And her faithless body heated up.
Clearly, her libido had morphed itself to hoe status.
This immortal might be hot and sexy, but he was a straight-up killer.
Eddi had already warned her, the Guardians’ only priority was to destroy evil. With her possessing demonic nodes that killed if she didn’t control the feeding, it already put her high up on the evil list.
“We need to talk,” he said a second later.
She blurted at the same time, “I can point you in the direction of Rough’s hideout, but there’s nothing else to show you except for drains and tunnels, and I don’t know where Tolvi has his den.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“What?” She pivoted to him, brow scrunching. “I thought you wanted to find them?”
“I have.”
He did? She searched his handsome but unreadable face. “And?”
“I’m handling it.”
Oh, right. And she didn’t deserve an explanation.
Irritated, she stomped off, frustration back in spades. Every time he opened his mouth, he left her spitting mad.
“We need to talk,” he reiterated, keeping up with her.
“About you leaving? Great. Goodbye—”
He grasped her arm, halting her, his cold, otherworldly eyes pinning hers. A sudden biting chill enclosed her, and she shivered.
“You’re in danger. This place isn’t safe.”
“S-so?” Her teeth clacked as she glared into those flat, pale eyes. Him. He was emitting all this coldness, as if the underground wasn’t frigid enough. She pulled free of his hold and rubbed her arms, trying to get some warmth into her. “I’ve been on my own for a long time, and I still breathe. I think I-I did a pretty good enough job—God, you’re like frost man!”
Instantly the biting cold surrounding her dissipated, but a nerve worked that hard, unshaven jaw. “This isn’t the time for idiotic bravery. I’m taking you to a safe place.”
“Idiotic bravery?” she bit out, blood thundering to her head. She fisted her backpack straps so she wouldn’t hit him. With her luck, she’d probably break her wrist on the ice-block, anyway. “I don’t need your help.”
“Right now, I am all you have.” His eyes flashed like lightning in the gloom. Shadow could clearly see the diamond-hued striation breaking up his light green irises, giving them the icy hue. “No matter how well you fight, you won’t survive these gangs.”
“Then tell me what you’ve found out, and I will decide—eeep!” she shrieked as he shoved her behind him. “What the heck, Nik?” A trickle of sulfur burned her nose. Oh, shit. Her heart tripped, her gaze bouncing between the dingy open area where the tunnels split in two directions, searching for the smelly degenerates.
A chittering shattered the eerie silence. But these were no cockroaches. The acrid stench of rotten eggs clogged the dank air. Smoggy shapes quivered up from the ground, and several skeletal demons took on humanoid form, their sunken holes for eyes glinting red in the gloom.
“Go,” Nik barked at her. “Get topside now!”
Shadow snatched her iron dagger from her boot. Yeah, she could fight, but she wasn’t at her strongest due to her broken feeding. Still, she hesitated, torn at leaving him to singlehandedly face the horde.
Darn it. She pivoted and bolted into the fetid tunnel, flung a glance over her shoulder, and stalled. A smoky swirl distorted the dank air, and an ebony sword appeared in Nik’s hand, strange symbols glowing briefly on the dark metal.
Shadow blinked in astonishment. Heck, she shouldn’t be surprised. The guy could kill giant-ass red demons with ice spears he’d summoned out of thin air. Of course, he could summon a kickass weapon too.
The chittering demons rushed him, and the crazy man charged. She wanted to run back and help, but he was immortal. She, not so much. Besides, she’d be a liability right now. Ugh. She spun around and took off, rounding the bend in the tunnel.
As she neared the first maintenance hole leading to the surface, the single light on the tunnel wall flickered and died. She grasped the rusty ladder—
A palm slammed over her mouth from behind, a hint of sulfur clogging her nose.
Her heart in her throat, she lashed out at the demon with her dagger. He twisted her wrist. Her blade fell. Pain morphed into fury, and she elbowed the lowlife hard in the belly then kicked his ankle. He grunted, and his grip tightened brutally on her jaw.
Niiiiiik! she screamed in her mind. A futile gesture. The only ability she possessed since her change five years ago was her improved senses, not telepathy, but terror pressed down on her, and instinct was all she had left.
“Our leader awaits you,” the demon hissed in her ear.
The air around her spun as they flashed then reappeared again, God only knew where. Shadow stumbled, trying to find her footing, but her woozy head didn’t appreciate the sudden re-emergence.
More rugged stone walls surrounded her, along with massive moss-covered pillars. The plinking sounds of water crowded her ears. The granite in the underground bedrock groaned and creaked, and a slab of stone rolled open. The jerkwads shoved her into darkness. The dense, sulfuric stench burned her nose—as if this was a direct hole to Hell.
She coughed, bile clogging her throat, struggling to see.
Streaks of fire suddenly flared in the dark walls, casting a gloomy light and revealing a massive, muggy cavern.
“Wh-what is this place?” she croaked.
“Hell,” one of the dumbasses snickered.
The air in the pitch-black corner flickered. Shadow reared back, but the two fleabags grabbed her arms, digging their fingers into her flesh, keeping her there. As a smoky shape churned, her heart crashed against her ribcage like a wrecking ball, fear constricting her very being at the sheer malevolence enclosing her.
A lean demon emerged in humanoid form. “Finally,” he growled, dropping the man he held in his black clawed fingers like a rag doll.
Sporting coppery-dark skin and a shock of white hair cut in a short mohawk, he dressed like a man of leisure in black pants and an open-collared shirt, but his dark energy scoured Shadow’s psyche like metal bristles. Anemic yellow eyes fixed on her with a malevolent stare that had her knees trembling.
“Tolvi,” she rasped.
“If you insist on a name.”
Her first mistake was thinking this gang leader would also be human—oh, shit. The truth seized her by the throat. Somehow, he’d learned of her abilities. She must have fed off one of his minions. It was the only thing that made sense. Since last winter, his thugs had run her down a few times, but she’d always managed to escape them until now.
“What do you want?” she demanded, struggling not to show fear. “For me to give you ease?”
Oh, God, please say no.
“I know all about you stealing demon energy.” He flicked her offer away with a bony finger and strolled closer. “Now why would a human require my genus’ dark energy, hmm?” He picked up a lock of her hair. “You intrigue me, human, and I like anomalies…”
That was why he had his shitheads gunning her? Because she was an anomaly? Asshole.
His heavy eyebrows drew together, then his thin nostrils flared. He grabbed her by the nape and pressed his nose to her neck. A sudden roar erupted, nearly shattering Shadow’s sensitive eardrums. “I smell him on you. Where is the fragmen stercore?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about—”
In a move too fast to see, he lashed out, his talon’s shredding her turtleneck halfway down her front. Shocked, Shadow wheezed at the hit, then the stinging burn flared over her right breast. Christ, she bit her lip, stifling her cry as she grabbed her torn top.
“That’s for lying. What is this?” Tolvi snagged her wrists to her back in a painful hold, his pallid gaze fixed on her exposed chest. He raked a talon on her flesh, alongside her nodes.
Oh, God… She choked back an anguished scream. Her breath caught on another wave of pain as he tried to
dig out the middle node. Please, make him stop.
“By the flamin’ pits of Gehenna, they’ve become a part of you!” His eyes literally blazed, streaks of flame shooting out. “I will kill him…” Shadow barely heard Tolvi’s ranting, consumed in pain. Bits floated to her. “Mongrel thinks he can claim what is mine…mistaken…the power…mine.”
One word registered. Power? Her nodes?
She would have laughed if she could. They were damn parasites and killing her.
Mongrel? No, not the Guardian—Nate?
Dammit, Nate, what did you take from this psycho?
“Bring your maker to me, human. You have two days.” He stepped back, licking his bloodied talon.
So this asshole could kill him? Never.
Tolvi smiled as if he knew her thoughts. His eyes morphing into black holes, he hauled the fallen man off the floor, and the guy moaned, his head flopping back.
“Tian?” Her fingers tightened on her top. She recognized him, one of the homeless, and Eddi’s friend.
A flash of his hand, and Tolvi sliced the man’s carotid with a talon. Blood spurted like a fountain. He dropped the convulsing body. “He’s only the beginning. If you don’t do as I decree, then The Refuge you hide in will cease to exist after I unleash my minions.”
“My lord,” one of the fleabags who abducted her rumbled. “She had a Guardian of this realm with her earlier. They’re bad news for our kind…”
Anemic yellow eyes narrowed. “If any of them come sniffing around here, then I will find those you care about and take my time in making them wish for death…”
An image flashed through her mind. It was as if she’d fallen into the depths of a hell that spoke of endless agony…of fire. Scorching heat flashed through her mind. Eternal darkness, figures strung up, the horror in their screams reverberating inside her skull as skeletal entities fed on their flesh—
Stifling her cry of terror, Shadow stumbled back from the visions.
Tolvi flicked his hand with a scowl. “Take her back.”
The two stinkweeds grabbed her arms and flashed. Shadow shut her eyes, dizzy from shock and the unrelenting pain. Minutes later, they tossed her down and disappeared in a flash.
She lay on the cemented ground in the familiar tunnel, a haze of agony, dread, anger, and frustration consuming her. The bastard wanted Nate, but she couldn’t hand him over, and even if she wanted to, Nate was like mist, appearing and disappearing every so often. She hadn’t seen him in months.
Two days? She had to figure out what the hell to do fast before the innocent people in The Refuge got caught in this mess—
Oh, God, Eddi. She had to warn him, too.
Dammit. He could be anywhere during the day. Okay, she’d go to the garage first and alert Aba.
Urgency spurring her, Shadow rolled to sit up—Christ! She gritted her teeth at the agony searing her torso. Tears stung her eyes. When she could breathe again, she lurched to her feet and glanced at her bleeding chest.
Gingerly, she pulled off her ruined top and bra, then put her turtleneck on back to front, the solid fabric concealing her wounds. Mouth clamped, she untied her denim jacket from her hips and pulled it on, covering her exposed back, then shoved the bloodied bra into a pocket. There was no sign of her backpack.
Swiping her damp eyes with her knuckles, she hurried through the dim tunnel until she came to the metal ladder leading to the surface. Maybe Aba would help heal her wounds.
“Where the hell were you?” At Nik’s harsh demand, she squeezed her eyes shut, wanting so badly to run to him, spill everything. “I’ve been searching for you for hours!”
Hours? Shadow shook her head free of the pained haze. Wherever the demons had taken her, time moved faster, it seemed. It’d been mere minutes for her. She cut his hard features a quick look. He appeared a little pale beneath his tan. But no one cared about her except for Eddi.
She shrugged. “I was hiding. I couldn’t take on those numbers, and you appeared to be doing a good job.”
The nerve on his chiseled jaw started up again at her blasé response.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Sucking in lungfuls of stinky air, she grasped the rusting ladder. Working only on adrenaline, she climbed the corroded rungs, each step causing the wound to stretch, adding more to her agony. She shoved at the manhole lid, but it refused to budge.
Move, you stupid lump of metal. She thumped the iron covering with her fist, again and again, ignoring the pain tearing her knuckles.
“Shadow, stop.” A hard body pressed up against her back. A callused hand grasped her wrist, ending her pummeling. His enticing male scent enclosed her. Shadow wanted to lean into him, wanted him to wrap his arms around her, to hold her, so this immense coldness seeping from her very soul would ease, and she wouldn’t feel so alone.
Nik let her go and held onto the side of the ladder near her arm. He reached up with his free hand, and with one small shove, the lid slid free. Shadow hurriedly scrambled out of the manhole and into the humid night, landing on her hands and knees. The moon cast a silvery sheen over the looming buildings. A dog barked somewhere in the distance.
Inhaling the rank smell of waste, she pushed to her feet. As she straightened, black spots blurred her vision. She swayed and fell, crashing into a dumpster.
“Shadow—” Nik grabbed her. “What’s wrong?” This time there was no mistaking the hint of concern and power in his voice, demanding a response. His nostrils flared. “I smell blood. You’re hurt.”
She shook her head, fighting the faintness. “Scraped my knuckles shoving the metal lid—see?” She held up her bruised hand. If she’d nourished her nodes properly, she would have healed in a few hours. And Tolvi’s goons wouldn’t have accosted her so easily.
Goddammit, Nate, why did you steal from him.
Nik’s brows drew together, his pale eyes skimming over her. “It’s more than this scrape…” His gaze settled on her chest. He grasped her neckline.
“No—” She pushed at his hand with the strength of a fly. Too late. He tugged down her top, and she flung a palm on her injured sternum, holding her top in place, biting back a flare of agony. His expression darkened at the lesion on her breast. “What the hell happened?”
“What do you think?” she rasped, struggling not to whimper. “Demons appeared out of nowhere. I got hurt trying to escape.”
His mouth thinned. He held out his hand, and a faint, silvery-blue light coalesced, warming her skin before fizzing out. “Fuck—” he cursed, then lowered his head, and his warm tongue glided over her wounded breast, shocking her.
“Wh-what are you doing?” she squeaked, grabbing his head to push him away.
“My saliva has healing properties.” He lapped her injury again.
God. She shut her eyes. His tongue felt so good on her hurting flesh. Another lick, and the burning sensation eased, but a wave of dizziness gripped her. “Nik…” She clutched his shoulders. “I don’t feel well. Something’s wrong...”
“I have you.” He swept her into his arms and dematerialized them, her cry lost as her molecules scattered. Moments later, they took corporeal form again. A pulsing wave thrust at her like a force field, shredding her entire being and adding more intensity to her torment.
“No,” she panted, “this place hurts…” She pushed at Nik, trying to get away. “I can’t stay here.”
“Shadow, the castle is the safest—”
“No. Nate,” she breathed. “Please. Need him. He-he’ll—” A ripple of agony tore through her, stealing her breath, her mind, and hauling her into darkness.
Chapter 8
“Shadow?” Nik gently shook her. Her head flopped back, revealing her far too pale, tear-streaked cheeks. She’d lost consciousness.
Fear took hold, he’d healed her wound, so what—
The truth clocked him cold.
This place hurts her?
Dread like he’d never experienced before punctured his icy shields. She had a
nother injury.
The giant front door flung open. “Sire, I sensed a disturbance in the—” Hedori’s brow creased as his orange-green eyes settled on Shadow.
“She’s been marked by a demon. It’s what caused the disruption in the wards. Lower it.”
“Of course.” With a wave of his hand, their butler and all-around bodyguard for the mated females dropped the castle’s mystical protection.
Nik strode into the foyer. “Get the healing salves and potion,” he called out and flashed to the first-floor corridor. With his mind, he opened the door into one of the spacious guest bedrooms then carefully placed her on the bed.
Hedori reappeared a moment later and set a metal box on the nightstand. “I’ll fetch the Oracle.” He vanished.
Nik eased Shadow out of her jacket and top, and his breath jammed in his lungs at her gore-smeared chest. A deep open wound ran vertically alongside the three ruby stones in her sternum. The middle one spotted a macabre bloody ring as if someone had tried gouge out the stone.
And she hid this from him?
Anger, dark and furious seized him by the throat. Later, later he would deal with whoever the fuck had dared to harm her.
He flashed to the bathroom, dampened a towel, and hurried back. Gently, he dabbed at the bloody mess on her chest and cleaned away the gore, revealing a four-inch seeping lesion. He tossed the towel aside, then applied a thick layer of the moss smelling salve over the wound and around the warm, middle jewel stone. Gently, he stroked the thing…and it trembled beneath his finger.
Nik froze, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of his lungs. These things weren’t decorative stones but pulsing nodes. They were a part of her!
What the hell had caused this, because her very essence glowed brightly, indicating her humanity. Frowning, he studied her delicate features framed by her abundant dark hair with the purple streaks at the front.
What happened to you, lígo machitís?
Shattered Dawn (Fallen Guardians Book 5) Page 9
