Impervious to all but the spell she was casting, Edra held the goblet over her head and then slowly she lowered it to pour a measure of the thick blood directly onto the amulet.

Dante froze.

The spell was beginning.

He might very well be dead before Abby ever got herself loose.

The blood hit the amulet and sizzled against the searing heat. A strange humming filled Dante's ears, and he pounded his fists futilely against the barrier.

"Abby," he rasped.

As if sensing his rising panic, Abby gritted her teeth and sliced through the last bit of leather. The amulet on her chest seemed to flare as she knocked the smoldering iron off her skin and struggled to sit up.

From behind, Dante watched as Edra froze in shock.

In her arrogance, she thought that nothing could halt her glorious bid for power. Certainly not a mere slip of a woman with no ability to wield magic and no claim to the darker arts.

She hadn't counted on Abby's stubborn determination.

Something he had learned never to underestimate.

Ignoring the obvious pain wracking her body, Abby managed to lift herself upward, using her momentum to slash out with the keris. Belatedly sensing her danger, the witch leaped backward, avoiding a killing strike.

Thankfully the dagger managed to nick her upper arm, sending the goblet crashing to the floor.

More importantly, with her concentration destroyed, the barrier vanished into mist.

With a roar, Viper was across the floor and pinning the witch to the floor. Dante was at Abby's side, wrenching off the remaining straps and reaching to collect her in his arms.

"No." Holding out warning hands, Abby swung off the table and struggled to maintain her balance. "Don't touch me."

Dante slowly circled to face her, his brows pulled together. "Abby, what's wrong?"

She wrapped her hands about her waist. "I'm burning up."

Dante gave a slow nod. Even at a distance he could feel the heat rolling from her body

The Phoenix?"

"Yes." She turned toward the witch on the floor. 'The spell has begun."

"Viper, kill her," Dante rasped.

"My pleasure."

Lowering his head to sink his fangs into the witch's neck, Viper gave a low grunt and then astonishingly was flying backward as Edra struggled to sit up. In her hand was the amulet.

"Shit." Dante was moving even as Edra lifted her hand to strike at Viper once again.

As fast as he moved, however, the blast of power was faster. He cursed as he realized that he would never arrive in time. Then, without warning, the Shalott was leaping onto Viper, taking the blow in her back and slumping over the startled vampire.

Dante whirled back to glare at the witch who was uneasily forcing herself to her feet.

"You can't harm me," she panted, perhaps more to reassure herself than to remind Dante of his impotency.

"Not yet, but soon I'll see you in hell."

She gave a wild laugh. "The spell has begun. No one can stop it now."

He rapidly turned his attention to Abby to discover her on her knees. She was moaning as she rocked back and forth.

"God… Abby."

"She can't hear you. The Phoenix has taken control, and soon the Goddess will release the power that I have called forth." The wild laugh came again. "She's about to kill you, vampire."

"No!" With a scream, Abby rose to her feet.

Dante stumbled back as the force of her presence abruptly flared through the room.

He could barely recognize his mate.

In the candlelight, her pale skin glowed with a strange luminescence, and the blue eyes had turned to a brilliant crimson, as if flames were lit behind them. Even her hair seemed to float on some unseen breeze as she lifted her arms wide and began to walk toward the witch.

"Beloved Goddess," the witch breathed as she sank slowly to her knees.

Dante tried to step forward only to cry out as a wave of heat slammed him to the ground. The very air was sizzling around Abby, making it impossible to reach her.

Bloody hell, she was going to burn the house down around them.

After she managed to kill every demon.

Starting with him.

Battling back the blackness that was threatening to overwhelm him, Dante forced himself to his knees.

"Abby, you must stop—" he rasped.

"No." Abby never took her attention off the kneeling witch. "This must end now."

Shit. He couldn't move. Couldn't do a damn thing.

"Abby."

Reaching the older woman, Abby held out her hand. "Rise."

Ifes." Awkwardly the witch managed to stand, an expression of adulation on her face. "I have waited so long to bathe in your glory. To see the full wonder of your powers."

'You shall know my powers to the fullest, Edra."

The words came out of Abby's mouth, but the voice didn't belong to her. She had been completely consumed by the spirit within her.

"Bless you, mistress. Bless you."

Caught and held by the smoldering fire in Abby's eyes, the witch stepped slowly forward. Dante frowned as Abby wrapped her arms about the woman. What the hell was the Phoenix up to?

He heard Viper and the Shalott groaning behind him, but his gaze never wavered from Abby as she closed her eyes and tilted back her head.

For a moment there was nothing.

Just the pulsing blackness that clutched at him with the promise of death. And then, from seemingly nowhere, there was a violent explosion.

Dante flew backward to land with a jarring impact against a mold-slick wall.

His ears were ringing, and he was fairly certain his brain had become dislodged. But amazingly he wasn't dead.

At least not yet.

Giving his head a shake to clear the fog, he frantically searched through the thick smoke that filled the air. A sharp fear flared through him as he realized the encroaching darkness had been seared away.

And even more frightening, the leash that had held him prisoner for the past three centuries had been sharply severed.

He was free. But at what cost?

No.

HeH no.

He wouldn't believe Abby was dead. He couldn't believe it.

Scrambling on his hands and knees, he crossed the dirt floor to the last place he had seen Abby. It took less than a handful of seconds to move the short distance, but to Dante it seemed an eternity passed.

At last his searching hand encountered an outstretched arm. He gritted his teeth as he forced himself to touch the satin-soft skin.

A touch was enough.

He could feel her soul.

She was alive.

His head briefly touched the cool floor before he was moving to gather her still form in his arms. He ignored the mess that lay only a few feet away.

There was little left of Edra.

No doubt bits and pieces were scattered throughout the cellar. Certainly what was left of the charred lump couldn't possibly add up to a whole body.

A cold smile touched his lips.

It was a fitting end to the witch.

"Abby." He buried his face in her hair, holding her far too tight.

He felt her stir, and he pulled back to watch the brilliant blue eyes open.

"Dante?" Her face was covered in soot, her hair was singed, and there was blood on her chin.

And she had never looked so beautiful.

He pressed a careful kiss to her peeling lips.

'You did it, lover," he husked. 'You put an end to the spell."

"Not me." Her voice was raw and raspy, as if her throat had been burnt. "The Phoenix. It wouldn't let itself be used to destroy without cause."

"Sssh. We'll discuss it later. For now all that matters is that you're alive."

The faintest smile touched her mouth. "And still a goddess."

He gave a soft chuckle. "So it would seem."

"Will you worship me?"

He brushed his lips on the dark bruises that marred her beautiful skin.

"Lover, I intend to worship you every night for the rest of eternity."

Epilogue

Two weeks later, Abby was lying on the bed in Dante's lair, watching as he carefully lit the candles he had placed about the room.

The witches had fled or been buried after Edra's death, bringing an end to the coven. Not a great loss to Abby, considering they intended to use her as some sort of catalyst for Armageddon.

Granted, she was now stuck carrying a mystical spirit, but she was becoming much better at disguising her powers from those who would like to see her dead, and there were a number of benefits to being a Chalice.

Not the least of which was the promise of an eternity with Dante.

Above them, Selena's mansion was slowly being reconstructed, complete with tinted windows and a new library for Dante's vast collection of books. And, of course, the newer travel catalogues that he had ordered for Abby.

For their honeymoon, Dante had promised to take her around the world.

But first they would share the ceremony that would make them truly mates.

Stirring on the pillows, Abby tugged at the black satin sheet that was all that covered her naked body.

'1 get that Selena and Edra were in a power struggle to decide who would be allowed to rid the world of demons and become some sort of demigod," she murmured in lazy tones. "But I still don't understand why they waited so long to try and use the spell. You would think as soon as Selena became the Chalice they would have tried to flex their mojo."