Wicked Road to Hel (League of Guardians 1)

There was still vampire council business to attend to.

Chapter 32

The trip topside from District One was relatively painless considering the last twenty-four hours had been a mess. Seth gave them safe passa

ge from the dunes and Declan got his group to Samael’s private portal. It had taken less than half an hour.

After all that.

He inhaled a crisp shot of cool New Orleans air and glanced down at the woman beside him. She was subdued, and that made him uneasy. Ana was hiding something. His gut told him it involved Seth and the deal she’d struck with the demon for passage to District Three.

She wouldn’t pony up and spill the details, which pissed him off. He frowned. Nothing was for free.

“Someone’s following us.” Ana sounded tired.

“They’re Ransome’s men.”

“I’m starving,” Daniel piped in. “Shit, I haven’t had a burger in like days. I hope you have food. Lots of it.”

“Are we almost there?” Alex’s voice was tremulous.

“Just around the corner,” Ana answered. Declan felt sorry for the girl. She was clearly out of her element and just about done.

“Francesca’s there, right?”

Ana nodded but remained silent.

An owl hooted as they approached the boundaries to the DeLacrux mansion. The darkness was thick, not a star in the sky, and the wind was chilled. He felt the eyes of the dead upon him and pulled the collar of his jacket up a little more.

They stopped in front of the iron gates and he quickly wove Daniel and Alex’s signatures into the protection wards. Two minutes later they stood upon the large porch. The kids looked a little shell-shocked and unsure.

A howl sounded behind them, echoing into the night. It was a signal from one of Ransome’s wolves. They were home.

Ana’s hand was just reaching for the handle when the door was wrenched nearly off its hinges. Nico stood there, shirtless, fierce. Declan stared at the jaguar warrior in silence.

“Cool Mohawk.” Daniel was in awe. “Cool tattoos.”

Nico’s nostrils flared as his gaze traveled the group. They rested upon Ana before narrowing onto Declan.

“You look like shit,” Nico observed, moving to the side to allow them entrance.

Declan followed the group into the foyer. “Yes, but at least I’ve got a full head of hair.”

“And you smell bizarre,” Nico stated warily.

The sorcerer snorted and flashed his fangs at the jaguar. “You have no idea.”

Surprise lit up Nico’s eyes. He glanced at Ana and then back to Declan. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as Francesca flew down the stairs, Ransome close on her heels.

“For Christ sakes, she fucking kneed me in the groin.” The werewolf was livid but no one paid him any mind.

Declan stood back as the necromancer enveloped her sister in a hug that was full of tears and words that were hard to understand.

“Where’s Kaden?” Ana asked softly.

“Here.” The teenager shuffled forward, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. He wiped the remnants of a beignet from his mouth and hunched his shoulders forward. “You made it back.” His eyes were on Ana. “That’s good.”

“Good for you, my friend,” Declan snapped. He pushed past Ana and crowded the teen. “I gave you an order.”