“Someone gave him the name,” Tristol said. “I think there was a traitor. Voltar has been trying to infiltrate your clan for a long time. He’s done quite a lot of damage. He killed Nigel Ellwood. I rescued the Book of Battles and hid it where the others couldn’t find it. I knew if any of them got it they would wipe out your clan, and that wasn’t my goal. So you know my secret, and I know yours. Now I’ll tell you Voltar’s secret. He has a daughter.”
“Voltar? There are no records of him having a daughter,” Sean said.
“Not many know. Voltar didn’t until I told him.” Tristol smiled, and Shay felt her insides turn to mush. She didn’t know if it was longing or terror. “He still doesn’t know who she is. I want to be the one to tell him.”
“Where is his daughter?” Duncan asked.
“She’s with him, but he doesn’t know it.”
“So you’ll lead us to him and his daughter, and we’ll kill them,” Niall said.
“You might want to know his daughter’s name before you decide whether or not to kill her.”
“Why would it matter?” Duncan asked.
“I believe you know her as Anna.”
Anna looked at the chapel where Cody and Shay would marry. She had sat here all night, her head and body numb. She didn’t know what time it was. After reading Angus’s notes, she’d rushed out without her phone. Angus must have made a mistake. Her father couldn’t be a demon. An ancient demon. Walter was the one who’d told Angus. The Watcher was the only one who knew the truth.
Anna’s mother had been assigned to destroy Voltar. Before she even told anyone about the assignment, she discovered that the demon had been spotted at a bar in New York City. She went in pretending to be a patron, hoping to get him alone so she could destroy or suspend him. A biker struck up a conversation with her. She didn’t realize he was Voltar. No one had seen his human shell. But Voltar knew of the great female warrior.
He hated women and wanted to humiliate her before he killed her. He dragged her into the back alley and raped her, then left thinking she was dead. But she survived. And she found out she was pregnant. After the baby was born, she went after Voltar again, and this time she saw him shift from the biker into Voltar, and knew that she had given birth to a halfling. The knowledge nearly destroyed her. Walter was the only one she’d told, and he’d kept her secret, until he told Angus.
Anna remembered the looks of horror she’d sometimes glimpse on her mother’s face. The looks of fear and the way she watched Anna constantly. Rape was devastating, but it shouldn’t ruin a woman’s entire life. Not a powerful warrior like her mother. Who was even strong enough to rape a woman as strong as her mother had been?
An ancient demon?
She wanted to believe it was a mistake, but it explained some things Anna had never understood about herself. She was stronger than other female warriors, and she had some unusual abilities. Angus had always said she did things that weren’t possible for a human, even for a warrior. And there were other things. Strange dreams. Warriors sometimes had prophetic dreams, but hers were dark. And she’d always felt so compelled by beauty, though she despised it in herself. Demons were drawn to beauty. Probably because they were so ugly. And she was one of them. Half demon. She was a bloody halfling.
She smelled the sulfur before she heard his hiss. Anna grabbed her dagger and leapt to her feet, turning to face the demon. It wasn’t just any demon. It was her father.
“Anna.” The words whispered from Tavis’s lips. “My Anna?”
“Yes. She’s Voltar’s daughter.”
He was the one who’d raped Anna’s mother. Anna, beautiful Anna was half demon. Not any demon, but the one who had killed Liam and his father. Tavis thought he might throw up. His insides crawled and hurt.
“That’s the darkness I sensed in Anna,” Bree said.
“They’re working together?” Sorcha asked.
“No. But when he finds out she’s his daughter it won’t stop him from killing her.”
“How do you know she’s his daughter?” Tavis asked. There had to be a mistake. Demons were evil and vile, not kind and caring.
“I make it my business to know what the rest of the League is up to,” Tristol said.
“So you’ll lead us to Voltar and we’ll kill him?” Faelan said.
“That’s the gist of it,” Tristol said. “We all win.”
“Until you slaughter us,” Tavis said. “Or lock us up in your dungeon and torture us.”
“As I’m sure you’re aware, my dungeon is missing,” Tristol said, his eyes reddening slightly.
“I bet you have another one,” Ronan said. “What’s to say after Voltar is dead you don’t kill the rest of us?”
“There could be a hundred vampires waiting outside to slaughter us,” Niall said.
“On my honor. I came alone. And I came to help.”
“Your honor?” Tavis said.
“My honor,” Tristol said. “As you’ve seen, I can move faster than you.” He looked at Shay and Bree. “Most of you, that is. The two of you are quite remarkable.”
“Assuming we agree to this,” Tavis said, “what do we do next?”
“We go hunting and bring Anna home.”
“Be careful with her,” Tavis said. “She’s carrying my bairn.”
Tristol frowned. “Your bairn?”
“Aye. And I’ll kill anything that harms a hair on her head. Voltar’s daughter or not.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
AM I THE only one freaking out?” Brodie asked. “This is Tristol, the ancient demon, or ancient vampire, whatever the bloody hell he is. And now we find out Anna is Voltar’s daughter.”
“We’re all freaked out,” Ronan said.
“Maybe he’s lying,” Brodie said. “Then again, it might explain why she can do the things she does.” He frowned. “Do you think she can shift?”
“She’s not a demon,” Tavis growled. “I don’t care what her father is. She’s a woman.”
Brodie held up his hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult her. Anna’s awesome. But you have to admit it’s a shock. I’ve never heard of any such thing. A warrior and a demon.”
It was a shock. Tavis had never trusted beauty. He’d avoided beautiful women for fear that they might be a demon in disguise. Just when he’d let his guard down and let a beautiful woman steal his heart, she turned out to be half demon. Daughter of an ancient demon. The very one who’d killed Liam and his father. But she was Anna. And did it really matter who her parents were? Wasn’t it the heart that made the warrior? One thing he knew: Voltar was going to die today.
“Bring that big rifle you showed me earlier,” Tavis said. He rubbed his battle marks, which were itching so badly they burned.
“The assault weapon?” Brodie asked. “Got it right here.”
“Bring everything we have,” Niall said. “We don’t know how many demons he’ll have with him.”
“Do you believe Tristol is telling the truth about helping us?” Tomas asked.
“He could have killed us in the chapel if he’d wanted to,” Shane said. “Ripped us all to shreds.”
“And still could,” Brodie said.
“What choice do we have?” Sorcha asked. “He knows where we are, says he knows each of us personally, and he isn’t constrained by the whole holy ground thing. Hell, we have to let him help. Or help him. I’ll gladly help get rid of Voltar.”
“No one can do it except me,” Tavis said. He had been tempted to sneak off and go on ahead to find Anna, but he would need help. Voltar wouldn’t be alone. If Tristol wanted Voltar dead more than he wanted Anna or Tavis tortured, that was good enough for now. Later, they would settle the score. He would still make Tristol regret what he’d done to Anna. To him.