Fanged Fury (The Adventures of Sydney Sedrick Book 3) (19 page)

Lifting my hand in front of my eyes, my arm began to fade. I was being sucked from between realms, back to my own reality.

My chest heaved as consciousness returned. I inhaled a sharp breath.

Using the bed frame, I dragged myself up to sit on the edge of the bed. My mind reeled as I tried to decipher what warning I was supposed to take from the vision.

The comforter felt cold against my sweat-slicked skin as I inched it up to my chin.

Dale, the mailman, had told me he’d been approached in the woods by a male demon. The demon gave them a proposition, to help him find who he was after, or they would pay a price. Dale, who I considered somewhat of a close ally, had said his family did not plan to help the demon in his hunt, but they were busy arming themselves against the onslaught of the demon’s attack.

I’d have to ask Dale to describe the demon. I needed to figure out which one was the ringleader of the group from the woods. I also needed to find out the identity of their Master who was calling the shots.

My eyelids became heavy. Grateful for the escape, I slipped into the sweet abyss of sleep.

“Ah, there you are, my sweet. I think you like making me wait.”

I groaned in dramatic fashion at the intrusion. There was no way I’d invited
him
into my dreams. He’d somehow wormed his way in on his own.

“Daire, don’t you have better things to do then harass me while I sleep?” I glanced down and found myself in a bright orange bikini. I had to admit, the color went well with my skin tone. Taking assessment of our surroundings, I realized we weren’t in my bedroom. We were on a beach.

The moonlight reflected against the dark water, shimmering against the gentle waves.

Daire sat in a bamboo lounging chair placed next to mine in the sand. Holding up a pink umbrella-topped drink, he said, “I thought a nice relaxing evening out would do well for our”—his eyes raked my bikini-clad body a little too close for comfort—“relationship.”

My hand felt cool. Looking down, I found a matching beverage in my palm. Lifting it to my lips, I enjoyed a stiff swallow of orange juice mixed with a healthy dose of vodka. Lowering my eyelids, I glanced sideways to appreciate the sight of Daire’s body. His skin glowed against the moonlight but held a bit more color than his vampire counterparts. When he readjusted his legs, the muscles in his thighs bulged.

My fingers ached to touch him.

The curse kicked in as my eyes roamed the length of his body without trying to hide my appreciation. The gentle breeze felt like thumbs flicking my nipples, shooting rapid bolts of molten heat between my thighs. Sitting up straight, I got off the lounge chair while downing the rest of my drink. The liquid burned my throat, making me cough. The glass, empty a moment ago, was once again filled to the brim.

The alcohol didn’t do much to quell my body’s thirst for his carnal attentions. “Daire, I need you to wake me up.”

Daire rose and came over to where I stood, our toes digging in the cool, gritty sand. Taking the drink from my hand, he leaned over, putting them both into the sand, digging their bases under the grains to keep them upright. Seeing the lean, toned muscles in his back ripple sent visions across my mind of the sexual positions he could accomplish with being so in shape. I wanted to lick his pristine flesh in long sensual sweeps with my tongue.

Standing up, he grabbed me by the elbows. “Sydney, calm down. This is nothing more than a dream. You have the power to wake up at any time. You, Selected, are in control. It is your choice whether you go with what is happening or if you end it.”

I shook my head. “You’re lying. If I could force myself to wake up, I would. You’re making this happen.” Lifting my arms to the sky filling with twinkling stars, I said, “The sand on my toes, the suit I’m wearing, it’s all you. None of this is my doing.”

Daire smiled. “My sweet, you are here because you desire it so.” He brought me against his naked chest as he lowered his lips to my neck.

The cool slickness of his tongue glided along my skin, sending tingles down the side of my body. Every hair along the wet path stood up at attention.

I took a step back. Daire didn’t let go. He came forward. He put a foot behind my ankle, causing us to fall against the sand. He used the palm of his hand to cradle my head from the fall. The harsh texture of the grainy substance against my flesh emphasized my body’s sensitivity.

With his weight on top of me, I squirmed against him. I struggled with my desires. I half-wanted him to take me there on the sand. It wouldn’t matter. We were in a dream-state. Blake couldn’t hold what happened in a dream against me. It wasn’t like I was cheating on him. Besides, I couldn’t cheat on him since we weren’t dating. I was an independent woman, capable of thinking for myself. I was also a grown woman with needs. Daire just happened to be present and more than willing to fulfill them.

My struggles spurred him on. He took my wiggling against his chest as encouragement. A strong hand captured my jaw. He forced his lips against mine, all while using his knee to separate my thighs.

He stopped moving and said, “Sydney, you can say ‘no’ at any time. I am here to help you with what you’re going through. I won’t deny I’ve wanted you the first time you were in my arms.”

The memory came rushing back of when I met Daire for the first time when he’d caught me out of the air as I plummeted to the gym floor at the vampire’s royal palace. The second we made eye contact I knew he was going to be a problem in many aspects of my life.

I was right.

Letting go, I stopped fighting. My body tightened with need. I knew Daire could dull the lust coursing through my body, at least for a little while. His ministrations the other night had allowed me to tolerate Blake and Matt in the same room. I hadn’t been consumed with wanting a threesome on the store’s floor because of their masculinity.

My breath came in rapid, shallow bursts. I was losing control of my conscious thought. My body robbed my mind of control. My baser instincts kicked in. I grabbed his firm backside with my hands, grinding him against me. “Are you going to talk all night or are you going to do what you keep telling me you’re so damn good at?”

Daire laughed. “Ah, my dear, Sydney. All you had to do was give me a sign. I’ve waited a long time for you to come around.”

He moved in to capture my lips with his when my mind cleared, a little. Questions regarding his statement swam in chaotic patterns in my head. He said he waited a long to for me to come around. Did he mean he waited for me to agree in having sex with him? Or did he mean he’s been waiting for me to move back to the city and take my position as Selected?

Before Daire’s lips touched mine, his image wavered. Gazing into his eyes, the orange rim around the red glowing orbs faded until the entire eye was a pale pink color. His skin began to fade. I could no longer feel the touch of his hands caressing my sides or the stimulating weight of his body.

Startled to consciousness, I found myself back at Aunt Judith’s, covered by my favorite purple comforter. I brushed the hair away sticking to the sides of my face then wiped the sweat beaded on my forehead. Sitting up, I touched my pillowcase. Soaked.

That was some dream.

What did Daire mean?

I’d have to talk to him and find out how long he had been waiting for me. What was he waiting for me to do?

My cell phone vibrated and the blue glow blinked once more on the screen. I picked it up to see someone sent me another text message.

Daire.

I knew I shouldn’t read the message, but curiosity consumed me.

YOU ARE LEARNING, MY SWEET. SEE YOU SOON. D
.

I must have been the one to end the dream before we went too far, but I didn’t know how I accomplished it. Taking a deep breath, I felt the power of the Selected grow within me. I had just controlled part of the dream we had shared. I, a human with powers unlike any other, had just bested a half-vampire, half-demon.

Stretching my arms above my head, I checked the time on my phone. It was a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I decided to get out of bed, take a shower, and get ready for the day.

The steam cleansing my pores invigorated me. It felt good to get the sweat off coating my body from the dream shared with Daire. Using a new razor, I lifted my leg and put my foot on the side of the tub after lathering up with shaving gel. The razor shaved close to my skin. The underside of my calf burned. Upon taking a closer look, the skin was swollen and red, like skin braised by sand.

My blood ran cold at the sign of the first evidence that these were more than mere dreams.

Finishing getting ready, I sprayed myself with an extra dose of perfume to cover any scent that may have lingered from the dream. I didn’t want Blake to smell Daire again, even though I didn’t expect him to show up at the store since I’d told him I needed break.

Sitting on my bed, I put my favorite black boots on over jeans, picking a tight, long-sleeved teal shirt to complete the ensemble. Back in the bathroom, I checked my reflection. Grandma’s pink ruby necklace gleamed in the morning sunlight coming from the narrow window against the far wall.

The weight of the Other’s world felt heavy on my shoulders that morning. I didn’t know who Daire was, what he wanted, or what he intended. He was half-vampire. The vampires in the city belonging to the coven wanted to have the prophecy fulfilled, for all of them to gain the ability to walk in the sunlight, allowing them mobility during the time the wolves took advantage of thinking they were safe because the vampires couldn’t tolerate the sun’s rays. Daire didn’t need the prophecy to be fulfilled to walk in the sun.

Kasdeya, the fire demon, was a bit of an enigma. Despite her scary personality flaws and pure hatred toward all beings—human or Other—she seemed to want to be friends. I tried not to overanalyze her motives too much. She’d despised me in the past. She’d even threatened my life on multiple occasions during the preparation of the Blood Rites Ball. She said she’d use my body as a shield should the king of vampires be in physical peril.

Brianna and Michael being in town complicated my life even more. Michael planned to tell my sister of his true nature, meaning Blake would be around to help if she went ballistic and made a run for it. I didn’t want to think of my mother at the moment, but her swollen red nose and slurred words popped into my mind. She’d lied to me my entire life, keeping the secret of my fate from me while I walked the streets of Chicago, ignorant of surrounding threats.

The timing of Matt’s coming up from the south made me suspicious. It wasn’t clear what the mark he’d placed upon my hip entailed. I could sense his presence from the mark. I could read his emotions now as he experienced them. I didn’t want to be so connected to anyone, let alone a wolf whom I struggled to remain in the same room due to his obnoxious, overbearing demeanor.

Then there was Blake. He was almost perfect in every way, except he had his werewolf pack to think about. Being charged with their survival was a huge responsibility, which he took serious. He told me I was more important to him than his pack or completing the prophecy, but I didn’t know if I could believe him. It bothered me that he could love me so much and he would put the future of his pack in jeopardy to be with me. I could never ask him to do such a thing. He believed we were life-mates, or so he insisted on telling me every chance he got. If he was correct, we would somehow make it as a couple, but I didn’t see the futility of trying to make it work.

If the vampires felt I’d chosen to take up allegiance with the wolves, they would not just hunt the werewolf pack down and exterminate them all.

They wouldn’t stop until they found me and exterminated me, too.

Chapter 13

Sitting on the stool behind the register, I breathed in the sweet smell of warm caramel filling the air. It was slow going with the customers so I filled the time by surfing on the Internet for the latest products. I’d become a regular visitor on the Celtic blogs to get ideas what to stock in the store to up Morning Sun’s traffic.

The front door jangled. In came the largest male I’d ever seen. Sipping my coffee, I waited to see what he wanted with my being the Selected, because the corded blue tubes attached to his head where hair should have been told me he was an Other. Others didn’t tend to come shopping in my store. Well, not often.

The man pounded beefy fists on the glass, causing the crack in the top to splinter further. After my body relaxed from having jumped in my seat, I rolled my eyes. I’d have to get the cracked glass fixed soon.

“Can I help you with something?” I mustered with as much sarcasm in my voice as possible with my heart rate ramping up while I tried to maintain a blasé expression. The malevolent intent came through his posture, like he was a grizzly bear ready to rip my throat out. Fear began to climb up my spine.

He turned his face, giving me a better view of the left side of his head. Lifting his hand, the man traced a thick puckered scar running the length from his brow to the chin of his face with a tapered blue fingernail, the same blue hue as the tubes lining his scalp.

“Yes, I think you can. I’m searching for my beloved.” He bent his neck in an inhuman fashion. When he stretched, a bone pressed outward. His neck was full of vertebrae running somewhere underneath his black trench coat.

I shook my head. “Sorry, you must be mistaken. I don’t know anyone who has a demon boyfriend.”

He grabbed my arm from across the counter. The second his fingers contacted my flesh, a searing burn began to make my skin bubble.

“Rage!” an angry female called from the other side of the front door.

Kasdeya sauntered into the store, drawing one of her swords as she moved.

The demon released my arm at the sound of her voice. I cradled my wound to my chest. The appalling fiend had burned my skin through my shirt. I could see scorch marks on my skin through the ruined material. That bastard owed me a shirt.

Rage, the demon Kasdeya had warned me about, had been the one who’d betrayed her. His treachery and greed had forced her into the contract as Judge and servant to the king of vampires.

The demons in the woods from my vision must have been referring to Rage when they kept mentioning ‘the Master’. Having him stand in front of me, I sympathized with them of their fears.

“Ah, at last I am able to see the sight of you with mine own eyes, Kas.” Rage moved away from the counter while I went around it, searching for something I could use to defend Kasdeya and me.

Kasdeya held out her sword, directing the tip at Rage. “Don’t come any closer. You are not welcome here, not in this store, not in this realm.”

The demon wore a perplexed expression while putting his hands on his hips, which I couldn’t help but notice were as wide as Blake’s shoulders.

“Why are you not begging me to touch your body?” He obviously couldn’t make sense of his ex’s lack of reaction to him. He must have thought quite highly of his charms if he assumed his very presence would make my new demon-friend swoon.

He had another thing coming.

Kasdeya continued to hold the sword pointed at Rage’s throat, but the shiny metal blade started to quiver.

Her shoulders shook.

A high-pitched shrill filled the air, piercing my ears.

“Oh, yes. I see your ego hasn’t dulled one bit since last we saw each other. That scar on your face, does it still burn from my fire? You must think such loving thoughts of me every time you look at yourself,” Kasdeya sneered as she cupped both hands on the hilt of her sword.

“Lover, you should be quaking with need. My servants have failed me again.” The demon stomped his metal-booted foot. Wood splinters flew into the air like fast little missiles.

My mouth dropped open in disbelief. I pointed a finger at him. “You, Mister, are going to pay to have that repaired. You can’t just come in here breaking my stuff.”

Rage turned his head in my direction. For the first time since he entered my store, I noticed his strong jaw line. The well-maintained, blue goatee lining his chin made my inner thighs tingle with thoughts of how it would feel to have him rub his face against my hot, sensitive flesh. I took in quick, shallow breaths as his gaze bore into my soul. The smell of sulfur filled the air. I’d never cared for the odor before, but smelling it coming from the fine male specimen in front of me changed my opinion, fast.

Damn, the demon could sense my arousal.

He leered at me. “This day couldn’t get any better, my sweet.” Rage refocused his attention on Kasdeya. “Employing quality servants is becoming more difficult, I see.”

My curiosity couldn’t be quelled, despite my self-preservation instincts screaming to remain silent. “What did you tell your minions to do that they screwed up?”

Rage crossed his massive arms over his bulging pecks. “It would seem, Selected, my servants applied the spell I brought from the Underworld to make my lover melt at the mere sight of me on
you
, instead of Kas.”

My mouth went dry.
Rage
was the cause of my wanting to share sheets with every man I’d encountered in the last few days.

The silver patterns lining Kasdeya’s skin began to swirl and bounce off one another as her fire made the room sweltering.

“You mean to tell me you ordered to have some kind of force spell put on me? After all you’ve done, the lecherous betrayal, forcing me into signing the contract with the vampire king because of your greed for power, now you want me to come back to you?”

Her voice turned more shrill with every word she spoke.

Rage traced his scar again, just as he had before I knew who he was.

“We have much to discuss. There is unfinished business between us.”

I waved my arm in the air to get their attention. “Wait just one minute. You did this to me? Fix it. Take it back. Whatever you have to do, make it go away.”

They both ignored me, keeping their glares on one another.

Kasdeya shook her head. “There is nothing left between us. We together are dead. You can never take back what is done. Your lust for power makes you weak, you and my father both. I’d never align myself with the likes of you again. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way, but learned it I have. You’d do well to accept that. The sooner, the better.”

My ears burned with fury. Neither demon acknowledged the real issue. My still being affected by the spell Rage had meant for Kasdeya. I wanted it undone.

Kasdeya repositioned her body weight, pointing her sword to the couch. “Sit there, next to the fireplace.” I hadn’t gotten around to lighting the logs in the fireplace yet, but planned on doing so after my morning coffee. Hey, a girl had priorities.

Rage sidestepped around Kasdeya’s blade to sit on the couch. I groaned at seeing how the piece of furniture bowed in the center from the burden of his massive weight. If he broke that too, he’d have more to worry about than just the blade at his neck.

Erupting from the ash, fire caught on the timber in the fireplace.

Rage eyed the flames with trepidation. “My lover, your antics don’t worry me, so you can stop the show with your little camp fire.”

Kasdeya brought the blade to the middle of his neck, letting the point indent into his skin, but not hard enough to cause him to bleed. That was, if he had blood. The demon didn’t appear fazed by her actions.

“Rage, what exactly is it you want? Why are you following me?” The black leather skirt strained against Kasdeya’s hips as she maintained her stance, ready to pounce.

The male demon caressed her with his eyes. “Isn’t it obvious, princess? I want you back where you belong. Your father has made another deal with the Dark Lord. Your father is charged with having you brought back to the Underworld.”

The spines I saw earlier when Rage flexed his neck began to grow in size, becoming more pointed.

Kasdeya stepped closer to him. “If you show your true face here in this realm, I will be forced to execute you. Matter of fact, go ahead. I’d be more than happy to report to the vampire king of your death.”

The spines returned to their original state under his blue skin. “I can’t help it, love. You bring out the best in me.” Rage smiled.

I had a feeling he’d used that charm on her in the past. I hoped Kasdeya was stronger than when she fell in love with him. I doubted that she could be affected by the demon anymore. He wasn’t trustworthy, but he was damn delectable.

Kasdeya rolled the hilt of her sword in the palm of her hand. The chrome nails at the tips of her fingers glinted from the light coming from the fireplace. The blade point dug into Rage’s flesh, but he didn’t move or tell her to stop. A single drop of blood welled where the metal cut into him. To my surprise, the demon’s blood was red.

“Lover, come home with me, now. We can start fresh in the Underworld, together.”

Kasdeya scoffed at the demon’s words. “Never again will I step foot in the Underworld, not until you and my father have met your fates. Rage, you know Karma exists, we’ve met her. She’s not going to be happy with you for what you’ve done.”

Rage’s brow furrowed with anger. “Don’t threaten me. I will make you do more than kill a few minions in the Underworld if you continue to defy me as you are. I’ve allowed you your indulgence to taste this realm. It’s time to get back to work.”

Kasdeya took her black-leather-booted foot and placed it on the bulge between Rage’s legs. The more pressure she applied, the more he groaned in pain.

“It’s time for you to leave, Rage. I’m not going anywhere. I have a contract to fulfill because of you. There’s nothing the Dark Lord can do about it. The contract was sealed in blood. Now”—Kasdeya removed her boot to step back, away from him—“you can either leave on your own accord, or I can send you in a celestial body bag. Your choice.”

Rage lumbered to his feet. His height towered over us. The flames at his back created a huge shadow over the splintered wood in the middle of the store’s floor.

The skin on his forehead relaxed. “Kas, you will come back to me, one way or another. But for now, I bid you good day.”

The hottest pureblooded demon I ever saw swaggered out the door, letting it slam behind him.

Kasdeya sheathed her sword in the holder strapped to her back. She crossed her legs at the ankles and threw her arms out in a dramatic display of exhaustion then flopped onto the couch.

Slumping onto the cushion next to her, I gave her arm a good shove. “Well, are you going to explain to me what just happened?”

She rolled her head toward me. Letting out a huge sigh, she said, “You’ve just met the one man who I fell in love with, the one I told you about.” She rolled her head back to the forward position.

I watched as the silver patterns swirling on her skin slowed to move in gentle waves. “Kasdeya, the demon you fell in love with put this awful spell on me. We need to figure out how to reverse it, pronto. You do know how to reverse it, right?” I heard desperation in my voice, but I didn’t care. Showing weakness, of any kind, was a no-no in front of a demon, but I was at my wit’s end. I couldn’t continue fighting the temptations rearing their sensual heads every time a man passed by me. I had enough trouble in my life. I didn’t want to have three boyfriends at the same time, but I was ready to do just that to satisfy my needs.

“No, Sydney, I don’t know how to reverse it because I don’t know the spell he used. I have a feeling your new bodyguard can help us unravel the structure of it. Once it has been weakened, I will be able to get rid of the magic residue. That is, unless you want to see what will happen? You could make a game out of it.” She groaned and rubbed her muscles as she climbed off the couch.

“No, my sex life is not a game. I’d appreciate it if you regarded my well being as more important than just something for you to toy with for amusement.”

The fire demon cocked her head to the side, examining my face with confusion. “Selected, your emotions are running high. I do not understand why. If you are going to survive in this world of Others, you will have to get control of your humanity. A Selected needs to set it aside when necessary.” She flung her chrome-tipped nails into the air. I heard them click as they grazed each other. “No wonder why Blake feels so strongly about being with you every second of the day. He must think you incapable of taking care of yourself.”

Kasdeya raised one silver brow as I stood, taking her words as a challenge. I put my hands on each hip. I closed off all external stimuli, including the grating slide of the demon’s boot heels as she walked circles around me.

I felt the Selected power deep inside of me. Relaxing, I let it crawl from the cavern within my head where it took shelter. The power felt warm, as if it were made up of a wall that held me up, allowing me to stand taller, stronger. The power felt close to exploding out of control. If I weren’t careful with maintaining the leash around it, I’d be consumed. The power of the Selected would take control of my conscious decision-making if I let it. There would be no more Sydney Sedrick.

When I opened my eyes, I focused on Kasdeya standing in front of me. She stepped back, giving me a wider berth.

“Attack me,” I commanded.

The fire demon shook her head. “Don’t be foolish, Sydney. You’re still just a human. With one flick of my fire, you’d be nothing but a pile of ash.”

Despite refusing, she widened her stance, placing her hands out to the sides. I could tell she was ramping up her energy because the silver patterns swam over her skin, their speed increasing. The faster they bumped into one another, the more energy she owned to fight with.

“You said I needed to be able to put my humanity aside to survive in the world of the Others. I’m telling you that’s exactly what I’ve done. Now, attack me.” My words came out in hissing sounds. If I didn’t speak the words from my own mouth, I wouldn’t have recognized my own voice.