“This is so hot!”
—New York Times bestselling author Susan Sizemore
“Transfixing and sexy!”
—Romantic Times
GLOWING PRAISE FOR ALEXIS MORGAN’S MESMERIZINGLY SEXY PALADIN SERIES
REDEEMED IN DARKNESS
“Captivating, compelling, and totally hot! When an alien warrior captures his interest, sexy Paladin Cullen never dreams that they’ll both face death and destruction of all they hold dear as she also captures his heart. Don’t miss this series!”
—Alyssa Day, USA Today bestselling
author of Atlantis Rising
IN DARKNESS REBORN
“Utterly compelling. I love these hunky, sexy, heroic guys! Great sexual tension and action. Really terrific and totally unique.”
—Katherine Stone, author of Caroline’s Journal
DARK PROTECTOR
“An innovative story line, passionate protective champions, and lots of surprising twists…. Don’t be left out—pick up a copy, settle in, and enjoy the journey.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“A complex paranormal fantasy that pulls readers in from the first page and doesn’t let them go.”
—Paranormal Romance Writers
“Alexis Morgan enchants the reader immediately…. An exciting new book in the paranormal genre and one readers definitely should not miss.”
—Kwips and Kritiques
DARK DEFENDER
“An intense plot with twists and turns and wonderful surprises.”
—Paranormal Romance Writers
“Tons of suspense and drama. With her latest, Morgan proves that she’s…here to stay!”
—Romantic Times
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Acknowledgment
I want to thank all the ladies who keep D.J. company on his blog on my website. You keep him out of trouble (mostly) and never fail to inspire me with your insight into his world.
No book is ever created in a vacuum. I don’t know how I’d ever manage without the support of the people who help keep me sane.
I’d like to dedicate this book to my favorite Canadian, Bonnie Spidle. Since that fateful day when our paths first crossed up in Victoria, B.C., you’ve become an important part of my life. Thanks for being my sounding board, my confidante, my roomie, and, most of all, my friend.
Alexis
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Darkness flowed in, washing over him in relentless waves. Closing his eyes, Ranulf drank in the shadows with his other senses. Evil always felt the same, but the taste and smell and sound of it were different each time. Even here in his remote mountain home, the violence from the cities below tainted the air.
Who had dared to disturb his isolation? Ranulf traced the web of his protection wards, testing each one to locate the intruder. The sticky triggers of his protections were silent but effective, for the more someone struggled against them, the stronger the bond became.
It didn’t take long to locate the snarl in his trap. Ranulf released the mental coils that held the man enthralled and let him approach the front door. The intruder was human, with very little of the Kyth in his blood, but then the blood of Ranulf’s kind had become diluted over the centuries, lost in the wash of mankind.
He triggered the door to open but left the man cooling his heels on the porch. Bracing himself for the assault on his senses that always accompanied his return to society, Ranulf stepped into the doorway.
“You have something for me?”
The messenger jumped at Ranulf’s sudden appearance, but he recovered quickly. With a courtly flourish he produced a heavy velum envelope. “The Dame sends her regards.”
“I’m sure she does, Josiah.” Ranulf reluctantly accepted the envelope.
The handwriting on the outside was the same spidery scrawl that had been issuing him orders for far too long. A millennium had passed since he’d first sworn fealty to the Grand Dame of their kind. Months ago she’d promised him a respite from killing, but he hadn’t really expected it to last. They both knew that if she had need of his special talents, he would go. Duty was the one thing he understood.
As he cracked open the old-fashioned wax seal, he noticed the messenger still hovering in the doorway, neither in nor out.
“What?” Ranulf demanded, already weary of the man’s presence.
“I’m to wait for you.”
Ranulf bit back a curse; a lackey didn’t deserve to lose his head just because Ranulf’s instinct was to attack first and answer questions later—and then, only when he was forced to.
“Tell her to expect me when she sees me.”
“But she said it was an emergency,” the fool sputtered.
“It always is,” Ranulf snapped, his temper boiling close to the surface. It wasn’t as if he could simply lock the door and follow the man back to civilization. For him, travel took preparation.
He forced a compromise. “I will be there as soon as I can. I can’t be more specific, but after all these years, she knows that. Now get the hell out of here, Josiah. Every minute we spend arguing is a minute I could put to better use.”
The man started to say something else. When Ranulf took one step in his direction with his fists clenched, the messenger backed away with a reluctant nod, then fled toward his car. Ranulf slammed the door shut and threw the dead bolt.
Delays were pointless; it was time to start packing. That wouldn’t take long, because clothing had never been a priority for him. Not like some other Talions he could name. The Grand Dame had Old World sensibilities about such things, but bloodstains were a bitch to get out of silk and wool.
After packing his duffel, he zipped it closed and set it down by the front door. Then he walked over to a glass case and pondered its contents. After a few seconds, he lifted the lid and picked up his talisman by its leather thong. The bright shine of the gold sparked and flickered with power. The talisman felt to him far heavier than it looked.
He settled the centuries-old image of a god’s hammer around his throat and tucked it inside his shirt collar. The cool metal absorbed the heat from his skin, reconnecting him with the Grand Dame. Once again, he was a warrior preparing for battle.
The small cache of energy he kept stored in the talisman soothed his cravings enough to maintain control, but it wouldn’t last long. He could’ve used the Dame’s messenger for a quick fix, but she wouldn’t appreciate his sending her man back damaged, even just slightly.
Retrieving his duffel, he headed out to the garage, where his dark mood immediately improved. It was early summer and definitely time to take the dustcover off the Packard. The car, a creamy white 1940 convertible, always drew a crowd—a drawback in his line of work. But as a six-foot-three, blue-eyed Viking with fiery red hair, he wasn’t exactly inconspicuous anyway. If he had to drag himself back out in the world on a mission for the Grand Dame, at least he could do it in comfort and style.
He’d owned the car since it had
first rolled off the lot back in 1940, and it still looked brand-new. He put the top down, then brushed a hint of dust off the elegant curve of the fender, enjoying the smooth feel of the metal and the comfort of the buttery soft leather seats. On the outside, the Packard hadn’t aged any more than he had. Inside, where it counted, he felt every one of his thousand years. He turned the key and the car purred to life, the 160 horses under the hood just begging to be unleashed on the mountain roads.
Ranulf ripped down the familiar curves, wondering why the Dame needed him. Most of the time she used the other Talions at her command, preferring to use diplomacy rather than Ranulf’s brute strength to impose her will on their people. If she was worried enough to send for him, she must suspect that one of their kind had crossed the line and needed to die. He flexed his hands on the steering wheel, feeling the harsh scrape of raw energy under his skin. It had been a long time since he’d fed on a renegade, and he didn’t relish the thought of doing so again.
Killing was rough work, and messy. It always had been, from the very beginning, when blood had flowed for the glory of his people. But he was a Talion, a group named for the eye-for-an-eye principle that ruled their kind. Ranulf served the Kyth as executioner and was the acknowledged best at what he did. He had few regrets, even if every life he’d taken had chipped away at his soul, leaving him cold and grim.
In recent centuries the Kyth had grown more civilized, and now most feared rather than respected the Talion class. Maybe rightly so. The ability to kill without remorse was a rare gift, but one he took no pride in.
On the way, he’d look for a crowd to get lost in long enough to harvest sufficient energy to last him for a day or two. That way he’d be better prepared to face whatever had the Dame worried enough to unleash a Viking warrior on the streets of Seattle. A growing sense of dread urged him on, his foot pressing down hard on the accelerator as he charged down the mountain and prepared to do battle.
* * *
The music was alive, pulsing through the dancers. The concussive beat vibrated through the club’s walls, the floor, and the very air until it became just another note in the symphony. The melody flowed out in waves, reaching the farthest corners of the club.
Closing her eyes, Kerry Logan lifted her hands high in the air and gave herself up to the fierce beat, her hips swaying, her head gently rolling from side to side. For the first time all day, her skin didn’t hurt from the demands and expectations of others. She’d ditched her coworkers and her friends for a night out alone on the town.
Right now the music was all there was, and that was enough. She’d spend the evening lost in the crowd of dancers, letting the music take control. After a few hours she’d head home, her soul replenished.
Lost in the anonymity of the packed dance floor, she moved and slowly spun, enjoying the occasional brush of a stranger’s body against hers. She was dimly aware of the weight of voices and the crush of bodies, but finally everything except the music faded into the background. This would heal her weary spirit.
* * *
The city lay sprawled under a blanket of bright lights as Ranulf followed Interstate 90 into the heart of Seattle. Just before he reached the turnoff to the Dame’s home, the song on the radio was abruptly cut off by a news flash about a fire raging out of control at a nearby dance club. There was nothing unusual in the few sketchy details, but Ranulf’s gut instincts had him riveted to the story. Without hesitation, he drove past his exit and into the downtown area.
The blaze might have been caused by any number of things, from bad wiring to a careless fool with a cigarette, but if a Kyth had set the fire, Ranulf wanted a head start in hunting the bastard down. No matter how careful an arsonist was, he’d leave enough of a trace for Ranulf to detect. The unique flavor of his energy would identify him as clearly as a fingerprint would.
Screaming emergency vehicles were converging on the scene, so Ranulf parked a block away to approach on foot. The scent of smoke and the faintest tang of burned flesh hung heavily all around, and he could hear the screams from a block away. Drawing in a deep breath, Ranulf tasted a bitter darkness in the air—the familiar flavor of evil. He ran toward the burning building, determined to snatch as many away from the grasping fingers of flame and death as possible.
* * *
Kerry was dancing, loving the slide of muscle under her skin, her bones no longer solid but fluid and bending with the rhythm of the song. This was what she’d come for.
Then the night was shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. “Fire! My God, fire!”
Kerry’s eyes flew open. Everyone stood frozen in horror, their faces reflecting the crimson flicker of flames. As terror swiftly turned the crowd into an ocean of panic, Kerry fought to remain calm in a scene straight out of hell. She glanced at the ceiling to the silver glint of a sprinkler system, praying it would kick on to drown the roiling smoke and terrified voices.
How had the room filled up with so much black smoke and flame so quickly? It didn’t make sense. Ignoring the chaos, she struggled to get her bearings. Access to the front door was already cut off by a lethal combination of too many people and the fire itself. The intense heat drove the crowd back, sending a solid wall of mindless bodies flooding right back toward her.
There had to be another way out. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve to clear away the sting of tears and smoke. Keeping close to the wall, Kerry darted toward the hallway at the back of the club. The power failed as she turned the corner, plunging the narrow passageway into darkness, leaving only the dim glow of the red emergency lights to guide her.
She tried door after door, including the bathrooms, but found no windows. No access to the outside. Spying an Exit sign at the back of a storage room, she ran straight for it. The heavy door resisted opening, but she gathered up her strength and shoved one more time. Blessedly cool night air poured through the opening and kissed her skin. She filled her lungs, shaking with relief at having made it to safety. But before she could step outside to freedom, the screams and agonized shrieks back in the club brought her up short.
She couldn’t save herself and let the others die. Fear and common sense argued she was making a mistake, but her conscience wouldn’t listen. After jamming a box in the door to keep it open, she drew one last breath of clear air and resolutely turned back toward the hell inside.
The fire had engulfed one entire side of the club, herding its victims back into nooks and crannies to consume at its leisure. Kerry grabbed two women by the arms and dragged them toward the hallway. Once they were headed in the right direction, she returned for more.
With smoke burning her lungs, she made trip after trip out of the inferno, leading some people, herding others, helping as many as she could. Once the able-bodied were moving in the right direction, she looked for anyone who didn’t have the strength to make it out on their own.
Ignoring the stench of burned flesh, she lifted a man who was struggling to breathe. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, she staggered under his weight as they shuffled step by step through the heavy smoke, half carrying and half leading him toward the exit.
A tall male figure suddenly loomed up in front of her through the smoke. The haze was too thick for her to make out his face clearly, but she was sure he hadn’t been among the dancers. She would have remembered someone that size. He seemed to be the only other person who’d managed to keep his head in the face of such terror.
She shoved the injured man at the tall stranger, shouting over the chaos, “Get him out of here while I go back for another look.”
Before she’d gone two steps, his hand snaked out to catch her by the arm. “I’ll be back to help.”
“Fine.”
With a renewed burst of energy, she made another foray back into the club. The dim hallway was no longer clear of smoke and fire, and heat licked its way along the ceiling, rolling in blue and red waves. Dropping to her hands and knees, Kerry crawled and coughed her way back into the dance floor, where she spotted
four people huddled behind the bar. Were they waiting for an engraved invitation, for God’s sake?
“You’ve got to get out of here!” she shouted, frustration and a growing fear threatening to overwhelm her.
When they didn’t respond, she tried again. “Come on, get moving! I’ll take you to safety.”
A boy who looked far too young to be in a bar shrank back farther into the corner, his eyes huge with panic. “NO! We’re waiting for the firemen to come get us.”
“You won’t live long enough for them to find you.” Running out of time and patience, she gave his arm a solid yank. “Now get moving, all of you!”
“You heard her, boy. Move or we all die.”
Kerry jumped at the deep voice barking orders from right beside her. The stranger was back, just as he’d promised. With him standing beside her, the fear that had been lapping at her control faded to a manageable level.
He shoved the boy and his friends back toward the exit, then leaned in close to yell over the roar of the fire, “Better get out of here. The rest of the roof is about to go.”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
“You better be.” Then he was gone.
Dimly aware of the shouts behind her, she realized that the fire department had arrived and was sending in the troops. At last.
Before she’d gone more than a few steps toward the exit, she heard a sound that chilled her despite the boiling heat surrounding her.
Closing her eyes to listen, she hoped to hear nothing but the mad cackle of the fire’s fury. But there it was again—a whimper coming from off to the left. Common sense told her to leave any more rescues to the pros. But she had to live with herself, even if that meant dying right along with whoever was still trapped inside the inferno. Praying for deliverance or, failing that, a merciful death, she worked her way farther into the room.
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