A slow, simmering anger started to boil inside him. The part of his brain that could still think rationally past the rage that wanted to take over knew he needed help. Beyond caring if a mortal saw him or not, Kysen flashed himself directly inside his car. Luckily, no one was near to see him. He started the Mustang and peeled out of the parking lot.
Ignoring speed limits and stop signs when he could, Kysen arrived at the headquarters in half the time it would normally take to drive from Cena’s apartment. He parked his car and flashed himself inside the main part of the headquarters.
Using the telepathic link he shared with his brothers-in-arms, he called out to them before he went into the meeting room. In a matter of seconds, the others rushed into the room with the mates bringing up the rear.
“What’s the matter, Kysen?” Mehen asked with concern.
Kysen held out the note Mot had left for him. “This. That fucking demon scum has taken her. I don’t think I can survive if I lose her for a second time.”
“Her?” Blythe asked as Mehen read the note.
When Mehen finished, he passed it to Set. “His woman,” he said to his mate. “By the gods, Kysen, all this time and you never told us about losing the woman you loved.”
“Why didn’t I ever ‘see’ anything about her?” Takan asked and passed the note to Denger. Set had given it to him once he’d finished reading it.
“Because I lost Acenith before I became one of Ra’s Chosen. Her loss was something I wanted to keep personal. I’ve mourned her since she died.”
“Oh, Kysen,” Nyx said with a sniffle.
He looked over at her. There were tears in Nyx’s eyes. She knew the pain of losing a spouse. Her first husband had died of cancer three years ago and she hadn’t gotten over it until she’d met Denger.
Blythe cleared her throat. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, as were Desiree’s and Jordan’s. “You found her again and she’s your mate,” Blythe stated.
He nodded. “She’s my mate, but I didn’t know for sure that she was actually Acenith. Cena looks so much like her. It was a bit of a shock when I first saw her.” He motioned to the demon’s note that Akori held. “Somehow Mot knew. He says so in that fucking letter.”
“Apep more than likely told him,” Mehen said.
“I figured as much. Now Mot has Cena and he wants me to meet him tonight, alone, or he’ll kill her.”
“Not alone you won’t.”
“Yes, alone,” Kysen snapped. “You are our leader, Mehen, but when it comes to Cena, I’m making the decisions. She’s my mate, the woman I loved as a mortal. I’ll do anything in my power to keep her alive.”
“Even if it means you hand yourself over to Mot to be put under Apep’s thrall?” Mehen asked harshly.
“If it were to keep Cena alive, yes.” He’d cut out his own heart and hand it over to Mot if it meant Cena would continue to live.
“You’re not thinking straight,” Denger said. “You know Mot’s promises amount to nothing. There is no guarantee he’ll let your mate go once he has you.”
Some of the anger building inside him bubbled over. “What if this were Nyx?” Kysen growled. “Would you risk her life by taking all of us with you when the demon holding her told you to come alone? Would you be so willing to take that chance?”
Denger’s face fell. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“Then don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.”
Mehen sighed. “Kysen, don’t let your anger cause you to do something rash. We can come up with some kind of plan—”
Kysen cut him off. “No, not this time.”
Mehen opened his mouth to say something else, but Takan held up his hand to stop him. “Let it go, Mehen. Kysen isn’t going to change his mind. I just had a vision of him meeting Mot alone.”
Some of the tension in Kysen’s shoulders left him. Takan’s visions were never wrong. “And did you see anything about Cena?” Kysen asked. “Will I get her back?”
“I can’t see the final outcome. I only saw you with Mot.”
He nodded. That was enough for him. “In a way, it’s better that I don’t know. I’m going to my quarters to get ready for my meeting with Mot.”
His mind already set to battle mode, Kysen walked out of the meeting room. In a few hours, he had a rendezvous with a demon at the Japanese Friendship Garden.
* * * * *
Mehen blew out a frustrated breath after Kysen left. He turned to face Takan. “Is that what you really saw? We’re supposed to do nothing and let Kysen waltz on out of here to hand himself over to Mot?”
Takan shook more of his bangs into his face and smiled. “That’s all Kysen needed to know. I just didn’t tell him that we’d be making plans of our own without his knowledge.”
“So we aren’t going to let him go alone?”
“Yes, he has to meet Mot by himself. We’re going to be the hidden troops the enemy knows nothing about or expects.”
“What do you have in mind?” asked Denger. “I hope it involves ending the existence of a certain demon.”
Takan motioned to Blythe. “You’re looking at our secret weapon that will keep Kysen and his mate safe.”
Mehen gave the warrior a stern look. “Can’t we keep my mate out of this?”
“No. We need that necklace of hers to chase Mot off.”
“What do you mean by ‘chase Mot off’?” Set asked. “We need to destroy Mot while we have the chance.”
“We will,” Takan said. “But tonight is not his time to die. He will escape to face us again.”
“Shit, Takan,” Akori said. “Sometimes your visions suck.”
Mehen had to agree. Hearing that Mot would live to see another day wasn’t something he’d wanted to have happen. “As long as we can save Kysen and his mate, that’s all that matters. Now, Takan, tell us exactly what you saw us doing.”
Chapter Ten
Cena fell to her knees onto a dirt floor when the demon released her. She looked around, not sure exactly where she was. It appeared to be some kind of chamber made of stone, like the kind found in a cave underground. Somehow the demon had brought them here without the use of a vehicle. One minute they were inside her apartment and the next they were in this chamber.
The demon roughly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet. “Up you go. Kysen has probably found my letter by now. I’m sure he’s all anxious to get you back, but he won’t yet. Now to stick you somewhere until we have to meet up with your man.” He tapped his chin, then said, “I know the perfect place.”
Cena tried to dig in her heels as he dragged her out of the chamber, but she might as well have been fighting against a freight train. The demon didn’t stop until he’d taken her to another chamber, one that was much, much smaller than the first. He pushed her inside. It was about the size of a supply closet.
“And just so you know, there will be no way to escape. Unless you can move through solid rock,” he said with a laugh.
The demon waved his hand and a thick wall of stone shifted into place, sealing the chamber with her inside it. At first Cena thought she’d be left in complete darkness, but a torch suddenly appeared, affixed high on one wall. And from the way the flame wavered, she didn’t have to worry about smothering to death. She lifted a hand toward the ceiling and felt a small current of air somehow filtering in.
She put her back against the opposite wall from the torch and slowly slid down to sit on the dirt floor. Now that the demon had left her alone some of her fear became replaced with a jumble of emotions. What the demon had told her, was it all true? Or had he said it all to fuck with her head?
Cena folded her arms atop her bent knees and rested her head on them. Could she really discount what she’d learned about Kysen? That he was a vampire who’d once been a mortal thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt? Not really, unless she wanted to convince herself the demon didn’t exist. His glowing red eyes, fangs and ability to pop in and out of a room without moving were too rea
l to do that.
If she accepted all that, then she had to accept she truly was living her second life. And that she’d known, and loved, Kysen during her first. Cena sucked in a shaky breath. If she’d loved Kysen then, did she have the same feelings for him now? The answer to that was a resounding yes. She didn’t want to lose him. It didn’t matter whether or not he was a vampire. She loved him for him. It didn’t matter what he’d become, especially since it had kept him alive for her to find him again.
She closed her eyes and brought the image of Kysen to the forefront of her mind to hold on to like a security blanket. Somehow they had to come out of this together. Fate couldn’t be so cruel as to reunite them only to give them this tiny amount of time to be together. Kysen was strong. Surely he could defeat the demon. And from what her captor said, there were more than one of Ra’s Chosen warriors. They must be the friends Kysen mentioned before. Surely they’d fight with him to defeat the demon.
The minutes ticked by and Cena became more anxious. How long would the demon leave her sealed in this stone chamber? How did he plan to use her to lure Kysen to him? And what did he have planned for her? Questions like those whirled inside her head, threatening to drive her insane. The waiting was the worst of it, though.
With no watch—let alone her cell phone—to check the time, Cena could only guess what it was. What felt like an hour, and then another and another went by. Not until what she figured had to be close to eleven o’clock did the sound of grinding stone have her shooting to her feet. When the stone wall opened completely, her captor stood facing her. He painfully grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her out of the chamber.
“It’s time now to get my bait ready for Kysen,” he said as he dragged her toward the other larger chamber.
Cena’s gaze darted around the chamber when they entered it. Already there were six large men close to the size of Kysen in height and muscle mass. They stood in a straight line, their eyes facing forward. When the demon and she walked by them, she saw their eyes were completely black with no whites showing. They also looked flat, lifeless.
“I see you’re admiring my undead warriors,” her captor said. “They’re going to accompany us to our little meeting with Kysen. They’ll be my backup if your man decides not to play nice.”
Undead warriors? That explained the swords strapped to their backs and the dead look in their eyes. Cena looked over her shoulder at the last one in line. A chill ran down her back when he opened his mouth. Something thick and black dripped from his extended fangs. When the substance hit the dirt floor it sizzled.
The demon stopped their forward movement when they reached the opposite end of the chamber. Here, there were strange symbols painted on the wall. A section of the dirt floor had been cleared to show the stone beneath it. Painted on it in a ring was another set of the same strange symbols. Her captor waved his hand over them and they along with the ones on the wall glowed.
“Master, I have the woman.”
Well done, Mot, said a voice inside Cena’s head.
The pain it caused her to hear it had her whimpering. The sound of the voice also had her clutching her head.
The demon, Mot, continued to speak, but his voice was strained as if he felt the same pain she did. “I’m ready to continue with the next step of your plan.”
Put the woman inside the ring of my symbols and I’ll do what needs to be done.
Cena fought the demon when he pushed her toward the ring painted on the floor, but her slaps and scratches did nothing to stop him. As soon as she was inside it, she found herself unable to move. Terror like she’d never felt before gripped her. The symbols on the floor glowed brighter, then what almost felt like a bunch of snakes slithered up the inside of her pant legs. About to hyperventilate, Cena fought her invisible restraints, but she still couldn’t move her body no matter how much she tried.
Higher the slithering sensation went. Up past her hips and her stomach it climbed until it reached her chest. At that point, it branched off. It felt as if something wrapped around her heart, squeezing, burrowing in, as the rest climbed up her throat. When the burning pain centered on the left side of her chest and throat then spread throughout the rest of her body, Cena screamed. The last thing she knew before darkness started to descend was the strange symbols on the floor rising up to meet her.
* * * * *
Just before the appointed time, Kysen drove his car into the parking lot at the Japanese Friendship Garden. He got out and went to his trunk. Using his mind, he popped it open and took out his sword. He strapped its scabbard to his back. He already wore a selection of daggers on his ankles, inside of his forearms and one at his waist. One wrong move and he wouldn’t hesitate to use one on Mot.
Pulling his suede jacket on, he closed the trunk and headed into the garden. At this time of night it was deserted. There wasn’t any chance a mortal would unwittingly wander into the middle of what was about to go down. It would also be one less distraction Kysen needed to worry about.
He took the path that led to the tea house. Mot had set up the meeting point close to it. Kysen didn’t think it was a coincidence. The bastard had to know this was where Cena worked. His demon god had to have “seen” quite a bit about her. It sucked that Apep had some of the same abilities Ra had.
When he drew near enough to the meeting place to see Mot waiting for him, Kysen’s fangs dropped and he hissed when his gaze landed on Cena. She lay at the demon’s feet, not moving.
“Calm down,” Mot said when Kysen drew nearer. “Your woman yet lives. I only made sure she’d sleep during our little chat.”
“What did you do to her?” he snarled.
“I gave her something to sleep.” Mot peered around Kysen. “Have you come alone?”
“Yes.” He then became aware of the mild prickling of his skin. “But you didn’t.”
Mot shrugged. “It’s my show. I can do whatever I want.” He then made a beckoning motion and six large, undead warriors stepped out of various hiding places to stand behind their master. “Call them my insurance policy. You don’t do what I ask, I’ll let them have your woman.”
Kysen tightened his fists at his side, fighting the need to attack the undead warriors that stood all too close to Cena. “Keep them away from her.”
“Do I have your word that you will do as commanded?”
Through clenched teeth, Kysen said, “You have my word.”
“I figured you would give it.” Mot reached inside the front pocket of his pants and pulled out a tiny, coiled gold snake. He held it out to Kysen. “Then prove your word is true and put this on your chest over your heart.”
He knew exactly what would happen to him if he did what Mot said—he’d fall under Apep’s thrall. All his instincts were screaming at him to destroy the demon in front of him and take out the undead warriors. His mind rebelled at the idea of willingly cowing to Mot, but it was the only way to save Cena. Kysen just prayed that once she was safe his brothers-in-arms would come after him and save him as they’d saved Mehen and Akori.
“I’ll accept your ‘gift’, but not until I know Cena is safe, and that she’ll be safe from me. Let me call for one of my brothers-in-arms to come for her.”
Mot shook his head. “I don’t think so. Once she’s gone, who is to say you won’t go on the attack instead of accepting Apep’s snake?”
“If you won’t allow me to send her away, then you’ll have to make sure I don’t harm her.”
“That is easily done.” Mot motioned to two of the undead warriors. “Go stand by Kysen.”
The undead warriors silently moved into place on either side of Kysen. Having them so near had his skin prickling as if a thousand ants were biting him. His fingers itched to wrap around the handle of his sword and strike down the creatures next to him.
“Now take the snake,” Mot demanded as he held out the small golden snake once more.
Kysen dropped his gaze to Cena. Her face was turned away from him and her chest slowl
y rose and fell. He then focused his gaze back on Mot. “You have my word that I’ll take the snake. I want your word that you’ll release Cena.”
Mot smiled. “You have my word that by dawn tomorrow she’ll be gone.”
Knowing that would be the best he’d get from Mot, he slowly reached out his hand to take the hated thing that would turn him into something evil. Just before his fingertips came within reach, a sword sliced through the air and chopped off Mot’s hand—the one that held the snake—at the wrist. Kysen looked up to find Denger standing almost between Mot and him with the demon’s blood on his blade.
Mot let out a loud bellow of pain and rage. He screamed, “Kill the woman.” He then disappeared.
Kysen cried out as he lunged toward Cena, but he was drawn up short when the two undead at his sides grabbed his arms. “Cena!” he yelled again as one of the undead warriors reached for her.
He only had enough time to see the bright flash of light that hit the undead warrior, instantly turning him to dust before he touched Cena. The two undead that held him tried to bite. Kysen let out a roar of rage. He avoided their dripping fangs and managed to pull one of the daggers strapped to his forearms free. He sank the blade into the chest of the undead warrior on his right when Akori appeared to take care of the other. As the two undead warriors instantly decomposed into dust, Kysen looked around to see the rest of his brothers-in-arms had come. Even Blythe was there, using her necklace to take out the last of the undead warriors.
Kysen wanted to run to Cena, but there was one small thing that needed to be taken care of first—the golden snake sitting on the palm of Mot’s dismembered hand. It looked harmless, just a small golden figurine. He bent down and reached his hand out toward it, but Takan pulled it away.
“Don’t,” Takan said. “A touch from one of us will bring it to life. Blythe, see if your necklace will take care of it.”
ReincarnatedHunger Page 10