Dorian placed a hand on my stomach, holding my body to his as his lips moved up my neck, to my jawline and then my mouth. I turned my head slightly to make the kiss easier, moaning as his tongue slipped between my lips.

“Hate to interrupt,” Lauren said from behind us. Dorian didn’t stop kissing me, his mouth moved against mine in a sensual seduction while his hands trailed over my body.

“I’ll just tell the rogues outside to wait,” Lauren said. “Give them ten minutes, boys,” she mock yelled.

It was enough to make Dorian step away from me. I turned my face to the counter again, closing my eyes and sucking in a deep breath. My entire body was warm from the wine, but Dorian had awakened it with a need so strong I thought I would scream in frustration.

“How many?” Dorian all but growled.

I shook off my irritation and spun to face them. “And why are you here?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Should I leave so you and hunky can get back to screwing while the rogues beat down the door?”

“You’re right,” I told her. “I’m sorry and we…weren’t screwing.”

“How many?” Dorian repeated.

“Four, and some weird dude in a black cloak. He smells old.”

My heart stopped beating for a second. “An old guy called me…this morning.” Wow, it seemed like ages ago that I had gotten the call. Talk about a long day.

“What did he want?” Dorian asked.

I shrugged. “Something about making a deal. I hung up on him.”

Two hard bangs came from my front door. The wood rattled against the frame and had me worried it would be bust down. It wasn’t like the apartment was built with quality materials. If the bad guys wanted in, it wouldn’t be that difficult, unless they were vampires of course. I loved that little rule about them needing an invitation to enter any private dwelling. Or maybe I was just clinging to any semblance of a silver lining.

“We have to leave,” Dorian said. “Flora isn’t safe anymore.”

“Where are we supposed to go?”

Another round of bangs sounded, my door creaking with the pressure. The windows rattled and heavy footsteps raced across the metal balcony. Lauren hissed, rushing forward in a blur. She was standing in front of the windows and I’d just caught what caused her reaction; a man was hovering outside the window, his eyes inky pools as he watched me. Lauren pulled the string that lowered the blinds.

“What the hell? We’re on the second floor.” In my experience supernaturals didn’t fly. That whole witch and broomstick thing is just a bad joke.

“Demons can pretty much defy gravity. Creepy little bastards.” Dorian headed down the hallway, me on his tail. He disappeared into my room. Opening my closet, he began pulling clothes from hangers and stuffing them into a duffel bag.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re leaving. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone.” He walked over to my dresser, opened the drawer and held up a pair of red lace panties. With an arch of his eyebrow, he smiled and stuffed them in the bag too, along with a handful of others.

“Where are we going?”

“New Orleans.”

“What’s in New Orleans?”

“My house and something that just might kill these bastards.”

A loud crash echoed through the house. Dorian stopped packing and we both remained silent as we listened. Footsteps slapped against the floor, followed by more crashes and grunts.

Dorian peeked his head out quickly and then shut my bedroom door. Walking over to me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close.

“What’s going on?” I craned my neck to see around him. My eyes were glued to the door, positive my room would be invaded at any second.

“They’re in the house,” Dorian whispered. “Lauren’s holding them back.”

“Don’t you think we should help her?”

“No, I think she can handle herself and that I should get you to safety.”

My cat padded out from underneath my bed and I broke away from Dorian to scoop her up.

“We’re not bringing her.”

“Like hell we’re not,” I snapped. “I can’t leave her here, especially when you don’t know how long we’ll be gone.”

“Fine, but if she sheds on any of my stuff I’m kicking her out.”

He wrapped his arms around me and my cat and I closed my eyes as the air began speeding up and ruffling my hair. My cat struggled against me, but I held on tight. I didn’t know what would happen if she jumped out of my arms while Dorian was transporting us to the realm of the dead.

I opened my eyes when the gust settled to a normal breeze. We were in what looked like a deserted town. Buildings crumbled to the ground. The remaining stones still standing looked like they were struggling to hold themselves up. Like the times I had visited before, the realm of the dead was a gray washed out landscape, barren and gloomy.

“Where are we?”

“New Orleans,” Dorian said, placing his hand on the small of my back. Together we walked toward a structure that looked like it used to be some sort of restaurant. A rotting wooden sign swung in the breeze. Wooden columns held up a decaying balcony above. My eyes traveled up the length of the building and the broken windows. Dorian had tried explaining the ghostly realm to me while in Moon. It seemed like such a depressing place to spend the afterlife, but from what I understood the ghosts saw it differently than we did. If the spirit was pure and good then they saw their own piece of heaven within the gloom. If they were evil during their lives then their afterlives were hellish.

Dorian and I stepped into the dilapidated structure. The interior was coated in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. Fallen beams hung from the rafters.

“We’ve got to get to the shimmer,” Dorian said, pointing across the space. Shimmers, or safe zones, are spots that spirit walkers could walk through and transport to other areas. The spot would shimmer like a heat mirage. The one Dorian was pointing to was all the way across the room. Large holes where the floor had crumbled blocked the path to it. Dorian intertwined his fingers in mine and together we walked with caution toward the safe zone. My cat struggled against me, her nails digging into my shoulder. I winced from the pain but kept a tight hold on her body. There was no way I was losing her in the realm of the dead. There were scarier things here aside from ghosts. Demons also prowled the desolate place.

“How are we going to get to it?” There was a single plank still standing but it looked like it was struggling to hold up the weight of the dust, let alone Dorian and me. He stared at the spot for a moment and then turned back and looked at the door we had come through. He let go of my hand and stuck his booted foot out to test the stability. The board creaked as puffs of dust swirled into the air.

“You still have your magic, right?”

“As far as I know,” I told him.

“Can you create something to reinforce the floor?”

“I’ll try.” I used my magic to create a lot of things, clothes mainly but I’d never tried to produce something substantial like wood. Closing my eyes, I envisioned two by four inch planks spanning the gap, strengthening the floor. The magic within me buzzed and rushed through my veins, sending a jolt of energy to awaken my senses. I could smell the wood I was trying to create, see the blonde color and picture it sliding into place to form a bridge. Opening my eyes, I stared at the space where the hole had been.

“Come on.” Dorian gripped my hand again. I held my breath as he stepped onto the wood, hoping the magic held and the boards wouldn’t disintegrate under our feet. The entire building creaked as we made our way to the shimmer, as though it was angry that we’d found a way around its booby traps. I squeezed Dorian’s hand tighter as we walked with caution across the boards. Dust rained down from the ceiling causing the air to thicken with tiny particles. My cat sneezed, scaring me. I jolted, my foot slipping off the side of the wood. Something resembling a shriek escaped my lips as I fought to keep my balance and not fall off the side and into the dark hole on either side of the bridge. Dorian stopped, his hand sliding down to grip my forearm and hold me steady. Once I found my footing again I took a moment to take a deep breath and nodded for Dorian to continue. Three more feet and we would be safe inside the shimmer.

“You couldn’t have found a less dangerous place to cross?” I asked, keeping my eyes trained on Dorian’s back. If I didn’t look down then I could pretend I wasn’t a misstep away from falling to my death.

“I could have, but it would have been further away. Traveling long distances in here would be more dangerous than this old building.” I had learned last time just how dangerous the realm of the dead could be after a demon chased Dorian and me. I did not want to run into another one anytime soon.

Dorian stepped inside the shimmer, which clung to the decaying wall like some kind of optical illusion. Just as I was about to cross the safety threshold, loud footsteps sounded behind me. Looking over my shoulder, my eyes locked with three men. The hoods obscured their faces from me, but I didn’t need to see them to know they weren’t there to help; their evil smirks spoke volumes.

They rushed forward, dodging the holes in the floor like some kind of supernatural ninjas. Dorian yanked on my arm hard, pulling me into the shimmer. The men stood on the other side of the bridge staring ahead as if they couldn’t see us. One of them began to cross the wooden boards. He tilted his head to the side to inspect the wall in front of him.

“They can’t see us?” I whispered.

“Not while we’re in a safe zone,” Dorian said. “Destroy the boards, Gwen.”

I envisioned the boards disappearing. My heart pounded with each second they remained under the man’s feet. The other man followed in his friend’s footsteps and walked onto the bridge too. I tried to concentrate on willing those boards to vanish and ignore the evil men standing just a foot away. One of them leaned closer to the wall, reaching his hand out and tracing the worn boards beneath his fingertips. His lips spread wider, revealing crooked, yellowing teeth. I snapped my eyes shut and threw all of my willpower and focus into the bridge.