Dream Warrior: (Dark Warrior Alliance Book 1)

by Brenda Trim

  She couldn’t help but look back over her shoulder at the desolate club. Jace and Kyran walked through the portal carrying Bhric. They immediately made their way to a door through which she saw stairs going down. She remembered someone mentioning a medical clinic on the property and figured it must be in the basement.

  She glanced up at Zander as he pulled her closer to his side and she soaked up the warmth from his body. She could see his tension lighten as the rest of the warriors hobbled through the portal. As her adrenaline receded, nerves took control, and she started to shake. Her muscles were ready to give way, but she refused to crumble now. Leaning on Zander’s strength, she needed to help the others.

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  Zander saw the fatigue in Elsie’s eyes and felt the tremble in her body. She may have been shaking, but she didn’t dissolve in the wake of the battle. The strength and determination in her thoughts and actions left him in awe. The Goddess had picked well for him, but he feared that this experience would only create a greater distance between them. She had been aware of skirm, but had no knowledge of demons, and she had just come face to face with the war that encompassed his world. He worked tirelessly to protect humans from demons and their minions and the one that mattered most in his universe was smack-dab in the middle.

  He held Elsie close, unable to give her the space he knew he should. The mating compulsion would not allow it. He needed to hold her for reassurance that she was unharmed. His heart had yet to settle back into a normal rhythm.

  His hands roamed her body, checking her over. Her shoulder was already bruising and she had a cut marring her perfect flesh. He held the small of her back and gathered her close. He’d never been more fearful in his immortal life than he had been for her during the skirmish. He knew that Kadir couldn’t have missed the way he had protected her. No doubt, she would now be targeted by the archdemon. He was an idiot for not considering how his actions would bring his Fated Mate more danger.

  “Elsie, take your sister upstairs to the last bedroom on the right, to rest, while I go help with Bhric. I’ll be up in a wee bit to check on you,” he leaned over and kissed her softly.

  She looked up into his eyes with her lips scant inches from his. An electric zing raced through his blood. “No, Mr. Bossy Pants,” she held his gaze but her usual teasing tone was gone. “Rhys, can you take Cailyn upstairs, please? I’m going with you, Zander. And, you can’t stop me, so don’t even bother arguing,” she said as she raised her hand to halt his reply. “I am not one of your warriors and I don’t follow your orders. I am going down there with you.”

  “Damn, she put you in your place, Liège. You have a feisty one. I like her, already,” Nikko laughed, before he sauntered down to the basement. Zander wanted to pummel the warrior. Lucky for Nikko, Zander needed him to train the new Dark Warriors in New York.

  “I’m not arguing with that. She’s scary. Let’s go, Cailyn,” Rhys chuckled, leading Elsie’s sister upstairs. The poor female was in shock and followed the warrior with no complaint or argument.

  Zander knew when he was beat. “Alright, a ghra, let’s go.” The guys were absolutely correct and he loved her spirit. She was a natural Queen. Consciously, or not, she was embracing her new role, with both arms. Now, he needed to get her to embrace and mate with him.

  He led her to the medical room in the basement. Bhric lay on one of the two gurneys. Breslin and Killian were assisting Jace, while Kyran was busy patching up Gerrick.

  “How are you, brathair?” he asked Bhric.

  “Good, nothing a little vodka can’t cure. Get me that bottle, Ky,” Bhric told Kyran.

  Zander was hyperaware of Elsie at his side as he kept a firm grip on her waist. He loved the feel of her beneath his fingertips. She belonged at his side. Now, and always.

  Shedding the distraction, he scanned the room. “How bad is it, Jace?” he asked.

  Jace answered him without stopping his preparations. “Most of us have minor injuries that will heal by morning. But, Bhric will be out of commission a little longer. I cannot heal his arm. He’s going to have to heal the old fashioned way.”

  Elsie tilted her head with a puzzled look. “What do you mean you can’t heal Bhric’s arm?” she asked curiously.

  Jace raised his head from his work on Bhric and addressed Elsie. “As you know, I am a sorcerer, which means I have the ability to cast many types of spells, but there are no spells to heal injuries. Every Dark Warriors has an extra power. Mine is the ability to heal most injuries. I cannot heal mortal injuries or skirm bites because of the venom they leave behind,” he glanced back down to Bhric’s arm. “Killian, hand me the dissolvable stitches. You see, his arm was bitten and the tissues are now filled with that venom.”

  “My arm...the venom is why my arm wouldn’t heal, right? Does that mean his wound is going to take months to heal?”

  He placed his hands on her bare shoulders, loving how soft and silky her skin felt, and peered into her lovely, blue eyes. “A ghra, Bhric is no’ human like you are. Bhric, like the rest of us, has an ability to heal much quicker than mortals. His arm will have a scar, but otherwise, he’ll be back to normal in a few days. The rest of us doona need to treat our injuries, since they will be gone by morning.”

  “Wow. I can’t believe that…” Elsie gestured wildly toward Bhric’s mangled arm, “will be healed in a few days’ time. I mean, it was nearly ripped off! And, your back will be like new by morning?”

  “Aye, I will be healed by morning.”

  “What about the brand on your back. Will you have a scar through it?”

  “Nay, I willna have a scar. Only injuries from skirm teeth or silver leave scars on our bodies.”

  “I’m glad you will be fine by morning, but I’m going to clean the wound. Lord only knows what was on that weapon.”

  His lips twitched in amusement. It felt like a victory that she worried for him and wanted to tend to him. “Would you put leather on for me, and be my Dr. McYummy?”

  Her bark of laughter spurned a round of teasing as she led him to the counter by Orlando. She unbuttoned his shirt with shaking hands. He was shaking as badly as she was. He had longed for her hands on his skin again.

  When her fingertips made contact with his pectoral muscles, his body tensed. His erection was instantaneous, and his balls drew up as his spine tingled. Only the pain in his back kept him from coming right then. When her fingers glided over his mate mark, pre-cum slicked the head of his cock, and he had to bite his tongue to stop his orgasm. Electricity zinged through his body when she placed her palm over the intricate design. The pleasure far exceeded the pain.

  Orlando spoke, giving him something else to focus on. “Can we discuss what the hell happened back at the club? Speaking of which, I’m sorry about the loss of Confetti, Killian. I’ll help you in any way I can to get it up and running again.”

  He didn’t know if he wanted to hit Orlando, or kiss him, for interrupting this moment with Elsie. He was one step away from letting his beast loose and ravishing her body before claiming her fully. The loss in Killian’s jade-green depths doused some of his ardor, allowing him to maintain control.

  “Thanks O, the loss of Confetti will hit the realm hard,” Killian replied. “No fears. I’ll find another location and be up and running again in no time. If I’m lucky, the bastards didn’t destroy the interior. I’d love to salvage my bars and tables. Goddess only knows what they might be doing, now that we aren’t there.”

  Killian was right, the realm needed a place supernaturals could congregate safely to let off steam and connect. They had Bite, but that was a brothel, not a gathering place. Every now and then other realm bars opened up only to be shut down because they didn’t have the atmosphere and safeguards Killian provided. Killian’s club dominated the market.

  Santiago changed subjects. “How do you think they found us? And, how did they convince the Fae to break your protections? Fae usually stay out of shit because they don’t want to take sides
.”

  “When we first walked out, I saw Azazel cozying up to that Fae bastard. I’m guessing he offered something the Fae couldna resist,” Zander answered. “Probably sex, it’s the only thing he has. Fae don’t need money.”

  Zander looked over his shoulder to watch Elsie trace his brand with her finger. If she didn’t stop touching him like that, he was going to throw her down and ravage her, right there, in front of everyone. She drove him crazy and was oblivious to the effect she had on him. A growl escaped him, making her start and look up with wide eyes.

  Kyran leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “Shite, with as many skirm as he had there t’night, you’d think we’d been on holiday, rather than killing those buggers every night for the past few months. I havena seen so many in one place before.”

  He glanced back at the room, his mind in a daze from the contact with Elsie. It was difficult to concentrate. He had to pull his head out. This was important. The demons and their skirm posed a threat to his mate and he needed to eliminate them.

  Gerrick shrugged his ripped shirt back on and responded. “After Dalton’s death, we suspected a new archdemon had stepped in and was leading his skirm differently. Clearly he has increased his recruitment, their numbers tonight confirm that. I guarantee that he didn’t send all of his forces after us. I wouldn’t. Goddess only knows how many more were back at his lair. This Kadir seems more strategic than other archdemons we’ve faced.”

  Zander hoped Elsie missed the mention of her husband. No such luck. He wanted to knock Gerrick’s head off as he felt the tension wrack Elsie’s body. He turned, wrapped his arms around her and eased her in front of him. It was natural for him, holding her close. It was all the comfort he could offer her at the moment.

  “Why did that devil want my husband dead? He had nothing to do with this world. He was a good man,” Elsie exclaimed.

  “A ghra, Dalton was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We suspected there was a new demon recruiting in these homes for kids when Dalton was killed. That has been confirmed more than once now. He is targeting large groups of vulnerable young men.”

  Zander replayed the events of the battle while Elsie digested what he had said. “It seemed that most of his numbers were added recently. They lacked skills and were careless. We easily took oot half his numbers, or more, with the eleven of us. We need to find his lair and develop a counter-attack while his numbers are doon.”

  His hands gravitated from Elsie’s waist to rub circles on her back. The bond calmed them both. She relaxed slightly but his mind touched hers and he had to hold back his wince at her grief and anger over Dalton’s death. Every time she encountered skirm it brought her loss closer to the surface and made it that much harder for them to come together. He wondered if it was ever going to be possible for her to move beyond this.

  “I havena any doubt that he has more than what he brought t’night. They need to be eliminated, before they gain better skills. Doona think him desperate, rather he cares little for the humans and is willing to go further than we have seen before,” Kyran observed.

  Orlando tossed bloodied towels into a nearby trashcan and cleaned one of the rolling tables. “The hole that piece of shit calls home has to be fairly close to Confetti. Otherwise, there is no way he could have gotten that number of skirm there, and organized, in the few hours we were in the club. We should start looking in areas around Capitol Hill.”

  “I want to know how that arsehole knew about the club. For the past seventy-five years, skirm have never come within blocks of the location,” Bhric said through gritted teeth. “Goddess, that fucking hurts. Are you no’ done?”

  “Sorry, buddy, almost there. I wish our scientists had completed development on that antidote to skirm venom. It would make this so much easier on you,” Jace continued his suturing, but it seemed to Zander that he was preoccupied, by more than his task. It had been a rough night for everyone.

  “Do you think this means the Seelie Queen and Fae have joined with the demons?” Santiago asked as he paced the room like a caged animal, rubbing his bald head as his chocolate-brown eyes glittered with his barely leashed anger. He knew the warrior hated that the demons managed to get the drop on them. Zander did, too. “If they have, we’ll be facing a whole new mess of problems.”

  That was the understatement of a lifetime, Zander thought. “I will be contacting Zanahia to ask aboot that issue. ‘Tis likely it was this one Fae that chose to help Kadir. They are thorny buggers,” he sighed as he rested his hands on Elsie’s slightly rounded, soft abdomen. He loved her feminine curves. Immediately his thoughts went to how he wanted to kiss the skin around her belly button then dip lower for another taste of her.

  “I saw some kids from the group home at the fight,” Elsie murmured. Zander tightened his hold at his mate’s soft-spoken words. “I think this may all be my fault. They must’ve followed me. Could these kids have hated us that much?” she asked as she stared down at his hands.

  With her previous involvement with SOVA, it was easy for him to forget that she was unaware of the history between the archdemons and the realm. While he would rather show her the pleasures of being in his bed, he had to tell her the ugly realities of his world.

  “There’s no way to be certain how they found the club. They’ve been searching for us from the time the war began, over seven hundred years ago. You canna blame yourself,” he said, meeting her worried, blue eyes.

  “Wait, that ugly-ass-demon said he wanted you captured, Zander. Why?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  Elsie squared off with Zander, but he didn’t say a word. He wasn’t going to answer her. Yeah, that was not going to fly with her. She was getting her answers. Her nerves steeled as she had a staredown with a seven hundred sixty-five year old vampire king who could squash her like a bug. Good thing she knew he would never hurt her. However, he had no idea how determined she was to get answers.

  “Doona fash over the demon and his minions. My warriors and I will keep you safe.” Placating her wasn’t going to work. Her heels were dug in and she wanted answers.

  “I have a right to know, Zander,” she retorted and waited patiently for him to answer her. Several times he opened his mouth, only to close it again. The connection she felt to him told her he was worried about her and wanted to protect her. That mollified her somewhat.

  “Zander, you’re too late to protect me. I know all too well how much cruelty and blood-shed is in your world. It took my husband, injured me, and that’s not including what happened tonight. I was drug into this against my will. Don’t dismiss me outright, I’m stronger than you think. I killed my share of skirm tonight.”

  He dropped his arms from her, appearing stung by her words. “’Tis my duty to protect you and I will to the day I die.” She saw the torment etched into his face and ignored the strong urge she had to comfort him.

  Zander turned and paced around the room. She silently watched him until finally he began talking. “Aye, you do have a right to be told. I’ll explain what I can. You are familiar with skirm, and that they are made by archdemons. The reason these demons turn humans is because they want something from me. They are after me because, as the vampire king, I have possession of the Triskele Amulet. There has been a war over the amulet for nearly my entire life. Kadir wants it, so he can free Lucifer from the Ninth Circle of Hell.”

  “What, exactly, is this amulet, and, what is the Ninth Circle of Hell? And Lucifer? Is he like all the stories and myth says? The Lord of the Underworld?”

  He crossed back to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re correct, Lucifer is the Devil, or Satan, or Lord of the Underworld. He created demons, and set them free to wreak havoc on the world. He was cursed for this act. The Goddess Morrigan created the creatures of the Tehrex Realm to combat his evil and protect humans.” He paused and rubbed up and down her arms. The motion seemed to calm and center him.

  “She gave the first vampire king the Tri
skele Amulet many millennia ago. It has been passed down through my family, to me. The amulet has many powers and uses, either good or bad, depending on the bearer. Kadir can use this amulet to free Lucifer from where he is frozen in Loch Cocytus,” Zander explained.

  There was so much for Elsie to take in. “So, your family has been ruling the vampires forever. This is all so hard to wrap my brain around. That does explain why you are so bossy and always telling everyone what to do. You come by your domineering personality naturally.” She missed the warmth and comfort of his arms around her and wanted to walk back into his embrace. Her mind may not be willing to have a relationship with the irresistible vampire, but her body had already boarded and departed on that flight.

  He ran his warm hands to her bare shoulders. The tension in her neck and shoulders eased with his heat and nearness. “Aye, lass, I come by it naturally. I come by a great many things naturally. I inherited a keen intellect, superior strength, incredibly good looks, and a huge…fortune.” He winked at her, tracing the blush she felt staining her cheeks with one of his fingers. She was certain he wasn’t talking about his fortune, although he certainly had an excess of money.

  This man was the most arrogant being she had ever met and the complete opposite of Dalton. And yet, she found him sexy and alluring. “You’re incorrigible. I have no doubt you come by a lot naturally, like your,” she scanned the growing bulge in his pants, wishing her life were different, so she could enjoy everything he was offering, “big ego.”

  Laughing, he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her lips. His tongue traced the outline and he bit her lower lip. She gasped into his mouth and his tongue took advantage, stroking hers in a sensual dance she was coming to savor. Against her lips, he murmured, “You’re sassy, lass. I love it. We’re no’ alone or I would show you my enormous…ego.”

  Her inner-sex-fiend screamed out, Show me! Show me! Show me! Her sane, rational part was glad they weren’t alone. She couldn’t go there. She was weak where he was concerned and didn’t trust she would be able to stop things from going even further.