Darkness Eternal (Guardians of Eternity)

“I’m a gypsy, not a witch, you dolt.”


Uriel ground his teeth, refusing to admit his fascination with the woman’s passionate courage. Dammit. The gates of hell were parting. Now wasn’t the time for distractions.

“You can call yourself the queen of England if you want, just close the damned gateway.”

“I didn’t open it.”

“Gateways to the underworld don’t just open on their own.” He pointed the sword toward the tiny Yannah. “You.”

“Not me.” Yannah wrinkled her nose. “Sergei.”

Uriel’s hand tightened on his sword, his gaze searching the small cell.

“The mage?”

“He cast a spell binding Kata to her twin,” the demon explained.

“And your point?” he prompted.

“Marika has been destroyed.”

“Good,” he said. “Someone should have chopped off the bitch’s head centuries ago.”

Kata slapped her hands on her hips. “Did you miss the part where I’m bound to my sister?”

He shrugged. “Can’t you . . . unbind yourself?”

“No.”

His gaze shifted toward Yannah who gave a sharp shake of her head.

“Don’t look at me.”

“Brilliant,” he growled, grabbing Kata’s upper arm and hauling her toward the broken door. A timely evac was obviously in order. “Let’s go.”

“Too late,” Yannah said, then with a small smile she simply disappeared.

Shit.

Uriel yanked Kata off her feet, holding her against his chest as he darted through the door, but even as he entered the tunnel leading out of the prison he knew Yannah had been right.

It was too late.

There was an unnerving sensation of electricity dancing over his skin and then the world abruptly melted around him.

Yep, there was no other way to describe it.

From one step to another the hard rock beneath his feet disappeared, along with the dirt walls of the tunnel, sending him tumbling through a choking darkness.

Uriel swore, wrapping his arms protectively around Kata as he twisted to fall backward. He didn’t know where they were going to land, but he was fairly certain it was going to hurt.

Two seconds later his worst fears were confirmed.

Not only did they hit the ground with enough force to crack several bones, but the rocks that were scattered across the stone floor were sharp enough to slice through his flesh.

Momentarily stunned, Uriel couldn’t stop Kata from scrambling out of his arms. She had a small smear of blood on her cheek, but otherwise she appeared unhurt. Thanks to him. Not that he was expecting a profusion of gratitude. Christ, she didn’t even make a token show of concern at the sight of his broken and bleeding body, instead she was rising to her feet and studying their surroundings with a barely restrained terror.

He understood her terror.

Hell lived up to its nasty reputation.

Tentatively rising to his feet, Uriel clutched his sword as his gaze scanned the vast cavern that took “bleak” to a whole new level.

Pools of red-hot lava flowed between the black, jagged rocks, the glow shimmering off the towering stalactites and stalagmites giving them the image of the teeth of some gruesome monster.

Worse, the superior senses he depended on were muted by the strange atmosphere.

He couldn’t smell a damned thing beyond the acrid stench of brimstone, his sight was limited to the cavern spread before him, and he couldn’t detect if they were alone or if there were a thousand demonic souls preparing to attack.

He had spent the last four hundred years being the predator, not the prey.

He didn’t like feeling vulnerable.

In fact, it made him downright pissy.

Just like Kata’s supreme indifference to him made him pissy.

What was wrong with the female?

He was the one forced to come rushing to her rescue despite her intimate past with a Jinn. And yet she was treating him as if he were an unwelcomed intruder, while he . . .

He what?

Uriel grimaced.

Why deny it? He was plagued with a brutal urge to protect the luscious gypsy. An urge that was nearly as powerful as his unwanted desire. Such instincts were dangerous in a vampire. It indicated a bond with the female he wasn’t prepared to accept.

He wanted to believe it was a spell. Or maybe an insidious Jinn trick.

A pity it felt so painfully real.

Frustration spilled through him. Wasn’t it bad enough he’d waltzed right into a trap that had sucked him straight into hell? Now he had to be obsessed with the woman entirely responsible for his current troubles?

Indifferent to his annoyance, Kata wound her way through the lava that could so easily destroy her fragile flesh.

“Yannah,” she called, her tone frantic. “Yannah.”

“Dammit.” Shoving his sword back into its sheath, he moved to stand at her side, barely resisting the need to snatch her into his arms. “Are you trying to attract the attention of every nasty beast in the underworld?”