“The next time you arrive without invitation I will assume that you’re here to challenge me,” the Dark Lord warned in soft, lethal tones. “You won’t like my punishment.”
Gaius offered a deep bow, wryly conceding he’d miscalculated. Badly.
He’d hauled the prophet and her protector to this dimension in the futile hope that the Dark Lord would be so pleased that he would return Dara in effusive gratitude. Instead, the Dark Lord had barely acknowledged his offering and, rather than being pleased, he’d threatened grim reprisals if Gaius ever approached without permission.
To make matters worse, he had to return to the damned curs and witch to save yet another magic-user.
Not his finest night.
Wrapping his fingers around the medallion, he closed his eyes and disappeared.
The Dark Lord’s prison
Two weeks later
Cassie opened her eyes to discover she was shrouded in a thick mist.
She wasn’t surprised.
Despite being held unconscious in the cur’s spell, she’d been distantly aware of being transported to another dimension and the passage of time.
There had also been dreams. Strange dreams where she’d sensed a female vampire and Sylvermyst creeping through the fog in search of a mage carrying an unconscious child.
And then there had been a terrifying power struggle that had made the very air shudder in fear.
And speaking of shuddering in fear . . .
Shoving herself to her feet, Cassie absently rubbed her wrists, feeling the uncharacteristic smoothness. New skin. Which meant she’d been injured while she slept. No doubt silver handcuffs, she hazarded a guess.
Not that she gave a damn. Not when she was desperate to find Caine.
With shaky steps, she moved through the clinging fog, her senses so muted she nearly stumbled over his unconscious form hidden by the swirling white mist.
Her heart halted as she realized he was still trapped in his mutated form, caught between wolf and man.
“Caine.” She squatted beside him, her hand reaching to touch the silver manacles that had seared to the bones of his wrists. “No, no, no.” Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the bonds of awareness that connected them, only to find . . . emptiness. As if there was nothing left of the man she’d come to love so desperately.
“Oh, gods,” she whispered on a sob. “Why did you have to come after me, you stubborn, stupid wolf?”
“How terribly touching.”
Caught off guard by the mocking voice, Cassie jerked upright, spinning around to discover a slender young woman standing just a few feet away.
Her first thought was that she was an astonishingly beautiful human teenager. In the strange glow, her naked skin was tinted a rich honey with long, dark hair that spilled down her back. Her eyes were a stunning blue and when she smiled a pair of disarming dimples danced next to her mouth.
Then the force of her power lashed through the air and Cassie nearly fell to her knees as her skin was nearly flayed from her body.
Yikes.
Only the Dark Lord could pack that sort of punch.
Which meant that her dreams had been real. The Dark Lord had managed to get his hands on the babe and turn it into his vessel.
Now he was a “she” with a physical body to replace the one he’d lost when he’d been banished from the world.
The words of the prophecy whispered through her mind as she met the eyes that flickered from blue to crimson.
Flesh of flesh, blood of blood, bound in darkness.
The Alpha and Omega shall be torn asunder
and through the Mists reunited.
Pathways that have been hidden will be found
and the Veil parted to the faithful.
The Gemini will rise
and chaos shall rule for all eternity.
“The Omega,” she whispered.
“Yes, my servants managed to resurrect me.” With a preening smile, the Dark Lord ran a hand down her slender stomach. “Do you like my new form?”
Cassie took a cautious step to the side, trying to draw attention away from Caine’s unmoving body. If she was going to get fried, then she didn’t intend for Caine to get caught in the crossfire.
“If you were resurrected why are you still here?”
The crimson fires consumed the blue of her eyes. “The vampire bitch destroyed this body. She’ll pay for that. They all will.”
Cassie could only surmise that the battle she’d sensed while held in the spell hadn’t gone well for the Dark Lord. Not that she could see any physical damage to the slender form. Still, there was no way the powerful creature would be wasting her time chatting with Cassie if she could return to the world.
“So you’re trapped?”
The air thickened, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Then, with an obvious effort, the Dark Lord managed to rein in her temper. Her eyes even returned to blue, although there were a few embers burning deep in the center.
“I merely await the arrival of the other child. Once the two have been reunited I will be invincible.”
Cassie didn’t miss the implication. The two babies had been hidden for centuries, but recently they’d reemerged. One was rumored to be in the hands of the vampires, while the other was now standing in front of her in the guise of the Dark Lord.
If the two were reunited . . .
“The Gemini will rise.” Cassie quoted the prophecy with a shiver.
“And chaos shall rule for all eternity,” the Dark Lord completed.
A stab of sheer terror arrowed down her spine.
She didn’t need an ancient prophecy to warn her of the hell awaiting the world if the Dark Lord was allowed to destroy the barriers between dimensions.
Or that it was her duty to do whatever necessary to prevent such a hideous fate.
Not that she had a clue what she could do.
The Dark Lord could squash her like a bug if she tried to attack. And she didn’t have the talent to travel between dimensions.
All she could do was discover how the evil minions intended to steal the child and try to pass along a warning.
“Your minions will never get close to the child,” she deliberately prodded the dangerous creature. “He’s being guarded by the vampires.”
As hoped, the creature couldn’t help but share just how clever she was. “Then who better to slip past them than another vampire?”
She frowned. “Gaius?”
The female shrugged, not refuting or confirming Cassie’s guess. “He is but one of many vampires who worship me.”
Well, that wasn’t overly reassuring. And worse, it was too vague to be of any help.
“Only those most trusted by the king will be allowed near the child,” she pointed out.
“Not a problem.” The female stroked her fingers through the dark satin of her hair. “Gaius can be anyone he chooses to be, after all. Even the King of Vampires.”
Damn. She’d forgotten about that unfortunate trick.
“Maybe, but his lack of scent will alert the Ravens long before he can get to the babe.”
A secretive smile made the Dark Lord’s dimples dance. Cassie grimaced. The contrast of such innocent beauty housing such pure evil was creepy as hell.
“Never trust the shadows,” she taunted.
Cassie blinked. “What does that mean?”
“I am the Dark Lord. Nothing can stand in the path of my destiny.”
Well, the resurrection certainly hadn’t done a thing to diminish the creature’s arrogance.
She took another step away from Caine, a raw pain festering deep inside her as he remained so frighteningly still.
“I don’t understand what shadows have to do with getting your hands on the child.”
“Enough,” the Dark Lord commanded, allowing a thin ribbon of her power to slice through Cassie’s upper arm. “My plans for the child are none of your concern.”
Cassie ignored the blood dripping down her arm, but she wasn’t stupid enough to press for more information. The Dark Lord had always been rumored to have an impulse control problem, often killing trusted servants in a fit of temper. She didn’t want to be added to the very long list.
Instead, she silently concentrated on trying to send the warning to the one mind she could still sense through the mists. Only then did she return her thoughts to the female who continued to punish her with those razor-thin strikes.
“Why have you brought us here?”
As hoped, the creature was distracted by the abrupt question, her sweet face lighting with a sudden anticipation. “You, my dear, have something I want.”
Cassie stiffened. That didn’t sound good. “What?”
“The future.”
“I don’t understand.”
There was another disarming flash of those dimples as the Dark Lord moved to brush her fingers over Cassie’s cheek. “Those pretty, pretty visions.”
It was, no doubt, what Cassie should have expected, but she still found herself reeling in confusion. “I thought you massacred prophets because you didn’t like the visions?”
“I was perhaps a bit hasty.” The female gave a tiny pout, as if the wholesale slaughter of dozens of seers was a mere inconvenience. “I had hoped that by ridding the world of the prophets I could alter my fate.”