She fell silent as he pushed the remote keypad he held in his fingers and turned through the familiar iron gates. Slowly he drove up the long, tree-lined drive that eventually wound its way to Selena’s secluded mansion.
Dante didn’t need to see Abby’s suddenly clenched fists or the tightening of her expression to sense her swelling tension.
This was where her life had been forever altered.
She hadn’t forgotten.
Pulling the car to a halt and switching off the engine, he turned to study her fragile profile with a frown of concern.
“Abby?”
“It’s a lot worse than I realized,” she muttered, her gaze absorbing the broken windows and roof that had been half blown away.
Dante knew he would eventually have to deal with the estate, but he was in no hurry. The wards that Selena had placed about the house would keep out anyone not invited. Including the most desperate thieves.
He lightly touched her shoulder. “Do you want to remain in the car?”
She sucked in a deep breath, turning to meet his searching gaze. “No.”
Gathering an amulet that Viper promised would counter the magic used to animate a zombie, Dante pushed it into the waistband of his pants. His daggers were already safely tucked into his boots, and with a motion of his hand, he indicated that Abby should place the keris in its sheath and belt it about her waist.
The sheath would protect him from the powerful blessing but would allow Abby easy access to the dagger should she have need.
Demon, witch, zombie, or wizard would get more than they bargained for on this occasion.
Together they left the car and headed up the sweeping terrace to the double doors. Entering the vast foyer, Dante instinctively headed for the main staircase when Abby abruptly stumbled over the broken bits of a vase upon the marble floor.
He placed an arm about her shoulders as she regarded the shattered porcelain with an odd fascination.
“Steady,” he murmured.
It took a moment before she gave a shake of her head and turned her attention to the nearby stairs that were now charred and covered in plaster and chunks of wood from the ceiling.
“It’s even worse than I remember. My God, how could this have happened?”
His jaw tightened as the image of Selena’s lifeless body flashed through his mind. Nothing should have been capable of destroying her. Certainly not something that he had been incapable of sensing.
“I don’t know, lover.”
“Do you think it was the work of the wizard?” she demanded.
Dante frowned. “It’s possible, I suppose.”
“You don’t sound very convinced.”
“If it was a servant of the Prince, then Selena should have sensed its presence, just as you did with the zombies,” he pointed out. “Besides, she had been the Chalice for a very long time and grown incredibly powerful. I cannot imagine even the elder wizard would dare to challenge her.”
She gave a slow nod. “I think you’re right, which means we’re still no closer to discovering what happened to Selena.”
“Do you sense anything?”
Abby closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Dante realized she was attempting to focus her newfound powers to search the empty house.
At last her eyes opened, and she gave a faint shiver.
“No, there is nothing.”
Dante stepped directly before her. He hadn’t missed her faint tremor.
“What is it?”
She shrugged as she forced a smile to her lips. “I just have the creepy crawlies.”
“The creepy crawlies?”
“The heebie-jeebies.”
Dante gave a shake of his head. “Are you speaking English?”
“You know, like someone just walked over my grave.”
Dante didn’t even think as he abruptly lashed his arms around her and yanked her against his chest.
“Don’t,” he hissed.
Her eyes widened in shock, and he belatedly realized his fangs were fully extended and his face no doubt stark with warning.
He didn’t care.
For the moment he was all vampire.
“Dante?” she husked uncertainly.
“Never tempt fate,” he growled.
“It’s just a saying.”
“It’s dangerous,” he warned, his predatory instincts on full alert at the mere mention of Abby in her grave. “We mustn’t do anything to call attention upon us.”
She blinked, startled by his words. “You’re superstitious?”
“I’ve lived for centuries. There are very few things I don’t believe in.”
“Oh.” She mulled over his words before giving a nod. “I suppose you have a point.”
His arms tightened as he pressed his forehead to her own. “I won’t let anything harm you.”
“I know,” she said softly, her hands cupping his face.
“But if something should happen to me—”
His fierce command was brought to a halt. A highly unusual event, considering he rarely let anything or anyone interrupt a direct decree.
But then it was even more rare when Abby pressed her lips to his mouth. He found the entire world was brought to a halt.
Unfortunately her kiss was all too brief, and just as he was getting into the swing of things, she pulled back to regard him with a stern frown.
“No, Dante,” she retorted, as always ignoring the fact that no one told him no. “You said yourself, we shouldn’t tempt fate.”
He didn’t bother to argue. Why should he? It would be simpler to bash his head into the wall and be done with it.
Besides, Viper would know to come for her if something happened to him.
He would leave it at that.
“Enough.” With a smooth motion, he hoisted her into his arms. Once assured she was secure, he easily moved toward the stairs. “I don’t think it’s wise to linger here any longer than we need.”
Her arms instinctively looped around his neck. “What are we looking for?”
“Selena had a safe that she kept warded by powerful spells. I hope now that you carry the Phoenix, we can find a means to open it.”
“If it survived the blast.”
He smiled. Not even the end of the world would have affected the spell.
“It survived. Hold on.”
She gave a small shriek as he crouched and then in one fluid bound had them at the top of the steps.
“Holy crap, I didn’t know you could do that,” she breathed. “What other surprises do you have?”
He slowly smiled. “Lover, I possess enough surprises to keep you guessing an eternity.”
“And enough ego to last way beyond that.”
“Would you have it any other way?”
She rolled her eyes. “I thought we were in a hurry?”
With reluctance he bent to set her upon her feet. He didn’t sense any danger nearby, but he wasn’t going to be caught off guard again. He wanted to be ready to strike if necessary.
“Be careful where you step. The floorboards are not entirely stable.”
“Yeah, magical blasts tend to be hell on floorboards.”
Despite her flippant tone, she was wise enough to be cautious as she made her way down the darkened hall. Dante was close behind her. So close that he easily sensed when the sudden chill shuddered through her body.
“What is it?” he demanded.
“Nothing.”
“You felt something.” He reached out to grasp her arm, pulling her to a halt. “Is there anything here?”
A frown marred her forehead. Not the pissy frown she reserved solely for him. But the one that warned she was sensing something she could not explain.
The one she had had too many occasions to use over the past few days.
“It’s not that. It’s . . . I don’t know, like an echo.”
“From the spell Selena cast?”
“Maybe.” She abruptly rubbed her hands over her arm
s. “It feels wrong, somehow. Not evil, but . . .”
He tilted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Abby?”
“It’s difficult to explain.”
“Try.”
Her eyes narrowed. A silent warning he would eventually pay for his arrogant tone.
Not at the moment, however.
“I once walked past a chemical plant that was pumping toxic waste into the river. It was nothing I could actually see, but there was a certain smell and foulness to the air that made my skin crawl. That’s what I feel now.”
“Foulness.”
“Yes.”
Dante growled low in his throat. He was a predator. A lethal killer. The fact that he could not sense the danger lurking in the air made him long to destroy something.
Something witchy.
“There is something I’m missing.” He gave a sharp shake of his head. “Damn. This way.”
Taking Abby’s hand, he led her farther down the hall. He considered it a minor miracle they managed to make it over a dozen steps before Abby dug in her heels.
“Wait. Where are we going? Selena’s rooms are down that wing.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Trust me.”
Damn. Wrong words.
Her heels nearly made holes in the floor as she refused to budge.
“Trust you? Again?”
“Have I led you astray yet?” Her mouth flew open far too readily. A diversion was clearly in order. Never one to miss an opportunity, Dante glided forward to cover her mouth in a swift, hungry kiss. “Don’t answer that,” he murmured against her lips. Her hands clutched his arms as she instinctively arched against him. Devil spit. Dante felt her fiery heat sear through him. It licked over his skin and smoldered in his blood. His teeth clenched. The ache to gather her in his arms and take her against the wall was firmly thrust aside. He would never have enough of this woman. But now was not the time or place, he sternly chastised. Pulling back, he grasped her hand and pulled her firmly down the hall before she could come to her senses. Shoving aside a broken statue, he pointed at the wall. “This is it.”
“This is what?”
“The safe.”
“Where?”
He touched his finger to the center of the satin wallpaper. “There.”
She shot him a narrowed glare. “Is this some sort of Abbott and Costello routine?”
His lips twitched despite the urgency of their situation. “The safe is set in the wall and has been warded. It’s up to you to break the spell.”
“Me? I’m no witch.”
“Selena was not a witch, lover.” He reached out to touch her cheek. “Her power came from the Phoenix.”
“A power she had three hundred years to learn to control, not three days.”
“You can do this.”
Her frown threatened to become permanently engraved. “Easy for you to say. Hell, I don’t even know how to start.”
“Just concentrate,” he urged softly.
“On the wall?”
“On the safe behind the wall.” Dante stepped back to watch her closely. He hated putting such pressure on Abby. She had barely accepted that she carried the Phoenix. Now to be expected to wield its magic was rather like expecting a bird to fly only moments after it hatched. Unfortunately, there was no choice. They had to find the witches. A long silence filled the hall, and then her hand lifted, and she twitched her fingers. Dante frowned in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to cast a damn spell.”
“By wiggling your fingers?”
“It’s a . . . thing. A stupid thing, but a thing.” She angrily blew a stray curl from her forehead. “Now, do you mind? I’m trying to concentrate.”
He held up his hands. “Please, concentrate all you need.”
There was another silence. A long silence. And then a heavy sigh.
“Damn.” She turned to regard him in defeat. “I can’t do this.”
He grasped her shoulders in his hands. This woman possessed enough power to rip apart the entire city. More power than he could ever dream of. He would not allow doubt to stand in her path.
“Abby, you have killed a hellhound, battled zombies, and escaped from a dark wizard. You can do this.”
She grimaced. “What I’ve done is bumbled from one disaster to another, and the only miracle is that I haven’t managed to kill both of us in the process.”
“I believe in you, even if you don’t believe in yourself.”
“Which doesn’t say much for your intelligence.”
He gave her a slight shake. Why had Viper not warned him that mortal women were as stubborn as Stlantd demons?
“Abby.”
She met him glare for glare before heaving a frustrated sigh. “Okay, okay. I’ll try again.”
Chapter 16
Abby squeezed her eyes shut. Even then she could feel Dante hovering beside her like a vulture. She could sense his tension. His fierce determination.
He was expecting her to perform some sort of hocus-pocus. A joke, of course. She was as likely to sprout daisies out of her ears as she was to magically open some mystical door.
Still, she had to try something. As long as she carried the Phoenix, she would be hunted. And worse, Dante would be forced to protect her, even if it meant the end of his own existence.
So far, stupid luck had kept them alive. But sooner or later, they would come up against something he could not defeat. Then they both would be dead.
She wouldn’t let that happen.
Ignoring the feeling she was doing nothing but making an ass of herself, Abby sternly focused her thoughts. She had taken out a hellhound and had burned the zombie to a crisp. Granted, she hadn’t known what the hell she was doing, but there had to be something inside her that she could use.
Imagine the wall, she told herself. And in the middle of the wall a safe. A safe like the ones in the old movies she loved. A big, silver safe with a black combination lock and slender handle . . .
Thoroughly concentrating upon the image, she didn’t notice the faint buzzing in her ear. Not until the buzzing became a ringing. And then became a loud clap that sent her tumbling backward in shock.
Opening her eyes, she stared in wonder at the large safe now clearly visible in the wall and clearly open.
“Holy crap,” she breathed.
The words had barely tumbled from her lips when Dante was at her side to gently lift her to her feet.
“Are you hurt?”
She pressed a hand to her heart, which she realized was nearly pounding out of her chest.
“I’ll live. Is that the safe you wanted?”
“Yes.”
“What’s inside?”
“Books.”
She turned to regard him in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? The woman leaves priceless Ming vases and Picassos lying about like they came off a sale rack at some discount store and she fills a hidden safe with musty old books?”
“They are spell books.”
“Are you sure?”
A raven brow arched. “I’m a vampire; I can sense power, but not actual magic. You tell me.”
She bit her lip before forcing herself to reach into the murky shadows and pluck out the handful of books.
She wasn’t sure what she expected. Ancient manuscripts wrapped in leather and gold. Rolled parchments with heavy seals. Bed knobs and broomsticks.
Anything but the library rejects she held in her hands.
“They look like regular old books to me.” She flipped open the top book only to sneeze as a cloud of dust filled the air. “Dirty old books.”
“Don’t tell me you’re a philistine?”
“A what?”
He chuckled softly. “Never mind, lover.”
Abby rubbed her nose as she shot Dante a puzzled glance. Once again she was rumpled and covered in dust while he stood there without a hair out of place.
Damn him.
“Will these help lead us to the witches?” she
demanded.
“Is there anything hidden in the pages?”
“You mean like some sort of code?”
“Like telephone numbers or names or a map to a hidden coven?”
Well, duh. She busied herself with flipping through the pages to hide her blush. No one had ever accused her of being a budding genius, but she was not usually a total moron.
“No, no names or maps,” she muttered. “Just a bunch of really bad poetry. Good God, listen to this stuff—”
“Abby,” Dante abruptly interrupted. “I don’t think—”
“‘Circle of the sacred Chalice,
Turn your power to dark and malice.
Elements of earth and air,
Water and fire combine to share.
Hear our plea and know our cause . . . ’”
Abby was uncertain when the words began to burn like fire upon the page. Or to echo eerily through the air as she mouthed the strange spell. She only knew that a powerful compulsion had suddenly taken her in its clutches, and the world about her disappeared.
She couldn’t halt the words from flowing. Not even when a sharp, fierce pain began to pulse deep within her. It was like falling from a cliff. There was no halting until she hit the bottom.
Even if that bottom meant a jolting, bloody end.
She might have continued chanting for eternity if she had not suddenly been attacked from behind.
Given no warning, Abby found a pair of strong arms wrapped about her. She had time to grunt in confusion before she was being driven to the polished floor. Her head hit the boards with a sharp bang.
“Dammit.” She blinked away the stars shooting in front of her eyes before struggling to her knees. “Dante, you could have just tapped me on the shoulder . . .”
Her words trailed away as she realized that Dante wasn’t responsible for her near whiplash. Instead her gaze fell upon a strange woman crouched directly before her.
Oh yeah, definitely strange, she conceded.
Struggling through the fog that still clung to her brain, Abby studied the dark, slender woman.
She appeared human enough. Despite the exotic beauty of her long raven hair and perfectly crafted features, there was a smoldering vitality that seemed more mortal than immortal. And her hard muscles were the sort that belonged to a well-honed athlete rather than the fluid strength of a vampire.
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