Hidden In Darkness (A Seven Realms Book Book 1)

by S. J. Stewart

  Her gaze went from the Oracle she’d been introduced to, back to Orren for a moment. Her guards were up. This woman was here to find out something about her not even she knew. She didn’t know how she felt about that.

  Something told her she should fight tooth and nail to protect her identity. The same thing told her she needed to know so she could keep Zura safe.

  Letting out a long, slow breath she looked at the Oracle. “As creepy as this is, can we just get on with it?”

  Orren turned to look at Ela, the thought of her being creepy had never crossed his mind. That made sense. This was his world, she fit in it just as effortlessly as a Vampire, a Berserker, or an Incubus.

  Returning his gaze to her, he nodded. “Perhaps we should do this inside your room. She will need to touch you to get a clear reading.”

  She resisted the urge to bulk away and slam the door hearing she would need to be touched. Personal contact wasn’t something she welcomed. It held an intimacy she wouldn’t extend to anyone unless it was necessary to get close enough to end their life. Melas’ gaze met the women’s eyes, mostly hidden beneath the fabric. “She can tell me what I am?”

  “Yes. It shouldn’t take too long.” He surrounded himself with blasé coldness he wore like a second skin.

  Her thoughts came at her quickly as she tried to weigh the pros and cons of being given the answers by this Oracle. Had she been going into this alone, she wouldn’t hesitate. These answers would be helpful to her. Having Orren there, hearing those answers just as she did made her hesitate for a moment. “So I let her touch me, that’s it?” She crossed her arms over her chest. If she was required to give blood or anything they could hold onto for later, it would be a hard no.

  Orren nodded. “Yes, a simple touch.”

  “If it’s so simple, why not just do it right now?” She arched a thick brow in suspicion. Nothing was ever as simple as it seemed.

  That familiar glint flashed in his eyes at her question. “I was only thinking of your privacy.”

  “My illusion of privacy.” Melas scoffed. “I’ve no doubt whatever happens here will be discussed with your two minions. Don’t stand there and try to assure me it’s about my privacy. Especially when my privacy is exactly what you’re trying to invade with this Oracle.”

  The corner of his lips lifted the tiniest bit before dropping back to its stoic place. “How very true.”

  Silence built between them. Mixed with her annoyance and fatigue, she found it almost unbearable. Looking back into the room over her shoulder, she watched the rise and fall of the blankets as Zura slept. “Zura is exhausted, I don’t want to wake her. We can do whatever it is you want to do in the bathroom so I can keep an eye on her.” She brought her finger up to her lips.

  The two walked through the room towards the bathroom as Melas closed the door and leaned against it for a moment. What was one more thing? She would sleep soon enough. The throb in her leg had her pausing before she put her weight on it. An annoying limp making her leg feel stiff and heavy.

  She was about to go into a bathroom with an Incubus and an Oracle.

  Sighing at the absurdity, she limped across the bedroom.

  The Oracle and Orren stood there close to the window waiting for her. She closed the door over but kept it open enough to hear Zura without issue. “Let’s just get this over with, shall we?”

  Orren raised a brow at her. “What, no knife?” He teased.

  Reaching into the waistband of the boxers she was wearing, she pulled out Ridhor’s knife. She tossed the blade in front of her before crossing her arms over her chest and catching hold of the handle.

  “Of course.” His lips curled up slightly again. “Though I admire your preparedness, I have to ask you to refrain from stabbing Ela. Fate is quite possessive of her subjects and no one wants to anger Fate. Trust me.”

  “Fate?” She asked, confused seemed to be her permanent state since she woke up.

  He waved the question off. “We’ll get more into all of that tomorrow. I can see you’re tired, and Ela doesn’t like to be out of The Veil for too long. The sooner she can tell us what you are, the sooner we can start to piece everything together for you.”

  Nodding, she put the knife back in its place in her waistband before taking a step forward. She pushed her hair back from her brow, the damp coils hanging over one shoulder as she adjusted her weight from foot to foot. Her leg whined at the shift but she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from hissing in discomfort. “Alright then, Oracle.”

  Ela stepped forward, her movements jerky as she struggled beneath the fabric. Her hand shot out, wrapping around Melas’ wrist without warning. She held on for a moment, her head dropping back as she thrashed.

  It was suddenly evident why Orren suggested they do this inside her room and not out in the hall. The way the Oracle moved was dramatic, her moans almost erotic as she gyrated and vibrated under the fabric. More than a few times, the fabric covering her face skimmed the flesh of Melas’ cheek as though she were trying to inhale her.

  She was happy they were doing this in here and not in the room with Zura. The whole thing feeling overtly sexual, making her uncomfortable.

  Her back was stiff, her shoulders squared, but she couldn’t look away as the Oracle held her in a grip that was firm but not painful. Her skin tingled under the Oracle’s grasp, a chill digging into her bones. She wasn’t sure how much time passed, too drawn in by the sight of whatever Ela was doing to notice.

  The Oracle’s sudden scream had her flinching, her hand flying to her waistband to where she shoved the blade on instinct. Orren stepped forward, his hand lifting to pause her from grabbing the knife.

  Her eyes shot behind her to where the door was closed over, worry filling her as she thought of the scream tearing Zura from her sleep and filling her with panic.

  Melas was shoved back slightly, Ela ripping her grip from her arm as she folded her fingers into a fist, clutching it to her chest.

  Her bare fist.

  Confusion widened Melas’ eyes as she looked at the charred grey fabric around the Oracle’s bare fist. Her pale skin on display for both Melas and Orren to see. A glance at Orren told her he was just as confused as she was. The blasé look suddenly replaced with the same wide-eyed gaze she was sure she wore.

  “What have you done?” Her voice was feral as Ela whirled on Melas, opening her shaking hand to hold up her open palm. The skin was burnt, like a hot branding iron was pressed to it, the flesh red and raised. An unearthly howl bubbled up from her throat as she closed her fist again, turning to direct her anger at Orren. “What have you done?”

  Tension filled the room as the two stared at each other. Normally Orren’s silence was calculated, but Melas could tell this silence was one of pure confusion. His silver eyes watching the fabric around her wrist, trying to make sense of everything.

  Holding up her hands as though she were talking to a stray animal, Melas dropped her voice. “Look, I don’t know what the hell just happened but can you stop screeching?” It was a grating noise. Causing all the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end and her temple to pound, but she was more worried about Zura overhearing them than she was with whatever feeling was filling her.

  Orren looked from Ela to Melas, surprise still clear on his face. “I’ve— I don’t know what happened. Ela?” He took a tentative step forward.

  Shoving him away, she ran over to the mirrors above the sink and leapt at them. The mirror rippled as she disappeared inside it, leaving them both standing there gaping at her abrupt departure.

  “Well,” Melas cleared her throat. “That was reassuring. Definitely what I hoped would happen.” Dragging her hands down her face, she rested her forehead in her palms. She had no idea how, but somehow, touching her hurt the Oracle.

  That couldn’t be a good sign.

  Orren was silent, his silver eyes flittering back and forth under his lowered brow. “I need to think, and you should get some sleep.” His voice was dis
tracted as he nodded at her, leaving the bathroom without another word.

  Letting out a long sigh, Melas locked the bedroom door and pushed a chair in front of it before sinking into the bed behind Zura.

  “Well, kid. Here’s hoping I can make sense of all this tomorrow.”

  8

  ORREN

  “What?” The chair Andrei was sitting on skid away from him as he jumped to his feet. “That isn’t possible. How could that even happen? I’ve never known anything to break through an Oracle’s barrier.” Orren ignored Andrei’s emotional rant. It likely wouldn’t be the last before this conversation was through. Of the group, he was the one to do something on impulse rarely sitting back and thinking things through. Orren was used to observing the Vampire as he rode the waves of his emotions. “Trust me, I’ve tried a time or two.”

  Of course, the horny bastard was going to make a sexual joke right now. You’d think he was the Incubus the way he dove dick first into everything.

  Orren left Melas’ room without any type of explanation for what could have happened. As much as it worried him down to his very core, he didn’t have one. He had no idea what happened in that bathroom, it had taken him by surprise. Had he not worked endlessly on his resolve, what happened would have knocked him back on his ass.

  She was still a stranger, and he couldn’t allow himself to fall to pieces in front of her. He rarely allowed himself that in front of Andrei and Ridhor.

  Melas looked like she was wary of everything, but not overly stressed by it. The lines around her mouth from her fatigue deepened for a moment as she murmured something before dropping her face in her hands. Completely spent.

  He was too, but it would be a while before he could get any sleep.

  Everything was becoming more and more complicated so quickly. He couldn’t sleep while there were all these loose ends spread around him, threatening to make him lose his footing.

  Leaning back in his chair, Ridhor chugged his beer. He’d been quiet tonight after dinner and it made Orren wonder if having Melas and Ridhor under the same roof was going to cause strain.

  There was such an easy solution to all of this. Open the front door and push both Melas and Zura out without a second thought. It would rid him of all this stress that walked into his life when they did.

  He knew no way was that going to happen. There was something about her, something he couldn’t let go of now she was close enough for him to grab hold of. Not that he would, not yet. He was smart enough to know she would stab him if he even tried.

  Despite everything, that thought almost made him smile.

  “What did you say to Ela?” Andrei’s voice was high as he paced around the fire pit. It was clear Melas made Andrei nervous in more ways than one. “Was she pissed?” He reached up and combed his fingers through his hair.

  Orren kept an eye on Andrei as he paced. “I didn’t get the chance to say anything to her. She cursed at me, accused me of leading her into some kind of trap, then jumped back into The Veil before I could say anything to her about it.” Guilt burrowed into his chest.

  “Fuck.” Andrei hissed. “What if Fate hears about this?”

  “She doesn’t often visit the Dark Realm, no one does. Which is why we’re here.” Orren reminded him. Still, Fate would go to any realm for vengeance.

  Pausing his pacing, Andrei nodded. “Right. That’s right. Still. We often venture to other realms for our various needs. All it would take would be for her to catch us at the right time in the right realm and we would have a lot to answer for. Whatever happened to Ela is the least of our problems.” He stood, shoving a black-painted nail between his teeth. “If they stay we’ll need to get them supplies. We’d have to leave the realm for that alone.”

  Orren rolled his eyes. Andrei was going on about how they couldn’t be trusted, now he was talking about them as though they were moving in.

  The three of them had quite the laundry list of punishable offences under their belts, which was why they lived as they did, in a Realm with an ever absent leader. He had to reach out to Ela and try to explain everything to her. Check on her and see that Fate didn’t get involved in his affairs. She was a hard bitch to shake once she latched on. He didn’t want that kind of attention.

  “Did she seem surprised?” Andrei dropped his hands, lifting them a moment after. He was fidgeting, anxiety eating away at him.

  “I told you, she jumped back into The Veil.” Orren tried not to snarl at him. He had too many things to worry about to exercise patience with Andrei right now.

  “No.” He huffed. “Melas. Did she seem surprised?”

  Telling Andrei she was barely affected would shake him. He expected everyone to react just as dramatically as him to everything. It was why he and Ridhor argued as much as they did. More like Andrei argued and Ridhor ignored him.

  “I don’t think she fully understood how serious the situation was.” He chose his words carefully, not wanting to have to talk Andrei down off a ledge. “She was more concerned with Ela’s screeching waking the child than she was with burning the barrier. If she truly believes she’s human, she may think she’s overreacting about an odd choice of wardrobe being damaged.” As much as he didn’t believe Melas was human, he was starting to believe she thought she was. “Maybe it’s a curse?”

  “I haven’t heard of such a curse,” Ridhor said, breaking his silence. “Typically, beings who cast curses want you to be aware of your suffering. She can’t seem to remember anything. Her body—” His eyes hardened as he thought back to the way her abdomen was littered with scars. “It’s as marred as my own. If she doesn’t have the ability to heal, it makes me wonder what kind of life she lived.”

  “If her species is hidden away, it would make sense so are her abilities,” Andrei noted. His voice losing that shrill pitch that accompanied his panicked ranting. He calmed slightly, letting his logic work. “Maybe she did have the ability to heal at some point.”

  Orren folded a hand under his chin. “Not likely if her skin is as scarred as Ridhor says.”

  “You have the ability to heal, and look at your scar.” Andrei pointed to the scar that slit through Orren’s brow and disappeared into his hairline, parting his hair.

  “This scar was given to me by the Unseelie Queen.” He tried not to scowl. He had never been one to back down from a fight, not even from the Seven.

  “What you’re saying is even people with healing powers can be scarred by someone with enough power?” Andrei asked him.

  “Yes. Any of the Seven could scar us easily enough. Even healed we would still wear their mark. Though, very few outside the Seven are powerful enough to cause that kind of lasting damage to one with healing powers. If she is as covered as she is, she would have had to be in battle with one. Maybe tortured.”

  The bottle exploded in Ridhor’s hand. He opened his palm and shook off the shards of glass before pushing to his feet and disappearing inside the house.

  Dropping his voice to a whisper, Andrei watched Ridhor disappear into the house. “It’s concerning how evident his emotions have been today. He usually has such a firm handle on things. He’s drinking demonic beer. He seldom drinks. They’ve barely been here for one day and I can already see him struggling to keep his control. What if he goes Berserker?”

  He’d been thinking the same thing. “We’ll handle that when we come to it. Ridhor has always had a firm handle on his emotions. I think the three of us are just in need of some type of release. We’ve been cooped up here too long.” Orren sipped his beer.

  “Who’s fault is that? If you hadn’t killed Vamorg we wouldn’t be hiding out here.” Andrei smiled, showing he didn’t blame Orren for his actions despite his words.

  Vamorg deserved to die, and they saved so many by doing away with the vicious bastard. He wouldn’t be missed. His clan was better off.

  It was always the same routine with them. They did away with some tyrant, sometimes even called in by someone in their very own community. Then,
came back to their cabin in the Dark Realm just in case a realm ruler took note of their activities. Laying low for a while. It was how they kept balance, even though no one ever asked them to. Orren just couldn’t sit by and allow huge acts of injustice and suffering to take place.

  Unfortunately, corruption was not something that existed solely in the Mortal Realm. There were those in power that took advantage. If they did it enough, Orren made it his business.

  It began in the dreamscape. He could easily coerce people in their dreamscapes, get them to take action in their lives that would benefit the oppressed. Eventually, he would coerce people to do away with themselves. Their waking will sometimes overpowered his coercion in the dreamscape, which was when he set to make things right in the waking hours.

  Andrei had been witness to a particularly brutal night of vigilante justice. He set wards up outside of a chalet in the mountains of the Shifter Realm to be sure none of the guilty could escape as he set the whole house ablaze. Andrei was hard to get rid of after that, having been there to mete out his form of justice on one of the Shifters burned to ash.

  Conflict in the realms was typically resolved by the realm ruler. They acted as judge, jury, and sometimes executioner, but it was rare issues came before the rulers. It was an unspoken understanding they resolved disagreements on their own. Unless it would affect the whole of the realm.

  Though sometimes the sins added up, and no being was above the natural order. Not even Orren. He had blood on his hands he would have to atone for, by the hands of one ruler or another.

  They stumbled across Ridhor while he was going Berserk on a village of Demons who killed his sister. Two weeks passed before he exhausted himself, his beast falling back into himself where he could be controlled.

  The three of them had been together ever since.