Immortals After Dark 07 - Kiss of a Demon King

Sorceri worship gold, Sabine had told him. He'd thought it had been an excuse for greed, but she believed it was more. Recalling her look when he'd
    thrown her headdress into the water, he ran a hand over
    his mouth.
    I will buy her new ones, buy her thousands of them . . .
    When Sabine's eyes darted behind her lids, and she made faint cries, Rydstrom reached for her shoulder to wake her, but drew back his hand as a new scene appeared.
    A nightmare. Literally.
    On a blustery night, Sabine was standing at the edge of a pit, with women lined up on each side of her. She looked to be merely fourteen or fifteen.
    A male in black robes stood before her, flanked by followers with pitchforks. He asked her in Latin to recant her evil ways.
    Donning the smirk Rydstrom knew so well, she spit in his face. The man backhanded her, hurtling her into the pit-no, a grave.
    My gods. The followers stabbed the other women with pitchforks until each one had fallen atop her. Shovelfuls of earth began to build, the weight crushing her. She couldn't get enough air....
    An eternity seemed to pass before a dim voice called from the surface. Her sister. "Rise up, Abie! Climb and
    heal!"
    Bile rose in Rydstrom's throat as Sabine mindlessly dug past the bodies, blindly climbing for that voice until her sister could pull her free of the grave.
    No wonder Sabine was so hard. He'd only thought about her treacheries, never comprehending that she'd been dealt with in kind.
    If she hadn't been hard, she would be . . . dead. And
    then he wouldn't have her with him now. Would he curse the very traits that had kept her alive to be with him?
    No. No longer.
    In the illusion, the rain poured as she fell to her knees, vomiting earth. Lanthe knelt beside her, rubbing her back. When the rain washed away the filth from Sabine's hair, Lanthe picked up the new white lock and wept....
    His fists clenched as a seething fury rose in him. He needed to fight for Sabine, to defend the girl who would grow to be his woman. / would give anything to go back and spare her that -
    Suddenly, his ears twitched at an unidentifiable sound. He inhaled the night air and caught foreign scents nearby. He finally heard footfalls rushing toward them, but when he scanned the area, all he could see was her dream. "Sabine!" He shook her. "Wake up!"
    He was blinded to reality by her illusion. "Sabine,
    damn you, wake-"
    Sabine woke to a roar as a battle hammer connected with Rydstrom's skull.
    The demon flew back, blood spurting from his head, At least seven armed Teegloths were attacking, gro-tesque half-man, half-beast beings with protruding bot-tom fangs and reptilian skin.
    She lunged to reach Rydstrom, but one tossed her across the clearing. Dazed on the ground, she rubbed her eyes on her shoulder, blinking repeatedly. She was complefely vulnerable, couldn't protect herself with her illusions. Couldn't help Rydstrom . . .
    He was still conscious! As he struggled to rise, one told him, "We take the female now." He spit the words.
    "Not while I live." Rydstrom had maneuvered closer to her. "Get behind me."
    She rose unsteadily, tripping toward him. She didn't reach Rydstrom before they descended on him.
    As he dodged their swinging battle hammers, they drove him back to the cliff's edge. A cudgel connected with his arm, crushing it. The pick end of another ham-mer slashed over his thigh.
    When his leg buckled, and his knees met the ground, the edge began to crumble, the rock splintering beneath him.
    Just before it collapsed, he caught her eyes. "Coming for you."
    In a rush of dust and spraying rock, he disappeared.
    "Rydstrom!" she screamed, rushing to the edge. Oh, gods! Too dark . . . can't see him!
    But she reminded herself that he was a formidable demon-not a Sorceri. He could live through this and more.

    She rounded on them. "Why did you attack us? Have you been sent for me?" Maybe Omort had posted a
    bounty?
    "Our land. You trespassed," one said, as he began ransacking Rydstrom's bag, stealing goods, taking his sword. He was the largest, which meant he would likely be the leader. "You to slave'
    market."
    Slave market? They didn't know she was one of the Sorceri-she wasn't demonstrating powers, nor was she
    dressed like one. She had no jewelry, and the blue tas-sels on her belt didn't necessarily look like gold.
    Do I tell them I'm a princess of Omort's realm or the queen of the demon king?
    She had better do something fast. The Teegloths weren't just slave traders. They were