KADEN“Your friend would be better in a week hopefully, although I am surprised that he isn’t healing faster. Perhaps they had used a silver vested blade to slash him.” That was Jean, two hours and thirty minutes later. Lent was beside me, standing and staring down at the still unconscious Liam, who had not even stirred or batted his eyelashes despite the rigorous dressing that Jean had done on him.Lent had gotten here in a record time. I don’t think it's necessary to know how fast he drove, and how many traffic rules he had disobeyed. Well, anything could go, since the cops weren't after him. “Is it okay to move him away fom here?” I asked Jean, but the doctor shook his head. “Probably tomorrow. Any sharp movement now would trigger the bleeding which will soak the bandages again.” He answered and I nodded my head, seeing reason. It meant that one of us had to stay back here tonight, or probably the both of us. I dout Lent will find it favorable leaving I and and an injured Liam a

At Tensel’s Region.Damonq fed well, knowing he was heading for a fight. The lair that had been found was a good distance from the compound, in the State Park. There were more than one hundred miles of hiking trails. Camping sites and picnic areas made it a smorgasbord for demons.Up in the highest peak, a crack appeared in a large jutting boulder. It was barely a half of an inch wide, but ran about five feet long in a jagged pattern almost to the very foot of the boulder.He stood facing it, the other ancients spreading out, feeling the air, the ground, listening and scanning. There was a compulsion embedded in the rock face that warned people away from the area. Anyone feeling it would just turn and leave. That had alerted Andor to the fact that the lair had to be close.Anywhere one went in a forested area, there was the continual drone of insects. Here, it was eerily silent. There was a feeling of impending violence, of an unseen watcher. The ground shifted subtly under his feet,

I’ve got something, Afansiv said.Damonq stopped moving forward. He materialized beside him. The two barely fit in the narrow space.Andor streamed past them. I’ll check out the rest of this passageway and come back.Damonq concentrated on the fissure in the floor. It had been there for centuries. No monster had constructed it, but they could easily have taken advantage of it. Even though they were in darkness, with a mountain on top of them, a barrier between him and the sun, he still felt the burn as the sun began its first journey.Let’s get this done. You ready?In answer, Afanasiv waved his hand to open the crack. It widened a mere half inch. As it did, the entire boulder above and around them creaked and groaned. Dirt ran down the sides of the cavern to land on the floor. Damonq was already streaming through the crack, Afanasiv behind him. They were used to traveling in complete darkness. They were used to tons of earth overhead. More, hunting vampires was what they were most co

Afanasiv groaned under the weight of the ceiling as it fell. He stood in the center of the cave, legs wide apart, knees slightly bent, both arms raised, hands palms up to keep the tons of rock from coming down on top of Damonq as he fought to extract the heart from the master demon.Leon calmly raised both hands, his nails lengthening into sharp daggers. He slammed them into either side of Damonq’s neck, burying the nails deep, piercing the artery on both sides. Damonq didn’t waver, not even when Leon slowly pulled the nails loose so the ancient’s blood spurted out. Leon opened his mouth to catch the treasured blood. He gulped as his army of scorpions swarmed up Damonq’s thighs.Get it done, Afanasiv snapped.It wasn’t easy extracting the demon’s heart. His blood was acid, burning through skin to penetrate bone. It felt as if each individual finger was burned off. Damonq couldn’t feel the heart, only excruciating pain as he closed his fist around what he perceived to be the organ. He

Elina woke up in a bed in her home. She was dressed in a soft gown, red with red roses embossed throughout the material. Before she opened her eyes, she realized she felt no pain. None. She inhaled and drew the scent of Damonq into her lungs. He always smelled wild. Dangerous. Delicious. She would recognize that scent anywhere. Sliding both hands protectively over her unborn child, she smiled without opening her eyes.“You’re here with me.”“Where else would I be?” The deep timbre of his voice slid over her skin like a caress. “Open your eyes for me.” He always spoke softly. She loved the way he did that. His soft was commanding yet gentle.She lifted her lashes, her gaze moving over him a little anxiously. She knew every wound on his body. She’d seen them in her vision. She’d experienced the battle with the demons as if she’d been there. That world was so far removed from the one she thought existed.She thought she was tough being a survivor of Darkness’s claws, but ancients were o