Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
The demon looms over me. “Not the most graceful of landings, Your Highness, but it will do.” He walks on without offering to lend a hand. “Good luck.”
I scramble up and look around. I’m in the forest. The door closes roughly six feet above me. No wonder it’s hard to find. It’s even harder on this side of the door since there is no handy set of stairs to climb up. I try to shield my eyes from the rain as I looked up the path. It looks like the storm is even worse up ahead.
The demon seems to have disappeared again, and I’m alone in the forest with no sense of direction. I run for the shelter of a thick tree. It’s less wet beneath the tree’s wide canopy. I need to get in contact with Dante, and there’s only one way I can do it. I reach into my pack, searching for the vampire computer. I go through the bag three times before admitting the truth.
“Bastard.” It’s obvious the human version of Dante helped himself to a souvenir of my visit. He’s taken the only way I have to communicate, and my heart constricts. I have to find another way.
I hear rushing water to my left and know I’m in luck. The village was built to take advantage of the river. I can follow it, and I’ll be able to see houses and docks when I get close.
I repack my duffel bag and prepare for a potentially long walk. There’s nothing else to do. I can’t sit here, and Human Dante has taken away my ability to call his vampire counterpart.
I trudge to the river and realize I have another decision to make. I have no idea where I am in relation to the village. It could be north or south of where I stand now. I could walk for days, only to discover I went the wrong way. What am I supposed to do? Any wasted time could cost my husbands. I stare through the rain, trying to see if there’s anything familiar. The only times I spent in the forest, I was either righteously pissed off at Beck or sleeping peacefully in his arms. I certainly didn’t memorize landmarks.
Ahead in the distance, I spot a beautiful horse standing in the water, and my decision is made.
“Screw you, you cannibal horse,” I shout at the kelpie and turn the opposite direction. It was enough of a sign for me. Decision made, I begin to jog.
Half an hour later, I’m still cursing that damn horse because I seem to be walking toward the intensifying storm. The rain pelts me. There isn’t an inch of me that’s dry. I shiver as I hike on.
After a few minutes, I hear a magnificent sound. It starts like a slight whir, and there’s no mistaking its man-made nature even over the sounds of the storm. Well, there’s no mistaking its vampire-made nature.
I stop and turn toward that sound. It isn’t more than thirty seconds before I can see the bike in the distance, getting closer and closer. It moves fast, hovering over the soaked ground. The rider is outfitted for the storm in head-to-toe water-repellant gear. Even his eyes are covered with goggles. He steers the bike right toward me.
Even before he lifts the mask on his helmet, I know who he is. I wasn’t able to find him, but he’s found me.
“Get on.” Dante shouts over the noise of the storm. “We need to talk.”
Twenty minutes later, I gratefully accept the towel Dante hands me. Like everything else about Dante’s little camp, the towel is high-tech. I rub it over my hair and suddenly, it’s dry. I don’t question it. I’m simply happy to be warm. The tent is toasty and dry, with soft lanterns giving the room a nice glow.
“Where the hell have you been?” Dante asks, pouring himself a Scotch. “Do you have any idea how bad things have gotten while you were doing whatever it was you were doing?”
“Well, I didn’t go willingly.” I rub my hands together before shrugging out of my sweater. “Someone paid the Planeswalker to take me home.”
Dante’s mouth hangs open slightly as he stares at me. “You went to the Earth plane?”
“And then found my way home. I didn’t even need a demon to help me, though I did my return trip with one.”
Dante sighs. “You came back.”
“Of course I came back,” I reply. How could he believe I would abandon them? “I love my husbands. I never wanted to leave them. Now, tell me everything. Are they alive? Has the hag been able to hurt them? How did you find me?”
Dante looks slightly amused as I pelt him with questions. “As far as I know, they’re still protected. I can’t get close. The storm is horrible. It’s kept the hag away, though she’s closing in. Once that blonde bitch gets into their hidey-hole, she’ll be able to slit their throats and there’s nothing they can do about it. As for how I found you, I planted a locator device on your back that first day we met. Remember, I gave you a big hug and slapped you on the back? The locator device is small and burrows into the skin. I had a feeling you would be trouble.”