He stared at her in disbelief. How could she put an entire people under a spell? Did she do the same with me?
"Do not look at me that way, Trace,” she said softly. “I only wanted my freedom, and so, I did what he ordered me to do."
"And me?” Trace asked. “Am I what Dinji told you to do?"
He craved her answer, but found himself unable to look at her.
"No, goddess, no,” she said, touching his arm, and trying to capture his gaze. “It is because of you that I have tried this at all."
He risked it, and looked at her at last. Feeling the sizable emotional knot slide back down into his stomach, he coughed. He'd given so much up already, he had to trust her. Besides, as a soul snatcher, he could tell Tara told the truth.
"What do I have to do?” he asked, as they stopped in the shadows of the tunnel.
"You kill him, and the spell will be canceled, both on me and the people."
"Murdering a king,” Trace's voice rose. “Are you mad?"
"Shush! You are already condemned to die. We must do this together. Human and elf,” she said and took his hand in hers.
"How am I to kill him?"
"With this,” Tara said and once again she reached into her cloak and this time, removed a dagger. “It is one I took from the guard, along with the key to the dungeon. He'll be so surprised by your appearance, he won't see this coming."
"At your mark,” he said and smiled, his gaze locking with hers.
This time it lit up his face.
* * * *
Trace followed Tara around the courtyard and through the doors to the grand hall. They shoved their way through the thong of people, as most of the town gathered to witness Trace's execution. Immediately the musicians vanished as Tara weaved her latest spell. The quietness surprised the packed hall.
Dinji spied them at once.
"Guards!"
The guards hurried toward them, but Tara was ready. She lifted her hands and said, “Eternal sleep!"
The guards collapsed to the floor in slumber.
No one moved. Dinji's eyes were round and furious.
"You dare?” he asked, his hands in tight fists that pounded his legs. “You dare use magic!"
"I do. The bracelets do not block woodland magic."
She turned to Trace and whispered, “That is all I can give you."
Dinji frowned. “The-the woodland ... no, no!"
Trace took the dagger and hurdled at Dinji, but Dinji ducked the oncoming blade and drew his sword. With great speed, he raced down the stone steps toward Trace. “You dare!"
Aryl, long swore to protect Trace and his house, suddenly leapt into the air and pounced on Dinji.
Dinji swung his sword, but it was too late.
Aryl was on him.
Dinji's howling screams of agony and searing pain could be heard across the plateau and on into the Eastern Forest, where the coyotes joined him.
And as Dinji's last cry faded, Tara screamed. Everyone present looked to the main entranceway, where she stood with her arms lifted, free of her cuffs.
"I'm free!” she said, her gaze meeting Trace's. “Free!"
As if awakened from a daze, the elven people of Tellen blinked and whispered as the spell wore off.
"A human!” someone screamed and the crowd grew alarmed.
Trace stepped up to the throne. He glanced down at the crowd, for almost all of Tellen's elders were present.
"It's the soul snatcher! Silence!” they cried to one another until they had all settled down to listen.
"I am Trace, soul snatcher and heir of King Tran,” he said, allowing the words to roll from his tongue. “People of Tellen, listen, for much has happened."
Murmurs and outright shouts swelled up against the castle's ceiling.
"Listen to me!” Trace shouted over the rumblings. “It is a human who has saved us from destruction. Her vision and her love, her courage and her strength."
At first, the mob of elves bitterly resisted this notion. Yet, soul snatchers were pure. They were honest and they dealt in death. There was no room for error or lies.
"The oracle's prophesy has come to pass. The time of soul snatching is over. Humans and elves will be forever joined this day."
The crowd of elders murmured before proclaiming to the citizens, “Your line has been returned to the throne, which is proper. If a human has done that, then we are grateful."
"Tara will stand at my side, as wife and Queen of Tellen,” Trace announced, stunning her as she sprinted up the stairs and into his arms, unable to speak, for she was crying.
With slow applause, the elves clapped.
Trace and Tara kissed, thus uniting their souls in eternal love.
A TASTE OF THE FORBIDDEN
by
Tambra Kendall
"This is all your fault.” Jason Devon stood on the back porch and glared at Fetch, his vampire golden retriever. “You just couldn't leave that cat alone. Now I've got to meet the feline's owner to discuss damages to her property.” His fingers bent the note releasing an intoxicating scent in the air. His cock stirred in response as it always did whenever he smelled this particular fragrance.
Fetch cocked his head to one side, wagged his tail then went in search of a ball his fangs hadn't punctured.
Jason glanced at his watch and cursed. He transported himself to the agreed upon meeting place, Out of This World. Standing outside the building, he sensed something different about this restaurant, but couldn't quite place what it was. Instincts on guard, his muscles tensed as he opened the door and walked inside. Cool air grazed his skin along with her scent. His groin hardened with his resolve. Swallowing a growl of frustration, Jason decided four years of torment would stop right now. No more dreaming or lusting after this woman.
"Welcome to Out of This World, Jason. Izanna is waiting for you."
Years of police training and now being one of the undead taught him to keep his expression closed as he followed the hostess. For the space of a heartbeat, the air crackled with otherworld energy. Jason's heightened senses caught a nasty maelstrom of undercurrents just waiting for the tiniest spark to ignite and explode. Hell, what did this woman get me into?
By their various auras, he picked out the vampires, a few shifters—and what made up the category of other. He never paid attention to this nondescript building surrounded by large old trees, tucked away at the end of the street. Jason realized with each step he took, the establishment catered to the elite among nonhumans.
"Here is Izanna.” The woman strode away to soothe a growling customer in the corner.
Jason gave Izanna a barely-there smile. His blood heated with lust so intense it took his breath away. Her skin shone, pale as the moon in the night sky, and he fisted his hand to keep from reaching out and touching her. Soon, very soon, I'll claim her as no man, or vampire ever had. He'd never experienced this compelling force with any other woman.
Instead, he crossed his arms and leaned against the heavy oak partition separating the booths. “Thanks for meeting me. Have you decided what I can do to repay you since my dog destroyed your landscaping?"
"Please, sit down.” She motioned to the seat beside her. “I'm Izanna Tremayne. I don't believe we've been properly introduced.” She held out her hand.
He raised it to his lips brushing a light kiss across her skin. A tidal wave of lust threatened to drown him from the innocent gesture. For whatever reason, her unique intoxicating scent branded what was left of his soul. Jason released her hand and slid into the darkened booth keeping his manner calm and cool. The attraction could be one-sided and he didn't want to make a fool of himself.
Izanna moved across the seat until her thigh touched his. “Forget about the landscaping. The damage wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed by my gardening staff.” She leaned closer, pushing her body harder against his. “What I want to discuss is more important—I want to have sex with you, Jason. It's taken too long for our paths to cross again. I've dreamed
of you for the past four years. I want you in my bed. And ... other places."
His cock hardened at the erotic promise of her words. Desire burned a potent path in his veins. “I'm yours. Tell me when and where.” This dark corner table works for me. She surprised the hell out of him with her direct approach. This wasn't what he expected when he walked in moments ago.
"In fifteen minutes, at my home.” She leaned over and the tips of her fangs oh-so-lightly scraped his skin as she nibbled the curve of his neck. “Mmmm,” she purred.
A hot sensual rush washed over him the instant her lips and tongue contacted his skin. She whispered directions on how to bypass her security system. Jason swallowed and tried to keep his other head from rearing up for a quick introduction. Down, boy.
Izanna tapped the table with a perfectly manicured nail. “Don't keep me waiting."
"I'll be there.” By the gods, fifteen minutes was too long.
She rose with the grace of a queen and walked away with the sway of a woman with seduction on her mind. His body throbbed and hungered for the exotic Izanna Tremayne. It didn't matter that she proposed sex first. He was damn happy not to have the ugly chore of guessing whether she wanted him or not. Jason asked the server where the closest transport shortcut was located.
She told him to look for the cool blue orb in the alley behind the building. He had the hard-on from hell. Before he sat down, he'd located the exits—some old habits never die. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, tossed it on the table and left through the closest door.
Once more instincts from his previous job, now honed as a vampire, came to the fore as he stepped into the night. The hair at the back of his neck stood at attention blaring a warning. He scanned the area. Nothing.
One step before he reached the destination point, someone or something grabbed his throat.
The overwhelming stench of sulphur made his eyes and throat burn. He fought but the lack of air sapped his strength. Finally, the grip loosened enough for him to breathe.
"Izanna is mine!” The raspy voice dripped with evil power and halitosis.
Claws pierced his neck while intense blows from fists made of steel rained down on his face, shoulders and back. Each hit left a burning mark and Jason hissed in pain. What is beating the shit out of me? And why can't I fight back? All of his abilities were useless. At last, he managed an elbow to the groin of his attacker and tried to shove it away. A hit to the side of his head blurred his vision; he heard his attacker whisper in a cold voice, “Touch Izanna and I will kill you, vampire." A blow between his shoulder blades and a hard shove sent Jason sprawling on the ground.
Too weak to teleport home, Jason lay on shards of broken bottles. The jagged edges sliced his battered flesh. His face stung from tiny pebbles beneath his cheek. Odors of garbage and old urine from the rough asphalt assaulted his advanced sense of smell. As if my close-up encounter with road-kill breath wasn't enough for one night. He had to protect Izanna from this asshole.
White-hot rage surged through Jason. He willed his body to move; his muscles refused. A blood-red haze flashed behind his eyes before he passed out.
* * * *
Izanna paced the floor. Why isn't he here? She smelled Jason's musky scent of desire, tasted the tang of his arousal on his skin earlier this evening.
As the reigning Queen of Darkness, she could have imposed her will on him, but she wanted Jason in her bed willingly. She risked all to be with him tonight. If she died in the upcoming battle with Razi the Overlord, she wanted Jason to do everything to her.
Make love to her and fuck her so thoroughly that Razi could see the afterglow of sex in her aura and smell Jason's claim on her body and soul.
Her thoughts returned to the night she offered Jason a choice. Even before her fangs sank into his flesh, she had known he was her eternal partner. Being so close to Jason earlier ignited a smoldering fire that scorched a trail from her belly to her core. She erased his memory of her but the attraction was so strong it diffused her power leaving him with enough information to track her.
Izanna cocked her head to the side, reaching out with all her senses. The heavy cloak of evil unfurled sparking her terror. Is Razi on his way?
Soon she would face punishment from the Overlord and the Queen Council for breaking the edict with Jason. She grabbed a mohair wrap tossing it around her shoulders. How can I defeat the demon?
In the vampire realm, no one was more powerful than the demon overlord. He was an ancient being determined on destroying the entire line of Queens of Darkness. Izanna paced as she waited for Jason. If he didn't arrive in thirty seconds, she would go hunting.
Her mind groped for the answer to Razi's increasing strength. If the overlord discovered a way to breed his own queens then drain their power, it would explain his strength. On the other hand, if he captured the lifeblood essences of the queens before he killed them, the magical energy compounded. Both were terrifying thoughts.
The overlord coveted her. Each time they met, it became harder and harder to defeat the creature of the abyss. More than any other Queen of Darkness, she was the most powerful born in one thousand years. If her eternal mate impregnated her, it would break Razi's power-hold and give her the strength to send the demon spawn back to the pit of hell. At the moment of conception, her irises would flicker like the licking flames of a candle, unleashing a power so great, the demon would piss himself in fear.
Only those chosen queen and of royal vampire lineage produced children and not all of them were fertile. The Dark Goddess blessed many of Izanna's bloodline with the gift of fertility and eternal mates. It was a shame the goddess could not eliminate Razi and his guards, the Nettles.
A sharp sting jerked her attention to her palms and in her mind flashed a vision of Jason. Her stomach cramped and she reached for the bedpost to steady herself.
Jason was in trouble. She had to find him before anyone else did. If he were injured, his powers could be absorbed by any otherworld being.
She closed her eyes, concentrated on him and whispered, “Jason, where are you?” Izanna focused on his scent, his energy pattern. He was still at the restaurant. Flashing to his side, a foul sulfur scent lingered in the air and she wrinkled her nose. Fury seethed and boiled in her like the cauldron of the Great Goddess Cerridwen. Razi dared to attack my life mate? As a woman and Queen of the Darkness, she vowed revenge. Making Razi piss himself was only the beginning.
Izanna stretched her body on top of Jason's and whispered the ancient traveling spell her grandmother taught her. Transporting an injured vamp was difficult at best. The added threat of the Nettles made the situation even more tenuous. Izanna held Jason close and fought the stinging icy tendrils by the strength of her will. Due to the extent of Jason's injuries, she risked using this dangerous route for it was the fastest way to get him home.
Those who did not serve Razi were subject to the deadly barbed creatures that could kill a vampire by freezing and shattering their bodies. The corridor warmed as she neared the opening.
Seconds later, they materialized on her bed. She caught her breath and hurried to strengthen the protective barrier surrounding her mansion. Calling upon the spirits of previous queens and the Dark Goddess, Izanna petitioned her cause. She needed something strong enough to contain Razi, at least for enough time for her to make love to Jason. Her skin prickled with the rise of energy in response to the goddess and the queens of the past granting her supplication.
The air stirred with invisible wings bringing the clean sweet fragrance of rain. Now that the protective barrier was up, Izanna could focus her attention on Jason.
She dissolved his bloodstained shirt and sucked in a breath of admiration. His toned abs needed tasting and her body quivered in anticipation at the delightful trail of light hair leading to the prize beneath his worn denims.
Her fingertips brushed the lightest touches across the hard muscles of his stomach. Izanna closed her eyes and opened her arms to gather her
power. A crackle resembling electricity rent the air. She opened her eyes and began the sacred chant. With every pass of her palms over Jason's injuries, healing energy poured into him repairing the damage to his battered body.
Using this skill made her even more vulnerable to the wrath of the Overlord, which sucked. Literally.
Izanna fought a pang of disappointment. She had wanted enough energy to make love to Jason in all the ways she imagined over the past four years and prayed to the Dark Goddess to help her once more.
His magnificent body was whole again and she reacted to the sight.
Izanna couldn't help herself. She wrapped her hand around his aroused cock, tracing him from ridge to tip. He released a sigh of pleasure and her heart filled with joy at the chance to finally touch him. Oh goddess, she wanted to taste and brand him as hers. Only hers.
"I've been thinking of you in that position all evening,” he said in a low voice.
Startled, she released her hold. “Do you feel up to it?” The reaction time varied when the wounds suffered were great.
He pushed up on his elbow gestured to his erection. “It seems I'm already up for the occasion. And I believe you're wearing too many clothes."
Jason continued to harden around her gentle grip. The pad of her fingertip traced the smooth head and he growled deep in his throat.
The wicked gleam in his eyes made her shiver in excitement. Izanna brought her finger to her lips and sucked. His eyes heated with desire. “I'm the one in control, Jason. Can you deal with that?” She needed to control their lovemaking for many reasons. Was Jason man enough to accept this?
He nodded. “I'm man enough to bow to you as Queen of the Darkness, Izanna, for now. Make no mistake, we will fuck—and on my terms."
She untied the belt of her silk robe and grasped the edges. The filmy robe fluttered to the floor like an amethyst butterfly. Her nipples puckered from the rush of cool air as she stood in front of him.
Izanna smiled and climbed on the bed. He'd rolled to his back and waited for her. “Thank you,” she whispered before pressing her lips to his.
Summer Solstice Scorchers Page 8
