Temptation's Mate: Chapter Five

Kurt was well aware the dangers of traveling through London in the middle of the night.

He did not fear the usual assortment of troubles that could befall a wayward traveler. Any criminal or drunken lout that thought him easy prey would soon discover the error of their ways but there were predators that hunted the streets far more lethal than their human counterparts could ever hope to be.

Mages, fey, werewolves, demons, vampires, witches…

All of whom could destroy him with an embarrassing amount of ease.

That was why he had brought along his mother's amulet. It allowed him to focus the small amount of magic he possessed. In addition to the amulet, he had grabbed a well worn crystal that gently glowed with a soft power. It was the only possession he had from his father and it spoke to his warlock blood as his mother's amulet whispered to that of the nymph.

The objects would not save him from a full blooded demon bent on destroying him, but they did offer some means of protection. Kurt would have to rely on his skill, strength and wit for the rest.

Leaving behind the well to do neighborhoods, Kurt moved quickly and quietly through the shadows, headed toward Penningbury Road which would eventually lead him to the docks.

Once among the thicket of warehouses and moorings Kurt halted, not at all certain where he should begin his search.

Noah had said the docks, but they sprawled all along the Thames from the medieval London docks to the ports for the East and West Indies, down to those bound for the Americas. Further complicating matters was the fact that the docks were still crawling with sailors and dockhands despite the late hour.

How in the name of the Goddess was he supposed to find a single lycan amid all the confusion when he had nary a starting point at which to begin his hunt?

Wrinkling his nose at the potent stench that clogged the air, Kurt was considering which warehouse he should begin his search in when his skin abruptly prickled with warning and a sudden chill invaded the air.

An unmistakable quickening lit in his blood and with a gasp he whirled around. His heart lodged in his throat at the sight of Blaine, his raven hair gleaming in the moonlight, eyes as black as midnight with the faintest ring of glittering gold around the rims.

"Now, pray tell would entice such a proper young gentleman to such an unsavory part of the city at this hour?" Blaine mocked softly.

Kurt drew in a shuddering breath and his brows knit together in annoyance.

"My lord."

"Blaine."

"My lord, I wish you would not sneak up on me. It is ill mannered and presumptuous."

Blaine's cape swirled around his body as he stepped toward Kurt, cupping his chin in his unyielding grip.

"You should be thanking whatever deity you pray to that it is I sneaking up on you. It is beyond foolish for you to be wandering the streets alone at this time of the night."

Kurt narrowed his eyes and jerked back from the touch. How could a touch from one so cold send streaks of fire racing through his veins?

"I am more likely, my lord, to curse the evil spirit that fated you to cross my path. What in the devil are you doing here, anyway?"

"I am attempting to keep you from an early grave. You might muster up some gratitude you unappreciative brat," Blaine snapped.

Kurt glared daggers at Blaine. "Did you follow me?" he demanded harshly.

Blaine shrugged. "I can think of no other reason I would inhabit such an utterly repugnant neighborhood…unless I were bored or desperate to feed."

Kurt's hands clenched and he longed to smack the smug look right off of Blaine's arrogant (handsome) face at the bald confession. "Of all the nerve…you egotistical, intrusive, invasive…"

A triangular brow lifted upward. "Oh do go on, Kurt. What else am I?"

Kurt's mouth opened and then snapped shut before he blew out a frustrated breath. "You have no right, absolutely none, to spy on me. I am not one of your whores."

The vampire's eyes flashed with ruthless intent as he drew Kurt to him, framing his face with his hands, Blaine's proximity caused a quickening in his blood, consuming Kurt's senses.

"No, never my whore," Blaine agreed, lowering his head to trail his lips along Kurt's jaw line, licking at the corner of his mouth.

"Stop that," Kurt commanded shakily, seeking to stave off the rush of pleasure Blaine's touch unleashed within him.

Try as he might to deny it, Kurt craved Blaine. His brain told him that the beautiful demon would be the end of him, that giving into temptation would leave him forever bound to the vampire, a virtual slave to his own desire, unable to sever their ties without losing the little bit of magic that he had. Kurt refused to lose his heart, his virtue and his magic to a vampire that would consider him none but another of his many conquests. Still, his body ached to be in Blaine's arms, to arch and beg under his touch, to feel his fangs sinking into the delicate skin of his neck as the vampire buried himself deep within his body.

And that desire, that want, was far more terrifying to Kurt than any hidden creature that went bump in the night.

Closing his eyes he poured his thoughts into the amulet that hung around his neck, allowing its heat to flood through his skin until Blaine jerked his hands away.

A ghost of a smile curled the vampire's lips and to Kurt's amazement Blaine seemed more aroused than anything at his sneak attack.

"You should have told me you like to play rough, dear one. I would have accommodated you much, much sooner."

Kurt swallowed around the lump in his throat and lifted his chin defiantly. "I do not wish to play with you at all, my lord. I simply want for you to be on your way and leave me alone."

"Kurt, be assured that hell will freeze over before I leave you alone, whether it be tonight on these docks, or you flee to Paris, London or Rome, I shall never be far from where you are," Blaine said, the harsh determination in his voice sending a shiver down Kurt's spine and making the humans who had been watching the exchange drop their eyes in submission. The dock workers had no notion of why they suddenly felt the icy tendrils of fear curling around them, only that they suddenly wished for nothing more than to be safe, at home in their beds.

"Tell me why you are scuttling about the docks, Kurt." Blaine demanded.

Kurt's jaw tightened and he crossed his arms over his chest. "My affairs are no concern of yours." At the look of fury that crossed over the vampire's face Kurt quickly amended his answer. "If you must know, I am seeking a friend of mine."

"Are you meeting a friend, dear one, or perhaps a lover?" Blaine silkily enquired. Kurt did not let the docile tone fool him. Beneath Blaine's polished charm was a dangerous edge that warned if Kurt gave the wrong answer, Blaine's wrath would be unlike any seen outside the fiery depths of hell itself.

Still…Kurt could not curb his willfulness and the words escaped him before he could snatch them back, "As I said before, my lord, my affairs are none of your concern."

"Do not pretend ignorance, Kurt. You have known from the moment of our first encounter that I would not permit you to take another man to your bed. Hell, if you were so inclined I would not permit you to take a woman either."

Kurt's heart leapt at the declaration of ownership but still he pushed back. "You would not permit me? You have no say in what goes on in my bed you arrogant swine."

"Tell me now," Blaine demanded, curling his hands around Kurt's neck and dragging him flush with body. His eyes blazed with fierce emotion and his thumbs applied gentle pressure to Kurt's pulse points. "Are you here to meet a lover?"

Kurt knew continuing to bait the vampire would only end badly. "No." Grimly, he forced himself to meet the stark, hungry gaze of the demon, refusing to be cowed. "If you must know, I am searching for Noah."

"Noah?"

"Noah, my friend, the lycan we spoke about. He is in trouble."

Blaine's fingers eased their grip on Kurt's throat but his expression remained implacable and his eyes still burned with anger.

"Bloody hell! You risked your life for a damn werewolf not even worthy of being recognized by the Council?"

Before his brain could connect to his body Kurt's hand had found Blaine's cheek with a resounding slap. "There happen to be a great many of us who are deemed unworthy of belonging a pack or a guild or being recognized by the bloody Council. Just because one does not belong to a coven or clan does mean we are undeserving of having friends who care whether or not we draw breath, my lord."

"Damn it, Kurt that is not what I meant and you know it! I simply-"

Blaine's words were brought to an abrupt halt as a distinct crackle flared through the air and then, without warning Kurt felt himself being thrown to the ground. Blaine covered him with his body just as a strike of lightening hit the crate they had been standing in front of and then several more strikes hit the warehouse in front of them.

Kurt heard the sounds of panic and shouts of alarm as the humans rushed away from the unexpected shower of brick and glass that rained down from the burning building. Blaine moved with unnatural speed, scooping Kurt up into his arms and heading towards a warehouse at the end of the docks.

There was an overwhelming odor of damp wool and kerosene from the lanterns as Blaine flowed past stacked cracked to the back of the long room, his movements silent and quick. Stopping next to the wooden doors, Blaine set Kurt gently on his feet and scanned their surroundings for potential threats.

"Is it Sirens?" Kurt demanded, tugging at his ruined jacket. He thanked the Goddess that he had possessed the good sense to wear his less fashionable garb or he might have been tempted to strike Blaine again for the ruined state of his clothing.

Blaine tossed aside his cape and removed his elegant jacket and waistcoat, carelessly dropping the expensive, but restrictive, clothing on the filthy floor, ignoring Kurt's gasp of dismay.

"Why in the devil would I suspect Sirens?" he demanded.

"Noah claimed they attract lightening."

"It is true that a mooring of Sirens might, on rare occasions, draw upon the energy of a storm to enhance their magic, but they are not capable of creating lightening from a clear sky."

Kurt groaned. Of course, it could not be a mooring of harmless Sirens. "What creature is capable?"

"A mage." Blaine sent a pensive glance in Kurt's direction, "Or a witch," he spat.

Kurt bit his lip at the distaste in Blaine's tone and then shook his head. "I cannot sense any spells cast. At least, none in the neighborhood."

"No magical objects?"

"Well yes, but none with the power to-"

They were interrupted once more the familiar cracking in the air and then the violent shaking of the warehouse.

Yanking Kurt against his body, Blaine wrapped his arms around the warlock, his adrenaline sending waves of energy pulsating throughout the warehouse.

"We must leave here at once."

Kurt pulled back and glared at Blaine. "I am not leaving until I've found Noah."

Blaine stared at him in disbelief. "Do not be a fool. Whatever creature is creating such a violent disturbance in the very order of nature is not one I wish to encounter."

"I do not recall asking for your assistance." Kurt ignored the daunting implication that whatever was creating the lightening might be more powerful than even Blaine. "In fact, I would much prefer to continue my search without your interference."

"Kurt, you can come with me willingly or I will take you by force. In either case, I will not allow you to endanger yourself."

Kurt glared openly at Blaine. "I swear on everything you hold dear, if you me force to leave from this place before I've found Noah I will never forgive you."

Blaine grit his teeth in frustration at Kurt's mulish behavior and for a moment Kurt feared Blaine would simply ignore the declaration. Blaine was a vampire accustomed to being in command. When he gave an order and it was obeyed, without hesitation and certainly without question. Kurt had no doubt that Blaine was battling his desire to simply toss Kurt over his shoulder and hightail it to safety, regardless of Kurt's own wishes.

But as Kurt prepared to dig in to do battle, Blaine let loose a string of violent cursing in a language that was long dead and shook his head.

"I understood half of that," Kurt said cautiously. "And I resent being called a stubborn son of a blind jackass."

Blaine ignored Kurt and closed his eyes, tilting his head back and breathing deeply.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked

"I am attempting to sense the lycan."

"Is Noah near?"

"It is impossible to say."

"Is is impossible or inconvenient?"

"Both," Blaine snapped. Lifting his long fringe of lashes the vampire pierced Kurt with an admonishing stare. "And before you condemn me to whatever region of the netherworld you have on the tip of your sharp tongue, you are sensible enough to realize that there are hundreds of scents, most of them excessively unpleasant, that mask any particular trail."

"And yet you've never had any problem tracking me."

Blaine ignored the interruption and continued, "Besides which, there is a strange energy interfering with my senses."

Kurt surveyed the empty warehouse. "It cannot be a spell."

"No, this is...a presence. Demon, warlock or witch I cannot say but it is pure and it is strong and aggressive."

Well isn't that just perfect, Kurt thought as he wrapped his arms around his chest. "How can you be so sure it's aggressive?"

"The air is choking with rage and hostility." Blaine lightly touched Kurt's cheek as he regarded him softly. "Dear one, this is no game. We have to leave."

As if the fates themselves were playing a joke on them another explosion rocked the warehouse, unexpectedly buckling the stone floor to reveal a gaping chasm.

Kurt emitted an undignified yelp as the earth crumbled beneath his feet and with a sickening feeling of helplessness he plunged into the darkness below.