The decidedly nervous disciple whirled back. A tick in his left eye revealed his barely controlled emotions.
"I don't think you're nearly as unconcerned as you want me to believe. I think you have feelings for the woman."
Dante widened his eyes in mock disbelief even as he inwardly conceded that the man was not quite the idiot he had supposed. Something to remember when it came time to kill him.
"I'm a vampire, you twit. I don't have feelings for anyone or anything. Although…" He deliberately allowed his words to trail away.
"What?"
"She was a helluva lay," he drawled, hopefully cementing his seeming disregard for a mere mortal. The moment this fool was certain Dante would travel to the pits of hell to save Abby was the moment he lost all advantage. "The things she could do with her tongue could make a man explode like a volcano. Ill have to admit I wouldn't mind another couple of rounds before she's tossed to the Prince. You should try her."
A disdain marred the youthful features. "Not all of us are animals."
"Ah… a woman hater. You prefer men? Or is it something a little more exotic?" Dante gave a taunting smile. "I have a friend who could fix you right up."
His captor spit on floor. "Filth."
"I may be filth, but I'm not the one who's about to be fed to the Prince." Dante settled himself more comfortably. "Give him my regards, won't you?"
Pressed near to the breaking point, the man strode forward, his robes fluttering about Ms slender form.
"Shut up or I'll shut you up."
"Whatever you say."
When Abby had first awoken, she had been relieved to discover she was simply alive. There seemed to be few things worse than being eaten by ravaging zombies. None that came directly to mind anyway.
Then she opened her eyes.
It took only a moment to realize she had been moved from the woods to a dark cavern of some sort. And that she was tied to a post stuck near a brazier that was belching out a foul smoke.
And that she was not alone.
She might have screamed if a rough cloth had not been tied over her mouth.
A man was standing directly before her. Or at least he appeared to be a man. She was not about to be overly hasty in handing out species assignments after the past few days. And there was something very nonhumanlike about his pasty white skin and hairless head.
And of course there was his outfit.
What sort of man wore heavy robes and a medallion that looked as if it had been ripped off some sports car?
Even as the aimless thoughts floated through her mind the thing reached up to stroke a finger down her cheek. Abby gagged at the clammy feel of his touch, desperately wondering where Dante was.
He had to be near, she told herself. Perhaps even now plotting her rescue.
She didn't for a moment consider the fact he might be injured. Or, God forbid, dead.
That path only led to stark, raving madness.
Instead she glared at the man who was regarding her as though she were a bug pinned beneath a microscope. An apt description considering she was tied so tightly to the pole she could barely even blink.
"Such power," he purred in an oddly mesmeriz-
Ing tone. "She hums with it. It seems almost a pity to have her slain."
Slain? Abby groaned through the rag stuffed in her mouth. She didn't think she was tied up for a surprise birthday party, but slain?
Damn Selena and those witches. She was obviously here to be served up like a Thanksgiving turkey for the Prince.
Hurry, Dante, she silently willed. Please, God, hurry.
Another face suddenly popped into view. This one belonged to a woman not much older than Abby with a pale, pointed face and a dark cloud of hair. She might have been attractive if it hadn't been for the unnatural glitter in her brown eyes,
"She doesn't look all that dangerous," the woman scoffed.
The man shot her a condemning glance. "Because, like most, you see only with your eyes, Kayla. A weakness that I have warned you of more than once."
"It hardly matters. She'll soon enough be dead."
Abby didn't like the woman's flippant tone. She made it sound as if they were taking out the trash rather than committing cold-blooded murder. With a flare of anger, she wondered if she could fry the bitch like she had those zombies.
"Yes, soon." The hairless stranger glanced toward the burning fire. "The summoning of the dark lord has begun."
"Shall I call for Amil and the vampire?"
Dante. Abby briefly closed her eyes as relief surged through her. He was near. And any moment he was going to charge through the door to kick some serious ass.
Unaware of his danger, the man allowed a peculiar smile to tug at his lips.
"Not just yet. I am waiting for the appropriate moment to… reward my loyal acolyte."
Something in the oily tone caught Abby's attention, stirring the hairs on the nape of her neck. The young woman, however, merely smiled.
"You have honored me by requesting my presence."
"I assure you that your presence is essential."
The dark eyes smoldered with a hectic fire. "We shall be blessed above all others."
"Yes, indeed."
There was a sound across the chamber, and Abby shifted her gaze to discover two shadowed forms standing near the corner. They were shrouded from head to foot in heavy robes. No doubt a good thing. Abby didn't hope for a moment they were actually human.
The woman seemed no more impressed than Abby, and her lips curled as she waved a hand toward the silent witnesses.
"Shouldn't you be sending away those… pests? You surely don't want them around when his lordship returns?"
"They are essential as well."
"Why?"
'You will discover soon enough."
The woman gave a harsh sound of annoyance. "I hate this waiting."
"Patience possesses its own rewards." Still studying Abby, the man seemed to stiffen, his head swiveling toward an opening near the servants.
The woman frowned. "What is it, master?"
"I sense a… disturbance. Return to Amil."
"Now? What if the Pr—"
A cold chill abruptly filled the air. "I said return to Amil."
Both Abby and the strange female blanched at the frozen edge in his voice. It was the voice of a man who would kill without thought or hesitation.
"Of course," she babbled as she gave a deep bow and hurried from the room.
Seemingly having forgotten Abby for the moment, the man studied the flickering flames.
"Nothing can stop me. Not now."