She threw her arms out before her as if shecould push me back when I stepped from the top stair and onto theporch. Unlike the ghosts, I didn’t feel cold, or really anything atall when I passed through her. She stopped waving her arms. Hereyes filled with apprehension, and if I hadn’t known better, Ithought tears glistened within them as she turned to watch us stopbefore the door.
The doorknob didn’t move beneath my hand whenI took hold of it. I could blast the door open with a ball ofenergy, or maybe we could shoot the handle out with our guns, butthere was the possibility our friends were close to the door.
Bordello of thedamned.And I was going to knock on the door as if itwere any other place.
I grabbed the metal piece of the heavyknocker attached to the door. I didn’t know what the creature withthe fangs and pointed snout attached to the knocker was, but Iprayed it didn’t reside inside.
The metal clanged loudly upon the door andechoed in the air around us. Goose bumps covered my flesh as thedoor swung open.
CHAPTER 37
Kobal
I detected River’s fresh-rain scent on theair as I pursued her, along with a spicier and more masculine odor.Vargas.
The three of them had shown they were moreloyal to River now, but I hadn’t expected this kind of mutiny. I’dkill the man for going with her instead of stopping her.
Easy.Killinghim would be the way to guarantee River forever shut me out, butsince I couldn’t choke her, I’d happily choke him for a littlewhile.
Judging by her scent, they weren’t far aheadof me, but still too far for my liking. Splotches of black bloodamongst the leaves caught my eye as I ran. The sickly sweet scentof that blood wasn’t enough to throw me off of River’s trail, but Idespised the cloying odor. They were definitely following thecanagh demons.
What they’d do to her,especially if it is Lilitu…
I shut the possibility down; I’d lose my mindif I dwelled on it too much. Racing up a small embankment, I burstout onto a road where I spotted more blood splatters trailing overthe dirt and booted footprints. Turning, I followed the blood trailand the increasing allure of River’s scent.
Behind me, other footsteps slapped onto thedirt road, but I didn’t look back at Corson and Bale as theyfollowed. The delay of even a second could cost me her.
***
River
Vargas and I stepped into the cavernousbuilding. I was studying the shadows playing over the large singleroom we’d entered when the heavy door closed behind us. I spun, butinstead of someone standing behind us there were only more lightand dark shadows coalescing in a way that made my vision blurbefore coming back into focus.
What did I do by cominghere? Just find the others and go!
Turning, I focused on the building once moreas I searched for anyone I knew within the large, barn-likebuilding. The eaves of the building sagged above us. Bits of thevine overhead could be seen through the cracks in the ceiling.Wails of decadence and woe rose and fell in volume as the criesbounced off the walls.
All around us, figures crept forward frombehind the sheer red material hanging throughout the room from therafters to the floor. The building was almost entirely wide openinside, except for the material dividing this lower level intosmaller room-like sections and a set of stairs leading to a loftacross the way. More candlelight danced across the gauzy materialblocking off the loft above.
The staircase to the loft wound down to astage at the other end of the building. My heart leapt when Ispotted Hawk and Erin lying on the stage with two of the others whohad been taken. They appeared to be sleeping or unconscious. Irefused to believe they were dead, but then if they were dead, theyprobably had little value to these creatures surrounding us. Ididn’t know what had happened to the fifth person, but I had apretty good guess as the moans grew louder within the room.
Pale, delicate fingers curled around the edgeof the red material beside me. My breath froze in my chest at thesight of the pink claws that stood out starkly against the red. Ahead appeared next to reveal a gorgeous blonde woman peering out atme.
From behind her, more men and women emergedfrom the shadows, moving with surreal grace and all possessing amesmerizing beauty. What little clothing they wore was so sheerthere was nothing left to the imagination.
Beside me, Vargas’s eyebrows were in hishairline. His hands clenched around his gun as the canagh demonsclosed in around us. The demons’ heads tilted to the side. Theirgazes were curious as they licked their lips and eyed us with ahunger that had my flight reflex screaming at me to listen toit.
I remained where I was, mostly because myfeet felt frozen to the floor, but also because I wanted my friendsback. Movement from above caused all the ones closing in on us totake a step away. My gaze went to the staircase as a woman, dressedin a sheer, blood-red dress that did nothing to hide any aspect ofher body, descended the stairs. The skirt swirled about her calvesas she moved with the grace of a ballerina.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her whenshe stopped at the bottom of the stairs with one elegant handresting upon the newel. Her blood-red, talon fingernails matchedthe color of her hair spilling about her shoulders and wavingagainst the breasts exposed by her diaphanous dress. Sex oozed fromevery one of her pores, and she knew it as her tongue slid out tolick across her ruby-red lips. The woman’s emerald eyes surveyed usas if she were inspecting some bug and considering stomping it.
Beside me, as if under some spell, Vargas’sbody swayed toward her. I grabbed his arm to hold him in place.Seeming to come back to himself, he shook his head and thrust backhis shoulders. I held him for a minute longer before releasing himagain. I had to have my hands free.
What could this woman do? Could she make himgo to her against his will? I’d heard the legends of incubi andsuccubae, that they fed on humans during sex, but I had no ideawhat they were truly capable of.
It had been abigmistake to bring Vargas here. I hadn’t knownwhat I’d expected from these demons, but I had mistakenly believedif we avoided their beds, we would be able to get away fromthem.
I’d never expected to come up against thepull these things possessed. I would 100 percent deserve Kobal’sI told you so,if we made it out ofhere, but first I had to make sure we made it out. Vargas hadfollowed me into this place of the damned, and he would leave itagain if I had to torch everything in here to ensure it.
