The End of Darkness

by Jaime Rush

  The footsteps grew louder, then a man passed below them. Everything would have been just fine if he'd continued on. But he didn't. He paused, stepped back, and clicked on a very large flashlight. Which he began to point up at them.

  Pope dropped on him, sending them both crashing to the floor. The flashlight rolled across the ground. Suza pulled the gun from her waistband—and stopped. Explosives. Tunnel. Gun a bad idea.

  Pope twisted the man's arm behind his back in a way that looked painful. “What are you doing here? I'm an Elgin for the Callorian government and demand an answer.”

  “If you were an Elgin who was dispatched here, you'd already know what was going on.” The man unleashed a wave of some kind of energy blast that threw Pope against the wall. “And you wouldn't bring a human down here.” He thrust his hand toward Pope.

  Pope's hand was already out, the glow flashing bright on his palm. A beam of light shot out and seemed to surround the man, whose face contorted with pain. He gritted his teeth as he tried to summon his own power, but the glow grew brighter and brighter, and he went poof! A shower of sparks rained down onto the floor and then there was nothing left of him.

  Pope looked eerily calm. “I didn't want to take a chance of igniting the explosives, but I had no choice.” He stared at his palm. “It took a lot more effort than it used to.” Which meant he could normally kill people with much less effort. Won't Mom be so pleased? He dropped his hand. “Let's go.”

  He took her by the elbow and guided her onward, as though he were leading her into the Dang Ranch Bar for a night of dancing. She was trapped in a tunnel deep belowground wired up in explosives with a man who clearly was used to killing. Now she knew what being ear-deep in trouble really meant.

  As they continued, so did those white boxes, every few yards. With every one that they passed, the word kaboom! popped into her head.

  Pope pulled her to a halt as a sound echoed up ahead.

  CHAPTER 13

  Magnus had predicted that Lanna would return as soon as she'd gotten over being ousted. Calling her down would seem desperate and might pique her suspicion. Once Erica had made up her mind to let the vile woman in, she wanted it over with. She wanted out of there before Nester came back.

  Magnus gestured for her to come closer. Now that she was free to move about the cell, for what that was worth, she could get very close to Magnus. Only to communicate quietly, of course.

  “Remember that she can pick up feelings,” he whispered, his warm breath washing over her ear and neck. “It's fine to feel afraid; she'll expect that. We don't want her to pick up on hope.”

  Hope, that shaky bitch. “Or our plans. I don't know if Jerryl could pick up my thoughts when he was in my head.”

  “Bastard,” Magnus muttered. “It's a good thing he's dead.” His fingers clenched. “Or I'd kill him myself.”

  The girl inside her cried out in release that he would avenge her. The woman she was now wanted to throw her arms around those broad shoulders and bury her face against his chest. Even when he'd been a stranger, there was something about him that tugged at her to let go. He had held and comforted her as she'd spilled the horrible secret that haunted her soul. She had seen no pity or anything to indicate he saw her as damaged.

  “You alright?” he asked. He lifted his hand, the cuff jangling, and touched her cheek. “Of course you're not, dumb question.” His voice was soft and low and washed over her. “If this works, we run together, agreed? No splitting off.”

  “I'm going there.” She nodded toward the tunnel door, which made his fingers brush against her cheek. “To figure out what they're doing. Then I'm finding one of the escape hatches they mentioned.”

  He moved his thumb across her soft skin. “I know you're used to being on your own. Bloody hell, taking on killers by yourself.” He shook his head. “But for now, we're together.”

  She shivered at the words. “Okay.”

  They heard the phone ring through the vent but couldn't hear any of the conversation. What they did hear was her raised voice in some other part of the house. Something displeased her.

  Erica turned to Magnus. “Uh oh. Sounds like the guy is coming here. She has to kill us now.”

  He stiffened. “If she does, we have the opportunity to overcome her in the tunnel.”

  The door opened, and Lanna padded down the stairs. Her face looked flushed, but she took a deep breath and visibly composed herself as she reached the bottom. “We have to leave town sooner than expected. So if we are going to have our time together, we have to do so now. The good news is that Copeland and Nester will be in town longer. They have to, um, sort out our finances.”

  Erica released the breath that had tightened her chest at the thought of dying immediately. But what did it mean that they were leaving sooner than planned? Was the terrible thing also going to happen sooner?

  “Lanna, Erica has agreed not to fight you if you want to try again. She understands the value of not having Nester kill her. Seeing her friend die like that was traumatic.”

  “And having someone mind control me was freaky, too,” Erica added.

  Lanna stepped up to the bars. “I was shocked that you could push me out.” She eyed Erica's cuff, probably making sure it was still on.

  Erica assumed her victim persona. “I just wigged out. I didn't know what I was doing.”

  “Mmm,” was Lanna's reply, as though she weren't quite sure. “You I can handle leaving loose like that.” She turned to Magnus. “You are much more dangerous.”

  Magnus jangled the cuff still attached to the wall. “I’m only dangerous when I'm threatened or if someone I care about is. What I didn't tell your husband was the fight I jumped into was over a woman I was seeing. Two men were trying to hurt Jessie, and I stepped in to protect her. One tried to kill me, and I guess one healed me.

  “I was in a coma for a few days, and when I woke, Jessie and my brother had fallen in love. I love my brother, but I wanted to rip his head off. That's not like me, especially since I was only infatuated with Jessie. It has to be the effect of Darkness.” He raked her with a heated gaze. “I can't imagine how it would be if I was really in love. I've never loved a woman, but now I would consume her, possess her, and kill anyone who hurt her.” His eyes started to shift toward Erica, but he trained them on Lanna.

  Erica watched him work his magic. That's what Lanna wanted, a dark, dangerous, sexy man who would protect her, obsess over her. And Magnus was all of those. He was also compassionate and honorable. Erica knew he was telling the truth about Jessie, sating her curiosity about the woman.

  Erica sensed Lanna's intrusion now that she was prepared for it. Like a vine growing into her psyche, it snaked its way in, numbing her deep inside. Everything in Erica wanted to fight, to oust her. Panic gripped her, the invasion bringing back those times of losing control of her body. She breathed through it, keeping her focus on Magnus. He gave her strength with his steady gaze.

  You're in control of at least being out of control. This is your choice.

  Lanna unlocked the cell and stepped inside, relocking it as usual. Erica took note of where she tucked her keys. Lanna walked over to Magnus, breathing in the scent of him with her eyes closed. “Possess me.” The intensity of that statement swept through Erica, and her body stepped forward. “Consume me.”

  There was only one thing that would save Erica's sanity—focus on Magnus. She had been intimate with him, after all, and she was attracted to him. Her hands went to his chest, pressing against his pecs, and Lanna's elation rushed through her. Erica focused on her thumbs circling the smooth skin around his nipples and making them harden.

  When Jerryl took over, she was horrifyingly aware of everything. She locked her soul in a box deep inside her for protection. In the years afterward, the box became her safe haven. She climbed into it when she went after a murderer. And when she had sex.

  That's why you never feel anything.

  That something Magnus picked up was her soul's need
for connection, for touch. And, oddly, she had felt a link to Magnus. Still felt it, even under Lanna's control. She let herself out of the box a little more, connecting to what she was doing.

  His skin was smooth and soft, a contrast to the hard planes of his body. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him. He had initiated their kisses. Now her mouth opened against his, and she plunged her tongue in. His hand skimmed her shoulder, not violating the boundaries he had set. He gave her a soft squeeze, a secret signal: I know it's you in there. She signaled back, a gentle pinch at the back of his neck. She loved the way his curls wrapped around her fingers, silky soft.

  The sound of pleasure that came out of Erica's mouth, she wasn't sure it had come from Lanna. In fact, most of her recent actions weren't Lanna driven at all. But Lanna hadn't seemed to notice, perhaps too caught up in everything. Which was exactly what they wanted, Lanna completely immersed in the sensations she so longed for. Fantasized about. He would give Erica a cue to oust and overcome her at the right moment.

  The irony was not lost on her that a woman uncomfortable with sensual pleasure now had to indulge in it to save her life. She drew her hands down Magnus's sides to his waist, hooking her fingers on his belt loops and pulling him against her. His mouth hungrily devoured hers as he ground into her. His body was cooperating nicely.

  “Eri—Lanna,” he murmured, catching himself in the nick of time.

  He'd started to say her name. She pushed the thought from her mind before Lanna picked up on it, or precisely, the way it made her feel.

  “Magnus,” Lanna said on a breath behind her. “Oh, yes.” She directed Erica to run her hands over the front of his jeans.

  He was fully erect, thick and hard, and Lanna sighed. “Just like I imagined. Copeland's got a penis the size of a pencil. I want to feel you, Magnus.”

  Erica's mouth drew a wet line down the center of his stomach. Her fingers started to unsnap his jeans. Magnus slid his hands over the top of Erica's head, his fingers tunneling through her hair. The signal.

  Erica's heart pounded as she readied to throw her out. This had to go perfectly. One. Two. Three!

  She pushed Lanna out and shoved her backward. They both fell to the floor when Lanna grabbed onto her. Something hit her hard in the cheek, and the cuff clicked onto the bar.

  Lanna stumbled to her feet, breathing hard and backing away from Erica.

  “I'm sorry,” Erica said, saying it to Magnus for not succeeding but looking at Lanna. “I freaked again. Do you know what it's like to have someone inside your head making you do things to a man you don't even know?” She kept babbling, hoping Lanna didn't think the move was calculated. “I'll try it again and this time I'll hold on.”

  Lanna was visibly shaken, scrubbing her hand back through her short hair. “No.” She shook her head and looked at Magnus. “It was amazing, but you were right: it's a tease going through someone else. And the thing is, I want to do more than just touch you. I want you inside me, and I can't experience that with you shackled to the wall. It won't work.” She turned toward the door, clearly overwrought.

  “What if we left together?”

  Magnus's words stilled her, and she spun to face him. “What do you mean?”

  “No offense, but your husband is an arse. He mistreats you. Dismisses your needs and desires, and in fact derides them. He neglects you. And when he hit you, I wanted to kill him.”

  Something rippled across her face with every word he spoke. “You did?”

  “You're not the bad guy, he is. You're innocent, so I have no ill will toward you. You're in a bad situation. Obviously there's going to be some explosion, and you're going to run.” He gave her a soft smile that tightened Erica's chest. “So run with me.”

  Lanna's chest rose with the deep breath she took. “I…I don't know. Copeland would kill me if I ran off with you.”

  “He'll have to find us first. And I know the perfect place to hide, far from here.”

  “You wouldn't just run off after we left? Leave me?”

  “You know what I am, what I harbor. That if I fall in love with you, I will possess you. Consume you. If you're willing to be with me anyway, why would I leave? You're beautiful and sexy and the only woman who understands what I am. And I know what you are. We wouldn't have to hide our true natures. Including that we both enjoy sex. A lot. We're a perfect match.”

  He was good, so good Erica felt a tremor of fear that he was serious. That he'd leave her.

  Can I trust you? she'd asked him earlier.

  With every cell in your body.

  Lanna's face lit up. “We would make the perfect couple.” She stepped closer, her hand hovering inches from his bare chest. “I could touch you all I want, and read all the sexy books I wanted, too.”

  His voice was low and seductive when he said, “You could read me the best parts, and we'd act them out. I would spank you until your ass was pink and tender, and then I'd kiss away the pain.”

  She sighed, closing her eyes and pressing her mouth to his chest. Her hands came up, gripping his sides. “Yes, yes, yes. I want that.”

  “The sooner we get out of here, the more time we have to put distance between us and your husband.”

  “I'll take the money. I know where he's probably hidden it.”

  “Don't give him another reason to hunt you down. If you, Erica, and I are gone, he'll be pissed, but he probably won't bother taking the time and trouble to chase us down.”

  “You're right.” She pulled the keys out of her pocket. “And he'll be even less likely if I leave her.” She nodded toward Erica. “There won't be two of you out there to trouble him.”

  Fear gripped Erica's heart. Magnus had inadvertently given Lanna a good reason to leave her behind. Lanna unlocked his ankles first, giving Magnus a chance to meet Erica's gaze. He kept his expression blank, giving her the slightest nod.

  Lanna was watching him as the second cuff opened. She sprang up and reached for the final cuff around his wrist. Erica couldn't breathe as the key turned in the hole and the cuff snapped open.

  Magnus groaned as he pulled his arm down and rubbed his hand.

  Lanna turned to Erica. “I'm sorry I can't keep my promise. Then again you didn't live up to your end of the deal eith—”

  Magnus grabbed Lanna's arm and snapped the cuff around her wrist.

  “Sorry that I won't be able to run off with you.” He grabbed the keys where they'd fallen and released Erica. “You had me until you were willing to leave Erica here to face the wrath of your husband.”

  Erica could barely breathe with how fast everything had changed.

  Lanna shook her hand. “What about me? You're leaving me to his wrath!”

  “Yeah, I'm sorry about that, too.” And he did look sorry. “But I can't take a chance that you'll alert him or the others.”

  Lanna screamed every expletive as Magnus unlocked the cell, then relocked it behind them. They ran for the door, and Magnus turned the round wheel to open it. The door screeched as it opened, then clanged shut behind them.

  Erica felt the same way she did when the roller coaster took its first plunge, her stomach shooting up to her throat.

  Lights led down a long tunnel that went both ways. Oblong white boxes were mounted along the walls but didn't seem to be lights.

  Magnus drew them closer to one of the boxes and patted the surface. “They said that what was in this tunnel was going to blow the area to kingdom come. It doesn't look like anything.”

  She drifted a few feet in the other direction. “They go this way, too, at least as far as I can see. But something feels weird here.”

  He felt it, too. “Not Darkness. This isn't heavy like that. It's vibrating right through my body.”

  She backed up, bumping into him. “Let's go in the other direction.”

  He gave her no argument. “Whatever these boxes are, they were installed recently. The lights are dusty, and the boxes are clean.”

  “I don't like it. Someone has calculate
d the distance between them. See the orange marks?” She pointed to the florescent marks at floor level.

  “If they're explosives, they'd act like dominoes, each one setting off the next.”

  She trembled at the thought of being in the tunnel when that happened. “And the timeline's been moved up. How do we stop this?”

  “We find one of those escape hatches and alert the authorities. We can't do this on our own.”

  They came across a metal ladder attached to the wall that went up into what looked like a dark hole. Magnus climbed up, and she heard his grunts of effort.

  “I can't see a damned thing,” he said from some distance up. “Nothing I feel turns or opens.” He came back down. “Let's keep going. We'll try every one we come across. One's bound to open.”

  They had a little time before Copeland and Nester returned, but once they did, they'd come after them. And so would a very pissed-off Lanna. Twenty minutes passed before they came across another metal ladder. Magnus climbed up and had the same kind of luck.

  “How long does this tunnel go on for?” she whispered.

  “I'm more worried about what's at the other end.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Nester followed Copeland into the house, stomping his feet.

  “Nester, stop acting like a child.”

  “Stop treating me like one. I wanted to pull off the robbery. I missed out on the first ones—”

  “That's your fault. If you hadn't been out there snorting Darkness, you would have been part of them.”

  Copeland didn't understand. Just because he was cold and empty didn't mean everybody was. He treated his beautiful wife like a secondary citizen, and he treated Nester like a child. Nester had never experienced such power and exhilaration as when he fed the Darkness in him with more. Soon it would be gone, blown back to their dimension, so he had to take in as much as he could now.

  “Lanna!” Copeland yelled as he headed into the back bedroom with the satchel.