Death of Darkness

by Dianne Duvall

The woman tossed her katana straight up in the air, drew a dagger, and threw it. Catching the katana as it fell, she leapt forward.

  Behind him, Nicole grunted.

  Sean hastily raised his weapons as the woman attacked. She was incredibly fast. So fast he had to dedicate all his attention just to fending off her strikes.

  A thud sounded behind him, like that caused by a body hitting the ground.

  Shit! Had Nicole been hit by the dagger?

  Worry rose as he deflected blow after blow of the woman’s swords. “Nicole?” he called.

  Silence.

  One of the woman’s blades carved a path across his chest as she took advantage of his distraction. Damn, she was strong. She had to be an immortal.

  “Nicole!” he shouted, panic suffusing him when she didn’t answer. Was she dead? Had this woman killed her?

  His opponent landed another strike. It was like fighting an elder Immortal Guardian. How the hell was that possible? A vampire must have turned her. So—at best—she should match Sean in speed and strength and be his equal. Instead, she was kicking his ass!

  He parried every blow, but the sheer power behind them slowly drove him backward. Even if she slipped and gave him an opening, he couldn’t strike a killing blow. Seth wanted the missing immortals taken alive. So how the hell was he going to get out of this? He couldn’t fight her and contact Seth at the same time. He wasn’t telepathic and had to use a phone.

  Could he hold her here until Krysta and Étienne returned?

  A moan sounded behind him.

  Relief rushed through him, thickening his throat. Nicole wasn’t dead.

  He dug in his heels, not wanting the female immortal to get any closer to wherever Nicole lay, and kept her busy so she couldn’t throw another dagger.

  The long blade of her katana sank into his side and stayed there.

  Agony engulfed him. Sean sucked in a breath, then drew his own blade across her thigh.

  She barely seemed to notice. “Immortal, my ass,” she sneered. “If you bleed, you can die.” She yanked her sword out.

  Sean damned near sank to his knees it hurt so much.

  She renewed her assault. “The other vampires all fear you.” She scored another hit. “They think you’re strong.”

  Pain lanced through him when she came damned close to severing his arm with another powerful strike. His sword fell from lax fingers, leaving him one weapon against her two.

  “But you aren’t. You’re weak,” she taunted in a voice full of hate. “Killing you will be easy.”

  Soft thwits reached his ears.

  The woman danced backward as blood spurted from multiple bullet holes that opened on her chest.

  The shooting stopped.

  “He isn’t weak, you stupid bitch,” Nicole gritted.

  Sean risked a glance over his shoulder.

  His Second leaned against the corner of the nearest building, a dagger sticking out of her left shoulder. Blood stained her teeth and poured down one side of her face from a head wound as she aimed a 9mm equipped with a silencer and extended magazine at the woman. “He’s honorable.”

  Grass shifted.

  Sean hastily looked back at the woman.

  The female immortal took a step toward him.

  Nicole shot her again. Twice. “Too honorable to hit a woman, let alone kill her.”

  The female immortal growled in fury.

  “Fortunately, I don’t have that problem.” Nicole shot her again, then again.

  “Don’t kill her,” Sean huffed, bending over and grasping his injured arm. “Seth wants her taken alive.”

  No more shots ensued.

  “Seth?” the woman snarled, blood spilling from her lips. Her eyes flashed even brighter as they met Sean’s. “You tell that bastard I’m coming for him,” she wheezed.

  Sean shook his head. “Tell him yourself. I can have him here in two seconds.”

  Roaring in fury, she lunged forward.

  Thwit, thwit, thwit.

  More bullets struck home.

  Staggering backward, the woman shook her head. Her weapons lowered as she fought for breath. “This isn’t… over,” she bit out. In the next instant, she spun around and dashed away in a blur even he could barely see. Her baseball cap tumbled to the ground at his feet, freeing long auburn hair.

  Shit. That had not gone well.

  Sean turned to face his Second. “Nicole?” He limped toward her.

  She met his gaze. The hand holding the gun fell to her side. Her eyes closed. Her knees buckled.

  Sean lunged forward with a growl of pain and caught her as she sank toward the ground.

  Chapter Seven

  Leah surreptitiously studied Seth from the corner of her eye. The two of them were slumped comfortably on the sofa in her apartment above her shop.

  Seth made it feel small. Both the living room and the sofa. He was so big. His broad shoulders brushed hers every time he dipped his hand into the popcorn bowl between them. The muscles beneath the tight T-shirt he wore rippled as he drew out a handful of tasty kernels and carried them to his mouth. His long, equally muscular legs were crossed at the ankle, his booted feet resting beside hers on the coffee table. Her sneakers seemed almost like a child’s by comparison. What size did he wear? And how hard was it for him to find shoes that large?

  Really? she asked herself mentally. That’s what you’re thinking about right now?

  Better that than how much she liked having him in her home.

  He glanced over and caught her staring. “What?”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to salt it?” Most people she knew thought popcorn that wasn’t buttered, salted, or otherwise flavored tasted like paper.

  He nodded. “I like it better this way.”

  She smiled. “Me, too.” Leah returned her attention to the large flat-screen television on the wall across from them. She had stopped salting food a few years ago when her doctor had advised her to do so in an effort to bring her blood pressure down without medication. Everything had tasted blah for a few weeks when she had. Then her taste buds had adjusted and she had been surprised by how good everything she’d once thought bland had tasted.

  She was glad, too, that she had begun to exercise daily at the same time, again on doctor’s orders. It had helped take her mind off things and given her something to do when her apartment had grown too quiet.

  The episode of Stranger Things they watched ended. Credits began to play.

  She turned to Seth and raised her eyebrows. “What do you think?”

  “I’m enjoying it.”

  “Me, too. Are you up for another episode?”

  “Yes.”

  She smiled. He definitely seemed more relaxed now. As relaxed as he had been after the dance they’d shared. Good. She grabbed the remote control and negotiated the DVD menu to find the next episode. “I love that this series takes place in the eighties.”

  He nodded. “A time before adults and children both became obsessed with cell phones and apps and the internet.”

  “Exactly. There was so much more social interaction back then.” Though she knew he wasn’t old enough to remember that. “And less ugliness. Nowadays, people feel free to spout whatever nastiness springs to mind on the internet. But back then it was put up or shut up. You didn’t talk shit about other people unless you knew you could beat them in a fight because it always got back to them and you knew they would come after you and try to kick your ass.”

  “True.” He smiled. “What I don’t miss are rotary phones.”

  She snorted. “As if you’ve ever used one.” Despite his claims the night they’d danced, she still thought him thirty years old, tops.

  “On the contrary,” he countered. “I’ve used many. And time was often of the essence when I did, so it drove me crazy when it took so long to dial a number.” Raising a hand in front of him, he mimicked dialing a rotary phone with his index finger. “Shick-tic-tic-tic-tic. Shick-tic. Shick-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic
. Shick-tic.”

  She laughed. “And if your finger slipped, you had to start dialing all over again.”

  He grinned. “It took forever. So aggravating when you were in a hurry.”

  Leah shook her head. “You almost have me convinced you actually experienced that firsthand. But no way are you old enough.”

  Leaning sideways, his shoulder pressing into hers, he whispered, “I’m older than you are.”

  “BS. I’m forty-six.”

  Again, he leaned down and whispered, “I’m still older than you are.”

  His warm breath on her ear sent a shiver of desire coursing through her. She arched a brow, not believing him for a moment. “Then let me be the first to say holy crap, you look good for your age.”

  Seth laughed. “Thank you.”

  She liked seeing him like this. He really seemed to be enjoying himself. “Honestly, you look good for any age.”

  “As do you,” he said, and another thrill shot through her as his gaze slowly traveled down her body. “Very good,” he added, “which is why I don’t understand why you’re sitting here with me, watching television. Don’t the single dads who frequent your shop hit on you all the time?”

  “Some do,” she admitted. “A few of the married ones do, too.”

  He frowned. “Really? What utter bastards.”

  “My sentiments exactly.”

  “None of the single dads appeal to you?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not really looking for a relationship, so it wouldn’t be fair to lead them on.”

  He nodded. “I’m not looking for a relationship either.” Was that regret she heard in his voice? “My line of work isn’t conducive to such.”

  “Long hours?”

  “Very long.”

  She could sympathize.

  “And too…” He spoke reluctantly, as though he felt he probably shouldn’t. “I sometimes acquire enemies.”

  She frowned. “What kind of enemies?”

  “The kind who might target those I love most in order to strike at me.”

  She studied him silently, the Stranger Things menu frozen on the screen. “You said you own a private security company. I was thinking you supplied mall cops or provided neighborhood security. But that wouldn’t attract enemies. What exactly do you do?”

  He pondered the question a moment. “We protect the innocent. We protect those who are targeted by… predators, for lack of a better word. Men who, for whatever reason, wish to harm or kill them. Men who delight in committing violence and terrorizing those who are weaker. And we protect these intended victims worldwide.”

  His company was global? Maybe he was older than she thought.

  Unless he had inherited it.

  “So you’re like… international bodyguards?”

  “Bodyguard implies we only protect the rich and famous. We protect people from all walks of life.”

  “Are you mercenaries or something?” She had seen some bad stuff on the news about mercenaries. Hell, a mercenary outfit based here in North Carolina had been blown all to hell a couple of years ago by some of their own soldiers who were pissed off because their employer wouldn’t help them fight criminal charges brought against them overseas.

  “No. We aren’t mercenaries. We don’t fight other men’s wars for profit. We don’t train men in foreign countries to fight. We don’t supply weapons as some mercenary outfits do. Our eyes are on the greater good, and we value that more than profit. We’ve actually forced more than one mercenary outfit engaged in nefarious activities out of business.”

  “That’s pretty ballsy.”

  He shrugged.

  “I can see how that might gain you some serious enemies.”

  “Yes.”

  “So you don’t date or… marry… because you’re afraid it might put the woman in danger?”

  “In part.”

  The way he said it suggested he didn’t want to discuss the other part. So she didn’t ask, though curiosity gnawed at her. “That sucks.”

  “Yes, it does.”

  A sound reached Leah’s ears.

  Seth frowned and looked over his shoulder.

  Skillet’s “Monster” played faintly in the laundry room.

  Both stood.

  Leah followed Seth through her kitchen and into the laundry room where he dug his phone out of the pocket of the coat he’d hung there.

  “Yes?” he answered. As he listened to whoever had called, he stiffened. His hand tightened on the phone, then lowered as he looked at her. His jaw clenched. His expression turned grim. “I have to go.” Grabbing his coat, he reached for the back door’s knob. “May I exit this way?”

  “Yes.”

  He ducked outside and left without another word.

  Crap. It looked like he’d gotten some really bad news.

  Remembering belatedly that she had driven them here from David’s place, Leah opened the door and leaned out to ask if he needed a ride… but he was already gone. Again.

  Frowning, she stepped out onto the landing of the stairs that led down to the back alley.

  No sign of Seth. How the hell did he do that?

  Returning inside, she closed and locked the door, then set the alarm.

  Quiet engulfed her, oppressive without Seth’s company to dispel it.

  Leah strolled slowly through the kitchen and into the living room. Kneeling before the flat-screen TV, she pressed the eject button on the DVD player and returned the DVD to the faux VHS tape case it had come in. Maybe she could talk Seth into watching the rest of it with her another time. He was good company.

  Her gaze slid to the tiny memory card on which she had downloaded the security footage of Seth’s last visit to her shop. Driven by impulse, she inserted it into the memory card slot of the DVD player. Rounding her coffee table, she sat in Seth’s place, still warm from his body, and picked up the remote. A few seconds later, she munched what was left of the popcorn while she fast-forwarded to the dance they had shared.

  She supposed she should feel embarrassed that Seth had caught her dancing by herself, but she didn’t. His handsome face lit with a charming smile as he leaned against the wall and watched her. He seemed happy in that moment. Content. Considering how much stress his job appeared to dump on his shoulders, she was glad her antics had made him smile.

  She watched herself lure him into joining her, and the two of them began to dance.

  “Hmm.” They looked good together. That surprised her. She had thought she would look too old for him, but they partnered well as they moved together.

  When she had first started exercising daily, she had found it so freaking tedious that she had taken some aerobics classes. Much to her dismay, those had bored the pants off her, too. So she had signed up for dance classes in hopes of finding a more fun way to work up a good sweat and get her heart pumping.

  She’d ended up liking it a lot. It had been a while though—several years, in fact—since she had traded in her dance classes for the fancy new treadmill and MaxiClimber in her apartment. But you’d never guess it by watching this.

  Seth was an excellent dancer. She’d have to ask him how he’d learned the next time he—

  Her breath halted. Her mind blanked as she stared at the screen.

  Seth closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were dark brown.

  Breathing again, she shook off the shock that had seized her. It must have been the lighting or something, because for a moment it had looked as if his—

  “Oh shit,” she whispered when it happened again. Seth’s eyes flashed a brilliant gold as she pressed up against his back in the video and slid her hand around to caresses him. They brightened again a little later when she nuzzled his chest. But they always returned to brown before she backed away and looked up at him.

  Leah’s heart slammed against her ribs as she watched the footage again. And again.

  Jumping up, she jogged to her apartment door, unlocked it, and hurried downstairs to her store’s back room
. Flipping on the overhead light, she crossed to the surveillance hub. Several taps on the keyboard with fingers that shook retrieved that night’s security footage from the cloud. Leah selected the feed that had been recorded by the camera just outside the front door of the shop.

  A moment later, she straightened and chewed a thumbnail as the video played.

  Seth stepped outside, the little pink unicorn in his hand, and strode down the sidewalk. As soon as he was out of sight of the front windows, he halted. Leah sucked in a breath as he disappeared. He just disappeared in the blink of an eye.

  When her knees weakened, she sat heavily, missing the rolling chair she’d shoved out of the way by a few inches.

  Her ass hit the floor hard. “Shit!” Glaring at the chair, she rubbed her battered bottom, then just sat where she’d landed.

  Seth’s eyes glowed and he could vanish into thin air.

  What the hell?

  Seth teleported to Ami and Marcus’s bedroom.

  The couple was sound asleep with little Adira snuggled between them.

  A beep sounded as the device Marcus always kept with him sounded.

  Marcus awoke with a start and reached for the sword he kept by the bed.

  “Easy,” Seth whispered, not wanting to wake the toddler.

  Ami’s eyes flew open and met his. She sat up. “What is it?”

  “I need you. Hurry.”

  Throwing back the covers, she jumped to her feet.

  Without another word, Seth touched her shoulder and teleported her to Sean’s location.

  A beep sounded. Vampire corpses in various stages of decay littered this patch of UNC’s quiet campus. In the shadows of the nearest building, Sean knelt with an unconscious Nicole in his arms, a cell phone pressed to his ear.

  Ami shivered. Her nightgown had thin straps that left her arms bare, and the hem stopped above her knees, providing no buffer against the chilly breeze.

  Seth doffed his coat in a blur and settled it around her shoulders. “One of the missing immortals was just here. See if you can lock down on her energy signal while I help Nicole.”

  Nodding, Ami closed her eyes and concentrated.

  Seth zipped over to Sean and sank to his haunches before the injured duo. “Where are Krysta and Étienne?”