“Okay.” She laughed then scanned the horizon. There was nothing as far as she could see except a landscape filled with a few trees and sparse grass. “I don’t know which way to head.” She wondered about those gate thingies she’d heard the others talk about.
Rebel let out what sounded like a cross between a bark and a snort, and she looked down at him. He appeared to be trying to tell her something.
Bark.
Then he ran away to the east. He stopped and barked again.
“I’m pretty sure that means I’m supposed to follow.” Eva was becoming a quick study at hound speak. She moved toward the little beast and he waited, tail going a million miles an hour. She laughed. “You wag that thing any faster and you’re going to knock yourself over.”
Another bark, snort.
“Okay, okay. Lead the way.” Eva followed Rebel on an uneventful––thank the Maker––trek across a mostly grassy ground. When she’d left home, she had slipped on her favorite pair of high-heeled boots. Now she’d kill for a pair of tennis shoes. A tank top too because the two suns of Hell were a scorcher. After what felt like hours, Rebel finally stopped and began to bark at nothing.
“What is your problem, you crazy hound?” There was only air there but she stepped closer to the beastie. “Oh, I do sense something.” She reached out her hand, and her fingers went right through...
“Oh. Is this one of those gates?” Once her fingers seemed to disappear in mid-air, she sensed the shift in the atmosphere. Rebel barked again and ran circles around her ankles. It seemed to be his thing. She shook her head and wondered if all the chatter about hellhounds was a myth. If not for bearing witness earlier to his attack on the demon, she would believe the creatures to be no different than the dogs the humans kept as pets.
“I’m not sure, Rebel. Is it safe?” She chewed her bottom lip. Eva didn’t know much about these gates other than they were used for transportation. The hound sat and stared up at her with his reddish black eyes. But damn he was cute. The kind of cute only a mother could love.
“Okay.” What the hell else was she going to do? Eva hoped she was making the right choice. Sucking in a calming breath, she stepped into the area she sensed was distorted and everything went dark. Panic had her certain this was a mistake, but it was too late now. The air around her distorted and pinpoints of light flashed in her eyes. She lost all sense of direction and worried about the hound. Had he stepped in with her?
An eternity later, she was deposited on sand. Thankfully, Rebel barked behind her and she was never so happy to hear that hound’s sorry-ass bark-snort.
“Well Reb...” She looked around. “Seems we ended up on a beach.” Waves crashed against the shore and only one sun shone. She shielded her eyes against the brightness. “One sun? Maybe we actually got out of Hell.” She opened her senses and only emptiness came back. She summoned her wings but again nothing.
“What the hell?” She clenched her fists, actually wanting to hit something. Why did she have no powers? Eva closed her eyes and searched for peace. Becoming angry wasn’t going to help her situation. Only rational thinking would get her out of this mess. She opened her eyes and looked inland.
“Well, let’s explore and figure out where we are.” Eva headed toward a grove of palms then suddenly stopped. She looked at Rebel, but he was busy sniffing the ground. Eva shrugged off the feeling and continued into the trees.
There it is again.
It started as a smooth caress over her skin like a breeze. A mortal would have thought that’s exactly what it was, but she sensed the tinge of power behind it. Searching the beach for Rebel to see if he had noticed it, she found the beastie chasing a crab, which he promptly chomped down. Did they have crabs in Hell? It was apparent whatever she sensed, the pup was oblivious.
“Come on, Rebel. We should move along.” Eva tried to walk away from the trees, but something held her there.
Sorrow.
She was overcome with it. Being a guardian it was normal for her to experience the pain of others. She felt the sorrow of a loved one’s death when she was sent to escort the soul. She also absorbed the pain of the dying so she could determine if and when to block their misery. As a child growing up, she was always sensitive to the suffering of those around her. This however, left her empty.
Hopeless.
Desperate.
Someone was in pain and suddenly she was torn. Part of her wanted to walk away and follow the shoreline until she found a way home. The angel in her was compelled to move deeper into the forest toward the hills and soothe the suffering. Rebel barked at her and she looked down at him.
“Do you sense it now too?”
The hound looked toward the hills and took off at a trot.
“I take that as a yes.” She sighed and chastised herself for what she was about to do, but the tug was too great to ignore. Her duty was to help those who needed her, and whoever was behind these feelings needed her.
Wraith led Seph into a local tavern. Demons scurried out of the way as the hound moved across the dirty, planked floor. Seph chuckled to himself as the beast created almost as much havoc as his reaper did. Seph took a seat on a stool that had seen better days, and he worried if it would support his weight. The bartender, a humanoid demon sauntered over.
“We don’t allow his kind in here.” The guy jerked his thumb toward Wraith.
Seph allowed a fraction of his power to snap into the room and let escape a hint of who he really was. “Does anyone in here object to my friend?” he bellowed. The room was dead silent in response. He smiled. “I didn’t think so.” Staring down the bartender. “They don’t seem to have an issue.”
“I don’t want any trouble in here.”
“Then don’t start any.”
The demon on the other side of the bar gave a nod. “What can I get for you and your friend? I think I have a hunk of meat in the back.”
Seph looked over at Wraith, who had planted himself next to Seph. Drool ran from the corner of his mouth. “I do believe my friend here will take that offer.”
“Hunter!” the bartender yelled and a hunchbacked, green-skinned demon scrambled over.
“Yes, sir?”
“Go get our finest hunk of meat from the back for the hound.” The demon scampered off, and the bartender brought his attention back to Seph. “On the house of course. And for you, sir?”
“Your best whisky and information.” Seph shifted on his stool, feeling all eyes in the room on him. Wraith accepted his prize and headed for a corner. The bartender pulled a bottle from under the counter and poured the amber liquid into a glass then placed it in front of him.
“What kind of information?”
Seph leaned closer. “I’m looking for my mate, who I believe is here in Hell somewhere. She is a guardian angel.”
The bartender finished drying off a glass. “I’ve not heard of any angels. What’s she doing here, anyway? This isn’t a safe place for an angel, especially a female.”
“It matters not how she got here, I’ll deal with that later.”
“I know of the angel you seek,” a deep voice replied from behind him. Seph spun on the stool, and Wraith lifted his head from his meal.
“What do you know?” Seph eyed the demon who stood seven feet tall, chest puffed, and hand resting on the sword hilt at his hip. Obviously, he meant to intimidate.
As if.
“I know her stench was in the area where my brother was found with his head taken clean off.”
Seph remained calm, but he knew that must have been when Eva called forth his sword. He breathed a small sigh of relief that she had managed to protect herself and prayed she was still safe. “Perhaps your brother should have minded his manners. Where is this area that you scented her?”
The demon curled his lip to reveal a pair of sharp fangs, and Seph only responded by standing, stance wide, crossing his arms over his chest. He could play pissing contests with the best of them.
“I am trackin
g the bitch, and when I find her she will pay dearly for her deed. You should have kept her on a leash where she belongs.”
Wraith leapt to his feet and sauntered closer. Likely sensing there was about to be trouble in a huge way. Seph stepped into the demon’s personal space.
“I’d fucking rethink that if I were you,” he snarled.
The demon laughed. “You angels think you can come here and do whatever you want? Your powers don’t work here. When I’m done with your female, she will beg for death. Perhaps I’ll even make you watch”—he cupped his crotch and gave his package a squeeze—“while I show her what a real man is all about.”
Seph summoned his reaper and made the transformation in record time. “You will tell me where she is!” he bellowed, drawing on the darkness in his soul, his power barely contained. The demon didn’t flinch so either he was stupid or seriously lacking in the knowledge of who he was dealing with.
“Bring it on. You can pay for my brother’s murder before I seek that bitch out.”
Seph was unable to focus through the red haze that hung over his eyes. All common sense went out the door. “Then I will unleash my own hell on the lot of you.”
His power, once invisible, coiled outward in a thick inky fog. It first wrapped around the ankle of a demon running for the door whose scream of pain ripped through the room. Next, the winds picked up, and Hell’s lightning cracked whips of powerful current through the air, striking down two more demons. Fighting ensued and from the corner of his eye, Seph saw Wraith ripping apart a demon who was dumb enough to try and attack a hellhound.
The walls of the tavern groaned and glass shattered. The demon, who had taunted Seph with raping Eva, pulled a blade from his boot and managed to slide it into Seph’s right side. Seph only laughed and the demon paled.
“That blade is forged from Hell’s fire,” the demon replied.
Seph knocked the guy to the floor as if he were a feather and yanked out the blade before pinning the demon to the ground.
“Where did you scent my mate?” he growled, using every bit of self-control he had not to shove the blade deep into the demon’s belly. The demon spit in Seph’s face. He really was one stupid ass motherfucker.
“I’m not telling you shit.”
“I’ll give you five seconds to reconsider.” There was no reason to keep him alive if he refused to talk. It would only endanger Eva more. The thought of her being caught by this piece of shit boiled his blood further.
Wraith ran past with the remnants of someone’s leg hanging from his massive jaw. Seph was glad to have the beast on his side.
“Are you going to reveal my mate’s last known location?”
“You’re going to have to kill me.”
“Gladly.” Seph would show no mercy. Punching his fist into the demon’s chest, he grabbed the demon’s beating heart while looking the bastard in the eyes. “You will never touch my mate.” He squeezed and the demon beneath him gasped for breath. Seph literally squashed the life out of him, while keeping the demon’s soul hostage in his body, so he would feel everything until Seph decided otherwise.
“Beg for mercy.” Seph growled.
The demon opened his mouth then clenched it shut. Seph squeezed harder until moisture trickled from the corner of the demon’s eyes. “Beg me. It’s what you would have made my mate do when you found her.” He reached into the demon’s mind for confirmation and saw the horror that was meant for Eva when she was caught. “I’ve got all fucking day to make you suffer.”
“P-please. Mercy.”
In one swift motion, Seph ripped the beating heart from the demon’s chest and released his soul. Tossing the bloody body part over his shoulder, he rose to his feet and the storm that had pinned many to the floor suddenly halted. A good portion of the building was gone and bodies shivered with fear as they looked up at him.
Waiting.
“Let all of you bear witness to what I will do to anyone who dares even think of touching my mate. I will litter Hell with your body parts, and you will feel the pain for centuries. Run and share your experience and be sure all in this realm know what I am capable of. No one will stop my destruction until my woman is back safe with me.” He spun to search for Wraith and found the hound in the corner chewing on someone’s head.
“That’s fucking disgusting. Drop it and let’s be gone from here before I decide to finish what I started.”
Chapter Ten
Eva and Rebel had been trekking through a landscape filled with trees until they finally reached the foot of the mountains. She stood, hands on her hips, and looked around. “Now what?”
Help me.
“What the?” Eva scanned the area while rubbing her arms to squash down the bumps. She didn’t see anyone so she looked down at Rebel to see if he had heard it too. Apparently, he was unaffected because he was busy chasing a butterfly. She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.
Please help me.
There was that voice in her head again. “Umm, I’m not sure how to help you.” She wondered if the male voice that was making its presence known would hear her.
You need to come into the cave.
She didn’t see any cave, and now she wasn’t sure she wanted to go into any damn cave. She’d just left the rocky underground not long ago. “Who are you?”
I’m being held against my will.
Now she wondered who was responsible for his imprisonment and why. Again, she looked around for trouble, but saw no one and Rebel was still busy playing. Good grief.
“What did you do?” She felt a pull again so moved to her right to follow it. Even though she knew this could turn out badly, she was compelled.
I was born.
She stopped and her heart fractured. “Please tell me you haven’t been here since you were born.”
I have.
Her hand moved to her mouth involuntarily, and she didn’t know what to think, but suddenly she had to find him. She had to help. “How long have you been here, and do I need to worry about your captor?”
I can no longer remember how many centuries I have been here. My captor has long been gone from here. Please, help me.
The pain in his voice caused her feet to move. No way could she allow his torment any longer. She would help, so she yelled for Rebel and followed her instinct. She moved thick vines, knowing behind them she would discover the opening to the cave he referred to. After several grueling minutes and a couple of torn nails, she broke through. The opening wasn’t big, but it was enough for her to crawl into. Eva dropped to her hands and knees and received a slobbery lick on the face.
“Yuck. Thanks.” Eva began crawling with the mutt bumping into her behind. Luckily, she didn’t have to go far before it opened up enough for her to stand. Brushing the dirt from her jeans, she looked around. Other than the light that came in from outside, it was pitch black the farther in she went.
“Umm, I can’t see. What now?”
You’re an immortal, use your power to light the way.
“Yeah, I seem to be having an issue in that department.” Rebel bumped into the back of her legs and almost knocked her over. She swore he was getting bigger by the second and clumsier.
Try again.
Eva thought about the light inside her and suddenly the area lit with a soft glow. Excitement coursed through her, and she wondered if all of her power was back. She summoned her wings.
“Glory be.” She took a minute to admire her snow-white wings. She had missed them terribly. More confident now, she walked forward deeper into the mountain and around a bend where she noticed a man standing. She stopped abruptly, slightly stunned by his beauty. She sensed his power, had when they first arrived here, but it was restrained. Was that part of his imprisonment?
For someone trapped in a cave, he was impeccably dressed in a black button-down shirt and jeans. His hair was black as midnight and well-groomed, even though it hung to his shoulders. In the dim light, he took her breath away and she wond
ered what kind of immortal he was.
“You’re beautiful.” He stepped closer but stopped a slight distance away. He stared at her. Studying every detail about her, she suddenly wanted to cover herself even though she was clothed.
“I’m Eva.” She decided perhaps breaking the silence would pull him back to reality.
“I am sorry, I have forgotten my manners. It’s just I’ve never seen a female other than the demons who come here to serve me.” He straightened. “My name is Logan. Welcome to my home.” He swept his arm through the air and that was when she noticed furnishings behind him. A bed, dresser, desk, and chair. All simple and very much out of place in the rocky environment. She started to step closer, feeling more comfortable knowing his name but was stopped by an invisible barrier. She reached up and placed her hand on it, sensing the power behind it was evil and raw.
Eva took a step back and he rushed forward.
“Please don’t be frightened. The barrier will harm only me if I attempt to cross it.”
Her heart broke a little, remembering how long he had been trapped inside here. “For one who has grown up in this environment, you seem well educated.” There was an air of sophistication that surrounded him that normally came from one raised among royalty. However, there was also no mistaking something dark lurked inside him.
He gave a nod. “Yes. I have lacked for nothing except my freedom.” He let out a short gasp. “My manners again. Please forgive me. Look behind you.”
Eva turned slightly and was stunned to find a table laden with food. Rebel was already wandering to a corner with a bone almost as big as his head, tail wagging a hundred miles an hour. “Oh my.”
“Please, I sense your hunger and you must keep up your strength. Your child requires it.”
Eva placed her hand on her abdomen to check on her child. He was growing fast and already her belly was beginning to show a slight bump. Soon her jeans would be too tight to wear. Her stomach growling, she walked over and inspected the offerings. A platter of meat and cheese. Another with fresh fruit. She picked up a tidbit of pineapple and popped it into her mouth. No tartness, only pure sweet perfection. “Oh that is good.” The fruit was only a tease to her taste buds and growing hunger so she threw caution to the wind and sat, piling food on a fine china plate. She reached for a silver pitcher and poured the contents into a crystal glass then took a sip of the cold, clear water.
Unleash The Darkness: (Eternally Mated Novela) Page 7