Black Ruins Falls

by Karen DuBose

  I don’t have to look for long. She has been coming to the same spot for months. “You know sitting out here alone isn’t good for the soul,” I say.

  Startled, she turns around with her hand over her heart. “Dang you, Alums. You scared the hell out of me.”

  I smile at her trying not to laugh. Walking over to her, I sit down next to her. She watches every move I take. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you heard me walk up.”

  Without skipping a beat, she hits me on the arm. “Don’t you smirk at me. It’s not funny. I could tell you were trying to hide that laugh. No, I didn’t hear you walk up. I never do. You never make a sound.”

  This time I did let out my laugh. “I think you were just lost in thought and didn’t hear me. I wasn’t quiet walking through the leaves on the ground.”

  She stares at me like I’ve lost my ever-loving mind. “What?”

  She shakes her head and looks off into the woods again. Like she is waiting for someone or something to come out of them. “I wasn’t thinking. I’m watching.”

  It’s my turn to scrunch my brows together. “What are you watching for?”

  There are a few minutes of silence before she turns my way. “I don’t know. I just have this bad feeling like something is coming for us and I can’t figure out what it is.”

  My alarms go off inside me. “And you think it’s safe to be out here by yourself?”

  She shakes her head no. “I just want to be able to alert everyone when it does come. I don’t want there to be any more surprises.”

  I wrap her in my arms. “You do not need to put yourself in danger for us. Why didn’t you tell one of us? We would have been on high alert. Please don’t come out here again without someone.”

  I feel her sag into me. “I don’t know why I didn’t tell anyone. I thought I was doing the right thing. I feel like it’s my responsibility to take this thing on. It calls to me somehow.”

  I pull her away from me a little so I can see her beautiful face. “You’re not responsible for us. If this thing is calling to you, then we need to figure out what it is and why only you can feel it.”

  She drops her head to hide from me. “Please don’t do that. Look at me. There is no reason to hide from me. We will figure this out together.”

  She doesn’t look at me for a beat. When she does look at me there are tears in her eyes. “I’m scared to find out the truth. What if it’s me calling to it and I’m not realizing it or it’s a part of me somehow?”

  “How could you be calling to it? Are you wanting something bad to happen?” I don’t believe she ever would, but I had to ask.

  She leans her head back to look up at the sky. “The only thing I want is for all of this to be over. I miss the peace. I knew what to expect. Now I have no idea what’s to come or who will be first. With the way things have been going, they will all come at once.”

  Grabbing her hand, I rub circles on her palm. “I’m going to say it won’t happen because that is a big possibility. I will never lie to you to make you feel better about something.”

  She looks at me from the corner of her eyes. “Yeah, I know. It’s one of the things I like about you.”

  This makes me smile and gives me the opportunity to get know more. “Oh, is that so? What else do you like about me?”

  She smiles, bringing her head down to look at me. “A girl can’t tell all of her secrets the first day.”

  This gets me intrigued. “You have secrets, do you? What kind of secrets do you keep in that pretty little head of yours?”

  She giggles and hides her face. I can tell she is blushing. It looks sexy on her. “Like I said, I can’t tell you all my secrets.”

  I can’t stop myself from staring at her. She has some kind of hold over me. Is this what it feels like to find your true mate? The powerful hold, the protectiveness, the need to want her in my arms all the time or is this just my dragon making a claim on her as ours? I really need to find out.

  “What are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?” She wipes her face with her hands. She looks at them to see if they’re clean. I break the connection I was having.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.” I feel like I’ve been caught doing something wrong.

  She’s giving me a weird look. “Are you ok?”

  “Yeah, I’m good. You ok?”

  She frowns at me. “Yeah, I’m ok. You’re acting strangely. Are you sure you’re ok?”

  I exhale slowly. No point in hiding it. She will find out sooner or later anyway.

  “Look… I don’t even know how to say this….” I look up at the sky hoping it will give me the courage to say this without ruining everything. “I …. Like you.” I hold my breath in waiting for her reaction.

  She turns herself to face me completely. She doesn’t say anything at first, she just sits there staring at me. I can’t even tell what she is thinking. She looks at me with a straight face. “You know, I was wondering when you were going to come out and say it. I thought for sure I was going to have to wait a decade before you would even admit it. If that isn’t clear enough, I like you too.” She smiles at me with that dimple showing.

  My heart about comes out of my chest with excitement. I couldn’t help the cheesy grin on my face. I don’t think. I just act. I wrap her up in my arms and kiss her like there is no tomorrow. For all we know there won’t be. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she brings me closer. There isn’t any space between us.

  I can feel her heart beating in her chest. It’s beating just as hard as mine. I slow the kiss down to enjoy it. I want to savor every minute of it. I’m not so lucky when I hear something headed our way.

  I push her behind me. “Hey! What the hell?” I turn to her and raise my finger to my lips to tell her to be quiet for a second. She was about to protest when she hears it too. I open my senses to see if I can figure out who it is or what it is.

  As soon as I do, I fall to my knees from the sheer pain that is coursing through my body. I couldn’t even scream. I try to close off my senses but I can’t. I can faintly hear someone screaming my name. I’m sure it’s Saffron. All I can think about right now is dying.

  Just as soon as it came the pain is gone. Did I close my senses somehow? I look around and see Saffron curled up on the ground, but it’s not where we were. Where the hell are we?

  I close my eyes to sit up, the room we are in is spinning. I don’t want to lose what little I have in my stomach. I crawl over to Saffron and roll her over. I place my hand on her chest. With relief, I feel her heart beating against it.

  Knowing she is alive for now, I take a look at my surroundings. I can tell we are in a cave. One I’ve never been to before. Who took us and why? I lift Saffron head up and lay it on my leg. I want to be the first thing she sees. I don’t want her anymore frightened than she needs to be.

  I don’t want to wake her up either. I rather her not deal with any of this and if she sleeps through most of it, the better. I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to take us, but they will pay for it.

  I’m lost in thought when I hear footsteps coming this way. I quickly lay Saffron back on the ground and stand guard in front of her. I tense up because I have no idea who I will be dealing with.

  The closer the footsteps get, the more wound up I get. All of a sudden, they stop. I have great night vision and I don’t see anyone. I look harder but still, there is no one.

  “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

  Their laughter echoes through the cave. “You think I am a fool to show you who I am so you can tell your precious Dariya? Oh, how wrong you are. This is going to be so much fun. Tell me dragon, where is your precious Dariya now? Does she even know you are missing yet?”

  I don’t recognize the female's voice. I know it’s not one of the sister’s hags. “I will never tell you where she is.” I know I’m about to make the biggest mistake but I need to know who this is. “Are you that big of a chicken you can’t show you
rself? Are you afraid what will happen to you if you do?”

  I hear her growl, but she stays where she is. “Nice try! I’m not that stupid to fall for your tricks. Let’s see how long you last before she finds you. I know she will never let you down. She will come for you even if you don’t want her to.”

  I listen to her walk away. I need to know where this cave leads. I’m not just going to sit here like a sitting duck. There has to be a way out of here. I take a few steps, the pain that courses through me as I land on my knees. It’s almost as bad as the first time. The only difference is this time it doesn’t last long.

  There is an invisible wall of some sort. I look at the ground to find something I can throw. I grab a rock not bigger than my palm and throw it. It bounces off the wall and I see the electricity spark where the rock hit. There is no way out of here.

  I try not to panic. I need to think. We need to get out of here somehow, without bringing Dariya here. I need to get ahold of Bruno and tell him what happened. He is the only one who will be able to keep this from Dariya. She has enough to deal with right now.

  “Bruno?”

  I wait for his reply, when he doesn’t come back right away, I yell it.

  “Bruno!”

  “I heard you the first time. I was dealing with something here. Where are you? I’ve called a meeting.”

  “I don’t even know where I am. Look! Me and Saffron were taken by someone. I haven’t figured out by who yet. They are smart. They want Dariya, do not tell her I was taken. I will not get her involved.”

  “I will try to keep this from her, but you know she will know something is wrong. Do you remember anything?”

  I tell him everything that has happened since before all of this happened and after. I feel his anger making mine flare as well.

  “All I know is that the person who came to check on us is a demon. Something about her screams demon. I don’t know who she is working for. I will try to figure out how to get out of here.”

  “Don’t be stupid. They have you because you are connected to Dariya. Play it cool and get as much info as you can. I will figure out how to get you out of there. Don’t do anything stupid! Don’t provoke them, you are not important to them.”

  “Like I haven’t figured that out already. Just figure shit out. I will try my best to not be stupid.” I roll my eyes.

  “Man, look I’m sorry. There is so much going on, I can’t keep up. I feel like I’m about to lose my shit. Please stay alive ok.”

  “Will do.”

  I broke the connection to him. I don’t want to know what else is going wrong. He is right though I was going to do something stupid, even if it was to get Saffron out of here alive.

  I look down at a still sleeping Saffron. I sit next to her and place her head on my lap again. “I’m sorry I got you involved in all of this. In a way, I want you awake, but I know with you sleeping you’re safe for now. I will figure a way out of here, somehow.”

  I lean my head against the wall and close my eyes. There is no point in not getting some rest. I need my strength if I am going to find a way out of here.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Brody

  Bruno invades my mind like a tank. “I need everyone here now! We have a problem.”

  I look over at Vada. I have been blessed that she came into my life. We aren’t mated yet. We will be when Dariya is able to join us. The smile she gives me makes me not want to leave, but I know I am needed.

  “Bruno called me too. Let’s go. There are things that need to be done. Don’t give me that look. I don’t want to leave either, but people need us.”

  I groan in response. I wish she wasn’t right. I just wish I could have a full day without mayhem for once. I don’t say anything when I stand. Holding out my hand, I grab her hand and lift her up.

  “Let’s go see what the boss wants.”

  She lays her head on my arm as we walk. I wrap my arm around her and hold her tight. We didn’t say anything. With us, we really don’t have to say much to know what the other feels or thinks, which is great for me. I’m not a talker and never have been. Small talk is overrated if you ask me.

  We reach the cabin. Almost everyone is here already. We join the group and wait to hear what he has to say. I bring Vada in front of me so I can wrap my arms around her.

  She looks up at him and gives that ravishing smile. I couldn’t help but smile back at her and give her a kiss. Something about that smile makes me want to do anything to see it.

  “Alright, here is what has been going on. First, I will let Knox tell you what he has found. Then there is another issue we have to deal with.”

  Knox tells us about the hidden town they found and how he thinks Kelso and the Seer are there. There is a woman there named Bran, who has two sisters that need to be saved.

  “Now that you know that part, here is the other thing that needs to be dealt with now. Alums and Saffron have been taken by demons. You cannot let Kiernan or Dariya know. They want her and having him they know she will come to get him out. He will give me info when he gets it. All we know is they are in a cave somewhere.”

  My rage comes to the surface. We need to get them out of there. “How are we going to keep this from them? You know she will figure it out. She has a sixth sense about stuff.”

  Bruno rubs his temples. “We will just have to have less contact with her until we can find them.”

  I laugh at him. “You’re joking, right? That is the biggest red flag to her. She will know for sure something is up.”

  He drops his hands. “You got a better idea?”

  Vada steps out of my arms. “I may know a way to keep her in the dark. Leave it up to us women to keep her busy.”

  The men are looking at her like she lost her mind. Myself included. “How do you plan on keeping her busy? Her two weeks is almost up. We will have to find him in a week in a half. You think you can keep her busy for that long?”

  She walks over to me and grabs my shirt. “You think so little of us women to keep her busy for that long?”

  My mouth went dry. My jaw was working but no words came out. Man, she has a way to make me speechless and turn on at the same time. “Yeah, that is what I thought. Come on ladies let’s show these men just how busy we can keep one woman.”

  I watch them all walk into the cabin. I’m already missing her. I turn back to Bruno. “What now? We have one problem taken care of, but what about Kiernan?”

  “I don’t know what we are going to do about him. Let’s just focus on finding Alums before he does something stupid.”

  I let out a grunt. “That means we don’t have much time.”

  The rest of them agree with me. “Where do we even start?”

  Bruno looks up to the sky. “Oceana is our best bet to finding him.”

  If Oceana knows, Dariya will find out sooner rather than later. I look up at the room Dariya has been staying. This is going to be impossible to keep this from her.

  I turn back to the group. “We will only have a few days max to find them. If not we are all screwed. She won’t forgive us easily.”

  Knox comes over to stand next to me. He places a hand on my shoulder. “I guess we better get to finding them. We have no choice. Dariya isn’t ready to take them on.”

  I shake my head. I have a bad feeling about all of this. “Come get me when you get more information.” Walking away from the guys, I head into the cabin to seek out Vada.

  I don’t get very far when I almost run into Dariya. “I’m sad that you guys are trying to hide something from me. Care to fill me in?”

  I freeze, I don’t know if I should tell her or not. “What makes you think we are hiding something from you?”

  She leans against the wall and crosses her hands. “Because all of the women decide they want to do something all at once. They wouldn’t tell me either and I can feel you are hiding something from me.”

  I hang my head a sigh in defeat. I told them it was going to impossible to keep this f
rom her. “The demons took Alums and Saffron. They took them to lure you to them. Alums told us not to tell you, because you are still healing.”

  She drops her arms. “You thought that was a good idea to hide that from me. This is the perfect time to get them all in one spot. Before you ask, I am almost a hundred percent myself.”

  My protective instinct kick in. “No, it’s too dangerous for you to go there. We don’t even know how many are there or if they are working for someone else to get to you. Let us figure it out before you go there with no information.”

  She walks over to me, raises her hand to my cheek. “Always the protective one. Fine I will give you two days to find out everything you can. After that, I will do what needs to be done.”

  I look into her mismatched eyes. “Do you promise not to do anything until then?”

  She smiles at me. “I promise. Go, I know you are itching to go. I can feel it. Just remember on the second day I will go find him.”

  I don’t say anything else. I rush back outside to find Bruno. This is something that needs to be said face-to-face. I couldn’t even keep it from her for ten minutes. That woman I swear will find out anything.

  Going into the woods out back where Bruno and Kira like to hang out, I spot both of them in a heated discussion. I make as much noise as I can so they know I’m there.

  Bruno turns in my direction. One look at me and he knew what I had to say. “You couldn’t even keep it to yourself man.”

  I hold my hands up in surrender. “Listen, she already knew something was up. Thanks to the ladies all going to her at once. Besides she has the right to know. Oh, and we have two days to find him or she will do it herself.”

  Kira walks in front of Bruno. “I told you she would know. But no! No one wants to listen to her best friends. Who has known her, her whole life cycle.”

  Bruno’s face turns beet red. “Two fucking days! Are you kidding me! You know she played you, right. She knows we can’t find him in two days!”

  Kira places her hand on his chest to try and calm him down. She brings his face to look at her. “Instead of getting your underwear in a bunch, why don’t you start doing what you do best and get them back.”