His Darkest Salvation Read online

  “We locate Jaden yet?” Nico asked Finn.

  “Where the hell is this demon shit happening?” he asked once more as he took a step toward the jaguar.

  Nico snarled, and the air shimmered between the two of them. All Julian could visualize was slowly ripping each and every limb from the other jaguar’s body.

  “Boys, let’s settle down, shall we?” Declan stepped in between them. “You guys need to kiss and make up. This whole pissing contest thing is getting old.”

  Declan glanced toward him, his eyes focused, yet Julian sensed the bleakness that lingered there. “We’ve got a problem that needs solving, remember? I don’t have to remind you of the consequence . . . ticktock and all that.” Declan turned to Nico. “So, you gonna spill?”

  “Templo Mayor,” Finn answered instead.

  “What did you say?” Julian rasped, though really, he didn’t need the eagle shifter to repeat himself. He’d heard his words clear as day.

  Son of a fucking bitch. Only Jaden would head straight toward trouble.

  “We’ve intercepted a few transmissions that lead us to believe something is going to go down, and the entire zone has gone hot in the last few hours.” The eagle shifter shrugged his shoulders. “We’re not sure why, but we should send a team to check it out. I wanted to run it by Jaden, but she’s not around.”

  Finn nodded to the operative, Max. “Try Tank again and see if he knows where Jaden is.”

  “Don’t bother,” Julian answered as he nodded to Declan. “We need to vamoose.”

  “You are not in charge of our team,” Nico rasped.

  Julian paused and took a moment to center the anger that was flush in his system. He and Nico were going to have it out. Just not today. “I don’t give a shit about your team. Jaden’s not in her suite.”

  “And you know this because?” Nico’s voice was low, but the bitterness hung in the air.

  Julian glared at the shifter. “By my guess, she left just after midnight for Mexico City, and if we hurry, we might be able to get there before she gets her ass kicked.”

  Nico’s eyes widened, and his instant concern pissed Julian off. It was totally unreasonable, but he wasn’t in a reasonable state of mind.

  “It’s a nice piece of ass, no? Be a shame for it to be damaged in any way.” He turned and headed toward the exit, smiling as he heard Nico’s enraged snarl follow his words.

  Declan fell into step beside him. “Tell me again how this whole mating thing doesn’t matter?”

  Julian ignored him, and the smile soon faded as his mind went dark.

  “And why we’re wasting time sniffing after Jaden when we should be focusing our efforts on finding the portal?”

  “She is tied to the portal,” Julian stated. An hour earlier, he had been ready to go his separate way, but his gut told him the path he needed to follow led to Jaden. He’d been a ruthless businessman and had learned one thing early on. Always follow your gut instinct.

  Jaden DaCosta had a way of finding trouble. She’d better hope he was able to find her.

  In one piece.

  Chapter 13

  Jaden grabbed her bag and slid from the truck, stretching out stiff muscles as she did so. She’d driven like a maniac, had made the trip in just under twenty hours. The private jet would have been so much easier, but she didn’t want her father or anyone on the team to know where she’d gone. So she’d paid cash for a rental in Playa Del Carmen and driven straight to Mexico City.

  She stifled a yawn. Though she was a creature of the night, the lack of sleep over the last few days was starting to catch up to her.

  The cool wind that swept across the street felt wonderful, refreshing, and she let it play along her flesh as she stared at the huge structure not far from her.

  Templo Mayor.

  The ruin was in the heart of Mexico City, and she felt the enormity of its power as she stood in the dark, staring at it. Moonbeams fell upon the stone, touching the surface in an eerie glow. Even from several hundred yards out, she was humbled and impressed by the magnificence of the structure.

  This had been the seat of power for the Aztecs hundreds of years ago. Their culture and that of the Mayan were intimately connected to her people, to that of the eagle knights.

  They’d worshipped her ancestors. Emulated their fierceness and wore their likeness in battle.

  Sadness rolled over Jaden as she moved forward. Time rolled on and was harsh, her deep-reaching claws destroying even the greatest of civilizations. Such was the way of things.

  Humanity had always managed to survive, to reinvent, and to adapt. And yet how long would luck be on their side? Jaden had a bad feeling about what was coming and wasn’t sure they’d survive an assault from hell.

  She slipped between the shadows and moved silently through the gloom. Security was sparse, and she slid by them with ease. If they only knew what they guarded, what power lay deep within the ruins.

  Templo Mayor had been built back in the 1300s. It had gone through several reincarnations, due to both structural issues and war. At the end of the Aztec reign, the Spanish had destroyed it, then built their city over top of it. And here it had lain, silent in its grave, until a city worker had discovered a valuable piece of history.

  Her people would have been content to let the temple rest in peace, but excavation had begun in earnest, and a large part of the temple had been unearthed over the past thirty years.

  Now, it was a major attraction in the city, drawing thousands of visitors from all over the globe. They came to get a taste of history, to view the grandeur that had been such a part of the Aztec culture.

  And yet they hadn’t a clue as to the secrets hidden deep within. Of what they could unleash.

  “Hey, lady, it’s dangerous out here. Why you walking the streets alone?”

  The voice slid at her from the darkness, and Jaden turned. A tall man leaned against the crumbling walls, his demeanor casual, but there was something about him that immediately set her on edge.

  Where the hell had he come from? She should have been able to pick up on his presence before now. Something wasn’t right.

  “Don’t worry about me, I’m good,” she replied carefully, trying to read him. But he was blank, like there was nothing there. She rotated her neck slowly, feeling the crack that released a bit of tension and narrowed her eyes, never taking them from him.

  She had a bad feeling that the dude was otherworld.

  Okay, she thought, let the games begin.

  “Sure you don’t want some company?”

  She stretched her fingers out, letting them hang loose, and scented the wind as she did so. As far as she could tell, he was alone. There was a guard several hundred feet away, but he was busy chatting up a couple of young women.

  It was good that he was distracted.

  She smiled and looked at the man. There’d be no witnesses.

  “I don’t normally talk to strangers so . . .” She kept her voice light and turned from him though she was very aware when he pushed away from the stone wall and headed in her direction.

  “I don’t think you understand,” he began, and the hair on the back of her neck electrified as his voice modulated, thickened, like he was talking in layers of sound.

  He was definitely otherworld. And not the good kind. She had a nagging suspicion that the dude was demon and had some sort of cloaking charm that hid his nasty-ass scent.

  “I said I’m good, back off.”

  She clenched her teeth, her muscles tight, and slid her hand inside the bag. Her charmed dagger was freshly shot up with all sorts of shit, courtesy of Tess, and she smiled viciously.

  Kicking some random demon’s ass was a great way to start off the night.

  “Good might be overstating,” he whispered, and she felt the air shimmer at her back. “As of now, I think you’re fucked.”

  His hand was on her back, but she was ready and dropped to the ground, spinning her leg out as she whirled around.

&n
bsp; She connected with his body and grinned as he went down, his face smashing into the stone beneath them as a string of foulness erupted from his mouth.

  She was on him in a flash, her knee digging into his back as she struggled to hold him still. Jaden was strong, but even her enhanced strength barely kept the demon beneath her.

  “Watch your mouth, or I might be inclined to wash it out with soap.”

  He continued to struggle, and the cloaking charm melted away fast as his demon scent bled through. She could now see the gray mist that clung to him.

  “I am gonna enjoy killing you,” he said, his voice doing the weird-vibration thing again, “slowly.”

  “Oh please, you know how many times I’ve heard that same line?” she retorted. “It’s getting old.”

  He cursed as she pressed the charmed dagger into his neck and broke skin. Smoke fizzled upward, and she wrinkled her nose. Goddamn, did they all have to smell so bad? Was that a prerequisite to being demon?

  He snarled and pushed against the ground, nearly unseating her, but she held on, grabbing a hunk of his hair as she did so.

  She was careful to keep the dagger pressed into his skin and hoped like hell it had enough juice to prevent the asshole from changing into his true form.

  He began to struggle in earnest, and she pitched forward and backward but held on.

  “Why are you hanging around Templo Mayor?” she asked softly, her voice dangerously low.

  “Why are you?” he shot back.

  She snorted, not believing his arrogance.

  “In case you hadn’t noticed, dickhead, I’ve got the knife, so I’m asking the questions.”

  He made a weird gurgling sound, and she grinned as she stuck the knife in deeper, twisting it slightly as she did so.

  He began to spew obscenities, then a bunch of crap came out of his mouth that she didn’t understand. Ancient words. Demon speak from down below.

  She let go of his head and slammed her fist into the base of his skull. His nose broke beneath the force as it smashed into the stone once more. She smiled at the squeal of pain that fell from his lips.

  “Holy crap, spare me the drama will you? I’m kinda in a rush.” She felt winded, and it was all she could do to keep the bastard contained.

  He stopped moving, and he relaxed beneath her. In the distance, voices echoed on the wind, and she glanced behind her. The security guard and the girls who surrounded him were looking in their direction.

  She concentrated with all her might and coaxed the shadows toward her. If she could just have a few more minutes, she was certain she’d be able to dispose of the piece of crap she sat on, with none the wiser.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” the demon began, but she cut him off before he could go any further.

  She leaned down, and whispered near his ear, “I don’t play that game with the likes of you.” She paused. “My rules are simple. You answer my questions, and I let you live.”

  Jaden twisted the dagger for good measure and felt nothing as he grunted in pain.

  “Let’s try this one more time. Why are you here?”

  The demon laughed. She felt the vibrations running through his body as he did so. “It was a nice night for a walk, until this bitch showed up and . . .”

  Cheeky asshole!

  She grabbed him by the neck, digging her claws into his skin until she elicited another scream of pain. Her jaguar burned beneath her flesh, and Jaden’s breaths fell in small spurts as adrenaline kicked in.

  The voices were becoming louder, and she knew her time was nearly up.

  She pressed harder, using her legs to hold the bastard still. “One more chance or I cut your head off and leave it as a sacrifice to Huitzilopochtli. I have a feeling it’s been a long while since he fed.”

  “Your god of war lies in prison, weak and pathetic.” The demon was shaking badly beneath her. “We’re everywhere. Life in this realm will darken and change, and one day my brothers will be liberated from the bowels of the earth.”

  Shouts rang out, and Jaden knew she had to act fast. The shadows were slipping from her skin. She didn’t have the skill to hold them in place for long periods of time.

  “Where is O’Hara?”

  “Cormac is a fool. He’ll not remain hidden long. He cannot double-cross Lilith and live, but the others . . .”

  “The others? What the hell do you mean?”

  “We’re looking for them everywhere. They can’t escape us.”

  The demon began to laugh, and as his voice deepened, she felt his energy shift. A series of clicking noises erupted from deep within him. He was trying to change into his true form, but with the dagger spreading poison throughout his system, he was having difficulty.

  She knew there was nothing more to gain from him.

  She closed her eyes and unleashed her power. Her hands yanked hard on his hair, she pulled him toward her, and, with one quick stroke, severed his head from his body.

  Jaden jumped back quickly and tossed the head as black liquid spewed everywhere. She’d been burned by the nasty stuff before and had no plans to experience that again.

  The remains began to smolder and break down as an ungodly stench drifted up her nasal passage.

  She ran, disregarding the shouts to stop, and knew by the time the security guard reached the demon there would be nothing left but a puddle of crap. The poison would work quickly to dissolve the demon flesh.

  Tess had done a great job.

  Her animal was enraged, wanting out, but Jaden tapped into the power of her jaguar, and her legs flew over the terrain. The darkness swallowed her whole, and moments later, she stood before the ruin, the demon and security officers left far behind.

  She slowed, staying close to the shadows, and paused as she came upon a stone wall of skulls. They looked eerie in the darkness, the shadows that played upon them sinister and she shivered slightly as she moved forward.

  She knew there was a tunnel that led to the unearthed portion of The House of the Eagles, which was part of the temple. She needed to gain access to what lay beneath—because it was there, in the very heart of these ruins, that Toniella had charmed the fallen, Azaiel, from the upper realm.

  It was there that he’d made the portal, there that he’d been cursed. And it was there that she was hoping to find answers, anything that would help her not only to find the elusive duo but to destroy them both when she did.

  She slipped inside the tunnel, avoiding security, and it wasn’t long before she stood inside one of two adjoining ancient rooms. Her eyes allowed her to see clearly at night, but even she was having problems so far below the surface. The shadows were different here. They were menacing.

  Jaden grabbed a flashlight from her bag and felt the enormity of history unfold before her eyes as she gazed around. It was impressive.

  Two large statues guarded the far wall. They were amazing replicas of eagle knights, and as she slowly walked toward them, she felt her heart begin to accelerate. She felt a presence, like she was being watched.

  She shined the light onto the faces of the statues and hissed softly as they came into focus. The eyes looked real, and the effect was freaky.

  Jaden stilled, letting her senses fly out once more as she scented the air; but as far as she could tell, there was no one there.

  She was alone, yet she knew that she wasn’t. The ancient magick that inhabited this place was potent, and she knew she needed to tread lightly. One wrong move, and her ass would be fried.

  Cool, damp air licked at her heated flesh, and she shivered as she gazed upon the walls before her. Intricate, beautifully done etchings of eagles and nature were abundant, and she shook her head at their beauty. It was incredible, really, that these people, the Aztecs, had been so bloodthirsty in battle yet so refined and talented when it came to the arts.

  But enough of that.

  She sidled up to the walls, walking along low-slung benches as she eyed the interior closely. Her hands fell along the cool stone, and s
he felt the vibration of power that lived deep within.

  She walked the entire area, twice, and stopped in frustration. As far as she could see, there was no way to get to what was below. She knew the sacred temple was there. Hundreds of years earlier, the jaguar warriors had hunted and killed the eagle knights, because of their knowledge. They’d made a point of knowing every detail about the shifters.

  It was a dark time in her world. A time when several of the jaguar clans had fragmented off into the darkness. She hung her head in shame and felt a wave of anger rush through her. The DaCostas had aided in the bloodletting, and it was only by the strength of Skye Knightly’s family that the portal had remained hidden.

  Safe.

  Until Cormac O’Hara.

  The son of a bitch had ruined everything.

  Jaden shook her limbs out and pushed all thoughts of Cormac and the portal away. She needed to concentrate and find her way inside, or she was no further ahead than she’d been last week.

  She wracked her brain for several long moments and cursed softly as she circled the room once more. She should have brought Finn with her. The eagle knight would surely have more knowledge than she.

  Tiredly, she rubbed her temples and tried to shrug off the weariness that crept into her bones. Maybe she’d been at this too long. Maybe it was time to accept that her brain was dead, and she was fast losing focus.

  She turned back toward the entrance and was about to take a step forward when a whisper caressed her cheek like the faintest touch of a feather. Her flesh erupted in goose bumps, and she stilled as her heart beat once more in earnest.

  A touch at her hand made her jump, and the flashlight went flying, sending a distorted array of light to dance across the walls in a macabre display of shadow.

  She whirled around, but there was no one there.

  Jaden exhaled slowly as she forced her heart rate to steady, and she shifted her energy, welcoming the flood of power from her jaguar as the burn rushed over her skin.

  The ghosts hidden in the shadows were powerful indeed, and she felt malice in the air as she stood there, light on her feet and ready to rumble.