Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #9)(72)

In the distance, Cassie heard a shriek that nearly shattered her eardrums.

“No. What are you doing, you fool?” The fog parted to reveal the slender young female with eyes that glowed with a fiery crimson. “You will not escape me.”

The darkness continued to thicken, but not swiftly enough. Cassie quivered as the female was flowing through the mists, her pretty face twisted with an unholy fury.

With a speed that was nearly too swift to follow, she was at their side, shoving her arm into the rift that Gaius was forming and grabbing the vampire by his hair.

“Gaius,” Cassie breathed in terror, feeling the bubble begin to falter.

The vampire’s dark eyes widened with a bone-deep fear, but surprisingly, he gave her a shove toward the center of the rift.

“Go,” he commanded.

Cassie wavered, realizing in astonishment that the vampire intended to sacrifice himself to save them.

But why? Hadn’t he been the one to hunt them down, torture Caine with the cur’s hideous spell, and then haul them to this mysterious dimension so he could offer them to the Dark Lord?

Why would he betray his mistress now?

The question had barely formed when it was crushed beneath a powerful vision that blasted through her mind. She groaned. The vivid image was there and gone before she could fully process it, but she did comprehend enough to know that it was a warning.

Not for her. But for the vampire who was being yanked out of the rift by the infuriated Dark Lord.

“Gaius, listen to me,” she shouted over the evil deity’s screams of frustration. “A face, no matter how familiar, can be a lie.”

His head was bent backward, blood running down his forehead, but he managed to send her a puzzled frown. “What?”

“Don’t trust your eyes.”

Still regarding her with confusion, Gaius was sharply jerked out of the bubble and tossed aside. Cassie caught a glimpse of him lying in an unconscious heap before the arm was shoved back into the contracting darkness, reaching toward Caine.

“I will not be denied my sacrifice,” the Dark Lord snarled.

Clearly sensing the danger, Caine growled low in his throat, his teeth bared. The female ignored the threat, grabbing Caine by the scruff of his contorted neck.

Cassie wasn’t certain if the Dark Lord assumed Caine was incapable of hurting her, or if she thought she was the big-bad scary and nothing had the courage to fight back.

Whatever her logic, she grossly underestimated the level of Caine’s crazy. Even as her fingers dug into his fur, the frantic Were turned his head to sink his teeth deep into her forearm.

Cassie wasn’t foolish enough to believe that Caine could truly hurt the powerful creature, but he did provide a distraction. No doubt the only one they were going to get. Which meant escape was now or never.

Without giving herself time to think, Cassie rushed forward, taking full advantage of the element of surprise as she slammed her body straight into Caine.

Her intention had merely been to knock him away from the Dark Lord. After that . . . well, the truth was that she didn’t really have a plan.

But her unexpected attack made Caine stumble awkwardly, his teeth ripping deep gouges in the Dark Lord’s arm as he fell backward. In the same motion, he wrapped a thickly muscled arm around Cassie’s waist, pulling her down with him.

There was another screech from the Dark Lord as the darkness flowed around them, sucking them through the still open rift.

Cassie groaned as Caine’s claws dug into her back, but there was no breaking away from his ruthless grip as they fell through the empty space. Besides, she didn’t want to get free.

For the moment they were falling farther and farther from the infuriated Dark Lord.

She didn’t care where they were going.

It had to be better than where they were.

The middle of nowhere, Illinois

After running nonstop for the past two hours, Styx came to a sharp halt in the center of the narrow road, which was rapidly being overtaken by weeds. In silence, he studied the empty factory that was shrouded in shadows.

It took a minute to realize why the dilapidated building had caught his attention. There was no blinking arrow pointing to it with the words “Evil Minion Lair.” Or nasty creatures peering out the shattered windows, wearing bad-guy uniforms.

Just the opposite.

At a glance, it would be easy to assume that nothing had disturbed the crumbling pile of brick and steel for years. There were no footprints, no animal droppings, not even a spiderweb.

But to Styx it was the very lack of trespassers, both human and animal, that proved there was something very powerful that lurked in the area.

“Wait, Levet,” he commanded.

The stunted gargoyle came to a grudging halt, turning to glare at him with obvious impatience. “Pourquoi? We are finally gaining on him.”

“Kostas is near.”

“Non.” The tiny demon shook his head, pointed down the isolated road that headed toward the distant lights of St. Louis. “His trail continues into town.”

Styx pointed toward the silent warehouse. “He doubled back.”

Darcy moved to stand next to him, her head tilted to the side as she studied his stubborn expression. “How can you know?”

“It’s what I would do.”

Levet’s wings fluttered as he stomped back toward Styx. “And that is all the evidence you have?”