Bound By Darkness Page 0,75
to her advantage as she wrenched off her shoe and with one smooth motion had the three-inch heel stuck in the bastard’s eye.
With another bellow, the creature reeled backward, struggling to remove the shoe as the blood poured down his naked chest. Jaelyn smiled as she deliberately removed her other shoe and stalked forward. The heels were made from a combination of lead and silver since they hadn’t known exactly what sort of creature she’d be facing.
As luck would have it, a perfect blend to destroy the mongrel.
Hurray for her.
Sensing her approach, the demon lifted his head, swinging a clawed hand at her head. Jaelyn easily ducked the clumsy blow, and without the least amount of regret, she lifted the shoe and punched it into his other eye.
Screaming in pain the creature flailed forward, his arms swinging and his wings flapping as the metal in the heels allowed him to swiftly bleed to death.
Jaelyn stepped back and waited for nature to take its course, deeply relieved she didn’t have to actually drain the nasty thing to kill it.
On the downside, it seemed to take forever for the beast to collapse to the floor as the last of his life drained into the dirt.
“Jaelyn, the guards are coming,” the voice of Valla warned.
“Shit.”
Too well trained to leave a mark before she was certain it was dead, Jaelyn bent over the mongrel and allowed her senses to search some sign of his life force. Only when she was convinced that the beast was dead did she tug off the dog collar and remove the key that was enchanted to fit in any lock.
A handy little item.
Careful not to touch the silver bars, Jaelyn swiftly unlocked the cell door and allowed it to swing open. She had just stepped into the pathway when Valla reached out of her cell to brush her fingers over Jaelyn’s shoulder.
“Help me.”
Jaelyn stiffened, desperately refusing to glance at the vulnerable young female.
She was here on a mission. Which meant she didn’t have the luxury of caring what happened to the nymph. After all, if she dared to help Valla escape then the Addonexus would only hunt her down and kill her. Just to teach Jaelyn a lesson.
“I can’t.”
“Please,” the female begged. “Please, don’t leave me.”
“I ...” Jaelyn struggled against her screaming instinct to unlock the damned cell and release the pleading female. For all she knew this was another test of her training. “I don’t have a choice.”
“Of course you do. Just open the door.” Valla’s choked sob stabbed Jaelyn directly in the heart. “I swear, I won’t slow you down.”
“You’re not part of the job.”
“Job? What job?”
“I have to go.” Jaelyn took off for the door, desperately trying to shut out the female’s scent of absolute terror.
“Wait,” the nymph cried out. “At least put me out of my misery.”
“ No.”
“Jaelyn, I beg of you.”
The screams followed her as she escaped from the dungeons and then the auction house.
They followed her back to her lair with the Addonexus, haunting her... .
Always haunting her.
Jaelyn woke with a low curse, rising to her feet to glance around the abandoned church.
She told herself the dream was a result of her near-death experience.
After all, if she hadn’t been a Hunter with the ability to shroud herself in shadows so thick she could bear the sunlight for short periods of time she would even now be a tiny pile of ash in the nearby caves.
As it was, she’d barely managed to climb out of the cave and dart to this church before she’d passed out from exhaustion.
Was it any wonder that in her weakened state she would be plagued with a nightmare she’d struggled so hard to banish?
Yeah, a convenient excuse.
A pity she didn’t believe it for a minute.
Not when she knew the sensations of guilt and nearly overwhelming regret that she had felt walking away from Valla that night had been stirred by Ariyal.
She had never forgiven herself for leaving the nymph behind, no matter what punishment the Addonexus would have doled out.
How could she survive if she abandoned the man destined to be her mate?
With a shiver she stepped over the rubble that littered the floor of the nave and made her way to the nearest window, which boasted a few tenacious shards from the once magnificent stained-glass window.
Now was not the time to brood on her complicated relationship with Ariyal.
Not until she was certain he’d escaped from the caves unharmed.
And oh yeah, stopped the end of the world.
Ignoring her lingering