by Ford, Lizzy
“This will never end, will it?”
“Either he wins or I do.”
Kaylee shuddered, recalling what Shadowman did the last time he unleashed the shadow. He created a sinkhole that swallowed everything. The black fog was creeping into Crofton, blotting out lights as it went.
She was silent for a long moment. She didn’t realize she was shaking from a combination of fear and cold until he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his body. For once, she didn’t resist his heated strength, taking comfort in it.
“What are you thinking?” Nathan asked gently.
“Aside from I wish I’d never met you?” she replied with no heat. “I’m scared. No, terrified. I keep thinking I’ve wasted my life, doing what my father wanted, because I didn’t know what else I was supposed to do. Afraid to disappoint him or my instructors or anyone, afraid they wouldn’t like me if I was myself. If this is it, then I lived a fucking miserable life.”
“Your fucking miserable life led you straight to me. Can’t be that bad,” Nathan said.
“If you weren’t about to kill me, I might agree.”
“This doesn’t have to be it. We get through this and then figure out what comes next.”
The words were careful and considering, as if he was more concerned with her following through than telling her the truth that he wasn’t interested.
She couldn’t read him, and it was too late to try. If she went through this, it was her choice, knowing he probably wasn’t going to be there when she woke.
Kaylee twisted in his arms and gazed up at him. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
Nathan didn’t react immediately. His look was penetrating, the tension of his frame making him stiffen.
“You’ll trust me?” he whispered.
“No. But I’ll do what’s right.”
“I guess that’s good enough.” One hand dropped from her to the knife at his thigh.
Kaylee’s pulse accelerated, and she panicked, grabbing his wrist. His other arm tightened around her. She shook like a leaf pinned to a picnic table and struggled for some sort of control over her emotions. Her breathing was harsh and quick, her senses filled by Nathan but not comforted by him, not this time.
He loosened his grip around her briefly, long enough to tilt up her chin. Kaylee couldn’t see his eyes in the dark night but wished she could. She expected him to speak.
Instead, he kissed her, replacing his arm around her and pulling her against him hard. His mouth was commanding, the kiss deep and desperate, as if he knew it was their last. She tasted him once more, enthralled by his faint flavor and the heat of his mouth, the velvet of his tongue.
It was not the kiss of a man who regarded her as a job and nothing more.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Her grip on his wrist loosened. She lifted her hands to take his face and deepen the kiss even more. Nathan’s passion left her breathless and dizzy from need, his scent and taste intoxicating her.
His hold on her stiffened seconds before the hot agony hit her. It came from her lower ribcage.
Kaylee gasped, breaking off the kiss. She clutched at him. Almost immediately, darkness blocked her vision.
“Don’t fight it, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I’ll be there when you wake up.”
Chapter Twenty
Amira watched from the trees. She covered her face as the woman sank to the ground. The look on Nathan’s face was raw, his emotion clear.
He loved the woman he’d just stabbed.
Amira stifled her tears, wanting more than anything to spare them both the pain they had to be feeling. Nathan was a myth among angels and spirit guides, untouchable, unstoppable and willing to do whatever it took to do his job.
Like murder his OTL in cold blood.
She was proud of him yet horrified as well. He’d just made the most personal sacrifice of all. Would it break him, the way losing someone had broken Troy?
Turning away, she struggled to center herself, to push away all she’d learned the past few weeks. She’d followed Nathan here, wanting to talk to him but also wanting to make sure Kaylee was safe after the visit from Zyra.
The past few weeks were overwhelming, if she let herself dwell on all that occurred, nothing but a series of events that only seemed to get worse.They weighed on her heart, and she grappled with her emotions. She wanted to experience what it was like to be a human, to live in a world of contradictions. If she’d known the depths of sorrow and anger she’d learned about the past few weeks, would she have done it still?
Amira wanted to curl up at the base of the tree and sob, as much for Nathan as herself.
Right now, he needed support. She couldn’t imagine he was going to make it through this well. She had to save him. And Troy. And herself.
Wiping her tears, Amira stood and started out of the trees. She froze a few feet from the tree line. Unable to hear the new cars approach, she barely registered that two of them were there before it was too late to stop. They pulled in beside Nathan’s, blocking him from view. Nathan was carefully placing Kaylee in the backseat of his car.
A man got out of one vehicle and smashed a tire iron across Nathan’s head as he emerged from the backseat.
Nathan dropped hard.
The man motioned to someone in the car, and a familiar woman got out. Zyra drew a weapon and aimed it down at Nathan.
A flash of light and the scent of sulfur reached Amira, indicating a shot she couldn’t hear had gone off.
She sank into the darkness of the trees, praying for Nathan. Zyra tucked the gun away and leaned into the backseat where Nathan had been, no doubt checking on Kaylee. A flash of light came from the car. It wasn’t a muzzle flash this time, but a burst of light that faded slowly, lingered, then died.
Zyra was sucking in a huge amount of energy from the Other Side and those with her. Amira felt the flow around her. Instinctively, she recognized that Zyra was trying to bring the host back.
What did Zyra want with Kaylee, if not to kill her and send Shadowman to Hell?
Zyra stood and wobbled, catching herself against the car.
Light blinded Amira as more cars approached. The scene before her quickly became chaos. Gunfire flashed from the direction of the newcomers towards Zyra’s group, and the two factions opened fire on one another. A form darted discreetly from one of the newly arrived cars towards Nathan’s.
Amira hid behind a tree, peeking around to see what happened.
Moonlight glinted off the knives and necklace of the man creeping up to Nathan’s car. He was a blond man with black-tipped hair. He slid into the driver’s seat, unnoticed by Zyra’s party. He started the car and floored it, spewing rocks and gravel as he fishtailed out of the overlook area and down the hill towards the main road.
His people followed, laying gunfire behind them as they went.
Zyra was standing in the middle of light from the headlamps of one of her cars, yelling, her face flushed. She signaled her people towards the cars, and they, too, raced off after the man who had the host’s body.
Amira watched them all go. When the dust cleared, one body remained on the ground. How Nathan hadn’t been run over or shot more than once, Amira didn’t know, except that he truly was blessed.
She ventured away from the trees slowly at first, gaze darting around for signs of trouble, then darted forward.
“Nathan!” she cried, dropping beside him.
There was blood everywhere. Though she knew spirit guides were immortal, she panicked anyway, recalling that the same woman who shot Nathan had somehow been able to kill Scott, too.
Amira placed her hands over the wound in Nathan’s chest, trying to remember what she’d seen on a crime TV show about helping someone who got shot.
Nathan’s body was radiating heat hotter than Troy’s, a sign the energy from the Other Side was working to heal him. She added in her own energy, knowing it was nothing compared to what it had been before, but hoping she could help.
“Wake
up, Nathan!” she told him. Tears blurred her eyes at the feel of his warm blood flowing through her fingers.
Someone grabbed her, startling her. Amira started to struggle. He was much stronger than her spun her around easily.
“Troy!” she exclaimed, at once relieved.
Troy looked pissed. “Why the fuck did you leave me there?” The grip on her arms was tight.
“Nathan’s hurt.”
“He can heal. Just leave him alone. What’re you doing here, Amira?”
She didn’t know what to say, rattled by the evening and mesmerized by his anger. It was born as much of concern as anything else, and she wanted to know if it was solely for Nathan or if her OTL had begun to realize he belonged with her.
“Are you okay?” Troy’s features softened.
She nodded then held up her hands. They were covered in dark blood, the sight of which distressed her.
“Scott didn’t heal, Troy,” she said, near tears. “Will Nathan?”
“Yes. He’s too stubborn to die.”
After a brief hesitation, Troy wrapped her in his arms. His warmth and masculine scent helped calm her, and she hugged him back, loving the feel of his body against hers.
“Troy, they took her,” she said into his shirt.
He shifted one arm to lift her chin once more. He touched her face gently, brushing the tears from under her eyes.
“Who took who?” he asked.
She swallowed hard. “The host. Nathan killed her.” Her eyes watered more as she remembered the look of utter desolation that crossed Nathan’s face. “Zyra shot him then tried to take her, but someone else beat them to it. There was a firefight and then they all left.”
“Amira, you don’t run off like that again,” Troy said, his features serious. “You understand? You’re mine to protect.”
Like the stones were hers to protect.
She gasped suddenly, aware the stones she’d given Kaylee had fallen into the hands of someone else completely, someone she couldn’t identify.
“What?” he asked.
Who had the host and the stones? Amira didn’t answer, unable to fathom the depths of how badly she’d screwed up. Even if the people had the stones, they wouldn’t be able to read them, and she kept the one that would lead to the gateway. She hadn’t been able to use the blue stones anyway – but Kaylee could.
Logically, she knew the stones belonged with Kaylee, but terror fluttered through her at the thought of anyone finding the other girls before she could warn them.
Chapter Twenty One
Nathan tore himself out of sleep as soon as he became aware of the sensations around him: quiet talking, chilly breeze, and the hard ground beneath him. He sat up with a groan, hand going to the tender spot at the back of his head. Resisting the urge to shake his head and free his mind of cobwebs, he blinked until he could at least see straight then took in the scene around him.
He was at the overlook still, on the ground, with someone kneeling beside him while a few other figures huddled near the railing.
“You feeling all right?” Troy said, offering a hand to pull him up.
“Good enough,” Nathan grunted. He accepted the help and stood, finding his footing. “What the hell happened?” As he spoke, he looked around for the car.
It was gone, along with Kaylee.
“Where is she?” he demanded. A sudden surge of concern and adrenaline helped his head clear. “If you’re here, why is my rental gone? Did you get here in time?”
“I think we have a problem,” Troy said.
Two voices near the railing rose in agitation. They were both female, and a closer look revealed Zyra and Maggy in heated discussion. Zyra threw up a hand and spun, stalking towards a waiting car, while Maggy stared after her.
“That’s not good,” Troy said. “I guess Zyra’s people put you down with the intention of stealing your girl, but they got their asses kicked by someone else. I’m guessing Eddy. Amira saw it all. Said they were after the host.”
“She’s alive?”
“No one knows.”
“Who shot me?” While a little weakened, he was fully healed. He was able to feel the drain on his energy level, though. It wasn’t keeping him warm the way it usually did on a chilly night.
Troy glanced towards Zyra. “She’s got a lot of nerve showing up here after putting a bullet in your chest.”
“She’s desperate. It’s a good sign.” Nathan glared after Zyra’s car, wishing he’d thought to take Kaylee somewhere only Maggy could access. He’d wanted her to have a choice, though, and showing her what Shadowman was about to do next was the best way to convince her.
What if he’d legitimately killed her? He began to think he’d made two mistakes in his life. The first, marrying Zyra. The second, killing Kaylee. They just happened to be the only two things in his life that ever mattered to him. Emotions were threatening to emerge, feelings he struggled to control.
“If they took her, I’m thinking Shadowman is still around,” Nathan muttered. “Maggy!”
“God, Nathan, tell me you killed her,” Maggy snapped in frustration. She approached, her aura colors all over the place.
“I did.” He bit back his instinctive response and the panic in his gut to answer calmly. “How long before you got here?”
“Too late. Got here the same time Zyra did. Troy beat us both, and it looks like Eddy is the one who outsmarted everyone.”
“Never thought I’d say this, but thank god for Eddy,” Nathan said.
Maggy stared at him for a long moment. “You really like this girl. I wonder if it’s affecting your judgment!”
“Still killed her, didn’t I?” he replied. “Someone swapped out the poison for saline. I used a knife.”
Maggy’s eyes widened.
“You are one cold-hearted bastard,” Troy remarked, approval in his tone. “I don’t think I could do that.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” Nathan said. He began to wonder if he’d fucked up worse than ever before. It was one thing to try the risky plan to get rid of Shadowman, another to place her welfare in the hands of Eddy. “We need to find Eddy.”
“We gotta beat Zyra to him. She’s obsessed.”
“Or she wants to redeem herself,” Nathan replied. “They were the ones who killed Mike, not knowing he wasn’t the anchor.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. So we know they’re serious and willing to kill whoever it takes.”
Maggy was quiet for a moment. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Nathan, but I still don’t think they’re wrong about this one. Taking an innocent life, yeah, that’s bad. But they’re trying to prevent a portal to Hell being opened.”
A week ago, I would’ve agreed. Nathan touched the back of his head and flinched. He had a booming headache, and his blood was racing, adding to the pounding. He found himself clenching and releasing his fists, needing to know if Kaylee was alive. Worse, what if they waited too long to revive her, and her mind and body were irreparably damaged?
“You’ve got insight on where to find them?” he asked Maggy.
“We’re looking. I sent out an emergency request for assistance to every guide on the eastern seaboard.” She glanced down at her phone. “We know about where they hang out in this area, but I doubt Eddy will be stupid enough to risk going anywhere we know about.”
Nathan wanted to stab something or run a marathon – anything to alleviate the fear charging through his system. He recalled too clearly how her warm blood ran down his hand and wrist. He’d felt regret stronger than any other emotion in his life when he heard her heart slow then stop. He should’ve said the words – any words – to let her know he cared.
He hadn’t. He didn’t even know if he was capable of voicing such a private emotion, not after all the years he spent burying his feelings in order to survive the job.
You don’t exactly make it easy to understand you.
He never thought he wanted anyone to try to understand him before K
aylee.
“Wake up.” Maggy snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Let’s get out of here. We gotta figure out how to track them.”
“Well,” Troy said slowly. “I might be able to help.”
“You sober?” Maggy asked, ignoring him.
“More or less.”
Nathan snorted. “How?”
“Amira. She knows a little more than she let on.”
“Where is she?” Nathan glanced towards the two parked vehicles. One was clearly Troy’s F350 while the other was a car.
“In the truck.” By the irritated look Troy cast in the direction of his vehicle, he wasn’t pleased.
“You know Shadowman is looking for her and brought you with you?” Maggy asked.
“It wasn’t exactly the plan,” Troy said nonchalantly. “She’s fine.”
“Let’s go.” Nathan started towards the truck. “Mags, you wanna head to town to see what you can uncover and I’ll go with Troy?”
“Yeah.”
Nathan didn’t let himself dwell on her insistence that Zyra was right. He climbed into Troy’s truck and twisted to see Amira in the dim light.
She was shaking, and he smelled blood.
“Nathan,” she said in a forlorn voice. She leaned forward and hugged him, almost dragging him out of his seat.
He chuckled and squeezed her back.
“What is it with you and chicks?” Troy complained, hopping in and closing his door. “Don’t get blood on my seats.” He reached under his bucket seat to grab a rag and tossed it on Nathan’s lap.
Nathan released Amira, resting his forehead against hers as they exchanged energy. This time, she pushed warmth into him, sensing he needed it.
He withdrew from her and took the rag. “This isn’t gonna help.” He said with a quick glance down at himself. He handed it to Amira instead.
She sat back and Nathan looked out the window. There were two bloodstains lit up by Troy’s headlights. The larger one was his, the smaller that of Kaylee.
Exhausted but wired with worry, he leaned forward and gripped his head in his hands.
“I’m in a car with two people who have more secrets than me,” Troy said casually. “I have a feeling you’re going to talk first, for once.”
