Seal of Surrender by Traci Douglass Read Free Book Online

package of the bastard’s own entrails and jammed atop the pointed centerpiece of Lucifer’s sacred alter. Nothing said ‘fuck-you’ better than personalized desecration.
    THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
    The drum cadence increased as the portal approached. Archon glanced toward the top of the bluff and the menacing swirl of clouds above the summit. Not long now.
    Words of dark magic and voodoo joined the hypnotic rhythm and chants. Energy prickled his skin. An ear-splitting boom rent the air and the gates of the prison tore from their hinges as the demon guards emerged, headed in his direction at astonishing speed.
    Before they could intervene, lightning bolted from the tempest above and tore through the top of Archon’s skull, knocking him to his knees. Everything went black and still.
    The next time he opened his eyes, Archon stared into the shocked face of a painted tribal shaman. His catalyst had worked. Spells had transported into the Earthly realm.

Chapter 5
    Irena uncrossed her legs and checked the time again.
    She hated airport lounges. The chairs were always so damned uncomfortable. After a yawn and a stretch, Irena tucked a leg beneath her, flipped to the next page in her magazine, and took a sip of soda.
    An ad for the latest adventure movie caught her eye, her attention snagging on the rugged face of the film’s star. As she perused the man’s chiseled jawline and sharp gaze, her thoughts drifted yet again to the man she’d met days before.
    Chago seemed … different.
    Her line of work presented an assortment of run-of-the-mill dictators or military strongmen, with the occasional businessman and corporate giant thrown in for flavor. Yet her new acquaintance seemed a separate species of animal altogether.
    To say he’d been out of his element during the fundraiser — with his constant fidget and his overabundant bar visits — would be the understatement of the millennium. An underlying current of danger sizzled through his movements, like a trapped beast waiting to be freed. Chago reminded her of a sleek cat, with his penetrating gaze and the most impressive build she’d ever encountered.
    Someone with a luggage cart moved past and bumped her bag on the floor. Irena bent to set it upright and glanced across the room toward the ticket counter. What she saw made her stop short. The world seemed to jerk to a stop then whirl into fast-forward chaos. Irena pried her damp fingers from the smudged pages of the magazine and took a deep, steadying breath.
    Chago finished speaking with the clerk, stuffed his paperwork into the back pocket of his jeans and scanned the waiting area. Irena looked away quickly and focused on her soda cup, attempting to stop heat from flooding her cheeks at the thought of their previous night’s brief interlude.
    â€œMind if I sit here?”
    Damn. Her gaze flicked up to his smiling face and her cool reserve shattered. She gave a slow motion nod as he removed his jacket and flopped down into the seat beside her. “Small world, si?”
    â€œApparently.” Despite Irena’s best efforts to restrain her nervous tension, her voice squeaked out a full octave higher than normal.
    â€œInteresting read?” Chago leaned closer and peered at the magazine on her lap, his expression disparaging. “Those movies are ridiculous. Unrealistic crap. Besides, that guy’s an ass.”
    She gazed at the glossy advertisement then back at him. “Maybe. But he’s an ass who’s made a hell of a lot of money playing those roles.”
    â€œNo accounting for taste, I guess.”
    â€œWhat exactly are you doing here? Other than stalking me.”
    â€œQuerida
,
if I did stalk you, you’d never see me coming.” Chago flashed her a self-satisfied smile and her breath hitched. His gaze dropped to her lips and her reality tilted on its axis. He met her agitated stare once more, this time holding a tad longer before looking