When Darkness Comes (Guardians of Eternity #1)(72)

She sent him a knowing gaze. "Then what is bothering you?"

Dante gave rueful grimace. This mate thing was going to take a bit of getting used to.

"I smell something strange."

"It's not me is it?"

His lips quirked. "No."

The demon?"

"No. The smell is human, although strangely masked."

Abby peered down the hall and oddly stiffened before stabbing him a glittering glare.

"What's with all the charred marks on the wall?"

He shrugged. 'The house exploded, lover. There are a lot of charred marks."

"They weren't here earlier." Her hands landed on her hips. "The wizard did that when you were fighting, didn't he?"

"Abby, the wizard is no longer our concern. Viper will deal with him."

'The point is that you told me you had a minor disagreement."

"No one died," he pointed out in perfectly reasonable tones, flicking a glance over the unmistakable damage. His gaze lingered on the singed carpet before his teeth snapped together. "Damn."

"What is it?"

'The spell books are gone."

"The wizard?"

Dante gave a shake of his head. The wizard had shown no interest in the books.

"More likely the demon returned to retrieve them. Along with a witch."

'They were here and we missed them?"

Dante brooded for a long moment. Dammit, he hated this feeling he was stumbling about like an idiot. Especially when he feared he was putting Abby's life in danger.

"It was a foolish risk," he growled. "They must have known the dark wizard was near."

"They must really have wanted those books."

'Yes."

Abby abruptly grasped his arm. "Oh…"

"What?"

"Do you think they wanted the books enough to kill for them?"

Dante shrugged. "The witches would not hesitate to kill if they thought someone stood in their path. They are utterly ruthless."

"Even Selena?"

Dante frowned. "Selena?"

"Maybe they wanted the books and she wasn't in the mood to hand them over."

The memory of Selena's secretive manner flashed through his mind. The woman was certainly arrogant enough to be dabbling in magic the witches would have forbidden. Or even to seek powers that would have given her control of the coven.

But even as he considered the notion of a battle between the witches and Selena, he was giving a shake of his head.

"No. Selena was the Chalice. They would never put the Phoenix in danger. Protecting the spirit is their entire purpose in life."

Abby grimaced. "Oh. Just a thought."

"A very clever thought."

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you patronizing me?"

"Why would I wish to patronize you?" he demanded in startled curiosity.

"I know I'm not overly bright, but I'm not stupid."

Dante regarded her in astonishment Devil spit, but she was the most baffling woman. "Of course you're not stupid. I always found it astonishing that such an intelligent woman would be content to work as a minion for someone like Selena when you could so obviously do better."

Her eyes darkened, almost as if she was relieved.

"It paid the bills. Trust me, it wasn't as bad as some places I've worked."

Taking her hand, he led her down the hall to the back staircase. The trail of the demon was growing ever fainter, and he had no intention of losing it.

At the moment it was their one and only lead to the coven.

"You could do anything with your life. Be anything," he told her softly.

Struggling to keep up with his long strides, she gave a short, humorless laugh.

"How? My father and brothers abandoned me when I was still a child, and my mother never left the couch until she drank herself into a grave when I was seventeen." He felt her shudder as she dredged up painful memories of her past. "I dropped out of school and got a job so I wouldn't be shuffled off to some foster home. I'm lucky I didn't end up walking the streets."

With one smooth motion, he reached down to scoop her in his arms and cradled her to his chest. Her fierce, relentless nature made him forget she possessed a human lack of endurance even with the additional power of the Phoenix. And God knew she was too stubborn to confess she might need to rest.

The fact that she didn't so much as mutter a protest at him taking matters into his own hands told him just how weary she must be.

Taking the stairs in a fluid bound, he studied her too-pale face.

"You would have never walked the streets. You have too much courage and power for such a fate."

Her features hardened. "It takes more than courage to survive."

In the blink of an eye, he was out of the house and swiftly moving down a back path.

'Tfou need no longer fear. I will always be here."

"Not fear? A high school dropout who can't pay her rent is expected to save the world. How scary is that?"

"The world is in very good hands."

Her head rested against his chest as she gave a wry laugh. "You're demented."

He risked a glance downward as they left the estate, and he slowed to a more cautious pace. Even tired and rumpled as she was, he had never seen a more beautiful woman.