She sighed. Many of her newest recruits were ex-military. Even though she’d told them a dozen times that saluting her wasn’t necessary, they couldn’t seem to break the habit. As a result, all the demons treated her like a military leader, a position she had no interest in taking.
“What is it?” she asked, frowning.
The short man named Henry stood up taller and dropped his hand. “Two demon families have failed to check in.”
Don’t start crying again. “Brian’s family was killed by angels. Have someone check on the other family.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Striding past him, someone called out her name. She turned to the side of the room now filled with a dozen different computer desks. Ryder circled the demons who worked relentlessly, searching for information. They hoped to learn more about the angels’ weaknesses, and about other ways to help the demons.
Sharen headed toward an outspoken demon named Isa. “What’s up?”
“A demon used their powers around three in the morning. I hacked into the Hunter’s system and discovered that he was apprehended rather than killed.”
She frowned. “Any details as to why?”
The older woman shook her head.
“Keep searching.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She turned back to the screen, her gaze intense.
Before Sharen could turn to go, Ryder pulled her into his arms. She got a flash of his smile before he was kissing her. For a second, she forgot about everything, about her responsibilities, about the people she’d failed to help. She could do nothing but kiss the handsome demon until he pulled back.
Her eyes were closed, and her hands clung to the front of his shirt.
“Damn, you look beautiful,” he growled into her ear.
A shiver went down her spine, and she opened her eyes, unable to hold back her smile. His light brown hair was even messier than usual, and the red plaid shirt he wore had several buttons undone at the top.
She just stared at him for a long moment. Alec and Kade might have been her rocks in this stormy time in her life, but Ryder was like a tropical island, a vacation away from it all. He didn’t ask her what was wrong. He just tried to make her happy.
“You don’t look so bad yourself.”
His hands slipped down from her back to cup her ass. “How about you meet me in your office for a little meeting?”
She laughed. “Sorry, but I’ve already got other plans.”
She sensed Kade approach behind her and knew what he would say before he said it. “She intends to go through the stone again today.” His voice held disapproval, and she could picture his stormy expression behind her.
A look of concern came and went in a flash on Ryder’s face. “Well, don’t tire yourself out too badly. I plan on hitting this tonight, and hitting it hard.”
She stood up on her tippy-toes and pressed a kiss to his chin. “I think you’re the one who'd better save your energy.”
He laughed. “God, I love you.”
Her heart warmed. “Right back at you.”
Turning away from him, she moved past Kade, her back straight. She needed to be tough and not show weakness. Soon, she would be jumping into a demon-realm alone, and the last thing she needed was to carry Kade’s doubts with her.
“Sharen!”
Darla raced up to her, clenching a pile of papers. “I think I have my latest spell down.”
The youngest witch in the rebellion, Darla was barely eighteen, with reddish-blonde hair and a face full of freckles. She was also a witch with a whole lot of power and very little experience.
“Which spell?” Sharen tried to keep the concern out of her voice.
“To force angels out of any hosts they possess.” Darla grinned. “It’s not an easy spell, but I think, based on all my research, it’ll work.”
That would be useful, but it sounds dangerous as hell.
“Have you actually tried it?”
Darla’s grin wavered. “Well, no, but in theory it should work.”
In theory.
“Well, keep up the good work. I’ll hope we never need to use it, but I’ll be glad to have you around if we do.”
The girl beamed and took off back to the far corner of the warehouse used as the research nook. She and two other witches spent all their time researching the ancient books The Rebellion had managed to gather. So far, they hadn’t learned much, but Sharen had no doubt with time the witches would prove useful.
Going to her office, she slipped into the darkness. Taking off her hoodie, she sank into her chair, resting her head on her desk.
A soft knock came at her door.
She took a deep breath, gathering strength to face yet another person who needed something. Before she could give the order to enter, Marval appeared before her.
Sharen snapped into a sitting position. She hated it when the vampire surprised her. He was the oldest being in The Rebellion, and she’d put him on a private mission. Figuring out what the hell I am.
“I found out more information.”
“Go on.”
He sat down, his dark eyes fixed on her face. He had an aristocratic beauty that hovered over him like a cloak, even as he leaned back in his chair.
“Let’s start with what we know and what that means.”
She nodded.
“You’re getting stronger and faster, but your abilities come and go, which is unusual in every way. If you were part demon or part angel, you would have always had these abilities.”
“So, there’s never been a case of a half-breed developing powers later on in life?”
Marval touched his dark beard, rubbing it as if lost in thought. “Only under special circumstance. Typically if powers develop later on in life, it was because their abilities were sealed with magic earlier for some reason and then unsealed. Yet, you’ve indicated not being aware of any such things. Of course, then there’s the fact that your abilities are inconsistent.”
She felt her irritation rise. “Okay, so we’ve established that I don’t seem to fit the pattern for normal half-breeds. Is there anything you have figured out?”
He regarded her for an uncomfortably long time before speaking. “You cannot manipulate others with your words like a demon. You cannot fly or teleport like an angel. You cannot use magic like a witch, nor shift like a Shifter. You don't need to feed like a vampire.”
“Right,” she said, her teeth clenching together in frustration. “There’s a whole list of things that I’m not, so what I am?”
He leaned forward. “You, Sharen, are like nothing I have seen before, but this I am sure of, you have an ability that I cannot connect with any supernatural being I’ve come across before.”
An ability? “What?”
He nodded solemnly. “Others follow your lead, almost without question.”
Her irritation rose once more. “That’s not a power.”
“Perhaps not, but—“
“Marval, I appreciate all you’re doing, but I have to go through the portal today. Keep researching and come back to me if you actually find something."
He rose. “You may feel that your ability to lead is not a power, but I’ve lived for hundreds of years and no one has ever convinced me to join a cause. Until you. Think about that.”
The vampire left, vanishing from her office as silently as he entered.
She put her head back down on her desk. I don’t know what I am. I don’t know what I’m doing. But I’ve got to keep going. I have too many people counting on me to stop.
Yet, she didn’t move for several silent minutes.
Chapter Three
Sharen stood before the portal, Soul Chalk in her hand. The busy room had grown silent, and most of the people had come to gather around her. The seven foot demon stone, made of a massive block of stone darker than any dark found on Earth, towered in front of her, radiating danger.
Riverly stood at her side, tablet computer in her hand. She gestured to the screen. “The H
unters have marked this realm too dangerous to enter. They found five demons, just recently.” She spoke the words softly and adjusted her glasses when she was done speaking, before looking meekly toward Sharen.
“Five god damn demons,” Kade hissed. “We couldn’t have found a more dangerous realm to enter.”
Sharen spun to face him, biting down a string of curses. All eyes were on her, and most of the people looked frightened. “A realm with five demons means there’s five people we can save.”
“And what if they don’t want to be saved?” Kade’s big arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes filled with anger.
“They’ll want to be saved,” one demon said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
Kade’s angry gaze swung to the man. “Didn’t you think she was a Hunter trying to trick you when you met her? Didn’t you nearly kill her?”
The demon’s cheeks turned bright red. “But she convinced me to believe her. She’ll convince these demons too.”
Sharen stood up taller, looking out at the three dozen or so faces that stared back at her. Each time she went through the portal it brought hope to The Rebellion. It moved them towards their goal to save as many innocent demons as possible.
If she didn’t go, the hope of The Rebellion died with her.
None of the demons were capable of crossing back over without being torn to pieces, and the other magical creatures refused to go to a place they weren’t trained to survive in. They couldn’t weld the same magic she could in the demon-realm, and they weren’t about to risk their lives in such a dangerous place.
That left only her, and they needed to know they could count on her.
Sharen hid her own emotions behind a smirk. “If you guys think I’m afraid, think again. This war won’t be won in a day. It’ll take time. But I’m more than willing to save demons one trip to the demon-realm at a time. And before we know it, they’ll all be saved.”
The room suddenly swelled with emotions. Her people looked relieved, hopeful. Their faith filled her with a rush of strength. I can do this. But first...
She moved down the steps with absolute certainty, stood on her tiptoes, and planted a light kiss on Kade’s lips. His eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t give him a chance to respond. “I love you, but you’ve got to trust me that I’ll be okay.”
His features gentled. “I’ll try.”
She smiled, winked at him, and climbed back up the steps. As frustrating as her demon could be, she knew he was just worried about her. She didn’t want to step through the stone without making sure they were okay. Her cause might be important to her, but nothing was more important than her husbands.
Now, time to focus!
Turning to the demon-stone, she drew a doorway carefully onto it and scribbled the name of the realm over the top. Instantly, the realm opened and swirling waves of grey moved in the doorway she’d drawn, beckoning her to enter.
“Sharen!”
She looked back.
Ryder had come to stand beside Kade. And both her demons looked concerned.
But Ryder simply nodded and said, “be safe.”
She held his gaze. “I will.”
Riverly her assistant handed her a Splicer. Sharen gripped the handle on the half-circular blade, took a deep breath, and stepped through. The horrible sensation of stepping through realms filled her. She was blazing hot, freezing cold, squished into nothing, pulled too far.
And then, she came out into the demon-realm.
It took her a second to find her bearings. But when she did, she took a deep breath. Three painfully hot suns bore down on the white desert that stretched around her in all directions. Small white plants, like cacti or stunted trees, dotted the landscape. She only spotted a few caves in the hilly landscape, but knew from her past trips that there were likely many, many more concealed all around her.
Meaning, there’s a lot of places to hide. Danger could come from any direction.
Her pulse sped up. As a Hunter, things had been so different. She’d been the Leader of a team. As much as she hated it, there was something a hell of a lot safer about travelling into such a dangerous place with a team rather than alone.
For years, she’d hovered by the portal, as protocol dictated. All Leaders stayed in the safest position, because they were over the age of twenty-one, and could be possessed by a demon. Their younger students were put in the more dangerous positions, since they could be killed, but demons couldn’t use their bodies.
Now, however, she didn’t have the luxury of hovering safely by the portal. She had to be careful, but she also had to take risks she never would have before.
Clenching her Splicer more tightly, she called her magic to the weapon. It was a simple spell, meant to stun but not kill. It spilled out of her, sending a tickling sensation along her skin. The spell made her weapon glow green, but the light was the brightest along the sharp edge of the blade that curved just above her knuckle.
Magic and weaponry at its finest.
She took a deep breath. I’m ready.
“Demons!” she shouted, feeling sweat run down her spine.
Moving forward, she continued to shout, waiting and hoping, but she saw no one.
When she was as far from the portal as she felt comfortable, she paused and scanned the horizon. Her shoulders sank. Either the Hunters' map had been wrong, there weren’t demons in this realm, or the demons had already left. Either way, they were gone.
Turning around, she started back toward the portal before she froze. Five demons had melded out of nothing and now blocked her escape.
Shit!
“Hello,” she called, her heart hammering. “I’m Sharen, and I’ve come to help you.”
The five beings were massive, like many of the demons. Their white horns stood out from their heads with sharp points, and their dark red skin glistened under the lights of the suns. None of them returned her greeting.
Keep trying. “I’m with The Rebellion. We are dedicated to saving demons from the demon-realm and fighting against The Hunters and the angels.”
One of the demons, a man with dark hair and pale eyes cocked his head. “You’re also a Hunter.”
“I was a Hunter. I’ve turned my back on them now.”
“How do we know this isn’t a trap?” He grinned, a cold replica of a smile that left her with no doubt as to where he stood. He would not be an easy one to sway. “It would be easy for you to lead us through the portal where we’ll arrive at Earth weak and unable to use our powers. We would be easy prey for you and your buddies to exterminate us in one fell swoop and send us straight down to the lowest level of the demon-realm.”
“This is not a—“
He stepped closer, menace in his every movement. “Do you have any idea how many years we spent in darkness crawling from those miserable pits? You think we’ll risk it all to trust you?”
Her legs trembled. “Others have come before you, and they were scared too. They had to take the risk to trust me. Yes, there is a portal behind you, but if you try to exit without me, you’ll be torn to pieces." She could tell from the look in his eyes that he wasn't buying her story, but the others seemed to waver, so she continued. "You have to ask yourselves, is it worth the risk? Would you really rather spend another year crawling up through the realms to reach Earth, or will you take a chance with me?”
His pale eyes narrowed. “Or one of us could simply possess you.” He looked to his compatriots and they seemed to swell as one. She had no hope of fighting all five of them.
She swallowed hard, reminding herself that he could do just that. “My team is waiting for me on the other side. You’ll never survive it."
He smiled. “You’d be surprised how well I can convince them that I’m you, especially if my life depends upon it.”
Sharen took a deep breath and tried again. “You’re making a mistake. If you cross over with me, my team is waiting to help you. We’ll hide you from your enemies and get you established on
Earth.”
He shrugged. “I’d rather do all that in a nice, comfortable human body.” He gestured toward her. “Bring her to me, she’s mine!”
Fuck.
The demons raced toward her. She struck one with her magic, sending him flying back onto the ground. She had time to strike one more before they were upon her.
One swung at her, but she ducked. The next kicked toward her and she used her blade to slice his leg. But her movements... they were slow. Human.
This is the fucking moment my extra strength and speed fail me? This has to be a joke!
The demon she struck cried out, jumping back. The other two demons circled her as she held her Splicer out in front of her.
“You don’t need to do this,” she panted. “This isn’t a trap.”
One of the demons leapt at her. She sliced him across the face, and he stumbled back, swearing.
“Listen to me," she whispered. “I just want to help you.”
Suddenly, there was shouting behind her. The two demons she fought sprang further from her, terror in their eyes.
Glancing behind her, Sharen felt her stomach flip. A team of Hunters were coming toward them, and she recognized their Leader.
Rorde, my former student.
Rorde was an asshole sorcerer who she couldn’t stand, even when she taught him. He stood in the center of the other Hunters, his dark hair perfectly neat. His black-as-coal eyes nothing more than two dark pools, and his awful mouth was curled into a smile.
“Ready to die, bitch?” he shouted, gesturing for the students around him to continue forward. "Teach her how we repay traitors of humanity, boys!"
She wanted to kill the bastard right there and then, but she wouldn’t be able to kill him and protect the demons.
If we don’t get out of here now, we’re done for. If the hunters kill me, my people will never know what happened to me. My demons will suffer and the war will be lost.
Turning, she beckoned to the demons in front of her. “Last chance. Come with me.”
Their gazes said it all. They wanted her body, not her help.
One of them reached for her, but she struck it with her magic, and slammed her Splicer into the face of the other one. Both of them hit the ground, unmoving.
Mates of the Realms: The Complete Collection: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Box Set Page 13