Demon's Triad (12 page)

“Absolutely anything,” Ferrin said, shooting her a devilish wink she knew would always make her sex burn, as he followed Dorand out.

She’d gone from being a virgin without prospects, to a woman torn between two lovers in less than a day. Not to mention her strange new taste for violence, or the little voice that seemed to whisper information in her ear, information she never would have been able to guess before she’d worked that spell in the woods. Her world was changing rapidly, but she prayed she’d be able to come back to herself enough to succeed in catching a killer. Those photographs had been more than gruesome—they’d been magically terrifying. Whatever or whoever was committing the atrocities, they had to be stopped before another innocent died and before they completed whatever black magic they were about.

“Aren’t they wonderful? They’re the sweetest men.” Jillian smiled down at her with guileless blue eyes. With her long blonde hair and legs that stretched on forever, she looked more like a supermodel than an old-school witch. Thankfully, she was also much nicer than the other two women who had attended the meeting.

“They do seem very nice,” Aleeza said with a neutral smile. She’d shielded with a vengeance throughout the meeting, so was fairly sure Jillian could have no clue just how nice she thought the clan brothers.

“All the girls have a soft spot for them. It’s been so hard to watch them grieving,”

she said, picking up a large collapsible file.

“Grieving?” Aleeza asked, following her out of the room.

“Their third clan mate was the Beltane victim. Carantha. Such a sweet girl and so loved by her husbands and by our clan.” Jillian’s voice was thick with sadness and the look on her face genuinely tortured. There was no way she was telling anything but the truth.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Aleeza said, even as her mind began to race.

Shit! Dorand and Ferrin had a personal stake in her investigation. Hell, they might
be
the investigation. What had they been doing in the woods last night? And why would two grieving widowers be so eager to fuck a complete stranger?

One of them is a liar—one of them wants to frame you for the murder.

The thought startled her enough to stop her dead in her tracks. Where the hell had that come from? She had no evidence to support that theory. Hell, she didn’t have enough evidence to support any theory.

“Are you okay?” Jillian asked, turning to look over her shoulder.

“I’m fine, just fine.” Aleeza hurried to catch up, hoping that if she repeated that phrase to herself enough times, it might actually become the truth.

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Kali’s olive skin shone in the candlelight, the oil she’d rubbed into her flesh making her gleam like a goddess. Black hair tumbled in a midnight wave nearly down to her knees, and her honey-colored eyes reflected the dancing flames with inhuman magnificence. The only thing more stunning than her eyes were her breasts, natural D-cups that were a rare find on a woman so thin. Women paid millions of dollars to look half as good as she did. It was the one thing that bastard of an ex-husband of hers hadn’t been able to take away from her—her beauty, and she made the most of it.

Thinking of him made her smile. Things were falling into place even faster and more smoothly than she’d expected. A month from now…he’d be the one begging
her
for help.

“You’re smiling, mistress,” said the young man in front of her, some of the fear in his eyes fading. “Do I please you?”

“What? Oh.” Kali looked him up and down, hiding her approval from him. It never did to let one’s slaves know how much you wanted them. Let them think it was a favor, bestowed only as a reward, and sex got you much further. Monven, her bastard ex had taught her that lesson, and she’d learned it well. “I suppose you do,” she said, letting a slight frown twist her thin red lips. “But use a different soap. I can smell that cheap stuff from here and it makes my nose itch.”

“I’m sorry.” The young man—Withley? Yes, Withley—looked down at the floor.

Kali’s smile broadened. The soap didn’t bother her in the slightest.

“You should be,” she snapped. “Now come here.”

Hope shone in Withley’s blue eyes as he stepped closer to her. His erection made her mouth water. She didn’t often get slaves as handsome as this one. It was a shame, actually, that she’d never tell him that. What was the point? She never allowed them to touch her more than once. That way she didn’t get attached, didn’t give that soft part of her the chance to start getting ideas about some mythical happily ever after.

Kali didn’t want anyone getting any ideas, least of all herself. She’d lived in service to Monven for years. Now she lived in service to another, far more powerful, and she was under no illusions about the nature of their relationship. They shared a goal—that was all. He could not touch her soul, could not satisfy her…nobody could. Not the way she needed. Only another of her race, another Daiesthai, could, or a Gunera.

There were no other Daiesthai. And the Gunera…were under that stupid curse.

Withley’s reverent hands were hot on her bare skin as he stroked her. She could almost hear his heart beating. Some small part of her that still cared about other people, other supers, warmed. Withley was a sweet boy, and she’d busted enough balls in her 62

Demon’s Triad

little coven to know when she told him what to do to her, he would do it. He might not like it, but he would do it.

His tongue on her hardening nipples was exquisite. “Bite them,” she murmured.

His teeth scraped her skin. She shook her head. “Bite them. Hard.”

Doubt flickered behind his eyes, but he obeyed. Pain seared through her body, pain and pleasure combined. Withley grunted softly.

She reached for him, her fingers curled like claws, and scratched his shoulders. He pulled away.

“Withley, do I need to find a different slave?”

In response he slid his hands behind her and squeezed her ass hard enough to bruise. Good. The trickle of moisture that had started between her legs increased. Her lips found his, nibbling and teasing. Withley sighed, his comfort level obviously increasing.

She couldn’t have that. So she bit his lip. The taste of his blood quickened her pulse.

If he pulled away again she didn’t know what she would do, but luckily for him he did not. He continued the kiss, his fingers still digging into her flesh.

It was good, all of it. But, as was usually the case, the fire wasn’t there. Her body responded, and she would allow this slave to fuck her on the floor, but his heart wasn’t in anything else. So hers wasn’t either. Kali focused on that thought, let the rage build in her chest. If she couldn’t have passion, true passion, fury was almost as good.

She drew back and slapped Withley with all her strength. For a moment his blue eyes clouded with pain and fear. She stayed where she was, challenging him, daring him to leave and suffer the punishment of displeasing her. Punishing him would be almost as good as fucking him.

They stared at each other for the space of a few heartbeats. Kali was just about to send him to the chains on the wall when his eyes darkened. She didn’t have time to react before he slapped her back.

Perhaps Withley wasn’t such a bad slave after all.

* * * * *

He finally left about an hour later, rewarded by a black eye and several deep cuts on his body. They would heal, but until they did he would be treated like a king by the other slaves. It was a fair trade.

The heavy silver clock on the wall told her Raven would be by in ten minutes.

There was just enough time to heal herself before the girl arrived. Raven was a necessary diversion, and not an entirely unpleasant one. Too bad she wasn’t a man.

Kali didn’t know why it was possible, with enough power and the right dark magic, to break the Gunera curse—or ease it—for women but not for men. Raven’s poor little cousin wasn’t the first Gunera woman to break the curse. There had been two others 63

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over the centuries, women for whom the famous sex drive of the Gunera had proven too much.

But she herself hadn’t been there to help them along. And she certainly hadn’t been there to take advantage of it. Instead, they’d been killed, destroyed by members of their own clan, cowards who were too afraid to seize their true destiny. But not this time. The Gunera coven had grown lax in its teachings. They hadn’t bothered to instill the proper fear in their members for generations. Now they would pay the price. By the time they realized what magic had been wrought, it would be too late.

Kali smiled through the screaming of her sore muscles and torn skin as she shifted position on the couch, reaching for her healing bottle. She didn’t have the healing abilities of some of the other bloodlines, but she had magic more powerful than all of them.

Reglanus had given her this potion as a sign of his gratitude. He gave her many things, knowing the great service she was performing for him. It wasn’t often demons got any help from witches, especially not witches of her blood. Once, before the Fallout, the two races had worked together. Now demons were a rare find on the earthly plane, and witches of her coven all but extinct. She was the last, the last chance to rebuild one of the most powerful races the world had ever known.

The bitter potion made her wince, but the sensation of light and heat spreading through her body was worth it. By the time Raven showed up, Kali would be perfect again and ready to reward her best little slave. At least the girl was Gunera, and thanks to that, Kali wouldn’t need to use more of the potion to heal up afterward. Raven wasn’t as gifted a healer as some, but she could get the job done. And Kali was all about getting the job done, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice.

Even if it means losing your greatest source of power?

The thought invaded her mind unbidden, but she knew it was her own, not the familiar hiss of Reglanus whispering in her ear. Her eyes drifted to the mirror in the corner, a Victorian affair with smoky glass and gold plating that emphasized her eyes and the warm glow of her skin. Now it reflected the image of an achingly beautiful woman, lounging on her settee. What would it reflect in a few weeks’ time, however, once she’d given herself over to Reglanus completely? She knew there was a chance the transformation would ruin her forever.

No matter what power she might gain, without her beauty, would her victory be a hollow one?

The knock at the door told her Raven had arrived.

“Come in,” she said, pushing away her dark thoughts. She leaned back on the cushions so the restored perfection of her naked body would be displayed to its best advantage. Casually, she settled her left heel on the edge of the cushion and her right on the arm of the couch. Watching Raven maneuver herself to get a good look at what Kali knew was a beautiful pussy was always good for some amusement.

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Sure enough, Raven’s eyes widened dramatically when she walked into the room, her hair in braids just the way Kali liked it. Destroying the girl’s innocence again and again was more delightful than she’d thought it would be.

“Kali,” Raven began. “I can’t thank you—”

“Shhhh.” Kali moved her left foot onto the floor, spreading herself open wider.

Raven licked her lips. She’d never been allowed to pleasure Kali before, and Kali knew the girl might be expecting to as part of her reward. She’d put her off last night, insisting Raven continue tailing her cousin until they learned how the reversal of the spell might be affecting her. “Is there any more news of your cousin?”

Raven shook her head, but her gaze stayed focused between Kali’s long, slim legs.

“I haven’t heard anything.”

“What do you mean you haven’t heard anything?” Kali sat up, snapping her knees together. “Does anyone know what she’s done? She didn’t go home last night. I couldn’t reach her mind in the dream state. Where was she?”

“She went to her mom’s house. I followed her there.”

“And you let her go inside?” Kali felt the anger within her begin to burn into a rage.

A fool! The girl was a fool and she should never have trusted her to handle this job alone. Aleeza had made their work easier by breaking the curse on her own, but she’d also further complicated the situation. They needed her fertile, yes, but not until the final kill was complete and Kali ready to perform. Now they would need to watch her every move.

They couldn’t let her tell anyone in her coven what she’d done, or start fucking everything that moved. She would be no good to them dead or pregnant with someone else’s child. They had to make sure her mouth and her legs stayed shut, or that she at least used some sort of birth control until they were ready for her. Raven had said there had been no change in Aleeza’s energy after she fucked the Amiantos in the woods, so no conception had taken place, but they might not be so lucky next time.

“She went to the shed out back. She didn’t even let her mom know she was there.

And she was there alone—I swear it.”

“You promise me that she didn’t tell her mother, that she hasn’t told anyone?”

Raven shook her head. “No, nobody but us knows—I promise.”

“Make sure it stays that way,” Kali warned. “We’ll be ready to perform the ritual after Samhain. Until then, we can’t afford to relax our guard for a moment.”

“I know. I’m watching her. This morning she went to work at the same time as usual. She met with Gavyn and then went back to her place.”

“And where is she now?”

“Still at home, I guess. She didn’t get much sleep last night, so she must be tired.”

“You guess? You don’t know?”

“I had to go home and get some sleep, Kali. I was exhausted and…I thought maybe you’d be back at the apartment waiting for me.” The hopeful look in her eyes made Kali 65

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want to slap her. Affection was only a commodity if it made Raven more useful. If it made her weak, then fear needed to replace desire as the girl’s primary motivation.