Hunt the Darkness (Order of the Blade Book 11)

by Stephanie Rowe

  She couldn’t stay any longer, but if she moved, he would hear her.

  If she didn’t have Ashlynn in her arms, she could dissolve into mist and escape on her own, but there was no way she was leaving Ashlynn alone where Lucien could find her. Panic hammered at her, but she fought to stay focused, to think, to figure out something she could do.

  Lucien let out a growl of frustration and slammed the wall she was leaning against, making her jump. Rock crumbled down around her from the force of the impact, even though the wall was several feet thick. What had he hit it with? His fist? His wings? His horns? Was he just pissed, or had he found her?

  Not that any of that mattered if he broke through. She had to distract him long enough to get away. Now.

  Desperate, she crouched down and gently set Ashlynn on the floor. Then she spun around and pressed her hands against the wall of the cavern, pouring energy into the rock. She knew Lucien would sense the power rush, and he’d know it was her. It would take him only a few seconds to pinpoint where it was coming from.

  He froze, and she knew he’d felt her.

  Frantically, she opened her psychic connection to the rock, thrusting energy through the underground rock walls. Her energy shot past Lucien, hurtling through the rocks toward the end of a distant tunnel. She held on as long as she could, trying to reach as far past Lucien as she could, knowing she had only a fraction of a second left before he pinpointed her location.

  At the last moment, she took a deep breath, gathered the energy she’d sent through the wall, then released it in a violent burst. It exploded through the distant rock wall with a loud, echoing crash.

  Lucien crowed with victory, and his feet thundered away from her, racing down the tunnel toward the explosion, and away from her.

  She quickly crouched down, pulled Ashlynn into her fatigued arms, and then stood up, staggering as she tried to keep her balance. She looped her friend’s arm around her neck, and then broke into a stumbling run, eschewing stealth for speed.

  Lucien would be back quickly, and he would be furious.

  She had to have vanished by then, or Ashlynn would be dead.

  Which meant she had a minute, maybe two.

  Chapter 3

  Sophie reached the hidden door in the rock with only seconds to spare. She leaned against it, pouring her energy into the rock. The rock responded immediately, welcoming her. A five-foot-high, three-foot-wide section of rock dissolved, and she quickly stepped through into the adjacent tunnel, taking Ashlynn with her, hoping the shortcut would save her as it had so many times in the past.

  The moment they were through, the door reformed behind her. Sophie carefully checked the hallway, but it was empty. Relief rushed through her, and she willed her exhausted legs toward the doorway of her best friend’s home. She reached the door and kicked it lightly. “Maria! Open up!” she whispered.

  No one answered.

  Sudden fear gripped Sophie. Where was Maria? She was always home this late at night. If she wasn’t there, Ashlynn would die. She had so little time left.

  Ashlynn’s eyes flickered open. “Too late,” she whispered. “Maria’s not home. Too late this time.”

  Sophie tightened her grip on Ashlynn. “No,” she said fiercely. “Don’t give up. It’s not over.” She kicked the door. “Maria! Open up!”

  The door opened, and Sophie’s best friend, Maria Souvaine, poked her head out. Maria’s gaze landed on Ashlynn, and she swore. “I just treated her yesterday. She can’t keep this up.” She quickly stepped back, pulling the door open wide, not needing to ask what had happened. “The toxicity from Lucien’s semen is building up in her too much. I can’t clear it enough.”

  “I know, but you know she can’t say no to him. No female can deny a demon once they’ve mated.” Sophie hurried inside, frowning when she saw how pale Maria was. Demons like Lucien didn’t need to rape women. All they needed to do was draw them into their spell, and the women were theirs forever. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” Maria shut the door and threw the deadbolt. “I know demon sex is addictive, but dammit. I hate this. These women were stolen. They don’t belong here.”

  “I know they don’t.” Sophie sighed. “Trust me, I know.”

  Maria’s gaze flicked to hers, and grimaced. “Sorry, Sophie. I didn’t mean to remind you about your old home—”

  “It’s all good.” There was no point in bothering with the “what ifs” about her life. Sophie looked around the small one-room home. “Where do you want her?”

  “In the back,” Maria said.

  Shifting Ashlynn in her arms, Sophie hurried across the room to a door tucked in the corner. A tattered black cloth hung across the door, and Sophie ducked inside. One of the cots was already occupied by a woman she didn’t recognize. The woman was unconscious, her skin grayish blue, on the edge of death. The streaks of pink on her cheeks showed that Maria had saved her, and her body was starting to heal. She knew instantly that Maria hadn’t answered the door because she’d been in back, healing her.

  She glanced back at Maria as she eased Ashlynn onto one of the cots. Maria pulled the curtain closed, and then turned to hurry over to Ashlynn. Sophie could see now that Maria’s face was almost as pale as her patient’s, with streaks of gray. Her wild, black hair was disheveled, and her eyes were tired. As she knelt beside Ashlynn, Sophie saw Maria’s hands were shaking.

  She put her hand on Maria’s arm, and grimaced when she felt how cold her skin was. “You took too much of the poison from the other woman. You’re in trouble.”

  Maria shrugged as she put her hands on Ashlynn’s cheeks. “It had to be done. She was in bad shape.” But even as Maria spoke, she swayed dangerously, and Sophie had to grab her to keep her from falling over.

  Sophie frowned as she steadied Maria. “How much poison did you take in? Maybe you shouldn’t heal again right away. You don’t look so good—”

  “Ashlynn doesn’t have time for me to take a break. We both know she’s dying.”

  Tears filled Sophie’s eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. Too many women died here. Granted, it was always in the throes of ecstasy with their demon lovers, but great sex didn’t seem to be a worthwhile payoff for death. “You don’t do anyone any good if you die, either, Maria. You’re not completely immune. If you poison yourself too much—”

  “I won’t die.” Maria’s steely glaze glittered even as she sat down on the floor and leaned against the cot, as if she could barely hold herself upright. “But there’s no chance in hell that I’m going to let Ashlynn die of demon poisoning if I can do something.” She looked at Sophie. “You have my back, right?”

  “Of course.” If Maria pushed herself so far that she passed out, it was Sophie’s job to protect her until she was conscious again, no matter what the cost. Maria was the only one who could heal the women that the demons brought to the underworld as lovers, and if she died, every woman in the kingdom would eventually die as well. Maria and Sophie were the only ones who weren’t bound to a demon male, so it was up to them to save the others, or at least keep them alive for as long as possible. “I’ll stop you if you push too far.”

  Maria pointed to a small table by the other cot. “Get the dagger, Soph.” She rested her forearms on the cot, sagging wearily as she glanced across the room. “Please.”

  “Of course.” Sophie hurried over to grab the jeweled knife Maria used for healing, then handed it to Maria. “I wish I could do this for you.”

  “Trust me, I’d be thrilled to delegate the poison ingestion to you, but it’s a job for demon princesses, and you, my friend, are sadly devoid of any demon blood.” Maria swiftly dragged the blade across her palm, making a small cut in her palm. Ashlynn was unconscious again, unaware when Maria made the same slice across her hand.

  Maria immediately pressed their hands together, mixing her half-demon blood with Ashlynn’s, dragging the toxins out of Ashlynn’s body and into her own.

  “You’re playing the demon princess
card again?” Sophie sank down on the cot, exhaustion suddenly overtaking her. It had taken almost two hours to get from Lucien’s quarters to Maria’s, carrying Ashlynn. She needed to crash, but she knew how weary Maria was, so she kept the conversation going to distract Maria and keep her mind focused. “You’re only half-demon, and you’re not actually a princess,” she teased.

  Maria leaned her head against the metal bar on the edge of the cot, grimacing as her body began to drag the demon poison into her already compromised body. “In this realm, I’m considered a demon princess, so that’s good enough for me. Just because you think you might have actually been a princess before you wound up here doesn’t make you the expert on all things royalty.” As the transfer of blood occurred, Sophie saw Ashlynn’s chest move in a deep inhale, and a faint streak of pink appeared on her cheek.

  Relief rushed through Sophie. “It’s working.” This time. They couldn’t look further ahead than that.

  Maria grinned, even as her eyelids fluttered closed. “Because I rock.”

  Sophie grinned. “You’re such a badass,” she agreed.

  “Badass?” Maria snorted. “I’m a gentle, nurturing healer.”

  “Gentle?” Sophie eyed Maria’s black leather pants, thigh-high boots, and scarlet red bodice. “Sorry, girl, but gentle is never going to describe you.”

  “I know.” Maria sighed, grimacing as a wave of pain hit her. “I’m a demon. A stupid, cursed demon, just like all the bastards killing these women.”

  “Don’t.” Sophie cut her off. “You’re not like them. You use your demon blood to save lives.”

  “There’s nothing good about demons. We both know it.” Maria opened her eyes, and looked at Sophie. “You have to see me for the demon I am, Soph, or you’re never going to be able to kill me when the time comes.”

  Sophie grimaced at the reminder of the promise she’d given her best friend. “You’re not going to become an evil demon, so I’m never going to have to kill you.”

  “Your naïveté is so endearing.” Maria closed her eyes again, her skin becoming more ashen. “For hell’s sake, you’re a two-hundred-year-old virgin. What do you know about evil?”

  Sophie rolled her eyes at Maria’s familiar refrain. “Give me a break. I’m not naïve. I’m a virgin because I dissolve whenever a demon tries to touch me, not because I’m some sheltered, innocent maiden.” In her two hundred years in the demon world, she’d seen enough to haunt her for eternity.

  Maria opened her eyes a tiny bit. “Are you even curious what sex is like?”

  “Sex with a demon isn’t sex. It’s a way for them to trap you and slowly kill you. No, thanks, not really feeling like I’m missing much.” Not that she could have sex even if she did want to. Dissolving when any male tried to touch her was automatic. She instinctively ran her thumb over the ring that encircled her fourth finger. Every time she dissolved, it started at the ring, and spread throughout her body. Whenever she felt a tingle in that finger, she knew she was going to start checking out—

  She frowned suddenly, realizing that the ring felt hot to the touch. She glanced down, startled when she saw it had turned purple and black, the River Styxx had come to life on her hand. The last time it had been like that had been right when she’d first arrived in the demon world. Over the years it had gone gray, but now, it was seething again.

  Sudden foreboding pulsed through her, a paralyzing fear deep in her belly. Why had it changed? She didn’t know, but something deep inside her told her it was bad. Very bad.

  She didn’t remember where she’d gotten the ring. She knew only that she’d had it when she arrived in the demon realm, her memories of her life in the earth realm were faded and distant. She’d never taken it off. It connected her to the life she’d once had, the person she’d once been, a past she couldn’t recall, but that she clung to anyway. Additionally, since the ring was where her dissolving always started, it was the source of her defense against the demons, almost as if it were protecting her.

  And now it was an ugly black and purple, and it was burning her skin, almost as if it were made of acid. She swallowed at the sudden fear clogging her throat, and she instinctively looked around, half expecting to see death looming in the walls to claim her.

  “Soph? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” Sophie fisted her hand and jerked her gaze off the ring. Maria was frowning at her, her skin so pale that she looked almost translucent. Sophie’s fear increased at the sight of Maria’s pallor. “You should stop healing Ashlynn.”

  “Another minute.” Maria closed her eyes again. “It’s sort of ironic, you know,” she mused. “You’ve never had sex, and I’ve had sex so many times that I can’t even remember my first time. So many mindless, faceless fucks that it doesn’t even matter anymore.”

  Sophie’s heart softened at the vulnerability Maria had never shared. “I thought it didn’t bother you.”

  “Of course it doesn’t bother me.” Maria shrugged, her eyes still closed. “It’s great. Lots of fucking, can’t remember most of them. What a way to live.”

  Sophie laughed softly. “As spoken by a lust demon.”

  “Half lust demon,” Maria sighed. “Half. The other half is human female. I do have a heart you know.”

  Sophie smiled gently. “Trust me, I know you have a heart.”

  Maria opened her eyes and Sophie saw a vulnerability in them that her friend rarely showed. “I try,” Maria said softly. She held up her hand, and they both watched the black blood fall from her palm. Her blood had never run red, not once. “But all my power comes from my demon side. It’s just a matter of time until it wins.”

  “Stop it,” Sophie interrupted, hating it when Maria talked about losing what remained of her humanity. “You know damn well that you use your demon power for amazing stuff, like saving the women who wind up here as sex slaves for your brother—” She cut herself off at the look of pain in Maria’s eyes.

  “Damon’s a good guy,” Maria protested.

  “He’s full lust demon,” Sophie said. “He has sex with women until they die.”

  Pain flicked across Maria’s face. “He can’t help it—”

  “I know. I know.” This was a no-win conversation. Maria would never give up believing in her brother, because if she did, by transference, it meant that she had to truly accept her own demon nature, which she would never do, and shouldn’t do. “Listen, you need to get some sleep, healer girl. Let Ashlynn be. She can heal the rest on her own.”

  “I can feel her aura. She’s really weak. She needs time to recover.” Maria’s eyes closed and she rested her cheek against the settee as she continued to fuse her blood with Ashlynn’s. “She’ll never survive more demon semen right now, especially the king’s. We have to hide her.”

  “I know.” They were deep within the boundaries of the premier demon kingdom. There was nowhere to go that a demon couldn’t find them…except one place. It was far, but it would work. “I have a place I could take her.” She gently pulled Maria’s hand away from Ashlynn’s, cutting off the healing. “No more.”

  “I feel fine,” Maria protested, her eyes still closed. Her skin had turned a pale shade of gray, and her cheeks were sunken.

  “Liar.” Sophie realized grimly that she’d have to protect Maria from herself. There could be no more healing for several days—

  The door suddenly crashed open, and Sophie and Maria jumped as a huge shadow loomed in the doorway. Her stomach dropped as the massive demon strode into the room.

  The demon king had found them.

  Chapter 4

  Lucien’s arms were huge pistons of muscle, and black tattoos covered his skin. His chest was bare, and a black mantle of fur cascaded across his shoulder and down his back. Massive black horns curved from his head, and his bitter, black gaze bore down on them. His tight black pants stretched across his massive thighs, and leather boots hugged his calves. He was pure menace, and Sophie froze.

  Too late. She’d waited too long. She
couldn’t hide Ashlynn now. Damn.

  He was so close she could smell his rancid breath and feel her skin curdle from the sheer force of his taint. Dear God, how had these women withstood sex with him? Her ring burned, and she felt her hand begin to dissolve, instinctively fleeing. She fought it, unwilling to leave the weakened women alone without protection.

  His black eyes bore down onto Ashlynn, who had begun to tremble. He’d come for her, wanting to finish what he’d begun. Dear God, how would she stop him from taking Ashlynn?

  “Get up,” he snapped at Ashlynn.

  She groaned under her breath, and rolled onto her side, fighting to get upright, but her arms gave out, and she collapsed on the cot, her breath coming in desperate gasps.

  Lucien’s coal black eyes narrowed, and he inhaled deeply, scenting the air. “She is done,” he said with disgust. “No heir, and a body wasted.” He growled, a menacing sound that was thick and dirty in the air.

  All the women stayed utterly still, willing him not to notice them. Sophie held her breath, hoping that he’d realize it was time to turn his focus elsewhere. If he selected a new concubine, it would give them the time they needed for Maria to recover before she had to heal his next woman. The first month with a demon ignited a woman’s libido, driving her into a hyper-energetic state. The poison didn’t start to hurt her until later.

  Lucien glanced at the bed, and sniffed at the woman Maria had been healing when Sophie had arrived. He shook his head, immediately rejecting the woman who had been used by another one of his demons. Fresh blood is what he wanted, a female who could produce the heir he’d been trying to create for centuries.

  His gaze rolled back to them, and it settled on Maria.

  Sophie’s heart jumped in fear as interest ignited in his eyes. “The demon princess,” he said softly, lust drifting so thickly over Sophie’s skin that she again started to dissolve. But when Maria gripped her arm, her friend’s fear pulled her back into her body.