Tainted Blood

“How can I protect Tiara if I don’t know where the hell she is?” he ranted at the ring. “This isn’t the time to be taking a nap for crying out loud.”

“Can I see that?” Angelica requested, holding her hand out so Jason could lay his hand in hers. She recognized the ring from the memories that Zachary had shared with her and was curious as to its power.

Jason couldn’t help himself as he watched Angelica with wide moon eyes. She was gently cradling his hand and examining the ring with a critical eye. The softness of her skin was very soothing against his… though he did flinch when Syn decided that was a good moment to laugh.

He glanced up and saw Syn out of the corner of his eye. That laugh had been just a little too creepy. The run in with Kane last night had scared him but this guy… he was probably the one Satan searched for under his bed or in the closet before daring to call it a night.

Syn watched patiently as Angelica held her other palm about an inch above the ring. Seeing her bite her lower lip in concentration was his undoing. Reaching out, he laid his hand over hers and slowly interlocked their fingers. Bringing his head down next to hers, he brushed his cheek against her soft hair while reaching around with his other hand to gently hold her against him.

Angelica blinked suddenly feeling what she’d been searching for. “That’s cheating,” she whispered but quickly searched the aura of the ring while she was so tapped into it. She felt two paths coming from the right… one light and one dark. Out of morbid curiosity, she began following the dark one to see where it led.

“That’s enough,” Syn said softly and pulled her hand away from the ring’s power. “Not only is it linked to the girl but also to the demon’s mind. We must be careful not to summon him accidentally.”

Angelica swallowed and nodded knowing he was right. She’d felt it, the power of the demon inside the ring. She let her hair fall forward to hide her eyes as she gazed at their hands still linked together. It was intimate and sexual at the same time, such a simple gesture that left her mind reeling.

“He’s still alive?” Jason gritted his teeth and held his hand away from himself imagining a demon exploding from it. If what Nile had said about Deth was true, then that was one demon he really didn’t want to just pop out of the ring like a Genie. “Like I really needed another reason to want rid of this thing right now.”

“The girl is unconscious,” Syn informed him but narrowed his eyes not liking the aura of the ring. He’d felt the demon turn to look at him but cut the link before his image was stable. If that creature returned to earth there was no telling what darkness he would bring with him.

“Unconscious? That’s even more of a reason to find her,” Jason said, forgetting his fear of the ring. “There’s no telling how much trouble she could be in. With her missing and Zachary down for the count…”

“Down for the count? What are you talking about?” Angelica demanded as her temper spiked making her jerk her hand from Syn’s.

“I thought you knew,” Jason frowned, “I thought everyone on the team knew by now.”

“Knew what?” Angelica asked in frustration.

“Zachary went ballistic when that demon ran off with Tiara and he blew up the main nest all of these things were coming from. The demon breeding them all went up in flames along with it. Zachary passed out in the fire right after the explosion.”

Seeing the shock on her face Jason quickly continued, “Its okay, Ren got him out of there and vanished… we haven’t seen him since. Storm would probably know where they went because he was there when it happened.”

“And Tiara was kidnapped by a demon?” Angelica felt her heartbeat racing. No wonder Zachary had gone ballistic.

“Not exactly,” Jason hedged. “It’s hard to explain. The point is she passed out as she was leaving with the other demon and until this thing starts working again, I don’t even know if she’s okay, much less where to start looking.” He smacked the ring with his other hand in frustration trying again to kick start it into working.

Without another word, Angelica took off toward the entrance of the graveyard while mentally kicking herself for her selfishness. She’d been so busy with Syn and the monsters that she hadn't been there to watch Zachary’s back… the one time that he needed her.

Her vision blurred with tears and she angrily swiped at them only to run right into a brick wall named Syn. His arms went around her to steady her but before she could stop herself, she started to struggle against him. She hit his chest with her small fists, knowing it wouldn’t do any good but her first instinct was to remove whatever had gotten in the way of finding her best friend.

“Let go of me,” Angelica hissed, madder at herself than she was at him. This was why she didn’t want to get close to anyone. She’d chosen Zachary’s friendship because he was strong and wouldn’t give her a reason to cry. If he’d passed out in his own fire… then something was terribly wrong with him.

Syn locked his hands around her wrist and pulled her flush against his body with a growl, “I will show you another thing that we can do together.” He slashed his lips against hers in an attempt to ease the jealous hunger he’d felt rising within him.

Angelica stilled and her eyes went wide the moment his lips descended on hers. She felt her knees weaken when Syn slowly sucked her bottom lip between his. The movement was so slow and sexual that her thighs nearly went up in flames. The urge to kiss him back hit her hard.

Before she could follow through with the growing need, he ended the kiss and she found herself once again staring up into his dark amethyst eyes. In her semi-dazed state, it took her a moment to realize there was now a wall behind him and the breeze she’d been feeling no longer caressed her skin.

Syn waited on his mate to come back down from the touch of ecstasy he’d just given her before he let go of her wrist. He hadn't needed to kiss her to perform the teleportation, but if she thought he did… he wouldn’t correct the misunderstanding.

Angelica swung around in surprise finding herself in Storm’s office. Her eyes quickly scanned the room before locking on Zachary. He was inside a translucent barrier… lying on a bed of his own flames just like Jason had described. A soft sob left her seeing him in such a state.

Her steps were slow as she approached the seal around him. She’d never seen such dark flames coming from him and knew it couldn’t be a good sign.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered, wondering if Zachary could hear her.

Placing her hands on the barrier, she watched a river of what looked like sparkling water rush between her fingers and disappear before hitting the floor. The shield turned an electric blue around her hands and she pushed on it… testing its strength.

“Zachary, open your eyes. Please… just to let me know you’re okay.” Angelica felt her hope plummet with every passing second that he didn’t respond.

His blond hair fluttered around his face and his body was just barely swaying gently in the flames letting her know that it was what kept him levitated above the floor. What frightened her the most was his complete stillness… she couldn’t even tell if he was breathing.

“Is it a spell Zachary? Did someone do this to you? I’m coming… just hold on.” She closed her eyes and started mentally picking at the locks around the barrier. She could do this… she would do this… for Zachary.

Syn had remained quiet, giving her privacy with her friend but he could not take her heartache a moment longer. Stepping up behind her, he laid his palms against the shield above hers… strengthening it rather than helping her bring it down.

“Why? Why are you stopping me?” Angelica asked not understanding.

“Because, I do not think your friend Zachary will be very happy when he wakes up only to find he has harmed you with his phoenix fire. He is not dying… he is reviving himself. And from the looks of it, he is going to bring all of his power with him when he awakens.”

Angelica turned her back on the barrier not wanting to watch the eerie image of Zachary burning. Wanting to feel safe, she wrapped her arms around Syn’s waist and hid her face against his warm chest.

Syn folded his arms around her giving her the comfort she was quietly seeking. He gazed at Zachary and silently wondered what would have happened to her in this life if he hadn't found her. Would her friendship with Zachary have grown into something more intimate?

He tightened his arms around her, burying his face in her dark hair and decided not to dwell on it. She loved the phoenix dearly and for that he was at least thankful… but it was time for his mate to remember what true love really was.

Chapter 3

Damon crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the tool shed used by the caretakers of the cemetery. This area was lacking in hunters because it was in the very corner of the massive graveyard and fairly secluded. It also seemed to be a refuge for a lot of the Spinnan that had survived this long, almost as though they were trying to regroup and hide.

He had promised to let Alicia practice fighting and, all in all… this was an excellent place for her to do it… as long as he was there acting as the referee. These Spinnan were weak compared to most of the things running around the city right now, but still he only allowed Alicia to fight one at a time.

Every time a brave Spinnan would try to tag team her, he would shatter them before they got close enough to distract her from the one she was fighting. Destroying the monsters coming at Alicia was giving him a sense of satisfaction and Damon was quite enjoying himself. She wasn’t half bad… for a beginner.

He’d also noticed a drastic drop in the creatures since the explosion a few hours ago and concluded that someone had found and destroyed the nest. Personally, he wouldn’t have minded getting a look at the demon that had spawned these creepy critters but he shrugged it off. It was probably just as ugly as these things were anyway.

Hearing footsteps and the sound of voices coming from the boundary of trees down the short hill he was standing on, Damon stepped around the corner of the shed and went to investigate. This edge of the cemetery was lined with tall, stately pines that separated it from a suburban neighborhood.

Being this close to houses, Damon was curious as to why no one had heard anything during the night and come to investigate. There were a few times he thought he’d seen the shimmer of a barrier around the property but dismissed it as part of his imagination. If a barrier had been put in place, then maybe the demon hunters weren’t as useless as he’d assumed.

He was almost to the tree line when two men emerged from it, but they stopped when they saw him. Seeing the white outline of a structure through the trees, he summarized that the main maintenance building was probably on the other side of them and these men had just shown up for work.

These guys couldn’t have used any of the major roads to get there… they’d been blocked off. Add to that the fact Damon hadn’t heard any car engines approaching told him the men lived within walking distance of this cemetery.

“Good morning,” Damon said closing the distance between them so he could put them under his thrall.

The two men frowned at him. There had been a lot of strange things going on in the graveyard the last couple days and it made them suspicious of anyone who looked like trouble… and the guy walking toward them fit that description to a T.

The one with a white tank top under his unbuttoned uniform shirt spoke in an authoritative manner. “Can we help you? Visitors are not supposed to be hanging out near the equipment.”