Demon Storm: Belador book 5 (2 page)

Nadina’s scent continued to burn strong on each inhale Storm drew. Clouds cleared and moonlight dusted an old brick building at an intersection up ahead.

Ignoring everything but stalking his prey, Storm continued the hunt, searching far ahead of him in the dimly lit streets.

A blur slashed across his field of vision, moving toward one of the large windows on the street side of the brick structure.

A tall window swung open and the blur disappeared through the opening, then the window closed. Nadina was leading him where she wanted him to be. If she hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have seen her at all.

Fine. One place was as good as another for her to set her trap, and for him to evade it. With no humans present to witness his nonhuman speed, Storm took off running toward the building. Just as he passed two tall evergreens at the street corner, he felt power coil and snap at him.

He whirled away, but not fast enough to dodge a chain that slapped across the back of his neck.

Shoving his hands up to his chin, he spread his fingers to stop it from wrapping his neck.

Razor sharp metal thorns jutting out along the chain slashed his skin. Pain seared his hands, but he spun away from his attacker and the chain fell away.

The foul smell of decay overpowered Nadina’s licorice scent.

A seven-foot tall demon stared down at Storm, with red eyes glaring bright as two warning beacons in the night.

No coincidence that the creature was here in this spot. It had to be Nadina’s, because he couldn’t place this demon as any particular type. What had she traded to end up with
this
one?

Storm didn’t know and didn’t really care. He had to kill it quickly or risk losing Nadina.

Moss-green hair stuck out in a scattered mohawk that arced over the demon’s oversized head and turned into a rattail falling past a sharp shoulder. Claws as long as Storm’s fingers curved on the hand holding the end of the chain, and sores covered the gray skin clinging to its bony body.

Storm caught a familiar smell mixed with the putrid decay. Not just alongside it, but
part
of it. The demon stank of Nadina’s scent.

An
anaye
? Had Nadina
created
this thing?

The demon opened his wide jaws and released a gurgling snarl.

If this was a test, Storm had no time for it. His body shook with the drive to shift into his jaguar and get that extra burst of power.

Wouldn’t Nadina love that?

Yep, this had to be her abomination.

The anaye stomped forward, slinging the jagged chain around and around. Power sizzled along the metal this time.

Ah hell. That was not good.

Winding the metal whip faster, the demon released it.

Storm dove beneath the spinning links that would slice his head if they made contact. The chain whistled as it passed overhead, close enough for Storm to feel the wind created by the spinning weapon.

The demon had been ready for Storm’s defensive move and lifted a foot to crush his head.

Staring up at a four-toed foot the size of a garbage can lid, Storm shoved both hands up to grab it. The damn demon felt like it weighed as much as a car.

He wouldn’t be able to hold that downward force for long. His muscles were shaking already. Searching all around for something he could use to knock this hulk off his feet, Storm’s gaze latched onto the chain.

If Nadina had also created those deadly links, that weapon would answer to Storm. He called out a chant, ancient words rolling with power he directed at the metal.

The demon was too busy trying to break Storm’s arms to notice the chain silently snaking through the tall weeds.

Dark blood boiled inside Storm just from interacting with Nadina’s majik, a connection he’d fought his whole life, but he had no other choice at the moment. He forced his beast to stay inside and held that control in an iron grip.

To the chain, he shouted,
“Huelga para matar!

Strike to kill!

Coiling behind the anaye, the razor links shot up in the air and struck the demon in the throat then wrapped itself around and around.

The demon stumbled backwards.

With the pressure against Storm’s arms finally gone, he rolled away and shoved up to his feet.

Storm couldn’t leave this demon free to walk the streets of Atlanta. He uttered a command and the chain tightened, cutting through the anaye’s neck. The severed head fell to the ground. In the next three seconds, the head and body shriveled until it became liquid. A wide maw opened up in the earth and sucked in demon liquid as if pulling it through a straw. Storm whispered a last order and the chain slinked over the edge, falling into the bottomless void.

The ground closed up and weeds crawled back through the surface, leaving the spot as if it had never been disturbed.

Was that the best Nadina had to throw at Storm?

If so, then she’d severely underestimated his power. Had she watched her little demon show, expecting Storm to give in to his dark blood and shift?

Not today, bitch.

If the point of this exercise had been to force his jaguar out of hiding, that demon had barely challenged him.

But now there was no reason to continue playing hide and seek with her.

Storm crossed his arms and spoke in a quiet tone. “We can play these games all night or you can face me, Nadina. You wanted me to come to you. Here I am.” 

The windows on the building opened on their own and Nadina’s voice drifted out to him. “You have surprised me with your abilities, but you will need more than majik tricks to protect Evalle. You will have to accept your destiny to become one with the black jaguar.” 

Or I could just kill you and forfeit my soul.

If it was only Storm’s soul at risk and he’d never met Evalle, he’d make the sacrifice without hesitation, but then his father’s spirit would wander endlessly between two worlds.

And Storm had promised to return to Evalle.

Climbing through that window meant potentially breaking that promise. But walking away meant far worse–leaving Evalle at risk. It was time to end this here and now.

With no choice left, Storm dropped to his haunches and prepared to leap.

Chapter 2

S
torm barely touched the metal frame on his way through the window of the two-story brick building. He landed inside on the concrete floor as lightly in human form as he would’ve as a jaguar. He allowed his senses to take stock of the dark surroundings, but his natural night vision took over.

His nose picked up traces of a tinny smell where oil had been heated when metal ground against metal, the sweat of men laboring and pesticides sprayed along the edges.

A machine shop of some sort.

Nadina had cloaked her scent when she’d hidden inside Storm’s house, but she couldn’t manage it while on the run. Her nauseating licorice smell hung on the still air, turning sharp and bitter with emotion. His empathic senses caught something unexpected.

Not fear, but ... anxiety.

He still had to be extra careful not to rush into a trap.

He’d underestimated her once when he’d been too young to know better.

That had cost him dearly. Even now, after years of preparing to face her again, she’d surprised him by slipping inside his home undetected and had enjoyed informing him that Evalle had been snatched from beneath his nose by the Medb.

That damned Medb priestess, Kizira, had teleported Evalle away from his bedroom six hours ago without him realizing it. He’d been in the kitchen making coffee. Evalle was still missing while Storm raced around hunting Nadina’s worthless hide.

Had Evalle escaped the Medb? Was she at Treoir, a Belador island hidden in another realm? Was she alive?  

Of course she was alive.

His heart continued to beat, didn’t it? He’d know if anything had happened to his mate.

Still, worry over Evalle ate at him, pushed him to turn his back on Nadina and search for the woman he loved. But logic raised its head. Storm had used his majik to embed an emerald chakra stone into Evalle’s chest that would alert him if she returned to this world. He hadn’t felt a pull from the stone since Evalle had disappeared from his house. Between the emerald and his mate bond with Evalle, he had to believe that she was still in another realm, but alive.

If Storm lost Nadina at this point, she might get to Evalle before he did, and Nadina would take pleasure in hurting Evalle.

That narrowed his decision back to the one choice in front of him.

Deal with Nadina once and for all.

Moving silent as a gentle wind, Storm walked deeper into the building. His blood churned with the witch doctor so close, and the beast inside clawed at his control, pushing to get out.

He used his majik to meld with the shadowy interior. A dim fluorescent lamp in the ceiling at the far end of the long building flickered on and off at random intervals.  

“You said no more games, Storm. Make yourself known.”

He continued in the direction of Nadina’s voice as it echoed against the two-story walls. Steel i-beams shot up both sides and across the ceiling that towered over the open area running the length of the building.

Pigeons cooed in the rafters.

The building was old, but appeared to be in occasional use based on the forklift parked at one end and equipment for metal fabrication positioned in rows along each side.

“Do not test my patience, Storm.”

As if he cared.

Between the scent stinging his nostrils and the sound of her voice, he had to be within twenty feet of her, but she’d also cloaked her body from view.

He stopped. “I’m here. Show yourself.”

A small glow erupted above an extended feminine hand. Nadina continued bringing the glow to life until it expanded past Storm and illuminated the center of the shop.

Nadina smiled and her beauty would bring a room of men to a standstill, but it was literally skin deep. Eyes so dark brown they looked black watched him with the intensity of someone prepared for fight or flight. Lush hair fell around her shoulders in a black mantle, striking against the blood-red blouse and black pants that clung to her body. If a sculptor had created the perfect mold for a female form, he broke it after forming Nadina.

Just as perfect and heartless as a Greek statue.

She was nothing compared to the woman Storm loved.

Evalle was lean and tough, loyal and protective. She had exotic green eyes he could fall into and never hope to be saved. The most desirable woman he’d ever met, bar none.

And she was his to protect from this kind of evil.

“You are ready to talk now, yes?” Nadina asked in a voice spiced with her Latin heritage.

“What would we talk about, Nadina?” he asked, letting his disgust pour through his words. “The way you tricked my father into marrying you only to breed a powerful demon? Or maybe we should talk about how I outwitted you and escaped?”

The only sign of hitting his target dead on was the narrowing of her eyes that glared bright yellow for a fleeting moment before turning black again. “You were a difficult child. I should have suffered through two births, then I would have been assured of one who would not disappoint me.”

She was put out that she failed to plan for a second child as a spare?

Storm shuddered at the thought. One more person he’d have to shield from her. “I want the souls back. Both of them. That little display outside should have made it clear that I’m not going to be your demon. If you don’t return the souls and give me an oath that you will leave Evalle alone, I will kill you where you stand. If I don’t kill you here, I’ll hunt you to the end of your days and make you suffer before you die.”

“See? This proves you are mine.”  She grinned, thrilled at his threats.

The woman was mental.

Bat shit crazy, and now loaded with power from an underworld ruler.

“You cannot deny your blood, Storm. You may fight it all you want, but you are a demon deep inside.”

He refused to accept that and would never have allowed himself to mate with Evalle if he’d doubted his humanity.

Before he met his mate, he’d been convinced that the demon part of him held the power, but Evalle had brought everything good inside him to the surface. For her, he would never allow the demonic blood that flowed through his veins to rule him.

He warned Nadina, “I’m not making an empty threat. There was a time when I wouldn’t have allowed you to live no matter what, but ... things have changed. If you force me to end this, I will and you won’t like it.”

Releasing a hiss of air sizzling with irritation, she said, “You will not kill me.”

“Let’s add schizo to psychopathic.”  Storm took a step toward her.

Nadina raised a hand in defense. On a human woman, that would be a weak obstacle, but Nadina controlled a wicked amount of power she could wield with one finger. “If you kill me, we both lose. I need you to help me pay off a debt.” 

“You what?”  That was ... hell, he had no words for how she could possibly think he’d help her do anything. He studied her long enough that she started to fidget. “What happened to you Nadina? Did all that power cook your brain?” 

“This is not a joke.”

Crossing his arms, he shook his head. “I am not doing anything for you except sparing your life
if
you give me what I want right now. The offer is good for this minute. No more.”

“You are not listening, my black demon.”

Storm speared her with all the hatred in his heart. “I don’t know what delusional world you live in, but I have
never
been anything of yours except the mistake you birthed. If I could wipe any trace of you from my blood, I would. You’re wasting the one chance to save your life, because when I’m out of patience, one of us is not walking out of here alive.”

“You are the delusional one if you think to kill me.”

He snorted. “And why is that?”

“If I do not return to Hanhau, everyone will bear the brunt of his displeasure, including your Evalle.”

Storm’s blood chilled. “What are you talking about?”

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