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

  Talon threw his head forward, and I flew off his back. I curled into a ball and rolled across the mat. Somehow, I managed to land on my feet. But I didn’t stay on them for long.

  The pissed-off dragon landed in front of me, his reptilian eyes boring into me. He swiped a clawed hand at my middle, and I leapt back.

  “No fair!” I screeched.

  “You think Thax or any of his narkin demons are going to be fair when they come after you? It’s only a matter of time, Azara. He will come, and you need to be prepared.”

  The fire in his voice drained some of the blossoming fury in my core. He came at me again, and this time I was ready. I blocked his first hit and ducked, narrowly avoiding the second.

  I took another step back and hit the wall. Dammit. Talon swung again and his fist smashed into the obsidian, an inch from my face. He pulled his arm back and I ducked, hoping to scramble through his legs, but either he was that fast or he knew my moves that well. He slammed his thighs together, and I got a mouthful of gray polyester pants.

  His hands closed around my hips, and he flipped me up,, so my legs hung over his shoulders.

  “Hey!” I screamed as he began to spin.

  Somehow, I grabbed onto his jumpsuit and pulled myself up his body. He stopped twirling, and I squeezed my thighs around his head. “Ha! Take that!”

  Now I was certain I’d heard a muffled chuckle. Maybe it was because his face was in my crotch.

  He rushed forward and slammed me against the wall, but I kept my legs locked around his neck. I hit the wall two more times before I let out a groan.

  “Yield if you want me to stop,” Talon growled.

  “Never,” I hissed, squeezing my legs harder around his head. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how much longer I would last. My thighs burned, and my head was spinning from the unforgiving wall.

  “Um, maybe you guys should call it even.” Vander’s voice came from across the room. I’d completely forgotten he was there.

  “No!” we both shouted in unison.

  The sound of fabric ripping caught my attention a second before massive silver wings sprang out from behind Talon’s back. We shot up into the air and then spiraled back toward the ground. Headfirst.

  “Talon!” I screamed as my legs lost their grip, and the dark mat jumped up to smack me in the face. I bellyflopped to the ground, all the air crashing out of my lungs.

  The dragon dickhead landed on top of me, pressing all his weight onto my back. The entire length of him rubbed against my backside and despite the fury rolling through my veins, a hint of heat pooled in my lower half.

  Talon’s hot breath ghosted over the shell of my ear. “Yield?”

  “In your dreams.” A purple glow flickered across the corner of my eye, and a burst of energy filled my core. I pressed my palms to the mat, and crimson light seeped from my palms. Talon’s eyes widened from my peripheral vision, and a grin split my lips. I pushed up and energy crackled through my insides, propelling Talon off my back and tossing him across the room.

  I glanced up in time to see the arrogant dragon slide down the obsidian wall.

  Vander shouted a curse and raced toward his fallen friend as I watched.

  I smiled down at my glowing tattoo. “About time you showed up.” Then I slowly got to my feet, every muscle in my body protesting. I gritted through the pain and sauntered over to the haughty dragon. I slapped my hands on my hips and smirked. “Yield?”

  He nodded, the hint of a smile curving his lips into a ridiculously attractive grin. “Yield.”

  “So you guys want to tell me more about my magic? Because I’m pretty sure that I just magicked your ass across the room, and last I checked that wasn’t a demon power.”

  Vander helped Talon to his feet. My grumpy bunkie ran a hand through his sweaty hair and loosed a breath. “No, it isn’t.”

  “Are you finally ready to talk?”

  His expression softened a fraction. “I suppose we can talk about some of it.”

  Vander tugged his shirt off and threw it in a bag in the corner of the room. Firm, caramel skin blotted out my vision for a second. “I’m going to hit the showers and let you guys chat.” He dipped his head at me, a lock of blonde hair tumbling over his forehead. “See you later, Azara.”

  I swallowed down the drool pooling in my mouth. Geez, how were these guys all so hot? That had so not been the case with my Underworld brethren.

  The door slammed closed behind Vander, and a sharp zip jerked my attention to the disagreeable male beside me. His jumpsuit puddled at his feet, leaving him shirtless with only loose shorts hanging from his waist.

  If Vander was a demigod, Talon was a full-blown Greek god. A silver dragon tattoo coiled around the hard planes of his chest and abs, scintillating scales shimmering beneath the halogen lights. Power rolled off his broad shoulders, his manly scent invading my senses. My insides heated, and I pressed my thighs together to tamp down on the lusty urges. Gods, why did he have this effect on me?

  “Azara?” Talon waved his hand in front of my face, a ridiculous grin playing across his handsome face, which for once wasn’t twisted into a scowl.

  “What?”

  “Do you want to hear about your magic or not?”

  “Of course, I do,” I snapped.

  He stretched his arms, slowly, bending his torso to the left then the right. His dragon danced across his carved abs. “Then wipe the drool off your chin and get your mind out of the gutter.”

  “Dragon dickhead,” I muttered under my breath.

  A chuckle slipped through his lips, revealing a dimple I didn’t know existed. And yet, it was familiar all the same.

  “Please tell me our story.”

  He shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “Why not?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “I’m not ready.” He paused. “And neither are you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  I stared at the streak of white bisecting the platinum blonde of the strange man’s hair, unable to focus on anything else. His lips twisted into a scowl as his hard eyes scorched over me from across Logan’s desk. The attractive older guy’s irises were impossibly azure and more intimidating than any supernatural I’d ever met. Or that I remembered anyway.

  “Still nothing?” He quirked a light brow as a vein danced across his forehead.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, grandpa.”

  His mouth contorted, and he looked like he was going to be sick. “Never call me that. GG—or Garrix is fine.”

  I nodded, hugging my arms around my middle. I was beyond frustrated. Knowing you were supposed to remember something and not being able to grasp it was beyond irritating.

  “What do you think is blocking her memories?” Talon sat forward in his chair beside me, the muscles in his upper arm straining as he leaned against the desk. I was so attuned to the dragon, it was creepy. The slightest move made my body react, like magnets pushing and pulling without ever quite touching.

  My grandpa—or um, GG, no, Garrix, rubbed at his chin. Like the rest of his skin, it was flawless, like porcelain with the same pristine color and texture. Talon and Logan had explained about my warlock grandfather and the likelihood that I’d inherited his magic. It was too mind-blowing to believe, except I had opened that portal.

  “I’ll tell you in a moment.” Garrix’s response brought me back to the present. He rounded the massive desk and shooed Talon off the chair. The dragon grumbled but rose all the same. The old warlock folded his elegant frame into the seat and turned to me. “Close your eyes, Azara and try to clear your mind as best you can.”

  “Okay.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about a warlock tampering with my missing memories, but I kept reminding myself he wasn’t Jasper. This man was my blood, the first real family member I’d met.

  “I said closed, Azara.”

  My eyelids snapped shut, and I inhaled a deep breath to clear my mind. Garrix’s muffled mutterings filled the air until the cloying scent of magic encompassed
the room.

  He’s powerful. My she-demon whispered. Imagine what he would taste like.

  I shook my head chasing away her tempting thoughts. After Logan filled me in on what happened last time I was in here, I was surprised the warden’s magic-full office was chosen as the spot for our meeting. But then again, I supposed we’d have to be somewhere my grandfather could use his powers.

  Firm hands gripped either side of my head, and I jumped. “Easy, Azara. It’s just me, GG. Let me in, little princess.” His words were like a caress to my soul, and my demon receded. For the first time since he arrived, I felt something. My heart felt full as he continued to murmur the words of the spell. A thick fog enveloped my mind, forcing its way into the dark crevices. I only resisted for a moment before the haze took over.

  Images sped across my vision so fast I couldn’t grasp a single one. But I felt them—for a fleeting moment, I was happy, then bored, scared, then overcome with grief then… in love? Invisible bands stretched across my heart, squeezing until I couldn’t breathe.

  As quickly as the visions had come, they disappeared. My lids snapped open and met a pair of deep azure ones. I sucked in a breath, trying to still my racing heart.

  “Welcome back, Azara.”

  “GG?” The name sounded more natural from my lips this time.

  His hand came around mine, and he squeezed. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, my dear. I hoped I would have better news.”

  “What is it?” Talon jumped off his perch on Logan’s desk.

  Garrix ignored the dragon and glanced up at the warden. “She’s been poisoned for months. Probably the entire time she was missing. It’s a very strong potion, one with unfortunate and lasting effects.” He turned his softening gaze to me. “I’m so sorry, my girl. I’ll do everything in my power to get your memories back but interfering with the brain is a delicate endeavor. If I push too hard, I could make matters worse.”

  “You have to do something,” Talon growled.

  GG seared him with a glacial glare. “I understand that, young man. She’s my granddaughter, don’t you think I’d do anything I could to help her?”

  Talon muttered something under his breath, but it was too faint to make out.

  “We know you will,” Logan interjected. “The infirmary is on the second floor. Fiona has hundreds of tinctures and potions. You’ll find whatever you need. I can take you there now if it’ll help.”

  He shook his head. “This isn’t a simple concoction. I’ll need to acquire a few key ingredients I doubt your healer would keep on hand.” GG turned to me again and gave me an indulgent smile I realized he saved only for me. “I’ll be back tomorrow with the potion. Don’t worry, little princess, we’ll get your memories back somehow.”

  I nodded, an unexpected swell of emotion clogging my throat. “Thank you,” I finally muttered when I swallowed it down. I almost didn’t want to. After months of feeling nothing, I longed for those missing sensations.

  GG stood, tugging me up with him and pulled me into a hug. Hot tears pricked at the back of my eyes, and I blinked quickly. I buried my face into his fancy suit and squeezed him back. Too soon, he held me out to arm’s length and flashed me that smile again. “You should’ve listened to me, Azara. You never should’ve stayed in this hell hole. Your parents will murder me for this, so we’ll have to keep them in the dark for a little longer. Once I’ve gotten this situation under control, we’ll explain the whole thing.”

  My parents. A swirl of anxiety churned within my core. “Okay, whatever you think.” At this point, he knew them better than I did.

  Garrix turned to Logan and Talon. “You two, it’s your fault she’s in this mess. I imagine I don’t have to explain what will happen if anything else happens to my granddaughter while she’s under your care?”

  “No, sir,” they muttered in unison.

  “It was my fault. I failed her.” Talon’s jaw was clenched so tight it looked like it had been carved in stone.

  GG moved closer, standing inches from the big dragon’s face. “Then. Make. It. Up. To. Her.” He jabbed his finger into Talon’s chest, punctuating every word.

  He huffed out a breath. “I will.”

  I watched Logan as he stared at the screen on his old school computer monitor. “I’m sorry, I’ll be right with you, Azara.”

  I still wasn’t sure what to think of our friendly warden. He seemed too good to be true. He’d explained his connection to my parents, but all the stories I heard about my family seemed so outlandish. GG had been the President of the United States, my aunt was a reality TV star, my uncle was the supreme alpha of all the dragons in Draeko, and my parents were like superheroes who’d thwarted bad guys as their day job.

  So how was I an evil soul-sucking demon?

  GG insisted I wasn’t evil, but my she-demon begged to differ. On the plus side, she hadn’t made an appearance in front of my grandfather. Maybe even she found him intimidating. He stayed for a while, filling me in on as much as he could cram into one sitting and Logan had let us use his office to catch up.

  I tapped my foot on the floor as I waited, my eyes wandering the mahogany rafters crisscrossing the high ceilings. It was time for my daily check-in with the warden. He assessed my level of control over my demon and my general mental state. Better him than the psych ward, I supposed.

  Logan’s screen blinked off, and he turned to me with a warm smile. “Sorry, again. There always seems to be something that requires my urgent attention around here.”

  “I bet.”

  His pale gray eyes, which were a perfect match to his hair ran over me. Genuine concern radiated from his pupils. “How was your visit with Garrix? Was he able to shed some light on your missing memories?”

  “Well, he condensed the story of my life into a ten-minute bite-sized nugget.”

  He smirked and walked around to the other side of the desk to sit beside me. “I’m here if you have any questions. I may not know everything about your family, but I do know quite a bit.”

  “Right, because you were on the reality TV show, Hitched and met my aunt Kimmie-Jayne?”

  “Correct. And that was before I stepped in as your mom’s trainer at Darkblood Academy a few years later, and then worked with your dad when he was with the SIA.”

  “And you helped my parents take Luxora down—Thax’s mom and my half-aunt.” I paused, trying to straighten out all the crazy, tangled strings in my head. “How is everything so twisted?”

  “I can only imagine how confusing this must all be for you.”

  I pressed my fingertips to my temples as the beginnings of a headache thrummed. “One last thing, before my head explodes: Lucifer. The prince of Hell is my paternal grandfather, but no one has mentioned much about him. Thax told me the truth about who he was to me; actually, it was the only thing he didn’t lie about, but that’s all I know.”

  “You and Luci, as you call him, have a special relationship. As you can imagine, the king of the Underworld is a rather busy man, and yet, he’s always seemed to find time for you. After knowing your family for so many years now, I can say there aren’t many others I could say the same for. Ryder included.”

  “So he and my dad aren’t close?”

  “Not really.”

  Interesting. Thax’s ultimate goal was to take over Lucifer’s throne. He’d painted him as a tyrant who cared little of his bastard children or grandchildren.

  “He came to see you here, actually,” Logan added. “As soon as you called, he came running.”

  A swirl of unexplainable happiness filled my insides. “Do you think we could get him to come again?”

  He shrugged. “I had a hard time finding him when you were missing, but perhaps I’ll have better luck now. Give me some time to locate him, and I’ll let you know as soon as I hear back.”

  “Thanks, Logan. I know you say I’m like family to you, but to me, it feels like a stranger going out of their way to help me out.”

  The warden
reached for my shoulder, tentatively, at first. I didn’t shirk back so he went for it with a gentle squeeze. “It won’t be like this forever, Azara. We’ll get this straightened out, you’ll see. If anyone can help, it’s Garrix, and like Lucifer, you hold a special place in his heart.” He paused, a smile hitching up the corner of his lip. “I can’t imagine why.”

  “Thanks, warden.”

  “Now, down to business.” His smile faded, and a somber expression pinched his lips. “You seem to be doing better with keeping your demon in check. No appearances since your training session with Vander the other day?”

  “Nope. I mean, I can feel her, but she hasn’t been able to take over.”

  “So, no blackouts?”

  I shook my head.

  “Good.”

  “The guys mentioned the director of the SIA… What are we going to do when he finds out I’m back?”

  He released a long breath and grunted. “I’m not sure yet. Maxim is a straight shooter, and I hate keeping him in the dark like this but turning you in isn’t an option. Not until we come up with a plan to keep you from a life sentence at Darkblood Prison.”

  I gulped. We’d break out of here before daybreak. My demon’s raspy voice echoed in my mind.

  “I’ll figure something out, I promise. As long as you keep your demon in check, I’ll handle the SIA.”

  “Thanks. Again.”

  Logan waved off my gratitude with a warm smile before glancing up at the clock over the huge bay windows with sweeping mountain views. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. Weekly meeting with my corrections officers.”

  I slowly stood and backpedaled out of his office. A part of me hated leaving, hated the feeling of losing my demon as soon as I crossed the threshold and the fortress’s magic drained the life out of her.

  But tomorrow was another day, and for the first time in as long as I could remember, I was hopeful. Hopeful that Garrix would find a cure for my amnesia, hopeful that Logan would get me out of this prison before gray hair started coming in and hopeful that the gaping hole in my chest would finally be filled.