by Brenda Trim
It chapped Rhys’ ass that Lucifer’s efforts had finally paid off, and the archdemons had been able to steal the Triskele Amulet. Zander and his family had kept the amulet safe for eons until Kadir’s claws had literally been held to Elsie’s pregnant belly, threatening the heir to the Vampire throne, and Zander had been forced to give up the amulet to save them both.
Now, it fell to Rhys and Dante to retrieve the necklace before Lucifer put it to use. Nothing like having the fate of the world on your shoulders, Rhys mused, refusing to contemplate their chances of success. The odds were against them, but they had to try. Rhys grabbed at his collar and tugged, the pressure of the task at hand suffocated him.
Rolling his shoulders to dissipate some of the tension, Rhys realized he’d been on edge for weeks, and it had only gotten worse. Not only was he facing the impossible, he was unable to stop thinking about the angry angels who’d cornered him weeks before, accusing him of kidnapping their sister.
The idea was fucking ridiculous. Rhys loved females and enjoyed their soft bodies as often as possible, but he’d never resort to holding one captive just to meet his base needs. He wasn’t a total bastard. And, it infuriated him that those haughty angels had asserted that she was connected to him.
No, he hadn’t been able to get Illianna off his mind. He hadn’t ever met the female and her brothers had never described her to him, but for some reason, the image of a tall, voluptuous female with flowing blond hair, gold wings and striking silver eyes haunted him.
His inner beast shifted restlessly, reminding him that it had been two days since he’d had sex. Too much had been going on. Not that that excused his oversight. He knew better than to go so long. If he wasn’t with a female soon, he’d become a creature of nightmares, using his ability to create illusion and manipulate minds to lull prey into having sex with him, or worse, he’d rape anyone, or anything.
He would need to feed his beast before he left or there would be nothing he could do to stop his demon nature from taking over when he crossed into Hell. He recalled all too well how much more power his beast had in that realm. Most days he didn’t give it a second thought and pursued females and sex freely, but he was about to venture into Hell and be faced with unending temptation, so it weighed heavily on him.
He had his father to thank for passing on the incubus demon genes that never let him rest. He loved sex and adored females, but Rhys had always been different than most cambions, thanks to his mother’s human genes.
A small hand on his forearm brought him out of his thoughts. Shaking himself, he hadn’t realized he’d completely checked out of the conversation until Elsie touched him, a sad, smile on her lovely face. “Here, take this key…for luck. Something tells me that you’re going to need it.” He accepted the key and looked down to see he was holding a car key. How was this going to help him?
Suddenly, she hugged him tight, a wet sheen to her eyes. She had hugged him many times before, but this felt very different. It struck him that she believed this was the last time she’d see him. The thought nearly felled him. He liked his life at Zeum, and wasn’t ready to give it up.
No words could express how much he hated leaving, knowing he might not return. Choking on emotion, he returned her embrace and fell back on his humor. It was his way of dealing with everything in life. Somehow, everything was better when you were laughing or smiling.
“Thanks, sweetcheeks. I’ll be cruising the streets of Dys in style. Now, we need to find a way to get the Jag through the portal,” he announced to the room. “There are a few female djinn that I could impress with this ride,” he chuckled.
Elsie pulled out of his arms and smacked his shoulder. “This isn’t a laughing matter. I saw that you will need it.”
That snapped everyone in the room to attention. Rhys glanced around and noticed that everyone of the Dark Warrior’s, as well as, their mates and several council members had all frozen at the Vampire Queen’s words. Concern written across every face.
Elsie had premonitions that were usually attached to death and destruction. He couldn’t recall a premonition of hers that hadn’t involved doom and gloom and suddenly, Rhys wanted to leave and find a female. He didn’t want the details of his demise. It would only make it harder to do what he needed to do.
Before he could tell her to keep the information to herself, Zander interrupted, “What did you see? I canna believe I havena seen anything aboot this. For months now, we’ve been sharing the visions.”
Elsie crossed to her mate and placed her palm on his chest, rubbing circles over his heart. “Relax, I didn’t see much really and it was so different from other visions I’ve had. I saw him faced with a huge black door and no way to get through. It was nighttime and some creature was screeching in the background and then the key to my car was hovering in front of me and I knew that he needed it.”
Rhys rubbed his chin and contemplated what she’d said. He wasn’t familiar with a black door in the Underworld, but then he had never traveled to the inner circles of Hell, either. Pocketing the key, he knew better than to question Elsie’s logic or visions. “Now that that’s settled, all that’s left is to locate the cave and get that binding spell so we keep Lucifer in his prison world. You ready, witches?” Rhys quipped, turning to the Rowan sisters.
Pema, the oldest of the triplets, smiled widely. He’d shared many passionate nights with the sisters, and had even been disciplined for his time with them. They were fantastic females and his demon enjoyed their company. It was too bad that they were all mated now, because he could take one, or all, of them to his room and feed.
The Rowan sisters hadn’t been immune to the changes that had been sweeping through the Tehrex Realm the past year. If anything, they’d been through the most drastic changes. At only twenty-eight years old, they were newly mated and had recently been crowned the High Priestesses, overseeing all witches.
“We’re ready to begin. I think it’s best if you remain in the far corner, Elsie. We have no idea what accessing this kind of power will unleash or tap into and we don’t want to risk the baby. And, we need the sofas moved out of the way,” Pema began, motioning across the room.
The instant Pema mentioned a possible risk to the baby, Zander straightened and grasped his mate’s arm, pulling her out of range. Elsie objected as Zander led her to the far corner and took a stance in front of her while Gerrick and Jace moved one sofa and Bhric and Kyran moved another.
Rhys loved the feisty vampire queen. She’d been the best thing to happen to the compound. And, it became obvious how much she meant to every Dark Warrior as they all crossed to Rhys’ side. Together, they created a layered barrier of flesh between the witches and Elsie and Zander. No one would take any risks with the female or the miracle she carried.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake. Get out of the way, you guys. I highly doubt anything will happen to me all the way over here with Zander in front of me. I want to see what’s going on,” the queen demanded, trying to look around walls of flesh.
“’Tis no’ happening, a ghra. No one’s moving. You’re lucky I doona drag you oot of the room altogether,” Zander countered, no compromise in his tone.
“I see Mr. Bossy Pants is back. Good thing supernatural pregnancies are faster, otherwise, this could become a problem,” Elsie teased, standing on her tiptoes and placing a gentle kiss to his lips. Rhys noticed the way some of the tension left Zander’s shoulders. This was how it was between Fated Mates, a profound connection that inflamed and centered you all at once.
“Place your candles to north and east, Suvi and put yours to the south and west, Isis,” Pema instructed, ignoring the byplay between the King and Queen and focusing on their task.
While her sisters did as asked, Pema placed a large, silver bowl of water on the coffee table, acting as their makeshift altar. The room went completely silent as the witches quickly set the stage for their spell.
“You guys doing this sky-clad?” Rhys asked on a chuckle.
�
��Fucking Rhys,” the room erupted collectively.
“What?” They were always saying that and he didn’t understand why. He was only asking if they were going to perform their ceremony accessing the most power possible. Not to mention, that he wanted to see three beautiful females naked.
Shaking their heads, the witches proceeded to pull incense from their bag. Rhys detected hints of lotus, jasmine and hyacinth. Thinking back, he thought his mother had told him the flowers were connected to water, which was the one medium that was used in location spells.
For the first time since the attack during Gerrick’s mating ceremony, hope surged through him. This could work. His anticipation rose as the sisters joined hands and their mates placed their hands on their shoulders. He could feel the energy from their collective magic fill the room. Their power staggered him, making him grateful the sisters were on the side of the Goddess. The power those females wielded would be a devastating weapon in evil’s hands.
“Doiteain,” they chanted together. The candles and incense ignited and the witches knelt before the altar. Suvi and Isis grabbed Pema’s waist as she reached into the bowl of water and invoked the element of water.
Relaxing into a meditative state, Pema plunged two fingers into the water and swirled them in a clockwise motion. Repeating this four times, the sisters began chanting in unison, “Let the water reveal to me the location of the Cave of Cruachan. Let the water show me where it is. So mote it be.”
When they repeated the chant the fourth time, the lights in the room flickered and the water clouded over and cleared to reveal a small cement tunnel set in a creepy looking forest. The cement had brightly colored graffiti painted on it and the trees and groundcover were barren. Rhys had seen some evil shit in his life, and the vision of the tunnel screamed sinister to him. He shuddered as a dark sense of foreboding filled the room. The image disappeared and the word Sensabaugh took its place.
The triplets raised their heads and Rhys saw the confusion and unease that he was feeling reflected on them. They swiped their hands over the water and it returned to the placid clear liquid it had been. Thankfully, the malignant atmosphere disappeared along with it.
At that moment, Rhys’ stomach dropped to his feet, his previous hope diminishing. They had a location, all that was left was a spell to trap Lucifer and he was going to have to leave for wherever Sensabaugh was.
“Thank you for getting the location. I know that was taxing, but we have more work to do and doona have time to waste. This has suddenly become verra fucking real. Every second Lucifer has the Goddess’ necklace is one too many. Cade, look up Sensabaugh and get the information we need while the Rowans set up for the binding spell,” Zander ordered, wrapping Elsie in his arms as she eased her way from behind him.
The sound of typing echoed as the witches cleared the altar and set up for the next step. The energy in the room was even grimmer, making his heart and mind race, trying to remember everything he’d forced out over a hundred years before. He needed to recall every detail he could about the nine circles of Hell.
It was ironic that the worst moments of his life now held the key to saving the world.
“The portal to the Cave of Cruachan is in Tennessee,” Cade called out as he read the laptop in front of him. Rhys had come to appreciate having Cade and his twin, Caell, around.
The vampires had been transferred from New Orleans to Seattle recently. With all the new matings in the compound and the fact that Seattle had been targeted heavily by the archdemons, they had needed the extra help, and the new Dark Warriors had proven to be invaluable.
What was in Tennessee that attracted such evil energy to the area, Rhys wondered. Whatever was there, Rhys could guarantee that it had to be a vile place for the portal to choose the site.
“The lore behind the place is horrendous. Rumor has it that it had been the sight of grizzly murders, deaths and satanic rituals. And, get this, demonic apparitions have been sighted in and near the tunnel,” Cade continued as he leaned back in his chair.
Pema sat forward and placed a black candle where the bowl once was. Suvi held two vials and Isis had a rope in her hand. “Turn off the lights, please. Breslin, can you light the candles in the room? And, be prepared to extinguish them when I tell you.” Pema asked. The Vampire Princess had the ability to control fire and her twin brother, Bhric, manipulated water.
In an instant, the lights were out and the candles were flickering. Isis placed the rope behind lit black candle while Suvi poured the contents of both vials into Pema’s outstretched hands. Rhys noticed that one of the vials held water and the other dirt. Pema mixed the contents of her palm together with her free fingers and then held it before the candle. She closed her eyes before pulling in a breath and blowing the combined mixture through the candle flame, extinguishing it. There had to be an element of magic used to propel the mud that far.
The mud flew onto candle and rope as Pema and her sisters chanted, “Per elementum ego tardus vos.”
Suvi picked up a flashlight and turned it on, pointing it at the rope and then the trio continued their chant, “Per lux lucis ego caecus vos.”
The light went out and Pema called out, “Now Breslin.” And with those words, the room was plunged into darkness. Rhys’ eyes quickly adjusted and he noticed that Pema was tying a small piece of twine to the rope and then the chanting resumed. “Per obscurum ego redimio vos.”
“It’s done,” Pema announced and the lights came back on. “Cover the rope in the soil of Hell as soon as you cross into the realm and then all you need to do is make this rope touch Lucifer and say the word, ceangailteach. That should keep him bound to Hell. Of course, we can’t guarantee anything. Usually the spell we just performed is done with a personal belonging or a photograph, but since that isn’t possible, we spelled the rope to act as a conduit for the magic.”
“This is the one time I can tell you to go to Hell and you have to do it,” Dante teased Rhys. The Cambion Lord’s nervousness was plainly obvious.
Rhys chuckled, “Grab your gasoline underwear, bro. You’re riding shotgun.”
Authors’ Note
Thank you for reading HEAT IN THE BAYOU! We hope you enjoyed Zeke and Tia’s story. Hellbound Warrior will be the fifth book in the Dark Warrior Alliance series where Rhys is forced to return to his father’s domain in Hell. Rhys discovers more in the Underworld than his festering hatred for the demon that sired him. Available for pre-order now!
If you haven’t discovered our Rowan sisters, be sure to check them out. Reviewers have raved that the books are filled with passion, heat, hope, love and humor. They are as fast, fun, and compelling reads!
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OTHER WORKS BY TRIM AND JULKA
The Dark Warrior Alliance
Dream Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 1)
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Mystik Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 2)
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Deviant Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 3)
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Mistletoe & Mayhem (Dark Warrior Alliance, Novella Book 3.5)
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Scarred Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 4)
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Hellbound Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 5)
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The Rowan Sisters’ Trilogy
Pema’s Storm (Rowan Sister’s Trilogy, Book 1)
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Isis’ Betrayal (Rowan Sister’s Trilogy, Book 2)
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Suvi’s Revenge (Rowan Sister’s Trilogy, Book 3)
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Rowan Sisters’ Trilogy Boxset (Books 1-3)
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