Dwellers of Darkness (23 page)

I smiled and approached them.

“You ready for target practice?” Cole smirked.

“Don’t tell me
... I am the target.”

Cole smiled smugly and winked as he brushed away a strand of his shoulder length hair that had escaped his tie.

“We have been working with Kennedy all morning on controlling her direction and intensity. We think she is ready,” Torin spoke formally to me.

My regret kicked in when I looked around at all the people working so
hard to find this sword. Lars’ goal was the same as theirs except when I hand the sword to him at the end. I wasn’t tricking them or even lying, but I still felt uncomfortable not revealing the full truth.

“Funny, it doesn’t make me feel better.” I frowned. “No offense, Ken.”

“None taken.” She shook her head, but a smile edged around her mouth. Because she knew she wouldn’t hurt me with the invocations, she had lightened up.

“Yeah, you’re really distraught over this I can tell,” I teased.

“Call it payback after years of your and Ryan’s endless taunts.” She winked. Kennedy’s sweet personality had taken on some spunk. She was coming into her own and finally growing into who she was meant to be. Strong, kind, and a powerhouse in her own way. I loved it.

Sticking out my tongue, I marched into the meadow toward the wooden target they had set up. “Hey. Can I get an air mattress out here or something?”

“You’ll be fine. She’s really gotten better,” Cole shouted. “You ready?” With my back to them, I gave them a thumbs-up.

“This might sting a bit.” Kennedy baited me, which made me snicker.
Where did my sweet Kennedy go?

Bending my knees, I positioned my feet onto the dirt, feeling the earth seeping into me. After hearing the chant sail over the wind into my ears, it was only a heartbeat later when the force of her words hit me. Like a hurricane, the power smacked into me, and once again I was in the air. My face hit the makeshift target, knocking it down as I crashed to the ground.

I lay face first in the dirt, spread-eagle. The sound of feet running to me was mixed with the howling laughter from the group on the grass.

“You okay?” Eli’s voice reached me first. His hand touched my arm.

“Oooww.”

“Oh,
Em. I’m sorry.” Kennedy came down on my other side. “Again.”

I moaned into the dirt. Snickering, Eli rolled me over. “She’s okay.”

“There’s blood.” Kennedy pointed at my face.

“Only her nose.” Eli pulled me up, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe the blood off.

“I am so, so sorry.” Kennedy grabbed my hand; her teasing confidence had vanished.

“No worries. You warned me it might hurt a little.” I waved it off and grimaced as Eli continued to clean dirt and blood off my face. I looked into his glittering, green eyes. “I know you are dying to make a bulls-eye joke so go ahead.”

Eli pressed his lips together trying not to laugh. “Me?”

“Maybe if you imagine yourself the arrow next time, you’d get better trajectory,” Cooper shouted, still howling with laughter. “Become one with the arrow,
Em. Be the arrow.”

I flipped him off over Eli’s shoulder only making the group on the grass hoot louder. I looked at my mom. She had made it halfway to me but stopped. Now seeing I was okay, she was also fighting back laughter.

“Nice, Mom. You, too?” I threw up my arms. “Go ahead... tell me I nailed it.”

With that everyone lost it. The situation was hilarious, and I laughed along with them, even though my face hurt when I did.

“All right, Jared, see if you can sketch the map exposed on Em’s back before it fades.” Cole addressed Jared as we calmed a bit. “Or we’re going to have to do it again.”

My eyes widened, but Eli had a huge grin on his face. “Seriously. Best day. Ever.”

“Remember when you said payback is a bitch?” My eyebrow curved. “Yeah, she’s going be one tonight.”

“
Mmmm... foreplay.” He kissed my head and joined Cooper and Gabby.

Since pictures of my back didn’t show the true detail and marks of the white tattoo, and we
couldn’t afford to miss one detail of the map, Jared drew the basic lines, and with his help I would finish it. Josh was right next to Jared, helping him with copying the details of my tattoo. It all seemed to be exciting to him. With the magic and spells, Josh was in heaven.

With my sketch pad in Jared’s hand, he outlined what he could before it faded. By the time he finished the detail work, Kennedy had blasted me into the dirt six times. I was sore and achy and covered in soil and dried blood. Torin had been resolute on getting me a pad to fall on, but most times I missed it. Just another day at Camp Dark Dweller.

Actually, it wasn’t much different from my days spent at Camp Demon. As I sprawled in the dirt, a memory of when I blew up the training building crossed my mind. Alki, Koke, and Maya lay on their backs covered in blood, and pieces of the building were scattered over the ground all because of my skills needed work.

A strange sadness hit me when I thought of my Demon family, of Nic, Rez, and Marguerite. She would call me her
dulce nina
and hug me so tightly
.
My mouth began to water at the thought of her cooking. Damn, I really missed that woman. I missed them all, even Koke and Maya who probably didn’t feel the same way. Sick as it was I really missed Alki. They had been my family for six months, and I had felt at home with them.

As the day wore on, Torin, Thara, and Mom eventually left us, going for a walk. Torin had given Eli so many dirty looks, mumbling under his breath I was relieved to see him go. Eli would ignore him for only so long. Cooper, Gabby, and Eli disappeared shortly after going on a hunt.

Finally, Cole called time and left the last of us as he headed to the house.

“You okay, babe?” Jared shook out his cramped hand, watching Kennedy drag her body to him and plop down next to me and Josh.

“Holy crap, I’m tired.” She leaned her head on Jared’s shoulder.

“You did well, though. Proud of you.” He kissed the side of her head, folding his hand around hers.

“Thanks.” She smiled, gazing at him, eyes simmering with love.

They were so
freakin’ adorable together it almost hurt. She was blissfully happy. Jared was such a good guy, and his adoration for her was clear. They were the “cute, sweet” couple who almost made you gag. But all I could feel was happiness for her. Eli’s and my relationship was different from theirs. Neither of us was cute or sweet. We never would be, and I was more than okay with it.

“I hope all this hard work will lead to the sword so we can get Ryan and Mark out.” Kennedy sighed, cuddling farther into Jared’s shoulder.

“And West,” Jared added.

A hard lump formed in my stomach. I was being given the perfect opportunity to tell Kennedy the truth about Ryan. Still, no words came out. Truth clustered on my tongue, debating to leap off or crawl back down my throat.

Her face was so hopeful. Could I rip that away from her? It was supposedly the right thing to do, but was it really? It would break her. She had lost her family, her home, her life as it had been. All she had was the hope of getting Ryan back with us. I’m sure she still hoped he could go home and be with his family again.

Josh, who was quietly sitting next to me, saved me from my cowardice as he broke the silence. “You don’t have any idea where this map leads?” He grabbed the sketch from Jared, rotating it around.

“Nope. Not a clue.” It wasn’t a lie, but keeping the fact Lars had found it familiar seemed like one.

“Well, we need to figure it out if we’re going to find this sword,” he stressed. “Who do you think might know?”

“If I even knew who put it on my back, I could start there. But no one seems to even have that knowledge.”

“Are you sure your mom doesn’t know?” Josh’s eyes held mine.

Anger slithered up my spine. “My mom said she didn’t, and I believe her. She may have hidden a lot of things from me for my safety, but she is not a liar. She wouldn’t lie to me about this now.”

“Okay, sorry. Was just asking.”

“Sorry, Josh.” The subject of my mom did cause me to be a bit snippy.

“You guys finally done?” Cooper, Eli, and Gabby walked to us.

“Yeah.” Jared stretched his hands and arms. “Catch anything for dinner?”

“You have to go get your own, kid. Start providing for the little lady,” Cooper rubbed Jared’s head. Jared jumped up and started to wrestle with Cooper.

Hands tilted my head back, and lips came down on mine. Something tangy and warm coated my mouth.

“Ugh!” I pulled back and wiped my lips. Red liquid painted them. “Is that deer blood?”

Kennedy’s and Josh’s faces looked so appalled I wanted to laugh.

“Yup.” He kissed me again. “I wondered if you’d be able to identify it.”

I wanted it to gross me out, like it did Kennedy and Josh. It didn’t. It wasn’t the best thing I ever tasted, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. I grabbed the back of his neck pulling Eli’s head closer to mine. I licked the bottom lip.

“Yum.” I smiled.

A deep rumble came from his throat.

“Oh,
ewwwww... Emmmber.” Kennedy’s body shuddered.

“That
... that was just nasty.” Josh shook his head.

Gabby cocked her head, assessing me. “Okay, she is as twisted as the rest of us.”

“Oh, she’s even more so.” Eli pulled me up. “Cooper, be ready at ten with the truck loaded.”

“What the hell? You’re not helping me load?” Cooper held up his arms.

“Hey. I have managerial duties. I have to train and educate the new Dark Dweller recruit.” He walked backward, tugging me along. I knew where we were headed. You didn’t tease a Dark Dweller, especially Eli, and think it would slide.

“When I said I needed to train the recruit, I didn’t mean you could come with us tonight.” Eli sat up from the bed, swinging his legs down to the floor.

“Well, I did.” I sat up, leaning against the wall, pulling the sheet with me. My desire to go with Eli also came from the fact that when I returned to his room, the bed was made. Neat and tidy as a pin. Eli thought I had done it, and I let him believe it. In the precise way it was made, I knew the truth: Sinnie. It was a calling card from Lars. It obviously wasn’t urgent enough to puppet me into the forest, but it was telling me he needed to see me soon. I had to leave the property.

“You are not going, and that’s final.” We had been going around and around the same argument for the past ten minutes resulting in the same outcome.

“I have been captive forever now. First here, then Lars’, then as an actual prisoner of the Queen’s, and now here again. I’m going crazy. This isn’t even an outing in public.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re being hunted, so you can’t leave this property.” He pulled on his jeans.

“Rrrrr...” My head banged back on the wall. “Come on. They aren’t waiting for me at the property line. We’ll be there and back before anyone could possible find out.”

“Lorcan could be waiting for you. He probably has soldiers around the perimeter.” He sat down, tugging on his boots.

“But he doesn’t, does he? You could smell him and any others before they even get close to me. He said he was no longer working with Aneira. For some reason I actually believe him. Clearly he hasn’t told her where I am. Otherwise she would be here. She could be looking for me in Europe for all we know. I really need to get out, Eli.” I scooted in behind him, talking close to his ear. “Please.”

Slowly, I kissed his neck. I wasn’t above using
any
of my powers of persuasion to get my way.

Eli grunted. “You have no shame, woman. You really think I am so easily swayed?”

I let my hand drop over his chest, sliding all the way down, unbuttoning his pants.

“I can make it worth your while.” My fingers began to convince him. He groaned in pleasure.

“You are evil, Brycin. Did anyone ever tell you that? You must be part Demon or something.” He leaned back into me.

“I’ll have to get it checked out,” I purred into his ear. After a moment a deep groan came from him.

“Fine. You can go.” He turned around and threw me on my back. “But you will listen to every word I say. I am not joking. You will not be stubborn or argumentative. Not only is it dangerous because of what is out there for you, but of what we’re doing. This is who we are. You have to accept both good and bad.” He crawled over me, using his fingers to influence my answer. “You understand? Every word I say. You obey. No question.”

“Eli
...” I moaned as his finger caressed fervently.

“We agreed?” He pulled away, moving back up to me.

Teasing, he hinted at entering, but didn’t. Driving me over the edge. “Eli...” I bucked against him.

“Agreed?”

I nodded profusely.

“You use sex as weapon against me, and I will use it back on you tenfold. Got it?” I nodded again.

He made sure I knew he was dominant one in this situation. And yes, he left his boots on.

No one was happy about me going. Eli merely sat back, letting Cole and the others try to talk me out of it, but my mind was set. He’d just snigger the more they tried because he knew it only made me more determined.

Cooper packed Cole’s SUV with the merchandise. I never thought I would be part of something like this. I was trying really hard not to judge. I didn’t like it, but good or bad this was how they made their money. They were Dark Dwellers, Dark Fae, bikers. What did I expect? For them to have proper jobs and be respectable? Funny in my world the supposed good wanted to kill me, and the bad wanted to protect me. The terms good and bad were relative.

“Eli, you know this is stupid. Why are you allowing Ember to go?” Cole stared at Eli.

“Allowing?” I sputtered, but they both ignored me.

“Have you tried to stop her from doing anything she has set her mind on?” Eli continued to help Cooper load the car. “Plus, she’s a good fighter now and has some extreme powers. We can’t treat her like she’s breakable. She’s tough and can handle more than any of us give her credit for.”

“Not the point.” Cole stroked his chin in frustration.

“I promise I will keep her safe. The Apocalypse Riders won’t be a problem. Easy trade. They are the closest to comrades you can have in this business.”

A chuckle came from Cooper. “Comrades, huh?”

Eli shot Cooper a look to shut him up.

“I should go instead,” Cole stated. “Weiss still has a warrant out for you, and Ember is with you.”

“Nah, man, we’ll be fine. What could
possibly
go wrong?” Cooper egged Cole on even more. Eli smacked the back of Cooper’s head, giving him a shut-the-hell up look.

“Don’t worry. This will be fast. It’s only a drop off so Cooper and I can handle it. We’ll be back and all this worrying will be for nothing, Mom.” Eli teased. Cole was about to interject when Eli hopped on his Harley. He turned to me, throwing me a helmet.

“Climb on, Brycin.” I settled the helmet on my head and swung my leg over, scooting up behind him. He leaned back. “You don’t know the things I imagined doing to you on this bike.”

A thrill consumed me as imagery played out in my head. “You are evil.” I poked him in the back. He grinned and started the engine, revving it for emphasis.

Cooper gave a salute, hopped in the SUV, and tore out the driveway.

“My lady, would you like us to follow?” Simmons flew close to my ear so I could hear him over the roar of the engine.

“No, Simmons, stay here. I’ll be fine.” Simmons didn’t look happy, but he nodded. Cal fluttered into my line of slight looking even more displeased with my decision.

Before I could address Cal, the Harley plunged forward. I had to clamp Eli’s waist to keep myself from falling off. “Let the good times began.” His foot hit the gas as we drove off the ranch.

The wind against my face and the freedom of being outside the property felt exhilarating. A giddy smile wouldn’t leave my lips. “Faster,” I yelled into his ear.

He toed the pedal into a higher gear and twisted the right handlebar. The bike lunged
forward, prompting me to wrap my arms tighter around his middle, fitting my body closer into his. My chest soared, feeling like I was let out of a cage. We flew down the road, and I let my head fall back, watching the tops of the trees zip by as the bike hit maximum speed.

The meeting point was an old, deserted warehouse on the unpopular side of town. No one came here, not even the kind of seedy criminals I had encountered in Mike’s Bar, unless they were doing something they didn’t want anyone else to know.

We stopped in the middle of an empty lot. “Wow, if this isn’t a movie poster for doing shady business.” I removed my helmet and slid off the bike. “This is the point in the movie where you yell at the screen telling the girl to get the hell out of there.”

“Yeah, but not when the girl is the one who the others should be running from.” Eli swung off, his helmet already in his hand.

“Good point.”

Cooper rolled next to us. “I miss my bike when I drive this thing. It doesn’t go around those corners as sweetly as my baby
used
to.” Cooper glared at Eli as he hopped out of the car and came to us.

“Yeah, yeah I get it. After we get the money for this, you’ll get your bike,” Eli grumbled.

As I started to ask what happened to Cooper’s last one, I saw distant headlights bounding toward us. Two cars stopped and several people piled out leaving their lights on blinding me to who was approaching.

Cooper chuckled under his breath. “Oh, man. You are so screwed.” His attention was on someone across the lot. His sight and smell was better than mine.

“Shit.” Eli lowered his head and muttered under his breath. “I didn’t think she would be here.”

Eventually, the group moved close enough for me to see them. I scanned the people and zeroed in on a brunette. Immediately, I recognized her as the girl who had kissed Eli at the party in the woods. The night Lorcan attacked me. My gut wrung, suspicion sitting heavy inside my stomach.

“Eli?”

His lids closed briefly. “You can’t be mad, Brycin. You were gone
three
years. I went a little nuts. I thought you were dead.”

“You were with her?”

“Who left who?” He arched an eyebrow.

Embarrassment and fury burned up my neck. “Don’t come at me with logic,” I hissed at him. “We’re way past that. We’ve been through too much crap to be sensible.” I knew Eli was not the type to go without sex for three years, and I didn’t think he’d pine for someone whom he thought was gone, but it still hurt.

His hands came up to my face. “You’re right. You and I threw all sense out the window a long time ago.”

“Don’t be cute.” I surveyed the girl who had now noticed me as well. Her face contorted in anger as she glared in my direction. “Let me guess, you didn’t tell her you were no longer seeing each other?”

“Well, we weren’t exactly ‘seeing’ each other. I thought if I stopped texting or showing up, she’d get the idea.”

Cooper snickered. “You are such a dick, man.”

Eli took my hand and squeezed it. “That I am.”

Gripping his hand tighter, I glowered at him. “Remind me to kill you later.”

One of Eli’s drop-dead grins turned up his lips. “Count on it. Now, come on.” He tugged me toward the other biker group, only letting my hand go when the leader approached him. I snuck a glance at the girl and saw contempt in her gaze on me.

“
Dragen. Morgan.” The man nodded at Eli and Cooper. His Second stepped with him.

“Bobby.” Eli nodded back. “E.J.”

“Did you hear about Hermit?” Bobby asked.

“Yeah, shot. I’m sorry, man.”

“Yeah. Good guy. Those bastards in Portland. Heard you guys had trouble with them a few years back. Pock and McNamm, right?”

My muscles tightened. To me it wasn’t a few years ago. They still appeared in my nightmares—Pock’s hand down my pants and
McNamm pinning me to the floor. I wasn’t sorry they were dead, but I got uncomfortable with the fact Eli had killed them because of me.

Eli didn’t even twitch in my direction, only nodded in agreement and quickly changed the subject. “Would you like to see the merchandise?” Eli motioned him to the car. Cooper turned on a dime and headed back for the SUV.

I was too busy watching Cooper, E.J., and Bobby, so I missed the girl slithering up to Eli.

“I’ve already seen the merchandise.” Her hand jetted out cupping Eli through his pants. “It was more than satisfactory.”

Disbelief left me rooted in place. Eli grabbed her hand and shook his head. “Yeah, my mistake, and it definitely won’t be happening again.”

Humiliation flushed her cheeks. “Why? Because of her?” Her eyes traveled over me. “Don’t tell me the infamous playboy has settled down with
that
?”

Crap! I’m having a Samantha rerun
.

“Natasha, you knew there were no strings.”

Rage discharged from her pores. “You bastard!” She pushed at his chest. “You didn’t seem to have a problem when you were screwing my brains out night after night.”

The shock, which had kept me frozen, dissipated.

Eli saw me move before I realized I had. “Em...” He obstructed my path to Natasha. “Don’t.” His hands gripped my arms.

“You. Better. Get. Out. Of. My. Way.” Each word bounced off his chest, which blocked me from getting to her.

“Bring it, bitch,” Natasha challenged me. “You think he’ll be faithful to you? Good luck. Your boyfriend’s been screwing me for the last eight months.”

“Natasha, stop,” Eli bellowed. “You do not want to piss her off.”

Natasha put her hands on her hips and sneered at me. “Her? Oh, I think I can take her.”