by WEST
Since Cole had been a small child, he’d hated the dark. There was no reason for it that he knew—no history of being locked in dark rooms, no scary childhood trauma. But when the lights went out and he was plunged into total darkness, his heart started to pound, and he felt like he was breathing through a woolen blanket.
The air around him now was thick with unholy screams. He felt a hot wind beating against his ears and the dark, powerful currents swirled around him. He reached out a hand to steady himself and he could have sworn something cold and slimy brushed up against it. He pulled his hand back with a startled yelp and then he was falling through the air, only to land seconds later with a sickening thump as the air slowly cleared.
He was no longer in any church basement that was for sure. He had landed in a large room with ceilings stretching up twenty feet or more above his head. He was on his knees on a cold stone floor, the last one to rise to his feet. He scrambled awkwardly upright to look around him.
Captain Vizier, the other two officials and the secretaries were already seated at a long table made of some heavy, dark wood. In front of them was an honest-to-God throne, a huge chair that looked like it was made of gold or was at least gold-plated. On either side of the throne stood two long tables like the one Vizier and the others sat behind, though there was no one else in the room at the moment besides their team. Cole joined the WRAITH agents who taken a place standing behind Vizier and the others.
A sudden fanfare to their left made Cole turn his head to see the king and his council stride through the doors. The king was a huge man, with golden brown skin and dark hair. It was hard to tell his age, but he seemed strong and vital looking and very intense. Two large horns curved upward out of either side of his forehead and his black wings were folded neatly behind his back. His tunic was made of a rich, purple cloth, belted over what looked like leather trousers. He strode toward the throne in his heavy boots, ignoring the men seated at the table.
Behind the king came four tall, muscular men who must be the blood princes Cole had been told about. All of them were devastatingly handsome, but Cole had eyes for only the prince in the lead of the others, who glanced over at him and turned up one corner of his mouth in a smirk. It had been a little over a month since Cole had seen him last, but there was no way he could possibly have forgotten him—the man behind the high king was the same man who’d been introduced to him as Levi, the commander of WRAITH, whose smoldering, dark gaze was fixed directly on Cole.
Chapter Two
He turned him right and round about,
And a tear blinded his ee:
'I would never have trodden upon this ground,
If it had not been for thee.’
--The Demon Lover, Irish Ballad
“That’s King Egill’s oldest son, Prince Leviathan,” the agent beside Cole whispered in his ear. “He’s also the WRAITH commander.”
So that much, at least, hadn’t been a lie. Cole couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off the glorious, terrible being standing now to the right of the king’s throne. After that one brief glance, Levi kept his eyes looking straight ahead, his big body standing at what looked like parade rest beside his father. All the others in the king’s retinue had taken their places at the long tables. Levi was in his demonic form again, but he didn’t look quite so frightening this time, or maybe Cole was just getting used to him. He was wearing only tight fitting pants and boots. He wore no shirt, and muscles rippled down his chest and stomach. The scales along his neck, shoulder and arm were vibrant and shining, and Cole could hardly tear his gaze away from him.
“Your majesty,” Vizier said, rising to his feet and bowing obsequiously low before the king, “I regret to inform you that no suitable volunteers have as yet come forward for your tribute. I assure you we are working hard to rectify the situation and no doubt…”
The high king waved a hand at Vizier. “Sit down, Captain.” The high king’s voice was low pitched, but with a sound like growling. “That isn’t why I asked for this meeting. My so—” here he slanted Prince Levi a look full of fury, “—has decided to throw our generous offer of a human back in our face. He’s recently declared that he doesn’t want a human. He’s found his intended consort in a member of the Vargr Realm.”
“Oh…well…”
“Sit down, I said,” King Egill raised voice was chilling as it echoed off the walls and Vizier fell in his chair like a poleaxed steer. “Another issue had come to our attention from a newly opened Blood Gate near…” he inclined his head toward his son Levi who murmured in his ear. “Near Tenn-ess-ssee,” he said, his voice hissing the word. “In your United States. We’ve had word that Dark Elves are responsible for a recent series of murders in the area. The Dark Elves hate and distrust humans. They stay hidden, if they can, in dark caverns and mountainous places. They are known to be earth rim roamers, shadow shifters, hiders in the hollow hills. They don’t need human flesh to survive, but sometimes they crave it. Then they find a wizard to open a Blood Gate to pass into your realm to drink the blood and eat the flesh of humans. Particularly the young ones.”
Vizier looked toward his advisors, but none of them seemed to have any idea of what the king was talking about. “I was informed of the murders, your majesty. But I don’t have any details.”
“Then I’m informing you now. I have had reports. Dark Elves are mostly solitary, though they can travel in small groups. It would take only a few, however, to take an enormous toll on your people.”
“I-I see.”
The king motioned his son forward. “Levi will take a small group of hunters with him and leave immediately for the area. He’ll need to return with you to your headquarters to outfit himself and his men for the journey. They’ll find the gate and close it as they leave the area, bringing any of the perpetrators they take alive back with them to face retribution and serve as examples.”
“Yes. Yes, of course.”
The king stood up and his followers rose with him. He turned without another word and swept from the hall, looking neither right nor left. His sons, all save Levi, were behind him. The cavernous door opened in the wall ahead of him as he disappeared from view, leaving the human contingent a little nonplussed behind him. Vizier rose quickly to his feet and began stacking his papers to put back into his briefcase. Cole saw him jump when he looked up to discover the Blood Prince standing in front of him.
“Oh, your Royal Highness, forgive me. I didn’t see you there.” He flushed and bowed stiffly from the waist. “If my office can be of any assistance…”
“I require no assistance,” Levi said, his manner as languorous as ever. “I will, however, require one of your recent recruits.” He fixed his gaze directly on Cole. “Agent Gregory will be joining my team.”
“Agent Gregory? But-but sir, he’s not even been trained yet. He’s only with me here today because the director felt…”
“Nevertheless,” Levi broke in. “Agent Gregory will accompany me. Please see to it that the director is notified. I’ll be taking possession of him immediately.”
“T-taking possession?”
The demon prince inclined his head, the black horns gleaming in the dim light of the huge chandelier lit by long, black tapers. “I misspoke. I meant to say, I will require Agent Gregory to leave with me as soon as we get back to HQ.”
“Of course.” Vizier sent a sharp little glance toward Cole that stung him with its intensity. “Will you travel back to the city with us, your Highness?”
Levi inclined his head and then stood by impatiently in the time it took for Vizier to gather himself and get everyone to their feet. When Vizier finally stepped back over inside the circle, making room for the prince beside him, he looked astonished when Levi didn’t step in, but remained standing at Cole’s side. His big, warm presence beside Cole was surprisingly comforting as the air cleared, and it was Cole and the other agents’ turn. Levi crowded in beside them, standing close enough to Cole that he began t
o feel dizzy from the smell of honey and cream. He had to find out what kind of cologne the man used.
The air shimmered again and the darkness descended like a pall. Cole closed his eyes tightly and then was astonished to feel someone slip his hand into Cole’s and hold it in a strong grip. His first instinct was to pull away, but before he could even form the thought, the darkness rippled, the currents pushed against him, and they were back in the basement of the church. His heart stopped its wild beating and he looked up at Prince Levi, who had assumed his human form and was once more a large, handsome man in a tight-fitting black uniform. The horns were gone and the scales had returned to being just a striking tattoo. He was already stepping out of the circle and moving forward so that Cole had to run to catch up with him.
****
Cole stepped from the back of the van and blinked his eyes at the sudden light and noise. He’d been relegated to the far back seat on the way to Tennessee from the Knoxville airport where their flight had landed, and with the darkly tinted windows and the huge shoulders of the two men in the center seat blocking and obscuring his view, he hadn’t been able to see much of the anything on the forty-five minute ride over to the Smoky Mountains National Park. He’d been mostly dozing for the last twenty minutes or so of the trip, all the excitement of the past couple of days finally catching up with him.
He had been to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, once when he was a kid on a church-sponsored trip, but he honestly didn’t remember much about it. Back then, the church group he’d been with had traveled straight through the tourist clogged town and into the park itself, setting up camp in tents in a campground inside the park itself.
Apparently the WRAITH team, consisting of Commander Levi, three other agents and himself, were foregoing any kind of camping, thank God. All of them were wearing their WRAITH uniforms, including Cole. Personally, Cole thought they looked a little like Mussolini’s Fascist Blackshirts during World War II, but he kept his opinions to himself. Anyway, Levi made his look good, so he wasn’t complaining. Too much.
The hotel they had pulled up to was small but modern and looked expensive. Nothing but the best for the Blood Prince, apparently. The traffic on the main street where they were was bad—nearly bumper to bumper. Tourists were everywhere, families walking down the sidewalks with children and strollers, couples walking hand in hand and dodging through the crowds. Cole found it hard to believe this disorganized chaos was near the site of a Blood Gate. It was so ordinary, so mundane—and so full of potential witnesses.
“Agent Gregory!”
Cole jumped at the sound of his name and turned to see who had called him. Levi was standing by the front door of the hotel office, gesturing impatiently at him.
“Coming,” he replied and shook himself. He had to quit daydreaming, or they’d soon regret adding him to the team. He quickly picked up his battered suitcase from the pile on the sidewalk near the back of the van and turned back around to walk over to where Levi was waiting. As he stepped out from the back of the van, something sleek and close to the ground seemed to appear out of nowhere, swerving out of the line of cars on the street and hurtling right towards him.
Before he could register what it was or even think to jump out of the way, he felt a sharp, burning jolt of pain in his hip and he was flying through the air, his suitcase spinning out in the opposite direction. He smashed into the ground, sending pain shooting through his hip. He felt his head connect hard with the pavement, stunning him with another bright slash of pain. He couldn’t quite figure out what had happened or why he was suddenly lying on his back, looking up at the sky, the world whirling dizzily around him, then spiraling down to a black hole that encompassed him and swallowed him whole.
****
Someone was tapping his cheek and calling his name. “Cole. Cole, wake up. Wake up and look at me.”
His eyelids felt like someone had glued them shut. Another, slightly sharper tap landed on his cheek and he managed to get one of his eyelids unglued. He peered up into Commander Levi’s grim face, and felt his hands moving down his flanks, patting him and checking him for injuries. “Lie still. You hit your head pretty hard.”
Cole struggled up on one elbow and immediately regretted it as a wave of sickening pain washed over him, trying to drag him back to unconsciousness.
“What did I just say? Lie still, damn it.”
There seemed to be a bluish fog swirling around him, and he waved at it and tried to clear it away from his face. Someone caught hold of his hand. He blinked his eyes a few times and heard a soft moaning sound. He managed to get both eyes open to see if anyone else was hurt and realized the sounds were coming from him. Members of his new team were standing around him, looking down at him with concern. Levi was kneeling beside him, holding his hand.
The commander jerked his head toward the other agents. “Did anyone get a tag number? Could you see who was driving?”
“I got a partial,” Agent Gonzalez, the one standing closest to Levi, said. “Already called in, along with a description of the vehicle.”
Levi nodded tersely. “Where the hell is that ambulance?”
“Ambulance?” Cole said, struggling to sit up. “No, please. Not an ambulance. I’m okay, really.”
“You were knocked unconscious.”
“Just for a few seconds. See, I can already sit up.” He didn’t mention the fact that his hip felt like he’d been kicked by a very large mule. His vision was beginning to clear now, and he could actually open his eyes all the way. He gazed up at Levi, who was sitting back on his heels and regarding him closely. “Please. I hate hospitals. I’m fine, really. Please, sir.”
Levi pursed his lips and then nodded. He spoke a few terse words over his shoulder to another agent who got out his cell phone, turning away as he spoke urgently into it. He stood up and bent down to help Cole to his feet, keeping an arm around his waist and pulling him up against his lean, hard body. Uncomfortable, Cole tried to lean away, only to be pulled firmly back against the commander. Sighing, he allowed Levi to help him inside.
Feeling a hot blush that started in his feet and traveled quickly over his entire body, he was well aware of the shocked stares of the people in the lobby as he was half-carried inside. He made a few feeble attempts to get his feet under him, but Levi was moving too fast, so he gave up and turned his hot face into Levi’s massive shoulder.
One of the agents held the elevator door for them and soon they were inside, going up to the fourth floor. Levi helped him to a room near the elevator, took him inside, and deposited him on the nearest of the two beds. Another agent brought in his suitcase, now not only battered but broken open, his clothes trailing out either side where the agents had apparently gathered them up off the sidewalk and stuffed them back inside.
Cole lay back against the pillows gratefully and closed his eyes, hoping it might help to slow down the spinning of the room, but it only made it worse. He popped them back open quickly and it finally registered with him that Levi had settled his own suitcase in the room and laid out some of his things on the other bed.
“Oh. Are we sharing this room? I thought…”
“Yes?” Levi said, glaring at him over his shoulder as he pulled his laptop from its case and set it up on the desk.
“N-nothing. I just…”
“Budget cuts. They affect everyone. Unless, of course, you have a problem sharing a room with a half-demon? You could share with the other human agent, if that’s the case.”
“The other one? I thought all of them…that is…I didn’t know that any of them were Vargr.”
“Yes. Gonzalez is a goblin. Fredericks is Sheeth. Both glamoured, of course. The other one, Malone, is human—like you.”
“Sheeth?” he asked softly, trying not to think about a goblin in their midst and hoping like hell this Sheeth thing wasn’t even worse. Not that he knew exactly what a goblin was, let alone looked like, though he didn’t know why he should be bothered so much
when he was apparently sharing a bedroom with a half-demon.
“S-i-d-h-e,” Levi replied, spelling it out and correcting his pronunciation. When he said the word slowly, it sounded more like shee-tha. “The people of the Tuatha da Dannan and the goddess Diana. They’re members of the Faery tribes, but not quite so arrogant and devious. They’re wood spirits. My mother is a Sidhe.”
“Oh. I thought you were the son of one of the high king’s human consorts.”
A bitter little smile played around Levi’s lips. “No. My mother broke my father’s heart when she left him, so he vowed never to consort with a Vargr again, even though the Sidhe hardly count as Vargr. They live in our realm, but govern themselves. My father once tried to force them into our alliance, but they disappeared into the hollow hills and not even my father’s wizards could divine a spell to get them out. He says humans can be almost as beautiful but are much easier to deal with.” His smile grew broader. “Of course that could be because the humans are all frightened of him. My mother isn’t.”
Levi put his hands on his hips and regarded Cole speculatively. “All right. Let’s get you out of those clothes and get a look at your hip.”
“W-What? No, no, I’m fine. Really.”
“You’re not fine, so stop being foolish. Take off your clothes.”
Cole sat up gingerly and put his feet over the side of the bed farthest away from the commander, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. He could feel the warm blush starting up his body again, and knew Levi could see it on his pale, almost translucent skin.
No matter how he tried to tan himself over the years, it never seemed to take. If he stayed in the sun for any length of time, his skin turned a faint pink, but even that went away in a few hours’ time. In the last few months, his paleness had gotten even worse—so bad, in fact, that he’d thought about checking with a doctor to see if he might be anemic.
