Jessie shrieked, and despite the fact that the both had on seatbelts, they were tossed around the vehicle. Cailyn’s purse smacked her face, and before she knew what was happening, their bodies were thrown forward as the car slammed into a hard object. The front airbags exploded, knocking the breath from her lungs. She felt like one giant bruise from head to toe.
The car slammed down onto its roof, sending debris raining around them. The sound of glass hitting the pavement was the only noise in the aftermath. Cailyn prayed that the hard top roof would not collapse and crush her and Jessie. One look out the spider-webbed windshield told her they had hit a tree. The sound of screeching tires meant they had no time to waist. The SUV full of skirm had reached them. She had no idea if the archdemon and Fae were still in the street or not. Her fear was a bitter tang in her mouth as she prepared to die. She had no way to combat these powerful creatures.
They needed help. Her telepathy had never enabled her to communicate with others, but she had to try. She stretched her mind and screamed out an SOS to anyone who may be close enough. She begged for someone to send the police, fire department, anything to distract her pursuers. She was beyond worrying about who else became involved. She was desperate for her and Jessie to survive this.
Speaking of Jessie, there was only silence from the seat next to her. Was she alive? Terrified of what she would see, she glanced over to see blood dripping from Jessie’s temple into her long, bleach blonde hair. Hand shaking, she reached out to feel for a pulse. It was faint but there, thank God.
Leaves rustling and twigs snapping drew her attention. Outside the passenger window she saw the demon in his black combat boots approach her vehicle. “Jessie, wake-up, we need to get out—” She yelped as a knife cut through her seat belt and someone grabbed her hair, dragging her from the car. Craning her neck, she saw that Aquiel had a firm hold of her.
When Azazel snatched Jessie from the car she screamed, “Leave her alone! She has nothing to do with this.”
“Unfortunately for her, now she does,” Azazel taunted. Jessie whimpered and cried out. Jessie had come around, and her eyes were wide with fear. Cailyn would have preferred that Jessie remain unconscious and unaware of the danger they were in.
“What do you want?” Cailyn asked, distracting the demon while she focused on the thoughts and snippets of conversations running through her mind. She was typically bombarded and overwhelmed quickly when she lifted her barriers, but she was far enough away from a heavily populated area that it was easy to focus on what was coming through. A spark of hope ignited when she heard Zander’s name accompanied by a sense of loyalty and dedication. Whoever was thinking of Zander respected the Vampire King and she prayed they were his Dark Warriors. She knew they were close by, but would they reach her and Jessie in time?
“You’ll know soon enough. I must say you’re a pretty one, princess. Much more voluptuous than your sister, the Queen,” Azazel purred. She shuddered as he ran a claw-tipped finger along Jessie’s cheek while maintaining his hold around her neck. She knew that all he had to do was flex his fingers and he would end Jessie’s life. She opened her mind again and screamed her plea for help.
“Who is that I hear tearing through the brush? More playthings?” Nausea rose at Azazel’s words. She cursed supernatural senses. She was hoping that there were Dark Warriors headed her way, supernaturals who could take them by surprise. She didn’t want to die like this, and they could end her and Jessie in the blink of an eye. They must want them for something, she reasoned. Otherwise, they’d be dead. She had to stall him.
“What do you want with me? I have nothing to give you. Let us go or you will regret it. The Dark Warriors are seconds away from us,” she brazened. “You won’t get away with this,” she threatened.
“Ah, but that is where you are wrong. We already have. Cast the spell now, Aquiel. I’ll take care of her friend,” Azazel ordered. Immediately, the Fae began chanting in a lyrical language and as her body became heavy, she fought the hold he had on her. She met Jessie’s frightened eyes and watched the tears flow. When Azazel palmed her friend’s breast, Jessie struggled against his hold. Cailyn screamed out her anger.
“No, leave her alone, you sick bastard!” She had to get free from Aquiel’s grip and help Jessie. She tried to kick out, but her feet felt like they were encased in concrete. She missed the Fae by a mile and her broken leg burned with pain. She lifted her arm to push at the Fae, but it too became weighed down. She wondered what he was doing to make her movements sluggish and uncoordinated.
When the demon sank his fangs into Jessie’s carotid, Jessie stopped struggling and went limp in his arms. “No…Jessie! Don’t hurt her!” Cailyn pleaded. Spots winked in her vision and her head lolled as she spent the remains of her energy fighting when she heard Azazel’s grating voice. “She will be my most beautiful skirm yet.”
*****
Jace closed the front door of Zeum and heard the sound of Elsie’s frantic voice in the hallway followed by Zander’s deep Scottish brogue. The compound the Seattle Dark Warriors called home was silent but for the king and his mate. Jace hurried to the war room and came to a halt in the doorway. Elsie was in tears and clearly upset about something.
“Zander, I am telling you Cailyn is in danger. The archdemon and the Fae are going to hurt her. This premonition was different. I saw events unfold, unlike before, when I only experienced feelings of doom. They are going to take her. Please, call,” Elsie pleaded. Anxiety, anger, and a sense of urgency bombarded Jace at hearing Cailyn might be in danger. The idea didn’t sit well with him, and he had no idea why. Sure, he was a doctor and his focus was on healing people, but it went beyond that and he barely knew the female.
“I see it too, a ghra. Apparently, we now share your premonitions. Doona worry, I will do everything in my power to make sure she is safe.” Zander vowed, grabbing his cell phone and making a call. The magic behind a mating amazed Jace. He understood that Fated Mates would share any special abilities they had with each other once the mating was completed, but he had never actually seen it, because Zander and Elsie were the first mated couple in over seven hundred years.
“What’s going on?” Jace asked, recalling the first time he had met Cailyn. He had been immediately captivated. Not one to be aroused by females, Cailyn had inspired arousal so hot and painful, he’d lost his breath. The pull to her had not diminished in the least over the months. If anything, it had become stronger. At Zander and Elsie’s mating ceremony, it took all his years of celibacy to keep some distance. Simply recalling her sweet face and voluptuous curves had his body hardening.
Elsie’s sharp gasp intruded his reminiscing. “They have her Zander, do something,” she said frantically. His heart stuttered before it began racing with his worry for Cailyn.
“Thane,” Zander barked into his phone, “where are you?” Zander’s Scottish accent deepened with his agitation.
Jace heard Thane’s voice echo on the other end of the phone. “We are right outside San Bruno State Park. Cailyn’s flight landed early and we have been rushing to catch up with her.”
“Pick up the pace. My mate and I have both seen Aquiel capture Cailyn. Do whatever you must to get to her,” Zander ordered the warrior.
“Yes, Liege,” Thane responded.
“Call when you have her. And, Thane, failure is no’ an option.”
“Are they going to make it to her in time?” Jace demanded after Zander ended his call with the San Francisco Dark Warrior. His protective instinct was in overdrive. As a healer, the welfare of others always drove him, but this was altogether different. He didn’t understand why, but he had to get to Cailyn and protect her.
“Is she going to die? I thought no one lived once you had a premonition about them,” Jace asked Elsie, switching gears as the thought occurred to him. He was shaking and couldn’t contemplate Cailyn dying. His body shuddered and it was unnerving, to say the least. His reactions to Cailyn were intense, and continued to baffle him.
“My premonitions have changed,” Elsie explained. “Now, I get pictures of the events that are going to occur. Earlier, I had a vision of Cailyn being chased by skirm who ran her off the road. Then Aquiel grabbed her from the wreckage of her car. There is an urgency beating in me that tells me we are in a race against time.”
That was enough for Jace. Aquiel had proven to be a wicked creature, and skirm were once humans who had been turned into mindless killing machines by an archdemon. The thought of Cailyn being harmed by either one had his anger turning to rage. “Are Ryker and Gage with Thane?” Jace inquired about the other San Francisco Dark Warriors. Given what Elsie described, Thane would need the help.
“Aye, they are. Jax is also with them. They have taken to patrolling in larger groups with the increase in skirm activity, and that is paying off for us tonight,” Zander replied, pulling Elsie into his arms.
“Why haven’t they called yet? This waiting is driving me mad. She can’t be hurt,” Elsie sobbed. Zander wiped tears from her cheeks and kissed her lovingly. Jace marveled at how patient Zander was with his mate. He held and comforted her rather than pointing out that it had been less than a minute since he hung up with Thane.
Panic made it impossible for Jace to sit down, and he paced restlessly around the room. He had enough adrenaline running through his veins to sprint to San Francisco. He’d do anything to get to Cailyn in time. His protective instincts were stronger then they’d ever been. At that moment, his mate’s soul stirred in his chest, making him wonder if it was possible that Cailyn was his Fated Mate.
He dismissed the idea without giving it another thought. The Goddess would never curse a female as heavenly as Cailyn with a mate like him. He wasn’t fit to be a mate. Lady Angelica had seen to that.
The main line rang and Zander hit the speaker button before Jace made it a step. “Dark Warriors,” Zander growled.
“This is Thane. We’re at the scene of the accident. The moment we cleared the trees, the demon sneered at us, grabbed the Fae and disappeared. We have the females. The Queen’s sister is alive but hurt. Her friend has an obvious demon bite on her neck. How do you want us to proceed? Normally, we let the human medical teams take over at this point. Do you want us to call for an ambulance?”
Jace stopped dead in his tracks as his anxiety over Cailyn riddled him. He was relieved to hear she was alive, but hearing she was hurt made his heart drop into his feet. “A human hospital would be a bad idea,” he blurted before anyone else could answer. “Take it from me, this situation will bring too much attention to the realm. We must handle it ourselves.” He turned to Zander, determination riding him. “I need to get to them,” he declared. No one was keeping him from going to Cailyn.
“I agree. The fastest way will be to portal to Basketane,” Zander pointed out, referring to the San Francisco compound. “Do you think you can afford the energy drain? We doona know the extent of their injuries.”
“I will do whatever it takes to get to her as fast as possible and I will heal her…even if it kills me,” Jace vowed, ignoring the shocked gasps and questioning looks.
“Text Gerrick and tell him to return,” Zander said, saving Jace any further explanations. Jace had a message sent to Gerrick and Killian, fellow sorcerers, before Zander finished talking. Their reply was instant, causing Jace to curse as he fired off another text.
“What?” Zander asked.
“They are fifteen minutes away. I’ll have to do this alone.” They didn’t have that long. He needed to be there, now.
“Take the females back to Basketane,” Zander said into the speaker phone, holding Jace’s gaze steady.
“We are loading them now and will be waiting for you,” Thane responded.
“We will be there shortly. Gerrick is five minutes oot and they will set the portal immediately upon his return. Send another crew to clean-up the accident scene. We doona want the human authorities getting involved,” Zander instructed.
Sweat beaded Jace’s brow and his heart was racing. He listened to Zander comfort Elsie and the others who had joined them discuss this turn of events. Jace was worse than Elsie had been, cocking his ear for Gerrick or Killian every ten seconds. Sitting around waiting was not something Jace did well. He needed to take action. Another lap around the room didn’t help. The moment he thought he would go mad, Gerrick walked in the front door.
Jace raced to the double doors. “Come on, Gerrick. You can get caught up later. We need to cast a portal to Basketane. Now!” he snapped when Gerrick made no move to assist him.
“My sister is hurt and at we need to get to her,” Elsie told the surly warrior from the doorway to the war room.
Jace knew Gerrick hated hearing a female was in danger, which was no surprise, given that his mate had been brutally murdered centuries ago by skirm. Thankfully Elsie’s words kicked the warrior into gear. With only the two of them casting the portal, it would take all their energy and deplete them both, but he couldn’t wait for anyone else.
Needing to bolster his magic, he summoned his sorcerer’s staff from the Goddess’ realm. A bright, white light flashed and then he was gripping the familiar Alder wood of his staff, the additional hum of power radiating into him. The serpent that adorned the top of the seven-foot, weathered pole gleamed in the overhead light. Jace took a deep breath to center his energy. He could do this.
He glanced over and saw that Gerrick had summoned his own staff. He nodded at the warrior and they began chanting in the ancient tongue. Jace felt the magic build beneath his skin. Green, blue and purple lights similar to the aurora borealis undulated all around them. The power increased until Jace thought his skin would split. With a sideways glance to Gerrick, they threw the magic into the giant foyer. A mystical doorway formed, and an elegant drawing room with antique furnishings and wood paneling was visible on the other side of the portal. A sultry cinnamon scent wafted through the opening.
Jace’s heart stopped as Jax walked into the drawing room cradling Cailyn.
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OTHER WORKS BY TRIM AND JULKA
The Dark Warrior Alliance
Dream Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book One)
Mystik Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Two)
Pema’s Storm (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Three)
Deviant Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Four)
Isis’ Betrayal (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Five)
Suvi’s Revenge (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Six)
Mistletoe & Mayhem (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 6.5)
Scarred Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Seven)
Heat in the Bayou (Dark Warrior Alliance, Novella, Book 7.5)
Hellbound Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Eight)
Isobel (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Nine)
Rogue Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Ten)
Tinsel & Temptation (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 10.5)
Shattered Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Eleven)
King of Khoth (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book Twelve)
The Rowan Sisters’ Trilogy
The Rowan Sisters’ Trilogy Boxset (Books 1-3)
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