Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(58)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

This one was taller with lean muscles beneath the ruffled white shirt that was worn beneath a gold velvet jacket and black satin pants. He should have appeared ridiculous, but with his long hair the pale silver of moonlight and his eyes the startling darkness of midnight he was hauntingly beautiful.

A fallen angel.

Already suspecting the identity of the powerful vampire, the Andrax took away all doubt as he held out a pleading hand.

“Thank god, Viper. You have to help me.”

Ignoring the whining demon, Viper regarded Jaelyn with a piercing intelligence.

“Hunter,” he at last murmured, offering a formal bow of his head.

She returned the gesture. “Clan chief.”

The dark gaze briefly dipped to the struggling demon, his beautiful features unreadable.

“I see you’ve met Lector.”

She shrugged. “He introduced himself.”

“Viper, do something,” Lector gasped.

A smile of anticipation curved Viper’s lips. “Oh, I intend to.”

Jaelyn tightened her grip. She was the one who had been insulted and threatened by the overly aggressive bully.

“I’m not finished playing yet.”

“I understand your desire for blood, my dear, I truly do,” Viper drawled with seeming regret.

“But?”

“But I fear that I have first claim on torturing our friend.” The dark eyes glittered with a frigid fury that made Jaelyn shudder in relief that it wasn’t directed at her. “I really must make him an example for my other fighters who think they can flout my rules.”

“My lord …” Dropping to his hands and knees as Jaelyn abruptly released her hold, Lector crawled over the marble floor, desperately kissing Viper’s glossy leather shoes. “Please.”

With a casual ease, Viper kicked the Andrax in the face, sending him flying across the hallway to land in a bloody heap.

“Stop groveling, you pathetic worm,” he growled. “I did warn you what would happen if I caught you out of the pens.”

“Forgive me… .” Lector gave a choked groan as Viper’s power filled the hallway.

“And now you’ve attacked one of my guests.”

The Andrax warily returned to his feet, wiping away the blood draining from his broken nose.

“I didn’t lay a hand on her,” he protested. “She attacked me.”

Viper appeared unimpressed by his defense. “Spike, would you escort Lector to the dungeons?”

The young vampire at his side made a sound of protest. “I told you not to call me that.”

Viper arched a brow. “Will you do the honors or not?”

“With pleasure.” Moving with the eagerness of a vampire who enjoyed his job, Spike grabbed the Andrax and pressed the dagger into his throat. “Any torture in particular?”

“I think you should start with cutting out his tongue,” the clan chief suggested as Lector’s screams echoed off the marble walls.

“An excellent choice,” Spike approved.

“I’ll let your imagination take you from there.”

“Do you want him alive in the morning?”

“Not particularly.”

“No,” Lector managed to rasp despite the hole in his throat. “I’m your best fighter. You can’t do this.”

It turned out Spike could.

And did.

With remarkable ease.

In less than a heartbeat, the young vampire was dragging the struggling demon down the hall, leaving Jaelyn alone to face the clan chief of Chicago.

“Such an unpleasant creature,” Viper said with a grimace.

“Then why do you keep him around?”

The dark eyes turned to study her with an unreadable expression.

“He wasn’t boasting when he claimed to be my best fighter. Or rather …” The vampire gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “He was.”

“Will you really let your guard kill him?”

“Yes, I really will.” His smile revealed his complete lack of regret at the loss. Damn. Jaelyn had thought she was cold-hearted. “Now tell me what brings a Hunter to my humble establishment?”

She thrust aside all thought of the soon-to-be-dead demon and focused on her reason for coming to the Viper Pit.

“I need to speak with the Anasso, but I’m not sure how to contact him.”

The dark eyes narrowed at her abrupt request. “Your Ruah …”

“This isn’t Addonexus business,” she interrupted. “I’m working on behalf of the Oracles.”

“And they sent you?”

She deliberately ignored his question. “Will you take me to him?”

“I see the Addonexus haven’t spent much time training their recruits that they can catch more flies with honey,” he said dryly.

She resisted the urge to point out the Addonexus didn’t run a freaking charm school.

See? She did have at least a little tact.

“I’m sorry, but it’s urgent that I speak with him,” she managed to say between clenched teeth. “Please.”

He studied her grim expression for a long moment. “Very well, but it will take a day or two to set up a meeting.”

A day or two?

She stepped forward, shaking her head. “No, this can’t wait.” She held up her hand as his lips parted. “Not unless you actually want the return of the Dark Lord?”

“Thank you, Viper.” A hard, commanding voice filled the hallway. “I’ll take it from here.”

Chapter 17

Jaelyn had mistakenly assumed that no vampire could match the strength and power of her Ruah.

Weren’t the members of the Addonexus supposed to be the elite of the elite of the vampire world?

That’s what she’d been taught.

But slowly turning to discover the six-foot-five Aztec warrior towering over her, she realized that her teachers had grossly overestimated their own worth.

Styx, the current Anasso, maintained the bronzed skin and proud angular features of his ancestors as well as the dark, silky hair that fell in a braid to the back of his knees. And while his muscular form was currently covered by a green silk shirt and dark dress pants, it was all too easy to picture him striding through the jungles of South America.

There was something not quite civilized about the vampire.

Turning from Jaelyn, Viper regarded the King of Vampires with more curiosity than fear.

She’d heard rumors that the clan chief and Anasso were acquainted, which was why she’d sought out the Viper Pit, but now she suspected that they were actually friends.