Cursed by Darkness (An Urban Fantasy Novel) (Befallen Tides)

by Anna Sanders

  “Never met one before,” Keaton said. He hadn’t even heard of them.

  “Oh? Well, I have met many Bandits in my time. Bandits are a lovely folk. Dependable, loyal, far more to my taste. You can get a Bandit to race to the edge of the earth for something that they believed in. Such a reward to have one in your company, or on your side.”

  “I cannot tell if that’s supposed to be flattering or if you are comparing us to dogs.”

  London cracked a ready smile. “Well, old boy. Who doesn’t love dogs?”

  Keaton felt something deep inside of him leap slightly. As if raising to his bait. But he kept his emotions tampered down, as well as he could.

  “I tease, of course,” London continued, helping himself to another fry. “Sadly, comedy was never quite my forte. My skills lie in the arenas of enforcement, regulation, justice. If you release a loose end, an entire tapestry can unravel. I strive to remain very thorough with keeping things together.”

  London reached into his pocket and brought out a small newspaper clipping. Throwing it onto the table in front of Keaton, he went back to eating Winx’s fries.

  Keaton stared at the headline.

  POLICE BAFFLED BY GROUP SUICIDE.

  Dayton, Ohio. 1:25AM. Montgomery County Police dispatch received an anonymous tip pointing to gang-related conflict. When they reached the McPherson address, they found what onlookers described as a mass of self-inflicted mutilations.

  “Robin Hoggs (23), Arn Dunning (19), Matt Gretch (24), Manny Ellis (19), and Bo Erkett (27) were found in the kitchen of the property with covered in lesions and injuries. Body parts had been severed, and pieces of flesh had been found in the garbage disposal. Knives, cleavers, scissors, forks, spoons, and other tools were scattered across the scene. All victims were pronounced dead on sight.

  “It’s as if they chopped themselves up,” Officer Luighorn told reporters in a prepared statement. “This is one of the most disturbing cases I’ve seen in fifteen years.”

  “Though each of the five men had a criminal history, it is believed that the deaths were not related to gang activity. Law-enforcement officials have refused to answer any further questions from the press and have only expressed their confusion and sadness over the unfortunate events. A memorial is available to the public on…”

  Keaton stopped reading. He looked askance to London.

  “This wasn’t a suicide. This was murder,” London said. “Murder committed by Winx Rowan.”

  CHAPTER 5

  “THAT CAN’T BE TRUE,” KEATON said. “She told me that she’s never killed before!”

  “Does Winx strike you as a particularly truthful person?”

  He lifted a brow. “I guess I wouldn’t know. Then again, I’m not sure why she would have to lie about anything to me—or why I should believe you.”

  “I am of the order protecting our races. I have no reason to lie to anyone.”

  “And you make it your priority to find Winx’s new acquaintances and tell them that she’s a liar and a killer?”

  “Far from it. My intentions, though some may be veiled, are only to redirect Winx onto the path that would get her back into our society.” London paused to wave down the waitress as she was passing by. “Changed my mind on that drink. I’ll have an iced tea, please. Anything for you, Roy? No? Are you sure, love? Then yes, that will be quite all. Thank you.” He watched her walk away before speaking again. “Winx is not just some fetish player at a seedy kinkster bar. She is a lot more. She is, in fact, the warrior that you require for your quest. And she is a soldier that our kind has a mighty need of.”

  “If that’s the case, then why did she just turn me down?”

  “Just because she is what you have been sent to find does not mean that she wants anything at all to do with it.”

  “All I was told was to find a daevor.” Keaton quieted down when the waitress returned with London’s drink. He declined her offer for dessert, then waited again until she was out of earshot.

  London smiled. “And I led you to one.”

  “It was you who spoke to our alpha? Who led me on this wild goose chase for a demon?”

  “Oh yes. I know that the savages have been overpopulating your lands. And I know that you have lost loved ones, family and friends. Not only was I sent to help you, I was sent to make sure that Winx serves her allotted time under the Order.”

  “So she was punished for her crimes.”

  “Severely. Some say too severely.” He looked as if he were a part of that sum.

  “She killed five men—”

  “Not without cause.” London sipped his drink as a few people passed them, being led to a table. “Someone incredibly close to Winx was victimized by this gang of miscreants. As we are not to police humans, the Order could do nothing about this onslaught. Winx took matters into her own hands.”

  “Who was the loved one that she lost?” Keaton asked.

  “Her sister.”

  He was stunned. “Hers was an honorable action.”

  “I would expect you to think nothing less. A Bandit would. But let us not forget the proper protocol. Her actions were dangerous—she almost exposed herself.” London gave Keaton a piercing look that revealed knowledge of his own lack of protocol from earlier that evening.

  Keaton shrugged without worry. “I was desperate.”

  “Of course you were.”

  “Not that many people saw me. Nobody stopped anyway.”

  “I’m sure Winx’s abilities with the Touch had a lot to do with that. However, I am here because exposure is a serious crime in our society. Even your band of wildlings knows the rules.”

  He actually found himself nervous. Which was strange, as the threat posed against his village was far more than any threat a lixyn could give him. Keaton straightened his spine. “So. What does this mean?”

  “Usually an offense of this kind would mean a visit to a preliminary hearing where the details of the case would be weighed and a sentence carried out. A sentence could be anything from a warning to a five month stay in prison. But I have come to the decision that you would be better useful here than in a cell.”

  “And how would that be?”

  “You convince Winx to serve her time.”

  Keaton laughed. “Are you serious? I could barely get her to hear out my plight.”

  “The point is, Mr. Silver, that Winx is still the recovery that you require. The Order wants to see her home and out of humanity’s hair. And she must see to those savages. Or risk being…” He stopped.

  Keaton frowned. “What? Killed?”

  “The Queendom has never resorted to termination. Yet.”

  “I thought that you were trying to help her.”

  “I am. I personally do not agree with how her sentencing was handled. Winx not only lost her sister, but she was tortured during her prison sentence. And to top it all off, her ties with her family has been severed. Believe me when I say that Winx will never be allowed to return home if she does not take up her task. Every minute she delays hurts not only her, but you as well.”

  London motioned to Roy, and Roy moved out of the booth to stand.

  “You need her.” London’s voice quavered as he moved to leave the cushions. “Therefore, you will be able to sway her resolve. Don’t worry. You have everything you need in order to get her to concede.”

  “And if I don’t?” Keaton asked with a rattled laugh.

  “If you don’t? I doubt that is an option for you.” London briskly shook Keaton’s hand. “I hope our paths are lucky enough to meet again, Keaton Silver.”

  “Don’t take it personally,” Keaton said, “but I don’t.”

  AN IVORY GLOW TORCHED THE sky with the beginning of day. Winx watched it happen even while her eyelids tugged downward with fatigue.

  Every time she closed her eyes, disturbing images forced her to swiftly open them again. How could she have a nightmare if she was still awake to watch the sunrise?

  Funny how the gruesome
manslaughter she committed never seemed to come to mind. Perhaps it was because she staunchly refused to let herself feel any remorse for having done away with Deja’s attackers. Their end had been inevitable. Deja had not been the only one on their list. She was merely the only supernatural that they’d had the grisly privilege of capturing. The thought of avenging not only her sister sent nothing but a cool, collected relief to her mind.

  No, it was not the killing that put her in turmoil. It was the aftermath. The lixyn’s so-called attention to lawfulness.

  What Winx regretted was getting caught. For so long, she had kept out of reach of the lixyns, charming all humans in her path in order to stay concealed. One tiny slip-up, one she still did not recognize, had sent her to prison.

  Now she was a refugee, and from what she learned last night, she was far from safe. The Order knew where she was. That’s the only reason Keaton could find her. Why wouldn’t the lixyns help a pack of savage-stricken Bandits find a warrior?

  Sleep would not come. Winx continued to blink blearily at her wide-open window. Every noise outside had her on alert. If a car door slammed shut, she would jerk awake. A bird singing too loudly would send her heart hammering. Shouts of voices or laughter would even put her on edge.

  She wasn’t safe there. Not any longer. It was time to quit her job again and leave. Winx had no desire to be found by The Three. They had already cut her hair and taken her wings. What would they cut off next? She did not plan on finding out.

  CHAPTER 6

  KEATON FELT LIKE A LIAR. He had told Winx that he wouldn’t go to Skinned again if she heard his story, and after she stormed out of the Firkin and Hound, he’d had every intention of following that promise. In spite of this, after his long talk with London Iragall, he ended up back at Skinned the very next evening.

  He sighed. Winx was not going to be happy with him. In fact, unless he was mistaken, returning to the club could be grounds for the security officers monitoring the club to rough him up.

  Maybe if he pretended that he wasn’t here to see her again, he could get away with it. He just had to get on her good side. Become a friend. But after that? He was still lost. Winx would never agree.

  After warring with himself for countless minutes, Keaton crossed the street and entered the club. He once again paid the admission, admired the pictures on the walls, and bid hello to the naked hostess at the beaded entryway.

  The first thing Keaton noticed when he walked into the floor room was that things had kicked up a notch since the night before. The sights and sounds were a lot more brutal, dark, and mystic. Along with more intense fire play, there were electric toys. More whips were being used, and more men and women crowded the scene. A song over the loudspeaker was heavy with a beat, the lyrics wailing about how good it felt to do bad things.

  Keaton saw no sign of Winx, which was good so far. He could see her having something to do with the increased dirty deeds. But none of the humans seemed to be complaining. No, just the opposite. They were a lot livelier tonight.

  Taking advantage of the fact that Winx was ignorant of his presence, Keaton decided to blend in as best he could. He got a drink from the bar and found a seat that was backed by a mirror to help him spot almost everything around the room.

  Bandits didn’t do well with alcohol, but to stay incognito, he sipped his small glass of whiskey. The liquid traced a path of fire from the tip of his tongue all of the way down to his innards. The effect was instantaneous. His spine went lax against the hard chair, and a lazy smile spread across his face.

  Best of all, the voice that kept telling him there was not much time to waste here in L.A. stopped. The ensuing quiet was most welcome.

  Well, not all quiet.

  Keaton looked over at a particularly stellar performance taking place on the stage before him. The first woman was like a dream. Her midnight hair was so black the lights bounced off of it with blue highlights, and her painted face contended with a movie star’s flashy beauty. The second was a redhead, her long ringlets traveling down to the valley of her lower back. She was slightly thicker than her counterparts, but her pretty face was also a worthy contender. The last was rail thin. Her chestnut curls were short and manageable, her eyes too large for her face. Each had the well-honed body of a trained dancer. And their leather skirts stopped, blessedly, way above the knee.

  The DJ announced them in order. “Everyone, please welcome Sugar Baby, Cherry, and Athena!”

  Three women. The real holy trinity. They slapped each other and pulled hair in between stripping down and revealing soft, curvy, lovely flesh. Eventually, Cherry and Athena ganged up on Sugar Baby and forced her into submission. She went down fighting, but she eventually cooed under their touches.

  Cherry made quick work of the rest of Sugar Baby’s clothing while Athena prepped the cross beam that the willing victim would be tied to. Soon, Sugar Baby was securely strapped, her arms open and her legs splayed, and the audience around the platform shouted their approval.

  Keaton remained silent and watchful.

  Sugar Baby’s long, glorious hair was pulled roughly. Her pliant ass was spanked with gentle thrums of fingertips before a flail was taken to her ample thighs. Cherry still held the sub by her hair while Athena flogged her thoroughly. Sugar Baby’s cries of passion filled the air, along with the numerous other sounds already pervading.

  An almost violent twitch in the pants reminded Keaton of how long it had been since he’d had the pleasure a woman’s flesh. He himself had never taken to the rough tactics of the BDSM lifestyle. But from the way he was responding to the spectacle it seemed that there was a part of him that was growing to accept it all.

  The night wore on. Keaton had enough water that his vision cleared, and his senses once again began to dull from the scene. The women went from queens of the stage, to simple beauties cavorting for a dollar. The excitement did not exactly wear off; still, Keaton remembered what he was at Skinned for in the first place. Glancing at the clock, he came to realize that he had been sitting in his seat by the mirror for over an hour. And no Winx had appeared.

  “You all alone, sugar?”

  Keaton looked up to see none other than Sugar Baby in his line of sight. The onstage act had changed. Cherry and Athena were each looking for a lap to grace, and Sugar Baby, apparently, had chosen his.

  “I suppose I am.”

  “Aw. That’s too bad.” She grinned and did a sort of twirl for him. Keaton winced slightly when he saw the damage that had been done to her back.

  “Looks like they really got you.”

  “Oh yes. It stings quite a bit. Do you want to feel?”

  The Bandit laid his hand on the human, feeling the subtle curve of her hip. A large, angry bruise was promising to show there. He could still feel the heat emanating from it.

  Keaton swallowed heavily. There went that twitching down south again. “Wow. Um. That’s…”

  “Hot?”

  “Yes. Quite so.”

  Sugar turned back to smile at him. “You’re cute. Would you like a dance?”

  He knew that he shouldn’t. But Sugar was such a temptation. How long it had been since he’d wanted, or had been tempted…

  “Yes, I would please.”

  As Sugar commenced with her teasing, Keaton sat back to take in every tantalizing visual. The music was high-tempo, and the temptress was well-versed in staying with it. His cheeks went hot when she sat on his lap and writhed into him. If she wasn’t careful, she would easily feel what her touch was doing to him.

  When she turned to smile at him, he found himself smiling back. She was quite the pretty young thing.

  Since it had been so long since he’d had time to gather positive attention from the opposite sex, Keaton reduced himself to milking it a little bit. He drew money from his pocket and placed various bills along her person, as he had seen other customers do. With every bill he gave her, she became a little more abandoned in her dancing.

  Eventually, amid his feverou
s haze, Keaton figured out how to turn the tables from him being entertained and him keeping his eye on the prize. “Do you know Winx?”

  “Winx? Yeah, I know her. Or knew her, anyway.”

  Keaton felt a sudden rise of apprehension. “Knew her?”

  “Yesterday was her last night. Why? Is she your favorite? Because you can’t request dancers, sweetie.”

  Shit. She had pulled a fast one on him. How many times would the daevor best him?

  He didn’t have time to reflect on it.

  Someone screamed in the back. It took a trained ear to recognize the difference between play and dead seriousness, but the thing that made Keaton sit up and take notice was the smell. A putrid stink swiftly drenched the floor room. It was death, slowly creeping up the aisles.

  Keaton gently pushed Sugar out of his lap and looked in the direction that the shrieks were now unmistakably emanating from. At this point, many of the patrons and dancers were awakening from their fervor. The bouncers ran quickly in the direction of the front hall, pushing chairs and people out of their way in the process.

  Before they reached the beaded curtain, the pretty blond hostess stumbled out. She was missing a forearm. The wound gushed blood that glinted black from the overhead lights.

  “Help! Please! Help me!” The panicked blond could barely move.

  Sugar started to head toward the hurt girl, but Keaton pushed her in the other direction. “Get out of here,” he commanded. “Now.” Keaton had seen this before, and he knew damn well what was next.

  Before anyone could do anything, the curtain parted again. Savages began to spill over the opening, clawing and snapping their way toward the promise of live flesh.

  Their movements were sloppy, flesh and blood from their dining in the entryway falling off of them. It was everything anyone would believe of a reanimated body and more.

  More terrified screaming echoed the establishment. The DJ over the speakers shouted, “Everybody get the fuck out!” before he took his own advice and jumped out of the sound booth.