"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.

Oh . . . Christ.

What did it matter how many times he had warned himself it was too dangerous to have Kata as his mate? That he had to keep her at a distance?

The simple truth was that he was irrevocably bound to this woman whether they ever completed the mating ceremony or not.

"You're mine," he softly declared.

"Yes."

His hand lifted to cup her cheek. "Which is why I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

"Then don't send me away," she said, her pleading gaze a weapon of ma.s.s destruction on his heart. "Who will protect me if you're not beside me?"

"Kata . . ." he groaned.

Sensing that victory was in her grasp, Kata turned her head to press her lips to the center of his palm.

"We've both been alone too long. Together we can face anything."

He was whipped, he wryly acknowledged.

A pleading glance, a soft word and he was a lost cause. But, he didn't care.

If a miracle occurred and they managed to get out of the underworld, he would happily devote himself to Kata's pleasure.

It was surely the reason he was created?

"I can't say no to you, even when I know I should," he admitted.

She flashed a smile. "That's promising."

"Only if we get out of here alive."

"Good point."

They turned to the worm-like creature who continued to snake its way out of the rock. Uriel grimaced. No doubt the moment it was free all h.e.l.l was going to break loose, but how did he kill the d.a.m.ned thing?

In the end, the monster took the decision out of his hands.

With a high-pitched cry, the worm swooped downward, aiming his ma.s.sive teeth directly at Uriel's head. Uriel held his ground, stabbing the sword upward to pierce the tender skin of the worm's mouth.

The thing screamed and jerked backward, nearly s.n.a.t.c.hing the sword out of Uriel's grip. At the same time a shower of acid sprayed over his skin, burning deep into his flesh.

b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Uriel shifted to make certain he stood between the creature and Kata, swinging his sword before the beast could repeat his attack.

The blade slid through glutinous hide with sickening ease. Like a knife through pudding. Worse, a disgusting flood of acid belched from the wound, forcing Uriel to back away.

Dammit. He needed to be rid of the thing before Marika could catch up with them.

He was busy debating whether he could lure the creature toward the nearby river of fire when Kata moved to stand at his side, her brow furrowed with concentration and her arm lifted to point the dagger at the worm's head.

Uriel swore. Did she think that tiny dagger was going to cause any damage?

About to tug her back behind him, Uriel was halted as she muttered a harsh word and her curse blasted through the air, hitting the worm with shocking force.

There was a spine chilling cry from the worm, then it suddenly froze, as if it had been incased in ice.

"You might want to step back," Kata warned, easing away from the towering beast.

Uriel was swift to obey her warning.

He didn't understand magic, but he was smart enough to stay out of its path.

For long minutes nothing happened. Shifting uneasily, he was beginning to a.s.sume that the show was over when there was an odd sound of a crack echoing through the air. Was the surrounding rock being shattered?

But it wasn't the rock.

No. Even as Uriel took another step backward the towering worm began to crumble, the once spongy flesh now as brittle as chalk.

Flakes of the creature floated through the air as the heavy body crashed onto the path, causing a mini earthquake. Uriel's attention, however, had shifted to Kata who was clearly on the brink of collapse.

Angling his sword so the blade was pointed backward, Uriel scooped her into his arms and with one mighty shove was leaping over the decaying body of the worm.

"d.a.m.n," he muttered, his heart clenching with fear that she'd perilously drained herself as he gazed down at her too-pale face. "You're a dangerous woman."