by Brenda Trim
“That’s not surprising. We are the only ones capable of rescuing them. Come on, we need to find those dragons and get back to Seattle. This is the information we have been looking for. If we plan this right then we can take Kadir out. I have been waiting for seven hundred years for revenge against Lucifer. Kadir is his second in charge and finding another trustworthy demon to take his place willna be an easy task.”
“Are you telling me that you are a Dark Warrior?”
He grabbed her arm, and began walking with her in tow. “Aye, I am a Dark Warrior and one of the Vampire Princes.”
“That woman made it sound like Dark Warriors were some type of protector, not a killer. And you are a Vampire Prince?” Her incredulous tone had him turning to her.
He stopped walking and got right up in her face. “I am verra much a killer, Mackendra, and you’d better thank the Goddess for that because I am the one who is going to do whatever is necessary to get your sweet little arse back home. And, I am the next in line to the vampire throne should something happen to my brathair, Zander.”
He placed his finger below her jaw and nudged it closed before he resumed his trek. They walked on in silence while he cooled off. She knew how to push his buttons like no one else. “How did you discover Kadir’s lair when none of the Dark Warriors could after months of searching? It seems unimaginable that one human female would accomplish such a feat and survive no less.”
“Yeah, well this little human has skills none of you big-bad blood-suckers can match. It was actually easy. Although, it went against every instinct to follow the skirm without killing him.”
“You followed a skirm? Do you realize the danger you placed yourself in? You willna do that again. You could have been killed.”
“I’m pretty sure that I will, with or without your help. I don’t care if I’m mated to the devil himself, I promised those women I was going to come back and get them out of there and that is exactly what I plan on doing.” She tilted her chin defiantly and pursed her lips, while her eyes narrowed on him. The sight of his mate angry and obstinate made him want to dip his head and kiss her lips.
Without further consideration, he gave into his desire and leaned down to brush his lips across hers. It stopped her cold in her tracks. He lingered for a fraction of a second then walked away, cursing himself for his folly. This was becoming a habit and he wasn’t helping matters by giving her the impression that he was anything but what he was. But, damn, she tasted sweet and made him want to taste a great many areas of her body before he consumed her blood.
“We can discuss that later. What else did these females tell you? Mackendra?” he asked looking over his shoulder when she didn’t answer and immediately pulled his srads. A vicious creature had hold of his mate.
*****
Gerrick hung up the phone and pulled up the appropriate database. As he began to enter the report, he fumed that another female had gone missing. This was the third one he’d taken a report about this week. Ever since Zander and Elsie’s mating all those months ago, females had been disappearing with increasing frequency. He wondered for the thousandth time what the purpose was.
“What do you have there, buddy?” Orlando asked. Gerrick looked up at his fellow Dark Warrior.
“We have another missing female. That’s the third this week. Apparently, the warning we posted on TRex is doing shit to actually warn the population. What I don’t get is why Kadir is still experimenting on females. I mean, you’d think that after their failure with Jessie that they’d give up,” he replied finishing up his report and saving it.
Last month, Jace’s mate, Cailyn, had been in a car accident with her best friend, Jessie. The archdemon, Azazel, had been on sight and bitten Jessie before the two females could be rescued. It was obvious they had been hoping to gain control over Jessie’s mind like they did over males they turned, but it hadn’t worked. Being a female gave Jessie natural immunity to the venom that the males did not have.
“Damn. Santi and I have received reports of four human females that went missing this week, too. With all these disappearances the old-timers at the station are murmuring about the Green River Killer all over again,” Orlando remarked, shaking his head in disgust. Gerrick didn’t envy the shifters their side job. Being a cop in the human realm was just as difficult as being a Dark Warrior and they did both jobs.
“My gut tells me we are missing something. Kadir wouldn’t continue to kidnap females unless he has had success with his goals. Maybe he found a way to make the transformation work. Or maybe he’s trying something altogether different with the females. Goddess only knows what would happen if he found a way to impregnate them. We know Jessie is still fertile. He could be breeding a brand new army, for all we know. Skirm aren’t the most effective soldiers. They’re idiots and easily killed,” Orlando suggested.
Gerrick went cold. If Kadir was indeed breeding an army they could be in trouble. Although, Gerrick had a hard time believing that the archdemon was breeding with the females. He didn’t strike him as the most patient of beings and taking the time to breed then raise the children would be very time consuming.
“I highly doubt he is making babies. As Lucifer’s servant, Kadir’s focus is on the hunt for the Triskele Amulet. What does Zander think?” Gerrick owed Zander much and had sworn fealty to the Vampire King who had given his life purpose after losing his mate, Evanna, centuries ago. Gerrick had eagerly joined Zander in the fight to protect the Tehrex Realm and humans from the archdemons and their skirm.
“Zander agrees with you. He doesn’t think Kadir would take the time and effort it would take to raise striplings, but he isn’t dismissing anything. Right now his main focus is finding Kyran.” Orlando sat down at a computer next to Gerrick, turning it on.
“Has there been any word?” Gerrick asked, looking over his shoulder at the sound of Zander and Elsie entering the room. They had all been worried about the disappearance of Kyran and Elsie’s friend, Mackendra. The couple had slipped through a portal that had closed behind them. Gerrick and Jace had used all of their sorcery, but weren’t able to reopen the fissure.
“Nay, there hasna been any news. The Valkyries and fire demons reported that Kyran and the female are no’ in either of their realms. I have made contact with every realm I can think of, but there is nothing.” Zander wrapped his arm around his mate, pulling her close. The sight made Gerrick’s chest ache with the reminder of his loss. The return of Fated Mates had been a mixed bag for him. Although he was elated about the blessings, he was reminded of what he had lost. He was more determined than anyone to ensure no one suffered the way he had.
Zander’s voice brought him from his brooding. “Did you or Jace get anywhere with tracing the portal?”
“No. We didn’t recognize the magical signature and now there is nothing left of it.”
“I may be of assistance with that, sire,” Angus interrupted.
CHAPTER SIX
Mack could feel the razor sharp claws pressing on her throat. She kept her gaze locked on Kyran and tried to hide her panic. Predators smelled fear and that fueled their actions, but it was damn hard to do. The last time she had felt this frightened was years ago when she had been attacked. Much like that night years ago, this vile little creature had caught her off guard. She had been mooning over Kyran like a love-sick teenager after he had pressed his soft lips to hers and had lost sight of what was going on around her, but now adrenaline dumped into her system. It was fight or flight time and she wasn’t one to flee.
The two-foot tall elf wouldn’t have normally instilled fear in her, but for the jagged teeth and blade-tipped fingers poised over her jugular. Oh, and the redcap that was dripping blood, that was enough to make a normal woman scream. Good thing she wasn’t normal.
Kyran turned around fully, never taking his gaze off her. She had not yet seen him go into battle mode, but his grey eyes were stone-cold and narrowed. Her heart began beating double-time as she watched him cross his arms over his ches
t and tuck his hands under his armpits. He was reaching for the twin blades she had seen holstered to his back. She was suddenly very grateful that he was a warrior and prepared for anything. Her own knife was in her left boot. She contemplated bending down to retrieve it, but the slight shake of Kyran’s head stopped her.
She widened her eyes and looked down, telling him she was going to her knife. His glare told her he would bend her over his knee and spank her if she tried. She shot one right back at him that promised she’d cut off his balls if he tried. He wasn’t intimidated by her anger and the slight upturn of his mouth was scarier than the little man on her shoulder because it told her he liked the idea of her at his mercy.
“Now what do we have here?” asked a deep, raspy voice, reminding her of an old man who had smoked for fifty years.
She didn’t dare turn her head to the speaker for fear of slicing her throat, but she heard the breaking of twigs and the rustling of leaves in the trees. There were more of these creatures surrounding them. She moved her eyes to the left and right and up and down, counting at least six in addition to the one on her shoulder. If she could get the one off her shoulder, their odds were pretty good. She was a good fighter and had to assume that Kyran was, too.
“We have no business with you, lad. Let her go and we’ll be on our way,” Kyran replied.
“We can’t do that. You entered our territory and no one leaves it alive,” said the same creature.
“Och, then you have a problem,” Kyran said. In the blink of an eye, the small creature’s claws were gone from her throat as he toppled to the dirt.
Without hesitation, Mack bent over and pulled her knife free and slashed at one of the little men. Green blood spurted from the gash she opened in its stomach. Another jumped onto her back and sunk his teeth into her shoulder. Angered more than anything, she cried out and twisted, trying to grab one of its spindly legs, but it wouldn’t let go. These things moved too fast for her to keep track of. They didn’t move as fast as Kyran, but they were much quicker than skirm. As if on cue, Kyran appeared out of nowhere and ripped the creature from her back. As easily as he might twist a cap from a bottle, he twisted its head off his shoulders and tossed them aside before returning to the battle.
She was sweating, her nerves were frayed and now her shoulder was killing her. Ignoring that, she lunged for one of the red-capped dwarfs, but he slipped through her legs. Suddenly, pain sliced through her calf and she looked down at the claws that were embedded into her muscle. Her immediate reaction was to swing her leg trying to dislodge him, but that only made his claws dig deeper.
“You ugly mother-fucker!” she screamed as she lifted her other boot and stomped on his head. She felt the claws tear through her lower leg, but she kept on stomping until nothing but green goo covered the ground and the smell of rotten fruit filled the air. Satisfied with her victory, she glanced over to check on Kyran and noticed that three of the creatures were swarming him. Not happening on her watch, she thought, rushing to his side.
She couldn’t help but admire how ferociously he fought. Problem was these evil elves were efficient predators. They struck quickly and were gone before Kyran could land any blows. The sight of them biting and clawing Kyran reminded her of piranhas feeding. Two feet from Kyran, she was hit from the side.
She stumbled at the same moment pain erupted in her side. Teeth or claws had sunk into her flesh, but she was too busy fighting the one that had jumped onto her chest. She grabbed his hat and pulled, but it didn’t come off. It wasn’t a hat, but was part of the little fucker and she slashed out, cutting the tip off. A high-pitched whistle echoed through the trees, halting all action. She grabbed her side, feeling the alarming amount of blood oozing from her wound as she tried to catch her breath and make sense of what was happening.
A split-second later one of them jumped from Kyran’s back to the nearest tree and called out, “We need to tell Akilam that the Nightwalker is here.”
She noticed Kyran pale at his words and knew that wasn’t a good sign. “I doona think so,” Kyran spat before he vanished into thin air. She turned in circles searching for him, but didn’t see him anywhere. Screeching reverberated through the area and when she looked down she realized that she was alone with four angry elves.
Panic had her heart beating so fast it was all she could hear. Going into survival mode, she crouched low and held her blade at the ready. They came at her all at once. She kicked out, sending one into a tree trunk. The loud thunk was music to her ears as it hit the tree then the ground. The next thing she knew there was a flurry of teeth and claws. She was losing blood fast and tiring quickly. Still, she slashed and kicked and hit with everything she had.
Her flurry of movement came to a halt when one of the little fiends sunk its teeth into her upper thigh. She screamed and her leg buckled under the pain. She was crouched on the ground and brought her weapon up to defend herself when Kyran reappeared. Black dots blinked in her vision and she was becoming dizzy, but she saw the wrinkled face bounce past her as its head separated from its body.
Kyran grabbed up the other two by their heads and clanged them together like cymbals. He shook them as they fought wildly, clawing to get to him, but his big palms covered most of their skulls and he held them out at his sides. He made subduing them look ridiculously easy when she knew how difficult it was. When she looked into his eyes they were black as coal and she could feel how enraged he was. No one would survive his tirade. She was relieved and terrified at the same time. She had melted at his touch and forgot what he was, but this was a poignant reminder.
Needing to prove to him she could take care of herself, as well as, regain footing with him, she limped toward him. “Allow me,” she asserted and cut through one tiny neck before he could respond. Her blade was sharp, but not able to sever all of the tendons and the creature hung there by a meaty, bloody thread until she hacked through the rest. She had turned to the second creature by the time the body hit the jungle floor.
This time Kyran moved faster than she did and with quick efficient moves he had decapitated the one in his other hand. He stalked to the elf crumpled by a tree and sliced through its neck, cutting it into two.
“Why’d you do that? It was already dead.” she asked, wondering why he went to such lengths.
“These look like the Powries from my home country. Some called them redcaps, but that matters little. What matters is that they are Dark Fae beings and the only way to kill them is to decapitate them. I wasna going to take any chances with your safety.” The fact that he was worried about her safety reinforced her beliefs about the vampire. He had a heart in there somewhere.
“Okay, so Fae are real and these things are part of the dark side. Decapitate on sight, got it. What I want to know is how you vanished. And, where did you go?” Blood kept seeping from her various wounds, the worst of which was her leg. Her adrenaline was no longer fueling her and fatigue was taking over. She bent to pick up her fallen backpack and vertigo assailed her. She swayed on her feet, certain she was going down when a warm hand was at her elbow, steadying her. She looked up at Kyran whose face was pinched in concern. She had heard him talk about his duty to protect her, but for the first time she truly believed what he’d said.
“Thanks. Let’s get out of here, the smell is killing me,” she murmured as she limped away from the gore.
He nodded his agreement and rather than walking ahead of her as had been his habit, he kept his pace next to her, his eyes continuously scanning their surroundings. “‘Tis always a safe bet to decapitate any enemy you cross, that way there will be no doubt. As for where I went, I followed the Powrie that got away. I have no idea who this Akilam is, but I doona want him to learn we are here.”
“Call me Mack, everybody does. I don’t think they cared about me one way or another. It was you they wanted, Nightwalker. How did you disappear?”
“I know they do, Mackendra. As for your question, ‘tis a form of travel. I have the ability to sift locat
ions.”
“What does sifting mean? Can you travel anywhere?” She picked up a large stick, testing to see if it could be used as a cane. It was too short for her so she tossed it away.
“Sifting is an ability to move from one location to another in the blink of an eye. I can sift fifty yards at a time. Dark Magic has been known to allow its user to travel across the globe with a thought, but no one of the light can travel further than me.”
“Is that because you’re a vampire?”
“Nay. I believe it has to do with being of royal blood.” He said this matter-of-factly, without a trace of superiority. He didn’t believe he was better than others because of his heritage which was a good thing because that was one of her pet peeves. Nothing turned her off more than someone with a holier-than-thou attitude.
“Can everyone sift?”
“Nay. All supernaturals have superior strength and speed, but there is only a select group of us that have extra gifts and those gifts vary.”
Her stomach chose that moment to growl and she realized how hungry she was. “God, I’m starving.”
“Me too. I’d kill for a Creamsicle right now. Och, I should have known you were mine when I couldna stop eating those damn ice cream bars. It was only recently that the mating curse was broken and I didn’t put the two together. Goddess, I am an idiot.”
She looked sideways at him. She really didn’t know much about vampires. “What are you talking about? You eat food? I thought vampires only drank blood.”
She picked up the end of her favorite pink tee and dabbed at a particularly painful cut on her arm. He noticed and stopped her. “Och, you’re a mess, lass. We need to find some water to clean you up.” The heat in his eyes when he mentioned finding water made her toes curl with remembrance until she recalled how it ended.