The Darkening (29 page)

"Lexi, wake up, baby," he said, brushing the hairs from her face.

Her eyelids fluttered and slowly opened. "Darius ..." she breathed, trying to focus on his face.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"Like I'm dying," she said with a lame attempt at humor.

Darius was afraid she was, too. They were out of time. "I need for you to shift."

"Can't," she whispered. "No energy."

He made his voice stern. "Yes, you can, damn itand you will. Now!"

His tone caught her by surprise, he could tell. There was fear when she looked up at him-not fear of him, he knew; fear of what might happen.

"The demon?" she asked.

"Gone for now, but he is sure to come back. We don't have a lot of time. You need to shift-it will heal your wound. It's the only way."

After an eternally long second, she nodded. "Help me out of my clothes-can't do it myself."

With no time to waste, he pulled his dagger from his stomach where it had attached itself and sliced open all her clothes. He was careful when he peeled them away from her wound, but some blood had dried around it and when he pulled, she cried out in pain.

"I'm sorry, Lexi. I know this hurts." He pulled the last of her clothes away. The wound gaped dark and ugly against the perfection of her body, and his anger at Amadja grew to mammoth proportions.

"What now?" he asked her when he was finished.

"Help me," she said. "Need more energy."

"What can I do?" He felt nearly helpless.

Lexi gave a strangled cry. "Full moon ... wolf in heat ... improvise

He nodded, but hesitated. This felt too much like taking advantage of her, but he knew he had to do it. Lying next to her, he bent over and kissed her, hesitantly at first but then more deeply as his fears and emotions surfaced. He tried to convey to her how he felt-how much he cared for her, and his nearly desperate fear that she might leave him. In his kiss, he promised her what he couldn't promise her in wordsthat they had a future together. He was so into the moment that he didn't notice at first the hum of energy around them. When he did, he let the kiss end and lifted his head. Lexi smiled up at him.

He saw her take a couple of deep breaths, and then she closed her eyes and gripped his hand with a strength that belied her condition.

He felt the magic closing in on them, and, wanting to help it along, he placed his free hand across his heart. The life-force tattoo shimmered, and he felt what little magic he had left travel along his arm and into their clasped hands.

Her eyes turned first, growing a shade lighter and becoming elliptical in shape. Then everything happened at once. Her dark hair seemed to get longer and spread across her body, covering her. Her skeletal system reshaped itself, as did the bones of her face.

Darius had only enough time to wonder if the process hurt when it was done and he was leaning over a beautiful black wolf, holding its paw. Lexi's paw.

It was hard to imagine this beautiful creature was the woman he'd held in his arms moments before. She lifted her weary head and looked at him. Though she couldn't speak, he felt like he knew what she wanted.

He stooped over her and examined her stomach. "It's better, Lexi," he told her, hoping she could understand him. "It'll take a little time, but it's healing."

She seemed to understand because after a second, she struggled to her feet. Then she nudged him, and he smiled. Pushing himself to his feet, he gathered what was left of her clothes and led her to the stairs leading outside, watching to make sure she didn't have any trouble climbing them.

Using his key once more to open the metal doors, they exited into the cool night air.

Tain pulled the succubus more tightly against him and kissed her with a thoroughness only centuries of having sex can teach a man. He knew the instant she lost control of the situation, and he reveled in the experience of being in charge. Of being the dominant one.

Seconds later, he felt rather than heard Amadja approach, but he didn't hurry to end the kiss. He took his time. When he did release the succubus, she stared up at him with eyes wide with wonder and glazed with passion. This was not the first time he'd kissed her. They'd had sex frequently. Not because he liked her particularly, but because it seemed to annoy Aja.

He turned now to face the demon lord, wondering what guise he would take for this confrontation. As Tain had expected, it was Aja standing there, hands on her hips, eyes blazing in anger.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll let go of the succubus immediately." The look she gave Daphne fairly sizzled. Tain felt a stab of guilt for having used the succubus in such a way, but quickly shrugged it off. If he'd had more living magic in him, she would have sucked him dry without batting an eye. What did he care if, because of him, she was now the object of Aja's wrath?

"Do you want to tell me why you stopped me in there?" Aja continued. "I had them. I could have destroyed them both."

Tain smiled and moved closer, Daphne already forgotten as he slipped his arms around Aja's waist and pulled her close. "Let's go someplace private, shall we? After you hear my idea, you'll no doubt want to show your gratitude, and this time, I don't want an audience."

Even in New York City, a tall, half-naked man covered in tattoos with blood running down his chest and a rare black wolf by his side was a sight to see in the middle of the night. Darius ignored the stares. He just wanted to put some distance between him and the demons chasing them.

He felt something cold against his palm-Lexi nosing his hand-and realized that he'd stopped walking.

"I'm just a little tired," he told Lexi, who was looking up at him with a question in her lupine eyes. He looked around the street and saw what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse a block ahead.

He looked down at the wolf and saw that she had seen it too. It was like they both silently agreed that the warehouse was where they should stop to rest, and they moved off toward it.

"How about over here?" he suggested, pointing to one of the cleaner corners once they were inside. Lexi lumbered over to it and sank to the floor. Almost instantly, she fell asleep.

Darius sat beside her, propping his back against the wall. He'd thought she was asleep, but she raised her head and, seeing him seated close beside her, dragged herself the few inches needed to lay beside him. Then she laid her head in his lap.

Darius was at first unsure how to react. He'd never been close to a woman before. He'd had sex with plenty of them, but that was all it had ever been and he'd rarely spent time with a woman without there being sex involved.

Being with Lexi was different, though. He gave in to the temptation to run his fingers through her silky fur.

The world seemed better when he was touching her. It scared him to think how close he'd come to losing her. Closing his eyes, he saw again the way she'd fought by his side, hurling fire without hesitation. How many women did he know who would do that? He thought about the vampire initiation where she'd exhibited a fierce loyalty to her friend, and about her devotion to duty as a bounty hunter. Both were traits he respected and admired. It was easy to understand why he liked her so much.

But it went beyond that. When he was with her, his pulse raced and his body quickened with need. Clothed or nude, she was gorgeous, and he ached to make love to her.

Darius paused as he realized what he'd just thought. He ached to make love to her-not have sex with her. It was an important difference, and it left him with a life-changing revelation. He was in love with her.

Gazing down at her sleeping form, he was filled with warm satisfaction, a sense of wholeness. It was a feeling he held on to with fierce determination because tomorrow it could all end.

C HAPTER NINETEEN

Lexi woke and, without moving, opened her eyes to look around. She wasn't in her room. In fact, she didn't know where she was. Her head was resting against something warm but hard, and everything seemed sharper and louder than usual. With a start, she realized she was in wolf form.

The memories of the night before came rushing back with painful clarity and a sense of urgency. Darius!

Raising her head, she looked around. He was there beside her, his back against the wall, his eyes still closed. She relaxed a little, until she noticed the angry, red striations radiating out from a wound that should have healed but clearly hadn't.

Pulling on her magic, which thankfully had been restored while she slept, she morphed to human form. Then she knelt beside Darius and laid her hand against his chest. It slowly rose and fell with each breath he took, but the skin was hot.

"Darius?" She laid her hand against his forehead, and it too felt hot. "Darius, wake up."

He came awake with a start, wild-eyed and instantly alert for danger, automatically reaching for his dagger before she had a chance to place her hand on his arm to quiet him. "It's okay. We're safe."

"Lexi?" He turned to her, blinking a couple of times like he was trying to bring her face into focus. "You're okay?"

She smiled at him and touched her stomach where the wound was completely healed. "All better. You, on the other hand, don't look so good."

He tried to wave his hand to dismiss her concern, but the effort proved too much. "I'll live," he said weakly.

"Right," she muttered, not convinced. She leaned closer to him, trying to get a better look at the wound. The scalpel had sliced through the top circle of the figure eight, just along the upper inside edge. "Is this your only injury?" she asked, needing to know the extent of the damage.

He was very careful about meeting her gaze when he answered her. "My back. Amadja' burned it."

She nodded. "Okay. Let me take a look. Do you think you can lean forward?"

She could tell it hurt him, but he cooperated. She moved so she could see his back. "Nothing"

"Are you sure? It hurt a lot worse than the knife wound."

She looked again, feeling a little confused. "No, it's all clear. No scars or anything. I don't get it. Aren't you supposed to heal quickly?"

"Yes."

"So the wounds on your back healed the way they're supposed to, but this one didn't." She stared at the wound on his chest. "This is what he meant by your being vulnerable," she said at last.

"You mean Whitley?"

She nodded.

He leaned back against the wall, wincing with the effort. "Yeah, I think so

"You need medical help," she said firmly, her mind already working out the logistics of getting him to a hospital.

"No. They won't understand about me being an Immortal, and once they do, they won't leave me alone. Not to mention that the whole world will know we're here."

She could hear the pain in his voice when he spoke and knew that he was suffering the way any human would have.

"If he'd struck you a little lower-"

"I'd probably be dead," he finished for her.

She shuddered at the thought. "There must be something we can do." She thought about it. "It looks infected." She reached out to touch the wound, but he put his hand up to block her. In doing so, he accidentally brushed his hand against his chest and the lifeforce tattoo moved. It shifted just enough that the edge of the upper circle dropped down below the top of the cut. Instantly the striation marks outside the circle faded and the cut began to heal.

"Darius, what would happen if you moved this tattoo?" she asked hesitantly. "Does it have to be over your heart?" She suddenly had the fear that the tattoo fed his life force directly into his heart, and if he moved it, he might die.

"Let's find out," he suggested.

"No." She put out a hand to stop him. "What if we're wrong?"

"If I start to have problems, take my hand and move it back."

She guessed that would work, though she thought it was risky. Feeling Darius's gaze on her, she nodded. "Okay."

She watched him place his hand over his tattoo and saw the shimmer of magic above the surface. Then, moving very slowly, he dragged the tattoo off to one side until the scalpel wound was completely outside the twin circles.

Almost immediately it started to heal. It took a full five minutes for all the angry red marks to fade from his skin, and another five before the cut was completely healed. She'd never seen anything like it. She looked up into his face and smiled. "That's pretty amazing. How are you feeling?"

"Like I might actually live," he said with a smile. Then he frowned. "How are
you
feeling? You gave me a real scare last night."

"I'm fine, thanks to you. You saved my life. Thank you

He raised a hand and brushed his fingers down her cheek. "I should be thanking you for saving mine."

She smiled. Despite everything that had happened to them, she enjoyed being with him. Then the rest of the evening came rushing back, including Amadja's comment about Mai. "I have to get to a phone and check on Mai." She looked around, starting to feel a bit desperate.

"Slow down," Darius told her, standing up. "I'm sure Mai's okay. I doubt Amadja has had time to do anything. Let's go back to your place and consider our next move, all right?"

She nodded, and he pulled her to him. "I'm sorry," he said, slipping his arms around her. "I've tried to ignore the fact that you aren't wearing any clothes, and while I might be an Immortal, I'm still just a man-a man who finds you the most enticingly beautiful woman he's ever known." He touched his lips to hers, and she felt a rush of desire shoot through her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with unabashed enthusiasm. When he finally broke off the kiss and told her in a voice gone hoarse with need that they had to stop, she didn't feel rejected in the least.