“Why do you need allies?” She heard the change in his voice, heard his anger reaching a volatile level.
“I have grown weary of Gyth’s foolishness. The heavenly gods and goddesses need a new king, and I must admit I’m not his equal. That’s why I need you. You’re as strong if not stronger than he.”
She waited as the witch before her gasped and clutched at her hair, tearing wads of the long red strands out of her scalp.
“Brand the humans in your control with my mark, and I will return to you as needed.” Damon’s menace and vile nature reached her through his voice. “And the next time we speak, I would have you wear black, not that disgusting white you think makes you look virtuous.”
Grace gasped as the witch before her exploded into flames and her scream ripped through the white-walled chambers. With shaking hands, she covered her mouth, and tears flowed from her eyes. The witch’s death had been quick but painful and brutally disgusting. Charred flesh and burnt blood fell into a heap of broken bones and rancid mush. With a wave of her hand, the mess vanished.
“That bastard better make this worth my while.”
• • •
Stumbling, Angelica grabbed the chain around her neck and gasped as something hard and cold sliced into her thigh. Reaching down, she ran her fingertips over the jagged rock sticking out of the wall.
Note to self: Stay away from the walls.
The pain was bearable, but it stung. She turned in the blackness as an eerie green light pulsed in the center of the room. It pulled at her senses, almost begging her to come.
A dark shadow twisted and snaked through the room. The dark cloud settled between the green light and Angel. Pulling herself together, Angelica watched wearily as the shadow’s black and yellow eyes sparkled with menace.
“Welcome to hell, child. How was the ride here?”
“If this is hell, why is it so damn cold?” She hissed as Zena’s shadowy fingers reached out toward the cut on her thigh.
“What is that smell?” Zena cocked her head to one side and sniffed the air. “You’re no longer human.”
Angelica jerked the chain, shattering the link attached to the collar, and smiled rather smugly. “How very astute of you, vampire queen.”
Zena materialized in her human form. “What are you?”
Angelica shrugged, taking two deliberately slow steps toward the dark goddess. “A variety of things, I suppose, but mostly I’m just pissed off that my entire world was turned upside down and inside out.”
Curling her fingers, Angelica grinned as she felt a trickle of archaic power flow into her palm. It was an unnatural rush, a thing of beauty and dark menace. She watched Zena carefully; completely aware she had absolutely no idea how to use this newfound power.
“You know, two weeks ago, I lived a fairly normal life.” Angelica paused as she ran her fingers over a root shooting down from the ceiling. “If you had approached me then, I would have probably run screaming for the closest exit or died of fright.”
“Stupid child! I am a goddess and you should fear me.” Crossing her arms, she huffed, “Fall to your knees and worship me, and I might take pity on you even though you did not bring Varick to me!”
Angelica looked up through hooded eyes. “I don’t think so.”
Screeching, Zena threw her black-clawed hands outward. “Then die!”
A dozen black-hilted daggers appeared suspended in midair before Zena as she laughed. Angelica lurched backwards and dropped to her knees, rolling out of their path as they sang sweet death. One grazed her shoulder, and another embedded itself in her thigh. Gritting her teeth, she jackknifed to her feet, grimaced, and called on her new power.
Holding out her hands, she opened her palms and fell to her knees as a black flame shot outward and nailed Zena in the chest. The goddess bounced off the wall and fell to the floor, hissing and spluttering in outrage. Stumbling, Zena stood as wings of black velvet sliced out of her back and her double set of fangs elongated.
Angelica swallowed hard as Zena leapt upward with a shrill cry, bringing a thousand red eyes popping open. Suspended in the air, black wings flapping silently, Zena threw her head back and laughed as her vampires crawled and slithered out of the darkness, kneeling before their queen.
This is not good.
Before Angelica could react, the chamber door splintered open, and a tall, snake-covered man with an ashen, sunken face entered the room. Zena turned, her laughter abruptly dying in her throat, her already pale features turning green.
“Damon,” she whispered as she went to her knees. “Forgive me, my king.”
At a wave of his hand, the snakes melted into his body, his thin frame filling out with hard muscle and strength. The deadly arrogance that hung around him shrouded his shoulders with power and refined anger. Angelica tried to stand as he closed the distance between them.
“Who … or just what do we have here?” Damon’s deep voice jerked her head up, and her mouth fell slightly open as a menacingly slow smile appeared on his perfect lips.
Angelica was stunned. Without the snakes, Damon was the epitome of dark seduction, evil enshrouded in perfected beauty. Her eyes scoured his body regardless of how much she did not want them to. She took him in, his height, his perfectly honed muscles and tight, black-and-red leather pants. She instantly longed to reach out and run her fingers through his straight, floor-length, jet-black hair.
Almost as instantly as his looks took her off guard, his dark empty eyes sent fear racing through her. It embraced her and shattered her resolve. This was evil incarnate — this was the devil people had nightmares about.
Standing over her, he hissed, his serpent tongue tasting the air around him. “One Race and a touch of something else … ”
Turning, he went to the center of the room and jerked the black veil away from the green light. He roared, his head snapping around and his eyes pinning Zena with a hate-and anger-filled stare. He raised both hands and a wave of black miasma filled the chamber, sending her minions sprawling on the floor in agony. Zena’s eyes widened and a cry escaped her as she watched them wither and die.
“You are a treacherous little bitch, vampire queen!” Damon roared, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth. “How dare you make such a futile effort to hide the portal? How dare you bring” — his long finger pointed at Angelica — “the likes of that one to my domain, to my kingdom?”
Zena blinked, and his fingers curled around her throat, lifting her off the floor. “You’re a fool to have trusted Grace. She was your undoing. Have you not learned enemies are not to be trusted?”
Fury opened her mouth as his tongue ran up her cheek and tasted her tears. “No! We had a deal. She cannot go back on her word.”
His laughter stilled her tongue. “You’ll pay for this deceit with blood and bone. Your hallowed cries will pacify my anger, so please do scream loud and long.”
Terror ran across Zena’s face. Damon released her and laughed as she vanished. “You can run, Zena but you can’t hide for long.” He raised a dark, arched brow and smiled, his sharp fangs gleaming intently in the green light. “Zena has done me a favor.”
He raised one hand and held out his palm casually. “Come, let us talk.”
“Not a chance in hell!” she screamed as she sent a nasty ball of black flames hurtling toward him.
Damon staggered back, grunting with the force of the blow, and growled at her. “You’re no match for me. I am Damon, lord and king of the Underworld, the most powerful of all demons and their like. I was created a god among gods. You’re nothing compared to me!”
Angelica huffed and blew at a stray strand of hair. “Yeah, Mr. I-am-Big-Bad-Scary that’s just great and all, but you suck. Are you trying to win the award for scariest demon?”
He gritted his teeth. “Such a nasty little mout
h on such a beautiful potential consort.”
Angelica stiffened. “Like hell! Consort, my ass.”
Back-flipping, she launched herself up the side of the wall and somersaulted over his head, placing a well-aimed kick to the back of his head. She landed squarely on her feet in a perfect jiu-jitsu pose and grinned lopsidedly as Damon turned with a hiss.
“What’s the matter, snake-man from hell, little girl go and kick you in the head?”
Unhurriedly he stalked around her. “I can smell Destroyer on you, in you. Do you know who your father was?”
Angelica watched him carefully, turning as he walked around her. Her fists were up, like a pro-boxer ready for the big fight.
Damon held out his hand, snakes slithering from his fingertips. They edged toward her, striking at her ankles. Willing the power back to her hands, she blasted them one at a time. They disintegrated instantly, leaving a poisonous odor behind.
“Feverand Dark’s daughter.” Damon threw his head back and sniffed the air. “You’re a Destroyer. One of Gyth’s little toys.”
Angelica stepped back as he came toward. “Jealous?”
He held his hand out again. “Take my hand little Destroyer. I can make your stay here pleasing or full of pain. Your choice.”
Searching the dark cavern, she tried to find an escape route. “You know, snakes give me the creeps. I think I would rather cozy up to a werewolf than touch the likes of you.”
Ripping his cloak from his shoulders, he released his serpents. Dozens of them came pouring out of his mouth as Angelica shrieked and turned to run with her tail neatly tucked between her legs. Shooting forward, they took her to the ground in a spread eagle position, wrapping tightly around her wrists and ankles. A small one covered her mouth and hissed in her ear.
She tried to kick, but the serpents tightened their hold, shutting off the blood supply to her feet. Damon chuckled as he crawled up her arm and stared into her eyes. His hair draped over her like death’s veil, and he slowly pushed the serpent off her mouth.
“I remember your father. He was fearless, such a fighting machine. Then he met your mother. He became weak and afraid.” Angelica bucked hard under him. “Varick Ta Farg will do the same but I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to convert you. I’ll watch him fall apart as he loses you as your father did when I had your mother slaughtered.”
Lifting her chin, she spat in his face. “Leave my parents out of this, you fatherless, motherless, second-rate Satan!”
Damon roared, his fangs scraping her cheek as he grabbed her hair and jerked her toward his chest. She shivered as his cold skin contacted hers. Running his fingers down her shoulders, he slipped off the sheet that was tied there and laughed.
“Varick will kick your ass!”
Cold, bitter hatred filtered out of his eyes. “This is my domain. Mine! He’ll not save you from me. Destroyer or not, you will suffer all that I am in every possible way. Your suffering will be so long and loud Gyth will hear it in the Heavens.”
His fingers trailed down her stomach and farther down to her thigh. She screamed as his black-clawed hand wrapped around the dagger and unmercifully jerked it out. He brought it to his lips and watched with pleasure as she arched her back and tried to break free of his serpents.
Licking the blade, he lifted her into his arms and stood her on her feet, bringing her flush with his body. She cursed him as he cupped her bottom and kissed her temple. She blocked out his whispers of possible outcomes as she tried to paint a vivid picture of Varick in her mind. His fingers dug into her flesh, and she felt a trickle of blood flow down the back of her leg.
“Blood of Amay, seed of a Destroyer, and mate to Varick.” Damon released her and stepped back with a slow laugh. “Well, it seems I have in my possession a unique little pawn.”
Angelica forced herself not to think about what he was going to do to her. So, yeah, saying Zena’s name had been the stupidest idea she had ever had. Her powers could have come ages ago, but no — they had to wait until she would have no time to learn to use them.
She gasped as the serpents flipped her around, and she dropped like a wet cloth to the floor on her face. Her bare butt must have caught Damon’s attention because she felt his bony hand swat her. The place burned and hatred welled in her heart.
“I’m going to enjoy converting you, little Destroyer. I promise by the time I am done with you, you will have forgotten all about Varick.” His laughter sickened her as the serpents dragged her across the floor to the broken door. She grabbed the doorframe and twisted around to throw a venomous look at Damon.
She caught her breath as he bent down and lifted one of the vampire carcasses from the floor and ripped its head from its body. Black blood spurted across his chest and splattered across his cheek. His tongue darted out and licked at the blood. Her stomach flipped as he turned and grinned, sinking his fangs into the vampire’s skull. The crunch of bone thundered in her ears as she let go of the doorframe.
As she was dragged down a long, winding hallway of gravel and mud, she felt the pendant around her neck grow warm, then hot. Her eyes flashed. Alera had told her she would know when and how to use the blasted thing. Well, no time like the present, right?
But there was one small problem. How was she going to get her hands free?
Chapter 33
Three long strides were all it took before Varick’s control snapped. He turned on his heel in the stark, white walled hallway he and Charon had just entered. He roared with full intent to do bodily harm to the bones under the black and silver robe.
Charon grunted, his scythe stopping Varick in his tracks. “Patience is a virtue of the highest and most honorable order. I strongly suggest you put it to use before you find your ass on the floor.”
Undaunted by his words, Varick insisted. “Every second she remains in the Underworld is a second that she could die there!”
“Time is on our side at the moment — time has always been with you.” Charon nodded toward four tall, black doors, each adorned with gold symbols. “You must choose wisely, for your destiny has grown weary of waiting.”
Twenty feet tall and looming like perpetual dead-ends, the doors stared back at Varick as he studied the symbols on each one. The first door was covered in stars and planets, vast universes reaching out across space. A dragon danced among the stars, its wings touching two of the planets, which oddly enough resembled Earth and Venus.
The second displayed eight symbols inside the pattern of infinity, simple yet strong in their meaning. The equal sign was at the top, a times sign at the bottom. A right-facing crescent moon was on the left of the top loop, a left-facing one on the right. On the left side of the bottom loop was a full moon, on the right a sun. The last two signs, a plus and a minus, were embedded between each of the other symbols.
The third door had one symbol, one he had been well acquainted with since his birth. He looked down at his bare ankle at one of his birthmarks; a purple circle with a crescent moon attached to each side. Inside the circle were six dots. His mother had often told him it was the mark of his father’s race, whatever the hell that meant.
He looked up. After all these decades, why was he being confronted with his father’s mark? Why now? And why was it important, anyway? But it was important; this he knew beyond reason, felt it in his bones.
He didn’t have a clue who his father was or why he had not been around when Varick had been growing up in a camp of wingless dragon assassins. He only had his mother’s answers — answers she had all too often kept vague and misleading. He had assumed she did not speak of him because he was human and she was vampire and things had not worked out. Once, as a small child, he had even asked her if she had fed from him, and if he had died.
Had his mother loved his father? Had he loved her?
Love? Was there indeed such a thing? Thoughts of
Angelica slid into his heart, her smiling face looking up into his. Even now, he longed for the fire in her eyes, the soft touch of her fingertips, and the gentle havoc her voice created within his cold heart. He suddenly knew he did not want to exist without her. Not even death would keep him from her, not now, not ever. Was this how love felt?
A growl erupted from his throat as he looked at the last door. It was covered with demons, all crawling out of the bowels of all nine hells in the Underworld. The clouds above them had opened; the sun’s light blocked by a shield that a one-eyed demon carried. This was destruction; the future with hell overrunning humanity and the Heavens losing control.
For the first time in his life as a Destroyer, he turned away from the demons of the Underworld and looked elsewhere for answers, for purpose. Reaching forward, he turned the doorknob on the third door and paused as he heard a soft sigh escape Charon’s throat.
The door pulled open, the knob slipping out of his grasp. A vortex of purple and blue swamped his senses. The doorway was a portal. As an assassin, he had traveled through vortexes more often than he could remember; the faces of his assassinations all blurred together, their names long ago forgotten.
“Step forward, Varick Ta Farg. Your destiny awaits on the other side.”
Varick stepped through and sucked in a harsh breath as he peered down a steep, rocky mountainside, barren of life. The sky above was ominous, and dark clouds rumbled as lighting flashed in a blaze of glory. The four winds howled furiously as he heard the unique pop and crackle of the vortex behind him closing.
This was the mountain from his dream. Glancing at the horizon, he turned and stared at Charon. In the dream he had been alone and uncaring. Somehow, for reasons he couldn’t pinpoint, this day did not seem like a good day to die.
But it was not fear that made him think this.
Charon nodded, the black hood bobbing up and down slowly. “As with all awakenings, one must be reborn. Don’t think of it as death. For you, death has come in degrees, each one bringing you a step closer to your true destiny.” He pointed at the horizon. “Prepare yourself, this is going to hurt.”
Embrace the Fire Page 21