His Darkest Embrace (Jaguar Warriors 2)

Skye tore her eyes away from the vampire as the demon began to make a series of grunting noises, not words exactly, but definitely some kind of chanting. She moved back a few paces, her eyes riveted to the beast as his form began to change. His body began to inch upward, the already tall form adding several inches in height and bulk.

Skye was transfixed. She’d never seen anything like it. Not even in her nightmares.

A hand gripped her forearm hard and she was pulled to Jagger’s side. His face was deathly cold, his rage turning the green of his eyes into crimson red.

“Get to Monkey River and find Nico. If he’s not there someone should be able to locate him in the reserve.”

Jagger’s voice sounded as if there were several layers to it. Skye could tell he was fighting to keep his human form for as long as he needed to.

He began to make a keening noise and mist encircled the whole of his body as he pushed her away from him violently. “Now,” was all he said before the change fell upon him.

Everything happened quickly. Bodies became blurs. Growls and screams ripped through the night air.

Skye stumbled back several paces, regaining her balance quickly. She watched as a large black cat erupted from the mist in front of her. Its body aimed straight and true for the vampire.

Dani’s fangs had elongated even more and the lethal weapons glistened in what little light there was. The vampire rushed at the jaguar and their bodies met in midair, the thud that reverberated in the night a testament to how hard they hit.

Skye started to run toward them, intent on helping Jagger any way that she could, but at the last minute sidestepped to the right, barely avoiding an assault from what was now a demon that was well over ten feet in height.

He whipped around, growling in anger and laughed down at her.

Skye held herself loose on the balls of her feet, hands fisted at her side. Desperately, she searched the immediate area for any type of weapon. When the demon began to laugh, he fed the anger inside of her until the flush of it crawled across her skin.

“Glad to see I’m so fucking amusing, dickhead,” she shouted, trying to tame the fear that was banging at her. The beast was massive and unless a miracle occurred, she didn’t see a way out for either her or Jagger.

Crap, the only demon fighting she’d ever seen had been old episodes of Buffy.

Skye gritted her teeth, her gaze alighting on a small pile of rocks that fell away from a massive boulder to her left. She could hear the battle raging behind her but dared not turn from the demon.

His long, forked tongue slid from his mouth, as if testing the wind. Words slithered from between the jagged teeth and the stench made her nose wrinkle in protest.

“I can smell your fear, little bird.” He laughed harshly as he moved toward her. “It only makes the game that much more pleasurable.”

“Well, hell, glad to see I’ve managed to brighten your day, because so far, mine has been fucking peachy.”

Skye edged over toward the rocks, her mind circling for a way out. When she was only a few feet away, the demon lunged at her, his long arms grabbing for her. She jumped, trying to clear the boulder, and felt a hot sting of pain slice across her calf as the demon’s claws dug in deeply.

The cry that ripped from her lungs was harsh, but the pain was excruciating.

Skye’s hands landed on the top of the boulder and she tried to pull herself up, but the demon grabbed her and threw her back as if she were nothing more than a rag doll.

She landed on her back. Hard. And she began to sputter as the wind was knocked from her.

There was no time to react. He was upon her.

The heat of his breath against her face was bad enough, but the stench had her belly turning over in protest.

“Damn, no one ever introduce you to a nifty little thing called mouthwash?”

“Dumb bitch. You think to bait me? I care not for what you think.” He began to laugh once more, from deep in his chest. The vibrations shook her body and it felt like his words were not only outside of her, but in her head as well.

Skye shook herself, trying to clear her mind. If she could somehow distract the fucker long enough, maybe she’d find a way out of this mess.

“Cormac said he wanted you alive, but he didn’t say we couldn’t have a little fun with you.”

The hissed words slipped through her mind and Skye recoiled in horror as the demon lowered his head until there were mere inches between them.

“A demon’s kiss is something everyone should experience at least once in a lifetime.” His wide mouth opened and the serrated teeth hung heavily in menacingly dangerous rows. They dripped with something akin to saliva, but the liquid was brownish in color.