The sun had set completely and the night's shadows seemed to curl around her human form. She scanned the darkness left, then right, watching for any movement. Priya's ears twitched on high alert with even the minutest sound of twigs breaking. She held her breath, waiting, her fear growing with each passing second. If she stayed, he'd find her, but if she moved . . . Was he already here, waiting for her to come out of hiding? He was a big man; could he move fast enough to be here within moments of her downfall? Gran had told her Erebus gave the shades unnatural powers. Powers that could make them faster than flight.
She slowly let out her breath. She didn't hear anything. It was now or never. She squeezed her eyes shut and bolted, hoping with all her might that she was just paranoid and Nicholas wouldn't be waiting.
Her feet stumbled and she opened her eyes only to run into something unyielding. Not a tree. Priya looked up. A human male with a strange hat on his head and a coat flowing around him, as if it actually floated on his body. His very hard body . . . His eyes nearly glowed silver in the moonlight, beckoning to a primal part of her she didn't have time to ponder. She tried to dart around him, knowing if she stayed, Nicholas would find her. But the man grabbed her arm. She swallowed a yelp, not wanting to alert the stranger to her damaged flesh. "Let go!" She tried to yank herself free.
The man looked past her and dread filled her stomach. Was it Nicholas . . . ? She slowly turned to see what the man was staring at when she spotted one of her white feathers fluttering with the breeze along the ground. Gads! She pulled again but his grip only tightened on her arm. "I said let me go!" She slammed her palm into his unyielding chest. He finally looked down at her as if seeing her for the first time. If Priya had even a tenth of the man's strength or menace, she wouldn't have to fear men like Nicholas. She briefly considered what it would be like to curl up against the stranger's hard form and wait for Nicholas to show up, but that wouldn't help her. Hiding behind a human, even one with such a fierceness, was reckless and could get them both hurt.
"Why are you here?" His voice was low, his words deliberate, as if she shouldn't be in his presence at all. And yet the way the words rolled off his tongue tightened her core. Wretched body hadn't had a man in too long.
"I fell. I'm trying to get to my family. I . . ." What could she say? She couldn't tell him she was a bird; a human knowing her true form was nearly as bad as being chased by a shadow hunter. But she didn't want to be alone when Nicholas caught up with her either. "I need help."
He observed her for a moment, his shining eyes flitting over her, taking in her appearance. His grip loosened. He cocked his head to the side as if trying to decide something and then spoke again. "I can't help you. Be gone. I have work to do."
Panic set in. She couldn't do this alone in human form. As a bird, she knew what to do, but Nicholas could find her easier as a bird. He wouldn't expect her to stay human, let alone travel with a partner. If she could find a way to entice him, give him something he wanted, she might get his help in return. She stepped back toward her feather but met his eyes. "What kind of work? Maybe I can help."
His eyebrows drew together, then straightened before he spoke. "I'm searching for firebird feathers." His eyes darted behind her.
He was a hekan, which could work in her favor. He walked around Priya and picked up her white feather. Would he know that the white firebird was nearly extinct? "I know how to get them."
The strange man spun around, his eyes widening a little before he somehow smoothed his appearance. And even though he must already know of her kind, the swiftly hidden avarice froze her tongue. He twirled the feather in his fingertips. "Normal hekans want the feathers for themselves. Why would you help me get more?"
She gulped. She hadn't thought of that. "Because I need your help. I'm trying to get to Ovander as quickly as possible. I have family there." She hoped she did, anyway. If she said more, would Nicholas overhear it? What if he'd heard too much already? Damn! She shouldn't have named the city. "Someone is stalking me. If I had a travel partner, I would likely be safer." Everything she was telling him was true. Out of his sight, she could easily shift a few times and collect her molted feathers, maybe hide them or stash them somewhere, and then help him "find them" later. She knew Ovander was days away on foot. If he had a car . . . "Do you have transportation?"
He watched her for several moments. The feather still twirling left, right, back to left. "Are the feathers in Ovander?" He took a step toward her, devouring her with his half-lidded gaze.
The question seemed loaded somehow, as if it implied more than just a feather hunt, but she wasn't sure what he could mean by it. If she said yes, she wouldn't be lying; once she was in Ovander, her feathers would be there and hopefully more of her kind too. "Yes."
The stranger smiled. Stepped again toward her, now nearly touching her. Heat radiated off him in waves and her nipples tightened against the soft material of her shirt in response. She didn't need to be thinking about what those fingertips and a feather could do to her body. "What keeps me from going to Ovander without you to obtain them, then? I'm a tracker, I could find them on my own now that I know where they are."
Gads! Why hadn't she thought of that? And why was her body freaking out during her crisis? She looked around the dark. They stood out in the open. Nicholas would come for her even if he wasn't here yet, or if he was listening in . . . she would be doomed either way once he caught her. She needed this man to help. Priya straightened her shoulders. "You could go there without me. You might find them." She paused. His eyes followed her lips. Could she use that to her advantage? She placed her small hand on his chest and leaned in so her lips were barely touching his. If she said this next part, it could really harm her later. Did she really want him to know about her . . . at least in a sense? Resolved, she whispered, "But would you find the last remaining white firebird feathers? I hear the birds are nearly extinct." She wasn't prepared for the heat blazing a wanton trail between her legs when he didn't move back and his lips parted.
***
Doulzen should have walked away. But those damn perfect lips, so close to his . . . He should have turned her down and kept going. Most humans didn't even notice him because he kept close to the shadows. When this female had run into his chest, he'd been as surprised as she was. He nearly always avoided human contact. Her blue eyes both pleaded and challenged him. The moonlight flickered off her white hair, enchanting him. She was like a whispering song, barely audible, and yet his ears strained to catch every note. He toyed with the feather in his hand only to keep from sliding his fingers up her form.
Doulzen swallowed back his desire and refocused on what she'd said. How did she know about the white firebirds? Perhaps she'd seen the bird he'd clipped. Maybe even helped it get away. If she truly knew where the creatures hid, his clan would bestow great honors upon him for such a revelation. All he needed to do was follow the feathers . . .
He carefully eyed the female as he moved a step back, reclaiming some much needed space between them. Then he said, "If I say yes, you agree to give me the feathers of the white firebird? And all you require is my company to Ovander?"
She smiled and for the first time since he met her, she seemed to visibly sigh with relief. Her shoulders relaxed and her eyes brightened. "Of course, just your company. And you will have your feathers. What do I call you? My name is Priya."
"Priya." He let her name roll off his tongue. "You may call me Doulzen." Priya nodded but didn't reach out in the customary human way to shake his hand. He stuffed the feather in his inside trench pocket, keeping it safe close to his body and his shadow magic. The feathers truly were worth a great deal to many. Her not wanting them raised a red flag, but he chalked it up to whatever she was running from . . . this stalker.
"It would be much faster with transportation. Do you have a way?" She reached up, pulling her long strands into a ponytail, and her breasts jutted forward with the action. Doulzen licked his lips as the hardened nipples shone through the
light material, then averted his gaze. His body responded regardless, his pants tightening as he hardened. He needed to think of something else . . . Transportation, she'd asked. He had transportation . . . via the darkness. But he wouldn't be taking her that way. Not that he couldn't, but humans liked to avoid the unnatural and he was anything but natural to them.
"I'm on foot." It was going to be a long few days. He hadn't had a travel companion since he'd been a boy in training. Priya randomly searched the area every few seconds as if waiting for something. The stalker, perhaps. "It's best to keep moving, since you are being followed. We can rest when you feel safe enough to do so."
Priya glanced at him with relief in her eyes. "Which way?"
He pointed east. "After you."
Ovander sat at the edge of the Sullen River, both named after Ovander Sullen, a human explorer from way back. His family still owned the town, supposedly. It wasn't a place Doulzen had traveled to often, but he knew the way to most places in the area. A shadow hunter requirement. As Priya headed out, he followed, trying not to look at her perfectly rounded ass in a tight pair of jeans.
Doulzen again looked away. Why was he noticing any feature about this woman? He'd never much cared before. In his clan, he'd lain with others of his kind out of a need for release, mainly, or sport. But to actively find a human attractive wasn't something he did. His reaction both displeased him and made him curious about her. Why would he notice such a small one? She wasn't voluptuous like the women of his clan. She was also much fairer in skin. Perhaps the excitement of the hunt for such a rare bird had his body reacting in unusual ways. Adrenaline, exhilaration . . . they led to many other things, including unwarranted attraction or lust. He'd keep his body under better control, as they wouldn't be with each other long.
A light breeze blew over him, and the faint coppery smell of blood, the blood he'd been tracking, tinted the air. The bird had gotten away, but the reward for helping this female would outweigh one bird if he found many. He smiled. The clan would be fed for a very long time if he found enough. Perhaps the elders would even ask him to apprentice with one of them. He'd have the respect of every clan. With that respect, he could try to implement real change. The firebirds were nearly gone, and if they weren't careful, their clans would go extinct as well.
Chapter 4
Priya could feel his eyes on her. At least she hoped it was Doulzen's and not Nicholas's. They had been walking for hours and her legs shook with exertion. Her feet burned with what she was sure would be blisters by the time they stopped. She couldn't recall ever walking this much; flying was how she normally got around. She wished she could just fly, but she couldn't risk it. She huffed through her dry mouth and honed in with her bird vision. She needed to find a spring or something through the night's shadows. She looked to the left. Her ear twitched with the faint sound of trickling water. She hadn't traveled far on foot, and she wasn't completely sure what was ahead.
"Is there a spring or something anywhere near here we could stop at? I'm dying of thirst." She came to a halt.
Doulzen didn't answer, so she glanced back. He was strutting toward her with purpose, but he didn't grace her with any words as he trudged past her. She was so thirsty. She could sneak off, maybe fly over to the trickle she heard. After all, he just kept ignoring her. But again, she couldn't risk the shadow hunter finding her. Better to stay human, since she had no idea how close the man was.
"Hey, Doulzen, did you hear me?"
He just kept walking. What would it take to get an answer? She rushed to follow him, nearly skipping just to keep up with his long strides. His trench coat billowed around him as he continued forward. He hadn't said a single word to her the entire time they'd been walking. She'd looked back several times, and he had always been there, his silver eyes meeting hers before glancing away. Priya had considered saying something to him several times, but she had no clue what to talk about with a human. Other than the few she'd met while she and Gran had lived in the cabin, she never associated with them much. In a way, she was quite sheltered. Him straight-up ignoring her when she asked him for the whereabouts of some water annoyed the piss out of her. Would he just walk and walk? Didn't he need a drink too?
Doulzen headed to the left and she lost sight of him for a moment in the canopy of darkness. An eerie chill slid down her back. The shadows flickered for a moment and something seemed to pass over the trees, ironing their leaves flat, as if a live, hungry thing was hiding in their midst. Her body told her to run, but she slowly continued forward. She hugged her middle and stepped around one of the trees.
There was Doulzen, kneeling down by a tiny stream that flowed out from two small hillsides. Water . . . Priya rushed to his side, ready to cup her hands for a cool refreshing drink. Before her hands hit the water, he held out a silver container, a small flask that glinted in the tiny amount of moonlight filtering down between tree branches. When she grabbed the container, her fingers brushed his for mere seconds, but the world tilted. Neither pulled away. His warmth slid over her skin. Then he broke eye contact and the moment was lost to the shadows.
Priya gulped down the cool liquid until she needed a breath. She gasped as she pulled the flask from her lips. "Thank you."
He nodded and refilled the flask. "You aren't traveling with any provisions? How did you expect to get to Ovander?" He didn't look up as he capped the flask and slid it into his long coat, she assumed into some sort of inside pocket.
What could she say to him that he'd believe? She certainly couldn't tell him that she'd intended to fly to Ovander. "My grandmother died and honestly, I left without thinking it through. I had her funeral today and just felt the sudden urge to leave, to get away and find my other family." The words tumbled out of her mouth. Why would she tell him something so personal?
"I'm sorry for your loss. Have you met this other family? Did your Grandmother tell you where to go?"
Now he was full of questions. "Yes and no. When I went through her things I found a picture with both the name of a city and a person in the picture with my gran. I've lived pretty sheltered most of my life and Gran didn't talk about our family much. She was supposed to tell me something important about my family before she died, but she never uttered the words." She sat cross-legged on the ground and pushed at a stick with her finger. Guilt curled its ugly finger around her insides. Part of her knew somehow that Gran had been protecting her by keeping her in Sterling, but she'd never had the opportunity to spread her wings out this far. Besides, she couldn't live in that lonely house without Gran. It wasn't a home with no one else there. Without her kin, the isolation was enough to make her go mad. That's why she needed to find others, needed the connection of family in some way.
"And your stalker . . . how did he come about?" Doulzen continued to watch the trickle from the tiny stream.
Another question she wasn't sure how to answer. The truth then. "Honestly, he knew me. Gran used to come to town, to get money from the bank. She'd bring me, and well, Nicholas took a liking. He's a janitor. Seemed harmless until today."
"What was different today?"
"Does it matter?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
Doulzen pulled his hat off, ran his fingers through his short black hair, and refitted the hat on his head. "It might."
Priya pushed the stick into the ground and moved it around, halfheartedly toying with the leaves. There was no way she could tell him what Nicholas was. Her silence must have bothered him because he shifted and sat down beside her. His closeness set her entire system on alert. Even in the dark, she seemed to hone in on where he was, his hands, his knee nearly touching hers. The warmth cascading off of him. She wanted to crawl into his lap and nestle down. Though she didn't have a single reason to trust this man she'd just met.
"If he catches up to us, it might be the difference between getting away and him getting ahold of you. I'm not your protector. I'm traveling for the feathers." Doulzen's words hit hard. Of course he wasn't here to protect her, but
she'd hoped . . .
Priya clenched her jaw. "I didn't ask you to protect me." She pushed up and walked away from him. She hopped over the stream and sat down in the grassy clearing where the stars could be seen through the trees. The darkness felt heavy around her. But it didn't scare her; it comforted her. The night sky opened up before her, giving her fresh hope for new possibilities, new experiences. She wanted to let everything go, to soar, to break away from the pain of today, the fear. She sighed. "Look, I just want help getting to Ovander and staying out of Nicholas's sight. If we run into the man, I'll handle it. But it will look much better if you are just here. I won't even ask you to say anything. I can do it myself; just look intimidating."
Doulzen didn't respond. As she sat, spying on the moon, she listened to the sounds of the night. Leaves rustled every once in a while and crickets sang in the distance. Her body relaxed and she lay back on the ground. The midnight sky shimmered with twinkling stars as she tried to keep her eyes open. It had been such a long day . . .
***
Doulzen listened as her breathing evened out, signaling her sleep. She was intent on helping herself, yet he sensed a fragility about her. He watched her side rise and fall and resisted the urge to slink in beside her and just lay close to the female. He had no right to even think it was okay to lie beside her, so he waited. When he was completely sure she'd fallen into a deep sleep, he shifted into the shadows. Skulking around trees and through the darkness, seeking any sign of his bird. He didn't think it had come this way, but throughout the day, he'd gotten whiffs of the creature's bloody scent. It couldn't hurt to look. As he faded from shadow to shadow, he couldn't keep his mind from the woman sleeping alone in the little grove by the stream. She was keeping something back from him, not just about the bird, but also this Nicholas. He had no intention of being her protector. That's not what he did. He hunted, he preyed. So why was he already anxious to get back to make sure she was okay?
Dark Burn: Fated & Forbidden Page 2
