Two for Tamara (17 page)

“Selena, don’t you ever do something like that again.” Max stomped across the room.

She rolled her eyes. “I just wanted to see what she saw. I didn’t travel to Hell.” Selena stroked her hand across Max’s chest, batting her silver gray eyes up at the tall man.

The moment Max went from boiling mad to what was standing before them, Tamara had to hold back her laughter. He and Malcolm were so hard and fierce except when it came to Selena.

Malcolm coughed into his hand. The word “pussy” could be heard in between coughs.

“Don’t do it, Max.” Selena shot daggers toward her other husband.

Tamara was amazed Max hadn’t killed his brother by now.

Pulling back, she looked around to see the concern on Rafe’s and Vin’s faces. Real fear was in the depths of both men’s eyes. There was hunger, possessiveness, tenderness, but mostly she saw protectiveness. Yeah, she loved them.

“Oh, Lucy. You’s gots some ’splaining to do,” Selena said in a false accent.

Knowing that her friend had probably seen more than she wanted her to, she tried to stop her from saying any more.

Either Selena didn’t see the bulging of her eyes, or the subtle shake of her head. Tamara was so gonna hurt her.

“Oh I think we know what you are referring to.”

This came from Rafe, and his words didn’t make her feel all warm and fuzzy.

Vin came up from behind her and nuzzled her neck. “You’re in big trouble,
agape mou
.” He nibbled her ear.

Malcolm clapped Rafe against his shoulder, doing that man thing Selena and she had always rolled their eyes to. This time was no different.

“Oh…” Tamara stumbled to the side. Suddenly breathless, a wave of heat surged through her body. The heat was much hotter than any she’d ever felt.

Rafe and Vin’s voices sounded as if they came from a distance. The concern in their tones made her knees weak, and she wanted to reassure them.

As her safe haven spun away from her, the faces of her two Fated, etched with true fear, was the last thing she saw.

* * * *

She sensed she wasn’t alone. She kept her eyes closed, her breathing and heart rate even. The steady beat of three different hearts beating let her know she wasn’t alone, wherever she was. The acrid smell and extreme heat could mean many things, but Tamara was pretty sure she had been brought back to the Hell realm. She was also sure Akra hadn’t betrayed her, which meant her friends were either hurt, or…Tamara wouldn’t even entertain the thought of the demons not being alive.

Tamara tried to connect with Rafe and Vin, and a stab of pain pierced her head.

“Tamara. I’m sorry. I didn’t give him leave to molest my brain, I swear
.
”

Her eyes adjusted to the pitch black when she realized all she had to do was focus. Gah, she wished she’d had time to explore all her new powers. Hearing Akra’s voice, she saw the three demons chained to a stone wall with spiked collars around their necks.

Two of the demons she recognized from before, but they’d never spoken. She gasped as her eyes took in the once quite beautiful face that had been beaten.

“Oh, Akra. What happened?”

“Cronus, he believed our story. But he scented you. I pretended to not know how to call you.”

She saw the proud demon shrug. “I don’t blame you.”

“I did not break. He stole your essence from me. Then when he left to pull you here, his fuck buddies decided to do this.”
Akra rattled the chains.

To do something like that took strong magic, or help from Hades himself. Chills rose up on her arms. That was when she realized she was only clothed in a pair of pajama pants and a ribbed tank top. The three demons were still in their leathers, so Tamara hoped that meant the beast with the spiked member hadn’t had his way with them.

“How did I end up here then?”

“I assume since your essence was pulled from me, then you were drawn to where I was. Cronus is probably searching for us even as we are chained here in this forgotten hole
.”

Her gaze went to the other wall again, and a sick feeling formed. “Can we get out of here?”

Agony flashed over Akra’s features. “These chains are impenetrable to us. I don’t know about you.”

Twisting her wrists, Tamara fisted her hands. The links began to loosen. Over and over she turned and twisted until the shackles around her wrists broke away. Since her bonding she’d realized many things had changed, and her being able to focus all her strength in a short burst was one of them.

She wanted to shout out, but to do so could bring attention to her and her friends. The links holding her ankles came off much easier. From what she assumed, Cronus had probably set up a spell that would have had her bound in chains like last time. Asshat! With each passing day she was learning more and more of her new abilities.

Tamara held her palm up and thought of a ball of light, figuring if she was going to know what powers she had, or didn’t have, she might as well try to see what she could do. Mind over matter.

A small glow illuminated the room, making it easier for Tamara to navigate. She still wasn’t used to focusing enough to be able to constantly see through the dark.

She had an awful sense of foreboding that if they didn’t get going, they might not get out alive.

“
You sense him?”
Akra’s red eyes stared at her.

“
It’s more a feeling of doom.”
At the blank look, she tried to explain. “
I feel this urgency that we need to get out of here. Do you know where we are?”

“I can get us out of here.”

The other two demons rubbed their wrists. Tamara could tell they spoke with Akra in their heads as well.

By the time she had all of them free, Akra’s face had lost some of its swelling.

“
We heal very fast, as do you.”

There was a question in the woman’s eyes.

* * * *

Vin stood on the edge of a cliff, waiting for Zeus to collect Selena. They’d sent a call out to the Ravens, and now he waited. What he wanted was to pull her out, only they couldn’t do that. Something or someone was blocking them.

It was a trap. He knew it. Rafe knew it. They all knew it.

“I can get you into Hell and get you out once you’ve located Tamara. My
father
has obviously made a deal with the devil himself, or sacrificed…” Zeus didn’t finish, he didn’t need to.

“How was he able to pull her from right between us?”

Zeus floated over the ground. “You said she shared her blood with a demon?”

Vin nodded.

“I assume Cronus has learned how to use that which was given freely to another in order to make a spell to do what he did. I’m assuming you still feel your bond?”

Again, Vin nodded.

“Good. Cronus can do many things, but make you feel a bond that is no longer there isn’t one of them. Hold that close.” Zeus patted Vin on the shoulder. “It’s time to go. Everything is in place, including my daughter.”

Vin was glad they didn’t need to use Selena or Jaklyn to trace Tamara this time. He made sure his emotions were clear in his response. “Thank you, Zeus.” The god inclined his head.

The Ravens were ready for war.

They’d never battled demons in Hell. He wasn’t sure if that magnified their powers or weakened them.

“Ravens, each of you have proven your worth time and time again. This time you go into the unknown. I have promised my wife Hera, who worries, that I’d lend you as much help as I could. So I am gifting you all a little something to help you in the battle ahead.”

A bolt of white-hot energy burst from Zeus into all the Ravens standing shoulder to shoulder. Vin bit back a choked cry, the spear of agony making his vision turn wonky and his heart pound.

Each man had a look of pain, but no sound escaped their mouths.

“You may breathe now.” Zeus smiled.

Grayson tucked his hands behind his back. “Was that your form of a kiss?”

“See? How come nobody smacks him in the back of the head?” Malcolm turned in a circle.

“I understand your plight, Max.” Zeus tilted his head one last time before he dematerialized.

* * * *

One minute they were on Earth, the next he and his friends were back in Hell, literally.

“I hate this place,” Uri mumbled.

They all grunted in agreement.

“What do you think Zeus gave us?” Vasilis asked.

“The worst kiss ever, according to Gray.” Malcolm smirked. “And don’t think of hitting me, asswipe.”

“Boys, we got a mission.” Max pointed toward the cave they’d first entered.

An almost indiscernible noise alerted them that they had company moving in behind them. All the Ravens went in ghost mode without any verbal communication.

“Bakra, I swear I smelled them.”

The demon woman sniffed. “Ezra, quit expending our energy on foolish pursuits. The Ravens that the human spoke of can’t come here. We need to find Akra before Cronus kills her, or worse finds a way to bring our Tamara back here.”

“Oh, so she’s our puny human now.” Bakra smiled. “I knew you liked her too. Do you think she will truly help save Akra if we ask?”

“It is a moot point, since the only one who can contact her is being held by Cronus.”

“Remember when I tasted her?” Ezra’s face flushed.

Vin nearly gave away their location at the thought of the demon tasting his woman. The only thing keeping him from grabbing the one called Ezra was Blade’s restraining arms around his sternum. Rafe was being held by Uri.

“
If she can get a lock on Tamara, we won’t have to search all over hell and back.”
Max reasoned.

“
We don’t need her. Rafe and I can locate her.”

“Try,”
Malcolm stated.

Both he and Rafe opened the link to Tamara. Although they felt her in their hearts, the door to her was sealed.

“
What the fuck?”
Rafe asked, accusation in his words.

“
When Selena was being held it was the same. Cronus has a way of blocking us, or them, or both. It’s limited, I think. That’s why Jaklyn was able to communicate with both Selena and Tamara before. We need these demon women and they seem to like Tamara.”
Max took charge as was his way.

Rafe said what he and Vin both felt.
“I don’t like it.”

Malcolm nodded, all playfulness gone. “
I feel you man. Believe me.”

They all knew he and Max did. Both of the Ravens had nearly lost their Fated Selena by the hands of her grandfather, the god Cronus. Vin vowed they wouldn’t lose Tamara.

He’d even make nice with the demon women. He nodded to let Max know he’d follow his lead.

“Well then contact her, stupid.” Bakra elbowed Ezra in the stomach.

Ezra’s eyes flashed to blood red. “Bitch. I will cut you.”

“After we rescue them, you can try.”

“Hate you.”

Bakra puckered up her lips and blew the other demon a kiss.

They reminded Vin of siblings. He watched in amazement as the one called Ezra’s eyes turned a milky hue similar to what had happened to Tamara. He made a mental note to speak with Zeus. He didn’t want his woman to have this connection with anything from the Hell realm, even if they were friends.

Minutes ticked by. Unlike when Tamara was in the trance-like state, Ezra didn’t convulse, she just stood in a battle-ready pose. Bakra and a few other demons waited in a semicircle. He wondered how the hierarchy of their demon world worked.

“This is not good, my sisters.”

Bakra grabbed Ezra by the shoulders. “Do you want to tell us, or want me to look inside?”

Vin was ready to leap over the cavern and beat the vision out of Ezra, but was stopped again by that beefy arm around him. He was going to have to talk to Blade about good touch and bad touch.

Blade snorted. “
You’re not my type, bro.”

“I’m everyone’s type.”

“You know how there are several layers of Hell?” Ezra held her hands up with her palms facing the ceiling. The demons all nodded. “We are on the third level. Tam and Akra are on the fifth level.”

All the demons took a collective step back.

Bakra popped her knuckles. “If it was one of us Akra would come. I won’t let her rot without trying to save her or Tamara. Who’s with me?”

Ezra raised her fist. Every demon in the cave followed suit.

Knowing they’d have to show themselves before they flashed to wherever the fifth level of Hell was, Max was the first to materialize.

Bakra transformed from beauty demon to battle demon in a blink. “Ravens, what do you want?”

“We’ve come to get Tamara, and help rescue your Akra. You lead us to them, and I can guarantee you that we will have your backs.” Max kept his hands at his sides.

“What does this mean?”

Vin stepped forward. “It means that we will fight to the death to see both Tamara and Akra safe.”

Ezra and Bakra both nodded.

“They are two levels below us. You must be prepared for a heat unlike any, and…your woman may not be the same. The things that are sent there are not the same as here. Every level of Hell is worse than the next.” Bakra looked at Ezra.

“When I connected with her it wasn’t the same as Akra’s connection. Her blood wasn’t freely given. I could only sense her presence. Her will is strong, which means she hasn’t been damaged.” Ezra shrugged her shoulders.

What their version of damaged was Vin had no clue, but he hoped it was the same as his.

If one hair had been hurt on her gorgeous head, he planned to make Hell have one less level.

“Time’s wasting. Let’s do this. How do we get there?”

Bakra eyed the ten Ravens in the cave. “We can all teleport there and can carry one with us. Since there are five of us, we will have to make two trips. Will you be able to protect yourselves while we leave half of you there?”