I frowned at the last word. It was true, and yet knowing it, hearing it, always summoned horrid memories.
His smile chanced a return, but it didn’t linger. “Anything to do with you, and he’s distracted. Even hiring an assassin, he’s sloppy. He can’t see straight when it comes to you. Maybe it’s because he’s full-demon. He can’t fathom why he’s drawn to you. Either way, you’re the key to stopping him.”
I sighed and let my stare wander about the room. “I think it’s a power thing. After what you helped me do today, I’m pretty sure it’s not me he wants—or wanted. It’s my demon. Now… Now I just think he wants me gone. I walked away from him, and nobody does that, especially not a half-blood. My brush-off would have slighted his honor.”
Stefan smiled softly. “No doubt. His ego too.”
“What about you?” I leaned forward to turn the picture frame toward me. The photo was the same one I’d seen earlier: the handsome fifty-something man with the catch-of-the-day at his feet. “What’s your story?”
Stefan averted his gaze once more, dipping his chin before blinking slowly.
“I’m sorry.” I said. The quiet became a little too awkward. “It’s none of my business.” If it was anything like my past then I could understand why he didn’t want to tell me. “We survived though, right?” Barely, in my case, but barely was enough.
“Against the odds.”
Something in those three words, perhaps the weary tone or their implied meaning, whatever it was, it made me feel such a depth of compassion for him that a stubborn lump formed in my throat. On impulse, I shifted off the couch and moved to the cushion beside him. Perched awkwardly on the edge, I clasped my hands in my lap with a nervous smile ticking across my lips. “I had no idea there were people like you out there. I just thought it was demon or be damned. Then, Akil taught me how to summon my demon with intent, not just by accident. He woke her in me, and together we killed my owner. It was the best day of my life. My owner, Damien…he was a sick son-of-a-bitch. Vile in many ways. Akil taught me…that it didn’t have to be like that.”
“You were lucky,” Stefan said softly. I caught an undertone of sadness and knew he understood.
I was lucky. If Damien hadn’t paraded me in front of Akil, I might not have survived much longer. Had Akil not taken it upon himself to free me… Had Akil been worse than Damien… Had I not been strong enough to maintain my sanity through all of the pain and degradation…
“My point is.” I cleared my throat. “We’re the products of our past. Without those experiences, as horrid as they were, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
Stefan moved so quickly I barely saw him move at all. He was suddenly very close. His hand hovered beside my cheek as though he’d lost his nerve at the last second. I froze. For a few moments, I didn’t breathe, didn’t move. Then he eased a little nearer, his lips so close all it would take was a little give on my part, and we’d kiss. As his hand lightly touched my cheek, a sliver of power snapped between us. Its dart-like flicker forced a hiss through my teeth. He laid his hand against my cheek, and the chill of his element slid over me, a shivery tremor following in its wake as a traitorous muffled groan slipped from my lips. I could have kissed him, should have… He was there, so close, but I knew if I did, it wouldn’t stop there. My heart fluttered nervously. The urge to close that tiny distance between us was so intense that I had to grip the couch to stop myself. He took a breath just as his lips brushed mine, so lightly, like the gentle flutter of snowflakes.
I sprang back, hand clasped over my mouth, the other pulling the shirt down to cover my thighs. “I er…” I waved a hand in the air, gesturing wildly. “I should um…you know, get back—get some sleep. Not that I… Erm… Yeah.” Stop waffling before you say something you’ll regret, I thought. The tease of desire had ignited inside of me at his touch. My element bloomed quickly, spilling heat though me. My heat and his cold, fire and ice, it was wrong on so many levels. And I wanted it.
He grinned wickedly, his demeanor as cool as ice. Damn him.
I clamped my mouth closed, afraid I might tell him what I really wanted, although he probably read it all on my face. His eyes in the dark held all manner of tempting promises. The gape of his collar betrayed a hint of his sculpted body. I could so easily have sat back down and undone those shirt buttons, one little button at a time. Hot lips on his cool mouth, tasting, exploring. I’d lay him back. Slip my hands beneath his shirt and let my heated touch ease across the rippled plain of his sculpted chest, across the scorpion tattoo, lower… Hot, flustered, and within a few heartbeats of giving in to temptation, I turned quickly and headed for the stairs.
A howl fractured the serenity of the night. The hollow sound of the beast sliced through the heat of desire and dashed my wanton thoughts. Stefan was on his feet. He plucked the katana from the bag of weapons and tugged off the scabbard. He flicked the light off in the kitchen and then returned, snatching a gun from the bag before joining me at the foot of the stairs. “It can’t know we’re here. Not yet,” he whispered. “But this isn’t the city, and we’re the only things out here.”
In other words, we’re screwed.
Another howl echoed outside, closer this time. The chill of fear swept over me. I tried to summon my element, but the preventative marks on the wall snuffed it out before it could breach my flesh. Stefan shook his head, sensing the stirring of my power, then handed me the gun. I noticed it was the gun I thought he’d lost when I felt its familiar weight in my hand.
“You have seven rounds in the magazine,” he said. “Use them.”
“What if we go outside? Use our elements.”
“Only if it finds us.” He planted a hand on my shoulder and forced me to sit, my back against the wall. “There’s a chance it may not… Call enough of your power to see it.”
I flexed my elemental muscles, calling just enough to spill a veil of power in front of my eyes. The last time we’d dealt with the hounds, we’d only escaped by hiding. This time, hiding was all we had. I cupped the gun in my left hand, right hand around the grip, finger off the trigger but ready against the trigger guard.
Stefan did a double-take, then grinned. “Flick the safety off.”
“You enjoy this crap way too much,” I grumbled, doing as he’d advised.
“Slide the chamber back.”
I skewed a scowl in his direction, catching that glint of humor in his eyes. “I have fired this gun before—” The kitchen windows exploded inward.
Glass blasted through the kitchen doorway, showering the spot on the couch where we’d been seated moments before.
“Go!” Stefan shoved me up the stairs as the thunderous crash of splintered glass and wood filled the air. I stumbled on the steps, clambering up on all fours as the heaving bulk of hairless hound slammed its way through the kitchen doorway, taking out half the wall with it. I got a glimpse of its blood-red eyes as it swung its head around before I finally found my feet and dashed up the remaining steps and down the hallway.
Stefan flung open a bedroom door. “The window. Go. Get outside.”
I was inside the room before I realized he wasn’t following. “What are you doing?”
“Go. I’ll keep it here. Run. Don’t stop. Just run.” He was gone.
I headed for the window and yanked open the lower section enough so I could duck outside. The wind blasted into the room, whipping around my bare legs as I stood frozen. I couldn’t leave him. Gun in hand, I turned and darted back out into the hall. The massive hound had clawed its way up the staircase, knocking the banister out in its furious attempt to get to Stefan. I saw the beast snap its jaws together, lunging at Stefan as he swung the sword across its snout. Its whimpers sliced through my skull. Teeth gritted, I raised the gun, steadied it in my left hand, and aimed down the barrel. As the hound lunged at Stefan again, I fired. The gun jumped in my hand. The casing ejected. The hound jerked and swung its crimson glare on me. I fired again. The bullet sliced down the right sid
e of its hideous face. Again, and this time, the bullet hit the Hellhound right between the eyes, blasting through its skull. The beast jerked back and collapsed, slipping from the landing to land with a dull thud on the living room floor.
Stefan lunged at me, grabbed my left hand, and tugged me forward, back down what remained of the stairs. The hound’s breathing snuffled from its wet jaws. It wasn’t dead. They don’t die.
“Quickly.” Stefan pulled me toward the door. He yanked it open. And froze.
I plowed into the back of him, about to ask why he’d stopped when I saw the mountainous bulk of Hellhound blocking his path. The beast hunched forward, fat paws splayed on the path. Pools of glistening drool gathered below its rippling lips. I reeled back. The hound behind us snarled and shook its head, snapping its jaws together as it regained its senses. Instinct tugged on my demon, but she couldn’t break through whatever magic those marks on the walls performed. Backing into Stefan, I slipped my left hand into his. The Hellhound beneath the stairs stamped its feet, steadying itself. It ducked down, legs ready to spring.
I lifted the gun, not entirely sure how many bullets I had left. My arm trembled, aim all over the place. Then I heard an all too familiar voice.
“Invite me in, and I’ll call them off.”
Flinging my stare over my shoulder, I watched in horror as Akil walked around the hound outside, running a hand down its quivering, hairless flank. The beast jerked its snout, sniffing the air and chomping its jaws. There could be no doubt who controlled them. Stefan stepped back into me, then glanced behind him at the hound beneath the stairs. His eyes found mine, a brutal honesty raw on his face. We were in trouble. I tightened my hand in his, saw the fleeting smile on his lips, and then he let go to face Akil.
“Come in, make yourself at home.” Stefan stepped aside, sweeping a gesture into the house. “Sorry about the mess. Unexpected guests.”
Akil stepped across the threshold. He slid his gaze over the chaos in the room before straightening his shirt cuffs. His stoic expression gave nothing away. Dressed immaculately in a dinner jacket and black trousers, right down to his polished Oxford shoes, he looked every inch the city tycoon. Silver cufflinks caught the moonlight seeping in through the back windows. The same light danced in his dark eyes when they settled on me. Instinct told me to shirk back. I might have done, had I not learned what he’d done. The suave son-of-a-bitch had murdered Sam—my friend—in cold blood. I was under no illusions about Akil.
I stood there in my underwear, wearing Stefan’s shirt and glared back at Akil, my chin up, shoulders straight. I was not backing down.
He humphed a laugh and said, “Amitto,” with a flurry of his hand. The Hellhounds slumped in unison. Their leathery hides began to dissolve. Fizzling embers devoured them, spiraling dust into the air until nothing remained.
With the hounds gone, I became aware of the wind flowing through the open door and through the house, into the kitchen where the panoramic windows had been smashed. I heard the trees outside creaking against the weight of the wind, branches snapping. The forest groaned as though it recognized the ageless forces of chaos inside the house. I lifted the gun, my aim surprisingly steady.
Akil glared back at me and smiled. “Shoot me.”
Finger on the trigger, I wanted to. It would take just a twitch, the smallest of movements to blow him away. “You killed Sam.”
Akil looked away, blinking slowly. His smile widened. “Is that what Stefan told you?”
“No.” My hand began to tremble. “I saw it in the sword.”
He met my glare once more. “Did you? You’re sure? Because… from what you’ve told me in the past… The images can be difficult to define. Blurry. Inconsistent.”
No, he wasn’t going to do this. I knew what I’d seen. I had felt the sword plunge through Sam’s chest. It was real. “Why?” I hissed through gritted teeth.
“Put the gun down, Muse.” The growl beneath his words offered a clear warning.
Stefan stood beside me. He reached up and closed his hand around the top of the gun, bringing the weapon down, so it pointed toward the floor in front of Akil. “You don’t want to do that.”
He eased the gun from my hand and flicked the safety back on. Frowning, I watched him toss the gun onto the couch and then hand the sword to Akil. Unease crawled across my skin as Akil lifted the katana in his right hand, his heated gaze admiring the blade. “A fine weapon, don’t you agree, Muse?”
Stefan stood to Akil’s left, hand tucked casually into his jeans pocket.
I frowned, eyes narrowing on Stefan. What was going on here? I searched his face for any sign to indicate this was wrong, but he just stood there, cold.
Akil ran a hand down the flat plain of the blade. “Your little stunt earlier, drawing your element from beyond the veil… That was... astonishing. I knew the moment you called the heat to you. Even in Boston, I felt the shift in power. It’s how I found you.”
My hands clenched into fists. “I’m not the pathetic half-human girl you think I am.”
“I know that. Why do you think I’ve kept you all these years? I even had Stefan test you, to see whether you were capable.”
I clamped my teeth together. Anger trembled through my muscles. My demon twisted, eager to break free but unable to do so. Stefan didn’t deny Akil’s words. Even under the weight of my stare, he didn’t flinch. He just met my gaze as though none of this mattered to him.
Akil’s lips hitched up at the corner as he glanced from Stefan to me. “Stefan’s working for me, Muse. Always was.”
I knew that, well sort of, but was I meant to know it? If I revealed I knew, would that put Stefan in danger? “What—what do you mean?” Was Stefan still working for him? Even now?
Akil closed the distance between us in a few strides. I stumbled back, bumping against the wall as he invaded my personal space. “You don’t get to walk away from me, Muse. Ever,” he said with a snarl.
I sneered up at him. “I got that when you tried to kill me at the marina.”
He slid a hand over my shoulder and laced his fingers around my throat, but the tightening of his grip didn’t come. His thumb rubbed lightly against my neck. “That was…a mistake.”
“A mistake? I nearly died, Akil.”
“That was not my intention…” He bowed his head, bumping his forehead against mine as he brought his hand higher, cupping my face. “I just meant to… I wanted you to react. To see your demon. She’s quite remarkable.”
I turned my head away, fighting to breathe beneath his overbearing presence.
“That’s what this has all been about,” he whispered in my ear.
Hands on his chest, I pushed against him, trying to force him back, but I might as well have been pushing against stone.
He breathed in through my hair, his chin brushing my forehead. “It’s her I want. Not your weak human shell.”
“Akil… Please.” I shoved again, pushing hard enough to force him back a step, but that only gave him the room he needed to bring the sword up between us and press the blade against my throat.
The sharp edge nicked my skin. A warm trickle of blood dribbled down my neck. I pleaded with wide-eyes, snatching breaths where I could without worsening the dig of the sword against my flesh.
“Your previous owner had no notion of the creature he kept in chains.” Akil slid his left hand over my hip.
I couldn’t stop the shivering. As the demon thrashed inside me, my human body had become riddled with fear. My heart galloped, thudding in my ears. “You don’t own me,” I growled.
“No?” He leaned into me, pushing the blade against my neck, forcing my head back. “I beg to differ.”
I heard the metallic chink-chink of a gun slider being pulled back. “Step away from her.” Stefan had pressed the gun against the back of Akil’s head. From my awkward angle, I peered down my nose and over Akil’s shoulder at Stefan. His element swirled in his arctic eyes, their intense blue fracturing deep, revealing his
ice-bound soul.
Akil chuckled. The lurid ripples of his laughter rode over me. My head was light and my legs weak. Fear robbed me of my will. “I’ll cut her throat,” he snarled.
“Do it. But know I’ll blow your skull apart. Immortal or not, that’s gotta hurt.”
Akil raked his gaze across me, almost as though his glare alone could slice through me. He measured his options. Indecision narrowed his eyes and then, reluctantly, he pulled back. Stefan countered behind him. Only when Akil withdrew the sword from my throat did I slump against the wall, able to breathe again. After dabbing at my neck, my trembling hand came away slick with blood.
I looked up at Akil in time to catch a twisted smile lashing across his lips. He didn’t resemble the man I could have loved, didn’t even look like the demon that inhabited his body. He was a stranger to me. The darkness had corrupted him, creating a monster, or had he always been that way?
“You fell for her, didn’t you?” I noticed Akil’s fingers flexing around the sword’s grip. “I killed the last man who touched her.”
Stefan couldn’t help looking at me. I may have seen some acknowledgement in his eyes, right before Akil twisted around, knocking Stefan’s gun-arm up before plunging the katana deep into Stefan’s left shoulder, driving him to his knees.
Instinct lurched me forward as Stefan cried out. He fought to bring the gun around, but Akil twisted the sword deeper into his flesh, wrenching a strangled cry from Stefan’s lips.
“Stop!” I yelled.
Akil swung his head around, yanking the blade free from Stefan’s flesh. He rounded on me, bringing the bloodied sword around to point the tip at me. “You are mine,” he growled. “And I’m taking you home.”
“No!” He didn’t mean home to Boston, he meant the netherworld, and the thought flushed my veins with white-hot terror, wrenching my strength out from under me. I dropped to my knees. “No, please.” I shook my head from side to side, and tears blurred my vision. Panic tightened my chest. I clenched my fist over my heart. I couldn’t go back home.
Demons & Djinn: Nine Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Novels Featuring Demons, Djinn, and other Bad Boys of the Underworld Page 158
