Incubus Hunter (8 page)

I forced myself not to suck it. Not to enjoy
the spiced sex that it promised. Again, I pulled away.

This time he growled. “What?”

“Are you serious?” I asked, not believing
he’d give himself up for my daughter. Someone who he’d never
met.

“Damn it, elf.” His leather pants appeared
around his body, hiding that distracting erection.

Thank God.

A large crystal sword materialized in his
right hand, gleaming as the sunlight hit it. Carved runes adored
the pale blade. A coiled snake with green and gold scales formed
the handle.

I gasped, unsure of what he was going to do
with it.

“I swear I will trade myself for your
daughter.” Blaze held the blade to his bicep. The skin under it
burned. “I’ll cut myself, pour my blood on your skin, and then bind
my vow with a spell.”

“Don’t cut yourself.” I gripped the hand with
the sword and attempted to pull it away as dark black blood leaked
from the cut and dripped down his arm. “Blaze, that’s unnecessary,
and I can’t let you do it.”

He raised the searing blade from his arm. The
runes brightened to a golden hue. Steam rose from the sword and
then it disappeared. His blood seeped back into his pores, leaving
a clean golden surface.

Blaze touched my curls with his fingers and
pushed them over my bare shoulder. “You want your daughter. I want
you happy. I would do anything for you, and then do even more.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Why?”

He leaned down and kissed me, his mixture of
juniper and pine suffocating my senses until I drowned in him. When
he pulled away his eyes formed to crimson red. His power pumped in
the air, sparking against my bare flesh.

I shook my head. “I can’t let you trade
yourself. I’m saying no to option one.”

“You don’t have the authority to make that
decision.” His lips curled into a patronizing smirk.

“It would be suicide.” Rolling my eyes, I
paced back and forth. “You’ve made Adae look foolish and weak.
You’re a legend among his enemies. He plans to kill you. There will
be no cell or bidding—”

“Enough,” he said. “Do you want your daughter
or not? I’ve lived for two hundred years. How long has your
daughter lived?”

I stopped pacing.

“Think of that before you try and talk me out
of this,” Blaze insisted.

Silence swam between us for several
seconds.

I stared at him, shock tugging at my
heart.

No.

I stepped back several feet away from him,
pacing again, my feet sinking into the warm sand with each step.
There had to be another way I could get my daughter back.

Blaze remained where he was, watching me.

I paused. “What’s option two?”

“We kill Adae.”

I blew out a large, loud breath and went back
to pacing.

Many had tried to kill Adae. Teams of
assassins had failed. Adae kept hundreds of sorcerers around him
day and night.

Additionally, Adae was a legend. There were
stories of how he’d captured dragons with just his bare hands. No
magic. Others claimed he’d destroyed villages full of strong
witches with just a few words.

No.

Killing Adae is not an option.

Then it came to me, like lightening striking
a tree within a rainstorm. I halted and said, “I know Adae’s cell
system like the back of my hand.”

I’d caught hundreds of lower incubi in the
past years. Some were only a week old, starving for energy after
giving up their humanity for immortality. I’d watched the sorcerers
lock the young incubi away as I followed them in and out the cell
system with no problem.

“I could easily get us into the cells.” I bit
the side of my lip and gazed at a sea gull as it landed on the sand
near us. “I’ve considered grabbing Jade and escaping many times
before, but I couldn’t figure out how to handle the guards if they
caught me. I could bite one, maybe get a few with my needles, but
not all the others.”

“I could kill them all,” Blaze said
matter-of-factly. “Unless things have changed drastically in the
past five years, the guards are no match for me.”

“Then you’ll help me get my daughter?”

“I’d do anything for you,” he whispered.

I focused on his eyes, searching for
dishonesty.

He closed the distance between us, kissed me,
and then said, “Now let’s figure out a plan so you can relax and
let me fuck you.”

Later that night, I clung to Blaze, hanging
onto his back as he flew us toward Adae’s stone castle. The wind
blew through his charcoal curls. They blended within the starless
night sky. The air reeked of sulfur.

It’s going to work out.

We soared over the circle of erupting
volcanoes, Adae’s first line of defense for enemies that traveled
on foot. Heat rose from the fiery mountains and almost seared my
skin. I tensed, lifting my feet.

“Are you okay?” Blaze flew us higher and
cloaked us with the darkness that hovered around us.

“Let’s go over our plan again.” I tightened
my legs’ grip around his waist and was immediately reminded of the
soreness in my thighs.

After coming up with a plan, Blaze fucked me
over and over on the sand, in the tree, within the sea, until every
part of me was weak and trembling.

His scent saturated every part of my body. I
reveled in it, glad to not be alone anymore in my own pathetic
misery. Finally, I had someone to spend time with, if only for a
few days more.

Focus.

“Must we go over this damn plan again?” Blaze
chuckled. “This will be the tenth time. I’m considering dropping
you in a volcano.”

“Very funny.” I lifted my head up and glanced
over his shoulders. I could make out the jagged edges of the
castle’s gray stones that more resembled decaying flesh than
building material. “Blaze, I just want to make sure everything
works out.”

He groaned and increased our flying speed
until a current of air rushed against us and the images around me
appeared distorted.

“We stay together,” he said. “Unless you
think I’m hurt or losing, in which case you grab your daughter and
run as fast as you can.”

“I told you I won’t leave you,” I said.

He growled. His thick cords of muscle under
my arms trembled with stubborn rage.

“Oh, hush.” I rolled my eyes completely
unfazed. “We stay together, get Jade, and then we leave.”

“The goal is your daughter. Don’t worry about
me.”

“That’s not the plan, Blaze.”

We approached the castle. Silence hovered
around it, which was typical. Everything happened below ground,
where no one could witness Adae’s business dealings. For the
wizard, it was all about convincing his bidders that he had the
most sought after and secret items that others were afraid to
obtain. All of the guards and counter-attacking spells existed
below the castle, protecting the merchandise.

“Where do you want us to land?” Blaze
asked.

“Over there.” I pointed to the highest tower
of Adae’s castle.

We landed on the tower. Damp mud covered the
ground. A massive vulture nest the size of a car lay in the corner,
but there was no vulture. Regardless, Blaze got between me and the
bird’s lair. I looked over the stone railing, touching its cold
surface and searching for my friend.

“Zoe,” I whispered, hoping the fairy could
hear me. “Zoe. I need you.”

“Who’s the demon?” Zoe appeared in an
explosion of silver dust, lounging on the edge of the tower’s
railing. He only wore black underwear as he swung his long legs
over the barrier and strolled to me.

His usual blond hair was gone. He was now
completely bald, exposing solid silver skin.

“What happened to your hair?” I asked him as
he targeted Blaze with his silver eyes.

“Never mind that, Carmy. Why are you with an
unchained demon?” Zoe leaned his head to the side and scrutinized
Blaze.

“Carmy?” Blaze hissed and stepped forward,
barely a foot away from Zoe.

I noticed the crystal sword hanging from
Blaze’s waist and wondered if it had been there the whole time. My
nerves flared on edge. This was supposed to be the easy part, but
Blaze glared up at Zoe as if he was seconds from shedding the
fairy’s blood.

What’s his problem?

He knew Zoe was a part of the plan.

“Zoe, I need your help.” I cleared my throat
to get his attention.

Still watching Blaze, Zoe crossed his silver
arms around his bare chest. “I don’t know, Carmy. Adae knows you
like me. He shaved my head and took my clothes.”

“You like him?” Blaze appeared next to Zoe,
gripping his sword. The blade came to life, glowing gold. Demon
magic thickened within the air.

Zoe shrieked and jumped back. Silver dust
exploded. Zoe neared the vulture’s nest as I seized Blaze’s huge
arm.

“Blaze, stop,” I said. “I told you, he is
just my friend.”

“Blaze?” Zoe muttered and stepped back
further. “The Blaze that killed a dozen of Adae’s guards in one
minute? Are you fucking crazy, Carmy?”

“Be careful,” Blaze hissed.

“Enough.” I scowled at Blaze and then
directed my attention back to Zoe. “Why did Adae punish you?”

“Adae heard about the Boto brothers being
killed. Plus, you haven’t been answering his calls.” Zoe covered
his arms as if he was cold. His eyes remained on Blaze’s sword. “He
thought I knew something. But I told him you hadn’t answered my
calls either.”

“You’ve been calling her?” Blaze raised those
perfectly arched eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes at Blaze. “Zoe likes guys.
Relax.”

“What’s going on, Carmy?” Zoe asked.

“I know this is asking a lot, but I need you
to teleport us into the nursery cells. Blaze can only spirit us to
places that he’s seen before,” I said. “I’ll do anything, please.
This is Jade we are talking about.”

“Where will you go?” Zoe asked, finally
looking away from Blaze and focusing on me. “Adae will search for
you forever. He won’t stop.”

“He can’t enter the outer world. He’s a
powerful wizard, but he’s still just a human,” I said.

“I know where a hidden portal exists,” Blaze
added.

Zoe uncrossed his arms from his chest. “Take
me with you.”

“Wait, this won’t be a fun vacation.” I put
my hands on my hips. “We’ll be fleeing and hiding the whole
time.”

“I’ll teleport you to Jade, but take me with
you.” Zoe disappeared and then reappeared on the railing closest to
me. More silver dust rained on the tower and stuck to my skin.
“Let’s face it, Adae will torture or kill me when he finds out you
and Jade are gone.”

“We’ll take you.” Blaze put the sword down
and it disappeared.

I opened my mouth in shock, but chose not to
disagree. Zoe had a point. Adae would be pissed that Jade and I
were gone. If he discovered that Blaze helped, then he’d probably
torture Zoe until he told him.

“First, let me say something to you.” Blaze
grabbed Zoe in a flash and flew them high in the air before I could
say anything.

What is he doing?

I shifted my weight to my other foot and
wiped some of Zoe’s silver dust off of my forehead with my shaking
hands. Adrenaline coursed through me. We were going to get my
little girl, my baby.

Blaze whispered something in his ear and then
Zoe nodded and looked down at me.

Come on. We don’t have all night.

They reappeared in front of me within
seconds.

“What was that about?” I asked.

Blaze’s leather jacket vanished, exposing
rows of hard golden muscle. The crystal sword appeared in his right
hand. Blaze tilted his head from side to side, shifting and
stretching his shoulders. “I just wanted to make sure we understood
each other.”

“You didn’t threaten him, right?” I whispered
as Zoe materialized behind me.

“Of course not.” Blaze gazed at the sword,
turned it around, and then slashed it in the air so quickly and
with so much force that I jumped back. Laughter bubbled from his
chest.

“Come on,” Blaze said. “Let’s kill us a
couple of sorcerers.”

“I can’t believe you hooked up with him.” Zoe
wrapped his long arms around Blaze and me, covering us in silver
dust.

I coughed, feeling dust corrode my
throat.

The tower’s view drifted away into a
distorted vision. The world spun around me for what seemed like
several minutes. I held Zoe’s arm with my left hand and my stomach
with my right, forcing myself to concentrate on Jade’s eyes,
instead of the nauseating sensation creeping through me.

When the spinning stopped, we stood in the
nursery.

Alphabet letters covered the large room’s
three walls. The fourth wall was made of glass so that the bidders
could observe the children as they played. The room smelled of baby
powder. Children’s crafts littered the floor.

I stepped out of Zoe’s grip and tiptoed
around several children as they lay in twin beds, fast asleep.

Blaze raced to the only door in the nursery
and cast a spell. It was supposed to keep the guards from opening
it.

Bessie, a fat elf, woke up, jumped up from
her rocking chair, and whispered, “No, Carmen. You must go. Adae is
already sending guards down here. He thinks you’re going to try and
get Jade tonight.”

“I am.” I hugged Bessie, wishing I had the
time to thank her for taking care of Jade.

She looked up at me, confusion spread all
over her face as she began to speak. I pulled her closer to me and
sank my fangs into her neck, filling her with venom.

Like me, Bessie was paying off a debt to
Adae, but she did it by taking care of the children. It was Adae’s
only saving grace. He never let any harm come to the kids.

Bessie had to be asleep when Adae found her
or he’d torture her for information.

Zoe helped me set Bessie into the rocking
chair. I turned around and rushed toward the twin bed in the corner
where several paper violets hung from a hanger by strings.