Page 26 of A Velvet Kiss After Dark

He'd been seconds away from absconding with a stolen kiss from her, too.

"What?" he growled, irritated at this whole conundrum.

At the sound of his ire, she swallowed and stepped back.

"Nothing," she said. A heavy pause, then, "H-have a safe trip."

A safe trip into Hell.

He started to move, heck, he needed to leave before he crossed a line he shouldn't be, but he had to touch her just once before he left. So, he cupped her cheek. His hand cradling her tiny skull. She sighed and relaxed into him. Did his touch relieve as much tension in her as it did for him?

He hadn't intended to say anything in particular. It hadn't even been in his mind. Yet, his big mouth opened, on the verge of saying something irrevocably stupid. Something along the lines of "me man, you mate, be mine." A myriad of emotions coursed through him, leaving him bereft for her, yearning, and desiring that mouth to mouth connection with such a pull, he knew he needed to break this right this very minute, or he'd never make it out of here.

With great effort, he dropped his hand from the caress of her soft skin, and watched her eyes slowly blink open to gaze up at him dreamily.

Move, Kane. Get out of here.

Like a good soldier, he did so.

So, he said nothing more, and with an abrupt turn, he left his mate.

5

Exciting news in the supernatural world: Last night at another luxuriously expensive gala provided by Cohen Inc. International Wares, a certain female caused quite a stir amidst a dreadfully boring party. And, might this author add, the lady in question looked quite stunning in her designer gown. The meat of the action took place when one notorious werewolf "soldier for hire", looking recalcitrant and beefy as ever, made a riveting scene when he barged in on a private discussion between an anonymous billionaire vampire antiquities dealer and a beautiful purchaser of such rarities. Meanwhile, beneath the pews of the auditorium, a rare and archival 6th-century BC medallion dating back to the Celtic people's of Briton was on show, alongside the tomb of Great Chief Wuson Paeolly, who was alleged to have murdered a sect of his tribe for disobeying God's commands and offered as sacrifice. The gala awed over it in typical fashion, not realizing an infamous bloody murderer stood in their midst. This reporter saw it all.

- Alaina Morrison, V-Society Magazine Gossip Column

Kane and his team met at the designated hour at the historical portal which laid beneath the St. Louis Gateway Arch. The air bustled with excitement, adventure, and restlessness. Like a fighter about to hear the bell ding from the corner—it was nearly time to fight.

They'd spent all night and morning going over their plans and preparing. Each of them had their own scroll and in that scroll was cryptic information about a castle, a key, a demonic king, and a unique talisman. Their goal was to obtain the Relic of Souls — and ancient talisman said to be hidden within The Castle of Illusions which sat steeped deep in Hell Territory, a demonic realm which has forever been closed to the earth's populace.

Lesther, or "Les," as the press called him, had opened the portal to Hell Realm for the first time in a millennia. According to Zeke, they had seven days until the portal would close again. Every second counted.

Kane had never seen, spoken with, let alone fought a demon, neither had anyone on his team, but they had weapons and plenty of intel to go off of. Their aim was to retrieve the talisman, kill anyone if need be, keep quiet and lie low, and return home safely.

There were several different species of demons, according to the texts Kane had devoured in the old library. In the texts Kane had learned there was predominantly one species of demons in the territory they were porting to called Infernas demons, and fire was their prodigy. They were depicted as massive horned creatures said to wield powerful fire magic and axes.

None of them knew where this Castle of Illusions was, how to get there, or what would be awaiting them once they stepped through the portal to Hell realm.

Graham, however, revealed the scroll that Alpha Zeke had given him, which had historical data about the castle. In Zeke's hasty and nearly illegibly scrawl he'd jotted down paragraphs of detailed information about this strange castle that held the magical relic. It was called the Castle of Illusions because once one entered, they could not trust their eyes. The castle itself, or perhaps its occupants—that part was unclear—could rearrange, distort, and obscure everything your eyes saw. Nothing could be real. Or everything could be.

Seth's scroll contained pertinent knowledge about Infernas demons. According to his scroll, Infernas demons could be killed via decapitation and could be drastically hurt, maimed, murdered or slowed via frost magic. They were not susceptible to arrows, silver, or knives as their skin is hardened like armor making it difficult to penetrate. So, decapitation would be necessary.

When Alexis, Seth's sister, asked if any one of them knew any ice magic, they each shrugged. Graham replied that the only thing icy around here was her temperament. Graham was a werewolf like Kane, but didn't harbor quite the grudge like he did. Kane couldn't help but laugh and nod in agreement. She was a frosty one. As cold as the vampire blood streaming in her veins.

Alexis's skewering glare, however, was anything but cold at Graham's negative remark. Contempt raged within the confines of her diamond blue eyes. Kane thought the big werewolf ought to back off, you couldn't trust vamps not to stab you in the back—or in the throat—but the big wolf didn't seem fazed by the vampires' deathly glare. He seemed rather flirtatious of all damn things.

At the morning meet, Alexis revealed that her scroll laid spoke of a special key they'd need to obtain from the demon king who resided in the Castle of Illusions. A rare golden skeletal key which would unlock a chest that resided in a hidden room inside the castle. The king, it said, would answer to a challenge, especially from a male, and only he could reward them with the key. And, with the ever changing illusion of the castle, Zeke had scrawled that even he may not know which room the chest was in. Everything was a game of sinister nature.

What kind of challenge would they face with this demon king, they'd discussed in low voices? In case of a physical confrontation, Graham could handle it. A task of the minds, Seth or Alexis agreed their superior intelligence would be useful. If it was a fight to the death, Kane would take the charge, seeing as his greatest asset was killing people for a living. And, if it was a riddle or game scenario, Seth would take the lead, because he was a master at puzzle solving. Otherwise, they were playing it by ear. They didn't have any other choice.

Kane's scroll revealed what the Relic of Souls would look like, what its capabilities were, and it described that they had exactly three days until the portal would close on them, locking them inside Hell forever.

"Three days to get the Relic and get back out," Alexis said, her voice like ice. "We'll work quickly and efficiently."

They all agreed the first order of plans was to enter the portal and find the castle. The last thing they needed was to spend excess time rummaging around an empty wasteland searching for a castle. They only had three days from the time they entered to when the portal would be closed for good. Any longer, and they would never make it home again.

Graham was the most relaxed out of the group. He grinned and nodded towards his cargo shorts he wore. "I brought an extra pair of trunks. Figure Hell will be hot, aye?" He had a Scottish lilt to his voice having been raised in the highlands of Scotland during his early years. He'd come to America to work for the Blackmoore's prestigious, multi-million dollar security corporation. A shit job and a shit vampire company if you asked Kane.

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