Primal Heat 04 - Forever in Darkness

her final resting place with his ancestors. Beside her was an
empty plot. His. Waiting for him to join her. It was where he belonged. He
could feel his grave calling to him, welcoming him, offering him respite from
the pain he was suffering.
    Grief consumed him, and he fisted
the handlebars, fighting against the surge of despair so intense he couldn't
even breathe. Then he felt the burn in his arms as his weapons became
available, and he heard the satisfied rumble of the voice that had taken so
many from him.
    The fight wasn’t over.
    Swearing, he thrust the bike
forward, the tires spinning out as he left behind the woman whose death was
already eating away at what little was left of his soul.

CHAPTER TWO
    Alice Shaw screamed, gasping for
air as she grabbed at the claws crushing her throat, her fingernails scrabbling
uselessly on the scaly skin of her assailant. Her body was on fire with the
poison racing through her veins, the taint rushing into her cells. “No,” she
shouted, her voice raw as she sucked in another desperate breath.
    Above her gleamed the face of
death, the twisted rotting face of one of the demons that lurked beneath the
earth, that lived in the hell that no human could survive, the one reserved for
those who had died and deserved nothing but eternal torment.
    Its eyes glowed red, its features
contorted by the way its skin stretched across its bones. Its mouth was twisted
in that malicious smile that drove chills through the marrow of her bones. Pain
screamed through Alice's body, and she knew she couldn’t take anymore—
    A bright white light flared behind
the demon’s head, and Alice gasped. Tears of agonizing relief filled her eyes
as she watched it take the shape of a person.
    Of a woman.
    Of herself.
    Her way out had just arrived.
    The demon shrieked and reared back
to shove its claw into her heart. She met the demon's deranged gaze, unable to
keep the triumph off her face. "You lose," she whispered.
"Again."
    It ignored her as the light behind
it began to spin, faster and faster, changing shape from a flaming spear to a
globe. So close. Almost ready. Almost—
    The demon plunged its claw into her
chest. Alice screamed, her body bowing with agony as its claws closed around
her heart. Too much. Too much. She couldn't survive it—
    The glowing white sphere careened
over the demon's shoulder and plunged into Alice's stomach. The demon bellowed
in agony, and the air was filled with the scent of burning rubber as it
stumbled back from her. The white light streamed through her body, igniting
each cell with an intense heat that sent pain knifing through her.
    But it was beautiful pain. It was
the agony of her cells coming back to life, of the light cutting the ties the
demon had on her and freeing her from the hell that had taken her. It was life,
coming back to her, and bringing her back from the darkness that had done its
best to take her.
    It was over.
    Death had lost its grip on her.
    She was going home….until it
happened again.
    The demons had almost succeeded
this time. One more time, maybe two more times, and then she was out of
chances.
    Time was running out.
    * * *
    Ian yanked open the door to the bar
and shoved his way into the dark dive that was hidden below the city of the eastern
Oregon town. The bar for people of Otherworld descent was accessible only by
the narrow set of steps hidden in a filthy alley that relied on the stench of
decaying rodents and rotting garbage to deflect the interest of all except
those determined to come.
    He needed a shot of something hard,
and the name Deliverance had called to him.
    The lighting was dim, and the bar
was loaded with more people than Ian felt like dealing with. The ceiling was
low, the walls dark, and the low murmur of conversation thrummed through him.
The hum of Otherworld undercurrent was thick, making the air ripple with energy.
Ian paused by the entrance, using the wall to guard his back while he took
stock of the room.
    He scented desperation, lust and desire.
The dark, swirling emotions matched his restless mood. Low music pulsed through
the air, the drum beat thudding in his gut as couples moved across the dance
floor in sensual, decadent rhythms that ignited a raw lust in him, that same sexual
need that sent every Calydon seeking out women despite the danger of stumbling
upon his soul mate, the woman destined to destroy him.
    But Ian had no interest in any
woman other than the female whose scent was still burned in his