“I noticed you didn’t offer yourself up as the sacrifice.”
The goblet trembled in Edra’s hands. “Shut up, you filthy bitch. You have defiled yourself with a vampire. You are not worthy to be the Chalice.”
“Tough luck. I’m all you got.”
“I will soon enough teach you some respect, just as I taught Selena.”
Wiggle, wiggle.
“Better bullies than you have tried.”
Just for a moment, Abby thought she might have pushed the witch over the edge. The fevered glitter in her eyes was darkened to sheer fury, and her lips curled back into a snarl.
The temptation to say “the hell with saving the world and punish the bitch as she deserves” held Edra in its grip before she gave a shiver and pulled back from utter lunacy.
“No. You won’t distract me. Not now.”
She reached her hand into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a small metal object. Abby frowned. After all the horrid things she had endured over the past few days, she had half-expected the witch to pull out a knife or snake or at least a magic rabbit.
The small amulet seemed astonishingly harmless.
At least until it was laid on the middle of her chest.
At first there was nothing. Just a cold sensation that ran over her skin. Then, just when she began to hope that the piece of iron was a dud, the smell of smoke began to fill the air.
Abby screamed as the amulet easily burned through the light fabric of her shirt and hit her skin.
The metal was branding itself into her skin, and there was no guarantee it would halt before it managed to sear its way to her heart.
“What are you doing?” she panted, struggling to free the dagger from its sheath. She no longer cared if the witch realized what she was doing or not. If she didn’t get free, the spell would be cast or she would be dead.
Neither of which were acceptable alternatives.
Thankfully Edra closed her eyes as she held the goblet directly over the amulet.
“The amulet will help me to draw upon the power of the Phoenix,” she muttered.
“Stop, it’s burning me.”
The woman began to chant beneath her breath, and within the pain blazing through her body, Abby could sense the stirring of the spirit within her.
With a grim effort, she managed to slide the dagger free but her arm remained trapped by the straps.
Dear God, she wasn’t going to be in time.
Sucking in a deep breath, she screamed for all she was worth.
“Dante!”
Already on the stairs, Dante moved with blurring speed to stand in the center of the cellar.
His hands clenched as he discovered Abby tied to the marble table with the witch hovering beside her. Even from a distance he could make out the stench of charred flesh.
“Abby . . .”
“Dante, she’s doing the spell.”
“The beast.” Edra’s eyes snapped open to pin Dante with a feverish glare. “I should have known you wouldn’t die so easily. Well, never fear. I won’t be so careless this time.”
“Halt,” Dante growled as he felt Viper and the Shalott at his back.
“We can’t let her complete the ritual,” Viper said in icy tones.
“There is a barrier.”
Viper cursed in an ancient language. “I hate magic.” He turned his head to the Shalott. “What of you? Can you breach the spell?”
The demon shook her head. “No.”
Dante’s teeth snapped together. He wanted to howl in frustration. Or kill someone.
To be so close and not able to reach Abby was unbearable.
Pacing the barrier, he growled low in his throat. The circle had been completed. It was closed until the witch had finished her spell.
He had never felt so helpless in his life.
And he bloody well didn’t like it.
Continuing to follow the line of the circle, Dante searched for any means to distract the witch. If he could make her falter for even a moment, the barrier would be broken. She could never raise it before he and Viper were upon her.
Easier said than done, however. There was nothing in the cellar that offered any help.
Refusing to give up, he moved until he was standing directly behind the witch. There was a soft moan from Abby, and his gaze instinctively moved to where she was stretched on the slab.
For a moment he could see nothing through his red haze of fury. He had to get to her. Now.
Then his attention was captured by the glint of candlelight off the dagger in her hand. He stilled as he realized she was using the keris to cut through the leather strap.
His gaze locked with her own as he silently willed her to hurry. Already Edra was tilting the goblet to pour the blood on the amulet. She was completing the ritual that would allow her to bend the power of the Phoenix to her will.
If the spell was spoken, he wouldn’t be able to rescue Abby.
Or himself.
He darted a sideways glance to make sure that Viper had noticed Abby’s attempt to escape. The older vampire gave a slight nod of his head.
They moved together, ready to strike the moment the barrier was destroyed. The Shalott chose a spot directly in front of the witch. A demon with battle tactics.
Go figure.
Impervious to all but the spell she was casting, Edra held the goblet over her head and then slowly she lowered it to pour a measure of the thick blood directly onto the amulet.
Dante froze.
The spell was beginning.
He might very well be dead before Abby ever got herself loose.
The blood hit the amulet and sizzled against the searing heat. A strange humming filled Dante’s ears, and he pounded his fists futilely against the barrier.
“Abby,” he rasped.
As if sensing his rising panic, Abby gritted her teeth and sliced through the last bit of leather. The amulet on her chest seemed to flare as she knocked the smoldering iron off her skin and struggled to sit up.
From behind, Dante watched as Edra froze in shock.
In her arrogance, she thought that nothing could halt her glorious bid for power. Certainly not a mere slip of a woman with no ability to wield magic and no claim to the darker arts.
She hadn’t counted on Abby’s stubborn determination.
Something he had learned never to underestimate.
Ignoring the obvious pain wracking her body, Abby managed to lift herself upward, using her momentum to slash out with the keris. Belatedly sensing her danger, the witch leaped backward, avoiding a killing strike.
Thankfully the dagger managed to nick her upper arm, sending the goblet crashing to the floor.
More importantly, with her concentration destroyed, the barrier vanished into mist.
With a roar, Viper was across the floor and pinning the witch to the floor. Dante was at Abby’s side, wrenching off the remaining straps and reaching to collect her in his arms.
“No.” Holding out warning hands, Abby swung off the table and struggled to maintain her balance. “Don’t touch me.”
Dante slowly circled to face her, his brows pulled together. “Abby, what’s wrong?”
She wrapped her hands about her waist. “I’m burning up.”
Dante gave a slow nod. Even at a distance he could feel the heat rolling from her body.
“The Phoenix?”
“Yes.” She turned toward the witch on the floor. “The spell has begun.”
“Viper, kill her,” Dante rasped.
“My pleasure.”
Lowering his head to sink his fangs into the witch’s neck, Viper gave a low grunt and then astonishingly was flying backward as Edra struggled to sit up. In her hand was the amulet.
“Shit.” Dante was moving even as Edra lifted her hand to strike at Viper once again.
As fast as he moved, however, the blast of power was faster. He cursed as he realized that he would never arrive in time. Then, without warning, the Shalott was leap
ing onto Viper, taking the blow in her back and slumping over the startled vampire.
Dante whirled back to glare at the witch who was uneasily forcing herself to her feet.
“You can’t harm me,” she panted, perhaps more to reassure herself than to remind Dante of his impotency.
“Not yet, but soon I’ll see you in hell.”
She gave a wild laugh. “The spell has begun. No one can stop it now.”
He rapidly turned his attention to Abby to discover her on her knees. She was moaning as she rocked back and forth.
“God . . . Abby.”
“She can’t hear you. The Phoenix has taken control, and soon the Goddess will release the power that I have called forth.” The wild laugh came again. “She’s about to kill you, vampire.”
“No!” With a scream, Abby rose to her feet.
Dante stumbled back as the force of her presence abruptly flared through the room.
He could barely recognize his mate.
In the candlelight, her pale skin glowed with a strange luminescence, and the blue eyes had turned to a brilliant crimson, as if flames were lit behind them. Even her hair seemed to float on some unseen breeze as she lifted her arms wide and began to walk toward the witch.
“Beloved Goddess,” the witch breathed as she sank slowly to her knees.
Dante tried to step forward only to cry out as a wave of heat slammed him to the ground. The very air was sizzling around Abby, making it impossible to reach her.
Bloody hell, she was going to burn the house down around them.
After she managed to kill every demon.
Starting with him.
Battling back the blackness that was threatening to overwhelm him, Dante forced himself to his knees.
“Abby, you must stop—” he rasped.
“No.” Abby never took her attention off the kneeling witch. “This must end now.”
Shit. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t do a damn thing.
“Abby.”
Reaching the older woman, Abby held out her hand. “Rise.”
“Yes.” Awkwardly the witch managed to stand, an expression of adulation on her face. “I have waited so long to bathe in your glory. To see the full wonder of your powers.”
“You shall know my powers to the fullest, Edra.”
The words came out of Abby’s mouth, but the voice didn’t belong to her. She had been completely consumed by the spirit within her.
“Bless you, mistress. Bless you.”
Caught and held by the smoldering fire in Abby’s eyes, the witch stepped slowly forward. Dante frowned as Abby wrapped her arms about the woman. What the hell was the Phoenix up to?
He heard Viper and the Shalott groaning behind him, but his gaze never wavered from Abby as she closed her eyes and tilted back her head.
For a moment there was nothing.
Just the pulsing blackness that clutched at him with the promise of death. And then, from seemingly nowhere, there was a violent explosion.
Dante flew backward to land with a jarring impact against a mold-slick wall.
His ears were ringing, and he was fairly certain his brain had become dislodged. But amazingly he wasn’t dead.
At least not yet.
Giving his head a shake to clear the fog, he frantically searched through the thick smoke that filled the air. A sharp fear flared through him as he realized the encroaching darkness had been seared away.
And even more frightening, the leash that had held him prisoner for the past three centuries had been sharply severed.
He was free. But at what cost?
No.
Hell no.
He wouldn’t believe Abby was dead. He couldn’t believe it.
Scrambling on his hands and knees, he crossed the dirt floor to the last place he had seen Abby. It took less than a handful of seconds to move the short distance, but to Dante it seemed an eternity passed.
At last his searching hand encountered an outstretched arm. He gritted his teeth as he forced himself to touch the satin-soft skin.
A touch was enough.
He could feel her soul.
She was alive.
His head briefly touched the cool floor before he was moving to gather her still form in his arms. He ignored the mess that lay only a few feet away.
There was little left of Edra.
No doubt bits and pieces were scattered throughout the cellar. Certainly what was left of the charred lump couldn’t possibly add up to a whole body.
A cold smile touched his lips.
It was a fitting end to the witch.
“Abby.” He buried his face in her hair, holding her far too tight.
He felt her stir, and he pulled back to watch the brilliant blue eyes open.
“Dante?” Her face was covered in soot, her hair was singed, and there was blood on her chin.
And she had never looked so beautiful.
He pressed a careful kiss to her peeling lips.
“You did it, lover,” he husked. “You put an end to the spell.”
“Not me.” Her voice was raw and raspy, as if her throat had been burnt. “The Phoenix. It wouldn’t let itself be used to destroy without cause.”
“Sssh. We’ll discuss it later. For now all that matters is that you’re alive.”
The faintest smile touched her mouth. “And still a goddess.”
He gave a soft chuckle. “So it would seem.”
“Will you worship me?”
He brushed his lips on the dark bruises that marred her beautiful skin.
“Lover, I intend to worship you every night for the rest of eternity.”
Epilogue
Two weeks later, Abby was lying on the bed in Dante’s lair, watching as he carefully lit the candles he had placed about the room.
The witches had fled or been buried after Edra’s death, bringing an end to the coven. Not a great loss to Abby, considering they intended to use her as some sort of catalyst for Armageddon.
Granted, she was now stuck carrying a mystical spirit, but she was becoming much better at disguising her powers from those who would like to see her dead, and there were a number of benefits to being a Chalice.
Not the least of which was the promise of an eternity with Dante.
Above them, Selena’s mansion was slowly being reconstructed, complete with tinted windows and a new library for Dante’s vast collection of books. And, of course, the newer travel catalogues that he had ordered for Abby.
For their honeymoon, Dante had promised to take her around the world.
But first they would share the ceremony that would make them truly mates.
Stirring on the pillows, Abby tugged at the black satin sheet that was all that covered her naked body.
“I get that Selena and Edra were in a power struggle to decide who would be allowed to rid the world of demons and become some sort of demigod,” she murmured in lazy tones. “But I still don’t understand why they waited so long to try and use the spell. You would think as soon as Selena became the Chalice they would have tried to flex their mojo.”
Lighting the last of the candles, Dante turned to face her with a lift of his brow.
“Mojo?”
Her breath caught.
Wearing nothing more than a black silk robe and his hair framing his alabaster face, he looked every inch the wicked pirate.
Yum. Yum. Yum.
With an effort, she battled her attack of lust. “You know what I mean.”
He shrugged. “From what I could discover among Edra’s writings, it seems they were waiting for the stars to be in proper alignment.”
“Oh.”
“Clearly they didn’t realize that the Phoenix possessed a mind of its own and that it would destroy anyone seeking to use it for such evil.”
Abby shuddered. She still had nightmares of her time in the cellar with Edra.
“Not until too late.”
“Enough, lover,” he soothed. “We aren’t going to ruin our n
ight with thoughts of the witches.”
No, they most certainly were not, Abby agreed, her gaze running over the perfect male body.
“You are looking way too sexy for anything to ruin the evening.”
The silver eyes blazed as he moved to place himself on the bed beside her.
“How sexy?”
Abby smiled as she helpfully tugged the robe off. “Surely at your age you wouldn’t be fishing for compliments?”
“I can’t use a mirror to reassure myself, so I must depend upon you.”
With the robe tossed onto the floor, Abby ran her hands over the smooth perfection of his back.
“Well, I suppose I won’t be kicking you out of my bed any time soon.”
His fangs flashed in the candlelight. Suddenly he looked incredibly exotic and every inch a vampire.
“Our bed,” he softly corrected.
Her heart halted as she gazed into the silver eyes.
“Our bed.”
With a slow motion, Dante pulled the sheet aside to allow the cool air to rush over her bare skin.
“Are you prepared?”
Her hands tightened on his back.
With the death of Edra, the spell that prevented Dante from being able to drink human blood had been broken. He was now a fully functioning vampire.
And anxious to complete the ceremony that would bind them together.
She gave a firm nod. “I’m ready.”
Easing himself on top of her, Dante settled between her legs. Then gently he brushed her hair from her neck.
Instinctively Abby stiffened.
“Don’t be frightened,” he husked. “I promise it won’t hurt.”
Breathing in deeply, Abby relaxed her tense muscles. “I’m not frightened.”
“And you’re certain that this is what you want? Once you have mated yourself to me, there is no going back.”
It was a familiar warning. Had it been up to her, they would have been mated the moment they had pulled themselves out of the cellar. Dante, however, had proven to be remarkably stubborn, refusing her demands until she had ample time to consider the consequences.
“We’ve already been through all this.”
“Yes, but—”
She reached up to frame his face in her hands. “Dante, shut up and make me yours.”
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