“How close to this compound is this seventh portal?”
Myrddin closed his eyes and shook his head as realization dawned. “In the Pyrenees, less than a mile away.”
A bubble of anger rose in Raven, but he quickly swallowed it down. Letting his emotions take over wouldn’t help the situation. “The portal,” Raven said through gritted teeth. “Azriel wants to get at the portal.”
Myrddin’s mouth was set in a grimace. “The imps. You think Azriel has gotten to The Void and freed the imps?”
Raven closed his eyes for a moment. He struggled to remain calm. He hadn’t even thought about the imps. He’d been so focused on the Nephilim, he’d completely forgotten about The Void.
He opened his eyes and met Myrddin’s gaze. “Not yet,” Raven answered. “I’d know it if he entered the Void. I’d feel it. No, he came here to reach the seventh portal but he had to get through the Ikari before he could get to the portal. That’s why he did this.” Raven gestured toward the fields of fallen Ikari.
“Azriel did this? Alone, he was able to do this?” Aliceanna stepped onto the steps beside Myrddin and squinted into the darkening afternoon.
Raven shook his head. “He controls the ghouls. Remember the road to Alaric’s house in Prague where Azriel set them on us. I’m sure that’s what he did here, only this time he had surprise on his side. And probably an even greater number of ghouls at his disposal. He wouldn’t risk a repeat of what happened in Prague.”
“The ghouls we met in the forest were weak. I don’t know of any ghoul who could do this to Ikari warriors. If it were imps...” Myrddin stalled mid-sentence and stared out at the land.
“If he had enough of them, it wouldn’t have been hard at all,” Raven said, moving down the stairs at a trot. Myrddin and Aliceanna rushed to catch up to him. “He’s going to use the imps,” Raven continued. “But how?”
Aliceanna flicked a hand out to indicate the fallen men scattered on the ground around them. “He’s done a pretty good job taking out one Ikari compound. Imagine what he could do to all of Ikarius with the force of the imps behind him! How does Ikarius stand regarding the Nephilim?”
Myrddin glanced at Aliceanna and frowned. “I’m sure Ikarius is against a Nephilim resurgence. If Azriel could take out every Ikari compound…” He let Raven draw the obvious conclusion.
“You think he doesn’t want to give the Ikari a chance to side up against him?”
“Why else would he do this?”
Aliceanna asked, “But why the Ikari? Why now, when he’s so close to releasing the Nephilim?”
Raven turned to face her. “The Ikari are direct descendents of the Shilesian warriors. The Shilesian defeated the Nephilim in the first place.” He turned toward the north entrance of the compound and started forward again. “For Azriel, that would be reason enough.”
“But to wage a war against the Ikari? That’s crazy. He’ll lose too much time.”
“It’s not crazy,” Myrddin insisted. “It’s what I would do. Think about it. You have Ikarius, whose numbers are well in the thousands. If Alaric is able to convince the Alliance to stand against the Nephilim too, that would be a legion of immortals added to the already large number of Ikari warriors who are aligned against the Nephilim. Azriel is crazy, but he’s not stupid. To face the Alliance and Ikarius would be madness. Doing this, he’ll get Ikarius out of the way before the real war starts.”
Aliceanna’s eyes darkened. “We have to catch him then. Before he gets to the portal.”
“There’s no time.” Raven paused mid-step and closed his eyes against the rush of rage that threatened to undo him a second time. It was a struggle. He forced his fisted hands into the pockets of his cape and tried to calm himself. He didn’t want to leave the Pyrenees, he wanted to go after Azriel. He wanted Charity. Every time he thought about Charity alone with Azriel, fresh rage filled him. Raven cursed himself for letting Charity out of his sight and for mentioning Figlio right after making love to her. Now, he had to leave her with that beast so he could fly to the rescue of Ikarius. His only solace was knowing if Azriel took her into the Void, he’d know it. He’d feel it.
What a damn fool of an angel he was proving to be! Michael would have been better served to choose someone else for this job. Raven was proving completely inadequate. “We have to go to the Warlord. Ikarius has to be warned and made ready for attack.”
Myrddin and Aliceanna glanced at each other. “Charity?” Aliceanna demanded.
“She’s safe. I can still feel her. She’s scared, but he hasn’t hurt her.” Raven tried to keep the tremor from his voice and knew he was doing a lousy job. He cleared his throat and continued. “He can’t hurt her. He needs her. There’s still time. Azriel isn’t going after the Nephilim yet; he’s going to The Void.” Raven started forward again. “If he defeats Ikarius…we cannot let that happen.”
“So you’re going to leave her with him?” Aliceanna said. “How can you do that? She needs you. You dragged her into this.”
He spun on his heels. “What choice do I have? If I go after Charity, Azriel will take out all of Ikarius. We need them. Once Azriel has Charity in The Void, I can reach her. I’ll use the North American portal to enter The Void and find her that way.”
Aliceanna’s chest heaved. “I’m sure it doesn’t matter,” she said. “He’s probably had her a dozen times by now. She probably has no recollection of you.”
Raven took a step toward her, but forced himself to stop. The desire to strangle her was nearly uncontrollable, but even in his rage, he knew he wasn’t angry with Aliceanna, but with himself. And he didn’t have anyone to blame but himself. Even now, Raven remembered the look of triumph on Azriel’s face when he’d finally captured Charity. Azriel had held Charity close to him, possessively, as if she belonged to him.
To judge by the feelings he was picking up all day from Charity, he’d say Aliceanna’s assessment of the situation was more on target than he cared to think about. He’d always sensed fear in Charity, but of late, the fear had begun to be replaced with desire. Not a desire to be free, but a desire to give in to Azriel.
“Enough!” Myrddin said. “We’re going to Virginia in North America to the Warlord. Raven hasn’t chosen to leave Charity, he has no choice. And neither do we. When she’s in The Void, we’ll travel through the Fifth portal to retrieve her.”
Raven turned again and started out across the lawn and away from the main house. He tried to close his mind to the image of Charity’s face, tried to block out the echo of her voice in his head as she called out to him to help her in those last moments.
He would find Charity again. If it was the last thing he did on earth.
* * * *
Azriel’s boots crunched over gravel at the lip of the cavern.
Charity walked a few steps behind him. Even before they reached the cave, Charity had known it was where Azriel was heading. From a distance, it looked like a black abyss within the snow-covered mountain range. Close up, it didn’t look much better. The interior rock wall of the cavern was covered in fungus and other things Charity didn’t care to think about. It was a wide, open space whose ground was littered with large rocks and debris. In a far corner of the cavern, she saw an opening in the wall. Whatever was beyond the opening was too dark for her to see.
Was this the entrance to Hir na Gog where the Nephilim were exiled? Nothing in Charity wanted to enter the cavern. Still, she found herself stepping over the threshold and into the gloom. As soon as she stepped inside the cold, dank air enveloped her.
“You’re not thinking of running again?” he asked.
As if she still harbored any hope that escaping him would be as easy as running away. She’d found out the hard way Azriel didn’t need chains to bind her or a blindfold to prevent her from seeing. His presence was enough. If she tried to run, he could stop her without so much as lifting a finger. The last time she’d tried to run away, she’d been rushing up a steep incline one moment, slipping on the slic
k surface of the snow, and the next thing she knew, her feet weren’t touching the ground anymore. She’d levitated like some television magician and was pulled backward through the air. She knew what had happened even before she landed on the ground at his feet, knew then that escape from Azriel would be difficult.
Difficult, but not impossible. She had, after all, acquired some of Raven’s powers since their night together. Though she hadn’t felt gutsy enough to give a go at the mind blow, she had managed moving small rocks and tree limbs telepathically when Azriel wasn’t watching her. With every trial, her confidence grew. Soon she’d be self-assured enough to mount another escape, but she wasn’t convinced yet her abilities would be enough against Azriel. Ideally, she would catch him off guard, but she didn’t have much hope that would happen. Her best bet was to play the helpless female until the right moment arose. No matter what, though, she’d never enter Hir na Gog. She’d die before she allowed that to happen.
“Go ahead and run,” Azriel was saying.
She was jolted to the present by his voice.
“Go ahead and run,” he said again. “I want you to run, but this time I won’t use magic to catch you. I don’t need magic to catch you.”
Though only faint sunlight glimmered into the cavern, Azriel’s white hair shone as brilliantly as any light. It hung to his waist, looking far prettier than any human hair she’d ever seen. His face was intent as he looked at her, his eyes alive with anticipation. His full lips were pulled back in a grin that told her more about his intent than anything he could have said.
“I wasn’t thinking about running,” she lied.
“You’ve blocked my efforts at reading your mind—no doubt I have Raven to thank for that—but don’t think for a minute you’re a match for me.”
She backpedaled.
“I’m more powerful than Raven,” he continued as he advanced. “Don’t think you can fight me just because you’ve acquired some of Raven’s abilities. You’re still a little girl from Baltimore who has no idea what she’s up against. Things will go better for you if you learn your place and do what I say.”
When she felt the pocked surface of the rock wall against her back, she let out a small yelp. A large patch of fungus squashed under the weight of her body. She was still wearing the sheer robe and slippers from the previous night, and the peach-fuzz hairs of the fungus easily penetrated the robe. The moldy stench of it rose around her, making her gag.
Azriel moved in and gripped the ties that kept the sheer flaps cinched together. In two seconds, he had them unknotted, letting the flaps of the robe fall open and exposing her naked body to him.
She scurried to pull the flaps closed, but Azriel grabbed her wrists in one hand and hiked them over her head.
The desire to fight back was almost too much for her to control. She wanted to give a try at the mind blow. Maybe she could knock him across the cavern. The look of surprise that would cross that arrogant face would be priceless. But it wasn’t worth losing the only leverage she had. Azriel didn’t know she’d been practicing the use of her new abilities. She could only use them when she was ready to escape, not before.
For a moment, he stared down at her naked breasts. He seemed mindless of her struggles to free herself.
“Very lovely,” he said.
He ran a finger over her nipple. The touch surprised her. Her skin burned at the point of contact. “Monster!” she said.
He pressed her against the cavern wall, holding her captive with the weight of his body. He smiled down at her and again, the sheer beauty of his face struck her. “You can’t escape me,” he said, then closed his finger and thumb over her nipple and squeezed.
She bit down on her lip, trying desperately to prevent the sigh that bubbled up inside of her from spilling out. When he squeezed a second time, she had to close her eyes against the pleasure. In an uncontrollable rush, her loins came alive and a desire to give in to him played around the edges of her consciousness. It would be so easy to let him have his way, she thought. And she knew it would feel good to have him moving inside of her.
In her former life as a data entry clerk, she’d never had the opportunity to be around powerful men. She’d always heard power was an aphrodisiac for women, but she’d never had the opportunity to experience the phenomenon first hand. Until now. Azriel was more powerful than any man she’d ever met. The desire to submit to him sexually was nearly overwhelming, but she fought against it. Azriel would be a wonder in bed, she didn’t doubt that, but she loved Raven. Raven was whom she wanted.
For a moment, a thought flittered around her mind. She had Raven’s power; true, she hadn’t mastered it, but it was there. How deadly would she be if she also had Azriel’s power? Azriel was more powerful than Raven, but if she acquired Azriel’s strength on top of Raven’s…But she couldn’t. To get Azriel’s essence would mean…she forced the thought out of her mind.
Raven. Raven. Raven. She repeated the silent mantra that had become the verbal equivalent of a cold shower.
When she felt steady, she set her jaw and met Azriel’s gaze. “Get off of me.”
He pressed closer. So close she could feel his naked chest expand with every inhalation. His skin was hot and damp against her. She tried to hold her breath so the intoxicating scent of him couldn’t permeate her defenses, but already she felt her resolve begin to falter. His face was as beautiful as it had always been, his lips full and pink, his eyes gentle and kind. Knowing it was all a façade didn’t help. The painful ache between her legs intensified to a throb.
Raven. Raven. Raven, she repeated silently.
Azriel smiled. “You’re as easy to read as a book, Charity. You think of Raven. When I’m ready to have you, all the thoughts of Raven in the world won’t save you.”
“You’ll never have me.”
He cocked a brow and tilted his head to the side, studying her. Then he laughed. “Even you don’t believe that,” he said. “We both know I could have you now if I chose. Lay you on the ground, ease inside of you, and fuck you senseless. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? No, I think you’d love that. And if I had rope to bind you—rope to make you feel even more helpless than you feel right now—I think you’d be in heaven.” He rotated his hips and for a moment, she felt the press of his erection as it grazed her stomach. “I’ll make you worship me, Charity. You’ll call me Master. Of the whole world, the only thing you’ll ever desire is me.” He eased back and she took a deep, steadying breath. “But not yet. When I take you, I plan to take my time about it, something I don’t have a lot of just now.”
He pushed off from the wall and pulled her along behind him toward the tunnel at the edge of the chamber. Her mind was a jumble of erotic images and her legs felt like jelly. She gasped for breath and stumbled behind him. Two of her steps equaled one of his.
“Where are we going?” she demanded.
He stopped walking and she nearly walked into him. Still holding her by the wrists, he pulled her alongside him and pointed ahead toward the tunnel she’d seen burrowed into the far corner of the cavern. It was dark as pitch in there.
“We’re going in there?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he started forward, pulling her along behind him again.
“If I can’t escape you,” she said to buy herself a little time, “why are you holding me?”
“Because where we’re going, it’s dark. You won’t be able to see. And there are things deep within the tunnels that would love to get their hands on a pretty little thing like you.” He paused at the entrance of the tunnel and released her. “Now that I think of it,” he said, and he retied her robe. When he’d finished, he laced his fingers with hers and stepped into the gloom.
The last remnant of sunlight was slowly swallowed up in the darkness. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior. She could make out the glistening walls of the pass, the rough-hewn ground at her feet, and the curving trail Azriel was leading her down. But too soon, all fa
ded to black.
In the darkness of the corridor, the effect of having Azriel’s body so near was magnified. The touch of his palm against hers was too intimate. The heat of his hand, of his forearm where it brushed hers was too much. The contact was hot and erotic.
For what felt like hours but had probably only been twenty minutes or so, Charity fought down her arousal. She saw herself lying naked on a four-poster bed as she waited for Azriel to claim her. She saw him appear at the foot of the bed, saw him lower himself between her thighs. She saw him naked, platinum wings spread behind him as he covered her and eased his thick length inside her.
“I’d rather stumble in the dark than touch you,” she said suddenly, unable to control her thoughts anymore. “You’re a monster.”
She’d expected an argument, or even to be chastised. What she got stunned her so much, she stood frozen for precious seconds, staring out at the darkness ahead.
“Stumble, then,” Azriel said. His voice sounded so cold, it chilled her to hear it. Then he released her.
“What?”
But he didn’t answer.
She was all right walking in the darkness unaided for a while. She could hear the small bits of stone crush as Azriel stepped on them, smell the clean scent of him, and feel the soft edges of his wings brush her face, but in the unrelenting blackness of the cavern, she heard other things. She heard the sound of footfalls on the path behind her. Too many times, she spun around to see what was coming only to realize her eyesight was just as useless gazing behind as it was looking ahead. After becoming disoriented the first time she spun around, she learned to press her hands against the cavern walls as she moved so she could keep track of which was front and which was back. Azriel never stopped to help her, never paused to assure himself she was still there. He just kept going.
More than once, she heard the sound of something scraping overhead. A few times she rushed forward in a panic that something was behind her, only to tread on the heels of Azriel’s boots, winning a low chuckle from him.
Nephilim War: Book 2 Page 3
