Sacrifice of Darkness: A Guardians of Eternity Novella

by Alexandra Ivy

  Landing heavily on the mat, Javad struggled to his feet. The crowd screeched for Frack to end the battle, but all Javad could hear was Terra’s soft cries of horror from above.

  Frack took a second longer to shove himself upright, snarling in frustration as he stomped forward.

  “Me squash you.”

  Javad could sense the last of his energy draining away, but a flare of hope raced through him as he caught sight of the blood that leaked from beneath Frack’s armor. The creature’s assumption that he was impervious to harm just might be the means for Javad to win the battle.

  Javad motioned toward the orc, his smile taunting. “You can try.”

  Frack lumbered forward, smiling in anticipation as Javad pretended to be too weak to avoid the attack. Then, wrapping his arms around Javad, he squeezed him in a brutal grip. Javad ignored the excruciating pain of his bones snapping as he focused on his last hope of defeating the creature.

  Curling his fingers, he rammed his fist into the armor. Over and over, he pounded at the same spot, forcing the metal deeper into the orc’s body.

  The crowd noise receded, and his sight began to narrow as he started to black out. Still, he continued hitting the metal, driving it through the flesh and into the soft heart. Abruptly, the stench of orc blood filled the air.

  Frack shrieked, belatedly realizing the danger. He released Javad and gazed down in horror at the destroyed bit of his shield. The creature had been so certain that he was protected, he could only gape in confusion as his life drained from his body.

  Javad struggled to stay upright, knowing that he’d won the battle as Frack dropped to his knees and then fell flat on his face with a mighty thump.

  This was it. He’d defeated his enemy. It was time to escape. All he had to do was leap toward the opening at the top of the cage and grab Terra.

  Then they could…

  They could…

  Javad swayed, his brain filled with fuzz as he glanced up to see Terra stretching out her hand toward him.

  He’d always known they could never have a happy ending. She was a Seraf who was trapped in her crystal temple, while he was a vampire stained with the blood of his opponents. Just like Romeo and Juliet, they were destined by fate to be forever parted.

  The sappy thought faded away as blackness consumed him, and he tumbled on top of the orc.

  * * * *

  The crowd went wild as Javad collapsed. As if the sight of the two bloody and broken demons was the greatest thing in the world. Terra cried out, trying to jerk from the troll’s grip. She was desperate to get to Javad.

  At the same time, Vynom entered the cage, smiling with cocky delight at the carnage he’d created.

  The…scumbag.

  Waving his arms, he encouraged the screams of raw violence. At last, the shouts died away, and Vynom moved to kick the dead orc in the head.

  “As I promised, the battle of the century!” There was a brief roar of approval. “But I also promised you a once in a lifetime surprise,” Vynom continued, holding up a wooden stake. “An opportunity for the highest bidder to claim the honor of killing Javad the Vanquisher.”

  Terra’s blood ran cold as the demons jumped to their feet.

  “Ten gold coins,” shouted a voice from the back.

  “Twenty,” another answered.

  “Fifty.”

  “One hundred.”

  Terra blocked out the bids being shouted by the crowd, a slow calm coming over her. When she’d still been in the fighting pits in Athens, Javad had entered a room where she was healing an imp who’d had his ribs shattered by a blow from an ogre. He watched in silence as she’d peeled back the flesh to inspect the damage before healing the ribs and knitting the skin back together. When she was finished, he’d asked her why she didn’t use her magic to fight against the demons holding her captive. She’d told him that she had sworn a pledge when she was taken to the Seraf temple. No matter what happened, she would never use her powers to harm another.

  Even if it meant saving her own life.

  But this time, it wasn’t her life in danger.

  It was Javad’s.

  And no pledge or promise or destiny would stop her from doing everything in her power to save him.

  Closing her eyes, Terra sank into the magic that bubbled inside her. It was light and bright and glorious. It was also potent. Concentrating on the troll’s fingers digging into her arm, she used the connection to send her magic into the demon. It swirled and fizzed, dancing through his bloodstream until it reached his heart.

  Terra opened her eyes and turned her head to watch as the troll frowned. He could feel the magic, but he would have no way of knowing where it was coming from or what it was doing.

  Not until his heart came to an abrupt halt.

  The creature’s eyes bulged, his mouth dropping open, and his skin changing to a weird blue color as he struggled to breathe. Terra turned away, pulling her arm from his loosened grasp.

  The troll wouldn’t die. Or at least, she didn’t think he would. She’d never used her magic like that before. But he would be incapacitated for the next few minutes, at least. Long enough for her to escape.

  Leaping forward, she dove headfirst through the space Javad had created between the bars. She managed to twist as she dropped through the air, landing on her feet next to Javad.

  A stunned silence filled the vast chamber, every gaze locked on her as she lifted her hand. Clearly, they expected her to perform some magnificent feat of magic. Even Vynom stepped back in shock.

  Ah, if only it were so easy.

  Her magic wasn’t magnificent. It was barely more than functional.

  But the breathless sense of anticipation gave her the opportunity that she needed. Waving her hand in a grand, flamboyant motion, Terra created a portal. She couldn’t get through the magical barrier, but she could take them to another part of the caverns.

  Pulling Javad through the opening, she slammed it closed and glanced around.

  They were away from the crowd, but that didn’t mean they were safe. With care, she lowered the unconscious vampire onto the hard ground and quickly inspected the cramped cave to make sure there were no hidden dangers. There was no sense rescuing Javad from one deathtrap only to land him in another.

  She’d just managed to convince herself that they were safe for the moment when a familiar smell caught her attention. What the heck? She glanced around, her brow furrowed. Then, bending down, she scooped an object off the ground and held it in the palm of her hand.

  What was going on?

  Momentarily lost in her dark thoughts, Terra was distracted by the sound of a soft moan. Shoving away the questions that thundered through her, Terra tucked the object into the pocket of her gown and rushed back to Javad.

  “Javad.” She dropped to her knees beside him.

  He hissed in pain as he forced his eyes open. “Terra?”

  “I’m here.”

  He studied her in silence as if trying to memorize each line and curve of her face. Then, he grimaced. Was it another wave of pain? Terra’s heart squeezed with fear.

  “Where are we?” he demanded.

  “Somewhere in the caverns,” she said. “I think it’s close to where we were being held in the cell.”

  “How did we get here?”

  She brushed her fingers over his face. His skin was icy to the touch and far too pale. Even for a vampire.

  He was fading fast.

  “I can open a portal to places inside the magic barrier,” she told him, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. Panicking wouldn’t help. Right now, it was up to her to protect Javad. “I just can’t get us out of here.”

  “Good.” Relief flared through his eyes. “There has to be an exit nearby. Go.”

  She wiped the blood droplets from his cheek. “No.”

  “Eventually, they’re going to find us.” His voice was harsh, his face twisting with frustration. “You have to leave.”

  “Not this time,
” she stubbornly insisted. “I walked away once. I won’t do it again.”

  “Terra.” With obvious effort, he reached up to cup her face in his hand. “You don’t belong here. You have to return to the temple.”

  Terra’s jaw clenched before she managed to control her burst of anger. “I will. In time,” she promised, calmly pulling up her sleeve. “First, you need to drink.”

  Javad’s hand dropped, his face blank. As if she’d just hit him with a shovel instead of offering him the elixir that would lure him back from the brink of death.

  At last, he gave a stiff shake of his head. “No. I can’t.”

  Stubborn vampire. She leaned forward, holding out her arm.

  “I may not be capable of healing you with my magic, but my blood will help you regain your strength,” she insisted.

  He turned his head, looking tragically noble with his battered body and expression of agonizing need.

  “You don’t know what it means.”

  Her lips twitched. She hadn’t seen this melodramatic side of Javad before. It was cute.

  “That I’m your mate?”

  He froze as if shocked by her blunt question. “Okay, maybe you do know.”

  “I’ve always known.” And she had. From the very first time she’d seen him. But it was a knowledge she’d hidden deep in her heart. A vampire had one mate, and once he or she had taken the blood of their destined partner they were bound together for eternity. “I just couldn’t allow myself to acknowledge our bond. Not when we were destined to be separated.”

  Regret shimmered in his eyes. “It’s no different now.”

  “Everything is different.”

  He couldn’t miss the fierce edge in her voice. “What do you mean?”

  She lowered her lashes, trying to hide the dark, tangled emotions that boiled and churned like a thundercloud just waiting to burst open.

  “I broke my vow,” she revealed, her voice low and carefully calm. “I hurt the guard holding me so I could escape.”

  “Terra.”

  She lifted her gaze to study his horrified expression. “It’s okay. Really.”

  “No.” He grabbed her hand, squeezing her fingers. “Being a Seraf is who you are.”

  His words whispered through the air, and Terra braced herself for the pain. From the day she was born, she’d known that she was destined to join the Serafs in the fabled temple. She was celebrated in her tribe, and her parents had been given a fine home and piles of treasure.

  Even arriving at the temple had been filled with pomp and ceremony. She’d been treated as if she were the most special creature on the face of the Earth.

  Having that stripped away should have been devastating.

  Instead, all she felt was…peace.

  “I’ll always be a Seraf, whether I’m at the temple or not,” she told him in a firm voice. “My healing abilities aren’t dependent on the Matron. Or living among other Serafs.” She pressed her hand to the center of her chest, directly over her heart. “It’s here.”

  Javad shook his head in regret. “This is my fault.”

  “No,” she sternly chided. “This is Vynom’s fault.”

  “If I—”

  “Ssh.” Terra was done arguing. Pressing her inner wrist against his mouth, she leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Drink, or I won’t have anyone to protect me when they manage to track us down.”

  He paused, seemingly caught off guard by her less than subtle manipulation. “You don’t fight fair,” he complained.

  She smiled. “I’m learning. Better late than never.”

  “I suppose that’s true.” His fingers drifted down her arm in a light caress. “But I don’t want you to become a cynic.”

  The distant thunder of running footsteps could be heard. It sounded like a hundred demons stampeding overhead.

  The search was on.

  “I won’t become anything if you don’t heal,” she reminded him. “We’re running out of time.”

  Holding her gaze, Javad allowed his fangs to lengthen. They gleamed with a snowy whiteness despite the shadows, emphasizing the razor-sharp tips. Terra shivered, but not with fear.

  There was nothing but breathless anticipation as those lethal fangs pressed against her skin. Then, with one sharp jolt of pain, they pierced through her flesh and sank deep.

  She gasped, burying her face in his hair that tumbled free of the braid. His cool, enticing male scent surrounded her as the sting faded and an exquisite feeling of pleasure flooded her. She could feel each deep draw as he drank her blood, the sensation shockingly erotic. Almost as sensual as the hand that slid up her arm to wrap around her shoulder, urging her to lay down beside him.

  Keeping her wrist pressed against his mouth, Terra scooted down, arching against the hard length of his body.

  “Javad.” His name came out on a shaky sigh, her head cradled in the curve of his throat. Then, barely aware of what she was doing, she bit and licked away the blood that trickled down his neck.

  The taste exploded as it slid down her throat, intensifying her acute awareness of the male beside her.

  Already, she could sense his savage wounds healing. She wasn’t using her Seraf powers. She didn’t need to. She could feel his pain easing and his strength returning. As if they were connected... No. It was more than a mere connection. It was as if they’d become one body. One soul. One heart.

  Forever intertwined.

  Awareness shuddered through her, and she arched closer to his bare chest. She wanted to halt time. To savor the mating magic as it rushed through her with intoxicating intensity. Javad’s arm tightened around her, perhaps sharing the same dreamy wish. Then, with a low groan, he withdrew his fangs and stared at her in wonderment.

  “Terra,” he murmured. A mysterious smile curved his lips as he held up his arm to reveal the crimson tattoo that ran beneath the skin of his inner forearm. “My Terra.”

  Terra smiled as she studied the intricate pattern that looked too delicate to be real. Then she held up her own arm, not at all surprised to discover a matching design. She’d felt the tingling sensation as the tattoo formed. A visible symbol of her mating with Javad.

  “Yes, yours,” she agreed.

  His eyes shimmered a pure bronze as he hesitantly reached out to trace her mark with the tips of his fingers.

  “How?”

  She chuckled, turning her head to brush her lips over the bare skin of his chest. “Did you think I could be your mate without you being mine?”

  “It happens.”

  “Not between us.” She snuggled closer. “We were bound together from the moment our paths crossed.”

  Chapter 8

  Levet had never considered himself a snarly sort of demon. Unlike the leeches or dragons or even the Weres, he wasn’t forever moaning and groaning about the tiniest problem. Indeed, he was infamous for his perky charm.

  But after an hour of roaming the musty caves with a dozen frost fairies, he wasn’t feeling very spirited. In fact, his nerves had reached the breaking point.

  Why had he opened the door to their prison cell? Granted, their gratitude had been effusive. They’d cheered and danced and even made up a spontaneous song to herald his greatness. Levet had memorized the words. When he returned to Vegas, he was going to hire a bard to stroll behind him while singing it. How else could people know about his latest daring adventure?

  Unfortunately, things had gone steadily downhill.

  The fairies stopped singing as they left the slave pens, but they were soon bored. The excitement of escaping was forgotten as they trudged through the dark tunnels. Within a few minutes, they were squabbling and complaining and even throwing rocks at each other. It was like trying to herd a gaggle of drunk frat boys. Hmm. Did humans travel in gaggles?

  Levet heaved a loud sigh as two of the fairies tumbled past him, fighting over a worthless crystal that one of them had found on the floor.

  “Could they possibly make more noise?” he muttered.


  Sparkle fluttered her wings, looking confused. “You want them to be louder?”

  “Non. I was being…” He sighed again. Fairies would be fairies. Flighty. Impulsive. Noisy. “Never mind. How much farther to the maze?”

  “Not far, but don’t forget, it is guarded by hellhounds. We’ll have to find a way to distract them,” Sparkle warned.

  Levet halted. He wasn’t afraid of mangy hellhounds. He was a hero, after all. But having to sneak past them didn’t fill him with tingly joy. Especially if they hadn’t been recently fed. There was nothing pleasant about being trapped in the belly of a hellhound.

  There had to be another way.

  Glancing around, he noticed a large crack in the wall of the tunnel. It was too narrow for the massive head of a hellhound to fit through. Even better, he could feel a faint breeze, and that meant it opened into a cave. Or perhaps another tunnel.

  He pointed toward the crack. “We can go that way.”

  Sparkle leaned forward, sniffing the breeze. She stiffened, her eyes wide. “No. I smell a vampire.”

  Levet had already caught the familiar scent. “Oui. Javad.”

  Sparkle tilted her head. “What’s a javad?”

  “A friend.” Levet stepped forward and wiggled into the crack. “I hope,” he muttered.

  * * * *

  Javad knew that he should have some regret.

  A mating was one of the most significant events that could happen in a vampire’s life. It was meant to be a glorious celebration enjoyed in as much luxury and decadence as possible. Instead, they were lying on a stone floor, covered in dust, and being hunted by his looney-ass sire.

  Regret, however, was the last thing he felt.

  Burying his face in Terra’s hair, he shivered as stunned joy blasted through him. He’d spent so many centuries convinced that he would never be reunited with this female. His female. She had her duty as a Seraf, hidden behind the walls of the temple. It would take time for him to accept that she really was his.