Wicked After Dark: 20 Steamy Paranormal Tales of Dragons, Vampires, Werewolves, Shifters, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More

by Mina Carter

  I totally got why the bridge was necessary, but by the time I made it across, even though I tried not to look down, I was still a little shaken.

  He led me over to a two story structure composed entirely of wood that reminded me of a fancy ski lodge. Porches wrapped around both levels. It was perched on the center of a rock outcropping just wide enough to hold it in the very middle of the canyon.

  “Cool digs,” I commented.

  “Thanks. Thyme and are quite comfortable here.”

  Jealousy I couldn’t control simmered at his words. He’d had so much time with her. Time that I now understood was the most precious thing you could have with anyone you cared about. Thyme understood that, too. Time with Thyme. I could work with that. Lyrics to a song started to coalesce in my mind, but before I had a chance to ask Morpheus to take me to where she was, she revealed herself. Loudly.

  “Morpheus, you sneaky bastard, I hear you out there. Come release me right this minute or I swear to the Creator that I will rip your wings off, pluck them and use the feathers for a duster.”

  Morpheus grinned. “Your ghost girl’s awake.” And it suddenly hit me as I looked at his smile that it was much like my own, like a reflection in a mirror.

  Chapter 34

  A change came o’er the spirit of my dream. - Lord Byron

  Thyme

  I opened my mouth to yell at Morpheus again when suddenly there he was. Billy. I had missed him terribly. Had it only been a night and a day? It felt like a lifetime had passed. He was as handsome and as irresistible to me as ever, his hair windblown, a grey tee stretched across his chest, belted jeans low on his narrow hips standing in the doorway with my friend who I had recently downgraded from best friend status right behind him.

  Billy's sexy lips curved into a slow grin. "Babe,” he drawled. “You shoulda let on about being into the kink. I would've been happy to oblige you."

  Morpheus just smirked.

  I glared at both of them while ineffectively tugging yet again on my restraints.

  Billy strode to my side, sank on the bed his hip touching mine, laying a warm proprietary hand on my waist, his gaze zeroing in on my bound hands. He cursed under his breath. "Dammit, Morpheus. Take a look at her wrists. They're both ragged."

  Morpheus launched himself across the room, making a low keening sound deep in his throat when he sat on the other side of me and got a look at the damage close up. "Thyme, I’m sorry." He slid the key out of his jeans pocket and quickly undid the cuffs. I immediately brought my aching hands to my chest. “I wasn’t even sure that they would hold you. I had no inkling that they might harm you."

  "You couldn’t know. It’s ok. I think it was the combination of things: my freaky changes, what happened between us earlier and then…” I trailed off avoiding Billy's gaze. I was still embarrassed about the way our previous evening had ended. “I might’ve been a little over zealous trying to get out of them while you were gone."

  "What happened earlier?" Billy's tone was low and menacing. "Morpheus, you wanna explain why Ty's got puncture wounds on both her hands?" Billy scooted closer and stroked his fingers softly over the marks while giving Morpheus a glowing glare.

  "It wasn't his fault," I explained softly. "He was just trying to protect me."

  "On the contrary.” Morpheus disagreed. "It was my fault. I'm sure you've noticed our Thyme’s penchant for putting herself in danger on behalf of those she cares for without worrying about the consequences to herself.”

  "I’ve noticed that," Billy replied, his concerned eyes warm on my face, his fingers caressing mine. "Does it hurt, baby?"

  "It shouldn’t, but yeah, it stings a little."

  "Isn't there something we can put on it to heal it? Some magic salve or something?" Billy asked.

  "The cuffs are obsidian like the coating on my talons. The damage is permanent. We can try to debride it. But I doubt that it will make a difference." Morpheus’ dark feathers ruffled as he trailed off. "Unless perhaps you can heal her?"

  "Me? Why would you think I could do that?"

  "He thinks we might be Fated,” I explained. “Immortal couples who are destined to be together and can heal each other." I could feel Billy's speculative gaze on me as I turned to my interfering but well-meaning friend. "But as we discussed I don't think that applies when one of them is dead, Morpheus."

  "Where’s your soap and water." Billy put his arm around me and helped me stand. "We'll try that first, then the other if you’ll tell me what I need to do. And I want you to come with us, Morpheus. I want you to tell me more about what being Fated might mean. And why you tied Ty up and came to see me. And just what the hell you think is going on!"

  Billy insisted on soaping and washing my hands himself using the purified Mississippi water that flowed straight into our cistern, thanks to Morpheus’ uniquely designed underworld plumbing. Then when we returned to the living room, Billy sat on the leather couch, pulling me into his lap, ignoring my feeble protest while Morpheus moved into the corner near us sinking into his favorite chair.

  "Aren't you two the picture of domestic bliss?" He commented with a sardonically raised brow. Billy ignored him the same way he had ignored my attempt to maintain any modicum of space between us. He soothingly rubbed his chin over the top of my head. I gave into my need for him leaning back against his chest and laid my hands on his bared forearms, but though touching him soothed the ache of our separation seeing my grey fingers on his vibrant flesh was just another grim reminder of the differences between us, differences I feared were insurmountable.

  Billy flipped his wrist up and gave Morpheus the finger. "Start talking, bird man."

  Morpheus steepled his fingers. "What do you know thus far?"

  "Not a whole damn lot. Except that Ty's undergone some changes lately that had you concerned enough that you jetted off leaving her unprotected."

  “Fair enough.” Morpheus nodded. "But at least I was endeavoring to aid her. You on the other hand..."

  "Stop it both of you," I interrupted. "Stop bickering. We need to work together to figure this out."

  Looking slightly chastened, Morpheus and Billy nodded.

  "The only thing that makes sense is that you two are Fated. Those who are Fated have a synergy that exceeds their individual gifts. I think your spirit has been lending Thyme some of your immortal essence."

  Billy sat up straighter.

  “Have you felt a little more tired than usual?”

  Billy nodded.

  “It would explain why you couldn't keep up with me when we ran across the West Plain earlier.”

  Billy waved that off looking impatient and leaned forward. “How can I speed up the process? Give her more? Bring her back to life faster?”

  My winged friend and I exchanged sad knowing glances before I swiveled around to look up at Billy's expectant face. It twisted my heart to be the one to deliver bad news. "You can't. It's not possible. Maybe I'll feel more or get a bit more solid now because of you. I don't know. But this form can only handle so much. There’s no changing the fact that I died ten years ago. I don't even think someone as strong as Marie Laveau could bring me back to the way I once was."

  "Even if she did," Morpheus chimed in. "Thyme wouldn’t be like she is now. She’d be no more than a reanimated corpse."

  I could see the hope leaking from Billy’s handsome face, his eyes turning hard and unfathomable as he absorbed the depressing news. Why add on any additional pain by telling him the rest? That if by some miracle I could come back, it would be dangerous for us to be together. That we’d be outcasts and have to hide from the Council because my father was a Light Immortal and his was a Dark. The prejudices in the supernatural realm were similar to those in the human world only the consequences for inter-immortal unions were far more grave.

  Billy suddenly pulled me tighter to him as if he feared that I might disappear if he left any space between us. He speared Morpheus with a determined look. “There's got to be another way."

>   "I wish there were ...for both your sakes, but I’ll tell you upfront it’s extremely unlikely. Our best option is to trace your parentage. Your mothers must have had knowledge of the magic and language of Creation. But where to start?” He held out his hands. “Whose mark do you bear?"

  Billy held out his arm so Morpheus could see the inside of his wrist. “I have no idea."

  Morpheus inhaled sharply bridging the gap between him and Billy in the blink of an eye. Billy slid out from behind me almost as quickly. Both men stood together heads bowed as they compared scars. When they looked up, both had surprise in their widened eyes.

  "They’re nearly identical," I breathed, having scooted to the end of the couch and seen for myself. "How can that be?" In a side by side comparison it was obvious that the same instrument had been used to obliterate the paternal identifier on both of them.

  Morpheus was looking at Billy watchfully, the way I’d seen him do whenever he negotiated with a new ally. He had once told me that he could tell a lot about a person just by observing their responses. "I need to have words with you." He was speaking to Billy but his gaze flicked to mine briefly. "Alone," he clarified.

  Billy reached his hand back for me, and I took it readily, easily, without even thinking about it, as if we'd been together for years. I wondered if that was because we were Fated or if it was just a Thyme and Billy thing. "Anything you need to say to me you can say in front of her, too. I don't see the need for there to be any secrets between us.

  While Billy had been speaking, I'd been doing my own bit of observing and what I saw, what I realized as my gaze flew back and forth between the two men that meant the world to me, was that their scars weren’t the only things about them that were similar. So was the slope of their foreheads, the arch of their brows, the upward tilt at the corners of their lips, their heights, the sexy way they carried their frames, their smiles.

  "You’re brothers," I breathed.

  Chapter 35

  A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. - King Solomon

  Billy

  As I stared into the eyes of the Dream Falcon across from me, I knew in my gut that somehow despite our physiological differences what Thyme had declared was absolutely true. Apparently Morpheus came to the same conclusion.

  We reached out to each other clasping our forearms together in one fluid motion like we'd been doing it that way since we were little kids. Hell, maybe we had been. Who could say for sure? I had spotty recollection before I went to live with my adopted family. The only thing I remembered of the time before was a hazy image of a woman with blond hair so shiny it hurt to look at her. And a guardian angel I had always thought was a product of a child’s imagination. My muscles suddenly locked tight. If I were a Dark Immortal then who…

  "Blade,” Morpheus called low. “It is written on your face. You’re remembering things. We must proceed.”

  “I agree. But give me a minute with Ty.” I glanced at her again. She still had that look in her eyes from the night before and I didn't like it. "I need to be sure we’re square first.” I held out my hand helping her off the couch and led her back to her bedroom.

  I closed the door and gathered her close elated when I noticed that the holes were gone and that her hands were no longer ragged. I bent to kiss each one, grateful that this Fated thing appeared to be real and that the healing component seemed to be true for us as well. That’s when I noticed the lyrics, my lyrics, painted over her bed. The anxiety that had been riding me hard since she winked out the night before eased a bit. I had to be on her mind nearly as much as she was on mine for her to have done something like that. I fought back a pleased grin, took her by the shoulders and brought her into me, just stopping myself from holding my precious treasure too tightly.

  It'll be ok, I told myself refusing to consider any other options as I put my lips to silky soft hair that smelled like lemon sorbet. I quieted my remaining riotous thoughts before setting her back just a bit so I could see her face.

  What I saw made me frown. The crease was back in full force. She looked worried. She pulled her full bottom lip between her teeth.

  “Thyme, I’m sorry if I pushed you too hard last night, but I wish you wouldn’t have left without talking things through first. I was worried about you.” I took her hands and linked our fingers together. I could see the chaotic swirl of unsettled emotion in her eyes. “I know what you’re thinking. You think there are too many differences between us, the way you are now. But you’re wrong.”

  She glanced away, but I captured her chin and gently brought her face back in view before clasping her hands again. “I’m not alive anymore, Billy,” she cautioned. “Though you can feel me, though I can feel a lot, it’s not the same. Not even close. It’s not all it should be and you know it. I can’t project enough to make it any more real than the way it was. And that’s just not good enough.”

  “There’s no place in the world I’d rather be than with you.” My fingers tightened around hers. “Being apart from you, worrying about you all day, it was hell. Can you honestly say you feel any different?” I held her captive with my hands and my gaze.

  “No. Not for me, but what other choice do I have? You deserve so much more.”

  “Dammit to hell, Thyme.” I yanked her closer lifting my hands to frame her jaw knowing my eyes were flashing, but I didn’t care. “Don’t withdraw from me. Not after all we’ve shared. I didn’t want to bring up the past, but I will. I don’t know what it was like with you and Shane, but the way it has been with us, it was never like that for me and Nan. I didn’t know a relationship could be this intense, that I could feel so close to someone. I can see your passion with my eyes, hear your voice inside my head and feel your spirit inside my heart.” He thumped his chest. “This is serious for me. I am serious about you. Are you going to lie or are you going to admit it’s exactly the same for you?”

  “No, Billy. You’re right. I want to be with you so badly. Truly.” She stared into my eyes. I could see the softening in her gaze. “But…”

  “No buts,” I stated definitively. “I won’t allow them. If I have to find some supernatural way to bind you to me, I’ll do it.” Her eyes widened. “I’ve lost someone I loved once before. You have, too. I understand that, but I was too passive with Nan, too caught up in things that didn’t fucking matter. Never again.” I stroked her cheek with my thumb then reached behind my neck and unclasped my necklace. She knew whose rings were on it. She of all people knew what it meant to me. I placed it on her bedside table and returned to her, drawing her close again and sliding my palms down to her lower back. “Nan and Shane aren’t here anymore. It’s just you and me. I think we both know that they’ve gone on. Yet we still remain. Maybe this broken path was the one we were meant to take to find each other all along. To have loss so we would know what we’ve found. So we’d appreciate what we’ve been given instead of being dissatisfied. I don’t know. But I promise you right here and right now that I will fight for you and for us. I will find a way to bring you back. There’s got to be something we can do. Something we haven’t considered. But even if it never is more than just this, then this is what it will be for us, and I will consider myself blessed,” I said adamantly. “As the Creator is my witness, I will never leave you and I will never let you give up on me. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  I nodded, too overwhelmed to respond. All that he was, he had just offered me. My mind could hardly process the depth of it. Or him.

  “Good.” He nodded, too. He was so confident. So sure. “Promise me that you won't leave while I go talk to Morpheus. I won’t put manacles on you like he did but I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep you safe. I can guarantee you.”

  “I’ll stay.” I nodded. “Only, Billy…” She didn't get a chance to complete that thought, and I didn't get to press my mouth to those full lips the way I had planned because the door to her room suddenly burst wide open, the wood splintering and the remaining pieces co
ming completely off the hinges.

  Two of those gargoyles Morpheus had mentioned stalked inside the room, their hulking stone bodies rattling the walls with each step. They had black wings folded into their backs and their grey faces were grotesquely exaggerated just like the statues of Notre Dame. The one on the left had a heavy chin and eyes that sagged. The other looked like his face was frozen in a grimace and he had a horn sticking out of the center of his forehead

  “Step away from the shade,” the taller saggy eyed one growled. “And you won’t get hurt. Apollyon wants her to come in for a little chat."

  "Get behind me!” I threw my arm up to shield Thyme backing slowly away from them as they advanced. My heart raced and my mind spun. Who would’ve ever imagined this? An ex-bull riding southern rockin’ Texas boy in the underground going up against gargoyles over a ghost girl. I’d stepped into a dimension way outside of normal, and it hit me hard in that moment that there wouldn’t ever be any going back.

  Scanning the layout of her room, I saw only one possible option for our escape. The window. It would be dicey for me if we had company outside on the wrap around porch. I didn’t have Ty’s ghostly immunity if things got rough but I was going to take that chance. No way in hell I was letting these guys have her.

  “Stop right there!” the tall saggy eyed gargoyle ordered with a predatory smile.

  I turned my back to him and faced Ty putting my hands on her shoulders. "Go,” I hissed low getting her into position and pushing her head down so it wouldn't catch on the top of the frame. “Flee.”

  "No. I won’t leave you." She grabbed a hold of my forearm her expression resolute.

  "Don’t argue. It won't be for long. I’ll…" The sound of metal clashing on metal rang out close by distracting me and then a furious flapping of wings heralded Morpheus’ sudden appearance. His talons dripped with black blood. Apparently the gargoyles hadn’t been the only ones to storm the Dream Falcon’s lair. Morpheus’ shiny iridescent eyes met mine.