Hunt the Darkness (Order of the Blade Book 11)

by Stephanie Rowe

  She shrugged. “Lust demon.”

  “Is it? Because I’ve been around other women with supernatural sex appeal, and I was never remotely affected. A lust demon isn’t the only sensual female around, you know.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “I’m very powerful.”

  “So am I.” He pressed closer with his body, needing to feel her against him. “No woman has ever penetrated my shields. Ever.” He trailed his mouth over the curve of her neck, intense satisfaction pulsing through him when he heard her sharp intake of breath. “Do you know what a sheva is?”

  She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, as if she were having to concentrate to hold herself aloof from the heat building between them. “A Calydon’s soulmate, who is bound to destroy him and then kill herself because she is so bereft at losing him? Yes, I know what that is, but that’s not me.”

  “How can you be so sure?” He kissed her collarbone. Even her skin tasted fresh and pure, nothing like a demon who had lived several lifetimes in the darkness of their cursed realm.

  “Because I’m not an ordinary female. I’m part-demon, which means I’m a monster to which none of the regular rules apply.” She slid her fingers through his hair. “My instinct is to suck every last bit of sexual energy out of you until nothing remains but a shriveled shell and a broken soul. That’s why you’re reacting to me.” She tugged him closer, until his mouth was just above the swell of her breasts. “I haven’t done that to anyone in a long time. I can always stop myself. But with you, it’s different. I want more of you.” Her voice was so sultry and decadent that Gabe felt his entire body surge in response. “I don’t know if it would ever be enough with you.”

  He pressed his pelvis against her belly, grabbed her hands, and pinned them to the wall on either side of her head, searching her face. “You can’t have me,” he said.

  “Of course I can.” She looked saddened by the words. “This thing between us is supernatural sex. Nothing more. It’s never anything more.”

  “It’s going to be more this time.” Gabe refused to look at her mouth, staring instead into those riveting blue eyes. “This time, you’re going to be partners with a man. You’re going to help me find my leader’s body, and you’re going to help me get it out of the demon world. We have a deal, princess, and I won’t let you out of it.”

  Maria searched his face. “You really believe you can spend time with me and not have sex with me, don’t you?”

  “Yeah.” He had to admit, however, that she’d made him fully grasp the power of a female for the first time in his life. “It’s not a choice. I’ve given an oath to the Order of the Blade, and I will see that oath through at any cost.”

  She met his gaze, a small smile curving the corner of her mouth. “You sound like me, except I’m willing to have sex with anyone so I can save the women who are trapped here. I admire that about you.”

  He inclined his head. “I admire you as well.”

  For a moment, they simply stared at each other, and Gabe was acutely aware of her breasts pressed against his chest. He wasn’t going to jerk off his pants and sheathe himself inside her, but he had to acknowledge that he damn well liked having her body crushed up against his.

  She smiled, and set her hands on his shoulders. “I’m not used to having time to enjoy a man. I forgot what it feels like to simply touch one.” She slid her hands down his arms, watching the progress of her hand with a look of almost-innocent fascination. A small giggle escaped her lips. “It’s an incredible luxury, the sense of leisure you give me.” She glanced at him. “Thank you.”

  He shrugged. “It’s my steel will and iron discipline. Comes in handy around lust demons.”

  She nodded, and dropped her hand, her face becoming serious. “I understand about your leader, but I also have a situation to deal with. Before we find Dante, I have to check on my friend Sophie—”

  “Sophie?” Gabe frowned at the name. “That’s the name of the woman that Vlad came to find. She’s really here? And alive?”

  “For a brief while longer, yes.” Maria frowned back at him. “Why would your friend want to find her?”

  “They’re married, I guess.” Gabe shrugged. “I didn’t pay much attention. I’m only here about my leader.”

  “Married?” Maria looked shocked. “But she was a teenager when she came here. Married?” She twisted around in Gabe’s arms and pounded her fist on the solid rock that was functioning as the wall to their prison. “Sophie! You’re married? We need to talk!”

  Suspicion settled on Gabe as he watched Maria hit the wall. “She’s on the other side of the wall?”

  “Of course she is. How else would we get locked in by a solid wall of rock? It’s not like anyone else can manipulate stone like she can. Sophie!”

  When the stone wall began to dissolve to form a door, anger began to swirl through Gabe. There’d been a way out the entire time? Sophie had locked him in with Maria, to use him as food so she could have sex with him? He’d broken his lifelong celibacy to help Maria when there’d been a way out the entire time? He was no fool. He knew he was at risk now from Maria, and, more importantly, from his sheva. All it would take would be one glance at the wrong woman, and he’d be more interested in nailing her than doing his duty. He’d risked so much to bring Maria back to life, because he’d thought it was his only option, and the whole time, he’d simply been set up as food?

  Fury settled deep in him as the doorway completely opened, revealing a blond woman standing in the opening. Behind her stood Vlad. Son of a bitch. The other man had been in on it as well?

  That same hated feeling of impotence began to settle on him, the same one he’d felt since the day Dante had died and Gabe had realized that none of the remaining warriors were strong enough to replace him. The Order had begun to fragment that day, and it was continuing to shatter.

  Rogue Calydons were becoming more rampant, Dante’s own son was becoming increasingly dangerous, and there would soon be no Order left to defeat them. Gabe was their last chance, and he had been tricked into almost dropping his pants for a woman.

  Vlad met his gaze over the women’s heads, both men ignoring the chatter of the women. Vlad raised one eyebrow in question, clearly asking what he’d done to bring Maria back to life. Gabe shook his head once, indicating that they hadn’t had sex. Vlad’s other eyebrow went up and he made a drooping motion with his index finger, suggesting that flaccidity had been the enemy. Gabe snorted, chuckling under his breath. “No chance,” he shot back.

  “If you say so,” Vlad said, injecting just enough of a patronizing tone into his voice to make Gabe laugh.

  “Shut up.” The ribbing by Vlad took the edge off Gabe’s anger. It reminded him of what the Order had been like back when they’d been intact, when Thano had been around to give them all grief, before he’d gone off with some broken-off branch of the Order that none of them had ever heard of. He missed the team atmosphere, and Vlad reminded him of it.

  He moved past the women and walked up to Vlad. “You found her.”

  “Yeah.” Vlad’s gaze flicked past him. “She won’t leave, though. She wants to stay and help the other women.”

  “So, you going to stay?”

  Vlad raised his brows, then shrugged. “I hadn’t thought of staying, but yeah, if she stays, I stay.”

  “Then you want to help me?”

  Vlad glanced at Gabe. “Find your leader?”

  “Yep.” He watched Maria and Sophie hugging, studying the visible affection between the women. “Maria’s my guide in the demon realm, but I have a feeling that it’s not going to be a friendly trip. I could use backup.” He could tell that the bond between the women was genuine, and that eased some of his anger about being locked up. He respected Sophie’s decision to do whatever it took to save her friend. That was the stuff that made a solid team.

  “Sophie’s being hunted by the demon king because he wants to have sex with her until she dies, as well as by the leader
of the hunt, who wants the same thing. Not to mention, the thousands of demons she’s sexually frustrated over the years. I’m going to be a little busy cutting off their horny little heads until I find a way to kill the fuckers.”

  Gabe glanced at Vlad, and then started chuckling.

  “You think that’s funny? Because I don’t.”

  “It’s just not something I’d ever thought I’d hear in my life.” Gabe ran his hand through his hair, studying the blond woman. Sophie didn’t have the raw, untamed passion of Maria, but she was relatively attractive. He could see the appeal. “If you have all those demons lusting after your woman, you’re going to need some help, too.”

  Vlad looked back at him. “You want to team up?”

  Gabe shrugged. “I saw you fighting earlier. You’re good. I’m better, but you’re close enough to be an asset.”

  Vlad studied the women, who were sitting on a small couch, hunched over in whispered conversation no doubt meant to exclude the men. “So, we go deep into the demon realm, grab Dante’s body, and then together we all fight our way out and we get the women out of here?”

  “I thought you said she wouldn’t leave.”

  “It’s not safe for her here anymore. She’ll have no choice.” Vlad ran his hand through his hair, and Gabe noticed that the band on his ring finger was black and purple, swirling like a turbulent poison around his finger. “I agree. It’s a deal.”

  Gabe held out his hand, and the two warriors shook on it. It was good. It was right. With Vlad and Maria on his team, he could make this happen—

  He suddenly noticed Maria and Sophie had gone silent, and he saw Vlad tense at the same moment. Both men whirled toward where the women had been sitting, and they were gone. A sound creaked from above, and Gabe looked up just as Maria’s stilettoed heel disappeared through a hole in the ceiling. “Hey!” He leapt up just as Vlad pointed toward the ceiling, power bursting from his hand as they lunged for the women—

  The rock reformed the instant before they got there, and Gabe’s fist slammed into the rock. Vlad’s magic bounced off the ceiling and hit Gabe, throwing him down onto the stone floor. “Hey!”

  “Sorry.” Vlad leapt over Gabe and put his hands on the rock. “Shit. They locked us in. I can’t believe it.”

  Gabe rolled over, trying to catch his breath from the hit Vlad had inflicted upon him. “You aimed at Maria with that shit? You could have hurt her.”

  “She was locking us in!”

  “She’s still a woman!” Gabe coughed and made it to his hands and knees. “If you ever fuck with her again like that, I’ll kill you.”

  “For a man who just turned down a lust demon, you’re awfully possessive of her.” Vlad leapt over to him and sprinted toward the opposite wall. As soon as he reached it, he stopped and began running his hands across it, as if he were looking for something.

  “She’s had a tough life. I respect that. I kind of admire her ruthlessness in tricking me into sex so she could survive, although, I am, of course, morally opposed to that deception.” Gabe made it to his feet. Shit. He was still weak from the demon poison. A hit like that shouldn’t have taken him down. Why the hell was he having so much trouble recovering? “We need to go get them.”

  “Yep.” Vlad slapped the wall. “Get over here, Gabe.”

  Gabe managed to walk across the floor without stumbling. “What do you have?”

  “A crack. Can you open it?”

  Gabe crouched down and ran his hand over what appeared to be a solid wall. It took three passes before he finally saw the hairline crack Vlad was talking about. “That? You think we can get out through that? I don’t know about you, but I eat my Wheaties for breakfast, and I’m not that skinny.”

  “A demon hound got through. It goes somewhere. Open it.”

  “A demon hound? Shit, you guys were busy while I was being used for my body.” Gabe reached out with his preternatural senses, sending his energy through the hairline fracture. He felt the air move on the other side, and realized Vlad was correct. “You get anywhere with Sophie? Reunion sex? I’ve heard it’s good.”

  Vlad crouched beside him, studying the crack. “You ever get personal about my wife again, and I’ll kill you.”

  Gabe considered that, and then he shrugged. “Can’t make any promises. I probably will get personal about her again.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll probably use my power against Maria again, if I have to.”

  The two men looked at each other.

  “I’m a better warrior,” Gabe said. “I’ll win.”

  “I’m better. I’ll win. I’m highly motivated because I actually like the woman I’m defending.”

  “Who said I didn’t like Maria? You do realize it’s possible to respect a woman and not want to have sex with her, don’t you?” He held out his arms. The weapons branded on his forearm began to hum with energy as he prepared to call them out. “Besides, saving Maria isn’t simply about saving her. It’s about using her to find my leader.” The weapons exploded into their solid state with a crack and a flash of black light, appearing in his palms, ready for striking. “My dedication to my team is a hell of a lot stronger than your need to help a woman.”

  “Said by a guy who has never betrayed the woman he was born to protect.” Vlad stepped back. “There’s no higher purpose in life, my friend.”

  “Sure there is. It’s called duty.” Gabe gripped his weapon, and then swung hard, slamming it into the hairline crack in the wall. His blade sunk deep into the crevice, and he felt the rock strain against the assault upon its vulnerability.

  “The wall’s still up,” Vlad pointed out.

  “Shut up.” Gabe slammed his second weapon into the crevice and then swung his weight into the handle, using it as a lever. The rock strained under the assault, groaning as it fought not to break. The room began to spin as Gabe braced himself, using his entire body weight to wedge the rock apart. Shit. What the hell was wrong with him?

  Without a word, Vlad moved up beside him and added his own weight to the weapon. Together, the two warriors thrust all their combined strength into the blade, gaining a fraction of an inch, and then another and then a huge chunk of rock exploded out of the wall. It slammed into the couch, leaving a gaping hole in the wall that led to a narrow, pitch-black tunnel that stank of rot, corpses and the same poison that had nearly brought them both down.

  The two warriors stood side by side, peering into the blackness. “You got night vision?” Vlad asked.

  “Yeah, but not enough to penetrate that. There’s nothing in there but an abyss of darkness.”

  Vlad raised his brows. “We could always wait here for the ladies to return. Maybe they went out for takeout.”

  “Maybe. Their couch has a rock on it now, though. Nowhere to sit while we wait.”

  “Well, then, we might as well go.” Vlad raised Gabe’s sword. “To marital loyalty.”’

  Gabe tapped his blade against Vlad’s. “To duty. And give me my damned weapon.” He jerked his sword from Vlad’s hand, and then the two of them headed into what could be a really big mistake, or a great chance to show two badass women that it had been a mistake to underestimate them.

  Chapter 19

  For the first time in her life, Maria felt what she was pretty sure was guilt. She glanced at Sophie as they raced across the rocks. “I kind of feel like we shouldn’t have left them. Gabe did help me recover. I promised I’d help him find his leader.”

  Sophie didn’t slow down. “We’ll go back and help them. But I can’t be defenseless. I need weapons.” She led the way down a twisted, curving trail that was carved into the side of a deep canyon.

  “Why didn’t you put these stones in your cave with you?”

  “Because they’re jewels. If we went across the top of the cave while on a hunt, I wouldn’t have been able to hide the fact I sensed them. Rikker would have known they were below, and he might have found out what was down there.” She was running hard, sweat beading on her brow.

/>   Maria realized that Sophie was scared, and her heart sank. “You really think Lucien can make you stay corporeal?”

  Her friend looked back at her, and Maria’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the tears in Sophie’s eyes. “What happened?”

  “Vlad gave me an orgasm—”

  “What?” Maria jerked Sophie to a stop. “You had an orgasm? Why didn’t you tell me? How was it? Good?”

  “Amazing, of course.” Sophie waved her hand with exasperation. “Don’t you understand what that means? I didn’t go incorporeal with him. I stayed in my body the whole time. I even slept in his arms afterwards.”

  “You did?” Maria was shocked. “You trusted him enough to sleep with him?” She’d never slept with a man in her life. Waking up in Gabe’s arms should have been terrifying, but she’d been too far gone to care about anything other than self-preservation. She’d never have put herself in that situation intentionally, but Sophie had chosen to do it to save her life. She trusted Sophie’s judgment, but she’d still felt the need to put some space between her and Gabe.

  Her reaction to him unsettled her. She was riveted by the fact he didn’t lose his mind when he kissed her. She was astounded at what it felt like to have an actual conversation with a man while she was half-naked. As strong as she was, she wasn’t stronger than Gabe. The idea should have terrified her, but instead, she’d been fascinated by it, which made her even more alarmed. As a man, Gabe was an enemy. As a Calydon, one of the immortal warriors descended from demon blood, he was exactly the kind of creature who had stolen so much from her and all those who mattered to her.

  And the sheva thing? She’d totally fabricated her claim that she couldn’t be a Calydon’s soulmate. She had no idea whether she could or not, but the idea of being victimized by an irresistible need to be with a particular man was devastating to all she’d struggled to attain her whole life.