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"A gift from a voodoo priestess"

Dante frowned "What’s in it?"

"A variety of nasty bits and pieces that are used to ani at his lips "It allows "

A handy little object, Dante acknowledged And precisely the sort of trinket that Viper would collect He watched as Viper tucked the bag beneath his shirt His brows abruptly snapped together

"Bloody hell, what happened to you?" Dante demanded as he studied the charred burns on the smooth flesh

With a flick of his hands, the older vampire closed his shirt to hide the reeht he should be dead and he disagreed"

Dante s such risks Once he was on the hunt, nothing could halt hi?"

"Eventually" A flare of annoyance rippled over the pale features "I was careless His poas greater than I expected"

So the dark wizard was gone One less proble here?"

Viper’s presence suddenly seemed to fill the room Even the candles dimmed

"Before I ripped out his throat, the wizard swore that the witches intended to banish us all to the depths of hell I decided that I wasn’t ready to go yet"

Dante clapped a hand on Viper’s shoulder There was no need for words They would hunt together as they had centuries before

Few things could have given him more hope

"The witches have Abby," he said

"Where?"

Dante took a moave a slow nod "Can you fight?"

"I can’t har me to the Phoenix The neitches should prove no probles "Leave them to me"

"There is also a demon," he warned "We’ll need toa nasty surprise"

Viper tilted back his head to deeply sniff the air The silver eyes widened in shock

"A Shalott So, they haven’t all vanished How very intriguing"

Dante griht eyes Shalott blood was rumored to be an aphrodisiac to vampires Which no doubt explained why they had chosen to leave with the dark lord Without his protection, they would be hunted to extinction by vampires

’You take care of Edra; I will see to the demon," Dante said sternly

"Why, Dante, don’t tell me you’ve been seduced by the creature?" Viper mocked "Whatever will Abbysay?"

"She wants the demon spared"

Viper stilled "Why?"

"Because she could have killed us and didn’t"

"Huave a shake of his head even as an unreadable e his shoulders, Dante glanced toward the door

"Are you up for this?"

Viper moved to stand at his side

’’What’s the plan?"

Chapter 24

Abby bit her bottom lip as the hair on the nape of her neck stirred and her palan to sweat

It was the same sensation she had experienced when she had been five and had entered a carnival’s haunted house and spent nearly two hours huddled in a dark corner, too afraid to move so she could bolt for the door

She hadn’t knohy she was frightened She had only known that she sensed so to devour her

Of course, with the wisdoe, it was simple to look back and realize her fear had been caused by a co darkness, and being abandoned in the house by herdevoured had been very real

Just as it was at thisher shoulders, Abby allowed herself to be led through the dark, empty rooms until the elderly witch at last paused to open a dooi and began to clier a child