Feverish

by Amanda N Richardson

  “I can hurt you without a body you stupid imbecile.” The demon rubbed against her soaking up her sweat and fear and moaned in delight. “Ah, yes you are a scrumptious morsel and I do believe that I’m going to enjoy every moment of tearing you apart. And I’ll get to use your mate’s hands, how bittersweet that shall be for you both. Until then, I’ll just have to be satisfied with driving you to the brink of insanity before they come to your rescue. It will be too late by then to save you from yourself.”

  Dara gasped and narrowed her eyes forgetting they were covered. “They are mine,” she said and then gasped when the voice wasn’t quite her own. Something inside of her snapped and she wanted to rip the demon to shreds. She wouldn’t let him have her mates. She’d die first.

  “I can, I can,” he chanted. Then he chuckled and grasped her head with both hands and whispered all of the things she feared into her ear. His breath stank of sewage and she gaged. Each word was like a knife stabbing into her heart.

  Everything she’d gone through from her past. The pain, the heartbreak, and the loss became more than a horrible memory. He was making her relive each and every thing that ever caused her any kind of hurt. She sobbed losing her strength to fight and her body shook as his planted memories dug deep into her subconscious. The pain was too much.

  That’s when she realized it was a trap. The demon was using her to bring her mates to him. He’d never wanted her. He needed her because she was the only way he’d ever get a hold of her mates. They would come no matter the danger, and then the demon would have them all, right where he wanted them.

  ‘Don’t come for me!’ she screamed in her head as loud as she could hoping they would hear her plea. They had to let her go, and save themselves. She wouldn’t be any good to them any longer. The demon succeeded, and she would never be anything more than a shell of her former self. She stopped resisting. “You win.”

  The demon’s chuckle followed her into the darkness.

  * * * *

  Eden recoiled from the sting of Dix’s slap. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Focus, she’s out there somewhere and we have to find her before it’s too late.”

  Eden growled. “I know that, I can feel her pain. The demon has her.”

  “Shit, you can feel her?”

  “Yeah it’s like fingers are gripping my heart trying to tear it from my chest. It fuckin’ hurts and it’s because she’s out there and hurting.” Just as he closed his eyes to focus on her, a scream tore through his mind. Eden grabbed his head and cried out falling to his knees. His breaths came out in pants and he struggled to speak. “I can feel her, and she’s terrified.” He trembled and groaned in agony as Dara’s fear sliced through him. “Oh god, make it stop. Dix, help me please. It hurts.”

  Dix dropped to the ground in front of Eden. He placed his hands over Eden’s on his head and closed his eyes. Eden’s body shook and he trembled beneath Dix’s magic. It was so strong and soothing, yet it did little to ease his pain. He needed something more. The magic wouldn’t save him from Dara’s suffering. Turning his palms up, he gripped Dix’s hands on either side of his head and pulled them off. “Help me up.”

  Dix terrified expression did little to ease his worry. He knew then he looked like death. He was shaky and sweat poured from him. Eden used all of his strength and with Dix’s help was able to stand—barely. He stumbled but Dix was there to stabilize him.

  “What can I do?” he asked in a panicked tone.

  Eden stared into his eyes and pulled him into his body. “I need you close. You are what I need—you’re strength, not your magic.”

  Dix gulped and nodded. Eden tried to smile, but even that hurt. They’d been close their whole lives, but they had never really been intimate with one another, at least not without a woman between them. Eden liked it. The feel of Dix’s muscled chest flat against his own. He wrapped his arms around Dix’s neck and laid his head on his shoulder.

  Dix’s body tensed for a brief second, but then he wrapped his arms around Eden. Eden sighed in relief when his large hands rubbed soothing circles on his back. It got even better when Dix slid his hand up Eden’s shirt. As soon as his fingers grazed his bare skin, Eden moaned. “Don’t stop. It’s helping.” And it was. Eden wasn’t used to needing help, but he found he liked Dix taking care of him.

  “I won’t,” Dix whispered pulling him closer.

  Eden gasped when he felt his mate’s erection against his own, but he didn’t say a goddamn word. This was a moment he wouldn’t have ruined.

  “Is the pain still there?”

  Eden moaned and shifted closer to Dix. His body heat was soothing and he wanted to curl around him to soak it in. He was cold and aches filled his body. “Yes,” he replied but he pulled back and gazed into Dix dark eyes. There was more than lust beyond the depths and without a thought he leaned in and brushed his lips across Dix’s. Something he’d wanted to do for so long.

  Dix gasped in surprise but he didn’t pull away so Eden kissed him again, this time adding more pressure before leaning away, not giving him a chance to kiss him back. As much as he had longed for the bond with his best friend it wasn’t the right time. Not with Dara in the hands of the Shadox Demon.

  “Thank you,” he said and stepped back from him dropping his hands to his sides to keep from reaching out for Dix and pulling him back to him. For once in his life it looked like Dix was speechless. He stared at Eden as if he hadn’t expected the chemistry between them to spark such unbridled desire.

  Dara was out there somewhere. Somewhere close actually. His heart raced when he heard her voice in his head, screaming at him. “She’s close. The demon is trying to lure us there. It’s a trap.”

  “How do you know?”

  “She’s calling to me,” he said. “She says not to come for her—”

  “Like hell we aren’t,” Dix yelled.

  “I know Dix, but she says it’s a trap. The demon doesn’t want her at all. He wants one of us.”

  “So how do we save her and us?”

  “We have to complete the bond for sure, but maybe since it’s already begun all we have to do is touch. He can’t be stronger than the three of us when we work together.” Eden paced ignoring the lingering pain in his head. “I have an idea. We have to go to her regardless of the fact that we will be walking into a trap, and we need Dara, anchoring us. We have to work as one to beat him. It’s the power of the Triad.”

  Dix nodded in agreement and Eden took a breath. These were the times being the oldest and strongest had its downfall. If he rushed them into finding her too soon, it could backfire. If it didn’t work he or Dix would be possessed by a demon that would the kill the other two of their triad. Then all hell would break loose, and no one would be safe.

  7

  Dix trudged in the shadows with Eden by his stalking silently in the dark. His long tail swished in agitation. It was decided that Eden needed to be in tiger form. He was the stronger of the two physically and the eldest, plus they had no idea what his gift was yet, and Dix figured that would be what the demon was looking for. They needed to keep a physical connection at all times, and as soon as they found Dara they needed to use her as their anchor as she was meant to be.

  “Are we getting closer?” Dix asked. Eden shook his head and nodded to the left towards the woods.

  “Of course,” he grumbled because where else would a better trap lie?

  Eden chuffed and led the way across the open field to the woods. Dix stayed close and kept one hand fisted into his fur. They slowed their pace paying close attention to the slightest sign for the trap. The woods were silent. There were no bugs chirping, no owls hooting, absolute silence filled their surroundings. Except every step they took echoed through the trees. Leaves crunched beneath their feet and twigs snapped beneath Dix’s boots. It was impossible to be silent. Even Eden in his tiger form struggled.

  Dix felt his mate’s hackles rise followed by a growl. He stopped walking a few feet back
from a narrow opening to a cave. The dank smell filled his nose. Eden growled again and looked up at him with his gray and golden eyes. He tossed his head to the side and sniffed the air. Dix followed suit. He finally caught the lingering scent of Dara over the remaining sent of death and decay. She was in there and she was suffering.

  Dix’s eyes narrowed and his chest rumbled. He was still pissed that she was taken under his care. Not only was he heartbroken she was taken from them, it was a burst to his ego, and his tiger wasn’t happy that the demon had gotten the slip on him somehow. He still hadn’t figured out how it happened.

  “I smell it. You ready for this Eden?”

  Something akin to a laugh came from Eden and Dix grinned. They were going to take back what was theirs. “I take that as a yes. Let’s go save our mate’s ass, and then make her ours.”

  Eden went in first and Dix grabbed a hold of his tail to make sure they kept in contact with one another. It was dark, but he could see the small path they were on. It led down, deeper underground. They should have known a demon would lead them below ground. The chill and dampness coated his skin, yet he wasn't cold. His body began to sweat. The fever was kicking in. Eden growled and his back arched up, with his fur standing on edge. He picked up his pace making it difficult for Dix to keep a hold of him.

  Under a dim light straight ahead, Dara was tied to a chair. She wasn’t moving and her eyes were covered with some sort of fabric and a big black translucent figure floated around her. When he turned towards them bright red eyes shot to theirs. Everything in him stopped, even his breath. Real fear filled his body.

  Growing up he had read about Shadox Demons and heard horror stories about how they were able to use their mind manipulation powers to control their victims as they fed off their fear. These demons, even without a body, could destroy even the strongest person. Dix’s heart raced and Eden growled crouching to the ground preparing to attack. Dix rubbed his fur trying to calm him the best he could. Physically attacking the demon would do them no good.

  “I knew you would come,” it said and floated back and forth in front of Dara. “She said you wouldn’t, but I knew better.”

  “Go to her Eden,” Dix whispered standing tall. The demon couldn’t even be physically touched. It was almost like a ghost, but worse, much worse. Most people wouldn’t think it was anything to be afraid of, but they were evil and deceptive. It was only in their true form they looked harmless. Eden turned toward him with a growl reminding him they needed to stay close to each other.

  “I’m following Eden, now move.”

  “Don’t bother coming for her. She can’t help you any longer. I think she’s gone insane.” The demon’s laughter echoed throughout the small, damp cave shaking the rocks.

  “No!”

  “Oh yes, tiger,” he said and then moaned. “Yes, I smell what you are. You’ll be the perfect host for my essence. I’ll take your body, and then together we will kill them both. You’ll never feel more powerful in your life before your soul dies and I take over your body for all eternity.”

  “That isn’t going to fucking happen,” Dix growled before turning into his beast. He and Eden’s phrase, ‘two are better than one’ sparked Eden’s idea. If they were both in their most natural wild form then the demon shouldn’t be able to possess them. In theory, Shadox Demons had to possess a human body in order to steal a soul. The last thing they needed was their queen between them.

  “What are you doing beast?” The demon shrieked his eyes turning a brighter shade of red with his rage. “You cannot change before me. I will own you!”

  Eden padded over to Dara with his head bent low fearful that he had lost her. He butted her knee with the side of his face trying to rouse her. When that didn’t work he licked her knee, but she didn’t move so he looked back at Dix urging him to come closer. Dix followed suit and bounded up to her and laid his paws across her lap. He licked the side of her face. She shifted in her seat, but still didn’t wake up. Dix used his claw to cut the blindfold off. It fell from her eyes but they remained closed.

  “See you’re too late. She won’t ever be the same.” The demon taunted, but Eden could sense Dara. She was only unconscious. He licked her knee again as Dix brought his face to her neck and nuzzled her purring in delight when she moaned.

  Dara’s eyes shot open to see two golden ones staring back at her. Tears fell before she could stop them, and she buried her face into Dix’s fur. She had never been more relieved to see anyone in her life. She knew they would come; even knowing it was a trap. And part of her wished they wouldn’t. She didn’t want anything to happen to them. Being down in the cave had taught her a few things, and she knew if they made it out alive, there wouldn’t be any more waiting to bond. She was ready to make them hers in every way, and losing them wasn’t an option.

  “You came for me,” she whispered into his ear. Then she turned to Eden and rubbed her fingers over the top of his head. “I knew you’d hear me. Please say you know what you’re doing.”

  Eden nodded his head and cut her hands free from their binds with one claw and she sighed rubbing her sore wrists. It was nice to be able to move her arms again. The demon was watching them with pure hatred. His red eyes glowed and when he went to coat them with his evil, he failed. Their bond knocked him across the cave. He shrieked in pain. It was surprising to learn that is was possibly to hurt them.

  “No, this cannot be right. You haven’t completed the bond. I still have time.” Again he floated towards them faster, only to bounce off again, but this demon wasn’t going to cave. Again and again he tried to break through their shield, but it failed.

  Dara suddenly had an idea. When the demon floated back to them she held out one hand while the other lay on top of Eden’s head, and when he got within touching distance he burst into flames. Fire shot from the tips of her fingers. White hot flames licked his phantom body and he erupted into a ball of fire.

  “No!” the demon shrieked one last time as it burned into nothing but a pile of ash.

  As soon as the demon was gone Dara yanked her hand back and turned it back and forth. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but she was pretty sure she had tapped into a power that wasn’t hers. She looked down at her white tiger. “You’ve been holding out on us,” she said and rubbed him behind his ear. Eden leaned into her touch and purred, but even in his tiger form she could tell that he was more surprised than she was. Something was off, but at that moment all she wanted to do was get the hell out of that dingy cave.

  “Guys, the demon’s gone, don’t you think we should get out of here, before another one of those bastards comes for us.”

  Instantly they both backed away and shimmered back into their human selves. Before she could say a word she was shoved between them both. Four arms squeezed her between them.

  “Baby you seem to have lost something,” Dix said as he caressed her bare hip.

  “Yeah, seems I lost them along the way.” She was too tired to be embarrassed about her naked body. Even with everything she went through she was too happy to see them to dwell on the images in her head for the time being at least.

  “Eden, we’re going to be talking about your new power,” Dix said over Dara’s shoulder.

  Dara chuckled. “I don’t think he knew.”

  “Obviously, but how did you know baby?”

  “I don’t know, I just got this feeling and it felt as if something was guiding me. I just didn’t fight it.” She pushed against Eden’s chest. “Let’s go home boys.”

  “I don’t think it was my power, at least not only mine,” Eden said.

  “What are you saying?”

  “Sweetheart that power came from inside of you. I anchored you, not the other way around,” he replied shocking the hell out of her.

  She was grateful when neither of them questioned her. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew Eden was right. That power had come from her somehow.

  They allowed her some space and Eden pulled off his s
hirt. She grabbed it and pulled it over her head. It was big enough to cover her like a short night gown. It wasn’t much but it would do. They both grasped one of her hands in theirs as they left the horrible cave.

  She shivered hoping that one day she would be able to erase the images the demon planted in her head. If Dix and Eden hadn’t shown up when they did, she would have lost her mind. She felt the lingering darkness the demon left behind and shivered. If she ever saw one again it would be much too soon. She was ready to go home.

  8

  As soon as Dara walked through her door, she sprinted down the hall and into the bathroom. Not only was she was freezing and dirty but most of all she smelled like a dirty cave. She stripped off Eden’s shirt tossing it in the trash. She turned on the shower full blast and stepped under the hot water. The feel of it raining down on her felt wonderful, but she didn’t want to be alone—not for long anyways. She sighed and finally allowed the tears to stream silently down her cheeks as she cleaned herself up quickly.

  After thoroughly rinsing off all of the dirt and grim, Dara stepped out onto her bathmat. She wasn’t able to wash away the demon’s touch or all the things he put inside of her head. Only time would tell if she would ever really be all right. She hoped she was strong enough to fight off the darkness.

  Wrapping the towel around herself to dry off, she stepped into her room appreciative that they had given her some space. She needed to cope with what had happened. She’d never been so scared in her life. The demon had gotten inside her head. He hadn’t lied when he told them she would never be the same. It was true. Something inside of her had changed, and she worried she would never get that part of herself back again.

  The demon’s touch was horrible. She shivered disgusted. She knew it was only the illusions he planted in her mind, but it was real to her. She lived every second of it. It didn’t matter that she had a hand in sending him back to hell, the images were left behind.