Beyond the Darkness (24 page)

She would have to earn their loyalty.

Not that he doubted for a minute that she would.

There was a ruthless strength in Harley that was hidden beneath her fragile beauty.
Dio,
she’d faced a demon lord, hadn’t she? Something that would have sent any other creature screaming in fear. She would rise to whatever challenge she might face.

Not to mention the fact that she was as stubborn as a mule.

Reluctantly easing off the accelerator, Salvatore slowed the car from light speed to a mere crawl, and forced his attention to their surroundings as he exited off the highway and onto the dirt road that had once led the faithful to the forgotten church.

In a wash of moonlight, the overgrown cemetery slumbered, seemingly undisturbed for decades. His gaze traveled over the wrought-iron gate that hung open, no longer bothering to protect the bodies that had long ago turned to dust. Behind the fence, the broken marble statues and crumbling mausoleums peeped through the weeds, as if refusing to concede total defeat.

Just beyond the graveyard loomed the abandoned church, the once grand structure now an empty shell of stone and decaying wood.

He halted the car behind a patch of trees. The entire neighborhood was vacant, but humans were always straying where they didn’t belong. The sight of the expensive car in the middle of nowhere would stir the kind of attention he hoped to avoid.

At his side, Harley shook her head in wry resignation. “It looks like an abandoned set for a Rob Zombie horror flick.”

“Briggs never did have any taste.” Salvatore shook his head in disgust. “He’s the sort who gives werewolves a bad name.”

“I don’t think it’s a matter of taste that gives werewolves a bad name,” Harley said, shoving open her door and climbing out of the car.

With a chuckle, Salvatore joined her at the side of the road.

“True,” he agreed. “Maybe I should hire a good PR firm.”

“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes. “You love knowing that the demon world quakes in fear when a werewolf enters their territory.”

Salvatore couldn’t argue. Being the biggest, baddest, predator in the room had its benefits.

“It does tend to avoid confusion,” he said smugly.

“Everyone knows you’re the king, and everyone must bow before you?”

“Something like that.”

“Good God,” she muttered, flicking her gaze over his expensive suit and Italian loafers. Hunting or not, he liked to look good. “You were arrogant before you came into your full powers. Now you’re going to be impossible.”

He bent his head to capture her lips in a swift, possessive kiss.

“Not when I have a beautiful queen who is always eager to keep me humble,” he husked against her mouth.

She reached up to tangle her fingers in his hair and returned his kiss with enough heat to start a nuclear reaction.

“I suppose that’s true enough,” she whispered.

Salvatore briefly considered the logistics of removing her jeans and stretchy shirt to get her naked before reluctantly pulling back.

Dio.
He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted from their urgent business. Not with his curs missing and Briggs still a threat.

They would have an eternity to enjoy making love beneath the moon.

“Ready?” he demanded, his voice thick with frustration.

She nodded. “I’ll go right, you circle left.”

“Harley…”

Her eyes flashed with warning. “Don’t start.”

He swallowed the lecture that trembled on his lips and instead tugged on the end of her ponytail.

“Be careful.”

She smiled, reaching behind her back to pull out two Glocks loaded with silver bullets.

“Always.”

With a silent grace, she disappeared into the bushes that surrounded the graveyard, and Salvatore turned to head toward the church. Again Salvatore felt that surge of pride.

His mate.

Strong, beautiful, fearless.

Perfect.

Then, with a shake of his head, he concentrated on the scents and sounds that filled the night.

He took a quick pass through the church, then concentrated on the circle of trees that surrounded the yard.

Hundreds of scents clung to the thick bushes, but Salvatore easily shifted through them, dismissing all but those that held the familiar musk of Were and cur.

Finding nothing among the trees, he headed toward the graveyard and the entrance to the caves. More than once he caught the scent of Hess and Briggs, but the trails were too old to have been made after the collapse of the caves.

Cristo,
were they trapped in the tunnels?

The thought was enough to make his blood run cold.

The curs had been tortured, mind-raped, and abandoned by Briggs. Being trapped in the caves might be enough to send them over the edge.

The last thing he wanted was to have to put them down like savage dogs.

Ruthlessly, he crushed the thought.

He was going to find his soldiers, and then he was going to kill Briggs.

He wouldn’t accept any other outcome.

Weaving through the long forgotten graves, Salvatore joined Harley as she stood beside a marble mausoleum at the very back of the property. He frowned at her distracted expression.

“Did you find something?”

“I thought I caught Caine’s scent, but it…” She broke off her words with a shake of her head.

“What?”

“It couldn’t have been him.”

“Why not?”

“It was the scent of a pureblood.”

Salvatore lifted his brows, instantly aware of the significance in her words.

Caine had been so confident that he was to become a Were. Could he possibly have seen the future?

Could the vision have been real?

“Merda,”
he breathed, dismissing the unpleasant image. The dark lord had massacred anyone claiming to be clairvoyant a millennium ago. There were occasional prophets and those who were sensitive to premonitions, but there weren’t any true seers left in the world. “It can’t be.”

Harley shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Not tonight,” Salvatore readily agreed. “But eventually I intend to track down the cur and repay him for all those years he held you captive.”

“I would say he’s already been punished. He thought he was destined to be a great Messiah, and instead he’s lost everything.”

Salvatore’s lips twisted. Caine had been a willing partner in Briggs’s near destruction of the Weres. Not to mention, he had dared to treat Harley as a pawn in his self-serving games.

“I prefer a more tangible method of punishment,” he growled.

She grimaced, knowing better than to try to change his mind. There were some things that couldn’t be compromised.

“Did you find any hint of Briggs?”

“Nothing fresh.” He glanced toward the silent fields beyond the graveyard. “If he came out of the tunnels, then it wasn’t here.”

“There has to be more than one way out. We need to widen our search.”

That had been Salvatore’s thought as well.

“We’ll go together.”

“Giuliani.” She narrowed her eyes. “If you wanted a female who likes being treated as if she needs a big, strong male to protect her, then you shouldn’t have chosen me.”

Salvatore heaved a sigh. Then, bravely ignoring the handguns that could cause a number of nasty injuries, he brushed his thumb along the line of her stubborn jaw.

“There will never be a moment when I won’t need to protect you,
cara.
I can’t change that.”

She stepped back, her expression grim. “My entire life was controlled by Caine. I won’t be leashed again.”

Her voice was flat, emotionless, but Salvatore knew that she meant every word.

“And I thought battling a demon lord was going to be difficult,” he muttered. “I’ll meet you back here in an hour.”

Aware of the urgency that beat through Salvatore’s blood, Harley moved swiftly past the broken fence of the graveyard and into the cornfield beyond. She should be annoyed. It was difficult enough to deal with her own jumbled mess of emotions without adding a direct, wireless connection to Salvatore’s. Tonight, however, her only thought was making sure that the stubborn Were didn’t end up dead.

And that meant finding Briggs before the freak-of-nature could regain his strength.

Crisscrossing the field to make sure she didn’t overlook any hint of Briggs or the curs, Harley was headed toward the adjoining field when a low whistle cut through the air.

Salvatore.

With a smooth turn, she was running toward the narrow dirt road on the far side of the field, crouched low to the ground, her guns held ready. She sensed Salvatore’s flare of fury and she intended to be prepared.

For anything.

Salvatore was in a deep culvert by the road, staring at a heavy rock that had been pushed aside to reveal a large hole in the ground. Obviously an opening to the caves below the surface.

She scrambled down the side of the culvert, catching the unmistakable stench of rotting meat. Briggs had come out of the hole.

“You got him,” she said, her satisfaction cut short at the unmistakable smell of cur blood. “Shit.”

Salvatore’s face was set in bleak lines as he followed the scent down the culvert and then up to the road. Harley stayed close to his side, keeping watch on their surroundings so Salvatore could concentrate on the trail.

Her gaze scanned the seemingly empty fields and clusters of trees that could hide any number of nasty creatures. Her senses told her that there was nothing near, but her finger remained on the trigger.

She’d had a stomach full of unwelcomed surprises over the past few days. She’d be damned if it was happening again.

Perhaps a mile down the road, Salvatore bent and touched the ground, his brows drawn in a frustrated frown.

“They took off in a vehicle,” he muttered.

“Can you follow it?”

He tilted back his head, dragging in a deep breath. “On foot.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

Straightening, he considered her for a long minute, clearly wanting to demand that she return to the safety of Styx’s mansion. Then, proving he wasn’t completely without a functioning brain, he heaved a deep sigh and pulled his cell phone from the inner pocket of his jacket.

“As amusing as it would be to leave Viper’s car for the nearest chop shop, I might have need of the leeches before this is done,” he said, punching in a series of numbers and holding the phone to his ear.

He exchanged a few abrupt words with Viper and then slipping the phone back in his pocket, he grabbed her arm and urged her into a steady jog down the dark road.

“Do you consider vampires your enemy?” she demanded, slipping the guns back into the holsters that hung at her lower back before easily falling into step beside him.

“I did.”

“And now?”

He didn’t immediately answer, and Harley was startled by the vague sense of foreboding she could sense deep in his heart.

“Now, I’m beginning to suspect that we must negotiate a truce,” he grudgingly admitted. “Times are changing and we must change with them or perish.”

“Do you mean technology?”

“That’s a part of it.” He grimaced. “The humans’ ability to detect our presence increases with every passing year, as does their ability to harm us. It’s foolish to assume our natural superiority will protect us.”

Harley lifted her brows. Few demons were willing to admit that lowly humans might pose a threat, despite growing proof of the danger.

“And the other part?”

“I’m not sure I should share.” He shook his head, his expression hard. “You might think I’ve lost my mind.”

“I assumed that you’d lost your mind the minute you crashed into Caine’s basement,” she assured him.

He chuckled, the golden eyes glowing in the darkness.
“Grazie.”

“What’s bothering you, Giuliani?” She held up a warning hand as his lips parted to blather some useless denial. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I can sense it.”

His lips twisted. “This mating is going to take some getting used to.”

She snorted. “Ya think?”

His eyes narrowed. “Harley…”

“Just tell me what’s bothering you,” she interrupted.

His jaw tightened, his gaze returning to the road and the faint tire tracks that were still visible.

“The ancient magic is returning. I can feel it flowing through my blood.”

Harley slowly nodded. She’d felt the potent magic stirring since they’d escaped from the caves.

“Yes.”

“And it’s whispering to me of danger.”

A chill inched down her spine. “The demon lord?”

“No.”

She studied his grim expression. What could be worse than a demon lord?

“Salvatore?”

“I don’t know,
cara.
It’s as if…” He shook his head in frustration. “The world is holding its breath, waiting for something that will change us all.”

“You’re scared?” she breathed.

“Cautious,” he said softly. “It seems wise to consolidate my power base.”

“The vampires?”

“For a start.”

“The Weres and the vamps working together.” Her voice held an edge of teasing. It had never been a secret that the two species had often attempted to exterminate the other. “The demon world is going to think that hell has frozen over.”

“I told you you’d think I’d gone mad.” He glanced in her direction, his brows pulling together as she stumbled to a sudden halt. Turning, he cupped her chin and lifted her face to study her troubled expression in the moonlight. “Harley?”

“I just remembered there was an elderly witch who Caine hired to create hexes of protection for his labs. She spoke of warning signs. At the time…”

“You thought she was nuts?” he asked wryly.

Harley grimaced. “Maybe a little.”

“What did she say?”

Harley had to strain to recall the old woman’s ramblings. She’d always liked Anastasia, but the witch had often creeped her out with her dire omens.

“She claimed that a new Oracle had been discovered.”

“
Si.
Anna Randal, an Elemental. She’s mated to a vampire.”

“She seemed to think that was some sort of portent of coming upheaval.”

He slowly nodded. “There is an old legend that a new Oracle is only discovered during times when the need is the greatest. Vague mumbo jumbo, like all prophecies.”

“She also said…” Harley’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“What?”

“She said that the wind spoke of ancient powers returning.”

“The Weres?”

Harley shrugged. “I don’t know.”

He narrowed his gaze. “Do you think she was a seer?”

Harley laughed. She might have been sheltered from the world, but everyone knew that seers were extinct.

Like dragons and leprechauns.

Well, everyone but Caine, who’d been stupid enough to believe in visions.

“No, she didn’t claim to read the future, only the various omens and signs that she could see around her.”

“Did she say anything else?”

Harley searched her mind. “Most of it was gibberish, but I remember she said something about the rise of Gemini.”

“The astrological sign?”

“That’s what I assumed, but she didn’t really make much sense.”

Salvatore lifted his head, his brooding gaze turned toward the moon as he considered her revelation. Watching the spring breeze ruffle the raven hair that framed the proud lines on his face, Harley’s heart forgot to beat.

He was so stunningly beautiful.

So magnificently powerful.

So…

Hers.

Utterly and completely hers.

Harley jerked in surprise at the raw, primitive sense of possession that blasted through her.

Where the hell did that come from?

Thankfully unaware of her cavewoman impulse to drag him off and give him a reason to howl at the moon, Salvatore heaved a resigned sigh and resumed following Briggs’s trail.

“Obviously, the sooner we’re done with Briggs and back to the safety of our lair, the better.”

Disgruntled by her savage awareness of Salvatore, Harley kept a determined space between them as they ran through the darkness.

“
Our
lair?”

“Do I look like a fool?” He flashed a wry grin. “You would have castrated me if I’d said
my
lair.”

“Okay,” she grudgingly conceded. “Valid point.”

“I’m learning.”

For a time they moved through the darkness in silence, Harley absently noting that the tidy fields were being left behind and replaced by a tangle of underbrush and trees. Hard to believe that the road could lead to someplace even more isolated than the abandoned church and graveyard.

“I’ve never been to Italy,” she abruptly muttered.

Salvatore’s lips twitched, although he was careful to keep his attention to their surroundings.

“I think you’ll like the palazzo,” he said, his voice carefully bland. “It’s old, but it’s been magnificently restored.”

Palazzo?

As in palace?

Oh, that was just fan-freaking-tastic.

“Is it huge?”

“Fairly huge.”

“With marble?”

“
Si,
there’s marble.” He sent her an amused glance. “Do you have an irrational dislike of marble?”

“No, but I have a very rational dislike of becoming a joke among the Weres.”

The smile disappeared as his expression hardened with a haughty outrage.

“I assure you,
cara,
no one will ever dare laugh at you,” he said with the absolute confidence that his word was law.

And why not?

His word
was
law.

She shook her head, thinking back to her unconventional childhood. Caine had certainly never prepared her to become a sophisticated lady. Hell, she was more comfortable at a firing range than a ballroom.

“Maybe not to my face, but I’m going to look like an idiot in some fancy palace.” She pointed a finger in his direction. “And don’t think for a minute you’re getting me into a slinky dress and high heels.”

His husky chuckle brushed over her skin. “I’d rather get you
out
of a slinky dress. Although you can leave on the high heels.”

The image of her standing naked in front of Salvatore with a pair of crimson high heels sent a hot flash searing through her body.

Good…God.

“I mean it, Salvatore,” she managed to croak.

“No, you don’t,” he countered with annoying calm. “You’re just trying to find another reason to convince yourself you shouldn’t be my queen, and I won’t play. I don’t care if you run through the palazzo stark naked or wearing Prada.”

Her lips parted, and then snapped closed, as she accepted that he was right.

Salvatore was her mate.

She could feel it to the very marrow of her bones.

And her instinctive need to rebel against his claim on her was becoming downright childish.

Not that she intended to become his doormat, she wryly acknowledged.

Not all the ancient powers combined could perform that impossible task.

But it was time to be done with fighting the knowledge that her destiny was forever, irrevocably connected to Salvatore Giuliani.

“You think you’re so damned smart, don’t you?” she muttered dryly.

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “If I were smart then Briggs would never have crawled from his grave, and we would be spending the night having hot, sweaty sex beneath the moon.”

Sensing his annoyance was directed at himself, Harley reached out to touch the rigid muscles of his arm.

“We’ll find him.”

“Si.”

They once again fell silent, their pace slowing as the stench of Briggs became more pronounced. Instinctively, Harley reached behind her back to pull the guns out of the holsters.

The tangle of brush and trees had thickened until it was impossible to see beyond a few feet from the road, and while her senses told her there was nothing but the usual wildlife scurrying through the shadows, she wasn’t going to take any chances.

Rounding the curve in the road, they both halted at the sight of the small cabin that looked in dire need of a match and some kindling.

Tilting precariously to one side, the paint had long ago peeled from the wood planks and the small front porch sagged with weariness. If there had ever been shutters, they had long ago disappeared, along with several wooden shingles from the roof, and at least one window.

Of course, the cabin looked almost habitable when compared to the shed with a rusty tin roof, built behind it.

Cue banjo music.

Harley resisted the urge to roll her eyes. At least it wasn’t another cave.

Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes and sorted through the barrage of near overwhelming scents that filled the air.

It was easy to pick out Briggs’s odor that wafted from the cabin. Rotting meat was pretty tough to miss.

Not that he could have hidden his presence, even if he could disguise his god-awful stench. The frigid chill in the air would always give him away.

Taking in another breath, she ignored the vile presence of Briggs and concentrated on the scent of curs. It was no surprise to find their scent laced with a combination of fear and frustration. Even for curs, who always lived on the edge, they’d been put through hell over the past few days. It was a surprise, however, to realize their scent came from the shed, rather than the cabin.

Why wasn’t Briggs using them as a shield? More important, why would he leave them where they could so easily be rescued?

There was only one explanation.

A trap.

Salvatore moved to whisper directly in her ear. “The curs are in the shed.”

“I smell them.” She turned to meet the golden gaze that glowed with a savage anticipation. “You know he’s expecting you? This is a trap.”

“Bene.”

She clenched her teeth, torn between the urge to shake some sense into him and knocking him over the head with the butt of her gun.

Unfortunately, neither of them would keep him from waltzing straight into Briggs’s ambush.