by Becca Van
“How is it possible to feel so proficient after only a few hours?” Lavinia asked.
Zara shrugged and took the bottle of water that Nina held out to her. Lavinia took the other and sipped from the bottle.
“We think it has to do with being mates. They’ve transferred their immortality to each of us. Why not their skills?” Nina shrugged.
“Makes sense I guess.”
“Are you ready to try the scimitar?” Zara asked.
“The sword?” Lavinia questioned.
“Yes,” Nina answered before moving to another wall and began retrieving the weapons. “The most important rule is to always make sure the outward curve of the blade is facing away from you. If you hold it toward you and you catch something on the pointed tip you could end up getting it stuck in something and then you’d be easy prey.”
“Yeah I can see how that would be dangerous.” Lavinia took the sword from Nina and tested the weight of it. It was heavier than she thought it would be, but she knew she wouldn’t have a problem holding and wielding it. Not now that she had more strength than before.
“Since Nina’s better with a sword than I am, she can show you the ropes.” Zara stepped back and leaned against the mirrored wall.
“That’s debatable,” Nina said.
“No it isn’t.” Zara smiled. “You’re just too humble to admit that you’re better than I am.”
“You’re amazing with a sword,” Nina said, then turned to smile at Lavinia. “But I am faster.”
“Hallelujah.” Zara threw her hands up in the air.
“Oh shut up.” Nina chuckled. “Okay, I’ll start off slow so you can see the moves and get the feel for the sword. Just make sure you block me. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Lavinia nodded. She didn’t want to get hurt either. Her first instincts were to watch Nina’s arm movement and she blocked each slash and thrust. She was in awe of how gracefully Nina moved. The muscles in her arm rippled and flexed, her body flowing as if she were dancing.
“Do you think you could copy what Nina did?” Zara asked.
“Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Give it a try,” Nina encouraged.
Lavinia drew in a deep breath and pushed all thoughts from her mind except for the way Nina had moved. Once she’d gone over it all, she lifted the scimitar into the starting position and began. Nina blocked each slash and lunge. The only sound in the room was that of metal meeting metal. She was surprised by the sparks as the two blades met.
“That’s great, Lavinia. Now you need to block Nina again, but this time make sure you keep your eyes locked on hers,” Zara directed.
Lavinia nodded and was barely in the defensive position before Nina came at her. At first it was hard to keep her gaze locked on to Nina’s, but each time their blades met her confidence grew until she was virtually anticipating Nina’s moves.
“Stop!” Nina gasped in a couple of deep breaths before flopping down onto the mat.
“Are you all right?” Lavinia knelt beside Nina, looking her over for injuries.
“I’m fine, just worn out. I can’t believe how fast you are or how easily you picked that up. It took me days to be able to move like that.”
“Uh…okay. Thanks.” Lavinia wasn’t quite sure what to say, but Nina’s praise was heartfelt and it gave her even more confidence.
“Have you had enough?” Zara asked as she sank down onto the mat.”
“I feel like I could keep going for hours,” she replied.
“You might be able to, but you’ve worn me out.” Nina smirked.
“I have?” Lavinia frowned.
“You two have been going at it for over three hours,” Zara said.
“What? Are you sure?” Lavinia glanced from Nina to Zara and back again.
Nina nodded. “The guys will be back in about two hours. I think we should all get what little sleep we can before they get here. They are going to want breakfast before…other things.”
Lavinia laughed. She was looking forward to the other things and from the dreamy expressions in Nina’s and Zara’s eyes, they were, too.
Chapter Fourteen
Nina dried off and then wrapped the towel around her body before reaching for the brush and hair dryer. She couldn’t seem to stop smiling over how good she felt after learning and working out with the other women. Of course having two of her very own sexy soul sentinels made her smile widen. Just thinking about her mates had her body responding with lust and she couldn’t wait to make love with them again.
After putting the dryer away she pulled on Men’s robe and headed for the kitchen. She wasn’t feeling the least bit tired and decided to prepare the pancake batter and have the coffeepot set up ready to go for when the men got back.
The moment she stepped into the hallway after exiting the apartment the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She looked up and down the corridor and although she couldn’t see anything or anyone she felt as if she was being watched, but shrugged it off and continued on.
She set about her tasks and when she was done glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. If everything had gone to plan for the men, they should be back within the next half an hour or so.
She’d just poured herself a glass of cold water from the jug in the fridge when goose bumps raced over her body. Lavinia spun around, but there was no one in the kitchen-dining room with her. Still, she couldn’t shake that being-watched feeling. She was just deciding if she should go seek out Nina and Zara when she saw movement from the corner of her eye near the doorway.
The shadow crept across the floor and as it inched closer seemed to get bigger and bigger.
“Not again. Please? Not again.” Lavinia backed away from the forward-moving shadow mass until the small of her back bumped into the kitchen counter. She opened her mouth to scream for the other women, but she never got the chance to make a sound. The shadow mass broke apart and sped forward so quickly she could barely track the individual pieces with her eyes, but one of the shadows moved so much faster than the others.
She just caught sight of it as it got to face level and then it was over her face and wrapping around her head. Lavinia screamed in terror, but the sound was somehow muffled by the demonic. Black oily evilness smothered her face, covering her mouth and nose until she couldn’t breathe. She clawed at the shadow with her fingernails, satisfaction surging through her when she heard it shrieking. Digging her nails into the shadow made her feel sick to her stomach. It was a lot softer than a human being would be and she gagged when her fingers seemed to sink into it more, but she continued to shove her fingers in deep and dragged her nails through its body, if that’s what it even was. Lavinia was hoping the noise it was making would be loud enough for Nina and Zara to hear. She needed them more than she’d ever needed anyone besides her new mates.
The moment she thought of Men and En she sought out the link she had with them and screamed for help.
“Lavinia what’s happening?” En’s voice startled her because it was so loud in her mind.
“Shadow demons,” she screamed back at him. “They’re in the base. They have me.”
“Hang on, pixie. We’re coming.”
The anger and fear she felt coming from En and Men gave her courage to fight even more. She didn’t want to die. She had so much to live for, but she was getting weaker by the minute since she couldn’t breathe. Lavinia drew on her anger and love and shoved her hands deep into the shadow demon. The shriek it let out hurt her ears, but she ignored the pain. The demonic around her head loosened its hold on her before retreating.
She drew a deep breath and was about to scream for Nina and Zara, but another demonic leaped at her and wrapped around her head. Her body was wracked with pain and although she couldn’t see, she knew the other demons were enfolding her in their evil grip. The moment they touched her body she felt her skin splitting apart as if they had taken razor-sharp blades to her flesh.
The need to draw another breath m
ade her lungs burn and she began to feel light-headed. The strength in her body began to wane and she knew she didn’t have much time left. Her chest ached so badly she wanted to scream, but without being able to inhale the sound was locked in her throat. The tugging on her soul was becoming excruciating and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold on.
Men and En were getting closer to base, but she wasn’t sure if they would make it in time. Lavinia felt as if her body was on fire from all the cuts in her skin and she felt as if she was being pulled in several different directions.
She wasn’t sure if she had passed out or if she’d been too shocked to take everything in that was happening, but when she opened her eyes she wanted to scream with terror. She was no longer in the kitchen.
Everywhere she looked was rock walls and ceiling. Although the cavern was dark she was able to see as if it were daylight. There was no way in or out of the cave. She was trapped and there were hundreds of the demonic trapped in here with her.
Lavinia whimpered and backed up until her back was pressed against the wall. The only consolation was that the shadow demons were no longer wrapped around her head and body, but she could feel blood weeping from numerous places. She had no idea how much blood she’d lost, but she guessed it was sufficient. She was still feeling weak and woozy.
When a scarred handsome man appeared in the room from out of nowhere she gasped. He was big with muscles and taller than any man she’d ever seen and although the scars didn’t detract from his handsomeness she could feel the evil pouring off of him.
“I wonder if you’ll be enough to heal me,” the guy said in a deep raspy voice that assaulted her ears. “That other fucking bitch should be here with you, but you’ll have to do. I’m sure you’ll taste as sweet as you look.”
Lavinia sidled along the wall, hoping to get as far away from the evil dude as she could. She was scared out of her mind, but she’d rather fight the shadow demons than the man watching her with lust in his eyes.
For some reason she knew he was the biggest threat out of all the demonic.
* * * *
“Set, contact Zara. Lavinia’s being attacked by the demonic,” En ordered just before he teleported to the kitchen in their headquarters. Men appeared less than a second later.
En roared with fear and fury when he saw the empty kitchen. The stench of sulfur was prevalent in the air, but when he saw blood on the floor his knees went out from underneath him. “She’s hurt.”
“We’ll find her.” Men clasped En’s shoulder, but he shrugged his friend off.
“I can’t feel her. Do you think they’ve taken her into the underworld?”
“I don’t know, but I’d have to guess, yes.”
En swallowed around the constriction in his throat and breathed deeply as he tried to get his emotions under control. His heart was beating so fast in his chest it actually hurt.
“We have to get her back,” Men whispered and blinked rapidly when tears welled in his eyes.
“Take my hand,” En said as he reached toward Men. Men didn’t hesitate to follow his order. “Now try and connect to Lavinia through our bond.”
Men rose to his feet and took another deep breath. En pushed his anger and fear down, delving into his heart and emotions, thinking about their mate. She was the most important person in his life and he loved her so much. He saw her face as they made love to her, the love that she had for him and Men that she hadn’t even been aware of each time she met their gazes.
The more he thought of her the more his heart filled with love and the harder he searched for the connection he had with her. He felt and saw a spark in his soul, locked on to it, and nearly shouted with joy when he realized that he had found Lavinia.
“Can you feel her?” En whispered.
“Only just,” Men answered just as quietly.
“The others are back. Let’s connect to them and their mates and see if we can strengthen the bond.” En saw Men nod from the corner of his eye.
“Open up to us,” Men demanded.
The moment the other sentinels opened the link between them, power coursed through his body and then the lock he had on Lavinia strengthened even more.
“Stay open to us,” En said. “We’re following our mate.”
“I don’t think…” was all En heard Set say before he and Men teleported to Lavinia.
He cursed the weakness that assailed him after teleporting, but it seemed worse this time since he had done it twice in succession, but he pushed the feeble feeling aside the moment he saw Lavinia.
Her eyes were wide with terror and she looked like she was trying to push herself into the rock wall behind her. Apep was standing close to her side with one of his hands wrapped around her throat and the other pressed against her chest between her breasts. She was covered in blood and her face was as pale as a ghost.
En roared with rage as he drew his sword and began slashing through the demonic moving fast toward him. Men’s roar of fury joined his and then they both began fighting with a berserker frenzy.
The moment he slashed through one demonic another took its place and although he was still drained after teleporting he didn’t hesitate to raise and swing his scimitar again and again. Men’s back brushed against his as they moved and worked together, protecting each other in their bid to save Lavinia.
His heart stuttered with fear when he felt the bond with Lavinia waning once more and chanced a glance over at her and Apep. Her eyes were closed and her face was so pale it looked translucent, almost bloodless, but when he saw that her lips were tinted a light blue color, he wasn’t sure they were going to be able to save her in time.
* * * *
Men’s arm was aching from killing so many demonic. He had to have slashed through at least a hundred already and he knew that En would have killed just as many. He wished he could call Ra to come help them, but he wasn’t certain the sun god would heed the summons. He’d been scarce since he’d appeared several times to help Zara, the mate of Set and Sab. He had no idea why their deity had helped Zara but ignored Pen and Paser’s prayers when their mate, Nina, had gotten ill, but right now he wanted to demand that Ra show himself.
When Men saw Lavinia’s knees buckle, terror pierced his heart, but instead of containing his fear he yelled louder. Lavinia’s eyes fluttered open and he felt as if his soul was being ripped in two when he saw the tears in her eyes spill down her cheeks.
Her lips parted and then she mouthed, “I love you both.”
The moment her eyes met his he felt the bond between them strengthen again and the love that surged out from her into his heart. “Don’t look away from me, Lavinia. Look at our mate.”
En drove the tip of his sword into another shadow demon and as the enemy disintegrated into ash, he met Lavinia’s gaze. The moment they were both looking into her eyes the love that flooded between them grew until he could hardly breathe.
Lavinia began to glow, but instead of the illumination growing in brightness slowly like it usually did when the women tapped into that ability, she shone so brightly she lit every inch of the underground cave.
The demonic shrieked just before they turned to dust. Apep’s howl of pain and fury made his eardrums reverberate with pain and he released his hold on Lavinia before backing away from her. It was hard to keep his gaze locked with his mate because she was shining so brightly his eyes hurt, but he wasn’t about to look away from her. He knew that their connection, their love, was what made his mate glow.
“Find Apep and kill him,” Men ordered as he rushed over to Lavinia, sheathing his sword as he moved. He scooped her up off the ground and into his arms before turning to see where Apep was.
“He’s gone,” En growled.
“Where?”
“I don’t know. He just disappeared, but from the blisters he had on his hands and face he was hurting.”
“Good. I wish we could find that fucker and take him out, but we need to get Lavinia back home.” Men shifted Lavinia
in his arms and looked down when he felt her body go lax.
“Let’s get out of here.” En brushed a strand of hair from Lavinia’s pale face before he clasped Men’s shoulder.
“Yes.”
Men stumbled to his knees the moment his feet hit the tiled floor. He was careful to protect Lavinia as he lowered onto his haunches. He was shaking with fatigue and his arms felt like wet noodles, but there was no way he was letting her go. He was worried out of his mind for his mate. Although she was breathing he had no idea how much damage Apep and the shadow demons had done to her. He knew his concern for her wouldn’t abate until she woke up.
Men tried to move when he heard the others running down the corridor, but he was too weak to move far. He glanced at the entrance to Ra’s temple as the other sentinels and their mates rushed into the room.
“Oh.” Nina covered her mouth as tears trickled down her cheeks. “Is she all right?”
“We don’t know,” En answered in a hoarse voice.
“What happened to her?” Zara asked as she knelt down and checked Lavinia’s pulse.
“Apep had her. He was trying to steal her soul,” Men answered in a whisper, careless of the tears he cried as he stared at Lavinia. Her throat had dark finger marks bruised into her skin and although she was breathing regularly, he could hear a slight whistle as she inhaled.
“Can’t we call Ra?” Nina asked.
“Do you think he’ll come?” En asked before glancing at Pen, Paser, and Nina. “He didn’t help you three.”
“Maybe because we were just fine on our own.” Nina licked her lips. “She’s struggling for breath. I don’t like it.”
“You think we do?” Men practically roared his question. He knew he was being unreasonable, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “I’m sorry,” he said after inhaling deeply a few times.
“Don’t apologize,” Nina said graciously. “You’re worried about, Lavinia.”
“The bruises are fading.” Zara’s voice drew Men’s gaze from Nina and back to Lavinia’s throat.
