Dream Warriors 2: Ryder Read online

  Frustration clawed through her with icy talons. Why must she be surrounded by fools? Winning Hades back was the farthest thing from her mind. She had hardened her heart long ago. She hovered near the window, staring out into the night. “I’m not the only succubus left. Find another and do as you please. I set you free. Go!”

  You’re my sister. She sensed his presence close behind her. I will never abandon you.

  “You’re such a comfort to me,” she grumbled. A long pause followed as Delilah considered her options and formulated her strategy.

  Why do you hide in this filthy dive? Join me in the Dream Realm. We can fashion ourselves a palace. We’re not limited by anything.

  “That’s exactly what the Dream Warriors expect. Do you doubt they’re still hunting you? We must conserve our energy, conceal ourselves until I’m ready to attack.”

  What are you hoping to accomplish by all of this? I could almost understand it if you wanted the son.

  “Chaos is a little boy.” Heat washed over her body. Their frequent bouts of carnal pleasure would indicate otherwise, but Zared didn’t need to know how well Chaos had entertained her. “I only indulged him for a time, hoping he’d tell his father what he’d done.”

  You tried to make Hades jealous by toying with Chaos?

  “This is not about jealousy,” she snapped. “No one betrays me and walks away. One way or another, Hades will pay for his treachery.”

  You punish the father by destroying the son.

  Delilah smiled. Perhaps Zared wasn’t hopeless after all.

  * * * * *

  Pausing to shake the rain off her umbrella, Sheri folded the device into a compact bundle, then unlocked her front door. The past two weeks had fallen into a bizarre routine. Ryder remained visible whenever they were alone, lessening her concern that he was spying on her.

  The incubus had nearly destroyed Meagan’s sanity before the Dream Warriors intervened. Whenever Sheri felt resentment swell at the invasion of her privacy, she pictured her friend’s terrified expression and haunted eyes. Anything was better than being subjected to such abuse.

  After hanging up her coat, she carried her laptop and briefcase into her small home office. Dream Warriors never slept. That fact fascinated her. They relaxed and trained in the Great Hall of Morpheus when they weren’t on assignment, but they spent the majority of their time in the Dream Realm. No matter how meticulously Ryder explained his life, Sheri had trouble grasping much of what he said.

  She turned and found a man looming in the shadowy doorway. Tall and broad, his shoulders nearly spanned the threshold. A scream lodged in her throat as fear dried up her mouth. As she stumbled back, her hip hit the edge of her desk, and she yelped. There was pepper spray in her purse, but she’d set it down on the hallstand with her umbrella.

  Blood roared in her ears. What should she do? She glanced from the silent stranger to her desktop. Where was the proverbial letter opener?

  “What are you doing in my house?” She tried to sound calm and assertive, despite her wildly racing heart. He didn’t appear to be armed, and she couldn’t run past him.

  “Ryder didn’t mention how attractive you are.”

  Ryder! He was a friend of Ryder’s. “Who are you?” He couldn’t be a Dream Warrior. Ryder was the only one who could appear in the Waking Realm. “How did you get in here?”

  He moved into the office as she fumbled behind her for the desk lamp. She had no intention of taking her gaze off him, but she wanted to see his face. Managing to switch on the light, Sheri stared at her visitor in terrified fascination.

  It had been no trick of the shadows -- the man was huge. His jeans and tee shirt only accented the otherworldly appearance of his hair and eyes. Transforming from red to black in an ever-changing morph, his eyes dominated ruggedly handsome features. If he held still, his hair appeared black, but the tilt of his chin ignited flame-red highlights within the thick strands.

  “What are you?”

  He laughed, ambling farther into the room. “I’ve gone from a ‘who’ to a ‘what’?” His deep, caressing tone lulled her, relaxed her. “That’s not very flattering.”

  “Damn it, Chaos, I told you to wait for me.” Ryder rushed into the office, holding a slender gold collar.

  Chaos spun to face Ryder, his silken, sexy voice suddenly a roar. “I take orders from no one!”

  “Then return to the Hall of the Dead.” The smoldering intensity in Ryder’s dark gaze belied his casual shrug. “You came to us. I don’t need the aggravation.”

  “No, you need the succubus, and your only hope of finding her is cooperating with me.”

  Tension arced between the two like jolts of electricity. Sheri could almost hear the sizzle as they glared at each other. “Would somebody tell me what the hell is going on?”

  “I’ll explain everything as soon as I get this around his neck.” Ryder raised the metal collar.

  “What is it?” Chaos crossed his arms over his chest. He was nearly a head taller than Ryder and likely outweighed him by half.

  “It’s necessary, and it’s mandatory. You allow it or go home.”

  “My question remains. What is its purpose?”

  “It’s a homing device of sorts. It connects me to your subconscious so I can instantaneously find you in the Dream Realm.”

  “A leash?” Chaos scoffed. “You want to put me on a leash? Clearly you’re deluded.”

  “Say hi to Hades for me.”

  Sheri leaned against the desk and watched the surreal conversation. “You live in the Underworld?” The question made her want to laugh. It was all so absurd. She was a scientist, for heaven’s sake. She’d spent her adult life analyzing data and formulating hypotheses within the strictures of analytical thinking. She didn’t believe in the Underworld!

  “Just let me put the damn thing on you, and we can all relax.”

  Grumbling under his breath, Chaos leaned down and allowed Ryder to encircle his neck with the golden collar. As the device met in the back, Ryder drove it inward with brutal force. Chaos roared, knocking Ryder off his feet with a swipe of one brawny arm.

  “What have you done? Where did you get this? I feel ...” He sank to his knees, clawing at the collar, his eyes morphing hypnotically.

  Sheri took a step toward Chaos as Ryder scrambled up from the floor. Ryder moved in front of her. “It’s for your protection. I refused to have him here with --”

  “You’ve rendered me helpless, you bastard! This wasn’t part of the deal.”

  “You aren’t helpless -- you’re powerless. Your strength and agility are --”

  “What deal?” Sheri sidestepped Ryder and helped Chaos to his feet. “Who are you, and why are you here?”

  Ryder shook his head and turned toward the door. “Your pity is so misplaced. He started all of this.”

  “All of what?” She hurried after Ryder, following him into the living room. He flipped on the overhead lights, and the scene in the office replayed in her mind. “I thought you were a ghost in the Waking Realm? You just turned on the lights. How are you doing this?”

  Heaving an audible sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck. “The collar allowed me to solidify long enough to secure it around his neck. Already the power is fading. See, I’m a ghost again.” He passed his hand through her arm several times to illustrate his point.

  His explanation seemed feasible, but Sheri’s suspicion remained. Was he able to materialize at will? Why would he hide this ability?

  “Take it off!” Chaos stormed into the room, standing toe to toe with Ryder.

  “I can’t. Your father had it forged, and only he can remove it. He also said you’re banished from the Underworld until our mission is complete.”

  “My father did this to me?” Chaos turned, his hair fanning out in a shimmering banner.

  “He’s furious.” Ryder glanced at her, but continued to speak to Chaos’s back. “Can you blame him? You released the succubus!”

  Chaos rolled his shou
lders and stretched his neck, his expression tense with frustration and resentment.

  “Hades is your father?” It was another one of those questions that almost made Sheri laugh. Chaos turned his otherworldly gaze on her, and all levity vanished. He wasn’t human, but all five of her senses confirmed his reality.

  “Don’t even think about it.”

  The snap of warning in Ryder’s tone had no effect on Chaos. He ambled toward her, his gaze sweeping her body with obvious interest. “If we ignore him long enough, perhaps he’ll disappear. He may be a mere apparition, but I can hold you, touch you, please you as you’ve never known pleasure before.”

  “Is there something in the water that makes gods perpetually horny? We’re in the middle of a crisis here!” She shoved against his chest. His massive form didn’t budge. “Keep your hands to yourself, or get out of my house.”

  “What about my mouth? If I use only my mouth, can I --” She swung at him, turning his teasing words into a rumbling chuckle. He caught her wrist and pulled her to him, wrapping his other arm around her waist. “Feisty. I like that in a woman.”

  “Enough!” Ryder took a menacing step toward them.

  Chaos laughed again. “The succubus has tormented me ruthlessly. I am ravenous.”

  “The collar makes you impotent as well as powerless. Your ravenous desire is all in your mind. The sooner we trap the succubus, the sooner --”

  “What?” Releasing Sheri, Chaos raked both hands through his hair. She darted out of reach. “Not even Hera would dare such a thing.”

  “Yeah, well, your father dared.” Ryder motioned Sheri toward the sofa. “You can lock yourself in the bathroom and test the effectiveness of the collar after you tell me about the succubus.”

  They sat as Chaos fiddled with the offending metal ring. Another twinge of pity erupted in Sheri’s chest. It wasn’t like Ryder to be cruel. Why had he brought Chaos here if Ryder didn’t trust him?

  Ryder’s head snapped up. He scanned from side to side, his gaze alert and suspicious. “Do you smell that?”

  Sheri shot him a bewildered glance. “Smell what?”

  “Flowers. I thought I smelled flowers.” His gaze clouded, his expression tensed, and he sank into some sort of a trance.

  “The succubus smells like flowers,” Chaos told her. “I don’t sense anything.”

  Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Ryder disintegrated the haze from his eyes. “You wouldn’t, with the collar. When is the last time she visited you?”

  “Two nights past. She comes to me in dreams.”

  “She’s a succubus. That’s what they do.”

  “Stop provoking him,” Sheri said. Chaos grinned at her. Ryder crossed his arms over his chest, his expression precariously close to a sulk. “Have you two always disliked each other, or is this a recent development?”

  “Kane has poisoned all Dream Warriors against me.”

  “My opinion of you has nothing to do with Kane. We’re talking about Delilah.”

  “Who’s Delilah?” Sheri looked from one male to the other, struck by the contrast between the two.

  “Delilah is not her real name.” Chaos sat facing them, lowering his hands to the arms of the chair. “Knowing her real name is the only way to control her. That’s how my father sealed her in the pit.”

  “Your father sealed a woman in a pit?” Why was she surprised? Hades ruled the Underworld.

  “Delilah is not a woman. She’s a succubus.”

  “The female version of an incubus?”

  Chaos nodded. “An incubus disrupts the dreams of females, feeding on their sexual energy. A succubus sustains herself by stimulating sexual energy within the dreams of men.”

  “If you knew your father had imprisoned such a creature, why would you set her free?” Sheri leaned closer to Ryder, starting to understand his hostility.

  “I didn’t realize what she was. At first I believed she was a ghost. Restless spirits are common in the Underworld.”

  If he’d meant it to be funny, neither Ryder nor Sheri laughed.

  “She appealed to my sympathy,” he continued in a low, mechanical tone. “She claimed her confinement was meant to be temporary, but Persephone made Father forget.”

  “Did you happen to ask your father about any of this before you set the succubus free?” Accusation made Ryder’s voice harsh.

  “If Persephone had made him forget ... The details are not important. She tricked me. I set her free; now she must be recaptured.”

  “Why did she turn on you?” Sheri asked.

  “I tried to manipulate her. Delilah has a problem with authority.”

  Ryder shot Sheri a sidelong glance as he asked, “Who ordered the attacks on Meagan? Why disrupt this timeline?”

  “Delilah controls her brother, but in her twisted way, she did it for me.”

  Sheri scooted to the edge of the couch, resting her hands on her knees. “How does terrorizing a defenseless woman benefit you?”

  Chaos turned his face away, one hand returning to stroke the collar. “The universe comprises countless types of energy, but everything is energy.”

  “Don’t even try to turn philosophical on me.” She narrowed her gaze and clenched her hands. “Answer the question.”

  “Humans convert food into energy. Plants draw their energy from the sun. There are many ways to attain sustenance.”

  “I’m a microbiologist. I comprehend the similarities between digestion and photosynthesis. What does that have to do with Meagan?”

  “He’s not playing word games,” Ryder said. “He is trying to explain.”

  Had Ryder just defended the enemy? This was bound to be interesting. “Like vampires sucking blood?”

  Chaos chuckled, a surprisingly pleasant sound. “An interesting parallel, but I can work with it. Vampires derive their energy from the blood of mortals. Dream Warriors glean energy from interacting with mortals in the Dream Realm.”

  “That is not why we do it! You make us sound like dream-sucking vampires.”

  “Do you eat or need sleep to rejuvenate?” Chaos challenged with an upraised brow.

  “We’re not talking about Dream Warriors. We’re talking about you.”

  “Do you realize how often you digress when the topic becomes uncomfortable?” After a moment’s pause, Chaos went on. “It is a truer parallel to think of Delilah and her brother as the dream-sucking vampires, but Dream Warriors do draw their energy directly from the Dream Realm.”

  “Where do you draw your energy from -- creating disorder and chaos?”

  “Yes.”

  Her mouth gaped for a moment before she snapped it shut. She’d been joking! “You’re serious. You’re the source of ... chaos.”

  “Chaos is the complete absence of order. I’m not nearly so powerful. I am nourished by conflict. Turmoil makes me strong, so it’s in my best interest to encourage disharmony. Powerful pockets of turmoil surround sickness and disease.”

  The Bentel-2 virus had the potential to eradicate several virulent diseases, depriving him of a convenient energy source. “They should throw you in the pit with the succubus.” She shook her head. She’d actually felt sorry for him. “What use is a creature who feeds off the unhappiness of others?”

  “I said nothing of unhappiness. Conflict is not necessarily bad. Many humans draw closer during times of distress. Trials and hardship are often necessary for growth. There are few absolutes in this universe, little mortal. I am neither evil nor good.”

  “What happened to Meagan was evil.”

  “If it were not for the incubus, she would never have met Gareth,” Chaos pointed out casually.

  Sheri shot to her feet. “That doesn’t excuse what that creature did. Meagan is my friend, but this reaches far beyond her suffering. If Gareth hadn’t stabilized this timeline --”

  “This timeline is still at risk. The incubus is a minion, a devout follower of the succubus.” Chaos met her gaze, demanding her full attention. “We must concentrate on
Delilah. She will not be so easily vanquished.”

  Chapter Five

  Pride tingled through Delilah as she listened to Chaos speak. He acknowledged her as a worthy opponent. Why couldn’t his father -- She stopped the thought before it formed. Hades would understand soon enough.

  The mortal turned to Ryder. “This is my house, and I don’t want him here.”

  Ryder pushed to his feet, approaching his angry companion. Delilah watched his movements carefully, fascinated yet apprehensive. She’d thought she was the only dream spirit powerful enough to appear in the Waking Realm. This Dream Warrior had not only appeared, he’d solidified. He’d snapped the collar around Chaos’s neck and manipulated the light switch. He’d sensed her presence while she was shielded; that had never happened before.

  “If there had been anywhere else to take him, I --”

  “Don’t! I’m only speaking with humans right now.” The mortal stomped from the room, slamming the door behind her. To Delilah’s astonishment, neither Ryder nor Chaos made any move to halt her retreat. Why would they allow such belligerence?

  I am neither evil nor good.

  What a crock of shit! If Chaos wasn’t a villain, then neither was she. He intentionally escalated conflicts to make himself strong. He was selfish, ruthless, and cruel, all characteristics of villainy.

  Summoning Zared from the Dream Realm, Delilah hurried from the office. Complications sprang up everywhere she turned. She’d clearly underestimated Ryder, and now he was linked with her quarry.

  She found the mortal lying sideways across a bed in one of the rooms at the top of the stairs. The woman had covered her eyes with her forearm. One foot rested on the floor, the other on the edge of the mattress.

  Channel some of her energy to me, and I’ll send her to the Dream Realm, Delilah instructed Zared.

  With a Dream Warrior downstairs, you want me to ...

  Distract him, you idiot. That’s all. Stimulate her into a frenzy, then leave the Dream Warrior to deal with her. I need him out of the way while I visit Chaos.

  Zared appeared, a barely discernable shadow, hovering over the woman. For years Delilah had attempted to teach him how to compel mortals to sleep. He simply couldn’t master the skill, so they’d perfected this compromise.