Jaci Burton - The Darkest Touch

He didn’t hear anything now. Not wanting to reveal his hand and go running in there, he paused, but grabbed his weapon and readied himself, just in case.

He wished he’d had time to install surveillance cameras inside, but that was going to have to wait until the next time she left the house. Then he’d have eyes and ears. Still, his skin prickled with unease, and whenever that happened it meant something bad was going on.

He didn’t like this. Something wasn’t right. He moved through the bushes, into the vineyard and toward the house, making no sound. Approaching the back door first, he made a slight turn on the knob. It was locked. That was a good thing. He moved to the window, peering in through the sheer drapes, using his night vision shades to help him discern objects in the pitch blackness.

No activity. Angelique wasn’t downstairs. His ear comm was connected to his audio equipment, and he could hear her breathing now.

But it wasn’t normal, restful breathing like she was sleeping.

It was deep and ragged.

The breaths of terror. She wasn’t speaking, as if her mouth was covered. He didn’t know how the hell he knew this; he just did. She was being restrained, and she was petrified.

Goddamit. He had to get in the house now.

So much for surveillance.

Though he’d like to kick the damn door down and rush upstairs, he couldn’t do that. Not without assessing the situation first. Which meant he had to take the time to pick the lock.

Precious seconds ticked by as he grabbed his pick and worked the simple lock. Thankfully, she didn’t have major armor installed on the door. Bad move on her part, really good for him. In a few seconds, the lock clicked. He winced at the sound and pushed the door open, hoping it wouldn’t creak.

It didn’t. He left the door open, and moved inside, taking each step with care. He already knew where the stairs were and headed at them, wanting to bound up there, but resisting.

Slow. Measured steps. Make sure not to alert whoever was upstairs.

Patience, something that was in short supply right now. Weapon trained, he reached the top of the stairs and heard the whispers.

“Tell me where the black diamond is or I will cut out your heart and eat it. And you’ll still be alive to watch me.”

Cold dread poured through Ryder as he surveyed the scene. A dark shadow loomed over Angelique. She was lying in bed, her body pressed to the mattress, the man’s hands wrapped around her throat.

But who held her? Was it a demon? It definitely wasn’t a hybrid. They smelled so bad he’d have known one was in the house as soon as he walked in. And those foul-smelling hulking bastards didn’t speak.

Angelique must be frozen in fear, because she hadn’t uttered a single word, her eyes wide as she stared at her attacker, whose face was only inches from hers.

The bastard was going to die. First thing Ryder had to do was get the guy’s-or thing’s-attention. He pulled a knife out of the sheath at his belt, took careful aim, and let it sail through the air. It caught the guy in the upper back, right between the shoulder blades.

Instead of jumping up or falling in pain, the creature-because that had to be what it was-calmly stood and turned to Ryder.

Well, hell. Its eyes glowed a pale blue. Pure demon, maybe? Their eyes were pale blue, but Ryder didn’t remember seeing their eyes glow in the dark like that. Almost fluorescent.

The creature advanced on him.

“Angelique, get ready to run,” Ryder said, unable to determine if she was in shock, or hurt, or whether she could even hear him. All his concentration was on the thing headed his way.

“She’s not going to do anything you say. She’s mine now,” the dark thing said, inching closer to Ryder.

Without hesitation, Ryder raised his laser and fired a stream of ultraviolet light. Human or demon, it didn’t matter. Either one would die.

The light struck the creature and it paused, looking down at the blue fluid spreading over its chest and midsection. Its arms raised out to its sides as it frowned at Ryder, then let out a pained growl.

“That hurts.”

It kept coming. Okay, not supposed to happen. UV lasers killed demons. And it sure as hell would toast a human. So what was this thing? Ryder braced and fired another round, but obviously his laser wasn’t going to work. He shouldered it and went for the microwave gun, blasting the creature and hoping to melt it from the inside out.

Again, nothing. Other than irritation and a slight pause, that was about it. The damn thing smirked at him. It knew Ryder’s weapons would have no effect.

Fuck. Ryder backed up, wanting to draw the thing away from Angelique. He moved down the hallway toward the stairs. The thing kept pace with him, not rushing him, as if he was toying with Ryder, as if this was some kind of game.

Fine with Ryder. As long as he could get the creature away from Angelique, he was willing to play. He backed down the stairs, one slow step at a time, hoping it would follow.

It did.

Ryder continued backward, pulling his knife as he did. The high-tech weapons weren’t working, so maybe something more basic would.

“Come on,” he said to the creature, widening his stance and holding the knife out.

The thing looked at the knife, then back at Ryder. “You can’t kill me.”

“Everything can die,” Ryder returned as the creature maintained its distance. It didn’t seem to be in any hurry to attack Ryder. Maybe it was waiting for him to make the first move, or maybe it was just confident that it was going to win.

Overconfidence was a bad thing. Ryder hoped so. He was ready for anything.

“You are human,” it said. “I can smell it on you, just as I smell it on her.”

“Your point?” They’d made it to the living room. They were circling each other now, like wrestlers in the ring before the attack.

“I was human. Once.”

What the hell did that mean? What was this creature? “You’re not human now.”

Its lips curled, revealing sharp teeth. Ryder made a mental note to avoid those. “No, I’m not. I’m stronger. I have power. They promised me great things, and immortality.” It sucked in a breath, its chest expanding. “I’m tired of toying with you, waiting for you to move, human. I have things to do.”

“Then let’s dance.”

“The Sons of Darkness have come for what is theirs.” The creature lunged and Ryder sidestepped just before it reached him, then he pivoted and shoved his knife in the left side of the creature’s back, hoping to hit a vital organ. It tilted its head back and roared an unholy sound. Ryder pulled the knife just as the thing turned around and reached for him.

Ryder glanced at his knife. Blood. Good. If it could bleed, it could die.

The thing came after him again, and this time Ryder met him. It grabbed Ryder by the shoulders and pushed. Ryder went flying, but he held on to the creature, jamming his blade into its heart, using leverage to push the demon up and over him, even as Ryder was sliding backward clear across the room. A loud crash as the thing hit the wall and Ryder slammed into a table. He winced at the pain, but shrugged it off and leaped to his feet.

The creature stood, limping, blood pouring from the wound at its chest. It was weakening and looked up at Ryder, surprise clearly showing on its face.

“What is in. . the knife?”

Ryder looked down at the blade, then smiled as he met the creature’s pained eyes. “Silver.”

The creature shook its head. “They told me I would live forever.” It looked down at its bloody hands, let out a roar of frustration, then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

What the hell? Ryder stalked to the area where the thing had just stood. Nothing. Only a pool of blood.