From Jennifer Ashley, With Love: Three Paranormal Romances from Bestselling Series

by Jennifer Ashley

  “I’ve been noticing the same thing,” Adrian said. “Too many instances of the undead where they shouldn’t be, too many deaths by violence of living magic creatures. An entire werewolf pack was slaughtered near San Luis Obispo. They’d lived there for generations.”

  “Oh,” Amber said in sympathy. She thought of her friend Sabina’s family, their close ties even when they fought among themselves, the honor they’d extended to Amber in accepting her as one of the pack. “How awful.”

  Septimus looked like he had no kind thoughts to spare for werewolves, but Valerian glowered. “Shapeshifters are being picked on, like someone knows they’re the strongest of living magic creatures.”

  “The Sidhe are pretty strong,” Adrian said. He really did have a very nice backside, molded by denim jeans that left little to the imagination. “Sidhe don’t leave their territory much but they rival the shapeshifters in power.”

  “But you never know what some of the half-blood Sidhe will get up to,” Valerian said. “If they think it would be fun to watch a death-magic creature take down a life-magic one, they’ll make bets and sell tickets.”

  Septimus’s expression didn’t change. “There are no Sidhe, half-blood or otherwise, in Los Angeles, so I do not know if they’ve been affected. But death magic is growing, Adrian. You should be pleased. I’ve heard you complain that fighting ordinary demons is boring.”

  “It is. No challenge to it.”

  “Immortals.” Septimus shook his head.

  “Have you known more than one?” Amber asked him.

  Septimus put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and gave a little shudder. “I met Hunter once. We battled for three days and nights, and would he stop to negotiate a truce like a civilized being? No. Your brother is crazy, Adrian.”

  “I know that. He’s a warrior through and through. Why talk when he’d have more fun killing you?”

  “When I finally got away, he didn’t bother chasing me. He was bored by that time, I suppose. A failing among Immortals. You like stimulus all the time.”

  “My brothers might disagree with you.” Adrian slid his enticing backside from the arm of the chair and got to his feet. “Are we done, here?”

  Septimus looked briefly from Amber to Adrian and nodded. “I think so. Thank you for your courtesy in stopping by.”

  “If you want to think it courtesy, go right ahead,” Adrian said. He helped Amber to her feet then guided her to the door with his hand on the small of her back. Valerian came behind them.

  “She’ll be protected,” Septimus said. “I gave you my word.”

  Adrian only nodded and they said good-bye. Once again, Amber fought the compulsion to look into Septimus’s very blue eyes. Peace, she seemed to hear. You’ll like it, here.

  “Amber?” Adrian stepped in front of her, blocking her view. He was smiling, but his eyes held understanding.

  Thank you, she mouthed.

  “Don’t be afraid of Septimus,” he said in a soft voice, and then suddenly, she wasn’t. Septimus now had no control over her, and she could look at him or turn her back on him, just as she liked.

  She chose to turn her back and walk out of the room with Adrian, Valerian bulking close behind.

  Once the vampire guards had guided them to the main part of the club, Amber turned to Adrian. “What were you and Septimus talking about before you let me in? No, wait, before he sent Valerian for me?”

  “An agreement to make you untouchable to any vampire, in his jurisdiction and beyond. He’ll put out the word that you belong to me.”

  Amber eyed him coolly, still unsettled by the heavy pall of death magic in Septimus’s office. “I’m not a blood slave. And I don’t belong to anyone.”

  Adrian gave her a look of surprise, and Valerian guffawed. “You know the way to a woman’s heart, Adrian. Real smooth.”

  “I told you, I need to protect you,” Adrian said, brows lowering.

  Amber liked that she didn’t have to avoid looking into his eyes like she did the vampires. She could meet his gaze all she wanted, drown in the black depths and enjoy every minute. “Protection is fine. I don’t really want to end up as a vampire snack. But belong to you? Why do you keep saying that?”

  “It is what a vampire would understand,” Adrian said.

  He met her gaze, a challenge in his eyes, which she met with one of her own. “You’re not a vampire,” she reminded him. “And if you offered me the car and the house so I’d be your adoring slave, take them back. I wouldn’t do that for a vampire, I’m not doing it for you.”

  His brow furrowed, sparks floating in his eyes. “I offered them as gifts. They mean nothing to me.”

  “Oh, gee, thanks.” Amber swung around and marched away.

  Behind her Valerian bellowed with laughter. “Good, Adrian. Five thousand years old, and you still don’t know anything about women.”

  Adrian’s answer was a grunt drowned by the rapid thump of the music. The music nearly drowned another cry Amber heard, this one of a woman, a scream of pain and fear coming from behind one of the closed doors. “No, please! I don’t want to. Let me go!”

  Amber’s fury built to a breaking point. This club was all about coercing people into being food for vampires, no matter how civilized Septimus pretended to be, no matter how businesslike he was with his charts and his concern about rising chaos. All she knew was that a woman screamed for mercy that no vampire or blood slave was going to give her, and it sounded like the freckle-faced LaChey.

  Amber grabbed the doorknob, feeling faint surprise that the door was neither locked nor guarded, and burst inside. She heard Adrian and Valerian coming behind her, trying to stop her.

  “Get away from her,” Amber shouted to the black-haired, naked vampire firmly pinning a woman beneath his large body.

  Bryan looked up and snarled, his pointed canines, upper and lower, gleaming red with blood. He was definitely in flagrante delicto, both in sex and feeding. His open mouth, the hiss that came out of it, and the fury in his eyes, made him look like what he was, a beast pretending to be human.

  The woman under him cried out in relief. It wasn’t LaChey, but a woman with long black hair. A red dress lay in a heap at the end of the bed on top of Bryan’s leather pants.

  Adrian looked over Amber’s shoulder, swore, and dodged in front of her.

  “What’s wrong?” Valerian asked. “He’s only a vampire. Just break the creep’s neck.”

  Adrian remained standing rock solid in front of Amber. “Not him. Her.”

  The woman looked up and laughed. A laugh that Amber had heard before, even though then it had belonged to a man. The demon now in female form sat up and looked at them with black eyes containing unimaginable evil.

  Chapter Ten

  “Bryan, get away from her!” Amber cried, this time in alarm. Bryan, not comprehending, snarled again, and the demon woman sprang.

  The demon threw Bryan across the room with such force that he crashed through the plaster and brick wall and out into the alley beyond. The demon woman rose, her body lush, breasts full, hair gleaming black. She slammed a fist into the wall beside the hole Bryan made, and the rest of it broke away, leaving a ten-foot gaping void into the night. Bryan lay motionless in the alley beyond, and the demon woman turned to give Amber and the others a gleaming smile.

  Adrian held out his arm and shouted for Ferrin, his eyes swimming sparks that glittered in the darkness. Amber felt the intense magic building inside him with the ferocity of a volcano.

  “Holy crap,” Valerian said. Life magic built up in him as well, the tension of it cutting the dark air.

  Septimus came running and stopped in dismay, though Amber wasn’t sure whether that was because of the demon or the hole in his wall. He took on the pained look of a man counting up how much repairs would cost.

  “Adrian,” the demon female purred. “I have a message from your brother Tain. He says that he loves you very much.”

  Adrian’s voice went flat, anger radiati
ng from him like a solar flare. “Where is he?”

  His tone would have struck terror into any creature, but the demon laughed a sultry laugh. She sauntered toward Adrian, her perfect hips swaying. She radiated death magic far stronger than what Amber had felt from Septimus—a sticky, sickening power that was compelling at the same time it nauseated.

  “Adrian, don’t let her touch you,” Amber said, her heart beating hard. Even Septimus, as powerful as he was, backed away.

  The demon turned her dark eyes to Amber and her smile widened. “You care for him. How delicious.” She raised her hands like claws and dark magic shot out of them, snaking straight for Amber.

  Adrian’s magic burst out of him with a sound like a sonic boom and rolled to the demon. White-hot energy caught the demon on a wave, lifting her, and blasted her backward through the hole, bringing more of the wall down with it.

  The demon landed on her feet in the alley and morphed into a beautiful naked man, the one who’d attacked Amber. He was taller than Adrian and glowed like a god. He was erect, as though facing them excited him. “Tain also wants you to die,” he said.

  “Stay here,” Adrian said over his shoulder as he strode into the alley. “Remember, he’s an Old One.”

  Valerian’s sigh sounded as though it came from the depths of his soul. “Hell, I’m pretty old myself.” He stepped out into the alley, moving to flank Adrian’s right.

  “I too am an Old One,” Septimus said quietly and stepped out to stand near the broken wall with the other two.

  Amber chewed her lip, wondering how best to help. She could fight a little, but she was not a warrior woman. Her weapon was magic, and she couldn’t fathom what she could do against the demon that Adrian couldn’t. But she also wasn’t the kind of woman to sit wringing her hands on the sidelines. She had to do something.

  Ferrin slithered by on his way to answer Adrian’s summons, Amber’s bag of accoutrements looped between his teeth. He dropped the bag at her feet, and she could swear he smiled.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “A snake who fetches,” Valerian said, looking back. “How cute.”

  Ferrin slithered into the alley and Amber followed, clutching her bag of stones. The snake leapt onto Adrian’s outstretched hand and became three feet of gleaming, deadly sword.

  “Go back inside, Amber,” Adrian said, not looking at her.

  “No, wait, I have an idea.” Amber rummaged in the bag for crystals, an amulet, and a little bag of salt. The crystals still glowed with the magic Adrian had infused in them. “Keep him busy for a few minutes.”

  Valerian barked a laugh. “Sure thing, sweetheart.” He swung something around his head—a bola, she realized after a startled moment, two flaming balls burning with the bright blue purity of life magic.

  Amber hastily drew a circle, outlining it with salt. A blue nimbus rose around it, protecting her from the death magic outside it—for now. She dumped crystals on the ground, picking out the ones she wanted, onyx and clear quartz. To these she added more salt crystals, laid an amulet on top of the pile, and began to chant.

  Beyond the tiny magical barrier, Septimus crouched, daggers in hand. The three men advanced on the demon, Valerian laughing as he swung his fiery weapon. Adrian let loose another boom of built-up magic, a white energy field that raced away from him like a ripple of water and struck the demon hard.

  The demon soared backward again, but landed upright, balancing on leathery wings that shot out from his shoulder blades.

  “Oh great,” Valerian said. “Now the roach flies.”

  Death magic flowed from the demon like black mist, engulfing the alley and the fighters in it. Fingers of darkness pushed at the blue of Amber’s shield, and she had to divert her energy from the spell to keep the circle whole.

  Adrian sliced Ferrin through the dark magic, the sword a white band of light. With a roar, Valerian let his bola fly. Fiery bands wrapped the demon’s throat, briefly dimming the blackness of his magic. Valerian held up his hand and the bola flew back to him, blue fire still burning.

  While the demon recovered, Septimus darted in, daggers in hand, and stabbed the demon full in the stomach. Black blood poured out of a huge wound, and Septimus danced away quickly, more as though he protected his suit than his life.

  The demon laughed as his wounds began to close. “You’ll have to do better than that, vampire.”

  Tendrils of inky mist wound around Septimus’s throat and chest and closed tight. The vampire couldn’t choke, but the demon could easily slice Septimus in half, which would kill him.

  Adrian came in with his sword, hacking at the ropes of magic, freeing Septimus. The severed strands of death magic fell to the alley floor and dissipated. Blue white light glowed from Adrian’s sword as power built inside him that could destroy city blocks.

  Amber felt the power of the Goddess nudge her, bringing her attention back to her spell. Then something happened that had never before happened in Amber’s circles.

  An unseen hand traced a pattern in a blotch of spilled salt—a pair of horns, the sign of Isis. Amber stared at the symbol, remembering that Adrian had told her he was born of the Goddess in the form of Isis. She’d come to help her son.

  Amber broke off her ritual chanting to babble, “Make it work. Please make it work.”

  Something warm and quiet touched her, a serenity and a surety, and then it was gone.

  “Adrian, wait,” Amber called.

  Adrian paid no attention. He released his power, knocking the demon across the alley and into a brick and steel wall that bent under the onslaught. Adrian followed, sailing after the demon on a wave of magic.

  “Where is Tain?” Adrian demanded as he sliced down with the sword, his words ringing. The sanity had left his voice. “Where is he?”

  The demon, despite Adrian’s attack, laughed, death magic dancing in his hands. “He sends his love. And says he’ll never forgive you. Not even if you give him your body to flay alive.”

  Adrian roared and plunged his sword into the demon. The demon dissolved into black mist, only to reform a few feet away and swat Adrian aside. Adrian landed heavily, Ferrin flying wide to clatter across the alley floor.

  The spell was ready. “Ferrin, help me,” Amber cried.

  As Valerian and Septimus got Adrian to his feet, the sword on the ground bent into the sinuous waves of the snake and slithered to Amber, sliding through the gap in the circle she created for him. Gingerly Amber looped the amulet’s small chain around one of Ferrin’s fangs.

  “Get it on the demon somehow,” she whispered.

  The snake regarded her with intelligent eyes then slipped noiselessly through the alley again, unheeded. The demon curled death magic in his hands, building it up in balls of inky darkness.

  With the mindless bravery of cobras, Ferrin sailed straight at the demon and buried the amulet in the wound Adrian had opened in him. The demon grabbed the snake in a strangling hold, but Ferrin turned into a sword and cut into the demon’s hands. The demon’s fingers began to smoke, and he snarled and let the sword clank to the ground.

  Amber watched the spell take hold. The demon’s eyes glittered black fire. His focus moved past the three men now on their feet and landed with acid sharpness on Amber standing alone.

  “Ah,” he said. “Interesting choice.”

  Valerian said, “Please say you’re corroding him from the inside out.”

  Adrian said nothing at all. Silently he retrieved Ferrin and moved to block Amber from the demon’s deadly stare. Adrian’s face was beaded with sweat, his shirt soaked with it. His black eyes sparked, his anger focused and lethal.

  “What is your name?” Amber called out to the demon. She prayed that the truth spell she’d infused into the amulet was strong enough to get some answers out of him.

  The demon laughed. “I go by many names. I am a son of Apep.”

  “Who’s Apep?” Valerian asked Adrian.

  “A snake god of ancient Egypt,” Adrian answ
ered, his gaze pinned on the demon. “Always trying to swallow the sun.”

  “Nice to know,” Valerian said.

  Amber called to the demon again, “Why did you kill Susan?”

  The demon answered, as though he didn’t mind the question. “She knew too much. Like you do. I don’t like people who get too close.” He made a crushing movement between thumb and forefinger.

  Swallowing her anger, Amber went on bravely. “Where is Tain?”

  The demon laughed, the sound echoing along the buildings. “You think your spell can make me tell you? To reach inside me and bring forth the truth? But there are many truths, earth witch. Which one do you want to know?”

  “I want to know where Tain is. Where are you keeping him?”

  “No one likes a clever witch.”

  “You must answer,” Amber said, putting a stern note in her voice. She didn’t feel at all stern—she was terrified—but spells worked better when you were firm. “I command you to give me the truth.”

  The demon laughed again, rising on his wings. He seemed to grow larger, a being of shadow and smoke that filled the alley.

  “I’ll do better than tell you. I’ll show you.” He pointed a long finger at Amber and death magic poured out of him. “Ice,” he hissed, and shot upward into the sky.

  “Aw, shit,” Valerian said. “You had to ask.”

  A huge sphere of ice closed over the alley, advancing and thickening so rapidly that they had no time to run. The wall of the club was coated over in seconds, the ice ceiling bearing down on the four in the alley at hideous speed.

  Septimus struck at the wall with his dagger, but the wall only chipped, despite his vampire strength. Adrian swung his sword. Ferrin carved a few grooves without doing much damage. The blue fire of Valerian’s bola did little more, and Amber’s desperate attempt to throw her fire spell did less still.