Alistair’s Bed (12 page)

“Yes Mother, I am home.” He had to laugh as his mother’s emotions spilled over into a physical display of shimmering light that surrounded them both. “I missed you.” He admitted through the lump in his throat. “I have missed you all.”

“By Styx woman, dampen the glow!” A booming voice filled the room they were in. “Or are you trying to blind him his first day back with us?” A massive hand clapped down on Alistair’s back, knocking him forward a step. “I was starting to think you had forgotten the way home son.”

Alistair released his mother and turned to face his sire, bracing himself just in time to absorb most of the impact of the bear hug he was wrapped in.

“I came home as soon as I could.” He slapped his father on the back several times in greeting. “I have a great deal to tell you, and not much time.”

Anoch released his son and nodded. “What happened to you boy? Where have you been?”

Alistair opened his hand and revealed the medallion to his parents. “I’ve been a prisoner.”

Molla hissed in distaste at the medallion while her mate growled in fury.

“Sorcery.” They both spoke at once.

“What did I tell you about sorcerers?” Anoch looked from the medallion to his son and back, a deep scowl in his face.

“Consider that lesson well learned Father. Very well learned.”

“Now isn’t the time Anoch.” Molla reached out and passed her hand over the disc. “It’s still active!” She snatched her hand away as if it burned her. “Destroy it, now!”

Alistair looked to his father and offered him the medallion. “I haven’t the power.”

The older daemon took it, his fingers curling around the disc as a shimmer of flame engulfed his fist to the wrist. The flames went red, then white, then a brilliant blue and finally faded away. Ash fell from Anoch’s hand as he opened his now empty fist.

“It is done.” His eyes met Alistair’s. “Who did this to you, and where are they now? This isn’t finished.”

“No, it isn’t.” Alistair agreed. “I do not know where she is now, but I know where she will be in a few hours.” He began to outline his plan.

***

CHAPTER 10

She was brewing her second pot of coffee when she heard the rumble of a truck engine outside. Keri went to the window and peeked out, spotting a small cube van with the logo of a national rental agency splashed across its side. Pulling up behind it was a black sports car, and though it was too far away to make out the exact make, it was clearly expensive.

“I hope a seagull uses it for target practice.” She muttered to herself as she took a deep breath and went to greet her guests.

The two men that stepped out of the truck were huge. They lumbered up the walk like a pair of steroid pumped bookends, right down to their matching crew cuts. They stopped three feet from the doorway and stepped to each side of the path, giving Keri her first glimpse of Cora.
So that’s what a sex kitten looks like.
The thought struck Keri and she nearly giggled. From the tip of her red polished nails to the toes of her Jimmy Choo sandals, every part of this woman seemed to ooze sex appeal. She was wearing rings that winked and sparkled on almost every finger, and a torque of gold gleamed at her throat, the two ends only an inch or so apart and set with matching red stones Keri had no doubt were rubies.

“Hello there, you must be Keri Anderson. I hope you don’t mind my coming by so early.” Her dark eyes took Keri’s measure with a brief glance. “As I mentioned on the phone, my name is Cora D’Marco.”

“It’s nice to meet you Ms D’Marco, and there’s no problem with you coming by so early. I was up late with the festivities but that’s nothing a little coffee won’t cure.” She gestured for the woman to come in. “May I offer you a cup?”

“Thank you but no, I’m fine.” She entered and the two bookends followed her right behind her, filling the entire hallway with their presence. “I hope you don’t mind if I get right to business? I’d like to see the bed and confirm it is the one I’ve been looking for.”

“Oh, of course.” Keri managed to plaster a smile on her face as she led them down the short hallway to her bedroom. “It’s in here. I’d only just gotten it cleaned up over the weekend.”

Cora took one look at the bed and her painted lips curved into a predatory smile. “That’s it.” She stepped past Keri as if she weren’t even there and walked around the bed, running her hands over the carvings with an almost seductive caress. “Oh yes.” She purred. “This is what I’ve been looking for.”

“Well if it belongs to your family, then I couldn’t possibly keep it from you.” Keri gestured to the bed. “It’s beautiful, but it wouldn’t be right for me to have it.”

Cora paused and glanced over her shoulder as if only just remembering Keri was there. “Oh, that’s very considerate. I’d like to offer you double what you paid, to make up for the restoration and the inconvenience.”

Keri blinked. “Double? Well that would be very generous. Uh, thank you.”

The sorceress merely made a dismissive gesture with one manicured hand and turned back to the bed. “Archer, Hunter come.”

Both men stepped forward and joined their mistress by the bed. “Dismantle this, carefully. I don’t want a single scratch.”

“Yes ma’am,” they replied in unison.

Now that’s a little creepy.

As the two started taking the bed apart Cora flashed a smile that sent a chill running down Keri’s spine. “Let’s leave the boys to their work shall we?” The woman walked right past Keri and out into the hall, clearly expecting her to follow. She made her way to the living room and turned around, her expression now far from friendly. “So, where is it?”

For a moment Keri was truly confused. “Where’s what?”

Cora’s expression grew darker, “The medallion that was fastened to the top of the bedpost. Where is it?”

Her mouth suddenly felt like it was stuffed with cotton. “Medallion? I don’t know what you mean. The bed came just like you see it.”

Cora sighed. “It really does you no good to lie to me. I can still sense him you know. Oh, he’s gone now, but he hasn’t been gone very long.” Dark eyes locked on Keri’s and seemed to see right into her soul. “We were together far too long for me not to know the taste of his energy, and he left it
all
over you.”

“I don’t know w-what you’re talking about.” Keri stammered.

“Liar.” Cora’s voice was glacier cold. “When he bedded you, did he make you feel like you were the only woman in the world? Did you scream out his name and beg him to take you again? I am sure you did. They all did. I watched him so many times, with so many women. He was very good at making them feel special and then making them scream.”

“No.”

“Lying again? You really shouldn’t bother. You aren’t very good at deception”

Cora crossed the room and stroked Keri’s cheek, a sensuous caresses that made Keri cringe, but when she tried to look away, she found herself paralyzed, unable to move.

He seduced you and got you to free him, didn’t he?” Cora’s voice was low and sultry, the words sliding into Keri’s brain and holding her attention captive. “He was always so good with the ladies, charming them into doing anything he wanted. And oh, the things he did to them. Some of them were never the same.” The sorceress shook her head sadly. “So charming, and so dangerous. I kept him locked up to keep women like you safe.”

“No, you kept him a prisoner so you could toy with him, use him.” Keri snapped back. A vision of a pair of heavy metal doors slamming shut filled her mind and suddenly Cora’s words were only words, no longer enthralling her.

The dark haired sorceress laughed at her. “Oh ho! The kitten has claws, how amusing. Did he even notice you were gifted little sister? Or was he too busy feeding on your pleasure to realize what you are?”

Keri took a step back, confused. “What are you talking about now?”

“You, of course, don’t you know what you are?” Cora laughed harder. “You don’t, do you? You don’t know and he didn't notice. I’d of thought he was smarter than that. I wonder how you managed to free him if neither of you—” She shrugged. “That’s a puzzle for another time.”

Cora lifted her voice and called for the two men. “Now, since you are resistant to my charms little sister, we have two choices remaining. Either you tell me where that medallion is, or I have my boys convince you to. “

A pair of massive hands curled around Keri’s upper arms, holding her in an iron grip. “I really, really think you should tell me now. Alistair was the first daemon I captured, but he wasn’t the last. Archer and his brother aren’t incubi though, they feed on pain, not pleasure.”

The grip on Keri’s arms tightened and she knew she’d have bruises where his fingers were biting into her flesh. “I’m not telling you anything. I owe him that much.”

“Very well, have it your way.” Cora shrugged. “But believe me, he’s not worth what is about to happen to you.” She stepped back and began to chant, and suddenly Keri could hear nothing at all, despite the fact Cora’s lips were still moving.

One of the daemons stepped in front of her, she wasn’t sure which one but she did notice that he was no longer hiding what he was. His eyes were now red with black irises and there were crimson horns curling back over his head. He leered at her, flashing a mouthful of sharp teeth. He reached out for her with a clawed hand and shredded her shirt as he tore it from her body, leaving her dressed in nothing but tattered shreds of cloth from the waist up.

Keri screamed in terror, but even as she felt the air leaving her lungs the silence remained. She screamed again and she could see the daemon in front of her laughing, but she still couldn’t hear a thing.
Another spell
,
well, so much for screaming for help.

With terrible clarity she realized what the price for Alistair’s freedom would be.
I’m going to die, and it’s going to hurt.
She closed her eyes and prayed to whatever powers were listening that Alistair was safe, and wherever he was, he’d found a way to completely free himself from Cora’s magic. If she’d only told him right away, maybe things would have been different. But she hadn’t, and he was gone, and there was no way she would betray his trust again. Cora had already stolen too much of his life, Keri was going to make sure he lived the rest of it in peace.

She felt talons on her skin, five sharp points resting just above her bare breast, holding there for just a moment before sinking in deep. Even past the pain she could feel her own blood well up and trickle down her skin as she screamed again, twisting away from the hurt he was inflicting.

Behind her the other one shifted slightly and she felt something sharp tear into her shoulder. She knew without looking he’d bitten her, and she choked back another silent scream of pain as black and red spots began to dance behind her eyelids.

*****

Alistair shifted a few seconds before his family, letting them focus on his energy to ensure they would be able to follow him to the right place, the deck just outside Keri’s bedroom. The moment he arrived he could feel his skin itch with the presence of magic; Cora was already here. Part of his mind registered the partially dismantled bed and he felt his heart twist as he realized in his rage at her betrayal he’d left Keri to face his worst enemy all alone. He broke into a run as the others materialized around him.

When he reached the limit of his former prison he hesitated, some part of him still expecting to meet the barrier that had always held him back. Then he heard his father’s footsteps behind him and kept going. Things were different this time, everything was different. When he rounded the corner into the living room he came to a skidding halt as his senses registered the scene in front of him.

“Keri!” He roared her name and felt a surge of power behind it, shattering the silence spell that cloaked the room.

Keri hung on the talons of a Daemon, her blood bright against the terrible pallor of her skin. When she heard Alistair’s voice he saw her struggle to lift her head, her pretty eyes dull with pain and shock as she finally saw him. “No!” She croaked, her voice so raw and hoarse it made his heart ache for her. “I wanted you to be safe!”

“Oh how sweet, you came back for your pet.” Cora purred from her spot on the couch. “And here I thought I was going to have to leave here empty handed.”

“Let, her go!” Alistair’s voice was a low growl of fury as he glowered at the two young daemons holding Keri.

One of them drew back his teeth and snarled. Alistair’s rage burned hot and he roared in fury. They had made his Keri bleed and suffer. They were going to die. He charged the one whose hands were covered in her blood, hitting him hard enough he felt ribs break as he sent the younger daemon flying across the room.

He followed his prey across the room, hauling him up from the floor and shaking him like a terrier would a rat. “You serve that bitch? Then die a traitor to your race.” He raged at the terrified daemon that scratched and scrabbled at the hand locked around his throat. Alistair kept squeezing, depriving the other daemon of air until he stopped fighting and slumped to the floor. Without hesitation Alistair stepped over him, reached down and snapped his neck before tossing the body away with disdain. There was a crunch, and the corpse of the second daemon landed on the coffee table nearby, crushing it. He glanced up and met the eyes of his father who greeted him with teeth bared in a savage smile.

“Now we deal with her.” Anoch growled and pointed to Cora, screaming and fighting a golden haired daemon that had her backed into a corner.

When they approached the others in the room gave way, and the blonde daemon grinned over his shoulder as he saw them arrive. “She doesn’t seem to want to see you again brother.”

“It would appear not Malyk, despite her coming all this way to find me.” Alistair greeted his half brother as he yanked the still screaming Cora to the centre of the room.

*****

Keri saw Alistair and her heart had shattered. He was supposed to be safe! This was her penance for lying to him, why was he here? The hold on her arms suddenly loosened and she staggered forward, barely able to stand on her own without the daemon’s grip keeping her upright.