by Lisa Kessler
He turned to rise but froze when he saw a lifeless, naked body lying at his feet. His brow furrowed as he moved closer. The female’s scent was unmistakably inhuman. A Night Walker. He ran a finger back through her soft golden hair.
Who was she? And why had Camalotz brought her here?
The woman’s body was withered, bloodless. Her immortal skin pulled tight over her bones like dried leather. Yet the Demon had left her heart intact, still living in a tortured shell. It didn’t make sense.
Why would she feed on a Night Walker? And why not end the woman’s tortured existence by removing her heart?
He knew the answer, although he didn’t understand it. Camalotz wanted this woman to suffer. And she would suffer. Once the moon rose in the sky, he could not imagine the depth of suffering this female Night Walker would be forced to endure. Her body, in its bloodless condition, would feed on itself, aching for healing blood that was no longer in her veins, too weak to kill in order to replace what she had lost.
She would never heal, and the pain would never end.
He raked his hand through his dark hair, his muscles tense with frustration. He usually understood his mate’s motives. She was primal, carnal, always thirsting for emotions she would never understand, always feeding her insatiable hunger. But he could not understand this.
He didn’t know the identity of this young immortal, but he knew no one deserved the suffering she would soon experience without blood to heal her. Helping her would anger his mate, but duty outweighed any fear. Wrath or no, he would help the woman.
The Guardian pulled off his shirt and draped it over her cold body, hoping the warmth might give her some small measure of comfort once the sun began to set and her true torment began.
Leaving the sanctuary of his resting place, the Guardian rose to his full height, still surprised to see his shadow stretch over the moist earth at his feet. A shadow was a rare friend to a being who usually walked the earth while the sun slept.
Shielding his eyes with his hand, he looked up into the afternoon sunlight. Somewhere Camalotz also cast a shadow under the sun she usually avoided. He didn’t have time to ponder the potential reasons why. If he was going to aid the bloodless Night Walker, he had to do it before the Demon returned.
He needed to feed, quickly.
…
The sky darkened above her as Gretchen made her way back toward Zafrina’s home. Electricity filled the air, igniting lightning through the deep purple sky, dancing from cloud to cloud, but she didn’t look up or slow her pace. Ever since she ate, she felt something watching her. Zafrina had insisted that Gretchen would be safe on the island, but she couldn’t shake the uneasiness that haunted her.
She wished Lukas were with her. She had theories she needed to discuss with someone she could trust. Her heart twisted in her chest. Forget me.
If only it were that easy.
She groaned and tried to push his gorgeous green eyes from her mind. Instead, she thought about what she’d learned while she was in the town. The tourists and locals alike were buzzing about the recent rash of suicides on the mainland of Central America. Within a week, over fifty people had been found dead in one of the beach resorts in Cancun, while another fifteen took their own lives during a wedding reception in a nearby hotel. Most people were afraid. Would the island of Cozumel and its tourist population be next?
Gretchen wanted to warn them, but what could she say? If she told anyone about her encounter with the Demon, or spirit, or whatever it was that poisoned her mind in San Diego, they’d think she was crazy. She wouldn’t believe it herself if she hadn’t experienced it firsthand.
Unexplainable things were happening, and she felt like a helpless pawn in a game she didn’t fully understand.
After lunch, she’d picked up a few supplies, along with a large bottle of water. That was the moment the wave of dread overcame her. As soon as she stepped out of the store, she felt an unseen shadow following, like she was being hunted.
Once she was back inside the cavern, Gretchen finally turned around to look behind her. Other than the lush green of the jungle, there was nothing. She hadn’t really expected to see anyone, but something else bothered her. The feeling, or presence, that had pursued her, was gone. As if it only wanted to know where she was staying. She shivered and disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Deep inside she knew it was the Demon, and she knew it would be back.
The island was no longer safe.
Chapter Seventeen
Lukas erupted out of the earth, but for the first time in his long life, it wasn’t hunger that drove him. It was fear. Fear that he had lost Gretchen forever.
He didn’t wait for Calisto and Kate to rise. He forced back his emotions and welcomed the hunter. His father had taught him to track his quarry hundreds of years ago, and his talent had increased with his heightened Night Walker senses. If anyone could find Gretchen, it would be him. But he had to silence his fear.
He started at the entrance to the tent. His brow furrowed as he knelt closer to the moist earth. Gretchen’s boot print was simple to recognize, but just to the right of her trail were the outlines of bare feet. Someone else had been here. Maybe even had taken her from the tent.
If they hurt her, he would tear them apart. Not a threat, just simple fact.
Lukas followed the trail, and in patches where animals had disturbed the tracks, he relied on the snapped leaves and branches. Eventually the trail ended. On the beach.
Lukas rubbed his forehead as the panic swelled and threatened to take hold. He stared out at the ocean. Gretchen didn’t walk to the beach to swim. Someone led her here.
He walked the stretch of shore, taking in deep breaths, searching for the scent of blood or signs of a struggle. He couldn’t find any evidence of a boat, or of blood and violence.
So, where was she?
Lukas took a few running steps toward the water, his form becoming that of the great horned owl, until he glided over the breaking waves. If Gretchen came this way, there had to be a reason, and he would find her. Somehow.
There was so much he needed to say. He wanted to hold her and never let her go. He wanted to kiss her warm, tender lips, and he’d give anything to see her smile, to hear her laughter again.
All he could do now was fly…and hope he wasn’t too late.
…
Issa arose to find Colin gone, as well. He stared up at the moon with a heavy sigh. They could not fight the Demon unless they stood together, and with each passing night they were torn farther apart.
“He has gone alone?”
Issa nodded in answer and looked back over his shoulder to see Mulac approaching. The God of the North stopped beside him and tipped his head back to gaze up at the moon. Issa glanced over at him, watching his long, white hair slide back over his shoulders, and wondered if his brother shared his concern. The four corners of the earth, all four brothers, had to be united in their effort to defeat such a powerful adversary as Camalotz.
“Without all of us together, she will not be defeated.” Issa looked up at the moon for a moment before shaking his head. “I thought this day would never come.”
“Are you really so blind, my brother?” Mulac’s dark eyes churned with fire. “This is a sign. A new cycle for us. Our time has come again.”
Issa raised a brow. “The world is no longer ruled by Mayan cycles.”
“Our cycles,” Mulac growled. “Or have you also forgotten where you come from, dear brother?”
“I have forgotten nothing, Mulac,” Issa snapped. “Perhaps it is you who have forgotten that the world evolves in ways we cannot always foresee.”
“Only if we allow it to be so.” Mulac’s voice softened. “Do you not see, Issa? Camalotz will bring about the end of this world so that it can be reborn in the likeness of the gods once more. It will be our world again, my brother.”
Issa shook his head, his brow furrowing. “You speak as if you do not believe we should cage the Demon.”
&
nbsp; “I am simply not certain that this world is worth saving.” Mulac shrugged. “Perhaps it is time for it to die.”
Issa stepped directly in front of his brother, staring into his eyes. “You must put these thoughts from your head and help us. It will require all four of us to save this world.”
Mulac’s gaze was cold, his expression hard and unyielding, but Issa maintained eye contact. He couldn’t read his brother’s thoughts. The God of the North was far too clever to allow anyone into his mind, but Issa could see many unspoken emotions in his expression—and none of them were reassuring. If a man’s eyes were the window to his soul, then Mulac had lost his centuries ago.
“My thoughts are my own.” Mulac turned his back to his brother and walked toward the jungle. “I am going to find Colin.”
Issa’s jaw clenched as he followed him. Before he reached his brother’s side, Mulac took to the air, once again in his animal form, a majestic bald eagle soaring on the night wind. Issa shivered, losing sight of his immortal brother.
He stalked into the darkness, shifting into his sleek black jaguar and hoping he would find Colin and Kane before Mulac did. He needed them to know that when they reached the final confrontation with Camalotz, Mulac might be their weakest link.
…
Kane’s scent teased Issa’s feline nostrils, and his jaguar bolted through the tangled trees toward his brother. Issa slid to a silent stop when he saw his brother’s golden jaguar diving forward, growling as his fangs tore into the soft underside of another black jungle cat’s exposed throat.
The unique scent of Demon’s blood alerted Issa that the jaguar Kane battled would not be killed. An angry snarl escaped the beast as Kane spilled more of her powerful blood. Issa’s tail swished. Had his brother gone mad? He knew he couldn’t kill Camalotz. This was a battle Kane would never win.
A giant black paw connected with the side of the golden jaguar’s head, sending him sprawling away from her. Kane scrambled to his feet, blood pouring down the side of his face from the deep gouges her claws left behind. The golden jaguar paced around Camalotz, baring his teeth and growling in agitation.
Kane’s spotted fur was soaked in blood, but the wounds were already beginning to heal themselves. Issa’s gaze focused on the Demon. Her jet-black jaguar with crimson eyes turned toward him. He no longer had the element of surprise on his side.
Silently, he moved into the clearing, his eyes fixed on the blood covering her tender throat. It had been centuries since he felt such a strong wave of emotion.
Of hate.
When she raised her lips into a growl, revealing her pointed teeth, the golden jaguar attacked, rising up on his hind legs and snapping his powerful jaws. Her claws slashed through Kane’s shoulder, buried deep in his flesh as she toppled over backward, pulling him down with her.
Issa rushed the beast in an effort to help his brother. He lunged through the air, sinking his teeth into the muscle between her shoulders. Her roar echoed through the jungle but she didn’t slow her attack on Kane. Her claws dug viciously into his underbelly, tearing through his skin to shred the muscles underneath.
The intoxicating earthy scent of immortal blood surrounded them, teasing Issa’s inhuman thirst as he wrestled with the Demon. She finally lost interest in Kane, rolling on the ground in an effort to shake Issa off of her back. Unable to hold on, he found himself under the beast, pain searing through his side.
He could no longer tell if it was her blood or his own that assaulted his senses. He clamped his jaws around her wounded throat and fought to stay there. Her claws tore through his flesh until pain was universal throughout his body. Each slash from her claws intensified the sea of anguish.
He couldn’t win this battle.
No one could. As soon as he wounded her, she healed. His body would continue to live, to endure, and the pain would only grow until she finally ripped his heart from his chest. He simply couldn’t heal as rapidly as Camalotz.
Out of the darkness, a huge red-tailed hawk dove from the night sky, talons flared, making a sudden, silent attack on the Demon’s crimson-eyed jaguar. The giant cat roared in pain as the hawk plucked one eye from its socket, snapping the nerve as it soared back up into the sky.
Camalotz recoiled from Issa’s battered body, blood oozing from her now-empty eye socket, while her remaining eye glowed with fury. She looked up toward the stars, scanning for her winged attacker. Fluid drizzled down on them as the hawk’s talons pierced through the eyeball, rupturing it beyond repair before dropping it back to earth with a moist thud.
Issa swung his head around, searching for Kane. He found his brother in the shadows, shifting until he stood on two legs, once again a man. Blood soaked his clothes and his hands trembled, but he made no move to retreat.
Issa put himself between his brother and the Demon just as the hawk made a second dive, but this time the Demon anticipated her winged predator’s attack.
“No!” Kane screamed. But it was too late.
The red-tailed hawk descended toward the jaguar’s head, talons extended, but instead of making contact with the large cat’s last remaining eye, the Demon launched itself into the air, catching the bird in its clutches. The hawk’s pained screech pierced Issa’s ears and tore into his heart.
He had to help his brother.
Landing gracefully on her feline feet, Camalotz continued to crush the bones of the eye-stealing bird, crunching through the cartilage of the hawk’s wings with her powerful jaws. Issa rammed the beast, slicing her haunches with his own massive paws. She dropped her prey and spun to face Issa.
He struggled to keep his attention on the Demon circling her while Kane moved in to help Colin. The hawk gradually mutated back into the form of a red-haired man. Colin’s arms were both mangled beyond recognition, and his tortured screams echoed through the jungle around them.
Stumbling forward, using what little strength remained inside his wounded, weakening body, Issa leapt into the air, landing on the Demon’s back. His sharp nails sank through her fur and into her flesh, reopening her wounds. Camalotz snarled, turning her head and swatting back at him.
She thrashed in the dirt in a vain attempt to dislodge him from her back. Issa fought to maintain his position, unable to pull his eyes from Colin’s bleeding body as Kane carried him deeper into the jungle. What remained of his brother’s arms were twisted at hideous angles, no longer resembling human limbs.
Issa felt his eyes burn, glowing a deep, raging red. Colin might never heal completely from her attack. He bit down harder, feeling her form shift under him. Her coat thinned, her body contorted, until Camalotz was underneath him in her human form.
Seeing her face brought back unwelcome memories. Because of her, he’d been forced to sacrifice the goddess he had loved with all his soul. Because of Camalotz, he had let the world pass him by.
The Demon reached behind her, grabbing a handful of Issa’s black coat, and yanked him free from her back, hurling him to the ground in front of her. Before he could scramble away, she threw herself over him and straddled his waist while pinning his throat in her iron grasp. Her face was still marred by her missing eye, but her body had already healed, her voluptuous curves beckoning him as her hips writhed.
She released his throat with one hand, pressing it against his chest, her sharp fingernails piercing through his skin into his bones. He could feel her venomous thoughts already permeating his mind, beckoning him to surrender.
Why did he continue to fight? The world had forgotten him eons ago. He spent eternity in a pointless, empty existence. Why not end it all now? Let it end…
No! With all of his remaining strength, Issa pushed forward, his jaws snapping at her face. Camalotz shrieked, silencing the jungle around them as his teeth sank through her cheek.
The air sparked with energy as she struggled to shift her form back to an animal. But the God of the West snarled, sinking his teeth into her shoulder, careful not to swallow any of her blood. Her mental poison still left
a bitter taste in his mouth, and even in his more primal, animal form, Issa wanted no part of Camalotz living inside his veins.
He rolled her smaller human form under him, pressing one paw against her chest, his claws digging into her rib cage. Issa raised his mighty head, his eyes glowing fire. Not seeing his brothers nearby, vengeance burned in Issa’s soul as he cast his gaze back down to his immortal prey. He couldn’t kill her, but he would hurt her, possibly slow her attack on this world and afford his brothers precious time to heal.
Camalotz looked up at him, her remaining eye filled with malice and venom. Without hesitation, Issa plunged his head down, jaws bared to attack her defenseless face, his sharp teeth cracking through the fine bones of her human-like features until he took the eye from its socket. Her continued screaming was a sick sort of music to his wounded soul. But the intoxicating melody could not continue.
His brothers needed him. With Camalotz blinded, they would be safe for the moment. Issa stepped away from her, his body straightening until he stood as a man. He watched her writhe on the ground, her hands clawing at the damp earth, before turning away to help his battered brothers.
Chapter Eighteen
The Guardian crawled through the darkness of the cavern until he found the husk of the woman with golden hair that the Demon left behind. He carefully scooped her into his arms, blocking out the pitiful screech that escaped her emaciated lips. Her body was too starved for blood to heal, yet too weak to feed, and she was unable to die, forced to feel the pain and ache of her wounds and her hunger for eternity.
He carried her to the cavern wall that faced the entrance so he could see Camalotz approaching when she finally returned. If she returned.
Once he cared for this one, he would search for his mate. It was his duty to protect this world, too.
His downcast eyes ran over the petite Night Walker he held in his arms. She wasn’t moving, and showed no outward signs of life. The Guardian sighed. His body was engorged with blood from the animals of the forest. She should have bitten him out of a pure instinct to ease her hunger, to heal her injured body, but she remained motionless.
