Dark Promise (11 page)

She stretched. The door creaked open. She sat at attention. Speaking of her jailer, Eric came in carrying a silver tray with a silver platter of food and a pot of coffee. Her heart leapt at his return, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was glad to see him. Why should she? He'd betrayed her.

He set the tray on the mahogany desk and removed the platter. Her stomach growled at the fluffy scrambled eggs, fresh pineapple, buttered wheat toast and slices of bacon. The aroma of coffee filled the room and she longed for a cup. She glared. “I’m not hungry. Tell me about the prophecy and my ring.”

Folding his arms, he met her cold stare. “I take it the Wraith visited you last night?”

“So?”

Uncrossing his arms, he edged closer.

She'd missed him. Her mind screamed for her to tell him to leave to remember he was a demon, a kidnapper, but her body responded to his masculine scent, enchanting lips. She wanted him. Really wanted him, not just to work through her fear or to fulfill her fantasy.

As if in a trance, she slid off the bed. Did she move on her own or did he use some kind of dark magic? Either way, she wanted him to touch her. Kiss her again. Hold her.

He maneuvered her against a wall. His muscles rippled beneath her palms and his heart pounded as fast as hers. He trailed his finger down her face, sending a wave of heat through her blood. Trembling, she stared at his half parted lips, willing him to kiss her again.

Brown eyes mesmerized her, undeniable desire reflecting them. Tender lips caressed hers and she sighed. Heat spread and pooled into a sweet ache between her thighs.

He cupped her breast, squeezing it. The caress of his fingers playing with her growing sensitive breast took her breath away. Eric’s kiss turned demanding, possessive, sweeping pleasure through her and sending her into a pool of desire. Her legs wobbled and she gripped his shirt to keep from falling. He slipped his hand under her sweater. Her knees weakened.

She couldn’t do this. Not for real. She broke off the kiss. “No, Eric. Stop.”

He stared at her with hooded eyes. “You don’t want me to stop.”

Panting, she summoned her strength to push on his chest, trying to ground herself into reality. “Yes, I do,” she lied. Had he put a spell on her? She had to gather her wits or fall into a hopeless pile of desire.

He pulled away and waved his hand. “Move across the room from me,” he ordered, his voice strained.

Straightening her sweater, she edged away from him, her body tingling. “Now, tell me about the prophecy. And my ring.”

His intense gaze followed her, a panther watching his prey, ready to pounce. “My people are turning feral. Lethal. Out of control. Bent or killing each other for pleasure.”

“Why?”

“Because the Light has left them.”

“I don’t understand.”

“For centuries, the Light of the Golden Tree has sung the Song of Tranquility, which keeps the Light within us and keeps our dragon fire under control.”

She was plopped in a fantasy tale with no way out. “Dragon fire?”

“Yes. My ancestors mated with dragons long ago. Dragon fire burns within our core. It’s primitive, more animalistic. When it takes control, we become fierce predators.” He half smiled. “What do humans say? Music calms the wild beast?”

“That’s a myth.”

“All myth is based on fact. When the last leaf drops, all of us will give into the lust. We will war with each other and focus on the humans.”

“You’ll kill us?”

“Or enslave you. Death would be preferable. Once turned, nothing on Earth can stop us.”

“If nothing on Earth can stop you, how come you need me?”

His eyes softened. “You’re the Light. The prophecy said on the eve of the equinox, during the year of her twenty-first year, the silver haired human, tainted with angel blood, who is mated to the last Lord of the House of Wyvern, and has looked upon the Wraith and the Undead unchanged, will breathe upon the Golden Tree and return the Light to the people.”

“You’re the last Lord of Wyvern?”

“Yes.”

“Tomorrow is March twentieth and my birthday is on June twentieth.”

“Yes, the summer solstice, when your Light shines the brightest.”

“Eric, I’m not the only human who can see the undead.”

“True.” He walked over to the tray, poured a cup of coffee, and doctored it with cream. “But you’ve seen the Wraith and remained unchanged, untouched.”

He approached her and offered her the cup and didn’t make any sudden moves. “Here, you need coffee.”

Her shaking hands circled the cup, chasing away the chill running through her.

“When the Wraith appears to humans.” He returned to the tray and poured himself a cup of black coffee. “Unless they are pure in spirit, they turn evil, insane.”

All this time, she’d been in danger. “I don’t want this and what does this have to do with my ring.” She took a sip, wishing a shot laced it.

“Your ring is from the Underworld, destined for you.”

“No, it’s not. My mother gave it to me.”

He smiled. “Where did your mother get it?”

“I don’t know. She never told me.”

“I can.”

She wouldn’t like what he said.

“Your mother purchased it at a craft sale from an old woman.”

“You don’t mean the Wraith.”

He shook his head. “No, the Wraith sent her priestess here disguised as an old woman.” His voice softened. “I would never allow anything to happen to anyone you love Cassandra.”

She wasn’t even sure she wanted to wear it. Her mother had given it to her out of love and right now, she needed her mother’s love.

“You have a choice, Cassandra. Refuse and your race will be dominated and enslaved, or accept and they go free.”

“But I don’t love you.” As the words rolled off her tongue, she knew it was a lie. Her heart swelled when he was around and no man had ever measured up to him.

He narrowed his eyes. “Love isn’t part of the bargain. Soul mates in the Underworld are destined. The drive to mate is hard.”

His icy tone cooled her blood. “You mean demons aren’t capable of love?” Had she been wrong about him? In the dream, he had always been so tender, kind, loving.

“I didn’t say that.” He slammed the cup on onto a nightstand. “Unlike humans we don’t need love to be mated. Ours is based on instinct. Once mated, the bond between the two can never be broken. We die defending our mates.”

“How many other women have been taken here against their will?”

His eyes darkened, red glints growing brighter. She hit a nerve, at what cost?

“You mean humans?” He curled his lip. “None.”

“Excuse me?”

He gave her a droll stare. “Your human arrogance causes you to think you’re the only game in time.”

“Town.”

He frowned. “What?”

She rolled her eyes. “The saying is ‘you’re the only game in town’, not time.”

His face darkened and he clamped his jaw.

Obviously, sarcasm wasn’t going to win her any points. She put her hands on her hips. “What exactly do you mean by humans?”

“Some demons have mated with sirens, elves and nymphs.”

He was either totally insane or she was, but then again, she was in the Underworld, not Earth. Probably, every mythical creature lived here. “I’ve been plopped into a
Lord of the Rings
saga. Next you’ll tell me demons mate with Orcs. Oh, that’s right. You guys are the Orcs.”

“Hardly.”

“The cop, he’s a demon too? Waiting to snatch some unsuspecting woman?”

“Aiden?”

“Is that his name?”

“Aiden Blackstone is not a Dragon Demon. He’s a Kachina.”

He was screwing with her. Had to be. “Okay, you’ve lost me. He turns into a doll?”

Eric chuckled. “Not quite. His kind lives in our Red Fiery Mountains. He’s a spirit. An Angak, the healing and protective male.”

“The protective overbearing male I get. He’s on Earth why?”

“Aiden’s only part spirit. His other half is human. His father made love with a woman and got her pregnant when he visited Earth. When Aiden was nine years old, his mother died so his father brought him back here and raised him. Last I heard, he and his father had a falling out so Aiden split.”

“Great. A half spirit, half human cop alive and well in Frisco, Colorado.” She grabbed strands of her hair and braided it. Anything to hang on to reality. “I’m the only human?”

“Yes.”

“If I believe you…”

He stood straighter and looked less than amused.

Did he think she’d swallow this fantasy tale? “Do the sirens, elves or nymphs demons snatched from other worlds detest being here too?”

She walked to the window. Were other female creatures locked in towers like her? Maybe they could work together and find a way to escape. “You make it sound so barbaric,” she said.

“For us it is,” Eric said. “Divorce is so common in the human world and here it’s unheard of.”

His husky voice grabbed her attention. Passion filled his smoldering eyes. Her heart pounding and her breath quickening, an urge to kiss him filled her, but she stayed where she was, too afraid to move, too afraid to stay.

“If one mate dies, the other withers and dies soon afterward.”

The ferocity of their mating struck her. The enormity of it chilled her bones and stirred her blood. “I’m having a hard time believing demons do this. Demons possess people.”

“Those demons are fallen angels and ruled by Satan. We're not descended from angels. We are our own race. There are many demon breeds in the Underworld. North of us is the kingdom of the Chimera Demons. To the south of us is the kingdom of the Komodo Demons. We are the Dragon Demons.”

She struggled to sort out what he was telling her, since her freedom appeared to depend on it. “I've heard of dragons in Greek mythology, but dragon demons?”

“Our ancestors lived in the Ancient Caves faraway from here. They mated with a dragon and our race was born. We can fly, breathe fire, control the weather in the Underworld and do what you humans call magic. Our magic is connected to the Golden Tree. The higher the lineage, the more magical power we possess.”

“Meaning?”

“I’m a prince.”

“So, you’re very powerful?” Any minute the man could cast a spell on her and force her to do something against her will. She had to leave the Underworld. She didn’t want to be a slave, not able to make her own decisions.

“My magic is strong here, but with the tree dying, my magic is turning from light to dark so I don’t dare use it.”

“What about your father?”

His face turned grim. “He’s lost. Gone feral. His magic is now dark. He's almost insane.”

“He wasn’t always…evil?”

“No, he wasn’t.”

The nightstand clock ticked. Soft footsteps echoed outside the bedroom door. Cassandra wanted to flee, but with demons who could fly, breath fire and do magic, what chance did she have? She needed to warn people back home, but if no one believed her about seeing ghosts or the Wraith, how could she convince them that Dragon Demons were about to invade their world? For sure, she’d be locked up in a psych ward.

Eric strolled to the curtains, swung them aside and opened the balcony doors.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to show you something.”

Over his shoulder, the two suns, one moon and a cobalt blue sky, darker than Earth’s reminded her she was trapped in another dimension. “What?”

He stretched out his hand. “I promise I won’t let anyone harm you. To defy me is death.”

She kept her hands close to her side, not daring to move. “What happened to your eyes?”

His cheeks flamed red and he glanced away. “I’m starting to go feral. By tomorrow night, I will succumb to it completely.”