by LJ Swallow
Ty grabs his brother and shoves him towards the metal barrier, the way Alaric did to me. He leans over, face against his. “Sorry? What did you say? I can’t hear you,” he hisses as Alaric attempts to speak, but all that comes out is hoarse breaths.
I shuffle to the wall and wrap my arms around my knees, body wracked with pain as I watch, tense, ready to intervene if the situation shifts.
“You want to keep your precious magic walls? Sure, you can keep the fucking thing working until the sector feels safe enough to take it down. Until the people decide what they want to do with their world.”
“Fuck you.” Alaric’s voice is hoarse and defeated. “You won’t survive either.”
Ty pulls him forward by the shirt stained with both their blood. In a swift movement, he throws Alaric against the wall at an inhuman speed, and holds him there the way Alaric did with him.
Ty’s hair and face smear with blood as he pushes hair from his face. He points the knife at Alaric. “You’re so keen on spilling people’s blood, on slow and painful deaths, you deserve one of your own.”
Alaric gasps for breath. “However much you hate me, you couldn’t do it.”
“Kill you?” Ty laughs. “Of course I fucking can.”
Seconds later, Alaric’s thrown against another wall and hits his head as his neck’s jerked back with the movement. Ty drops the knife and lifts his hands up, palms outward. “And I don’t even need to touch you.”
“Let me go you asshole.” Alaric remains frozen in place, the way Ty was.
“But I want to do this with my bare hands,” growls Ty. He steps forward and pulls Alaric from the wall spins him around and smacks him against the barrier.
Alaric grips his brother’s shirtsleeves, holding himself from falling over. “If I could, I’d hook you up to those machines you use to kill and let everybody see the justice in that. You’re bloody lucky you didn’t choose to meet me there. Problem is, I never want to see your face again. I need this over.” He leans further over the barrier, and Alaric’s body slips further over. “Now.”
“You think you’ve won? Fuck you, you’re coming down with me.” Alaric struggles against his brother’s grip and knocks Ty’s footing.
In the echoing space filled with secrets, my horror and pain mount at the sight of the aristocratic Hylands struggling for the upper hand for the last time. With a yell, Alaric grabs Ty’s shoulders and pulls him backwards over the barrier, the pair crashing downwards to the stone circle below.
Silence.
Trembling, I pull myself to my feet and walk over. Ty crouches over Alaric’s prone body. Blood puddles behind his head, spreading across the stone and into the runes. “I need the knife.”
I take the knife from the floor and drop it over the barrier, where it clatters against the stone. I sink onto the concrete and rest my face against the cold metal, closing my eyes as Ty finishes slicing the rune into his bleeding brother’s chest. A part of me always hoped Ty could bring Alaric to justice for the things he did but knew this would never happen, that death was the only outcome.
“Cora?” I turn back, and he looks up at me, wiping his hand across his face, blood covering him and the knife he’s holding.
“Is he dead?” I whisper.
Ty rests his hands on his legs, leaning down, back heaving as he takes ragged breaths. “The rune will finish him. Are you okay?”
How is he standing? Recovered? “Are you? I thought you’d died.”
He strides up the nearby metal staircase to me as I struggle to my feet. “I’m okay. I gave you what I had, and once I had the knife…” He gestures at his open shirt. “Rune gone. Are you like him? Didn’t you believe how hard it would be to kill me?”
I fold, strength used. Ty catches me as I let the nightmare surrounding go and fall forward, real tears flowing as I grip the man I was convinced I’d lost. He holds me tightly, my face against his chest, and I don’t want to take my head away from where his heart beats strong again.
“You broke my heart when you ignored me,” I whisper. “I was terrified.”
“How many times have I told you showing no emotion is how I deal with his threats? When I let go of that control, he had the upper hand. You saw that.”
“As soon as I thought you were dead, I couldn’t control whatever took hold. I couldn’t think about myself, only the thought you’d die.”
He rests his chin on my head. “I wasn’t ready for this, for him, this was too soon.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s happened now, and we survived, but maybe in the future you’ll listen to me.” I tip my head and his fingers stain red as he wipes around my eyes. “Or maybe not. That’s never going to happen is it?”
“Maybe sometimes.”
I gasp as he squeezes me tight. “Fuck. I love you. You’re dangerous. I guess I’d better be careful around you. You were bloody frightening.”
I squeeze him tighter, half laughing at his attempt at humour, the pain and fear still shaking through me. “I can’t do that again, Ty. The magic wrecks me, I feel like I’ve been punched in the head a million times.”
He holds my face and moves his lips across my cheeks, forehead, searching for my mouth before he kisses in a way that pulls me away from the pain. “I don’t feel too great either.”
“Is it over now?”
“No, Cora. I think we’re just beginning. Alaric is dead, but we have a long way to go yet.”
I place my lips on his, desperate to reconnect to the man I thought I’d lost, who stirs more in than I ever imagined anybody could. His kiss delves into the centre of my soul and winds his around my heart. This true connection between us strengthens not only us but the new bond between human and witch.
Beneath us, prone, Alaric’s blood fills the runes as the human blood drips into his face.
“You need to stop that,” I whisper and point. “Switch it off.”
Ty looks up and nods. “No more blood will be spilt in the name of the Hyland family again.”
29
THREE MONTHS LATER
The barrier stands, ironically supplied by the power in Alaric’s blood. The humans are freed and the facility razed; the victims cared for and housed.
Alaric’s biggest mistake: dividing the witches and leaving them to fear for their lives. Some still do, but many believe Ty when he promised no more deaths. The security around him tightens, not all Alaric’s followers will accept the change, but they’re outnumbered by others’ fierce determination for stability.
Trust between the humans and witches is torn apart by Alaric’s actions, and the Senate persuade Ty to bring change gradually but transparently. He reluctantly takes his place as Regent and immediately sets about bringing in laws lessening his power.
Hundreds of years fearing what lies in the Wastelands won’t wash away immediately and exploration continues. Ty’s frustration over humans not trusting the new safety in the outside world is stronger than any other. His dream of a united sector and freedom for those who support this doesn’t happen as quickly as he’d like.
The discovery witches knew the truth and continued to trap people inside the sector for their own benefit causes the largest issue, and Ty immediately grants access to anybody who wants to leave or join his exploration teams.
Every decision he makes extends more power to others, and through influential advisers less idealistic than he is, the sector maintains a precious balance between democracy and the threat of anarchy. There is and will continue to be dissent on both sides, but strong and fair government encourages change.
Ty continues his own excursions into the outside world, a symbol to others he believes in a new future. With more people involved, scouting groups stretch further and the territory we know is safe grows.
There’s no functioning infrastructure, but there are also no ravagers. And there’s a determination to take back what belongs to the humans. Ty half expected to find human colonies somewhere, but we haven’t. Yet.
> I refuse to be involved with the day-to-day politics. The only thing I insisted on from day one was the removal of the Scion system, and the inclusion of women on the Senate. Again, the sector has a long way to go for progress but it’s a start.
Summer wanes and the days shorten, lessening opportunities to go far into the Wastelands. Some witches joined Ty in attempting to map the ley-line power running through the countryside. In old books, witch and human, their location is pointed out but the strength unknown.
I have no comprehension of what they mean, but Ty takes me to a location where they exist. Low hills stretch above broken-down towns, a ridgeway above the world below. A magical undercurrent runs untapped beneath, and reaching hubs is one of Ty’s major goals. Using magic to recreate and power new towns until humans become self-sufficient is a seemingly impossible dream from a determined man.
From the road, I marvel at the mysterious white chalk figure carved into the hillside, over a hundred metres long and dominating the hills. We walk up, lost amongst the quiet, and sit close to horse-figure’s head.
I lie across Ty’s lap and look up at him. He refuses to let many people call him Ty still, and when he’s official and a Regent, he’s always Mattias. He smiles down at me and traces fingertips across my cheeks and nose.
“I like when you bring me outside the sector,” I say.
“I think more people should come out here and see how safe and beautiful their world is.”
The old towns crumbled into unrecognisable brick piles, weeds pushing through rusted and twisted metal, and mounds of items I’ve never seen in all shapes and sizes. Feral cats and dogs live amongst the ruins, a new ecosystem created by the domestic and farm animals left behind and untouched by ravagers. But beyond the ruin and chaos lies land untouched by the years. The broken roads criss-cross green fields, around the broken towns, and up to the hills we sit on now.
“Aren’t you nervous?” he asks.
“About ravagers? From this vantage point, I’d see them coming. When was the last time anybody saw one this close to the sector?”
“A long time ago.” He leans forward and kisses me. “They still won’t tear the barrier down. I wish they would.”
“People will. The barriers against the outside world exist in more than what they see—people are nervous. The barriers are also in their heads and hearts. Isn’t it easier to hold onto what makes you feel safe?”
“Is that a reference to me?” Ty pokes me in the ribs. “If you can pull my barriers down, I can pull down the sector’s.”
“Inevitable from the first,” I say and smile. “Who else could get through that frozen heart of yours?” I touch his chest.
We lie back on the grass, holding hands as we watch the clouds scoot across the sky, the sun wavering in and out.
“I dream about it sometimes,” he says.
“About what?”
“Alaric.”
I stiffen. “Don’t mention him. We agreed.”
Ty picks at the grass. “I know I had to do it, but he was my brother.”
“He was never a brother to you, was he?” I ask.
“Not once.”
I lie on my side and look down at him. “My last words on Alaric: he was a sadistic, evil man who deserved everything he got. You saved a lot of lives by taking his.”
“Yeah, sorry. When I’m dragged into the whole Hyland family traditional crap, I can’t help thinking about him.”
“There’s a new world,” I whisper against his mouth. “Ours. You have to be patient for the rest to change.”
He pulls me onto him, and I soak up his warmth and strength, the subtle scent of comfort and love. “Patient? That’s classic coming from you.”
“I think your determination will win through.”
“My magic is weaker now,” he says.
“But still stronger than ten other witches put together.”
“And still at the mercy of the human girl.” He tips me over and covers my faces in kisses. “I’d better tell her I love her every day, or I’m in for some pain.”
I push his hair back and hold his head, smiling. “If you don’t want me to get any more powerful, you’d better stop having sex with me.”
“Ha! Not a chance.”
Lacing my fingers around his neck, I pull him towards me. Our mouths hover close, the familiar sensation of our lips touching even though they're not.
“I love you,” I whisper against his lips. “Even if you do still behave like you’re important or something.”
He laughs tips my chin. “And I love you, even though you still infuriate me on a daily basis.”
I grab his arm as he slides a hand beneath my summer dress, grasping my ass and parting my legs with his knees. “Ty. Maybe not here," I whisper. I search for his mouth with my lips, but he keeps his at a distance.
“Why not? Nobody can see.”
His fingers brush the cotton between my legs, and I shift against his hand. “Mattias Hyland, this is totally inappropriate.” As ever, my arousal is instant, the ache for his touch grows as my body reminds me of the amazing things this man can do to me without trying.
He slips a strap from my shoulder and lays kisses along my collarbone. “I know, but since when was anything about us appropriate?”
Who knows what will happen, or how the world will be in a year, ten, twenty years’ time. The passion we share for life and each other is channelled into building a relationship to face the new world together, a strength greater than any Accord could be. The sector spent years trapped in a cold-hearted grip, and this Hyland’s heart would always change the world whether I’d melted it or not. I have, and he’s mine.
The End
Thank you for reading Dark Elements, please consider leaving a review on the site where you purchased the book.
Read on for information about LJ Swallow’s other books and a sample of Soul Ties.
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Soul Ties
A New Adult Urban Fantasy Novel
http://bit.ly/soultiesUS
Soul-hunters sent to capture Nephilim souls never return and Ava has no choice. Return with Keir's soul in exchange for her freedom or die trying.
Ava has retrieved hundreds of souls from demons and this mission doesn't worry her, but Keir isn't what she expected. Half angel, half demon and a hell of a lot hotter than Ava's usual targets. She's tempted to get closer to Keir before she takes his soul—if he doesn't kill her first.
As if battling a Nephilim isn't enough, Ava faces another hurdle: getting past the strange human girl, Dahlia, who has an inexplicable hold on Keir.
The pair have secrets and when Ava uncovers the true fate of the souls she returns to her superiors her world is turned upside down.
Ava finds herself in the middle of a war where the lines between good and evil are blurred and she has two choices: betray Keir and live, or join his battle and risk going to Hell.
***
CHAPTER ONE
I squirm in my seat and straighten the arms of my leather jacket. The tall man across the mahogany table leans back in his chair, his body moulding into the plush upholstery. I dig my fingers into my knees as he regards me with unreadable eyes. "Ava, you are one of our best operatives. Your success is impressive. The number of souls we have retrieved with your help has made a huge difference to our future."
My stomach flips as I wait for the but. There's always a but. Every time.
"But, we need you to go back."
There it is. My shoulders slump but I keep my gaze fixed on his cold, grey eyes. Don't show weakness. Deficiency would be the end—a return to my life amongst the Fated people, and to desolation.
The man leans to one side and pulls open a drawer, his long black ponytail sweeping forward. He produces a manila folder and places the file on the table. Flipping to the first page, he points at a picture. The code printed reads NPHM.
Shit.
"That isn't possible, Darius. Sir. I'm not capable..."
"I don't tell soul hunters to do the incapable."
"But a Nephilim... they're stronger than demons, how can I retrieve his soul?”
A young guy smiles up at me from a photograph, hooded jacket casually open across his broad chest, his violet-flecked blue eyes the single betrayal of his heritage.
"I can't go back there. Please." Nausea pours into my stomach. The human world is abhorrent, and each time I'm sent to retrieve demon souls I struggle. Mixing with humans is bad enough, but what's worse is my powers are useless in their world. I'm subjected to physical fights when I confront the demons. Fights that hurt.
"Ava. You have been chosen to do this. Your skills as a soul hunter are some of the best, as is your ability to blend in. There is no one else we can trust."
The backhanded compliment doesn't detract from the magnitude of what he's asking me. I wipe a hand across my face to disguise the anxiety pulling down the corners of my mouth. "You said I wouldn't have to go back..."
“The previous soul hunters failed. I misjudged them. I am not misjudging you, because I’ve seen what you can do. The Nephilim are strong, but I know you’re capable of succeeding. I know you will make the right choices.” The unmistakable warning in his voice dampens my desire to retort. There’s no way I can refuse.
I pick at an imaginary piece of lint on my jeans. If I collect souls trapped in demons, in return, I'll be free from servitude. The Caelestia who rule my world and life promise freedom, and I can live in their bright world. But after two years, this promise hasn't materialised.
Each time Darius sends me to collect a soul, he informs me I'll receive my Will and be freed when I return. Yet every time I complete my mission, Darius calls me back to his office. Just one more. Every time.
Two years ago, I snatched my chance, left my world of the Fated behind, and took on the duties of a soul hunter. As a reckless teenager, I didn't listen to my people who told me I’d be making a grave mistake. I never considered life would be worse as a soul hunter than staying with my family and the Fated, but it is. Living as one of the Fated means a half existence, always at the whim of the Caelestia, who claim they keep us protected. No, we’re subdued; not good enough to share their utopia unless we prove ourselves worthy. My people are right; a soul hunter's life is worse, the threat of death follows each day, and many of us never return from our missions.
