Shadowed

current war. I need that book, Brenna.”

Brenna kept her expression neutral. It was treason for her to talk about the hidden library owned by the Coven Nine. “I don’t know about any such book, but if I did, and if you wanted to see it, I’d contact my people to determine if it were possible.”

“Thank you,” Janie murmured. “Sorry again about the frightening vision.”

The poor woman didn’t have a choice with the visions, now did she? Brenna forced a smile. “It’s better to have the information, and I appreciate your letting us know. Get some sleep, Jane.” The woman rarely seemed to rest.

Jase waited until his niece had nodded and shut the door behind her before focusing on Brenna. “We need to up your security.”

Wait a minute. She was a witch just coming back into her powers. “No, I—”

“Don’t argue with me.” He reached down and pulled her up. “It’s late, we’ve trained enough tonight, and we’re getting some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll fight about security and safety.”

Brenna stumbled along with him toward bed, her ears ringing. How in the heck could she get through to him when he went cold like this? She shivered, hugging herself. Sometimes she didn’t know him at all.

Jase kicked the sheet off his legs and struggled to force the dream into nothingness. He’d wanted to leave Brenna in bed and go for a run, but she’d asked him to stay. Feeling like an ass for the way he’d shut her out earlier, he’d stayed in bed. He’d slid into the dream he most hated within an hour.

Underground again, he found himself in the cell formed of rock and earth. A small window up above let in meager light, and dripping water echoed in a cadence guaranteed to drive him crazy.

He glanced down at his wounded, gaunt body. Burns and cuts marred every exposed inch of skin. Heated blood coursed from his ears, nose, and eyes from the most recent mental attack.

The rock wall morphed into a face. Long, sober, it was a familiar face. “You need to kill him,” the face said. “Kill them both.”

Jase coughed up blood, shock weighing down his limbs. The face talked. “Suri and Melco will die. I promise.”

The face spit out rocks. “No. It has to happen now. Their plans will destroy the world, not just you. Before the solstice . . . make it happen. The young prophet’s vision is true . . . they’ll kill your Brenna. They will take your witch, and they’ll kill your family. Trust me. It’s now or . . . it’s hell forever.”

Did he say solstice? Jase tried to shove to his feet and stumbled against the wall. “This isn’t real.” Digging deep, he forced himself to wake up.

His heart pounded, and his sweat soaked the sheets. Brenna lay on her side next to him, sleeping quietly. The moonlight caressed her smooth skin. In sleep, she looked so young and at peace.

Careful not to wake her, he slid from the bed and buried his head in his hands. The dream was another mind-fuck, but the sense of urgency wouldn’t leave him. Nothing was going to happen before the solstice, but it was time to end this. Janie’s visions were never wrong. If he didn’t kill the demon leaders, they’d kill Brenna.

He stood and slipped into the closet to don jeans and a shirt. Grabbing his boots, he crept out of the room, grabbed supplies, and left the house. A quick jog took him to a back entrance to the main lodge. Thank God the tunnels in the underground headquarters weren’t fully repaired yet, or the prisoner would be too far down to reach.

But aboveground? The demon was fair game.

One guard manned the control room. “Hi, Chalton,” Jase said, smoothing his face into calm lines. “I came to see the demon.”

Chalton wore his customary frown. “Dage wanted the guy on ice until the morning.” He reached for a phone.

Jase was on him before he could dial. Tucking his arm under Chalton’s neck, he slowly tightened the hold until Chalton flopped like a fish, shooting elbows back. “Sorry about this,” Jase muttered. He would’ve never gotten close enough had Chalton not trusted him. “Really sorry.”

Grabbing the zip tie from his pocket, he fastened Chalton’s hands behind his back, then secured him to a post in the corner. Even if the vampire woke up, he wasn’t going anywhere.

Jase hit a button to unlock the door and jogged down the steps to reach the cell.

The demon lay on a cot, staring at the ceiling. He turned and stood, black eyes filling with purple.

Jase slipped his gun from his waist. “Where’s Suri?”

“Fuck you.” The garbled tone proved the soldier was purebred demon. The silver hair was a good clue and matched the row of many medals across his uniform.

“Not interested.” Jase shot him in the gut.

The soldier doubled over with a muffled oof. Straightening up, he grimaced. With a grunt, the bullet dropped out of his flesh to ping on the cement floor.

Images of death and destruction ripped into Jase’s brain, followed by slice after slice of pain. He smiled.

The demon’s eyes widened. “What the hell?”

“Your attacks don’t affect me.” Not true, they still hurt like hell. But he could deal and still function. “Years of countering them, I’m afraid.”

The soldier lifted his chin. “You’re the youngest Kayrs brother.”

“Sure am.” Jase pointed the gun at the soldier’s head. “We haven’t met, have we?” Many of his torturers blended together until they all looked like Malco.

“No. Not my thing.” The demon brushed dirt off his medals. “Though I could definitely have broken you.”

“You’re still welcome to try.” Jase shot him in the cheek.

The demon’s head twisted, and blood sprayed. He growled and turned back to face Jase. The bullet dropped out of his flesh, and the hole slowly closed. “That all you got?”

“No.” Jase unlocked the cell door and stepped inside, drawing his knife. The idea of torture turned his gut, but he needed answers to stop the people who’d kill his family. There wasn’t a question in his mind that the demons would come after Brenna just to hurt him. They’d tortured him for fun, but he’d torture for necessity. Unlike the demons, he’d get no pleasure from the act. “That was just foreplay. Now we get to the good stuff.”

It took nearly three hours to break the demon. Finally, Jase wiped the blood off his blade and returned to the control room. Chalton sat in the corner, fury in his eyes.

Jase paused. “I said I was sorry.”

“Unbind me, asshole.”

Jase grimaced. “Not quite yet. You’ll call Dage, and I need a head start.”

Chalton eyed him from head to toe, eyes widening.

Jase groaned and glanced down at the massive amount of blood covering his clothing. Some was his from the demon’s mental attacks—his nose had bled for hours. But most belonged to the demon.

Chalton growled. “Is he dead?”

“Unfortunately.” Jase hadn’t intended to kill him, but the guy was stubborn.

“Did he give you the information you wanted?”

“Yes.” The prisoner had finally given up the demon stronghold in Nevada, but he hadn’t been able to confirm how long the leaders would be on site. Most would be leaving within the day, apparently. Time was too short. “I’ll send word back in a couple of hours for somebody to release you.”

“I’m going to kick your ass, Kayrs,” Chalton growled.

“You’re probably gonna have to stand in line.” Jase exited the room, shutting the door tight. Chances weren’t great he’d return from the demon stronghold, but at least he’d take out the leaders there. The demon he’d tortured had confirmed that the demons had plans to attack the vampires on the solstice.

So was the dream a coincidence or some odd vision? Chances were a coincidence. Visions had never plagued Jase, unlike nightmares. Those would always find him.

The moon was dropping low in the sky, and soon dawn would arrive. He’d be on his way before then but first needed supplies and fresh clothes.