Wicked Waves: Solsti Prophecy #2 (2 page)

BOOK: Wicked Waves: Solsti Prophecy #2
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He found the hallway deserted. He crept silently along the stone wall until the corridor forked. Spying a door to the outside, he’d turned to head in that direction when he heard footsteps. He plastered himself against the wall of Drant’s hallway, melting into the shadows as two guards passed by without a glance.

Freedom is so close
.
 
He slipped along the hall and opened the door.

A wave of cool night air hit him and he inhaled, every nerve sparking with adrenaline. He hadn’t been outside, except for the arena, in so long. The taste of freedom invigorated his senses, but he remained cautious. He didn’t know if the thrall, or Garrod, would betray him.

Moving outside and closing the door, he hid in the shadows of the building’s cool, rocky surface. A twelve-foot stone barrier surrounded the compound. He estimated the distance between the perimeter and the building at his back to be about fifty feet. Though gifted with preternatural speed, he would be exposed as he dashed across the scrubby dirt expanse.

He stood silently and watched the guards patrolling the dark courtyard. It was dimly lit, with one torch by the gate and three more scattered along the wall. Memorizing their patrol patterns would be ideal, but he didn’t have the luxury of time. Any second, someone could encounter the pile of ash in Drant’s room and raise the alarm.

Kai saw his chance a few seconds later, when all but one guard moved behind another building. When the lone man turned his back Kai shot forward, closing the distance to the perimeter wall.

The guard wheeled around, but Kai melted against the stone, pressing his back into a narrow dip in the wall. The stones were large and roughly hewn, providing angles and ledges just big enough to help Kai climb. But that would take too long. He would be exposed as he ascended. Turning back toward the gate, the guard continued his progress.

Good
. Kai let out a breath, but in the next instant two more guards rounded the corner of the main building. He stood directly in their line of sight. And because they were most likely demons of some sort, he could guess that their night vision was as good as his.

A shout of alarm went up from the main building as the two peered at him. When they broke into a jog, Kai knew his time had run out. He had no choice but to vault to the top of the wall.

Gathering his strength, he sprang up and landed on the upper edge, finding it to be about two feet thick. The zing of arrows flying past his head made him duck, but not before one grazed his arm. A burning sensation shot up his arm and shoulder.
Damn Viper venom-tipped arrows
. Though superficial, the wound would sting like a bitch for the next few hours.

He glanced down the other side and saw the dry, dirty mix of sand and stones that he remembered.
Nothing’s changed.
 
He could disappear on this terrain. He leapt off the wall and hurtled away from his prison.

The gate groaned open behind him, the night filling with the shouts of the guards and the eager baying of rabid hellhounds. The animals resembled huge black wolves and ran as fast as cheetahs. Rocks scattered in every direction as their massive paws thudded behind him. The nearest one reached Kai’s heels, breath warm and saliva flying.

He could survive the hound’s bite, but spilled blood would leave a trail. Without breaking his stride, he summoned more demonfire, glanced back, and hurled it at the red-eyed beast. Its howl cut off with a flash and a pop.

More torches illuminated the barren ground, but Kai was already a hundred yards from the compound. He had the advantage of knowing this ground better than most, since he had grown up here.

The unforgiving, rock-strewn slopes presented great difficulty to the inexperienced. To the hellhounds, as well. The hills were carved with ravines that grew deeper as the terrain stretched into mountains. It would be easy to tumble over the side into a dry, rocky gully, or give away the element of stealth with an accidental shower of pebbles.

Kai would make none of these mistakes. He moved further into the hills, away from the hounds and the demons, not slowing until he had traveled at least twenty miles. He found a cave high in a mountain, and from there he could detect the slightest movement on the slopes below.

Freedom!

His blood hummed with victory, but it was too soon to celebrate. Drant’s men would search night and day for him, and his sons would never forget. All three of them would fight for the chance to avenge their father’s death.

Hours passed in stillness, and Kai’s thoughts turned to the Lash demons’ leader, Arawn. Rumored to be the fiercest Lash that had ever existed, he had small bands of loyal warriors who traveled the realms, maintaining the balance of power between species. The Watchers.

Enforcing may be a better word than maintaining
. The Watchers were known to engage predatory species who tried to dominate peaceful ones. Kai knew how to fight. He’d argue his case to Arawn, show him his skills were good enough. He gazed at his gray, inhospitable surroundings and vowed to never return.

C
HAPTER
1

Chicago

Present Day

K
AI
CROUCHED
ON
THE
ROOF
of the gleaming Lincoln Park condo building, all of his enhanced senses on alert. Through the concrete and metal below his feet, the smell of lilacs wafted up to him, reassuring him of Brooke’s presence. He focused on the unit below, listening for the steady beat of her heart and the even rhythm of her breathing. Satisfied that she was sound asleep, he relaxed and inhaled, letting her scent wash over him. He could drown in that seductive, soothing fragrance.

Brooke would kill him if she knew he was here. Most days, she looked ready to hurl a dagger between his eyes. If his brethren found out, he would never hear the end of it. The other Lash demons stationed in Chicago would fall on their asses laughing, and that would be after giving him shit for three days straight. Kai, who took pleasure in bedding as many women as he wanted, was stymied by one willful brunette.

But Brooke wasn’t just any brunette. The entire supernatural world believed her existence to be a myth. One day she would wield devastating power. Until she grew into her talents, her vulnerability made him edgy.

It gnawed at him that she stayed alone in her condo, though protective wards were placed on it by their Elder. So every night when he completed his patrols, he stopped by her building. He made it his private mission.
Private
being the operative word.

He couldn’t explain his need to ensure her safety. She hadn’t been threatened and held no affection for him. He snorted.
Ice Princess
. Cold as hell. That’s when she wasn’t shooting him a death glare or looking at him like he was a bug stuck to her shoe.

He cast a glare at the wispy clouds drifting across the dark sky. It never turned jet black, not with all the lights blanketing the city. The quiet streets gave him no cause to linger, yet he found himself thinking of reasons to stay. He watched the few souls walking down her tree-lined street, most returning from trendy neighborhood bars. There was no dark magic here. No need to hang out on her roof.

Straightening to leave, he heard her cry out. Adrenaline surged through his veins and a switch flipped in his mind, his body changing from observer to protector. Her unit was on the top floor of the building, which he could reach via her balcony. After dropping down outside the sliding glass door, he paused to take a deep breath. He didn’t detect any other scents inside her rooms.

Tugging on the door, he was pleased to find it locked. He would’ve been furious if she had been so careless as to leave it unlocked—then again, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
Since I’m not supposed to be here
. She wouldn’t listen to him anyway.

He would’ve shattered the large glass pane if necessary, but she’d left a window cracked open next to the sliding door.
All the better to not wake the neighbors.

Removing the screen, he shoved the frame open as far as it would go and climbed inside. It was tricky squeezing his six-and-a-half-foot body through, but he had been in tighter spaces. With a calculated drop, he landed soundlessly in a tidy living room.

He paused again, hearing nothing but her breathing, no longer as steady as it had been a few minutes ago. The fragrance of lilacs drew him through the living room and down a hall. He passed an empty bedroom, a bathroom, and then came to her open door.

She lay on her side, sheets twisted around her body. Alone.

As he crept into the room, he let out a breath.
Must’ve been a dream
. She slept soundly.

Or maybe not. She exhaled sharply, letting out a grunt before rolling onto her back. Her arm came up as if swatting something away, then dropped to her pillow. She sighed, and the fluttering behind her eyelids slowed. Gradually, so did her breathing.

Kai stood in the center of her room, unable to tear his eyes away from the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And in his nearly two hundred years of existence, he had seen—and fucked—hundreds of females. Watching her now, slumbering peacefully, utterly relaxed, she looked innocent and delicate. No icy glare shone from her pale gray eyes. No snide comment fell from her lush red lips. Chestnut waves, wild from her fitful sleep, splayed across her pillow. This was simply Brooke, unguarded.

Had she fought with someone in her dream?
 
He wondered if her subconscious wrestled with the role she and her sisters had been thrust into. They’d been raised human, oblivious to the immortal world that paralleled theirs.

He studied the flush that colored her ivory cheeks and extended down her neck, to the tops of her full breasts.
Ah, hell
. He could dream about her breasts all day long. And right now, her pajama top gave him quite an eyeful.

She wore a pink tank top, which had gotten twisted as she tossed and turned. The skimpy thing pulled tight across her body, revealing the heavy side curve of her breast. The cursed scrap of fabric barely contained all that creamy flesh. If it twisted half an inch lower—God, he’d be able to see her nipples. Stiff and taut, they pushed at the stretchy cotton, begging for his touch.

Kai closed his eyes and willed the blood to return to his head, as it all seemed to be pooled in his groin.
She’s safe
. It was only a dream. The last thing he needed was for her to wake and find him ogling her.

Stealing one last glance, he walked out of her bedroom and retraced his steps to the living room window. He climbed out, put the screen back in place, and glanced around. No one milled about the back of the building at this hour. He vaulted over the balcony railing to the pavement four stories below and sped home, hoping the ten-mile run would douse the heat racing through his veins.

Brooke’s body tried to wake, but her mind put up a hell of a fight. Fine lines of light peeked into her bedroom around the edges of her window shade. It was Saturday, so she could afford a few more minutes in bed.

Attempting to stretch and turn over, she found her legs caught up tightly in the knotted sheets. She scowled and sat up to untangle them, then flopped back down and pulled the sheet over her head. She snuggled into her pillow and breathed deeply, reveling in the quiet of her room. Beyond the walls, her neighborhood bustled with horns honking and engines roaring, people shouting and dogs barking. A cacophony of vibrant city life.

Normally she would hear the noises her sister made, puttering around as she went through her morning routine. But Nicole had moved in with her new man a few weeks ago. She seemed deliriously happy, but the sisters hadn’t spent this much time apart since college. Even though they talked every day and saw each other on weekends, Brooke was still adjusting to having less sister time.

Hey, it’s Saturday.
Her brain finally perked up. She would spend the day with her sister. Never mind that five demons would be there too, testing her combat skills. She flung back the sheet and headed to her bathroom, opting for a soak in the tub instead of a quick shower.

She started the water and glanced in the mirror, eyebrows shooting skyward.
What the hell?
 
I must’ve had a crazy dream
. First the twisted sheets, and now her tank top was completely askew. She pulled it off, trying to remember last night, grasping for any mental image to bring back her dream.

Nothing came to mind as she watched the tub fill. Climbing in, she couldn’t help but sigh in contentment as the warm water washed over her. She was in her element, literally.

She reached out with her mind and swirled circles of water around her ankles. Then she focused her energy on the center of the tub, visualizing a line down the middle, cutting the water in half. She pushed, and the water drew away from her imaginary line, opening a valley in the tub. The water level rose at her urging, drawing away from the center, climbing toward the sides.

The water threatened to spill over the edge and she sighed, releasing the liquid from her mental grasp. Sometimes
practice
and
cleaning up
went hand-in-hand. Not that the cleanup would require much effort. With a flick of energy from her mind, she could raise the water from the floor and dump it back into the tub.
 

She washed her hair and doused it with conditioner, then leaned back against the tub. Sometimes she felt confined by her gift, unlike her sister. No one thought twice about a sudden breeze kicking up. Unless it was the gales Nicole liked to unleash on criminals they found preying on those weaker than themselves. But water flying through the air on a sunny day in Chicago?
 
Now that would stand out.

If only she could travel to Torth. The demon realm was dangerous, but it beckoned to Brooke. She could use her own power, her affinity to water, in ways she could never attempt on Earth.

Brooke remembered how her sister had looked last week when the two of them intervened in a gang squabble. Flush with power, Nicole’s eyes flashed, her blond hair whipping around her head—

BOOK: Wicked Waves: Solsti Prophecy #2
2.28Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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