Dark Flight (The Shadow Slayers)

by Cassi Carver

  “I’m not going to let her go. Not even for you.”

  Julian shook out his wings to relieve the tension building there, and it kept him from wrapping his fingers around Gavin’s throat and severing his head with his bare hands. “She will make her own choice. I may be a black-wing, but even I can see that you and I can’t decide this for her.”

  Gavin nodded. “That is true. And Julian?”

  His eyebrows hiked up, waiting to hear what Gavin had to say. “Yes?”

  “You deserve my thanks as well. I am honored to have you by my side today, fighting for what used to be your clan and your people.”

  A silver-wing carrying something large sped their way, coming to a crashing halt before Gavin. The thing he’d been carrying in his arms was actually a warrior, and the warrior’s body was shot through with spikes.

  “A scout?” Julian asked.

  But something was terribly wrong. Gavin’s face looked like he’d seen death itself. He took the injured warrior by the shoulders and shook him like a ragdoll. “Kara?” the Mercury Lord inquired. “Where is Kara?”

  The warrior’s eyes were fluttering open and then closing again. “He took her.”

  “Who?” Gavin demanded.

  “Your father.”

  Julian felt a curious sensation course through his blood. Something elemental. His muscles felt as though they weren’t just swelling with blood—they felt as though they were swelling with energy.

  He couldn’t hear what Gavin said after that, and he only marginally registered it in his vision when Gavin dropped to his knees and curled his fists into his hair.

  And all the while, the Shadowland itself seemed to pour into Julian’s being, flooding him with energy until he thought it might bubble up under his skin and peel his flesh from his bones until he was nothing but spirit. And he welcomed it. He embraced it. If he was a spirit, it was the very spirit of vengeance itself.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The only thing that had gone right was that Rachel had actually passed out when Kara had found the baby’s foot and positioned it beside the other.

  And now what? Kara’s sleeves were rolled up to her underarms, her forearm was up where she’d never imagined it would be and her mind was racing. Had Rachel said to turn the baby headfirst or to pull it out by the legs?

  Maybe it didn’t matter, because just finding the miniscule foot and bringing it into position had taken a dangerously long time. Demiáre babies couldn’t die, could they? What happened to them if the placenta detached and they didn’t get air?

  When the next contraction tightened Rachel’s body, Kara grasped the feet of the babe and pulled. “Come on, baby!”

  But it only moved a half inch if it moved at all. Everything was so damn snug and with the feet barely in the birth canal, Kara worried she might dislocate the child’s hips or legs if she pulled too hard.

  With her other hand she gently patted Rachel’s cheek. “Rachel. Wake up. I need you to push.” When that did nothing, she patted harder. “Rachel, please! Wake up!” The responding murmur that came from the other woman was a glorious sound. “Rachel?”

  Her half-lidded eyes slowly crept open. “Yes? Is it finished?”

  “Oh, crap, sweetie. I’m so sorry, but it’s not over. The baby isn’t moving down, and I’m going to need you to push.”

  With her free hand, Kara positioned Rachel’s leg at an angle with her foot flat on the floor. She didn’t dare let go of the child’s feet because they too easily slipped back into the womb.

  “The next time you feel a contraction, I want you to push with everything you’ve got, okay? I’m going to pull, and I’m going to do it a little harder this time.”

  Rachel moaned and gave a shallow nod to let Kara know she’d heard her. Then not more than a minute later, her eyes flashed open. “It’s coming!”

  Kara smiled and gave Rachel’s hand a squeeze. “You can do this, Rachel. You are a strong woman, and your son can’t wait to meet you.”

  When the contraction came, Rachel cried out through gnashed teeth and pushed so hard, the veins in her temples protruded. At the same time, Kara pulled, and she felt it when the baby’s shoulders cleared the cervix and the child slid free. The next thing she knew, she was holding Gavin’s bloody little baby by the feet and quickly bringing her hand under his head to support his neck.

  He was amazing. Absolutely beautiful. Careful of the cord, which was still attached, Kara laid him on Rachel’s chest. “Here he is, Mama. Your beautiful little boy.”

  Tears fell from Rachel’s eyes. She held him up and inspected him, seeming pleased with what she saw. To Kara’s surprise, the little guy didn’t seem as floppy as other newborn babies she’d seen, almost as if he could support the weight of his own head right off the bat. Those Demiáre really did have good genes.

  Rachel met Kara’s eyes. “Thank you, Kara. I’m sorry you were taken, but I’m glad you were here.”

  “Me too, Rachel. In exactly that order.” She smiled. “Do you have a name picked out?”

  Rachel shook her head side to side, nostrils flared. “I will not call him Gable Two. I don’t care what Brakken does to me. I won’t do it.”

  The reminder of Brakken cast a pall over what had seemed like a victory of life. Even with the emergency birth happening, Kara shouldn’t have let her guard down for a minute.

  She turned and grabbed a few small blankets from a stack along the wall. “Did you want to dry him off?”

  Rachel’s claws extended and she tore the cord about an inch from the baby’s belly. Seeing the cord blood spurt out, Kara retched, and the contents of her stomach burned a path up her throat, but she covered her mouth as though it were merely a belch. “Excuse me.”

  Rachel smiled and used the first blanket to wipe the baby’s skin the best she could, then she wrapped him in the second clean blanket, while Kara got to work on her own hands.

  “Tell me about his father. Tell me about Gavin,” Rachel said. “I wasn’t here when he was still living in his father’s kingdom. I never knew him.”

  “Gavin…” Kara’s anxious heartbeat became slow and steady. Even the thought of Gavin was a physical comfort to her. “Well, I don’t think you could find a better man than Gavin. He cares about his people more than he cares about himself. He’s a great leader. He’s honest—most of the time, unless he thinks he’s protecting you, and then in that case, he’s kind of a sexist ass.”

  Rachel laughed. “Go on, please.”

  “Gavin is kind. He has a great sense of humor—when he’s not busy obsessing about solving the problems of the world. He’s fair. He’s smart. He’s handsome…but then you already knew that part.”

  Rachel brought the child to her breast, and her cheeks darkened to a rosy shade of pink. Kara wasn’t sure if it was from the breastfeeding or the acknowledgment that they were both attracted to the same man. Kara wanted to hate her, but there was nothing about Rachel that wasn’t likeable and good.

  “He is a handsome man,” Rachel finally agreed. “And you love him? I can tell you do from the way you speak of him, and I know he loves you as well, from how he spoke of you.”

  “He told you about me?”

  Rachel smiled. “He did. It hurt my heart that he missed you so. I know most of Brakken’s females were eager to get their claws into Prince Gavine, but when I came into season, I offered myself for another reason entirely.”

  Kara couldn’t believe they were really talking about this so candidly. Maybe that’s what the trenches of childbirth did to bond women together. “Can you tell me why? I’ve wondered, to be honest, why…with Brakken…” Kara couldn’t finish her question. There was no way to put it politely.

  “You mean why I would willingly get pregnant when I knew that Brakken wanted the child?” Kara nodded, and Rachel sighed deeply. “For three reasons. The first is that I’ve been a prisoner here for so many years, and I’ve never seen Brakken not get exactly what he wants. The longer he takes to get it, the wor
se it is for everyone involved. The second is very simple—unlike the other females, I came into season. And the third is you.”

  Kara blinked. “Me? You bred him for me?”

  “Gavin was wasting away here. He wanted nothing more than to be back by your side, and I knew that any woman who had earned such devotion from such a good man must be a good woman herself.”

  Kara’s eyes went misty. For all her months of insecurity and jealousy, she didn’t deserve Rachel giving her the benefit of the doubt like this. Maybe Rachel was the better woman for Gavin, after all. “He’s going to be the best father you can imagine. Just wait and see.”

  Rachel cocked her head just a touch. “Has he said he wants to be a part of this child’s life?”

  “Of course he does! He’s ecstatic!” Okay, maybe he hadn’t used that exact word, but then, he’d been busy plotting his father’s destruction.

  “I worried that perhaps…” Her voice trailed away.

  “Tell me,” Kara said.

  “Well, honestly, I wasn’t sure what you would think of the child. Many females on the surface are possessive of their males, and I wondered if Gavin really planned to return here as he promised to do. I wondered if he might…wash his hands of the babe once he was back on his island with you in his arms.”

  “Duty and honor are everything to Gavin. I wouldn’t love him half as much as I do if he were any other way.” Kara rested her hand on Rachel’s calf and said words she never imagined would come from her mouth. “You don’t need to worry about me, Rachel. I know how easy it is to love Gavin, and I don’t blame you. I won’t try to come between you two when it comes to your son.”

  Rachel’s lips puffed out and her brow wrinkled as though she was confused. She laid her hand on Darrinda’s pale forehead and brushed back her friend’s short black hair. The woman’s veins were a sickly blue under her skin and if she was regenerating, it was hard to tell. “Kara, one day soon I will introduce you to Darrinda. She is my best friend and my—”

  The door swung open with such force that it hit the wall and ricocheted back into the guard’s arm, knocking his dagger out of his grip. He growled as he picked it up, and he glared at the women, as if expecting them to laugh. Kara didn’t think it was particularly funny.

  “So, you’re finally finished? My King Brakken has been waiting. You should have called as soon as the wee bastard was birthed.”

  Kara bristled, her fangs and claws immediately snapping down. She was pretty sure she could take this guy. But instead, she took her cue from Rachel, who was seemingly unflappable, no matter how horrible the guards were to her.

  “He is feeding,” Rachel replied. “I’d like him to be strong and robust for when he meets his king.”

  The man closed his eyes in concentration, and it was such an odd and untimely gesture, that Kara guessed he must be communicating telepathically. A minute later, he held out his hands. “Give me the boy.”

  “Not yet.” Rachel switched the baby to her other breast. “He’s not quite done feeding.”

  “Give him to me!” he hollered and took a step toward Rachel.

  Kara growled and dashed to Rachel’s side. Poised on the balls of her bare feet, she held her clawed hands out before her and bared her fangs. “You aren’t going to lay one grubby hand on that kid.”

  The guard laughed. “You have a lot of fight left in you, Kara Reed. We haven’t had one like you in so long. It’s going to be my greatest pleasure watching Brakken break you. Now hand me the child, or I will get him myself, and trust me, you don’t want that.”

  “You wanna break me? Why wait?” Kara lunged, pushing off from the wall and rocketing toward the man’s knees. Throwing her shoulder into it, she hit him so hard, his legs made a snapping noise as he tumbled backward.

  Kara didn’t wait to see what he did next—she twisted the blade from his grip and plunged it through his chest. Unfortunately, it usually took more than one stab wound to slow a silver-wing down. He roared and pulled the knife from his ribs and thrust it at Kara.

  She dodged so fast, the space around her became a blur. Her blood was pounding, and she had the same sensation again that she’d had on the training ground with the Mercury warrior—multiplied by a hundred. She was hungry. She wanted to maim and kill. She wanted to rip this motherfucker’s throat out. She’d warned him not to mess with Gavin’s baby, and now he’d be sorry.

  When she launched at him again, he was just trying to get his warped legs under him. She went for his eyes this time, but as she neared, he brought his huge fist up then slammed it down on the side of Kara’s face. The impact spun her head around and she flipped in midair, coming down flat on her back.

  The air seeped from her lungs and it took her a minute to breathe again. But she didn’t have a minute. The man stepped forward and put a heavy boot against Kara’s throat, stepping down hard enough that she felt the bone above her larynx crack. She couldn’t draw a breath and her lungs burned, but nothing hurt as much as her back where it pressed against the cold stone floor.

  “Stop!” Rachel cried. “There’s no need to hurt her. I will hand over the child as soon as he finishes feeding. I give you my vow.”

  The man growled and lifted his boot from Kara’s throat only to use it to kick her in the head. And he kicked her so hard, it didn’t even hurt. Everything simply went quiet.

  Then slowly, her senses started going back on line.

  Sound, like the ringing of bells. Taste—the sweet metallic tang of blood on her tongue. Sight—a crimson glow so bright it made her squeeze her eyes shut, but it didn’t dim the light. Touch and feel—the press of the floor against the ridges of her spine, and pain radiating out from her shoulder blades to the tips of her fingers.

  And when she finally opened her eyes, all she saw in her vision was the hem of a black robe. She followed it up to a row of sharp, pointy teeth and lips split in a feral grin.

  “Wonderful,” Brakken said. “I can’t have my new daughter sleeping through her first night in my home.”

  “They aren’t a very lively bunch, are they?” the guard said, and there was something in his voice that had Kara lifting her head. What she saw made her blood chill in her veins.

  Rachel. A sword through the center of her ribs. And the macabre sight of the child still suckling at her breast.

  Kara choked on the rush of her tears, and the rage that filled her was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. She didn’t care if she lived or died. All that mattered was that Brakken didn’t get his hands on that innocent child.

  Kara scurried across the floor on her hands and knees and plucked the child from Rachel’s breast. Clutching the baby to her, she bared her fangs and a low, steady rumble pealed from her chest. Were black-wings truly invincible? Tonight she would have her answer.

  Brakken’s smile was one of true joy. “Oh, beautiful Kara! How you delight me. I thought you would be sniveling and frightened like these women invariably seem to be. But look at you. Your pride. Your fury. Watching those die in your eyes will be the greatest gift I could ever hope for.”

  She felt the grip of fear, but it was for the baby in her arms. She wasn’t willing to let him go, and yet how could she hold him and still fight back?

  “Give me Gable Two, Kara. Then you and I will have our time.”

  “Screw you, Sharkey.”

  “You like these, do you?” Brakken’s teeth elongated and distorted his features. “How much of you do you think I could eat and still leave you alive?” When she didn’t answer, he said, “Let me answer that for you—I do have experience in the matter, after all. Some believe I killed the last captain of the menagerie who displeased me, but they are mistaken. He’s still alive and well. I only ate his tasty bits, and they have already grown back twice.”

  Kara couldn’t let him get in her head with his games. She had to stay sharp. “You could eat me, I suppose, but I have more than one black-wing invested in my well-being. I doubt I’m worth the shit-storm this is going
to bring down on your head.”

  On still feet, Brakken drifted closer to Kara. “Oh, trust me, little warrior woman—you killed my Gable. Any torment I bring to you will be more than worth it. Now give me my grandson. I will not ask again.”

  The pain in Kara’s back was getting so bad she wanted to weep. Why? Why did her body have to give in now to all the abuse? If there were any justice in the world, she would have long since healed from that simple day-old injury.

  Brakken lunged, and Kara tried to evade him, but he was too fast, almost nonphysical in the way his body floated and warped around hers. She didn’t know what else to do but fold herself around the baby, covering his head and body with her hands and arms as he began to wail.

  Brakken grabbed her hair and thrashed her head about as his energy flooded into her. “Release him, or I will tear him from your arms in pieces!”

  Kara screamed and the pain in her spine burst. It felt like her bones had pierced through her skin. Brakken sank his claws into Kara’s forearms and began flaying chunks of her flesh, but she wouldn’t release the child. She opened her mouth wide and roared in his face like a lioness in a battle for her pride.

  She wanted to kill Brakken. She wanted to send his wretched soul to the Abyss. But the greater part of her simply wanted to flee to someplace where the child would be safe from this monster.

  “Sire!” the guard shouted. “What is that on her back? What are those?”

  If Brakken heard, it didn’t slow him down. He tore at Kara’s skin and sinew like the shark he truly was. The pain made a continuous scream inside her head, and she knew she was dying. Gavin, she thought. She wanted nothing more than to see his face one more time and lay his son in his arms.

  Gavin. And with that last thought, her body lost substance. Brakken tore at the air as Kara was sucked into the Abyss.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dying and being consumed by the Abyss was almost like flashing, only the darkness didn’t end a moment after it had begun—it kept going, heavier and more profound with every passing second.