Soulstone - Ch. 01

CHAPTER ONE

EIRIENNA

Eirienna dodged the strike of a barbed, venomous scorpion tail, and lunged for the seven-foot centipede-like creature's soft underbelly as it reared for another attack.

It wasn't intelligent, but she wasn't complaining. This was her ninth battle in the last two hours, and even Riders of The Wild Hunt didn't have limitless energy.

Demi-demons like the centipede-scorpion were fodder. Nothing more than foot soldiers and minions. If they didn't pose a deadly threat to oblivious humans, she'd ignore them and save her magic.

Something else had come through the gateway tonight. A powerful demon. She sensed it in the prickle down her spine and raised hairs on the nape of her neck. And she wasn't going home until she'd hunted down that monster and killed it, no matter how many demi-demons it tossed in her way.

Her wooden sword slid into the demi-demon's flesh, and she used her magic to extend limbs from the blade, so her sword resembled a spiky tree. The branches tore through the demon's body as they grew.

There was no telling where it stored its life source. These mishmash creatures were all assembled differently, but somewhere, it had the equivalent of a heart. She just had to find it, and pierce it.

The demi-demon screamed as a sharp branch tore through something vital.

Found it.

Orange blood bubbled onto the sidewalk as the creature writhed in its death throes. The monster collapsed, and died with a sound like a deflating balloon.

Eirienna wrested her blade out of the corpse and shook globs of sticky gore onto the pavement. It would all vanish. Without a constant source of magic, whatever the demi-demons were made of couldn't exist in this human world.

She still hadn't tracked down the rift -- an invisible hole in the barrier that should keep the demi-demons in the dimension they thrived in.

The portals had shifted again, expanding the ongoing war between demons and the Fae into other worlds, and that meant The Wild Hunt had new territories to defend.

Retracting the branches of her sword until she held a single stick that resembled a walking cane, Eirienna strolled out of the alley onto crowded sidewalks.

Humans were everywhere, oblivious of the threat. With all their technology, few believed in Other World magic, and couldn't see what was right in front of their faces. For the most part, she ignored them.

Eirienna walked through the city, letting instinct guide her toward her ultimate prey. Being surrounded by tall buildings of concrete, steel, and far too much iron for any Fae to be truly comfortable, made her twitchy. She wanted to kill the real threat and go home.

A full demon was powerful. Most likely out of her league. It bordered on foolish for her to fight one alone. The prospect sparked danger over her skin like tiny bolts of lightning. Eirienna liked nothing better than a challenge.

Sweat trickled down her back inside her leather armor, soaking her shirt, and she lifted her damp red braid from her neck.

Halfway through this world's winter season and no sign of cool weather. Demon incursions did that, bringing the heat of their realm through the rifts, especially when she couldn't find them to close. The city reeked of brimstone, sulfur, and ozone.

Some of her fellow Riders in The Wild Hunt said the damage to the portal was no accident. That traitors had infested the Wild Hunt -- Fae who used their magic to weaken the portal rather than repair it.

Eirienna was Earth Unseelie, a Dearg Due, and had caught suspicious, if surreptitious, glances directed her way. Seelies were so hypocritical. She didn't try to hide her bloodthirsty nature under pretty disguises like they did.

They'd be better off looking elsewhere. Eirienna was no betrayer. She wanted to experience every moment of her life packed with excitement or pleasure, and only hunting made her feel alive.

She licked her fangs.

The Wild Hunt's rules -- so many pointless rules -- prohibited mixing business and pleasure. Like it was a bad thing that she loved her job. Only a fight sharpened her senses like this -- every sight, scent, and sound a spike of delicious sensation.

And demons were evil, homicidal monsters who delighted in tormenting their victims. They deserved to perish. Was it wrong that the danger turned her on? Did that make her a bad girl?

Oh, how she wanted to be bad. Sex was a close second to fighting for bringing her body to life.

A whiff of sulfur carried to her on a breeze, and she adjusted her course toward the park. The smell wasn't all putrid this time. The scent of lust and hot male flesh conjured images of entwined limbs and the feel of silk sheets sliding over her skin, catching on hard nipples, and making them ache.

Hot breath drifted over the shell of her ear and across her cheek. Needy tension coiled deep inside her. Her steps halted and her breath hitched as she grew slick between her legs.

Sharp teeth nipped a path up her inner thigh. She arched, pushing aching flesh closer to that mouth. Strong hands held her in place. The fleeting flick of a tongue against her swollen clit did nothing but increase her torment.

Beg for me, Hunter.

Eirienna growled and closed her hand around the talisman hanging from a leather cord around her neck. The stone heated against her fingers, sending a pulse of energy through her. The boost to her innate magic was her secret weapon, and the reason she could probably take on a full demon by herself.

The stone was a lucky find on another world. Its magic had practically screamed at her, though no one else sensed it. Not only did it give her magic a supercharge, sometimes it felt alive and like a companion rather than a mere magical amulet.

"Incubus," she muttered, banishing the naughty visions and sensations from her mind. Whatever had come through the rift tonight was at least part sex demon, and his seductive magic was potent if he could affect her at a distance.

Well, he'd played his cards too soon. A distraction like that could have gotten her killed during a battle, but now she was forewarned.

She wanted him all right.

Dead at her feet.

Toy with her, would he? Demons were filth. He deserved an ugly fate. And she was just the Hunter to give it to him.

CHAPTER TWO

SCATHE

The Fae of The Wild Hunt were formidable, but like most, didn't look up as often as they should. In shadow form, Scathe drifted above Eirienna's head, a silent wisp of blackness in the night.

Invisible.

Deadly.

Fascinated.

The magic in her spell-wreathed sword-branch mesmerized him. She had the muscles of a fighter, and the curves of a woman, displayed to perfection in leather. Such a beautiful, powerful enemy.

Her lean shadow slipped along the moonlit pavement like a wraith as she followed the trail he'd left for her. The energy in the soulstone at her throat made him tingle.

He'd watched Eirienna every night for a week. Stalking the stalker. Tracking her sweet Fae scent through streets as she killed demi-demons, lethal blade flashing.

The lower-level minions, mere lumps of flesh and hatred, were expendable, and easily replaced. Well worth the sacrifice as he studied her. She was interesting. And irresistible. He wanted to know everything about her.

He drifted nearer, ghosting shadowy fingers over her braided red hair, and his shadow form shimmered, aroused. Eirienna smelled tantalizingly of sunshine, female sweat, magic, and blood -- hers and that of her prey.

He'd known she was Fae, of course. Demons and the Fae had been at war for thousands of years, but she was Dearg Due and fed on blood like he fed on souls.

He wanted her to bite him.

Scathe was incubus like she thought, but only part. He was also a shadow demon, ancient and powerful. A shiver down her spine. A whisper in her ear. A tendril of darkness in the night.

It was easy to drink human and Fae souls while they were unaware he fed on them at all.

Weariness washed through him. He hadn't fed since he found her. It was stupid. Scathe would need all his strength to fight Eirienna, and his Empress, when the time came. But the idea of feeding on anyone except for Eirienna repulsed him. No one else would do until he'd had his delectable Fae Hunter.

Her magic-user's soul would empower him. Sustain his energy. Make him invincible. Able to take down the Empress.

As her Consort -- slave, was more accurate -- he'd eaten countless souls, and she stolen everything from him.

It was getting old. Had been for centuries. Scathe sighed, a stirring of shadow. He couldn't recall when he'd last anticipated or relished a meal. Didn't bother taking corporeal form anymore. Just dove down throats and sucked soul from flesh.

But Eirienna -- this delicious Hunter -- woke something inside him that he hadn't felt before.

Mmm. She would taste as good as she smelled, and unlike with the others, he could keep her essence from the bitch Empress.

Scathe drifted his senses over his Hunter, examining every inch of her. So close. Just a quiver of breath from touching. Slim ankles, lean legs, right up to her round ass, encased in leather pants that stretched with her strides.

She was fit, athletic. Trim waist, epic breasts filling her leather vest. Lips begging to be sucked on. Emerald gaze promising the fight, and the fuck, of his life. And that crackling, fire-red hair...

Her hair was wild, like a living creature, barely tamed into the thick braid hanging over her shoulder. He wanted to grab it in his fists. To bare that long, white throat, lick her throbbing pulse, taste her as she whimpered with need.

She stole down the street like a ghost, boots soundless. Compelled, Scathe tasted the air. Eirienna thought she'd banished his touch and the pleasure he could offer, but he tasted her reaction to him.

Eirienna... Beg for me.

His Hunter whirled, fierce green eyes sharp. Shaking her head, she gave a self-deprecating snort, and walked on, but not without a spike of adrenaline, magic, and arousal in her blood.

Scathe loved a woman who might kick his ass in a fight. He wanted a challenge, so the conquest was real. He imagined her submitting. Wrapping those long legs around his hips. She was a bad girl at heart.

Just the way I like her.

Scathe followed her, enjoying the rasp of the rough brick wall against his smoky form.

He was a Prince of Shadow -- that bitch Empress' slave, yes, but a prince nonetheless -- a manifestation of pure darkness and despair. His corporeal form was one of his lesser tools, but this wild warrior woman made him thirst for physical sensation.

A kiss. The throb of her pulse and blood in his veins. Flushed skin on skin. The honey-sweet flavor of female on his tongue.

Scathe licked invisible lips, primal desires stirring deep. When he feasted on her, all her magic would be his. Her soul soon thereafter. Nothing said he couldn't play with his food before, or while, he dined.

A dark chuckle rippled through him. Eirienna thought she was the predator here.

Wrong.

The soulstone she wore around her neck -- the secret weapon that granted her power -- wouldn't work against him.

Because the soul it contained...

Was his.

CHAPTER THREE

EIRIENNA

Eirienna made an abrupt turn into an alley and braced her back against the brick wall with a gasp that was half moan, half outraged mutter.

Heated touches from invisible hands sent yet another thrill through her. Her skin tingled. Ghostly fingertips teased the nape of her neck and sensitive backs of her knees. Drifted across her stomach and down her spine.

It was maddening. The caresses hard enough to titillate, but too soft to sate the coiling need growing inside her.

Eirienna closed her hand around her amulet and squeezed. Invisible hands slid up her thighs. She forgot about stopping them as the touch became firmer, giving her more of what she wanted. Her need spiraled high, blooming into lust that heightened sensation.

Yes. She was finally getting close. Every muscle in her body clenched in anticipation as she reached for relief. A wave of pleasure gathered and surged --

Erie, are you having a moment? Augisto's voice drawled through their mental link. Keep your hard-on to yourself or the whole city will want what you're having.

His voice was more effective than being doused with cold water. Eirienna bit back her scream of frustration and opened her eyes, plotting a new murder tonight.

But her Wild Hunt partner was her oldest friend. She couldn't kill him, even if he had just cost her what promised to be the most explosive orgasm of her life.

Bite me, Ice Queen, she sent back, desperately striving for composure.

Thought you'd never ask.

Augisto was Winter Unseelie, and a skilled warrior... but he was always chilly, calm, and calculating. The embodiment of Wild Hunt rules.

He didn't feel the thrill of the fight the way she did. Hammering pulse. Aching fangs. Rising tension. The heady pleasure of the chase.

If only victory came with passionate kisses, a strong male mouth on her breasts, rough hands squeezing her ass, steel thrusts deep into her body...

You really need to get out more, Erie.

"Damn." What was going on with her? She reined her thoughts in with a sharp yank. Clearly, it had been way too long. Men liked her, with her red hair and in-their-face chest. She had no trouble finding company... but sex paled next to battle.

Maybe she was doing it wrong. Or, more likely, the men were. Going by what she'd just felt, there was nothing wrong with her.

She envied her friend Giselle, who'd found the man of her dreams. The two of them were sickening, always kissing and slipping away for hot quickie sex.

Morning-break sex.

Middle-of-a-Hunt sex.

Because-I-Just-Can't-Keep-My-Hands-Off-You sex.

Logan was the perfect man. Gorgeous, sexy, the Wild Hunt's most terrifying Hunter -- and who would have guessed -- an incurable romantic. No wonder Giselle wore a smug smile all the time these days.

Eirienna was happy for her friend, but couldn't recall the last time she'd had truly delirious, insane, died-and-gone-to-heaven sex. Let alone romance. Certainly not lately.

Maybe, well... Never.

The narrow street she turned down was deserted, and thick with shadows.

Where are you, Augisto? she sent, feeling uncharacteristically skittish, and unable to escape the persistent sense she was being followed. I'm close to the rift. The demon has got to be nearby.

I'm at Sixteenth and Main, came the reply. Almost there.

That's blocks away!

Don't get your panties in a twist. I've got a gaggle of minions to deal with. Be there soon as I can. Oh, sh --

Silence.

Augisto?

The link broke, rebounding into her mind like a snapping whip, leaving a sharp sting behind her eyes.

"Double damn," she muttered, turning to run.

Menacing laughter tingled along her spine, and shadows enshrouded her in a black velvet blanket. She cursed, blinded.

Too late, she smelled sulfur, musk, and roses. The demon was here. She should have sensed him. Where had he come from?

"Bring it on, sex demon." Eirienna brandished her sword. She would shove it somewhere uncomfortable, make it grow a hundred barbed branches, and tear the cocky bastard apart.

A powerful embrace pinned her arms, and a big, muscled male body pressed against her back, holding her tight enough to take her breath away. Blackness choked her.

The demon was very. Fucking. Strong.

And she couldn't reach her talisman with her arms pinned to her sides. Her blood burned with the need to fight. "Get off me, you --"

A sharp blade lifted her chin and pricked her throat. She froze. A triumphant growl rumbled deep into her bones from his chest.

"Foolish Hunter," the incubus hissed into her ear. "Never lower your guard in the shadows. You never know what might be lurking."

Shit. Eirienna struggled, but the demon held on, laughing. Deep, intoxicating laughter that caressed her skin.

"Wriggle more, little Fae." He pushed closer. "It feels good."

That much was clear, judging by the hard length pressed against her ass.

Eirienna reached for her spells, and tossed a fistful of stinging sparks. Arms trapped to her sides by the demon constricting around her like the snake he was, her magic rained harmlessly onto the sidewalk and flickered out.

Reversing her sword, she sent the tip past her body, but he dodged her attempt to skewer him.

She flung out a wild mental call. Augisto, can you hear me?

The link was broken. She was alone.

Panic heated her blood. In impotent fury, her talisman glowed, scorching her throat. Outsmarted by a shadow. If she'd been concentrating, instead of thinking about sex, this never would have happened.

Eirienna fought for breath, but only inhaled more of his drugging scent. She had to escape. He could take her blood to use in his evil magic. Drink her soul in one swallow. If he took her amulet, she'd be powerless. At his mercy.

Why wasn't he taking her blood and drinking her soul? He'd effectively disarmed her, and was holding her in place without much effort.

"You'd have already killed me, if that was your plan." That stung, but words were all she had. "So tell me what you want, demon. Get it over with, and let me go."

Tendrils of shadow curled over her shoulder, caging her throat in a possessive hold that she should have hated, but didn't.

"Maybe I'm... hungry." The demon nipped her earlobe.

She shivered. "My soul isn't on the menu."

"I wasn't thinking of your soul." Shadow-fingers drifted lower, tracing the edge of her leather vest under her breastplate. Creeping under it, seeking bare skin. "At least, not at the moment."

"Get your hands off me!" Eirienna struggled, but shadows weren't tangible except where they touched her. Sparks showered her boots, the magic hitting the demon-scented air and dissolving.

This was not how she'd imagined her death. At a demon's whim! It was like he had an extra set of hands. Stroking her breast. Cupping it, squeezing it. The touch thrilled her. She wanted to arch her back, press into his hand...

Naughty girl, Eirienna.

Her talisman practically hummed, pleasure flowing like opium. The bastard was using his magic to seduce her. And she couldn't say she didn't want him to.

He probably wasn't one of the men who did it wrong.

Focus, Eirienna!

"Let's have this out like warriors --"

His invisible fingers pinched her nipple. Teased it. Made it hard. Desire sizzled, an electrified wire to her core. Now she was getting wet. Her face flushed. With his incubus demon senses, he would know. No doubt could smell her arousal.

"Stop that!"

A demonic chuckle brushed over her cheek, and he dissolved. Suddenly free, she staggered a couple of steps. The incubus stood two feet in front of her, wreathed in dancing shadows.

For a few seconds, Eirienna forgot to breathe. They sure made them pretty in whatever slimy world he'd crawled from.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Golden skin. Soot-black hair. Equally black eyes glowing like coals. He'd vanished his blade, like he didn't think he needed one, which was insulting. An arrogant tilt to his chin didn't help. He looked about thirty, but the power that emanated from him tasted rich, like the dark flavor of eternity. He had an angel's lips, perfectly wicked.

Yeah, that was a man-whore mouth if she ever saw one.

Eirienna's gaze slipped lower. Muscled arms folded across a tight black t-shirt. Black leather pants.

He could've worn polka dot pajama pants and it wouldn't disguise those killer thighs. She imagined straddling him, leaning back to brace herself on those thigh muscles. Her warm breath against his naked skin, her fingertip gliding higher, to where it was smooth...