Raven's Desires (Night Hunters) (31 page)

Volts of lightning went through both of them. The earth shook again and this time Shane came running down the stairs.

“It’s time to watch your slayer die, Kristian.”

The room shook, throwing them around. A large hole opened behind them making Shane and Kristian run to the other side of the room.

“Raven,” Kristian called as she and Alec floated in the middle of the room.

The room filled with screams as fire shot from the portal.

“Here is your sacrifice,” Alec screamed.

“No!” Kristian watched as Alec stabbed Raven in the stomach.

Raven screamed as the blade slid into her body. The moment her blood touched the ground a large creature with horns emerged from the portal.

“Not today, big boy.” Simon stepped down in the tunnel.

He threw some type of vile green potion at the witch and warlock. They grabbed their faces and screamed. Once the chanting stopped, the portal began to get smaller.

“No,” the Karlem demon screamed. “You will die.”

Wind drew him back into the portal. His arm reached out for Raven. Kristian charged her the moment their bodies began to fall. The Karlem’s demon hand wrapped around Alec in mid-air.

“No. No. No!” Alec yelled.

Alec’s body began to burn. He howled for his life as he was pulled back into the portal.

Kristian looked down at his mate. He took the bag off his shoulder and took out a needle.

“What are you doing?” Simon asked.

“Making her remember.” He pressed it into his arm.

Then he bit into his wrist and pressed it against her mouth.

“What was that you threw on them?” Shane asked and walked over to the witch and warlock.

“It’s the same thing that you would use to put someone to sleep. Very powerful.”

“But how did you know?”

“I met Raven in Paris after she and Alec left town. I needed to gain your mate’s trust. While she was sleeping I went into her mind and I kept close tabs on them. When I found out they were back here I knew they were going to open that portal. Like any being, I don’t want any Karlem demon on this earth. That’s enough blood, vampire.”

Kristian stopped giving Raven blood when he felt light headed.

“So you were the only one who knew?”

“Yes. It’s been a long time of following them. Thank goodness we were able to close that before any of them escaped.”

Shane inhaled.

“You are the one who changed Veronica?”

“And you are the Shane she always talks about.” Simon said with a smile.

“Well, you tainted her with your demon blood.”

“Oh hell. Just turn her into a vampire if you like. It’s not like you can’t. Your blood will overpower mine. Veronica had enough of your blood in her to live several life times. As if you didn’t know.”

“Why did you turn her if you had no intentions of keeping her?”

“I do…did, but Veronica really likes you, Shane. I like Veronica, but if I take a half breed home I would be killed on sight. Now, take care of your slayer. I will clean these two up and they will not remember what happened tonight. They will not even remember Raven.”

Kristian moved Raven’s hand from her stomach and let out a sigh of relief when he saw the hole was closed. Her eyes fluttered open.

Raven lifted her hand to his face. “Kristian
—
it seems like a lifetime since I saw you.”

“Are you really Raven, or evil Raven playing tricks again?”

“What are you…”

Raven’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she began to shake in his arms.

“Raven!”

Shane stood beside him, ready to aid him if needed. Once she stopped shaking, Kristian lifted her in his arms.

He walked her back up the steps. He was almost back to the front of the house when Raven pushed at his chest. She did it again this time hard enough for him to release her.

“Raven?” he asked as she stumbled backwards.

“How can you want me, Kristian? How can you even look at me! Do you know what I’ve done over the past years?”

“Raven, that wasn’t you.”

“I hurt so many, did evil things that I don’t even want to say.”

Lightning flashed over them and a light drizzle started.

“Raven. Calm down. I still love you.”

Raven shook her head. “I love you, but I can’t understand how you can forgive me for that. I killed people for fun.”

“Raven, let’s go inside and talk. It’s starting to rain.”

“No, I don’t want to talk. I want to get away from it all.”

Raven ran off in the opposite direction, going deeper into the forest. Kristian ran behind her, trying to keep up with her. Hell, she was fast now.

The storm was rolling in now. The wind picked up. Kristian grabbed Raven and pushed her against a tree. Tears of hurt rolled down her face.

“Let me go. Kill me now. I can’t live with this.”

“Raven, remember…”

“Let me go!” she screamed.

He shook her a little.

“Raven, remember the box?”

“What?”

“The box. Place that memory in there.”

“I can’t, Kristian. I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. For me. For us. I have been through hell and I will not give you up now.”

Raven screamed at the top of her voice. Thunder rolled in the sky and boomed loudly.

“Kill me, Kristian, please.”

“Would that make you happy?”

“Yes.”

“Leaving me would make you happy? Me killing myself to be with you in the afterlife. Is that what you want?” Kristian waited for her to speak. He shook her again. “Is it?”

“No, damn it.”

“Then close your eyes and put the last ten years in that box and throw it away. Now.”

* * * *

Raven closed her eyes and put everything in the box, all her memories of the people she’d hurt. Everything. She threw it away. Just like trash.

She opened her eyes again. She saw Kristian for the first time in a very long time. The water beat down on them but she didn’t care, she loved him with all her heart.

Raven pulled Kristian to her and kissed him deeply. He quickly responded to her kiss, deepening it.

He reached down and pulled up her dress, tearing her panties away from her body. She wanted him inside her, to know that this was real. She heard the sound of his zipper just before he pressed inside her.

Raven screamed to the heavens as the water poured down on them. Kristian filled her like nothing she’d ever felt before.

“Kristian,” she moaned.

Their bodies moved as one. There was nothing better than being with him.

This, what they were experiencing, was a gut wrenching need. No love, just hard core fucking. It didn’t take long before Raven’s body clenched around him and she screamed as she came. Kristian shuddered against her and bit her neck, in his spot.

Kristian stayed inside her for what felt like hours before he finally separated.

“Let’s go inside and rest,” he told her.

“I feel like I could sleep for years.”

“Well, you only have a few hours until sunrise and we have to go to the council first thing in the morning.”

“Why is that?”

“You are sleeping with an escaped convict, if you didn’t know.”

Kristian tucked himself back into his pants.

“You escaped?”

“Sort of. I had some help from a shadow demon who I have to remember to pay back for helping me.”

Kristian laced his fingers with hers.

“You think Alec is dead?”

“No, he’s back where he belongs. In hell.”

Raven followed Kristian back to the house. After drying off and finding some old clothes in the closet, they went to bed.

Chapter 16

Raven drew in a deep breath and reached for Kristian’s hand, lacing her fingers with his. They stood at the door to the council. Once they walked through this door and Kristian confessed, she did not know what would happen.

Would the council believe him? Would they sentence him back to Arcadia where she would not see him for almost two hundred years? The thought of losing him for that long caused an ache to travel through her heart.

Kristian tightened his grip, making her look at him.

“Don’t worry, my love. Everything will be fine.”

Her gaze met his and she sighed, wanting to believe him.

“How do you know?” she whispered.

“I don’t.”

His words hit her harder than a ton of bricks.

Kristian retained hold of her hand when they walked inside the room. He had wakened her this morning by making love to her, many times. Kristian told her he never wanted to stop but he knew he had to. Sooner or later they would come looking for him and he knew it would be better to turn himself in than them coming to find him.

Kristian stopped at the doorway, giving her a chance to scan the room. Her gaze started from the left of the room moving slowly to the middle then to the right. Her senses overloaded with the many creatures in the room. Some of the creatures she could recognize while others made her wonder. All vampires sent her the same vibes, just as shadow demons and werewolves. But there were a lot more in the room, some creatures she had never had the pleasure of meeting. Every one of them looked human. To a regular human, they would think they were in a room full of their own species, but how wrong they would be.

“Don’t be nervous,” Kristian whispered to her.

Raven turned her head, looking at the man she loved. She didn’t get a chance to
really
look at him last night, since they spent the better part of the night reuniting their love. Today, she could see some of the wear and tear on his body. That prison he’d told her about must have really been bad on him. His skin had paled a lot more than when she last remembered him. His hands were skinny, as if he hadn’t had enough blood. Yet, he still looked as handsome as ever to her.

“I’m not afraid,” she answered after awhile.

Kristian smiled at her, then turned his attention back to the commotion in the building. Everyone spoke mostly among themselves. Others sat quietly.

Shane walked into the room, standing beside them. He waved at her.

The door opened and a tall man with white hair and silver looking eyes walked into the room. The room quieted immediately. Everyone sat down in the seats around the room. Only a few stood along the walls.

The man sat behind the bench and fumbled through some paperwork.

“Kristian Blackburn.” The guy’s voice made Raven shiver. “Step forward.”

Kristian released her hand and motioned for her to stay where she was.

The man smiled at Kristian. “Blackburn, you escaped from Arcadia while hitting a guard in the process. You were sentenced to two hundred years, and you only served ten. Care to explain?”

Kristian looked down, then back up at the man speaking to him.

“I do,” Raven spoke out of turn.

Everyone turned to Raven, making her more nervous than ever.

“And you are?”

“Donavan Levy, sir.” Kristian called his name, interrupting Raven.

“Quiet, Blackburn. Let the young lady speak.” Donavan looked back at her. “Speak.”

“I’m Raven Nowles, and I’m a slayer. Which I’m sure you all know of. Years ago I met up with Alec Sullivan. He claimed to be here in peace when he had plans to kill me. Last night, he had this warlock and witch attempt to open a portal to a hell dimension and…and I helped him…”

“Raven…” Kristian broke in, but she shook her head.

“Let me finish, Kristian. I helped him, but he betrayed me and had plans on killing me in order to let the karlem demon out. But, years ago, Kristian didn’t kill those humans…” Raven quieted just a moment. She hadn’t killed those humans to set Kristian up, but she had killed while under Alec’s spell. “Alec killed them, then framed Kristian.”

Raven looked back at Donavan.

“And you did this of your own free will?” Donavan asked.

Raven shook her head. “No. I was under some type of mind control solution. I was just able to remember that Alec killed my parents, then placed a female corpse in the house to be burned to make it appear that I died also.”

“I’ve heard of the slayer passing, and you are saying that all of this is Alec’s doing?”

“Yes,I am.”

“Where is this warlock and witch now?”

“I don’t know. The last person they were with was Simon Pearson. He ensured that he would take care of them and protect them.”

“I see. I want them found and brought to me,” Donavan spoke to a guard who stood beside him taking notes.

“Yes, sir.”

“And Alec? What of him?” Donanvan asked Raven.