Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity) (17 page)

And why couldn’t he catch their scent?

Then, with a growl of sheer fury he’d shifted and gone in pursuit of Cassie’s rapidly fading trail.

What the hell did it matter who or how or why Cassie had been kidnapped? All that mattered was finding her before she could be hurt.

Now he had to wonder if he’d been deliberately led on a wild-goose chase.

And if he had, what now?

He was debating the question when there was a faint rustle directly behind him. With a snarl he whirled around, his teeth bared in warning.

The sight of the tiny demon with oblong black eyes and fair hair pulled into a tight braid standing in the hay field did nothing to soothe his desire for blood.

“You.”

“Yes, me.” Yannah smoothed her hands down her pristine white robe, her lips pinched in disapproval. “Although I don’t know why I bother. I specifically warned you not to be separated from the prophet. And yet, here you are with Cassie nowhere in sight.”

Why the aggravating . . . bitch.

Caine clenched his hands, too infuriated to care he was completely nude. Or that the hay bale was poking his bare ass.

Instead, he was savagely reminding himself this demon had enough power to destroy him with a thought. And as much as he might want to shake the tiny creature until her pointed teeth rattled, he couldn’t rescue Cassie if he was rotting in hell.

“Do you think I deliberately left her?” he demanded. “She disappeared.”

Yannah snorted. “It doesn’t matter how you were separated, only that you find her.”

“What the hell do you think I’m trying to do?”

Yannah shrugged. “It looks to me like you’re running in circles.”

Caine tensed. How the hell had she known he was running in circles? Unless . . .

“Have you been spying on us? Do you know where she is?” He stepped forward, glaring down at the tiny heart-shaped face. “Has she been kidnapped? Is she hurt?”

“No and no and no and no.”

He trembled, his wolf straining to be released to return to his hunt. With every passing second Cassie’s scent faded a little more and the beast didn’t give a shit that this demon might or might not hold information that could help them find their female.

“Then what happened to her?”

The black eyes widened. “It would seem that she dumped you.”

“Dumped?”

“Isn’t that how you say getting rid of an unwanted partner?” she asked with faux innocence. “Dump, chuck, give the ol’ heave-ho?”

“Yeah, I got the meaning,” he ground out. “I just don’t know why you think Cassie would dump me.”

“She drove off and left you at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere.”

Caine hissed, refusing to allow the smallest suspicion to taint his mind.

It would kill something inside him if he thought Cassie deliberately abandoned him.

“She must have been kidnapped,” he said with more force than necessary, reminding himself of their passionate night together.

There was no way a woman would so eagerly give her innocence to a man she intended to discard at the first opportunity. Hell, they’d still be in that bed if it hadn’t been for the damned vision.

Caine sucked in a sharp breath, realizing he could pinpoint the precise moment that Cassie had changed from his sweetly generous lover to a distant stranger who could barely look him in the face.

Clearly sensing his revelation, Yannah narrowed her dark eyes. “What is it?”

“The vision.”

“A prophecy?”

“Yes.” With a muttered curse he shoved his fingers through his tangled hair. “I knew something was wrong. Gods. I should have forced her to tell me.”

“Hey.” Yannah snapped impatient fingers. “You can wallow in self-pity later.”

His low growl rumbled through the air. “You are—”

“Charmingly blunt?” she interrupted with a hint of warning. He was nearing her line in the sand. They both knew he didn’t want to step over it.

With an effort, he leashed his frustration. “Do you know where Cassie is going?”

“No, but you do.”

“Me?” He scowled at the ridiculous accusation. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be running in circles.”

“I knew you were all brawn and no brain.” Yannah shook her head with profound disappointment. “You’re lucky you’re so pretty.”

His hand dropped, his fingers curling into a tight fist. He wanted to hit something. Or better yet, kill something.

“God dammit, we’re wasting time,” he rasped. “Why can’t you just tell me?”

“Because I don’t know.” She held up a hand as his lips parted with an angry protest. “I only know that you know.”

“Crap,” he muttered. “You’re making my head ache.”

“She must have said something,” Yannah said, utterly unapologetic. “Think.”

Caine bit back his angry words and forced himself to recall what Cassie had said about her vision. For all he knew this Yannah was a crazy-ass demon who was following him around to make his life hell. But if there was even the slightest chance she could help him locate Cassie, then he’d jump through hoops and dance the mambo if that’s what she wanted.

“All she said was that she had a vision and we had to travel west.”

“Just west?” Yannah appeared troubled. “That’s a little vague.”

“You think?”

A choking power filled the air, wrapping around Caine with enough strength to warn Yannah could easily crush his every bone.

“Careful, Were.”

He waited until the power had receded enough he could draw in a breath. Only when he was reasonably confident he wasn’t about to become a mangled corpse did he speak. “She’d obviously decided to take off before . . .” He lost track of his words as he actually considered the time line. “Wait.”

“What?”

He stared blindly over the recently mowed field, mentally walking through the morning from the moment that Cassie woke in his arms.

“She started acting strange after her vision.”

“And?”

“The vision must have convinced her that she had some task she had to deal with alone.”

“Yes, yes.” Yannah waved an impatient hand. “Quite possibly.”

“So when she said we had to travel west she must have been trying to throw me off her trail.” He frowned, not entirely satisfied with his logical conclusion. “But why the elaborate scheme? Why not sneak away from me while I was cooking breakfast?” He sorted through his chaotic thoughts, brutally ignoring his snarling wolf, which was nearing the edge of a meltdown. “Oh, I’m so stupid,” he at last muttered.

Yannah flashed her pointed teeth. “You’ll get no argument from me.”

He ignored the insult. “She had to get past the hexes.”

The demon blinked in confusion. “What hexes?”

“The ones I had placed around my lair.”

“You were holding her prisoner?”

His brow furrowed in outrage. “No, I damned well was not holding her prisoner. I was trying to protect her. In case you haven’t noticed she has more than a few demons desperate to get their hands on her.”

“I’m all too aware of her danger. Which is why you must find her.” The demon poked a finger into his belly. “Soon.”

Caine froze in fear, detecting the worry that Yannah was attempting to disguise. “You know something,” he accused. “What is it?”

“I only sense that she’s being hunted.” She gave him another poke. “Think, Caine. Where did she go?”

“Dammit, I don’t know,” he roared.

Pacing in a tight circle, he wracked his mind for any clue he might have overlooked. Cassie rarely spoke of the future. Who could blame her? Her visions were a crippling burden that she wanted to forget, not dwell on.

But a niggling voice in the back of his mind whispered that she had said . . . what?

Something he should remember.

He continued his pacing, ignoring Yannah’s dark glare and the distant sound of passing cars as he fiercely tried to recall his every conversation with Cassie over the past week.

Then suddenly he had a vivid image of Cassie perched on the edge of the breakfast bar as the scent of pizza filled the air.

“Did this foretelling happen to mention some magical means to keep us from becoming leech food?”

“No. But we have to return to your lair in Chicago.”

“Now?”

“No. Soon, but not tonight.”

“That’s it,” he muttered.

“You know?” Yannah demanded.

“I know.”

“Where?”

“She’s going to my lair near Chicago.”

The demon studied him with a frown, as if trying to decide whether or not he could be trusted. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.” Without warning, she reached out to clamp her fingers around his wrist, her grip shockingly strong. “Then let’s go.”

“Go?”

Her smile sent a sizzle of alarm down his spine. “Hang on.”

“Wait.” Caine tried to pull free of the nutty female. Who knew what she was plotting? But it was too late. Before his eyes the world simply melted away, leaving him surrounded by a black sense of nothingness. “Oh, shit.”

Caine’s lair outside Chicago

Dusk was painting the sky in vibrant shades of violet and amber as Cassie pulled to a halt near the two-story brick farmhouse. With a shaky sigh, she turned off the engine and allowed her trembling hands to fall into her lap.

It’d been a hellacious trip.

Not only because she’d spent the past six hours struggling not to kill hapless motorists as she’d driven to this remote location, but she’d been on constant edge that Caine might somehow manage to pick up her trail and follow her.

Now that she was here, however, with no sign of the Were who’d become a vital part of her life, she felt . . . what? Hollow. As if she was a mere shell that was going through the motions.

Where was Caine? Was he still searching for her? Perhaps tormenting himself with blame that she’d disappeared?

Or had he at last decided he’d had enough of her craziness?

He certainly had every right to walk away in disgust. After he’d sacrificed everything to become her guardian, she’d just disappeared with no warning, no explanation. What man in his right mind wouldn’t decide she was more trouble than she was worth?

She clenched her teeth against the pain that sliced through her heart. Dang it. So what if she felt like she’d lost a part of her very soul? As long as Caine was safe, nothing else mattered. Nothing.

Forcing her stiff muscles to move, she stepped out of the Jeep and started cautiously toward the house. The last time she’d visited the lair, Caine had altered the hexes to recognize her. But it had been weeks since she’d last been there. Would they remember her?

One way to find out.

Sucking in a deep breath, Cassie moved through the hedge and followed the narrow pathway. When she wasn’t zapped or skewered or turned into a newt, she continued forward, climbing the steps of the wraparound porch.

She paused, taking a last glance around the empty yard, which was surrounded by a heavy line of trees, before pulling open the heavy oak door and stepping into the living room.

It was a plain room with rustic furniture and towering bookshelves that were stuffed with leather-bound chemistry books. A wistful smile touched her lips. The house was a painful reminder of Caine.

Gods, the very air smelled of him.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when the door was slammed shut behind her and she whirled to discover a blond-haired Were leaning against the wall, his arms folded over his chest and a mocking smile on his lips.

“Hello, pet. Miss me?”

Her mouth literally dropped open.

Caine.

But . . . it wasn’t possible, was it?

He couldn’t be here when she’d left him miles behind.

“Are you a trick?”

“No trick.” He shoved away from the wall and prowled toward her stiff form, wearing a casual pair of jeans and white T-shirt. “Surprised?”

She gave a shake of her head, struggling to come to terms with the fact he was really there and not just a figment of her imagination.

“How?”

He arched a brow. “How?”

She cleared her throat and tried again. “How did you get here?”

Without warning, he grabbed her upper arms and spun her around so he could press her against the wall. Only then did she realize that beneath his sardonic composure he was seething with fury.

“That’s not the question.”

The heat of his anger seared over her skin, his grip careful not to bruise, but tight enough to warn she wasn’t getting away.

“Caine.”

The sapphire eyes glittered in the gathering gloom. “The question is why the hell you took off without me.”

His words seared away the stunned shock fogging her mind. He was right. It didn’t matter how he’d found her. Or even how he’d managed to know where she was going and get here ahead of her.

All that mattered was getting rid of him before it was too late.

She turned her head to stare at the rolltop desk set near the window, desperate to hide her all too expressive face. “I would think that would be self-explanatory.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

He snorted, his hands cupping her chin and forcing her face back to meet his narrowed glare. “Obviously I’m particularly dense because I don’t find anything self-explanatory about being abandoned at a rest stop by my lover.”

She licked her lips, floundering beneath his penetrating gaze. Who knew that lying would be such a vital skill? Or that sucking at it might very well get Caine trapped in hell.

Crap. She had to do this. And she had to do it well enough to make sure Caine walked away and never returned. With an effort, she plastered something she hoped resembled a smile to her lips. “I decided that I’d had enough.”

“Enough of what?”

“Enough of us.”

“No.”

“What?”

“Try again.”

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“A woman doesn’t give her innocence to a man when she’s ‘had enough,’” he challenged.

“I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about my virginity,” she muttered.

His simmering anger that she’d hope to provoke into a
don’t-call-me-I’ll-call-you
rage abruptly faded to be replaced with a heart-melting tenderness.