Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity)

by Alexandra Ivy

  “I’m just a humble soldier.” Roke’s eyes flashed with silver fire. “You’re the king. Both of you.”

  “You want the crown?” Styx mocked. “You can have it.”

  Roke squared his shoulders, not amused. “All I want is to return to my people.”

  “Fine.” Styx held the younger vampire’s annoyed gaze. “Figure out how to entice the Dark Lord out of the mists and you’ll be free to go.”

  Roke scowled. “You keep changing the rules.”

  “I’m the king. It’s my prerogative.”

  Salvatore abruptly straightened, glancing toward the open door. “Gargoyle.”

  “Shit.” Styx rubbed the back of his neck, already prepared for the tiny creature to piss him off. “Like this night hasn’t been bad enough?”

  On cue, the miniature gargoyle waddled into the room, his wings twitching and tail as stiff as a board. A sure sign he wasn’t rushing in with good news. But then, who did have good news these days?

  “Salvatore, you must come,” Levet commanded.

  Ah, he wanted the dog. Styx gave a sharp laugh at the sour expression on Salvatore’s face. “Things are looking up,” he murmured softly.

  The King of Weres gave a warning growl before turning to glare at the gargoyle, who was nearly dancing with impatience.

  “Actually, whether I come or not is very much up to debate,” Salvatore corrected, his wolf prowling close to the surface. “What do you want?”

  “It’s Cassandra.”

  All three men stiffened at the mention of the prophet. Shit. They’d just managed to get her back. They couldn’t lose her now. Not when she might hold the key to the future.

  “What about her?” Salvatore growled.

  “She’s with Caine.”

  “Damn,” Salvatore breathed, exchanging a horrified glance with Styx.

  The Were had already revealed that Caine was trapped in his feral insanity with no hope of being salvaged. If Cassie had gone into his cell, then . . . Styx shuddered at the mere thought.

  “Why didn’t you stop her?” Salvatore rasped, his infuriated gaze snapping back to Levet.

  The tiny demon lifted his hands in a helpless motion. “I tried. She refused to listen to me.”

  Salvatore clenched his teeth. “Is she dead?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Styx felt a small flare of relief. At least there was still a chance she might be alive.

  “I have to go,” Salvatore said.

  “I’m coming with you,” Styx growled, sparing an impatient glance for the vampire still standing beside the desk. “Roke.”

  “Yes?”

  “Cezar is waiting for me in the library. Get with him and find a way to draw the Dark Lord into this world.” He gestured toward the gargoyle. “Levet will assist you.”

  Roke widened his eyes at the unreasonable command. “But—”

  Styx lifted a hand to halt the outraged protest. “Just do it.” He turned his narrowed gaze toward the gargoyle. “Both of you.”

  Roke hissed in frustration. “Damn you.”

  Assured the vampire would do everything in his power to find a method of luring the Dark Lord from her lair, Styx fell into step with Salvatore as he headed out of the study and down the hall.

  One disaster at a time.

  “Damn. I thought I was a bastard,” the Were muttered.

  “You are,” Styx assured him.

  Chapter 21

  Styx grimaced at the sound of scurrying guards as they wisely fled the tunnels.

  He didn’t blame them for their hasty retreat.

  He and Salvatore were powerful alphas. Perhaps the most powerful in the world. Just being in the same room with them was enough to make most demons cringe in fear. But when they were both in hunter mode, the very air trembled in fear.

  Struggling to leash his power, which was shattering the overhead lights, Styx was caught off guard when Salvatore came to a sudden halt.

  “Shit,” the wolf muttered, his eyes glowing gold.

  “What is it?”

  “My weapons.” He glanced down at his sweatpants in disgust. “I left them in my rooms.”

  “Here.” Styx pulled a gun from the holster at the small of his back, his expression somber. “If you want, I can take care of this.”

  “No, Caine belongs to me.” He reached to take the gun, loaded with silver bullets. “It’s my duty.”

  Styx understood. Being a leader not only meant making the hard decisions, but also carrying them through. “Evil times,” he murmured.

  Salvatore nodded. “Sí.”

  The Were jerked back into motion, leading Styx down a corridor to the isolated cell. The true dungeons were a level below. These rooms were for vampires awaiting sentencing from the Anasso, or for the nonmagical demons who could be held by conventional means.

  They had taken less than two steps when they caught the sound of a muffled female voice.

  “Caine, can you hear me?”

  “Cassandra?” Styx demanded.

  “Yes.”

  Pure relief flowed through Styx. “Alive.”

  “At least for now,” Salvatore said, racing toward the end of the corridor and throwing open the heavy steel door.

  Styx entered the cell directly behind the King of Weres, his fangs lengthening as he caught sight of the mutated beast that rose up in fury at their entrance.

  Holy . . . shit.

  Even after Salvatore’s warning, he was shaken. He’d seen any number of creatures, some so grotesque they could turn the stomach, but this was . . . wrong.

  Perverted.

  Distracted, Styx nearly overlooked the tiny female until she darted in front of the beast, her arms spread wide.

  “No, stay back,” she cried, her delicate features so like Darcy that it made Styx’s heart clench in fear.

  She had to be kept safe. His beautiful mate would be devastated if she were to lose her sister.

  Not to mention the danger to the world at the loss of their prophet.

  “Salvatore,” he muttered in low tones. “Do something or I will.”

  The Were ignored his threat, focusing his power on the stubborn female who stood between them and the feral beast who could kill her with one blow.

  “Cassandra, come to me.”

  The force of his words crashed through the small cell, sizzling through the air with enough power to make Styx hiss in annoyance and Caine whine in pain.

  Cassandra, however, stood without flinching, her eyes flashing emerald fire and the fine strands of her blond hair floating in the sudden breeze. “No. I won’t let you hurt him.”

  “He’ll kill you,” Salvatore muttered, taking a step forward. “Now come to me.”

  She scowled as the beast behind her growled in warning, his eyes glowing with madness and his large body poised to attack, despite the heavy silver manacles wrapped around his ankles.

  “He won’t hurt me,” she ridiculously tried to convince them. “He only wants to protect me.”

  “I’m sorry, Cassandra, more sorry than I can say, but he isn’t trying to protect you,” Salvatore said, lifting the gun. “He doesn’t even recognize you. He’s too far gone.”

  Her eyes widened, the scent of her agitation making Caine howl in fury. “You’re wrong,” she hissed, her hands lifted in a pleading motion. “I reached him.”

  Salvatore shook his head. “It’s impossible.”

  “Not for his mate.”

  Styx heard the King of Weres suck in a startled breath. “Mate?”

  “He . . . no.” The prophet waved a frantic hand as Salvatore took a step forward when the feral beast wrapped a clawed hand around her arm. “Stay back.”

  “Cassandra, it doesn’t matter.” Salvatore slowly continued forward, his gun aimed at the center of Caine’s chest. “I have to get you out of there.”

  Cassandra winced as the beast dug his claws into her arm, his glowing gaze watching Salvatore with a growing fury, but still she tried to kee
p her body between her approaching king and the creature who had once been her mate.

  “Listen to me. We’re connected,” she said in desperate tones. “He’s part of my family now.”

  The words had barely left her lips when Caine thrust her behind his large body. The rough shove sent the much smaller female sailing through the air, her head hitting the lead wall with a sickening thud.

  “Shit,” Styx rasped, watching Cassandra crumple to the ground before he turned to glare at the Were standing silently at his side. “What are you waiting for?”

  A muscle in Salvatore’s jaw knotted, as if he were battling back his wolf. “She said family,” he replied, his voice harsh.

  “So what?” Styx snapped, his attention shifting to the beast, who was pacing as far as the silver chains would allow him, his fangs bared in warning. The only good thing in this most recent debacle was that he seemed to have forgotten the unconscious woman behind him. “She’s desperate to save her mate. She would say anything to prevent the inevitable.”

  “Sí. Her mate.”

  Assuming that the King of Weres was regretting the need to sacrifice one of his pack, even if he had more than once desired Caine’s death, Styx held out a hand. “Salvatore, allow me to deal with this.”

  “No.” The Were shook his head. “They weren’t mated before.”

  Styx grimaced. “She completed the mating even knowing his madness is irreversible? Foolish female.”

  “Not foolish,” Salvatore said in low tones, turning to meet Styx’s frustrated gaze. “Actually, she’s been very, very clever.”

  “Why?”

  “I couldn’t reach Caine because he was transformed into a pureblood by the demon lord. He’d never been a part of a pack.”

  Styx didn’t know the ins and outs of the mangy mutt society, but Salvatore’s words made sense. “And now?”

  “Now he’s bound to Cassandra.”

  Styx glanced toward the unconscious female. “But wasn’t she raised in isolation with the demon lord?”

  “She was.”

  “So she isn’t a part of a pack either.”

  “Her connection was formed in the womb with her sisters, as well as through her mother, Sophia, to me.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “That there’s a chance I can call him back.”

  Their gazes clashed, a silent battle between Salvatore’s grim determination and Styx’s fierce refusal to endanger the prophet.

  At last, Styx reached to pluck the gun from Salvatore’s hand, conceding with ill grace to the Were’s need to try and salvage his newest pack mate. “Here, give me that.”

  Salvatore narrowed his gaze in warning. “Styx.”

  “You concentrate on doing your thing and I’ll make sure the rabid wolf doesn’t kill us all.”

  Salvatore arched a brow. “Doing my thing?”

  “Just get on with it.”

  Convinced that Styx wasn’t going to go Tony Montana the minute his attention was diverted, Salvatore turned back toward the crazed beast and lifted a hand.

  At first, nothing seemed to happen.

  Caine continued his frantic pacing, his eyes wild with his desire to sink his massive teeth into the two male intruders. Styx lifted the gun, willing to give Salvatore a chance to reach the rabid dog, but only as long as the creature didn’t so much as glance in Cassandra’s direction.

  The minutes ticked past, Salvatore’s hand still raised and the air beginning to heat with his power. Then the King of Weres was abruptly striding forward, his wolf so thick in the air that Styx could taste fur on his tongue.

  Caine tossed back his head, howling beneath the force of Salvatore’s will. Salvatore never faltered, reaching up to grasp the creature’s chin and force him to meet his ruthless gaze.

  Styx hissed. The crazy-assed King of Weres was going to get himself killed. Something he wouldn’t tolerate.

  Not when he’d promised himself the pleasure.

  Placing his finger on the trigger, he aimed between Caine’s eyes. But before he could fire there was a sudden flurry of magic surrounding the one-time cur. At the same time, Salvatore fell heavily to his knees, his head bent in exhaustion.

  “Shit.” Shoving the gun back into the holster at his lower back, Styx darted forward to grasp Salvatore by the shoulders and towed him away from the shower of sparks that were swirling around Caine. Then, halting in the doorway, he watched as the sparks died away to reveal that Caine’s mutated form had been altered into his wolf form.

  The beast that came to Styx’s chest gave himself a shake before he lowered his head to study the unconscious woman at his feet. Styx tensed, but the animal gave a low whine, gently nuzzling her cheek.

  “Amazing,” Styx muttered. “I think it worked.”

  Rising to his feet, Salvatore ran a weary hand over his face. “Sí.”

  “Unfortunately, he doesn’t look any happier.”

  Salvatore snorted as the large wolf stepped out of the manacles that no longer held him captive and bared his teeth, clearly prepared to pounce.

  “How happy would you be to have two males near your unconscious mate?”

  “Fair enough, but you can’t leave her in there with him.”

  “No, but only Cassandra can calm his beast.”

  “So the only one who can call off the enraged wolf is the unconscious woman?” Styx rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

  Ignoring Styx, the King of Weres once again raised his hand, pointing a finger at the motionless prophet.

  “Cassandra,” he commanded, his voice echoing through the small cell. “Cassandra, open your eyes.”

  Cassie was perfectly comfortable as she floated in a state of unconsciousness.

  Why not? Here in the darkness there were no cares, no worries, and best of all, no bothersome visions.

  Well, there was that nagging voice that kept calling her name, she ruefully conceded, wishing it would go away. Of course it didn’t. In fact, it became so compelling that it wrenched her out of her soothing cocoon with a merciless jerk.

  Vaguely realizing she was lying on a hard floor, she lifted her head, only to give a low moan. Crap. It felt like someone was trying to drive a spike through her brain. “Ow,” she breathed.

  “Cassandra.” The damn voice refused to leave her in peace. “Can you hear me?”

  “Please, do you have to shout?” she complained, her hand lifting to the large bump on her temple. “My head is killing me.”

  “That’s because it was recently smacked into the wall,” a familiar voice informed her.

  Salvatore.

  Yes, he was the aggravating pest who kept interfering in her attempt to return to the darkness. And he was saying that her head hurt because she’d smacked it into the wall.

  Odd.

  “Why would I—”

  Cassie gave a small gasp as her memories rushed back with shattering force.

  Caine.

  Shaking off the lingering fog in her brain, she surged to her knees and sent a frantic glance toward the looming presence she could feel beside her.

  “Oh.” A lump formed in her throat, her heart nearly shattering at the sight of the large wolf standing protectively in front of her. She’d hoped her mad plan would work, of course. She’d even prayed. But she hadn’t believed. Not really, truly believed. Now she burst into tears as she threw her arms around Caine’s neck and buried her face in his thick fur. “Caine. Caine.”

  She didn’t know how long she wept, lost in the tidal wave of relief. At last it was the sound of Salvatore clearing his throat that brought her head up to meet his golden gaze.

  “Cassandra, I rejoice in your reunion, but we need to get you out of here.”

  She leaned her head against Caine’s neck, her fingers stroking through his fur. The rich scent of his musk wrapped around her, seeping into her skin. “You reached him.”

  The king gave a nod of his head, a smile on his lips despite the weariness that was etched onto
his handsome face. “With your help.”

  She allowed her eyes to briefly flick toward the towering Aztec vampire at Salvatore’s side before hastily returning them to the Were. She wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with both the King of Weres and the Anasso. Not at the same time. Either one was overwhelming. Together . . . well, they were more than any poor female should have to confront.

  “Why is he still in animal form?”

  “Because he’s protecting his mate,” Salvatore said. “Until you convince him that we aren’t a threat to you he won’t shift back to human.”

  Oh. Of course. Caine had been uberprotective from the moment they’d met. Now that they were mated he was bound to be an over the top, pain in the ass fanatic.

  “Caine.” She grabbed his muzzle with both hands, gazing deep in the glowing blue eyes that were no longer crazed, but still plenty feral. “Caine, listen to me. I’m fine. The danger has passed. No one’s going to hurt me.”

  She said the words slowly, not because the wolf was stupid—Caine was as frighteningly cunning in his animal form as in his human—but because he kept glancing over her shoulder and growling at the two demons near the door.

  “Down, boy,” Styx muttered.

  Salvatore breathed a low curse. “You’re not helping, leech.”

  “Actually, it would be easier if you both would leave,” Cassie pointed out dryly.

  “No way in hell,” Salvatore snapped, the prickles of his power causing Caine to growl in agitation.

  Cassie heaved a resigned sigh, glancing over her shoulder. “Well, that answers a question that has been bothering me.”

  Salvatore scowled. “What question?”

  “Whether Caine’s irrational stubbornness was a personality trait or if it was a character flaw shared by all men.” Her glance encompassed both kings before returning to Caine. “Now I know.”

  “I think we were just insulted,” Styx drawled.

  Salvatore snorted. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “Speak for yourself.”

  “Just ignore Shaggy and Scooby-Doo and concentrate on me,” Cassie told her mate, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose. “You’ve done your job. You protected me. Now it’s time to rest.” She settled on the floor as the dangerous blue gaze took a last, cautious survey of the two males standing near the door before slowly sinking down on his haunches. “That’s right, my love,” she crooned softly, urging his massive head into her lap as she stroked his fur. “Just rest.”