Page 32 of Lucifer's Mirror

“Dead?” She sounds hopeful.

“No. Unfortunately, he still leads his armies from Hell. But without him, they were weaker, and the Guardians managed to hold them back. There was a balance. Then, around a thousand years ago, the shadowguard appeared. That’s when the ruling family was killed, and the city of Zandar Aurion destroyed. We kill the shadowguard, but they come back in greater numbers.”

“What are they?”

I shrug. “Demon wraiths bred in Hell. Evil creatures that should never have existed. Over the years, the shadowguard have multiplied, and they’ve been taking control of more and more of this land. The Guardians do what they can, but their numbers are dwindling. My brother Khendril was a Guardian until he…”

“Until he what?”

“Until he betrayed his oath, his people, and ran away.” I can taste the bitterness of his betrayal on my tongue.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. He made his choice.”

But the peace of the night has been ruined. Khendril left to protect this girl, and suddenly I need to be away from her. Before I say something I can’t take back.

So instead, I say, “Don’t step beyond the wards.”

Then I turn and walk away, as Fury whines his displeasure.

Chapter 16

Destination Unknown

Foronebriefmomentlast night, I’d thought he was going to kiss me. And the dumb part is—I would have let him.

God, I wanted that kiss. I’ve never experienced desire before, but I craved the taste of him, the feel of his hands on my body. My fingers burned with the need to trace the tattoos on his skin, to lie down and…

Ugh. I’m in trouble.Bigtrouble.

In hindsight, it’s definitely for the best that he backed off. Because while he has saved my life, I don’t entirely trust Khaosti. However much I want to. And I do want to, because despite my doubts, something in Khaosti calls to me. It’s probably his wolf, not him. I’ve always had an affinity for animals.

He’s conflicted about something. One moment he seems drawn to me, the next he’s pushing me away. And if the shit hits the fan, I’m not sure which side he will land on.

On a positive note, at least he opened up a little. I learned a little about this world and Lucifer, and now I know where we’re going—Zandar Aurion. I roll the name through my mind, but it means nothing.

It took me a long time to fall asleep, but I finally drifted off with Khaosti’s face in my mind. And I dreamed of wolves. Or one wolf, anyway.

I’m not sure what wakes me. I roll onto my back and blink to clear my vision. Dim light is seeping around the edge of the curtains—at a guess it’s early morning.

The events of yesterday play like a slideshow through my mind, stranger than anything I could have ever imagined—werewolves and witches and God knows what else. And Lucifer’s Mirror, which I’m apparently supposed to find. Hard to do when I have no freaking clue what it is. Never mindwhereit is. It occurs to me that it’s probably a mirror like the one that brought us to this world. But I don’t even want to think about where Lucifer’s Mirror might take me if I was ever stupid enough to jump through it.

But who is Lucifer? Khaosti said that no one knows where he came from.

Why do I have to be the one to find this mirror?

And if I do succeed—what happens next?

At the back of all the thoughts swirling in my head is the knowledge that I’m maybe close to finding the answers. Maybe. This crone must know something or else why would Khaosti’s brother have told him to take me to her? Shehasto know.

A door slams somewhere in the house. I’m not the only one awake. Then a low murmur—I can’t make out the words—followed by more words, this time much louder.

“How the fuck do you think I feel? Fan-fucking-tastic. Now leave me the fuck alone.”

Zayne doesn’t sound happy. What happened to him last night? Khaosti said he was okay, but obviously something has gone wrong.

Then a fist bangs on my door. “We’re leaving in five minutes,” Khaosti says from the other side.