Wrenching Fate Read Online Free

dark god of another world and then banished to the earth realm for displeasing him. Could such a phenomenon be real?
    Pain contorted Delgarias’s smooth features before they settled back into complacent lines and he nodded. “Mephistopheles himself made me what I am.”
    “What is he? When were you…created?” Silas whispered, reeling in shock. “And what has this to do with the woman I Marked?” He knew it was unwise to question the Thirteenth Elder, but his mind spun with the news.
    “I do not feel the time is right to address your first questions. As for the last, your pet mortal might have very little to do with Mephistopheles,” the vampire said noncommittally. “Or perhaps much. I only ask that you guard her and the others and keep them out of trouble.”
    “So I am to be a nursemaid, then?” Silas asked, his Scottish brogue creeping into his voice in irritation, as he plucked shards of broken glass from his hand.
    To his vexation, the other vampire laughed. “You may call it what you wish, just see that you do it.” His voice took on a steely edge. “Unless you wish to relinquish Akasha to me? After all, I can find some other vampire up to the tasks I require.”
    “No!” Silas flashed across the room and seized his sword, every cell of his being roaring to protect Akasha.
    Delgarias raised a brow at his impetuous move. “I should chastise you for that. But now all I ask is that you do as I asked.”
    “I will, I swear it on my honor.” He lowered the blade.
    The Elder bit his finger and placed the bleeding tip to Silas’s wounds, healing them instantly. “I must be going now. Thank you very much for the drink. I wish you luck with your mortal woman.”
    “Wait!” Silas said. “How did the daughter of Mephistopheles get here? And what does it mean for our kind?” He stopped, eyes widening as he faced the Delgarias, realization sparking his senses. “You knew Mephistopheles’s child would be here. That’s why you encouraged me to take this city.”
    The Elder had a way of knowing what was to come with frightening accuracy.
    Delgarias’s face was impassive. “There will be time enough to discuss that later. Just watch over Akasha and her friends and keep out of trouble. That is my command.”
    With those parting words, he vanished from the spot.
    Silas sighed. Why did the Elders have to be so infuriatingly vague? He bent down and began to clean up the broken glass.
    At least Akasha was safe. And how hard could supervising a few teenagers be? He frowned and put the shards in an ashtray. One of them was the daughter of the creator of vampires and the circumstances of her presence were baffling enough to give him a headache. But he supposed he would have to deal with it. God willing, his experience as Laird of his clan and later as Lord Vampire of a city made him up to the task.

Chapter Three
    Phoenix, Arizona
     
    Major Frances Milbury of the Covert Operations Assassinations Team— COAT for short— clenched the arms of his chair so tightly that the stumps of the severed fingers on his left hand were as white as the intact knuckles on his right.
    He spoke slowly to keep from screaming at his former university rival. “You mean to tell me you’ve been sitting on this for three years and it didn’t occur to you to notify me?”
    FBI Agent Joe Holmes, head of the Abnormal Investigation Unit (AIU), reclined behind his desk, blue eyes twinkling at the man’s ire. “I didn’t have to. The body and evidence we found is so far outside COAT jurisdiction it’s laughable.”
    Milbury sneered. “You don’t have the ‘jurisdiction,’ nor the security clearance to decide what is and isn’t a concern to our department.”
    Holmes grinned with his usual obnoxious cheer. “Come now, I’m doing you a favor in revealing our findings. A little gratitude should be forthcoming.”
    “The lateness of this ‘favor’ could have compromised my investigation!” Milbury slammed his good fist on the