Supernatural. Part 12

Caught in her frantic battle to free herself, Kata was unprepared when the spells that were holding her prisoner abruptly shattered.

With a strangled gasp she fell off the narrow cot. Still entangled with the shroud that had been thrown over her, Kata was incapable of stopping herself from smacking face first onto the hard floor.

Typical.

"Oof."

"Are you hurt?" A small, heart-shaped face with the almond shaped eyes that were entirely filled with black suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Yannah?" she breathed.

"That's me."

Kata managed to roll onto her back, her gaze sliding over the female's tiny body that was covered by a plain white robe and the fair hair that was pulled into a braid that fell past her waist.

She might have been mistaken for a child if not for the piercing wisdom that s.h.i.+mmered in the dark eyes.

And, oh yeah, the mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

Blessed mother.

Fighting her way out of the shroud, Kata rose to her feet, her hands absently smoothing down the thin white nightgown that fell past her knees.

"What happened?" she demanded.

The tiny demon wrinkled her nose. "The spell is broken. The mage is traveling through distant lands." Her head tilted to the side, as if she were mentally searching for the missing Sergei. "Very distant."

Kata s.h.i.+vered. There was nowhere distant enough.

b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

But for the moment she was more interested in the stark void in the back of her mind.

"Marika?" she whispered.

Yannah smiled, revealing her pointed teeth. "Ding dong the witch is dead."

Kata sucked in a shocked breath, feeling nothing but a savage flare of satisfaction. It had taken years to accept that the creature who walked around with her sister's face wasn't Marika, but instead the coldblooded b.i.t.c.h who'd killed her. Now she had no trouble rejoicing in the thought of the world without the evil vampire.

She did, however, have difficulty in believing she was really and truly rid of her.

"You're certain she's dead?"

"Quite, quite dead." Yannah wrinkled her tiny nose. "A shame really."

"Shame?" Kata's fury (that had had four long, hideous centuries to stew) abruptly boiled over. "I hope the b.i.t.c.h burns in the pits of h.e.l.l for all eternity."

"Oh, I'm certain justice will be served."

"Good."

"But you aren't silly enough to think your sister . . ."

"That creature was not my sister," Kata hissed. "She killed my beloved Marika and stole her body."

"Yes, yes." Yannah waved an impatient hand. "Cue the violins."

Kata frowned. "What?"

Without warning the small demon moved forward and poked her finger in the middle of Kata's stomach.

"Shut up and listen."

"Ow."

Yannah was supremely unrepentant. "Do I have your attention?"

Kata rubbed her stomach. The poke hadn't truly hurt, but it did smash her image of Yannah as a sweet, harmless creature who was only there to offer comfort. There was a power that pulsed in the air around her and a ruthless purpose that s.h.i.+mmered in the depths of her black eyes.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Didn't I say it was a shame Marika was dead?"

Kata remained wary, wondering if this was some sort of trap.

"You did."

"Well, it isn't because anyone will mourn her pa.s.sing."

"Then why?"

"Because she made a nasty provision in the event of her untimely demise."

"Provision? I don't believe it." Kata's lips curled at the thought of Marika's flagrant conceit. "The cold-blooded creature was too arrogant to believe anything could kill her."

"It wasn't arrogance, it was strategy." Yannah wagged a finger. "Tricky, tricky vampire."

Kata sank onto the edge of the cot, her head aching and her stomach queasy.

Not surprising.

In the span of five minutes she'd been jolted out of a spell that had kept her imprisoned for centuries, she'd been violently stripped of her connection to her sister, and every muscle in her body was cramping as they came back to painful life.

"I feel like I am going to throw up," she husked, "could you please speak clearly?"

Kata wasn't looking for a plethora of sympathy, but she sure as h.e.l.l didn't expect Yannah to smack her on the back of the head.

"Use that brain in your pretty head. Marika was betrayed by Sergei. He was supposed to tell her the very second he discovered the location of your daughter and managed to kidnap her."

"Yeah, I got that. She wasn't a bit pleased when the b.a.s.t.a.r.d forced Laylah to steal the child of the Dark Lord and tried to keep the baby hidden from her. Do you think I was any happier? He tortured my poor girl."

"What you felt is meaningless."

Kata scowled at the tiny demon. Dammit. If Yannah was her guardian angel then she'd gotten ripped off.

Big time.

"What's your point?"

"Marika realized her pet was a bad, bad boy," Yannah said, as if Kata hadn't been intensely aware of Marika's fury when she'd discovered the mage had not only betrayed her, but had allowed Laylah and the baby to slip from her grasp.

"Yeah, her insane fury gave me a migraine for months."

"It also made her realize that while she needed his magic for her evil plans, she had to make sure he didn't decide that she was expendable. If he could get his hands on the child again, he might very well decide to keep the glory for himself."

Kata snorted. "What's that saying? No honor among thieves'?"

"Precisely. And you were her . . ." Yannah narrowed her gaze, searching for the perfect words. "Ace in the hole."

Kata shoved an unsteady hand through her tangle of dark curls. She didn't have to be a psychic to know she wasn't going to like what Yannah had to say.

"How?"

"When your daughter disappeared Marika forced the mage to cast a spell linking the two of you together."

Well that seemed . . . redundant.

"Why?" She gave an impatient lift of her shoulder. "We've been linked together since our birth."

Yannah nodded. "Yes, your minds, but not your souls."

"Our souls?"

Yannah grimaced. "For lack of a better word."

Kata froze, a sick dread forming in the pit of her stomach. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Marika wanted to make sure that Sergei couldn't kill her without risking you as well."

"So if she dies . . ." Kata couldn't finish the sentence. It was too horrible.

Yannah, on the other hand, didn't have a d.a.m.ned bit of trouble.

"You get sucked into the underworld with her."

Kata surged to her feet, panic screaming through her body as she headed across the small cell.

"Blessed G.o.ddess."

"Where are you going?"

"I have to get out of here," she muttered, tugging at the handle of the lead-lined door.

"You can't outrun the spell."

"If I can find a witch she can break the spell."

"There's no time." Yannah made a sound of impatience. "Where is that vampire?"

Swearing at the lock that refused to budge, Kata turned to glare at the tiny demon standing in the center of the spa.r.s.e cell.

"Vampire?"

"He's late. Really, I cannot be expected to take care of everything," Yannah muttered, making Kata wonder at the woman's sanity. That was all she needed. Yet another crazy demon interfering in her life. Then abruptly Yannah's expression cleared. "Ah."

Kata frowned, her non-demon hearing belatedly picking up the sound of shouts from the Sylvermyst guards and the unmistakable clank of swords slamming off one another.

"Fighting?" she whispered in confusion. Who the h.e.l.l would know where she was? Let alone try and battle past the layers of protection Sergei had placed throughout her prison. "Someone is coming."

"I would move away from the door," Yannah warned.

"Why?"

The question had barely tumbled from her lips when there was the G.o.d-awful screech of twisting metal as the ma.s.sive door was forced off its hinges. With a gasp, Kata managed to leap to the side, avoiding being squashed beneath the wreckage. She couldn't, however, avoid the large man who charged into the cell directly behind the door.

With the force of a cement truck he slammed into her, sending them both cras.h.i.+ng onto the hard floor.

"Oof." The air was painfully knocked from her lungs and her head smacked against the floor.

It took a moment before the fog in her brain cleared enough to take stock of the heavy beast crus.h.i.+ng her against the lead floor.

And even longer to convince herself that she wasn't imagining the breathtakingly beautiful face that hovered a mere inch above her.

An angel . . .

What other creature possessed such pale, exquisite features? Or dark eyes as soft as velvet? Or a halo of burnished brown curls?

Her heart forgot to beat as she became lost in those beautiful eyes, her breath once again squeezed from her lungs.

He was just so . . . beautiful.

Straight out of a fantasy, how-do-I-get-him-in-my-bed-this-second gorgeous.

Desire, raw and demanding, pulsed through her. Dear G.o.ddess. His hard body fit against her with tantalizing perfection. And his scent. A rich musk that made her blood heat with a potent hunger that was as shocking as it was unfamiliar.

Kata knew that she had only to close her eyes to become lost in his dark enchantment.

Then the cold blast of his power filled the room and her insane thoughts were shattered.