Dark Flight (The Shadow Slayers)

by Cassi Carver

  She felt his thick crown nudging the opening of her channel, and then in the next instant, he surged forward. She cried out and grasped his wide shoulders, clinging to him. This was Gavin buried to the hilt inside her body. Her friend, Gavin. Her guardian, Gavin. And now her lover, Gavin.

  Her eyes watered and her whole body stilled. She wanted to live in this exact moment forever—the moment she’d longed for since the day they’d met, and it was a longing that had only grown stronger over the months of knowing this man and his noble, passionate nature.

  “Kara?” he whispered.

  She cracked her eyes open, and her lips molded into a soft and goofy smile. “Yes, Gavin?”

  “Are you all right? Is this…okay?”

  She wrapped her legs more tightly around his back and used the leverage to impale herself further on his hard cock. “It’s so okay. It’s the most okay thing I’ve ever experienced.”

  Gavin laughed and kissed her. “I’m choosing to interpret that in only the most positive light.”

  She chuckled and kissed him back, but soon her kiss turned passionate again and she thrust her tongue into his mouth. He started a rhythm so slow and deep, so filled with emotion, that it could only be called making love. And in this moment she felt it—Gavin’s love. If he’d told her before, now she believed it in a more profound way than words could ever have accomplished.

  She’d seen Demiáre sex. She’d seen the orgies, the lust-filled men and women out of their minds on a hormone-driven high. But Gavin was showing her his love with his body, with every pump of his hips that drove him deeper, with every sigh at the pleasure she gave him and every long glance in his eyes that spoke the word forever.

  She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his ribs, trying to draw him near. “Closer,” she told him.

  He braced himself on his elbows above her. “Any closer and I’ll crush you.”

  She smiled at him. “Then crush me.”

  He rested his weight on her, bringing them so close that Kara could feel his skin over every inch of hers. In that moment, it was as if they’d ceased being two bodies and merged into one beautiful creation. “That’s so good…” she breathed, her breasts pushing against his chest. “Just like that.”

  He filled her from inside with every measured thrust. “Oh, Gavin… Don’t stop. I never want you to stop.”

  “For as long as you want me, I’m yours.” His voice was just as tender, but Kara could hear the strain there, too. She wasn’t the only one who couldn’t get enough.

  His massive body hemmed her in, making her feel so safe, like nothing could touch her. No bad guys. No broken hearts. No memories of another man she’d loved and lost. Just Gavin.

  He pressed kisses to the top of her head, and then a moment later, he was simply breathing against her scalp, his hot breath coming fast. She knew he was close when his fingers sank into her hips and locked her to him. And she wasn’t sure there was anything on the planet hotter than the thought of Gavin releasing his seed inside her, branding her with his essence.

  “Do you want me?” he asked, clutching her breast like an anchor and squeezing it tight.

  “Yes” was all she could manage to reply. She was close herself, somewhere at that perfect balance between him fucking her just right and her being so turned on by what was to come. “Take me.”

  Kara felt delirious from the sensations he was bringing about in her. “Make me yours, Gavin.”

  “I love you, Kara Reed. Now and forevermore,” he huffed against her open mouth. She kissed him, sucking at his lower lip, then closing her eyes and giving into the ecstasy of their lovemaking.

  At Gavin’s first guttural cry of release, all the pressure that had been building in Kara’s body exploded. She clawed at his back, bringing her pussy up to meet his every thrust.

  He pumped his hips several more times, then with a final shout, he pushed deep and held, spurting his seed into the depths of her womb. And when he collapsed, truly pinning her to the mattress, she simply smiled and clutched him tight.

  She’d waited so long for this. So many times she’d doubted it would ever really happen. But tonight, Gavin Cross had given her a piece of his heart, and had taken a piece of hers in return.

  Chapter Ten

  The one they called Aiden—who Julian liked to think of as “the spiky-haired buffoon”—was still yammering about the black-wing Mazeki and trying to explain why he’d brought Kara here by the time they’d come to stand in front of the falls.

  “Take the waterfall to the far left,” the buffoon said through his cut lips and mangled jaw that were just now starting to heal from Julian’s backhand.

  He’d thought briefly about killing Aiden for his lapse in judgment, but he wasn’t sure what his angel would think of it. Yes, he’d needed to drive Kara away, and he’d needed to be cruel enough for her to believe he meant it—but he couldn’t stomach the thought of her hating him. He wasn’t willing to take it that far…yet.

  “Yes, to the left. I’ve got it,” Julian answered.

  “Do you want me to walk you?” Aiden asked. “There’s something else you should know about the pools—”

  “I said, I’ve got it.” Julian paused to consider inflicting another injury on the man. “Feel free to go back where you came from. Crawl back into your mother’s womb, perhaps? Ask the Maker to go back in time and make the world a better place by never letting you see the light of day?”

  When the buffoon just stammered, as if unable to respond, Julian continued, “And if you ever interfere with Kara Reed again and do something I consider not to be in her best interest, it won’t be your jaw I break. It will be every bone in your worthless body. Are we clear?”

  Aiden smiled this time, though for the life of him, Julian couldn’t see what he’d said that could possibly be construed as funny.

  “Crystal clear,” spike-hair answered. “And Jules…enjoy your swim.”

  Julian’s lips peeled back from his fangs, but the Mercury Lord flashed, leaving Julian growling at nothing but air. “Damn it to the Abyss,” he muttered. “Let’s get this over with.”

  He found the waterfall to the far left and stepped into the pool. He’d made it up to his waist when a terrible pain seized him, as though his every cell was being turned inside out. He panted, and a high-pitched whine escaped him. Drawing on his strength, he moved his feet another step.

  The pain was so intense, he would have fled the water altogether if he didn’t have an equal distance to traverse on all sides. So he kept moving forward, step by aching step, until at last, he dragged himself through the downpour and onto the shore that was hidden just under the falls.

  He laid his cheek against the soft earth and coughed, sucking the fine powder into his lungs, making him cough even harder.

  “Bravo,” said a dark-skinned man at the other end of the cave. “What you lack in skill and smarts, you make up for in sheer stupidity—I mean, tenacity! Forgive me.”

  Julian clawed his way to his feet and stood tall, but the water mixed with the fine brown earth clung to his body and his black leather pants. It clumped his dark hair in brownish chunks. He ran the back of his hand over his cheek, brushing away what he could. “Mazeki, I presume?”

  The black-wing bowed. “At your service, Mr. Mercés.”

  “Please, call me Julian.” The name finally felt right to his ears, but he wasn’t anywhere near ready for a surname.

  “Fine, Julian. Welcome to my home.”

  When Mazeki lifted his hands, the scenery around them changed, and suddenly, Julian wasn’t standing in the dirt anymore, but on the white mats of a large dojo.

  “I’ve never met another black-wing,” Julian told him. He didn’t mean it as a peace offering for male bonding. It was simply a fact.

  “Yes, so I’ve heard. A Shadow Rising…truly remarkable.” Mazeki folded the sleeves of his long brown robe, and his ultra-long braid came up behind him to coil at the base of his head.

  “I w
ouldn’t know. It seemed rather run-of-the-mill to me.”

  Mazeki turned and inspected a rack of weapons along the wall. He ran his finger along the blades of the katanas, but then he stopped and took one from its place. The shiny surface glistened, but the thing was as limp as a warm slab of meat.

  The black-wing snapped it out in front of him, and it locked into place. “That’s better,” he said, and hung the katana back on the wall. “There have been rumors of other Aniliáre wanting to hunt you down, Julian. What do you think of that?”

  “Would they give me a choice in the matter? If not, then I suppose my opinion isn’t a concern.”

  “And Kara Reed?”

  “What about her?”

  “She was keeping company with you, was she not? That intrigues me so. You were bondmates before your death, correct? And when you rose from the grave, you sought her out.”

  “Are you asking me, or telling me a story? You already seem set on what you believe. But Kara doesn’t matter anymore. I understand she made a final trip to see you, to thank you for your assistance, but going forward she will reside on Mercury Island. She is a member of the Mercury Clan now.”

  “A final trip? Who have you been getting your information from, my boy? Kara will be coming to see me often. She belongs to me, after all.”

  Julian blinked and shook his head, trying to clear the water from his ears. “My hearing seems to be failing me. Did you just say that Kara belonged to you?”

  Mazeki smiled. “Of course I did.”

  Julian’s onyx claws stretched from his fingers. “You must be confused. Kara belongs with the Mercury Clan.”

  The dark-skinned Aniliáre picked up a bow staff and gave it a perfunctory swing. “You may not remember all this, so allow me to enlighten you. Kara’s father, Teras, a fairly strong member of the fallen brotherhood, decided to have an affair with the first queen of the Shadowland. Queen Deanna belonged to Ailexon—high king, chief of the fallen angels and the strongest of his kind.

  “When Deanna had the child—our little Kara—Ailexon discovered that he was not the father and that Deanna was in love with another man. Teras had the forethought to bring the child to me and ask that I hide her on the surface until she came of age. My reward for doing so was Kara when she reached maturity and was able to travel to the Shadowland.”

  Julian simply shook his head, rejecting Mazeki’s claim. It couldn’t be true. Kara couldn’t belong to him.

  “I do appreciate you and Gavin Cross taking such good care of her on my behalf. Once Kara adapts to the idea, I will have my own servants transport her here, and the Mercury Clan can wash their hands of her care completely.”

  Julian was seeing red. He knew that meant his eyes were glowing, but it made everything in his vision appear stained in crimson. “Kara is not coming back here. Not for you. Not for any man.”

  Mazeki leaned on his staff and smiled at Julian. “Who’s going to stop me from taking her? She belongs to me. And I see you are upset, but I don’t harbor any ill will toward you. If anything, I appreciate your breeding her these past months, preparing her body to withstand the fervor that only a black-wing can deliver.”

  Mazeki looked like nothing more than a side of meat to Julian, and Julian was ready to butcher him. He launched, claws extended and fangs ready to devour, rocketing through the air toward his adversary.

  Not more than a foot away from the other black-wing, Julian hit something solid going full speed, and he hit it so hard, his mouth and nose left a bloody print on the clear surface. Julian slid to the ground and wrapped his hands around his bruised and broken ribs. “You bastard. Take down your little bubble of a shield, and fight me like a man.”

  Mazeki laughed and his braid uncoiled, slithering over his shoulder and standing at attention as if to get a better view. “That will be lesson number one for you, my boy. I am not a man. I do not fight like one.”

  The black-wing lifted both hands and clapped them together, and Julian felt the crushing impact on both sides of his body. The pain in his ears was so horrific, he was sure he’d ruptured both eardrums.

  For a moment, all he could do was sit and try to catch his breath. He willed his body to heal faster, but he doubted it would be fast enough. As his bloody mouth and nose began shifting and mending, Mazeki applauded.

  “Yes! Heal yourself. Can a man do that? But still…” He rubbed his hands together, and Julian had the awful feeling he was in for another pummeling. “You might find it a better use of your energy to avoid the injury in the first place.”

  This time, when Mazeki drew his hands back and clapped them together, Julian threw up his own shield, a thin bubble reminiscent of the one he’d first learned to conjure.

  Mazeki’s power shook the shield on all sides, but Julian remained inside, untouched. “Go to hell,” Julian said. “You brought me here under the guise of teaching me, but I see what you really want. You want me out of the way so Kara is left with nothing but silver-wing protectors.”

  Mazeki walked closer and reached out to run a finger along the clear outline of Julian’s shield. He pulled his hand back and sniffed, looking somewhat repulsed. “No. This will not do. Is that the best shield you can conjure?”

  What was he up to, pretending that he cared for anything beyond making Kara his? Julian didn’t bother to answer. Then a moment later, Mazeki raised both hands and laid them flat against the shield.

  “This is what’s going to happen. I am going to take your miserably weak shield down, and I’m going to slap your smug little face. Every slap I’m able to deliver will count as one session with Kara where I’m able to take her as roughly as I like—and I do like rough. Does that sound like fun? And every time you stop me, I’ll take her gently.” He said the word gently as though it was the most mundane thing in this realm.

  Julian met his eyes and roared so powerfully, it blew Mazeki’s braided hair off his shoulder. “Why don’t you go fuck yourself? That will be the only action you see if I have anything to say about it—”

  But before he could even finish his statement, his shield winked out of existence and Mazeki’s hand darted out and smacked the side of Julian’s cheek hard enough to send his entire body flying to the other side of the room.

  “Oh, no. What happened to your shield?” Mazeki mocked. Then he rubbed his hands together, and drew them apart again. “I’m being sporting, you know. Not only will another black-wing not give you a warning, he needn’t make a gesture to have his power obey his command.”

  This time, Julian threw his shield out before Mazeki even clapped his hands together, and sure enough, energy rocketed into the clear barrier, strong enough that it sounded like an earthquake. It didn’t quickly dissipate, though, as the last burst had done, it seemed to quiver around the transparent boundary, seeking a way in. Julian could feel it pushing at the bounds of his will.

  Mazeki stepped toward him again, and when he reached for the shield, Julian knew he was done for. Just as the other black-wing struck out with his hand, Julian flashed. He materialized instantly at the far end of the room with his dark wings extended and the taste of blood in his mouth.

  “Well done, my boy. Sometimes fleeing like a coward is the best decision you can make. Let’s play another game… You see this?” He raised a staff and it glowed with brilliant blue light. “Every time I touch you with this, it’s going to take a year off your immortal life. At least, you’ll wish it did.” He chuckled and a split second later, he was gone.

  Julian barely had time to register that Mazeki had moved before the other black-wing was upon him, thrusting the light stick into his gut. The pain that shot through his body was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

  “No,” he wailed, when the other man ground the stick into his gut, tearing through skin and entrails.

  Julian flashed again, and as he winked out of existence a splash of blood spurted into the air in his wake. He held his bleeding gut, panting through clenched teeth and looking down from the ce
iling where he’d ended up. The worst he’d done so far in this battle with Mazeki had been to ruin Mazeki’s robe with blood spatter. It wasn’t quite the vengeance he had planned.

  “As your mentor, Julian,” Mazeki said, floating up on onyx wings to where Julian was pressed against the ceiling, “I have to point out two problems I’m seeing. First of all, unless your plan to defeat Brakken involves using you as bait, I’m not sure your strategy is working.

  “Second of all, for the true and deep love of Hexa’s hairy ass, would you please tell me why you are choosing to bleed and have bits of intestine, and whatever that is, leaking from your wound? True, I was made, not born of a Shadow Rising, but you seem a bit too attached to the corporeal, my boy. You are spirit. Act like a spirit.”

  This time, when Mazeki raised the glowing staff and thrust it toward Julian’s already gaping middle, Julian went misty, allowing it to sail right through.

  “Yes! That’s it.” Mazeki smiled. “We must have a solid defense before we can work on your offense.”

  Unable to resist, Julian darted his hand out and slapped Mazeki upside his grinning face. “Minus one for you. Now we’re even.”

  The other black-wing narrowed his eyes. “Back to defensive strategies. Let’s try this…”

  Before Julian knew what was happening, Mazeki’s long braid had come free of his head and was coiling around Julian’s wrists. He tried to flash, tried to go misty, but it was as though the rope anchored him to the spot.

  “Take him to the mat,” Mazeki said, and when the rope yanked Julian toward the floor, Julian knew Mazeki hadn’t been talking to him.

  He struggled, thrashing his hands to try to free them, but nothing worked. “Release me, you bastard!”

  “Wonderful. Let’s see that tactic in action. Would you be so kind as to repeat what you just said?”

  “I said, release me!” Julian bellowed.

  Mazeki approached and patted Julian on the top of his head. “No. I will not. Any other persuasion you’d like to try?”

  Julian responded by flashing his middle finger.