2

Astrophysicist and Theoretical Physicist extraordinaire.

What bullshit.

Here he was, with the brains of a super computer and he couldn't figure a way out of this godforsaken room.

What he wouldn't give right now to have a few practical skills. You know, be one of those guys who could pick a lock with nothing more than a hair pin, or re-wire circuitry and open electronic locks with only the internal workings of a pen light. Actually, that part he could probably do,…if he only had a pen light.

Fuck, this is frustrating, he thought as he threw himself against the heavy door for the zillionth time.

Alex sank to the floor in an exhausted heap. Breathing heavily, his muscles shook from his fruitless efforts to escape. Escape really wasn't the right word. But, if he could at least get the guard's attention…maybe.

Nope, it wasn't happening and there was no point fooling himself. He was a prisoner here until whenever his captors choose otherwise.

Two very large guards were stationed outside his door at all times, that he knew for certain. Apart from that, he knew nothing. Not where the corridor outside his room led to, nor where the building was situated. He wasn't even certain he was still in England. Listening to the muffled sound of accented voices, he doubted he was.

The last thing he remembered was being hauled into a helicopter. Then, nothing until he woke up in this meat locker.

The room would give any alcoholic an instant hangover. White washed walls and ceiling, polished white linoleum floor and extra bright fluorescent lighting. A single bed with white linen was pressed up against one wall and opposite, what he assumed was originally a storage cupboard was now, you guessed it, an all white bathroom.

If he ever got out of there, the only colour he wanted around him was black, and that was only until they invented a darker colour.

Dimly, he registered the sound of the lock turning in the door. As the door began pushing at his back, he slid sluggishly to the side, sitting behind it as it was pushed fully open.

"Where the hell is he?" the male said.

"I'm behind here, moron," Alex said lifting himself off the floor. He barely had the energy to move, but he wasn't going to give this tosser the satisfaction of seeing him on his knees.

"I know you. You're the fuck knuckle I KO'd at the airport," Alex said. "And, you…" his eyes narrowed on the dark skinned woman next to him, his weight shifting to the balls of his feet ready to fight, "You're Ahriman's brown nosing, chicken shit assassin. Obviously, not a very good one since you high tailed it when your buddies had their heads removed. Are you still working for Ahriman or have you found someone new to leach off?"

"How dare you, you snivelling little gutter snipe," Mira snapped, her fangs dropping in anticipation of fresh blood.

"Your loyalty is cheap, Mira, admit it. You change your loyalty like you change your clothes. You work for whoever is paying the most or whoever wields the biggest stick."

"He's right you know," the male said when Mira growled dangerously.

"The truth hurts, suck it up," Alex added, swaying a little on shaky legs.

"A couple of days of solitary confinement hasn't improved your manners at all," came a familiar voice from Hell, as a second woman stepped through the doorway.

A couple of days? Is that how long he had been there? Being cut off from everything and everyone, it felt like an eternity. The only thing Alex had to occupy himself with was the meditation Narayan had been teaching him. It filled in a few hours here and there, but it wasn't enough to pacify his overactive brain or his burning need to feel Abby in his arms. To feel her skin beneath his hands, so soft and smooth, like the most perfect alabaster, her body all graceful curves. Nor could meditation lessen the memory of her decadent scent of vanilla and orchids. If anything, it heightened it, making him light headed and really home sick.

"I see you brought Ahriman's lap dog," Alex bit out. His bitter contempt at seeing Lilith was only dampened by his fatigue. Inside he seethed with hatred that bordered on psychopathic rage. "Where's your master, whore bitch, and what did you do with my sister?"

It felt strange using that word, sister. His whole life he had believed Cassie was his cousin, and not even blood related at that. Neither of them had any idea they in fact shared the same father, until a couple of days ago. He had been surprised by that revelation, but not disappointed. Cassie had always felt like a sister to him and it gave him a case of the warm and fuzzies to know he had blood relatives living in this world with him. Not just one but two and a half.

Cassie was his sister, which made Alaric his great grandfather, sixty-three times removed. He and Cassie were descended from Alaric and his daughter. Alaric was also soon to be his brother-in-law and the couple were expecting a baby, hence the half.

Alex had no doubt they would be out there somewhere right now planning his rescue.

"I'm right here," the blonde male standing in front of him responded. "I'm Ahriman. And, I killed your sister," he smirked with iniquitous delight.

"What the fuck?" Alex gave the male an intense visual scrutiny. Credibility for his statement didn't ring true. There was no way in the world this guy would be standing here if he had killed Cassie. Alaric would have hunted him down and torn him limb from limb. There would be no rock in the world this snake could hide under where Alaric wouldn't find him.

"Cut the bullshit. What's going on here," Alex bit out in an acerbic tone. He was tired, and he had no interest in their twisted mind-fuck games.

"I can see you don't believe me, but I assure you I speak the truth. I had a minor complication when I had my big show-down with Sammael. My old body got a little damaged and I needed a new one. So, here I am," he said in a forced chipper tone.

Alex gave a mock 'woo hoo' and punched the air. There was nothing like inciting a psychotic demon into violence. Although, the threat of retaliation had never persuaded Alex to keep his mouth shut before, so there was no reason to change now. Maybe that made him an arsehole. Okay, that definitely made him an arsehole, but he had every intention of pushing the boundaries of fate until fate pushed back. In for a penny, in for a pound, as the saying goes. "So, Alaric killed you, you satanic freak show. I'm glad to hear it. But that doesn't explain how you became a parasite infesting this cock sucker," Alex said, waving his hand in an exaggerated flurry.

"Actually, Sammael wasn't strong enough to kill me. I was almost fully transformed by the time he found me. It was that pathetic professor." Blood stained spittle flew from Ahriman's lips, his face flushed with anger and veins bulged in his forehead and neck. "Who knew that Guardian's were real," he mumbled to himself.

As for how he came to be inside Steadman…Well, he was saving that pearl for later. He intended to let Alex find out first hand.

"So, you up-graded to a new model of douche bag but I think you got duped, numb nuts." Alex looked over the sorry form of Ahriman's host body. His eyes were blood shot, his face pasty white with a fine beading of perspiration on his forehead. "It must be hell inside that rotting maggot sack, you must feel right at home," Alex quipped.

Ahriman's temper kicked up a notch.

"I hate to break this to you doofus, but you seem to be leaking," Alex said, running a finger under his own eye and pouting with a mock sad face.

Ahriman touched his cheek, his fingers coming away with blood. His eyes, nose and ears were bleeding in a steady trickle. Not only were his organs now at the point of failure, it appeared his veins were now liquefying too. Like a form of radiation sickness, his body was degrading at an alarming rate.

The average human body was not made to sustain the high vibration of a soul such as his. Ahriman stared at Alex, a small curve lifted the corners of his mouth in a smug grin.

But then, Alex wasn't an average human, was he?

"So, what I am I doing here? You got Cassie's blood. Obviously that didn't work out so well for you. I'm assuming I was the back-up plan?" Alex refused to believe that Ahriman had killed Cassie. They had a close bond, if something had happened to her, he would know, right, get some sort of feeling?

"Originally it was your brains I was after, not your blood. But I have to admit your genetics are an unexpected bonus."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"Your research. It means you're going to put your research into practice."

"What? What the hell are you talking about? My research is theoretical. There's no practical application for my research."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, dear boy," Ahriman boasted. "You're going to build me a device that will open a portal to the Underworld."

Ahriman had an overgrown sense of his own power. The egotistical bastard would suck his own dick if he could.

"Let me guess, you were dropped in the ugly and stupid bucket when you were being created and it stuck? No wonder you were sent to the Underworld, you're an embarrassment to your own kind."

Ahriman slapped Alex across the face. "Shut-up," he snapped.

"Oh, sorry I left out socially retarded. Only girl's slap. Ugly, stupid and retarded. You're the trifecta of losers." It was official. Alex was his own species. The Death-wish-osaurus and extinction was calling.

Ahriman raised his hand again in a fist but dropped it almost immediately, his lip curled in an uncivilised snarl as he warred with himself not to pummel Alex senseless.

Lilith stood back with smug satisfaction. She was sooo looking forward to Alex getting what was coming to him and she intended to be there to watch.

"You will do what I tell you, because you're nothing but a pawn in my game, and I play to win," he snarled through clenched teeth.

A pawn? A fucking pawn? "You're out of your fucking tree if you think I'm going to cooperate with you," Alex bit back.

"There wasn't an option in that statement," Ahriman growled. There wasn't an ounce of kindness or warmth behind those cold, callous eyes either.

"Ahh, hmm." A deep voice from the hallway drew their attention. "Sir, we have a report of intruders scouting the borders of the compound. Would you like us to eliminate them or recruit them?"

"How many are there?"

"Only three that we can detect, Sir."

The Alliance, Ahriman deduced. They'd taken longer to get here than he had expected, and only three of them? Either Alex wasn't that important to them after all, or they were up to something.

"Send out some men. Capture them if you can, if not…well, C'est la vie." He gave a flick of his hand. "And report back to me."

Without so much as a glance in Alex's direction, Ahriman, Mira and Lilith left his room, the lock clicking into place behind them. Alex let out a long, weary breath as the last of his energy evaporated away and he sank back down the wall to sit hugging his knees on the floor.

Not long now. They were coming for him. He would be out of this hell hole within twenty-four hours. He hoped.

"Mira, get Morgan. Now!" Ahriman barked at her.

"What do you have in mind?" Lilith asked suspiciously.

Ahriman ignored Lilith's question, instead gave further orders to Mira. "Tell her to get the chamber ready for the ritual."

"Yes Sir," she answered and quickly marched away.

"You're not thinking of taking Alex's body as a host, are you?" Lilith snapped in a disapproving tone. "You can't. His body is still weak. If Steadman's body only lasted you two days and he was healthy beforehand, how long do you think Alex's body will last? I won't allow it. You can use one of the guards until Alex is back to full strength."

Ahriman's temper was already on a hair trigger and Lilith's little tirade snapped the last thread.

His huge body turned and slammed her against the wall, his enormous hand gripped around her throat like a vice, cutting off her air. Lilith's eyes bulged wildly from fear and oxygen deprivation. She stared into the dark abyss of his soul, flinching as his searing power slashed through the air.

"How dare you take the liberty of presuming you can tell me what I can and cannot do," he roared. "Your usefulness is wearing thin, Lilith, along with my patience. You warm my bed and that is all." He released her throat and allowed her a gasping breath. "Do not question my judgement again, or you may find out first hand what I do to those who piss me off," he added sweetly, trailing a finger down her throat, along her collarbone and dipping lower between her breasts.

Lilith whimpered as he pressed the heavy length of his arousal into her belly. As much as he scared her sometimes, she couldn't help but melt at his touch. She was a Class A moron, she was the first to admit it, but she would do anything for him, no matter what it cost her, so long as he kept her in his bed.

Ahriman pushed himself off her with a contemptuous snort and waved an impatient hand to keep her silent. He could feel the relentless ticking of the clock beating against him.

The enemy was at his door and he had a job to accomplish.

x-x-x-x-x

"Impatient much?"

"I thought we'd already established that. Yes," Abby huffed, pushing Sebastian aside to take a look herself.

Inside the compound walls the weeds clung to the courtyard surface, growing over abandoned WWII heavy artillery. Moss covered the walls and the external timber doors were rotting and decrepit. The premises could easily be mistaken for being deserted if it weren't for the shiny new hidden surveillance cameras. The interesting thing was that these cameras were trained to monitor inside the compound, not beyond, and there was no one guarding beyond the inner walls. The battlement on top of the run-down building was unmanned and no dogs patrolled the parameter.

Klaus hissed. "Someding is wrong."

His warning came only a moment before the courtyard filled with men.

There seemed to be an endless supply of brawny, fierce men in the compound now. Maybe they grew them in a garden out the back somewhere. There was something odd about them though, something….not right, but Abby couldn't quite put her finger on it.

The Guild knew they were there. But how? Sebastian thought. He was an elite hunter. He didn't leave tracks, he was careful not to carry any scent on a hunt and he moved soundlessly through the terrain. Even his shadow was indistinguishable from his surroundings.

He would bet his left nut that the compound was warded with perimeter spells. He had never come across one before but there was no other explanation. There was barely any security on the outside of the building, no razor wire fences and no alarms or trip wires.

This place was getting weirder by the second.

Abby, Sebastian and Klaus retreated back into the forest. A handful of guards in hot pursuit.

Half a mile from the compound the first guards caught up with them.

Sebastian watched Abby dance on the balls of her feet, dishing out a succession of blows with brutal efficiency, like a beautiful valkyrie.

He would love to get her in the gym, where they could spar until he took her down on the mat and…Well, okay, that wasn't going to happen. She already had a mate. The story of his life.

He wasn't the only one watching her though. Just beyond a bush to her right, another guard stalked her, waiting to pounce when she came within his reach.

Sebastian slipped around behind, tapping him on the shoulder and offered him a biting smile, his fist raised ready to deliver a blow.

Holy crap! It can't be.

"Where da hell you come from liddle cockroach?"

Only two men he knew used that term of endearment, Klaus and…

"I would say your mother's bed, but I've seen your mother," Sebastian quipped, his tone tainted with disbelief.

Klaus' head snapped up. That voice. He knew that voice.

Klaus laid out the last two psychopathic guards, flipping the blades in his hands and plunged one into Mr Creepy Buzzcut's heart and the other through the neck of his side kick Beelzebub's inbred cousin and leaped toward the scuffling men. Sebastian may have been half Dieter's size but he packed a mean punch, catching the larger man in the temple, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

Dieter. Klaus' brother was fighting for the enemy?

Could this night get any worse?

Yes. The night was almost over, and Sebastian and Abby didn't have their infinity plus sunblock.

The biting wind lashed his large frame as Klaus carried the dead weight of his brother through the foot-deep snow back to their base camp, a small hunter's cottage several miles away. Very few people knew of its existence hidden away in one of the densest parts of the forest.

Dieter began to groan, then wiggle on Klaus' shoulder, his movements becoming more aggressive and loud as he came to.

"Dieter. Behave," Klaus growled, dropping him on the ground and pinning him face down in the snow.

"We're here to help you but we don't need to make it a pleasant experience. Got it?" Sebastian's chastising words with their blatant threat had no effect.

Dieter's eyes were blank, vacant. There was no sign of recognition for his brother or Sebastian.

The lights were on, but nobody was home.

Until this moment Abby would have believed that these soulless mercenaries were imported directly from the Underworld, willing to perform any job for the right price. Now? What the hell was going on?

"What a head fuck," Sebastian muttered.

"What dey do to him?" Klaus looked to Abby and Sebastian for answers who both shrugged and shook their heads.

"I don't know, but I'm going to kill him if he doesn't shut the fuck up. He's going to let his new buddies know where to find us," Sebastian muttered.

"I'll help you hide the body," Abby promised.

"Just kidding bro," Sebastian quickly apologised when Klaus's eyes began to glow dangerously in warning. The hand gestures and accompanying comments, although in his native tongue, suggested that Sebastian perform various sexual acts on himself, most of which would be physically impossible. "Sheesh."

Over the years Sebastian's unique sense of humour and perverse grasp of honesty may have led to some hurt feelings and long-held grudges. But overall, he was a pretty likeable guy.

"I fix dis." Klaus curled his hand into a tight fist and thumped his brother with enough force to keep him unconscious for a week. The echo of the punch reverberated through the trees, dislodging a flurry of snow from their skeletal branches.

"We need to get moving. The sun's almost up," Abby urged.

They also needed answers.

Time was running short for Alex. She could feel it in her bones. She had to find a way to get into that compound but now she had to wait another freaking twelve hours before she could make an attempt.

Arrrrgh!