by Aliyah Burke
No response from Luc and she turned to him, offering the handles of the short sickle weapons. His grin—part predator, part smugness, all sex symbol—had her toes curling in her boots. He took the wood, freeing her hands, and she slid on her leather jacket.
“This is your mission, I’m backup.”
She grunted and walked to the door. He wasn’t a baby. He wanted to hunt with her, she had no problem—surprisingly—with that. He just had to keep up.
“Let’s go.”
He moved by her, stepping out into the night. She pulled the door shut after her and moved up behind him. She cast out with her power, inhaling deeply and drawing in the rancid scent of the demons.
“Those weapons okay?”
“Feel like I should be fighting in the past, but sure”—he worked them easily, alerting her to his comfort level—“I’m ready.”
She ran her gaze over him once more. “Stay close and speak up if you’re getting too cold.”
His teeth flashed white in the moonlight. “Like Velcro.”
Dracen kept her comment to herself, just trotted off. She held a speed he could maintain. It still took an hour before she reached the first group, the scouting demons. Her blood burned and she hissed low under her breath, anticipation skating up her spine.
“Stay here.”
“What?” He tugged on her arm. “I didn’t just trek all this damn distance to sit on the sidelines.”
“This is a scout group. Trust me, there will be more. No point in tipping our hand that you’re here just yet.”
He gripped her chin, plastered a fast, hard kiss on her and smiled. “You said our.”
She shook her head and turned back to the demons who searched. She focused on them and rushed forward, using her speed. The one perched as lookout on a branch would be the first to die. She jumped at a close trunk, launching herself from it and going up and left, where she called up her sword before she decapitated the creature. A heartbeat later a second blade was in her other hand. She landed between the semicircle of demons and the woods, crouched, coat flared out and weapons in hand, before the first demon’s head did. When it hit, she stood slowly as the remaining demons fell, dead, in pieces around her.
A low whistle cut through the night from Luc’s lips to her ears. Moments later he’d reached her side.
“You’re fucking impressive.”
“I’m okay. Let’s go.”
He gripped her arm, halting her. Dracen slowly turned her head to stare at him, the blood in her veins humming with the need to hunt and kill more.
“Christ, Dray, you look murderous. I know this is your show, but don’t you think they’re looking for something? Or someone? Why else would they have sent out a scout team?”
It took a few seconds for his words to register. She’d been so focused on finding and killing the bastards, she hadn’t thought about anything else. However, they made sense.
“So you’re saying that perhaps the demons are up here looking for my artifact?”
“I don’t know how you usually get notified about an artifact being in an area, but why not? Look, for some reason you and me are tied together. That damn dragon brought me here for you to find. What if whatever had you leave the vineyard was the same thing? For a reason you didn’t get at the time.”
His hand loosened around her wrist and she thought about his words. “So instead of hunting down these bastards, I should find out what they’re looking for and see if it’s what I need.”
“A thought,” he muttered, sidling up close and sharing her body heat. “So where to now?”
“We find more.”
“Sure you don’t want to check this area out to see if we can’t find what they were looking for?”
No. She wanted to kill, sever heads from necks. Diminish the demon population by a good number. Still, his point was clear—she had to stop being a one-woman wrecking crew and find her artifact.
“Okay, fine. We’ll search. A five hundred yard diameter.” She hid one sword and left the other to poke through the snow. “Stay in contact.” She took three steps before he gripped the back of her coat, pulling her toward him.
“Not so fast.”
“What?”
He didn’t speak, just kissed her. Branded her. Possessed her. Owned her.
“Be careful,” he uttered, setting her from him.
She stood there blinking when he walked in the other direction. “You too,” she whispered. Her sign shifted and she tore her gaze from Luc and completed a check in the area the demons had been looking. Coming up empty, she shimmied up a tree trunk and gazed through the bare branches at the surrounding landscape then down to the ground.
“Find anything?”
She jumped from the branch and landed before Luc. “Nothing.” A sigh. “But I don’t know what my artifact is supposed to look like anyway. I wonder—”
At his raised fist, she snapped her mouth shut.
“People are coming.”
She frowned.
“I may not hear demons but I know the sound of men moving through the woods.” He flipped the weapon in his hand and pointed. “Coming from there.”
“Suggestions?”
“Flank them and follow. See where they’re going?”
“Very well. Just remember if they are coming now, I’m nearly positive they’re from The New Order and won’t hesitate to kill you—there’s no talking them from their new life within the Order.”
“Noted.”
He slipped away with an ease that impressed her. He was good. Working in the opposite direction, she moved swiftly until she was behind the ten-man team. They weren’t totally spread out, remaining close enough to see each other in the moonlight. On their heads she should see their night vision goggles, NVGs but it was bright enough that they didn’t need them.
Her sign pushed power through her and she scaled the nearest tree, using the pine branches to keep hidden. One of the men froze and the others followed suit. He glanced up and stared around. She didn’t move, confident they couldn’t see her.
Now I wait.
Luc spun the weapon in his hand as he watched the last man in the line moving steadily closer. Christ, just like in war, these guys get younger and younger. This one—despite the serious edge in his demeanor—appeared barely old enough to shave. And he was nervous—the constant readjusting of his hold on the weapon gave it away.
Old enough to hold one, old enough to pull the trigger.
Luc held still as they inched by him. They locked up, readying to fire, and he tensed. Nothing but the weapons in his hands mattered. The cold, he pushed away. These people were there to kill his woman.
Dracen might not realize and accept it yet, but he had. They were mates, supposed to be together. She was stubborn, but then, so was he. He wanted to learn everything about her. She’d shared about the Guardians, but had gone close-lipped when the talk came to her.
The group began to move and he snatched the man, ripping off his comm and putting a blade to his throat.
“What are you after?” he rasped.
“Fuck you.”
“You’re not as brave as you think, kid.” He pushed the metal into his skin and the guy gasped. “Do you really think any of them give a damn if I slice you open and leave you to freeze to death or be eaten by some wandering animal? You’re just a body and there are plenty fools to take your place.”
“You won’t kill me.”
“I have so much blood on my hands, one more dead body won’t make a single bit of difference.”
“They’ll miss me.”
He shook his head. “They’ll be dead soon as well. Tell me.”
“If I tell you you’ll kill me.”
“Going to kill you anyway.” He shifted his stance. “Are you looking for an artifact?”
The man grunted and struggled.
Luc easily brought him back under control. “I’ll take that as a yes. You do know how big the Boundary Waters is, right?”
/> “I’m not stupid.”
“Beg to differ.” A warning trickled up his spine. “Where is your headquarters?”
“I’m not telling you anything else.”
“Suit yourself.” He sliced the man’s neck and dropped the body unceremoniously to the ground before going to his knees in pursuit. Luc searched the man. Attaching the comm to his clothes, he then removed the weapons. While the kamas were nice, he breathed easier at the familiar weight of the H&K MP5 in his grip. The wind brought a lone scream to him.
Once he’d cleared the man of everything he could, Luc pushed to his feet. “Miss me already?” he asked, checking the magazine of the MP5.
Dracen walked from the shadows to his side. “You killed him.”
“Yes. He would have done the same to me. I got a map, let’s see where—”
“I have the information of an ops center.” She held out her hand.
“What?”
“You have guns, no reason to carry the kamas.”
“I want them.”
“Your call.” She faced the other direction. “More come.”
He pivoted but focused on her instead of the distance. Coiled. Ready. Edgy.
“Lead on.”
She faced him and pulled something from her coat. “Here.” She leaned closer, bringing her scent—light sweat and the crisp outdoors—then tied something around his waist before she just as swiftly secured something around each thigh. “Put the kamas there, they’ll be out of your way.”
“My very own Girl Scout, always prepared.”
“Far from one of those.”
He attached the weapons, not so shocked when the weapons fit so nicely.
“Did any of them let you in on what the artifact looks like?”
“No. I have to narrow down my search area.”
“I’m patched in to their comms, we can listen as we hunt.”
She gave a sharp nod. “This way.”
As she struck out, he fell behind her, realizing his cold had been banished with her beside him. Yet another thing that deserved more thought. But later.
They trekked quietly, and he listened to the minimal chatter in his ear.
“Found it,” a man stated.
Luc stopped and Dracen did as well. “Someone found something. Said he found it. Whatever it is.”
“Where?” Excitement and need surrounded her one word.
“Wait one.” He dropped to a knee and unfolded the map. Dracen remained over him, holding the light on the sheet. Listening to the back and forth, he marked it.
“Spider Lake.”
She leaned closer. “That’s Thunder Bay District, in Canada.”
“That’s a good hump.” He folded up the map and stuck it back in his coat’s inside pocket.
“Even without you it would take me a bit.”
He rose and tugged her close by the lapels of her jacket. “Why go up there?” Her eyebrows rose and he shook his head. “I mean, let’s look at this. It’s winter, it’s night and we’re in the Boundary Waters. They have to have shelter. The smartest thing is heading for their HQ. They may not even have found your artifact, but something else.”
He stared at her until the moon vanished beneath the thick cloud, the first flakes of snow hitting him.
“Very well.”
“Good. Now where is the shelter?”
A warm wave pushed through him.
“This way.” She struck out once more.
Luc shook off the exhaustion nipping at him when they neared a cabin, a lone beacon in the darkness.
“I have an idea.”
“What?”
“You may not like it.”
“Then don’t say it.” She turned and he grabbed her arm.
“Busting in through the front isn’t always the best tactic.”
He heard her sigh as much as felt it. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. For now.”
* * * *
Luc kicked the door with his left foot.
It was yanked open, yellow light spilling out over the snow.
“What?” a burly black man demanded with a deep bark.
“I have a Guardian,” he said, jerking his thumb at the body draped over his shoulder.
The man waved him in, the M16 never wavering. Luc bit back his growl when the guy yanked her head up by the hair.
“How the hell did you manage this?”
“Outsmarted her,” he said, rolling her off his shoulder to the couch. “Got her weapons too,” he added, noting how some of them were staring at the kamas on his side.
“I’m going to report this.”
The flicker along his skin nearly had him checking to see if she’d moved. “I’m fucking freezing, can I get something hot to drink?”
One of the others beckoned to him and he went to the small kitchen area and poured himself some hot coffee.
“Where are the rest of the men and why are you dressed like that?”
“I got separated when someone yelled they found it. A demon held me up. The others were dead when I found them again. She fought the last one and I clubbed her from behind.” He smirked. “Guardian or not, a crack to the head is still effective.” He spooned in some of the sugar offered.
“I’ve heard about her.”
He drank. “Hasn’t everyone?”
“Some are more fearful of that creature than Them.”
Luc wanted to know why. The one who’d let him in returned, his dark skin gleaming in the light.
“Tie her up and wake that bitch.”
He sipped slowly, letting someone else secure her. The leader smacked her head, twice, before her eyes flickered open.
“Hello, bitch.”
She gazed around the room briefly before settling her attention back upon the one who’d hit her.
“How many are with you?”
“I don’t need anyone with me.” Dracen blinked.
The man reached into his pocket and withdrew a vial, holding it out before him. “Now, I’m not a lonely pissant and I know the one who carried you in here isn’t one of ours, so he must be yours. Your mate?”
The room wavered before him and Luc frowned.
“I’m alone. That man is nothing to me.”
“He’s been poisoned.”
Luc noticed the others watched him from a distance. He placed his cup back down.
“Your mistake,” she said. “Kill one of yours. Just one less I have to exterminate.”
“Hardly.” He moved the vial again. “For her, demon blood. It will tear through her, killing her.”
“So give it to me already and shut the fuck up.” Her tone was cold and matter-of-fact.
Luc sat at the table, not letting them in on the fact his vision was flickering. He trusted Dracen to get them out of this.
“You’re not the healer. You won’t survive this.”
Luc wondered about his plan. She needed to react soon. She didn’t fight as they yanked her head back, forcing her mouth open to pour in the liquid.
No! he wanted to yell, but remained still.
“I killed a Guardian. Wasn’t so hard.” The man puffed out his chest.
“Sir,” one of the others stammered.
Luc’s vision grew worse as Dracen ripped free of her bindings and killed everyone but the one who’d been crowing about killing her. She stared at the man then kissed him.
What the fuck? Luc jerked in his seat, jealousy slamming into him.
The man staggered away from Dracen, clutching his throat as blood seeped from between his fingers. She stared dispassionately and with disinterest as he sank to his knees before she went to the sink and got a cup of water. She drank some before checking the level in the glass. Crouching before Luc, she handed it to him before withdrawing a small pouch and adding some brown granules to it.
“Drink.”
He complied, and his vision, along with the world, began righting themselves. He grabbed her coat and yanked her close, slamming his mouth over hers. “No kissi
ng anyone else,” he rumbled dangerously.
“Had to do something with the blood he dumped down my throat,” she said.
He stood keeping her close. “Spitting it in his face didn’t cross your mind?”
“No, should it have?”
“Yes. I don’t want your lips on another’s.”
She began to step away but he halted her.
“Are we clear?”
Her gaze snapped to his. “Pretty demanding for a man who’s barely known me more than a few days.”
He captured her mouth once more, determined to drive the thought of any other than him away. Her moan was fuel to his fire and he gripped her tighter. Separating them so there was barely room for light between their lips, he said, “Only because I see the truth.”
She swiped her tongue along her lower lip, grazing his in the process. “Which is?”
“That you’re mine.”
Chapter Six
Dracen searched the cabin, her insides still a knotted mess in response to Luc’s statement. I’ve never been claimed before.
She paused in searching the room, her mind not on anything other than the tall man who’d integrated himself so swiftly into her life. Everything she thought she’d been destined to go through alone had changed with his statement.
Shaking her head, she stared out of the window at the increasing snowfall. I’m close, I can feel it, but to what, I’m not sure.
She had to remain focused—get the artifact and return it to the others so They would be defeated.
“What’s wrong?”
Dracen didn’t turn, just shifted her attention to the reflection of the man in the doorway.
“Nothing.” She gave her standard reply.
“Stop lying.”
There was no heat to his response, just belief in what he said. He crossed to her and leaned against the window beside her.
“I didn’t find anything but this.” He offered her a slip of paper in his fingers.
She coughed and plucked it from his grasp, opening it. “Longitude and latitude.”
“Maybe where the ‘it’ is they spoke of.”
“Did you plot it?”
He chucked her under the chin. “Of course. Also in the Thunder Bay area.”
She refolded the square and nodded. “You up for going tonight?”
