Destined for Time Page 22

  “Danarius said he found a way to lead us to Travali,” Dragon said and I looked over to see his solemn expression.

  “You think he’s using Rachel as bait?”

  He nodded. “I do. It kills two birds with one stone. He gets his revenge against you and as a bonus we get rid of Travali for him.”

  “What about Angela?”

  He grimaced and looked away. We both knew that another time demon likely had her, and unless the trackers found them very soon it would be too late. He wouldn’t kill her, he’d want her for her conduit abilities, but sometimes there were worse things than death.

  The door to the suite opened and Clarissa was shoved through it followed by Doyle and Solomon. She tripped and nearly fell to the floor with her long strawberry blonde hair falling over her face. When she got her balance she looked up at me, pushing her hair out of her eyes then glanced around to see Dragon and Claire behind me. Her elegant dress was torn allowing her voluptuous curves to hang out of the garment and her hair and makeup weren’t quite as flawless as usual. I guessed that had something to do with the spell Solomon used to pull her back here against her will.

  “Take a seat Clarissa,” I told her indicating the chairs around the dining room table.

  Suddenly my dick was rock hard and I noticed that every eye in the room was burning with lust and trained on Clarissa. It was a knee-jerk reaction to danger for sex demons. Usually, if something wanted to fuck you, it wouldn’t kill you. It wouldn’t protect her this time though. No matter how hot she made my body, nothing would make me lose focus on finding Angela and her daughter.

  Grabbing Clarissa’s arm I dragged her across the room and pushed her down into a chair. Getting right in her face I whispered, “Do you know what happens to a sex demon that can no longer incite lust in her victims when she is locked away from anyone who might find her attractive naturally?”

  Her eyes widened and her lips parted.

  “I’ve seen it Clarissa,” I continued in a low voice. “As a Guardian I have been trained in torture techniques used on just about every race or species you could think of. I know exactly how to remove the gland in your body that produces the pheromones you are currently pushing out to make my dick so hard I could hammer nails with it.

  Have you ever seen a sex demon wither away, starving to death from lack of exposure to lust. It’s a long, agonizing process and it can be prolonged indefinitely. All I’d have to do is let someone rape you every so often. Someone who truly enjoys raping females while they scream and struggle, while they beg. You wouldn’t be able to help it. You’d absorb his lust and it would be just enough to keep you alive, but not enough to give you any real strength or energy.”

  I pulled back and stood over her. “Is that what you want me to do to you Clarissa?”

  She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and shook her head.

  “Then tell me what you know about Angela and Rachel, now, before I lose what little patience I have left.”

  “Danarius has Rachel in Solaria,” She said then looked down away from me.

  “Solaria is a big place Clarissa, be more specific.”

  “I have a ring that opens a portal to his exact location.”

  She was still looking down and a sick feeling rolled through me as I realized why. “Where is Angela, Clarissa?”

  I heard her sniffling but she didn’t answer. Grabbing her chin I jerked her eyes up to mine. “Who has Angela, Clarissa?”

  “Adan,” she sobbed and pain lanced through my heart.

  Of course it had to be Adan. He was a power hungry lunatic that should have been banished by the Elders centuries ago. I’d long suspected that he only got away with his cruel games because certain corrupt Elders were actually using him to do their dirty work.

  “Where?” I snapped at Clarissa.

  “I don’t know where he’s taken her. You have to believe me Rook,” she pleaded.

  Looking in her face I believed her. There was too much fear in her eyes for her to be lying to me. Releasing my hold on Clarissa I backed away and racked my brain trying to determine where Adan might take Angela.

  “Doyle, take Clarissa and secure her in a cell then come straight back here,” Dragon ordered.

  “Solomon, could you do a locator spell to find Angela?” I asked as Doyle and Clarissa left the room.

  “Possibly, do you have anything of hers that she feels strongly about, something that is important to her?”

  I remembered thinking how nice it was that she didn’t seem to put much value on material possessions when I looked around her home. Then it came to me. “Her badge is in the bedroom. Would that do?”

  Solomon nodded, “That’s perfect.”

  “Choices, choices, which one is right? Darkness reigns, where once was light.” Claire’s voice was clear and strong from the other side of the room.

  When my eyes met Claire’s I understood what she was trying to tell me. Solaria was once the home of the solar demons. The trees there actually dripped sunlight until war broke out and the night dwelling demons destroyed Solaria’s source of power. The world was plunged into darkness and overrun by demons from the dark worlds. Garrek had been the last known solar demon to survive the war and with his death they were most likely extinct.

  I shook my head. “How can I leave her knowing who has her?”

  Her steady gaze did not waver. “The heart will pull, the mind will bend. If you give in, all will end.”

  Again I understood. Claire had hundreds of visions every day, but when they came with golden tear drops they had the potential to affect millions of lives. What was one person’s suffering when millions of lives might hang in the balance?

  If that one person was the other half of your soul? Everything.

  “I won’t order you to come with me, but I am going to Solaria,” Dragon informed me. “If there’s any chance this will lead to Travali then I need to see it through.”

  The blood bonds that tied me to Dragon came to life, compelling me to follow him into danger. But even without them, I knew which path I had to follow. Claire’s vision was focused on me, which meant at some point my presence would be important, and if I wasn’t there, all would be lost - just as the prophecy predicted.

  In all the centuries I had lived, I had never had to make a more difficult, a more heart wrenching decision. But I knew from the depths of my soul that it was the only choice I could make. “Then we will see it through together,” I told Dragon, fisting my hand over my heart as I bowed to him.

  He came forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. “I know how difficult this is for you. The trackers are still searching for Angela and Solomon can start working on that locator spell as soon as he’s finished opening a portal into Solaria.”

  I glanced at Solomon, who I was sure understood what was happening even though he hadn’t been here when Claire recited the entire prophecy.

  He inclined his head and promised, “I will do everything in my power to find her for you.”

  With that decision made we began planning our attack. Whatever Travali had been up to, Danarius gave us the impression it would take an army to stop him. We would go in with a small group but the rest of our troops would be ready for a full scale invasion if needed.

  Thoughts of Angela and what she might be going through plagued my mind, but I couldn’t let them distract me. That was a sure way to get myself and everyone who counted on me killed. So after one last prayer to the Goddess for her safety I pushed all thoughts of the woman I loved out of my mind and focused on the upcoming battle.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Our group of ten warriors including me and Dragon moved silently through the portal into the dark forest of Solaria. The trees appeared lifeless with no leaves or fruit but I knew they still held sunlight deep in their cores, which made them powerful weapons that could be deadly if used against vampires, or any other night dwelling demons. Contrary to popular belief, wooden stakes normally had no real effect on vampir
es. But if the wood happened to come from Solaria, even the smallest twig would turn them to a pile of ash when driven into their hearts.

  We made our way through the thick underbrush in the pitch black to a torch lit path. As we came into the light I remained close to Dragon since I lacked the ability to wrap myself in shadows. After a few hundred feet we started seeing bodies. Some were human, others were demons, all had been left where they fell without their heads attached. The trail of bodies continued to a small castle on the hill.

  When we crossed the drawbridge, then passed through the gatehouse into the courtyard I expected to meet some resistance. Instead we found more headless bodies illuminated by torchlight. I glanced at Dragon but he only shrugged so we pressed on. We made it all the way into the great hall before we encountered a living being, and once we did, I wished we hadn’t.

  “Ah, so good of you to join us,” Danarius said from where he sat on an elaborate throne at the far end of the room.

  Rachel was on her knees in front of him wearing nothing but a pair of high heels. Her head was moving up and down and it was obvious what she was doing. I wanted to take her away from him again but I held my position next to Dragon as the rest of our group fanned out around the room and kept watch behind us, guarding our exit.

  “I do apologize for the trail of bodies, but they can’t be easily erased by your Guardian like breadcrumbs could have been,” Danarius told Dragon. “My men were given instructions to take their heads the instant they saw Rachel coming down the path but not before.”

  So the bodies were for me. All those lives I would have saved if I had turned back time to make sure Rachel never left the resort. I snorted. It was gruesome, but clever. If we had discovered Rachel’s disappearance in time I might have sentenced myself to an eternity of pain and suffering. As it was though, there was no way I could have gone back far enough to prevent her abduction.

  Danarius groaned and I took a deep, calming breath. Rachel’s head never stopped moving but I noticed this time she was quietly whimpering. So he hadn’t taken over her mind. She was completely aware of everything going on around her, and it sounded like she was terrified.

  “Dragon...” I started.

  “Before you make any moves, I think you should take a look around the room,” Danarius suggested.

  Vampires materialized out of the shadows at evenly spaced intervals. They held humans before them with long blades poised to slit their throats on command.

  “Half of them have orders to execute their humans when I reach climax in the kitten’s mouth,” Danarius explained. “The other half will wait for me to release her into your care. If your Guardian does anything to prevent those two events from taking place he will no doubt save the lives of these pathetic souls.” The last was said with mocking smirk in my direction.

  Our laws were designed to prevent time demons from altering time and saving lives that were meant to be lost. If I used my powers to end this now, I could argue that those lives were only in danger because of me and my abilities in the first place. That it wasn’t a higher power deciding their fates, but a conniving vampire instead. But I knew, like Danarius probably did, that some of the Elders feared me and how much my powers had grown over the years. And that was before Angela came into the picture. Something like this would give them just the excuse they needed to get rid of me while they still could.

  “Is all this really necessary Danarius?” Dragon finally asked.

  “This kitten owes me what I paid her for. Your Guardian ended her last attempt before she could complete our transaction. When she is finished we will move on to new business.”

  When Danarius let his head fall back and placed his hands on the sides of Rachel’s head I was glad Angela wasn’t here to witness this. Rachel continued working his cock with her hands and mouth, sobbing quietly. Danarius held his climax back and it seemed to take an eternity before he finally shoved himself to the back of her throat and convulsed with his orgasm.

  Half the humans dropped to the floor with their heads nearly severed from their bodies.

  Rachel lifted her head and Danarius leaned down to whisper something in her ear. After a moment she turned to face us and went up on her knees with her back to Danarius. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and black makeup and I wanted nothing more than to make all her pain and fear go away. Behind her Danarius zipped and buttoned his pants after tucking himself back inside.

  “It’s a shame you won’t let me keep her,” Danarius said as he moved forward with his legs bracketing Rachel’s small form. “She follows direction so well, and she learns very quickly.”

  He whispered something in her ear again and she started caressing her own body. I took a step towards them and Danarius grinned. “Patience Rook. I’ll give her to you in a moment.” His focus moved to Dragon and he said, “In a few minutes I will be returning to the realm of humans.”

  Rachel’s hands had been massaging her breasts but now they moved lower with her fingers teasing her clit. Her head lolled back and she moaned as Danarius slid his hands over her breasts and up along her throat.

  I did not like this at all, and not only because it was degrading for Rachel. Danarius was up to something, but I couldn’t figure out what.

  “Make sure you visit the king before you leave, I hear he has some fine horses in his stables,” Danarius said as one of his hands continued up Rachel’s throat to caress her cheek. “It’s time for you to go back home with the Guardian now Rachel.”

  Everything happened so fast I almost missed what Danarius did. The instant Danarius finished speaking three things happened. The other half of the humans fell to the ground as Danarius rose to his feet pulling Rachel with him. It was the third thing that I barely noticed however. As he stood he tipped a vial of clear liquid between Rachel’s lips. When her head snapped forward with lust burning in her eyes there was no doubt what the liquid had been.

  “No...” I shouted as I went for Danarius, but he shoved Rachel off the dais and disappeared through a portal before I could reach him.

  I barely caught Rachel before she crashed to the floor. And when she landed in my arms she immediately tried to pull my lips down to hers while her body undulated against mine.

  I had never felt such white hot rage in all my life. There was no cure for humans addicted to Oblivion. Rachel’s life was essentially over. Lust was the only thing that would ever consume her thoughts again. I couldn’t fix this without saving all those humans that lay just feet away, their blood pooling on the floor. If I could sacrifice myself to save Rachel I would. But the Elders would make sure everything happened exactly the same way if I tried to reset time.

  A scream of pure rage and frustration tore out of my throat and someone pulled Rachel away from me and restrained her. How could I have failed Angela and now Rachel so thoroughly? I’d spent my entire life protecting people but when it came to the people who matter the most I was completely useless. I screamed again, and again, letting everything out before I finally collapsed to my knees and fell quiet.

  Several minutes later Dragon approached me. “Rachel has been taken back to the resort. Someone will keep her comfortable until we can find a way to help her.”

  “There is no way to help her Dragon,” I said as I came to my feet feeling completely numb inside.

  “Perhaps, but it never hurts to hope.”

  Not believing there was any reason to hope I asked, “So what are you thinking, we check out Garrek’s family home next?”

  Dragon nodded. “His father was the king. I’ve already sent for the troops and since the royal castle is on the other side of this world Solomon is opening another portal.”

  I started heading for the exit when Dragon said, “It’s not your fault Rook. You did everything you could with the way your hands were tied.”

  Without looking back at him I stopped and asked, “Do you think Angela will understand that if we ever get her back? Even if she says she understands, do you think she won’t blame
me deep down for not protecting her and her daughter?”

  “I think Angela loves you and she knows that you would give your life for her or Rachel if there was even the smallest chance it would save them. She will not hold this against you, because you are not responsible for what happened.”

  There was no need to respond. We would never see eye to eye on this. I had failed Angela and Rachel, but as we headed to the next portal I vowed I would not fail again. I would stay by Dragon’s side while we hunted Travali and even if I didn’t make it back, I would make damned sure he did.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Danarius was right, Travali has completely lost his mind,” Doyle commented as he peered over the edge of the cliff. “What do you think he plans to do with all of them?”

  We were on our stomachs trying to avoid detection by the guards or the hundreds of young vampires snarling and snapping at each other in the stables below. “No telling, but he’s just crazy enough to unleash them on the human world,” I replied as I began crawling backwards.

  Doyle and Dragon followed and once we were far enough back we stood and dusted off our clothing.

  “That makes sense,” Dragon agreed. “Danarius would certainly have cause to be worried if Travali planned to release his new pets on the humans. It would also explain why Claire was sent a golden vision.”

  “Do you think he’d really do that?” Doyle asked. “I know he thinks we should stop hiding our existence, but damn, even he can’t think this is a good idea.”

  “I believe that’s the problem. He isn’t thinking,” I said, then added, “at least not with a clear head. I don’t think he’s had a rational thought since Dragon ended Malachi’s life.”

  “Which do you think we should hit first, the keep or the stables?” Dragon asked.

  “If you want a shot at Travali we hit the keep first. If we hit the stables first he’ll have time to disappear then we’ll be right back at square one. I think we should have as many flying shifters as possible land inside the compound simultaneously and open the gates for the rest of our forces. While they’re doing that, you and I will look for Travali.”