The Darkness (2 page)

Gina closed the door and stood for a minute, her forehead pressed against the cool, smooth wood. When she turned, Darius was prowling the hotel room, examining everything, picking up her belongings, holding them to his face, putting them down again.

It was actually a suite of rooms, consisting of a comfortable sitting area and a large bedroom. It didn't take him long to circle the entire sitting room, for she didn't have many possessions. He came back to stand in front of her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, almost gently.

She frowned. “Shouldn't that be my question? This is my room.”

“That wasn't quite what I meant.” He sank down onto the sofa and patted the seat beside him. “Come and sit with me.”

“I'd rather stand.”

He looked thoughtful, but didn't argue. Instead, he relaxed against the cushions, his arms stretched out along the back of the sofa, and watched her through half-closed eyes. “I presumed, when you disappeared so quickly, that you'd gone back to your sisters.”

“No.”

“Well, obviously not. I think I'd notice if the old harridans were hidden away here.” He sniffed the air. “I'd smell them.”

She almost smiled at his words. He'd never liked her sisters, and to be fair, they hadn't done anything to make him like them. Quite the opposite, in fact. Now, Gina turned away to hide the wave of anguish washing over her at the memory of all her sisters had done.

Her eldest sister, Regan, had always been like a mother to Gina, and Gina was quite aware that Regan would have happily killed Darius twenty-two years ago. Gina had stood in her way back then, but Regan's bitterness had festered, until she was willing to use anything, including Gina's daughter, to settle the score.

It had taken a long time for Gina to forgive her, but in the end, she'd come to accept that Regan had only done what she believed was needed to protect her.

Now Gina was beyond even her sister's protection.

She turned back. Darius still watched her, and she shifted under his gaze, uncomfortable. She looked around the room, searching for something to say. “Would you like a drink?”

His eyes darkened even more. “Are you offering?”

His gazed flicked back to her throat, and she realized what she had said. Heat rose in her cheeks, and her mouth went dry. “I've got beers, in the fridge.”

“Spoilsport,” he murmured. Then he shrugged. “A beer would be good.”

She got him a bottle from the minibar, and then took one for herself; it would give her something to do with her hands, something to hide behind. She handed him the opened bottle, then stood in front of him, not sure what to do. Though there was one thing she desperately needed to know. Did he have news of Raven? Her heart softened as she thought of their beautiful daughter. It would make it all worthwhile if only Raven were safe and happy.

“Tell me about Raven,” she said. “How is she?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You expect me to believe you care?”

“Just tell me.”

He shrugged. “She's fine. Better than fine. She and Kael were married five days ago. As you would have known if you'd stayed around after the fight, instead of taking off.”

Gina ignored the comment. She couldn't have stayed; it was impossible. She would have only caused more hurt to her daughter if she had. But something relaxed inside her at the news of Raven's marriage. Kael was a good man, a shape-shifter and head of the Council. He had risked everything to save Raven. Now Gina would trust him to keep her safe.

She opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment, a dog barked in the distance, and her gaze flew to the window. She knew it was a dog, not a hellhound, but it reminded her that her time was running out. She didn't want Darius anywhere near her when they caught up. Even a vampire as old as Darius was no match for a pair of hellhounds.

She had to get him away from her and soon.

“For God's sake, relax,” Darius muttered. “I'm not going to leap on you.” He gave her a long look out of those dark eyes. “Well, not unless you ask me very, very nicely.”

 

Darius watched her reaction to his words. She was nervous, her eyes flickering to the window, her whole body jumping at every sound.

Gina was afraid of something, and if she feared him, then she was only being sensible. However, he was aware that fear was not the only reaction she was feeling to his presence. She was also aroused, and that was as far from sensible as it was possible to get. He could scent the perfume of her arousal on the warm night air, and his hunger was rising.

That combined with the anger that had simmered beneath the surface for the past week made a dangerous mix.

His cock was already hard, and sex had been at the forefront of his mind since he'd first seen her. Now his gums prickled with the need to feed. He longed to do both. Only force of will kept him sitting here when what he wanted to do was pin her down and take her in every way possible.

But he didn't dare touch her, not while the Darkness still ate at his mind. He could feel its lingering pull, waiting for something to set it free.

He took a sip of his beer and let his gaze wander over her face and body. What had she done to herself? She'd always been slender, but now she was almost gaunt. Her skin was pale, and she had cut off her hair. That was recent; a week ago, it had hung down to her waist. The short style suited her, though, showing off her high cheekbones and emphasizing her enormous eyes. She could have passed for human, if not for those. They were witch's eyes, silver rimmed with black, gazing at him, unblinking, until he was sure he could sink into them, lose himself in her soul.

No doubt she'd kick him out fast enough if he did.

She hadn't wanted him before, and she didn't want him now. She had made that very clear. What had he thought when he'd seen her last week? That she had come for him? He was a fool.

The old pain gripped him again, but he wouldn't give in to it. Instead, he allowed his anger to rise, because anger was easier to bear.

“How did you find me?” she asked.

He glanced up at her question. “What?”

“How did you know to come here?”

“When you spoke in my head, I knew you must be somewhere close, so close I could almost smell the sweetness of your blood.” He leaned toward her and breathed in again.

Gina flinched, but stood her ground. “You're not supposed to be here,” she said.

His eyes narrowed, and the anger crept a little higher. “Where exactly am I ‘supposed to be'?”

“Anywhere. Not here. You have to go.”

He could hear the panic in her voice, and he looked at her curiously. “Are you going to make me?” he asked, allowing a small part of his anger to leak into his voice.

He knew she'd heard it. The little color in her face fled, and a savage wave of satisfaction washed through him.

She wrapped her arms around herself, searching his face. “I'm going to ask you,” she replied.

He laughed, genuinely amused. It occurred to him then that his little witch had no idea what he was feeling. Perhaps he'd become too good at masking his emotions. Maybe she needed to know something of the rage seething inside him. “You can read my mind?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Just an impression of what you're feeling if I concentrate very hard.”

“Then try, little witch.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, but a moment later, he sensed the gentle brush of her mind against his, and opened to her.

She paled even further and took an involuntary step back. “You hate me.” The words were ripped from her, a statement, not a question. She stared at him, her eyes wide and bright with unshed tears.

It was a trick. He knew it was a trick. Why would she expect anything else from him after what she had done?

“What did you expect?” he said. “That I would still love you?” He rose to his feet and took a step toward her. She backed away until she was up against the wall and could go no farther. Something in her face warned him to get a grip, leash his anger before it overwhelmed him, but it was too late.

He flew at her then, his hands gripped her shoulders and the force of his attack slammed them both into the wall. He pinned her there with one hand at her throat, and stared down.

“I could forgive you for not loving me,” he snarled. “I could forgive you for leaving me without a word, but I will never, never forgive you for what you did to our daughter.”

Her eyes widened at his words. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again. Some expression passed across her face, acceptance maybe. She relaxed in his hold, quiescent.

Do what you will.

The words reverberated in his mind. Briefly, his fingers tightened until he felt the blood throbbing in her throat. Her silver eyes glowed with power, but she made no effort to release herself, and something snapped inside him. Darius stared down into the face that had haunted his dreams since his first sight of her. He knew, in that moment, she would never come to harm at his hands. He forced his hunger down, and after a minute, he loosened his grip. Let his hands fall to his sides.

He'd wanted Gina from the first moment he saw her. He'd worked for the Council back then, fighting in the war against the fire-demons. The war had not been going well. Everyone knew witches possessed the power to see the future, and Darius had wanted to go to them for guidance. Kael, as head of the Council, warned him the witches were not to be trusted, but as usual, Darius had gone his own way, and there he'd seen Gina.

He could clearly remember the shock ripping through him as he'd stood before her; speechless, unable to do anything but stare. He'd never wanted anything as much in his entire existence, and he'd been so used to taking what he wanted that he hadn't thought twice about snatching her away.

They'd had three glorious months together, and she had come to love him. He was sure of it. Right up to the day she walked out without a word. He'd been angry, then hurt and finally bitter, but those feelings were nothing compared to how he'd felt when her sisters turned up nine months later and presented him with his daughter, Raven.

They'd refused to speak of Gina, just handed the baby to Darius, and then told the Council of the prophecy made at Raven's birth. It foretold that if either the Council or the fire-demons sacrificed his daughter on her twenty-first birthday, then they would gain a great victory over the other side. Kael had been furious, and he'd acted in anger, passing a sentence of death over the baby.

Darius had believed Gina knew all this, and his bitterness turned to rage, but still he'd wanted her.

He had taken his daughter and run, then spent the next fourteen years hiding from both sides. But after the fire-demons captured Raven, he had returned to the Council, knowing they were his only hope of finding his daughter. Kael had agreed to help, and for years they'd searched, but it was only through Gina that they'd finally managed to find and save Raven. That was a week ago, and afterward Gina had disappeared. Again.

But this time, he had found her.

Her tongue came out to lick her lips, and he almost reached for her again as heat coiled in his belly. He saw her swallow, his eyes riveted to her throat, where he could see her blood pulse so close to the surface, smell the sweetness of it.

“Would it make you feel better?” she asked, and her voice was soft and low.

His gaze flew to her face. “What?”

“If you kill me, will it lift the Darkness from you? Will you be as you were before we ever met?”

He imagined her dead, and pain ripped through him. She couldn't die. He wouldn't let her. She was his. “No!”

Shock flashed across her features, and she reached out a hand. Darius stepped back and turned away.

“Darius?”

He forced himself to turn back to her. There was some expression on her face. Pity. He didn't want her pity.

“What?” he growled.

She flinched at his tone, but didn't back down. “I can do a spell,” she said.

“A spell? What sort of spell?”

“I can make it as though we never met. You will forget I ever existed.”

“No!” The word was torn from him.

“I would not want to forget you, either” They were both silent for a minute before she spoke again. “I didn't know”

“What didn't you know?”

“About Raven and the prophecy. I didn't even know she was alive. My sisters told me our daughter died at birth. They lied to me.” He could hear the pain of betrayal in her voice and knew she spoke the truth.

“Where were you?” he asked. “I searched for you, but I couldn't feel you anywhere.”

“I was banished to the Shadowlands.”

Shock washed over him. “I thought they were a myth.”

“No, the land where the souls of the dead gather before their final journey definitely exists.”

“Sounds like a fun place.”

“Oh yes,” she said. “I had fun there.” She shook her head. “At first it didn't matter. After I left you, I was…” She shrugged. “It wasn't so bad there. Before you came, I'd lived my whole life in isolation, with just my sisters, and the occasional visitor who came to seek a vision of the future. It wasn't much different.”

“Have I mentioned that I hate your sisters?”

“Once or twice,” she said, “but you don't understand. They have a great responsibility. No,
we
have a great responsibility. Anyway, Regan released me about five weeks ago.”

Darius frowned. “Why would she do that?”

“I don't think she ever believed things would go so far. She couldn't risk the fire-demons sacrificing Raven, but no one could find her. Regan hoped we would have a bond, and once free of the Shadowlands, I did sense our daughter. I felt her pain and knew she was alive.”