Читать книгу Darkness Revealed - Alexandra Ivy - Страница 8

Fury roared through Anna. Damn the arrogant vampire. She had come to Chicago with a plan. Okay, not a good plan, but one that was supposed to trap Conde Cezar and get her the answers she deserved.

Instead she very much suspected that she had once again been played by this man.

If there was a trap she was the one who had fallen for the damn lure. And for her trouble she had been nearly burned to death in her hotel room without one answer to show for it.

God, she had been a fool to ever come here.

Nothing good ever happened when Cezar strolled into her life.

He was like her own personal kryptonite.

Only cuter. With the sort of sex appeal that set her body on fire and made her think of being pressed to the nearest wall and feeling his large, hard…

No, Anna, no.

He was bad news.

And until he gave her a few answers there would be no hot, sweaty, delicious sex.

Stirring up the embers of her anger, Anna concentrated on the hard, male body that was carrying her with such aggravating ease. She had warned Cezar she was no longer the weak, innocent woman he had known in the past. It was time to prove her words were more than hot air.

“Stop,” she commanded, forming the image of Cezar trapped in molasses. Thick, sticky, gooey molasses. “I said to stop now.”

Cezar’s steps began to falter, his beautiful eyes widening in shock as the air congealed and wrapped around his body, forcing him to a halt.

“Infierno,” he muttered, regarding her with a satisfying wariness. Ha. That would teach the arrogant ass. “I have stopped, querida, release the bonds.”

“Do you promise to stop pushing and hauling me around whenever you want me to do something?”

“I…” He hissed in obvious pain. “Anna, you must release your power. My ribs are already fractured.”

Her smug pleasure at having bested the vampire evaporated beneath his agonized gaze. Oh…shit. She had been so busy showing off that she hadn’t really considered the consequences.

Just how long was it until dawn?

“I’m not sure I can,” she at last confessed. “I don’t exactly know how I do it.”

Half expecting him to shake her senseless, or at least flash those fangs he kept so carefully hidden, Anna was caught off guard when he did no more than gaze deep into her eyes.

“Just concentrate,” he murmured.

“Concentrate on what?”

“Relax your mind.” His head lowered so he could whisper directly into her ear. “Shhh…just relax. Just let it all go. That’s it, Anna.”

His soft words poured through her body like warm honey, easing her fears and making her feel as if she were floating. She allowed her senses to seek out the invisible bonds, attempting to make them form in her mind. For a moment there was nothing and then, without warning, they appeared like steel bands in her imagination. Cezar gave another pained groan as they ruthlessly crushed his body. Crap. With a surge of panic she forced herself to shatter them with her thoughts.

There was a soft groan before she found herself being set roughly onto her feet. About her, the early spring breeze returned to whipping happily down the street, seemingly as delighted as Cezar to be released from her control.

Gaining her balance, Anna watched as Cezar pressed a hand to his chest.

She bit her lip. “Are you badly hurt?”

“I’ll recover.”

“I told you to stop.”

“So you did.” With a grimace Cezar lowered his hand. “Styx warned me that a woman coming into her powers is a dangerous thing. Next time I’ll pay more attention to him. What did you do?”

She gave an awkward shrug. “I told you, I don’t really know.”

A dark brow arched. “Anna.”

She met the piercing black gaze. She even managed to meet it squarely for several long, awkward moments before she blew out a resigned sigh.

Dammit, why wouldn’t he let it be? She felt enough like a weirdo without confessing her I Dream of Jeannie routine.

“I just…” She gave a shake of her head. “God, it sounds so stupid when I say it out loud, but sometimes if I focus hard enough I can control the things around me.”

He looked more intrigued than horrified. “What sort of things?”

She gave a wave of her hands. “The air. I can make it warmer or colder.”

“Or squeeze the hell out of a vampire?”

“Bonus.”

His lips twitched. “What else can you do?”

“A few months ago the drains in my condo backed up and water was filling my basement. I freaked out when I saw the damage and suddenly the water was pouring back down the drains and the basement was completely dry.”

He touched her cheek with an oddly reverent motion. “An elemental.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Her mouth went dry. “What the hell is that?”

The slender fingers slid down the line of her jaw creating all sorts of unwelcome havoc.

“I’m afraid that I’m not the one to ask for explanations. I’ve only heard rumors of such creatures.”

She stepped back. Conde Cezar might be the most arrogant, aggravating pain in the butt she had ever met, but his touch could still turn her mind to mush.

“I’m not a creature.” She sent him a telling glance. “At least not until I met you.”

“Anna, the one thing I do know is that elementals are born, not created. I had nothing to do with your powers.” He studied her skeptical expression before giving a shake of his head. “We can’t linger here in the open.”

She stubbornly stood her ground. It had been stupid to rush to Chicago and confront Cezar. She wasn’t about to make it worse by happily skipping off in the dark with a self-confessed vampire.

Her bizarro talents weren’t nearly dependable enough for that.

“What makes you think someone is trying to kill me?” she demanded.

“Would there be any other reason for a fire to be started outside your door?”

“It could have been an accident.”

He looked at her as if her elevator couldn’t possibly be going all the way to the top.

And maybe it wasn’t.

“Do you truly believe that?”

“I don’t know.” She rubbed her aching temples. How long had it been since she had slept? Or ate? She couldn’t even remember. “Christ, I’ve gone way past my crazy threshold. This day couldn’t get any worse.”

“Never tempt fate, querida,” he warned softly. “It’s a lesson that I learned at my peril.”

She snorted as her gaze skimmed over his dark, knee-buckling beauty. His bronzed features were just as elegant, just as exquisitely carved as they had been two centuries ago. There wasn’t even a strand of gray in the thick black hair to mar his perfection.

“You don’t look as if you’ve suffered over the years.”

Something dangerous flashed through his dark eyes. Dangerous enough to make her take a hasty step backward.

“You have no idea, sweet Anna,” he said coldly. “But for now I’m more interested in discovering who’s trying to kill you and why. Do you have any enemies?”

She licked her dry lips, realizing she had touched a nerve that was best left alone. What she knew about vampires might fit into a thimble, but it seemed an overall good policy not to provoke one. Not when they were standing alone on a dark street.

“I’m a lawyer who battles the world’s most powerful corporations on a daily basis,” she admitted. “I have an endless list of enemies.”

“Any who want you dead?”

“No, of course not. That’s ridiculous.”

“You’ve lived over two centuries,” he pointed out. “You were bound to piss off a few people.”

Anna grimaced as she thought of the endless years she had lived in near solitude, taking menial jobs to survive, and constantly moving from one town to another to avoid notice.

“Until the past few years I’ve lived very quietly. It’s not easy to explain why I don’t age while everyone else around me grows old.”

The coldness faded from the black eyes. “Yes, I’m somewhat familiar with the problem.”

Oh, right. He would be. Anna briefly wondered just how old Cezar was. A few hundred years? A few thousand?

She shoved away the thought. It made her head spin. After all these years immortality still seemed like a strange, absurd dream.

“At last I decided I was tired of hiding,” she continued. “If I’m going to live forever I should at least do something to make the world a better place.”

The wicked amusement returned to the dark eyes. “By fighting corporations?”

“And what do you do?” she charged.

He flicked his gaze down her slender body, lingering on the plunge of her neckline. “I protect beautiful women from the things that go bump in the night.”

Anna swallowed a small groan as she could tangibly feel the heat of that sinful gaze. Cezar had always been able to seduce with a mere glance. “I’ve told you that I don’t need you to protect me.”

“Well that’s too bad, because that happens to be my current job.”

“Job?” She frowned at his odd choice of words. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He reached out to tap the end of her nose. “Precisely what I said.”

She smacked his hand away. She didn’t believe for a moment that he was some sort of Good Samaritan who went about protecting women. Hell, he was the thing that went bump in the night.

“Then consider yourself fired.”

His smile was mocking. “You don’t have the power to fire me. My orders come from those much more powerful than you. At least for the moment.” He stilled, his head tilting back as if testing the air. Then without warning he had wrapped her in his arms and pressed them both into the shadows of the nearest doorway. Anna opened her mouth to protest only to have his hand clamp over her lips. “Ssh,” he whispered close to her ear. “Someone is coming.”

Belatedly Anna could hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Turning her head, she was startled to see Sybil Taylor making her way down the street, pausing at each building to peer into the windows as if she was looking for something.

Or someone.

Anna caught her breath even as Cezar whispered words in a language she didn’t understand and the shadows deepened around them. In an instant they were wrapped in complete darkness.

Nice trick. It was no wonder vampires managed to remain below the radar of most people.

Cezar’s attention remained firmly trained on the woman approaching them.

“Now that is intriguing,” he murmured.

She pried his fingers from her mouth. “What?”

“Why would the fairy be searching for you?”

“How do you know that she’s searching for me?” His arm tightened around her waist, sending a zing of pleasure through her body. She was trying hard to ignore the fact that her back was pressed firmly to his hard, perfect body. And that his sandalwood scent was making her head spin and her palms sweat. At the impatient squeeze of his arm, she realized she wasn’t succeeding. She sighed and forced herself to concentrate on more important matters. Such as why she would even question the fact she was the one Sybil was searching for. It was too much a coincidence that the elegant woman would arrive in Chicago the exact day and attend the exact party for her not to be somehow involved in this current disaster. “Okay, stupid question.”

“I think we should have a talk with Sybil Taylor,” he murmured. “But not tonight.”

It was her turn for impatience. She had always suspected there was something downright slimy about the beautiful brunette. Even before she learned Sybil was a fairy. (A fairy, for God’s sake, what was up with that?) This was her opportunity to discover just what the bitch was up to.

“Why wait?” she demanded.

“For one thing I would like our conversation to be a little more private than standing on Michigan Avenue,” he said, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke. “And for another, she’s on her guard at the moment. If we wait and corner her, she’ll be much more willing to confess her secrets.”

“She won’t be confessing any secrets if she manages to disappear,” she pointed out as Sybil crossed the wide street and vanished from view.

“Impossible.”

She tilted her head away from those disturbing lips that brushed against her ear. God, her hormones were nearly screaming with the need to turn in his arms and do something about the fierce ache that had clutched her body.

It was dangerous. Stupid. And undeniable.

She hadn’t felt this potent need for one hundred and ninety-five years. Now her body wanted what it wanted. And it wanted it this minute.

Anna sucked in a deep breath, willing her heart to slow its frantic pace. “How can you be so certain you will be able to find her again?”

“No one, not even a demon, can hide from a vampire on the hunt,” he arrogantly assured her, his hand stroking the line of her throat. “No one.”

She turned her head to meet the dark, glittering gaze. “Is that a threat?”

“Consider it a friendly warning.”

“Perhaps you should have your memory checked.”

His lips twitched. “And why is that?”

“Because after one hundred and ninety-five years I’m the one who found you, not the other way around.”

His smile widened. Of course. Even if Anna was too stubborn to admit it out loud, they both knew that he had deliberately lured her to Chicago.

“If it makes you feel better to think so.”

She pulled away and began marching down the street. She’d had enough for one night. Enough of vampires and fairies and near-death experiences.

“Goodbye, Conde Cezar.”

She’d barely taken a step when he blocked her path, his expression ruthless in the shadows.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Back to my hotel room.”

“Don’t be a fool. Even assuming that it’s not completely destroyed, Sybil will keep a watch on the hotel the entire night.”

“Fine.” She turned on her heel and began marching in the opposite direction. “Then I’ll go to another hotel.”

Once again she had barely taken a step and he was blocking her path, moving so swiftly she nearly rammed into him.

He crossed his arms over his chest, regarding her with lifted brows.

“And what hotel will take you in with no money, no luggage, and no shoes?”

The fact that he was right only made her want to punch him in the nose. “Look, buster, I’m tired of vampires and fairies and God knows what else that is no doubt lurking in the shadows. I just want to go to sleep and forget I was ever stupid enough to come to Chicago, let alone believe you could give me the answers I want.”

He regarded her pale face for a long, silent moment. “What if I promise to make sure that you get those answers you seek?”

She narrowed her gaze. “You know more than you’re saying, don’t you?”

He laughed softly. “It would take the next millennium to share everything I know, querida.”

“Ugh.”

His smile faded as he slowly held out a slender hand. “Will you trust me?”

“Never.”

Something that might have been disappointment flashed through the dark eyes, but his hand never wavered.

“Will you at least allow me to take you somewhere safe for the night?”

Anna lowered her gaze to study the tips of her bare toes, grinding her teeth as she was forced to accept she had nowhere to go. Not unless she wanted to sleep in the streets.

Talk about a rock and a hard place.

“I don’t seem to have much choice,” she muttered, grudgingly placing her hand in his.

With a small chuckle, Cezar pulled her forward, bending his head to brush a soft kiss on her lips.

“Anna Randal, you haven’t had a choice since the first night I caught sight of you.”

With a soft hiss, Cezar forced himself to lift his head. Dios. The scent of this woman was invading him, setting his soul on fire. He ached with the need to taste her blood on his tongue, feel her warm and supple body writhing in pleasure beneath his own.

In the same moment he was nearly overwhelmed with the compulsion to take her far away from those who hunted her. To hide her in his lair and keep her safe. With his very life if necessary.

Two very dangerous obsessions that could get a vampire killed.

Damn the Oracles. They had known. They had known precisely what his reaction would be when this woman was plunged back into his life.

With an effort, Cezar thrust aside the strange unease that flared through his heart and concentrated on Anna.

Despite her stubborn expression and the wary glitter in her beautiful hazel eyes, he could smell the fear and confusion and weariness that trembled through her body.

He needed to get her into a warm bed with a large tray of food. The sooner the better.

Grasping her hand, Cezar urged his reluctant companion down the street. She hesitated only a moment before heaving a deep sigh and falling into step beside him.

“Where are we going?”

Cezar had already considered his options. The Oracles hadn’t yet given their permission to bring Anna into their presence or to reveal her own place on the Commission. And experience had taught him not to overstep his bounds, even if Anna’s life was in danger. Pissing off the Oracles was never a good thing.

His only other option was Styx.

Not a bad other option.

“To a friend’s house. You’ll be safe there.”

“How can you be so certain?”

He smiled wryly. “Trust me, there are few demons who would dare the wrath of Styx. He didn’t gain his name by accident.”

She flashed him a puzzled frown. “Styx?”

“It’s said that he leaves a river of dead in his wake.”

“Holy crap.”

Cezar gave her fingers a slight squeeze. “Don’t worry. His mate has trained him to keep most of the bloodshed to a minimum.”

“I can’t reveal the depth of my relief,” she said dryly.

“You actually saw him earlier this evening.”

“Ah.” A tiny smile touched her lips. “The tall, gorgeous Aztec?”

Cezar’s gaze narrowed, a stark sense of possession making his fangs lengthen.

“Careful, querida. Darcy is not only Styx’s mate, she’s also a werewolf who is very possessive.” He tugged her close enough to his side that he could feel her heat wrap around him. “And even if she agreed to share, I wouldn’t.”

“A werewolf…” Her shock was abruptly replaced with an expression of feminine outrage. It was an expression that she had perfected to an art form over the past two centuries. “Wait, what do you mean you wouldn’t share?”

He caught and held her gaze. “You know precisely what I mean.”

Her steps faltered, then she tilted her chin and dredged up a glare. “You must be mental if you think you can pop in and out of my life every few centuries and claim me like some sort of booby prize.”

“Booby prize?”

“Damn you, this isn’t funny.” She stomped her foot, only to grimace as her bare foot landed on a rock. “Ow.” With yet another glare, she lifted her foot to rub it. “Can’t we get a taxi?”

“I don’t want anyone knowing where we’ve gone, especially not a human taxi driver who would reveal everything, including his ATM PIN number, under the enchantment of a fairy.”

She heaved an aggravated sigh at his perfectly reasonable explanation.

“Then call your friend and have him pick us up,” she demanded.

Cezar shrugged. “I don’t have a cell phone.”

“You’re kidding me.” She stared at him in disbelief. “What century do you live in?”

He was wise enough to hide his amusement this time. Although she’d lived two centuries, she was still unfamiliar with the world that she was now a part of. It would take time for her to adjust.

“My powers disrupt a few modern conveniences.”

Her annoyance changed to curiosity. “Why?”

“No one has managed to discover why. There are just certain vampires who possess an aura that plays havoc with technology. There are some who can’t enter a town without downing the entire electric grid. Thankfully my own disruptions are limited to cell phones and wireless internet service. Not that great a loss.”

“That must make downloading your porn a tedious business,” she mocked.

With a flurry of motion, Cezar had Anna pressed into the doorway of a large office building, his arms clamped around her waist and his head buried in the curve of her neck.

He’d ignored her mocking taunts because he realized she was terrified. But he’d be damned if he’d accept any slurs concerning his sexual prowess. Not when he was bloody well aching with a need to take her right there on a public street.

“Vampires have no need for such titillation,” he assured her, scraping his fangs over the pulsing vein at the base of her throat before pressing his lips to the sensitive flesh. She shivered, her hands clutching at his arms as if her knees were suddenly weak. He trailed his lips down her collarbone, using his teeth and tongue to make her groan in pleasure. “Why bother with faux sex when you can always have the real thing?”

Lifting his head he claimed her lips in a kiss that revealed the dark, hungry passion that held him captive. Her lips readily parted, allowing his tongue to tangle with hers as his hands skimmed over her back with a restless need.

Anna could snap and snarl all she wanted, but she couldn’t disguise the fact that she still desired him. The passion between them would never, could never, change. No matter how many centuries passed.

Drowning in pleasure, Cezar pressed her hard against his aching body, desperately wishing they were alone in a dark room with satin sheets and hours to spend in each other’s arms.

His fantasy was interrupted when Anna’s fingers tightened on his arms and her head arched back.

“Cezar…wait.”

His hands gripped the back of her delicate gown, his muscles trembling with the effort to control his passions.

“I’ve been waiting two centuries,” he muttered thickly.

“I smell apples.”

He stilled, his eyes narrowed. “And?”

“And I always smell apples when Sybil Taylor is near.”

His senses reached out, easily locating the fairy who was creeping down the dark street toward them.

“Damn that fairy.” Reaching behind Anna he easily wrenched open the steel and glass door, thrusting Anna into the vast marble foyer as he followed close behind. “How the hell did she find us?”

He didn’t give his companion time to respond as he pressed her behind one of the large potted palms and took his own position next to the door. With a low word he was wrapped in shadows, invisible even to the fairy’s eyes.

Only a few minutes passed before Sybil was sniffing around the door, her expression wary as she stepped over the threshold and studied the darkness.

“Anna?” she called softly, a small crystal shimmering in her hand. “Anna, are you here?”

More than a little unhappy at having his intimate moment with Anna interrupted, Cezar flowed forward and wrapped his arms around the fairy.

“How did you follow us?” he demanded, squeezing her painfully as she attempted to struggle against his hold.

“Release me, vampire.”

“Wrong answer.” He pressed his fangs against her neck, hard enough to draw blood.

She gave a squeak, her struggles ending as she froze in fear. “No…wait.”

“How did you follow us?” he repeated.

“I scried for Anna,” she answered, referring to the art of crystal-gazing.

Unlike vampires, fairies were capable of small amounts of magic. But even fairies needed a part of the person they were scrying.

“With what?”

The scent of apples became nearly overwhelming as Sybil struggled to contain her fiery temper. Fairies were creatures of emotion, flitting from one to another with such speed a wise demon tended to give them a wide berth.

“I stole her hairbrush so I would have strands of her hair,” she at last gritted.

“Why? What do you want from her?”

“She has a bounty on her head.”

“A bounty?” Anna stepped from behind the potted plant, her face pale. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that someone wants you dead, querida,” he said, instantly regretting his blunt honesty when her eyes widened in shock.

“Oh my God.”

“Not dead,” Sybil interrupted. “Captured.”

Cezar shifted his arm so he could wrap his hand around the fairy’s throat. One squeeze and she’d be dead. Not as satisfying as draining her dry, but effective.

“Who offered the bounty?”

She hesitated before muttering a vile curse beneath her breath. “The Queen of Fairies.”

A chill stabbed through Cezar’s heart. Dammit, he should have paid closer attention to Anna’s revelation of what had happened to her aunt and cousin two centuries ago. It hadn’t occurred to him that it would have any bearing on the danger she faced today.

He wasn’t usually so stupid.

“What’s her interest in Anna?” he rasped.

“I don’t have a clue.” Sybil shot a surly glare in Anna’s direction. “And I don’t care.”

His fingers tightened. “Shall I make you care?”

She hissed in pain, holding up her hands in defeat. “Look, I don’t even know if Anna is the one the queen seeks.”

“Explain.”

“All I know is that the word was spread that the queen would offer her priceless emeralds to any fairy who managed to locate a human who possessed the magic of the elders in their blood. When I met Anna in the courtroom I instantly sensed some sort of power. It’s unstable, but very strong.”

Anna grimaced at the fairy. “That’s why you were always following me around?”

“Well, it wasn’t for your charming personality.”

Anna stepped forward, her fists clutched as if she were considering punching the woman in the nose. Cezar was swift to tug Sybil backward. Although he liked a catfight as well as the next vampire (who didn’t?), he was more interested in getting to the truth before he was forced to kill the fairy.

“And the spells you cast in her direction?”

Sybil gave a jerk of surprise. “How did you know about them?”

Cezar ignored her surprise and Anna’s questioning gaze. “Just answer the question.”

“They were harmless for the most part,” the fairy muttered. “I hoped to force her into using her powers so that I could be sure she was the one that I sought before I went to the trouble of kidnapping her.”

Anna made a rude noise. “Nice.”

“If your only intention was to capture Anna then why did you set the fire outside Anna’s door?” he demanded.

It took another warning squeeze before Sybil was squeaking out the answer. “I assumed that you had taken her to her room for a late night snack. I couldn’t risk having her drained before I could get her to the queen. I knew a fire was the one thing that would frighten you away.”

Anna gave a small gasp. “Do you know how many people could have been killed by that fire?”

“What do I care about humans?” Sybil demanded in baffled tones.

It was a sentiment shared by most of the demon world. Including vampires. Oh, humans were fine enough as a convenient meal or a quickie in a dark alley, but they weren’t actually considered valuable commodities. There were just so damn many of them.

Anna’s expression, however, was enough to keep his mouth shut. See, he was a lot smarter than he looked.

“God, you’re…” her words broke off as she covered her face with shaky hands. “This is ridiculous. I can’t possibly be the one you’re looking for.”

Cezar battled the instinctive need to rush to Anna and pull her into his arms. What the hell was the matter with him? He was an ancient conquistador, a warrior, a predator. Until the Oracles had taken command of his life he had killed without mercy and took what he wanted without asking.

The world had trembled at his passing.

Now he wanted nothing more than to offer comfort to a woman because she was feeling alone and frightened.

Grimly he returned his attention to the fairy who was using his distraction for an opportunity to escape. With a low growl he lowered his head until she could feel his fangs against her neck.

“Did you reveal to the queen that you had found Anna?”

She gave a tiny squeak. “I might have sent a message that said something about bringing Her Majesty a special gift.”

Cezar cursed beneath his breath. If the queen was traveling to Chicago they were in for some major trouble. She possessed a nasty temper and ancient powers she was willing to use without a care for the destruction she might cause.

He had to warn the Oracles.

But first things first.

Capable of sensing the gist of his vile Spanish curses even if she didn’t understand the actual words, Anna moved forward with a worried frown.

“Cezar?”

“I must get you to Styx.”

Her gaze shifted to the fairy trapped in his arms. “What are you going to do to Sybil?”

He grimaced. “She’ll have to come with us. She might possess information we’ll need.”

Sybil resumed her struggles. “Like hell I will.”

“You’ll come with us or I’ll kill you,” he said, his voice cold enough to assure the fairy he meant every word.

“Fine, I’ll come.”

“I thought you might.”