try and go in cloaked, but I’m not sure how far I’ll get without getting stuck. Those passages can be pretty narrow.”
“No, Diego, we don’t need you trashing the place. We’re going to have to try and draw them out to us. Best if they didn’t know we have a Draki in our midst.” Seth grinned. “You can be our secret weapon.”
Diego slapped his hands together and rubbed. “You get them out into the open and I’ll toast ‘em.”
“I have a plan,” Seth declared.
Several minutes later, Katie had sheathed her weapon in exchange for her hands being bound behind her back. The plan involved the demons thinking she was a captive and of course, they’d want to steal her for themselves. Seeing how they would be able to detect their approach, it was the only plan they could come up with. Diego would take to the sky and cloak himself. He only needed enough room between them and the demons to make his attack. Fine with her. After hearing how these men were actually afraid of the Wendigo, Katie wasn’t sure she wanted to meet up with them either.
“Stop looking at me with drool on your lip,” she snapped at Seth.
“Sorry. My dark side has itched to see you tied up. Though the circumstances are different, this is still pretty damn sexy.”
Baal chuckled to her left. She shifted in his direction. “I thought you were supposed to protect me from him?”
His golden eyes flashed at her. “I am. Has he harmed you?”
Katie stumbled through the sand, her temper about to detonate like a stack of TNT. She wasn’t sure who she was more pissed at, them for coming up with the idea or herself for going along with it. Either way she hated being helpless.
“You are anything but helpless. The rope is loose enough you can pull your wrists free,” Seth replied.
She pinned him with a glare. “Get out of my fucking head!” One of these times she was going to kick the shit out of him. Maybe as soon as this upcoming fight was over.
“I sense them stirring.” Seth held up a hand for them to halt.
“Demons! Show yourselves,” Baal yelled.
A dark figure loomed in the doorway. There wasn’t enough light for Katie to get a good look, but she could tell the demon was as tall and wide as the opening in which it stood. “Holy shit. I’ve never seen one so big.”
“Wait til you see the ugly fuck up close,” Baal whispered.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to. The scent of death hung heavy in the air and she had to swallow hard to keep from vomiting. Seth leaned into her.
“You okay?”
“Fine,” she managed through gritted teeth. The fact that he could sense her distress only fueled her anger even more.
“You have something we want,” came a raspy voice from the darkness.
“And what would that be?” Seth asked
“The dagger, but we will take the girl too,” came back the reply.
Seth took two steps forward. “She is my prisoner, come out and we can barter.”
The Wendigo made a noise that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a growl. Katie wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“We don’t barter, we simply take.”
“Well, either way you ugly fuckers are going to have to come out here and take her,” Seth interjected.
Baal glared at the guardian. “Way to piss him off more, vampire.”
The demon proceeded down the small ramp followed by three more large figures. If Diego’s count was correct, all of them were coming out into the open.
Katie, get ready to run. Seth’s voice slammed into her head. She loosened her restraints and fondled the handle of her dagger. Ready to break free at a moment’s notice.
I still don’t get why we can’t do the flashy thing you do? To run seemed absurd.
Because we need them out in the open and away from the tombs. Chasing us will do that. Besides, they will anticipate us flashing and running will surprise the hell out of them and cause them to hesitate.
She still thought it was a stupid idea and her heart beat erratically in her chest as the demons drew closer. It was still too dark to see clearly. However, what she could tell was they towered at least seven feet tall, had a massive head with lots of sharp teeth and damn if they weren’t the most frightening things she’d ever encountered.
“It looks like we outnumber you. If you surrender, perhaps we will go easy on you.” The one who had spoken to them before bared his fangs while the others proceeded to try and circle around them.
Run.
She didn’t have to be told twice. Matter of fact she was more than happy to bow out of the fight. She dropped the rope that bound her, freed her dagger and turned to flee. Her senses said the other two were right behind her, but she dared not look back to make sure. Running in sand was difficult enough. Add to it their lives were on the line and yeah, she needed to concentrate on how fast she could escape.
Explosions rocked the ground and someone tackled her. Katie started to fight back when she recognized the hard body that pinned her to the ground. She was able to peek around Seth just in time to catch Baal lob a ball of flames at the demons right before Diego swooped low and shot out one long stream of fire. First one demon became engulfed then the rest went into a blazing inferno. The creatures screeched before they turned to ash.
Diego landed and shifted while Seth helped her to her feet. She brushed sand from her jeans. “That was incredible, but remind me to never piss him off.” She referred to Diego.
“Indeed. It pays to have a Draki as a friend.” Seth brushed sand from her hair. “Are you all right?”
His constant concern for her welfare warmed her insides. “I’m fine. What about you?”
“I’ll survive.”
They approached Diego while she still tried to get the sand off her. When they were close enough, she ran to the dragon and threw her arms around him.
“That was awesome! Thank you.” There was a low growl behind her. And Diego grabbed her arms and untangled himself.
“Katie, unless you want a fight between your mate and I, you should refrain from touching me.”
She pulled back and looked at Seth. His eyes glowed and his lip curled into a snarl. A hint of fang showed. She stepped away from Diego. Would have chided the guardian with the fact that she could touch any man she chose, but thought better of it. She didn’t really want to see the two of them fight. Besides, it wasn’t fair to Diego to put him in the middle.
He tried not to show emotion when she’d run into the arms of another man, but there was no stopping it even though he knew it was nothing and the young shifter wasn’t a threat. Instinct had no reasoning.
“I don’t sense any other demons, but we need to remain on high alert. That was too easy and could have been a trap,” Seth said.
“Agreed,” the other two men stated in unison.
“Katie, you will stay between Baal and myself.”
She moved in next to him as they headed for the entrance to the tombs. “You don’t own me, you know.”
“I’m well aware,” he growled, not meaning to, then stopped to face her. “Just do me and everyone else a favor. Stay out of other men’s arms. At least until I’m dead. I can only control myself for so long and I really don’t want to fight over you.” He watched her features go from hurt to schooled in a matter of seconds. Had he really meant to scold her like that? Under normal circumstances he would have had more patience. However, the voices were beating against his brain and he only wanted to put this mission behind them. Without another word, he headed to the entrance then stopped at the locked barrier.
“Um, won’t they have some kind of security?” Katie asked.
Baal stepped forward and touched the door. A loud clank indicated it was unlocked. “Don’t worry, my magic will fool
any security they have in place. It will look like any boring night with the dead.” He pushed the heavy door and walked through.
Seth waved Katie in and followed behind her, Diego took up the rear. There were dim lights along the corridor, most likely so the people who monitored the cameras could get a good look around.
“According to the map, we need to head this way,” Baal stated and led them through the entryway. They walked by several displays. Most showcased ancient artifacts, some real and some replicas.
Seth watched Katie move in front of him, her head turned back and forth as she tried to take in her surroundings. He wished they had more time, he could show her so many things and tell her about the secrets the tombs held. After all, he had been alive when it was first constructed. Hell, he’d actually lived through every king that graced these tombs. However, even he was surprised by the map and had to admit he was a bit skeptical that they would turn up with anything.
When the foursome finally reached the tomb the map had indicated, Katie faltered. He reached for her, grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. Pain filled her eyes.
“What’s happening?” He tried to enter her mind, but he was blocked.
Her lip trembled. “V-voices. So many.” She cradled her head in her palms. “Oh, god, it hurts.”
“Give her your blood.”
Thank gods for Baal and his voice of reason.
Seth cradled her to his chest and slid down the wall to rest on the floor. “Give us some privacy.”
Diego nodded. “We’ve gotcha covered.” Then he and the demon slipped into the darkness.
Seth bit his wrist then pressed it to Katie’s lips. “You have to drink. I’m sorry I can’t get in your head to help you.” She latched on without hesitation and he worried how bad it must be that she wouldn’t even resist. After a minute and at least one mouthful of blood she pulled back and licked her lips.
“You made it taste like chocolate again.” Her eyes told him how grateful she was.
“I didn’t do anything. You had a barrier up that I was unable to breach.”
She blinked her beautiful blue eyes that were clearer than only moments ago. “I’m not sure how I would do that. All I know is it felt like my head was going to explode.”
“Can you tell me about it?”
Her gaze dropped to her lap. “Dark evil voices. So many it was hard to make out what they were saying. There was one however, it stood out among the others and...”
She’d fallen silent so he tipped her chin up then cupped her cheek. “I can’t help you unless I know. What did it say?”
She swallowed. “It showed me visions of you cutting yourself.”
He schooled his features. What the fuck had happened that she had seen such a thing. Was it possible? No.
Katie? He tried to reach for her mind again.
“What?”
“I just wanted to see if the barrier was still there. Are you all right now?”
“Yes. Much better. Is this part of the whole mating thingie?”
“I’m not sure what’s happening.”
Her eyes narrowed and she studied him like a virus under a microscope. “You’re not telling me everything. Earlier, when you came to my room you opened up and I felt like you trusted me enough to tell me the truth and let me make up my own mind. Don’t stop now.”
He could deny her nothing. “I’m not a hundred percent certain, but I think somehow you were hearing the voices inside my head.”
“Dear god. That’s what you have to listen to all the time?”
“Yes.”
“What about the visions? Why did I see you shoving a dagger into your thigh?”
Hell if he wanted to tell her the truth. For some reason he cared what she thought of him and that wasn’t a side of him he wanted her to see. Then again, maybe it would disgust her enough she’d understand why he chose not to mate with her.
“Those visions you saw were real.”
Her jaw dropped. “You cut yourself? Why?”
He released her from his embrace and helped her to her feet. “The pain calms the voices.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “I still feel like you’re not telling me everything.”
There was no need for her to know all of his dark past. It was bad enough she’d not only heard the voices in his head, but also seen him doing unspeakable acts to himself. There was no way he was telling her the man he’d drunk from to find her had planned to kidnap her and do horrible things to her. He was confident that was who the dark one was.
“We need to get going.” He helped her through the dim corridor.
Chapter Eleven
Katie let Seth lead her back to the others, but had decided their previous conversation wasn’t over. He was keeping something from her and she didn’t understand why, but it bothered her. Immensely. Maybe it was the fact she now had a much better understanding and appreciation for what he went through. She was also grateful beyond words for his help, because she was pretty sure if the voices had not shut up she would have found her way to the highest point and jumped.
She made a mental note to get the demon, Baal, off to the side and interrogate him. Something told her he would be much more cooperative in answering her questions.
When they finally approached Seti’s tomb, Seth moved to the back wall. “The hidden corridor should be here.” He ran his hands over the stone surface.
Baal stepped beside him. “I suspect there will be a trap of some sort.”
Seth nodded. “I think if we’re smart about this... Katie, can you come here?”
Katie broke away from looking at the scenes depicted on the walls, wishing she had more time to study them and sidled up on Seth’s other side. “Do you know how to get in?”
“You’re the daughter, therefore I believe you are the key to unlock the door. The map indicated a symbol of the Phoenix on the floor. Everyone start searching.”
They all spread out, flashlights in hand, starting in the center of the room and worked their way outward. It was tedious and Katie’s back ached from being bent over, but they needed to find it. Time was not on their side and soon the workers would show up to begin their day.
“Over here.” Diego waved.
Everyone scurried to the corner where the Draki stood. He pointed. “Down there, it’s faint.” He stepped back and let Seth in to take a look.
“Yes, it’s very faint but I think that’s it.” He grabbed Katie’s arm. “Sorry, but you’re going to have to bleed.”
“What?” Panic raced through her.
“You’re going to have to bleed on the symbol to open the door. It’s the only way to prove who you are.”
“Oh, right. I got this.” She pulled her dagger out and made a slice across her finger, wincing against the pain. The blood pooled and one, then two drops hit their mark and hissed like acid on steel.
“Something’s happening,” Baal said. “Keep at it.”
Katie lifted her head to stare at the demon. “Shall I just gash my wrist?”
He shrugged. “Whatever suits you.”
She rolled her eyes and held back a giggle. The demon had a smarter mouth than she did and that she could respect. She glanced at Seth and noticed he stared at her bloody finger. The look in his eyes one of hunger, then he flicked out his tongue and licked his lips before he tore his gaze away. A few more splats of her precious life force and a rumble started to shake the ground.
“Look, the wall is moving.” Diego pointed at the opposite corner where the wall had slid back several feet. She brought her finger to her mouth and sucked on the wound.
“I’d kill for a band-aid about now.”
“With my blood in your veins, you shouldn’t need one.” Seth whispered in her ear as he passed by. She shined the flashlight on her finger and gasped.
“It’s healed.”
“Let’s move out of here. This place will be swarming with humans soon,” Diego called out as he disappeared through the opening.
“Stupid dragon,” Baal yelled. “You want to get your head cut off? What if there is a trap on the other side.” The demon went next, shaking his head.
Seth looked at Katie. “This is it. We have no idea what awaits us on the other side. Extreme caution needs to be used. Are you ready?”
Katie noticed his fangs had made a special appearance. “My blood do that to you?” She indicated toward his mouth.
He swallowed. “You are mine, therefore the scent of your blood is hard to resist.”
“Why don’t you taste? I mean maybe it will help you.” She surprised herself, but meant every word.
He shook his head and took a step back. Fear flashed in his eyes. “I can’t trust myself to stop. Now the others wait. Are you ready?”
“Not really, but what choice do I have. It seems my fate lies on the other side of that stone wall.” Whatever it may be. Good, bad, ugly or indifferent, she had to take a leap of faith and pray it was the right choice. She pulled her shoulders back, lifted her chin and walked through the opening. Seth was on her heels when the wall moved back into position leaving them in total darkness. Someone produced a torch and she almost laughed at how archaic it was yet it fit the situation. Diego went first, followed by Baal, herself and Seth right behind her. The passage was narrow, hot and lacked fresh air. She shined her flashlight on the floor so she wouldn’t trip on something she probably didn’t want to see anyway. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck and she wished she’d had the foresight to tie her hair up. Her tee clung to her and all she could think of was a shower.
They walked until her legs ached from a steady decline and she had to wonder how far into the center of the earth they had descended.
“Can you see any end to this sardine box ahead?” she groaned.
“Not yet, but I can feel fresh air,” Diego replied
The dragon was right. She inhaled and brought the coolness into her lungs and prayed for something other than the tight squeeze they had passed through. Seconds later she received her wish as the passage widened into a small room. In the center stood a stone pedestal and on top of it lay a book.
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