Vengeance: The Niteclif Evolutions, Book 3 by Denise Tompkins Page A

cried out?” Hellion looked up at me and the tension multiplied and migrated to form deep grooves beside is lips. “It wasn’t an idle threat, Maddy. I cried out once, and he stripped away a piece of skin and muscle.” He shuddered involuntarily at the memory. “I remained silent from that point forward, first in fear, then in pain, later in consideration, and now in preparation.”
    I wanted to gag. I wanted to know where he’d been hurt. I wanted to know how to find the Nephilim that had turned his back on a child. But most of all, I wanted to know how to kill Agares.
    “There is a rumor regarding Nephilim and Dominae, but I want to speak to Micah before we discuss this much more. I don’t want to confuse the issues at hand with speculation.”
    “And Dominae are what exactly?” I asked. “And is that what showed up at our front door?”
    “Dominae are demonic. From what I’ve been able to ferret out, Agares is their leader. Anything else I have is speculation at this point.” He was quiet for a moment and it was like he was trying to decide what to say and what to leave alone.  
    Being me, I just couldn’t let it go. “Okay. Just give me a very brief overview—”
    He shook his head and small strands of hair escaped their binding. “No, my love, I won’t. Dress and we’ll go down and get some answers from our temporary guest, but I’ll hear it from him or he’ll be put out of this house immediately. I won’t risk me and mine when his kind turned away from me.”
    I moved slowly, bending and stretching as I slid off the bed. As soon as these stitches were out I was going to begin sword and handgun training again. And after our little discussion tonight, I was also going to demand both a handgun and dirk of my own. No more borrowing. I wasn’t sure how I’d carry them around, but I was tired of being unprepared for the big bad uglies that kept popping up uninvited.
    Pulling out a pair of yoga pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, I was dressing in my closet when I had a disturbing thought. “Hey, Hellion?” I called.
    “Yeah?”  
    I crossed the small hallway to his closet and stuck my head inside to find him pulling on a T-shirt to go with his jeans. It always struck me odd that this crazy-powerful magus wore denim and tees more than anything else. Shaking my head and smiling at my distraction, I asked, “Micah said you’d only cast Agares out earlier. So if that’s true, how do you kill a Dominae?”
    “I imagine we’re about to find out.”

Chapter Four
    Micah was reading one of my contemporary romance novels when we walked into the room. Such mundane behavior from a member of the Nephilim caught me so off guard I never even wondered where he’d found it. He set the book down and watched as Hellion moved two large chairs close to the edge of the bed and invited me to sit.
    Most of Micah’s wounds had healed in the short time we’d been gone. All that remained were the faintest of indentions at the ribs plus pale traces of bruising around both his face and the knife wounds I could see. He didn’t bear a single scar.
    “You’ve spoken,” Micah said softly.
    My banked rage flared to life. “I want to know why your kind turned your back on a child. Now.”
    “I understand your anger as well as your need to strike out at someone, Maddy, but it wasn’t I who neglected your declared.”
    “Excuses won’t carry you far with me, especially when it comes to him.” I was conflicted and confused. My job was to deliver justice, but I wasn’t sure if I was saving Micah or Hellion. If I didn’t get it right, I’d begin to fade. “Your kind left him to suffer . Seems turnabout would be fair play.”
    Hellion reached over and took my hand in his, squeezing gently. It was a wordless reminder that we needed Micah, or at least his knowledge, in order to stop Agares.
    Worst fucking catch-22 ever .
    Micah turned his electric gaze to Hellion. “I’m sorry, Hellion, that one of my brothers