Chapter 1 #4
The room was immediately silent. Not even the sounds of breathing could be heard.
It was as if all the air had been sucked from the hall.
Audrey’s heart beat loudly in her chest as she wondered what horrible fate was about to befall them.
The man on the stage looked from one Demon Lord to the next, his gaze collecting information before nodding and moving onto the next.
He left each of his victims gasping for air and swaying on their feet.
The entity grew larger, not only in height, but also in girth, with every probing look.
When he finished, his skin had become so dark it was closer to brown than red, his muscles so large he resembled Atlas, and the antlers on his head so thick and long they were more like legs growing from his brow than horns.
Even though he spoke in low tones, his voice reverberated through Audrey’s body, making her feel lightheaded and weak in the knees.
“Lords and Ladies, aristocracy of the realms of hell, I, Beelzebuth—the Supreme Chieftain of the Underworld and second only to Satan himself—welcome you to the Blood Moon Ball. May your hunters find untold bounties and your reapers an abundance until now unknown to your coffers. Eat and drink to your undead heart’s desire.
The Ritual of Retrieval will begin at the stroke of the darkest hour.
Be well, for tonight is our night—the night of the damned. ”
No sooner had the last words left the Supreme Chieftain of hell’s tusked mouth than the air around them thinned to normal, the black candles sitting in the countless candelabras again burned bright, and every being breathed a sigh of relief.
Audrey watched her master attempt to act as if Beelzebuth’s mere presence had not affected him as it had all the others.
She would’ve laughed aloud had she not feared losing her teeth.
Thankfully, Adramelech was more interested in working the room than bothering with her, so the rest of the evening was spent parading around like his favorite show pony.
Lost in thought and trying to look anywhere but at the festivities and monsters around her, Audrey jumped when the Chancellor leaned down and lisped into her ear with his forked tongue.
“Gwyllgi and Barghest will escort you home. I must stay for the ceremony. I will be home before morning, so be sure to have my meal prepared.”
Without another word, Audrey was turned over to Adramelech’s henchmen.
Walking back to the Chancellor’s castle, sandwiched between a half human, half goat and a zombie—although the undead woman preferred reincarnated—prostitute who chattered incessantly about getting paid for her services, the princess had never been happier to see the tarnished brass goblin-shaped door knockers on the ten-foot-tall stone doors that led into the Demon Lord’s abode.
Without a word, Audrey climbed the forty-eight steps to her room on the third floor, cursing each one as she went.
After walking across the threshold, she made sure the door was locked before flopping face first onto her rock hard bed.
Eyes barely closed. Mouth stretched wide in a yawn.
She was counting the seconds to the sweet oblivion of sleep when the air around her began to swirl like tiny cyclones floating about her bed.
Her long, dark locks blew into her face as she was lifted from the covers and flung through a dark, misty opening that appeared in the concrete wall of her room.
Audrey found herself traveling through an all-encompassing darkness so quickly her clothing clung tight to the front of her body and her limbs pushed back to the point of pain. A loud pop and blinding flash of light had her tumbling from flight and landing with a thump on a hard, cold surface.
Used to being on guard, Audrey jumped to her feet, threw her hands out on front of her, and began turning from side to side to ward off any attack that may be coming her way even before she had regained focus.
Her ears were still ringing, by what had sounded like a gunshot, but somewhere in the distance, she could hear a man shouting her name.
After several backward steps, her butt made contact with a wall and Audrey took her first real breath since she’d hit the ground. The blurry figures around her were slowly coming into focus, while the voice calling her name still sounded as if the person was at the bottom of a well.
Rapidly blinking her eyes to clear her vision, while shaking her head with the hopes of stopping the ringing in her ears, Audrey gasped when she could finally see who it was that called her name.
“Rian.” His name a prayer upon her lips, Audrey collapsed in his arms and sobbed for the first time since her abduction.
The hug of her mate’s arms around her body felt like heaven.
With her head cradled against his muscular chest, Audrey sighed at the simple beauty of his heartbeat as it whispered in her ear.
His kissed the top of her head and she smiled.
She felt cherished for the first time since her father’s death.
The low tones of his voice slid under her skin and skittered down her spine, warming her from the inside out.
“Oh, Audrey, you’re here. You’re really here. And you’re safe. I’ve waited so long to see you again.”
Audrey raised her head as his voice quivered with emotion. Looking into his deep brown eyes, she laid her hand on his cheek and marveled at the spark of attraction where her skin met his. Barely able to speak, she whispered, “I thought I’d never see you again. How did you do this?”
He handled her with such care that Audrey knew she could just as easily fall in love with the man as she had with the idea of him.
It was true they were fated mates. That the Universe in Her infinite wisdom had somehow decided to make the princess just for the dragon.
At least that was what all the stories her momma had told her said.
Still, there was one thing she’d always wondered about but had been afraid to ask…
what would they feel for each other? Would she love him?
Would he love her? Would she feel his devotion to her no matter how many miles separated them?
Or would they simply be two pieces of a vast puzzle fit together but Fate to merely exist as a pair, nothing more, nothing less… companions for a lifetime.
All of her questions were answered in an instant.
Rian was everything she could’ve hoped for.
He’d thought of everything to make her feel comfortable…
human. Even had a fresh brewed pot of tea and something to eat.
Audrey knew without a doubt this was a man she could love and who would love her in return.
Placing a cup of tea and plate of food on the table in front of her, Rian sat down, took her hand in his and for the first time since she’d landed back on earth, purposely avoided eye contact with her.
When he spoke, his voice sounded more formal, but the warmth and affection she felt coming from him was undeniable.
“Audrey, I have spent every minute of every day that I could searching for a way to bring you back. To break the demon’s hold on you.
I even searched for your uncle. Sadly, he and all his most trusted advisors were killed in battle, and the information of your whereabouts and the deal made for your life was lost with them.
With nowhere else to turn, I contacted a coven of white magic witches. ”
Audrey could feel his aversion to the witches and tried to remember if her mother or grandfather had ever spoken of a feud between the white magic spell casters and the dragons, but she could think of nothing.
Not wanting to miss anything Rian had to say, she filed it away to think about later and focused on her mate.
“Without knowing the name of the demon who holds you hostage or the bargain your uncle made for you, they were only able to concoct this spell.”
The sad look on Rian’s face told Audrey that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say but needed to hear it anyway. “And I had to use a Devil’s Trap to keep the demon inside you from escaping.”
Her eyes followed the index finger on his free hand as Rian pointed to the ceiling. The strange mosaic pattern containing a mixture of sigils and Gaelic symbols within a thick black pentagram seemed familiar somehow, but Audrey couldn’t place where she’d seen it before.
When he spoke again, she could feel the sadness in his voice. “The worst part of all of this is that you can only stay with me until the first rays of the morning sun break the horizon. When that happens, you will be immediately transported back to the exact spot I summoned you from.”
Rian pulled her to him, wrapped his arms around her, and held on tight as he continued.
His scent seeped into her very essence. His chest rumbled against her body as he spoke.
“The bright side is that those blasted witches built the spell so that I can call you to me every full moon as soon as the first moonbeam hits the earth. And they assured me they will continue working on a way for me to bring you home permanently.”
Setting her an arm’s length away, he looked deep into her eyes, conveying the conviction of his words. “I will not rest until you are right here, by my side, for all eternity. For you are mine, Audrey Dobresou, more now than ever before.”
Tears filled her eyes but she refused to let them fall.
For the first time since her descent into the Abyss, Audrey had hope…
real hope. It was more than reading the secret journal entry.
Rian was tangible. Right in front of her and looking at her as if he thought she’d hung the moon and stars.
Audrey opened her mouth to tell him about the journal and the escape plan she’d found in it—but stopped.
What if he gets hurt? I can’t risk that. Not right now.
Deciding to wait, Audrey summoned all her courage and smiled at the wonderful man Fate had decided would be her mate.
With only a few hours until daybreak, she wanted nothing more than to hold his hand, look into his loving eyes, and listen to him speak.
They talked for hours. Rian asked question after question about her time in hell and the name of her master.
Audrey did her best to hide the fact of her beatings but could see that he knew she was lying.
Thankfully, her Guardsman let it go, but she somehow knew that wouldn’t last for long.
Audrey could feel Rian’s anger grow as she explained how her father’s bastard brother, with the help of evil wizards, had bartered her everlasting soul to Adramelech.
She explained in as much detail as she knew about Prince Valdis’ association with the black magic practitioners and the way they had slaughtered her father, King August, and his followers to take his crown and kingdom.
Rian became so furious when she detailed how the Chancellor had kidnapped and tortured other shifters in an effort to locate the dragons, that he’d jumped to his feet and paced the floor as she spoke.
All too soon, daybreak approached. Audrey could feel the impending doom in the marrow of her bones.
Knew she only had minutes before it would be thirty very long days until she could once again see Rian.
Acting on impulse as he stood and helped her to her feet, Audrey let herself be pulled against her mate’s massive chest. She stood on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and just as she felt the first tug of the spell returning her to hell, she laid her lips to his.
As Audrey was yanked from the arms of her lover, Rian’s voice floated through her mind. “I will never give up, mo chroi’, never.”