Circle of Desire (Damask Circle 3)

It took far less than an hour to fly to the cabin, grab the necessary supplies, and get back to the tunnel.

But the zombies were gone when she arrived.

And so was Ethan.

ETHAN CROSSED HIS ARMS AND LEANED AGAINST THE DAMP, cold wall. Janie was a bare ten feet away, and it took every ounce of self-control he possessed to not attack the wall that separated them. God, all he wanted to do was sweep her into his arms and let her know everything was going to be all right. That he was here and he would protect her against the demons.

But the truth was, he couldn’t protect her against those demons. Not yet. And maybe not ever. Kat and her grandmother probably had more chance of doing so than he ever would.

He wished the cabin were only a few minutes away. Hoped Kat was coming back right now with whatever she needed to free the girls. He had a bad feeling that time was running out.

His gaze drifted to the left. In the other cell lay a second little girl—undoubtedly Karen, the kid they’d failed to save last night.

Like Janie, she was asleep, curled up into a ball. Like Janie, she was shivering and crying softly in her sleep. He had no doubt they’d both been drugged. The cave was icy, and neither child had blankets. And it certainly wasn’t an environment that induced a restful sleep.

Damn it, they had to get them both out! They couldn’t leave either of them here in that monster’s grip any longer than necessary. He glanced at his watch. Ten minutes had passed. It felt like an eternity.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and studied the two zombies. They stood on either side of the small cells, one of them close enough to turn his stomach with its smell. They’d obviously been around for a while, if the withered, gaunt look to their skin was any indication. Did zombies actually grow old? Did they decay? They were dead, so surely they must, eventually.

He snorted softly at the thought. Two days ago he would have considered himself insane for even thinking something like that. God, what a nightmare this was all turning out to be!

Except for Kat.

He certainly didn’t regret meeting her. Or making love to her. She was warm and vibrant and so damn sexy he ached just thinking about her. Her scent lingered around him, a taste of sunshine in the cold darkness. He briefly closed his eyes, remembering the way she’d looked at him just before she left—green eyes filled with a combination of passion and hesitation. Doubt. Her mouth had been so damn lush he’d just wanted to reach out, drag her close, and kiss her senseless.

But that was dangerous. Especially if she wanted to take this whole thing one step further, though it was crazy to think anyone could get so serious in such a short time.

It was a thought that made him smile grimly. He had. It had taken only two incredible days—and nights—with Jacinta, and he’d been ready to commit the rest of his life to her. It was Luke who’d convinced him to wait the six months.

Luke, who had picked up the pieces when it all went to hell.

God, he had to save Janie for him. Had to.

Sound scuffed against the silence. He froze, listening intently. It came again—the brush of a heel against stone. Then the smell of death began to invade the air. The zombies must have awoken and discovered the open trapdoor.

He swore softly, grabbed the pack, and called to the wolf as Kat had taught him. Nothing happened. No golden glow, no rush of power, no moment of numbing emptiness as his body reshaped and the wolf formed. The chain. He ripped it free from his neck and shoved it into the pack, burning his fingers despite the small amount of time he was in contact with the metal. He reached again for his wild side, and this time it came in a rush of power that was almost overwhelming.

In wolf form again, he gathered the pack in his mouth and bounded up the tunnel. He’d seen a small fissure in the rock about halfway down—not big enough to hide a human, but just right for a wolf. All he could hope was that the zombies had a lousy sense of smell. As much as he liked to think he could handle ten dead men, he wasn’t going to take a chance when Janie’s life was at stake. Not unless there was no other choice.

The dragging footsteps moved closer. From the sound of it, there were only three coming down the tunnel. He wedged himself into the fissure, keeping low to present a less obvious presence to any dead gaze that might happen his way.

The smell drew closer. But with it came something else, something he’d felt before—in the warehouse, just before Kat and the man he now knew was a vampire had entered.

Heat began to burn against his neck. He glanced down. One of the stones in the necklace Kat had made was beginning to glow the color of blood. Hadn’t she said the red stone was meant to prevent the mara from sensing his presence?

Did the fact that it glowed now mean the soul-sucker was coming down the tunnel with the dead men?

If she was, he had to hope the stone worked like it was supposed to work. Zombies he could handle,

but what hope were teeth and claws against a creature who could disappear into a cloud of smoke?

A zombie shuffled past. It was big and lumbering and looked no more dangerous than a slab of meat. But the dead men he’d fought at the farmhouse had proven just how deceiving that image was. They might look slow, but they weren’t. And they were damn strong.

A second zombie lumbered past. The stone at Ethan’s neck burned more fiercely, searing his skin with its heat. A third appeared—and above its head, tendrils of white smoke slowly gyrated. He didn’t move, hardly dared to breathe in case the soul-sucker sensed him. But his heart was pounding faster than a damn locomotive, and it was a wonder the creature couldn’t hear it.

They disappeared into the tunnel’s darkness. He waited until the shuffling steps of the zombies had become little more than a scuff of sound and the burning in the stone had faded. Then he slowly eased out of his hiding spot.

Four figures were silhouetted against the flickering light of the torches at the far end. The mara had regained human form and was gesturing with one hand. Air shimmered briefly, then the four of them walked into the cavern.