“Of course. You know where to find me; my prison is of my family’s own making. Good night. I’m sure you will enjoy the rest of it far more than I shall.”
Mallory didn’t know what made her say it, but she had to. To show him that he did not frighten her? Maybe. “Good night, Equan Black, it was a…pleasure to have met you.”
“Mmmm.” He walked up the path slightly then stopped. Looked toward the garden. “Did you know, girl? You have a sibling or cousin—something—just over there, near the koi grotto. She’s digging in the flowers and humming. It is too cold out here for her in that wisp of a dress, even as a human. Best collect her before she catches a chill. Or perhaps she’ll catch the eye of a real monster. Maybe even mine. Maybe I want a Taniss female for myself. She looks rather…tempting. A Dardaptoan might eat her just to stop that annoying humming as well. Do all human Tanisses talk to flowers? Or just that one?”
She knew exactly who he meant. The instant he’d mentioned plants.
Mallory stepped in the direction of the area where Joselyn had been attacked such a short time ago.
In the light from the hundred rooms surrounding the garden that was reflected off the pond’s water, she could see the shape of a woman. She instantly recognized her cousin. She was only a girl, really. Young in so many ways other than just chronological. Mallory practically forgot the terrifying vampire behind her as fear for her cousin hit her. “Cass! What are you doing out here?”
“Mallory? Is that you? I can’t really see you out here. The night is so beautiful, isn’t it? The flowers were calling to me. There are so many I’ve never seen before. I…don’t like it inside. People are staring at me. Someone threw a rock at me a few hours ago, too. And the walls…there are not enough windows. There needs to be more windows here. I can’t breathe without windows.”
The dark man slipped away as Cass started coming closer. He just faded away shortly before Cass reached them. But Mallory knew he had watched them. Had watched Cass.
“What are you doing out here? Don’t you know it’s late? Weren’t you listening to Emily at dinner or in the garden? Someone has threatened us all. You shouldn’t be out here alone.” Emily’s little sister was different than all the rest of the family. More trusting, naïve. She far preferred to spend her time in the gardens on the various properties. Cass was the only adult cousin—though at just turned twenty-two a month ago she was the youngest of adult age—who had nothing to do with TI, had no interest in the company whatsoever. She was also the youngest of the female cousins, and Mallory always felt protective of her. More so than even with Becca. Cass was only six months younger than her sister, but a world of difference existed between the two.
“I was helping the flowers. They were hurting for some reason. I could actually feel them crying out. In pain. Strange, huh? And I wasn’t alone, was I? You were out here. And so was he.”
“He?”
“That man. I could feel him watching me for the longest time. The one with a scar. I tried to talk to him; I asked him if he knew where these black flowers came from, but he told me to leave him alone. To just stay away. Only he cursed at me when he said it. Said something about damning some goddess for what she’d just done to him. He’s a bit strange, but I wasn’t afraid of him. I knew I was safe, despite the other.”
“The other?”
“The other person. They were watching me, too. Planning something.”
Cass walked closer into the dim light. She wore a simple white dress that was now streaked with dirt. She held a flower in one hand. Mallory smiled. Cass had a way with flowers that was remarkable. She was built thin like Mickey and Joselyn, with the same dark hair as Emily, and the wild curls that a few of their cousins shared.
Cass was beautiful and had never looked more so. It was no wonder strangers stared at her. Mallory shivered. If someone had been watching her cousin, it would be understandable. Cass drew people’s eyes, even if she’d never noticed. Mallory just hoped she hadn’t drawn the eyes of a monster.
66
Aodhan wrapped a hand around Mallory’s arm and pulled her closer. He guided Cassandra to walk in between them. They took the young female upstairs, to the rooms she’d been assigned near Emily and Rydere.
Aodhan watched her cousin disappear inside her suite, then turned to Mallory with a contemplative and serious expression on his face. “Kitten…when you get a chance, I want you to have your doctor cousin study all the files of your grandfather’s experiments.”
“Why?”
“Because I have a strange feeling; Cass is different and not in an entirely human way. She’s almost Nellana Druidic in nature. I’d bet good money on it. A high portion of her blood may be Nellana. It can be hard to scent a half human’s blood. The human covers everything.”
“How long do you think they were watching her? Do you think Nalik is planning something? Do you believe him? What about the other Cass mentioned? What? Do you think she’s in danger from him, them?”
“Slow down. There are only so many questions we can consider at a time.” Aodhan pulled her close again. “I do know one thing.”
“What is that?” She tried to suppress the urge to grab Cass and drag her back to Aodhan’s suite where she could keep the younger girl safely under her watch.
“If Nalik had wanted to harm your cousin, he would have done so. He is not the kind to wait patiently for anything. Even revenge.”
“Is he the kind who would take out his revenge on an innocent twenty-two-year-old girl? I hope not, but you would know him better than I.”
He was contemplative for a moment. “No. No, Nalik wouldn’t. But this other, I wouldn’t expect anything else. She said they were planning something. We just have to find and stop them first…”
Mallory looked at her Rajni and saw the determination on his face. The same determination she felt.
They’d find the answers they’d sought, and they’d do it together.
No matter what their future brought, she was going to face head-on—with her vampire right by her side.
Forever.
67
Nalik pulled in a deep breath, forcing the scent of the young females out of his lungs. Taniss blood.
Taniss.
The betrayal of his goddess would run deep within him forever.
He heard his cousin and the redheaded female’s words, though they did not realize he still listened. They did not know he had shifted into something they could not see. Nalik just could not leave with that young female down there with only Aodhan to protect her.
He had watched her for hours now. Since the moment she had stepped into the world of Dardanos.
He had spoken to her once. That had been the most foolish act he had ever done in his more than seven hundred years on the earth.
Tanisses. Everywhere. This one was barely of age in his culture. Just a babe. Two damned months being of age. With monsters after her.
It did not surprise him that they had been targeted. Their grandfather’s crimes were great. Many despised him, of all sorts of Kinds.
But her? How could anyone look at a female like her and ever wish to harm her?
His hands had trembled. His words had come out harsher than he had intended.
No. It was best if he stayed away from that female as much as he could. Nalik had a mission, one he had to complete. He could not afford to be distracted by a young girl barely of age. A young girl with Taniss blood flowing in her veins.
Yes, the goddess of his people had betrayed him in the most horrific way possible.
The female he had been waiting for was the grandchild of the one human in existence that Nalik had sworn to slaughter where he stood.
He swore again, and took off into the night sky, as Aodhan and his female led the dark-haired girl into the welcoming warmth of the hotel that had once been his home.
It welcomed him no more.
68
It was about to culminate, this search for the answers. Aodhan tightened hi
s hand on the sword he’d carried for five hundred and forty years.
He looked at the males beside him. Cormac, Rydere, Theo, Matt, and Barlaam. The werewolf Rand.
The demon warrior who had brought Aureliana back to them had joined them in his brother’s stead. It wasn’t just for their people that they were here now. It was for the females they all loved. The Fort Collins home was a smaller replica of the main house where the rest of the Taniss family had lived all his Mallory’s life.
But it was guarded with vicious dogs and barbed wire. Security agents.
It took them longer than he would have thought to have those security agents subdued.
The warrior demon killed two before Aodhan could stop them. “We do not kill randomly here in Gaia.”
“It is not random. They are of Midreno descent. Demon mercenaries. The worlds—any worlds—are better off without their Kind.” The warrior was completely unapologetic. Aodhan was glad the male was on their side. He would be a formidable foe for any of the demon hunters of the Dardaptoan Kind. Not even Cormac could take him out easily.
It was a wonder Aureliana had survived a battle with this demon.
“Let’s keep moving,” Cormac said. “I want this bastard.”
“Keep yourself in check,” Aodhan ordered. “Nothing stupid or reckless. We all have females to return to after all.”
“No kidding.” Cormac practically snarled. “But I owe her this.”
“Then let’s do this,” Rydere said. “Theo? Anything?”
“Just that this is right. It ends this tonight. But it begins another war. One I do not know whether we will win.”
Aodhan and the wolf led the way. Rand unlocked the door to the mansion his grandfather had occupied for years.
Taniss was inside. With another.
One Aodhan recognized.
And fifteen bodyguards.
Fifteen.
“Midreno!” the demon warrior yelled, seven-foot broadsword pulled. “Kill at will!”
Aodhan dove at the first.
It was a well-matched fight.
But he was determined. Taniss would not escape the justice he deserved.
He battled his way through the demons surrounding his enemy. His eyes met green.
Green, just like Mallory’s. But not like hers. Not at all.
Mallory’s eyes looked at him with love now. Not the cold evil that Leo Taniss did.
He wrapped his hands around the man’s neck. That’s when he realized.
Taniss wasn’t human. Not at all. Even though he looked like he had aged just as a human should have. He’d done something to himself.
A long time ago.
Or he’d been born that way.
“You’ll die for what you’ve done.”
Aodhan wrestled him to the ground. Theo was there to help. The other male leaned over Taniss. Aodhan listened to his brother-in-law’s words. Theo’s anger was hard to miss. “You deserve this for what you’ve done. Should have been more careful. Do you remember saying that to your granddaughter as she lay bleeding on the ground because of your enemies? Mallory was twenty-one, Taniss. Not even an adult in my world. You should have protected her, should have protected Joselyn, too. The others. Yet you targeted them. And now you face the judgment of the Fates. Aodhan should kill you for that day alone.”
Aodhan yanked Taniss from the ground and threw him toward the nearest Dardaptoan. Barlaam.
Barlaam was nearly as big as the demon warrior, as big as Aodhan himself. And his female had been harmed just as much as the others. Barlaam yanked the man from the floor and bound his wrists. “It’s over.”
Aodhan looked around.
The demons were dead. Their bodies would have to be dealt with. No doubt the demon warrior would handle that.
“The other male with Taniss?” Aodhan asked, looking at Rydere. The Dhar had a wound across his face, but it would heal soon.
Aodhan had his own injuries, and they were more significant than he would admit. But he would live. All who had been on their side had fared well.
“Albert Boltier,” Cormac snarled. “He escaped. I don’t know how, but he did.”
“We will catch him. It’s just a matter of time.” A thought occurred to Aodhan. “He has a family. We find them, they’ll lead us to him.”
“I’ll see it done,” Cormac said. “In the meantime…Joselyn speaks to me now—your female is beside herself. Seems to think she felt the injuries to your hide. Best get back to Dardanos and comfort her.”
“We’ll let the tribunal have him now,” Rydere said.
He looked at the head of that tribunal.
Theo nodded. “It’s done. We return to our females now.”
Aodhan thought that sounded damned good.
69
Mallory couldn’t breathe. Not until Aodhan and his buddies and her brother returned. She paced the lobby, Joselyn, Mickey, Emily, Becca, and Jade watching her. Even Cass was curled up on the big orange chair, saying that something was happening.
Something significant that she had to be there for.
Mallory barely heard her cousin. Barely heard any of them. Only Joselyn. She’d been in communication with her vampire the entire time.
Joselyn had told Mallory over and over again that Aodhan was fine. They all were.
It wasn’t enough for Mallory. It wouldn’t be. Not until she could see him for herself.
A disturbance hit the front doors. The pneumatic glass slid open. A large, vicious-looking man in black strolled in. He looked like death and terror rolled into one.
He walked right up to her. Mallory refused to back down.
Cass let out a surprised squeak when the man reached up and put one hand on Mallory’s cheek.
“Your male is on his way, female. Settle yourself, preserve your dignity.” His words were harsh, but Mallory didn’t fear him. Her eyes met his. She deliberately ignored the vicious scar he’d received at her grandfather’s hand. He wouldn’t hurt her. Not here. And she didn’t fear him, for some reason.
Not really. “Equan Black, I didn’t know you went with them.”
“I didn’t. I wasn’t welcomed. They still do not trust me, apparently.” His tone told her he didn’t give a damn who trusted him or not. “Your grandfather has been captured. He’ll face some of the justice he deserves. But not enough, not enough.”
“I don’t care. I just don’t want him to hurt anyone else, anymore. And I don’t want my family targeted because of him. We didn’t hurt anyone.” Mallory waved a hand at Cass. “She definitely hasn’t. Yet there is a quarter-million-dollar price on her head. Someone destroyed her greenhouse at my father’s house this morning. Painted a death threat on her favorite garden wall, where her favorite roses had been. How is that right? Where is the justice in that?”
He frowned. “I did not know the Dahr has not found the ones responsible. Who threatens her?”
“We don’t know. But some do. She’s not safe out there. We’re not safe here, either.”
“We are never truly safe anywhere. Remember that, cousin. There is always someone watching. Probably those damned bitches, the Fates. Go to your male now. No doubt, he’ll need your particular brand of care. Lucky bastard. Make certain he realizes what treasures he holds. Make certain.”
He turned, stared at Cass for a long moment. “You—do not ever leave this hotel.”
“Why?” Cass asked, uncurling herself from where she’d been snuggled with a blanket Emily had fetched for her. “Who are you?”
“Just know that you…you cannot defend yourself against the ones who would hunt you. Remember that.”
He strolled away, leaving Mallory and the others watching him.
Mallory shivered.
“I can take care of myself just fine,” Cass said, hotly. “Why doesn’t anyone seem to understand that?”
Mallory wasn’t fully convinced he wasn’t the one they should fear the most. No matter what her gut was telling her about him.
Then
Aodhan was there, and she was back in his arms, right where she belonged.
He was injured, but he was there. And he’d be ok. Barlaam made a point to reassure her of that.
He was there. Safe. Her grandfather had been found and he was locked up where he belonged. He wouldn’t hurt anyone ever again.
Mallory let Aodhan wrap her up in his arms, and she snuggled close to his chest.
Right where she belonged. Because they were fated to be exactly where they were now.
Forever.
What about Joselyn and Cormac?
The human woman was just his prey—his ultimate prey.
He was a predator and had been feasting on humans for centuries. Tonight was just a hunt, like any other. Regardless of how his skin itched that something more was about to happen. That wasn’t one of his skills.
He couldn’t predict the future. All he could do was act.
Cormac Jareth watched the human female from his place in the shadows for several long moments as she soaked in her bathtub. Her head was thrown back; her hair piled up off her delicious neck. Some errant yellow curls had slipped into the water.
Those curls teased him, making his fingers itch to follow their path. He’d always loved a female of any Kind’s silky hair. Even humans.
There were tears on her pale cheeks.
He’d been watching her long enough this night to see her crying. To feel her pain on the night air.
That’s what pissed him off most.
He didn’t want to feel for her.
Cormac had watched the human female as she’d slipped her clothing from her shoulders. His body had tensed; heat had circled his gut. Lower. It had been hard for him to damned well breathe as he’d watched.
He’d had to look away after only a moment. Before he did something stupid.
She was human and he’d wanted her.
It had disgusted him.
Despite her ancestry, despite them being of different species, his body had reacted quickly to her striptease. She was about average height for a human woman, but short for his Kind. Her curves were smaller than he normally preferred, too, but her breasts looked like sweet perfection. He’d love to taste her there. He’d never been with a human lover before.
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