Darkblood Prison: Demon At Large : Supernatural Prison Squad Series Book 3 Read online

  Darkblood Prison: Demon At Large

  G.K. DeRosa

  Copyright © 2021 Mystic Rose Press

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, Mystic Rose Press.

  Print ISBN: 9798589017663

  Cover Designer: Sanja Gombar www.fantasybookcoverdesign.com

  Published in 2021 by Mystic Rose Press

  Palm Beach, Florida

  www.gkderosa.com

  Created with Vellum

  To my wonderful readers!

  ~ GK

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Sneak Peek of Darkblood Prison: Demon Dark Lord

  Also by G.K. DeRosa

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Talon

  “Azara doesn’t want to be found, brother. I know it’s hard for you to hear, but she’s gone.” Hayden’s fingers closed around my shoulder, but I jerked free from his grasp. It wasn’t the first time in the last three months that he’d tried to force his angel healing—or pity, on me.

  “You’re wrong,” I gritted out and continued to pace the length of the training room annex.

  Hayden and Dallas exchanged a quick glance before returning their focused gazes to the blue glow of the computer monitors. “Come see for yourself,” said Dallas. “Video footage doesn’t lie. Her eyes, man… they’re two bottomless pools of black. She’s gone.”

  “I don’t need to see it,” I growled. “Thax is manipulating her somehow, just like he did that night at the Fae club. Azara would never do something like that.”

  Vander peeled himself off the wall and cleared his throat. He’d been so quiet I’d forgotten he was there at all. “You’re probably right, T. The Azara we knew would never have behaved with such little regard for lives—supernatural or otherwise, but it’s been months. This isn’t the first report we’ve gotten.” He took a step toward me, and I took one back. I didn’t need his coddling right now, what I needed was Azara. Steel bands wrapped around my lungs as her screams echoed in my mind. I rasped out a haggard breath, forcing air inside.

  I’d failed her.

  The pungent odor of smoke and burnt demon hides filled my nostrils. I squeezed my eyes shut, chasing away the vivid memories, but like every night, I was sucked into visions of the past.

  “Azara!” I barreled through a frusta demon as flames licked up its webbed feet. Shoving the creature to the side, the slam of a door in the foyer caught my attention. “Azara!” I sniffed the air, but the scent of charred flesh blotted out her delicate scent; the honey and gardenias were too faint to discern.

  I searched my gut for her presence, but only a gaping hole remained. Would I ever get used to the emptiness the broken blood bond had left? Tossing the useless thoughts aside, I darted toward the entryway. Azara had to be there. I couldn’t lose her now, not after everything we’d been through. I loved her, and I’d been stupid not to tell her sooner. When we got out of here, I’d spend every day telling—and every night showing her how much she meant to me.

  “Talon!”

  My heart lurched at the panic in Azara’s voice. “I’m coming!”

  Two demons jumped in front of me, blocking my path. My talons lengthened, and I swiped my claw across the first bastard’s neck. Dark blood spewed out as his eyes widened for a second before they glassed over. His friend let out a shriek, and lowering its horned head, charged.

  My wings snapped out and I leapt up, soaring right over the demon’s hairy head. Sucker. I landed in a crouch and took off toward the sound of Azara’s voice. Straining to hear, a faint rustle caught my attention again. I crept closer. It was definitely coming from the entrance closet.

  “Talon!” Azara’s muffled cry sent rage coursing through my veins. I was going to rip Thax’s heart out and make his female warrior harem eat it for breakfast.

  I rammed the closet door, and splintered wood and rusty hinges scattered across the floor. My eyes met Azara’s frightened ones, and my raging dragon clawed its way to the surface. He would make Thax suffer, and I’d let him. No one took what was ours. And Azara was ours.

  Her hand reached out for me. She was inches from my grasp. I could feel her skin against my fingertips, her scent enveloping me as I lurched forward. And grabbed hold of nothing.

  A black cloud wrapped around Azara and her bastard cousin, and they vanished.

  Thax stole her right out of my fingertips. I failed her. Again.

  The dark memories faded, and I was back in our mini SIA headquarters. Vander stood no more than a foot away from me, his concerned gaze boring into me.

  “I’m fine,” I grunted and spun toward the door.

  “No, you’re not.” His hand closed around my arm as he tried to stop me.

  I shook free of him with ease. Vander may have been strong for a wolf, but he was nothing compared to my dragon. Things hadn’t been that great between us since Azara’s kidnapping and now wasn’t the time to test our tenuous relationship.

  “T, wait.” Hayden’s chair scraped the floor with an irritating squeal as he jumped up after me. “You know what today is, right?”

  A boulder-sized pit of dread sank to the bottom of my gut. Of course I knew. I’d been counting down the days since Azara reappeared on our radar. For nearly three months, there’d been no sight of her. We’d scoured the Underworld, but both she and Thax had vanished. Then a little over a week ago, one of Logan’s gargoyles stumbled upon a pile of demon carcasses—all devoid of souls. Up until that day, I was certain Thax had locked her up in a dungeon somewhere. With the warden’s help, I managed to convince Maxim, the director of the SIA, to give me a week to find Azara and bring her in on my terms.

  Today was D-day. I hadn’t managed to find her, and the body count was only rising. Worse, the corpses weren’t only demons anymore. A variety of supernaturals had been found soulless, bearing Azara’s signature.

  Gods, Azara, where are you? Please, answer me. I don’t care what you did. We’ll figure it out. Please, come home. For the thousandth time, I searched for her, but she never responded. For a time, the guys wanted me to consider the grim possibility that she was dead, but I’d never given up hope. Regardless of the broken bond, somehow, I knew she was alive.

  “Talon?” Hayden waved his hand a few inches from my face.

  “Of course I know.” Our mission was about to change from a search and rescue to a capture and kill.

  “Maxim already contacted Logan this morning with a friendly reminder. He expects the three of us in the Underworld by mid-day. Our instructions are not to return until we have Az
ara in our possession—” He cut himself off.

  “Dead or alive,” I snapped. “I know the drill, man.”

  “How did you even convince Maxim to keep you on the assignment?” Vander asked.

  “He owes me.” There was no way in hell I was sitting this one out. Azara was my responsibility. And I didn’t care what the director said, when I found her I’d deal with her in my own way. I didn’t care what it would cost me.

  Dallas pressed the power button on his computer screen, and the video of Azara that I refused to watch disappeared. He stood, his expression somber. Seeing him without the typical smirk stretched across his face spoke volumes. My brothers had spent almost as many hours as I had scouring the supernatural and human realm for Azara these past months.

  “T, speaking as a fellow drainer of sorts, and your brother, Hayden’s right. Whatever is going on with Azara right now is more powerful than she is. The demon’s taken over and her humanity has been buried deep beneath the surface. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like, and how it changes you. She may not be gone forever, but she’s gone for now. You have to accept the fact that when we find her—which we will, she may not be the same.”

  A part of me knew what he was saying was true, but I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t. Now that we knew for certain Azara was alive, I’d tear the Underworld apart until I found her and dragged her soul-sucking ass back home.

  Chapter One

  Azara

  “Bored.” I shoved the merman off my lap, his brilliant azure hair spilling across his muscled bare shoulders. Sprawled across the white leather couch, his cloudy eyes attempted to focus on me as a pout puckered his lips. The guy was so full of balax demon venom, he couldn’t see straight.

  The pounding bass shook the floor of the VIP area, but I barely noticed the writhing bodies on the dance floor or the scantily clad servers toting trays filled with an assortment of beverages and delicacies from the supernatural and human worlds alike. Not bad for a night club in the Underworld. No, my mind was set on a different sort of delicacy—I scanned the nearby couches for my next victim.

  A shock of dark hair blotted out my view. “Tsk, tsk, cuz, you know the rules: no eating the clientele.” My cousin ticked his head at the barely conscious merman. “Why don’t you finish off your snack?”

  “It’s no fun when they want it, Thax. Half the thrill is the chase.” Who knew getting your soul-sucked was an aphrodisiac for some? This merman had begged for it. But it was the stopping part that was tricky.

  The dark lord peered over the glass ledge beside the table, down into the mass of dancing bodies. “Perhaps I can ask Rizan to procure you a donor with acting skills? A little hunting game around the club, maybe?”

  “No.” I rose to my feet, abandoning the elite table my cousin had acquired for the evening. “I’m going to dance.”

  “Have fun.” Thax waggled his fingers at me. “But not too much. Explaining away the death of a war lord or upper level demon isn’t as easy as the commoners.”

  “Right. Whatever.” I spun away, tugging down the hem of my sequined mini skirt. Winding through the smattering of VIPs in my sky-high stilettos, I found the staircase down to the first floor. Rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty of the Underworld wasn’t really my thing. I’d met three of the six war lords of the realm earlier this evening and found them sorely lacking. My cousin was less than subtle in his intentions. He thought mating me off to one of them would increase his power. Idiot. One day I’d sit on his throne or maybe even our grandfather’s.

  A low whistle called my attention to a pair of approaching males. The light-haired one, ran his tongue over his bottom lip and bit down. He extended his hand as he approached, a twinkle in his deep maroon eyes. “Gorgeous, where did you come from?”

  “Heaven, of course.” I tipped my head to the VIP balcony overhead. Thax loomed over the bannister, watching my every move.

  The guy’s mouth snapped shut, and his eyes hit the floor. “My apologies, my lady. I didn’t realize who you were.” He and his friend scampered away so fast an unexpected chuckle slipped through my lips.

  Since I’d taken up residence with my cousin, most assumed I was his mistress—or war lady? He said it was to keep me safe, but I knew he wanted me on a short leash. Only a handful of his most trusted confidants knew my true identity. The other war lords of the realm he tried to pawn me off to believed I was a distant relative. Apparently, incest wasn’t a big problem in the Underworld. Especially not among the demon elite.

  Most of the time, I didn’t care. I had zero intentions of mating with any of these brutes. With my she-demon in charge, I felt nothing. Nothing but hunger.

  I swept past a group of males eyeing me, the scent of lust wafting around their sleek designer suits. Hades was the nightclub in the Underworld, only upper demons allowed, none of the beastly riffraff.

  Hunger clawed at my throat as I passed the sea of twirling bodies. I swallowed hard to moisten my mouth and tamp down on the cravings. I’d inhaled at least half of that merman’s soul less than an hour ago. I shouldn’t have been this hungry.

  With each soul I took, I needed more. The heady sensations were addicting, the power after a feeding like none other. Most of all, it took it all away. For a few minutes, I felt nothing, wanted nothing, was content with the void that permanently resided in my chest.

  Liar. I shoved down the annoying voice in my head. The voice that occasionally made itself known and interrupted my fun.

  Across the dancefloor, my eyes locked on a towering male. Ebony hair and a thick barrel chest with tattoos racing down his muscled arms.

  Yummy.

  I stalked toward him, my she-demon urging me forward. Just a little taste, Azara. Thax will never know. She was a ravenous little bitch. I shoved my way past entangled bodies, swaying and twirling to the feverish beats. My hips picked up the rhythm as I sauntered closer.

  The male’s eyes chased to mine, and I locked him in my gaze. Gotcha. He reached out for me as I approached, a sexy smile splitting his lips. “Well, hello there, beautiful.”

  I grabbed his chin and drew his face closer. “No talking. Only dancing.”

  “If that’s what you want, baby.”

  “And don’t call me baby.”

  He pressed his lips together and nodded.

  I backed into him, rubbing my back against his front and let the music take control. I’d play with this one for a bit, first. There was something familiar about him, something I couldn’t place but was there nonetheless.

  I squeezed my lids shut, and a pair of silver eyes danced across my vision. A flash of emotion streaked through my chest. I sucked in a lungful of stale air, the pang so acute it stole my breath.

  The male’s big arms came around my waist, and my eyes snapped open, dispelling the image that haunted my thoughts. I leaned against him and met with something hard. Already? We’d barely gotten started. I took a step forward and whirled around. Someone was getting too friendly, too fast. I wanted his soul, I didn’t care for the rest.

  He beckoned me closer, crooking a long finger in my direction. I continued to dance and ignored his request, my eyes on the DJ. This guy was good—really good. He put some of the famous human DJs to shame. I spun around to the intoxicating beats, and a hand wrapped around my bicep. The guy jerked me back, forcing me against his arousal once again. A low groan vibrated in his throat.

  Spinning around, I pierced him with my steeliest glare. “It’s not going to happen, buddy. So get your friend down there under control or I’m out.”

  “Is that so?” His pupils thinned into tiny slits, and a ring of gold lined his irises. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

  I popped my hands on my hips and glanced up at the towering demon. “Oh please, impress me.”

  “I am Drayax Thornholt, warlord of the third realm.”

  Oh great, another one of the dark demon douches my cousin was trying to pawn me off on. “That’s great and all, but that still doesn�
��t mean you can use my butt as a scratching post for your carnal urges.”

  “You are a female meant to please me. Why wouldn’t you want to serve a dark lord in the ultimate gift of passion?”

  Was this guy nuts? I wasn’t serving anyone anything. I was wrong earlier…whatever I’d found familiar in this man was a mistake. “Listen, Drayax, do you have any idea who my grandfather—”

  Thax jumped between us and snaked his arm around my waist. “Hold your tongue,” he hissed in my ear, then turned to the horny warlord. “Ah, Drayax. I was looking for you earlier. I see you’ve met Azara.”

  His eyes widened, and a wicked smile split his lips. “She’s the one you spoke of?”

  “She is.”

  I was about a second away from eating him for dinner. I’d never had warlord before…

  Thax yanked my wrist, encircling his fingers around my favorite bangle and placed my hand in the towering giant’s palm. I did my best not to roll my eyes as his roving gaze seared over me. After a few long minutes, he released his hold and turned to my cousin.

  Drayax wrapped his arm around his shoulder and bent down to whisper something in his ear. Then the pair sauntered off the dancefloor.

  Great, he’s probably arranging our marriage as we speak.

  I shook off the dismal thought and searched the crowd for my next meal. Nothing lifted my spirits like a tasty soul. Scanning the revelers, I searched auras for a light soul. Dark was good, but light was ten times better. Being in the Underworld, they were hard to come by. Thax had been trying to convince me to take a trip to the human world, but I’d declined each time.