The Darkest Touch dh-3 Read online

  “Fuck off, Trace,” Ryder said with a low warning tone to his voice.

  Angelique listened to the interplay between the two with great interest. So much that she initially brushed past the fact that while the fortress was ancient and crumbling on the outside, everything on the inside was polished and new, from gleaming wood floors to leather furniture and state-of-the-art electronics spread around the great room off to the right. It was a geek’s paradise in there.

  How strange. Who lived here? Who owned this castle?

  “I could feel the testosterone level rising in here, and figured Ryder must be back.”

  Angelique turned around as a very tall woman with long, curling black hair walked in. Another of the demon hunters.

  “Mandy, right?” Angelique asked.

  She grinned. “Yeah, and you’re Angie. Or is it Angelique?”

  “Either will do just fine.”

  “Ryder,” Mandy said as he walked by.

  “Mandy. Everything secure?”

  “Tight.”

  “Who’s here?”

  Trace stepped up next to Mandy. “Just us. Lou sent us. The rest of them are on a hunt. Damn demons are making strange appearances all over the country, so we’ve been split up. Oh, and a Keeper.”

  Ryder arched a brow. “Not Lou?”

  “No. Local guy. Michael. He just got here, too. Come on in and I’ll introduce you.”

  They moved into the large entryway and a man dressed all in black walked out of the great room.

  Wow. One of the things Angelique had remarked about in Australia was that all the demon hunters were gorgeous. She hadn’t expected a Keeper to be the same way. She thought they were. . older. This one wasn’t.

  “This is Michael,” Mandy said. “He’s one of the Keepers of the Realm of Light.”

  He didn’t look old-world at all. Extremely tall, powerfully built, with wavy black hair and stormy gray eyes. Full lips and an aristocratic nose. He was damn gorgeous.

  He walked toward her and held out his hand to shake hers. “Bonjour, Angelique.”

  “Bonjour, Michael,” she said.

  “Comment allez-vous?” he asked.

  “Merci, bien. Et tu?” She was surprised when he began conversing with her in French. They carried on a casual conversation about their trip and the weather for a few moments, until Ryder cleared his throat.

  “Sorry,” Michael said, turning to him. “You must be Ryder.” They shook hands, and Ryder looked annoyed.

  Angelique couldn’t hold back her smile. Maybe Ryder was a little jealous. She liked that.

  “Lou has brought me up to speed on what’s been going on. I’m hoping I can be of some help. He’s sorry he can’t be here, but the demons are keeping them busy throughout the country. He’s working with your people and mine.”

  “The demons are hunting for the black diamond,” Angelique said.

  “Probably,” Michael said. “Or for the diamond and Isabelle. And you.”

  “They don’t appear to have had any problems finding me,” she replied.

  Trace frowned at Ryder. “You’ve had skirmishes?”

  “Yeah. With some new forms of demons. They appear out of a mist and can’t be killed with our traditional weaponry.”

  “Sounds like we need a debriefing,” Mandy said. “I’m cooking in the kitchen. Figured you’d be hungry. Let’s talk and eat.”

  Angelique’s stomach rumbled at the mention of food. “You’re saving my life,” she said to Mandy.

  “Yeah,” Trace said from behind Angelique. “She cooks and kills demons. I might have to marry her.”

  “In your dreams,” Mandy quipped.

  They ate, and Ryder and Angelique filled them in on what had transpired with the demons they’d battled.

  “Lou told me about the new breed of demons. We’re working on designing new weaponry for you to use,” Michael said.

  “I think you’re kind of young for a Keeper,” Mandy said, stating what many of them probably thought, too.

  Michael smiled. “My father was a Keeper-one of the few who defied the Sons of Darkness when they began slaughtering the wives and children of Keepers in order to dwindle our numbers. Because the female demons were sterile and could not reproduce, they thought in order to keep the war between us balanced, they would make sure our side couldn’t reproduce, either. But my father refused to let the Sons of Darkness win. When his first wife and child were killed, he remarried. After I was born, he hid me away, teaching me and training me in the ways of the Keepers.”

  “And you survived,” Angelique said.

  Michael nodded. “I survived. There are more of us around than the Sons of Darkness know. And we’re stronger now than ever before.”

  “So the Keepers are. . magical?” Angelique asked.

  “We each have certain gifts that are passed down from generation to generation.”

  “Cool,” Trace said. “Lou seems to know where demons are. He senses them.”

  “All Keepers can,” Michael said. “It’s useful.”

  “Understatement,” Ryder said. “We could all use that ability.”

  “Trust me. I’m here to help. One thing at a time. The Sons of Darkness have their agenda, and we have ours. First is to take care of those under our protection. The second is to deal with the black diamond, with Angelique’s assistance, of course.”

  All eyes turned to her. Right. She had promised Ryder she’d give that up if he reunited her with Isabelle.

  Then again, she hadn’t seen her sister yet, had she?

  “Is Isabelle coming?”

  Michael nodded. “She should be here within the day.”

  “Then we’ll talk about the black diamond after she gets here. I have to make sure she’s safe first.”

  The black diamond was her bargaining chip. And she wasn’t going to give it up until she had her sister back.

  Ryder glared at her, and she knew why. Earlier, she’d offered to lead him to the black diamond in exchange for his taking her to Isabelle.

  Things hadn’t quite worked out that way, though, so now the plan had changed. And if he was going to be pissed off about that, so be it.

  Izzy had to come first. At least right now.

  Ryder could understand that, couldn’t he?

  “They’re gathering,” Tase said with a satisfied smile.

  Aron nodded. “As are we.”

  Tase looked around at his brothers. “Humans are stupid. The Realm of Light is scattered.”

  “Our demons have done well,” Badon said. “We’ve kept the Realm splintered, fighting throughout the country. The Realm is busy watching the demons; their hunters are forced into smaller groups in order to keep up.”

  “It’s just as I planned it,” Tase said, rising from his place at the table and looking over them all. “Soon we will have it all. The black diamond, and the Queen of Darkness. All it takes is knowing we have the power and the knowledge. And most importantly, the strength. Are they ready?” he asked Badon.

  “They are perfect,” Badon answered with a slight bow of his head. “More and more coming to us every day, desperate for what we have to offer. Apparently immortality, supreme strength, and perfection are quite a lure.”

  Tase’s lips curled upward. “This domination will be so easy. I’m almost sorry there won’t be much of a battle.”

  “I would not underestimate the Realm of Light, Lord Tase.”

  Tase shot a lick of fire toward his brother, Kal. Kal was normally silent and generally went along with the other Lords, but he was never one to stand at Tase’s side; Tase knew he’d have difficulty with Kal. Kal didn’t even flinch as the fire singed his skin. Of course Kal would welcome the pain.

  “I never underestimate them. I simply undervalue them. They mean nothing. Ben and Bart were weak. They let Lou and his demon hunters walk all over them. They thought with emotion. We know better. Our power is stronger now, and we will defeat them this time.”

  “I still think you
are unwise to believe this will be an easy battle. Humans are known to fight with heart, to use their very souls in their efforts to secure victory. They will not go down easily,” Kal argued.

  “They are nothing but flies on shit,” Badon said. “Tase is right. With the humans we are turning now, our power is great. Our force is stronger than ever. The Realm stands no chance.”

  “Those words have been spoken before. And still, here we are, no closer to our goal than we’ve been for centuries. Do not count out the Realm yet, my Lords, or you will regret it.”

  “Do you stand with us, Kal, or against us?” Tase asked, fury making his flames expand. The others pushed away from the table, their icy countenances unable to bear his heat. He didn’t care, his ire was so strong.

  Kal, however, didn’t move. “I am always with you, but I will always speak my mind, as you well know. . brother.”

  Kal would have to be dealt with. Insurrection within the Sons of Darkness would never do. But now was not the time. Tase had worked hard to obtain his position as leader, and the great evil one was watching. . always watching. Judging him to see how he handled even the slightest uprising.

  “I enjoy your challenges, Kal. I welcome them. And a voice of reason reminding us to be careful is a good thing. Your comments are duly noted. We will not underestimate the Realm of Light. But I think you will be the one surprised when you see how easy it is to crush them under the might of the Sons of Darkness.”

  “We shall see, my Lord,” Kal said. “We shall see.”

  The group disbanded, and Tase fought to gather his temper, wishing he were empowered to destroy at will. But their Father had not given him such abilities as yet. He would have to prove himself first.

  And he would.

  When the Realm of Light was destroyed and the Sons of Darkness walked the earth controlling all, the Father would give him supreme control.

  And when that day came, the first thing he would do is reduce Kal to a pile of smoking ash.

  Rewards and punishments.

  Someday, he would be king.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Isabelle did her best to appear calm and patient on the surface, but inside she was fuming.

  Dalton had tucked her mother’s diary in his back pocket. He hadn’t left her side the entire time the yacht had cruised to Sicily. Did he think she was going to jump overboard and try to swim her way to freedom?

  Not that the thought hadn’t occurred to her. But her head eventually cleared and common sense prevailed. She’d wait until they reached land. Then she’d make a run for it.

  The yacht docked off Catania and she was allowed to pack her things. With Dalton standing guard over her, of course. Odd that she’d never found him so imposing-until now.

  Of course he’d been damn imposing when he’d thrown her against the wall and made love to her. Her body heated as she remembered his awesome power, the way he mastered her body, took her with such force. At the time she’d welcomed it, needed someone to take her like that. She’d never felt such force, such power coming from one man. With Dalton, she’d felt an equal, the beginnings of a relationship that could be explosive. Cravings had built inside her that she’d never experienced before.

  She’d felt such hope, such stirrings. In a short period of time, he had evoked a fierce need in her.

  Beyond the physical connection, there had been a meeting of their minds. They were so similar in many ways. He understood her, or at least had seemed to.

  No, he had understood her. She felt it deep inside. No amount of acting on his part could have fooled her.

  She shuddered, trying to erase the vivid images of the two of them together that still made her body burn.

  Hot tears pricked her eyes. She blinked them back, hating that weakness, hating him. He’d used her. She’d always chosen the wrong men. Angelique had always told her she had no sense where men were concerned, that she was a lousy judge of character.

  Once again, Angie had been right.

  So why did her body still yearn for Dalton? Why did she think Dalton could actually help explain this mess to her, that he might be able to help her? How could she yearn with hope, feel the need to reach out for a man who had betrayed her? What the hell was wrong with her? He was the damn enemy.

  They took the launch from the yacht to the dock, and climbed off. Isabelle noticed that only she and Dalton disembarked. The rest of the crew stayed on board the yacht and the mini headed back toward it. From what she could see, it looked like the crew was making ready to take off. Without the two of them.

  So they wouldn’t be going back to the yacht. Then again, the boat probably didn’t even belong to Dalton, since everything about him was one big lie.

  That meant this would be her chance to make a getaway, to get lost in the crowd and disappear.

  What she’d do after that was uncertain. All she knew was she had to make a grab for her mother’s diary and get as far away from Dalton as possible.

  Being near him clouded her judgment, devastated her senses. She couldn’t think clearly with him around.

  She couldn’t trust him or anything he’d told her. She wanted nothing to do with him and his supposed band of demon hunters.

  “I’m hungry,” she said, motioning to the group of vendors along the crowded street ahead.

  Dalton frowned. “There was plenty of food on the yacht this morning.”

  “I wasn’t hungry then. I am now.”

  He lifted his shoulders in an exasperated sigh, then checked his watch. “All right. Let’s go. I’ve arranged for a car, so we need to get back to the pickup point in ten minutes.”

  He held on to her arm and maneuvered her past the buyers and vendors in the marketplace. The street was narrow and with carts and people, that meant a tight squeeze. Perfect.

  “There’s a coffee cart up ahead with rolls. Let’s head to that one. I really need an espresso,” she said, trying to sound eager and focused only on food.

  He nodded and took her hand, leading the way.

  It couldn’t have gone better. With him in the lead, they were single file. She could see the diary in his back pocket, they were jam-packed in with people crushing against them, and now was her chance. Her pulse raced, her heart pounding as she plotted her move.

  She lifted the diary, at the same time jerking her hand from his, pivoted, and took a sharp left into the crowd, pushing her way past vendors and buyers who yelled and gestured to her in angry Italian.

  She wanted to apologize for her rudeness, but she couldn’t. Her life, her freedom was at stake. And she knew Dalton was right on her heels. She didn’t have the foggiest idea where she was headed; she only knew she was literally running for her life.

  Trying to stay within the relative safety of the dense crowd, she weaved in and out, turning east and ducking down, hoping Dalton couldn’t see her. She jerked off her sweater so maybe he wouldn’t be able to spot her by her clothing, then continued to stay low, slipping between two fruit carts generously populated with customers.

  The vendors gestured at her wildly and cursed in Italian for her to get out of there, no doubt thinking she was in there to steal from them. Isabelle ignored them, practically on her hands and knees now as she moved through the back of their cart area and out the other side. She hoped they wouldn’t shout for the local authorities that a thief was amongst them. That would only alert Dalton to her whereabouts.

  She heard nothing and the vendors stopped yelling. Maybe they realized she wasn’t stealing anything. Taking a moment to pause and turn, checking her surroundings, she didn’t spot Dalton anywhere. Still, she wasn’t about to stop. She pushed on, keeping her brisk pace, but this time only at a walk so she wouldn’t draw suspicion to herself. Still, she stayed within the morning crowds until she found a dark side street. She ducked up the street and was greeted with mercifully cool shade.

  Having been to Catania before, it only took her a moment to gather her bearings. This was a business section. All she had to do
was take a taxi to the train station nearby and get the hell out of here-disappear so Dalton could never find her.

  She kept to the shadows, sticking close to the buildings, especially near the alleys in case she had to duck down one if she spotted Dalton.

  “Isabelle.”

  She froze, turning quickly at the sound of her name.

  It wasn’t Dalton. A tall, well-dressed man stepped out of an alley.

  She didn’t recognize him, but he seemed friendly enough, smiling as he motioned to her. Pinned to the wall of a building, she wasn’t about to budge. For all she knew he could be working for Dalton.