A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

I
squeezed my injured hand under the thicket to free my sleeve when I realized
the twig that had grazed me wasn’t a twig at all but an oversized, protruding
nail.
    A loud hiss erupted a moment before a hand
appeared from beneath the ground, digging its way out of the soil, and grabbed hold
of my injured arm, pulling it down into the earth. Something dug into my skin; the
pain ran up my arm, almost blinding me. I opened my mouth and let out a
startled scream as I yanked my hand away from the iron grip, but the thing kept
sucking and slurping, gurgling sounds echoing in the eerie silence of the
night.
    My heart hammered in my chest as I yelled, “Please,
someone help me!” I felt my strength wane. My vision blurred. I was paralyzed
with fear. Voices carried over from the distance, but I couldn’t discern their
words. At some point, one of the black winged creatures appeared beside me and
fire brushed my clothes, burning my skin. I tried to breath, but the pain made
me choke on my gasps.
    And then I fainted.

Chapter 28

 
    Aidan

 
    Something had happened, or why else wouldn’t
Amber answer our calls? I paced the room up and down, my wrath competing with
the need to roar and punch the walls. It wasn’t like me at all to lose control,
but never before had I been in a situation where I felt so helpless. For the
umpteenth time I wished I’d stopped her in the woods, forcing her to give me
the gemstones even though using force was against the rules. Better a few
broken rules and dealing with Layla’s fury than
hearing my mortal mate’s cry for help and not being able to help. Kieran
squeezed my shoulder and murmured something that sounded like “She’ll be okay.”
They were just empty words.
    Barely two hours had passed since I drank
Amber’s blood, but her taste still lingered on my tongue, beckoning to me.
Being separated from her pained me. Literally. My body craved her scent, her
touch. I knew I was going bonkers, but I didn’t care because the rage inside me
made me feel more alive than hope ever would.
    “Amber, can you hear me?” Devon kept
repeating the words over and over again. How much more of an idiot could he be?
Obviously, if Amber heard him she’d respond.
    “Get her out of there. Now!” I bellowed. “Or
I swear you won’t live to see another day.” It was a threat I intended to carry
out. Kill the damn Shadows one by one. If it weren’t for their book, Amber
would still be with me, safe in my arms. I realized I could live like before,
trapped by my need for blood and darkness, but I couldn’t live without my mate.
    “Send out the demons, your dad’s army or
whatever.” I heard Kieran whisper. “I can’t guarantee he won’t turn against
everybody if Amber doesn’t wake up soon.”
    “What do you think I’ve been doing for the
last half hour, moron?” Cass yelled.
    They all sounded worried, though probably
more about the book than about Amber. I had to do
something—anything—before I snapped. “I’m going after her.” Peeling
the collar of my shirt from where it stuck to my neck, I turned my head to the
side and motioned Kieran to step closer. “Your turn, bro.”
    Cass rolled her eyes. “Don’t be daft. You
know you need the prize to astral travel. Even if you left your body without
killing it, you’d be hovering over this room, either dying or stuck forever as
a poltergeist.”
    “She’s right,” Kieran said. “Besides, I
doubt I could drink enough of your blood before your vampire instincts kicked
in, turning you into a raging psycho. Not that you’re far away from being one
right now.”
    My vampire nature would respond if I lost
too much blood, forcing me to survive by attacking anyone nearby, but did I
have any other choice? “Just do it. I can control it.” I gazed up at Kieran’s
hard face, his expression betraying I wasn’t going to sway him any time soon. I
turned and shot Clare an imploring look. Until now she’d been silent, waiting
and watching near a wall. “What about you, Clare? Will you do it?” She was my
last chance. “Please,” I added.
    Clare hesitated, eyes darting between Kieran
and me, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. There’s no way you can travel without
the prize. Whatever happened to Amber, she would want me to keep you here.”
    They had turned against me. Letting out a
roar, I jumped to my feet and kicked at the burning candles, hot wax spilling
onto the dirty ground. Fate had played a prank on me, sending a