Page 14 of Blood and Hexes

The vampire rose to his feet. "I was drugged. I'd been tracking for an entire week without a break, so I didn't notice the bane before downing my drink. Sue me."

She'd gathered as much.

"Your name," she repeated. "Or we're going to have a problem."

Part of her wished they were about to have a problem. It'd be a nice temporary distraction from the fact that she couldn't get inside her own home. The vampire held her stare. She noticed that his stance remained entirely relaxed, although she was doing nothing to conceal her power now.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes. "Let's do this.” For a wild second, she thought he was up for a fight, but before she could brace herself, he said, “I’m Belial."

Diana’s mouth fell open. "As in, the actual king of hell, Belial?"

Maybe he was just Belial Potter, or something. The name could have gotten popular, right?

"A king, not the king of hell,” he replied, rolling his eyes. "There are about a dozen of us."

"No." She shook her head. "No, no. You're a vampire."

She could feel it. Diana had no problem recognizing her kind.

Belial chuckled. "Hardly. Ariadne passed on the gene, but where do you think it came from in the first place?"

She could only blink in confusion, mostly because she'd never asked herself that question.

"Ariadne was made in the image of her spouse, Dionysius."

She nodded. "Right. I knew that."

Why was he looking at her like she was stupid?

"And Dionysus was…"

"A god."Or an Enlightened, as they liked to call themselves.

"One of the gods who preferred their entertainment with a side dish of chaos and destruction," Belial said. "Otherwise labeled as major demons. You're the off-brand copy, darling. I'm the real deal."

Others might have backed up, quick, just in case he was actually telling the truth. Diana tittered. "And you got knocked on your ass. At The Lion's Claw."

He grimaced. "Touché. Bloodbane is a bitch."

Belial lifted his hand to touch the imperceptible wall separating them from Oldcrest. "Seriously, where are we? I didn't think they did wards like this on Earth."

"My home. Only, looks like I lost the keys."She sounded bitter, even to her own ears.

"Want me to take care of the shields for you? I owe you, after all."

Diana gaped, taken aback. "You can do that?"

She didn't think any wards were more powerful than those around Oldcrest, and he could destroy them, just like that?

Belial shot her an arrogant, self-satisfied smirk. "Darling, I am a king of hell."

She wasn't done deciding whether she wanted to accept his offer when a tall, dark, and seriously ripped Adonis stepped right out of the borders, his cold, dark gaze fixed on her. His aura hit her like a brick, almost knocking her down. Unlike her or Belial, he wore power like an aftershave. Diana was convinced he could turn her to ashes without losing a moment of sleep afterwards. He was a true predator.

"Oh, I think not," his chocolate-suave baritone drawled.

His dark eyes turned silver, as the guardian of Oldcrest prepared to destroy what he saw as a threat.

It looked like she was going to deal with some trouble, after all. Diana grinned, before launching herself at him. Hell if she was going to let him get the first hit.

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