The Darkest Touch

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Can you hear me? Help me!” Angelique was screaming now, her voice growing hoarse from shouting as loudly as she could.

She’d heard voices above, the tromp of footsteps moving over her head. They walked like humans. She didn’t know how she could tell the difference. Maybe it was the movement. Fast and deliberate.

So she’d started screaming, hoping they could hear her, praying she wouldn’t be left alone in this cold, dark room.

“I’m down here!” She ran over to the wall, pounded on it, hoping someone would be able to hear the banging.

Please, please find me. Don’t leave me here.

But the footsteps moved away and everything went silent.

Oh, no. Please, God, no. She wanted to cry, to sink to the floor and give up.

Angry at herself, she sniffed and threw back her shoulders. Dammit, she wasn’t going to quit. She swallowed, coating her throat, and started pounding and screaming again.

“Help me! Someone please, I’m down here!” She pounded, over and over again until her hands throbbed.

Then, miraculously, someone pounded back. She heard shouting, as if someone had his mouth right to the floor, trying to communicate to her.

Tears filled her eyes, and she laughed. They’d heard her! She beat her fists against the wall in acknowledgment.

The ceiling around her began to chip away, and she recognized the humming of a laser.

It was the hunters. They were using the laser to melt through the floor above her. She huddled in the corner and averted her gaze from the UV light, staying out of the way as tiny pieces of the ceiling began to fall.

“Angelique? Isabelle?”

She tilted her head back and whispered a prayer of thanks. “Ryder! It’s me.” She ran to the small hole in the ceiling.

“Are you alone or is your sister with you?”

“I’m alone. I don’t know where Izzy is.”

“Okay, we’re going to punch a bigger hole so we can pull you up, because we can’t find any other way down there. Get as far back as you can and cover your head and eyes.”

She moved to the opposite corner and shielded her head and face. Pieces of the ceiling came crashing down. When it stopped, she hurried over to the hole, never happier than to see Ryder peering in at her.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you strong enough to hang on to a rope while I pull you up, or do I need to come and get you?”

“I can do it, no problem.” She’d do anything to get out of this prison.

He threw the rope and she wrapped it around her arm and hands, hanging on tight while they drew her up and out. As soon as she was on solid footing again, she threw her arms around Ryder.

“Thank you for hearing me, for finding me.”

He squeezed her tight. “I’m glad I did. You did a good job screaming.”

She laughed and refused to let go, needing to feel human touch. His touch. “Thanks.” When Ryder pulled back and studied her, he frowned, sliding his thumb across her cheek.

She didn’t even realize she was crying.

“Darlin’, are you sure you’re okay?”

She sniffed and nodded. “I was alone. It was cold. Shock and stress, I think. I’ll be fine.”

“Do you remember anything?” Michael asked.

She pulled back and realized there were even more hunters standing around besides Dalton and the others-people she remembered from Australia.

How many people had they brought in to search for her?

She shook her head. “Nothing. After they took me from the church, I woke up down there. No one came in and I couldn’t get out.”

“What about Isabelle?”

Cold dread sank like a lead weight in her stomach. “Izzy isn’t here.”

Dalton frowned over Ryder’s shoulder. “How do you know?”

“I felt her. And the black diamond.”

At their quizzical looks, she said, “Something happened while I was in the room. It was like a sudden awareness of both my sister and the black diamond.” She turned her gaze to Michael. “Isabelle isn’t in this place. She’s somewhere else. And the black diamond is with her. She’s touched it and brought it to life.”

“How can you be so sure?” Ryder asked.

She shrugged. “I can’t explain it, but I feel it. It’s like a movie playing in my head, thoughts that are occurring in real time.”

“Do you know where she is?”

She fought the tears, refused to let them fall again. “No. I see bits and pieces, but not location.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Michael said. “Before we get more visitors. We’ve got to get Angelique back to the Realm. Then we’ll see if we can track Isabelle and the black diamond.”

Ryder grabbed Angelique’s arm. “Good idea. I’ll feel a lot better once Angie’s safe.”

“I was never in danger, Ryder. They didn’t want me.” She sat in the library while Ryder paced in front of her. The others were piled in there, too. After they returned, she’d taken a shower and gotten something to eat. Now she was curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea, feeling much warmer than she’d been earlier.

“Don’t you see? I was a decoy. You found me easily, just like the Sons of Darkness wanted you to.”

Ryder scrubbed his hand over his face. “No, I don’t see. And it wasn’t so damn easy.”

“He probably has cactus spines stuck in his. . well, wherever,” Gina said with a smirk. “We had to crawl through a field. They’re all cranky.”

Angelique’s lips quirked. “I see. I’ll work on getting those out later.”

Ryder shot a glare at Gina. “Not funny. And I don’t have cactus spines on any part of me. I’m irritated at Angie.”

“Why?” Angelique asked.

“Because I don’t agree with your assessment of what went down. I think the Sons of Darkness still want to use you.”

She shook her head. “I’m useless to them. That was already proven in Australia. As soon as I laid my hands over the black diamond, the light inside it went dark.”

“Just because you aren’t as powerful as your sister doesn’t mean you don’t have value to the Sons of Darkness,” Lou said. “Remember, you are still the daughter of a Lord, one of the high demons. You are highly revered by them.”

“Lou’s right,” Derek said. “The Sons of Darkness don’t easily let go of their own. I know.”

She didn’t believe that. “That’s not true. Don’t you remember, Lou? Bart cast me aside as if I was nothing to them. And Derek, have they come after you since the incident with Ben?”

Derek shook his head. “No. They haven’t.”

“See? They have no use for me, for Derek, or for Nic, and we all have demon blood. But they do want Isabelle.”

“I have a feeling that some of the Lords might disagree with many of the decisions Bart and Ben had made,” Michael interjected. “The Sons of Darkness have a need for someone of your power. For you and Derek and Nic. I think you’re all vulnerable.”

Frustration ate at her, made her stomach twinge. Why weren’t they out looking for Izzy instead of having this ridiculous discussion? “I have no power. Don’t you think I tried? If I had any useful demon blood in me, why couldn’t I conjure it up to get myself out of that room?”

“Demon power manifests itself in unusual ways, Angelique,” Lou explained. “Both Derek and Nic had to learn that, too. You’re still very young and not in control of your skills yet. None of us knows what you can do, or can’t do, what any of you who are half demon are fully capable of. You may never be able to call it up at will.”

They could argue that for hours and it wouldn’t locate Izzy. “Either way, now we have to find my sister.”

“Yes,” Michael said. “And I know where she is.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “We’re going back to the church where you originally hid the black diamond.”

Angelique frowned. “Why there?”

“They’re underground in that location. Isabelle and the black diamond are there.”

“On sacred ground?” Mandy asked. “I thought that was impossible.”

“Somehow they’ve managed to isolate themselves from the sanctity of the area. I sensed something different about the place, and my suspicions were confirmed when the demons attacked and took Angelique and the black diamond.”

She didn’t ask how he knew that. Maybe he got those insights, those feelings, just like she did. Keepers had mystical abilities of sight. Angelique didn’t care, as long as Michael was correct about Isabelle’s whereabouts.

But now she was worried about Father Vintaldi, who had been so nice to her. “How soon do we leave?”

“We leave immediately,” Michael said. “You will stay here.”

“I have to go with you.”

Michael shook his head. “No. They’ve already taken you once. I’m not going to let it happen again.” Michael looked around the room. “I need someone to volunteer to stay behind and protect Angelique.”

“I’ll do it.”

Angelique couldn’t believe Ryder had been the first to offer. Immediately. Without hesitation. He loved a good demon fight. Why would he give that up to baby-sit her?

“Make sure she stays put,” Michael said. “We can’t risk the Sons of Darkness grabbing her again. If they do, it could compromise our efforts to get Isabelle.”

This was insane. “It’s important I be there. Don’t you see? I know Father Vintaldi. I know the church grounds. I’ve had contact with the black diamond.”

“You’re not going, Angelique. It’s too risky,” Lou said.

Michael stood, turned to the others. “Weapon up.”

Angelique watched, helpless, as the hunters gathered their gear and met at the door.

“We’ll keep you posted,” Michael said.

Ryder nodded, closed the front door after they left, and returned to the library.

Angelique stood and faced Ryder. “Don’t do this.”

Ryder laid his hands on her shoulders, his expression warm and tender. “I’m sorry, darlin’, but Michael’s right. You need to stay here. After what happened to you the last time at the church, it’s too dangerous for you to walk into the lion’s den.”

She shrugged him off, turned away, then back again. “You of all people know how important this is to me, how close I am to Isabelle. I need to be there.”

He didn’t answer, just closed the library doors and took a seat.

“Are you hungry?”

She shook her head.

“Tired? We could rest. You’ve been through a trauma.”

She shot him a glare. “The only trauma I’m going through is not being able to hunt for my sister and the black diamond, and kick some demon ass.”

He flopped down on the sofa. “Feisty and frustrated. Spoken like a true demon hunter. I’d like to kick their asses, too.”

She went down on her haunches in front of him. “Then let’s go. We’ll follow discreetly. They won’t even know we’re there.”

He smiled, leaned forward and took her face between his hands, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She felt the warmth there, the genuine caring. She wanted to sink into that comfort, to let him hold her, kiss her and erase the tension with his touch, but she couldn’t. She stiffened, pulled her lips from his, and stared expectantly at him.

“No,” Ryder said. “Much as I’d like to be out there, too, it’s not safe for you.”

She jerked out of his embrace and stood, pacing the room behind the sofa, trying to figure out how she could escape from Ryder.

He knew how much this meant to her. How could he hold her back? She’d never do this to him, would never keep him from something so important.

Bastard. He was a soldier, following orders. Her feelings meant nothing to him. She meant nothing to him. She’d just have to find a way to outsmart him.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said, his back to her.

Damn that man. “What are you, some kind of mind reader now?”

“I am where you’re concerned. Besides, if our positions were reversed, I’d be doing the same thing. Trying to figure out how to get away from you so I could join the hunters in the search.”

She stopped, crossed her arms. “Then why aren’t you helping me?”

He stalked to her, grasping her arms, his expression fierce, his tone even more so. “Because our situations aren’t reversed. And I don’t want the Sons of Darkness to come anywhere near you again. Ever. I don’t want to have to think about what they might be doing to you, or wonder if you’re dead or alive.”

She knew that underneath his anger was caring, anguish, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. Ryder wasn’t accustomed to having someone in his life who mattered to him.

Her anger melted away, and she reached for him, smoothing her fingers across his brow. “I’m sorry.”

He frowned. “For what?”

“I’m sorry that you care about me. I can see it hurts you.”

His lids half closed, his chin dropped to his chest as he inhaled deeply. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m not good at this.” He lifted his head.

“We’re both just frustrated, under pressure and wanting to do things we can’t do. We want instant results and we want things in our past to not have happened at all.” She backed away and looked out the window, realizing how much her life had changed in a few short weeks.

“I don’t want to be the daughter of a demon. I wish I hadn’t found out about it. If I could transfuse his blood out of me, I would. I hate knowing he lives inside me.”

“That isn’t who you are.” His voice was soft, reassuring.

That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Maybe she wanted, needed, condemnation. “Isn’t it? It taints me. It changes me.” Her perception of herself, and no doubt others’ perception of her.

“It only changes you in your own mind, Angie.”

She looked at him over her shoulder. “What about that scene in the cottage, Ryder? I killed.”

“You killed a demon. You used your powers for good.”

Despite her anguish, her lips tilted. “Okay, you might have a point.”

“You’re one of the strongest women I’ve ever met, Angie. If anyone can master the demon part of you, you can. You’ll be like Derek and Nic. It will just be another side of you, one you’ll learn to live with, to summon when you need it. Otherwise, it won’t change who you are.”

She knew what he was saying. “You mean unlike you.”

“It is what it is. The blood I have inside me did shape me. I never wanted to be the son of a madman abuser, someone who enjoyed his anger, who fed off hurting others. But I am. Living with him, learning from him. . it affected me. Influenced who I became as an adult. I can’t do anything about it. I learned to accept it.”

“I told you, that’s not who you are.”

He ignored her. “It’s a hell of a legacy to realize I could turn out like him, especially when I realized I had a propensity for violence.”

He sat on the sofa and she went with him. “When I joined Special Ops, got into the dirty, dark assignments, I realized how much I enjoyed. . killing.”

He slanted a glance her way. “Does that shock you?”

She shook her head. “No. You were killing bad guys, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, but does that really matter? I should have been unemotional about it, I should have found it distasteful. Instead, I felt a thrill every time I blew someone away, every time I slid a knife across their throat and life drained away under my hand. It felt good.”

She laid her palm against the rough stubble of his cheek, feeling his pain, wishing she could take it away. “That doesn’t make you like your father. Because you don’t use it on the people you care about or people who don’t deserve it. And that’s the difference between you and him.”

He sat for a moment, quiet, staring at the bookshelves. She hoped what she said sank in.

“When you killed that demon at the cottage, did you enjoy it?” he asked.

She thought about it, then spoke the truth. “Yes.”

“Do you think you’re evil, Angie? Honestly?”

She shook her head. “No.” Or maybe she just hoped it.

“You’re no different after the revelation of who your father was than you were before. You don’t have that darkness within you.”

He said it with such conviction, as if he really, truly believed it to be so. “Thank you.”

She leaned in, kissed him, breathed into him, felt the muscles in his arms tense, and pulled back.

“Ryder, let it go. Let him go. Why is it so easy for you to believe in me, and so hard for you to believe in yourself?”

He let out a husky laugh. “I don’t know.”

“I believe in you. And I could never love someone who was like him.”

He looked at her. Really stared at her, like he couldn’t believe she’d said the words.

She couldn’t believe she’d said them either, but now that she had, the need to tell him everything bubbled up inside her.

“We’re so much alike,” she continued. “Strong, stubborn, able to survive out there on our own. I knew when we first met that we were similar spirits. We’ve been solitary for so long that I think it’s taken both of us our entire lives to learn to lean on someone else.”

She inhaled, aware she might be the only one who felt this way, but needing to tell him.

“I’ve never loved anyone other than my mother and my sister. I’ve had men in my life, but they never mattered to me. But you and me, we have a connection. We share something together that I find amazing. When I’m with you, I’m at peace, in body and heart. I’ve never had that before. No one with the violence inside them that you think you carry around could make me feel that way.

“I need you, Ryder. And I’ve never needed anyone before. I love you.”

She didn’t wait for him to speak, just crawled into his lap, wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his.