by Tina Donahue
Colors dominated Nikoli’s dream. Bright reds, yellows, purples and blues flashed boldly from the other side of the portal, capturing his attention, along with Sazaar’s.
She put out her hand, her long, slender fingers stroking the sterile air on their side. Excited, she murmured, “This time, I must touch them.”
“No.” Nikoli’s hand shot out to stop her. She slipped from his grasp, crossing over, disappearing into the outlawed realm.
“Sazaar!” he shouted.
She didn’t answer. The gateway began to close.
Without stopping to think or to reason, Nikoli followed her to the other side—a large room crammed with hundreds of young men and women.
A film of bluish smoke hovered inches above them, its acrid stench stinging Nikoli’s nose. White lights swept the space, the illumination gliding over the crowd, reflecting off the females’ glittery garments. With their arms lifted, the women locked their attention on the men as they swayed their lush bodies in time to the throbbing music.
Nikoli felt its beat in his belly. He sensed Sazaar’s presence.
Peering through the crowd, he saw a series of dark sofas against one of the plum-colored walls. On each, males and females indulged their carnal hunger, their mouths and fingers travelling over each other’s bodies.
One young man with curly brown hair slipped his hand beneath a woman’s sparkling red top, releasing her ample breast. Her nipple was dusky and large. He took it into his mouth. Her lips, painted black, widened in a grin.
Next to them, another young woman had pushed to her feet, tottering slightly on her gold high heels. Facing the sofa, her back to the man with her, she lifted her short gold gown to her waist, exposing her naked ass. One of the white lights swept over her plump cheeks, revealing them to the crowd. The young woman glanced over her shoulder, her smile feral. Leaning down to the arm of the sofa, she spread her legs, displaying her vulnerable cunt, inviting the man to fill her.
Throwing back his head, he drove his hard cock into her channel. The white light bathed him in its glow, revealing his depraved expression and the act. For all to see, he plunged into the young woman, bringing her to climax, forestalling his own. With his cock slick from her juicy cunt, he penetrated her anus.
Her mouth opened on what seemed to be an ecstatic moan, drowned out by the music, conversation, laughter.
Blood pounded in Nikoli’s ears. Dizzy, he blinked rapidly, trying to maintain control.
Someone from behind bumped into him.
Looking over, he saw a young woman with blue eyes and black hair cut short like the men’s.
Brows arched, she shouted, “Sorry.” Smiling, she asked, “Wanna dance?”
Her teeth were straight and white, the incisors normal, not yet fangs. Nikoli glanced past her at the flash of blonde hair in his peripheral vision. Focused on it, he couldn’t move or think.
In what seemed like slow motion, Sazaar turned away from the man she’d been speaking with, her attention slipping past dozens of writhing bodies, at last reaching him.
After a shock of recognition, she smiled.
She wore the expression of a predator.
Nikoli locked his knees, forcing himself not to retreat. He met her stare, knowing he couldn’t show fear. Advancing through the crowd at startling speed, she reached his side within seconds, touching his hand.
His pulse jumped at her clammy flesh, his body wanting to recoil from it. Standing his ground, knowing what he had to do, he remained.
Her smile faltered even as her brows drew together in caution. Although she shouted above the noise, her pitch was barely loud enough for him to hear. “Why have you come, Nikoli?”
He kept his hand at his side, his fingertips touching the stake hidden in his clothing. “I wanted to see you again.”
Sazaar’s expression didn’t change. She stared as though trying to read his thoughts. “Why?”
“To see if you were all right.”
She searched his face. White lights swept past. The music grew frenzied. Around them, men and women had stopped dancing. Mouths touched. Hands explored. Geometric designs in vivid colors pulsed from the screens on the walls.
Sazaar continued to regard him. At last, her features relaxed, revealing a bit of the woman she’d once been, gentle and kind. “You were worried about me, Nikoli?” Longing rang in her words. “You cared?”
“You’re my mate, Sazaar.”
She studied him, disappointment, then anger crossing her face. “Honor brought you here?”
Realizing his mistake, he lied, “You did.” He jerked away at another woman bumping into him. Turning back to Sazaar, he asked, “Is there a place where we can speak?”
Her gaze slid from the woman to him. “In the alley.”
Damp air whisked through the narrow space cluttered with debris, a mound of trash shoved against one wall. Above it, stained papers clung to the brick façade. A lone cat, the color of midnight, clawed at the garbage, scratching in time with the muted music pumping from inside.
Despite the chill and her gauzy crimson dress, Sazaar didn’t seem to notice the cold. “Have you come to join us, Nikoli?” She spoke without guile, the predator contained for the moment. “Or have you arrived to destroy me?”
Hand in his pocket, his fingers gripped the stake. He told himself to lie to her, to buy time until he could bring himself to drive the weapon through her heart.
Sudden sorrow swept across her face. “Tell me you care,” she pleaded. “Say you love me. That’s all I ask, Nikoli. That’s all I want…someone to love me. It’s why I crossed over.”
His shoulders and chest ached. He held the stake so tightly, his knuckles hurt. “Does Andris love you, Sazaar?” He sounded as haunted as she did. “Has he given you what you sought?”
Her mouth trembled. Tears brimmed in her eyes.
Never had Nikoli seen his mate appear so lost and vulnerable. It was the moment he’d sought to take her down.
He couldn’t move.
“Do it,” she snapped, her expression turning hard. “Destroy me. I have nothing left.”
He couldn’t pull the stake from his pocket.
Sazaar’s lips curled up in disdain. “How honorable you are, Nikoli. How cautious. How careful. But not careful enough.” Mouth opened, incisors elongating, she lunged at him.
Nikoli’s arm shot up, blocking her.
Giving him a deadly smile, Sazaar sank her fangs into his wrist. Instantaneous pain ripped through his body, burning his flesh, then freezing it. On an agonized bellow, he slammed her against the brick wall, freeing himself.
Staggering back, Nikoli stared at his blood on her lower lip, a drop falling on the swell of her breast.
She caught it with her finger, bringing the tip to her mouth, licking it clean. Facing him, Sazaar spoke to Nikoli with her mind.
“Join us,” she said, her words whispery like the breeze, tempting, intoxicating. “Be with me forever.”
No. Pulse racing, Nikoli forced himself to step back.
Effortlessly, Sazaar followed, her feet not touching the ground. “You want Regina,” her mind accused.
Yes.
“Would you leave her, then? She’s one of us, you know.” Sazaar gestured to the side.
Nikoli stared at what he’d thought was a mound of trash. His mouth opened on a scream as it moved, showing him a flash of red—Regina’s hair. Puncture wounds scarred her pale throat. A fathomless horror filled her face.
“She’s mine now,” Sazaar’s thoughts whispered. “She’s lost to you forever.”
No!
Jerking awake, Nikoli pushed to a sitting position, his body bathed in sweat, his chest pumping with his ragged gasps. He fought to breathe, his heart catching at what he just noticed. Regina’s arm and leg no longer touched him.
Nikoli stared at the space to his side, occupied only by his topcoat, the afghan and rug.
Where is she?
He turned to the windows. On the horizon, a sli
ver of light bled through the heavy clouds, announcing dawn. In here, the fire had died. His clothes and the device were missing.
What had Regina done? How could he have allowed himself to sleep so long?
Cursing himself, Nikoli pushed to his feet, ready to scream her name when he noticed the scent of food cooking. He padded in its direction and glanced down the hall, seeing a pool of yellow light spilling past a doorway.
Nikoli stopped short of entering the room that Regina’s people called a kitchen.
Furnished with dark wood cabinets and skylights over the food preparation area, the expansive space smelled of whatever sizzled in a pan and baked in the oven.
She stood at the counter made of a dark, highly polished stone. Wearing only his sweater, her legs and feet bare, she watched what he knew to be a TV on the counter. A map of the Seattle area filled the screen, along with numbers. The sound was so low, Nikoli couldn’t hear what the weather announcer said, but he read the words.
Today the rain would end. Tonight, the sky would be clear. Ideal conditions for Sazaar and the others.
Misery tightened Regina’s features. Her hand went to her throat.
Snatches of Nikoli’s dream returned. The damp wind. A dark alley. Papers clinging to a wall. A mound of trash. Puncture wounds on her neck. Her face sick with terror.
A sound of animal pain welled in him. Only a rough sigh escaped.
Hearing it, Regina turned. They moved as one, meeting halfway across the room, their caress fierce and desperate. She lavished him with kisses on his temple, chin, the side of his neck, his shoulder, reminding him of the wonder of last night and their inevitable farewell this morning.
Nikoli tightened his arms around Regina, not yet willing to let her go. With his hand on the back of her head, he drove his fingers through her tangled hair, tilted her face and directed her lips to his. Regina moaned, her body sagging against his. The sound, her softness and heat brought back Sazaar’s words in his dream.
“Say you love me. That’s all I ask.”
His mate had given her soul—she’d damned herself to a brutal eternity so that she might know feelings denied them on E2.
What Nikoli experienced now—indescribable warmth, excitement, contentment. Emotions that didn’t matter, not with Regina’s life at risk. Cursing himself for his continuing weakness, Nikoli tore his mouth free of hers, gulped air and eased back.
She followed, wrapping her arms around him, her cheek pressed to his biceps. “I won’t let you go.”
“You have to. We have no—”
“There’s always a choice,” she argued. “I’m not going to let you die for me or anyone else.”
Nikoli ran his hand down her back, touching the soft fabric of his sweater, missing the feel of her skin. Pushing his longing aside, he repeated, “We have no choice. Tell me where you put my clothes.”
“No.”
“There are more upstairs, Regina. All I have to do is take them.”
With a moan of frustration, she tightened her hold on him and spoke quickly. “You have to listen to me. We can trick them, Nikoli. There’s no need for you to go to their lair alone. I’ve been thinking about this for hours. It will work. We can lure them to my house, and once they arrive, we can —”
“No! I won’t allow it.”
“You can’t keep me from doing this,” she countered, shouting as he had. “Sazaar’s not only looking for you; she’s looking for me.”
“She won’t be looking for anyone once I destroy her.”
“And what if you can’t? What if you fail? What happens if their protectors kill you first and you leave me here alone to face what the night will surely bring? Can you guarantee you’ll succeed? Can you promise that?”
Each question, every word, shattered his conviction, delivering doubt, then fear. If he failed, Sazaar would hunt Regina. If not her, then Andris so he could feed on her, draining her to the point where he’d enslave her forever.
Nikoli tightened his fingers into fists, a wave of exasperation and anguish grinding through him. Even so, he tried to pull away from Regina, to continue with his plan, the only one he had.
She held tight. Her manner, so unnerved a moment ago, was stronger now, resolute. “We can go to my house.”
“No.”
“Once we’re there, we’ll wait for Sazaar and the others. Without the rain, she’ll smell us, she’ll find us.”
“And then what? No,” he shouted. “Whatever you’re thinking, it won’t work. I won’t allow it.”
“If I have to, I’ll die fighting with and for you, Nikoli. But I will not allow you to face these monsters alone.”
Unwilling to argue, determined to do what he must, Nikoli reached behind himself, wrapping his fingers around her wrists to pull her away from him.
Regina resisted, her strength a surprise, fueled by what he suspected was her guilt, him offering his life to save hers.
Shoulders sagging, he slid his hands to her back, so narrow and seemingly frail, yet so strong. “Regina, don’t do this.”
She swallowed audibly, then continued. “Just listen to me. I was thinking about how we escaped them when they came into my office. With your device, you opened the portal. What if we used it to our advantage, not to escape them but as a means to—” Her words stalled. She dug her fingers into his ribs.
Instantly, his body tensed. “What is it?”
She didn’t answer.
Nikoli pulled back.
Regina’s attention was on something past him. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
Chapter Ten
She released Nikoli and hurried to the counter, grabbing the TV remote.
“What is it?” he asked again.
Holding up her free hand for silence, she increased the set’s volume, praying she’d been mistaken about what she’d just seen.
The female newscaster spoke gravely. “The two young women are co-workers at Cup-a-Joe’s, a popular Seattle coffee shop.”
Again, the girls’ pictures flashed on the screen, along with a shot of the establishment where they’d worked—the building where Regina had her office suite.
Her body went weak. She leaned against the granite counter.
The announcer continued. “Both went missing last night after their shifts. A local business owner found their purses and identification in the alley behind his office supply store, approximately two blocks from the coffee shop, on a route the young women were known to take to their respective apartments.”
The camera shifted back to the newscaster. Her frosted hair shone beneath the bright studio lights. “Upon finding traces of blood on the purses, the business owner contacted the police. They found no signs of a struggle in the alley. Relatives are holding out hope that the young women are still alive. If anyone saw or heard anything last night, the authorities ask—”
Regina muted the sound. She tried to stop trembling but couldn’t. Her lids sank at Nikoli’s approach.
He turned her to face him, folding her into his embrace, his big, warm body pressed close.
She splayed her fingers on his broad back and spoke without emotion, unable to stomach any more horror. “The girls are gone, aren’t they? Either killed or turned by Sazaar and the others.”
With no hesitation, he nodded.
Regina swallowed, thinking of the young women, kids really, barely into their twenties with their whole lives ahead of them, until now. She pulled in a shaky breath.
Nikoli stroked her back. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have predicted or prevented it.”
“But those things came for me,” she whispered. “If I hadn’t agreed to take Sazaar as my patient, then those girls and you wouldn’t have been in any danger. You’d all be—”
“Regina stop.” He held her close. With his cheek against hers, he murmured, “There was no way for you to stop any of them. Not even if you had guessed what Sazaar was.”
It made perfect sense, as rea
son always did, but it didn’t ease the ache in Regina’s soul. “Their parents are never going to see them again, Nikoli. They’ll never have the comfort of knowing where their children are, putting their bodies to rest. Their mothers…” She stopped, unable to continue, thinking of her own mother if she’d had to go through anything like this.
Nikoli murmured something indistinct, his tone deep and soothing. Wind brushed past the house. Sizzling sounds came from the skillet, followed by a sharp pop.
Flinching at the sound, Regina looked over. She’d forgotten about the bacon she’d been frying and the cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. Food bought by the man who’d once lived here. A breakfast he’d never had a chance to enjoy because Andris had murdered him so casually and callously.
Prick. Fucking prick.
Sudden and frightening rage boiled within Regina, heating her limbs, chest and face. Never a violent person, she wanted to tear Andris apart, to annihilate him as he’d destroyed so many of his victims. Who would he have his sights on tonight? Someone else in her building? A poor soul who would be there past dusk when it was safe for Andris and the others to leave the protection of their lair, to sneak through the night like roaches or—
Regina’s thoughts stalled, then raced. What if he returned for her and found someone she knew?
Carly.
Regina fought against Nikoli’s embrace.
He tightened his hold. “What’s the matter?”
“I have to call Carly, my receptionist. I don’t want her in that building.” Breaking free of him, Regina glanced around the room, searching for a phone, not seeing any. Panicked, she opened drawers, slamming them when she didn’t find what she wanted.
The bacon popped again.
Hurrying to the stove, she turned off the burner and oven.
Nikoli went to her, his naked feet slapping the hardwood floor. “What are you looking for?”
“A cell phone.” She shut another drawer and yanked open the next. In it was an iPhone with a security hurdle to overcome before she could even use the damn thing. She was about to toss it back into the drawer when she saw a Post-it note with a series of figures. Passwords?
Her hands shook so badly, her thumb trembled above the device’s sleep/wake button. Holding it down, she whispered, “Please work.”
