Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 03]

by Embracing Darkness (epub)

  His feet sloshed in the stagnant water as he hurried through the tunnels. Where the hell was he going?

  He entered through a door and she was grateful when they walked through it that there was no stench of water or rats scurrying about. She’d never been here before, hadn’t even known it existed.

  The guy sure liked to mutter to himself. It had been amusing in the car but now it was getting on her nerves. She wished he would just shut up already.

  He came to an abrupt halt by another door, then lifting his fist, pounded on it. “It’s me, Troy. Open up.”

  She waited, like he, for someone to open the door. When no one did after a few seconds, he pounded again.

  “Come on, open up.” He grabbed the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door open. “Fuck!”

  There was a cot against one wall and a single chair. Someone was staying here and if it had been Chaos, she’d eat her shoes. This place was beneath Chaos.

  “Shit, now I gotta sit here and wait. Well, I’m taking a nap in your bed, Chaos. Like it or lump it.”

  Again he spoke to himself. She wondered if the guy had some sort of mental problem. She stood by the door as he settled himself on the bed and closed his eyes.

  Guess she was eating her shoes after all.

  ***

  To his calculations, Raven had been gone for approximately fifteen minutes. But without a clock in the room, he couldn’t be sure. Sitting in his bed, his arms crossed over his chest, Jonah wished she’d hurry back already. He wanted to find out what she meant by having lost someone. The woman was an enigma.

  The sharp cramping pain in his left thigh caught him by surprise. “Jesus!” Grabbing it, he tried to massage the pain. He could feel that. And lord did it hurt. Then the right leg began twitching. “What the hell?”

  He was attempting to rub both legs when she walked into the room.

  “What’s the matter?” She set the tray in her hands onto the table then hurried to his side.

  “Cramp. And this leg keeps twitching. It really isn’t a good feeling.” And he wasn’t having any success with the cramp at all.

  “Let me help.” Climbing onto the bed, Raven took over rubbing the cramp. “This is a good sign.”

  “A painful one for sure. That feels better.” He wasn’t sure what she was doing differently than what he’d done but the cramp was subsiding.

  “I think your body is beginning to heal and with the daily excersises your muscles should stay limber and not stiffen up. How’s that?” She stroked his thigh in a slow even motion.

  “Much better. Now if only this one would stop twitching.”

  “Let me try.” Leaving his left leg, she moved to the right and replaced his hands with hers. “With the power out, the food in the vending machines won’t last long. I put some stuff in ice to keep it longer, but the sandwiches won’t last more than a day. I’m going to have to venture down to the cafeteria. When I gather up my bravery, that is. Any better?”

  She had small hands but none the less efficient, managing to ease the twitching which was of tremendous relief to him. “Much. Are you afraid of the dark?”

  “I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of it, uneasy is more like it. Basements are the worst.”

  “And that’s where the cafeteria is. I could go down there with you.”

  Her eyes lifted to his and he was suddenly struck by just how blue they were. “That would be a good idea. Get you out of this room for a while. See the sights, go for a stroll. Maybe after we get your legs limbered up.” Grabbing his foot, she placed one hand under his knee then helped him to bend it. Then she pushed it to his chest and held it in place for the count of five.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Stretching your muscles. Tell me if it hurts?”

  It didn’t hurt, but it did feel odd. “I can feel the pull. That’s a good thing, right? Means I’m getting feeling back.”

  “I think so. We’ll do ten of these on each leg, then let you rest before we go for our stroll.”

  “Works for me.” He watched as she repeated the motions with his leg, noticing how silky her black hair looked when the light caught it. “What did you mean when you said you were Chaos’ blood slave?”

  “Just that. I was captured and held for the sole purpose of feeding Chaos. Still feeling okay?”

  He nodded and she continued. “So he kept you for food?”

  “And other things.”

  He stopped her by placing a hand on hers. “What other things?” He was afraid of the answer.

  “Not sex.” She reassured him. “Chaos has no interest in that, at least not that I ever saw. I was his maid, I cleaned up after him, washed him, tended to whatever he needed.”

  He felt a little better knowing she hadn’t been violated, still… “How long did he have you?”

  “Three months.” She laid his leg back onto the bed, then began rubbing the muscles from toe to thigh.

  “Did you ever try to get away?”

  She shook her head. “I had no reason to. Does this feel all right?”

  It felt great. He nodded. “What do you mean you had no reason to?”

  She switched to the next leg and began stretching it like the other. But when she bent it to touch his chest she lost her grip and fell right between his legs and onto his chest. Her face bumped into his, her mouth skimming his cheek.

  Neither moved but stared into each others eyes.

  Hers were a lot bluer close up, Jonah thought, and felt something stirring inside of him.

  They both jumped at the crashing sound in the hall outside his room.

  “What the hell was that?”

  “I’d better go check.” Pushing herself off of Jonah, Raven climbed off the bed and hurried to the door. Slowly, she inched it open then closed it just as quickly. She threw the lock then hurried to the bed.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Shh.” She reached over him, clicking the light off over his bed then climbed back onto the bed beside him and whispered in his ear. “There are two vampires in the hallway.”

  “We need weapons,” he whispered back, scanning the room for anything that could be used as one. Thank God he could see in the dark.

  “I locked the door. Let’s hope they don’t try to come in here.” But just as she said it, the doorknob began to wiggle. “Shit!” she hissed.

  “We need to find a weapon,” Jonah stated, then spotted the knife on the tray Raven had brought in with her food. “The knife.” He pointed to the tray and she crawled over him to grab it. “Give it to me.”

  “I can do this.” She curled up beside him holding the knife up, ready to protect.

  “I may not be able to walk but I can at least try to protect us. Give me the knife.” He hated feeling useless and be damned if he was going to sit back while a woman protected him.

  “You’re being stupid, but fine.” She handed him the knife, still clinging to him.

  Gripping it firmly in his hand, he held it up, his eyes glued to the door.

  “This room’s locked,” a male voice barked out from the other side of the door.

  “Leave it. I doubt there’s blood in there,” another voice shouted.

  “They’re looking for blood,” she murmured in his ear.

  He shivered. The sensation of her breath on his ear did more than tickle. And feeling her body pressed tightly to his felt more than good.

  “I think they gave up.”

  “What?” He drew in a deep breath, calming himself.

  “I think they’re leaving.” She slipped off the bed and inched towards the door.

  “Wait.” He sat up and tried to swing his legs over the edge of the bed. “Don’t go out there.”

  “I’m just going to peek outside and see if th
ey left.”

  She unlocked the door and opened it before he could stop her. Not that he could even if he tried. His legs were still useless lumps attached to his body.

  “All clear.” Turning around, she gasped. “What are you doing?” She was beside him faster than he could say boo, grabbing him around the waist to hold him up.

  “I was trying to get out of bed to stop you. What kind of fool are you? They could have been waiting outside the door and burst in the second you unlocked it.”

  “Lucky for me they didn’t, and you could have hurt yourself.” She hoisted him back onto the bed.

  “I can manage this. Go back and lock the door. We have no idea where they went. Go,” he insisted, giving her a push with his hand.

  Shaking her head, she rushed to the door and locked it. When she turned back, he was sitting up in the bed, his legs stretched out in front of him. “You were trying to protect me.” She smiled.

  “Well, duh. Idiot!” He shifted his butt, trying to get comfortable.

  “My hero.” Still smiling, she climbed up onto the bed.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I never got to finish working out your legs. If they came for blood, they might take it all.”

  “Let them have it.” He watched as once again she lifted his leg, placing one hand under his knee, then bent it to his chest. She had a delicate face with a thin nose and a cupid’s bow mouth. There was a mole at the corner of her left eye that was as black as her hair. She didn’t have a stitch of make up on yet she was as pretty as a picture.

  And what the hell was he doing thinking of another woman as attractive.

  Shaking his thoughts away, he decided to carry on where they’d left off. “Why didn’t you try to get away from Chaos?” He wondered if she planned on turning the light on anytime soon.

  “I had no reason to.”

  “So you said before we were interrupted. Why?”

  She paused mid stretch then continued with a deep intake of breath. “I lost my son, Ricky, four months ago.”

  “I’m sorry. How old was he?” His heart broke for her.

  “Three.”

  “Still a baby.” Now he got what she’d meant when she said she’d lost someone recently.

  “Yeah. My only baby. I rarely had time to spend with him, real time at least. I worked such crazy hours that usually when I got home, he’d be asleep or if he was awake, I’d be too beat to stay up long enough to play with him. He spent most of his time with the sitter.”

  “Single mom?”

  She nodded and continued stretching his leg. “I came home from a really tough night shift to find him crying like he was dying. The instant he saw me, he raced towards me and clung like his life depended on it. All he kept saying was ‘Mommy, stay. Mommy, stay.’” She took a deep breath and continued. “When I finally got him to calm down, he pleaded with me to let him stay home. When I worked nights, Emily, the sitter, usually took him to her place so I could sleep. I guess this day he didn’t want to go and I didn’t have the heart to send him away, so I told him he could stay. To calm him down, I decided to take him to the park a few blocks down the street. I was beat but I thought the fresh air would wake me up. I should have sent him away.”

  “Raven—”

  “I sat down on the bench while he played in the sand with a few other kids,” she continued. “They started tossing a ball back and forth and I…I dosed off. I woke to a loud screeching sound and people screaming. When I didn’t see Ricky anywhere, I began to panic. Then I saw the car stopped on the road, and all the people standing around and I knew. I just knew.”

  He could see the tears glistening in her eyes even in the dark and his heart threatened to break for her. But he let her continue.

  “Someone said he ran out for the ball and the car hit him. I don’t blame the driver, I blame myself. If I hadn’t fallen asleep, he might still be alive.”

  “Raven—“

  She shook her head and let his leg down onto the bed. “He was gone even before I got to him. My baby died on the road all alone, without his mother. But that was his life. Alone, without his mother. I need to go.”

  Before he could stop her, she vanished into the washroom adjacent to his room. He knew she was crying and he felt helpless. Closing his eyes, he thought of the child he’d lost and would never see grow.

  Chapter Five

  Trinity had waited in the small dingy sewer room for three hours while Troy, the big brute, had snored loud enough to wake the dead. When he’d finally woken—okay, she’d woken him with a sharp electrical zap—he’d stumbled out of the room, once again grumbling to himself.

  She’d given up on thinking he could leaf her to Chaos when he broke out of the sewer and invaded the first home he saw and, once again, took a nap. He wasn’t going to lead her to Chaos and that only enraged her more.

  She sent herself back to her home and into her bedroom where she found Basil sitting on their bed, looking less than amused.

  “Where the hell have you been?”

  “Didn’t Dante tell you what I was doing?”

  “Yes,” he snapped as he stood. “And do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? You’ve been gone for hours.”

  “I know.” She stripped from her jacket and tossed it over a chair, then proceeded to do the same with her shirt.

  “You could have called to let me know you were okay,” he continued shouting at her.

  “You’re right. I should have.” She slipped out of her jeans and boots and tossed them aside, then casually walked to the washroom. Basil burst in right after her.

  “That’s all you’re going to say?”

  She shrugged shoulders that seemed much heavier now than ever before. Stepping into the shower she started the water running. She didn’t jump when he grabbed her and spun her around to face him. She’d expected it.

  “What is wrong with you?”

  She stared at him a moment, then the tears began to fall. She couldn’t help it, or stop them, and just gave in to them.

  “Oh, baby, I’m sorry I yelled at you. Shh…” He stepped into the shower with her, fully dressed and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I didn’t find him, Basil. I don’t know where Chaos has him.”

  “Do you think that there’s a possibility that Jonah isn’t with Chaos?”

  “You were there when Gypsy told us Chaos’ men took him.”

  “Yes, I know. What I meant was, what if he got away.”

  “Then why isn’t he here, why didn’t he come home? He would come home to me if he could. Damn it Basil, Jonah is in trouble and it’s all my fault.”

  Basil released her to cup her face in his hands. “Why do you think this is your fault?”

  “I didn’t protect him. I should have protected him, both of them. Jonah’s being held by Chaos and Ariel is dead and it’s all my fault.”

  “No, baby, it’s not your fault. Shh now.” He wiped her tears away, then kissed her lips once before holding her face in his hands. “We did the best we could to keep everyone safe. None of us could have predicted what happened.”

  “But it wasn’t enough and now Jonah’s in trouble and I still can’t help him. What good are these damn powers? I don’t want them anymore. Why hasn’t she taken them from me yet?”

  Basil stroked the tears from her face as the water soaked his clothing. “I’m really concerned about this deal you made with her. My mother is a ruthless person when she wants to be. If she meant to take your powers back, she would have by now. She wants something else from you.”

  “Jonah? You don’t think she took Jonah?”

  He shook his head then grabbed the soap. “He’s small potatoes. I think it’s something more. But we won’t worry about that right now. Let’s get you calmed down before y
ou short circuit something.” He smiled at her and it was all she needed to feel better.

  “I love you.”

  Still smiling, he kissed her once, then began rubbing soap over her damp body. “And I love you. Now tell me what you were up to while I was waiting at home, worrying.”

  “I followed Troy, the big guy in our cells, but it led me nowhere. What an annoying person.” She shook her head and that was when she noticed he was still wearing his clothes. “Why are you still dressed?”

  “I was taking care of you and not worrying about myself.”

  She pursed her lips, grabbed the hem of his shirt, and slid the damp fabric up his body and over his head. “Silly.”

  “You were telling me about Troy being annoying,” he continued as she undid his pants.

  “The guy mumbles to himself all the time.” She tossed the damp shirt aside. “But that’s not the point. I followed him through the sewers to this cell of a room. Chaos used to stay there. Can you believe it, in the sewer? Step out.” She urged him as she yanked his pants down to his feet.

  “While you’re down there...” He grinned as he stepped from his damp pants.

  Smiling, she tossed his damp pants out of the tub, then decided to oblige him. Curling her fingers around his shaft, she took him into her mouth.

  “Now we’re talking.”

  She laughed and had to be careful not to bite him. She felt the water on her back as his hands rested on her head.

  He gently coaxed her to go deeper and so she did.

  “Sweet mother!”

  She loved hearing him enjoy what she did to him. And doing him always made her feel better. But when he pulled her up, she was a little confused. “I wasn’t finished.”

  “Yes, you were. My turn to make you feel better. Turn around.”

  Knowing what he had in mind, she turned around and braced her hands on the back of the shower and spread her legs. What he did next shocked her.

  He lathered her back with soap and began giving her a slow massage. Maybe this was just a prelude to what he had planed. She could be patient, and the massage did feel nice. So why not enjoy it? “Where could Chaos be hiding?”