Cleopatra's Return: A Paranormal/Vampire Romance (16 page)

“Die
, whore.”

“Well, that’s rude seeing as how we’ve only just met,” she sassed.

“Surrender now.”

“Or?”

The demon’s evil grin widened. And widened. Impressive. His jaw practically unhinged, displaying a second row of even pointier teeth.

Mental note to self, don’t French kiss the ugly demon.

Unfortunately, they didn’t appear to have seduction on the mind, not judging by the cracking of knuckles and slashing in the air of claws as they closed in.

While she found herself weaponless, s
he did own a strong pair of lungs, and she managed to let out one ear-splitting shriek before the demon squad dove on her.

She didn’t give in without a fight.
Cleo fought hard, every blow she aimed hitting with a squishing or cracking effect. However, one almost-human woman against so many? They overwhelmed her with sheers numbers.

It didn’t take long before s
he went from attacking to defending herself. She did note during their systematic beating that they didn’t appear to want to kill her, though they could have. Their goal seemed to lie in incapacitating her, and they were succeeding.

As
Cleo sank to the ground, her body aching and her ears ringing, she couldn’t help but think,
Oh this isn’t going to end well.
Not for her at least.

Help me.

The plea woke Michael abruptly, Cleo’s cries of pain and request for help ringing in his head.

She needs me.

Forget dressing, he fled his bed, and he’d no sooner slammed his bedroom door open than he was joined by an equally disheveled Julius. Together they rushed to the main floor of the house, dodging the occasional sunbeam, wincing when a sliver caught them. Within the shadows of the rear parlor, they stood and stared at the patio doors leading outside.

Outside
, where the sun still shone. Outside, where severe injury, possibly even death, waited if they ventured. Outside, where the woman Michael loved cried for help.
And I am powerless to save her.

A roar escaped him.
To feel so powerless. To stay safe in his home while Cleo suffered. He yelled. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

Through his bond with Cleo
, he felt her pain, her despair, her anger, her will to survive. Then nothing.

His link to her was
suddenly gone.

“No,” he whispered.
“No. NO!” he screamed. With his bond to her gone, it could mean only one thing. “She’s dead.” Saying it aloud didn’t make it real because he wouldn’t accept it. She couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t—

W
ait. What was this? He felt something. Michael concentrated. There. A tiny thread, gossamer thin, but still linking them. Cleo lived, but wherever she was, it was far. So very, very far.

Julius
didn’t have the same bond, and he tore at his hair as he railed. “No! She can’t be dead. I just found her again. Fuck!”

Fuck indeed.
“She’s not dead.”

“How do you know?”

“I still feel her within me. But wherever her assailants took her, she’s hurt and needs our help.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re kind of stuck,” Julius groused.

The sun outside still blazed deadly bright, and while Michael could stand it for a short period of time, Julius, weaker due to his age, was housebound during daylight hours still.

Michael cursed for he wanted to visit the sight of her attack while it was fresh to locate any clues
. “I’m sure whoever dared attack planned so knowing our weakness.”

“What I’d like to know is
, where the fuck are the guards? Where were they when she was being attacked?”

“
Fear not, my friend. They shall have to answer for their lapse. But of more import is who took her, and where?”

“Could it be Mab?”

The faerie queen? A good guess, but Michael doubted it. Mab preferred more subtle maneuvers, not straight-out attacks. No, but Michael could guess who would dare. Marc Antony.

Cleo had spoken of his irrational
vendetta and Michael had seen it first-hand. If he had her, then time was of the essence. The longer she remained in the madman’s hands, the more she would suffer.

And after I promised her my protection.

He’d failed miserably. But he could redeem himself if he could rescue her. Yet the question remained,
where has he taken Cleo?

The thump of booted feet had Michael stepping even deeper into the shadows
, and Julius followed suit. A patrol of Lycans, led by Thaddeus, came pounding up to the patio doors. His guard leader flung them open and stepped in with his men, then shut them quickly when he caught sight of Michael with his arms crossed, a forbidding look on his face.

Forget waiting for an explanation.
Michael barked, “What the fuck happened? Can anyone explain to me how
my
woman, in the midst of
my
garden, surrounded by guards, was attacked and abducted?” His voice, while low and controlled, nevertheless rang with fury, and the Lycan guards, as one, dropped to their knees, all that is except for their leader.

Back ramrod straight,
Thaddeus stared Michael in the eyes as he admitted his failure. “The infiltrator sent in demon squads to penetrate the walls in numerous locations at once. Given their numbers, we sent all available guards to repel the attack, leaving the lady alone. We didn’t realize their ability to transport themselves directly onto the grounds. But that isn’t an excuse for failure. I take full responsibility and await your punishment.”

Fuck. Stupid honorable idiot took all the fun out of berating him.
Michael rubbed his face as Julius stalked up to Thaddeus and glared at him.

“You should have had her escorted into the house.”

“Agreed.”

“I should kill you right here and now,” Julius
threatened.

“But you won’t,” Michael ordered. “I am partially to blame.
You couldn’t know they would use a portal to get onto the property. It should have occurred to me, and I should have taken mystical measures to prevent it.” Hindsight was a bitch.

“I still should never have left her alone though. I failed you.”

Julius hissed at Thaddeus’s words and flashed his fangs.

“Back off, Jules,” said Michael, not needing a show of dominance right now. Julius and his Lycan guard leader had never gotten along. But now was not the time for their rivalry. They could compare dick size when the crisis was over. “We’ll come up with a fitting punishment later. For now, what can you tell me about how she was attacked and those who took her?” While not present for the actual battle, the Lycan sense of smell was powerful, and Thaddeus’ skills as a hunter meant he could sniff out a scene and reconstruct an event.

“
We scoped the spot before coming here. It would appear there were eight demons.”

“Eight?” Michael’s brows lifted. “My, but they were determined.”

“Yes. Even had I left a pair of my men with her, chances are the enemy would have still prevailed. But demons weren’t the only thing present. While not taking part in the fight itself, I did detect another, one that smelled of Hell but was neither demon nor human.”

“Marc
Antony,” spat Julius, pacing in angry circles.

“
As we suspected. Any clue as to where they’ve taken her?” At this point, he could only hope to mount a rapid rescue.

“I’m not sure if it’s a clue, but my men and I caught a whiff of something alien.”

Michael paused in his pacing and turned to fix Thaddeus with a stare. “You mean a scent you’ve never come across?”

“No alien in the sense that it’s not of this world. I’ve smel
led the brimstone of Hell and the stench of demons. I’ve smelt the sunshine of Heaven and the ambrosia of angels. Things mortal all have a scent that mark them too of this world. But this…Whatever I smelled was not of this world or the higher and lower planes.” Thaddeus shrugged, unable to better explain.

“So what
are you saying? He took her to another planet?” Julius, in his misery, wasn’t using his brain, but Michael, who’d lived longer and had a clearer view, understood the clue.

“
Not another planet, but another plane. One rarely entered because to set foot in it is to possibly find yourself lost forever.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Limbo, the place that separates the mortal plane from Heaven and Hell. It has to be, for were Marc in Hell, Lucifer would have him back in custody. And there is no way God would ever allow his likes anywhere near his pristine flock.”

“
Great. So we know where she is. How do we get there?”

At this query,
Michael’s gut tightened because he didn’t know. While many spoke of Limbo, none ever wanted to visit. “I’ll find a way, even if I have to make a deal with the devil.”

“
Did someone say my name?”

The sudden brimstone cloud sent the
Lycans scattering to circle the figure emerging from the ash cloud that had arrived with the denizen from Hades, none other than Satan himself.

I really need to work on tightening my esoteric security.
Demons porting in. The Devil paying a visit. Next thing he’d know, he’d have gnomes in his garden.

But Michael didn’t let his annoyance at the infiltration of his home show.

“Lucifer. Glad you could come,” Michael greeted the Lord of Darkness, who, even after his expulsion from Heaven, had never forsaken him. While not the closest of friends, they’d maintained contact over the years.

Julius’s eyes bugged. “You’re friends with the devil?”

For the misinformed, Lucifer was not, as the artists so often portrayed, a red-skinned demon with horns. Nope. For some reason, the Lord of Hell preferred to appear as a gentleman in his forties or early fifties. Tall, distinguished, with gray at his temples, a wide smile with too many white teeth, and always sporting the latest fashion. In this case, an expensive business suit.

At Julius’ query, Lucifer
turned his head—one hundred and eighty degrees in a freaky show of power—to answer. “Got a problem with it, boy? If your soul weren’t already taken, you’d belong to me. I’m still miffed about you turning into a vampire and robbing me of my due. I had great things planned for you in the pit.”

Michael couldn’t help but chuckle at Julius’ blanched face. “See, being a vampire has its advantages. And don’t be suc
h a wuss. Cleo survived her punishment and is stronger for it.”

A moue crossed the devil’s face.
“Ah yes, Cleopatra, queen pain in my ass.” Lucifer swiveled his head back to the front where it belonged. “Please don’t tell me you called me about her. I just sent her to live in the modern world. Surely she can’t have caused that much havoc in such a short time, although I wouldn’t put it past her. That woman is trouble with a capital T.”

“Cleo’s been taken.”

“And this is a bad thing because…?” asked the lord of the pit.

“Because I’ve marked her as mine.”

Both of Satan’s brows popped up in surprise. “My, but the little queen has been busy. The former Queen of the Nile and a fallen angel turned vampire. Quite the mix. Well, you’re a braver being than I. Did you know just before I kicked her out to live again the damned were going to vote her in as my queen without caring if I wanted her or not?”

Michael couldn’t help a ghost of a smile.
“I heard rumors. What can I say? She has a certain air about her that is intriguing. But we’re getting off target here. Marc Antony’s taken her—”

“That vile Roman dog!” Satan roared
, and around the room, dozens of decorative candles lit with a whoosh.

Hmm, it seemed someone harbored anger issues over a certain ancient general.
“As I was saying, Marc Antony has taken her into Limbo. We need your help to get there and bring her back.”

“And what’s in it for me?” asked the devil
, his expression sly.

“I don’t suppose you’d do it because we’re friends?”
queried Michael, but not holding his breath in hope. Lucifer never did anything for free. The question was, would he pay the price?

“
Friendship means dinner next Saturday with your woman if you save her. But this is business. If I help you, what do I get out of it?”

“Marc
Antony,” Julius offered.

“That goes without saying
, but I would have eventually gotten him back anyway. Sending you to Limbo where I don’t hold any dominion is risky. While I’ve never met the master of that realm, I know it’s not the friendly type and may view the extraction of not one but two occupants as a hostile move.”

“I offer my soul.” Thaddeus
had spoken, and Lucifer turned to face him as Michael shouted, “No.”