Page 9 of Vampire's Promise
She leaped to her feet and ran into him for a hug. “Zarek! I have missed you.”
He laughed and pulled a lollipop from the air. “I have missed you too.”
Gwen tried not to laugh as she watched. It was strange to see the king of gods so smitten with a child when she had seen him ready to rip the head off any immortal or god who crossed him.
“Ariana, would you mind if I talk to Gwen alone?”
“I suppose not. I have schoolwork to do, anyway.”
“Then you best be finishing that before your parents find out. Off you go.” They both watched the little girl in pigtails skip down the trail, and when she was out of sight, Zarek approached.
“I have come to learn what visions you saw regarding my nephew.”
“I take it Argathos has spoken to you.”
“He has and with your permission?” His fangs extended, showing he wished to drink from her. While he was even more capable of entering her mind than any guardian, for a god, drinking blood was the preferred method. To have a god root around in your mind was often painful and the drinking of blood would gain him the memories he wished to see without scrambling her brain.
She pulled her hair aside and stretched her neck, letting him know she gave permission. Not that he really needed it. Zarek could take whatever he desired, but he was giving her the respect he felt she deserved. He slipped one powerful arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
“Relax, daughter.”
She took a deep breath. Zarek was the creator of the guardians and while she was birthed from actual parents, the god was, in a sense, still her father. That she had never given herself over to him in this manner was slightly nerve-racking, to say the least. His strike was quick and deep before he began taking pulls of her blood. Warmth spread over her body as he took the memories of her vision of his nephew. After a minute, he was swiping his tongue across the punctures he’d left, then took a step back. He stared at her for a brief moment while he processed all that he had obtained, and then his silver gaze narrowed.
“He looks just like my brother. There is no doubt he is Argathos’s son.” Zarek lifted his chin. “You will tell no one of what you have learned. It may complicate things further.”
“Of course, but how can I find him?”
He cupped his hand to the side of her face. “Daughter, I feel your pain, for there is no doubt that my nephew is indeed your mate. How and who? I do not have an answer at this moment, but I will find who is behind this. As far as finding him?” He shook his head. “If your visions cannot locate him, then I will take the information from the hide of every god who breathes until we know the truth.”
There was no stopping the tear that slipped down her cheek. She hated showing her vulnerabilities in front of her god, but the emotions that swelled inside her were becoming too much to bear alone. She swallowed and found her voice. “What if I find him too late?”
“You cannot allow those thoughts to cloud your visions. Above all else, you must remain calm.” He stepped back and faded into the sunlight. Just as Gwen turned to head back to her brother’s home, the ground shook beneath her feet and she heard Marcus yell for her. When she looked up to see him standing in a grove of trees, something grabbed her.
“Marcus!” she screamed as pain tore through her like claws sinking into flesh.
“Gwen,” he yelled back as he ran toward her, but he was too late. Whatever had hold of her ripped her from the ground where she stood and pulled her into a black hole of nothingness. No light, no sound. Not even her beating heart thumped in her ears. It was as if she was floating in the quiets of the universe. That was, until she was thrust into intense light as her body was slammed against a hard surface. She tried to lift her head and through her fog, she saw a figure approach, but before she could react, she was sucked back into the darkness.
CHAPTER SIX
Kian stopped fillinghis bucket when he heard a hard thud, and what he swore was the groan of a female several yards away. Dropping his tools, he tore off in the sound's direction and wondered what the ever-loving hell the god was up to now? That was when he spotted a female figure lying on the ground and he took off at a run.
“Fucking prick,” he mumbled under his breath and within seconds, he reached her. Kneeling, he touched the female and immediately felt that her body was knitting broken bones back together. She was immortal, thank the gods. When he gently rolled her over and saw that face, he stumbled back. “The female––”
“Yes. The same one you saw in the human realm before you came here.” The prick god stood over them and Kian wanted to slam his fist down the bastard’s throat.
“Why is she here?”
“Because she fucked with a valkyrie.”
His jaw ticked as he didn’t believe a word this asshole said. “And this has nothing to do with our earlier conversation?”
Khedeus lifted a muscled shoulder. “Well, since you were feeling lonely, I sought a female who was in need of punishment.Had you not brought it up, I might have let her minor infraction go.” His dark gaze zeroed in on Kian. “She means something to you though.”
“I do not even know who she is, other than yes, I did see her on my very short stint in the mortal realm.” Great. Now he was the reason someone else was on this seventh level of hell. Not wishing to cause further harm, he broached a more neutral subject. “What is she? I am not familiar with her species.”
“She is what they call a guardian. Protector of humans.” He rolled his eyes. “Though why those lowly beings deserve any protection from their own stupidity is questionable. A jackass god who thinks he is mightier than the rest of us created her kind. She is your responsibility now.”
“Mine? What the fuck for?”
