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Alec absently wiped the blood that dripped down his arers onto thein his left arm as the shoulder-to-elbow slash made by the wrath demon&039;s claws slowly healed itself "This way," he said, holding up his uninjured hand to help Diamond down the last few yards from the balcony where they&039;d made their escape "I think this alley leads toyou can&039;t possibly be serious"

"Oh, I am, I assure you You wouldn&039;t believe how cutthroat the real estate business is in northern California! You think the de on - "

"Hush," Alec said, lifting his hand in warning as he turned his head, straining to catch the words of the two men who ran past the entrance of the alley

"Sally, said sheCorazon"

"I think Alec&039;s comment referred to those two men, not your experience in real estate, Dia up his arms for Pia, who followed him with a whomp

"Nice catch, Boo," she told Kristoff with a kiss as he held her in his arms He smiled and looked like he wanted to kiss her with hness, but obviously realized in time that the back alley of the hotel, with the premier prince of Abaddon on their heels, was not the ideal place for ros "Dratted hotel Don&039;t they dust their drainpipes?"

"Why would they mention Cora and Sally, unlessbloody hell" Alec stopped talking and started running, fear snatching at his breath as he ran

"Where is he going?" he heard Diamond call "Ow! I can&039;t run in these shoes! Hey, you don&039;t have to shove me!"

"They have Cora," Kristoff growled, obviously trying to hurry the women Alec didn&039;t wait for them to catch up to him; he shot out of the alley Down the street a few blocks, a black sedan pulled out and sped off into the night Alec swore under his breath, spinning around to head for the car park next to the hotel Kristoff and the toed frorabbed Dia west, to the highway," he called as he ran, ignoring Diamond&039;s protests that she could walk "Be quiet, woman - you&039;re too sloon&039;t risk Cora for the sake of your shoes Kristoff, keys?"

Alec knew it didn&039;t take much time at all for them to reach the car and set off after the two Dark Ones, but he felt every passing second as if it were an hour How the hell had the bastards found Cora? And why hadn&039;t she told him they were around?

Mi querida, are you safe? he asked as he sla down a couple eaved into the street, obviously a bit too flushed with the fruit of the grape He spun the wheel and drove around thehway that ran to the north out of town He had no idea which way the two council on the more populated north than the south Corazon?

"I don&039;t understand what&039;s going on," Dia herself from where Alec had tossed her into the car "Who has Alec seen that has hiht now

"The two men from the Moravian Council," Pia answered her

"ButAlec and Kristoff are Dark Ones Is it bad to see the roup that rules your people?" Diamond asked

Beloved, this silence worries me I need to hear from you

"It is when they want to iator, pointed to the right as the highway curved around a hill "Junction with another highway co that and ouldn&039;t know"

Alec swore "Sins of the saints, why doesn&039;t she talk to round off a few layers of ena wheel as he pulled off the road, sliding on the gravel that littered the shoulder Ahead of thehly east to west He had no idea whether the two councilmen had taken that road or the one they were on Hell, for all he knew, they could be going in the opposite direction

"Well, they&039;re with Sally, aren&039;t they?" Dia "They probably went to her house"

Alec ripped off the seat belt in order to turn around and face Diamond "Sally has a house in France? Here, in the south?"

"Yes," Dia startled "In Privas, not too far fro barbecue here last summer, when she became a demon lord, and invited everyone from the Court to see her new palace Well, the extension of her palace into the o into the Abaddon part I n say if it found us all frolicking around Abaddon enjoying steak and cedar-planked salmon?"

Alec stared at her for the count of four "Why would the ave a little shrug "It&039;s handy? If they&039;re trying to lure you into a trap, which I assu you to the Akasha, then that seems like the most private place to do so Unless the Moravian Council has buildings in this area?"

"No," Kristoff answered as Alec turned around and gunned thetraffic behind hihway going to the east "They don&039;t They ?"

I a to save you, Beloved Do not fear for your safety; I won&039;t let anyone hurt you "No, she isn&039;t" His voice was raw as he thought of Corazon being treated roughly The er, he kneouldn&039;t kill Cora, but she would no doubt fight hiht use ht rind his teeth evenhier within hiest event he&039;d ever suffered, filled with all tooharer or his partner so le hair on her adorable head, he would have his vengeance

"Is Alec growling?" Dia," she answered

"In Latin," Kristoff added Alec shot his friend a look Kristoff grinned, and added in Italian, "She&039;ll be all right They have no reason to hurt her"

"Cora is a fighter She won&039;t tolerate being used as bait to trap ht them"

"She&039;s also your Beloved now, and won&039;t take injury like a mortal would I know you&039;re worried, but just remember that it&039;s you they want, not her She&039;s just a ?" Pia said, flicking a finger at the back of Kristoff&039;s head "You kno I hate it when you talk in languages I don&039;t understand, which really is all of thees So stop it and tell nored the chatter of the women as they discussed what the council could or could not do to his Beloved, and focused his attention on getting them to Sally&039;s residence as quickly as possible without killing anywhat e, was blissfully silent with the exception of pointing out turns, a map of the area spread across his lap

Periodically Alec tried to get Cora to respond to him, but all was silence Worse, and far er s, but he would still be able to feel her being, bound as it ith his But nowhe felt empty, as if she had left, and taken his soul with her

"If they&039;ve harmed her," he said in German to Kristoff

"Don&039;t torture yourself with that," Kris answered hiate "Christian Dante s, but he wouldn&039;t condone a Beloved being harrowled to hiate to open - he sih the double gates in best action- the front of the car in the process

Kristoff sighed "There goes the da the back of Kristoff&039;s seat "You alaveto - holy moly, will you look at that place? It looks like a palace"

"It is," Dia on her cell phone "One of the Louis, I believe, gave it to a mistress Louis the thirteenth? Fourteenth? I lose track of the some property to buy a quintessence"

Alec was out of the car almost before it had colared for a moment at the car that the ain as he marched toward the door One hair, if they so htful head

"Would it do any good if I asked you to stay here?" he heard Kristoff ask

"None whatsoever," Pia answered

Alec tried the front door, found it locked, and stepped back a few paces to assess the building It was rather blocky, but built in a warm cream-colored stone, with tall s pided into nuardens , ellkept gravel paths winding through the greenery Alec didn&039;t wait to see if anyone would respond to the bell that Kristoff rang - he ran to the left, skirting a s over a low stone balustrade to stride up to large French doors flanking a gigantic stone urn "Corazon!" he bellowed as he jerked open one of the doors, luckily unlocked "You will answer me now!"

"I&039;m afraid she can&039;t," a woman&039;s voice answered him "Oh, you&039;re all here? Goodness I&039;ll have to have one of e cinna everyone Why, Diamond, I haven&039;t seen you inoh, it must be a century or two You look soat them from a doorway that clearly led into thea little fast from the run around the house "You look as fabulous as ever Is that a Chanel suit?"

"You like?" Sally did a little spin to show off the cherry red suit with short skirt "I prefer simple lines, ners seem to want to put into clothes these days"

"Where&039;s my Beloved?" Alec demanded, his patience at an end

"Cora?" Sally clucked her tongue and moved forward until she could put a hand on Alec&039;s arm "I am the last person to criticize, as anyone will tell you, but really, Cora needs to take in an anger s she said to me! She threatened me with the most heinous, the most cruelwell, let us draw a veil over exactly what she said, and instead acknowledge that should she ever wish to becoht in"

Alec stared at the woman in utter disbelief "Cora threatened you? Why would she threaten you?"

"Oh, you kno it is," Sally said with a wide ss,spell or twothese things get blown out of proportion, and then poof! So, and it all goes downhill fro insane, or the world was "Cora threatened you with drawing and quartering?"

"Wellno, perhaps that was s to me when I called the Dark Ones to take her and the lich away Uncalled-for unkind things"

Alec&039;s blood froze solid in his veins "The er has her?" As he was about to deh the fury and fear for Cora that held hirip "You called them?"

Sally tried to step back, but he was too fast His roar of rage made her wince as he lifted her off the floor to shake her "Where the hell is my Beloved?"

"Abaddon," she corrected him, her eyes ith surprise as he snarled a few threats of his own into her face "Oh, ets her ideas! That wasreally? With Popsicle sticks? I never thought about that, but I suppose if you sharpen them first"

"Alec, stop," Kristoff said as Alec wrapped his hands around the wo to throttle her to death, so it&039;s not worth wasting your time Where is Cora now, Sally?"

"I told you," Sally answered as Alec released her "Abaddon Well, the part of the house that&039;s in Abaddon Technically only the north side is in thethe west garden - "