“They are perfect,” Badon answered with a slight bow of his head. “More and more coming to us every day, desperate for what we have to offer. Apparently immortality, supreme strength, and perfection are quite a lure.”
Tase’s lips curled upward. “This domination will be so easy. I’m almost sorry there won’t be much of a battle.”
“I would not underestimate the Realm of Light, Lord Tase.”
Tase shot a lick of fire toward his brother, Kal. Kal was normally silent and generally went along with the other Lords, but he was never one to stand at Tase’s side; Tase knew he’d have difficulty with Kal. Kal didn’t even flinch as the fire singed his skin. Of course Kal would welcome the pain.
“I never underestimate them. I simply undervalue them. They mean nothing. Ben and Bart were weak. They let Lou and his demon hunters walk all over them. They thought with emotion. We know better. Our power is stronger now, and we will defeat them this time.”
“I still think you are unwise to believe this will be an easy battle. Humans are known to fight with heart, to use their very souls in their efforts to secure victory. They will not go down easily,” Kal argued.
“They are nothing but flies on shit,” Badon said. “Tase is right. With the humans we are turning now, our power is great. Our force is stronger than ever. The Realm stands no chance.”
“Those words have been spoken before. And still, here we are, no closer to our goal than we’ve been for centuries. Do not count out the Realm yet, my Lords, or you will regret it.”
“Do you stand with us, Kal, or against us?” Tase asked, fury making his flames expand. The others pushed away from the table, their icy countenances unable to bear his heat. He didn’t care, his ire was so strong.
Kal, however, didn’t move. “I am always with you, but I will always speak my mind, as you well know. . brother.”
Kal would have to be dealt with. Insurrection within the Sons of Darkness would never do. But now was not the time. Tase had worked hard to obtain his position as leader, and the great evil one was watching. . always watching. Judging him to see how he handled even the slightest uprising.
“I enjoy your challenges, Kal. I welcome them. And a voice of reason reminding us to be careful is a good thing. Your comments are duly noted. We will not underestimate the Realm of Light. But I think you will be the one surprised when you see how easy it is to crush them under the might of the Sons of Darkness.”
“We shall see, my Lord,” Kal said. “We shall see.”
The group disbanded, and Tase fought to gather his temper, wishing he were empowered to destroy at will. But their Father had not given him such abilities as yet. He would have to prove himself first.
And he would.
When the Realm of Light was destroyed and the Sons of Darkness walked the earth controlling all, the Father would give him supreme control.
And when that day came, the first thing he would do is reduce Kal to a pile of smoking ash.
Rewards and punishments.
Someday, he would be king.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Isabelle did her best to appear calm and patient on the surface, but inside she was fuming.
Dalton had tucked her mother’s diary in his back pocket. He hadn’t left her side the entire time the yacht had cruised to Sicily. Did he think she was going to jump overboard and try to swim her way to freedom?
Not that the thought hadn’t occurred to her. But her head eventually cleared and common sense prevailed. She’d wait until they reached land. Then she’d make a run for it.
The yacht docked off Catania and she was allowed to pack her things. With Dalton standing guard over her, of course. Odd that she’d never found him so imposing-until now.
Of course he’d been damn imposing when he’d thrown her against the wall and made love to her. Her body heated as she remembered his awesome power, the way he mastered her body, took her with such force. At the time she’d welcomed it, needed someone to take her like that. She’d never felt such force, such power coming from one man. With Dalton, she’d felt an equal, the beginnings of a relationship that could be explosive. Cravings had built inside her that she’d never experienced before.
She’d felt such hope, such stirrings. In a short period of time, he had evoked a fierce need in her.
Beyond the physical connection, there had been a meeting of their minds. They were so similar in many ways. He understood her, or at least had seemed to.
No, he had understood her. She felt it deep inside. No amount of acting on his part could have fooled her.
She shuddered, trying to erase the vivid images of the two of them together that still made her body burn.
Hot tears pricked her eyes. She blinked them back, hating that weakness, hating him. He’d used her. She’d always chosen the wrong men. Angelique had always told her she had no sense where men were concerned, that she was a lousy judge of character.
Once again, Angie had been right.
So why did her body still yearn for Dalton? Why did she think Dalton could actually help explain this mess to her, that he might be able to help her? How could she yearn with hope, feel the need to reach out for a man who had betrayed her? What the hell was wrong with her? He was the damn enemy.
They took the launch from the yacht to the dock, and climbed off. Isabelle noticed that only she and Dalton disembarked. The rest of the crew stayed on board the yacht and the mini headed back toward it. From what she could see, it looked like the crew was making ready to take off. Without the two of them.
So they wouldn’t be going back to the yacht. Then again, the boat probably didn’t even belong to Dalton, since everything about him was one big lie.
That meant this would be her chance to make a getaway, to get lost in the crowd and disappear.
What she’d do after that was uncertain. All she knew was she had to make a grab for her mother’s diary and get as far away from Dalton as possible.
Being near him clouded her judgment, devastated her senses. She couldn’t think clearly with him around.
She couldn’t trust him or anything he’d told her. She wanted nothing to do with him and his supposed band of demon hunters.
“I’m hungry,” she said, motioning to the group of vendors along the crowded street ahead.
Dalton frowned. “There was plenty of food on the yacht this morning.”
“I wasn’t hungry then. I am now.”
He lifted his shoulders in an exasperated sigh, then checked his watch. “All right. Let’s go. I’ve arranged for a car, so we need to get back to the pickup point in ten minutes.”
He held on to her arm and maneuvered her past the buyers and vendors in the marketplace. The street was narrow and with carts and people, that meant a tight squeeze. Perfect.