I’m focused on my duty. I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen, including breaking the rules that underscore the very fabric of my race.
Vlad grinned. Damn, man. I might actually end up liking you after all.
He felt a ripple of humor from Gabe. You trust only people who break rules for their own agenda?
Yeah, pretty much.
Gabe laughed then. I knew I chose well. Let’s go find some women, my leader’s inert body, and get the hell out of here.
Deal. Sophie first.
Dante first.
Vlad narrowed his eyes, and sent a pulse of psychic energy at Gabe’s brain, channeling it the same way he channeled his magic when he was trying to manipulate living matter. The energy gathered itself and torpedoed right into Gabe’s mind, hitting harder than Vlad had intended, much to his delight.
The other warrior grunted in pain. You’re a pain in the ass.
So are you. He did it again, more lightly this time, and then grinned when Gabe tried to do the same, but failed. Psychic attacks are my thing, he said cheerfully. It’s like how I can manipulate living matter. This is fun. He did it one more time just to practice his new skill, grinning when he felt Gabe flinch. Sophie first, or I harass you so relentlessly that you’ll eventually be reduced to curling up in the fetal position and screaming for mercy.
Fuck that. You do that again, and I’ll cut off your head.
Vlad grinned. Relax. You’re too handy with a sword to be of any use if you’re in the fetal position. I’m just practicing for when we have our encounter with the demon army.
Gabe was silent for a moment, then Vlad sensed him nod. Keep it up. I’ll practice my shielding.
Vlad was surprised by the remark. Really?
We’re at war, my friend, and we can’t afford to lose. We need to be ready. Who knows what the hell the demons are capable of. All I know is I doubt they’re going to sit back and do their nails while we steal from them.
The grimness of Gabe’s words hung thickly in the pitch-black tunnel, sobering Vlad. They had a long way to go to get Sophie to safety, and he was damned glad to have Gabe at his back.
Chapter 20
Sophie felt a renewed sense of urgency when she saw how Maria was struggling to get through the narrow crack in the rocks. She realized she shouldn’t have been so quick to ditch the men. She was so used to being on her own, she hadn’t stopped to think about how reliant Maria was on them, or how much she’d be impacted by the fact she hadn’t actually had sex with Gabe.
Soon, Maria would be forced to accept the first male who crossed their path, and that could have disastrous consequences. What if it was Rikker? Or Lucien? A shiver crept down her back and she renewed her efforts to get through. “You okay, Maria?”
“Peachy, but after this is over, let’s have a little chat about appropriate hiding places for weapons. They do you no good if you can’t get to them, you know?”
“I know. Almost there.” Sophie reached the end of the crack and slipped out into the small clearing that she knew so well. There was a tall rock ahead, blocking a cave. She had just started to move toward it, when she felt something watching her.
She spun around, searching the shadows, but she saw nothing. Her heart started to hammer. “Stay in the crack, Maria. I’ll be right there.”
She hurried across the clearing, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as she ran. She braced her palms on the two-foot wide black rock, and asked it to dissolve. For a moment, nothing happened, and fear reached through her. What if she couldn’t even manipulate rocks anymore? But then it dissolved, revealing the small opening. She quickly squirmed through the opening, her heart pounding.
Relief rushed through her when she reached the inside of the cavern and saw the rows and rows of jewels that she’d stashed there, specifically chosen because of the burst of power she’d felt when she touched them. She raced across the rocky floor, quickly gathering as many small ones as she could find, slipping them into her pockets. She found the portable cache she’d already assembled, and slipped it over her shoulders, strapping it around her waist. There were dozens of small pockets, each of them hosting a small, uncut jewel.
As she packed on the rocks, she felt energy surging through her, a sense of power. She’d never had so many jewels on her, and there was no mistaking the surge of power. Hope leapt through her. Was it possible that she could become an offensive force with the stones? See? She’d been right to leave Vlad and Gabe behind. It wasn’t as if they needed any men to help them.
But even as she headed toward the opening of the cave, she couldn’t stop the surge of regret that she’d left Vlad behind. There was something about him that was so compelling. Was it simply that they were really married, like he’d claimed? She wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t stop wishing that she’d met him in a different time and place, and that she was the kind of woman who had time to pursue a man who caught her interest.
But that wasn’t her life. Her life was about helping other women, at whatever cost. Vlad was just a distraction. She had always justified her kidnapping to the demon realm by the belief that she was needed here, that she was meant to be here to help the women. Vlad was a distraction from that, and she couldn’t afford them.
Resolutely, she took a deep breath as she stepped outside, determined to focus on what she was meant to achieve—
Then she stopped, her blood freezing in her veins.
Rikker was standing in the clearing, holding Maria against his chest with a knife to her throat. Her friend was pale, the kind of pale that came from an energy depletion that could not be restored without sex. Surrounded by Rikker were the rest of his team. Eleven demons all armed with knives, all of them gazing at her like she was dinner that had been served up to them for their pleasure.
Fear tore through her, but she lifted her chin, sliding her hand into the front pocket of her jeans for a ruby. She hadn’t even gotten her fingers far enough in to touch it when Rikker snapped at her.
“Freeze or she dies.”
Sophie froze, her gaze snapping to Maria’s face. Her friend’s eyes were haunted, and she knew that Maria didn’t have the strength to fight. Rikker’s knife was so tight against Maria’s throat that a trickle of blood was easing down her pale throat.
Unlike demons, who were largely immortal, Maria was only half demon. She was difficult to kill, but not impossible. Decapitation would do it.
Her heart thundering, Sophie tried frantically to think of what to do. She looked above Rikker’s head and saw a large rock outcropping. If she could dissolve it and make it fall—
“If you dissolve, she dies. Instantly.”
Sophie’s gaze shot back to Rikker, her heart sinking at the look of smug satisfaction on his face. “There’s no out, Sophie. Come to me.”
Desperation hammering through her, Sophie began to inch toward Rikker, her mind whirling with options. She had to get her hands on her jewels. But once she did, then what? She’d never used them as weapons. How would they work? She’d always thought she’d have time to figure it out, but the time was now.
She reached Rikker, stopping just in front of him. “Let her go.”
Without a word, Rikker shoved Maria at the demon next to him. That demon yanked her against his chest and lodged his knife against her neck, taking up the same position that Rikker had had her in. Sophie caught the scent of lust from him, and hope sprang to her heart. If the demon was unable to resist Maria’s allure and had sex with her, Maria would recover…
But as she looked at the demon’s twisted face, and the pure, merciless hate in his eyes, her heart sank. Was that really what their life was like? That the best option was for Maria to give herself to an odious creature? Was this really what they both considered satisfactory?
“Sophie. Look at me.”
She jerked her gaze back to Rikker, her fingers burning with the need to grab her jewels.
Unlike most demons, Rikker was handsome, with sculpted cheekbones an
d short dark hair. His horns were invisible now, hidden at his command to look more human. He often did that around her, as if he were trying to make her forget what he was. “If you dissolve,” he said softly. “My demon will cut her.”
Sophie glanced at Maria, whose eyes were closed now. She saw bruises on her friend’s shoulders, and she realized suddenly that Maria had tried to fight all of them while she’d been in the cave, draining herself of her last reserves. “Don’t let him touch you,” Maria whispered. “I don’t care if I die. You matter more.”
Rikker’s eyes darkened. “She will suffer,” he snapped. “You know she will.” Then, without another word, he reached up and grabbed Sophie around the back of the neck.
Sophie yelped in fear, but she didn’t dissolve. Not one bit.
Surprise flickered across Rikker’s face, then he tightened his grip on the back of her neck. “What the hell?”
The other demons shifted, and she smelled the sudden influx of lust.
Fear hammered in Sophie’s chest, but she met Rikker’s gaze. She couldn’t believe she wasn’t dissolving. She didn’t have time to fear it. The time was up. Her body was about to belong to a demon if she didn’t do something.
He grinned, his thin lips stretching across his glistening white teeth. “Fuck Lucien,” he said with a low growl, then he yanked her against him and slammed his mouth down on hers.
The moment his mouth touched hers, Sophie shoved her hand into her pocket, grabbed a ruby, and then slammed it against his chest. It dissolved through his skin, and he shouted, jerking back. But as she released the stone, it reformed inside him, right in the middle of his heart.
Rikker staggered, clutching his heart, trying to dig it out of his body, but she knew it was in too far. She’d melted it to all his cells. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would take him time to recover. She stumbled back, horrified by what she’d done, but before she could even register it, she was surrounded by the howl of predators. She whirled around as Rikker’s demons broke rank and attacked, nothing holding them back from what they’d craved for so long—
The nearest one grabbed her, and she felt his claws sink into her breast. “Get away from me!” she shouted as she shoved an emerald into his chest. She hadn’t even merged it with his body when another demon grabbed her shoulder, yanking her backward. She landed on the ground, then dove to the side when he went for her.
They came at her from all sides, and she started throwing the jewels, hurling them as fast as she could, knowing that she was going to lose. She didn’t even know where Maria was, or whether she was surviving. A demon grabbed her and hurled her against a rock. She gasped, groaning as her head hit. She rolled onto her side, trying to pull herself to her feet when she saw the band on her ring finger. It was black and purple now, burning her hand. Vlad. “Vlad!” She screamed his name, desperation tearing it from her. “Vlad!”
As the demon grabbed her arms and locked them behind her back, she knew it was too late.
Vlad whirled around when he heard Sophie shout his name. “Did you hear that?”
Gabe stopped in front of him, both men going still. “Yeah, I did. Where’s it coming from?”
She screamed his name again, and Vlad felt the ring burning on his finger. He reached out with his senses, but couldn’t pick up any life force. Swearing, he went deeper, calling upon his new skills. He opened his mind to Sophie, to the essence of her soul.
Instantly, he found her. “This way!” He broke into a sprint, racing down the tunnel. It was still too dark to see where he was going, but he kept hurtling energy outward, letting it rebound off the walls like a radar.
Pain shot through him, and he knew it was her pain. Jesus. His ring was burning so badly he felt like acid was being poured over his flesh. “Sophie!” He bellowed her name, sprinting through the tunnels, turning unerringly at each fork, his need for her growing stronger and stronger.
And then, he was there. Up ahead he sensed a weakness in the rock, a hairline crack like the one that he’d gotten through before. “Gabe!”
“On it.” Gabe tore past him, connecting with Vlad’s mind to see where the crack was. He attacked ruthlessly, his weapons tearing through the rock with pinpoint accuracy. The rock exploded, and both men leapt through, emerging into the midst of a full-on battle.
There were demons everywhere, and the stench of sulfur was almost overwhelming. Maria was on the ground, inert, being dragged toward a crevice by two demons. Over there! He pointed out the location to Gabe, who bolted after Maria instantly.
But where was Sophie? Vlad spun around, searching the melee, until he saw a cluster of demons on the far side of the pit, bent over something. Rage tore through him, and he pointed both hands toward them. He unleashed more energy than he’d ever accessed before, ripping the demons aside and hurtling them against the walls of the crevasse. Sophie immediately rolled onto her knees, trying to stand. Her shirt was torn, revealing a massive bruise on her shoulder, and she stumbled
Swearing, Vlad raced across the clearing toward her, catching her just as she fell again. He’d barely gotten his arms around her when the demons attacked again. With a roar of fury, he swept them aside. He kept his attention on them this time, pinning them to the rocks around them, holding them there as they fought to break the grip of his energy. Some of them were motionless, victims of Sophie, he suspected, but the others were raging and furious, howling like predators in a feeding frenzy.
They were fighting against his hold, incredibly strong. He knew that without the blood bond with Gabe, he wouldn’t be able to hold them at all, but even with his added strength, he wouldn’t be able to hold them for long. “Gabe?”
Gabe picked up Maria, cradling her inert body in his arms. She’s ice cold. She needs help.
Vlad kept his focus on the screaming demons, still holding Sophie, who was on her feet now, leaning against him as she dug into the leather straps crisscrossing her body. I’m not going to have sex with Maria. That’s your job. Take her somewhere safe to heal her. We’ll buy you time, and then catch up.
Got it. Gabe swung Maria over his shoulder, raced over to the wall of the precipice, and began to climb straight up, moving swiftly as his fingers and toes found handholds that didn’t exist. Within minutes, he was gone, but Vlad could feel his presence moving swiftly to the south. Son of a bitch. He knew exactly where they were. That was weird as hell. Let me know if you need help.
Will do. Now get the hell out of there. More are coming. I can see them on the horizon.
Shit. Vlad thrust another burst of energy at the demons pinned to the walls. “Sophie, we gotta go. Fast. More are coming.”
She looked over at him. “Lucien,” she whispered. “Oh, God.” She looked frantically around. “There’s nowhere to hide.”
“We go back through the tunnel. Can you seal it?”
She looked over at the rock, and nodded. “Yes.”
“Then let’s do it.” He grabbed her arm, still focusing his energy on the demons he’d pinned to the wall as they turned and sprinted toward the opening. Sophie paused on the threshold. “Wait.”
She pulled her hand out of her pocket, her fingers clenched around a small, rough rock. She narrowed her eyes, then hurled it at one of the nearest demons. It hit him in the throat, then seemed to disappear. The demon immediately started gagging.
“Did you just merge the rock with his cells?”
“Yes. It won’t hold for long, but it will give us a few minutes.” She threw another, and another, until every demon he’d pinned up was gasping in agony. There was only one left, a massive demon at the far end of the clearing. His hand was on his chest as if she’d already attacked once, but he was watching Sophie with brutal intensity.
“Rikker.” He didn’t need to ask. Vlad knew ownership when he saw it, and that demon had claimed Sophie for his own. Shit. He was a formidable opponent. “Hit him again.”
Sophie threw two more rocks at him, but this time, they both bounced off him. She paled.
“He’s figured out how to block them.”
“Then it’s time to go.” Vlad stepped back into the tunnel, pulling Sophie with him. “Seal it up.”
She immediately placed her palms on the rock that Gabe had blown out. She dissolved it quickly, and rebuilt the wall, turning the rock from floating particles into solid form almost instantly. The moment she sealed them off, Vlad lost contact with the demons, severing his grip on their minds. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and started to run, using his radar-like skill to guide them.
Deeper and deeper they went underground, running as fast as they could through the rank, dark tunnel. Sophie never complained, but after she tripped twice, he picked her up. She didn’t even argue. She just wrapped herself around him, and held tight, allowing him the freedom to run even faster. As he ran, he pinged his radar in all directions, rapidly amassing a map of the tunnel system. It was entirely uninhabited, but he found several entrances.
“Go deeper,” Sophie told him. “The demons don’t like to go into the graveyard. We’ll have time to regroup there.” Her voice was taut with pain, and he remembered the bruise on her shoulder.
“You got it.” He chose the path he wanted, and hauled ass, his quads burning as he ran. He kept one arm locked around Sophie’s back, holding her against him as he traversed the rocky ground. He kept searching ahead, and finally found what he wanted. An untraveled section of the trails that held no trace of past inhabitants, a place that no one had found in many, many years.
He made several turns, then slowed as a sudden roaring filled the tunnel. Sophie twisted around in his arms, peering into the darkness as he rounded the corner to reveal a massive waterfall cascading down the side of the tunnel. It appeared to be rolling down solid rock, but behind the roaring falls, he knew there was an opening in the rocks that led to another cavern.
“You trust me?” he shouted to Sophie over the roar of the water.
“Yes!” she yelled back.
Hunt the Darkness (Order of the Blade Book 11) Page 18