Chapter 14 #3
“I remember the coven,” she cautiously admitted, not sure why the demon had returned her memories. Was he searching for information she’d forgotten? If that was the case, then she didn’t intend to give him anything that might help. “Those bitches were trying to burn me alive.”
“Humans are very dramatic when they’re scared. Idiotic creatures.”
“I remember them.” She shrugged. “But I don’t remember you.”
There were no visible cues of the creature’s annoyance, but Wynn could sense it in the stiffness of the gaunt body.
“Of course you remember. I was the one to save you.”
Save her? The green slime hadn’t done anything to help, had it? Maybe it distracted the white glowing thing long enough for her to escape, but that wasn’t anything to cheer about. She was quite certain it had intended to infect her with evil.
“Nope.” Another shrug. “No one saved me. I climbed out of the hole and then a few hours later I woke up on the banks of the river near London. There were no demons or saviors around. Just me doing what I had to do.”
There was a hissing sound, as if the demon was offended by her refusal to show appreciation for being rescued from the coven.
“Fine, deny the truth. It no longer matters. This game is about to end.”
“What game?” Wynn shook her head. “I think you’ve made a mistake. I—”
“Shut up,” the demon rasped, abruptly leaning forward as a familiar metallic scent floated through the air. “What is that?”
Wynn’s heart missed a beat. She knew exactly what it was. The sharp male scent belonged to one person. Or more precisely, one dragon. Her personal pain-in-the-neck stalker who finally decided to make his appearance.
Better late than never, she silently acknowledged, even as she forced herself to lift her hands and press them against the demon’s chest. She was not only anxious to get some space between them, but she didn’t want the creature to realize that Azh was lurking in the shadows.
“What are you doing?” She shuddered as a sickening sensation crawled up her arms. It was warm, but not the welcomed warmth she felt when she touched Azh. This was more like the hotness from a fever. A fetid virus that she desperately wanted to wash off. “Ew. Stop sniffing me.”
“I told you to shut up,” Malis snapped, turning his head toward the front of the dungeon as the ground shook. “Azh.” The name came out like a curse. “That dragon is beginning to annoy me. Once I’m done with you I intend to devote special attention to his destruction.”
Wynn curled her fingers into the thick material of the man’s robe, frantically trying to keep him from moving.
“No.”
The burning green gaze snapped back to stab her with an intense glare. “You’re right. I can’t be distracted,” Malis muttered. “We still have business to finish.”
Wynn pressed herself against the wall as Malis reached up to grab her chin with his bony fingers. He pressed hard enough to leave bruises, but Wynn didn’t struggle. The demon might look frail, but she wasn’t deceived. There was no way she could physically overpower him.
“Why did you run from me?” he cooed, his breath putrid, as if he were rotting from inside out. “We need each other.”
Wynn battled back the urge to panic. She was no longer in the past. She had magic she could use, right? Or at least, she had magic if it was willing to cooperate. Recently that was a fifty-fifty shot. Still, there was no way to know until she tried.
Blocking out the creepy demon who was now stroking his fingers over her cheek, Wynn concentrated on the threads of magic that twirled deep inside her.
As always the crimson strand was the largest, as if demanding that she tap into the mysterious power, but for once, it wasn’t the magic that floated closest to the surface.
Wynn had almost forgotten the hex that she’d absorbed from Pheral’s dagger.
Not surprising considering she’d been attacked by an emaciated demon with glowing green eyes and transported to the past. But now she reached for the tainted power, grudgingly allowing it to flow through her veins with a grimace.
At the moment, all she had was bad choices. As much as she hated releasing the evil power, it was the best she had.
Closing her eyes, Wynn blew out a shaky breath, then with grim determination, she twirled the hex into a tight ball of magic. Once it was squeezed as compact as possible, Wynn released the hex with one powerful blast.
She didn’t know exactly what curse was contained in the hex, but she was hoping it was a crippling pain that would momentarily incapacitate the demon. Or at least send him stumbling backward. Something that would give Azh the opportunity to enter the dungeon without being immediately attacked.
But as usual, the crimson strand of magic decided to interfere, and instead of a condensed burst of power, she sent out a tidal wave of energy that lifted the demon off his feet and slammed him against the ceiling before dropping him back onto the stone floor.
At the same time, the nearby cells shattered into lethal shards of iron that sliced deep into the demon’s flesh.
He looked like a bloody pincushion as he sprawled on the floor, but the green magic glowed as strong as ever in his eyes.
* * * *
Azh stormed down the shallow stairs dug into the bedrock.
He’d entered the sprawling castle near the cliffs of Dover just moments ago, easily catching Wynn’s scent as he’d burned his way through the heavy wooden doors guarded by two large demons.
Nothing but ash remained in his wake, ensuring that the remaining guards were quick to toss themselves out the nearest windows.
They might not recognize the creature with an aura that glowed like the sun and fire that blasted from his fingertips, but they understood they were going to end up crispy critters if they were stupid enough to stand in his way.
Next to him, Saxton strolled with an elegant grace, still wearing his suit and tie as he allowed his own icy power to sweep through the vast estate.
Vampires and dragons were natural adversaries, but for now they were tied together by a common enemy.
Which meant the leech had not only sent out his minions to discover the current location of Sir Pheral Gardner, but he’d personally agreed to join in the rescue of Wynn.
Whether Azh wanted his help or not.
Ignoring the male who coated the walls with frost as they passed, Azh leaped forward, landing on the stony ground. Just ahead was an open door leading to what looked like a dungeon.
“Wait.” Saxton was abruptly standing in front of him. “You can’t just charge in there. This could be a trap.”
Azh shoved the leech to the side. “I don’t care.”
With a speed not even Azh could match, the male was once again standing in the center of the narrow tunnel.
“I always suspected dragons were all brawn and no brain,” Saxton hissed.
“We have fire in our veins, not ice.”
The dark eyes flared with anger. “Rushing into danger might make you feel better, but it’s putting your female at risk.”
The damned leech was probably right, but Azh was in no mood to listen. The past few hours had scraped his nerves raw. In this moment he was prepared to burn down this world and every creature in it to get to Wynn.
“She’s in trouble. I can sense it.”
About to shove the leech aside once again, they both froze as a powerful magic blasted past them.
“What the hell was that?” Saxton turned toward the tunnel wall crisscrossed with thin fractures. As if a bomb had been detonated beneath the bedrock, sending shattering quakes through the earth. “Did you do that?”
Azh shook his head. “Wynn.”
Shock rippled over the vampire’s face. And not a happy shock. He didn’t like the thought he not only had a dragon in his territory but a creature who could knock a castle off its foundation.
With an effort, Saxton smoothed away his unease. “I’m guessing she doesn’t need you rushing to the rescue,” he said dryly.
“That’s not going to stop me.” Azh sprinted toward the arched doorway, feeling Saxton inches behind him.
“I never for a second thought it would,” the leech muttered.
Charging through the opening, Azh’s gaze swept over the dungeon that looked as if it’d been hit by an earthquake.
The walls were cracked and stone had been sheared off the ceiling.
On the far side of the dungeon there was an empty space that he assumed had once held a line of cells, but there was nothing left.
Not unless you counted the gouges in the stone floor where the bars had once been anchored.
With a shake of his head at the amount of power that must have been released, Azh glanced toward the back of the dungeon where Wynn was pressed against the wall, her eyes wide as if she were as stunned as everyone else by the chain reaction she’d set off.
His heart clenched as he headed toward her. She looked exhausted, with her hair released from the braid to frame her pale face and her shoulders slumped with exhaustion.
He had reached the middle of the dungeon before she noticed his arrival. “Azh.” She pointed toward the floor a few feet from him. “Look out.”
He glanced down, belatedly realizing that the lump of rags was actually a demon.
The creature looked as if he’d gone through a woodchipper, with deep gashes in his flesh and his face a bloody mess, but that wasn’t the strangest thing.
It was the fact that Azh hadn’t noticed the demon’s presence the moment he’d entered the dungeon.
And even standing this close, his senses were convinced he was looking at a corpse.
It wasn’t until the head jerked to the side and Azh caught sight of the glowing green eyes that he realized the danger.
“You will pay for this,” the demon hissed, then with an obvious desire to create a dramatic exit, the green glow vanished from the male’s eyes and seeped into the ground.
For a second, it spread toward Azh, forcing him to jump back before it reached a crack in the stone floor and disappeared.