Power?
Except for her heightened senses, Shadow didn’t possess any other abilities. Did she?
“There’s something else.” Dagan handed the top over. “That demon wants her ashis.”
“I will kill him first.” Rage fisting him by the balls, Nik pressed the fabric to his nose, inhaling his mate’s alluring wildflowers scent. His chest tightened. As long as he breathed, no one would dare touch a single strand of her hair—
Everything in him went dead still. Amidst the myriad odors clinging to her shirt, one stood out, burning his nose—the gut-churning stench of sulfur with a hint of moldy spice. “I know his stink now. He will regret coming after her.”
Aethan took the shirt, sniffed. “Local demons don’t possess this reek.”
“I know. We’re dealing with someone directly from the Dark Realm, posing as a gang leader. The bastard must have a portal somewhere underground.” Nik glanced around the dank, silent tunnels again.
“You think he could be behind the abduction of the women and children?”
“We will know when we find the fucker.” Nik retrieved Shadow’s top and pushed it into his back pocket.
“I think I might be able to locate where the demon’s lair is,” Dagan said. “I have a vision of the outside of the cavern Shadow saw before she disappeared into darkness.
“Then let’s go get the fucker,” Aethan snapped.
They dematerialized and coasted through the dank tunnels, tracking…
Every time Nik felt as if they were on a wild goose hunt, Dagan telepathed,This way.
An hour later, he mind-linked with Nik,Here, it looks familiar.
Nik reformed near a bricked-off, gloomy passage. The stench of dampness and decay hung dense and heavy. Decomposing brick pillars rose, supporting the water-stained underground ceiling. On his left, grimy, mold-covered walls meandered on, and to his right, a granite barrier loomed.
Nik checked the stonework wall for a hidden doorway, then he trailed his fingers on the cold, rugged surface, feeling for a chink—a seam. A zing shot through him—
“I sense something…” Aethan ran his palm over the damp granite.
“Yeah, I do, too. The fucking ward’s abrading my psyche like razors,” Nik snarled. “I will make the fucker wish he’d never set foot on this realm.” Frost coated the walls in front of him.
The ground shuddered beneath their feet.
Nik spun around as dark fog slithered out from the ground.
“What the fuck?” Aethan swore. Dagan cursed.
Several hellfire bolts rained toward them. Nik ducked, barely evading a hit when a piercing pain speared his right biceps. Cold fury tore through him.
The emerging skeletal demons with leathery black skin hissed,“You dare to trespass on our lord’s territory?
Chapter 21
Nik?Shadow yelled through their telepathic pathway again. But she hit a wall, and the sensation of rage and pain flashing through her vanished as fast as it appeared.
“Please, please,” she breathed, trying to concentrate on where he was, to find out if he was okay.
The terrace swirled in a dizzying speed.
“Oh, crap—” she groaned, collapsing against the wrought-iron table. She squeezed her eyes tight. What was wrong with her?
“Shadow!” Kira’s voice came from afar as the rushing air roared in her ears. Terror snatching her breath, she reached out for her friend, straining to hold onto anything—
And crashed into a rock-hard body. A cacophony of noise, exploding her ears.
