Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(17)

Santiago barely noticed the females as they chanted and brewed and lit their candles.

Like all vampires he detested magic.

Unfortunately, Styx had commanded that Santiago find his mate’s missing sister.

And when the Anasso commanded, a wise vampire obeyed.

Even if it meant calling upon the local coven to break through the layers of hexes, curses, and other nasty magical traps that had been laid around the farmhouse.

Of course, he hadn’t expected it to take the witches so long to breach the protective layers around the house, he acknowledged with a flare of impatience.

He’d been told the cur was paranoid. Hardly surprising considering the fact he’d made a deal with a zombie Were with ties to a demon lord. And now he had Cassandra to protect.

A true prophet.

The rarest creature to walk the earth.

It was a task he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.

Still, Santiago was damned tired of waiting for the witches to do their mumbo-jumbo crap and get him inside.

As if on cue a tall, silver-haired woman dressed in a neat black skirt and white shirt warily approached him. She looked as if she should be handing out loans in a bank, not brewing potions as she waved her heavily jeweled hand toward the house.

“We’ve cleared a path to the door.”

Santiago studied the double line of candles that led from the hedges to the front door. Despite the late-summer breeze that stirred the night air the flames stood at stiff attention, not so much as flickering.

He grimaced.

Madre Dios. He hated magic.

“You’re certain it’s safe?”

“It should be so long as you remain between the candles.”

“And the house?”

She patted her neatly coiffed hair. “There’s nothing we can detect inside, but I can’t make any guarantees.”

Santiago pulled the sword from the leather sheath. “Fan-f*cking-tastic.”

The woman paled, taking a hasty step backward. As if the shiny sword was more dangerous than his massive fangs, or his claws that could rip through steel.

“You should also know that the barrier we’ve formed will only last until the candles burn down,” she said in a trembling voice. “You won’t have more than an hour.”

“Magic,” he muttered.

Ignoring the females who scurried out of his way, Santiago forced his reluctant feet to carry him past the hedge and onto the narrow pathway. He refused to hesitate as he moved forward, climbing the steps to the wraparound porch and pulling open the heavy oak door.

If he was going to be skewered by some nasty spell, tiptoeing around wasn’t going to help.

Of course, it wasn’t until he had the door shut and he was standing inside the large living room with white plaster walls and open beamed ceiling that he managed to loosen his death grip on the sword.

He didn’t fear death in battle. But the thought of being struck down by some unnatural force was enough to give any vampire nightmares.

With a disgusted shake of his head, Santiago turned his attention to his surroundings.

He had no interest in the rustic furniture upholstered in blue-and-white-checked linen, or the hand-carved banister that led to the second floor. Instead he moved directly to the heavy rolltop desk to sort through the various drawers.

Most of the papers were indecipherable scratchings, reminding Santiago that Caine had been a notable chemist before his transformation. A fact that was reinforced by the leather-bound books that lined the towering bookshelves. Only a scientist could appreciate Stratospheric Sink for Chlorofluoromethane or Introduction to Quantum Mechanics.

Finding nothing that might hint at where he could find the missing Weres, and more importantly, discovering no sign of any intruders, Santiago made his way through the spotless kitchen and up the staircase. Although the scent of the couple was spread throughout the house, his senses were acute enough to pick out their last trail.

He cautiously moved down the hallway to a large bedroom with a heavy, walnut bed that had been carved by wood sprites and walls painted a soft shade of ivory. He halted in the center of the hardwood floor.

Here.

In this precise spot the two had disappeared.

Santiago crouched down to inspect the floor, searching for any indications of a struggle. His fingers had barely touched the wood when he felt a burst of frigid power and he was surging to his feet.

Vampire.

And close.

Spinning around with a low growl, he had his sword poised for a death blow, only to hesitate at the sight of the female framed in the doorway.

Dios.

She was ... magnificent.

Despite working in a vampire club that was renowned for offering the world’s most beautiful demons as entertainment, he was struck speechless.

She was tall and lithe, with dark hair that fell to her waist. Her face was a perfect, pale oval with eyes as dark as ebony and elegantly carved features. Her lips were full and tinted the color of cherries, and just looking at them made Santiago as hard as granite.

His bemused gaze skimmed lower, taking in the dark robes that draped over her full br**sts and the ancient gold medallion that was hung around her neck. Farther down, the folds of the silk hinted at long legs and offered a glimpse of her dainty feet encased in silk slippers.

She should have looked matronly in the outfit, like a staid old professor.

Instead she looked ... hot as hell.