Darkness Awakened (17 page)

When her daughter didn’t respond Lyra took the phone off speaker and looked at Finn. “Go. I’ll leave as soon as the sun sets.”

He nodded, though he was already moving toward the door, looking fierce and determined. As he hurried away, he pulled out his cell phone and started barking orders into it, letting other packmates know where to head. Everyone except Justus and Christian raced out the door.

Lyra stayed on the line with Vega. “I’ll be leaving in ten minutes. I’ll fly so it won’t take me long. After that I should be there in five.” If her guesstimate from the open map view on the laptop was any indication it wouldn’t take long.

“I believe you…I’m sorry I didn’t say anything to him. I just got tongue-tied.”

“Don’t worry about that. Did you escape from the basement of a house with cells in it?” And a hell gate, but she didn’t want to ask that just yet.

“Yes, but there was more there too. Mom, there was a hell gate and ritualistic stuff. It was scary.”

“How did you escape? What happened to Claudius?” Maybe her brother was dead.

Vega paused. “Can anyone else hear you?”

Lyra met Justus’s gaze. “Two vampires can. They’re honorable though and won’t repeat anything you say.” She put a deadly bite behind the words. So far she believed them, but at this point she was still being cautious.

Both vamps nodded. “We swear.”

“Did you hear that?” Lyra asked her daughter.

“Yes. Claudius was injured but not killed. And…please don’t freak out but I was shot a couple times. So was the man who rescued me.”

Lyra sucked in a sharp breath and forced herself to remain calm. No wonder they hadn’t been able to get far. “How are you now?”

“Healed. Both of us. They were lead, not silver. Our bodies pushed the bullets out but that’s why we couldn’t go far and why we must have lost consciousness. We’re just lucky no humans saw us.”

“I’m so sorry, Vega. This is my fault.” It probably wasn’t the time for apologies, but she had to say it. As she spoke she strapped her blade on. “I should have let you go to see your father when you wanted.”

Vega sniffled. “No, I should have listened. I just didn’t want to wait one stupid week for you to contact him and make arrangements. I should have been patient. This is my fault.”

Lyra shook her head even though her daughter couldn’t see her. She started tugging her boots on. “
None
of this is your fault. Now tell me how you two escaped.” The leftover scorch marks and burned out doors could mean any number of creatures, none that she could think of that were good.

“You can’t tell anyone… Can you find some privacy?”

Lyra looked at the other two vampires and raised her eyebrows. Wordlessly they nodded and disappeared out of the room. She trusted them not to eavesdrop. “Okay, it’s just me now.”

Vega pushed out a harsh breath. “The man who saved me came out of the hell gate. I thought maybe he was a demon at first but…he’s a dragon,” she whispered the last part. “Before he passed out he made me promise not to tell anyone. But you don’t count. Just please—”

“No one else will know.” Shock rippled through her, but Lyra didn’t care if a flying hedgehog had saved her daughter. All that mattered was Vega had escaped. “Did he injure Claudius?” It had to be the only way they’d managed to get out.

“He burned a couple of Claudius’s vamps to ash and managed to graze Claudius before they opened fire on us. We still made it outside and from there he flew us a few miles until the sun started coming up. He wasn’t able to fly very high before we basically crashed. I was in so much pain so I can only imagine he was worse. He…took most of the bullets for me, Mom. God, we’ve got to save him.” Vega started crying then, the sound echoing from the vault tomb she was in.

“We will,” Lyra said as she tugged her jacket on. “I’m keeping the line open and will leave this in my pocket, but I’ve got to go now. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Lyra shoved the phone in her pocket then quickly found the other two vamps waiting near the front of the house. When Justus saw her, he handed her a gun which she tucked into the back of her pants. She didn’t mind being over prepared with weapons right now. Without any further conversation, she yanked open the front door and raced outside. While the other two headed toward the driveway where an SUV waited for them, Lyra ran down the side of the house toward the backyard. Once she was sure she wasn’t being watched by nosey humans, she took to the air, using the cover of night to hide her.

* * *

 “Did you hear that?” Vega whispered to the unconscious, naked man with no name curled up in their cramped hiding spot. She set her phone down on the marble slab next to him. “Of course you didn’t,” she muttered, hating the fear that had taken over.

After being shot three times—which was another one of her new experiences she was going to pretend never happened—she’d tried so damn hard to stay awake once they’d found shelter. But that had freaking hurt. It didn’t matter that she was supernatural and could heal faster, metal ripping through her flesh and bones sucked any way you looked at it. Now she felt as if she’d run back-to-back marathons. After losing so much blood beforehand she was just glad she was alive.

“We’re going to be okay,” she whispered again as she placed her palm over the man’s forehead. His temperature was so high she wasn’t sure how he could survive without help. Even though she was weak, she scored her wrist with her fangs and held it up to his mouth.

He moaned and moved against the stone floor as he slowly drank, but he still didn’t open his eyes. So far their hiding place was working out pretty good. The cemetery the dragon shifter had flown them to was quiet, not like the touristy ones she’d read about. She’d been unconscious most of the day while her body healed itself so if there had been a lot of visitors she hadn’t heard any of them from inside the tomb.

She still felt bad about stealing that guy’s phone after she’d gone looking for help, but—she straightened at a very faint sound. Almost like a rustling outside.

Removing her wrist from the shifter’s mouth, she stood up as much as she could. Because of the vaulted top she had a little room, but was still hunched over. Moving toward the marble slab covering, she turned her ear and listened.

When it cracked down the middle, she scrambled back, her heart in her throat. That sulfuric stench invaded her senses as she moved to cover the shifter’s body. Even though she was weak she let her claws extend. She might not be able to shift to her wolf, but she wasn’t letting anyone take her again. No freaking way.

The covering suddenly ripped away. Behind her, she felt the dragon moving, but she kept her focus on the opening. Moonlight streamed in as her uncle appeared in the dome opening.

He smiled evilly, his perfect features so at odds with the dark aura that clung to him like an oily film. “Stupid bitch. You can’t escape me. I tagged you the moment I took you,” he snarled.

Tagged? What the hell did that mean? Before she could respond an enraged howl rent the air. It was so loud, so
primal
, it sent chills down her spine. Multiple howls immediately followed, the sound music to her ears no matter how freaking scary. It was her father’s pack.

She knew it and so did Claudius. He let out a vicious curse then looked to the side, away from her and out of her line of sight. “Stay with them. If they try to leave, kill them,” he commanded.

In a blink he’d disappeared from view. Tentatively she moved to the entrance but jumped back when two of the grossest creatures she’d ever seen stepped into view. With reptilian skin and yellow eyes she immediately knew what they were.

Akkadian demons.

She also knew that her blood supposedly had the ability to control them. Now she had to figure out how and put it to use.

Chapter Fifteen

Lyra’s fear skyrocketed out of control as she skimmed the top of the oak trees. Vaulted domes and gravestones lined the expansive cemetery as far as she could see. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. The wind whipped around her as she scanned the area. “Vega?” she whispered.

No answer.

A moment ago she’d heard the howls of Finn’s pack but then everything had gone silent. There were too many trees in the cemetery blocking her view. From the map she knew it expanded for a couple miles.

As she scanned the graves below her, a flash of glowing yellow caught her eye. She focused on it and made out two reptilian forms.

Withdrawing her blade, she continued her silent descent, her focus laser-sharp. Two Akkadian demons hovered in front of a vaulted grave. Large chunks of marble littered the ground as the demons looked at each other. It was almost as if they were communicating something, but with the direction of the wind she couldn’t hear well enough.

Didn’t matter.

She couldn’t see anyone else around as a possible threat. Raising her blade high, she increased her descent. The two creatures didn’t even hear her as she swooped down. She sliced at the first one, severing its head in one perfect move. Using her momentum she struck again, slicing off the next one’s head.

As her feet hit the ground she turned in all directions, looking for more possible threats. The sulfur smell of the demons covered everything, making it impossible to scent anything else.

“Mom?”

Lyra swiveled again at the sound of Vega’s voice. A second later Vega ducked out of the tomb the dead demons lay in front of.

Rumpled, her hair dirty, clothes ripped and covered in dried blood, Vega was the most beautiful sight Lyra had ever seen. Before she realized she’d moved into action, she had her blade sheathed and her arms wrapped tightly around her daughter. Her throat clenched as she choked back tears. Vega was safe and in her arms. The relief she experienced was so potent it almost knocked her off her feet. But she knew she couldn’t relax yet. Not until her daughter was truly out of harm’s way.

“Mom, you’re suffocating me,” Vega said, half-laughing, after a few moments.

Immediately Lyra pulled back. She cupped her daughter’s cheek, but froze at a scuffling sound from inside the tomb. Shoving her daughter behind her, Lyra whipped out her blade again.

Two silver eyes stared at her out of the darkness. Even with her supernatural eyesight, it was hard to make out the big, hulking form. It was almost like the creature was blurred or something.

“He’s okay mom, but he needs help,” Vega said from behind her. She tried to step around her, but Lyra held up her blade-free hand.

“You saved my daughter?” she asked the male.

“Yeah,” he rasped out, his voice strained. When he stepped into the moonlight she saw that he was naked and covered in dirt and possibly soot from head to foot. And he was huge. Seriously huge. He looked like he was in his early thirties, but in her experience that didn’t mean anything. Not with supernaturals.

When he stumbled forward and groaned in pain, instinct kicked in. This male had saved her daughter from Claudius and deadly demons. She would help him. “Stay behind me, Vega,” she ordered as she reached out and wrapped an arm around the male’s waist.

She helped lower him to the ground. Her hand came away covered in soot. He moaned in pain as he practically collapsed against the outer wall of the stone tomb. Lyra reached into her pocket and tossed a pack of matches to Vega who was biting her bottom lip as she watched the dragon shifter. “Set the demons on fire. I’m going to feed him, then we need to get you two out of here.” She also needed to find Finn and his pack, but right now she could only take one step at a time. Getting Vega to safety mattered more than anything and she knew Finn would want her to take care of their daughter.

Vega nodded and as she lit a match, Lyra opened a vein on her wrist. “Drink.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two demons burn to ash. In seconds, nothing remained of the creatures.

The male watched her with a guarded, skeptical gaze, as if he didn’t understand what she was doing. “Listen buddy, you need to drink. My blood will help you and you need your strength so we can get you out of here.” Because she knew her daughter wouldn’t let her leave this male behind. Not that she would, even though every maternal instinct she had was screaming at her to fly Vega to safety.

“Please drink,” Vega said softly from behind her.

After a pause, he latched onto Lyra’s wrist and started sucking. His pulls were weak at first, but grew stronger as the seconds ticked by. When his grip on her arm tightened she thought she might have to fight to get her wrist back but he suddenly stopped.

Sniffing the air, he stood on steady feet, her blood clearly having done its job. He uttered a word she didn’t understand. It sounded like a harsh, guttural language. Then he said it again, this time louder, angrier. His muscular body was tense and everything inside Lyra went on alert. Without thinking she wrapped her arms around Vega and took flight, desperate to get her to safety.

As she hurtled higher through the air, she watched as the male below shifted into his dragon form. On a loud growl, his body transformed into an impossibly beautiful creature. Jade wings sparkled against the moonlight as if they were completely made of emeralds. And the wing span stretched higher, higher until she didn’t even bother guessing how big he was. His body continued to grow, expanding until he had to take flight so he wouldn’t destroy the vault tombs around him. What had once been human skin was now a glittering silver of beautiful diamond scales. The contrast against the jade colored wings was like nothing she’d ever seen before. The word beautiful didn’t do him justice.

He flapped his wings, the sound echoing around them. Before she could blink, he’d all but disappeared and she could only see a blurry dark shape where he’d been. She’d read that ancient dragons had been like chameleons, able to change their body to blend in with their surroundings when they wanted.

When he started flying, the dark form blocking out the moon for a moment, Vega’s grip tightened around her. “Follow him!”

Lyra started to say no. She needed to get Vega to safety and this dragon was leaving of his own accord. But the wind shifted direction, the scent of blood filling the air.