Supernatural. Part 13

A vampire.

A d.a.m.ned vampire.

It was no wonder he could melt a heart at a hundred paces.

The evil creatures used their beauty as a lethal weapon.

She pressed her hands against his hard chest, too late realizing her danger. But oddly he didn't strike, despite the terrifying flash of his huge fangs. Instead he regarded her with a horror that matched her own.

"You," he breathed, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. "b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l."

"Who did you expect to land on top of?" she snapped, her terror of vampires overwhelmed by a bizarre annoyance that her first reaction had been "oh-my-G.o.d-please-take-me-now" while his had been pure male disappointment. "Lady GaGa?"

He blinked, clearly startled by her grip on the modern world and pop culture.

"I was told you were caught in a mage's spell."

"Who told you?"

"Your supposed daughter."

"Laylah." An instant warmth curled through the center of her heart. She had known that Laylah was in the company of a vampire before she'd lost contact with her, but she hadn't expected her daughter to send a bloodsucker to rescue her. It was . . . touching. "I should have known that she would . . ." Her brows abruptly snapped together as his words truly sunk in. "What do you mean supposed?"

He stared down at her with a predictable arrogance. Vampires had I'm superior to you stamped into their DNA.

"We have no proof beyond the word of a treacherous vampire, a psychopathic mage, and a female who magically appeared in a vision at a suspiciously opportune moment to reveal she is Laylah's mother and being held hostage by her evil twin sister." His lips twisted to a sneer. "It's like a bad fairy tale."

Kata slammed her hands against his chest. She loved her daughter, but Laylah obviously had p.i.s.s poor taste in choosing a Knight in Shining Armor.

"Get off me, you oaf."

"Not until I'm certain this isn't a trap."

She shifted beneath his heavy body, futilely trying to wiggle away from him. If the brute thought he could knock her to the ground and then insult her, then he was in for an unpleasant surprise. She might not possess the strength of a demon, but she wasn't entirely helpless.

"Do you know what I am?" she hissed.

Concentrating on her efforts to escape, Kata missed the sudden stiffening of the vampire's body and his m.u.f.fled groan.

"Is that an invitation for further exploration?" he demanded, his low voice suddenly thick with awareness. "A little blatant for my taste, but I'm willing to play."

She told herself that it was shock that made her stomach clench and her heart race. And as for the sizzle of excitement that shot through her . . . well, that had to be anger.

Anything else would be sheer insanity.

"It's a warning that unless you get off of me this instant I will curse your most prized possession," she said between gritted teeth. "And I'm not talking about your sword."

Chapter 4.

Uriel glared at the woman pinned beneath him.

Nothing had gone right from the minute he'd left Victor's lair.

He'd journeyed directly to Stonehenge only to run headlong into a brick wall.

Literally.

The d.a.m.ned mage had left a dozen different snares to trap the unwary. Twice Uriel had been dropped into hidden pits. The first one had been lined with bricks embedded with silver spikes that had seared away the flesh of his palms and feet before he'd managed to climb his way out. The second pit had been filled with rabid h.e.l.lhounds he'd been forced to fight through to get to the door that led to the cell he could sense deep below ground.

It had taken days to heal his wounds and gather enough strength to continue his trek downward. It had taken even more days to dodge the Sylvermyst who patrolled the tunnels and then, at last, barrel his way through the heavy door.

Was it any wonder he wasn't in the mood for surprises?

And Kata was a surprise, he grudgingly admitted.

He'd expected her beauty. She was a twin to Marika, after all, and as much as he might detest the cold-blooded b.i.t.c.h, no one could deny she was stunning.

But while Kata shared Marika's glossy curls and midnight eyes set in a pale, perfect face, they had nothing in common.

Marika was cold arrogance edged with the promise of pain.

Kata was . . .

Heat and pa.s.sion and the promise of endless pleasure.

He bit back another groan as she wiggled her lush, s.e.xy body beneath him.

Dammit.

This was supposed to be a simple snag and bag.

Kata should have been playing Sleeping Beauty so he could toss her over his shoulder and get the h.e.l.l out of the cramped prison. From there it was a straight shot back to Victor's lair and wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am he was washing his hands of the unpleasant duty.

Instead she was very much awake and wiggling beneath him in a way that had him painfully aroused and a breath from ripping off her too-thin nightgown and easing the sharp hunger that had slammed into him without warning.

What was wrong with him?

Debating that pertinent question, Uriel belatedly caught the odd scent of brimstone. Jerking his head to the side he watched as a tiny female demon in a white robe crossed the cell to regard him with a mysterious smile.

"I just knew the two of you would hit it off," she murmured, her voice a low sing-song. "But you might want to brace yourselves. We're about to be sucked into h.e.l.l."

His brows snapped together. "What the . . ."

"h.e.l.l?" The woman smiled to reveal an impressive set of razor sharp teeth. "Yes, I just said that."

"Who are you?" he growled, instinctively shifting so his body was shielding Kata. And how crazy was that? "Actually, let's start off with what are you?"

"I'm Yannah. And as for what I am . . . hmmm." She tapped a finger to her chin. "Do you believe in fairy G.o.dmothers?"

"No," he snapped.

She sighed. "A pity."

Beneath him, Kata used the sudden distraction to scramble free from the weight of his body, her gaze pinned on the far wall of the cell.

"Yannah," she breathed, "something's happening."

"The gateway is opening," the tiny demon announced.

With a liquid motion Uriel was on his feet, yanking the large sword from the scabbard angled across his back.

He'd packed light when he'd left Victor's lair. A pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, combat boots, and his weapons.

What else did a vampire need?

"Gateway?" he growled.

Yannah nodded. "To the underworld."

Uriel glanced toward the swirling mist that was forming near the lead-lined wall.

"Christ. I told Victor this was a trap," he muttered, whirling to point the tip of his sword in the center of Kata's chest. "Close the gateway, witch, or I'll carve out your heart."

She didn't so much as flinch, her eyes flashing with a proud fury.

"I'm a gypsy, not a witch, you dolt."

Uriel ground his teeth, refusing to admit his fascination with the woman's pa.s.sionate courage. Dammit. The gates of h.e.l.l were parting. Now wasn't the time for distractions.

"You can call yourself the queen of England if you want, just close the d.a.m.ned gateway."

"I didn't open it."

"Gateways to the underworld don't just open on their own." He pointed the sword toward the tiny Yannah. "You."

"Not me." Yannah wrinkled her nose. "Sergei."

Uriel's hand tightened on his sword, his gaze searching the small cell.

"The mage?"

"He cast a spell binding Kata to her twin," the demon explained.

"And your point?" he prompted.

"Marika has been destroyed."

"Good," he said. "Someone should have chopped off the b.i.t.c.h's head centuries ago."

Kata slapped her hands on her hips. "Did you miss the part where I'm bound to my sister?"

He shrugged. "Can't you . . . unbind yourself?"

"No."

His gaze shifted toward Yannah who gave a sharp shake of her head.

"Don't look at me."

"Brilliant," he growled, grabbing Kata's upper arm and hauling her toward the broken door. A timely evac was obviously in order. "Let's go."

"Too late," Yannah said, then with a small smile she simply disappeared.

s.h.i.t.

Uriel yanked Kata off her feet, holding her against his chest as he darted through the door, but even as he entered the tunnel leading out of the prison he knew Yannah had been right.

It was too late.

There was an unnerving sensation of electricity dancing over his skin and then the world abruptly melted around him.

Yep, there was no other way to describe it.

From one step to another the hard rock beneath his feet disappeared, along with the dirt walls of the tunnel, sending him tumbling through a choking darkness.

Uriel swore, wrapping his arms protectively around Kata as he twisted to fall backward. He didn't know where they were going to land, but he was fairly certain it was going to hurt.

Two seconds later his worst fears were confirmed.

Not only did they hit the ground with enough force to crack several bones, but the rocks that were scattered across the stone floor were sharp enough to slice through his flesh.

Momentarily stunned, Uriel couldn't stop Kata from scrambling out of his arms. She had a small smear of blood on her cheek, but otherwise she appeared unhurt. Thanks to him. Not that he was expecting a profusion of grat.i.tude. Christ, she didn't even make a token show of concern at the sight of his broken and bleeding body, instead she was rising to her feet and studying their surroundings with a barely restrained terror.

He understood her terror.

h.e.l.l lived up to its nasty reputation.

Tentatively rising to his feet, Uriel clutched his sword as his gaze scanned the vast cavern that took "bleak" to a whole new level.

Pools of red-hot lava flowed between the black, jagged rocks, the glow shimmering off the towering stalact.i.tes and stalagmites giving them the image of the teeth of some gruesome monster.