Hellbound Warrior: (Dark Warrior Alliance Book Five) (18 page)

Kicking and pulling with all his might, he realized he was making little progress. Luckily, the movement eased the effect of the frigid water on his muscles. Still, it felt like he was swimming through frozen mud. Souls had immediately flocked around him and he could feel them literally sucking the life out of him as he sank. It registered in the back of his mind that the beings below the water had substance where those above did not.

His sight blurred and spots danced in his vision, making him lose track of Illianna. Panic set in and his chest constricted and burned from holding his breath. He was going to fail his mate.

Giving himself a mental shake, he shoved the sense of helplessness aside and narrowed his eyes. All he could see were the suffering around him. Shoving several bodies aside, he finally saw her several feet below him. The souls tried to physically impede him at the same time they latched onto his soul, trying to trap him for eternity.

It felt as if he was drowning and Charon’s words suddenly became clear. The mate bond allowed him to ignore their snare and work his way towards his angel. Rhys clung to thoughts of Illianna to keep him connected to reality. His immediate priority was saving Illianna, but he couldn’t forget the reason he had ventured into Hell in the first place.

He had to retrieve the Triskele Amulet and stop Lucifer from leaving his prison. The fate of the world depended on him, Dante and Kellen. He was determined to do something that would make his mother hold her head high and be proud to acknowledge that he was her son. Maybe then she wouldn’t want to cast him away like she had done all those years ago. He understood her reasons for doing what she’d done, but that didn’t erase the centuries-old need to earn her approval.

With his thoughts heading down that negative path, his movements slowed even further and a little more of his life-force left him, making him suddenly exhausted. He closed his eyes, wanting to rest and stop fighting. He knew he needed to focus on how much his mother loved him, to recall what Illianna had told him about feeding the souls around him, but the desire to stop swimming…just for a little while, was overwhelming.

His fingers touched warm skin and a jolt of electricity shocked him, bringing him out of the temporary funk. The river had almost claimed him, he thought, opening his eyes. Illianna was before him with her eyes closed and her arms floating at her sides. Countless souls were hovering around her and he could see a thin stream of blue light leaving her slightly parted lips and going directly to those closest to her.

Grabbing her into his embrace, he broke the connection and kicked upward. He expected the souls to fight him, but they remained passive and watched him go. His chest burned with the need to breathe, but thankfully he wouldn’t die from lack of oxygen. He faltered momentarily, wondering if Illianna would survive, as well.

After what felt like an eternity, he broke the surface holding Illianna and was relieved to feel strong hands pulling them from the water. Collapsing onto his back in the bottom of the little boat, he sputtered water from his lungs, gasping for air.

“Goddess, you scared the life out of me. Is she alive?” Dante asked from above him.

“I’m not sure,” he croaked. Damn, his throat felt like he had swallowed fire.

Rhys glanced down at his angel. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be asleep. Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss to her lips, relieved to find she was, in fact, breathing slowly.

“Yes, she’s alive, thank the Goddess” he sighed in relief. In that moment he realized, Fated or not, he couldn’t do without Illianna by his side.

Shivering, Illianna choked and coughed as the water from the river burned her lungs. Turning to her side she expelled as much of the poison as she could. Her veins burned as the liquid tainted her body. Cracking an eye, she glanced down, expecting to see gaping holes where it felt as if skin, muscle and bone were being eaten away and was relieved to see she seemed to be in one piece. At least on the exterior, she qualified, as the agony continued.

After all she had been forced to consume during her captivity she wouldn’t have thought the water would affect her so deeply. She hadn’t felt angelic power in years, but it seemed while she may have physically lost her wings, she still possessed her heavenly qualities.

“You’re okay. I got you out,” Rhys murmured in her ear, rubbing warmth into her arms. Once again, it seemed she owed the demon her life.

Every time she turned around he was proving to her how wrong she was about him. Her father and brothers were the only ones who had ever gone to such lengths for her and she was unsure how to thank him for what he’d done. The last thing she wanted was to give him false hope about their future together.

It was bad enough Rhys believed they carried each other’s souls. Hadn’t the ferryman of the Underworld said as much? Charon’s power was centered on identifying souls. He wouldn’t be able to do his job effectively without it…yeah, she wasn’t going to follow that rabbit, it led God only knew where and she didn’t want to go there.

Having expunged most of the water, she met Rhys’ gaze. The concern she saw floored her. He cared for her deeply and was genuinely frightened for her. Shaking her head, she focused on the obvious.

“Thank you,” she rasped. “I don’t think I could have gotten out without your help.”

His arms wrapped around her and she relished the heat emanating from his body. How was he not an iceberg, as well? Was it because of his demon blood?

“The River Styx isn’t meant for heavenly creatures,” Charon stated matter-of-factly, as if he’d read her mind.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Rhys quipped. “Can you just get us to the bank? Dante, we need to build a fire when we get across, she’s freezing and my balls are a couple ice cubes. Will you warm them for me, Luscious?” he whispered the last into her ear, making her laugh.

She placed her cold hands on his cheeks, “Still want me to touch them?” she countered with a small smile.

“Soon as the fire warms you up, you’re mine,” he promised. She shivered for very different reasons when he placed a gentle kiss to her lips.

He broke the kiss just before they reached the shore. Thinking about her surroundings was far safer than allowing his kiss to devastate her any more than it already had.

Focusing on the area, she noted there was nothing different about this side of the river. It had the same sparse trees and black dirt. She missed the color green. Grass, trees, shrubs…anything living. She used to love walking through meadows of flowers in the summer.

“How are you going to start a fire?” she asked, wondering if the black trees even burned.

“Dante and Kellen will find something, don’t worry,” Rhys assured her.

Rhys was always so confident and certain. Not much discouraged him. She loved that about him and knew if he wanted them to build a fire, then they would.

The boat bumped as it met the shore. “The City of Dys is that way,” Charon instructed, pointing to his left.

Dante and Kellen jumped out of the boat and helped her. When Rhys landed in the dirt beside her she glanced back, but the ferryman and his boat were nowhere to be seen.

“Where did he go?” she asked, glancing up and down the river. All she saw was the fighting of the violent apparitions on the surface.

“Hot date?” Rhys suggested with a shrug. “Let’s move away from the bank.”

“Do you ever think of anything aside from sex?” she teased, following him, more than happy to leave the violence behind. She hated seeing creatures forced to treat each other in such a way. It didn’t matter that they were ghosts.

“No, I don’t. Even when I’m fighting my inner beast is calculating how much energy I’m expending and what will be needed to recharge. And, now that I’ve met you, I can’t stop thinking about how perfect your body feels wrapped around me and how much I want another taste,” Rhys boldly declared, causing a blush to stain her cheeks. He never held anything back. It didn’t matter that his two friends were there and she might reject his advances. He told her exactly what he thought and how he felt and she admired that.

Angels didn’t talk to her like that. It wasn’t that angels weren’t direct, but most were afraid of her brothers. They had always sheltered her from the harshness life had to offer.

Rhys stopped in a copse of trees and pulled her close to his body. She felt every hard line as it pressed into her. She wasn’t surprised to feel the erection straining against his zipper and hoped he wasn’t into PDA.

“Too bad, getting another taste wasn’t part of our bargain,” she said, forestalling what she knew he wanted.

“Vixen,” he accused, kissing the side of her neck. “Our bargain was that I am able to give you orgasms anytime, anywhere. And, I can’t think of a better way to warm you up,” Rhys murmured between kisses.

Slapping his shoulder, she tried to extricate herself form his arms. “That is not happening. Not here in the open with your friends watching,” she denied.

He lifted his head laughing. He really was the best looking man she’d ever seen, she thought. It wasn’t fair that she had become the focus of his attention. She couldn’t give him what he wanted or deserved.

“On this, I happen to agree with you. What I want to do to you is for my eyes only. I don’t plan on ever sharing you with another male. You’re mine,” he declared. His claim was as disturbing as it was arousing.

“I’m not yours,” she rebuffed before he claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss.

His lips were cold at first, but quickly warmed as they slid across her mouth. Not surprisingly, he was as skilled at the art of kissing as he was everything else and made her feel like she was the only woman in the world he desired. She knew better than to believe that. A sex-demon needed frequent sex and given their nature, she didn’t believe it was possible for them to be monogamous.

“Seems like you don’t need the fire, after all,” Kellen teased from close by.

Illianna’s eyes shot open. She had gotten caught up in the kiss and wouldn’t have objected if he’d stripped her naked. All rational thought fled the moment he touched her.

“No, I need the fire,” she insisted, finally pulling free of Rhys. Her body may be hot and bothered, but her clothes were still wet.

“You can’t deny what is between us,’ Rhys insisted, leading her to a roaring fire nearby. She had been so caught up in Rhys that she hadn’t even heard them start it. He had a dangerous effect on her.

She sat close to the fire and held her hands over the flames, thawing her frozen body. Rhys sat behind her and spread his big, powerful legs on either side of her, surrounding her from behind. She wanted to object to his closeness, but she liked having the fire at her front and him at her back. It was better than an electric blanket set on the highest temperature.

Besides, she reasoned, he wasn’t harming her or asking her for sex at the moment. The intimacy was a balm to her soul. It had been such a long time since she’d had comfort from anyone.

“If there aren’t any demons in this realm, what do you think our test here will involve?” Kellen asked, joining them. Dante sat next to him, scratching his head.

“I think the test was getting across the river successfully,” Dante replied after several silent seconds.

“I agree. It was a close call when I was in the water. The urge to give up and stay there was intense and if I hadn’t found Illianna, I’m not entirely sure I would have made it out,” Rhys admitted. His deep voice vibrated against her back in the most delicious way.

“How did I help you get out? I wasn’t able to fight at all. In fact, if you hadn’t pulled me out I would have died in there. The water was literally poisoning me. I can still feel the lingering effects.”

Rhys’ hands went to the hem of her shirt. “Let’s get you out of these clothes. You can wear some of mine.”

She stopped him with a chuckle. “Nice try, demon. You aren’t getting me naked out here. I’m fine.”

“You heard Charon, the water isn’t for celestial beings and it’s touching your skin. You need to change,” Rhys insisted. Her assumption about him was once again wrong. It was obvious his only concern was her wellbeing.

A menacing laugh she had hoped to never hear again sounded behind them, startling their group. “Well, isn’t this a cozy sight,” Lemuel provoked.

Illianna jumped up, but Rhys, Dante and Kellen had beaten her, forming a wall of muscle between her and Rhys’ father. She glanced between Rhys and Dante and saw Lemuel leaning against the black bark of a tree about twenty feet away. His black eyes were narrowed at the four of them and still held the power to make Illianna tremble in fear. That demon had been the cause of the worst moments of her life.

Lemuel stood straight and smoothed his black shirt, making Illianna realize their builds were similar, although Rhys was broader through the shoulders and slightly taller. She prayed he was also stronger than his father because from the look on Lemuel’s face, he was pissed and didn’t plan on leaving without her. And, he had come prepared with five of his soldiers as backup.

“It was until you showed up. Why don’t you turn around and leave while you still have the chance?” Rhys remarked. Illianna noticed his hands creeping behind his back, thinking he was reaching for her until she noticed him grip the ends of his weapons.