Unholy Pursuits

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An Excerpt From: UNHOLY PURSUITS

Copyright © SUZANNE ROCK, 2011

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

Chapter One

They were coming. Arianne King couldn’t see the team of FBI agents, but she felt their presence as surely as she felt the chilly winter air on her skin. She could hear their footsteps crunching on the snow; smell the scent of masculine sweat in the air. Those agents had walked long and hard, pushing through most of the night. Soon they’d reach the clearing, and when they did, she needed to be ready.

Arianne hid behind the bushes and waited. It had snowed hard during the night and lingering flakes still dotted the air and landed on her nose. She brushed them away with her gloved hand. It was early dawn, a time when most sane creatures would still be asleep.

Not her, though. She hadn’t had a nice, normal sleep pattern since she had taken on this assignment over a year ago. What she wouldn’t give to be wrapped up in her warm bed right now instead of hovering on the edge of a clearing on the middle of nowhere…

She reminded herself that this was the life that she chose, not one that was forced upon her. Her sister, the queen, would only be too happy to have her sit beside the throne under protective guard. Arianne was never one to sit idly by, however, especially when her people were suffering.

No, she had defied her royal destiny and trained her entire life for this moment, an opportunity to make a difference, a chance to protect her people. She liked being useful and thrived on the adventure being a royal guard brought to her life.

Where were those agents? Had they stopped to rest? It would be unlike Darien Lange to give them such a luxury. The hot-headed FBI leader was more likely to charge into a situation he knew nothing about than take his time and plan. Stupid male.

Ever since she had started watching his team a year ago, she had been forced to watch his arrogance. He handled his men with the same bravado that brought scores of women into his bed. He was slick, polished. Arianne could see that it was all a facade, why couldn’t others? The man was so handsome, so charming, that everyone seemed to hang on his every word. It was disgusting. This time his hot-headedness was going to get himself and his whole team killed.

Arianne pulled her maroon cloak around her and glanced at the large portal only a few short steps away from where she hid. The enormous gaping hole hovered in the air and swirled with the colors of the rainbow. It called to her, like it always did, for the portal was born from Mother Earth and was the source of her power. She was linked to the gateway. If it was ever destroyed, then she’d be destroyed as well.

Icicles hung down from the surrounding trees, acting like prisms to the light the portal generated. The beams cast the clearing in a soft glow that would have been impressive if the sky was black as midnight and not the soft gray of early morning. The snow had just started to fall, adding to the untouched white landscape. Everything was calm, peaceful. A sharp contrast to the true danger the portal brought into this world.

Her people, the Iatros, had been guarding it for centuries. Each generation had been successful in keeping the foul creatures of the netherworld from spilling over into Earth and spreading their filth. Now it was her mission to prevent anyone from passing through the portal and to protect it at all costs. She had failed her people once and Bathin had caused great destruction. She couldn’t fail them again.

How Bathin, lord of the deamhans, had managed to focus his power and pass through the portal was nothing short of a miracle. Thankfully, he had only been able to bring one or two of his minions through with him at a time. Heaven help them all if he managed to cross over into Earth with an entire army.

The sharp snap of branches echoed off to her left. Finally, those FBI idiots had arrived. Just like she was charged with keeping deamhans from crossing from hell to Earth, she was in charge of keeping humans—even sexy, charming humans like Darien Lange—from entering hell. In just a few moments, she would prove her worth to her people.

Arianne was determined to show her sister that she was worthy of being an Iatros guard. Maybe then her sister would stop her silly requests that Arianne quit the guard and spend her days doing a whole lot of nothing as the queen’s companion. Just the thought of being in the queen’s court, having to deal with the constant politicking and backstabbing, made her stomach turn. She preferred an open fight to veiled jabs disguised as small talk.

Neither the queen’s inner court nor Darien and his crew fully appreciated the dangers associated with the portal. She did. She had seen the pain it could cause, felt the twist of agony when her own comrades were consumed by its fire. She both feared and respected the portal, and would do everything she could to ensure that it was preserved—including slicing the handsome Darien Lange in the belly with her sword.

It would be such a shame to lose someone so brilliant and so handsome. But life was tough sometimes, and in order to survive, Arianne had to be tough too. If Darien damaged the portal in his ignorance, then her people would be harmed. She would be harmed. Arianne couldn’t let that happen.

A tall, muscular man broke through the forest into the small clearing. He stomped with those huge workman boots through the snow, heedless of the winter wonderland around him. His raven-colored hair hung wild around his head and dark bands ran under his piercing hazel eyes. At one point, he might have had darker skin, but the long, cold New England winter had turned it pale. He looked more deamhan than human, his face purposeful as he trudged toward the portal.

“Over here.” His deep baritone cut through the cold and sent a tingle of warmth running through her body. The man was brutish and stubborn, but his mind was sharp.

Through his FBI skills, he had discovered that Bathin had forged a stone which concentrated and amplified his powers, allowing him to cross into Earth. It was his resourcefulness that led him to the portal and his charm that convinced his boss to let him and his team cross the portal into hell. He wanted to destroy the stone before it became powerful enough to allow Bathin to bring his army across and destroy Earth.

It was why he was here, in this clearing miles away from his home in Boston, instead of home in his warm bed in his studio apartment off of Newbury Street. It was also why she was here—to stop him.

No good could come of humans crossing the portal. It was suicidal. She hated to admit it, but she had grown fond of the big lug over the past year and would hate for him—or any of his team—to die.

He didn’t know who she was, of course. Her mission had been to be the go between for Cai, an Iatros informant, and her queen. Unlike her court, the queen understood the dangers of the portal and had Cai infiltrate the team and gather information for the Iatros. She hated sending in her spirit-mate, but there was no one else she trusted. Then Cai communicated the information to Arianne in private meetings, since Ari was the only other one her sister trusted.

Ari wasn’t allowed to show herself to Darien’s team or converse with them. It was too risky. Her slanted ears and wings would look odd in the human world and she’d do more harm than good for her race. It was Cai who told her what the FBI learned about the stone and it was Cai who told her about Darien’s plan.

Unfortunately, Darien had moved too quickly to implement his ideas. There wasn’t enough time to inform her queen or gather the guards for added protection around the portal. Darien had called the team for what everyone thought was a midnight planning session. They were all shocked to learn that they were going into hell. It was only by sheer luck that Arianne had been around and Cai was able to get word to her.

More branches snapped as Cai and the others emerged through the trees. Her small Chinese informant picked her out of her hiding spot and gave her a frustrated look. He didn’t want to go into hell, but he had no choice, not if he wanted to maintain his cover.

She nodded to the two Iatros guards hidden on the other side of the clearing. Normally there were more, but the deamhans who had already crossed had been attacking her home, Celestial Wood, weakening the protective wards there. Most were engaged in a battle for their lives. The queen’s court didn’t understand the threat before, but they sure understood it now. Most of the court rallied behind the queen, but she still had her enemies. She still had to work in secret and so did Arianne.

Arianne watched as Darien approached the portal. She raised her hand, signaling the other two Iatros to stay in hiding. Their timing had to be perfect if they hoped to prevent Darien from crossing. Only an army fully aware of hell’s dangers stood a chance of surviving a crossing. Darien was smart, but he wasn’t that smart, at least not where Bathin was concerned. The deamhan lord knew more tricks than a magician, each of them strong enough to suck the life out of the strongest Iatros, never mind a human.

Darien stretched out his long, smooth fingers into the thick magic of the portal. The colors rippled like water, then stuck to his finger like goo as he pulled them back. Arianne felt the ripple of magic through her soul, warming her all the way to the bone.

“What are you planning, boss?” Cai asked as he walked up to him. Two similar looking humans, known as the twins, dropped their packs in the snow beside him. Both were large and blond, like Vikings, yet their youthful features betrayed more playful personalities.

“We’re going in, of course.” Darien looked around. “Where’s Urian?”

Another human burst through the trees. Tall and dark, Urian brushed his long ebony hair from his face with a well muscled arm. “Will you guys ever wait up for me?”

Darien’s lips twitched. “We’re waiting now.”

Urian brushed his hand over his goatee, his blue eyes wild with emotion. “What’s that odd rainbow thing?”

“That ‘odd rainbow thing’ my friend, is what we have been looking for.” Darien adjusted his backpack. “Victory is within our reach, my friends.” He walked to the other side of the portal, his gaze fixed on the colors. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“I’m not sure we should go in there,” Cai said.

Darien jerked around to face him. “Why not?”

Cai pressed his lips together as he inched away from the portal. “It’s dangerous.”

“Hell’s always dangerous, my friend.” Darien closed the distance between him and Cai and patted him on the back. The Chinese man looked as if he was going to be sick. If anyone should be wary of hell, it would be Cai. He was the queen’s spirit-mate and, as such, held some of her power, power that would be neutralized in hell. With so many deamhans, not only would her friend become powerless, but he’d become physically ill.

A ripple of fear ran through Darien’s team as they each glanced at the portal—Arianne could see it in their faces. They had good reason to be afraid. Hell was nothing to mess around with. She should know.

“Come along, my friends.” Darien took a deep breath and faced the portal. “Let’s get this over with. I’ll buy everyone the first round of beers at Hooligan’s tomorrow night—two beers if you’re the one who finds the stone first.” He adjusted the pack on his back.

Enough was enough. It was time to make her sister proud.

Arianne sprang from the bushes, her sword raised. The long blade glowed white from her magic. Her auburn hair blew out behind her head in ripples of waves. She spread her wings and swung the ancient sword of her ancestors before her, creating an arc of white light and blocking entry into the portal. Darien stepped back in shock, but then his features returned to cool and casual, as if he had always seen an Iatros and they were nothing new to him.

Arianne marveled at how he could keep himself together. Normally when humans first encountered one of her kind, they cowered in fear. His blank mask was a testament to his determination and self-control, two qualities that she admired in him.

“And who is this vision?” His voice didn’t hold the anger she expected, but more of a playful flirtation. Did he intend to woo her out of his way like he did all of those women back in those Boston bars?

Arianne steeled her jaw as anger drew up from her core. She knew all about Darien’s flirting. His shameless exploits led more females into his bed than Arianne could count. If he thought that such tricks would work on her, then he had another thing coming.

He lowered his arms and nodded to her wings. “I can see you aren’t human, so you must be…”

He wouldn’t know her species; no human did unless they were bound to her race through a spirit-bond. She lifted her chin as her fellow warriors came up from behind, flanking her sides. One had long dark hair, the other light. Other than different hair color, they all had similar features, the same pale skin and tall stature.

All of the Iatros were female and Arianne was sure the three of them looked like some warped version of Charlie’s Angels. Celibate Charlie’s angels. Being part of the royal guard didn’t leave much time for recreation or relationships.

“Three beautiful women.” By the way Darien raised his brow and curled his lips, she could tell he was thinking of taking them all to bed. Her anger rose, burning like a fire in her belly. A new emotion emerged as well, one that felt a little bit like…

Jealousy? Was she jealous that he was looking at the other women with the same lustful gaze he flashed her? How odd. She didn’t own Darien. Just because she had watched him with Cai over the past year didn’t mean that she had any claim. Besides, why on Earth would she desire such a pompous ass?

She flexed her fingers on the hilt of the sword. “You cannot pass through here. It’s too dangerous.”

Darien relaxed and began to close the distance between them. “Ah, sweetheart, you don’t know who you’re talking to.” He flashed her a smooth, sexy smile. “Danger is my middle name.”