everyone’s safety. No one knew how she would react and an out of control harpy was the last thing they needed at the moment.
On a good day, any of these females could be dangerous creatures, but they had been through a great deal and were unpredictable, glancing around nervously and jumpy as hell. When a rat skittered along into their path, the females all crouched down and snarled, brandishing fangs at the harmless rodent. Their eyes roved restlessly from Zander to Kyran to Mack and the rest of them. The wild, crazed look in their eyes told Gerrick that the best course of action was to keep them contained for the time being. A dozen feral females running rampant was the last thing the realm needed.
Gerrick recognized the sign for the steam baths as they passed and was surprised they didn’t encounter more enemies. He kept his guard up. This was way too easy and that made him nervous. They crossed through the area that had obviously housed the skirm and demons, finding it empty as well, even though his skin prickled in warning. Sharpening his attention, they continued as quietly as possible.
When the air cleared of the cloying scents of death, his heart raced. Something wasn’t right. His first instinct was to bring Shae into his arms and protect her from danger. As a warrior, it was his job to protect both the realm and humans, so this was nothing new, but with Shae, it went beyond mere duty. It came from his soul and the thought scared the shit out of him. He couldn’t go there right now because it brought up too much pain and heartache so he shoved it deep down and out of reach of further inspection.
A noise up ahead stopped them in their tracks and he stood on tiptoe to see around their group. “Stay here,” he told Aison and Caell as he shouldered his way to the front of the group.
When he reached Mack’s side, he saw that Kadir and Azazel were standing in the path of their group. Both demons wore smug grins and stood with their arms crossed over their chests. The difference in size between the Behemoth and the Daeva demon would have been comical if their presence hadn’t been stifling. One was over seven feet tall with grey skin and black horns while the other looked like a male model.
Gerrick glanced warily at the Dark magic of black and gray lights that surrounded the two demons. They were gearing up for a spell and Gerrick’s gut clenched as he tried to recall what spell he could cast that would effectively protect their group. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a spell strong enough to counteract that amount of Dark power.
Gerrick chanced a glance at Shae and saw her frozen in place, glaring at the demons. Her rage poured from her in waves and he saw that she stood there, with her muscles tensed and ready to attack. For the first time, he realized that the normal purple and blue aura that typically surrounded a vampire was sliced by black for Shae. All of the females’ auras were shot through with black. Whatever they’d been doing to them was very different from what had been done to Jessie. She exhibited a rainbow of colors, but none of them were black.
“I see you’re taking what doesn’t belong to you, again, Vampire King,” Kadir rumbled in a deep voice that vibrated the walls like the motor of a Harley.
Gerrick felt the females trembling behind him. The snarling, ferocious beings he had just seen were gone and in their place were frightened mice. Gerrick would bet that if Kadir told the females to scurry back to their cages, they would. All but Shae, that was. She wouldn’t scurry anywhere. Her rage called out for vengeance.
“We don’t belong to you,” she snarled and took a step forward. Gerrick put his hand on her arm, halting her progress. She glanced down at his hand and then at his face. He shook his head at her. She lifted her lip, flashing him fang. The sight was more erotic than it should have been.
Zander jumped into the conversation before Shae could speak. Gerrick had no doubt she had plenty she wanted to say to him at that moment. “Och, your plans have once again failed, Kadir. Are you ready to return to your maker, demon?” Zander lunged without hesitation, bent on destruction. Zander was a male possessed on getting revenge