Page 62 of True Sacrifice
I was nearby the sewer when I felt the bond open fully as she made her way into the realm. I shielded myself before turning into shadow, just to be sure they couldn’t even sense my soul. I headed for the alcove she died in. There, I would hide in the shadows and watch for my opportunity to grab her.
I did not expecther. It took me a moment to look through the concealment spell that was working on her. The beast inside me caught her scent and wanted to claim her for its own. Quite small in stature, with long blonde hair, killer curves, and bright eyes. I recognized the three demons she was with. Three of Hell’s Princes. I had seen them through the years at different diplomatic meetings. If she had demons around her, she was likely being held against her will. They liked to flex that they were the biggest and most powerful of them all.
I waited until she crept closer to the corner, which shielded me from view. Nothing more than a slightly darker ceiling corner in the middle of an underground sewer. With my full shield up, they wouldn’t even be able to sense my magic or my soul. I tried to use my sire bond with her, but it hit up against her shield with such a ferocity she fainted. I searched for her down the bond and I found myself in a doorway. I think she had a mental fucking door and waiting area. There was some sort of speaker attached to it, so I figured I could try, and apparently it worked.
She was fucking strong. I only got to talk to her for a few brief moments. I felt her try to open the doorway with a blast of magic and I could stop it, but only just. Her shield never cracked, and I never made it past the area with the speaker before she ejected me from her mind. Her eyes opened and I couldn’t get to her at all. She had mental security built in for when she wasn’t conscious.
She told the other demons what she thought happened. Not quite right, which meant she wasn’t even aware of her security measures. That meant weakness. I would have to use that when she slept.
That left me with only one opening. Naturally, I followed them through the portal into Hell.
Once I saw her with the demons, I knew exactly which realm she had been hiding out in. I would kidnap her right out from under their noses, from their very home. I watched her for a few days from the balconies of the palace. I could only watch her when she was in her room, so I had hoped to get back into her mind once she slept. But she had been writing or reading some journal whenever I saw her.
Tonight, when she came in, she looked ready for bed. I knew it was my chance to talk to her. She disappeared into a small room off to the side and emerged in shorts and a tank top. Guess she liked to sleep clothed. Wasn’t my first choice for a body like that.
I waited until she started snoring; it wasn’t purposeful. She just started snoring a few minutes after she lay down. I figured that was about as unconscious as I could get, so I attempted to enter down the bond again.
There it was, the doorway and speaker. I needed her to come out onto the balcony. Just within arm’s reach and I could drug her and carry her away.
“Come find me,” I breathed. I needed to entice her, since commanding clearly wouldn’t work. “Outside, I know something about the missing humans.”
I had seen the demon take the fliers off. I wasn’t sure what was up with all the missing people around there. I waited until they died of whatever natural cause was their death and came back when they arose. I didn’t take live humans. But she was clearly interested in them, or at least the demons were.
Her eyes sprung open, and she looked toward the balcony. I stood in physical form but with my back to the faint nighttime glow of the rings of Hell. It really was fucking beautiful here. During the day, there wasn’t enough light to weaken my powers as my body fought to heal from the rays.
If she didn’t come out, I would try to break in. I imagined she had protection spells covering every inch of this place. But then again, the balcony was vulnerable. Maybe something as simple as opening the door or inviting me inside would be enough. I wasn’t leaving without her.
I watched her hesitantly get up from the bed. She zeroed in on my gaze and strode forward with purpose and determination. Feisty little thing. I think I liked her.
She opened the door to the balcony and took a step out. I lunged with all my vampire speed. She tried to react, but she wasn’t fast enough. Speed comes with age. She’d never be faster than me.
I stuck the needle into her neck, pushing the drug into her vein. I expected her to drop immediately, but I was wrong. A moment stretched between us as she looked at me with fire in her gaze. Fuck, she was pissed.
I only had one more option. I slowed time, making the world crawl. Grabbing my emergency portal, I smashed the bulb on the floor as I grabbed her arm. Great, how the fuck was I going to get another one of those? Oh well.
We tumbled into the containment chamber inside my castle. I designed the portal I used to capture King Ailill of the Fae and transport him to where no magic would work. On our arrival, an alarm sounded. Guards would be on their way.
She got to her feet, furious. She pushed her hand out in front of her, but nothing happened. Must have been a magical attack.
“Sorry, love, that doesn’t work in here.” I dropped the act in my voice. She was my progeny, she belonged to me.
“What the fuck did you do to me?” she snarled.
“I brought you home, love. You’re a vampire now, you belong to me.” I said cockily. I loved her fight, I wanted to see some more of it.
“I belong in Hell, with my mates,” she growled out.
“So, you’re a demonling. A demonling and a vampire. I don’t think I have heard of one of those before. I imagine you’re powerful.” She could very well be the ace I needed to take down those fucking fae once and for all. I knew little about demon mates, but either way, they could never find her here.
“If you don’t take me back to Hell right now, my demons will come for me.” She crossed her arms over her chest, and I loved how she tried to look intimidating. The sire bond would never allow her to kill me. If I died, she died.
“No. I don’t think I will share my new toy with any demons,” I said.
She fixed me with a hard glare, “who said I was yours to have?”
Boots pounding against cold, hard floors announced my soldiers. I crossed the room to the doorway. There was a secondary chamber inside, so she couldn’t try to rush through the door.
She would still have vampire speed, strength, and healing. Those were physical attributes of being a vampire, not magical.
