Marcus lunged for her throat. Serena angled away, and for no apparent reason, the vampire lost his balance, slipped off the seat, and landed in a heap on the floor. The groupies hovering nearby either backed away or rushed in to help him up, but he came to his feet in an explosion of anger.
His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched, but he hadn’t avoided being slain by Aegis Guardians for centuries by causing scenes. Wisely, he did nothing more threatening than curse at her, and then he whirled away in dramatic vampire fashion, the crowd swallowing him and his Renfields as they followed on his heels.
Before Marcus figured out she’d lifted his bracelet, she needed to haul ass—
Something flashed in front of her. No… inside her. A crisp pop burst in her ears, echoing from somewhere in her head. A wash of nausea made her break out in a cold sweat. Instinctively, she reached for her pendant, let the cool, smooth orb comfort her.
Except, the comfort was short-lived. The pendant glowed. A warning. Her cloak… compromised. She was exposed.
Jerking to her feet, she stumbled toward the exit on wobbly legs. She needed to get home. Back to Val’s mansion.
Because for the first time in eighteen years of living a carefree, sheltered life, Serena was afraid.
Byzamoth fell back in his seat, panting, body shuddering. Orgasmic waves of power pumped through him, the name he’d just learned breaking softly from his lips.
Serena Kelley.
He hadn’t known the identity of the human he’d been seeking, but everything about her was now as clear as a witch’s crystal ball.
Too quickly, the power fizzled, leaving him weak, but no less ecstatic. His palm burned, but it was a lovely pain, easily endured. He opened his fist, where the cause of the discomfort, a golf-ball-sized orb known as Eth’s Eye, glowed red. Red instead of gold, because it had been used for evil rather than good.
Exhausted, he let his head fall against the seat rest and gazed up at the ceiling of the Israeli house he’d commandeered this morning. The family who’d inhabited it lay at various angles around him, dead eyes staring blindly. The youngest female virgin had volunteered herself as the blood sacrifice Byzamoth had needed to activate the evil capabilities of Eth’s Eye.
“Volunteered” was probably too strong a word, but in any case, Byzamoth had gotten what he wanted. He’d found the most important human in the universe, the one who would be instrumental in kicking off the most significant event in demon history.
“It’s started,” he said to the demon standing in the living room entrance.
Lore entered, a massive male covered from neck to toe, including his hands, in black leather that matched his short hair. He was one of the most efficient killers Byzamoth had come across, a male whose touch killed everything his bare hand came into contact with.
Byzamoth might be immortal, but even he gave Lore a wide berth.
“I don’t give a shit about your war. I want my money.”
“Why the rush?”
“My partner failed to kill the Vampire demon. I need to finish the job.”
Byzamoth waved his hand. “You’ll get your payment, but it won’t matter. Soon, money will be worthless. Pain will be the new currency.”
“Yeah, well, right now cash buys beer, so hand it over.”
Byzamoth smiled. Even now, the underworld would begin to stir with the sense that something was coming, even if that something was still a mystery to them. Few would understand the significance of what Byzamoth had just done, which was to lift the divine cloak of invisibility that had shielded Serena from demon eyes for so long.
For years she had walked the Earth disguised as a normal human, and few, if any, were the wiser. Until now.
Fortunately for her, she was still charmed and still the keeper of the necklace, Heofon, and no one could take either away from her—not against her will.
No one but a select few individuals. Like Byzamoth.
He had every intention of taking them against her will.
And when he was done with her, he’d be in possession of the most powerful weapon imaginable, and demons would finally rule the world.
Doctor Gemella Endri sat in UG’s conference room with her sister and Eidolon’s mate, Tayla, at her right side and Shade at her left. Eidolon and doctors Shakvhan and Reaver sat across from them. Tension thickened the air, growing more oppressive as the night went on with no new, feasible ideas for how to save Wraith