Ties That Bind: The Bellum Sisters 3 (paranormal erotic romance) (25 page)

“Are you okay?” he panted, turning to Kearnyn. The vampire was pale but he nodded grimly.

“As fine as can be. Who are these demons?”

“I counted five.” That left three more.

“Stay here.” Telal closed the door and had to lose the invisibility as the magical energy steadily sapped his powers. He had a feeling he'd need them. These demons weren't like anything he'd ever seen before.

Taking the stairs four at a time, he climbed up to the top floor—his office. Inside the hall was ominously quiet, his door, ajar. Telal pulled the gun from his shoulder holster and kept his blade in his other hand. He reached the office door and peered inside. No lights were on. Demons didn't see better in the night like vampires could. If they'd meant to find him sleeping in his bed as they stealthily made their way inside then they were going to be quite disappointed.

Blood pounding hard, he slid past the door without touching it. A demon with bright yellow hair turned to him in an instant and with a flip of his wrist let a throwing dagger fly. Telal had only a second to dodge it, but the blade still landed in his upper shoulder. At least that was better than his heart, he thought. The muscles in his arm instantly went lax and the blade he held dropped uselessly to the floor.

The demon didn't stop but let fly a barrage of daggers. They whizzed through the air at him like sleek bullets. Telal ran across the room and leaped over the couch, huddling behind it. Without looking, he pointed the gun over the couch and started firing. The shots sounded obscenely loud in the small space like little explosions going off. Four bullets later and he heard a loud thud. Taking a moment, he pulled the blade out of his arm and tried to flex his fingers—they barely twitched in response. Fucking great.

“Groolana has'in trume?”
Who are you? he asked in demonic.

Suddenly a voice came from right behind him.
“Trumei toch.”
Your death.

A sharp blade was shoved deep into his back. Telal choked in pain as every cell in his body screamed at the intrusion. He looked down for a moment to see the blade sticking out through his stomach. And then he sucked in a deep breath and let his powers fly. The demon soared back from him, his back slamming in a crushing blow against the wall. Telal reached behind him, hesitated, and then slowly pulled the blade out of his back. Sweat dripped down his face, his teeth gnawed hard on his lips as tendons, muscles, and God knows what else tore in its path. Finally, the blade gave way and he dropped it to the floor.

Panting, bleeding pints down his leg, he stood just as the demon did. They squared off. Raising his gun, he fired. The demon dodged each bullet with incredible speed, swiftly darting left, right, then down. He tugged four little sharp blades from his belt and threw them at once. Telal dropped to his knees but not before one of them embedded in his chest. At once he felt the change. The tip of that blade had been poisoned. He knew this poison too, had watched it made in the rift by special craftsman. This poison was designed to drain magic from a demon.

Telal felt his body weakening and not just his magical energy. His vision started to darken, his muscles relaxed and felt loose, weak. With one last burst of adrenaline, he dropped the gun, held his fingers out, palms to the ground and chanted. It sickened him both mentally and physically.

Using black magic left a dirty feeling in him for a long time. It was unnatural what he was doing. But it was necessary right now. He couldn't beat this demon. The demon pulled his second sword from his back and charged at him only to slam into an invisible barrier. The demon's eyes flared then he started chanting back. Telal spoke louder, his keeping the barrier up as the demon's dark words fought to bring it down. The demon took a step into the barrier, then another and Telal backed up. His shirt dampened with sweat, his entire body burned with hot searing pain from the poison and wound. He wanted to just give up and let the demon end his life, but Lily was out there. He couldn't leave her alone.

Using every ounce of power inside him, he channeled the darkest magic he could. Black wisps shot from his fingertips like smoke undulating in the air then slowly crawled through the air to the demon. The demon's words stumbled and real fear filled his glowing eyes. Sweat dripped into Telal's eyes, burning his pupils but still he continued to chant, to coax the black energy to do his bidding.

The wisps floated smoothly through the crumbling invisible barrier and then attacked at the demon. A blood-curling scream escaped from the demon as the dark wisps slid around the demon's neck and chest and covered his face until his body disappeared beneath the squirming mass. The scream stopped suddenly. The wisps forced themselves into the demon's body. Telal could only imagine the excruciating pain boiling inside him as the death energy ate him with sharp teeth, draining away his life one painful bite at a time. The demon's eyes glazed over, his skin faded to a sickly gray, and then he collapsed to the ground with the slithering energy crawling inside him.

Telal stopped channeling the energy and the wisps swiveled out of his body and faded into the air like a poof of smoke. Telal stumbled as he made his way back down the hall to the stairwell. His vision didn't stay still. His body trembled hard from the poison and his entire body felt like it needed a gallon of water to rehydrate it. The only thought he had as he started back down the stairs was—there's still one more.

* * *

Lily flew at the door, jamming her shoulder into it. Whoever was on the other side grunted then the door slammed open, catching her chest and sending her flying back. Her shoulder nailed the wall and an explosion of pain took up residence in her shoulder socket. She had only a moment to see that, indeed, it wasn't Telal before the man, no, demon, grabbed her hair in a violent grip and started to drag her out of the bathroom.

Instant pain flared as her scalp pulled and strands of hair tore and snapped. She fumbled, trying to walk backwards and pressed down on the hand tearing out her hair, while still keeping the knife in her grasp. The task wasn't easy.

“Who are you?” she gritted out.

The demon had dark green hair cut short in spikes around his head with very pale—almost white—skin and he didn't answer. They reached the bedroom door and Lily wrapped her legs around the frame then tightened her grip on the knife and stabbed at the hand holding her hair. The demon shouted as he released her.

Adrenaline pumping furiously in her blood, Lily darted for the bathroom with a hysterical cry. She threw the bathroom door closed behind her with a sharp snap only to have it burst off the frame in slabs of broken wood as the demon charged at it.

Screams tore from her throat as the demon charged again at the door, tearing it almost completely off the frame. He glared at her with raging fury that left her gasping in fear. He took one long step through the door then his bloodied fist from where she'd cut him curled into a fist and uppercut her in the gut. All the air wheezed out of her stomach and sharp pain throbbed. Lily fell to the floor desperately trying to suck in air; the knife fell to the floor as she held her stomach.

A large foot came into view and kicked the knife across the bathroom floor. Lily didn't even care. Her mind was screaming at her to breathe. When the demon grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her once again, she fell forward onto her stomach and he started dragging her across the floor. Her feet locked on either side of the bathroom door with a tight grip, stalling the demon's progress. He let out a fierce growl that made the hair at the back of her neck stand on end.

Then he pulled back and let fly a kick so hard that when it landed on her back she screamed feeling as though her spine just got split in half. Hacking coughs racked through her, making her stomach muscles tighten in reflex and hurting her all the more. All her energy was sapped. She lied there uselessly as he dragged her into the living room and towards the door.

“Where are you taking me?” she whispered between unsteady breaths. She didn't expect him to answer and he didn't.

She stared up at the ceiling watching it pass by in increments. They made it over the doorway and started down the hall. Her breathing finally started to return to normal, which gave her a boost of energy. It wasn't much of one, but it was there. Lily forced her legs to work and awkwardly came to a stand. With a hard shove, she pushed her back against the demon. He didn't even budge.

Turning around on her, his eyes feral, he let his fist fly. The blow caught her cheek and she expected to see stars but all she saw were black dots coloring her vision. She knew she hit the floor but everything went hazy from there.

The last of her adrenaline rush vanished. She lay clumped in a pile on the floor steadily trying to suck in air through her nose as the pain from her mouth, shoulder, and stomach suddenly came at her with full force.

She heard something but the more she blinked her eyes the worse the black dots clouded her vision until she didn't know if she was still staring at the carpet or not. A hand curled around her hurt shoulder and she cried out as burning agony scorched the hurt muscle there. She couldn't do it anymore, was sick of being tired and scared. The black clouds took over her vision and Lily let it take her wherever it wanted to go.

CHAPTER 31

Telal had no magic left from the poison eating away inside him. If he didn't get it out of him soon then he'd never be able to use magic again; it would suck away all of his natural powers.

Each step felt like he was dragging a mountain behind him. He'd never felt so weak in his life. Whoever these demons were, they were good, real good. Telal stopped at the top of the stairs that led to the rec room to catch his breath.

A feminine scream pierced his ears and he took off. No thoughts of his injury ever entered his mind, no thoughts to the poison draining him, or the blood slowing him down. He just moved. He didn't bother with stealth anymore. He charged in like a bull.

He went through the doorway just in time to see a green-haired demon's fist crash into Lily's face. Even as he flinched, a fierce rage stole through him, tightening his muscles for action, pumping his blood fast to make him move quicker, and the protest rose inside him like a roar.

Telal let that roar fly and channeled it at the demon. The demon jerked around, startled and Telal charged letting his war cry go. He didn't just slam into the demon but barreled into him like a supernatural linebacker. They soared through the air for a good ten feet before landing with the demon’s back smacking hard against the floor.

Telal had no questions in his mind, only purpose. To kill. And he used his fist, pummeling the demon again and again. The sound of flesh meeting flesh was like a blood thirst being quenched. All he could see was his woman being hurt, being met with another's brutal anger. Bones snapped and cracked under his fist; blood splattered his hand and still he kept going.

He couldn't be sure how long ago the demon had stopped struggling for his life before he finally scooted off of him, panting and raging still. Pulling a knife from the demon's own belt he took it in his good hand and impaled the demon's heart just in case.

Stumbling away from the dead demon, Telal crouched down next to Lily. It wasn't until he saw the rise and fall of her chest that he knew for certain she was alive. He gently touched her shoulder shaking her to try to wake her, but she didn't even make a sound.

With the only thought of getting them out of there on his mind, he closed his eyes ported them out of there. He kept a small secluded cabin in Northern Georgia. It hadn't been used in more than five years. Dust had collected in a heavy layer along the floor and furniture. Telal pulled Lily up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. The top comforter was covered in that layer of dust so he pulled it off the bed and laid her on the clean sheets.

His knees shook as he stood and it took everything in him not to collapse. But he had one more trip to make. Closing his eyes, he ported back to his headquarters. Kearnyn sat on the floor his head bowed forward, his skin paler than normal.

“Kearnyn?”

The vampire was slow to respond but eventually his head lifted and his unfocused gave settled on him.

“I've got to get you out of here.”

Kearnyn nodded then his head drooped back down. The ten steps it took to reach him felt like ten miles. When he finally neared him, he touched his shoulder.

“Rosa,” Kearnyn whispered.

“What?”

“Take me to Rosa.”

Telal didn't question it. He literally didn’t' even have the energy to. He just ported Kearnyn inside Rosa's shop and didn't even stay for longer than a second before he ported back to the cabin. Once there, his knees gave out and his cheek crashed against the dirty floor.

He felt blissful lying on that rotten floor. He didn't even remember falling asleep.

CHAPTER 32

Rosa's ears twitched as she heard a sound from the other room. Grabbing her pepper spray from her bedroom, she slowly made her way through the workroom. She'd closed shop to get some work done on the weapons so no one should be here. She felt with some certainty that she could handle a robber if that's what it came down to. Not only did she have her pepper spray, but enough spells in her mind to make him change his mind and back away.

She peered around the beaded doorway and into the living room. A man lay on the floor unmoving. In a second, it hit her. The pepper can fell from her numb fingers. She ran to him sliding on her knees.

“Kearnyn? Kearnyn baby? What's wrong? What happened?” Tears filled her eyes as she gently rolled him onto his back.

He groaned but his eyes didn't flutter. She blanched at his stomach, her mind going into freak-out mode at the sight of all that blood.

“Oh my god, what happened to you?”

She proceeded to lift up his shirt to get a better look at the wound but gasped at the sight of the ghastly cut. He'd been cut clear from hip to hip. The wound was so deep the skin had separated creating a gap where she could see inside of him. He looked awfully pale like he hadn't fed in days. Panic faded. She needed to help him. She could do this, she coached herself.

In methodical movements, she stripped off his shirt and pants. For modesty's sake, she left his briefs on. She grabbed a basket full of supplies from the workroom then came back to him.

She started creating a poultice first with a mixture of healing herbs then some oils. Using her pestle, she mushed the ingredients together until they formed together in a nice clump. She hesitated over the wound then closed her eyes and gently pushed the oily herbs into the wound. The wound was so big she had to make even more until finally she had it covered.

With a wet cloth, she cleaned the blood from his waist. The area around the wound beat bright red with inflammation. She nibbled on her lip as the wound was still spread open. She'd never taken a needle to someone before.

Maybe I should take him to the hospital?

She cringed at the thought. Not only would they ask questions she surely didn't have answers to, but whoever attacked him might be coming for him. Cursing, she went around to the front and back door making sure they were locked, all the windows sealed tight. Then she opened her spell book to the page on warding off energies. In the next hour, she cast a spell around the building that would ward off any visitors with negative doings. It would need to be reapplied every day to last but at least they'd have some protection for now. Until he woke up.

She hated seeing him lying on the floor like this but she knew he was way too big for her to attempt to pull him into the bedroom. And even if she managed to get him there, he had to be at least two and fifty pounds of muscle; no way could she lift him onto the bed.

With that in mind, she grabbed a sheet and pillow from her bed. After tucking the pillow under his head and covering him with the sheet she felt only slightly better.

Her chest felt way too tight. As the hours passed and she sat over his breathing form, watching the rise and fall of his chest, she came to a rocky realization. It didn't hit her like a bolt of electricity but settled inside her in a warm melting feeling.

She cupped his cheek, leaned down, and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Do not die, Kearnyn. I care too much.”

Care might not have been a strong enough word for what she felt but she couldn't bring herself to say the other. In a surprisingly short amount of time, he'd brought out feelings she hadn't felt in a long time. She'd forgotten what it was like to care for a man. To be with him simply because you enjoyed his company.

Rosa lay out beside him, careful not to get too close and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I'll be here when you wake up, okay?”

He didn't answer; didn't even blink. But that was okay. As she closed her eyes, her senses flared to life. Natural instincts, which couldn't be hindered or ignored. It came as a thought as if someone spoke the words in her mind, but they were not words so much as a thought.

Something awful was coming.

A shiver raked over her and she scooted as close as she could. Then she waited.