"From the spell Selena cast?"
"Maybe." She abruptly rubbed her hands over her arms. "It feels wrong, somehow. Not evil, but…"
He tilted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Abby?"
"It's difficult to explain."
"Try."
Her eyes narrowed. A silent warning he would eventually pay for his arrogant tone.
Not at the moment, however.
"I once walked past a chemical plant that was pumping toxic waste into the river. It was nothing I could actually see, but there was a certain smell and foulness to the air that made my skin crawl. That's what I feel now."
"Foulness."
'Yes."
Dante growled low in his throat. He was a preda-tor. A lethal killer. The fact that he could not sense the danger lurking in the air made him long to destroy something.
Something witchy.
"There is something I'm missing." He gave a sharp shake of his head. "Damn. This way."
Taking Abby's hand, he led her farther down the hall. He considered it a minor miracle they managed to make it over a dozen steps before Abby dug in her heels.
"Wait. Where are we going? Selena's rooms are down that wing."
He glanced over his shoulder. "Trust me."
Damn. Wrong words.
Her heels nearly made holes in the floor as she refused to budge.
"Trust you? Again?"
"Have I led you astray yet?" Her mouth flew open far too readily. A diversion was clearly in order. Never one to miss an opportunity, Dante glided forward to cover her mouth in a swift, hungry kiss. "Don't answer that," he murmured against her lips. Her hands clutched his arms as she instinctively arched against him. Devil spit. Dante felt her fiery heat sear through him. It licked over his skin and smoldered in his blood. His teeth clenched. The ache to gather her in his arms and take her against the wall was firmly thrust aside. He would never have enough of this woman. But now was not the time or place, he sternly chastised. Pulling back, he grasped her hand and pulled her firmly down the hall before she could come to her senses. Shoving aside a broken statue, he pointed at the wall. 'This is it."
"This is what?"
'The safe."
"Where?"
He touched his finger to the center of the satin wallpaper. "There."
She shot him a narrowed glare. "Is this some sort of Abbott and Costello routine?''
His lips twitched despite the urgency of their situation. "The safe is set in the wall and has been warded. It's up to you to break the spell."
"Me? I'm no witch."
"Selena was not a witch, lover." He reached out to touch her cheek. "Her power came from the Phoenix."
"A power she had three hundred years to learn to control, not three days."
'You can do this."
Her frown threatened to become permanently engraved. "Easy for you to say. Hell, I don't even know how to start."
'Just concentrate," he urged softly.
"On the wall?"
"On the safe behind the wall." Dante stepped back to watch her closely. He hated putting such pressure on Abby. She had barely accepted that she carried the Phoenix. Now to be expected to wield its magic was rather like expecting a bird to fly only moments after it hatched. Unfortunately, there was no choice. They had to find the witches. A long silence filled the hall, and then her hand lifted, and she twitched her fingers. Dante frowned in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to cast a damn spell."
"By wiggling your fingers?"
"It's a… thing. A stupid thing, but a thing." She angrily blew a stray curl from her forehead. "Now, do you mind? I'm trying to concentrate."
He held up his hands. "Please, concentrate all you need."
There was another silence. A long silence. And then a heavy sigh.
"Damn." She turned to regard him in defeat. "I can't do this."
He grasped her shoulders in his hands. This woman possessed enough power to rip apart the entire city. More power than he could ever dream of. He would not allow doubt to stand in her path.
"Abby, you have killed a hellhound, battled zombies, and escaped from a dark wizard. You can do this."
She grimaced. "What I've done is bumbled from one disaster to another, and the only miracle is that I haven't managed to kill both of us in the process."
"I believe in you, even if you don't believe in yourself."
"Which doesn't say much for your intelligence."
He gave her a slight shake. Why had Viper not warned him that mortal women were as stubborn as Stlantd demons?
"Abby."
She met him glare for glare before heaving a frustrated sigh. "Okay, okay. I'll try again."
Chapter 16
Abby squeezed her eyes shut. Even then she could feel Dante hovering beside her like a vulture. She could sense his tension. His fierce determination.
He was expecting her to perform some sort of hocus-pocus. A joke, of course. She was as likely to sprout daisies out of her ears as she was to magically open some mystical door.
Still, she had to try something. As long as she carried the Phoenix, she would be hunted. And worse, Dante would be forced to protect her, even if it meant the end of his own existence.
So far, stupid luck had kept them alive. But sooner or later, they would come up against something he could not defeat. Then they both would be dead.
She wouldn't let that happen.
Ignoring the feeling she was doing nothing but making an ass of herself, Abby sternly focused her thoughts. She had taken out a hellhound and had burned the zombie to a crisp. Granted, she hadn't known what the hell she was doing, but there had to be something inside her that she could use.
Imagine the wall, she told herself. And in the middle of the wall a safe. A safe like the ones in the old movies she loved. A big, silver safe with a black combination lock and slender handle…
Thoroughly concentrating upon the image, she didn't notice the faint buzzing in her ear. Not until the buzzing became a ringing. And then became a loud clap that sent her tumbling backward in shock.
Opening her eyes, she stared in wonder at the large safe now clearly visible in the wall and clearly open.
"Holy crap," she breathed.
The words had barely tumbled from her lips when Dante was at her side to gently lift her to her feet.
"Are you hurt?"
She pressed a hand to her heart, which she realized was nearly pounding out of her chest.
"I'll live. Is that the safe you wanted?"
'Yes."
"What's inside?"