Claimed by Light (5 page)

Two steps brought her to the door they’d come through, and she met a stairwell. Taking the stairs, she bounded up two flights. The lights flickered out, and she stopped. A long, deep breath centered her. Barefoot, she didn’t make a sound as she moved, and with the darkness surrounding her, she was nearly invisible, considering soot and blood covered the once-white shirt.

Slade’s shirt.

Enough!
She would not think of him. Wouldn’t say his name.

She crept to the door and peeked through the small window. Quietly, she twisted the knob and cracked open the door.

Couches along the far wall, facing a massive fireplace, resembled a hotel lobby more than a demonic compound—if that’s where she was. Large revolving doors flanked by windows letting in tons of light were about thirty feet ahead. It’d be pretty hard to sneak out there in broad daylight, especially wearing only a blood-covered shirt.

Damn it.

There weren’t any demons roaming around, but they had to know she’d escaped. The three she’d killed would have tripped an alarm of some type. Something was very wrong with this whole situation.

She burst through the door and made a mad dash for the outdoors.

A force of nature tackled her from the side. The tile floor cracked as her shoulder hit, and a shot of pain zipped up her neck as her head snapped to the side.

Where the hell had he come from?

She sank her teeth into the attacker’s neck and, with a quick jerk, ripped out his throat. Once free, she jabbed the dagger into his heart and sent him dusting to Hades.

Freedom was only four feet away, but two more figures moved in the corners of her vision. She tossed her dagger to the right, and once it found the demon’s chest, she chanted the vanquish as she smashed her heel into the knee of the other one.

One lunge to the left, and she landed by her weapon. The hobbling demon just stood there, putting all his weight on his good leg, watching her.

Halena backed toward the revolving doors. Toward freedom.

A clap of thunder ricocheted off her skull. Her heart rate soared. Breath streamed from her mouth, and she keeled over, gulping for air. Had something hit her?

Only the staggering demon before her was in the expansive lobby. Her neck burned, tingling like fire ants crawled over her skin.

Warmth swelled within her chest, and her heart calmed. A sense of peace descended upon her.

“No!” Her voice echoed off the cathedral ceilings.

She ran to the revolving doors. Pushing with all her might, she whirled through them and onto a sidewalk in the bright sun. Her heart throbbed. Her body pulsed with need.

Her Ahavah had just received his Mark.

“No!”

Despite how much she didn’t want it to be Slade, she knew it was. It had to be, considering he handled her weapon.

How could The Great One do this to her?

She took off, running full speed. The harsh concrete slapped the bottoms of her bare feet, stinging her toes. The cool air nipped at her exposed legs and drafted up the oversize shirt, but the warmth streaming through her body, calling out to her Mate, soothed her discomfort.

“Shit.” She would run as far as she could from Slade. The Great One could choose him, but that didn’t mean Halena would follow through with the mating by touching him, let alone kissing him and having sex with him.

No. Halena would never take a Mate, especially the man who’d betrayed her—the man who was on his way to becoming a demon.

Chapter Seven

Halena clicked the door to Slade’s hotel room shut, and his scent bombarded her. She cast a quick glance at the bed she’d made herself so comfortable on that night they’d met in the bar.

Smoothing her now-clean shirt down the front, she stopped her hand directly over her heart. It was beating a drum solo. Her body tingled, and she swallowed hard.

No way could she be getting aroused at the thought of Slade.
Damn Ahavah bond
.

She crept into the hotel room, touching each of her thighs to confirm that her Mavet daggers were in place. She’d been home, cleaned up and grabbed her weapons, but since escaping, and feeling the Ahavah surface on her Mate, she was out of sorts. Her trusty weapons never let her down, though. They gave her a sense of safety.

The bed was still rumpled as if housekeeping hadn’t come to the room since she and Slade had been together. The curtains were shut, leaving a thick, balmy scent in the air. She stole past the TV to the desk.

Her stomach tightened as she sat down.

It was the conviction in his eyes when he’d asked her to help Addison that had Halena here in this godforsaken hotel room. That
and
it was in her nature to protect.

Her phone tickled her side pocket, and she grabbed it.

Theophilus
. She shook her head and tapped ignore.

He was a persistent Shomrei, for sure. Ever since she escaped the demon compound, he’d been trying to reach her telepathically and on the phone.

There was no chance in Hades she would tell him about this.

Okay, where was this computer Slade had mentioned? The first two drawers she checked were a bust.

Easing back, she opened the thin drawer in front of her, and there sat a slick silver laptop. She hoisted it out, setting the computer on the desk, then lifting the cover.

Password
.

She typed in
Addster
.

The screen brightened, revealing his desktop along with various icons along each side of the screen.

She clicked the magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner and typed
Addison
. A long list of emails came up, so Halena opened the top one.

Slade’s email program launched, and a list of messages opened. They were ones he’d sent to Addison mixed in with a few she’d sent to him.

She opened the first one.

Hey, sis. I know, sorry, Addie. I just had to go quick. This is a really important job. For us both. Are you okay? Keeping clean?

The previous message had been:

Dude, you’re a sucky brother. Totally left without saying good-bye and no calls.

To the left column, there was a “1” in the draft folder. She opened that.

If only I could send this to you, Addie. Sweet Addie. I want to tell you everything, but I can’t. I hope you’ll understand someday. Everything I’ve done is for you. Just always remember that. No matter what you hear or see about me, know I love you. Mom and Dad would be so proud of you. I am. Even though you got messed up with some tough stuff, I know you’re changing your ways. Please, just

The email abruptly ended. Slade really loved his sister; that was obvious. Interesting that he, especially as young as he was, would take such a protective role over his sister. She must be quite a bit younger, and by the mention of “keeping clean,” she must be screwed up.

Of course she was, if she was messing with demons, trading souls… And Votar continued to hold Addison over Slade—and called him the One—despite having a contract in place.

Yeah, something didn’t sit right with this whole scenario. But what did ring true was Slade’s sincerity with his sister. Back at the cell, Halena felt it vibrating off him. She didn’t want to feel it, but she did.

Curious, though, that there didn’t appear to be any emails from parental types. Only a few more from some friends and one from a community college.

Halena opened the contacts program.
12345 J Street, Stage, Colorado
.

Crap. Looked like Halena was heading to America.

…

Slade kicked the invisible door again. Even with his almost-demon strength the damn shield didn’t move.

“Votar!”

For two days, Slade had been trapped in this shitty cell, and other than the demons dropping off a set of clean clothes and a meager tray of food, he’d been alone. Alone with his thoughts and nightmares, both about the torture he’d witnessed Lena suffer and what might be happening to his sister.

Addster.

He toppled into the wall beside the seemingly open doorway and slumped to the ground. A vision engulfed him.

Lena stood in a hallway, decked out in a full set of black fatigues and black shoes. It made her wine-red hair stand out that much more. Such a tough beauty.

She held a dagger in each hand, her legs bent. Now that he looked closer, blood dribbled along her arm.

She edged back and raised her arm up to the side as if keeping something behind her. What? In his mind’s eye, he strained to see what she hid. Hoping. Praying.

Lena glanced over her shoulder, and he saw it on her neck. An exact match to the Mark on his shoulder.

“Keep going, Addie.” Lena tensed and raised her arm.

A figure came at her, followed by a second and a third.

“Addie, run!”

And then, suddenly, Slade held Lena in his arms. Her soft body pressed against his, and he hugged her tighter. “Lena. Oh my God, Lena. You’re okay.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” she said, leaning back. A smile filled her face, and her eyes brightened. “I
am
immortal, you know.”

“And a cougar.”

“I’ll show you cougar, you little frat boy.” Her fangs dropped, and she nipped at his neck.

Darkness bled into his sight, and a scream echoed through the void.

Slade was thrust out of the vision, and he jumped to his feet. “No!”

At least Lena had made it to Addie and was protecting her.

The Mark on his shoulder pulsed. Slipping his fingers up his short sleeve, he touched the newly marked skin. The ink had suddenly appeared directly after Lena had escaped. A wave of her coconut scent streamed into him. His body warmed, and his heart rate hiked up a notch as he envisioned her on his bed that night they’d met.
Lena.

He was her Mate. Un-fucking-believable.

“What happened there a minute ago?” Votar’s voice blasted through Slade’s thoughts.

Slade faced the demon. He hadn’t heard him come in, but Slade sure as hell wasn’t answering anything until
he
got some answers.

“When you were on the floor.” Votar pointed. “What happened?”

Slade crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the demon.

“Getting cocky, I see.” Votar raised his hand, then stepped through the doorway. “You will tell me, or I’ll give you a beating you won’t recover from so quickly.”

He wasn’t saying one fucking word until—

“Maybe this will jog your memory?” Votar pulled a folded file from his side pocket, then tossed it at Slade.

A stream of pictures fanned out, feathering to the floor.

And they were all of Addie.

He fell to his knees and snatched up one of her on a swing at a park, a tall guy pushing her. His long black hair fell into his dark eyes.

Black eyes.

Fangs, too.

“No!”

“Don’t worry. She’s fine unless you decide to stop cooperating.”

The next picture showed Addie at the mall, walking hand in hand with the same guy.

“His name is Jace.” Votar clasped his hands behind his back. “He’s watching over our…investment. Now, tell me what happened to you a few minutes ago.”

Slade stood, slowly, gripping the pictures until the papers crackled. His heart thundered, fueled by fear for his little sister.

And Lena.

Votar didn’t know about Slade’s visions; what would happen if he did? No. Slade couldn’t mention them.

“You haven’t been feeding me shit for food. I got dizzy.”

Votar eyed him for several seconds, then charged. He slammed Slade against the wall and lodged his forearm across his throat. “Don’t. Lie. To. Me.”

Slade coughed, clawed at the demon’s arm.

In a move so fast, Votar pulled up Slade’s sleeve. His eyes went wide. “I knew it!” He grabbed Slade’s biceps. “The Ahavah. The Oracle was right.”

Votar shoved Slade. “She’ll be back for sure now.” He laughed. “Perfect.”

“What do you mean they were right?”

“Oh, Slade. This all started years ago.” Votar shook his head, but a smile filled his smug face. “Oracles and their visions are difficult to interpret sometimes. They aren’t literal. But Bastian, he’s strong. He saw this all coming—for the most part. Though now that you’re marked, we know the route things will take.”

But the demons had targeted Addie. How could they have known she wouldn’t do the final kill to transition? And that Slade would trade his soul for hers?

“The Oracle saw you as Halena’s Mate. But when you didn’t get the Mark after watching her suffer, I doubted their vision.”

“Wait, you made me watch her torture to…provoke the Mark?”

“It was a long shot. And it didn’t work. When did you get this Mark?”

Like he was going to offer
any
information to Votar.

Votar sighed. “It doesn’t matter. We have what we need now to proceed.”

“With…”

“This isn’t a monologue in some slasher movie, Slade. The supernatural world has eyes and ears everywhere. I’m not about to divulge our plan.” He grinned. “Let’s just say that you getting Halena, whether you were her Mate or not, allowed my demons to get payback on her vanquishing. That bitch is focused. Has vanquished more of my kind to Hades in her eight centuries of existence than even Theophilus, possibly.”

“Motherfucker.”

“She won’t be able to deny the bond.” He clapped his hands together and laughed like an idiotic cartoon character. “She’ll come for you. Or maybe…I should let you go to her. Yes. This is going to work out nicely.”

Slade wasn’t sure exactly what was happening other than one thing: Lena was in trouble because of this Mate thing.

And that was unacceptable.