Selene ran back to the front of the house. The Russian visitors stormed out and headed for the cars.
“Stupid girl. She has no idea who she’s dealing with.”
“It’s Chase’s fault for trying to kill her. If he’d kept his wits about him, none of this would have happened.”
“We never should have taken him in.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll just have to give her some incentive to want our help.” The Vampire pulled out a phone. “Time to set things in motion.”
A pit formed in Selene’s stomach.
The cars pulled away and a ripple raced through her. She looked down. Damn. Her spell was fading. Stupid Earth plane. If there were more magic here this wouldn’t be a problem. She had to get to the compound. If Neeman found her here... If Mason found her here… They would never trust her. Running down the driveway, she slipped out the gate behind the sedans.
She ran down the beautifully manicured street toward the compound. The houses in the area were nicely cared for, but none of them were half as nice as Coven House. Ironic but not surprising that the nicest area of Chicago was full of people, where lower areas were boarded up and dying off.
Half a mile down the road, a shiny black motorcycle caught her eye and she slowed her pace. A smile crept over her face.
“Perfect.”
She rushed to the bike and tipped it off its kickstand. She snorted when she saw the keys dangling from the ignition. The world really had changed.
“Their loss.”
Placing her hand on the handlebar, she became completely visible again.
Time to go.
The bike roared to life and she sped away.
* * * *
Selene pulled the bike into the warehouse and hid it in a dark corner behind some supplies. She yanked the keys from the ignition and ran for the elevator; there was no telling when Neeman would return. She needed to make sure she was in her room when he arrived.
Her heart sank. Not that he’d come check on her. After what she’d done, she wouldn’t blame him if he never spoke to her again.
“Who cares?” Her inner voice chimed in for the first time in hours.
“I do.” Her words surprised even her. She did care. She cared what he thought and how he felt about her, though she had no clue why. He wasn’t her husband. Hell, he wasn’t even her boyfriend. He was her captor, warden, and babysitter.
As she plopped down on her bed, the words rang false in her ears. She was lying to herself.
“If that’s how you really feel about him, why did you come back? Why didn’t you just take off on that motorcycle and keep on riding till you found humans?”
She grabbed her pillow, threw it over her face, and screamed.
Her inner voice laughed. “That’s what I thought.”
“Shut up! You aren’t supposed to be talking to me.” How was her inner voice talking to her?
She rolled over and stared at the wall. There was no way she had feelings for Neeman.
A rumbling sound from above made Selene look up. The ceiling shook and in the corner the standing lamp crashed to the floor.
What the hell?
The elevator rang in the hallway. She darted to her door and grabbed the knob as a hissing sound sent a shiver up her spine. Selene swallowed, closed her eyes, and breathed deep. She knew that sound. A million years could pass and she would still know the sound of every monster out there.
Despite the magick Selene had invoked to keep her at bay, her demon half broke from her cage and screamed like a banshee.
They’d been too late.
When Neeman had picked up Rex and brought him back, Rex had sent a signal. And now the demons had found her.
Selene covered her ears with her hands and a wave of nausea hit her. A fine sheen of sweat blossomed on her skin as her inner beast clawed at her to be let loose.
Outside the door, shouts and gunfire bounced down the hallway, muffled by the closed door.
“Do something. Go out and fight.”
“I can’t,” she cried.
“Then let me out.”
“No!”
More gunfire rang out and a roar shook the walls. She needed to get out of here. Where was Neeman? Her phone! She needed her phone.
She rushed about the room throwing new clothes and shoes everywhere. She grabbed one of the new bags and slung it over her shoulder. Then she stuffed a pair of underwear in it, and a hairbrush and found the phone under a pile of clothing.
“What’s wrong with you? Demons in the hallway and you’re looking to comb your hair?”
“Shut up! I have to think!”
“Fight. It’s the only way.”
No! She should stay hidden and wait for Neeman to come. She swiped the phone to turn it on. She found Neeman’s number and dialed it. The phone beeped and turned off.
What?
She tried again, and again it beeped and turned off. She hit the phone on her hand.
“Why won’t you work?”
A terrible shrieking bell went off in the hallway and suddenly water poured down on her.
“Great, just what I needed. A shower.”
The lights flickered and went out. A set of dim backup lights turned on. The acrid smell of smoke drifted under the door. She glanced around the room. Everything was soaked.
Panic settled in her chest. She couldn’t just sit here and let the whole place burn down around her while she drowned.
She grabbed the door handle and pulled the door wide. A billow of smoke entered the room making her cough. Down the hall, near the elevator, the walls and ceiling were alight. Three trackers were engaged in a battle with two demons. The giant human-looking demons with eyes like pitch and black ooze dripping from their lips slashed and spit at the Vampires. Everywhere their spit landed, the floor melted away. Ash demons.
“Kill them.”
She didn’t want to get involved, she wanted to make a run for it. But there was nowhere to go. One of the Vampires fell to the ground, a sizzling hole through his chest. They were all going to die if she didn’t do something.
Selene took a deep breath, dropped her bag, and slipped off her flats. She ran toward the demons and was three rooms down when a massive shape jumped in her path and shoved her backward. She flew through the air and landed in a heap, sliding on the wet ground back to where she’d started.
The air whooshed out of her lungs as her head hit the cement with a thwack. Lights exploded into her vision and she blinked rapidly trying to clear the stars. This was no time to get caught blind. She wiped water droplets from her face and pushed her hair back.
“Ah, there you are, Princess. We’ve been looking for you.” An incendiary demon smiled and strode toward her, the water glistening on his blackened skin.
She sucked in huge gulps of air trying to get the tightness in her chest to dissipate. Not fully able to see, she leaned on the wall and got to her feet. Her head pounded and a trickle of blood skimmed down her temple to her cheek.
“Let me out!”
The demon advanced, his massive frame taking up the entire hallway. She needed to act fast.
She cradled her arm and massaged her shoulder, her vision clearing. “Please. Just go. Leave me be.”
He laughed and continued to advance. “You should savor this moment, Princess, because it shall be the last time you feel no pain in a long while. You ran away from your father and he is not very happy about it.” The ancient language slithered from his mouth.
She widened her eyes and backed away. “Please, don’t hurt me.”
He grabbed her by her right arm and she cried out.
He snorted. “Stop mewling like a newborn babe. You are the daughter of a god. It disrespects his honor for you to act so low.”
Selene straightened and centered her energy, dropping the facade. “And what about now?”
She thrust her hand forward and called upon her inner demon. Her baser self roared to life. Selene’s nails lengthened to the size of pencils. She slammed her hand inside the demon’s chest cavity and grasped his oversized heart. He gasped and stumbled backward. Selene held fast as he fell away. His eyes widened and blood poured from his mouth. His claws dug deep into the drywall, ripping it away as he hit the ground.
She jumped on top of him, his heart still in her fist. “You tell my father I’ll see him soon enough.”
The demon coughed once and then his eyes dimmed. She threw the heart on the floor and ran for the elevator. She bounded over the body of the dead Vampire and made for the first ash demon.
“Oblittero.” She slid into the demon and her hand connected with the demon’s chest before he could make a move. A pulse of heat travelled down her arm and out her palm. A hole singed his chest and his skin lit up from within.
The second demon swung at her but she ducked. He missed and hit the overhead light, showering the florescent glass bulbs down on everyone.
She whirled in a circle, and then slammed him in the center of his chest. “Eradico.”
“Run!” she yelled.
She sprang at the two stunned Vampires and grabbed them by their shirts, pulling them behind her. She scooped up her flats and bag as she passed.
The Vampires followed her as a high whistle permeated the air. They needed to get out of the hall.
“In here,” she yelled and ducked into a room. The Vampires followed. She slammed the door shut just as a blast shook the entire compound. The door rattled with force and she leaned on it, keeping it closed.
The ceiling cracked and plaster fell in giant chunks.
“We need to get out of here,” yelled one of the Vampires.
“The whole place is going to come down,” said the other.
Selene nodded. If they stayed here, they died.
She looked around. She was in Neeman’s room.
One of the trackers flung the door open. “Let’s get to the elevator.” He disappeared into the hall.
Selene went to follow them and stopped. She looked at Neeman’s closet and opened it. Inside sat his wooden box. She knelt and pulled it from the closet.
She set her hand on top of the box. “Minor.”
The box shook and shrunk to the size of a small jewelry box. She grabbed it and shoved it in her purse with her shoes.
The trackers ran back in. “The elevator’s gone.”
She rushed to the door. The fire had spread down the hall and was quickly approaching. A siren sounded in the hall. A red light flashed overhead.
“Come on,” said one. “We’ll take the emergency stairs the other way.”
He slid out of the room and she followed behind. All around, fire and debris fell from the ceilings.
A roar emanated from the floor above and she shuddered. Only one thing made that sound.
Selene and the two Vampires hit the stairwell, and had ascended half a story when the door burst in and four demons rushed down toward them.
“There she is,” one of them yelled.
“Down, down, down.” She tore down the stairs past the door they’d come through and down the last flight. They opened the door and stepped into a small gray hallway.
“Try the elevator. I’ll hold them off.” She placed her hand on the handlebar. “Securus.” The bar glowed white hot. She backed away a step.
“The elevator’s destroyed,” one of the Vampires called.
Damn. They were trapped.
The demons hit the stairwell door from the other side, making her jump. They tried the handle and swore in Draconic. She swallowed hard. Her magick was waning. She needed to recharge. The gray metal door began to glow and the smell of burning metal tickled her nose.
“We have to get out of this hall.”
“Down into the arena,” one of the Vampires said.
She reached down and set her palm on the floor in front of the door.
“What are you doing?” the Vampire called.
“Ignis Laqueium,” she whispered.
“We better move it, girl. That’s gonna be one hell of a fire.”
“I know. I know,” she muttered.
She stood and ran to the Vampires. They closed the door behind them to the small observation room. She sloshed through two inches of water to the window. On the arena floor stood a dozen people, weapons ready, scanning the upper area.
One of the Vampires banged on the door. “Open up! It’s Kirt and Jonas.”
The group looked at each other but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
The Vampire banged on the door and yelled again and one of the vampyr on the floor broke from the pack and ran up the ramp. As he reached the door, an ear-splitting explosion blasted the side wall in from the observation room. Time slowed as pieces of the cement blew inward like a high-speed snow storm. Selene flew backward through the glass window. Gravity caught up to her and she fell to the dirt arena below with a thud. Her vision blurred once more. Dust flew all around her and she coughed and gagged, trying to suck in a deep breath.
A tremendous roar sounded above her and her vision focused enough to see what was coming for them. A gigantic brown beast with two dog-dragon-like heads lumbered onto the ramp that lead down to the arena. A hellian. Her father’s personal pet. The animal sniffed the air, trained its eyes on her, and then howled.
Crap!
“Move girl! Move, or let me take over!”
Pops of gunfire sounded around her as she stumbled to her feet. The hellian advanced and the ramp creaked and groaned under its tremendous weight. Bullets struck it everywhere making it stop and shake its head. It roared in rage and started down the ramp once more.
Selene’s mind whirled with despair. She couldn’t go back. She couldn’t. The darkness, the demons, the despair. Even as the daughter of Mephisto, she didn’t want to be back in that place. It was even worse than the fae realm.
The gunfire ceased as one by one the Vampires, vampyr, and humans ran out of bullets. In the upper window, several faces appeared with pitch-black eyes.
They were surrounded.
“Do something,” she shouted to her inner beast.
The voice cackled with laughter.
“About damn time girl. You have to say my name.”
“Seraphine!”
Fire ignited within her. Starting in her belly, the inferno blazed and travelled up to her chest. Selene backed down. Allowing Seraphine to take over but refusing to lose consciousness this time. Panic settled inside her as she lost control of her limbs and a cackle of laughter that was not her own rose from her throat.
Her fingernails lengthened like sharp knives and her teeth descended into her mouth. Her skin grew dark and her eyesight sharpened. Selene looked on as Seraphine took over.
“Back up,” she told the others in a voice all too low and strange.
The demons above gnashed their teeth at her. The hellian reached the bottom of the ramp and stepped off. The ramp collapsed behind it. The beast roared in the air and Seraphine lifted her head and answered its call.
“Hellian of the other plane, I call thee and bid thee obey,” she yelled in the ancient language.
The animal pawed the ground and growled, showing row upon row of razor sharp teeth.
“The hellian obeys no one but your father,” a demon yelled from above.
“Then it shall die as a message to you all. I am Seraphine, daughter to Mephisto, Lord of Destruction, and I will be slave to no one.”
She ran at the hellian. The animal charged at the same time. She leapt into the air and landed on the beast’s back. The animal’s two heads swung in different directions, both trying to get at her, but she dug the nails from one hand into its spine and held fast. With the other hand, she swiped at the right head. Deep wounds dripped onto the dirt floor as the animal gnashed at her and spun in circles.
The animal made a wild attempt to bite her leg and she slashed at its exposed throat. The hellian gurgled and acid poured from its throat, hitting the ground with a sizzling, popping sound. The second head reared back and roared then the beast let forth a burst of fire from its gullet. She slashed through the animal’s throat.
“Get down!” She jumped from the animal and ran for cover, but they were in an arena, and there wasn’t any.
* * * *
Neeman’s phone buzzed in his pocket again. The first call from Selene had dropped. The reception down in the compound wasn’t that great in some areas.
Then Riley’s phone buzzed, and Stephos’ as well. The hairs on Neeman’s neck prickled.
“What’s going on?” Danika asked.
“Neeman,” he said, hitting his Bluetooth. The line was fuzzy and he couldn’t make out the words. He looked to Riley and Stephos. They too were having a hard time understanding their calls.
Just then Mason lurched and gasped. His hands shook and he grabbed the back of his chair, his nails lengthening.
“Mason, what’s wrong?” Danika moved to his side.
“Trouble,” Mason panted. He locked eyes with Neeman. “You need to go. Get to the compound.”
“How do you know that? What kind of trouble?” Danika looked around the group. “Someone better tell me what the hell is going on!”
Mason’s skin darkened and the bones in his face shifted violently. Danika bent over Mason’s large frame and spoke softly into his ear.
“Come on.” Neeman motioned to Riley and Stephos. They ran for the exit and stopped when the ground shook and an explosion sounded somewhere north of Coven House.
Selene!
“What was that?” asked Danika.
“Go,” Mason bellowed. “I’ll follow.”
Panic drove Neeman’s instincts into overdrive.
He exited the back of the atrium at top speed, raced around Coven House through the garden, with Riley and Stephos in tow. Above the trees, a plume of smoke came from the direction of the compound.
He reached the driveway, pulled open the driver’s side door, and hopped in. The other two slid in as well. He turned the engine over and backed out.
“What’s going on, boss?” asked Riley.
“I don’t know. But whatever it is, it isn’t good.”
* * * *
Selene coughed and sucked in the dusty air. She tried to shimmy herself out from under the piece of fallen ceiling, but it was no use. Her ankle screamed in pain as the cement stone crushed it. The pain traversed up her leg, throbbing till she couldn’t think straight. She had little magick left.
All around the humans and trackers helped each other to their feet. The inside of the arena was destroyed. The sounds of the crumbling building reverberated around them. She didn’t know how much longer the structure would hold.
Her demon self had retreated for now. Too bad, she could use the extra strength at the moment. But her demon had done enough for one night. Killing the hellian had been a feat, but not thinking through the repercussions of what would happen hadn’t been so great.
“He’s dead, isn’t he?”
Above, in the broken window of the observation room, the remaining demons were nowhere to be seen.
She touched her leg and a bolt of pain shot up it.
“Exsurdo.”
The pain dulled to a minor ache. It was the biggest pain spell she could manage.
“We need to get out of here,” said a Vampire who sported a large gash across his torso and was leaning heavily on another Vampire.
“We have to search for survivors first,” a second one coughed.
The ceiling shook.
“We have to go,” said the first. “We’ll take these to the surface and come back for the others.”
“What about me?” she asked.
The group looked at her.
“We’ll come back,” said the first.
“Come back? I just saved your lives. You can’t just leave me here.”
“Saved us?” said the first. “You’re the one who caved this place in.”
“If it wasn’t for you,” said a human. “These things wouldn’t have even been here. They were looking for you.”
“Don’t even go there,” Selene retorted. “You have no idea who I am.”
“No,” said the human. “But I can guess. You’re a demon.”
“Don’t leave me here,” she said. “You won’t like what happens if you do.”
“And what’s that?” asked the first. “You’re trapped.” He turned to the second vampire. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“No,” said the second. “She saved us more than once. I’m not leaving her.” The second Vampire came over and looked at the fallen debris on her leg. He tried to lift it but the cement shifted and she cried out, so he stopped.
The rest of the group headed to the part of the arena with a hidden panel. They opened it and disappeared.
The remaining Vampire looked over the rock and tested it here and there, but couldn’t make it budge.
“What’s your name?” She tried to get her mind off the eminent doom coming her way.
“Jonas.”
“I’m Selene.”
He stopped pacing and sat on the ground next to her. He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes scanning the damage. “At least the sprinklers aren’t going off in here.”
“If they were, we could have a mud-wrestling contest.” She laughed and he looked at her perplexed.
“What are you doing here anyway? Are you with Neeman?”
Was she with Neeman? Well...she’d been with Neeman but that wasn’t the same thing. “I’m—”
“Selene!”
The call came from far away. There was a hail of gunfire and then a roar.
Maelstrom!
“Uh... You should probably go now.” Her eyes trained on the escape panel.
“No, I don’t think it’s right—”
“Really. Go. It’s fine. The guy coming for me sounds like he’s not having such a good day and I can’t guarantee your safety.” She hadn’t seen Mason as Maelstrom in a long time. And as protective older brothers went, he was the worst.
“No. I won’t.” Jonas laid his arms over his knees.
She blew out a breath. “Okay, I’m going to tell you a secret. You know Mason?”
“Lord Danika’s Mason?”
“Yeah, him.”
He shrugged. “Everyone does.”
“Have you seen what he turns into?”
Another cry of her name rang out, shaking the ceiling.
“Yeah. I was there when they found the humans in the warehouse.”
“Okay, so he’s my brother. And that’s him. Not the Mason him, but the Maelstrom him.”
Jonas’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, you should go. Just tell him where I am.”
Jonas got to his feet and swallowed.
“You know what, I’ll tell him. You just go.”
Jonas was reluctant but headed for the door. When he was gone, she laid her head on the ground and centered herself. She reached deep within, to the place she hid her magick when she’d been with the fae.
She centered what was left of her energy and let it flow from her, sending up a signal as to where she was. The floor above shook with a roar and then heavy footsteps sounded from the concealed hallway. She stared at the hole, waiting for him to burst through. Instead, out stepped a tall, tan-skinned man with long white blond hair. His piercing aqua eyes made her heart thunder in her chest and her whole frame shake. Seeing him in a pair of jeans and white t-shirt was the oddest thing.
Her inner demon roared. “Let me have him!”
Selene swallowed and tried to pull her leg free. The man walked to where she lay. Her demon screeched in her brain, commanding her to get free.
He stopped next to her face and crouched beside her. Though panic coursed through her, she stayed entirely still.
“Hello, Selene.” He brushed the hair from her face.
She couldn’t bring herself to say his name. Not after what he’d done. The pain he’d inflicted.
“You were supposed to contact me.” His eyes held restrained anger. “Do you not remember the reason you were sent here?”
Once again she was tied to the altar in the other plane and he was standing in front of her with a demon stick, marring her.
“I didn’t know it was you,” she said, surprised that the tremor stayed out of her voice. “How...how did you find me?”
He laughed. “My sweet, I was there when you arrived. I’ve been aware of you every second you’ve been here. I just wanted to take this moment to remind you of your job. Your job isn’t to worry about the Vampires or the humans or the other demons. Your job is to get Danika Chekov and lure Maelstrom into our world so he can be contained. With him and you gone, the demons will go back to their plane and we will seal the rift between our fae world and this and we will be safe.”
“What if they don’t leave?”
“Well it won’t matter, will it? Because we will be safe in our own plane.” He stroked her cheek.
“And what about me? What will you do with me?”
He smiled and her gut clenched.
“You will be mine again, as a reward for your service.” He leaned in and inhaled the scent of her hair. “Your mother told you what we intend to do if the plan fails, didn’t she?”
She shook her head.
“Well, let’s just say, if you fail, there won’t be a creature left on this plane that will care.”
They were going to kill everyone?
Maelstrom roared and called her name.
“Better run. I do hope you make the right choice, my sweet.” And with that he walked to the other end of the arena where the observation window hung. Then he lifted into the air and disappeared behind the broken glass.
“Selene!” Neeman’s voice pulled her focus. He raced to her side and looked her over. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. But my ankle is stuck.”
He tried to lift the cement block. It lifted slightly and then it dropped again. He tried a second time, but again he dropped it and she groaned.
“Where’s Mael?” she asked.
“He can’t get down. The tunnel’s too narrow. If he tries, he’ll bring the whole place down.”
She swallowed hard, hoping Maelstrom found the High Elder fae. That was one death she’d pay money, buy a bag of popcorn and a soda to watch.
The ceiling shook and several pieces of cement plummeted to the floor.
“The structure isn’t going to hold much longer,” he said. “I’ll go get help and come back.” He tried to stand but she grabbed his shirt.
“Don’t. Don’t go. Stay.” She stared up into his stern face. “Please.”
“Selene, I can’t lift it on my own. I’m too weak because—”
“Because of me.” How ironic that taking from him would end her life.
“Give him what he needs,” her demon said.
No, no, no. No way!
“Then we die.”
She looked down at her dirty arms and lifted her wrist. She blew out a long breath.
“Take my blood, it will make you strong enough.”
Neeman backed away a step. “No.”
The overhanging observation room creaked and the supports groaned and began to bow underneath it.
“Neeman there’s no time to get help. Either drink from me, or leave.”
* * * *
Neeman stared at her. She was trapped. He couldn’t just leave her. But he’d never drunk from someone before. He’d sworn he wouldn’t.
If she’d asked him hours ago when they were having sex, he didn’t think he would’ve been able to resist, but now…
“I—I don’t drink from the vein.”
Her brows furrowed and she blinked several times. “What? Like, never ever? Or just not random people?”
He planted his fists on his hips and blew out a long breath.
“Well,” she said. “Then I guess I’m gonna die.”
Neeman growled. Damn she was frustrating! He didn’t want her to die, not on his account.
He knelt beside her. The observation area supports groaned and bent further. Okay, no time to waste. He was close enough to smell the bitter scent of her pain. Though she masked it well, the cement block pinning her to the floor wasn’t a pillow of comfort. He had to do this now, or be crushed alongside her. This was the moment.
Every day of his vampyr life he’d woken up thinking he’d end it all that day. And now he had his chance. No one would blame him, it would be known as an accident while he’d gone to get Selene. He’d be hailed a hero for the rest of existence.
Neeman swore and brushed the hair from her neck. Her pulse beat fast and strong and her eyes stayed locked on him.
He licked his lips, and his mouth tingled in anticipation. He wrapped his arms around her torso, supporting her. The feel of her in his arms again brought back the horrible memories from earlier in the evening.
He leaned in and sniffed her neck. Her pulse quickened and his body quaked with need. He struck fast and let his mouth fill with blood before he changed his mind. He didn’t want to do this, he didn’t want to. The first gulp was warm and sweet. The taste lingered in his mouth. He filled his mouth again and his mind went blank except for the taste of her. Spicy and sweet the blood flowed over his tongue and down his throat in a mixture of pleasure.
She grabbed onto him and moaned his name, making him drink even faster. Gulp after gulp he took her blood into him. It coursed through his veins and strengthened his muscles. Every fiber of his body warmed and pulsed with life and in that moment he no longer felt like a vampyr. He once again felt human.
A crash sounded behind him.
“Neeman, we need to hurry.” She tugged on the back of his shirt.
Her words pulled him from the feelings of euphoria. He licked her wound closed and looked into her eyes. He wanted to kiss her. To feel her lips on his, her body under his body as they—
“Seriously, we have to go.”
He got to his feet in a flash, his movement quicker than ever. Every muscle in his body flexed stronger than it had ever been. He bent and hefted the cement block off her so easily that it startled him.
She scrambled from underneath it, dragging her injured leg. He dropped the block, shaking the ground.
“Can you stand?”
She tried but wasn’t able to put weight on her leg. “I think my leg’s asleep.”
He hefted her into his arms.
The observation room gave off a horrible screeching noise. The whole structure groaned.
“Time to go.” He turned and ran for the exit.
“Wait!” She pointed. “My purse?”