Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) (11 page)

“I’m not leaving you alone to deal with
the demon.”

“I don’t want or need your help. Get
your ass back to Samuel before I kill you.”

Cain shook his head. “I’ll be close if
you…”

“I won’t.” Eli watched Cain walk away.
He hoped the younger wolf wouldn’t return to Samuel. He also hoped he wouldn’t
remain too close. The moment the huge creature landed Eli recognized him,
Demetri Demidov. And that was bad. Really bad. Sending Cain away was definitely
the right decision.

After taking his human form, Demetri
glanced in the direction Cain had walked away. “I see you managed to snag one
of your little pups from Samuel.”

Out of all the demons it could’ve been,
he was shocked it was Demetri, but he knew better than to show it. Leaning his
back against a tree trunk, he crossed his arms over his chest. “What do want?”

“How long are you going to keep playing
hide and seek with the rest of your pack?” The demon asked as he continued to
look in the direction Cain had walked.

Hoping to take his attention away from
the younger wolf, Eli pushed away from the tree and took a step toward the
demon. “I’m not playing games. I’m done with the pack.”

“Are you?” Demetri turned toward him.
“If you’re attempting to flee from them you’re not doing a very good job at
it.” He pointed. “They’re on the other side of the ridge.”

“I know where they are.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sure you do. Knowing your
enemies and keeping them close is an old but good strategy. It’s what I would
do in your situation. We are a lot alike. Only you’re weaker.” The smile that
slowly parted Demetri’s lips to bare his teeth was the furthest thing from
pleasant. It was definitely a silent snarl, meant to intimidate. “I can’t help
but notice that you don’t seem pleased to see me.”

 “We’re nothing alike. And I am not
happy to see you.” Eli saw no reason to deny it.

“You’re right. We’re as different as
night and day. I’m still intact.”

“What?”

“I haven’t been snipped. I have a pair
of balls.”

“I don’t ever remember you being so
funny.”

“I’m only trying to cheer you up.
Perhaps, it would be more effective to simply remind you, that if you stick
around, you’re certain to see Mia suffer a painful, untimely death. It’s no
secret that she has talent for getting into perilous situations. It’s only a
matter of time before Joseph fails to protect her. Did you know it happened
many years ago to his father? His mother walked right into a trap and his father
couldn’t get to her in time. His mother was a feisty little thing just like
Mia. Joseph is doing the same thing. His father abandoned his good sense by
allowing her to fight by his side. Surely the realization that history is
already repeating itself should give you some measure of delight. Revenge is
always such a sweet, intoxicating elixir to a scorned soul.”

“I do not want revenge. Leave her
alone,” Eli growled as he took a threatening step forward.

 “Sit down and pay attention, Fido.
First, I totally lack the desire to waste any time or energy killing her.” He
shrugged. “She’ll take care of it with Joseph’s help. Second, I find it
amusing…no. Not that. I find it pathetic, in a gut busting laugh sort of
way, that
you’re still concerned about Mia’s welfare,
considering she dumped your ass for a demon.” Demetri paused for a few seconds.
“Don’t you have rules about allowing your women to run off and breed with other
species?”

It was true. His willingness to fight a
demon over threatening the woman who didn’t give a shit about him was pathetic.
Even so, after all he’d put her through, he would do his best to protect her.
“Rules are bent and broken every day.”

“Is that why you’ve failed to discipline
your pack for turning on you and abandoning you to follow Samuel’s lead?”

“My motives make no difference to you.”

“They’ve already banned together with
some of the locals. They’re an unsavory bunch. They’re rumored to be
responsible for numerous acts of violence in the city. Did you know they killed
their previous leader because he didn’t condone their decision to eradicate
humans?”

“I’m shocked to hear that you’re so
current with the local gossip. I thought it would be beneath your almighty
greatness.” This was the first Eli had heard anything about the local pack
attempting to wipeout humans. He knew there was a reason for Demetri to be
discussing any of it with him. Though the demon’s reason was more than likely
self-serving, he believed that if he continued the conversation, he would
likely gain bits of valuable information.

“Yes,” Demetri said. “I know. But it’s
something to do. If you hadn’t been distracted by Mia, it is possible you might
have paid closer attention to Samuel. You might have even learned that he had
been sharing fleas with the local pack for several months before you arrived to
take Mia away from Joseph. From what I have heard, Samuel also has an aversion
for weak minded leaders that refuse to join the war to eliminate the human
population from the world.”

“Raping and murdering defenseless women
does not make men strong. They will never succeed. They would be pitting
themselves against the demons still willing to protect humans. But again, I am
shocked that you have chosen to spend your time entertaining yourself with
gossip. I would think that turning against your fellow demons and waging war
against them would’ve kept you better occupied.”

“It has its moments. But in all honesty,
I’ve yet to find an opponent able to offer me any real challenge. And I’m
surprised that you view the slaughter of humans as murder. Your kind has never
viewed them as an equal species since they decided to eradicate yours for
religious cleanliness.”

“It was a long time ago. And it wasn’t
all humans.”

“There were enough involved to cause a
significant decline in your population. And it isn’t a thing of the past. Mia
was a victim of their cleansing practices. It still happens to this day.”

“She survived,” Eli said. “I haven’t
seen any proof of it happening at this time.”

“She would be dead now, had fate not
intervened and given her a demon as a mate. It’s kind of funny how things work
out, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have had a hope in hell of healing her. That said,
wasn’t it your inadequacies that caused your kind to decree the law that your women
weren’t allowed to fraternize with my kind? Why is it acceptable to you now? To
be perfectly honest, you make no sense whatsoever. You were born to be a
leader. And yet, you do not enforce the laws designed so many years ago by your
elders to protect your kind. Perhaps, that is why Samuel has become
misguided to the point that he has joined up with the locals and Mary.”

“Mary? What do you mean?”

“The locals are working closely with
Mary.”

“How close?”

“Side by side. You haven’t figured it
out yet?”

“You know I haven’t. If you plan to
enlighten me, do it. If not, let’s end this now.”

“I suppose you’re right. We should speed
things up. Your pack is only getting closer. Mary was the original leader’s
mate. She is a Lycan. I know it’s shocking. She hides her doggy lineage very
well. Anyways, on her behalf, the new leader to the local pups happens to be
Jeremy Lang, Mary’s special little chew toy.”

“Jeremy is vampire.”

“I know. It’s all very odd, right?”
Demetri asked.

“Odd? I think not. It’s bullshit. A Lycan
pack would never submit to a vampire’s rule.”

“Believe what you will. I really don’t
care.” Eli expected Demetri to end the conversation, but after a short pause he
continued, “Before having her mate killed, Mary had acquired a lot of knowledge
from journals lost by the religious group that nearly wiped out your kind. In
them she believes that she has found the key to achieving perfect immortality.”

“What is the key?”

“Sorry. I can’t tell you that. It’s a
secret. If you want to know, you’ll have to sniff it out and dig it up.”

“You don’t know.”

“Nice try.” Demetri laughed out loud.
“But I feel no need to prove anything to you. If you want the details you’d
better get sniffing.”

“Then why tell me anything?”

“Why not?” Demetri asked.

“You’ve chosen Mary to be your mate.
Doesn’t that mean you owe her some degree of loyalty?”

Demetri smiled. “Loyalty is not my
greatest strength, unless it’s to me. Why not share a few insignificant secrets
with a friend?”

“I am not your friend. If what you’ve
told me is true, you know it’s not insignificant.”

“There’s no need to be hurtful. I just
figured sharing a little knowledge with you might make the game we are all
playing more entertaining. Whether or not you become a problem because of what
you learn from me or anyone else, matters little to me. If you become a threat
to what is mine, I’ll destroy you. It’s that simple.”

“I’m starting to believe the rumor that
you’ve lost your mind.”

“I’ve considered it. I suppose it’s
possible. Stranger things have happened. Here’s another secret. Mary plans to
kill Mia.”

“That is not a secret. And I’m certain
she is safe with Joseph.”

“You admit he’s the right man for her?”

“How can I argue it? She received his
immortal breath. Isn’t it impossible for any other than a true demon’s mate to
receive it?” He paused. “Well, unless the demon kills his true mate. Isn’t that
what you’ve done to Sara for Mary?” The ground shifted beneath Eli’s feet. It
was the first and only sign of Demetri being angry since they had begun their
conversation.

Clearly, the mention of Sara had done
the impossible. It had caused Demetri, a demon with absolute control over his
emotions, to display true anger and frustration.

“You have a point.” Eli felt Demetri’s
inner struggle to regain control. That was more interesting than the reason for
the demon to tell him about the locals and Mary working together. “But I doubt
Joseph has what it takes to do such a terrible thing.”

“Mary is attempting to gain immortality?
Why haven’t you just…?” Eli knew he’d just discovered something huge. He knew
better than to think Demetri had given him the information by accident. A ten
thousand year old demon didn’t have slips of the tongue. “Sara is alive. You
didn’t kill your mate.” He wanted Eli to know. But why?

“I wonder after all the time you’ve
spent searching for Mia if you’ve missed something.”

“And I wonder why it would matter to
you.” Eli said.  

“Your mate doesn’t matter to me, but she
matters to Mary. Mary plans to have her killed. It won’t be personal. It’ll be
part of a lucrative business arrangement she will make with your mate’s father
to ensure funding for her pursuit of eternal life.”

“Mia’s father was killed by vampires
several years ago, and she’s not my mate.”

“Perhaps you should check the
nutritional value of your kibble. If it’s lacking proper nutrients, you should
take supplements. I’ve heard doing so will not only improve your mental
productivity, but it will also give you a nice shiny coat to sport around.
Until then, as hard as it will be, try to keep up with me. We’ve already agreed
that Mia never truly belonged to you. For that reason, here’s a shocker, I was
not referring to Mia.”

“I don’t have a mate.”

“For some reason Joseph and Mia took a
liking to Kara. But why would you care? If she does not belong to you I’ve
wasted my time. Time is precious. Clearly, if she is not your mate, there’s no
reason for you to be bothered with her problems.”

Eli felt a strange, overwhelming sense
of panic. “What problems?”

“It doesn’t matter, does it?”

“Tell me.”

“You shouldn’t bother yourself with her.
She isn’t yours. Besides, she is with Nikolas now. He took her to recover in
the privacy and security of his home. I am certain he will do a better job
looking out for her than you ever could.”

A thick black mist began to swirl around
Demetri’s feet and very slowly moved up his entire body until it completely
surrounded him. Within seconds, the mist started to dissipate just as slowly as
it had formed. When it was gone, Demetri was also gone. He could easily
understand why Mia and Joseph wouldn’t mention Kara to him, but Nikolas
should’ve come to him. Then again, none of them knew he’d met her. He was
tempted to forget about the compulsion that had led him there, but wanting to
know the cause of it, he decided to stay for a while longer.

He looked down at the foot bridge near
the bottom of the falls. The compulsion was stronger than ever before. It was
like a heartbeat growing stronger. Looking down at the scenery below, he
recalled a moment from the past. As a youth he’d stood in that exact spot with
his brothers many times laughing and daring each other to jump. He never did
it. None of his brothers did it. Save for his father, no one had ever dared to
take the plunge.

It wasn’t a dare that had compelled his
father to do it. His father had done it to save his mother when she’d been
attacked by two defiled vampires on the footbridge. She had never been the type
of a woman to be panic-stricken. She exchanged blow for blow to give his father
enough time to get to her. Eventually, a major loss of blood weakened her to
the point she struggled to remain on her feet.