Chapter Two

 

In Hell, the Immortal Jade, formerly the most trusted lieutenant to the leader of the Council That Was Seven, looked around his new bedchamber with a shiver. It was a posh room for Hell, carved of smooth ebony stone that was characteristic of all the buildings in Hell. The room consisted of a massive bed with black bedding and white pillows, a wardrobe and trunks, and yawning windows to the sky that light never touched.

“This was Sasha’s bedchamber,” a demon said from the doorway. “You will be comfortable here. It has many Immortal comforts we care nothing for.”

I care nothing for this either, Jade thought. The demon closed the door-- one of the Immortal comforts, for there were no doors in Hell-- and left him to wonder how many men and women Sasha had in the bed before him. He’d only spent one night there last month before Sasha flung him to the side in favor of a demoness.

Like Kris had flung him aside to make way for a mortal. His sense of loss was so deep, he thought it’d kill him some nights. He’d done what anyone would do: he’d found a way to get even with one of the men who hurt him. He might even get rid of both of them!

A sound from a trunk in the corner drew Jade’s attention. Surprised, he crossed to it and opened it. The woman’s face was hidden behind a mass of blonde hair, but he recognized the hot pink fingernails instantly.

“Iliana?” he asked. She stilled. He pulled her gently from the trunk and untied her. She was shaking and bloodied, and the bindings left deep marks around her wrists. She pulled off the gag.

“Did Kris send you for me?” she whispered, her gaze darting around. “Did the demons see you?”

“I didn’t know you were gone,” he admitted. “What happened?”

“They caught me when I went through the shadow world and brought me here, to Sasha.” He didn’t have to ask what Sasha did to her when her pretty blue eyes flared with white rage and then filled with tears. “Where is he? I want to kill him!”

“He’s not-- ”

“No matter, we need to escape. Come on, Jade!”

He watched her stride to the door without following, heart heavy at what Kris’s lieutenant and his colleague of a few decades would soon discover. She stopped at the door and turned to him.

“Jade, come on!”

“I can’t go with you, Iliana,” he whispered. “I’m here by choice.”

Surprise, then disbelief, crossed her features. “Oh, God, Jade, what did you do?”

“I took care of Sasha,” he said somewhat defensively. “I deserve better than how he treated me. How Kris treated me.”

“You betrayed us.”

“No, I didn’t cross that line! I’m just here … there’s just two people who I want to avenge myself on!” he said. “I’m not going to hurt anyone else!”

“Anyone else? You can’t destroy Kris. It’s like beheading the Council!”

“You don’t understand. You wouldn’t understand.”

She crossed to him, furious. “You are a traitor of the worst kind. I will kill you now, before you hurt anyone!”

He blocked her first punch but not her second. Light exploded into his thoughts. He’d tried to reason with her, to tell her what happened. She didn’t listen. She was as cold as Kris! Maybe she wanted Kris, too. He’d seen the way Kris looked at her and had long suspected the Council leader had two lovers, not one.

“No!” he roared and picked her up. He threw her against the wall, blinded by pain and rage. She hit the wall hard and landed on the ground, unconscious. “Iliana!” He knelt beside her, horrified at what he’d done. She was alive, though the back of her head bled.

Jade looked around in case someone else saw what he’d done. He picked her up and replaced her in the trunk, and then locked it. No one had to know, not even the demons. At least this way, she’d never have Kris. That left him with one less body to bury.

None of this would’ve happened at all if not for the Ancient’s mate, Katie. Kris never would’ve sent him away, Sasha wouldn’t have stumbled upon the immunity blood, and the demons wouldn’t be amassing an army to send to the human world. Darkyn, the most powerful of all demons, wouldn’t have returned from the pits of Hell, where the Dark One banished him to lead the army to the Immortals’ front door and wipe out the Council.

Without Katie, Jade’s world would be perfect.

* * *

Katie hid a smile. Rhyn, whose large hands all but swallowed the tea cup, had made an attempt to be civilized. He’d spilled it twice already. Despite his irritation, he’d been as patient with Toby as a half-demon could be. Toby had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace. Rhyn set the cup down and sat back, gazing at her hard. Well aware afternoon had faded into night, she kept her cup in her lap to keep from fidgeting under his intensity.

“You’ll tell me to go, won’t you,” he said.

“I think so,” she replied and cleared her throat.

“I’ll behave, but I’m staying.” He rose and crossed to Toby, looping his arm around the baby angel and resting him on his hip. She cringed as he disappeared into Toby’s room, hoping Rhyn didn’t waken him.

True to his word, he stripped off his boots and shirt and lay on top of the covers. She hesitated, her blood burning and her confused thoughts terrified of what might happen. Katie crawled under the comforter. Rhyn made no moves on her, simply rolled to tuck her against his warm body.

“Maybe you’ll keep the nightmares away,” she whispered drowsily.

“If I knew how, I would.”

“Is Darkyn stronger than you?”

“Yeah.”

“If you and the Council worked together, you could take out anything,” she said.

“If I could protect you alone, I’d take you somewhere safe from the demons and the Council.”

“I don’t think you can. Kris is your brother, and family should stick together.”

“You have no idea how my family works.”

“You’ll need your family when I’m gone,” she said, thoughts drifting to her impending death. His body and scent felt too nice. She’d enjoy this tonight and then do what she must the next day. She’d spent the day in thought after her talk with Gabriel, and there was only one solution that might drive Rhyn away before she and Gabriel hurt him.

“You’re not leaving.”

“I know I am, Rhyn.”

At the dangerous note in his voice, she said nothing else. She’d seen the acrimonious relationship between him and Kris and understood some of what made them enemies. As she fell asleep, she couldn’t help thinking Rhyn was the only Immortal on the Council she’d trust to keep humans safe.

Her nightmares that night involved her sister, Hannah, being eaten by the jaguar with the white patch over his eye. She awoke long before dawn, and her eyes went to the corner where Gabriel no longer sat.

“Rhyn?”

He, too, was gone. Toby’s snores drifted into the bedchamber from his room. She tossed the covers off, crossing to the French doors. The half moon’s light made the snow-covered forest glow eerily. Checking the time, she counted backwards. It was afternoon in Maryland, where Hannah was.

Visions of her sister’s death fresh in her mind, she changed into warm clothes and her running shoes, tucked the perfume bottle into a pocket, then sat on the edge of the bed. She closed her eyes to concentrate hard on summoning the portal to the shadow place. Rhyn’s warm power filled her as she drew on their bond as mates, and the portal opened. She stepped into the clammy, wet world of fog and darkness, pausing to focus on the portal that would lead to her sister’s house. Several portals glowed, and one grew more intense as she thought hard.

Katie walked through the shadow place and through the portal, wondering how she’d explain to her sister how she suddenly appeared out of nowhere and expecting a lecture about disappearing three weeks ago.

Hannah’s fiancé, an Immortal, owned a swarthy mansion in Maryland. Katie cringed at his over the top décor of gilded everything and oriented herself. She’d emerged from the shadow world into a sitting room. She walked into the hall and up a wide stairwell to the second floor.

Hannah’s bedroom was quiet, the bed neatly made and her closet door open to reveal a large empty space. For once, she wished she’d paid attention when her sister told her about travel plans. Still disturbed by the nightmare, she rifled through Hannah’s vanity to see if her sister left her appointment book in a drawer.

“They were in a hurry.”

She whirled to see a woman in a servant’s uniform Hannah insisted her household employees wear. The woman was small and pale with eyes so dull, she seemed almost lifeless.

“I think they were going to visit you in France,” the woman added. “A man named Kris invited them.”

Kris! What was his plan? “When did they leave?” Katie managed.

“They had a flight out yesterday afternoon. Ms. Hannah hates to travel in the morning.”

“Do you know when they were coming back?”

The woman shrugged. Katie looked around, unable to tell if her sister’s empty closet was indicative of a weekend trip or something more permanent. Hannah never traveled light, and there was no way of knowing what Kris was doing.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” the servant asked. “I was just preparing one for myself in the kitchen.”

“I should probably get going.”

“Very well, miss. If you want to wait for a few minutes, I can pull up their itinerary.”

“Sure, thanks.”

“Come. Have some tea while you wait.”

A sense of foreboding passed through her as she reluctantly followed the servant from the bedroom into a wide hall with gaudy gilded furniture and picture frames. She paused at the top of the sweeping stairwell to look around her. The house was too quiet for her comfort, and she felt the familiar sense of being watched.

There was no one but the maid, who was halfway down the stairs. She trailed with a shiver, wanting to make sure her sister was truly safe before leaving. If the maid gave her the airline info, she could call to confirm her sister was on board.

The spacious kitchen reminded her of Ully’s lab with its landscape of stainless steel. A tea kettle was already whistling when they entered, and the maid rushed across the kitchen to grab it.

Katie sat on a barstool at the breakfast bar, watching the maid pour tea into two mugs sitting beside the stove. Two mugs, as if she were expecting company or someone else was already there. Katie eased off the chair and reached into her pocket for the perfume. She needed a quiet, safe place where she could channel Rhyn’s power to call forth a portal. Her mind went to the bathroom in the hall.

“I’ve got to run to the restroom. I’ll be right back for the tea.”

The maid turned, looking past her, and Katie spun away. The lanky form standing between her and the door made her gasp.

“Hello, Lunchmeat,” the demon Jared said, smiling slowly. “I see you’re having tea with my blood monkey.”

“Who let you out of Hell?” she whispered.

“More than one way out of that place, as you discovered.”

“Rhyn’s here.”

“If he were, I’d sense him.”

He took a step closer, his blond hair and green eyes highlighting a slender face. His frame was thin to the point of gaunt. She didn’t remember him being so tall in Hell, but she’d been afraid to look too hard at him when she passed his cell.

“You look well,” he said, looking her up and down. He moved closer and she skirted the breakfast bar until it was between them. “Not so brave without those bars between us, are you, Lunchmeat?”

“You don’t want to do this!” she exclaimed.

“Pretty sure I do. The taste of your sweet nectar before I tear you apart?” He smacked his lips, his eyes glowing. He started around the breakfast bar, and she kept pace with him on the opposite side. If she could make a break for the door … she gripped the perfume bottle harder.

“Sasha sent you,” she said, willing him to talk rather than attack.

“Hell no. He’d never let me out of the zoo. The demons released us after Sasha fled.”

“What’d he do?”

“Eh, Sasha killed a couple of demons he really shouldn’t have. Pissed off the Dark One and the demon-leader, who freed us all to hunt him. It’s coming back to bite him now.”

“And my sister? Where is she?” she asked, bracing herself for the answer.

“I don’t give a shit. She can’t be as sweet tasting as you,” he said, his gaze darkening.

“I have to warn you, I’ve learned some things since you saw me. I’m not the defenseless little human you saw in Hell.”

“I like my dinner to fight me. Makes the final surrender so much sweeter.”

She inched away, her back now to the kitchen door. The maid had set down the tea and retrieved a butcher knife from a drawer.

“Why not make this fair?” Katie asked, her gaze going to the maid. “Why don’t you let me fight her? She can keep what she’s got, and I’ll face her barehanded.”

Jared turned to see the woman on the other side of the kitchen, and Katie bolted. Panic churned within her, and she was about to cry out for Rhyn when Jared snagged her arm. She whirled and sprayed him with the perfume, wildly aiming for his face and almost gagging at the scent.

“What the hell … smells like shit!” he snapped and released her to knock the bottle away. She ran with one glance over her shoulder as she reached the bathroom. He stood in the hallway smiling, his predatory look assuring her he had no plans of letting his dinner escape him.

Katie locked herself in the bathroom, cursing Ully for the skunk perfume that clearly didn’t work. She looked around for something to brace the door and ended up leaning against it. There was a moment of silence before the door buckled beneath a blow that sent her sprawling. The door held, and she scrambled back to brace it.

“Rhyn, any time!” she muttered. The door cracked in the middle beneath the second blow, and she went sailing once again. Jared kicked the fractured pieces of door out of the way. Katie pushed herself to her feet, remembering what pain a pissed-off Hell-creature could cause. She recalled the scent of her blood, what hot agony felt like as an otherworldly creature tore her apart.

She’d rather die than go through that again. God help her, she couldn’t even try to off herself while trapped in the bathroom!

“Long time, no see, demon.” Rhyn’s voice made her heart skip a beat, and she craned her neck to see past Jared, who whirled. Jared moved away from the door into the hall to face his opponent.

“Half-breed,” he hissed. “You dare challenge a full demon?”

“Unless you wanna leave my blood monkey alone.”

Jared’s form contorted then grew twice his size as he shifted into a creature unlike any she’d ever seen. Wings, short fur, fangs the size of her forearm … she moved farther into the bathroom, lest she draw his attention. Suddenly, a blur of brown streaked past the bathroom, tackling the demon. She heard the sounds of fighting, grunts, growls, and gnashing of teeth. Katie inched forward, peeking out as the two creatures smashed into furniture and porcelain figurines on display in the wide foyer.

Her first instinct was to run back to the shadow world, but she had a hard time looking away from the two hideous creatures battling it out in Hannah’s home. The sound of footsteps running down the hall drew her attention, and she flung herself backwards as the maid with the butcher knife tried to cut her. A piece of the broken door slashed her as she fell, and she scrambled away as the maid slashed at her again. The maid lost her balance and toppled over.

Katie scrambled up into the hall and maneuvered her bloodied arm to see the damage, suddenly aware the two demons had stopped fighting. She looked up to find both hideous beasts staring at her, drooling. Their gazes followed the drops of blood as they fell from her arm to the marble flooring. Both inched toward her, the inhuman growling filling the hall.

“Winner takes all,” she said, backing away.

The maid lunged at her again, and she darted for the kitchen, followed by Jared’s blood monkey, who was wailing with frustration. One of the demons launched itself down the hall after her, only for the other to tackle it and the two of them to roll down the hall in a furry mass of wings, legs, and snapping teeth.

Katie whipped around the breakfast bar, eyes roving the kitchen for the knife block or something with which to defend herself. She snatched a wooden cutting board as the maid rounded a counter with the knife raised. Katie ducked again then twisted her hips in a perfect baseball batter’s swing and smacked her hard in the face. The maid dropped silently, her nose busted and blood splattered across her features.

“I have enough problems with psycho Immortal demon jackasses. You really think some stupid human with a knife scares me?” she said, furious. “Now I understand why Kris is such an ass to humans.”

She shook her head to clear her anger and sat with her back to the counter, forcing herself to concentrate on the shadow world and tapping into Rhyn’s power despite the sounds of demons fighting so near the kitchen. The portal opened, and she bounded through it, running to the brightest portal and through it to emerge on the snowy park behind the castle.

It was dawn, and she breathed a sigh of relief at being safe. Ully emerged from the castle, hair mussed and dressed as if for a run. From behind him, Toby tore out of the castle in a snowsuit. He dove into the snow while she stood and waited for Rhyn. Guilt made her resolve to drive him away waver.

“You’ve been using the repellant,” Ully said. His nose crinkled as he drew near. “You ready to run?”

“Not today, Ully,” she said. “Your repellant doesn’t work!”

“I tested it on one of the warriors. I know it works.”

She held up her bloody arm. “I just got out of a fight with a demon. It didn’t work.”

“It doesn’t work on demons,” he said. “Only on Immortals.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Demons are … demons, and Immortals are more closely related to angels. Completely different genealogical make-up. I can make you a demon repellant, if you want.”

She gritted her teeth and wished she’d brought the cutting board with her to knock some sense into Ully. The bloodied arm was making her unusually lightheaded. She lowered it to her side and took a few deep breaths.

“Here, kitty, kitty!” Toby said in excitement. He barreled toward the forest, and she turned in time to see the black jaguar with the white eye patch seated at the edge of the park, tail flicking and intense green eyes on the approaching child.

“Toby,” she called. He continued running. Alarm reignited her adrenaline. “Toby! Stop!”

Ully looked over at the child and jaguar curiously. Katie bolted for Toby, knowing the kid was too young to recognize Rhyn from any other demon-jaguar.

“Toby, if you don’t stop, you’re grounded for all eternity!” she shouted, running hard.

The child slowed as he neared the jaguar and turned, finally paying attention. The beast crouched, and she ran harder.

“Mama, I wanna play with Rhyn!” Toby whined. He looked at the jaguar again and took another two tiny steps, as if testing her resolve to ground him.

The jaguar launched itself at the child, and Toby’s scream shattered the quiet morning as its jaw clamped on his arm. Toby began to panic and pull, and the jaguar lowered itself farther to the ground, planting its back legs and jerking the boy towards the forest. Katie’s dormant maternal instinct roared to life, and she dived at Toby, snatching his legs to keep the jaguar from dragging him fully into the forest.

With his scream echoing in her head, she staggered up and started pummeling the jaguar’s face, shouting for it to let the sobbing baby angel go. The jaguar winced but kept its grip, and Toby’s blood turned the snow beneath them red.

A blast of energy whipped by her, knocking her back, and the jaguar was sent flying. It smashed into a tree. Toby sagged. She looked up, shocked to see Sasha standing over them, his sharp gaze on the creature preparing itself for a second attack.

“Go back to the grass! Demons can’t cross onto sacred grounds!” Sasha shouted, snatching her arm and hauling her up.

She dropped on one knee beside Toby, who was unconscious. Tears in her eyes, she whispered to him as she lifted him, tormented by the sound of his whimper. She half-stumbled, half-ran to the park area before tripping and falling flat. Toby rolled from her arms.

“I went as fast … as I could …” Ully gasped, reaching them. Following him was Kris, dressed in nothing but judo pants, as if Ully had dragged him straight out of bed. She crawled on her knees to Toby, heart hammering and hands shaking as she rolled him onto his back. The slash in his arm was deep, and maroon blood bubbled into the snow.

“Kris …” she whispered, a different kind of panic rising within her.

He swept the baby angel into his arms with one quick motion and trotted back into the castle. Katie was slower to follow, feeling lightheaded once again. Ully helped her up, and they both eyed Sasha as the Dark One’s servant approached.

“I hate demons,” he said with another look over his shoulder. She recognized the crazed look from when he’d attacked her in Hell and inched closer to Ully.

He motioned to the castle. Ully looked at her, even more pale than usual, and she retreated to the castle, worried sick about Toby and Rhyn, even knowing the half-demon could take out half the demons in Hell if he felt like it. The only two people she cared about in this godforsaken world were both fighting for their lives.

 

* * *

Rhyn tossed the demon against the wall with enough power to break its back. The full-blooded demon was slow to rise, and he waited. Jared changed to his human form and held up one hand, holding his back with the other.

“Truce,” he said. Rhyn growled in response but switched to his human form as well. “You know, you’re not too bad for a half-breed.”

“I’m half Immortal, half demon. Means I can play in both worlds, unlike you.”

“I see that now. Your monkey is safe. Why don’t we call it a draw for now, half-brother?”

“Only if you tell me what you’re doing here,” Rhyn replied.

He sensed the demon’s pain behind its attempt at a chipper tone. Most who challenged him soon learned just how wild and deep his power ran. As both a demon and Immortal, he possessed the ability to wield both sources of power but not control them. At least, he hadn’t been able to control them before meeting Katie. If this had been a pre-Katie battle, he’d have wiped out the state. He couldn’t help but feel satisfied at besting a full demon and controlling his powers.

“I’m sure we’ll be able to beat each other to a pulp again sometime,” Jared continued. “Every demon on this mortal planet is hunting Sasha.”

“Sasha? What do the demons want with Sasha?”

“The demons want revenge. We were both inmates in his zoo in Hell long enough to know how charming he was. He pissed off the wrong people.”

“Not good enough,” Rhyn said and started toward the injured demon. “I don’t give a shit about Sasha.”

“And … AND,” Jared rushed on, holding up both hands, “he stole something from the Dark One, something that makes demons immune to Immortal powers. It has something to do with your blood monkey. I’m too lowly a demon to know what, but I overheard them talking about it when they came to free us from our cell block.”

“The Dark One unleashed all of Sasha’s pets?” Rhyn asked, the feeling of doom making him jittery.

“All of us.”

“The demons and were-things and the Dark One’s personal creations.”

“Oh, my,” Jared said.

“Then I’ve got a long list of creatures to kill, starting with you.”

“Now, wait, half-brother,” Jared said. “I’ll admit you have the advantage here. I’m not interested in revenge like the rest of my brethren. Those demons Sasha killed really deserved it. I just wanted to eat your blood monkey because she smelled so good, I figured she’d taste even better. That’s all I wanted. But I don’t have to do that. I can just walk away. Or I can help you. You’re going to need some allies to face what’s coming your way.”

Rhyn considered the words born of desperation. There was truth in everything Jared said. He knew Jared well enough after all their years in Hell together to understand the creature was too narcissistic to care about another’s issues. If anything, Jared wanted just what he said: a good snack on his way to find more good snacks.

Brute force usually won any battle he fought. Recently, he’d begun thinking he’d need more if he were taking on demons, Immortals, and anything else the Dark One would throw at him. All he needed was to figure out how to win a game of strategy he didn’t know how to play, before his time was up and he lost the only thing that mattered.

“Well?” Jared asked, the confidence in his voice replaced by unease.

“If you betray me, Sasha will seem like an angel,” Rhyn said, straightening out of his fighting stance. “There are demons in the forest surrounding the Immortals’ winter stronghold. Have you any aversion to killing your own kind?”

“None.”

“I’ll take you there to hunt. You’ll go nowhere near my blood monkey, and if any of our demon brethren attack her, you’ll defend her. Remember, you’ll be the first I come for if you betray me.”

“Deal.”

Rhyn studied the demon, aware he could never trust such a creature fully. But, if he could get some use out of him before it came time to kill him, he might have a better chance of protecting Katie.

“Follow me.”

Rhyn opened the portal to the shadow world and walked through the damp fog to the forest outside the castle. Jared limped after him and appeared beside him on the cliff edge, taking in the morning view of grey skies and green forest with a look of distaste.

“I smell two demons, and blood,” the demon said, raising his head to the wind. “Angel? You have an angel here? Their blood reeks!”

Rhyn’s mind went to Toby, the baby angel he’d amused by shredding pillows. Jared’s senses were more acute than his, and he turned to face the direction of the castle. Something had happened while he was gone.

“Go and hunt,” he said. Fire slid through his body as he contorted and changed shapes. Jared stepped back as Rhyn launched himself into the air as a hellish bird reminiscent of a pterodactyl. His long wings beat the air as he rose, and it took him a short two minutes to soar over the castle.

The stark red of blood against white snow caught his attention, and he circled the park behind the castle. There were two splashes of blood, one at the tree line and another nearer the castle. He changed forms in midair and dropped the half dozen feet to the ground, smelling Toby’s blood as he landed near it. He smelled Katie’s, too, and was unable to quell the surge of lust that ran through him. He entered the castle, following the scents up the back stairwell that Katie alone used to avoid the other Immortals.

The trail led him to Kris’s large chamber, and he strode in without knocking. Toby was in Kris’s bed, the pale baby angel stripped down to his waist and unconscious. Ully and Kris carefully wrapped one of his arms in gauze. Katie sat on Kris’s couch, glassy-eyed while her own wound went untreated. Rhyn’s anger stirred at the sight of her bleeding alone, and he crossed to her, snatching the first aid kit off the bed.

Kris’s gaze went from emerald to amber, and he strode across the room to meet him. Rhyn nearly decked him when the blond brother shoved him back.

“Get the fuck out, Rhyn!” Kris snapped. “And don’t try to tell me that black cat wasn’t you! You’re one twisted-- ”

“Kris!” Katie interjected, standing unsteadily. “It wasn’t him. He was off fighting some demon that attacked me.”

“You stay out of this!”

“No, Kris, I won’t! You’re too quick to blame everyone else! It’s my fault Toby was wandering around without someone watching him, but really, Kris, who assigns a woman an Immortal kid that’s not even her own and expects her to know what to do with it?”

“I’m up to here with your lip. Sit down and shut up, Katie!”

Rhyn was content to let them fight when he thought she was winning, like she normally did. He sensed Kris’s agitation was increased by the ensnaring scent of Katie’s blood, which was heavy in the air. At Kris’s angry response, Rhyn shoved his brother out of his path.

“Talk to my mate like that again, brother, and I’ll fuck up this castle and everyone in it before you can think of stopping me.” He crossed to Katie and sat on the ottoman in front of her. She sat, dazed. Kris’s gaze burned a hole in his back, but Rhyn ignored him. Instead, he focused hard on cleaning up her blood and bandaging her arm before the scent drove him too wild to control himself.

“I want you gone, Rhyn. Be out of here by nightfall,” Kris said at last, his voice quiet and hard.

“You all won’t live long if I go, Kris. The forest is full of demons out for Sasha’s head, and the Dark One may be sending more of its creatures. At this point, I’m the only thing capable of standing between you and the monsters in the forest,” Rhyn replied with calmness he didn’t feel.

He felt Katie’s gaze on him and looked up from the bandage, his eyes lingering on her face. Her surprise echoed what he felt from Kris. He was trying not to let the feel of Katie’s skin heat his blood, but her nearness and direct gaze lit him afire.

A half-demon outcast didn’t deserve anything so delicate or beautiful, but Death help him, he wanted her more than anything else in his life. He didn’t even know yet if he could protect anyone’s ass, except his own. He dropped his gaze to the bandage, and he finished it in a hurry. If he didn’t leave soon, and she kept looking at him like that, he’d make love to her right there.

“Toby needs a healer,” Ully said from the bedside.

“I know where to find one,” Rhyn said, his thoughts going to the Ancient healer that had been a prisoner in Sasha’s zoo in Hell across the hall from his own cell. He stood without looking at Katie. “I’ll be back. Keep everyone out of the forest, Kris.”

He stalked to the door, sexual frustration and anger in his blood again. He jogged through the castle and ran out into the snow, launching himself into the cold air as he changed into the bird form. For once, he was grateful for the coldness chilling his fevered skin.

 

For the second time in as many days, Rhyn surprised her. She wasn’t expecting his ministrations-- however rough and sloppy they were-- or his mouthing off to Kris.

And neither was Kris. The Immortals’ leader cursed and paced for a few minutes after Rhyn left before disappearing into the hallway. She rose, still wobbly, and crossed to the bed, perching on it beside Ully. The sight of Toby’s near lifeless features made her feel sick to her stomach. She brushed hair away from the child’s face. His sweet smell and the feel of his soft skin lingered in her senses after she’d carried him from the forest. She’d never noticed how a kid smelled, like fresh sunshine.

“You think he’ll be okay?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“I don’t know,” Ully answered. “I think a healer can fix him. I think he’s just sleeping for now.”

She touched the baby angel’s hand. She’d never known the type of terror that tore through her when she saw the jaguar snatch him. The image replayed itself in her mind, and guilt flooded her. It shouldn’t have taken almost losing him for her to realize how vulnerable he was. He was hundreds of thousands of mortal years old, but less than half a dozen in angel years. Without Gabriel, Toby had no one but her.

“How is he?” At Sasha’s voice, they both turned. A tremor of fear went through her, and Ully crept closer, as if she had half a chance of defending them. She wrapped a hand around her throat protectively.

“Fine,” Ully whispered. “Sleeping.”

Sasha’s gaze took them both in, his eyes settling on her bandaged arm before he forced himself to look at Toby.

“I didn’t know we had a baby angel in our midst. Demons don’t normally attack them, unless they were trying to draw you outside the sacred grounds, Katie,” he said. “They taste awful.”

“I don’t think you should be here,” Katie said, anger rising at his considering look at Toby.

“Very well. I’m in the chamber beside yours if you need anything.” While quiet, his words were meant as the threat she took them to be. She was still staring at the doorway when Kris walked through. He strode to his walk-in closet and snatched a sweater and boots.

“What the hell is going on, Kris?” she demanded.

“Later.”

“No, Kris, now. Toby and I have been attacked by demons, and Sasha’s wandering around the castle like he owns the place.”

“I don’t expect you to understand. What’s clear is that your mate is still out of control. Sasha can help me break the bond so you don’t have to deal with that anymore.”

“What bond?” she asked.

“The bond between you and Rhyn. You wanted your life back, didn’t you?” he asked pointedly.

“Yes, but-- ”

“I need Sasha’s help. He’s a deviant. He knows how to do things no Immortal has ever done. He brought us a vial of blood to replace you as a test subject, and he knows where we can find the information to break your bond to Rhyn.”

She was silent, surprised as much by his information as she was by the turning of her stomach at the thought of losing Rhyn.

I have to do it before Gabriel comes for me.

“It won’t hurt him or me, will it?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet, but if it must hurt one of you, it’ll be my dear little brother, who is a blight to Immortals and humans alike.” His words were spoken with an unusual amount of venom. “Besides, the bond between angel and human cannot be broken, so you’ll have to take care of Toby until you die.”

“Why do you hate Rhyn so much?” She watched him stop lacing his boots. A haunted look crossed his face.

“I want what he took from me,” he said quietly. “I can’t have it, and so neither shall he.”

The look on his face made her bite her tongue to keep from saying anything else. Weeks ago, when she’d been at the Sanctuary, Gabriel entrusted her with the secret of what had caused Kris to turn on Rhyn. It involved a woman, Kris’s intended mate. She was working with the Dark One, and Rhyn had killed for that reason. And no one had ever told Kris. She ached to, but she doubted he’d believe her.

Kris finished tying his boots and crossed to the door, slamming it on his way out. Ully jumped beside her.

“Do you think Toby is okay to move?” she asked, afraid to be there when Kris returned. “I want to put him in my bed so he doesn’t wake up scared.”

“We can try it,” Ully said. “I don’t like being around Kris when he’s in a mood.”

“Me neither,” she agreed.

They carefully lifted the sleeping angel and carried him up a flight of stairs to her large chamber. Katie arranged the bedding and pillows around his still form and then retrieved his stuffed animals out of his bedroom.

“Next Thursday is Thanksgiving,” Ully started as they settled on either side of the bed. “Kris does a big feast here every year, and Andre used to arrange the December holiday celebration. All the Immortals who are someone are here by mid-December.”

She recalled what sent her outside the castle, and her anger at Kris ratcheted up another notch. He was planning something, if he invited Hannah to the castle.

“Ully, is there any way to see if my sister is coming here? Her fiancé is an Immortal.”

“Kris keeps a roster. We can have his private secretary check it. Write down the names, and I’ll take it down,” he offered. “I need to grab some grub, too. I can bring you dinner, if you want.”

“Yes, thanks,” she said and stretched for the pen and paper she kept in the nightstand drawer next to the bed. She scribbled down Hannah and Gio’s names then sat back, frowning. “I guess it really is Thanksgiving next week. Doesn’t seem like it’s been that long since …” She trailed off, pensive.

“Time passes fast for Immortals. I guess when you stop counting hours and days and just count months or years-- ”

“I need to grab something. I can take this down,” she said suddenly, standing. He looked surprised. “What do you want me to bring you?”

He listed a few items, none of which she heard as she continued to stare at the paper. When he finished, she nodded and hurried away. She dropped a note into the absent secretary’s inbox then went to the first basement level, which housed supplies, clothing, and other essentials in the form of small department stores whose wares were free to all Immortals. She visited the small café and dropped three boxed lunches into a tote bag along with extra cocoa and marshmallows in case Toby woke up soon. She continued to the small women’s boutique that stocked every kind of facial and body care product she’d ever heard of-- and many she hadn’t.

Two other Immortals lingered in the aisle of interest to her, and she browsed the small selection of feminine hygiene products, aware they only stocked a few brands for the few Immortal mates who were human. She made a show of reading the back of a box of tampons until the Immortals left. Only then did she venture closer to where they’d been and snag a small box smoothly from the shelf, pushing it under everything else to the bottom of the bag.

On her way back to her room, she poked her head into Kris’s secretary’s office. The slender Immortal glanced up from his computer.

“Saw your note,” he said with a quick smile. He pulled a printout from beneath his computer and scanned it. “They should be here … tonight. I’m sending a car to the airport at about two. It’s a three-hour trek, so you can expect them between five and six.”

“Thanks,” she said and left, feeling as if the timing couldn’t be worse for her sister to show up. She wondered if Hannah knew yet about the Immortals and how Katie’s tattoo hadn’t been the result of a fling in Ireland as she led her sister to believe. She tucked the small box into her jeans pocket and covered the bulge with her sweater, ducking into the bathroom to hide it before rejoining Ully for their small lunch.