Eternal Breath of Darkness

by Candice Stauffer

“Well then,” she murmured as she licked her lips, “I guess that I have some spectacular retaliation to look forward to.”

  He brought her hand to the warmth of his mouth to kiss it. “In the near future.” He led her off the main path.

  “The very near future, I hope.” The trail was dark and heavily wooded. It was nothing more than an animal path with deep grooves from motorcycle tires. “Are you sure this is the right way?”

  “I never get lost,” he stated. His voice was a little too serious. And? She glanced up at him. Yep. He was annoyed.

  She laughed. “Discussing the topic of you getting lost is going to be great fun in the future.”

  He shook his head. “No, it won’t.”

  There was a bold, unambiguous rush of demonic energy in the atmosphere. A copper-colored mist formed directly in front of them. Pointing toward it, Caylee froze. “Oh, God. What is it?”

  “It’s only Zack,” Haden said, obviously not surprised.

  Caylee pinched his arm hard. “Jerk.”

  “Ouch.” He rubbed his arm. “What was that for?”

  “You did the same thing to me with the snake. You knew that Zack was going to pop up out of nowhere. You should’ve warned me.”

  “You were distracting me.”

  Zack stepped out of the mist and walked toward them. “Paul isn’t able to step foot onto Nikolas’ property. He has another vampire with him. A young male. They’re trying like hell to get closer. And it is as we suspected. They’re using ancient forms of Demetri’s spells combined with Mary Tate’s magic. It’s odd. If Demetri is truly aiding them, why is he helping them with older spells? Wouldn’t newer spells be more effective? And why would he allow his power to be polluted and weakened by a human’s touch?”

  “I don’t believe that any influence from Mary would hamper Demetri’s power. And, I don’t believe any older form of magic is any weaker than anything current. Yes, we know the origin of them, but they’re foreign to us. Demetri knows ancient spells will be more time consuming and difficult for us to unravel and defuse.”

  “You’re right.” Zack nodded. “He’s truly lost to us, isn’t he?” Pain and fear filled his voice.

  Caylee’s gaze shot straight to Zack. She could understand the pain, but the fear puzzled her. It was deep. She could see it in his eyes. It was as if he expected the worst to happen. It was as if he had no hope. She looked up at Haden.

  “The past won’t be repeated,” Haden wrapped his arm around Caylee and pulled her closer. The possessive, protective way he held her frightened the hell out of her. Did he expect the worst too? Did he believe that something terrible was going to happen to her?

  “What’s your plan? You know that I’ll stand by your side, Haden. You know that I’ll give all that I have to help you, but we both know that this situation is massively fucked up. You say that the past won’t be repeated, but it’s already repeating. You have a vampire hunting your woman, and we can’t stop him.”

  The sky darkened, and the ground rumbled. Caylee rolled her eyes. She was really getting tired of being drenched with rain whenever Haden lost his temper. “I won’t allow it to happen.” Haden’s voice was a deep, menacing growl.

  “Damn it, Haden, stop lying to yourself. You fucking know that living in denial will get her killed a whole hell of a lot quicker. I was there. You were there too, damn it. Your father said the same fucking thing. How do you intend to stop Demetri before it’s too late?”

  Caylee wasn’t rolling her eyes anymore. Zack was really freaking her out. They expected her to be killed.

  Hit by Caylee’s rising fear, Zack glanced at her. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and held it. He knew he was causing her fear to build. He didn’t want to care about her. He didn’t want to feel guilty, but he did. He released his breath with a groan. “Just tell me what the hell you want me to do, Haden.”

  “We need to talk to Nikolas. He’s older. He has fought side by side with Demetri for thousands of years. He has greater knowledge of him than we do. He also knows the ancient forms of dark magic as well as Demetri knows them.”

  Caylee didn’t really want to draw attention to the fact she was still there, but she had to know. “How old is your brother?” It was hard to believe anyone was older than Haden.

  “You think I’m old?”

  “No. Extremely old.”

  “Demetri and Nikolas are about ten thousand years old,” Zack explained, looking down at Caylee as if she disgusted him.

  Shocked by it, she tripped on her own feet. Thankfully Haden was there to grab her arm and steady her or else she would’ve fallen flat on her face. “Dang.” What else could she say? She couldn’t even fathom the thought of living a thousand years. How was she supposed to imagine anyone living for ten thousand? From the corner of her eyes, she stared at Zack. Why did he dislike her so much?

  Haden brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “It’s not that Zack doesn’t like you, little love. He would never admit it, but he cares very deeply. He’s here with us today because he wants to ensure your safety. If I were ever unable to protect you, he would be the first to rise up and defend you.”

  Zack glanced at Haden. He knew Haden was saying it out loud to make sure Zack knew he was causing Caylee distress. Zack looked at Caylee. “I’m not a people person. My social skills need work.” That was it. The woman wasn’t getting an apology.

  They walked out into a small clearing then veered off onto a path that led through a small cemetery. It was surrounded and filled with beautiful, lush foliage. Flowers. Trees. Vines. There were several smaller headstones with a twelve-foot high monument in the middle.

  “Who’s buried here?” Caylee asked.

  “Family,” Zack said.

  Taking Caylee with him, Haden stopped in front of the monument. She immediately realized that it was a headstone. Seth and Ella Drake. “My mother was murdered by a rogue demon. Our father followed her. He couldn’t continue in this life without her.”

  Zack turned to Caylee. “Knowing his mother, she probably kicked his father’s ass for leaving Haden. He was her little baby. She was a tad bit overly protective of him and would’ve been mad as hell when she realized he’d been left without a parent.”

  Caylee looked at Zack. He was teasing Haden. It seemed so cold and callous for Zack to tease him about losing his mother and father. She looked a Haden. Clearly, by the smile on his face, he was remembering the past. “You were a baby when she died?”

  Still smiling, Haden looked at her. “Not really.”

  “How old were you?” When Haden didn’t answer, Caylee looked up at Zack.

  Ready and eager, Zack grinned. “Well, he was nearly weaned.” He was more than pleased to continue the conversation. “You were somewhere around fifteen hundred years old, right?”

  “Give or take a few years.” Haden smiled. Caylee sensed he didn’t mind being teased. He seemed to like it. It seemed odd that he could smile over their deaths.

  Haden brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “They aren’t in the ground, little love. This is a place for reflection. They’re together in the next realm of existence. It’s a good thing he followed her. My father loved my mother too much to be apart. She loved him too much to be apart, too. It’s common for our kind to follow their mates.” What he wasn’t telling her was that they’d shared his father’s eternal breath. His mother had been mortal at one time too. When she died his father followed because of it.

  That was it. That was why Zack didn’t like her. She would eventually die, and Haden might follow her. She tilted her head to the side. “I wouldn’t want you to follow me if I died!”

  “Nothing could stop me. But there’s no reason to worry about it. I would, but you’re not going to die.”

  “No. She isn’t.” The deep, masculine voice came from behind. Haden and Zack moved so quickly that it was a blur. They shoved Caylee behind them and turned to face the threat.

  “Nikolas.” Haden brought Caylee to
his side. “Not funny.”

  Nikolas didn’t show any emotion. “I thought it was extremely funny.” Caylee stared at him. She tried to look away, but she couldn’t. Nikolas looked quite a bit like Haden. His hair was a lighter medium brown color. His eyes were a strange, golden brown. But he had the same smile and facial structure as Haden. He had a very dark, dangerous aura. “You’re both still neglecting your backsides.” Folding his arms behind his back as if attempting to appear less threatening, he met Caylee’s gaze and bowed his head slightly. “It has been a quite few years since you’ve been back here. You’ve grown into a beautiful young woman.” He smiled at her. “It’s a treat to see you again, little sister.”

  Eyes wide, Caylee moved closer to Haden. Nikolas’ presence was so intense, so powerful. It was downright terrifying. He wasn’t acting in a threatening matter, but it didn’t matter. He was intimidating as hell. She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn’t know how to respond to him. She’d never been to his home. She didn’t understand what he was talking about.

  Smiling, Nikolas held out his hand, and a kite appeared in it. “Perhaps you were too young to remember the first time you were here.”

  She immediately recognized it. “Oh, wow.” It was her long-lost kite.

  “You left it down on the beach.” He pointed toward the cliff overlooking the sea.

  Smiling, suddenly more at ease, she took it from him. “I can’t believe you have it.” She examined the kite and looked up at Haden. “It really is the same kite.” She pointed at a name written in barely legible print. “Look, Haden, my mom put her name on it.” She flipped the kite over. “So did I. We made it together just a few weeks before she disappeared.”

  “It’s a beautiful kite. A beautiful memory of your mother.”

  Nikolas looked at Haden. “Do I want to know why you’ve brought vampires with you today?”

  Zack pointed at Caylee. “She’s being hunted by one.”

  Nikolas looked at Haden. “Why is it alive?” He didn’t show any sign of anger, but there was an unmistakable sound of accusation in Nikolas’ voice.

  Haden frowned. “It’s complicated.”

  Zack nodded. “The vampire is being helped by a powerful demon.”

  “What?” Nikolas paused. “Who?”

  “Demetri.”

  “No.” Nikolas shook his head as if immediately rejecting the accusation. “You’re wrong. Demetri would never aid a vampire.”

  “Perfect,” Zack stated, “you’re both in denial.” He glared at Caylee. “She’s as good as dead.”

  Caylee gasped.

  Haden lunged forward and shoved Zack against a tree. “Stop scaring her.”

  “Stop acting like idiots.” Lowering his brow, Nikolas clenched his jaw. “Nothing will happen to Caylee. And denial has nothing to do with my opinion, Zack. You’re wrong. Demetri wouldn’t side with a vampire, and he sure as hell wouldn’t do anything to harm a woman.”

  “You’re wrong. Demetri is helping the vampire. He’s using ancient spells. Haden, tell him about the trap. You almost lost her.”

  Nikolas looked at Haden. “What trap?”

  Haden explained the entire story. Caylee was more than relieved that he left out the fact he’d stumbled into the trap because he was distracted by having the best sex ever.

  “An ancient human warrior rising?” Nikolas was reaching for Demetri, demanding an answer, an explanation, but Demetri wasn’t responding. Nikolas knew that performing such a feat without help from a demon would be impossible for a vampire. In the past there had been instances when demons joined with vampires, but Nikolas couldn’t believe Demetri would commit such a vile, treasonous act against his kind. He believed there had to be another explanation, but he couldn’t deny that something was terribly wrong. Why wasn’t Demetri responding to him?

  “Demetri must be destroyed if he’s united with any vampire. But I just can’t get beyond the idea something else is going on. Demetri is too honorable to do something so wicked. I just can’t believe he would do this, but I can’t deny your vampire is using a form of Demetri’s spells not used for thousands and thousands of years.”

  Zack said, “Believe it or not, it’s true.”

  “Do not doubt that if it’s true, if Demetri has become a threat to Caylee, I will destroy him.” Nikolas locked his gaze onto Haden’s. “You should’ve come to me immediately.”

  “I underestimated the vampire, the entire situation.” Haden took a deep breath and released it with a heavy sigh. “I thought I could handle it. I never thought Demetri would do this.”

  “When Paul fled, the rising just ended, right?” Nikolas asked.

  “Yes. And it bothers me.” Haden nodded. “The moment the vampire disappeared so did Demetri’s power.”

  That brought Nikolas’ brow up. “Totally?”

  “Yes.”

  Deep in thought, Nikolas rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I have an idea. Stay here for as long as you want. Don’t go back to your car. The vampire has set a trap for you. Zack and I will go and have a talk with Demetri.” Nikolas took Caylee’s hand again. “You will be safe. No one will ever harm a hair on your head. For years, I’ve looked forward to the day I would see you again, little sister. I hope you will come by again soon.” Nikolas looked at Haden. “It’s way past time to take care of a certain matter. You can’t keep putting it off.”

  “I know,” Haden said.

  Haden’s voice sounded more than a little annoyed. Caylee sensed Nikolas had just reprimanded Haden. But why? Caylee’s questioning gaze darted from Haden to Nikolas. Zack and Nikolas turned away from them and slowly dissolved into a mist. She was starting to get used to the disappearing and reappearing thing, but the fact they were all dragons was a little bit too much to comprehend. Not that she didn’t believe it. She’d watched them turn from man to dragon and dragon to man. It was just shocking. No. It was strange. Haden was strange.

  Haden took Caylee’s hand and walked her over to the cliff. “What was your brother accusing you of putting off?”

  “Nothing important,” Haden lied. “And I’m not strange.”

  “I agree. You are extraordinarily strange. Tell me the truth, Haden—does your brother think you shouldn’t be with me?”

  “No.” Haden stopped walking and turned her to face him. “Absolutely not.” He shook his head. “Why would you think that?”

  “No matter what you say, I know Zack doesn’t like the fact that we’re together.” She shrugged. “Nikolas is your brother. He would naturally want what’s best for you. Family generally looks out for each other. You have so much power, so much potential. I’m an ordinary woman. I just thought maybe Nikolas might believe you’re slumming it by being with me.”

  “You’re wrong. They know you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. They know you are my heart, my soul, my life. Zack is irritated because he believes I’m not taking care of you properly. He’s worried about you. Nikolas shares his concern and his belief that I’m not doing all I can to keep you safe.”

  “You’re not serious, are you? I mean, you’re extremely protective of me.” She narrowed her gaze on his. He was lying. But why? She held his gaze for a few seconds, and then, deciding to ask Nikolas or Zack later, she looked down at the beach. “Haden, I want to go down there.”

  “I would kill any man that ever tried to convince you to leave me. Especially, if that man tried to convince you that you’re not good enough for me.” For a moment he looked dangerous, like the demon he was. But then, thrilled over the idea she might willingly fly with him, he was smiling at her, his eyes shining with joy and anticipation. “Oh, I’m sorry. We can’t. I wish we could, but the only way down there is to fly, and it’s your least favorite form of transportation.”

  “Actually, I’ve a little confession to make.” She smiled up at him. “I’ve grown quite fond of the idea of flying with you again.”

  He was so very hopeful, but he was also way more than a little suspi
cious. “Are you teasing me?”

  Flashing a way too sweet, innocent little grin, she asked, “Do you really believe I would do something so cruel?”

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “What do you want from me? Should I beg?”

  “Never.”

  “Well then, will you take me?”

  “Absolutely.” He definitely wasn’t going to wait for her to change her mind. He loved to fly. He hoped one day she would love it too. He immediately, waving his hand, created a cloud of fog for cover.

  In awe, she watched him. The sight of him took her breath away. He was so good-looking. So amazing. So powerful. And he was her man. He loved her. His black, leathery wings shimmered for a few seconds and solidified. “You’re so beautiful, Haden.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “Women are beautiful. Men are not beautiful.” He bent his head and took possession of her lips roughly to prove his masculinity.

  Struggling to catch her breath, Caylee laughed against Haden’s lips. When he stopped kissing her to look at her, she tried to pout, but her pouter wasn’t working so well. He looked so appalled, so mortified. She couldn’t stop smiling or giggling no matter how hard she tried. “But you are …” Struggling to get the words out, she continued to laugh. “So very, incredibly beautiful.”

  He captured her tiny waist and easily picked her up. “Wrap your legs around me.” And she did it without hesitation. He tilted his head back to look up at her. “Now, take it back.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “No way.” She smiled at him teasingly. “It’s the truth. You’re absolutely beautiful.”

  “Take it back.” He glanced down at the ocean and then returned his gaze to hers. “Or you’re getting wet.”

  “So what?” Wiggling, she moved her body against his while nibbling on his ear. “It isn’t a big deal to me. Really, it isn’t.” Her voice was a breathless, husky whisper that caused his entire body to shudder. “To be completely honest, you’re such a beautiful sight that my panties are already quite damp.” Rubbing her body against his, she teased his earlobe with her tongue. “In fact …” She paused, still moving her body intimately against his, and trailed hot kisses from his ear to his jaw. “They’re so uncomfortably damp that I would like to take them off.”