“You would truly help me?”
“Ask me,” he whispered, “and find out.” He nipped playfully at her lower lip.
Kerilyn pushed him back enough to give herself some breathing room. “Fight with me,” she said. “Please.”
A true smile curved Arawn’s lips. “Always, my lady.”
She shuddered in relief, almost unable to believe she had such a powerful ally on her side. With Arawn, she was at least guaranteed to make it to Abaddon in one piece. Unless this was just one more trick in his arsenal. When dealing with the spirit lord, it always paid to be cautious.
“How easily you believe the worst of me,” he murmured, as if he’d read the doubt in her mind.
“Get me through this and I’ll work on it.”
“Then let us go.” He ran his lips over hers once more. “The night will not last forever.” Rescuing her hat from the ground, he placed it gently on her head. “Even though you are with me, keep your costume on. It will keep you hidden.”
“Promise,” she breathed.
“Let’s go.” He took her hand and pulled her away from her home.
As Kerilyn stepped after him, she couldn’t help wonder if she was the sheep following the wolf to slaughter.
Chapter Four
They moved quickly through the dark city. The streets were no longer filled with children trick-or-treating. Instead, Kerilyn saw an alarming amount of spirits playing in the shadows. Some crawled toward houses unguarded by jack-o’-lanterns, others created mischief for the revelers in the city. Now and then she’d catch a spirit looking at her curiously. For the most part her disguise had hidden her from view but Kerilyn wondered if she would have made it this far without Arawn.
He said nothing as he led her through the streets. Spirits parted wordlessly around him. No one seemed willing to mess with their lord on their only night of freedom. Despite their curiosity about her, the spirits let them pass without any protest.
For Kerilyn, it was the first time she had ever seen the true effects of Halloween. Never in her worst nightmares had she dreamed so many spirits walked in the open on this night. It shocked her that no one noticed these creatures were not simply children in great costumes. They gave off a sense of menace and horror she was incapable of ignoring.
Without conscious thought, Kerilyn pressed closer to Arawn. He glanced down at her with unreadable eyes but tightened his hold on her hand.
“The Netherworld must be terrifying,” Kerilyn said before she could stop herself.
“For some,” Arawn acknowledged. “But with the right guide, it can also be a realm of beauty and wonder.”
“Terrible beauty.” She stared at a small spirit sitting on a doorstep gnawing at what she hoped was raw meat and not some unfortunate person’s finger.
“Your world has its horrors as well,” Arawn replied, staring passively at the spirit. “Humans have caused more bloodshed with all your wars than we have with our mischief. It is merely a different way of life, Kerilyn. Not wrong, just unknown to you.”
“I think I would have a hard time seeing the good in your world.”
“Truly?” he asked, his lips curving in a smile. “I am very much a part of the Netherworld and you didn’t have a problem finding several aspects of my anatomy to your liking.”
Heat instantly suffused her face. “That was a dream.”
He chuckled at her words. “I know your body now, my Keri. Dream or not, you will not dismiss our union so easily.”
“Don’t bring it up now,” she hissed.
“Why not? If it will get your mind off your fear of my kind I will speak of practically anything.”
She eyed the small, dark creatures slithering across the street for a moment before replying. “It’s not an unfounded fear and you know it. Do you have any idea how many funerals I’ve been to for hunters who went after you? You don’t always kill them, you know. My nanny was a retired hunter you merely blinded. I am trying to reconcile that man with the one who pressed his lips to my naked body. It’s not something I can get over with a snap of your fingers.”
He took the accusations in stride, not denying what he’d done. “They came after me or mine,” he said quietly. “Am I not allowed to defend myself?”
“Some of those hunters were kids. They posed no threat to you.”
“I don’t tend to pause when someone drives a knife toward my heart.”
She licked her lips, wanting to defend her hunter friends yet also wanting to see her lover’s side. “Jared Pener was nineteen when he tried to fight you,” she informed him. “His family had to cremate him because you returned him in five pieces.”
“His hands were drenched with blood by the time he faced me. Blood from spirits too weak to harm anything. He slaughtered them indiscriminately and without mercy.”
“You remember him?” she asked, surprised.
He glanced at her. “I started to pay attention to the hunters I fought after I met you,” he confessed. “I tried not to send too many of your friends back missing parts.”
The news startled her. She thought of the way she’d avoided killing spirits since they met but it hadn’t occurred to her that he’d felt the same.
And my sisters? she longed to ask. Would their fate have been different had she met Arawn a few years earlier? Or would the opportunity to take out hunters of their caliber have been too tempting a chance to pass up?
The question caught in her throat. If he admitted he’d have killed them anyway, it would be the end of them. She’d never be able to be with such a man.
But before she could choke out the query, he spoke.
“Are you not capable of cruelty?” he asked quietly. “You have taken lives with your lovely hands, Keri. I have seen the harm you can inflict. My brother would not be after you now if you didn’t have an impressive body count of your own.”
She looked away, not liking to admit he had a point. She wanted to stare at the spirits around her and condemn them, but who was she to cast stones? In reality, her life was more like the spirits than the humans. She lived and breathed blood, danger and death. Maybe, given enough time, she would be able to see the beauty of his frightening world.
“I like the danger in you,” he whispered against her ear. “It gives you such strength. I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”
She glanced at him sharply. “You can’t be serious.”
He arched an elegant brow. “Well, perhaps I’d have you fear me a touch less.”
Kerilyn lifted her chin in denial. “I don’t fear you.”
A mocking half smile twisted his lips. “Of course.”
“I don’t.”
He was silent for a long moment before saying, “I’m different from you. The unknown is always frightening.”
Kerilyn swallowed hard, wishing the unknown was just a little bit less tempting.
“Would you change me?”
The words were said quietly, his voice bland as if he’d asked out of idle curiosity.
She opened her mouth to give a glib reply but thought twice. Her heart was still racing at his declaration stating he liked her as she was. Would her words have the same power over him? Would a joke wound more deeply than she intended?
She considered his words carefully. He was everything she’d ever wanted for most of her life. All she’d change were his allegiances, or rather his commitment to his brother. If he was on her side, no power in heaven or earth would be able to keep her away from him. It was a frightening thought. This man had the power to hurt her deeply, and not just physically.
“Are you really with me?” The words were out before she could call them back.
Arawn’s hand tightened on hers. “Perhaps there is one thing I would change about you,” he replied. “I’d make you more trusting. At least of me.”
As they continued on, Kerilyn realized his answer wasn’t really an answer at all.
* * *
By the time they reached the docks Kerilyn knew they we
re fast approaching midnight. The witching hour. It was the very worst time she could stage an attack. Abaddon was bound by the same rules as Arawn. Only on Halloween could either brother walk in her world. It meant both men were powers to be reckoned with on the one night they broke free. And for creatures who lived in darkness, midnight represented the pinnacle of their power.
“Maybe we should wait,” Kerilyn said as she glanced at the shadowed warehouses around them.
“My power will weaken as we get closer to the dawn, as will Abaddon’s. I will be of most use to you if we go now.”
“By the same token, he’ll get weaker as you do while I’ll still be a kickass hunter,” she said glibly.
“Do you honestly want to leave your niece with him for hours? Besides, my brother will come after you long before his power wanes enough to give you an advantage.”
She sighed in acquiescence. Attacking a demon king at the height of his power. Her chances of survival were growing dimmer by the second.
“The bond between my brother and I runs far deeper than blood. Our magic entwines in a dangerous way,” Arawn told her.
Kerilyn arched a brow. “What does that mean?”
“It means I can turn his powers against him. Force him back to the Netherworld before the sun is up.” His gaze flicked to hers. “It also means he can do the same to me.”
Which would seal her fate as well. “So we wound him,” she said. “Weaken him so he won’t be a threat to you and then send him back.”
Arawn looked away from her, out at the rundown factories around them.
Watching his averted face, Kerilyn swallowed hard. What would it be like plotting to purposefully hurt one of her siblings? For any reason? Her gut twisted at the thought. It was unimaginable and here she was, asking it of her lover.
Nerves plucked at her confidence as she watched Arawn. If she walked into this trap with him, would he try to help her or would he be the man her ancestors wrote about? A man with no loyalties except to his brother. A man who could manipulate for pleasure and kill without hesitation.
She was placing her life in his hands without any evidence that he would treasure it. He wanted her body, she could at least be honest about that, but lust didn’t make men fight against family. Besides, what was one sex dream to a king? He was constantly surrounded by fawning subjects desperate to fulfill his every desire.
Why would he fight his brother for her?
The sad truth was she truly didn’t know if he would turn on her. This was a man who had intoxicated her for years. She had the damning suspicion that she’d never feel this way about any mortal man. Arawn was simply...addicting.
But to him, she might be just another human toy. While her world was filled with him, he might find this night no more than a vicious game to be enjoyed before returning to his realm.
How could she feel such desperate longing for a man she couldn’t trust? It sickened her that she was taking such chances with her life. There had to be something terribly wrong with her. No sane woman would fall for such a powerful enemy.
“Keri,” he murmured, his eyes studying her face. “For a hunter, you do not guard your emotions well.”
“And what do you see?”
“Dark thoughts and disheartening fears,” he replied with a sardonic twist of his lips.
She turned to face him fully, searching his black eyes for answers.
“Tell me,” he commanded, like a lord unused to being denied.
“What would you do if you were me?” she asked. “How would you tell what is real?”
Some unnameable emotion flickered in his eyes. He stepped closer, wrapping one hand around her waist. Kerilyn inhaled sharply when he pulled her up against his chest.
“If I swore your life mattered to me, would you believe it?” he asked her in reply.
She opened her mouth but no words emerged. All her instincts, her years of training, urged her to say no. Her family would be horrified she was even considering lowering her guard around a spirit.
“Keri?” he prompted.
She had no answer. And staring up into his unreadable eyes she realized it didn’t matter. Whether or not she could trust him, it was too late to go back. Sarah was waiting. Abaddon no doubt knew she’d come. She couldn’t leave now even if she wanted to. No matter what Arawn was planning, she had to get her niece back.
But if she was going to go down, at least she could enjoy the perks.
Rising on her tiptoes, she cupped his face in her hands and pressed her mouth to his. She could never ask him what he felt for her and trust his reply. But perhaps she could feel it. Surely there was a difference between a kiss filled with only lust and one with real emotion.
She kissed him softly, savoring the feel of him. He was so impossibly perfect under her hands. Tilting her head, she slanted her mouth over his.
The arm around her waist tightened as he parted his lips under hers. She moaned as his tongue touched hers.
He took control of the kiss, touching her with burning passion. Kerilyn had no complaints. She kissed him back with everything she had, reveling in his desire.
As Arawn plundered her mouth she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. They fit together perfectly, as if made for one another. Kerilyn decided she liked the feel of his silky braids flowing over her fingers. She liked the taste of him, the heat of his touch and the dizzying desire burning low in her stomach. He was a man she could grow used to wanting. A dangerous thought.
A hissing sound broke through their passionate embrace.
Kerilyn whirled to face the threat, stepping back against Arawn’s chest automatically.
He wrapped a comforting arm around her as they looked at the demon before them.
The creature hunched over, his long arms nearly dragging on the ground. Bright red eyes regarded them as he shifted from foot to foot, his claws scraping lightly on the cement.
“Excuse me, your majesty,” the demon hissed, his gaze darting between them. “I have been instructed to escort the hunter to my king.”
“I shall accompany you,” Arawn replied coolly.
The demon’s red eyes flashed with worry. “My lord is not expecting you,” he tried to explain.
“I have not seen my brother in quite some time. He will be pleased.” Arawn drew himself up regally, looking every inch the terrifying king he was. “Lead the way. Now.”
Even Kerilyn stiffened at the unmistakable command in his voice.
The demon bowed low and quickly started to shuffle away.
Drawing a deep breath, Kerilyn followed the demon. With the spirit lord at her back and a demon king waiting for her, she’d passed the point of no return.
Chapter Five
The demon led them to an old warehouse facing the dark water. Kerilyn had often come to this area of the city on her hunts but she had never been inside this particular building.
Its walls stained with years of dirt and grime, the red brick structure stood several stories high. In the dim moonlight the entire setting was uncomfortably eerie. Kerilyn had no desire to go inside.
Touching the dagger on her hip, she forced herself forward. Sarah was in there. If it was the last thing she did, she’d make sure her niece survived the night.
The demon held the door open for them as they swept inside.
A large empty room unfolded before them. Weak lights failed to banish the shadows, but the high windows lining the top of the walls were large enough to let in the faint glow of the moon. It was enough to allow Kerilyn to see the room was filled with demons.
The creatures were the height of a man, though their longer arms and spindly legs gave them a misshapen appearance. But there was nothing human about their glowing red eyes or the pointed teeth that barely fit in their mouths. Most held weapons even though their claws alone were deadly enough. Kerilyn swallowed hard as she took in their numbers. There were far too many for her to fight.
In the center of the room sat Sarah. Kerilyn wanted to run to her b
ut Arawn gripped her arm in warning. Slowly they approached the waiting party.
Kerilyn had never met the demon lord, but staring at the group she knew there was only one man he could possibly be.
The frightening king stood as tall as Arawn. Indeed, the resemblance between the two brothers was striking. Both had the same midnight hair and angelically beautiful faces. But whereas Arawn’s eyes were black, Abaddon’s were an unsettling dark red. The color of blood, Kerilyn realized with a shiver.
“Brother,” Abaddon greeted. “I wasn’t aware you’d be joining us tonight.”
“It’s a night for celebration,” Arawn replied. “You didn’t think I’d miss the biggest party in town?”
Abaddon smiled coolly, his gaze landing on Kerilyn. “You brought me my hunter, I see. Present?”
Ignoring the question, Arawn drawled, “Since when do you pick on lone hunters, Abaddon? And stealing children? This is a little overdramatic, even for you.”
“Her family greatly wounded me.”
“And they’re dead.”
“But not all.” Abaddon watched Kerilyn with cold eyes. “She drove a blade into my son’s heart.”
Arawn stiffened beside her. Kerilyn felt ill. She had? She hunted demons almost every night. She had no idea who she was killing most of the time. If they hunted humans, they were her enemy. Case closed. It was possible she’d come up against one of Abaddon’s sons, but she had no memory of the encounter.
“Did she?” Arawn murmured.
Would this change his mind? This meant she’d killed his nephew. It would be poetic justice for him to help kill her niece.
“Now you see why I am ‘picking on a lone hunter,’” Abaddon snapped. “Do not interfere.”
Kerilyn looked at Sarah, who was watching her with wide eyes. She seemed unharmed, for the moment, but absolutely terrified. One demon held her securely in his grip, making sure she couldn’t run.
Kerilyn tried to summon a reassuring smile. Discreetly she slid her hand into the duffle bag at her side. The weapons felt comforting to touch.
“Remove your mask,” Abaddon ordered. “Let me see the woman who took my son from me.”
Seducing the Demon Huntress Page 5