Lethal Rider

She was also going to give him a son, which would be far more precious than every book in his library combined.

He kept her next to him—probably closer than necessary—as they moved away from the spot just inside the underground tunnel’s opening where he’d gated them. As with most demon-claimed land, the stone and packed-dirt passages were dimly lit by an otherworldly glow. Thanatos could see as well as if it were daylight, but Regan, without her Aegis-enchanted jewelry, had to squint, which was another reason to keep her close, especially given that the passage’s floor was rocky and uneven. Thanks to the baby’s protection, she might be immune to injury from demons, but a fall could harm her or the baby.

Wraith and Ares took the lead, and Limos came in behind Than and Regan. “How far do we have to go?” Limos asked, and Regan shook her head.

“No idea. The sketched map I saw in the vampire’s writings wasn’t exactly precise.”

“Great.” Wraith tossed his throwing star into the air and caught in between two fingers. “We could spend days wandering—”

“Shit!” Ares wheeled to the side, narrowly avoiding a massive axe blade. The sharp wedge cut the air with a whistle, followed by the snarl of its wielder.

The tunnel came alive with movement as dozens of species of demons swarmed around them, crawling on the walls, the ceiling, and flying through the air over their heads. In an instant, a bloody battle broke out, but Than wasn’t going to play games. He had thousands of souls at his disposal, and they wanted freedom.

He released a hundred, their eager shrieks joining the snarls and grunts of the demons taking damage from his siblings. Wraith went through the demons like a fang through flesh, his charmed status keeping him safe—as long as no fallen angels showed up. Next to him, Regan threw out her hand to touch any demons that made it close enough to her, sending them flying backward in shock.

Than allowed himself a small smile. His kid was badass.

So was Regan. She didn’t even flinch at the rush of demons, keeping one hand protectively over her belly and the other at the ready, fingers clutching her dagger. And when a demon with thirty-foot, whiplike tentacles snapped one at Than, nicking his cheek, Regan snarled and struck out with her blade, severing the demon’s limb and sending it screeching into the dark.

Man, her fierceness juiced him up. She might be almost nine months pregnant, but she was still in her element down here mixing it up in a cavern full of demons. It was strange how right now he wanted to both cocoon her in bubble wrap to protect her and get her naked to get going on those months of pleasure. Except this time, he didn’t want to climax alone.

The battle was over in under two minutes, but Than had a feeling this was just the beginning. Turned out he was right. They repeated the scenario four more times before they reached a crude stone staircase that led down into a pit lined with colorful tiles that had been arranged into crude mosaic images.

“What is this?” Limos stepped into the center of a design portraying a hell stallion tearing apart a demon.

Thanatos threaded Regan’s fingers with his as he led her carefully around other patterns, most depicting violence, others arranged into sex scenes, some reflecting both.

“Don’t step on them,” Than said quietly. “This is a place of worship.”

“The demons in the pictures are deities.” Ares nimbly skirted an image of a dozen-eyed horned demon that was rumored to eat three elephants at a single sitting. “They could come alive.”

Regan tugged on Than’s hand. “Um… so if I step on that one? You come alive?”

He followed her gaze… and drew a harsh breath. Oh, shit.

Wraith went down on his heels and stared at Thanatos’s likeness set into the floor with hundreds of brilliant tiles. “Dude. Why are you sucking on some guy’s neck? And why are there vampires kneeling at your feet?”

A cold sweat broke out over his skin. “Dunno.”

Limos jammed her sword into its scabbard so hard it threw her off balance. But just for a second. “Wrong answer, Than. I spent thousands of years lying. I’m pretty good at sniffing out bullshit. And brother, you stink.”

Thanatos exhaled on a curse. “Do you remember your wedding night, Limos? When you begged us to leave your secrets alone?”

His sister’s cheeks flamed crimson, and as she averted her gaze, shame shrunk his skin. At the time, he hadn’t understood why she’d kept so much from him and Ares, but now that his own past was bearing down on him, he got it. Except that he wasn’t protecting himself. He was protecting thousands of lives.

“Thanatos,” Ares said, stepping next to Limos, “whatever it is, we can help.”

No, they couldn’t, but before he could even start to explain, Wraith was up and punching his fist through a stone panel in front of the altar.

“There,” he said. “Scrolls.” How the hell did the demon find crap so easily?

Regan moved to the scrolls, an eager, curious light in her eyes. She loved this kind of thing, didn’t she? Finding new things, solving mysteries … admirable traits, but dangerous when you were the one keeping the secret she was sniffing out.

Very carefully, she withdrew the scrolls and laid them on top of the altar. “They’re so delicate,” she said, as she smoothed her fingers over their smooth surfaces. “This one…” Her finger stopped on the middle of five scrolls. “The author is so angry. Wait. Thanatos?”

Than moved to her, an ominous sensation dancing up his spine. “What?”

“He’s angry at you. But why—”

A screech rang out, and from a hundred crevices in the walls and ceiling, demons emerged, as inky black and elusive as shadows.

“Fuck.” Than palmed his scythe. “Nulls.” The rarest demon species of all, creatures void of life and souls, shot through the cavern, immune to Than’s souls and every known weapon. Their mouths gaped wide with jagged teeth that took chunks out of flesh with every pass they made. Only Wraith and Regan were impervious, which pissed off the Nulls even more, and every bite into Than’s unprotected head became more vicious.

“I can’t open a gate,” Ares shouted.

Limos swiped at her head, dislodging one of the Nulls. “We have to get out of here!”

Than started to drag Regan toward the entrance, but pulled back when demons poured out of it—some clearly demons, others in human skins.

Regan screamed, and suddenly, his hand was empty. He wheeled around in time to see her being snatched by a vampire.

One of his vampires.

“Markus!” Than lunged, but Markus spun, using Regan as a shield, and Than had to check up at the last second to avoid slicing into her with his scythe.

Regan shouted obscenities, reaching behind her to claw at Markus’s neck. A blur of Seminus demon slipped behind the vampire, and Markus flipped backward, hamstrung by Wraith’s dagger. Than caught Regan before she hit the ground, but with a shocking amount of agility, she wrenched around and slammed her fist into the vampire’s throat.

Yeah, he’d let her have the satisfaction of making Markus choke on his own blood. But Than got to make the kill.

Crunching his foot down on the vampire’s chest so hard bones cracked, he bared his teeth at the asshole. “Who killed Dariq, Markus? Who all is involved in the plot against me?”

“Go to hell,” Markus wheezed, and then he grinned, his fangs flashing wetly. “Your whore and bastard are going to die.”

“Wrong,” Thanatos snarled. “You die.” He swept his scythe in an arc like a golf club, shearing off the top half of the vampire’s skull. Blood and brains splattered on the wall, and suddenly, the demons all melted away.

He turned to Regan to assure himself that she was okay, but the bewildered expression on her face said that everything was not okay.

“The vampire’s tattoo,” Regan whispered, as she stared first at her hand and then at Thanatos. Oh, shit, she’d touched Markus’s tattoo…“The scroll. Oh, my God.”

Don’t say it, Regan. Do not say it.