Chapter 16

The smell of burning flesh and foliage greeted our reemergence, making me gag even though the wind was coming from behind us.

With Marcus in the lead, we headed towards the back of the house and the almost stygian darkness that would hopefully hide us from whatever had occurred while we were underground.

Hold on, my love I thought as I sprinted, knowing that bouncing along wasn't helping his wounds in the least and would probably only succeed in waking him up. I shot a quick glance behind me to make sure Andras was keeping up and almost ran right into Marcus's back.

"What's wrong?" I asked breathlessly. "Why did you stop?" Less than twenty feet stood between is and the corner of the gaudy dwelling. I saw nothing, smelled nothing over the lingering stench of the garden and the only sounds besides the Vampire's harsh breathing were some raised voices in the house itself.

Shifting half-way, my senses sharpened and my body strengthened, allowing me to notice what the Demon had already discovered.

Half a dozen shapes emerged from what appeared to be the solid stone of the house. It wasn't a door; there was no sound of hinges nor was there any light to give them away. They simply seemed to have come from nowhere.

Well, it's certainly a better camouflaged exit than the one in the garden, probably an escape route. And who would be trying to flee, I wonder?

"Going somewhere, Anasia?" Marcus called out softly, almost purring, which was more than a little creepy and made the fur on the back of my neck stand up. I heard the sound of weapons being drawn and itched to grab my own but was afraid of drawing attention to myself and my precious burden.

"You're in a very dangerous position, blocking my exit." It was a woman's voice, low soprano with the vowels a little drawn out, coming from the middle of the group. It was obviously Anasia and she was just as obviously unaware of who we were. It was a small and fleeting advantage but one I wouldn't waste.

Taking a couple of steps back, I motioned to Andras, handing my mate back over to him along with the belt holding my daggers and Talon's leather jacket. "Guard him well, Vampire," I whispered in his ear, offering my wrist. "I won't be willing to forgive again." He quickly took three pulls from my wrist, enough to tide him over and do what he needed to do, though his thirst needed more quenching. Sealing his bite, he nodded his understanding and drug himself and Talon around the corner and out of sight of the confrontation.

"I don't think so, child," Marcus was saying as I returned to his side.

"Child?" A slight movement that might have been a shrug. "To some, maybe, but I have done more in my years than most can claim, no matter how long they live." Snobbish and proud, she laughed, an annoying, tinkling sound that people associated with high society but always just made me want to smack someone. A snarl escaped my throat, low and full of menace.

"Spoken like a true tyrant," Marcus continued with a soft snort. "Attempting to reenact a dark, disgusting past does not mark you as important, just petty and desperate for recognition."

"So you say," she countered, another subtle movement catching my eye. Just a flick of her hand but the guards around her reacted and I knew we were out of time. "I will be remembered, taught about, centuries from now for my deeds and actions. Can you say the same? I think not. You might be a small sentence when my escape is written about. 'A foolhardy hero and his friend who died in an attempt to stop me from leaving.' How sad."

With no outward signal, three of the five guards moved forward, their steps almost soundless as they sped towards us. I didn't know what weapons they held, but assumed there were no guns since they were closing the distance between our groups, probably because Anasia didn't want the report of gunfire to notify anyone.

Marcus had no such constraints. The old Demon pulled out a very large hand gun from under his crimson silk jacket and quick-fired twice, taking the two who were nearest to him in the forehead with less than ten feet to spare while I shifted fully and ripped the last one's throat out. It took less than ten seconds but it was apparently long enough to distract us and let the Demon bitch slip past.

Their trail was easy to follow, heading straight for the trellis arch and her torture chamber where she probably had yet another escape route. I was already running flat out, Marcus a stride ahead of me, both of us determined to end this here and now.

Distantly, I could hear people heading out to investigate the noise but neither of us was willing to wait for assistance. I just had to hope that Andras was smart enough to handle the situation.

Marcus continued shooting as we followed them. His aim was perfect but the bullets did no damage, pinging harmlessly off their bodies and flying off into the night, no matter where he aimed. They had no armor that I could see, just black uniforms.

"It's our magic," Marcus informed me, his voice in my ear via the earpiece. "They can't keep it up forever." The empty clip fell from his gun and he slammed in a new one but held his fire as we came upon the arch. Anasia disappeared quickly but her guards simply turned around to fight us and cover her exit.

It was a tactic my partner obviously saw coming since he diverted his forward momentum in time to prevent himself from running headlong into them and their drawn weapons. I didn't and there was no way for me to stop without hurting myself, so, instead, I jumped. Up and over their heads I went, two hundred odd pounds of pissed off and determined feline the likes of which they had yet to meet. My hind legs flashed out, claws unsheathed, striking at least one of them but I wasn't interested in small fry like them, not with my real prey so close at hand.

My leap carried me through the illusion and down a few steps before slamming me into the curving wall. My breath left me in a rush and pain darkened my vision but I pushed to my feet and continued to descend, knowing that any delay on my part could lead to her escape.

A few bounding leaps later and I was in the corridor. The candles were all blown out, attesting to how fast the fleeing Demon was moving. Ahead, a door slammed open with such force that pieces of the earthen ceiling fell as I sped through.

Following the gloom left in the wake of the extinguished candles, I went left and through the previously unexplored doorway.