Absolute Surrender (11 page)

Kira laughed.

As they passed the old Delancey subway station, an odd sound reached Echo. She frowned. There it was again—a scuffle, followed by a...moan? She slowed down and listened. Her eyes darted around, her attention drawn to the subway’s barricaded entrance. “Did you hear that?”

Warily, Kira glanced up then down the empty street. “No.”

“Wait here.” She freed her arm from Kira’s tight grip and jogged for the subway entrance, only to realize her friend was right behind her.

Kira grabbed her arm. “No—no! Echo, don’t go there!”

“Something’s wrong. I feel it.”

“But all kinds of people hang out in that place, even thugs.”

“I grew up with
those
kinds of people. Most can’t help what life’s handed them. I’ll be fine. Go back to the apartment.” Echo climbed through a gap in the barricade.

“If you’re gonna risk your limbs, well, someone’s got to be there to haul your butt home,” Kira retorted, following her.

They picked their way carefully down the broken steps and entered the darkened tunnel. The station, a casualty of a gas explosion several years ago, had been left to decay. Most of the lights were broken. A few still hung onto life, casting flickers of illumination on the faded graffiti walls with its damp patches. Water dripped from pipes overhead and formed puddles on the deteriorating concrete floor.

“I’m never watching horror movies again,” Kira muttered.

“So says the queen of horror fests.”

Movement farther along the platform caught Echo’s attention. She opened her psychic sight and sighed when she saw several pulsing red lights hovering around a single warm yellow one.

“I can handle them. Sit this one out, Ki.”

“Nuh-uh! If you think I’m leaving you to fight those things alone, you’re nuts. Besides, what’s the point of you teaching me how to fight and defend myself, huh?”

Echo exhaled roughly. She never wanted her friend to be caught in a situation like she’d been in so long ago. Helpless, while Tamsyn fought alone...

“Okay, okay. Fine,” she said, relenting. Since Kira couldn’t “see”
demoniis
, this was going to be tricky. “Remember, we stay back-to-back then we worry about what’s in front. If it gets bad, we run. Got it?”

“Got it,” Kira said, anxiety seeping off her.

Echo reached for a spare blade in her right boot, but Kira pulled her own from her jacket pocket. “Going anywhere with you, I need to be armed.”

Nodding, Echo turned. “Hey, boys! Why don’t ya come over here and play with us?”

“Jeez, Echo, no need to incite them.”

“But that’s half the fun,” Echo murmured, as the three gorgeous “men” turned.

Their images slipped and slid into each other. She caught flashes of scaly skin and flaming red eyes.
No–no, not now.
She blinked, shoving the images aside, trying to keep their human forms in her vision.

The
demoniis
tossed the homeless man aside and rushed for her, hunger flickering in their auras. Stopping abruptly, the leader of the pack held the others back and sniffed the air.

Oh yeah, her cursed pheromones weren’t selective. Anything possessing a Y chromosome found its way to her.

“You. Woman. Come here,” the
demonii
ordered, his voice like rusty nails.

“Are you some kind of stupid? Do I look like I’m coming anywhere near you?” Legs braced apart, she slid her hand to the scabbard belted to her waist and palmed the obsidian dagger.

He slithered closer as the other two fanned out.

“Jesus! Don’t you
things
ever take a bath?” Echo griped, edging backwards. She feinted right as he pounced. Moved left, dropped down, then swung her booted foot out and connected with his knees. A quick glance over her shoulder, she saw Kira had the situation in hand.

“Hey, not to be prejudiced or anything, but blond, really?” She danced back then lashed out with a final kick to the crotch and knocked Blondie down. “It clashes with your eyes. And
so
not the look for your ugly-ass face. Keep to the scales, far better.” She slashed his throat and plunged her dagger into his heart.

“You killed him!”

At the screech, Echo yanked out her blade, pivoting to the
demonii
circling her. “Stop whining. You’ll see him again soon.”

She attacked, went in low, dagger flashing, and sliced through the tendons behind his legs. A guttural shriek filled the tunnel as he fell to his knees. As Echo was about to go in for the kill a dark shimmer in the air, several feet in front of her, caught her attention. Her stomach lurched.

Oh crap
! Portal.

“Kira, run!”

CHAPTER 8

The stench of sulfur hit Echo hard, making her choke. She swung around, her heart hammering in fear.

“Dammit, move,
Kira!” She shoved her friend in the direction of the exit.

“I–I’m not leaving you here a–alone,” Kira sputtered, her fearful gaze fixed on the dark, flickering portal.

“Now, Kira! You know the rules. Move. I’ll be right behind you!”

As Kira scurried off, Echo slashed the throat of the
demonii
struggling to get back on his feet.

“Well, well, that was most impressive,” a lazy voice drawled.

Echo pivoted. Several
demoniis
stood near the portal while it spewed out more of the fiends. Their creepy red eyes glowed like embers in the darkness.

A
demonii
unlike any she’d seen before stepped forward, so handsome, it left a sick feeling in her stomach. The air around him was dense, his aura dark, like coagulated blood.

His long, chocolate-colored hair had been meticulously dreaded and gathered into a ponytail. His skin was far too pale compared to most
demoniis
she’d seen. And unlike the others who dressed casually, he wore a tailored suit. He looked bored and completely out of place in the dank subway.

“So, you’re the one causing a ruckus,
down under
,” he said, strolling toward her. His gaze drifted down her body then slowly back up again, making her cringe. “You’re curious, aren’t you? Wondering why I haven’t killed you yet. Why I haven’t taken your soul.”

Echo stepped back, caution in her every move. The power surrounding him suffocated her the closer he got. The urge to run crowded her, but she wasn’t stupid, understood she could never hope to outrun him and his small army.

“What do you want?”

His chuckle flayed her skin. “Ah, she shows courage—interesting. I want
you
.”

“You can’t have me.” Echo slowly backed away. She didn’t fear death. Hell, she accepted long ago that by hunting
demoniis
she’d die sooner. But not tonight. “Is this dance gonna take all night?” she demanded. A sleight of her hand and her dagger became hidden beneath her sleeve.

He laughed as if charmed. “You are delightful. Come, we waste time. We must leave this place.” He cast a distasteful glance at the rundown subway.

What? Hell was now a five-star resort
?

“Do I look like I want to go anywhere with you?”

He glided closer. “You will,” he promised. The words caused a chill to sweep over her.

He circled her, sniffing. Echo gritted her teeth against the urge to shut her eyes. She didn’t like the sensation of him being this close. Beneath the acrid reek of sulfur, the sweet scent of honeysuckle drifted to her.

“You want to kill me? Go ahead—I hope you choke on my soul!”

“So dramatic.” He stopped in front of her, cocked his head, and studied her face.

Echo gaped, taken aback. His tobacco brown eyes were clear. Why weren’t his eyes red? He consumed human souls, too, didn’t he?

As if in tune with her thoughts, orange flames leapt out of his eyes and licked over his face.

Echo stumbled backward. Oh God! Her breath lodged in her chest. His eyes—she’d seen Hell in his eyes!

“It’s easy to conceal, if one knows how.” He smiled. Moving behind her, he sniffed again. “I am not a
demonii
. I don’t gorge myself on human blood or their frail souls. But I do keep them for my own amusement. Now, I will have a taste of you.”

Before she could register exactly what he meant, a wet trail slid across her nape. A shiver of revulsion raced over her. Why did every freakin’ demon she came across have to lick her?

“You do taste delicious,” he said, licking his lips. His gaze flattened. “Enough of this stalling. Time to leave.”

Her heart knocked around so hard, Echo had no idea how it managed to remain in her chest.
Demoniis
surrounded her with only one clear path out, which led directly to the portal.

The demon flicked his hand. An invisible force took hold of her, pushing her along. Her legs sauntered forward with an ease that terrified her. Her brain screamed, and she struggled for control, but her limbs refused to listen. Try as she might, she couldn’t break free.

The portal drew closer. Gripped with terror, Echo couldn’t take her eyes off it. Through the flickering opening, she saw the same images she’d seen in his eyes. A dark chamber and locked behind the walls were the
damned.
Humans, along with demons, were being mercilessly tortured. Skin was peeled away, bones broken before being put together again. And the torment started all over again.

He whispered in her ear. “Don’t be afraid. It’s only my humble abode.”

Oh, God
!
I don’t want this.

She struggled with her unresponsive limbs. Didn’t matter, the bastard would undoubtedly win but she wouldn’t allow him to drag her into his hellhole without a bloody fight. She willed herself to move, to twist free. Still her body remained in lockdown. “No! I’m not going through there. You want to kill me, then do it, you bastard!”

“Names, little human?” he drawled. “How unoriginal. I prefer Lazaar. You will want to remember it, because...” He ran one clawed finger along her jaw. “You are going to be mine. I have no intention of killing you—well, not yet, anyway.”

The pressure in her lungs expanded and, unable to hold on any longer, her breath exploded out of her. Inhaling more suffocating, sulfur-drenched air, Echo hurled. Right there, on a pair of boots.

The boots’ owner backhanded her across the face. Pain spread from her jaw into her head. Her lip split open, warm blood trailed down her chin.

“Annoy my commander and Girion will hurt you more. As long as you live, I do not care what condition you are in.”

Girion, unable to hold onto his human form, was more beastlike, grotesque. His black eyes were filled with such malevolence, they sent involuntary shivers down her spine. His mouth pulled into a sneer, revealing sharp canines and blackened teeth. Echo turned her head, her heart wedged in her throat.

A
demonii
entered the portal and waited on the other side. Lazaar grabbed her arm, his talon-like nails digging into her flesh, and stepped through the gateway, dragging her behind him.

The searing pain in her arm overtook her fear when she slammed into a stretchy, invisible wall and stumbled back.

“That bloody hurts,” she yelled.

“Force her through,” he ordered, confusion etched on his face. Rough hands grabbed her by the hair and shoved her through the portal. She hit the invisible wall again, bounced back, landing in a sprawl, and jarring every bone in her body. Her dagger flew out of her hand to land several feet away. The black blade started to glow a deep, pulsing amber.

***

What the hell
?

The whirlpool of power that had sucked Aethan from the street, where he’d stood with Týr moments earlier, finally dumped him in...it took him a second to recognize the old abandoned station.

His tattoo shifted and his sword materialized in his hand. He saw the portal flickering in the dark. Several
demoniis
surrounded it, while two were forcing someone through—a human.