HOT-BLOODED BREATH OF DARKNESS

by Candice Stauffer

  She was no match for its power. Desperate, she opened her eyes. The wind slammed into her with enough force to cause her breath to burst out of her lungs. Dark clouds, streaked with blinding flashes of lightning, billowed in the sky. The ground heaved and rumbled. She turned to face the building to escape the brutal force of the wind and catch her breath. She was still connected to it. Unable to break free. It was searching for identifying information around her to locate her.

  I am not an it, sweetheart. I am Tobias Daniels. You have no reason to fear me.

  I’m not a sweetheart. I am a nasty, wart covered, foul tempered troll.

  His laughter filled her mind, causing her to smile. Am I to believe a nasty, wart covered, foul tempered troll has the voice of an angel?

  All the sudden, everything went perfectly still, as if the world held its breath in anticipation. See me.

  Flashes of lightning lit up the storefront window. She saw movement, a dark shadowy image in the glass. She wanted to run, but sensing she was about to see something extraordinary, she remained still, waiting to see what would happen next. Then, the reflection of a dragon surrounded by red and blue flames appeared behind her in the window.

  “Holy shit,” she whispered beneath her breath, attempting to take a step back. She wanted to run. She tilted her head to the side, looking into its eyes. She needed to turn around and get the hell away from it, but her legs wouldn’t move.

  The dragon’s gaze held hers captive as an invisible arm wrapped around her body just below her breasts, gently and firmly holding her against a much larger male body. I can assure you that you are most definitely not a troll. His voice was in her mind, but his warm breath teased her ear.

  ~ THREE ~

  TOBIAS HAD LIVED HIS life on cruise control in the slow lane for longer than he could remember, letting life pass him by. Nothing excited him. Nothing awed him. Then, turning his world upside down, a human female hijacked his mind and worked her way right into his heart, into his soul. It was impossible. No one, mortal or immortal, could sneak beyond his barriers to access his mind at will. No one. He was beyond powerful. He was power. And yet, he couldn’t deny that she’d done it easily, smoothly. If he hadn’t felt her sense of awe when she experienced his dragon’s flight through the storm clouds, she could’ve stayed hidden in his mind for any amount of time.

  Let go of me. She actually sent a push along with her words, attempting to use a compulsion on him.

  Don’t be afraid. I would never hurt you. Tell me your name. He needed her name. He needed to find her. He felt so much happiness. An odd emotion for such an old demon who’d long ago lost any reason to hope, to dream. Deep down he knew that she was his other half, his eternal mate. He refused to let go, to lose her. Needing to put her at ease, to cause her to feel the depth of their connection, he sent waves of warmth, of reassurance, of peacefulness to her.

  Knock it off! I’m not an idiot. Warm fuzzy feelings aren’t going to fool me into sitting around and waiting to become your next meal. Let me go! Rather than help, his attempt to comfort her caused her to panic. He felt her heart racing far too fast. Pounding painfully. She was desperate to disconnect from him. She truly believed he was a monster.

  I’m not a monster. My name is Tobias Daniels. What is your name?

  You’ve given it to me twice, but I never asked for your name. I don’t want to know it. I don’t want to know a damn thing about you. It was true. He knew she didn’t want to know it. She didn’t want to know anything about him. She wanted to forget his existence. She wanted to forget the entire experience. And you’re not getting my name.

  You approached me. You merged with me.

  That means nothing. It was an accident. An unfortunate and regrettable mistake.

  Your name? He deepened his voice, attempting to use a compulsion on her.

  He knew she was doing her best to resist him, to fight him. Connected so deeply with her, he knew her head hurt. At first it was more of a discomfort than actual pain, but the severity was steadily increasing. You said you wouldn’t hurt me. You're making my head feel as if it’s splitting in two.

  He’d never known how utterly alone he was until she panicked and tried to break the connection. Out of sheer desperation, he was hurting her by forcing her to stay with him until he was certain he could find her. I don’t want to hurt you. I want to…I want to see you. Stop fighting me.

  Let go.

  I cannot. He needed the sound of her voice. He craved it. He would never forget the first moment he discovered her presence. She didn’t simply merge her mind with his. Her soul touched his, merged with his. Deeply. Completely. Her presence caused his heart to pound with excitement. He felt hope after having none for centuries. She was his perfect haven of joy, of peace. Total contentment. She belonged with him. A part of him. He belonged with her. He wasn’t about to let her get away.

  A strong gust of wind slammed into him, a force resisting him, a powerful burst of psychic energy pushing him away. She was a fighter. Deep inside his dragon, he smiled, celebrating her strength, welcoming the challenge. He pushed harder. And that’s when he sensed danger and physical pain. She was wounded. The lower right side of her abdomen. And she was being pursued by a threat. Something was hunting her. Something supernatural.

  Desperation unlike anything he’d ever felt crashed into him, causing him to panic. No words could ever describe his urgent need to find her. You’re in pain. Your lower right side.

  The only pain I’m experiencing right now is a big sharp thorn in my ass.

  He might’ve laughed if he hadn’t been so desperate and worried. You’re injured. You have a wound on your right side. I feel it. And I know you are being hunted. Lead me to you. Let me help you.

  I am fine.

  I know you’re injured. I feel it. It has been bothering me for hours. He pushed even harder, refusing to allow her to hide from him. Don’t fight me. Lead me to you. I can help you.

  Like hell, I’ll make it easy for you to find me.

  You can’t hide from me for forever. I will find you. He made sure she felt his power, his strength, and his resolve. He wanted her to understand it was not a threat. It was a promise. He made sure his voice sent comforting waves of warmth washing over her.

  Go to hell, Tobias!

  Knowing her anger was induced by fear, he set out to comfort her by sending more warm waves of tenderness. We will see each other soon. Very soon. Until then, since you obviously know how to reach me, let me know if the pain becomes unbearable or you find yourself in trouble.

  Don’t hold your breath waiting to hear from me.

  Why not?

  You’re a dragon. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out you’re more than just a little dangerous.

  ***

  Jessie looked up at the dark storm clouds gathering directly overhead. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she merged with Tobias. But she knew it was too much. The wind increased as the gathering storm clouds gave way to buckets of rain. While she’d expected thunderstorms, she knew Tobias had done something to stir the storm up. Lightning whipped across the sky along with the crackle and rumble of thunder rattling the storefront windows.

  She sensed a powerful presence rushing up on her from behind. It wasn’t Tobias. She turned. Wes materialized out of thin air and walked toward her. She retrieved her keys from her pocket and, tossing her backpack over her shoulder and holding her side, she sprinted for her car across the street. He was too close. He had supernatural abilities that she couldn’t outrun or outdrive. She opened the trunk, removed her pistol, and stuffed it in her bag before Wes could see it. A bullet wouldn’t kill him, but one or two hitting him at the right time might slow him down and give her a chance to get away.

  “If the sight of you running hadn’t made me laugh it would’ve been a complete waste of your time and energy.” He was, of course, much more than a supernatural bounty hunter. He was a complete asshole with no redeeming qualities and a twisted sense of
humor.

  She turned to face him and lifted her chin, forcing herself to meet his gaze. “I wish I could tell you how nice it is…oh, shit.” Shocking the hell out of her, his eyes, including the whites, were entirely black. Taking a step back, she stumbled, a sudden rush of adrenaline causing her heart to race painfully. It was a miracle she didn’t drop dead. “What the hell is wrong with your eyes?”

  “Oops.” He lifted his lip, his smile appeared more of a snarl, his eyes slowly returning to normal. “You weren’t supposed to see my demon eyes. Now, no matter how much you pester me and beg for your life, I’m going to have to kill you.”

  “You’re possessed by evil spirits?” The idea certainly made sense.

  “No. I am a demon.”

  “Really?” She believed it. It actually made more sense than the notion of him being possessed by one or being a vampire. “That’s weird. Considering your ‘pretty rainbow sprinkles on top’ personality, I wouldn’t have guessed it.”

  He rolled his shoulders in a slow, casual shrug. “I know, right?”

  “Where’s your friend?”

  “Who?”

  “You know damn well what I’m talking about.” She glared at him. “The dragon working with you.”

  A slow hiss of air escaped between his clenched teeth. He looked pissed. But he also looked nervous, searching the sky and surrounding area. “Come with me,” he ordered, using the larger size of his body to force her to walk across the street. “We need to get the hell out of here.”

  “No.” She stopped. “I am not going anywhere with you.” Since he was obviously bothered by her mentioning the presence of a dragon, she considered reaching out to Tobias for help.

  “I’m not playing with you. Get your ass moving.”

  Her blood pressure skyrocketed; her mouth went dry. “What’s your hurry?”

  “I’ve been searching for you for a very long time.”

  “I know.” She nodded. “I’ve spent the same amount of time avoiding you.” She decided against asking Tobias for help. She knew it would end badly. She didn’t want to drag anyone into her mess. She didn’t want to cause anyone else to become targeted by Guss Eckhart. Even if that individual happened to be a dragon.

  He grabbed her wrist and pried the keys from her fingers. “You don’t need these anymore.” Then, wrapping his arm around her shoulder he pulled her stiff, resisting body against his and led her away from the street.

  She dug her heels in and tried to break free from his grip. “Where are you taking me?”

  He stopped and grabbed her shoulders. “Close your eyes.”

  She shook her head adamantly. “Fuckoff.”

  “Do it.” His voice remained low, daring her to defy him. His darkening eyes turned as frigid as death.

  “Go to hell.” She had to kink her neck back to look up at him. Her side hurt like hell, but to avoid alerting him to her weakness she resisted the urge to hold it. She struggled, attempting to push him away, but he didn’t budge an inch.

  “Just do it.” She was tired of running. She was tired of waiting for him to find her. “Kill me.”

  “You want to die.”

  She gave him her most convincing smile. “I’m not afraid of death.”

  He looked at her. “When you’re gone, you’re gone, right?”

  She nodded. “That’s right.” Forcing herself to smile, she shrugged her shoulders. “When I’m gone, I’ll be gone. I won’t even know I’m missing life.”

  “I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not going to allow you to take the easy way out. But, since I’m no longer able to play our game of hide-and-seek, I’m handing you off to another player. I’m sure you’ll have just as much fun with him.” His voice was deep and smooth. His tone had comforting, hypnotic attributes to it. It was too perfectly pitched to belong to anything other than a predator attempting to charm its prey. “Let’s go. He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

  A shocking burst of pain on her right side, stole her breath away. Everything started to spin, her vision darkened until it went entirely black.

  ~ FOUR ~

  BLURRING HIS IMAGE, TOBIAS shifted into his human form as he landed on the pavement. He took two steps and then stumbled, doubling over from a sharp pain on his right side. When he looked down, expecting to find a wound, he had a vision of the woman he’d been merged with being flung over a male’s shoulder.

  The male disguised his features and form, distorting his image. While he couldn’t identify the male, he knew the bastard was another demon. Deep-seeded rage burned in his gut, smoldering as never before. The demon deserved to die for daring to touch her, to cause her pain. He would find him. He would kill him.

  It didn’t make sense. His kind didn’t kidnap women. They didn’t abuse women. It simply wasn’t done. Male demons were powerful. Too damn powerful to feel the need to prove it to a female by hurting her. Clearly, while he was enjoying his time away, everything had gone to hell. In his mind, there was no reason, no justification for a male demon to abuse a female. It was reprehensible.

  Forks of lightning crisscrossed the sky. Deep rumbles of thunder echoed all around. Pushed by strong gusts of wind, horizontal rain fell heavily, soaking everything. Needing to cool off, he didn’t bother to shield himself from the rain and wind as he walked down the center of the street.

  After a few minutes, he found the storefront window that he’d used to see her and let her see him. He stood in front of it for a few minutes. Then, following trace remnants of her presence, he followed her footsteps. He found her car. She stopped to get a weapon from the trunk. He placed his hands on it. “Show me.” He felt fear, loneliness, and determination.

  “A gun,” he whispered. She’d retrieved a gun from the trunk and stuffed it in her bag. Then, a second later, she’d been ambushed and taken away. He tried to merge with her mind rather than just pick up on memories imprinted in the atmosphere. He couldn’t find her. When he reached for her he felt emptiness. A black void. She was unconscious or dead.

  Something was taken from her and tossed away. He looked to the left and to the right. He walked around the car and found a set of keys. He knelt and picked them up. The instant he touched them, he focused on her energy stamped on them. Her name came to him right away. “Jessie,” he smiled, “Jessie Kraai.”

  He began to pick up on the moments leading to her abduction. She had very powerful psychic abilities. Most humans wouldn’t have sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere when her stalker approached her. It would’ve been too subtle for most humans to detect. But for her, it was a drastic change. She knew better than to ignore it. She didn’t know how her psychic abilities worked, but it didn’t matter—she knew they were reliable.

  She wasn’t a quitter. He felt her fear. But rather than give up, she fought to survive. She refused to surrender to evil, to die. She was fragile. Easily broken. Vulnerable to death. And yet, she didn’t allow despair to rule her. He felt small, nearly nondetectable vibrations of dread, of hopelessness. Nothing more. She wouldn’t accept defeat.

  Suddenly, he experienced a clearer echo from the moment she’d been taken. For a second, she’d considered calling out to him for help. But she didn’t. Not because she feared him. She didn’t want to put him in danger.

  He focused, expanding his mind to reach for hers. He still felt nothing. Every single cell in his body reached for her. But it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t detect a hint of her existence. Rage smoldered in his gut, stirring the most dangerous, darkest portion of his soul, the dragon. He would hunt down and destroy the demon. A deep, ominous growl, a promise of quick, brutal vengeance rumbled in his throat as he expanded his mind even more to pin down her exact location. But he still felt nothing. No hint of her existence or location.

  He controlled the most violent forces of nature with a thought. Now, responding to his dark, volatile emotions, the storm intensified. Thick black clouds, streaked with blueish silver flashes of sheet lightning, billowed in the sky an
d thunder cracked and rumbled loudly. He kept reaching out, searching, attempting to lock onto her, but it was no use. The demon hid the path, using ancient spells. Eventually, he could unravel them and find her, but it would take too long.

  He’d never felt so entirely helpless. He unlocked the car and opened the door. Her scent, sweet, warm vanilla, filled his lungs. Immediately noticing the position of the driver’s seat, he realized that she couldn’t be more than five feet tall. After pushing the lever to release the seat, he got in and sat down. He searched the entire car for something to identify the demon, but he didn’t find anything. The car was clean. Too clean. He didn’t even find a scrap of paper.

  Once again, he closed his eyes and focused on her. Expanding his mind, he searched for her. Nothing. He still felt absolutely nothing. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the remnants of her addictive scent as terror and rage grew in him.

  “We’re supposed to be hunting a demon.” Otaktay walked up to the door. “What the hell are you doing sitting in a car? And why the hell are you messing with the weather? It’s hard enough to track the bastards down without you washing their stench away.”

  “The owner of this car was abducted.”

  “And suddenly you’re a detective.”

  “I need to find her.”

  “You don’t have time to waste chasing after a woman.”

  “She needs my help.”

  “Human?”

  “Yes.”

  “C’mon. Get your ass out of the car. I swear you have the attention span of a two-year-old in a toy store. We still need to find the demon and deal with the rogues.”

  “A demon took her.”

  “The same demon we’re hunting?”

  Tobias shook his head. “No.”

  “And you know it was a demon.”

  “I do. And he treated her roughly. He threw her over his shoulder.”

  “Well, damn it all, that changes everything. We’ll forget about the demon fixing to kill mass mortals and immortals and the rogues running around on a human killing spree to deal with a demon that treated a lady badly. Did you ever stop to think that they were enjoying a little foreplay? Maybe she’s his mate?”