“It’s what demons become after they steal a human’s soul,” Blaéz said. “They consume them for that all too brief rush of experiencing the light a mortal carries…” He explained about their dark souls dying, and the ancient curse that had made sunlight their death sentence. “It’s punishment for stealing what doesn’t belong to them. They cannot survive without a soul, and the stolen one dies within days, so the cycle’s repeated constantly. Those bastards can be really vicious while hunting prey.”
“God, that’s terrifying.” Darci then stared at him long and hard. “Is that how you got hurt that night you came to me?”
He shook his head, a wry smile tugging his lips. “I tell you about the sheer evil out there and you’re concerned about how I got hurt.”
“Of course, I’m concerned,” she huffed. “Blaéz, you didn’t see you that night. You were feverish, had this horrible, bloody hole in your chest—”
“Ican’t die from those wounds. But if you were hit by a demonii bolt, it would be lethal. It’s one of the reasons I don’t want you out alone at night, that’s when they hunt.” His expression turned grim. “I sensed them close to your home earlier—and they would sense me—it’s why we made that hasty departure. Demoniis are pests to humanity. With this rift, it makes entry into this realm all too easy. We have to guard it twenty-four seven. Echo’s not yet strong enough to heal it.”
“Echo?” she repeated. “I don’t understand.”
He wound a lock of her hair around his finger. “She’s the Healer of the Veils. We need to guard the rift until it heals naturally or Echo can do so.” Hair trapped, he tugged her close and laid his lips on hers. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Be safe for me.”
“I’m in this castle, I can’t see anyone daring to try anything here.”
“Perhaps not. But evil has a way of filtering through when you least expect it.”
After Blaéz left, Darci sagged into the armchair there. Both elated and a little scared at the enormity of what she’d learned and done. And a whole lot overwhelmed.
She’d just agreed to change her life for a man she’d met over a week ago, who’d cracked through the walls of her heart and had taken root there. A man not of this world.
Chapter 13
“You seema little out of sorts there, Celt,” Týr drawled as they strode down the sidewalk in Chinatown, avoiding some of the stragglers scurrying to get home at the late hour. “You okay?”
“Darci moved into the castle,” Blaéz said, absently. He’d gone and locked up her brownstone, but there was something else he should have done…then it struck him. Of course. Darci would need clothes.
As he pulled his cell phone from his pocket, he met Týr’s incredulous stare. “What?”
Týr shook his head, a smirk riding his face. “No wonder you acted like the Empyrean does around Echo and went all annihilator on Darci’s attackers. I should have known.”
Blaéz ignored him, slid through the contact numbers on his phone, found what he wanted and made his call.
“Yes, Mr. Blaéz?” the store manager for Armani asked politely, despite the late hour. “How can I be of assistance? Do you require more leathers and t-shirts?”
“No, not me. I need clothes for a female.”
“What would she require?”
What would Darci need? He liked her in those short skirts. She had great legs. “Skirts. Tight ones.”
“Mini or pencil?”
Blaéz frowned.Pencil? With no idea what that was, safe was better, he decided. “Yes, both of those. And a couple of tops…er, everything a woman needs. I’ll send someone to pick them up.”
“Size?” the manager asked quickly.
Size? She was perfect—she felt perfect beneath his hands, his mouth—that’s probably not what the human meant. “Five-nine height and about a hundred and forty-five pounds. Shoe size…eight or nine—send both.” He ended the call and texted Hedori to pick up the purchase, then met Týr’s amused gaze. “What?”
“Did you just throw her over your shoulder and cart her to the castle sans clothes? Amazing, and you still breathe? You do realize humans have progressed past the caveman era, right?”
Blaéz cut him a cool stare. “Why are we still having this conversation?”
Týr grinned. “It’s good to see you fuck up for once like a normal person. Well, whatever the hell’s normal for you—” The taunt he would have tacked on died. His gaze narrowed on the two demon males farther down the sidewalk, rushing the human females along with them. “Those bastards are certainly in a hurry.”
With many of their ilk living in this realm, the Guardians had to abide by the tacit laws: can’t kill them unless they hunt humans. However, no one said anything about not kicking their arses. But the acrid stench of sulfur drifting on the wet air stung Blaéz’s nostrils, triggering the cloying darkness inside his mind.
Theduocut into a dingy alley, shoving the women forward.
