Gabriel kissed me roughly. "Never leave me again. Especially not with that pretty boy Patrick."

I laughed. "Pretty boy Patrick is very married. And he's got nothing on you, honey."

All the same, doubt seeped through the primal beat of my passion. I couldn't shake the idea that Gabriel was only chasing me because he thought I was going to have power. I couldn't fault the man for seeking protection for himself or his friends. Still, I didn't want to be used. Not by anyone for any reason.

"It'll be dawn soon," I said. "I need to get to the shelter."

Gabriel caressed my cheek. "Wilson's safer there ... and you want to be with him."

"Yeah."

"C'mon then."

We walked down the main path that led to the Consortium headquarters. The compound was mostly empty. No one had said boo to us, and I could only imagine it was because everyone was in the shelter. I was anxious to get to Wilson. I wanted him to know I was okay. I didn't want things to reverse between us.

I hadn't seen Darrius, Drake, or Damian in a while. My guess was that they were guarding the Ancients. Nobody was a better guardian than those three. I glanced at Gabriel and smiled. Well, maybe one.

The roses and other sweet flowers perfumed the courtyard. Had it been any other night, I might've enjoyed holding Gabriel's hand as we hurried along the path.

About halfway across, I heard a terrible scream. It sounded like a cross between a lion's roar and a bird's squawking. I looked up and saw the damnedest thing I'd ever seen.

A dragon.

I stopped, which was a stupid thing to do. I just couldn't believe my eyes. The scales were yellow with red stripes and the wings were huge. The eyes were black as night and the snout crusted with soot. Its monster feet had some seriously sharp talons.

It hovered above the courtyard and every time it tried to go down, it bounced upward - as if it were hitting a trampoline. The Wiccan protection spells were doing their work. I'd have to offer those ladies and gents some free haircuts.

The dragon let out another frustrated shriek. As it turned to its side to circle and try again, I saw the rider on its back.

Ol' Magnolia Blossom.

She raised her arm and a fireball erupted from her palm. The fiery orb looked as if it would hit me spot-on, but the second it hit the "bubble," it went out like a match doused in water.

I didn't need another hint. Gabriel tugged on my hand and we jaunted across the courtyard in record time. We scrambled down to the basement.

I hurried to the far back wall. There wasn't a sign, much less a door. A shiny, very sharp gold nail stuck out of the concrete wall about eye level. I peered at it and snorted. "And what am I supposed to do with that?"

"It's a blood lock," he said. "You have to pierce your finger with it." He nodded toward the lock. "Only those whose blood was included in the enchantment will open the door."

I didn't recall a time when I gave my blood to the Consortium for a spell. Not that they would've asked, much less told me about all this mess. I was skeptical about it working, but I raised my hand to try.

Boom! The whole building shook. The force of the impact pushed me off the wall, and the two of us staggered away, trying to regain our balance.

Boom! The ceiling cracked. Pieces started dropping from the ceiling like gray snow.

"What the hell are they using to get in?" I asked. "A nuclear bomb?"

"They've breached the barrier. Lia knows we're somewhere in the building." Gabriel took my hand and pulled me toward the blood lock. "You need to get inside."

I pushed my forefinger onto the nail. Blood dripped onto it.

Nothing happened.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I rubbed my bloodied finger along the top and underside of the nail.

No door appeared.

We heard an ominous crack. Then the roar-squawk of the dragon echoed far above us. Had they destroyed the headquarters? Was that beast tromping around the debris, trying to sniff us out or whatever it was that dragons did to find people?

I tried poking another finger, and when that didn't work, I plunged my wrist against the sharp point. No matter which location it came from, my blood was not opening the god-damned door.

I looked at Gabriel, panicked. "You try it."

The dragon's cry was much closer. Of all the ways I thought my end would come, I had never believed it would be by dragon. A bottle of tequila and a dare gone wrong, sure. But being fried by a crazy vampire's pet? Nope.

"It won't work for me." He drew my hands into his. The wounds had healed, but there was still blood on me. Gabriel didn't seem to notice. He kissed each of my wrists. "We must return to the cave."

"But my son is in there!" I cried.

"There are at least a hundred vampires in that shelter, not to mention a dozen guardians. He's far safer there than anywhere else."

We were running out of choices. Either we made a break for it in the next few minutes, or we ended up prisoners - or worse, the kind of dead that was permanent.

We stood there for nearly a minute while the ominous sounds above us got louder. Koschei and his minions were surely all over the place by now.

"Oh! I have my cell phone! I'll call someone and they'll let us in from the other side." Excited about this option, I broke free of his embrace and dug the phone out from my front pocket.

The battery was dead.

More noises sounded above us, but they were farther away now. They hadn't yet found the entrance to the basement.

I had to grapple with the idea of a partner who carried his share of the burden. It was more than that, actually. Gabriel wasn't arguing with me or trying to make me feel bad or telling me he wasn't responsible for what my friends did. He was helping me. He was shouldering my duty because ... well, I didn't know, did I? I couldn't quite comprehend a man who simply took my word, who quieted my worry, who stood at my side.

I wanted to cry. Or to yell "yippee!" It was a toss-up, but I was leaning toward "yippee!"

"We have to sneak outta here." I looked at Gabriel. He was concentrating on the stairs, his shimmering hair drifting carelessly over his shoulders. He was so beautiful.

"Don't you have a phone?" I asked.

He grimaced. "I lost it in the woods. When I saw what was happening to you and Khenti, I went wolf as fast as I could."

I was feeling those warm fuzzies again. I'm not exactly a low maintenance, quiet, sweet-natured kind of girl. That independence and sass were hard won, let me tell you, and I had no plans to give up who I was, flaws and all. But Gabriel made me want to be a better person.

The noises above us had faded into silence. We crept toward the stairs. For all my hooting and hollering about testosterone-fueled decisions, I didn't complain when Gabriel tucked me behind as he peered up the staircase.

All we saw was darkness. Earlier the lights had been on, so either they'd gotten knocked out or they'd been turned off.

Gabriel went up the stairs slowly and I followed. We tried to be as quiet as possible, but my boots didn't have a soft tread and my occasional clicks on the concrete made us both flinch.

When we reached the top, we could see that the door had fallen off, mostly because the entrance had cracked and released the framing. Even though it looked like the building had sustained serious damage, it was still intact.

Patsy. The voice whispered inside my head. Come to me, Patsy. That's right. This way.

I felt the most insane need to follow the man's directions. He had such a beautiful voice. Gabriel's hand tugged on mine, but I shook free of his grip. As if in a dream, I walked down the hallway.

The man was down there. He wanted me. And I needed him. He would give me ... I blinked. Give me what?

Anything you desire.

I felt Gabriel's hand catch my arm and he dragged me backward. I stumbled. My feet didn't want to go back. They wanted to go forward. To him.

Gabriel latched on to my shoulders and held me still. I reared back my head and slammed it into his. His hands slid off my shoulders as he collapsed to the floor. I looked down and saw him unconscious.

Good girl, said the voice. He doesn't love you, Patsy. He doesn't really want you. He wants what you can give him. He's just like Sean.

A tall, slim man emerged from the darkness. His eyes were a shade too light of brown and his shaggy brown hair was drawn into a ponytail.

He wore white from head to toe - a short-sleeved shirt, white dress pants, and shiny white shoes. His face was long and gaunt, his chin pointy. Two gold hoops sparkled from each ear. His thin lips were pulled into a coaxing smile.

"So you're the big threat?" he asked, amused. His Russian accent was slight. "To me, you look like a woman easily controlled."

"Yes," I agreed. "I'm whatever you say I am."

"Of course you are." He patted my cheek. "I'm afraid that you and your mongrel boyfriend must die."

Zela

Translated from the Memoirs of Ruadan

Zela's statuesque beauty and graceful nature bespoke her life as a Nubian princess. Her smooth skin was like dark chocolate. Her hair was cropped short. However, her loveliness could not protect her from her father's greed.

She had the unique ability to manipulate metals of all kinds. Her father had confined her, refusing to allow her to marry or have children, so that she could make weapons for their tribe. The night she attempted suicide, I found her and Turned her.

I should say that Durga found her. She had been using her favorite demon, Andhaka, to scout for us. He was very good at finding routes around towns, shelters that protected us during our days, and guarding us while we slept.

I don't know why Andhaka reported to us about the beautiful girl who had stabbed herself with a silver dagger. As a demon, he held no regard for human despair, much less human lives. His interest was the sword. He wanted his mistress to gift it to him.

I wanted to see the girl.

We glamoured those guarding her rooms and entered. Zela's stomach was a mess and her blood pooled darkly on the clean-swept floor.

Durga saw to her wound, but Zela's mortal life was draining away.

Again, it was Andhaka who told us about Zela's ability. He'd watched her create the dagger from chunks of silver that she had melted and molded with her magic.

As she breathed her last, I offered Zela immortality.

She could not answer. I could not interpret the look in her eyes. I didn't know what to do. But Durga did.

"Turn her," she said softly. "She has much to offer the world. If she wants freedom, you can give her that and more."

We stole her from the palace and took her to our cave. I performed the Turning ritual.

When we awoke the next evening, we knew Zela had survived the process. She told us that the gods surely had plans for her; that we must've been sent to save her.

I wanted to go to Egypt, but Durga and Zela wanted to strike out for other lands. They decided to travel together. I knew they would be safe, especially with Andhaka protecting them. Because he had saved Zela, she gave him the dagger that took her life.

The next evening, I made a pact with Zela and Durga. They, too, would serve on the Council and agreed to show up at the meeting place.

I wished them well and headed north.