Of Shadows and Ash

by Dana Marie Bell

  “Iva?”

  But Iva didn’t answer.

  The shadow man lashed out, trying to strike through Selena’s cloak.

  Instead of pain, warmth filled him, the love Iva held for Maggie’s Grove encompassing him in an aura that burned away the demonic smoke with ease.

  Ash smiled, ready to kill a demon. “Was that supposed to hurt?”

  The shadow man snarled, and the battle was on. Ash fought furiously, using every trick he’d ever learned from swordsmen who had lived for centuries. Ash had been taught by anyone willing to show him how to wield a blade, knowing that someday his talents might mean the difference between life and death for some citizen of Maggie’s Grove.

  He was the Guardian, the Defender, the one meant to wield the silver blade, and he would drive this unworthy creature from the forest if it cost him his life.

  Blow after blow they exchanged, low, high, neither scoring another hit, both bleeding the other. They were evenly matched, the demon pulling power from some unknown location. They danced around the dream Throne, the sluggish blood of the demon dripping and smoking on the grass. Ash’s blood flowed less freely, but the poison seemed to burn less and less as his blood cleansed the wound.

  Ash feinted a blow, trying to get the entity to lower its guard. It worked—Ash got a good gash on its cheek.

  The thing howled as its skin ripped open. Dark smoke wafted out of the opening.

  Ash slashed again, ripping the other cheek, drawing the blade along until the skin split completely. The top of Greer’s head flopped back, the orange hair streaked with dark ichor.

  What lay beneath Greer’s pale skin was the shadow man.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Ash blocked a blow as he tried to memorize the man’s features. And a man’s features they were, despite their wispy, smoky wavering.

  “No one you know.” Its smile was malevolent. “Yet.”

  Ash blocked a blow to his throat then dodged another to his stomach. Having two weapons was giving the entity a slight advantage, but Ash’s speed was making up for it. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll die here.”

  It smirked. “You may destroy my shadow, dryad, but you can’t touch me. My real location is well hidden from your precious mate.”

  Shadow? This was just its fucking shadow? Ash tried to hide his shock and focus on the battle, but he couldn’t help but wonder, if this was just a shadow and not the creature itself, how dangerous was the true demon?

  And why wasn’t that in the fucking books he’d read?

  Ash ducked an overhand blow, taking advantage of the twist of his opponent’s body to thrust his sword into the shadow man’s side. He pushed to the hilt, ignoring the creature’s howls of agony, ripping through the fake flesh and the nightmares that made it up.

  He pulled the sword free and stepped back, ready to continue the battle.

  The shadow man vibrated so quickly Ash could barely see his features anymore. The skin it had tried to wear sloughed off, landing in a flesh-toned heap at its feet.

  “Now, Ash.” Selena’s fierce tone rang through him like a call to arms. “Take its head.”

  Ash lifted his sword. A tree of life symbol flared along its blade, the rainbow hues an exact match for his mate’s markings. He grinned as the blade began to glow with a light so bright it was nearly blinding, filling the star-spangled darkness with the Goddess’s light.

  The shadow man shrieked as Ash’s blade flew, severing its head from its body.

  The smoke collapsed and ran along the ground, dissipating with a barely heard howl of rage.

  “Come out, little witch.”

  Selena stepped into the Throne, her skin luminescent, her eyes white and unseeing. Her markings were brilliant in the dream world.

  “Is it gone?” Ash wasn’t going to dismiss his sword until he knew the battle was truly over. If the shadow man could reappear, he wanted to be ready for it.

  She sauntered toward him, her sightless eyes gazing around. Perhaps here, she wasn’t sightless at all. In the dream realm it was possible the witch doctor saw far more clearly than anyone else. “The shadow man is dead.”

  “But the demon isn’t.” Ash wanted to curse, but something held him back. Maybe it was the way his mate placed a soft hand on his arm, or the knowledge that in this place she represented everything goodness and light. He couldn’t foul what he felt now as she stood next to him.

  In this place, his mate was touched by the gods, a true priestess in every sense of the word.

  “No. We injured it. It will hide, lick its wounds for a while, then come at us again.”

  “How long do we have until it tries again?”

  Selena shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’ll need to do some research on the kinds of demons that use shadows.”

  Ash frowned. “Wait. So if we’d trapped the shadow in that box Gideon wanted to use, all it would have done was slow the true demon down?”

  Selena sighed wearily. “Probably not. We thought the shadow man was the demon, remember? Locking the shadow away would have inconvenienced it, not stopped it. But with its shadow gone, it will need to grow a new one before it can use that trick again.”

  “And we have no idea how long it takes for a demon to grow a shadow.”

  “The stronger the demon, the more dangerous the shadow, and the longer it takes to grow one.” She squeezed his biceps reassuringly. “Look on the bright side. We’ve got a breather until the next attack. And at least now we have another clue to help us.”

  “We need to figure out exactly how the Van Helsings are tied to this thing.” He hadn’t forgotten for one moment that the demon had acted in the Van Helsing compound, destroying the second in command before he could answer any of Gideon’s questions.

  Selena sighed wearily. “That’s a battle for another day.”

  “But it will be our battle.” Ash allowed Selena to lead him toward their home, the dream world wavering around them in drifting wisps of pale, cool smoke.

  “Remember that, big guy. Our battle.”

  “Yes, dear.” Ash yawned, ignoring the quiet laughter that filled the space around them. The murmurs of the rest of the Grove filtered away, leaving only Selena and Ash behind.

  “Don’t forget to clean your sword before you put it away.”

  “Yes, dear.”

  “That ichor gets sticky if you let it sit too long.”

  Ash made his way down the steps, her voice fading into the distance as they made their way out of the dream world. “Yes, dear.”

  * * *

  Ash woke, stretched, and checked the side of the bed Selena had been curled up on.

  She was still there, still curled up, but those amazing eyes were open, and she was smiling. “Had a little adventure, hmm?”

  “Um.” Why did he get the feeling he was in trouble?

  “Forgot to invite someone along?” she chirped cheerfully.

  He blinked warily. Why was he in trouble? It wasn’t like he’d asked the shadow man into his dreams for coffee and donuts.

  “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

  He threw his hands up in the air. “I didn’t do it!”

  She burst into laughter, curled around her stomach. “Y-your face.”

  He wiped his chin. “What about my face?”

  That set her off worse. Ash rolled her under him with a grumble, secretly amused that just his expression could make her laugh that hard. “You think that’s funny, huh?”

  She held up her hand, her thumb and finger less than a millimeter apart. “Maybe a little.”

  “Cute.” He tickled her, enjoying the way she squirmed and giggled under him.

  “Uncle!”

  He stopped, kissing the tip of her nose.

  Her hair had flopped all over her face. She blew the long bangs out of her eyes. “Thanks. Now I have to pee.”

  He flipped onto his back. “Ah, the romantic life of a married couple.”

  He couldn’t claim later that he was surprised w
hen the pillow hit him in the face, because he’d sort of expected it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “So, that’s it then. It’s over?” Greer helped Ash rearrange the pillow he’d placed under his ash. “No more shadow man?”

  “Not for a while at least. Selena says it has to grow back before the demon can make a play for us again. And if it does it might be too weak to do more than scare people.”

  Selena watched as the two men placed candles in between the ash tree’s roots, their actions solemn and speaking of a long tradition.

  She held her breath, wondering if this was the beginning of Ash’s claim.

  “So it’s the right time for you to do your claiming.” Greer patted Ash’s back. “I think we’ve got everything set up the way you wanted it.”

  Ash stepped back and stared at the tree before nodding.

  Selena could guess at what her mate was trying for. He’d wanted to make something romantic for her, set the scene for a big seduction while she was out of the Throne. She’d wondered why Mina had called her away so suddenly, only for the dryad queen to take her out to dinner and grill her on her future plans.

  She’d skipped dessert. She knew when someone was doing their best to distract her. She’d thought Ash was off doing something dangerous that no one wanted her to know about, and had rushed to his side.

  To find him preparing the Throne for her had been a pleasant surprise.

  So she held her breath and waited to see if either of the men noticed she’d come home early.

  “I think you can take off, Greer. I’ve got the rest of this.” Ash’s tone was quiet, but Selena could hear him clearly. He sounded pleased with himself.

  “You sure, bro? I could help you light candles and get hooked up.”

  Ash’s head shook as Selena pondered the meaning of the term hooked up. “I’ve got it from here.”

  “All right then.” Greer hopped into the branches of the ash. “I’ve got patrol, Mina is at Dragos’s tonight and Iva’s still communing. Noah has settled in Iva’s home. You’ve got the Throne to yourself. Just clean up the condom wrappers when you’re done.”

  Ash waved his hand dismissively. “Get out of here before my mate comes back.”

  Greer saluted and took off, quickly disappearing into the darkness.

  “You can come out now, Selena.”

  How the hell did he do that?

  Oh. Right. Forest Guardian. In tune with every living thing in it. Greer had probably also been aware of her presence, but was too polite to mention it.

  She stepped into the clearing, aware they were alone except for the trees. There was an air of expectancy, as if leaf and branch had been waiting for her arrival. “You’ve been busy, I see.”

  He shrugged off his shirt. “Did you enjoy your dinner?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” She almost swallowed her tongue as he pushed off his pants. Make that sexy forest guardian.

  It was only then she noticed his feet were bare. His back was still to her, so she got to enjoy an uninterrupted view of his backside.

  Ashton Ward had a truly epic rear. She’d patted it absently, had it in the palms of her hands, but she’d never really looked at it. She’d always focused on his eyes, or his sculpted chest, or the saddle of his hips.

  Man, did it have her attention now.

  “Like what you see?”

  “Maybe.” She smiled as he lay down, giving her just as nice a view. He was already hard, his cock slapping against his stomach as he settled at the base of his tree. “What are you doing?”

  He smiled and did something unexpected. He slid one hand into his tree, anchoring himself. “Claiming you.”

  “What?” She stepped forward, confused. She’d been aware his tree would play some part in the dryad mate bond, but actually being part of the tree? She hadn’t expected that.

  “This is the way all dryads claim what is theirs.” He shifted his hips, his hand gliding through his tree like it was air. Still he kept himself anchored to it.

  She’d seen dryads join with their trees before, knew it was as simple as taking a step for them, but watching her mate with his tree brought home just how close a dryad truly was to the towering, living being Ash was a part of.

  Selena was just as tied to Ash’s tree as he was, but tonight was the last, final step that would make all three of them one.

  “What do I do?” She began removing her clothing, dropping it where she stood. The Throne would protect them, and her, until she and Ash had consummated their mating.

  He lifted his other hand and placed it within the tree. “You have to take me. This is acceptance of who I am and what I offer you. You show your acceptance by taking me, and my ash, within you.”

  “Pfft. Is that all?” She kicked off the last of her clothes and, naked, sauntered toward him. She made sure to put a little extra sway in her step, enjoying the way his gaze played over her. Even without his hands he knew exactly how to touch her.

  He shifted again, and she began to realize this was more than him looking for a comfortable spot. Ash was never vulnerable, never allowed himself to let go. For someone else to have total control over him was making him extremely uncomfortable. He was bared before her, exposed in a way he never was, tied down by his will and the need to make her finally, completely his in every way.

  She gave him her best evil grin. “I promise I’ll be gentle.”

  “Shit.” He grumbled a little, but his cock was still hard, still eager for her touch.

  “Relax, sweetheart.” She knelt until she hovered over him, her legs on either side of his hips. “This won’t hurt a bit.”

  His lips twitched. “Hey, Doc? I have this terrible pain in my—”

  She put her hand over his mouth. “Don’t start, mister.”

  He chuckled, and some of his tension eased. He blew out a breath, relaxing further. “If it was anyone but you...”

  He didn’t need to finish that thought. “You think it isn’t the same for me?” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “In a way, we’re both the guardians of our people, Ash. We’re used to being the ones in charge, the ones taking care of everyone else.”

  “Do you think Amara had this problem?”

  She blinked down at him, surprised at how subdued he sounded. “No. There’s this part of Amara that just seems to want to be taken care of. I bet she had no trouble binding herself for Parker.”

  He grimaced, obviously not thrilled with her answer. “This, what we’re about to do? It’s sacred to my people, as much a part of us as the ceremony we took part in the other day.”

  “I know, Ash.” She brushed her lips against his, surprised to feel him trembling. He was really nervous about this, far more than she’d realized. “You know I love you, right?”

  His lashes fluttered for a moment before his gaze steadied, and for the first time ever tears were in those beautiful green eyes of his, making them shine. “I know.”

  “Good.” She thought about making some sort of joke, something to ease his mind, but the time for that had passed. They needed to consummate their mating, finish the ritual he’d started. Only then would he truly feel better.

  So instead of giving him words he’d barely be able to acknowledge, she gave him herself.

  Selena slipped down his body. She took him into her mouth, licking the shaft and swirling her tongue around the head. Usually their passion ran so hot she didn’t get a chance to taste him, but with his hands bound he couldn’t roll her over. While she loved the fact that they just couldn’t wait to have each other, this kind of slow, sweet loving had been lacking so far.

  Selena wasn’t stupid. Their passion would cool as time went on, the burning need would become a comforting fire. The raw desire would simmer down, and the sort of slow loving she was hoping for would become more commonplace.

  She could hardly wait. Growing old with Ash, watching how they changed and grew within one another, was a dream she’d barely allowed herself to have. She’d never thought she�
�d be lucky enough to find the kind of mate who not only understood, but accepted everything she was.

  So tonight she wanted him to feel that, to be aware of just how much she treasured what they had. Tomorrow they’d be tearing one another’s clothes off, desperate to plunge into one another. But tonight?

  Tonight was worship, and gratitude, and pure, shining love.

  Taking him into her mouth, building his desire with careful licks and sucks, set her own body ablaze. He moved under her, the small moans and gasps filling her with satisfaction. She sensed his need to touch, to take over, but his arms bunched, his muscles flexing as he kept himself tied to his tree.

  In the back of her mind, his ash murmured its approval.

  “Selena.” Ash’s tone was ragged with desire. “Please.”

  She lifted her mouth from him, smiling when he whimpered. “Now?”

  He shuddered. “What about you?”

  Always the gentleman, her Ash. “I’m ready.”

  “No. I have to...” He tugged at the tree, scowling when his hands didn’t move.

  “Shh.” She pressed a soft kiss just above his belly button. “Leave everything to us.”

  “Us?” The gentle swaying of the ash tree’s branches seemed to surprise him. “You two are conspiring against me.”

  “Yup.” She carefully took him into her body, the feel of him filling her making her moan. “Now be a good boy and take your medicine.”

  “Yes, doctor.”

  She rode him in the deepening twilight, her hands resting against his stomach. The slick skin, muscles bunching under her palms, brought her more pleasure than chocolate and coffee and all the good things in her world combined. This man, this incredible, overbearing, overprotective, loving man was all hers, and not even death would take him from her.

  He looked startled for a moment. “What?”

  She stopped moving. “You heard me?”

  He frowned. “Not quite, but...” He smiled, the expression wicked. “Oh, little witch. You think we’ll be together for eternity.”

  “You don’t?” She knew better. She’d felt him when they’d completed the witch ceremony, had known he understood the implications. This wasn’t a simple marriage between a dryad and a witch doctor. They were bound together, soul to soul, in ways only the gods could truly understand.