Forsaken Talisman

by Ashleigh Raine

  The small smile tilting up Ana’s full lips disappeared as she turned back around and started walking. He followed sharply, not wanting her to think she’d won just yet. There was no way he’d let her push him out that easily.

  She surprised him when she spoke. “I guess the real question is where haven’t I been? I kept moving, looking for…something…someone maybe? I don’t know. Maybe just trying to figure out where I belong. I never found it, though.” She crossed her arms over her breasts and continued staring straight ahead.

  Marlin nodded. They were still so much alike. He matched her stride and lowered his voice, wanting—needing—to share with her, too. “Sometimes I wonder if I even belong here doing what I’m doing. If it wasn’t for all the demon mayhem that we knock out every night, I’d swear that The Order was a crock of shit and that I along with the rest of us actually did die in the fire instead of being changed. Like we’re just undead and doomed to walk in the shadows for all eternity. Hell, maybe you were better off wandering around in your endless search. At least you got out of here and kept looking.”

  This time, Ana stopped walking and faced him. “But Marlin, there’s a difference. In Talisman Bay, you hunt demons. You know what they are, that they’re gonna try to kill you and the rest of the human race or…or…whatever other mischief they’re gonna do. I was hunting something that I couldn’t even fathom. And it doesn’t help that the whole time I was running, I was actually trying to erase all the guilt I felt.” She let out a sharp exhale, her hands clenching and unclenching as though she was trying to regain control of her emotions. Then she turned and started walking again.

  Marlin didn’t move, the shock holding him at a standstill. “What the hell do you have to feel guilty for?”

  Ana froze, but didn’t turn around. She took a deep breath and looked up into the night sky. Her voice seemed distant, as though she was reliving the words as she spoke them. “For twelve years I thought I was the reason why we became Shadow Walkers. David and I…” She shook her head, a shiver wracking her body. “I was an idiot and fell for his seductive lies. I slept with him a week before…a week before everything happened. And he scared the shit out of me. Marlin, I knew he was evil but I was too scared to tell anyone. I mean…God, I didn’t know how to tell anyone. David was supposed to be our friend! He seemed to think he owned me after that one fuck, and when I told him to get lost, I could tell I’d pissed him off. So when he tried to kill us…when he killed Fiero…I thought it was because of me. I don’t know. Maybe I was the reason.”

  He closed the distance between them, aching to comfort her. “Sweetheart, no. Don’t do that to yourself. It was not your fault at all. Ana…you should’ve come back. I wish you hadn’t left. I missed you so much.” He stood just behind her, his chest an inch away from her back, and laid his hand on her shoulder. He wanted to spin her around into his embrace, but out of fear, held back. She looked at his hand and he almost pulled it away. He just didn’t want to scare her.

  His heart was set a bit at ease when she stepped backward, resting against him. He slid his hand down her arm and she let out a quiet sigh. “I wanted to come back, Marlin, but…” She turned to face him. With eyes wide, she hollered, “Watch out!”

  Ana slammed Marlin aside against the back of the building. He’d already gone for his .45 but hadn’t squeezed the trigger. Catching a glimpse of the scaly beast, he swapped his .45 into his left hand and grabbed his Mancation special, a gun built by The Order specifically to take out Roidican and other armor plated demons.

  Roidicans preferred human males for sparring into eventual mutilation. After two shots from his .45, Marlin had to hold off from using his Mancation because he couldn’t get a clear shot. Ana had wrestled the beast to the ground. It was writhing and fighting so quickly that Marlin could only use the Mancation on its extremities without fear of hurting Ana in the crossfire. He took off one of its three hands as it grabbed for Ana in its frenzy.

  She clicked-in. Marlin, will you just kill this pissant before it kills me with its extreme bad breath?

  You’re covering too much. Roll left, we’ll combine.

  She did as recommended, but the Roidican launched itself at Marlin, knocking him to the ground before he could get out any more than three apparently ineffective shots from each gun. Marlin felt as though he was being pelted with rocks as the thing bashed against him. I see what you mean about the breath. Get this fucker off me. I don’t wanna be a flattened punching bag.

  The Roidican burst into flames, incinerating as Marlin rolled away, landing next to the building. He’d never seen a demon ignite like that. He looked up at Ana. “Holy shit. How’d you do that? Light its tail like a fuse or something?”

  As he spoke, he noticed fire burning along the palm of her right hand before she slowly curled her fingers, extinguishing the flames. Hot damn! Ana was a firestarter? Just how many secrets was she hiding?

  She knelt next to Marlin, her fiery hair in reckless disarray, breasts heaving and tempting to fall out of the rips in her skintight tank top. “Something like that.” Ana’s jeans were frayed from the waistband to one side of her crotch, exposing delicious skin and a few thick red curls that his hand ached to explore.

  “You okay?” he asked as his gaze roamed her body, looking for any injuries.

  Marlin started as she touched him through a tear in his T-shirt, her fingers unnaturally warm. She lifted her face, the need in her eyes capturing and pulling him in. Marlin had to hold her, connect with her.

  There in the deserted alley, Marlin slid his hand under Ana’s torn tank top. He cupped her breasts, toying with her erect nipples. A ragged moan provided encouragement and in one swift maneuver, he took a firm hold of the rip in her tank top and tore downward, revealing her deliciously tight stomach and the breasts which he had to take within his mouth’s possession. Marlin laved her nipple, bringing forth another deep, lingering moan from Ana’s throat.

  Before he could taste her further, Ana pulled away and shrugged out of her jacket, letting it crumple to the ground. Naked from the waist up, she was even more breathtaking than he remembered, her red hair falling in frantic waves over creamy shoulders, perfect rosebud nipples tightening and darkening, matching the same color of her hair. But there were differences in her appearance as well. Even in the shadowed darkness, Marlin could see a tattoo curling around her upper arm. Extremely detailed, it appeared to be of ancient design. He reached out to trace it with his fingers. “What does it mean?”

  “I don’t know.” Her eyes pleaded. “Marlin, please…I…I need you…” She leaned into him, pulling the tattered remains of his T-shirt away and lowering her breasts to his naked flesh. The sensuality of her taut nipples rubbing against his chest elicited an overwhelming need to have all of her skin pressed hard against his.

  His hands worked their way downward, clearing what little was left of the waist of her jeans and massaging her skin until his fingers intermingled with the already damp curls between her legs. She arched and moved her hips in time with his touch, her need so desperate he could feel it thick and heavy in the air around them. Had she been just as desirous of their connection as he was?

  He trailed his tongue along her collarbone and up her neck, tasting the salty-sweetness of her skin. It had been too long since he’d held Ana this way. When he reached her lips, he paused and took his time, tugging on each one, tasting the corners of her mouth. But Ana didn’t want it slow. She tangled her tongue with his, kissing him with flaring intensity as she freed his throbbing cock from the confinement of his jeans.

  His fingers, now damp from her slick arousal, rubbed back over her clit. He listened to her soft moans of need while she rocked against him, using her reactions to guide his movements. More wetness slid down her thighs, an invitation he couldn’t deny. He breached her opening with one finger, then two, slowly gliding them in and out of her pretty pussy. She’d opened a precious part of herself to him and he’d sooner die than not give her body what it nee
ded.

  Her body trembled, her pussy clamping around him. Near frantic, she pulled away from his questing fingers and pushed him back toward the wall, straddling him. “I’m on the pill.” She answered his question before he could even ask it, then shoving torn denim aside, impaled herself on his cock, both of them moaning at their incredibly desperate connection.

  He rocked his hips against her rhythm. He hoped she would understand that his body was hers for the taking. To connect with her, giving her a few minutes of release from what troubled her. He held her need high above any other.

  As she worked his cock with her amazingly tight sheath, he massaged her ass through the tattered denim. Their tongues danced within each other’s mouths as wildly as their bodies undulated. Her full breasts spilled against his chest, sensitizing him to the heat of her body, urging him to give more of himself than he was in control of.

  Yet somehow he knew she was holding back. She responded to every touch, moaned into his mouth, but her body was tight, almost rigid and unforgiving. Her fingers were curled into his shoulders, not a lover’s caress, but as though she was afraid if she let go, he’d disappear.

  Separating their mouths, he watched her moving above him. Tears dampened the corners of her closed eyes. Stroking a hand down her face, he whispered, “It’s okay, Ana. Let go,” then leaned in and kissed her softly.

  She let out a quiet cry and he felt the blissful beginnings of her orgasm spasming through her sheath. Knowing she was right there on the edge, he let himself lose his last ounce of control to bring both of their bodies to release.

  Waves of ecstasy washed over him as his come spurted within her, mingling among her wet heat.

  The only thing he wished was that she could use words to speak to him as easily as her body did. Even though she was worth the wait, he didn’t want another twelve years to drag by before they connected again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Okay sweetheart, for breakfast we’ve got cocoa puffs, a chocolate bagel with chocolate cream cheese, and a tall glass of chocolate milk.” Stephan set the cocoa-laden breakfast of pregnant champions on the kitchen table in front of Mariah. Her mouth nearly foamed in delight. “Is there anything else I can get for you? Maybe an insulin shot when your body goes into a sugar coma?”

  She sighed in pure chocolate contentment as she took her first bite. Then her second. Her mouth was too full to bother replying to Stephan’s poor choice of humor at her expense. She just raised her eyebrow and gave him “the look” while she took several more bites.

  A very wide grin covered his face. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I love you,” he said, then turned as Fiero began to materialize next to the refrigerator.

  Before he had even fully shimmered into corporeal form, Fiero was striding across the kitchen toward both of them. Her laughter faded as a tingle of foreboding shot down her spine.

  Stephan stood up. “What’s up? This doesn’t look like a social call.”

  “I learned some stuff about Skylar. Is she here?”

  Stephan shook his head. “No. She’s with Dusty at his apartment.”

  Fiero nodded. “Okay. I tried clicking-in to him. Guess he’s sleeping.”

  “What did you learn about Skylar?” Mariah interjected. The foreboding turned into a gnawing ache in her stomach. Maybe it was all the chocolate, but she didn’t think so.

  Fiero leaned down, splaying his fingertips on the tabletop. His gaze shot between Mariah and Stephan. “Skylar’s not your cousin.”

  “What?” Mariah and Stephan said simultaneously and Fiero held up one hand in a “hold-off” gesture.

  “Biologically, Skylar is your cousin. Your father’s brother’s wife gave birth to her. But genetically, she’s your twin.”

  “How the—” Stephan started.

  “I don’t know exactly. Look, Themonius didn’t even know. What he told you yesterday he believed to be the truth. Someone more powerful than The Order, Fate or…someone…something…they put a back-up plan in place. Gave Mariah a twin, a sister, but planted her in another woman’s womb. If Mariah were to be killed, the prophecy could still live on in Skylar.”

  “Then she’s a Shadow Walker like Mariah,” Stephan concluded.

  “And she’s in just as much danger as I am,” Mariah stated, the implications hitting her faster than the realization that she had a sister. “If David discovers this information…”

  Mariah turned toward Stephan, to ask him to click-in to Dusty, to warn him of the further danger Skylar faced. Stephan had that far off look he often had when he was clicked-in. Good, maybe he was already talking to Dusty.

  “Dusty’s still not responding.” Stephan paused again, and the minute he was quiet felt like hours to Mariah. The foreboding was growing, expanding, until Mariah felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin if she couldn’t do something to make it stop. This was one of those times she wished she could click-in. As a Shadow Walker, the ability was inside her, but like everything else it required training. A training she hadn’t bothered worrying about yet.

  She blew out a frustrated breath and waited for Stephan or Fiero to update her. “Jake’s headed over to Dusty’s,” Stephan informed her. “Just as a precaution. He’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m sure everything’s fine.”

  But Mariah could tell he was worried too. Deep furrows lined his forehead and his body was tight and anxious. He glanced at Fiero. “Any other news?”

  Fiero shook his head. “Isn’t this enough?”

  The three of them turned as the door from the stairway opened and a laughing Marlin and Ana stepped through. Their laughter came to an abrupt halt as their gazes landed on the worried group.

  “Uh-oh. What’s up?” Marlin asked.

  “More Skylar surprises,” Stephan said as he walked around the table toward them. “And Dusty’s not responding to a click-in.”

  “Well it is still early and he sleeps like a log,” Marlin replied. “He hasn’t slept much the last couple days.”

  “Still, anything out of the ordinary happen last night?” Stephan inquired.

  “Normal patrol rounds, Marlin nearly got his ass kicked by a Roidican, nothing special.” Ana tossed Marlin a grin. “But we didn’t see Dusty, either.”

  Stephan held up a hand to stop them from talking. “Wait. Jake made it to Dusty’s…”

  His eyes narrowed and he uttered only one word.

  “Shit.”

  * * * * *

  The delicious fragrance of freshly brewed coffee, crisp bacon and sweet maple syrup woke Skylar from a deep, dreamless sleep. Keeping her eyes closed, she stretched languidly under the heavy blankets, deeply inhaling the scents of a homemade, energy-inspiring breakfast. Her man was a keeper. He kept her warm, happy and sated all night long, then cooked her breakfast in the morning. What more could she ask for?

  Muffled footsteps crossed the carpet toward her and the bed shifted beneath his weight. With a smile—and hoping she didn’t have too hearty of morning breath so she could greet her lover properly—Skylar opened her eyes…

  And screamed.

  It wasn’t Dusty leaning over her ready to wake her with a smile and a kiss, but the bastard who had taken her away from her life before.

  Not again…not again!

  Desperate to get away from him, she rolled backward out of bed, jumping to her feet and facing her worst nightmare.

  He looked…different. Dark circles shadowed his bloodshot eyes and his clothes were rumpled, like he’d slept in them last night. What had happened to the perfectly put-together David she was used to seeing? Was this part of his game, too?

  “Where the hell is Dusty? What did you do to him?” she growled. If David had hurt Dusty, nothing could stop her from ripping the bastard apart. Her entire body boiled over, shaking in anger.

  But as she glared at David, she made a startling revelation. This wasn’t Dusty’s apartment and that wasn’t the bed she’d fallen asleep in last night. This was the place fr
om her memories…Mariah’s memories, shit, she didn’t even know which memories they were anymore. This was the room where Dusty had first found her. She was back in David’s house. But how had this happened? When? How long had she been here?

  Jesus, was she losing her mind? For one moment she was afraid…afraid that she’d made up Dusty, that the last couple days were only a figment of an imagination desperate for some type of escape.

  Scared and unsure, wondering if anything would ever make sense again, she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling soft cotton beneath her fingertips. A T-shirt. Lifting it to her nose, she inhaled. Dusty’s T-shirt.

  Memories from last night flitted through her consciousness. Waking up with a desperate need to use the bathroom. Sliding out of Dusty’s arms while he still slept, grabbing a rumpled T-shirt off the floor to battle the chill, stepping into the bathroom…

  Then nothing but blackness. So reminiscent of the first time she’d been captured.

  “What did you do to Dusty?” she repeated through clenched teeth.

  A warning buzzed low in her abdomen as David spoke. “What I had to—”

  “No!” Hands fisted, she threw herself at David, pummeling him. Tears of rage, of fear, poured down her cheeks. Not Dusty! “You bastard! I’ll kill you for this!”

  David surrounded her, pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled uselessly against him. “Shhh…Skylar. Shhh…” Still holding her tightly, he lifted and carried her to the bed, sitting down with her on his lap. He stroked a hand down her hair and back, letting out a troubled sigh. “Dusty will be fine. I just needed him out of the way for a while. I’m sorry it had to go this far, but some things are beyond even my control.”

  “Who are you trying to fool?” she snarled. She couldn’t let the sincerity in his voice mislead her. “You’ve ripped me away from my life twice now, turned me into someone I’m not and you dare tell me you’re sorry? Screw you,” she spit out.

  David flinched. Shock rippled through Skylar’s system. He had flinched? What the hell was going on?