When Darkness Comes (Guardians of Eternity #1)(51)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

"What?"

Abby slapped her forehead with her open hand. Christ She must be losing her mind.

‘There was this strange woman who interrupted my spell," she confessed.

"Upstairs?" ‘Yes."

Abby shivered as Dante’s blood heated with fury. "What did she look like?"

She struggled to recall. She had been just a little preoccupied at the time.

"Human, for the most part, although she was far more graceful than any mere mortal. And incredibly strong."

"She had the shape of a human?"

"Yes. A beautiful woman. She had dark hair and the most amazing gold eyes. Oh, and her skin had the strangest bronze glow to it."

His eyes widened as he lifted the shirt to his nose once again. "A Shalott demon? I thought they had all fled this world. She attacked you?"

‘Yes… no."

He stabbed her with a piercing gaze. "Abby?"

She gave a helpless shrug. "I think she was just trying to stop the spell. She could have killed me while you were out, but she ran off. She said someone was calling her."

"Damn."

"What is it?" Abby scooted to the edge of the bed. "Is she dangerous?"

"I don’t know, and that’s what is driving me crazy." He gave a sharp shake of his head. "We must leave here now."

"Where are we going?"

"To see if I can pick up the trail of the Shalott. When they were in this world, they were assassins. If we can trace her back to her employer, we might discover what she was doing here."

There was an edge in his voice. A sharp thrill for the chase.

"Assassin?" she demanded.

"Very effective assassins. If either of us was her target, we wouldn’t be here to tell the tale."

"Crap." Was there any end to the creepy crawlies that roamed the night? "Dante."

‘Yes?"

She bit her bottom lip. If this assassin was so deadly, she had no desire to go chasing after it. "Does it matter why she was here? She can’t have a connection to the witches."

‘There is some connection."

"How do you know?"

‘There is a spell upon her."

‘You can smell that?"

"I can smell fear. And a Shalott demon fears nothing but magic."

Damn. He was good. "It could be that horrid wizard."

"We would be dead if it was."

There was a dark silence as Abby forced herself to swallow. Dante was right. The psychopathic wizard would have her roasting over a fire or in her grave.

"I suppose."

Dante moved forward to press her clothes into her reluctant hands. "It’s the only lead we have at the moment, lover. I think we should follow it."

"Okay."

She knew she sounded petulant, but she couldn’t help it as she pulled on her clothes and smoothed back her hair. Her idea of excitement was renting a movie and eating a bowl of popcorn. Not a gladiator session with a pack of demons.

Waiting in silence for her to recover from her bout of self-pity, Dante stepped forward to hand her the sheathed dagger.

"Don’t forget this."

"Damn." She heaved a faint sigh. "I should have used it earlier. Some savior of the world I’m proving to be."

Suddenly she was in Dante’s arms, and his cheek was rubbing against her own.

"Don’t, Abby. There’s not another mortal who would still be alive after what you’ve gone through."

It wasn’t true, of course. But it made her feel better anyway.

She laid her head against his chest. "I don’t understand how this happened to me. I’m not some chosen slayer or demon hunter. Hell, I didn’t even know there were demons." Her lips twisted. "Unless you count my dad."

"Perhaps it was fate," he murmured.

"Then fate sucks."

A chuckle was wrenched from his throat as he pulled back to regard her with a searching gaze.

"Are you ready?"

"No."

He gave a tug on her hair. "Let’s go."

Dante had even less desire than Abby to leave the peace of his lair.

What more could a vampire desire?

The woman he had chosen as his mate. A large comfortable bed. No phone, no neighbors, no relatives.

Satellite radio so he would never miss a Cubs game.

Paradise.

Unfortunately there were still hordes of demons, wizards, and zombies just waiting for the opportunity to corner them.

Taking her hand, he led her to the door, pausing as he touched the lock and spoke a low word.

Silently the door slid open, and he took a step forward. At once he realized that something was wrong.

"Wait," he breathed softly.

Abby instinctively froze. "Is there something out there?"

He slowly tasted the air. There were humans near. At least four. And one of them was very familiar.

‘The wizard is here. Upstairs."

"Crap." He heard her suck in a deep breath. "Do we wait here?"

He didn’t hesitate. "No. The wizard has managed to tap into the power of the dark lord. Given time, he will be capable of discovering this lair."

Her face paled. If she didn’t carry the Phoenix within her, he could remove her horrid memories of the wizard and his pack of zombies. For now it was just another burden she would have to shoulder.

"The door—"

"We can’t allow ourselves to be trapped."

‘Then we try to make a run for it?"

"I believe stealth will serve us better at this point."

Her eyes widened. She was thinking that he had lost his mind.

And she might be right.

‘You intend to sneak past them?"

"Yes."

"Great."

"Trust me."

She gave a growl low in her throat "One of these days."

‘This way." He tightened his grip on her fingers and led her from the room. In silence they moved toward the very back of the basement. Reaching the wall, Dante bent down to remove the grate that hid his secret passageway.

No vampire worth his salt was without a secret passageway.

Beside him Abby gave a faint gasp. "A tunnel?"

"It will lead you beyond the gates," he explained, holding her gaze. "Go two blocks north and wait on the corner behind the large oak. Can you remember that?"

It took a moment for his words to sink in. "No, Dante. I will not leave you."

"If I don’t lay a false trail, then they will be upon us before we can reach safety. Besides, I must know which direction the Shalott took when she left the grounds."

She reached out to grip his arm. Dante flinched as he felt the heat from her fingers brand through his shirt.