Dwellers of Darkness (16 page)

They slipped into the shadows and disappeared.

My stomach felt like it had been dipped in acid. Lorcan’s words rolled around and around in my head. The Queen might have the right idea in taking down the wall between the two worlds exposing
us, and making the two worlds into one. The Queen didn’t only want to take Earth back; she wanted to mesh the worlds together and have it all under her ruling. She wanted to kill or enslave the humans and reveal us, the Fae. Magic would rule.

It was like sandpaper against my skin. This knowledge would create hysteria the world could not handle. Everything that anyone had ever known would be gone. Seattle’s chaos would be paradise compared to what would happen if Aneira’s plan materialized.

My fingers slid up the bridge of my nose, pinching my brows together. When Cooper, Jared, Owen, and Gabby returned from running the property line, we spent an hour in a “house meeting” that consisted of us yelling at each other. We circled the same argument till Eli stomped out of the room declaring he couldn’t stand another minute of the pointless conversation. I agreed. We were getting nowhere. Eli probably felt Lorcan was right. They had become soft here. I didn’t think it was a bad thing, but Eli would.

My skin crawled with a need to go for a hunt or run till all my problems were behind me. So I headed for the thick of the forest but stopped when I heard angry voices.

“I know we don’t like each other, but for Ember, for this war, we need to try and work together.”

“I don’t need to do anything for you or her. I’d prefer if you actually left and never came back.” Eli’s tone was strained and full of below-the-surface rage.

“I will not leave her,” Torin replied sharply. “Where she goes, I go.”

“Why? You think you two will live together blissfully with little half-breed Fay children running around? You’re more delusional than I thought.”

I still couldn’t fully see them, but I could sense the strain mounting between them. The surrounding trees held in their tension, like a thick bubble.

“I am not the one who is delusional. She was not meant for you. You know this. So let her go.” Torin’s irate voice drifted through the darkness. “You can never truly make her happy.”

“And you think you’re that man? You think you can handle her? You think she is the happily-ever-after type?” Eli indignantly flung back. His voice was tightening. It would not be long before he snapped. “And to confirm... I did a pretty good job of satisfying her. I sure can cause her to quiver and scream. Can you say the same?”

“Stay away from her.” Torin made an unsteady lunge, challenging Eli, who towered several inches over him. The past week everyone was at each other’s throats, but these two had been the worst.

“What are you going to do about it, Fairy boy?” Eli smirked, not even bothering to drop his arms.

Seeing the fire building under both men’s edgy façades, I hurried to put myself between them. “Stop it. Both of you.”

“No... let him go. Let’s see what Twinkle Toes here can do,” Eli taunted.

“Eli, shut it.” I turned sharply to him, warning him more of
my
temper than Torin’s. As he looked into my eyes, Eli moved back, his arms up in a mock surrender.

I turned back to Torin. “You should be resting. You’re still healing. You need to go back to
the house.”

Even though Torin’s strength wasn’t back to its fullest, he stood there fuming. His hand gripped the cane so hard his knuckles turned white. My focus was locked on him. I could feel the bond pulling me to him, wanting to take care of him. But my body was keenly aware of the heat radiating off Eli standing behind me. It was like magnetic energy making me long to step back and feel his body pressed against mine.

“Yeah, you should go back and take it
easy,
Fairy boy,” Eli taunted.

“Eli.” I stepped away so I could turn and face him. At the same time Torin’s temper snapped. He took advantage of the little space I gave him to reach Eli. He lunged, his fist crashing into Eli’s face. Only Eli’s head jerked back in response. His body did not move an inch. I yelped in surprise. I would have expected this from Eli, but not Torin. This short, violent temper was not him. Torin swung in for a second hit which never made contact. Eli darted out of the way, pushing me back. His reaction and fight techniques were quicker than Torin’s. There was no contest. Eli could easily kill Torin. Eli ducked and barreled forward, his shoulder slamming into Torin’s stomach. Torin’s walking stick flew from his hand, almost hitting me in the head.

“Stop!” My voice rang.

They didn’t hear me or didn’t care.

Bodies tumbled to the ground, leaves and branches crunching under their weight as they fought. Blood sprayed from Torin’s nose as it collided with Eli’s elbow. Torin struck at Eli’s face with the heel of his palm. A crack of Eli’s jaw told me the contact had been full force.

“Stop it!” I screamed again. I tried to concentrate to move them away from each other with my mind, but nothing happened, except a few branches flew through the air. Grunting and swearing, they rolled, kicking and hitting each other. In the dark shadows of the forest, I saw Eli’s eyes flash red as Torin took another swing. My stomach plummeted. Eli’s eyes only flashed red when he was ready to kill.

My lids squeezed together, digging deep inside me. I needed to pull them apart. Now.

“Stop!” A strong clear voice rang behind me. Torin and Eli ceased instantly.

I swung around already knowing who it was.

Kennedy stood there with hands on her hips and an expression I had seen a few times when she had been mad at me and Ryan.

“That is enough.” Her tiny frame was commanding as she strode toward the guys. “You two should be ashamed of yourselves. This is not the time or place. People are dying and our friends and family are locked up... being tortured.”

Even though I hadn’t been the one fighting, my head lowered in shame. She had a certain way about her. Kennedy could be silent for hours and utter one word completely changing your world. My guilt came from having been selfish and cruel to her all week. I had forgotten I wasn’t the only one hurting, scared, and frustrated.

The boys climbed to their feet, blood gushing from their noses and lips.

Kennedy picked up Torin’s walking stick. “You most of all should be trying to heal and get stronger for the real battle, not fighting for something which cannot be won. Neither of you will win this. It is given, not taken. ”

Kennedy always said odd things. In high school people considered her “weird” when she said things like this. Now, her strange insights and mysterious phrasing made more sense. It was the seer in her coming out, her Druid nature working its way to the surface.

She had power over the guys. They stood there looking at her with this strange awe. She
could have told them to march straight to their bedrooms, and I had little doubt they would have obeyed.

Her spell broke the moment I opened my mouth. “What were you thinking? We don’t need you at each other’s throats right now.” My arms waved frantically. “I want you to stop this now.”

“You definitely didn’t say those words the other night.” Eli wiped the blood from his lip. The knowing, smug smile on his face caused fire to rise up my neck.

“How can you so blatantly disrespect and embarrass her like you do?” Torin took a wobbly step toward Eli again. “You are not worthy of her.”

“I never said I was.” Eli crossed his arms.

“Seriously, enough both of you,” I yelled, having met my limit of their shit.

Kennedy stepped up to Torin and placed his cane in front of him. “Let me walk you back.”

Torin’s nostrils still flared with anger, but when Kennedy repeated his name he nodded, looking away from Eli and me. Kennedy took Torin’s free arm and started him toward the house. She gave one last look over her shoulder, her gaze drifting to me, then Eli. It was quick but full of meaning.
You two deal with your problems
was the basic translation. Her head swiveled back before she and Torin slipped into the darkness.

As soon as they were out of sight, I turned sharply, facing Eli. I moved inches from his face. “What were you going do, beat the crap out of someone who is wounded and sick? Is that what kind of
man
you are?”

His face held a fierce expression, not flinching at my nearness. “Funny, because I think he came after me first. Torin is neither weak nor vulnerable.” He moved his lips only inches from mine.

I was suddenly too close to him.

“And don’t forget,
little girl
. I am
not
a man. I know you enjoy the fact I can screw you like a beast.” His fingers brushed across the crotch of my pants, the friction shooting tingles through me. Fervor vibrated in my stomach and moved lower. My lids shut briefly, stifling a moan. “See? It likes the beast, too.”

Knowing he could have me on my knees anytime he desired fueled rage in my gut. I wanted him to take me right there—so hard I didn’t know the difference between pleasure and pain. I bit the inside of my cheek. “Do not piss me off tonight. I am not in the mood for your
shit
.” My words flew at him with so much fury and pent up sexual frustration he staggered back one step.

He quickly regained lost distance, his chest bumping into me. The warmth of his skin underneath his shirt and the feel of his hardness pressing into me kicked my desire up a notch. “Why is it you’re the only one who scares me?” Eli tilted his head, his lips curling in a smile.

“Because you want your beast parts to stay intact.”

His eyes glinted and fastened on mine. Desire, want, need throbbed between us, filling every molecule in the air. I kept my gaze strong and leveled at him. He lifted his hand to my face, but stopped before it touched me. Eli glanced to the side, letting his arm drop. His flirtatious mood altered. He stared at me, his pupils growing vertical. With the way he looked at me, I could sense frustration battering within him. A harsh growl emitted from the depths of his throat. He swung around. A violent roar bounced off the canopy of trees. His clothes ripped from his body as he altered into Dark Dweller form. His dagger-like claws ripped into the earth as he tore away.

I stood there after he was gone, my breathing shallow in my chest. Finally, I turned the opposite way and started to move. My need to run and bounce off rocks was essential for my sanity also.

Tearing through the trees, I jumped from boulder to boulder with precision. My connection with nature mapped the lay of the land in my head. I felt the strongest here. Both my Dae and Dark Dweller sides melded into a peaceful union. I felt more liberated than I had in a long time. Both Lars’ and the Dark Dweller’s compounds might allow more freedom than the prison at the castle, but they still confined me. I wanted out. I needed to run with no boundaries or limitations.

My legs tore across the terrain jumping, spinning, sprinting, and smashing through the property, taking out all my aggression. I finally stopped, panting and sweaty. It was a beautiful, clear night, and the stars above shone down on me. I lay back on a rock staring up at the never-ending space.

For a brief moment, I let the threat of the Queen, the deaths, and hidden, magical swords float toward the sky. Leaves lifted off the ground, drifting toward the direction of my gaze. They flipped and twirled as my mind moved them around like chess pieces. They looked like spaceships darting through the night sky. The notion of little green men, aliens, coming to invade Earth was laughable. The real threat was here, dressed and looking human.

Humans never thought of Fae as being real—the true danger. If the invasion of Fae did come, Earth would no longer exist. Magic would tear it apart and leave everything in ruin. I had to stop Aneira. I just didn’t know how. The only thing that could stop her was the Sword of Light, and we were no closer to it than we were a month ago.

As my mind dove deeper into my thoughts, I felt a tiny prickling on my skin. Someone was there. Watching me. My “
Spidey” senses were in full bloom. I sniffed deeply. The scent was familiar, but nobody or nothing I could place. The leaves fell from my mind-hold as I sat up. I tried to see through the dark shadows looming thickly around me. The boulder turned into a slide as I slipped soundlessly to the ground.