Darkness Haunts

by Susan Illene

  Nikolas sneered. “That’s contemptible rubbish. What was she doing that day, Lucas? Oh, wait, she was following you! If you hadn’t gone after Henrik Nielson, Gytha wouldn’t have been out there. You couldn’t bear to let anyone else take him down, could you?”

  They went back to fighting again and I put some of the pieces together. Over three hundred years ago my kind, sensors, had begun a supernatural war. Henrik Neilson had led it and many sensors followed him—all in the name of the church. It had been during the inquisition when religious fervor had been spreading across the world.

  To my kind, it was an opportunity to get rid of all the non-human races they believed shouldn’t exist. Thousands of witches, vampires, werewolves, and nephilim died—the highest concentrations were in Europe, but it spread everywhere. The fae were one of the few to be left alone but that was mostly because they had retreated to remote cities hidden by magic.

  Sensors didn’t fight the powerful races on their own—that never would have worked with their vulnerabilities. Instead they formed an alliance with angels who carried out most of the executions. Somehow, they could call on them when needed. Wherever a sup could be found, the sensors pointed their fingers and it died by angelic hands. The instigators of the widespread deaths were eventually discovered and the supernatural races struck back at my kind in revenge.

  Within a few years, most of the races had been decimated. My own was reduced to no more than a few hundred, where before we had been in the thousands. The nephilim were almost wiped out since they were the biggest target. They dropped from somewhere around five hundred to less than fifty. Around two thousand vampires died as well, though a larger portion of their race survived. I didn’t know all the other numbers, Wanda could only tell me what she had learned, but the fatalities were supposed to be staggering.

  Some races made a comeback easier than others, though not mine. Sensors continued to be hunted down and killed. The fact I still lived, despite being discovered, amazed me. Most of my kind avoided revealing themselves—even if it meant turning a blind eye to the horrible things sup did to humans.

  I’d been safer when I’d pretended not to see them either.

  My attention turned to a new sup entering the area—her fairy aura filled my mind with sunshine and vitality. It took some of the chill from the mine away. Felisha headed in this direction at a speed no car could have managed. My shoulders sagged in relief. The mine couldn’t take much more damage. Already too much loose dirt and rock had fallen from the men crashing into the walls.

  I’d counted on her showing up at some point to check on things now that the hideout she’d created for Nikolas had been discovered. She and Yvonne, the woman from the tarot card reading place, had worked the spells that protected the place. That much had been clear when I’d read their magical signatures at the entrance. I wasn’t surprised the mystic didn’t come. If I was her age, I wouldn’t have been rushing to the mine either.

  Felisha moved in fairy form. It would reduce her size to a few inches and bring out her wings. It must have made maneuvering through the tunnels easier. I tried to get the two men’s attention but had to jump out of the way when Nikolas went flying in my direction. He landed on his back at my feet. Lucas leaped on top of him and started slamming his head into the ground. I took a couple steps away.

  Felisha raced into the small chamber, transforming back to her full mass as she entered. Even her jeans and blouse made the change.

  “Stop!” she yelled at the two men, sparing a brief glance at me. Her brilliant red hair swung with her movement.

  They froze and turned their heads in her direction.

  “Have you two no sense? Does this look like a place to let your tempers get out of hand?”

  Lucas backed off Nikolas and stood, giving the vampire a hand to help him up. They dusted themselves off while Felisha glared at them. She moved forward and started running her hands over Nikolas’ arms and chest. The man who almost killed me just a short while ago stood there and took it with a pleased smile.

  Did she expect the vampire to have wounds? Her concern went above and beyond what I would have thought necessary, but maybe I was grouchy from blood loss.

  After her examination was over, she stepped away.

  “You’re awake.” A subtle awe came with her words.

  Nikolas grinned. “It took long enough by the feel of it.”

  Felisha’s beautiful face fell. “It would have been much longer if not for Melena.” She turned to me. “We’d hoped you could do it. Thank you.”

  I settled on giving her a nod. It remained to be seen if the decision to wake a twelve hundred year old vampire was a wise decision on my part. Having one’s throat ripped out tended to cast a shadow of doubt.

  She turned back to Nikolas. “I worried you might be held under the spell forever.”

  He pulled her close and she fell into his arms. It was like watching one of those sappy romances. I couldn’t decide what they were to each other, but their relationship couldn’t be entirely platonic.

  Lucas watched the exchange in amusement while leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Our gazes met in a moment of understanding before we both realized what we were doing and turned away.

  “Nik, I’m impressed,” he said. “You managed to lure a beautiful fairy to your bed, not an easy task.”

  I sucked in my breath. Nikolas set Felisha aside to get in Lucas’ face. Angry black eyes clashed with flashing gold.

  “Lucas,” Nikolas growled out. “Felisha is a friend. You know she must mate with one of her own, or face the wrath of her elders. To imply otherwise would be dangerous for her.”

  The vampire took a threatening step toward the nephilim with his fists clenched. They were separated by no more than a few inches.

  “And what about you? Would you care to explain why you went to such trouble to save this woman? You’ve always hated humans. Even if she does look like she’d be worth a toss,” he stopped to waggle his brows at me, “she isn’t the kind you would have considered before.”

  Okay, this conversation had gone way off topic.

  I managed to stand up and not appear too weak while doing it. “Does men’s maturity regress with age? Can we at least pretend you two are older than twelve? I think Felisha and I would both like to be left out of this pissing contest.”

  Nik turned his full attention on me. “Hasn’t he claimed you?” He looked me up and down with small smile. “How very remiss of him.”

  I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “Not in this life.”

  Lucas frowned. “Nik, leave her alone. She has no interest in you.”

  “Oh, and why is that? Is she yours?”

  The nephilim’s shoulders rolled. “No, she is not. As you said, I have no interest in humans.”

  “Then what is she to you?” Nikolas asked. “She has to be something for you to bother saving her.”

  I would have liked an answer to that question myself. Lucas’ eyes glowed as he pushed his power out so that everyone in the room must have felt it. I winced at the pressure on my head.

  “That is no concern of yours.”

  No real answers forthcoming—big surprise there.

  The vampire shook his head. “Keeping secrets now? I should have expected as much.”

  “Stop it, both of you,” Felisha pushed them apart, putting her hands on each of their chests. “I don’t know what is going on here, but this isn’t the time or the place for an argument. Have a look around. You’ll see we’re in a mine shaft. The two of you fighting could bring the whole place down on us.”

  Nikolas had the good sense to look sheepish at her words, but Lucas didn’t appear fazed at all. He did turn my way for a brief moment, but his gaze was unreadable. The way it seemed to me, if anyone would be dying from a mine collapse, it would be me. The others had immortality and accelerated healing on their side. Nikolas and Felisha might be able to survive and dig themselves out. Lucas could flash himself elsewhere, but I w
ould end up going down with the first debris. A glance at Derrick made me think he wouldn’t do well either. His body was having enough trouble recovering as it was.

  The nephilim dipped his head in assent to Felisha. “You’re right. This isn’t the time, but he’s not going to be able to leave until sunset. I could move him to a safe location, if you have one in mind, but otherwise he’ll have to stay here for the next few hours.”

  “I’m not interested in his help,” Nikolas spat out.

  Felisha rubbed his arm. “Nik, it might be for the best. Do you want to stay down here for three more hours until sunset? You’ve been in this place for five years.”

  He stiffened. “Five years?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  His fist flew out at a nearby wall, but he managed to stop himself an inch before hitting it. He turned back to Felisha.

  “It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been down here. I will not be asking him for any more favors.” He nodded toward Lucas.

  Felisha sighed and exchanged a commiserating look with me. We needed all the advantages we could get right now if we were going to deal with Variola. Leaving out a potential ally who had lethal powers like Lucas would be stupid. Even I wanted the nephilim’s help if it would mean getting Aniya back.

  Lucas moved toward the vampire. “I’m willing to help if we could put the past behind us. Don’t be a fool, Nik.”

  Another round of arguing began that escalated to a fist fight. Felisha had to leap out of the way to keep from getting hit as they zipped back and forth across the small space. I hid in the corner. Their anger was flooding my mind too fast. I was too weak to deal with the constant influx of powerful emotions the men put out. I collapsed to my knees on the ground, putting my hands over my ears in a vain effort to protect myself.

  “Enough already,” I screamed.

  My eyes were squeezed shut, but I could feel everyone’s attention turn to me. Felisha came first, putting a comforting arm around my shoulders. She attempted a spell to reduce my pain, but of course it didn’t work. After a minute of intense effort, she stopped trying. The other two men moved close.

  “She’s weak. Her body has been through a lot,” Lucas said.

  “What happened?” Felisha asked.

  Lucas gave her a brief overview of recent events. He included colorful descriptions of me such as foolish, bull-headed, and overly idealistic. Somehow, I didn’t think he was saying them for Felisha’s benefit.

  I opened my eyes and focused on the wall beyond Lucas’ shoulder, taking deep, controlled breaths to will away the pain. My voice came out weak when I spoke, “Can you guys…work this out later? Maybe we should worry about getting out of here first.”

  Nikolas shot Lucas a look before answering my question. “Of course.”

  “Thanks.” I pulled my hands from my ears and rested them on my thighs, continuing to take deep breaths.

  The vampire leaned forward and pressed his hands to my temples. I flinched. He ignored it and began rubbing both sides in slow circles. With the wall behind me, there was nowhere to go.

  “Stop,” I said, trying to force his hands away. He wouldn’t budge.

  “Relax,” he told me in a soothing voice.

  “Let her be, Nik,” Lucas put a hand on the vampire’s shoulder.

  The gentle massaging didn’t stop. “She needs this, Luc. Do you wish to do it?”

  Lucas cursed and took a few steps back. “If she doesn’t want it, don’t force her.”

  Nikolas ignored him and kept his attention on me. “Tell me honestly, is this helping your pain or not?”

  I opened my mouth to tell him it didn’t, but that would be a lie.

  “You did just try to kill me,” I pointed out instead.

  He dipped his head. “Yes…I was out of my mind—not that it excuses my behavior—but I can say it is something that will not happen again. Trust me, I’ll not hurt you. Use your senses to judge my sincerity.”

  He meant what he said. I could even sense a thread of embarrassment on his part. Against my better judgment, I let myself relax.

  “Keep your fangs to yourself.”

  He smiled in triumph. I pretended not to notice.

  No one else spoke, leaving a peaceful calm for me to recover. Relief came in subtle increments. As the minutes dragged by, the pain eased. I put a hand on his wrist.

  “I’m fine now. How’d you know to do that?”

  He settled back to sit on the floor. “My family line carried sensor blood long ago. Though I did not inherit the ability myself, others did. It gave me some experience with the difficulties you face.”

  That hadn’t been the response I’d expected. Maybe that was why Charlie trusted him.

  “Well, thanks.” I told him, not knowing what else to say.

  Everyone managed to remain calm after that. If I’d known they would respond this well to my suffering, I might have manufactured an episode instead of waiting for a real one. Who knew they’d be so accommodating?

  We worked out a plan for when the sun set. Felisha would drive Nikolas back to my cabin where he would set up his temporary headquarters. She lived in Fairbanks and didn’t think it would be safe for him at her place, especially with all her human neighbors. Lucas offered to take Derrick and me back in my SUV since neither of us could handle the trip on our own at the moment.

  “You can drive?” I asked him. With his ability to move around it seemed like a wasted skill.

  Golden eyes bored into mine. “I can do many things.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Charlie and Emily were sitting together on the cabin steps when we arrived. She was giggling at something he must have said, but they both looked up as the vehicle drew close. I’d let the others know about her while we were still in the cave. Nik, as he insisted on me calling him, had promised he would be on his best behavior. I had my doubts, but Felisha assured me he would never harm a child. Her word meant more to me than his did.

  Nik stepped up to the shaman with a smile on his face. They clasped hands.

  “Glad to have you back,” Charlie said.

  “Damn good to be back,” Nik answered as they let each other go.

  The shaman and Lucas stared each other down. Charlie broke the visual struggle and lifted a brow at me. I shrugged and his mouth spread into a knowing smile. I pretended a sudden fascination with the ground.

  Derrick brushed past me without a word and went in the house. Swirling emotions of anger and betrayal surrounded him. He’d regained consciousness thirty minutes before we left and had leapt up to attack Nik right away. Lucas was forced to put him under compulsion, though I didn’t think it bothered him all that much to do it. I felt guilty for my part, but he didn’t want to hear my apologies.

  I moved over to Emily, at least she was happy to see me.

  “How’d school go?” I asked her.

  “Fine, but I was worried about you.” She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

  “I’m okay, I promise.”

  She shook her head. “You look like a mess, Mel.”

  “It’s nothing,” I said, smoothing back her loose brown hair.

  She raised a brow after studying my neck where some dried blood still clung to my skin.

  “Uh huh, I can see that,” a huff escaped her lips, “and adults say teenagers are difficult.”

  “That’s because you are. Little miss run off in the woods by yourself and get attacked by a bear.”

  I was still worried about the responsibility of caring for a girl her age. It wasn’t going to be easy under the circumstances. The idea had been to get her away from an abusive mother, but now the long term ramifications were setting in.

  Nikolas cleared his throat. “I don’t suppose you have a shower in your cabin do you?”

  Only in Alaska would that question not be rhetorical.

  Of course, he hadn’t bathed in five years so it would be on his mind. That would be my priority too. I hadn’t been able to determine much
of his appearance, other than he was tall with a medium build. He was still rather filthy with all the dirt and blood covering his skin, clothing, and hair. He’d made quite a mess of himself while gorging on his unwilling donors. I pushed back that image; there were some things not worth remembering.

  “Um, yeah.” My voice came out in a croak. “Just go inside and turn left past the living room. There’s a bathroom on the right off the short hallway before the bedroom.”

  He continued to stare at me and I wondered why he didn’t just go in. Oh, right, vampires needed something more formal.

  “Nikolas,” I hesitated. “You are welcome in my home.”

  A small shudder went through me. I supposed there was a first time for everything, but it didn’t make it any easier to let a vamp in after working so hard to keep them out. Of course, a werewolf had been living with me for over a week now and I’d gotten used to that. Nik nodded at me and disappeared inside.

  Felisha’s gaze followed him before turning back. “There are some clothes in my car I have for Nik. After Charlie told me you might be waking him, I went out and gathered some things he might need.”

  “Bring them in.” The last thing we needed was a vampire strutting around in nothing more than a towel. “It’s a good thing you thought of it, because I didn’t.”

  She gave me a brief smile before heading off to her car. Emily followed her, asking questions about fairies. That worried me since no one had mentioned what Felisha was. The others didn’t seem to notice her slip-up so I made a mental note to speak with Emily later about revealing things like that. It was a quick way to get discovered.

  I searched for Lucas next, but didn’t find him. He must have flashed away because his presence no longer came up on my radar. Charlie caught me looking around.

  “Your nephilim protector has left for now.” He grinned. “I believe he will return later.”

  “He isn’t my protector.”

  The shaman shook his head. “He is something to you.”

  “Yeah, a pain in the ass,” I grumbled. “What do you know about him anyway?”