Kyrian caught the first one with a parry that caused him to explode into powder. He twisted around like a graceful cat and caught a second one with an upper cut to the middle. The Daimon gasped and vaporized.
Before Kyrian could rebound from that attack, one of the Daimons caught his sore arm and clawed the sword from his grasp. Kyrian twisted and caught him with the toe of his boot. He too evaporated. Another one caught him about the waist and rammed him back against the wall. The other two closed in.
He kicked at the one on his waist at the same time the two approaching him vaporized.
He saw Tabitha standing on unsteady legs. "Eat steel, you vampire dogs," she said as she tossed a throwing star at Kyrian. Stunned by the fact she had tossed it to him as protection and not to harm him, he caught it in his hand and used it to kill the last Daimon.
By the time he reached Tabitha, she was kneeling on the ground. Her neck was bleeding steadily, her face pale. Kyrian tore part of his shirt to make a compress, then dialed for an ambulance.
"Eric?" she asked, her voice strained as she tried to see into the darkness where the other victims lay. "Is he dead?"
"I'm right here, baby."
Eric staggered over to where they were. He fell down beside Tabitha and gathered her into his arms. "She's not going to die," Kyrian assured him.
Eric nodded. "I tried to tell her not to come out tonight. That it was going to be bad. She doesn't listen."
"It runs in the family."
Tabitha touched Kyrian's arm while he gave directions to 911. After he finished, she stared at him, her brow dark with disbelief. "Why did you save me?"
"It's what Kyrian does, Tabby," Eric whispered.
While Eric held her, Kyrian checked on the other two people on the ground. They were the same ones who had attacked him in Esmeralda's house. Unfortunately, they weren't as lucky as Eric and Tabitha.
"Eric," he said, returning to them, "what happened?"
Eric shrugged. "One minute we had them and the next, they turned on us."
"Did they say anything?"
Erik looked sick as he held Tabitha close." 'I'll swallow your soul.' "
Kyrian stared at him for a heartbeat, then clenched his teeth at their warped sense of humor. "Daimons watch way too many B movies."
Tabitha reached out and touched Kyrian's hand. "Thank you."
He nodded. "I return the gratitude."
"Man, Kyrian," Eric breathed. "You were right about them. I've never seen Daimons move like that before. I should have listened to your warning."
Frowning, Tabitha looked between them. "You two know each other?"
"My father used to work for Kyrian's friend Talon." Eric met Kyrian's gaze. "I've known Kyrian all my life, tabby. Believe me, he's one of the good guys."
Before she could say anything else, the ambulance arrived. Kyrian waited until they were both inside and under medical care before he called Amanda to tell her the news. She didn't answer her cell phone. He called her mother, her sister, and his house. No one answered. His stomach knotting with fear, he headed for his car. Maybe Amanda was still at his house waiting for him.
Or maybe Desiderius has her...
He imagined her being attacked like Tabitha. Saw her bloody and dead like Tabitha's friends. The terror and pain of the thought wracked him. Amanda had to be all right. He couldn't live if anything happened to her.
Like a demon possessed, he drove home as fast as his Lamborghini would go. His body shaking in fear for her welfare, he rushed through the garage and into the dark house, listening. Please, gods, anything. Just don't let her be harmed.
He heard Amanda upstairs, humming her Grieg tune in his bedroom. Relief and gratitude rocked him so hard, he almost staggered. He had to see her to make sure she was fine and healthy. Taking a deep breath in relief, Kyrian sprinted up the stairs and opened the door.
He froze.
Amanda had lit the candles on his wall sconces. She wore the skimpiest, sheerest white nightgown he had ever seen in his life. Her long legs were encased in stockings and a lacy white garter belt. With her back to him, she was leaning over the bed, scenting his sheets with the rose oil she rubbed onto her skin after her bath.
The candlelight displayed the outline of her creamy body to perfection. His entire body burned at the sight of her. Overwhelmed by his emotions, he went to the bed and pressed himself against her back. He held her tight in his arms, leaning his head against hers as he shook with relief.
Amanda was alive and unharmed. She moaned in pleasure. The sound reverberated through him, heightening his desire even more.
"Touch me, Kyrian," she breathed, taking his hands from her waist and leading them to her breasts. "I need to feel you tonight."
He needed it, too. After being so terrified that she was lost to him, he needed to feel her in a way that made his mind whirl. Growling at the feel of her hardened, gauze-covered nipples in his palm, he dropped his head to taste the scented flesh of her neck. She turned in his arms, reached up and removed his sunglasses from his face, then she claimed his lips with hers.