Dark War Chronicles Box Set One (53 page)

"Oh yes, without a doubt, but I also didn't want this...because you’re mortal. I don't want to watch you die. I'm selfish, I know."

She leaned over and kissed him. "I thought that might be why you've been pulling away. Which is why I came here tonight."

It was coming; she was going to tell him the same thing. She didn't want to grow old while he didn't age. He sucked in a breath, but she put a finger to his lips to keep him from speaking. "We talked about not hiding things from each other. So I have to tell you this."

He could see the hesitation in her eyes and he took her hand and kissed the palm. "No secrets here." He reminded her.

"I'm bound to a vampire, please don't freak out." She rushed. "It wasn't by choice and he's locked away. He's not a part of my life at all, except once a year I check on his grave. That's all."

Worry replaced the hesitation and he smiled up at her. "You won't age."

"Nope. Forever twenty-one." She laughed. "It's such a great age, I wanted to stay that way."

He snorted. "I have to say that is the best news I've heard in a very long time." The pain in his chest eased. He could spend the rest of his life with her, but there was still the matter of negotiating with Lucius...if he stayed under Lucius' watch. "How does the Hunting Society feel about taking in a Fae?"

"You want to join us? What about Lucius and Tegan?"

"I have a feeling that Lucius is just going to kill me when Tegan comes back. I’d rather live and stay with you, and if that means joining the Hunters, then so be it." He sat up and pulled her into his arms, kissing her head. "I just want to be with you and have you be safe. That's not going to happen if you have to negotiate with him again.”

She snuggled into him. "You don't like working for him." It was more of a statement than a question.

"No, not really. I tolerated it, but it's not where I want to stay forever. The way he's handling the situation with Tegan is just horrible." He shook his head. "But don't worry. I'll find a way."

And he would. He had a mate to protect now and he had to keep her best interests in mind.

"What about getting your throne back and returning home?"

Before Dani he had never thought about going home. Even with her claim, it hadn't been a possibility because of his wings, but now...now he could use his magic to go home because his wings were intact, which meant that the ability to shift realms was also back. He held Danielle in his arms as he contemplated her words. "It would mean killing the queen, which may cost me my life."

"What if I told you of a weakness she has?" She whispered.

Orion swallowed, could there be such a thing? "What is it?"

"There's a dagger that used to reside in the Seelie Court. It now lays in the Hunter's Headquarters’ museum." She looked at him. "I can get it for you. It’s rumored that if stabbed, regardless of where, the victim dies."

He took a sharp breath. He'd heard of the knife, it'd originally belonged to the Unseelie Court, the dark court...his court. "They die alright, and their soul is killed as well. They never return to the earth."

"That's harsh, but it's a way to kill her. You just have to get close enough to do it." She shrugged. "It's not like she didn't take everything away from you."

To kill a soul was unforgivable, but Danielle was right, the queen deserved it and it wasn't like the Unseelie Court wasn't used to dark magic. "I have a way to get close to her, but you aren't going to like it."

"You're going to try and seduce her, huh?"

He laughed. "Yes, and get away with it as long as I can. Can't sleep with her because you're my mate, but I might be able to get close enough to kill her. If you can get me that dagger."

Chapter Eight

Markus smiled when Tegan started to wake. The woman pushed herself up off the dirty ground with a groan. Her hands lifted to the blindfold, but Markus put a hand on her back. "Now, now, don't. You know better than that."

He’d retrieved her right after they’d opened the tomb. Now they stood in front of the opened entry, where Tegan would serve her purpose. Now the Father would again receive his soul.

Markus pulled Tegan up by her hair. "Are you ready? This is what you were created for. He is waiting in there. As soon as the witch puts the soul back, then he'll wake. He'll call for blood, your blood, Tegan. You should have been chained in there with him, waiting for his resurrection."

Her body shook and she dug her heels into the ground as Markus dragged her towards the tomb. The huge stone wall arched up, forming a cliff at the top. The door had been cracked open and was still stained by the blood that had opened it. Markus had to give the Original's credit, when he and the Circle finally located the tomb, it had been well-hidden by vines and overgrowth. The door hadn't been marked, and the symbol didn't show up until the blood touched it.

Markus dragged Tegan forward and the woman fought him the whole way. She thrashed her body from side to side and tried to kick him. In the end she became a dead weight, but he still dragged her inside with ease. The stone corridor was now lit with torches, the Circle having come before him in preparation. It opened into a cavern and in the middle lay a corpse. The decaying brown skin sunk against the bones, the eyelids were sunken in, and the lips had been peeled back from the teeth, showing the Father's fangs.

One of the hooded members stood there with a witch. The old woman had her gray hair pinned up in a careful bun and her gray eyes pegged Markus with a hard stare. "You promise you'll leave my granddaughter alone if I do this for you?" Her accent was thick Italian; she was the only witch who knew how to work with a soul. It'd taken the Circle years to hunt her down.

"Yes, as soon as his soul is back in place, we'll remove the people watching her. You have my word." Markus smirked at her, but snarled when Tegan stomped on his foot and tried to bolt away from him. The woman was determined to fight against him, but he yanked her hair, pulling her back to him.

The witch bowed her head and held her hand out to the hooded member for the stone. The vampire dropped the round item into her hand. The witch licked her lips. "He'll be blood-starved when he wakes up."

"That's what she is here for." Markus shook Tegan who turned towards the witch.

"Please, don't do this. You don't understand what will happen if you raise him."

The witch shook her head. "I know that my granddaughter will live." She whispered and started to chant, the stone in her hand beginning to glow as a black circle appeared around the corpse and the witch.

Tegan backed up, hissing as if she felt the magic. Markus shivered when the power floated through the air. The witch shoved the stone through the fragile skin of the corpse and left it in the chest cavity as light spread through the body. The brown skin started to turn into pale flesh and mold over the bones. The eye sockets filled out, life returned despite the pale sunken cheeks.

The lips filled out and covered the teeth. The eyes shot open and the vampire slowly sat up as if pulled by strings. His red gaze caught Markus' and then went to Tegan.

"My gift to you, your Blood Human." Markus threw Tegan to the floor at the foot of the slab.

She screamed as the monster descended on her. He yanked her head to the side and sank his fangs into her. She clawed and pushed at him, but the vampire didn't budge. Markus laughed. "We'll let you two get reacquainted and we'll be outside when you are done. We have a lot to catch you up on."

Markus motioned to the witch. "Take her home and call our people back. She kept her word."

The witch bowed her head. "Thank you."

The vampire touched her and then disappeared as Markus made his way out of the cavern and waited.

After a while Tegan's screams died down. He knew the woman wasn't dead, but the blood loss would still take a toll on her and eventually she'd pass out. Markus looked up at the sound of footsteps and saw the Father walk out, cradling Tegan in his arms. He stood tall, his skin had taken on its normal olive tone and his black hair had filled out, still falling to the middle of his back. Now that he'd fed his eyes were a dark brown.

"I see you're well fed." Markus looked at Tegan. "She'll be a good asset to have."

"She is bonded to Lucius." The thick accent was hard to place, ancient and probably a dead language and culture.

Markus nodded. "From what I understand it happened not long after the Originals locked you away."

"Zaaren's attempt to protect her, I am sure. You broke laws to bring her here."

Markus shrugged. "I bent some, but she admitted to what she was and that was what allowed me to bring her here."

"Has Lucius retaliated?" He asked as he laid Tegan on the ground. The woman groaned and curled onto her side, shivering in the chilly air.

"Not yet. We've kept Tegan in demon territory, so she's never in this realm long enough for him to track properly. Besides, he wouldn’t dare go up against the Circle outside of his territory.”

The Father stroked his chin as he studied Tegan. "We can use this to our advantage. Strip her of her memories of this night, do what damage you need to and send her back to him."

"How do you want me to play this?" He gave a wicked grin to the girl on the ground.

The Father tapped her with his foot. "Play? This is not a game."

"Forgive the turn of phrase, how would you like me to do this? How far back would you like me to erase?"

"As far back as you think is needed. I do not want Lucius or anyone but the Circle knowing that I have risen. It will be awhile until I am back to full strength and before it is known, I want to make sure we take out the Originals." He bent down and moved a piece of Tegan's hair away from her face. "Slowly, I will take back my rightful place, but first I must learn about how the world has changed."

––––––––

O
rion woke the next afternoon with Dani wrapped in his arms. He kissed her head and gave a contented sigh; he loved the feeling of her there. An annoying buzzing went through the room and he growled, realizing it was his phone.

Reaching for the phone, he snapped it up. Sliding the lock screen, he growled and put it to his ear. "What?"

"I see you haven't woken for the day." Kassity's voice came over the line and he sighed.

"What's up, Kass? I'm surprised you're out of bed, the demon threw you around pretty well." He stroked Dani's hair.

Kassity snorted. "I'm fine, all healed up and ready to continue my work, which right now is calling everyone. Lucius wants a meeting because Coran and Renee are gone. He wants to be able to weigh our options for security."

"He thinks something big is coming? Is he calling everyone in the area, or just the immediate people?"

"Just the immediate for now. I think he actually wants to talk about what is going on. It's going to be small with Coran and Renee out of town, Tegan missing, and Kaden not answering his phone."

Maybe the demon decided to listen to Orion and go after Tegan in the demon realm. Good. "Great, so he's going to berate us like children then. Though I don't know why he'd want Kaden there, he and the demon don't get along and he's always taken great lengths to keep him off the property."

"I don't know, at this point I only do as I'm told. Sunset tonight. If I were you, I wouldn't bring Danielle, not unless she'd be willing to work with Lucius."

He looked down and smoothed his thumb over the crease between her eyes. "No, I don't want her near him." He wouldn't risk Danielle trying to negotiate with Lucius for their mating. There was only one way that this was going to work, and Danielle was right about that.

"Good. I'll see you tonight."

The phone went dead in his hand and he sighed. Danielle stirred and her eyes fluttered open, meeting his with a look of confusion. "Who were you talking to?"

"Kassity, she was telling me that Lucius is arranging for a meeting tonight."

She sat up and pulled the covers with her. "Which means?"

"I'm required to be there and I don’t want you in danger so you won’t be coming." He kissed her. "You can stay here if you want. Renee and Coran won't be back for a week, so you'll have the place to yourself."

"I actually have hunting things I need to deal with." She returned the brief meeting of lips. "Don't worry, I'm a big girl and I can function without you for a night. I hope whatever Lucius needs to talk to you about isn't more trouble."

He grumbled. "With him you never know."

"I have to go, Joey's class gets out soon and I need to meet with him." She stood and let the blanket fall.

Orion admired her naked body standing in front of him. The slender, muscular curves of her body called to him and stirred his cock, but he knew the advance would not be welcomed. She was in work mode and it meant she had a one-track mind. He smiled. "I hope neither of our business takes all night. I loved waking up with you in my arms, I'd like to make it a habit."

"I'll meet you back here when I'm done." She promised and wiggled on her black jeans. "It shouldn't take me long, I need to meet with Joey about the blade and then I need to meet with the Elder Masters about the other assignment being a dead end."

Orion frowned. "The one about the Originals and the graves?"

"Yep, I'm handing it back to them because the only information I have would betray Lucius and that goes against our deal. Besides, I do not want to be on the wrong side of him. He scares the shit out of me and I know I'm not strong enough to take him on."

He stood and kissed her. "You're right, but don't worry. Once I kill the Queen this will all be over and you won't have to worry about Lucius or the vampire you're tied to."

She shivered when he mentioned that vampire. "I don't think you can promise that."

He met her eyes and smiled. He knew that he would do anything to make her happy and get rid of the tie. There had to be a way. "I just want you safe and happy."

"And I will be, now I have to go or I'm going to miss Joey." She gave him a gentle shove and then pulled her shirt on. The bra had apparently disappeared somewhere last night.