Scorched by Darkness (28 page)

There was a momentary ripple of darkness as they moved through the portal and stepped into a garden bathed in a silvery moonlight.

Beyond the well-tended yard were empty fields and a rolling vineyard. And directly in front of her was a large Victorian home with a wraparound porch. It had a gabled roof and gingerbread wood trim. The outside was painted a pretty pink with white shutters that she adored, although she could see Torque grimace.

Clearly she would have to avoid pink and froufrou when she decorated their lair.

There was a faint sound of footsteps before a lovely female stepped out of a wooden grotto built in the center of the garden.

Her hair was a brilliant red and cut in a short, spiky style that gave her the look of a pixie. Her eyes were a pure black, although they were missing the malicious cunning she expected of a Jinn.

In fact, they were filled with a gentle kindness that instantly melted the last of Rya’s lingering concern.

“Ah,” the female murmured, stepping next to Levet. “You must be Rya. You’re just as beautiful as Levet said,” she said.

Rya smiled. “And you’re Laylah,” she murmured. “I’ve never met a half-Jinn before.”

“Then we’re even,” Laylah admitted with a dimpled smile. “I’ve never met a half-dragon.”

“You see,
ma belle
, I told you that you would adore her, did I not?” Levet asked Rya with a smug smile.

“Yes. And I hope very much that we’ll have time later to get to know one another. But for now…”

She allowed her words to trail away, thankful when Laylah instantly took the hint.

“I get it,” the pretty Jinn murmured. “You’re concerned for your mother.”

Rya nodded. “The space where she’s trapped is unstable. I don’t know how long she has left.” She swallowed the lump that threatened to form in her throat. “Can you open a gateway?”

“I can try,” Laylah assured her, a hint of warning in her voice. “But to find her I’ll need something that can connect me to her.”

Rya grimaced. Levet hadn’t mentioned that she would need to bring something with her that belonged to her mother.

“Like a personal possession?” she demanded, her mind already trying to sort through various items that she might have in her lair that had once belonged to Kai.

Laylah brought a swift end to her musings. “It has to be more intimate than that.” With a rueful smile, the female reached into the pocket of the light jacket she was wearing to reveal a small ceremonial knife with a gold handle and what looked like a bone blade. “I’ll need your blood.”

Accepting the cost to find her mother, Rya was holding out her arm when she was abruptly shoved aside so Torque could stand in front of her. At the same time there was a blur of movement from the grotto and a male was standing next to Laylah, his lips pulled back to reveal his elongated fangs.

A vampire.

Rya studied the elegant features that hinted at Polynesian ancestors. His eyes were a rich shade of honey and his inky black hair had been shaved on the sides, leaving the top to form a mohawk that fell past his broad shoulders.

This had to be Tane. Laylah’s vampire mate.

Distracted by her brief interest in the male who had the courage to mate with a Jinn, even a half-breed Jinn, it took Rya a second to recognize the danger brewing in the air.

As if the flames suddenly dancing over Torque’s body and the blast of icy power that came from the vampire weren’t warning enough.

The two male predators were ready to fight.

To the death, if necessary.

“Sacre bleu.”
Levet lifted his arms, his tail twitching. “Someone stop them.”

Laylah sent her snarling vampire a small glare before glancing toward Rya with a rueful smile. “I just need a drop or two, I swear.”

With a nod, Rya moved to stand directly in front of Torque, her hand lightly touching his chest despite the flames that seared over her fingers.

Thank the goddess she was part dragon.

“Torque, she’s not going to hurt me.”

He narrowed his gaze that remained sharply focused on the vampire. “You’re damned straight she’s not going to hurt you. And neither is anyone else.”

She shook her head. “She just needs a drop or two.”

“No—”

“Please,” she interrupted in soft tones. “This is for my mother.”

Tension continued to sizzle in the air, but with a low curse, Torque shoved out his hand. “I’ll do it,” he said, waiting for Laylah to offer him the knife.

Then, with blatant reluctance, he used the very end of the blade to prick her finger. Blood instantly welled, and Laylah reached out to brush her palm against the tiny wound.

Once her skin was stained with the blood, the Jinn turned toward the side of the garden, holding her arm straight out in front of her.

There was a rush of wind circling around them like a cyclone as Laylah released her power. Rya felt Torque wrap an arm around her waist as her hair was tugged from its braid.

Yow.

The female packed some serious mojo.

At last the wind eased and Laylah stepped back, revealing the narrow portal she’d just created.

“This should lead you to her,” she murmured, a hint of weariness in her voice. Instantly her mate was at her side, his honey gaze regarding them with impatience. He was clearly eager to take his mate back to the safety of their lair.

Rya sent the pretty female a smile of gratitude. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

Laylah waved aside her thanks, her expression troubled. “Be careful,” she warned. “It’s very close to collapse.”

Rya nodded before she was darting forward and entering the portal. She didn’t need her mother’s visions to know that Torque was going to try and convince her this was a bad idea.

The sooner she could get in and start the search, the better.

There was a blast of heat behind her and Torque followed her through the opening.

“Shit,” he muttered. “I have a very bad sense of déjà vu.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Finn shivered as he came to a halt. He was a frost sprite, but even he wasn’t immune to the brutal cold that would kill many demons. Holding Adair tightly in his arms, he was thankful the young Sylvermyst had passed out.

Not just because she would have been in misery from the chill. But he could actually feel the space shrinking around them.

“Kai,” he muttered, watching the Shinto female come to a stop a few feet away.

She grimaced. “I know.” She lifted her hand, as if pressing against the walls that were closing in. “We don’t have long.”

He felt a bitter stab of frustration.

He’d had always understood that death could happen, even for an immortal. And that his role as prince meant he had to be willing to sacrifice himself for his people.

But the thought of the fragile woman in his arms dying was impossible to accept.

“You still can’t make contact with anyone?” he demanded.

A stupid question. If Kai could have found a way to reach out for help, she would have.

The older demon shook her head. “The dimension is beginning to drift in time,” she said. “It’s impossible to make a telepathic connection.”

The ground trembled. At the same time the pressure in the air crushed against them.

“It’s not only drifting,” he muttered.

Kai’s serene expression tightened with an unease she couldn’t entirely disguise.

“Without the dragon it will soon disappear completely,” she muttered.

Adair stirred in his arms. Had she heard the Shinto’s dire prediction?

“Finn?” she breathed, her face tinted blue as a thin layer of frost covered her skin.

“Shh.” He bent his head to press his lips to her forehead. “It’s going to be fine.”

Her lashes fluttered, as if she was struggling to regain consciousness. Then, with a faint sigh, she thankfully sank back into her protective sleep.

“Is there anything we can do?” he asked in a low voice.

Kai gave a regretful shake of her head. “No. I’m sorry.” The older fey suddenly jerked her head to the side. Had a noise startled her? “Did you feel that?”

Finn frowned. Had the stress at last gotten to the female? There was nothing to feel but the increasingly painful pressure.

Wait.

There was something.

A tiny surge of hope raced through him as he belatedly sensed the…breeze? There was no other way to explain the stir in the frigid air.

“What’s happening?” he demanded.

“Someone’s trying to open a portal.”

Relief pounded through him. They hadn’t been abandoned.
Thank the goddess.

He tried to reach out with his magic, only to be thwarted by the mist. “Is it the dragon?”

She gave a slow shake of her head, something that might have been surprise rippling over her face. “Jinn.”

Finn’s relief dimmed. What was that old saying? ‘From the frying pan into the fire?’

It wasn’t something a frost sprite usually had to worry about.

“Oh hell,” he rasped. “Is it hunting us?”

Kai tilted her head to the side. “I don’t think so. It’s not entering the portal,” she said in distracted tones. Then a brilliant smile curved her lips. “Oh. It’s Rya.”

“Rya?” He would have jumped for joy if it wouldn’t have disturbed the female in his arms. “She found us.”

“Yes.” The word barely had time to leave her lips before there was a shudder beneath their feet and the mist closed in even tighter. Kai hissed in pain. “Let’s hope it’s not too late.”

“Shit,” Finn muttered, refusing to believe they could be squashed when they were so close to escape.

Kai glanced around. “We need to stabilize the space. Do you have any ideas?”

Did he? Finn sucked in a deep breath, trying to use his magic to reach out to Rya. He could feel the portal. He could even latch onto it for a brief moment. But the rippling movement of the dimension made it impossible for him to breach an opening.

Which meant he couldn’t get them closer to Rya.

He had to keep them alive until she could reach them.

Easier said than done.

He glanced toward his companion. “Can you clear the mist around us?”

The female gave a slow nod, her brow furrowed. “Yes, but that won’t help us.”

“Do it,” he commanded. He didn’t have time to explain that the mist was a distraction.

She lifted her hand, discharging a burst of magic. “Do you have a plan?”

Continuing to hold Adair in his arms, he lowered himself to his knees.

“I can use my magic to create a bubble of ice,” he said.

Pushing back the mist so they were standing in a circular clearing, Kai lowered herself next to him. “It won’t last for long.”

“Hopefully we’ll only need a few minutes,” he muttered. “Hold still.”

Releasing his magic in a fierce burst, he created a dome of thick ice to surround them. For a second there was a blissful respite from the crushing pressure. But even as Finn took in a deep breath, there was a series of pops as the ice began to fracture.

They would have only moments before it collapsed.

“Let’s hope they hurry,” Kai muttered.

Finn glanced down at the unconscious Adair. “No shit.”

***

Rya grimaced. Any hope that they could step into the portal and discover her mother standing directly in front of them was instantly destroyed.

Instead they walked straight back into the unnerving mist.

Crap.

With an effort, she tried to ignore the voice in the back of her head that screamed at her to run out of the portal and never look back.

It was even worse than when they’d been lost in the creepy fog the first time.

Now the squeezing heaviness was nearly unbearable.

No. Not nearly. It
was
unbearable.

And cold. Soul-crushingly cold.

“Rya,” Torque rasped from behind her. “We can’t bear this for long.”

“I know,” she muttered, her heart giving a tiny jump as she caught the scent of her mother. “She’s this way.”

“Are you sure?” he demanded as she darted at an angle through the fog.

“Yes,” she assured him. “She’s not far.”

Torque moved until he was at her side, wrapping them both in the heat of his dragon.

“I smell a sprite,” he said, his eyes glowing.

She gave an absent nod. “Finn,” she said, her pace never slowing.

“And…” Torque sucked in a harsh breath. “Sylvermyst. Be careful.” He reached to touch her arm. “They already released a crazed dragon. Who knows what else they might do.”

Rya shivered. The fear of the dimension collapsing was bad enough without adding in the fear that there were dangerous Sylvermyst lurking in the mist.

Trying to distract herself, she concentrated on the only good thing that had come out of their first trip into this miserable space.

“She wasn’t actually crazed,” she said.

“What?”

“The dragon. Blayze wasn’t crazy.”

Realizing he’d just insulted her sister, Torque sent her a rueful glance.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. She couldn’t blame Torque for his less than stellar opinion of Blayze.

Trying to kill someone didn’t make the best first impression.