Dark War Chronicles Box Set One (45 page)

Lucius was crazy if he thought Kass could take on a blood demon. He was going to get the cat killed. A chill went through him as someone walked in. This time of night the only people that came in were vampires looking for a quick meal, but this woman was no vampire.

She wore a silk red gown that flowed over her every curve and looked beautiful against her pale skin. Her black hair was piled on top of her head with loose curls falling at her neck, her cleavage perfectly framed by the spaghetti straps of the dress. Her breasts threatened to spill from the dress as she swayed towards the bar in her stilettos. Her swirling black and red eyes met Orion's.

He took in a sharp breath. It'd been centuries since he'd seen her, but he would never forget those eyes. "Liara, to what do I owe the pleasure? Better yet, how the fuck did you find me?"

Mae took a few steps towards the phone behind the bar and Liara held her hand up, freezing the vampire in place. "Now, now, blood sucker, I've got nothing against you or your maker. My business is with the Fae, he and I have something to discuss. I won't be causing any harm here, so there's no need to panic. Understood?"

"Yes," The word squeezed out of Mae’s throat.

Liara put her hand down and Mae was able to move again, "Now, be a dear and make me a strawberry daiquiri."

Swallowing, the vampire went to make the drink. Orion crossed his arms. "And the answer to my questions?"

"I've always known where you were. Since I'm the one who tore your wings, my magic follows you everywhere. Did you really think you'd escape me forever?"

He had been hoping. Taking a seat at the bar, he kept his eyes on her. "What do you want?"

"I have a proposal for you. The Circle has approached me, they want me as an ally. I can't have that because the Fae stand alone in this war, except for you. You have outright stated that you are an ally to Lucius."

He raised a brow. "Mae, get me a beer, will ya? This could be a long conversation."

Mae set the daiquiri on the bar, eyeing Liara before reaching for a beer. She grumbled as she handed it to him.

Liara sat down and wrapped a manicured hand around the stem of the drink. "I want to know why you are allied with him. I've heard the rumors of his cruelty and the tight hold he has over his people. He's not the kind of creature you would follow."

"You threw me out of my kingdom, tore my wings, and left me to die in the middle of vampire territory." He said dryly. "Lucius saved me and I saved his human. What did you expect me to do? Roll over and play dead?"

She took a sip and set the glass down, smoothing the napkin underneath it. "Might I remind you that I had good reasons for what I did?"

"My ass, you did it because you wanted the throne." He snapped. "Now is that all you want? Because my night has sucked, and I really want to get the hell out of here." And maybe find Dani to tease her delicate lips and other areas with his tongue. Where the hell did that come from? His sex drive was out of control tonight and being this close to another Fae of his kind was not helping.

Her hand reached out and her nails gently scraped against his skin. "If you leave Lucius, sever all ties, I will allow you to come home."

Home. The word was foreign to him. It had been too long since he'd seen the hills of the Fae world and the beautiful? courts. "You chose a poor time and place to discuss this." He glanced at Mae and then back to Liara. "In his own territory, in front of his own people." He shook his head and moved his hand away from her.

"I have ways of taking out bystanders." She laughed and took another sip. "Don't you want to return to the courts?"

He shrugged. "To a place that I'm now an outcast in? The place I haven't seen since...fuck, I don't even recall the year." He took a long pull on his beer and set it down. "Nah, I think I'm good. I'll keep my loyalties where they stand. And you, my Queen, can go to hell."

"Fine, if that is the way you want it." She slipped off her stool and kissed his cheek. "I hope you like the present I left you. It's a little hard to control, but eventually it'll find its mark." She waved at Mae. "Nice meeting you, dear."

Mae just stared at her as she walked out. "What the hell, Orion?"

"You just met the Queen of Blood and Darkness." He sighed. "And survived."

The snarling of a panther outside the door caught his attention. "For now."

Both he and Mae rushed to the door, he threw it open to find Kass backed against it and a huge humanoid figure standing before her. Its red leathery skin and giant wings gave it away as a demon. The large eyes and horns on the head were just a bonus and did nothing to distract from the rows of teeth in its mouth.

"I think I found the blood demon." Orion swallowed. "Holy shit he is ugly."

Danielle stepped out of her parents’ house after having her usual night there. It made them feel better knowing that she still had time for them, despite her ‘military’ job. They would spend the night watching movies and enjoying dinner together and it was always a nice reminder to her of what normal could feel like. Hopping in the car, she headed back towards her house. She actually owned the house that she and Renee lived in, it was Hunter issued and modified to fit her mission.

The drive through town at this hour was quiet and let her mind drift off to its new favorite topic. Orion. Dani was well aware that getting involved with someone of the supernatural world was trouble. She had firsthand experience, but there was something about him that she was fascinated by. She was growing to crave his nearness. Something that was dangerous.  She shook her head and stopped at a light, not surprised that she ended up down the street from The Disappearing Act. When she passed the bar, she had to slow down. She saw figures inside and could hear the sounds of crashing glass among other things from the street and that never boded well. She parked, drew her gun and approached the door. Surprised to find it unlocked she froze at what she saw, even with all her training.

The creature that held Orion to the wall towered over eight feet tall with red skin. The horns jutting from its massive head caught her attention until it turned around and she saw the blood coating its teeth. Her first demon, her first blood demon. The world spun for a moment, until she heard the snarl of a panther. The cat jumped up and attacked the demon with teeth and claws, but was flung into the bar, cracking the wood there.

"Dani, leave!" Orion's voice cracked as the demon squeezed his throat.

She did the opposite, firing a few shots into the demon's head. The revolting thing turned to her, snarling in response. Flinging out its arm, Orion came flying at her. She dodged and to her relief he managed to flip onto his feet before hitting the ground.

"Mae went to get Lucius. Kass isn't really in her human mind right now, so don't anger her, or she'll think you are the enemy."

Dani nodded and took aim again. "So what do we do?"

"I need to get to the bar, Tegan's sword is behind there and it'll be strong enough to cut this fucker's head off."

Her gaze flickered to behind the bar where the panther was standing again, shaking her head. Blood flowed from one of her legs, but it didn't seem to faze the cat. "Any chance Kass plays fetch?"

"I wish, maybe if she was a little more coherent." He snarled when Kass launched herself at the back of the demon.

The creature turned in time to catch the panther by the scruff and roar at it. Dani shot again, but the demon moved of the way and bent over to sink its teeth into the cat. Kass made a strangled noise of pain as she reverted back to human form under the demon's teeth. Orion took advantage of the distraction and flashed himself to the bar, searching for the sword.

Kass started to pale and her struggling started to lessen. Dani holstered her gun and threw one of the chairs at the demon. Her plan worked and the creature dropped the woman, stampeding towards Dani in a blind rage. She yelled and started running away. The demon's clawed hand snagged her jacket and drew her up from the ground. Her feet dangling, she jerked and the jacket ripped, letting her drop and roll to the ground.

A man appeared in the bar, his black hair slicked back and pulled into a tight ponytail at the base of his neck. He held a hand out and the demon went flying to the back of the bar, over Orion's head, liquor bottles shattering at the impact. The demon snarled and disappeared with a pop. Orion stood and inclined his head to the man who had appeared. Dani rushed to Kass. Taking off her half-shredded jacket, Dani pressed it to Kass' neck.

"Orion, she needs to go to the hospital—"

"No.” The stranger bent by her and took her hand away from the wound. Dani gasped, seeing that the wound was already started to knit itself back together.

"She's a shifter." The man stated.

"I know, but I've never seen one hurt so I didn't know how rapid the healing would be." She threw the jacket to the side and heard the wailing of sirens. "What do we tell the police?"

The man stood. "I'll deal with them. Orion, get everyone back to the property.” He eyed Dani, the pupils bleeding to black. “Including your new human friend."

Dani glanced at Orion, who shrugged. Orion went to pick Kass up. "Who moved Tegan's sword?"

"I did, as soon as she disappeared. I didn't want it lying around." The vampire growled.

"Lucius, that could have saved us."

Dani felt her eyes grow wide and her hand started to go to her gun on instinct, but Orion nudged her.

"I didn't expect that a blood demon would show up in our territory.” The vampire snapped. "Now go."

Orion's hand wrapped around hers and he pulled her toward the door, carrying Kass in a fireman's hold. She was amazed at the ease with which he carried her. Leading her to an SUV parked on the street, Orion put Kass in the backseat and opened the door for Dani.

"What made you show up?" he asked, leaning on the door and waiting for her to get in.

She glanced at the bar. "I prefer I drive my own car."

"That's not an option now, Dani. You're going to get pulled into this, like it or not. So get in and answer my question." His eyes grew dark as he gripped the door.

She'd never seen him so on-edge and she swore she could feel his power dancing over her skin. Flickering lights bounced around the street and she knew they were wasting precious time. "Fine." Sliding in, she buckled up and crossed her arms. Never had a Hunter been to Lucius' mansion, and the thought terrified her.

When Orion got in she spoke. "I was on my way back home when I heard the fight." She glanced at him. "You didn't unlock the car."

"Mae never locks the car and she leaves an extra key in the center console." He opened the center armrest and picked up the spare key. "She can move fast enough to get out here before anyone pulls away with the vehicle. She's not too worried about theft."

Dani snorted. "I guess when you're that powerful, you don't have a lot to worry about. Except blood demons, apparently."

"Apparently, though that thing tucked tail and ran when Lucius showed up." Orion mused as he pulled the car into traffic. "Unusual for a demon to back down in a fight."

Dani watched as the businesses and traffic gave way to mountains. "Lucius is in the mountains like the Hunting society." She stated. "We all thought he lived out east."

"No, not enough tree coverage there for the shifters. Not enough deer or anything to eat either. I suppose we could hole up in Black Forest if needed, but even that is becoming more populated." He eased the car onto the highway, his eyes never leaving the road. "You have to swear that you won't tell the other Hunters where this is. I'm not even sure what Lucius is going to do to me for working with you."

Leaning back in her seat, she admitted to herself that she never thought about the consequences that came with Orion helping her. Though she imagined they were probably going to end up being much worse for her. "Why would he want me to come with you?"

"You pulled a gun on a demon, you saved Kass, and I'm sure he knows that you are a Hunter just by how you handled yourself." Orion shrugged. "My hope is that he wants your help, my fear is that he's going to kill you. If I was you, I wouldn't mention who your partner was."

"Cody? Why?" Even saying his name made her tense.

"Because he is working with Markus, a vampire of the Circle. He attacked our people a couple months back."

That was news to Dani, as far as she knew Cody had moved out of the state. "This sounds like it's going to be a terrifying experience."

"For both of us." He promised and then picked up speed.

Chapter Four

Orion tried to calm his pounding heart as they approached the manor. Dani's eyes were locked on the huge building with its ancient oak doors. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She'd neglected her normal black clothes for tight blue jeans and a baby doll t-shirt that clung to her ample breasts. Her toned arms had goose bumps from the cold and if he hadn't been holding Kassity, he would have wrapped his arm around Dani to keep her warm.

He shook the thoughts from his head. They were in big trouble and he needed to push away such thoughts. Sleeping with Dani wasn't going to happen, it would ruin working with her.

The blonde in question opened the door without a second thought and waltzed right in. She paused at the sight of Lucius lounging on his throne, one leg crossed over the other and his long pale fingers caressing the chair arm. He was impeccable with his black hair and eyes, and pale skin. He'd changed from the normal clothes he’d worn to the club to some type of old fashioned suit, complete with ruffles at the neck.

Orion pursed his lips when Renee walked out from behind the throne. "I wasn't aware this was going to be an official meeting."

"It isn't for you." Lucius motioned to the door. "Take Kass to Jaxon, he is pacing her room wondering what happened."

Orion snapped, "you didn't tell him and you're going to send me in there with his unconscious mate?"

"Yes, now go, I have some things to discuss with your human." He gave a wicked grin, showing fangs.

Orion wasn't surprised to see Dani remain relaxed. He had to remind himself that she was trained to deal with vampires and if anything, he was giving her what many hunters would have loved: a chance to meet the vampire who ran the territory.