Their Dark Hunter (Masters of Darkness) (11 page)

“
Something happened with Leon since he left the house,” Melody said, quietly. “He was supposed to help us figure out who snuck the picture in my room. We had a plan to set that person up and now he’s acting completely different.”

“Maybe it was Leon, all along.” Vex finished off his glass and made it refill. “Did you talk to him
at all today?”

Melody nodded. “This morning. He asked what I was doing tonight. I told him that I didn’t have any plans, and that I would be at home.
It was a lie, because I had every intention to come here, but he didn’t have to know that. Anyway, he offered to go to the movies with me. I almost told him to give me a rain check, but I didn’t. I knew better than to become too involved with him again. Not after…” She looked up at him.

“
The kiss.” Vex clenched his jaw, and tried to push the thought from his mind. “Leon hates the movies. Why would he ask you to go, unless to try to get you in his possession. They have to be up to something, Melody. It makes sense.” And it did. Every ounce of Vex’s soul told him those immortals were planning something big. He just wished he knew what it was.

Chapter
Nine

Leon paced the front yard basking in the anger taking over him. The emotion wasn’t something he was used to, but he had to admit, it was empowering. Harvey stood watching him, and he turned and glared at the guy. “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? We would have had Mel safely tucked away, here at the mansion.”

“Maybe you should have opened your mouth
sooner. If I’d known, then I wouldn’t have let her leave to begin with. Do you know what happens if she leads those two to Helix? All hell is going to break loose. That’s what. Dammit. I can’t believe it’s come down to this: The master, and his master-in-training. One’s bad enough. Both, together, could be disastrous.”

Water sprayed through the air as Leon threw his glass. “Well it’s not my fault. I only learned
last night they were mated. From the vibes I got from Vex, it won’t be long before he becomes an eternal.” Leon pulled his hair from his face. “I can’t believe they actually exist! Demons aren’t supposed to be able to turn good. At least not so permanently it actually changes what they are. The mixture of their skills, laced with the power of immortals, will have the eternals conquering us in no time. They’re stronger.”

Harvey collapsed to the chair. “You don’t have to tell me this. I already know. I’m not sure what we’re going to do. Helix is their leader. I’ve seen his power. They
will
rule. The war between angels and demons is all fine and dandy, but we’re not in that fight. We’re bound to Earth. With the small army of eternals on the rise, we’re about to have our own battle right here on this plane.”

The words stopped Leon in his tracks. “There’s something that I don’t get. If we go into battle and they’re bad, then how would they not be turned into demons again? This a
ll confuses me so much.”

A sigh came from Harvey as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “A demon’s main purpose is to corrupt the souls of humans and lead them over to the dark side
… that way their soul is lost to Satan forever. When the evil in them diminishes and they lose focus on their purpose, something happens. It doesn’t change the fact that wickedness runs through their veins. They’ll always have the urge to sin, but their mission to serve Hell is gone. They’re like us. If they wanted to be demons again all they would have to do is work their way back to the status. Only thing is, who wants to actually serve the devil? No one. It’s evil, eternalized. Hence, the name
eternals
.”

A shiver went up Leon’s spine. “This is bad news. I don’t want Melody to have anything to do with them. I have to get her away from Vex
and Trace. If I can do that then maybe the process will stop and he’ll stay a master, and they’ll both go on with their lives. Hell, it’ll make them madder and there’s no way they’ll go good. It works out perfectly. But if he changes…” Leon shook his head. “They’re both so powerful. Especially, Vex. I can’t imagine him with our powers on top of what he can already do. Look how easily he lost us. Just,
bam
… disappeared.”

Harvey stood. “We have to find the girl. The sooner we start, the better. I’ll get everyone in the house together and
announce what’s going on. We’ll go out in groups and search for as long as it takes.“

Leon watched him walk away. He couldn’t deny that things were about to get really bad. Melody wasn’t going to want to be separated from her mate
s, but truthfully he didn’t care. He’d been fighting his real feelings now for longer than he wanted to remember. Seeing Mel with Vex and that master-in-training, tonight only convinced him that what he needed to do was take her away so they could be together. In time she could grow to love him. She had to. They’d been too close now, for too long. She may only think of him as a brother now, but it wouldn’t last forever. They were meant to be together, plain and simple. All he had to do was bide his time. When the opportunity presented itself, he’d have her.

***

Apart from the highway off in the distance, fields surrounded the white two-story house for as far as Melody could see. The wrap-around porch brought back so many memories of her childhood. As she sat on the long wooden swing and pushed her feet, she could almost image her mother sitting beside her. The house had been empty now for years, and she couldn’t deny it hurt being back, but it was the safest place she could think of. As she took in the two men before her, she almost had to laugh. They weren’t meant for this place. This was farming land, and neither of them fit the profile of the typical country boy.

Vex hung up his phone and turned to Trace. The two of them sat in rocking chairs, and she couldn’t get over how out of place they both looked. Vex was still in his suit, and Trace, in a button
-up shirt and loose jeans. They were dressed more for the city than anything, and the nature surroundings didn’t seem to be to Trace’s liking. He swatted at a bug and sighed.

“Dray says the immortals are on the move like crazy,” Vex said. “Eight groups of three have left, all heading in different directions. I have him and Malcolm watching over the mansion. Olivia and Constance are tailing Leon and Harvey. They’re with a group of four. I think the girls are going to call me back here shortly with an update.” Vex stood from the rocker and placed his hands on the railing of the porch. “What is it those immortals are hiding, and why do they want you?” He turned to Melody. “We’re missing something big.”

“My father,” she said. “We’ve already gone over this, Vex. If we find him, we’ll find the answers. Although I’d like to think that Leon is the one who put the picture in my dresser, I know it wasn’t him. He was all for catching the culprit before he went back to the mansion. He learned something, and now he’s hell bent on separating us. What he was told is what I want to know.”

Creaking from the rocker brought Melody’s attention to Trace. “You look nervous. Vex tells me you think too much.”

The demon lifted one of his eyebrows to his master. “Did he? Well, thinking is good. It helps me prepare.”

Vex laughed. “No, it makes you crazy. Trace, do me a favor
? For once, try not to calculate every possible thing that can go wrong and use your gut instincts. Just relax. When you start getting worked up, you get me worked up and then we’re running around in circles, ready to bite each other’s heads off.”

“Well, I’m sorry. What do you expect me to do? We’re sitting out here in the middle of
this bum-fuck, Egypt cornfield. It’s bullshit. Every ounce of me says we need to stand up to those wanna-be wind-thumping bastards and end this. Hiding just doesn’t sit well with me. Especially, here.” He flicked his wrist toward the front yard.

“Um, wow.” Melody stood. “Love the vo
cabulary…Very colorful. And you’re not being very good, if I do say so.” She came over to the rocking chair and crouched before him. His head was bent down and she knew he felt bad for his outburst. “Trace, have you ever wondered what it would be like if you didn’t have the stress of all of your problems? Like, if you weren’t a demon at all?”

His mouth opened and shut. “Yeah, all the time. I don’t want this, Melody. Not at all. But beggars can’t be choosers. This sure as hell beats down there, if you know what I mean.
I said I’d be good, and I am. I promise. It’s just…we’re not made to walk away. Our blood wants to fight. Especially since you’re the one they want. I can’t help but want to take out any threat that might try to take you away. ”

“
I understand. I really do. But let it go. Let us find Helix and get out of this drama of demons and immortals. I understand Vex can’t, and I’m in complete support of him continuing with his master title. But you’re different. What if Vex stayed who he was, and we could live a normal life? Like humans? That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”

“Impossible,” Vex laughed. “You can’t just walk
away from being a demon, Mel. Trace just can’t…”

She looked back at him
and he trailed off. “Why not? Who says? Do you really think the devil himself is going to come all the way here just to get Trace back? Come on. We both know he’d be the tiniest molecule of a speck on the devil’s radar. Look at my father. He’s gone and no one can find him.”

Trace slowly leaned forward. His eyes were the size of saucers. Melody could tell his mind was going a mile a minute. “Vex,” he whispered. His eyes rose to meet his master
’s. “Would you let me go? Out from under your control?”

The way Vex’s stare
turned to her she knew he was angry, but conflicted. Damn, what had she done? The seed she’d planted in Trace’s mind was probably not going to turn out well for any of them.

“Trace,
I—“

“We all could just disappear,” Melody said quietly. “We could stay here. Or travel the world. Whatever we wanted.
I really like that idea the best.”

“Let’s do it,” Trace said, jumping to his feet.

Melody rose and walked back to the swing. Even though she knew she was probably doing something wrong, she had to admit, turning demons good was a hell of a lot safer for her than actually going out and shooting them.

“Both of you hold on a minute.” Vex pulled at the tie around his neck. “It’s not as simple as you think. There’s a chain of command you’re both neglecting to see. If we all disappear, can you image the chaos that will take over the city? Demons
, on the loose…Who will control them?” A groan came from his mouth. “No one. And don’t you think that alone will spark questions. People will come looking for me.
I’m
the master.”

“But who do you answer to in this chain of command?” Melody looked at him truly wanting to know.

He paused. “I…” A laugh came from his mouth. “I was a demon in Austin for a while. By the time I worked my way up to Master, I took over for Helix. I guess you could say I’m supposed to be answering to him. Oh…my god. I know what we have to do.” Vex pushed off the railing and stood up straight. “The demons are going to have to cause chaos. He’ll get word I’m missing, and he’ll try to find me. If he really is hiding out somewhere and he doesn’t step up, someone else will, and that’ll blow his cover to the higher-ups, for sure.”

Melody squealed and clapped her hands. “Call them, Vex. Let them have the time of their lives
, but no killing or hurting people––nothing like that. The faster we can get his attention, the better. I want to know what’s going on, or if he’s even my father. It’s quite possible he’s not, but I think I’d like to know.”

“The picture doesn’t lie,” Vex said quietly. “I really think he is. The dark hair
…” He came to sit next to her. “The lips. Eyes.” The expression on his face had her breath deepening. His hand rose and he traced his finger over her lower lip. Trace cleared his throat, pulling Melody out from under her mate’s spell.

Vex glared at him.

“What? I’m just standing here.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and cocked his head to the side, whistling. It was done so sarcastically that Melody burst out laughing. Vex lunged from the swing and chased Trace into the front yard. 

“What, what.” Trace sidestepped Vex’s grasp. “You can’t get me, old friend. I’m as fast as a—
“

Trace hit the ground hard as Vex tackled him down. “As what? A turtle?” Vex stood up
, throwing his hands in the air. “That’s right, who’s the master? Me.” He dusted off the suit and started to head back to the porch. Melody smiled when her eyes connected with his. Movement caught her attention and she jumped to her feet to scream for him to watch out. Trace was rushing at Vex like a freight train, but before words could come the demon ran through thin air. Vex vanished and reappeared behind him, pulling Trace back against his tall frame.  “Do you know how loud you are, my friend? Face it, you’re not as fast, strong, or good looking as me.”

Trace burst out laughing. “You might have the fast and strong right, but I am definitely the hot one here.”

“Yeah, the hot one who’s going to be restrained in stalks in about ten seconds.” Vex gestured to Melody. “Upstairs, doll. I’ve had enough of looking at what’s mine, and not having my way with either of you.”

The rate of her heart increased at his words. She’d been dreaming of this now for what felt like forever. It was time she let her dreams once again become reality.