“Heard by whom?” I asked curious.
All eleven of the royal children had been turned into Vampyres over five hundred years ago. It was by their choice and they’d been turned by their father—the King of the Vampyres. After a disastrous and deadly experiment of trying to turn his favorite and most beloved wife, the King discovered that a woman could not be turned after childbirth. Sadly, this information wasn’t widely known amongst Vampyres and my mother died in the same process.
The King had many wives as was common and expected of royalty in that time. Heirs were imperative and the King was and is a good man. The practice of royal polygamy was abolished soon thereafter as Vampyres had true mates and couldn’t breed.
Each of the royal children ruled a territory except for Juliet. She had been thought dead for centuries and wasn’t awarded a territory. Unfortunately, she had been alive and well and wreaking havoc all over the place. Thankfully, she was now chained and locked in the interrogation room at The Cressida House in Kentucky.
“Demons,” Raquel clarified. “They were everywhere for about fifty years after we were turned. Gareth and I found this place. We can always call each other here. Actually, Gareth can call all of us. It’s his gift.”
“All of you?” I asked trying to follow her train of thought.
“All of my siblings. Gareth can call us and bring us to him.”
As if that answer sufficiently answered my question, Raquel turned to resume her trek.
“Whoa,” I said as I caught up and took her delicate hand in mine. “I’ll keep moving as long as you keep talking.”
“Right,” she said as we stopped short in front of a cavernous hole. “Do you want to fly down or jump?”
“What do you suggest?” I asked with raised brows and a smirk.
“Ummm… maybe we should float down. Can you do that? You’re awfully young,” she reminded me of our age difference with a grin.
My beautiful mate had about three hundred years on me. I took her face in my hands and chuckled. “I always forget you’re older. I suppose that makes you a Vampyre cougar.”
“I suppose it does,” she replied coyly. “But back to my original inquiry… can you float, little mister?”
“First of all, nothing about me is little and does the Pope wear red shoes?” I asked insulted that she’d doubt my skills.
“Well, the old one did,” she muttered, trying not to giggle.
“Damn it.” I ran my hands through my hair and chuckled. “I have to keep up on my religious pop culture. Fine. Does he still wear a pointy hat?”
“On special occasions,” she informed me with an eye roll.
“I like it when you’re my friend,” I said, tracing her full lips with my thumb.
“I’m much more than your friend.” She smiled and nipped at my finger.
“Yes. You are. And you always will be. As to the preposterous question concerning my ability to float, I shall ignore it and pretend you think I am capable of anything. Clear?”
“Yep.”
She gave me a sexy little salute that made my pants tighten. Holy Hell, not even the gruesome surroundings quelled my desire for the crazy gorgeous woman who was finally my mate.
“What’s at the bottom of this pit we’re about to drift into?” I asked as I glanced down.
The bottom was undetectable. Surely, not a good sign.
“Hopefully my brother,” she answered gravely.
“Could it be someone else?” I asked as I scanned the area.
“Gareth and I are the only ones who come here and he’s the only one with the power to call me to him,” she said as she, too cased the room surrounding us.
“And he does this for fun?” I queried.
“Nope, he’s only done it once in the last hundred years. The Demons were wreaking havoc in his territory in Asia and he needed a hand in getting rid of them,” she explained with a cocky little shrug.
“Let’s hope it’s something as easy as that,” I replied, taking her hand and began our descent into the gaping black hole.
“You know, it’s probably going to be something shitty.”
“With our track record, I’d have to agree,” I concurred. “However, I’m good with just about anything as long as we’re together.”
“Anything?” She gazed at me with disbelief.
“Anything,” I assured her.
Raquel squeezed my hand and my stomach tightened with a sick dread I couldn’t name. I hoped to Hell and back I wouldn’t have to eat my last statement.
But somehow I knew I would.
I just didn’t know how yet.
Chapter 13
We dropped slowly about three hundred feet into the bowels of the earth, but the ambience was much the same as the nightmare above. With as much death as I’d dealt with in my centuries as a Vampyre, the massive crypt we were traipsing through made me uneasy.
“Where is he?” I asked as I watched Raquel pause and glance around with uncertainty.
“It’s odd.” She frowned and sniffed the air. “I can’t find his scent.”
I’d had the pleasure of meeting Gareth on many occasions over the years. He was an arrogant ass and I enjoyed his irreverence tremendously. He was also an outstanding warrior and I’d had the good fortune of sparring with him. I too tried to find his scent to no avail. Was he even here?
“Would he call you as a joke?” I asked tightly as my anger began to rise.