"A banishment. I have the spell. Daric is bringing something to use for a container."
"Where?" At the mention of Daric's name, Alex stiffened again and stood a little straighter.
"Probably the warehouse he used for those girls. I figured it would work the best, all things considered."
Alex nodded. “Think me and Frankie will be enough backup? We could bring more.”
She shrugged. “Not sure I trust anyone else.”
“Most guys here would lay down their lives for you.”
“Most isn’t all. Someone killed Daryl, after all. You find any more about that?”
Alex flicked an imaginary piece of flint off his arm. “Nah. Trail goes cold. So cold it’s spooked Frankie.”
“So I’m right. Someone inside these walls is a traitor.”
“Looks it.”
Tarian glanced around the Arena. A lot of visitors, but a lot of Sentinel’s in their white uniforms, too. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, thinking one of them might have betrayed her. She just couldn’t risk it. They didn’t have time to figure out which one had done it.
“You, Frankie, Daric, and me.”
Alex turned to face her. “That's four. Five would be better, so we could cover all corners and still have someone to stand next to you."
“Can’t risk it. Whoever the traitor is, they’re well hidden. The only other people I trust need to stay here, just in case.”
Alex grunted.“When we doing this?”
“As soon as Daric brings what I need, and you two are ready.”
Instead, he gestured at the training yard. “I gotta go help Frankie. He had to modify a few toys for this. You sticking around?”
“Think I’ll go stretch. My muscles are tight.”
Alex put his hand on her arm and then gave her a soft kiss. She froze, not sure how to react. He pulled away before she had a chance to kiss back or do anything else. “I’m here, for whatever, whenever.” He patted her arm and then left.
She watched him go, confused. It was just sex. But somehow it had changed things, and she couldn’t figure out exactly what had changed. Yet.
Her best friend hurt, and she was the cause, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t offer him the one thing he wanted: her undivided attention. She kicked at the bench in front of her. When she got the chance, she’d change the damn rules to the ritual. At least she could spare her future daughter from having to deal with this same situation. It wasn’t fair to anybody. Whatever the beginnings of this ritual were, they didn’t apply now. Times had changed, and the ritual hadn’t changed with them.
She’d enjoyed the moment with Alex, but that’s all it was. A moment.
She thought of her deal with Steffahn and flushed. She’d had a moment with him too, in a completely different way. It hadn’t been about sex, it had been about power. Maybe that was all sex was to a daemon like Steffahn.
When did life get so complicated?
She needed to clear her head. She was in the training yard, so she might as well do a bit of yoga while she waited. She'd need every ounce of focus she could muster for the upcoming fight. She simply couldn’t afford this overload of emotion at a time like this. She needed to get a grip. To emphasize the thought, she shook out her shoulders and arms, then looked around for Daric. He wasn’t in the Arena.
Disgruntled and restless, she turned her back on the dueling men and headed for the matts.
Chapter 30
Tarian entered the stretching area and gently stretched major muscles in her legs, torso, back, and arms to calm her nerves. It was difficult to find a good balance. Her mind raced from Victor Aiello to Mark Chester to Alex to Daric to Steffahn to the demon to the archivists to the Book of Daemon and back again.
She performed sun salutations, at first in jerky motions but soon managed to smooth them out into a liquid flow. She continued to do them until she her breath became one with the movements. Her mind and body connected and flowed from one pose to the next. Her body took over, her pulse lowered and tension melted away as she went through each posture, and the sun warmed her and melted the stiffness in her muscles. Sea air tickled her nose, and joined with the sweat on her skin. The muted crash of waves on the rocks outside the arena soothed her, and grounded her in a way nothing else did.
When she felt more like herself, she finished with a sitting meditation. She opened herself to the world around her, extending her senses beyond her immediate surroundings to encompass the island and beyond. It was blissful, drifting like this. Her affinity for air and water combined allowed her to dance on air and water with her mind, to travel beyond her physical self. Outside, playing in the waves, her dolphin friends giggled and danced in response to her mental visit. She couldn’t connect with them this far away, not really, but they responded anyway. Their power, in their element, held an intensity hers never would, and it connected with her own as good friends greet each other, with warmth and happiness. She smiled, letting it filter her thoughts and senses so they’d know she greeted them in return.
“If you find the meaning of life, will you let me know?” The deep voice behind her made her heart jump.
She didn’t even turn around. “Took you long enough.”
“I like to make an entrance. Plus, it took some time to locate just the right gift for such an occasion.”
She stood up to face Daric. “You brought it?”
His smile warmed his eyes and the dimple winked at her. “I checked with an expert on ritual markings. The ones on the wall in the warehouse create a Sanguine Circle.”
“Those were used for almost anything. That doesn’t do us any good. We can’t unravel a static spell if we don’t know the intention.”
“This one appears to be leaning in the direction of a Dominion spell. But he didn’t complete the circle, and he used some gibberish markings that mean nothing. Some of it was for show.”
“For who?”
“Not sure. I have a hunch, but that’s all it is.”
“Are you going to share with the class?”
“Not yet.”
“Look, this is my life we’re talking about. Spill it.”
“If I give it a voice, then the hunch becomes a theory and if I’m wrong, we’d be heading in the wrong direction.” Daric shook his head. “When I have more to go on, I’ll share.”
“I sprung the trap. You destroyed the symbol. Why is my power still dissipating?”
“I don’t know, though I can guess. He may not really need it. I did find out that once this particular ritual is complete, it can’t be reversed. Transferred to another, yes, but not reversed, not even by the one who casts it. Banishment or containment can, dominion can’t. Unless the holder of the spell dies.”
An urge to run filled her, but she kept her feet still. Her hands twitched, and she crossed her arms, tucking them inside in a self-hug.
“It’s not going to get that far.”
“No, it’s not.” Daric’s steady gaze did more to calm her than the meditation. He nodded toward the Arena. “I’m up. But we need to strategize.”
“You have time. Alex and Frankie are gathering supplies. They’re joining us.”
Daric nodded. He smiled, and then walked into the arena, leaving her staring after him. He strolled like a man perfectly comfortable with his surroundings. It was sexy as hell.
He took up a stance and waited for his opponent to make the first move. She’d never met the one Daric sparred with. After only a few minutes, it was obvious that Daric outmatched his opponent, who already breathed hard and carried a crease between his eyebrows from the constant frown. The fight didn’t really seem fair. Daric needed a worthy adversary. Someone with fighting skills, magic to back them up, and boobs.
Almost before she knew what she was doing, she’d entered the arena and joined them.
Daric saw her coming and held his hand up to stop the fight. The other guy bent over double to catch his breath.
She smil
ed, then took a stance. He winked, then took up a stance as well. The gathered onlookers muttered and someone protested, but she blocked it out as she started to dance around him with a few probative kicks and jabs here and there, to feel him out. He responded in kind. Assertive, but not aggressive, matching her step for step. She tried a harder kick and to her delight he blocked her. He wasn’t going to lie down and take it. She smiled, elated.
A crowd assembled as they sparred. Sweat trickled down her face, and her shirt started to cling. Sweat poured down Daric’s face as well, and his shirt darkened under the armpits and along the neckline.
Daric added a small pulse to his next kick. She blocked the pulse and the kick, then sent one of her own, just a small one. He grinned and pulsed back. It wasn’t soft either, the bastard. It almost knocked the wind out of her, but she stayed on her feet. She sent an equally strong answer, along with a jab to his head. His head rocked back from the blow, although not as far as she’d thought it would.
Each kick and jab included magic now. She could feel the bruises mounting on top of the ones she already had along her arms and legs. The workout felt good, and it matched her mood. Her power responded to her mood and mixed with Daric’s. For a moment she felt strong, like herself again.
The next moment her neck seized in a throb of pain which bloomed over her entire skull and into her eyes, and she doubled over, her hands clutched to her head. The tracer tore at the crack in her shields.
She dropped her focus, and dissipated her focused energy into the air around her. She struggled to let it go and get her breath, all at once. The Arena, with no roof overhead, was the most exposed part of the house. The walls couldn't protect her as well here as they did in the Receiving Hall. She forced herself to stand and run for the door.
Chapter 31
Heavy footsteps pounded in the hallway behind her, but she didn’t stop until she reached the Rotunda. Her first thought was to get close to the Dolphin Throne, where she’d be even more shielded. But her mother might be in there. She didn’t want to risk that.
Daric caught up, only slightly out of breath. “Tracer?”
She nodded. Fear gripped her in the center of her chest and tied a knot that almost stopped her heart. She waited, as her neck throbbed with residual pain, and the muscles around the now dormant tracer reacted to the overexertion. The protection of the House surrounded her. The demon’s pull on her vanished.
“It’s okay for now. I think.”
Daric reached over and brushed a loose piece of her hair out of her eyes. The warmth of his fingers against her skin sparked a fire somewhere in her stomach. His eyes met hers, and she found herself unable to breathe for a second. Fear heightened every sensation.
But it wasn’t fear that warmed her body.
She’d already joined with two people. The pressure in her lower belly for the past 24 hours told her she either had, or was about to, ovulate. She had to find a third donor. It couldn’t wait until they’d caught the demon, and Daric stood right in front of her. Prime candidate number three.
Tarian grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway and through the door to her room. She slammed it shut, and then turned to face him.
His eyes burned a hole right through her. Her heart thumped inside her throat. Fear left over from the demon’s drain on her heightened every sense until a furnace burned inside her. The demon, the throne, they could both go to hell. She’d have done this even without those things.
Maybe not this fast.
She pulled him toward the bed. When they reached it, she pushed him onto it. He sat, but he seemed reluctant to do more.
“You sure about this? The timing seems a bit odd.” He studied her face.
She pushed his legs apart so she could stand in between them.
His eyes smoldered. She could see desire there. He wanted her. A thrill raced through her at the thought. Anticipation and fear blended together until she couldn’t sort out exactly which caused her to press in closer. Warmth radiated out from his legs and chest.
Still, he didn’t move a hand.
She tilted her head. “No?”
“Why now?” A slight frown forced his eyebrows down.
“Why not?”
He shook his head. “Answer the question.”
“Because I damn well want to.” If she was going to donate her body for the good of the throne and the region, she was going to enjoy it. She’d already been with Steffahn. She needed this. She needed another partner. And she needed it to be with someone normal. Someone she trusted and liked.
Now, this moment, might be the only one she’d ever have. There was no guarantee that the demon wouldn’t kill them all when they tried to trap him, or drain her before they could even attempt to kill him. And maybe, just maybe, this would keep the throne safe. At least long enough for her to banish the demon.
She pulled back far enough to get her hands underneath her shirt, then she lifted it up and over her head. His nostrils flared as her shirt hit the floor. His hands twitched against his thighs. He wanted to touch her; she could sense it in the way the muscles on his arms tensed. What held him back?
She put her hands on the button of her jeans and worked the button, her fingers sliding easily underneath and pulling the zipper down. His eyes widened at the sound of the zipper. He put his hands on hers, holding them in place. She could feel the heat from him against her bare stomach. She was anxious for him to do more than just sit there.
“Tarian, wait. Not like this. It shouldn’t be like this.”
Her shoulders slumped. Obviously she needed lessons in the seduction department. Usually all a girl had to do was flash a little skin and a willing smile. Damn the man for being more honorable.
“Don’t you get it? I need this. I need you. I only have right now, this moment. Tomorrow might never come for me. You answered the call. Now you’re telling me you don’t want this? That you won’t…help me?” Anger flooded her. “What was all that earlier, a tease?” She stepped back from the comfort of his thighs.
Daric grabbed her hand, preventing her from getting very far. He pulled her back until she was close again, and his hand cupped her face. She saw compassion, lust, and uncertainty in his eyes and the worried way his eyebrows joined together. Her anger evaporated.
“That’s what this is? Part of the ritual?” His thumb gently caressed her cheek. “I’m going to help you get rid of this demon, Tarian. You don’t have to do this now. Let’s wait until after we’ve solved your problem, and then if you still want this…”
“If you’re trying to save my virtue, don’t worry about it. I never had any. My family doesn’t work that way. It was up for grabs the minute I was born.” She didn’t want to go into the physical reasons why it had to be now, this moment. More than anything, she wanted this to satisfy a need to live dangerously. Just in case tomorrow never came. Fear, the great aphrodisiac.
She traced the side of his face with her fingers. Rough stubble gave way to the smooth scar. Battle wounds, or childhood trauma. She’d love to know. She’d love to find out more. But she couldn’t. “Look, I realize this isn’t ideal. I can’t marry you. I can’t promise you a relationship or a long-term commitment other than friendship. I can’t even promise you I’ll be faithful, because we both know that’s not in the cards for me. But I can promise that I want this. With you. Right now.” She moved her face closer to his with each word. “Can you please just kiss me?”
She waited, her lips an inch from his, for his answer.
He quirked a grin. “Yeah, but will you still respect me in the morning?”
“That depends.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Are you going to kiss me or not? A girl’s got standards.”
He smiled and caressed her cheek with one hand while the other brushed a stray hair away. Then he leaned toward her and brushed her lips with his own. Every nerve in her body tingled as his lips traveled, leaving behind a gentle caress of her mouth and cheek.
She held her breath, willing him to explore further. She wanted to feel his hands on her breasts, his lips on hers, his body pushing into her. She wanted it with an urgency that wasn’t completely sexual. She wanted to feel. Not just an exchange of power that left her wanting more, but to really feel a connection. A physical, emotional, psychic connection.
His lips brushed against the top of her left breast. She threw her head back, presenting her chest for him to play with. She thought she heard him growl, but it might have just been her imagination.
His lips trailed along the top of her breast and over to the other. Her nipples hardened as his mouth teased first one, then the other. His tongue flicked the tip of one, and then he locked on, tongue seeking, sucking, kissing and massaging while his hand caressed the other. He explored each nipple in turn.
He tortured her with the slow, methodical movement until she couldn’t stand it.
Impatient, she shoved him onto the bed and crawled up beside him. She lowered her body onto his, relishing the soft touch of his knit shirt against her nipples and stomach.
Daric watched her as if half afraid she would do something dangerous to some part of his anatomy. She couldn’t take it anymore. She put her lips on his. His touch was soft, pliable in return. She moved into it, drawing his lips apart with her tongue.
His tongue met hers, and they tasted each other in a delicious quest of exploration. This close, she could smell spice and musky sweat and fresh shampoo. She smiled against his lips.
Daric drew back from the kiss, a question in his eyes.
“You smell good.”
He laughed, and then rolled her over until he had the upper hand. She lay back against the bed, delighted. She could see she didn’t have to convince him to play along anymore. Whatever his objections were, he must have decided they didn’t matter.
Demons & Djinn: Nine Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Novels Featuring Demons, Djinn, and other Bad Boys of the Underworld Page 134