“Ah . . . you want to know my name, don’t you?”
“But you’ve already promised to tell me that,” I reminded, recalling all too clearly the specific set of circumstances he required. He smiled, but I didn’t know if it was because I remembered or because he could keep it secret a while longer. “No, this is something else,” I told him.
“What do you want to know?”
“Do you know what Kartel is up to?” I have no idea why I asked such a thing, except my intuition suggested that, whatever grand scheme Vampire Smurf was planning, he was getting help from somewhere.
“You think I am helping him?”
So much for thinking I could be subtle. “Are you?” I asked. “He bragged about having a power in his hands. Something so great it was going to change the world.” It was nonsense, of course. I had no idea if Kartel had ever said anything like that, but it wasn’t hard to imagine him doing so.
“A power so great it will change the world . . .” He mulled the words over before smiling down at me. “I suppose it will make no difference to tell you.”
His arm circled my waist as he shared the blue-haired vampire’s plans. Plans he had helped form, plans he would help execute. The words spilled out of him, chilling me with their detail. Though I tried my best, I couldn’t help the tremble that swept through me.
“Does it excite you?” he asked, mistaking the reason for my shaking limbs.
I didn’t answer him. Instead I took his face in my hands and pulled it down to me. He kissed me deeper this time, swiping his tongue across my own, licking and tasting, exploring the warmth of my mouth. And that’s when I felt a sudden stirring deep inside me as something anchored struggled to break free. Recognizing the feel of its master, it began rushing through me. Wanting to be reconnected, to become once more a part of the whole. Ryiel had warned me it would find its way into my mouth of its own volition, and he hadn’t been wrong. There was a fullness in my throat and the back of my mouth, and something slimy now coated my teeth.
Taking my courage in both hands, I thrust my tongue into the dark recess of the demon’s mouth. He stiffened slightly, surprised by my forwardness, but then, like all vain males, assumed my lust for him had got the better of me. I pushed up to the roof of his mouth and scraped the vile piece of him off me. His eyes flew open, burning with fury, and the arm around my waist pulled even tighter. I could feel him trying to dislodge the piece of himself so it would once more return to my mouth. Desperately, I tried to pull my tongue back, retreat from his mouth so I could press my lips together and deny him access, but he tangled with me. Vicious barbs stabbed at the underside of my tongue, and the taste of my own blood suddenly washed back into my mouth. I resisted the urge to swallow, unsure whether I would take his scrap of evil back into my body if I did so. And just when I was certain I had surely failed, that he was going to keep my soul and ensure that the contract between us remained intact, I felt the pull of something that was intrinsically mine.
Immediately, I dropped my hands from his face, becoming limp in his arms and giving myself up to receive the precious piece of me I’d thought was lost forever. It slammed into me with the violence of a racecar hitting a wall at two hundred miles an hour. He pulled his mouth from mine with such ferocity, I’m surprised I didn’t lose a tooth in the process.
“Bitch!” he snarled, twisting the front of my robe in his fist.
I could see something dark and slimy behind his teeth, but he had changed the configuration of his mouth, and the multitude of razor-sharp teeth prevented whatever was now on his tongue from escaping. I turned my head, burying my face in the crook of my arm, holding it tight with my other hand so I could cover my mouth.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t reckoned on being picked up and flung across the room. The millisecond it took for my brain to tell my body what was about to happen was way too long. I felt something crunch as my back hit the wall, and fell forward to the floor. I was in agony, the pain so intense I was barely able to register the vibrations in the floor as he came for me. Looming over me, terrible in his rage, he wrapped his hands around my throat, pulling me up and squeezing.
“You dare to deceive me?” he screamed, spittle flying from his mouth and landing on my cheeks. “You dare to offer yourself and then refuse me? Not here, not in my realm. I am no vampire to be trifled with.”
He brought his face close to mine.
Close enough that I could see the flames that fanned the vertical slit in each eye.
Close enough that I could see the maggots crawling in the fibrous tissue of his corkscrewed horns.
Close enough that I could smell the decay and corruption of his soul.
He opened his mouth, and I struggled against him, knowing he wanted to make me take back that part of him. But our contract was broken. I could feel it, and I knew he could as well. Unless I willingly gave him a piece of my soul, the terms could not be reinstated. I saw in his eyes the moment he realized I understood the termination of our contract far better than he had anticipated. In frustration, he pushed his hips against me, his threat blatant. I panicked. I wanted no other part of him inside me, and most certainly not that. I could feel the burn of his fingers as they tightened. I could only hold on for a few seconds more, and then he would be able to do whatever he wanted. Some things can be taken without consent. I stopped struggling and forced myself to look into his eyes, letting him see the contempt and utter loathing in mine.
And then suddenly he released his hold on me, dropping me to the floor, where the back of my head struck the ground hard enough to make it bounce. His hands were gone from around my throat. I put my own in their place as a shield should he resume his attack, feeling the terrible scalding blisters that were erupting on my skin. I tried to move, wanting to crawl to the shadows and hide myself in the darkness, but excruciating pain radiated out from my hips and shot down my legs when I tried to move. The agony was so intense I screamed—out loud or in my head I couldn’t tell.
I was under no illusions . . . I was going to die at the hands of a demon. No doubt the Grim Reaper was already scurrying along labyrinthine passageways cut deep in the earth, delighted at the chance to tell me to fuck off.
But you can’t die unless Gabriel does.
I hated to crush my inner bitch’s optimism, but now that my contract was broken, I didn’t think that part was still in effect, if it ever had been, here in the Dark Realm.
Well... shit!
She was taking it a lot better than I thought she would.
I lay with my cheek pressed against the stone floor, fighting against the wave of oblivion trying to claim me. Someone once said how we die is just as important as how we live. I was determined to look my demon in the eye one last time so he would know he’d been bested by a mere human.
The hand that covered my mouth muffled my scream as I was rolled onto my back. I squeezed my eyes shut as a jillion jolts of pain fried nerve endings, decimated muscles, and shattered my bones.
“Rowan, sweetheart, I’m here.”
My eyes flew open to see a familiar curtain of white blond hair pooling on my chest as Gabriel leaned over me. He held a finger to his lips, urging silence while he slowly removed his hand from my mouth. I stared at him, wanting to believe he was real, but not trusting myself to do so. I’d thought he’d been real before, but that had been a lie, and I was in so much pain, I couldn’t trust my senses.
“How . . . ?” It was all I could manage.
“Katja told me.”
Now I knew the image was a lie. The psycho-bitch vampire would never do anything so unselfish. Anger rose in me, strong enough to blanket the pain coursing through me. If my life was going to be forfeit, then the bastard should have the decency to wear his own face as he led me to the edge of the abyss and threw me in.
“You insulting prick,” I said, gritting my teeth. “You didn’t fool me before by pretending to be Gabriel. It’s not going to work now.”
“Fool you . . . before?”
He had the nerve to actually look baffled before asking, “When did I come to you before?”
He wants to play games? My inner bitch seemed perturbed.
Okay, I’d play.
“In my apartment . . . while I was waiting for you.” I tried snarling my reply, but I was back to the asthmatic pug imitation.
The smooth forehead creased, and a heavy, vertical line formed between dark brows. I could almost read the sequence of events, real and imagined, that were going through his mind. “Rowan, the last time I saw you, you were leaving to meet Anasztaizia at your apartment.”
Oh, he’s really good.
Yeah, but how would the demon know that?
“I sent Ryiel to talk to you, but if I’d known . . .”
He trailed off, and instead of seeing sorrow or sadness at my predicament, his eyes flashed with unmistakable fury that I had been hurt. A seed of doubt rooted in my brain and began sending out shoots, struggling toward the truth. His fingers traced a path down the side of my face, stroking my jaw. I’d known it hadn’t been him in my apartment, but how could I know if what I was seeing now was really Gabriel? I might be closer to death than I knew, and my imagination was simply conjuring up the last image I wanted to see. There was only one way to be sure.
“What did you say to me . . . the first time you ever saw me?”
His smile was a thing of beauty, and if I was close to death, then I could not have asked for anything more glorious to be the last thing my eyes beheld. Long, elegant fingers moved to my head, and I felt them thread through my spiky hair.
“This should never be hidden,” Gabriel murmured, leaning forward to press his lips against mine. “And had we been anywhere but your father’s tent, I would have kissed you just like that.”
The floodgates opened as I tried to throw my arms around his neck, but as my anger diminished, the searing pain fracturing my body returned. Endorphins have their limitations. Pulling off his shirt, Gabriel wadded it up and placed it under my head. The sight of his muscles flexing in the low light made me catch my breath. Even then.
We both turned our heads as the sound of slow hand clapping bounced off the walls of the chamber, echoing with a strange resonance. I felt Gabriel stiffen as he rose to his feet, standing protectively in front of me.
“You realize I’ve taken her many times over already,” the demon sneered. Though he wore his Armani persona, he had not changed his eyes. Even from where I lay, I could see the red glow and black vertical pupils. A way of reminding Gabriel of what he truly was. As if Gabriel had ever forgotten.
“And yet you still have both eyes, so your words are nothing but an idle boast,” Gabriel declared.
“You think she would have the strength to disfigure me in the process?”
“I know she would,” Gabriel responded with pride.
The demon made a scornful sound. “Nevertheless, she was willing to give herself to me.”
“To break the contract between you. For no other reason.”
“Tell yourself that if it soothes your pride.”
He came across the floor, his movement reminding me of a large predator stalking his prey. I watched as Gabriel repositioned himself, balancing his weight more evenly on the balls of his feet, relaxing his body. With arms hanging loose at his sides, he curled his hands into light fists. It was simply a matter of waiting to see who threw the first punch. And that would depend on which of them lost his temper.
Ordinarily, I would put my money on Gabriel remaining calm and clearheaded, but this was no ordinary opponent he was facing. And I didn’t mean because he was a demon. That was not nearly as significant as the fact he’d been created from the same orb of celestial light as Gabriel. Formed in pairs, angels were given free will to choose whether to walk in the Light or the Dark. And while not twins in the truest sense, they did retain a certain awareness of one another.
“My pride has no need of soothing,” Gabriel said. “Perhaps you should look to yourself. It will not go well for you once it is known that you failed to maintain a pact initiated at the behest of the Dark Realm—” He paused. “Assuming that it ever was,” he added softly.
My eardrums were in danger of being perforated by the roar that buffeted me like a gale-force wind. The structure of the chamber was such that it amplified sound, returning it in a wave that physically pushed me until I was flattened against the wall. I couldn’t have said which hurt more, my back or my ears.
The fight, such as it was, was over before I even registered that it had begun—a blur of movement happening too fast for me to follow—and the outcome had already been decided. Despite the ringing in my ears, I was able to recognize the sounds of conflict, the sickening crunch my brain associated with breaking bones, something I had become all too familiar with recently, and the odd splattering that indicated a pummeling of flesh. And then there was silence. As loud and painful as the roar was, I could still hear echoing inside my head. I doubt the altercation had taken more than a few heartbeats, and it was over. I just didn’t know who had won.
Pulling myself from the shadows, my ragged nails finding whatever purchase they could, I dragged myself away from the wall. Ignoring the agony in the small of my back, I reached the center of the room, where I pushed myself up on my hands as I searched for Gabriel. I saw nothing. Neither Gabriel nor the demon. Had the unthinkable happened? Were they both dead? Were they so evenly matched there had been no advantage on either side? Or had they simply disintegrated like one of Kartel’s vampires?
“No-no-no-no-no!” I sobbed before strong arms picked me up, and the scent of everything winter filled my nose.
Gabriel’s mouth found mine, and I welcomed the feel of his tongue sweeping over my lips, even though the salty taste of tears filled my mouth as I welcomed him in. When he finally released me, I stared up at him, seeing the abrasions and contusions already starting to heal.
“Is he dead?” I asked in a low voice.
Gabriel shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. “I cannot take his life, even if I wanted to,” he told me. “Not here, not in his own realm.”
I don’t know why, but I was glad. I did not want Gabriel to have to shoulder the weight of that burden.
“Then where is he?” I asked, fearful the demon might leap from the shadows and attack us once more.
“I don’t know,” Gabriel murmured, resting his forehead against mine, “but he is gone.”
It took me a few moments before I realized the fiery pain in my lower back and hips was also gone. There was no hot-poker ache infusing my limbs with a scorching heat. In fact, I couldn’t feel anything at all. The muscles of my chest, arms, and shoulders throbbed with a dull, pounding ache, but I was numb from the waist down.
My demon might not have killed me, but he’d done something far worse. He’d paralyzed me. I didn’t need to tell Gabriel; he could see the fear in my eyes, and I think he could tell from the lack of movement, or perhaps the sudden unnatural dead weight of my lower body, what had happened.
“We need to leave here,” he said.
“Are you taking me home?”
“Eventually.”
Chapter 31
I should not have been surprised to learn that eventually was code for a pit stop in the Void. I don’t know why Gabriel didn’t tell me. Perhaps he thought I would resist, but I no longer feared the Void. It welcomed me like a prodigal daughter, healing my broken back, and my bruised and blistered skin. It even went so far as to ask if I wanted a certain foreign object removed from my—you better believe I did. And as I swirled in the dark embrace of the only true power in the Dark Realm, I asked why I was being shown such favor. The Void, unused to having someone listen, told me. The answer was not unexpected.
I was returned to Gabriel by way of the penthouse terrace, and sadly, there was no disguising where I had been. I looked as if I’d just stepped out of a pool of septic waste. Smelled like it too. Gabriel immediately picked me up and jumped into the pool. I can only guess his firs
t instinct was to wash me clean, and it worked, although I later learned Tomas had to have the pool drained, sanitized—probably exorcized—before declaring it fit to be used again.
Wrapping me in a big towel, Gabriel took me straight to bed, holding me while I slept. I was surprised when I awoke to learn I’d been unconscious for almost three days.
It was Tomas who told me there had been a somewhat contentious discussion between Gabriel and Ryiel regarding the silver-eyed vampire’s part in my excursion to the Dark Realm. Recognizing the emotional impact of continuing to defend his actions, Ryiel chose to leave. Abruptly.
“He should have told me,” Gabriel said, still hurt by the actions of the vampire he regarded as so much more than a friend.
I propped myself up on the pillow and looked at my lover. A light sheen of perspiration, a result of our lovemaking, made his skin glow. “Telling you was the choice he gave to me, and I made him promise to keep my decision a secret.” The neon-blue of his eyes darkened suddenly, a sign that told me he felt as if he’d been betrayed twice. I grasped his hand, kissing each finger before asking, “Would you have tried to stop me, if you had known?”
He snorted. “Of course I would.”
“Then don’t blame Ryiel for keeping his word to me.” Turning his hand over, I pressed my lips against his palm and continued to look at him. I didn’t need him to tell me what he wanted to do. I could read it in his face. “Go find Ryiel. Apologize and make peace. Don’t waste what time you have left with each other.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Admitting you acted like an asshole would be a good start,” I volunteered.
“I don’t like the thought of leaving you.”
“I need to spend some time with Laycee.”
I leaned forward and gave him a long, lingering kiss, which turned into a demonstration of other uses for my tongue.
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