A Legacy of the Damned: Daughter of Astaroth

Chapter 67 - Sacha Gauthier

Sacha Gauthier

"Take it away from here and keep it safe." Danica hands me the Grimoire and I can hear the urgency in her voice.

I can't help but feel as though she's slipping through my fingers. This feels like goodbye and it makes me mad.

"You're not going back to him," I warn her, gripping her slender wrist. It feels too fragile in my hand. It feels as though I could snap it in half without much effort, so I ease my hold and rubs my thumb over her soft skin.

She looks vulnerable and delicate. I have to remind myself over and over again in her presence that it is just a front. She's not delicate or fragile. She's dangerous and probably tougher than most of my men.

Still, she brings out the protectiveness and possessiveness in me.

"Sacha, it's not up to me now," she whispers. Her electric blue eyes look sad. "He knows that I'm here. He's coming for me, Sacha. And when he gets to me, he's going to take the Grimoire away. You can't afford to have this one taken away too."

"Danica..."

"This is their realm, Sacha, they're powerful here."

I know she's right but she's mine! I'll destroy everything and everyone who try to take her away from me.

My senses are warning me that something very sinister is coming. "Come with me now," I tell her. The fog has thickened considerably that I can barely see her even though she's not even a foot away from me.

"No time," I hear her say just as a big wave of fog engulfs us. Her voice is fading.

"Danica!" I call out, gripping her hand only to find my fingers clenching around nothing. Her slim wrist is no longer in my grip and not even a silhouette of her can be seen in this thickening fog. "Danica!" I roar as the fear of losing her is thick in my throat. Where is she?

"We should leave, Sacha!" Olivier is saying behind me. There is a sense of urgency in his voice. My kind hates to be in this realm. We avoid coming here unless it's absolutely necessary. Limbo doesn't only make the demons stronger, it also drains our energy. The longer we are here, the weaker we get and demons, even the low-level ones can smell weaknesses. Soon, I suspect, this place will be crawling with them.

"Danica!" I call out again. "Find her!" I instruct my men. I'm not leaving without her. "Danica!"

"Over here! I found her! She's here!" yells one of my men.

I follow the sound of his voice. The fog seems to clear, revealing Eric, one of my men standing rigidly and looking very alert. Then I see Danica crouching on the ground in front of him.

"Oh, Sacha! I was so scared!" she says, hurling herself into my arms.

I gather her close. The feeling of relief is overwhelming. Fear is not the feeling I'm too familiar with even when I'm dealing with demons and other vicious creatures of hell. But I fear losing her.

"You're okay," I say, holding her tightly. "I've got you. You're okay." Turning to my men, I tell them, "Let's get out of here."

Thankfully, finding our way back isn't as hard as coming in and Danica clings to me the whole way back into the world of the living. We end up crawling through cinders and ashes and human bones to get to the same portal we came in at the Blackwell Estate. This time though, there's no fire for us to go through. Still, I have an uneasy feeling as though I've left something very important behind.

*****

The sound of the shower had stopped a while ago. Now, all I can hear is the rustling sound from behind the closed door of our ensuite. Danica must be drying herself off after the long shower.