rolling away and then scrambling to her feet. Eve raised the Isis over Lilith's head for a heart plunge, but Lilith's wings unfolded from her shoulders, and she quickly flew backward to put maneuvering distance between them. Silver-red blood ran from Eve's clenched fist where it had been torn open by a fang when she'd punched Lilith. The old warriors faced each other, breathing hard, positioning for the next attack, death strategies blazing in their eyes.
"You've only lived this long during this encounter because I'd been weakened by Armageddon negotiations with my husband, but know that I will prevail!" Lilith backed up farther, panting with fatigue and from significant injuries, eyes now black fire.
Eve screamed, running forward, anger making her entire body shake. "I will take your head before the Armageddon! Know that!"
Lilith disappeared, her voice a taunt. "I will not fail, again. That is what you must know, dear Eve. I now know your greatest weakness, now that I've spilled your blood and tasted your heartbreak curdled within it. Just like before, this, you cannot win!"
Whirling around in a frustrated circle, Eve shouted her complaint into the temporary darkness, brandishing the Isis. "Fight me! We do this to the death, you cowardly whore! I have wanted your carcass for centuries and will have it!"
Silence answered her. The dawn had crested. Tears of unspent rage glittered in the sunlight within Eve's eyes as she drove the Isis into the sand and walked away. "Damn you! This isn't over!"
An eerie laugh echoed behind Eve like a whisper on the wind. "No,. you arrogant Neteru bitch, it's not."
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER ONE
Burbank, California
G abrielle watched Rider sleep beside her in the late afternoon sun, her hand gently stroking his bare chest. Filaments of light added flecks of gold and red to his blond hair and coated his damp skin in warm hues. Jack Rider was a good man... a human like she was, who hadn't judged her, hadn't lied to her, but who had become her friend and lover over time, even though he couldn't bring himself to commit to loving her fully.
But he'd also been honest about that. They both knew the reason why. Tara. Oddly, she owed Tara for sparing her, when it would have been so easy for that female vampire to take her blood to survive the Level-Seven Hell onslaught visited upon Master Yonnie, Tara's new mate. Yet Tara had shown honor, and had bled out only her demon brothels to heal him. Gabrielle let out a quiet sigh. The complexity of it all was profound.
Life as she once knew it was peeling away from her; New Orleans was gone, the French Quarter and her establishments were now shambles and mud hovels. Hundreds of people had died, graves were overturned, and the spirits were restless.
It was time. Her bargain with the dark side would be a debt called in soon. Gabrielle brushed a stray lock of mussed hair away from Rider's forehead and kissed him there softly so not to wake him. He looked so peaceful when his haunted eyes were closed and his breaths came deep and slow. But she also enjoyed his ribald humor; a slight smile tugged at her mouth. Yes, she loved Jack Rider.
Ever so gently, she nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder and felt him stir to protectively pull her in beside him, and wondered what her life might have been like had she met him before she made a dark bargain. As she listened to him breathe and his heart quietly thud within his chest, she knew the answer. There would have been no coven brothels, no death, Hell, and destruction in her life. She would have stayed within the safety of this semi-jaded Guardian's arms and never let him go.
Tears of remorse wet her lashes, but she refused to cry. The forces of darkness were realigning; she'd felt it in her bones. The dark covens had surged up, briefly siphoning power from all, and then it went still in the underworld. An event had been set in motion. Something had happened, and now the aftermath would have to play itself out. It was a strange knowing, like something was gloating and watching an evil strategy take form, and it could now just confidently sit back and watch the pawns move on an unseen chessboard, but she couldn't put her finger on the source.
For a moment she'd thought this was the final hour, that she'd been called to deliver what she'd