Authors: Stacey Kennedy
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When I connected with hard ground, I gasped in pain then raised my head to see one of Hugh Hefner’s playboy bunnies. At least, that’s what she looked like, but I knew better. She was a demon.
“Pye will see you now,” she said, and began walking toward a large mansion.
I got to my feet and ran a little to catch up with her. We were approaching a gate that led into a large, ranch-style mansion. Neatly trimmed bushes that were more art than plants decorated the grounds as a huge stone fountain flowed water over a beautiful woman.
She opened the front door, we stepped through and my breath was immediately lost as evil surrounded me. Oh yeah, he had guards¯apparently lots of
them. I could only hope they were on another floor to give me time for my escape. The demon led me down the hall, turned into a large sitting room and motioned for me to sit on a chair. “Wait here.”
Too nervous to sit, I glanced around. It was a normal rich person’s sitting room—expensive with all the trimmings. I quickly drew on Spirit, held my shield firm around me for the added security and to settle my nerves just as the little playboy bunny stepped back into the room. “Pye requests your presence. Come with me,” she ordered.
Following behind her, she headed toward the back of the house where a door sat. The closer we got the more evil crept through. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep the nerves at bay. I got the sinking suspicion that there were far more demons in this house than expected and far more than I first thought. Once at the door, she stopped, then opened it and we stepped through.
Fuck!
Magnus didn’t know what he was talking about, or maybe he did. Why I believed what he told me was just plain stupid on my part. I wasn’t going to have a private meeting with Pye—the twenty demons surrounding him made that pretty obvious.
“Come forward,” Pye demanded.
I pushed back my fear, knowing the demons in this room could feel it. Obviously, the plan had changed. I couldn’t help but wonder how the hell I was going to get out of this. Zia said I wouldn’t be able to handle too many demons for long. But what could I do? If I didn’t destroy Pye, Dante would be gone forever.
It was too late to turn back now anyway. I had no other reason for coming here. What could I say, that I just wanted to stop by for a tea? Just because the situation changed didn’t mean I had a choice in this. My only hope was that I could kill Pye fast enough to get the hell out.
Just as I was about to draw on my magic a woman suddenly stepped away from the crowd. “What the fuck?” I growled.
“Nexi, my darling,” Tyrianna hummed.
“Is this some sick joke?” I managed. I met her gaze and knew instantly that it was. Her eyes were shadowed, dark—nothing of the wonderful witch lived in there. This wasn’t her. Another thing Magnus wasn’t truthful about, Pye knew enough about me to know the look of my mother.
“We thought it would comfort you,” Tyrianna the demon said.
“Well it doesn’t. So, fucking stop it,” I spat.
The demon shimmered and returned to her normal form. I exhaled with a clenched heart. Seeing my mother, no matter how she was depicted, still affected me.
“Just trying to make you more comfortable,” Pye said. “Now then, tell me what business someone of the Otherworld has with me.”
He was sitting in a throne chair and resembled a Greek God. Short blond curly hair, perfect cream-colored skin—all he needed was the toga.
After that little escapade, this was going to be easier than I thought. Now, I was mad, and that anger pointed to only one place—Pye. “I would just like to say that this isn’t personal,” I said, and prepared myself.
Pye’s brows rose. “What isn’t personal?”
“This gift from Magnus,” I growled, and with as much power I had in me, I blasted him with fire.
It flew toward him, but before it hit, one of Pye’s demons jumped in front of him and it burned the demon into black smoke.
Dammit!
Immediately, Pye jumped to his feet and blasted me with his magic. It hit my shield and it was heavy with darkness. This was nothing like the Black Magic I’d experienced before. This was pure evil and unbelievably strong. I kept my shield up strong against it. Poured everything I had into Spirit, prayed it would hold tight.
To make matters worse, the demons had shifted back into the original shape of black figures that flew through the air to surround me. Trying to invade me, but my shield wouldn’t allow it. Darkness engulfed me—the demons slid along my hold, trying to find a way in.
Quickly, I focused on Pye and waited for him to throw more magic at me.
Seconds later, he did. When it blasted me, I opened myself up, allowed it to enter my being. Allowed the dark force to become part of me and gave me a strength that was unrestrained. My blood ran black, my eyes shadowed with black as I returned his magic to him.
It came out in something I’d never experienced. The Black Magic before was still elemental. Pye’s wasn’t. It was energy. It didn’t come out as Air or Fire. It came out as a rippling wave that sped back to him. It felt good. I felt strong and unstoppable.
Pye’s screams echoed through the large room as I continued with my assault, used all his dark power to finish him. His magic came back to me again as he gave a final push to save his life, but the darkness that invaded me made my shield thick, unbreakable.
The second it hit, it rebounded and flew back to Pye. He blew up into a thousand pieces leaving nothing but particles of the Warlock he once was. The demons screamed around me as their leader was now destroyed. They grew in stronger around me. Darkness hit everything.
The air was thick as my vision blurred with blackness. I drew in harder and screamed out with pure vengeance as the demons screeched a loud, high-piercing noise that dropped me to my knees, forced me to cover my ears.
They were everywhere. Fury consumed them as they searched their way through my shield. There was no way out of this. Their screams forced me immobile. I couldn’t move, run or destroy them. I was unable to get a hold on them or pinpoint their location in order to end this.
There were enough of my senses left to feel a harsh wind blow around me. The demons’ screams grew louder. I curled around myself, tried to shield the noise as their intense roars came at me from every side.
Abruptly, they left my shield and flew around the room. Something was happening. The demons weren’t focused on me anymore. Their attention was elsewhere, but their screams made it impossible for me to move or look at what had captured their focus.
The release of their darkness from my shield was a much-needed relief. It provided me strength to revive myself. However, with the distraction of the demons gone, the darkness of the Black Magic within me sank in deeper, eager to take over my soul.
With all the goodness that lived within me, I fought against it, but I was losing. My soul couldn’t fight against the strength of Pye’s darkness. It wanted to consume me, wanted to take me. I wanted it too.
It felt rich and powerful. Momentarily, I imagined everything I could do with it, all that it offered me. I couldn’t deny it any longer. I craved to keep it. To hold the power to stop anyone or anything that stood in my way.
Suddenly, sense slowly returned, everything quieted and the darkness slowly withdrew. My soul was returning. The evil that ran through my blood began to subside. I was left lying, gasping and panting on the floor. When I opened my eyes, Magnus was kneeling beside me, his hand on my stomach. “What?” I gasped. Confusion filled every part of me.
Magnus smiled gloriously. “Job well done.”
He assisted me, holding onto my arms, bringing me up to a sitting position. The room was empty of the demons that were here before, but now it was full with other ones. “What happened?” I had to ask it.
The demon I had met at Magnus’ stepped forward. “You think we would not assist you?” she said snippily.
I laughed. It was all I could do. “I wasn’t really counting on it.”
The room erupted into loud laughter, the weirdness of this situation just got stranger. Hearing demons laugh so sweetly is far from normal.
“Pye was our biggest threat.” She smiled. “Once he was out of the way we took care of the others.”
“You killed the demons for me?” I asked, shocked.
Her smile grew. “Makes you like us, doesn’t it?”
“This…” I gave my head a shake. “I…” I shook my head again, and glanced at Magnus. “You helped me?”
“They would have been a continuing threat if they had not been destroyed. You never asked if I planned to assist you. It was my intention all along to give you aid once Pye was destroyed.”
“So, you knew it wasn’t a private meeting?” I ground out between clenched teeth.
“I am the Lord of Underworld,” he said without remorse. “I do what I have to to get what I want. If you knew, you never would have agreed.”
Wasn’t that the truth. I sighed, deep and long. “I’m tired.” And I really was. I tried to give myself a little healing, but it only came out in little flickers. I didn’t have enough to fully revive me.
Magnus ran his hand across my face. “You are incredible,” he whispered.
I sighed deeper. “Not this again. If you even think of kissing me, I’ll find it in me somewhere to punch you. Got it?”
He laughed boisterously and the demons followed suit. “You don’t have the strength to give me the kiss I deserve. That will come later.”
I ignored that comment, wanting nothing more than just to get the hell out of there. “So, you are going to return Dante’s soul, right?”
He nodded, before lifting me into his arms. “It has already been done.” He began to walk out of the room. Apparently, he was allowing me to go home.
Being in his arms felt all too weird but I took it as an immediate invitation. With the only power I had left in me, I read into him. He smiled down at me, knowing what I was doing, but didn’t stop me. He opened himself up so I could understand his world.
The visions came quick. What I saw was far from what I expected.
Magnus was a leader and this was just his world to protect. Demons were indeed soul-takers, but it wasn’t innocent souls they were taking. The souls they took were ones given freely by humans who wanted something in return.
He never used the Black Magic against others to hurt them, nor did he push others to do so. He wasn’t looking to kill, only to keep his world alive. Human souls are what fed their magic. The choice was the only one.
It was definitely a rude awakening. I misunderstood the evil that dwelled here. Black Magic was from a dark source—that was undeniable—but it was just another source. Did it turn some to evil? Of course it did, but there was evil that came from the Otherworld too.
Was it something to fear? Absolutely, but not all who held this magic was out to kill. They were doing what they needed for survival. Did Magnus stop evil ones from taking innocent souls? No. To him it gave his world strength. That is where the Underworld differed from the Otherworld. We stopped evil from consuming the Earthworld. The Underworld didn’t.
Just because I understood it more didn’t mean it still didn’t scare the crap out of me, and made me damn glad that I wasn’t going to be a part of it.
When the visions stopped, a thought occurred to me. “Why did you draw the darkness from me?”
He was the reason I didn’t succumb to it, his hand on my stomach was the connection needed to draw it away. “You could have just let it take me and kept me here in this realm.”
His gave a clever smile. “Time will soon answer that question.”
When I landed back in Foyer, strong arms scooped me up immediately before I could even hit the ground.
“Zia,” Talon shouted. A second later, she was there, reaching out and gave me an oomph of healing.
Two breaths passed before I felt brand new again. Lord did it feel good. Having your magic drained is the equivalent to having the swine flu—horrible all around.
Willow’s rough tongue met my hand.
“I’m glad to see you in one piece, but it was a stupid move. Very, very stupid.”
I smiled at her and patted her head. “It was a close one, that’s for damn sure.”
She nodded and purred into my embrace.
My gaze left hers as a body knelt down in front of me. I glanced up. Dante wore an expression of immense gratitude. “I owe you my life. What you did…” he smiled, “…was brave.”
“It wasn’t brave.” I shook my head. “It was right.”
Valor joined Dante then leaned in and kissed both my cheeks. “Consider your debt repaid. You are never to feel it necessary to do that again. Understood?”
I laughed, relieved that this night was over and my job was done. “Let’s hope we don’t have to do anything like that again.”
Zia reached down, placed her hand on my shoulder as she read my mind. Only a minute later, she gasped, appearing utterly floored. “Magnus helped you?”
“He did,” I replied.
“Why?” Zade looked about as surprised as anyone.
I shrugged deeply, unsure of that answer myself. “I’m just glad he did. I wouldn’t have survived that if he didn’t.” I gave myself a good shake. “Demons are nasty things.”
Everyone laughed.
“That is unheard of,” Brax said while he examined me with interest. “What does he want?”
Magnus’ gift to me wasn’t without consequences. The slimy bastard would always want something in return.
My gaze scanned every face here. I realized someone was missing. “Who knows? He said nothing and I never asked.”
“Where’s Kyden?”
I asked Zia.
“He’s in the garden. He was having some trouble waiting for you to return,”
she nodded toward the wall. It had been pummeled into pieces.
I stood swiftly. “I have to go find Kyden.”
“Wait,” Talon said quickly. “You need to tell us what happened.”
I chuckled, reached out to him and replayed the events in his mind. When it stopped, he stood there stunned. “You tell them.” I smiled, and started walking away.
Haven stepped forward and wrapped me in a warm hug. “I don’t have to tell you not to do that again, right?”
I patted her back, then laughed. “Nope. Heard loud and clear.” I gave everyone a little wave, heading out of the castle, walked quickly toward the garden.
Think botanical gardens, but better. I followed the rock path quickly as it weaved its way along the garden and halfway in, Kyden sat on the ground next to the pond. When I got close enough to him, I knelt down, wrapped myself around his back.
He reached up and grabbed my arms, hugging me tightly. “You’re home,” he whispered.
I squeezed tighter. “I’m home.”
He pulled me over his side so I was sitting on his lap, took my hands in his and sighed deeply when his gaze met mine. We sat there a moment just staring at each other.
“I have never stopped wanting to be a Guardian,” he finally said. “Never stopped wanting to live in the Otherworld until this very moment.”
“Kyden…” I whispered.
“It drives me to a place of near insanity knowing that you are in danger. Every part of me wants to keep you here, safe in my arms.”
“I know you do. I wish I could stay here too, but I can’t. This is what we’re left with. This is our life.”
He looked down to our joined hands, then slowly raised his eyes to mine. “It doesn’t have to be our life.”
That was completely unexpected. “You want to leave the Otherworld?”
“I want you to be safe.”
“Give me some credit. I made it through tonight.” There was no need to tell him just how close I came to not making it. Some things were better left unsaid.
He shook his head and concern masked his face. “I do believe in you. If I didn’t, Álainn, you would not have gone tonight. I would have chained you to a chair if I thought you couldn’t handle yourself. It is not that which troubles me.” He sighed deeply again, sounding utterly spent. “It is that I am not with you. I should be with you—always.” He released one of my hands and brushed my hair behind my ear. “You have always believed that my possession of you is a natural trait. It isn’t so. It is that I love you so undeniably, that it pains me that you are in any sort of danger. This is not the life I would wish for you. Then, on top of you being in danger, I cannot be there to protect you as I should be.”
“But you can’t be. It’s not safe for you and never will be.” I equaled his sigh. “I need you to be behind me—I need your support. You’re always right with me in my heart. I’m never battling alone since I have you there.” I leaned in, and kissed his lips. “And we cannot leave the Otherworld, Kyden. They need us.”
“I don’t care what others need of us,” he ground out. “My only thoughts are of you.”
“Kyden…” I began.
Shocking me completely, he rested his hand against my stomach. “One day I want my youngling to rest in here,” he said softly, a dream of the future laying in his eyes. “And I fear that will never happen if we stay here.”
My heart clenched a little. We have never discussed a family. I put my hand over his, held him as close as I could. “I want that too, but what would the world be if we don’t stay to make it a better place. What world would we be bringing that youngling into?”
He rested his forehead against mine. I wrapped my arms around him. Nothing needed to be said. We both knew how true my words were. No matter how much Kyden might wish our life was different—safer—we couldn’t leave. This was our life. No matter how dangerous it was. It was ours.
“Come on you two,” Talon called to us in the distance.
I glanced over my shoulder, then met Kyden’s gaze again. “We have to go,” I whispered.
Just because this event with Magnus was over, didn’t mean our problems were. There was still the whole situation with the Black Witches that needed dealing with.
He nodded, stood, then helped me to my feet. “What’s up?” he asked Talon as we approached him.
“I got in touch with the FBI,”
The FBI?
Kyden laughed softly as I glanced up at him in blatant confusion. “Remember, Supes are infiltrated in all high levels of government.”
“Just how high?” I asked, suspiciously.
He winked. “As high as it goes.”
I suddenly had an urge to take a little trip to the White House just to see if the President of the United States was indeed human. Actually, now thinking of it, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Lately, anything shocking was normally supernatural related.
Hurriedly, I followed Talon and Kyden through the grounds of the Otherworld and back into the castle.
The moment we stepped through the Council’s Hall, Haven bounced over. “Yikes, that was emotional.”
“You betcha.” The whole conversation with Kyden stirred many emotions.
My gaze then lingered to the vampire talking with Zia. She was one tough chick—exactly what you would expect to see involved with the FBI. Her long black hair was pulled back into a long ponytail, and her suit looked designer. She had the body of an all-American athlete, but the face of a Victoria Secret model.
“Nexi, this is Hadley,” Zia introduced.
I reached my hand out and she shook it. “Hi.”
“Pleasure is mine,” Hadley responded. “You have become a conversational piece within the Bureau.”
“Yeah, I tend to do that,” I admitted, not too happily.
Kyden laughed, giving me a little smack on the ass then looked to Hadley. “Are you doing well, Hadley?”
She gave him a smile that was pure sexual. “I am.”
I glanced between them, instantly annoyed. They had slept together. It was written all over her face. Kyden, of course was unreadable, but a hint of amusement lifted the corners of his mouth. He knew that I knew.
I sighed deeply, not wanting to let my jealous radar creep up any higher. “Moving on.”
Kyden gave me a wink.
I shot him a dirty look.
“Tell us what you know,” Talon said to Hadley.
“A week ago, a couple new recruits joined the Bureau and told us of murders that had happened in their jurisdiction. After a bit of digging, we discovered numerous murders with the exact same M.O. have taken place within the United States.”
“How bad is it?” Talon asked.
She gave him a knowing look. “As bad as it gets. Once we started connecting them together, the number of killings is a staggering amount.”
“Why didn’t we know about it?” I piped up, asking the obvious question. If a supernatural creature killed a human, the Council should have known it immediately.
“In many of the cases, it appeared that either an animal did it or it was committed by a human,” Hadley said. “Now we know different, of course.”
This just confused me. One case I could see being overlooked, but
a
staggering number…
It seemed odd, but I kept any questions to myself. There was no need to look stupid in front of one of Kyden’s ex-lovers.
“What have you discovered so far?” Kyden asked.
She glanced at him, her eyes twinkling. “We have our files at the Bureau. I suggest you come and have a look at them. It may help you here, and whatever helps you, helps us. We have come to a dead halt on these cases.”
“Are we allowed to come to the FBI?” I asked. “I mean come on, it’s the FBI for frig sakes. I doubt we’re allowed to just walk in.”
Hadley nodded with a grin. “I have passes for four of you to join me, and Caliana has helped with regards to the humans and assures me that we will not have a problem once you are there.”
“Caliana?” I repeated.
Kyden arched a brow. “She’s a vampire.”
“Oh, right.” I gave my hand a wave. “The whole glamour thingy-mi-jiggy.”
“Yes, the glamour thingy-mi-jiggy.” Hadley laughed.
I noticed she wasn’t looking at me. Her eyes were quickly scanning Kyden’s body—slowly ran over every curve of his muscles. My teeth ground together and my muscles flexed with jealously. “Ahem,” I said loudly.
She met my gaze, and the desire running through her eyes was fierce. “Yes,” she purred.
“Please keep your mouth shut,”
Zia said sternly.
Okay so maybe I put my foot in my mouth a few times and Zia knew it. Resolved, I swallowed back my remark and looked at Kyden, who had a barely contained smirk on his face. I quickly punched his arm. “It’s not funny.”
He laughed loudly and flinched. “Oh, but I think it is.”
Hadley looked confused. “Sorry, have I missed something?”
I shook my head, sighing deeply. “No, nothing. Please continue.”
She studied me, then her eyes widened with understanding. “Are you two together?”
Kyden nodded. I remained silent, afraid if I did anything, Zia was going to be very unhappy with me.
“I hadn’t heard,” Hadley said. Then, surprising me, she took my hand in hers. “I apologize. If I had known then I would have kept my eyes to myself.” She glanced at Kyden. “One has finally stolen your heart. I never thought I’d see the day.” Her gaze met mine again as she smiled softly. “I meant no disrespect.”
My smile in return was unencumbered. It was nice to finally meet someone from Kyden’s past that wasn’t a complete bitch and didn’t rub it in my face that they had been together. “It’s fine. Sorry, I…”
She raised her hand to stop me. “Think nothing of it. I would do the same. Trust me.”
“Can we go?” Ryker grumbled off to the side. “I am about to be sick.”
Ryker’s your G.I. Joe type, rockin’ bod, handsome face. To me, though, he was just Ryker. A tough-ass Guardian. Apparently, now that this situation had upped the ante, Talon felt the need to bring Ryker onboard to help.
Fine with me! The more help, the better.
“Ryker!” Hadley exclaimed, her face lighting up. Obviously, Kyden wasn’t the only one Hadley had a fancy for.
Ryker pushed forward and stopped just a few inches away from her. “Been a while, Hadley. You are looking…” his gaze lingered on her body, “…well.”