She crept forward, not even pretending to have control over her impulses, felt the blood draining from her face at the sight that greeted her.

One of the jaguars was suspended, high in the air, held up by some invisible force. Slowly the body turned and she could see the animal struggling to breathe. Fog crept up from the gentle swell of water far below, and began to weave its way around the body as the animal writhed in agony. She continued to watch, helpless as the fog morphed into a darker entity, seeming to pull at the creature and indeed, she realized that’s exactly what was happening.

The animal’s cries began to lessen slowly as its very essence was sucked from within, and as the wisps of fog slithered back towards the water, the limp and lifeless body of Frank DaCosta stared back at her, his eyes shot full of black and dead.

Jaxon froze as Libby’s voice echoed through the cold basement where they were working. His eyes sought hers, but she ignored him and focused solely on Ana and Declan. His heart began to accelerate and he braced himself as she walked past, wanting to touch her, but afraid of her reaction.

“How the hell did you break through my protection ward? You shouldn’t have been able to leave your bedroom!” Declan was aghast as his question hung in the air between all of them.

Libby laughed softly at that, but her voice dripped ice and no warmth fell from her lips when she spoke. “Never stopped me in the past now, did it Dec? Some things you just don’t forget.”

An uneasy silence followed her statement, broken by Ana. “Why would it be a waste of time, Libby? I know for a fact that two of the brothers are in the United States and at least one was last seen near the family compound in Texas.” She looked back to her notes. “Two days ago in fact.”

“Well now Ana, it wouldn’t be a waste of time if those two were in fact the brothers that you want. However, I have intimate knowledge of the whereabouts of Degas and Frank DaCosta.”

The lead ball in Jaxon’s belly flipped over and his eyes never left the cool blond that now stood before all of them. Her eyes met his briefly, and inwardly he was shocked at the coldness that lay there.

“Libby–“

“I’m not done talking, Castille. Don’t interrupt me again.” The words were hissed and Jaxon was taken aback at the depth of anger that lay in them.

She turned to him, the violet of her eyes shaded dark and full of emotion. Her breathing had become slightly ragged, but she held her head high and took command as she spoke.

“If you want a chance at the bastards that took a shot at you, then you better put aside any notions you have about Texas and Mexico. They’re not there.”

Libby’s voice softened a notch and she put a hand to her head, as if in pain. “I know where they are, where they’ve been all along.” She looked up to all of them, but avoided Jaxon’s direct gaze. “We need to leave for Belize.”

Ana moved towards Libby, her voice was soft and reassuring as she spoke. “Libby, we have no intel on Belize, it doesn’t make sense to start there.”

Libby laughed at that, the sound harsh as it echoed against the cold tile walls, “Doesn’t make sense? How the hell would you know what makes sense and what doesn’t? It was me they took three years ago. You have no idea what I went through. What they did to me.” Libby’s voice broke and she fought the tears that waited to spring from her eyes, but it was a losing battle. She wiped them away impatiently. “I have marks on my body Ana, scars that were carved into my skin, and burned into my skin, and all because of him.”

She spat as her fingers waved towards Jaxon.

“So don’t you stand there and tell me I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about. It was me out there in the jungle, with those sick bastards.”

She paused once more, her eyes sweeping the stilled faces that regarded her in silence. Jaxon’s eyes had darkened and his mouth was tense, but he remained silent. When she spoke again, the coolly efficient woman from the past had stepped right back into her shoes with no effort at all.

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 into Jagger’s side. His face was deathly cold, his rage turning the green of his eyes into crimson red flames.

“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, gaining her balance quickly. She watched as a large black cat erupted from the mist in front of her. Its body aimed straight and true toward the vampire.

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

It 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, it fed the anger inside of her until the flush of it crawled across her skin.

“Glad to see I’m so fucking amusing, dick head.” She shouted, trying to tame the fear that was banging at her hard. 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 grit her teeth, her eyes 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.

Its long, forked tongue slid from its 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.” It laughed harshly as it began to move 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 began to edge 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 the hot sting of pain slice across her calf as the demons claws dug in deep.

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

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 its 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.” It began to laugh once more, from deep in its 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 its head until there were mere inches between them.

“A demon’s kiss is something everyone should experience at least once in a lifetime.” Its wide mouth opened and the serrated teeth hung heavy in menacingly dangerous rows. They dripped with something akin to saliva, but the liquid was brownish in color.
Skye’s eyes singled in on a drop that clung to the teeth precariously and when it fell away, toward her, she closed her eyes in revulsion, only to cry out in pain as the liquid slid across her cheek.

The burn was intense, the pain sharp, searing.

Skye began to buck wildly, her arms flailing out and when her hand clamped down upon a rock she picked it up, and threw it with all her might at the demon’s head.

It roared in anger and swung its fist toward her, striking her back with an equally vicious blow.

Skye screamed in fury, frustration and plain old fear. Her cheek was on fire and her calf felt like there were a thousand shards of glass ripping through it.

The demon began to lower its head and for that one brief second, Skye could honestly say, she’d never been more terrified in her entire life. It was all encompassing. Immobilizing.

Frantically she clawed at it, trying to arch away but it was no use. Even with her enhanced strength the demon was much too strong.

When its mouth closed over hers, Skye nearly lost her mind. The terror that ripped through her was unlike anything she’d ever experienced.

The demon moaned into her and went still, but the pull that Skye felt deep inside of her intensified. Her skull was on fire and her head pounded. It felt like her very soul was being ripped from her body and the cold that seeped into her veins was sharp, as if she’d been dipped into to the deepest, most frigid part of the Atlantic ocean.

It was liquid ice.

She struggled still, but Skye’s vision began to blur and even though she fought like hell, she began to lose hope.
A god awful cry ripped across the darkness that had entombed her and Skye’s eyes flew open. The cry had come from inside her mind and she knew without a doubt, who it belonged to.

Azaiel.

The demon, Tag, broke away and looked down at her. The fear that hung on its distorted features caught at her.

Okay, so it started with a fantasy. Seriously, who doesn’t fantasize about all the great dream candy that litters our screens…computer, television or any other? I know I wouldn’t turn away Eric Northman if he followed me to bed to nibble on my neck after an episode of True Blood. Or how about some Castiel magically appearing on your headboard as you cuddle down for some Supernatural? I don’t know about you, but I would never kick a sexy archangel out of bed for eating crackers. So when Gabrial Ferrar, the main man in my upcoming release More Than Blood, first joined in on the chaotic insanity that is my imagination I did not turn him away. Besides…he was hawt. At the time he looked just like Brad Pitt in Troy. Hawt, right?

The only problem was Gabrial was a stick in the mud, mired down with rules and laws and pure blood tradition. All that sexiness was going to waste. He needed someone that defied every law, every rule and was about as far from a pure blood as she could be. Enter Kel. A crossbreed with a rough start, a foul mouth and high kick that defied physics. She rocked his world right from the first taste of her blood. Did I mention she blames his father for dumping her on the street? Or that he’s forbidden from forming a blood bond to a crossbreed? Add a smoking hot attraction (which ends up over the hood of a sports car) and a dead crossbreed girl (who looks strangely like a younger Kel) and you have one hot read. Don’t believe me? Watch this book trailer. Still not convinced…visit my website for an excerpt and a chance to win a free copy. www.AmandaVyne.com

“I always liked your spunk Libby. Even when you were nothing more then a whiny toddler, you still had that spark, that will to win. I knew even then that you were special.”

Libby froze at his words. Her eyes were wild, the dark violet centers huge in her pale face.

He laughed, deep from his chest and she wanted nothing more then to put her hands over her ears to drown out the maniacal sound.

“Oh yes, Libby I’ve known you since before you could walk.”

He began to slither towards her, his long legs gliding across the rocks. “We have a history you and I… long ago. So imagine my surprise when I was asked by the DaCostas to place a mind block on a… Castille whore, I think they called you.”

He grinned up at her, and Libby realized she was slowly rising through the air.

An image of Frank once more slashed through her brain and she began to struggle again, not understanding his words, but as the need to survive rose to the fore, not caring in the least.

“When I learned you’d born a child, and one made with a jaguar warrior, I knew,”

Libby shuddered as his smile became even more pronounced and his features seemed to distort slightly, as if there were another person, or thing inhabiting his body. His voice was barely above a whisper and he smiled up at her as if they were old friends.

“I had to have him.”

“Where is he?” Her words were ripped from her throat, her muscles left raw and aching as she listened to her voice echo in the still cavern.

Cormac continued to lazily walk around her suspended body. “Oh Libby, he’s not here. Silly of you to think that he was. Nope, actually he’s far away from here.”

His voice changed then, anger coursing through his words and Libby flinched at the intensity of his anger as he continued, “As should you be.” He spit then, “Frank DaCosta brought me the wrong girl and for that he paid with his life.”

A sound began to build from deep in the belly of the cavern, slicing its way along each and every passageway until it burst through to where Cormac stood in front of her. Libby’s ears perked and her attention was momentarily taken from the tall man in front of her, to the narrow crevice that led from where they were.

Jaxon!

The roar of a jaguar was tempered by gun shots and she began to panic. Once more she began to struggle and curses flew from her mouth as the invisible bindings kept her securely suspended twenty feet from the ground.

Cormac began to slowly move away from her, his eyes black with amusement.

“Seems as if your jaguar has come to call,” He shook his head slowly, “Foolish animals they are.” His voice was almost a whisper, “They are not like us, Libby.”

She looked at him, her expression incredulous, “Not like us? We’re nothing alike, you and I.” He was a monster, as close to evil as you could get.

Soft laughter fell from Cormac’s lips, but his eyes narrowed as he studied her. His voice slithered across her skin as he whispered, “We’re more alike then you know.”

Abruptly he turned from her and Libby suddenly felt like crying, so great was the deluge of emotion that filled her body. She began to pant, in short staccato breaths, and they hung loudly in the air between them. She closed her eyes and concentrated, and a few moments later, was able to force out a sentence.

“I just want my son back. I’ll do anything…anything that you want.” She knew she sounded desperate, but she didn’t care. She was desperate.

The tall sorcerer paused, but didn’t turn around. His movements were slow, precise and controlled. Everything about the man was cold and calculated and the hatred that Libby felt as she gazed down upon him nearly choked her.

“Know this Libby. Your son is alive, because I wish it. As are you.”

Time slowed as his words penetrated her brain and their meaning became clear. He had the power. He had her son. A sob escaped her throat, thick with grief and her eyes were full of tears as she looked at the calm man in front of her.

“What do you want?”