Supernatural. Part 16

"No time for questions." Yannah said as she turned to the side.

Waving her hands over the edge of the cliff in intricate motions, Yannah ignored Uriel's impatient demand for explanations.

Kata frowned. Was the demon pretending to conduct an orchestra? Calling for reinforcements? Totally losing her mind?

The answer was far more unexpected.

The darkness in front of her began to s.h.i.+ft, as if it were alive. Then, without warning, Yannah chopped her hand downward and there was a strange sound, as if the very air was tearing in half.

Blessed mother.

Kata shook her head, stunned by the outrageous display of power.

"Come on." Yannah impatiently waved for them to approach. "Through here."

Tentatively Kata edged toward the opening. She didn't want to offend Yannah, but she wasn't sure she entirely trusted the strange creature.

Uriel, on the other hand, had no trouble being blatantly offensive.

Stepping to her side, he pointed a finger at the opening.

"Where does this go?"

"Didn't I just say there's no time for questions?" Yannah turned to Kata with a baffled expression. "Was he hit on the head?"

"Yannah . . ." she started to soothe, no more anxious than Uriel to step through a hole in s.p.a.ce.

A pity she wasn't given a choice.

Studying the gaping hole in what might be the very fabric of the s.p.a.ce/time continuum, Kata missed Yannah creeping behind her. It wasn't until she felt the demon's tiny hands on her a.s.s that she belatedly realized her danger.

She gave a choked shout of alarm at the same time that Yannah shoved her forward.

Chapter 6.

Uriel was rarely caught off guard.

A complacent vampire was a dead vampire.

But distracted by the lurking promise of an escape route, he hadn't realized the tiny demon's intention until too late.

Swearing as he watched Kata being pushed into the portal, Uriel didn't hesitate. Knocking aside Yannah, Uriel charged forward, managing to wrap his arms around Kata's waist as they both plunged through the s.h.i.+mmering mist.

There was the sense of freefalling through a tunnel of black nothingness and Uriel instinctively tugged Kata closer to his body. At the moment, she was the only real thing in the whirling darkness.

Wrapped in her sweet scent of tiger lilies and the tantalizing warmth of her lush body, Uriel was struck by a piercing desire to keep falling. Anything just so he could keep this woman in his arms.

Insanity, of course.

He was a vampire.

They didn't do "happily ever afters." Or even "I'll call you tomorrow."

At least not until they found their mate.

And this woman couldn't be his mate.

Could she?

Before he could actually consider the disturbing question, their freefall came to an abrupt end.

Tumbling through the other side of the portal, Uriel hurriedly turned to keep Kata protected as they emerged into a heavily-wooded forest.

His back smacked painfully onto the moss covered ground as his feet tangled in the undergrowth. Not that he noticed the rock poking into his shoulder or the overhead cry of angry birds disturbed from their nests.

Instead he hissed in fear as a light breeze stirred the thick canopy of leaves and the dappled sunlight brushed over his skin.

It had been centuries since his last glimpse of the sun. With good cause.

Vampires plus daylight equaled instant death.

Something he'd tried to avoid over the years.

Now he braced himself for the searing pain.

A pain that never came.

Astonishment slowly gave way to the recognition that this place was nothing more than an illusion. There could be no other explanation.

Yannah had somehow created this bubble of paradise in the midst of the underworld.

But how? And more importantly, why?

Distracted by the possibility of spontaneous combustion, Uriel nearly forgot the bundle of lush woman he held in his arms. At least until she squirmed out of his grasp and darted away.

"Kata."

Forcing himself to ignore the unnerving sunlight, Uriel hurriedly followed behind her, nearly running her down when she came to an abrupt halt at the edge of a large glade.

Sensing her tension, he studied the meadow dotted with wildflowers and the shallow stream that wound a lazy path through the gra.s.s. So far as he could tell they were alone in the strange vision, but that didn't mean there weren't dangers lurking among the surrounding trees or the distant hills that were silhouetted against the horizon.

Even paradise had its serpent.

At his side, Kata gave a slow shake of her head, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief.

"No . . ." she breathed, "it can't be."

"Do you sense something?"

She shook her head, cautiously taking a step forward. "I know this place."

Even knowing it was an illusion, Uriel had to battle his instinctive reluctance to step from the shade of the trees into the sundrenched glade.

"Careful, Kata."

She tilted her head to meet his worried gaze, her skin brushed with golden sunlight and her dark curls spilling down her back in a glorious tangle.

"What is it?"

For a moment he was speechless. She was so . . . exquisite. But it wasn't her beauty that held him captivated. Or at least, not entirely.

He'd known some of the most stunning women in the world over the years. Imps, fairies, humans, and vampires. But none of them stirred his hunger as this woman did.

Was it her earthy curves on full display beneath the nearly transparent nightgown? Or the pa.s.sionate life that smoldered in the dark eyes? Or the fierce spirit that Marika and the d.a.m.ned mage hadn't been able to crush despite their best efforts?

Whatever the cause, it was all he could do not to yank her against him and take her in a storm of raw need.

He clenched his hands. b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, this place was obviously s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with his head.

And his body, he ruefully acknowledged, his erection pressing painfully against his jeans.

"We haven't left the underworld," he said, grimly battling back his attack of l.u.s.t. "This is all an illusion."

"How can you know . . ." Her confused expression abruptly cleared as she glanced up at the sun that was blazing from a clear blue sky. "Oh."

"Exactly."

She frowned, her gaze returning to the picturesque view. "It seems so real. It even smells as I remember."

"This place has some special meaning to you?"

Her expression softened. "As a child my family traveled with our tribe through the lands that are now called Hungary. My father was an elder and my mother was a healer."

"They had positions of power," Uriel murmured, not surprised. Kata had been trapped in a nightmare for centuries, but she'd not only survived, she'd managed to protect her beloved daughter.

It took incredible strength that she'd obviously inherited from her parents.

"Yes, which meant they shouldered heavy duties," she said, a wistful smile curving her lips. "When they felt the need to escape their responsibilities they would bring my sister and I here. I cherished those days. It was the only time we could be alone as a family."

There was no mistaking her emotional connection to the image spread before them.

"I don't like this," he rasped.

"You don't like what?"

"Was Yannah a part of your childhood?"

"Of course not." She blinked in puzzlement at his abrupt question. "We knew nothing of demons before Marika came to us as a vampire."

"Then how did she know to create this particular illusion?"

He watched Kata's pleasure in her surroundings briefly falter at his question.

"Perhaps she can read my mind," she at last suggested.

"Perhaps." Uriel shrugged. It was a rare talent, but not unheard of. "Then the next question is why," he persisted. "She must have some purpose in bringing us here."

"You think she's responsible for opening the gateway to h.e.l.l?"

Did he?

The tiny demon certainly had the power.

And G.o.d knew she was erratic enough to offer help one minute and then trap them both in h.e.l.l the next.

But he wasn't going to leap to conclusions.

"I think we would be fools not to suspect she has her own agenda," he compromised.

Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. "Who doesn't?"

He bristled at her accusation. "I'm at least honest about my purpose in following you," he said, even knowing the words were a lie.

Oh, his purpose had been clear enough in the beginning. Victor commanded him to locate and retrieve the gypsy. Simple and straightforward.

It was only after he'd crashed into Kata's prison that his unwanted duty had become something else.

Something dangerous.

Thankfully unaware of his tangled thoughts, Kata gave a restless lift of her shoulder.

"Maybe Yannah created a place to keep us safe until she could get us out of here," she suggested, clearly wanting to a.s.sume the best.

He snorted. "Do you believe that?"

Her dark eyes flashed with annoyance. "I don't know what I believe, and right now I don't care. For the moment there's no scalding lava, no bottomless pits, and no creepy ghouls trying to suck my soul. I intend to enjoy a few minutes of peace."

With a flounce (yes, it was an unmistakable flounce) Kata crossed to the meandering stream and settled on the sloping bank. Then, with a sigh of pleasure she allowed her bare feet to dangle in the crystal clear water.

Uriel swore as he leashed his instinctive urge to s.n.a.t.c.h her back into his arms until he could be certain there weren't any lurking dangers.