Not after his painful encounter with the Jinn.

He understood that vampires might be at the top of the food chain, but there was always the danger of meeting a bigger, badder opponent who could kick his a.s.s.

So even with his secret boost of power from the Jinn, he devoted hours to perfecting his fighting skills.

Which was the only reason he wasn't already a pile of ash.

Still, it was taking every trick he'd learned over the centuries just to keep Marika from ripping out his throat. And while his strength was rapidly draining from his numerous wounds, his adversary was as fresh as a f.u.c.king daisy.

He could only hope that Kata had managed to find a means to escape.

Almost as if the mere thought of her had created her from thin air, he heard the sound of her voice calling from across the glade.

"Uriel." She waved her arms over her head to gain his attention. "This way."

He swallowed a sigh of frustration.

Dammit.

Couldn't one thing go right?

He turned, accepting that even if Kata had found a way out of the illusion she wouldn't leave without him.

"Oh no, you don't." Perhaps sensing that her prey might slip from her grasp, Marika flowed to stand between him and the beckoning Kata. "We're not done playing."

Uriel deliberately allowed his sword to dip in a weariness he didn't have to pretend, his other hand slipping into the pocket of his jeans. He had one shot at disabling the female long enough to reach Kata. It all depended on catching her off guard.

Marika's dark eyes flared with smug triumph.

She was confident of her impending victory.

h.e.l.l, why not?

If Uriel was a betting man he'd put his money on the insane vampire who couldn't die.

A humorless smile twisted his lips as he deliberately stumbled over a patch of gra.s.s, seeming to lose his balance.

That was all the encouragement Marika needed.

With a cry of antic.i.p.ation she launched herself forward, her hands curled into lethal claws and her fangs fully exposed.

Uriel forced himself to wait until the last possible second, then yanking his hand out of his pocket he tossed the wooden box directly at her face. The death spell activated with a tiny pop, the magic halting her in her tracks.

He didn't hesitate. With a fierce roar, he lifted his sword and swung it in a tremendous arch.

The blade whistled through air, offering a belated warning, but Marika was too lost in her bloodl.u.s.t to notice. With lips pulled into a snarl and her icy power pulsing through the glade she launched herself at Uriel, managing to rake her claws down the side of his face even as his sword connected with her neck.

"Wrong, b.i.t.c.h," he hissed. "Game over."

Her dark eyes widened in shock as she at last realized the danger, trying to move to the side as the sword slid smoothly through her neck. It was all too little, too late and despite her frantic efforts she was helpless to halt the inevitable.

Uriel put his entire body behind the blow, slicing the sword cleanly through the vampire's neck. He watched as Marika's head flew through the air, landing on a patch of wildflowers, her eyes still wide with shock and her body dropping with a lifeless thud at his feet.

Not that he was deceived.

Not this time.

He grimaced at the lack of blood flowing from her lethal wound and the twitch of her limbs. She should be turning to dust, not laying there flopping like a fish out of water.

He didn't know what the h.e.l.l Marika had been transformed into, but he was fairly certain that she wasn't going to allow a little thing like the lack of a head to stop her.

Almost as if to prove his point, a slender hand jerked outward, the fingers barely missing his foot as they dug into the ground and began to tug the body toward the missing head.

For a second, he was transfixed, unable to accept what he was seeing. Then, shaking off the paralyzing horror, Uriel turned to race toward the waiting Kata.

Flowing with a speed only a vampire could match, he was swiftly at Kata's side, his senses on full alert at the familiar scent of demon.

"Yannah was here," he said in flat tones.

Kata nodded, her face pale with weariness and her lovely eyes dark with fear. Still, there was a gritty courage in her expression and a determination in the angle of her shoulders that filled Uriel's heart with pride.

This woman was a survivor.

"Yes." She pointed toward the shimmering mist that swirled in midair. "She created a gateway."

Uriel narrowed his gaze. "Where is she?"

"She disappeared."

"Again?"

Kata shrugged. "Are you surprised?"

Uriel muttered a curse.

He'd spent the past two centuries making sure he was in command of every situation. After his encounter with the Jinn he'd been obsessive in his need for control.

Now he was blundering from one miserable, insane situation to another. And in the center of the mess was Yannah, popping in and out like a d.a.m.ned cuckoo bird.

"I'm tired of her jerking us around," he muttered. "What does she want?"

"I don't know and I don't care." Kata glanced over his shoulder, shuddering at the sight of the headless monster that had once been her sister. "I would rather burn in the pits of h.e.l.l than give Marika the satisfaction of killing me."

"d.a.m.n." Reaching out, he grasped her hand, sourly confident they were fleeing the frying pan directly into the fire. "Don't let go."

Together they stepped through the mist, the sensation of electricity dancing over his skin making Uriel shiver. Dammit, he hated magic. Then, they were shrouded in blackness, falling forward to tumble through a sense of emptiness.

Uriel struggled vainly to pull Kata into his arms, already knowing they were going to have a hard landing. The sudden entrance into the gateway on the other side, however, ripped her away from him and before he could react, they were being slammed onto a hard floor with enough force to rattle his fangs.

With a groan, he lifted his head to discover the latest disaster awaiting them, not at all surprised by the seemingly endless expanse of black, volcanic rock that ran between rivers of fire or the poisonous clouds that floated in the distance. Overhead the sky was a sickly shade of crimson with bolts of lightning that streaked toward the ground without warning.

The only surprise would be if they weren't back in the underworld.

Shifting his gaze, he swore at the sight of Kata lying sprawled a few feet away, her tiny body perilously near the liquid fire.

"Kata."

He surged to his feet, keeping his sword in one hand while he moved to her side.

"I'm okay." With an obvious effort, Kata slowly stood, grimacing at the h.e.l.lish vista spread before her. "Or at least as okay as I'm going to get."

Uriel desperately wanted to pull her into his arms and offer her comfort, but a swift glance over his shoulder revealed that the gateway was still open.

As soon as Marika healed she was going to be on their trail.

"We need to move."

Despite her obvious weariness, she gave a swift nod. "Do you sense Yannah?"

"That way." He grudgingly tilted his head toward a path leading through the black rock.

Kata didn't hesitate. With that impulsiveness he was beginning to learn was a part of her pa.s.sionate nature, she was headed through the red-tinted shadows. Uriel hastily reached out to grasp her arm and spin her back to face him.

"Wait," he commanded.

She met his frown with a heavy sigh. "I know you don't trust her."

Trust her?

Not even if she grew wings and put on a halo.

"Do you?" he growled.

Kata bit her bottom lip, visibly considering her words. "She makes me nuts," she said slowly, "but I think she's our only hope of getting out of here."

"And that says it all, doesn't it?" Uriel gave a shake of his head, conceding defeat. Kata was right. What were the odds of running into another demon who not only had the ability to open gateways, but was willing to help them? "Let's go."

In silence they moved along the pathway, the air growing progressively more oppressive and the lightning increasing in intensity.

Uriel tested the air. He could vaguely sense Yannah in the distance, but closer at hand there was . . .

Danger.

He didn't recognize the strange scent, but it was making his instincts bristle.

Reaching behind his back, he slid his dagger from the sheath attached to his jeans.

"Here," he said, pressing the finely crafted weapon into Kata's hand.

She frowned, awkwardly clutching the leather-bound hilt. "I don't know how to use it."

"Stick the pointy end into something."

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't tempt me."

They both froze as the sound of Marika's maniacal laugh abruptly echoed through the stagnant air.

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l," Uriel breathed.

"For G.o.d's sake, you cut off her head," Kata rasped. "What else can we do?"

"Run," he said without apology.

Any good warrior understood the importance of a strategic retreat.

Grabbing her arm, he urged her down the path, his sword held at the ready. He knew what was coming from behind, but there was no guarantee there wasn't something worse waiting for them ahead.

h.e.l.l, it was almost a given.

It didn't take long to fulfill his pessimistic theory.

They had just reached a crossroad in the path when the ground beneath their feet split and a nightmarish creature surged out of the opening.

Kata screamed, stumbling backward. Uriel didn't blame her. He wanted to do a little screaming of his own.

Even by demon standards the thing was gruesome.

Shaped like a worm, it rose up to nearly eight feet in height. He couldn't see any eyes, but its mouth gaped open to reveal several rows of razor sharp teeth. There were large barbs on top of its head and its skin was a pasty white and covered with a thick slime that dripped onto the stone with an audible hiss. Acid.

Like the nasty thing needed added ammunition.

Gripping his sword in both hands, he stepped between the beast and Kata.

"I'll keep it distracted. Follow the other path . . ."

"No," she sharply cut off his words.

He growled in frustration. "If you don't go now we'll be fighting Marika along with this . . ." He had no idea what the thing was. "Oversized worm."

She grabbed his arm. "I'm not leaving you again."

"Dammit, Kata."

"Look, you may not want me as a mate, but as far as I'm concerned you're stuck with me." The words rang through the air with the clarity of a bell. "Forever."

Uriel yanked his head around, unnerved by the serene expression on her beautiful face. As if she hadn't just proclaimed herself as his mate.

Meeting her steady gaze, his heart squeezed with a painful need he could no longer deny.