A Wicked Desire (Creatures of Darkness 3), page 11
“Wait,” he rushed out.
She paused, irritated. “Why?”
“Because I want to kill her.”
At some point, Trent had come to. “Knox, what are you doing?” He rasped, pushing to a stand.
“Quiet, leech.” She manifested a stiletto of power and flung it at him. It penetrated clean through his neck. Not a mortal wound. She wanted his death to be much slower.
He stumbled back, clawing at the wound as he gurgled up blood.
“I’ll get to you later.” She assessed the other two vampires. Both seemed to still be unconscious. Unfortunately her action against Trent had used up enough of her power that her next strike would not be a killing blow. She began gathering more as she turned to Knox with a mix of suspicion and intrigue.
“I was stupid before. I should have let you keep Cora’s body and run off with you that night, but I’d been brainwashed by Trent. He led me to believe you were evil. But since I’ve been bonded with her,” he spat the word, indicating Cora, “I see the truth now.”
“And what’s that?”
“You aren’t evil. You do what is necessary. Like me. You are my equal. My match. I loved you, and Trent separated us.”
She sucked in a breath. Could he finally see that they were destined for each other?
He offered his hand. “I still do. Let me kill them for you. To prove it.”
She took his measure. He seemed sincere, but.... “Go on, then.” She kept her magic palmed. “Kill her.”
But instead of moving toward Saraphine, he was eying her with the kind of lust reserved for die-hard lovers. It made her heart kick. Even when he had despised her, he made her pulse race with desire; now she could practically orgasm from that look alone.
He moved with the slow grace of a predator. She loved it when he moved like that. Mine, her mind screamed.
“I was a fool,” he cooed in a husky voice that ran through her like liquid silk. “I can’t wait another second to feel you in my arms.”
His left arm came around her waist as his right hand petted the side of her face. He had looked at her this way before, and she’d known then, as she knew now, she could get lost in his lust-filled gaze forever.
Her breath shuddered in and out with anticipation as her eyes dipped to his lips. Her head tilted back, readying for his kiss. Would it be as she remembered?
He edged around her, turning her with him slowly, worshiping her with his eyes the way she had come to crave. She could drown in his pure, carnal sexuality. When their lips nearly met, only inches apart, her mind barely registered the cold wall at her back, her arms lifting over her head and being clamped at the wrist by one of his strong hands. She was aware of his particular tastes in bed and had always fantasized about what he would do to her if she ever permitted him to tie her up—which she never would. She was the one with the power. Always would be.
She was about to remind him of that when he suddenly whirled her around, pressing her front into the sheet metal, his grip on her wrists never giving way. “What are you—?”
“Now Saraphine!”
Realization hit like swift blow. “Liar!” she screeched.
That little witch sprang up and returned to her cauldron, resuming her incantation, still looking a little stunned and like she was trying to shake her head free of goo. Had she been faking unconsciousness? Lying in wait for Knox’s cue? Or had Knox just been biding his time, waiting for her to awaken?
Sadira screeched again, so loud it roused the others and forced Saraphine to clamp her hands over her ears.
“You will pay for this,” she screamed at Knox.
“I paid long ago,” he growled angrily in her ear. All trace of desire had vanished. “And the price could not have been higher.”
Saraphine continued her chant, seeming to put more strength into her tone.
I will not be cast out again! Sadira slammed her head back into Knox’s nose.
Crunch.
“Mother fuck!” he yelled.
She laughed, and did it again when she anticipated the timing of his rebound.
He hollered out another curse and lost his grip just enough that she was able to wrench one hand free. She contorted her arm to scratch at his face while he grappled to restrain her. Cora’s nails were pathetically short, so she barely drew blood. She managed to squirm her body around and blast him in the gut with a bolt of energy. He stepped back, doubling over, but somehow was able to keep hold of her left wrist. Fine. Keep it. She worked best with her right hand anyway.
Once more she targeted Saraphine, but Bray had gotten up and was fast approaching to help Knox recapture her free arm.
She shot him instead.
He flew across the room, nearly denting the wall with his mass. Pain lacerated her skull as an internal scream slammed through her mind. Instant migraine.
Fucking Cora!
The female vampire launched a full attack next, going for her jugular. Murder danced in her crazed, festering gaze—and Sadira realized with horror she would not be fast enough to stop her.
At the last second, Knox elbowed the female in the face, knocking her back. She went crashing to the ground on a curse. Then he tried once more to claim Sadira’s free hand.
She evaded and shot him in the gut with another powerful blast. Then, with horror, she realized Saraphine had nearly finished her campaign. A fog-like substance billowed from her caldron, seeking its target. Not again!
Amazingly, Knox had managed to stay on his feet and keep hold of her, even while sucking back harsh gasps of air and looking as though he were about to pass out.
That terrible fog was closing in, coming to snatch her out of her body!
MY BODY! Cora screamed like a bullhorn inside her head, so loud it scrambled her thoughts for a second.
Learn when you’ve been beaten, and watch your friends die! Sadira mentally countered.
The female vampire took advantage of Knox’s temporary incapacitation, and lunged at her. It was almost too easy this time to render her unconscious by slamming her against the far wall, but doing it had cost her precious time. When she directed her killer rage toward Saraphine once more, another of Cora’s mind-rocking shrieks bounced through her brain, and suddenly, inexplicably, it was like there was a two hundred-pound weight attached to her arm, dragging it down. What the—? Was Cora taking control?
An instant later, Knox finally snatched her wrist and slammed her up against the wall. Panic and rage clashed in her veins. She would use the last of her power to knock him out like the others and run for her life—
The warm, buttery feel of his lips on hers made her eyes widen and her body go still. Her heart thumped once. Twice.
Then the fog was upon her.
No!
Fire gripped her as the fog clawed at her, choking her breath away, stabbing up her legs, over her torso, and invading her every pore with what felt like barbed wire grappling hooks, all tearing her in different directions.
Inside her mind, Cora too writhed in pain.
Their screams mingled within her brain as the agonizing process of peeling their consciousness apart commenced. The physical pain was only superseded by the mental torture. Two beings occupied the space reserved for one; both were swelling like infected lesions, filling the last molecule of available territory. Both entities pushed at the other for more room, but Sadira felt herself shrinking, losing this reverse tug of war.
Then it happened. She was ruthlessly torn from the body, thrown back into the cold, tasteless, muted world she’d inhabited for the better part of a decade.
She hovered as though dead, yet never dying, observing the scene below with all the fury of a thousand harpies. Just as with last time, a ghostly kind of paralysis accompanied her extrication. It would wear off eventually, but for now, she was stuck, only able to observe.
Below, Knox’s lips were still connected to hers…or rather, Coraline’s. He was tense, all hard edges, muscle compounded by muscle, like he was in the midst of battle. Bastard! It had been nothing but a ploy to distract her.
When Cora went soft in his arms, he relaxed too, as though he could sense the shift. He loosened his grip and pulled his head back to stare into her dazed eyes.
“Knox?” she said, disbelievingly.
“Cora?” Though he continued to cuff her arms, her name was a muttered oath. It made Sadira want to scream. She would if she was able. Would tear the room to shreds with them still in it. Bring the place down on all their heads!
Everyone in the room was deathly quiet, waiting for confirmation that the spell had worked. Knox was too, still feeling the heat of Cora’s lips on his, yet he could already tell in her eyes that it was her.
“You kissed her,” she whispered softly, sounding a little slurry. Her eyes were hooded as if she could hardly keep them open.
“Yes.” His tone came out like the slice of a blade. “And if you ever make me have to do it again, I will fucking kill you.”
One side of her mouth curled in a half-grin.
He took in her expression with a cocked brow. She finds my threats humorous. She wouldn’t if she knew how close he’d been to letting Raven have her way. But for some reason, he hadn’t been able to. Everything had happened too fast, he told himself. It had been a split-second decision to knock her back with his elbow and keep grappling with Sadira.
Her eyes closed, and her head lulled as if she was drunk on a mix of pain and exhaustion, probably delirious from her ordeal. “I should start a swear jar…but instead of curse words, you’d have to add a dollar for every time you threaten my live. I’ll be rich by the end of the month.” Her body gave out then, surrendering to gravity.
Knox caught her and lifted her in his arms. Eyes still closed, she curled into him, resting her head on his shoulder and gripping him around the neck with one delicate hand. His body went tense, and something unfathomable twisted in his chest.
Bray moved to take her from him. Inexplicably, he snarled possessively and snatched her back.
Bray’s eyes widened.
He shook his head, unable to make sense of his actions. Regaining his sanity, he practically thrust her little form into Bray’s arms before turning and walking away.
His job here was finished.
Chapter 12
Cora awoke on the sofa in the living room. There was a faint metallic taste on her tongue and four sets of eyes peering down at her: Bray, Trent, Sara, and Knox.
She sat upright.
Raven was across the room, leaning by the front entrance, arms crossed and a slight bruise around her right eye. Hazily, Cora recalled Raven’s fangs set on a deadly collision course with her jugular…and Knox had blocked her?
She turned to him now, feeling like she should thank him or something, but his rigid chin hiked, and his returning gaze hardened like he didn’t care to hear it.
Did he regret his actions?
Did he realize only now that he’d missed an opportunity to rid himself of her, sans consequences? But then, who knew what would have happened with Sadira. Would the ghostly witch have died along with her? A two for one? Or would she have just been expelled to continue her haunting?
Guess it didn’t matter. He had saved her…and then kissed her.
The memory of it muscled all other thought aside, and she flushed. With too much clarity, she recalled his spicy scent, the warmth of his lips, the hardness of his body. She looked away as more heat entered her cheeks.
Silently he took a seat, but the weight of his gaze remained on her.
Her attention converted to Bray. There was a small wound on his wrist that was in the midst of healing. He must have fed her a little bit of his blood.
She reached out to take his hand. “Are you okay?”
“You ask me that after what you went through?”
Curiously, she didn’t recall a lot about the final stages of Saraphine’s spell. There had been some pain, yeah, but it had been overshadowed by the thick, muscled body propped against her, those hard, unforgiving lips forming to hers. It had almost felt like she had garnered strength from him through that simple contact. Or had that just been her imagination.
Unable to help it, she once more glanced at Knox and then swiftly averted her gaze again. His expression remained hard. Had that kiss been all business for him? Or had he lingered a little longer than necessary?
Why was she even thinking about this?
Mentally, she shook herself and focused back on Bray. “You fed me your blood?” Because of his age, Bray had more potent blood than Mace. A few drops from him was all she needed.
He nodded, tenderly cupping her cheek.
She leaned into his touch, accepting his comfort.
Raven scowled, giving them her profile. Her jealousy seemed to bounce off Bray like rubber to concrete. Cora suspected even if she had never met him or had a bond forced upon them, he still wouldn’t return the kind of feelings Raven hoped for. If the woman hadn’t attempted to kill her moments ago, she could almost pity her.
“What did you see,” Sara rushed out at the same time Trent said, “Did you get the cure?”
Cora touched her fingers to her forehead. “I…saw something. A volcano, I think. I don’t know what that means, but it was what Sadira was hiding from me. She was furious when I found it.”
“Clearly,” Trent said tersely, rubbing his healing neck wound.
Everyone turned to Saraphine expectantly. So much pressure for such a young girl. But she seemed to thrive under pressure.
Turning thoughtful, Sara stood and began to pace. “Just a volcano? Nothing else?”
“There was black rock everywhere, and lava. It was moving slowly.” Cora closed her eyes, trying to recall as much as she could. “The sky was a dark blue, like that of twilight. No clouds. Down below, there was water. The ocean, I guess?
“So, we should search for a cure around volcanos?” Bray asked.
“Not just any volcano,” Cora replied. “I felt like there was something special about this place. That it was singular.”
“Okay, so a volcano on an island, then?”
“Do you know how many volcanoes are on islands?” Trent said.
Saraphine shushed them all with the slice of her hand, then began pacing and chanting, “Volcano.” Not like she was casting a spell, more like the mere repetition of the word would spark some insight.
Impatiently, Trent said, “I don’t want to have to employ more witches on this, but if I need to, tell me now.”
Cora knew that the magical and vampire communities didn’t always get along, but she didn’t know if Trent had a cache of witchy allies, or how difficult it would be for him to persuade them to help.
Sara cast him a scathing look. “Just give me a second.” She twirled and began pacing again, muttering to herself, “Why a volcano? Would it have something to do with the components? Rocks and stones? Could it be a metaphor? But if so, for what? Things that are hot? Burning, maybe? Or something that grows in dry and barren environments?”
“Not dry.” Cora interjected. “Part of the island was lush with foliage, the tropical kind.” An image flashed like a busted reel in her mind, residue from Sadira’s subconscious, but could only hold on to it long enough to glean a notion. “This might sound ridiculous, but could the cure be inside the volcano?”
Raven snorted. “You planning on dropping Mace into lava? You’ll cure him alright. Of life.”
Instead of reacting to Raven’s contempt—hey I’m getting better at this—she responded to Sara, “No, that’s not what I mean. I mean, could there be something within the volcano that we might be able to use in, oh, I don’t know, a spell or an elixir?”
“Come on,” Raven said. “There’s nothing inside a volcano but more volcano, and maybe a spicy hot enema of the lethal variety.”
“Well, not necessarily,” Bray said. “Before the world went to shit, scientists had discovered a cornucopia of organisms whose habitats consisted of extreme environments such as hydrothermal vents under the ocean. Perhaps there’s—”
“Oh goddess, that’s it!” Sara exclaimed. “It’s the holy grail.”
Raven laughed. “Oh good. I thought it would be difficult to find. But the holy grail? Why, I’ve got one of those hidden here in my pocket!”
In an even tone, Trent admonished, “That’s quite enough, Raven.”
“Yeah, really,” Sara added irritably. “Shut—Up.”
Giving Sara a murderous look, Raven raised her right hand and snapped her fingers. “That took more effort than it would to break your neck.”
Knox’s eyes lit with amusement, and one corner of his mouth curled. Always one to enjoy a good quarrel, Cora thought. He frowned when he noticed her staring, and then steadily locked eyes with her. His expression said he was in no mood for her probing gaze.
Still, she cocked her head, spurred by a curiosity that had been dogging her since she woke. “Why did you continue that kiss?”
Trent was still focused on Raven. “You’re not helping things, Raven. I think you should take a walk.”
Knox’s expression turned impassive, barred. “Wasn’t it obvious?” he replied. “To distract her. It worked, didn’t it?”
“I don’t feel like taking a walk,” Raven told Trent.
“I’m not asking.” His voice took on that I am your sire and you will obey quality.
“Fine.” Raven shoved off the wall and marched out the front door, tossing back. “Maybe the fresh air will sweep away the stench of all the bullshit being shoveled around in here.”
The door clicked shut.
Cora faced Knox. “But you didn’t need to keep kissing her once you had her subdued.”
He leaned back in his chair, his lips thinning.
Trent turned to Sara, completely disregarding Cora and Knox’s conversation. “I’m assuming you meant ‘holy grail’ as a metaphor.”
“Yes, exactly.”
But Cora persisted. “You lingered. Why?”
Knox remained stony. “I did not linger. It was a tactic.”
“Does it matter?” Bray interrupted, seeming conflicted over which conversation should take precedence.
