Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(18)

A damned shame there was a good chance he was going to have to kill her.

Seemingly unaware of the danger shimmering in the air, the female strolled forward, studying Santiago with an unreadable expression.

“They are not here.”

Her voice was low and throaty, flowing over Santiago with a startling power.

“Mierda,” he breathed, an unfamiliar unease trickling down his spine. “Who are you and how the hell did you get in here?”

She tilted her head to the side. “I presume you are here to find the seer?”

“I asked you a question,” he snapped.

She stiffened and Santiago smothered a curse as a crushing pressure surrounded him, warning him that he was right to be unnerved by her presence.

She had enough power to rival Styx.

Something he would have claimed impossible of any vampire only a few seconds ago.

“Take care, Santiago,” she purred.

He wisely shifted backward, lowering the sword that was all but useless against a vampire of her strength.

“How do you know my name?” he demanded.

There was a short pause, as if she was considering whether or not to answer his question. Then she gave a faint shrug.

“I am well acquainted with your sire.”

Santiago hissed. No one knew of his sire. It was something he refused to discuss with anyone.

Including Viper, who was his clan chief and closest friend.

“Impossible.” He glared at the vampire with a savage suspicion. “Gaius went beyond the Veil centuries ago.”

She offered a slow nod. “He is a most welcome member of our small clan. Indeed, he sits upon the Grand Council.”

Santiago took another step backward as realization slammed into him with painful force.

“You’re an Immortal One,” he rasped.

“I am.”

His gaze lowered to the medallion hung about her neck.

“Nefri.”

“Yes.”

Well, it all made a revolting sense now.

The female’s ability to make a sudden appearance. Her outrageous power. Her knowledge of his sire. Her formal pattern of speech.

Immortal Ones were vampires who had left the world centuries ago to create a clan within another dimension where they were allowed to exist without the primitive passions that plagued this world.

No hunger, no thirst, no lust.

Just endless days of tedious peace they devoted to studying in their vast libraries and meditating in their supposedly endless gardens.

Most of the bastards had the mistaken idea they were somehow superior to their more “barbaric” brothers.

And this woman was one of them.

No, not just one.

The one.

The big kahuna. The CEO and founding member.

It was Nefri’s medallion that allowed her to travel through the Veil. And it was her powers that kept her people safe from those demons who attempted to break through the misty barrier that surrounded their world.

Ironically most vampires would be fascinated to meet one of the Immortals.

They were a source of myth and mystery and only a rare few vampires could ever claim to having encountered one. Like freaking leprechauns, Santiago acknowledged with a wry smile.

He, on the other hand, had barely been out of his foundling years when his sire had grimly informed him that he could not bear this world after the loss of his mate and was leaving to join those beyond the Veil.

The memory of his rejection was like a raw wound that had never fully healed for Santiago.

“I thought your ... clan had turned their backs on the mortal world,” he accused between clenched teeth. “What are you doing here?”

“The disruptions that are thinning the barriers between dimensions are affecting us as well.”

“Ah.” He regarded her with an acid gaze, even as his body continued to react as if it had never seen a woman before. Madre Dios. If he didn’t leash his instincts he’d have her tumbled on the nearby bed and showing her just what she’d been missing all those long, lonely years. Maybe she would even discover a new appreciation for a mere barbarian. Or maybe she would rip out your heart and feed it to the wolves, a voice whispered in the back of his mind. For some reason the thought only intensified his smoldering anger. “So you were willing to remain in your little slice of paradise while the rest of us went to hell, but now that you’re being threatened you’re ready to take notice of the danger?”

Her dark gaze held a piercing intelligence that warned she could see far more than he wanted to share.

“So bitter,” she murmured softly. “You cared very deeply for Gaius.”

He squared his shoulders, refusing to allow the memory of his sire to rise to mind.

“I care about the family who didn’t abandon me,” he growled, “which is why I would do anything to protect them.”

“I am here to offer assistance, not harm.”

“Easy enough to claim.”

“True,” she readily agreed. “What will it take to convince you?”

Oh, he could think of several possibilities.

Erotic images flashed through his mind, most of them focused on having those cherry lips wrapped around a specific body part.

With a growl he was crushing the dangerous thoughts. How often had he used his own potent sexual attraction to defeat his enemies?