The Four Horsemen_Descent

by L. J. Swallow

  If her fears were true, I wouldn't stand here and look at Vee with my heart hurting for her. If our relationship was only created to keep us close enough that she could take our energy, now I'd return to seeing her as a weapon, and know who against. Vee's not only a part of me because of this weird situation, but because I care about her. So fucking much.

  "I don't understand what you mean, Vee. We're a team. All of us."

  "If I'm this energy Logan saw though, I'm not your Vee, am I? What am I to you all now..."

  Oh shit. Actual tears. I run a hand across my head and respond the only way I know how. If I hug Vee, comfort her, I can't see the tears and maybe I'll stop them. I wrap Vee in my arms, holding her head against my chest, willing her to stay calm. She doesn't feel any different to the last time I did this, she's still my Vee. Our Vee.

  My aching heart races in response to her body close to mine, and I'm shocked by how sudden and intense the need for her is. I've noticed the tension crackling between her and the guys since she changed, realised what this means, but this is fucking overwhelming. We’re not further apart after her absorbing our energy, we’re closer.

  Vee pulls her face away and looks up at me. Her reddened eyes have darkened as her response matches mine, her mouth parted as she looks back.

  Oh hell.

  I take Vee's face in both hands and mash my lips onto hers. She parts them eagerly, allowing my tongue to explore her mouth. Vee holds my head in return and kisses me with an intensity that makes every kiss between us before seem as if we held back.

  I feel Vee, in my heart, in every cell, as if I can't be whole without her touch and kiss and this takes over. Not taking my mouth off hers, I back Vee to the kitchen counter and move to slide my hands beneath her top. She does the same, fingernails dragging across my lower back. I'm hard, and so fucking quickly it’s insane. I can't get close enough, and she arches towards me as I press her into the bench with my hips.

  Wrenching my mouth from hers, I look down, struggling to breathe. She looks back, pausing as I do. I trace my finger along her full lips. "Nothing’s changed and won't change. Can't you feel the effect you have on me?"

  "Physical," she murmurs and moves her hand to my crotch between us, and sends more pleasure through as her fingers brush my erection beneath.

  "You know I mean more than physical," I whisper hoarsely. She needs to hear this. Vee needs to know. "You mean the same to me as you did two days ago." I brush my lips against hers, controlling myself, holding them in place and hoping she feels what I do.

  Vee slides her hand upwards and places her palm against my heart, which thumps harder than ever. "In here?"

  What do I say? If I tell Vee what I'm thinking, will she assume I'm saying the words because she wants to hear them?

  "You know you're in there. I never had a chance at keeping you out."

  Vee’s answer is a hard kiss, one where our teeth collide and we’re lost in each other. I struggle to hold back, but Vee’s pulling me under. I slide my mouth away from hers again, struggling to hold on to my self-control. We're in the kitchen. Sure, the other guys went upstairs, but still. Bad idea.

  "Don’t stop," she whispers.

  "You're drunk."

  "No. Xander, I need this. I need to feel connected. I have to know I am."

  I grab Vee by the hips and lift her onto the counter. We exist in our own space, out of time. As we hold each other’s faces, the shared breath between us is hot and intense. The charge beneath our fingers where we touch cheeks, between our lips where they hover so close together, trips the switch on the energy between us and everything floods out.

  This is the final surrender. A surrender to myself, not her. When I kiss her again, my soul splinters. The remaining parts I've held together are torn apart by the intense energy coming from Vee, and the relief I never lost her.

  She pulls at my T-shirt and I help tug it over my head, her hands going straight to the button on my jeans. My body trembles with the desire to consume the girl who consumes me. I push her shirt upwards and kiss Vee's skin, exhaling out control as my stubbled cheek presses against her soft skin.

  Vee feels the same, tastes the same, and her scent engulfs as before. No. She's not the same; Vee's so much more to me now.

  Vee tugs at my hair so I have to meet her eyes. I'm looking into a mirror, but not because I'm looking at the War in Vee’s eyes. There is more spoken in this look we share than any kiss. This connection will never break.

  "Aha!" A female voice comes from behind.

  I drop Vee's top where I have it pushed up and close my eyes. "Hello, Syv."

  "I'd say don't let me stop you, but you're kind of close to the sink and I want some water." She pokes her tongue out. "Feels like something crapped in my mouth."

  This girl has no shame as she walks over, takes a glass from the drainer and proceeds to fill it. Vee stares at Syv, mouth parted, and I place my hands on the counter, either side of Vee.

  "I find sex on kitchen counters uncomfortable. I mean, yeah, sometimes caught in the moment it happens, but ugh." She rubs her ass. "Y'know?"

  If I can't believe the words coming out of Syv's mouth, I hate to think what Vee's thinking.

  "Thanks for the advice," I half-growl.

  "No problem." Syv sips her water. "Although, I'm glad you have your clothes on, or this could've been awkward."

  I look at Vee, relieved to see her fighting a smile. Really? Because this is bloody awkward and a huge mood killer.

  "Night, kids." Syv winks at Vee and half-stumbles from the kitchen with her glass.

  I rest my forehead against Vee and she giggles as she curls her hand around my head, playing with the hair at my nape. "For fuck's sake," I mutter.

  She presses her lips on mine before kissing across my cheek to place them against my ear. "At least it was Syv and we were mostly clothed, rather than one of the guys and we were naked."

  "True." I huff and step back, helping Vee from the counter.

  "Besides." Vee gestures at the surroundings. "There's a lot that could get broken in here."

  I smile and stroke her hair. "You mean with the literally earth-shattering orgasms I give you."

  The smile Vee gives me fills my body with a warmth to match the day I watched her play in the snow. "If my changing also transforms you into the Xander who can joke with me, I can deal with that."

  I tip my mouth into a half smile. "Hey, I'm not joking."

  She runs a finger from my chest to the waistband of my jeans. "I know you're not."

  How drunk is Vee? I've seen her worse, once, but right now I can't figure out if this is a good idea. It’s taking all my self-control not to spin her around and fuck her against the kitchen counter.

  Fuck, man. Calm down and think about where you are.

  "We should go to bed," she whispers and tugs at my hand. "Be civilised for once."

  Like a man held in a spell, I follow Vee upstairs, knowing full well if she walks into my bedroom, the self-control I’m hanging onto with my fingertips won’t follow us in.

  I hope bloody Syv didn’t choose my bed.

  My curtains are open, illuminating a Syv-free bed, and Vee stripping. The yellow moonlight highlights her curves as she pulls off her shirt and unclasps her bra, leaving me no choice but to put my hands and mouth on her.

  Her long hair hides perfect pink nipples, waiting for me. I gently trace my finger around the soft flesh. "You are so fucking gorgeous."

  Dipping my head, I take her nipple into my mouth, sucking hard. A low sound in Vee’s throat is accompanied by her arching herself closer. I tease her, running my tongue from her nipple, to the swell of her breast; around, then down, my lips across every inch of her exposed skin.

  She drops backwards on the bed, holding my head against her breasts, and I continue my slow exploration of her body. She’s falling apart beneath my hands and mouth. I could easily fall too, cover Vee’s heated body with mine. Perspiration slicks my forehead as I pull away from my con
centration on her gorgeous tits and drag my shirt over my head. I hold her to me, and her smooth skin meets mine, nipples against my chest. Another small sound of arousal, and she presses against me, more urgently.

  I’m startled by a noise outside, somewhere close to the house. Banging. I attempt to turn off the vigilance that curses me every day, and half-listen for one of the other guys to walk downstairs and check what the sound is, but nobody does.

  Shit.

  Vee’s maddening touch and taste pull me away from my need to charge outside, but another noise stops me. A louder bang.

  "It’s probably Syv leaving," she murmurs and runs her fingers against my jeans, where my cock strains against them. "Xander. Please."

  "Hang on."

  "Omigod, no!" she hisses at me.

  I’m a madman. A complete fucking idiot, and I curse that my power is my strongest drive, even stronger than this moment with Vee. I grab my T-shirt.

  "I’ll be a minute."

  I kiss Vee briefly on the forehead and don’t miss her sour and shocked look as I leave her.

  As I walk through the door, I almost slam into Joss, walking from his room and rubbing bleary eyes. "Did you hear that noise?"

  "Yeah." He runs a look along my body. "Having an exciting time, Xander?"

  "Shut up. Come on." I pull on my T-shirt.

  Joss shakes his head. "Go back to your fun. I’ll take a look and call out if I sense or see anything. Could be Syv."

  "That’s what Vee said."

  Joss’s mouth curves into a smile. "Well, then."

  Without another word, he jumps down the stairs two at a time. I pause, pulled in two directions. Trust Joss to sort this and go back to Vee, or help him.

  No question.

  Back in the room, Vee lies naked on the bed, head turned to one side as her tangled hair brushes her face. I move towards her, waiting for a word or movement, and as I get close I realise her heavy breathing isn’t linked to the thought of me anymore.

  Should I be insulted that I’m out of the door less than a minute and the girl in my bed passes out? Unable to resist, I sit and draw a line across her soft skin with a finger, looking down at how beautiful, how human and how amazing she is.

  Refusing to be a creeper staring at her naked and asleep, I kiss Vee’s cheek and pull a sheet over her body, then waver between staying and following Joss. Vee moves in her sleep, murmuring my name and asking where I am. She grips the sheet and her breathing speeds up. Mine does too, with panic she might be having another vision.

  Screw it. Joss can deal. Vee needs me. I lie next to her and pull her into me. She lays her head on my chest and curls a slender arm across. I bury my nose into Vee’s hair and my chest aches, stomach twisted in knots. I’ve denied there could be anything more than a crazy, physical need for each other, but that denial won’t stand anymore.

  I love Vee.

  And from now on, I’m going to try bloody hard to show her.

  9

  VEE

  Xander doesn't sleep late; he never does. This guy will never be the one who I’ll spend lazy mornings in bed with. My head hurts—because of alcohol or teleporting? Probably both. By the time I pull myself downstairs for breakfast, Xander's out walking.

  I eat toast, an ordinary act in the midst of this all. As I chew, I stare at my coffee cup, focusing on how I feel. Powerful? Yes. But the dark magic still haunts my thoughts.

  I’m pissed off about last night with Xander and mortified I fell asleep. Seriously, how can I be on the verge of delicious things with the man finally showing me affection rather than brute sex and then slip into unconsciousness? That must’ve hit Xander right in the ego. I hope he wasn’t in the room when I did. No, if he’d been touching me, my body would never have decided sleep was the way to go.

  I blink as Syv storms into the room shouting for Xander, and an alarmed Joss appears too.

  "What? What the fuck's happening? Is someone here?" Joss asks and looks around.

  "Xander let my dog go!" she growls.

  Joss’s mouth falls open. "I thought you meant something bad had happened."

  I chew my lip and look down. This girl is odd. Did Syv seriously think she could keep her weird animal?

  "I didn't." Xander walks through the door and pulls his hood down. "I didn’t go anywhere near the bloody thing."

  "The door was open! Someone opened it." She snaps her head to Joss. "Was it you? Or Ewan?"

  Xander crosses his arms. "I don't give a shit what happened. And I don't have time for your hysterics."

  Joss touches Syv on the arm and she shakes him off. "He escaped, Syv. Me and Xander heard something last night and I went outside to investigate. The barn door was open and scratched. He’s strong—must’ve broken the lock."

  Her eyes widen and her mouth turns down. "Oh. Maybe he’ll come back."

  "Or maybe he’ll find someone nice to eat," says Xander. He nods at me. "How are you feeling this morning, Vee?"

  I flush red and drink my coffee. "Fine."

  "Uh huh." He bites away a smile.

  "Joss, did you find out what Spot is? Is he a hellhound?" continues Syv.

  "Maybe. Not sure."

  Xander straightens. "What?"

  "The closest in appearance that Ewan could find is a hellhound."

  My mouth dries, oh god, don’t mention Hell again around Joss.

  "Again, you should've killed the bloody thing!" Xander jabs a finger at Syv. "If it kills people, the blood is on your hands, Syv."

  Out of everything in the world that's killing right now, Spot is low on the priority list. Spot...

  "Look, forget this," puts in Joss. "Syv had something to say to me this morning over breakfast."

  Over breakfast? Like we’re a bunch of housemates chatting before heading out for the day.

  All eyes turn to Syv, who scratches the side of her head. "Yeah, so you know how I work for different clients."

  "By that you mean Ripley?" retorts Xander. "Yeah, we know."

  "And the Collector," she adds. "He figured out where the book was from."

  "Go on...."

  "He called me back after you left that day and told me he knew who the book once belonged to. Col has an idea where the book was last kept before he acquired it. He pointed me in that direction, hoping there were items connected to the book we could use to decipher it. Maybe a parchment or a stone—something with runes to match the book."

  "And he didn’t tell us, why?" snaps Ewan.

  "He’s worried the book is dangerous; he wants to translate it himself. Besides, you were in Scotland."

  "Syv! Why the fuck didn’t you tell us?” asks Xander.

  "I’m telling you now.”

  Ewan scowls at her. "I knew we couldn’t trust you!"

  "Hey! I’m on your side if you’re allied with Ripley and the fae now.”

  "But is the Collector?"

  Syv sighs. "He doesn’t trust many people, so he’s keeping is distance, but he’s okay with me talking to you guys. I was in Cambridge because Col suggested I look through certain collections there. I couldn’t get close yesterday." She taps the table. "It’s kinda one of the reasons for helping yesterday."

  "Helping drink all the alcohol in the house?" says Joss with a laugh.

  "You have no idea how stressful it is running from demons," she snaps.

  "What?" Xander moves to sit next to her.

  "They were following me, and now you’ve explained who Seth is, I know why I’m being followed. I’m no longer happy to do this shit on my own."

  Heath and the others sit around the table with a guarded Syv, who gives a rundown on where she needs to go and what she needs to do.

  There’s no question—today we go to Cambridge.

  10

  VEE

  Luckily, Cambridge isn’t a long journey—we can visit and return in a day. Syv takes her car, and the rest of us travel in Heath’s SUV. The mood is hopeful, but the tension still fills the air around us. What can we exp
ect? I’m certain someone or something is looking for the item too, and finding out who could be a challenge.

  We follow a group of school kids through the large doors into the museum’s bright foyer. Syv wanted to arrive separately, so we join those milling around, also waiting for others or looking at maps and posters to plan their afternoon. Syv has favourite collections she checks out for artefacts and has pinpointed one based on her chat to the Collector. How many times has she visited the place and left with items she shouldn’t? I’m surprised she’s not on a ‘banned’ list.

  The guys stand at strategic corners, watching the entry and doors to other parts of the museum. I sit with Joss on the wood bench opposite the café, beneath the long windows, and rest my head on his shoulder. He’s quiet again, and after the incident with the wraith, I’m paranoid every time Joss withdraws from us.

  "You can tell me," I whisper.

  "Tell you what?"

  "If you’ve had any more weird memories." Joss shifts so my head isn’t on him anymore and I look up, hurt. "Don’t be like that."

  He side-glances me, green eyes serious. "I can’t talk. It’s too distracting, Vee. I need to stay focused."

  "What Seth said about God could be important. We need to persuade Xander to listen. You’re all named after Biblical figures—it’s not a hard connection to make."

  He clenches his hands together in his lap and watches as a gaggle of school kids, holding hands in pairs, wander by. "They’re what’s important." He nods to them. "People. If something else comes up in the research that confirms Seth’s story, I’ll deal with what this could mean then."

  "Okay. I understand." I pull one of his hands into mine and try to enclose it between my palms. "I worry about you all, especially you and Heath right now."

  Joss gives me a half-smile before tipping my chin up with two fingers. "And that makes everything better. If you worry, you’re still the Vee that loves us all."

  "Nuclear Vee," I whisper with a laugh I don’t feel like giving. I’ve an uncomfortable feeling I’ll soon know what this energy is for, and a large part of me doesn’t want to.