Dwellers of Darkness (22 page)

I could only nod my head. Acid felt thick in my throat. Everyone stopped and turned to see me gag again.

Kennedy hurried to my side. “Are you all right? I-I did this, huh? My incantations are making her sick.” She looked at Owen.

Finding my voice, I choked out, “I need to lie down. I’ll be fine.”

Another wave came over me, and I groaned. The pull to move to the other side of the property was so powerful I started to crawl.

“I would like to examine you.” Owen reached for my arm, to pull me up.

No. Must go. Alone.

The words ran through my mind, and I shook my head. “Please, I just need to rest.” He looked suspiciously at me. The moment I no longer fought against the urge, the sickness eased up.

“I think he should check you out.” Mom came to my side, feeling my forehead.

“Really, I am okay.” I moved back away from her hand and begin to push myself up. Mom and Owen helped me get my feet underneath me. “You guys keep going; work with Kennedy. I’ll go back and rest for a while.”

Before anyone could refute this, I turned and began to walk. A solid form was right by my side, moving next to me.

“Eli, I’ll be fine. Go with them.” My voice rose with the feeling to be rid of him. “I really don’t want you around while I’m throwing up in a toilet.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. We can’t really do much without you anyway. I happen to find it sexy to hold a woman’s hair back as she vomits.”

I cringed through a huffed laugh. “You would.”

Another violent tug heaved at my arms and legs.

“Please. I really want to be alone right now. I need to lie down, and you would only be a distraction.” My desperation had my tone grow sharp.

He cocked his head, and his green eyes burned into mine. I felt he sensed something was wrong, that I was lying, but I didn’t give him a chance to figure it out.

“I’ll be back soon,” I said before he could respond and walked quickly back to the house.

When I got out of sight, I began to run. My legs moved through the woods, ducking past tree limbs and weaving through the foliage.

Faster.
My heart thumped.
Faster.

The nausea subsided but was replaced with anxiety. I was being controlled. Like a ragdoll. My legs pumped harder propelling me closer to the destination. There were only two people I knew who had this kind of power. I didn’t know which one I dreaded most.

My skin prickled as I crossed the property line. With a pop, the need to hurry left my body, and I came to a halt.

“It took you long enough. I am a man who does not like to be kept waiting.” The cool, commanding voice spoke behind me.

My lids squeezed tight. “Lars.” With a heavy sigh, I turned to face him. He stood there as scary and beautiful as I remembered. The air of power and dominance enveloping him was so thick it almost hurt to breathe. He combed his wavy jet black hair in a neat style. His suit was dapper and probably cost more than a car. But Lars’ eyes gripped me the most. He was a Demon and had the same yellow-green eyes I had. Or one of mine anyway. Those intense eyes were narrowed on me now in a look of pure fury.

Crap.
No, this deserves an “
Oh, holy crap on ash bark
.”

“Ember,” he addressed me. Through the heat, shivers curled over my skin. “It has been a while since I last saw you. Since you left the protected home I so graciously provided you and broke your vow to me.”

It was hard not to babble excuses or apologize. The wrath of the Unseelie King was mine to bear. I had breached his contract. I knew the repercussions would come back eventually, and he’d probably kill me. I just wasn’t ready for that day to be today.

“Now
... tell me what could have been so important to leave us and break your deal with me? An agreement, if violated, had consequences you could not even fathom.”

I gulped, looking at my feet. He would find nothing I said justifiable. Family and friends did not hold the same weight to him as they did for me.

“Just do what you need to do, Lars.” I stared straight at him and tried not to flinch.

A thin smile tugged at the edges of his mouth. “No pleading or begging?”

“No. I won’t play that game with you.”

A short laugh came from his chest. “I am impressed, Ember. Some of the most dangerous Fae have crumbled at my feet begging for forgiveness.”

I folded my arms. “Yeah, well I know you better than to think you’re capable of empathy.” He laughed again. It took everything I had to keep my chin up and not show him my trembling hands. This was a Demon, the Unseelie King, and I had broken a contract with him.

I’m going to be stir-fry.

“How did you glamour me to come to you? I thought I was impervious to it?”

“I didn’t use glamour, but telekinesis. I can move your body against your will.” It felt like his gaze penetrated into my soul.

I had the power of moving things with my mind, but I could do no more than break open a door or move a cue stick into my hand. To command people to move against their will? That’s a powerful tool.

“So how did you find me?”

“Sinnie.” He took a measured step to me. “Spells and veiling incantations do not work on the sub-Fae like—”

“Like pixies and brownies.” Realization hit me. Cal and Simmons had told me as much when I was trying to sneak into the Queen Aneira’s castle.

“Yes. No one ever thinks about lesser Fae possibly being a threat or, in my case, a spy. It took her a while, but between my men and Sinnie, I knew I would find you. She found you a week ago. I was waiting for the opportunity.”

A connection finally clicked in my brain. It hadn’t been Josh creeping up on me near the boulders. It was
Sinnie. That’s why the smell was slightly familiar. “It was her that night in the forest. She was the one watching me. So you knew I’ve been back for a while?”

“Yes,” Lars stated. “There isn’t much that happens without my knowing. I only needed to find your exact location. I reasoned you would be with the Dark Dwellers, and they would be hiding you.”

“So now what? Are you going to kill or punish me for breaking our deal?”

“Kill you?” One of Lars’ eyebrows cocked. “Killing you would be pointless. I have greater plans for you. You will work off the debt you owe me.”

“Work off?” I swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I did not spend months of my time having you trained for nothing. War is coming, and you will fight by my side. But after the sword is used to fulfill your destiny, you will give it to me.”

That didn’t sound like a good idea. The Unseelie King, a Demon, having the Sword of Light, one of the most powerful weapons on Earth or in the Otherworld. Would we simply be trading in one tyrannical dictator for another?

“I have no idea where the sword is.”

Lars slanted his head. “Don’t disappoint me with lies.”

Right.
Sinnie had probably been spying on me every day for a week. Probably earlier that day. I cringed at thinking she had been watching my every move, even in the bedroom. She probably overheard us talking about the map and went straight to Lars. “We don’t know where it actually is.”

A bemused smile thinned his mouth. “But you do have the map to it.”

“I do.” I sighed. To entertain the idea of pulling one over on the Unseelie King was even too stupid for me to contemplate.

He shifted his weight impatiently. He would know everything that was happening here, down to when I took bathroom breaks, and even the truth about Kennedy. That was how he worked.

“You probably know Kennedy was conjuring a revealing spell and accidently hit me.” My hand went to my shoulder. “It only comes out...”

Before I could even finish my sentence, Lars whipped me around, and his finger touched my back. A tickle fluttered over my shoulder. Craning my neck I could just make out the white lines glowing.

“Holy crap. How did you do that?” It was more of rhetorical question. He was the Unseelie King. What couldn’t he do?

He didn’t respond, only tugged up my shirt to get a proper look at the tattoo. Damn, I was getting tired of being treated like an object.

“You were smart... more devious than I thought you capable of,” he mumbled to himself.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He waved me off.

“Do you know where it is?”

He pressed his lips together, his fingers sliding over the lines on my skin. “There is something familiar about it, though I do not know from where.” He continued to stare at my back for a few more moments, before he turned me back around.

“While I am looking into these symbols, you will continue to play your little charade. Convince the Dark Dwellers, and whomever else you need to, that you are still following their plan. I am not foolish enough to think they aren’t also courting the sword for their own use. After you kill Aneira, it will become mine.”

My mouth opened to refute him.

“Make no mistake, Ember. You will be doing this. Remember the little deal we made back when you first came to me? The favor you owe me? Well, I am calling on it now. You are bound to this deal and so is your tongue. You will not be able to tell anyone of it. All loopholes are covered in my deals; you can’t even convey it in writing.” His smugness had anger firing through me.

“Guess that’s what I get for making a deal with a Demon. I won’t be making that mistake again.”

A small chuckle came from his throat. “A good rule to live by
... but never say never. Be thankful I am ignoring your past indiscretion. I told you the repercussions for breaking a deal with me were not something you wanted. You foolishly ignored me and broke it anyway. I could cause you to suffer for it. I am being exceptionally generous. I will forgive the previous misdeed as long as you fulfill the current agreement.” Like last time I had made a deal with him, I felt the weight of his words circle down, tightening my throat. “If you break this one with me, I
will
kill the Dark Dweller.”

“Kill Eli?” The pain in my chest blazed at just the thought.

“I could also squash those two little pixies you love so much. I am a Demon, Ember. I have been incredibly generous with you. Do not push me. I understand what makes you tick. Threatening you obviously does not work. It is your friends who are your weakness.”

“You are no different from her.” We both knew the “her” I was referring to.

“I am worse. Do not challenge me. Never forget who I really am.” His calm voice sent a chill through my heart. He meant it. I could not let myself forget again he was a Demon and the feared Unseelie Dark Fae King for a reason.

“Do you not think me fair?” he asked coolly. My response was only to glare at him, which seemed to amuse him. “You are so much like your mother. Stubborn to a fault.” Lars gave me a small nod. “You will know when I need to speak with you again.”

With that, he was gone.

“Cal? Simmons?” I stomped toward the compound. “Get your little pixie butts out here now.”

Simmons reacted immediately to my call, flying out of the kitchen window where they were probably trying to ferment their own juniper juice in the sink. Again.

“My lady?”

“Where’s Cal?”

Simmons looked over his shoulder, embarrassed. “Uh
... well, my lady, he’s... well...”

“Simmons
...” I raised my eyebrow.

“Well, he decided he wanted to go swimming.”

“And?”

“He went swimming in the kitchen sink.”

My hand went to my mouth. “The kitchen sink doesn’t happen to be full of juniper juice does it?”

“Not much,” Simmons defended. “Well, not much now
...”

Groaning, I headed for the kitchen. Everyone was still out.
Thank goodness
.

On entering, I found a naked pixie doing snow angels on the counter. “
Wheeee... cool air on me tidbits.” His Scottish accent was thick with liquor. “Feel all ta prutty colors.”

“He’s a tad out of it, my lady.” Simmons landed on my shoulder. 

“You think?”

Cal flipped over and started to swim.

“I had to get him out of the sink so he wouldn’t drown. But in order to do it, I had to convince him he was still in there.” We both continued to watch the nude pixie doing the side stroke on the table top.

My nose wrinkled. “Remind me never to prepare my lunch there again.” I turned to Simmons. “Since Cal is indisposed, I’ll ask you.”

I sat at the island, and Simmons hopped from my arm onto the counter. “Anything, my lady.”

“Are you guys able to sense other Fae?” I didn’t want to insult him and say sub-Fae. “Like brownies or other pixies?”

“Brownies,” Cal screamed. “Yummy.”

Simmons ignored him. “Not really. Not anymore than you could sense another Fae around unless they are really close. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” I replied. “So you haven’t seen anything like a brownie around here?”

“I have not, my lady.”

“Brownie. Yes. Yes.” Cal sang out again. He returned to lying on his back, giving up on his swimming moves.

“Be quiet, you drunkard.” Simmons waved him off.

“I seeee browwwneee. What a
raicleach
.”

“What? You saw her?” I jumped off my stool and ran to Cal. I grabbed a napkin and threw it at him. I didn’t care how small his parts were; I still didn’t want to see them.

Cal bunched the napkin into a pillow and fell back on it. “Thank ye. Most obliged.”

“That’s not exactly what it’s for.” I sighed. “But tell me when you saw her? Was she the only one?” I feared Lars wasn’t alone in thinking of this way to find me. Would the Queen contemplate something similar? She didn’t seem to think much of anything below her own kind.
I hoped she was not as clever as Lars.

“Yes
... I saw... did I say she was a
raicleach
?” His eyes opened slightly, and a smile grew on his face. “My kind of woman.”

“Cal, focus. I need you to describe who you saw and if there have been any others.”

A rumbling noise erupted from him, and I released an aggravated growl.

“No point in trying to wake him, my lady. He will be of no use,” Simmons said apologetically. “But I promise the moment he awakes, I will get all the information you require out of him.”

“Thanks, Simmons.”

“What the hell?” Eli came behind me. “Why is there a naked pixie on the counter? Where I will no longer eat again?”

“You missed his freestyle stroke,” I mused, my face turning to Eli. My eyebrows moved up and down. “Very impressive.”

“Hey, I told you not to judge
... that six inches could surprise you.”

I snorted. Simmons, upon seeing Eli, turned up his nose and left the room. Cal’s drunken snores hummed from beside the sink.

“You feel better?”

“Yeah.” I wasn’t lying. I did feel better. But I hated keeping the secret about Lars from Eli, especially after making such a big deal about being truthful with one another. I didn’t doubt Lars had tied my tongue, but my stubbornness still had to push against the rules. My mouth opened to try to confess. Nothing. It was like I went mute. My vocal chords were unresponsive to the words forming in my throat.

“You got really weird on me... well, weirder than normal.” He leaned against the sink. The speculation in his stare drilled into me.

It was Lars. He came to me in the forest.
My eyes tried to convey to him. He only tilted his head, waiting for me to respond.

Shit.

Lars had covered all the bases. I tried to speak out loud again, but my cords tightened down, almost painfully. The more I forced it, the more it hurt. The bond was secured.

I sighed, giving into it. “Between Kennedy’s enchantment hitting me and everything going on
...” I trailed off, feeling the lie heavy on my tongue.

“
Ummm-hmmm.” Eli lips pressed together.

“You don’t think I deserve to be a little off?” Funny, it actually irritated me that he didn’t accept my pitiful excuse.

“Oh, you’re more than a little off.” He stepped closer to me, a grin curling his mouth.

Ignoring him, I continued on. “I got slammed with a magical curse. Several times. Sorry if I’m not functioning at my best. I feel like I’ve just been bitch-slapped by Fairy cotton candy, which is not as soft and sweet as one might think.” I waved my arms up and down. Eli’s eyes only glinted brighter as I ranted. I knew deep down he wasn’t buying anything I was saying. That pushed the level of my tirade even higher. “Don’t look at me like that. How would you—” My sentence was cut off as he grabbed my lips, pinning then together.

“Shut up, Brycin.” His eyes penetrated mine with unrelenting desire. Picking me up, he slid me back onto the surface, undoing the button of my pants. His hands skimmed over my hips pushing the fabric down over my ass.

Breath hitched in my throat. “There’s going to be nowhere on this counter we’ll be able to eat again.”

His mouth trailed down my stomach, moving lower. “Speak for yourself.”

A kiss on my back woke me. Heat from the morning sun was already heavy in the room. We eventually relocated our party from the counter top to the bedroom before everyone came back for dinner. We never made, and my stomach rumbled the moment my lids lifted.

I heard a snicker as several more kisses trailed along my spine. “Hungry?”

I sighed happily. “Starving. But, I don’t think I can move.”

“I bet I could get you to move again.” His fingers glided over my bare thigh.

“Doubt it.” My bored tone contradicted the smile twitching my lips.

“Why do you constantly set challenges for me to meet?” Eli mumbled against my skin.

Rolling over, I looked up as he leaned above me. “You’d think I’d be wiser than that by now, but for some reason I can’t seem to stop myself.”

He set his arms on either side of my head, lowering onto me. “It is a mystery.” Limbs and bed sheets began to tangle again when a loud banging bounced off the door.

“Yeah, you guys should be having more sex. Didn’t get enough last night or every night, or day, morning, mid-afternoon...” Gabby trailed off.

Eli sighed and pulled back. “Technically you only have yourself to blame. You put us in a room together demanding we get along. We are trying our best to meet your stipulations.”

“I think we still have some work to do on that.” I grinned.

“Yeah, think I’ve come to regret it,” Gabby replied.

Eli looked over his shoulder at the closed door. “You were the one who couldn’t handle me being a dickhead any longer.”

“Oh, you’re still a dickhead,” Gabby piped back through the door. “But now I am not sure which dickhead is worse.”

“She’s got you there.” I shrugged.

He nodded in agreement. “True.” He slid off me onto his side, propping his head on his hand. “Gabby, do you have a reason for loitering at my door?”

“Getting tips to produce my own porno video or was it taping the mating sounds of Yetis, can’t remember which one,” she said deadpan. “Of course, I do. I mean I enjoy sex, but when I am the participant... not listening to it. Cole and Kennedy are already practicing. He wants Ember to get her ass there as soon as possible. That means now not in twenty minutes.”

The screen door slammed loudly as she exited, and her footsteps grew fainter as she headed back outside.

“It’s always my ass that people want.” I pushed up on my elbows.

Eli’s hand drifted under the covers, skimming the side of my butt. “I’ve invited it out on several occasions, but it keeps bringing you along.”

“Shut up.” I laughed and smacked him. “My ass has too high of standards to be left alone with the likes of you.”

Eli reached for my face. “Good thing the rest of you doesn’t.”

When our lips met, lust had every nerve dancing again. I begrudgingly pulled back. “I better go. Cole won’t be so polite if he has to come get me.”

“Worse. He’ll send Cooper who has no qualms about dragging you out of bed naked.”

“Please. Being naked is more normal to you guys than being clothed.” I sat up, pushing the covers off. It was going to be another hot day. This type of heat for this stretch of time in Washington was unusual.

“We’re Dark Dwellers. Being naked goes hand and hand with us. So does sex.” He threw
back the covers and sat up, displaying his physique.

“You guys can all run around naked. I’m quite okay with it. I’m sure Kennedy wouldn’t mind, and I don’t even think my mother would care too much. She appreciates good-looking, nude men as much as the rest of us. Not sure about Thara, unless it’s Torin who is unclothed.”

I dug in the dresser for the pair of Eli’s sweats I had claimed and made into shorts. I slipped into them, pulling the drawstring tight, then threw on a tank and slipped my hair back into its usual ponytail. Also, something I’d never admit out loud was I liked being in his clothes. Besides his comforting smell, there was an undeniable “we’re together” indication that went with it for everybody to see. Sometimes I really hated I was secretly such a girl.

Eli scoffed at my remarks and reached over my shoulder to grab a pair of jeans out of the open drawer. It was something neither of us brought up or discussed, but more and more of my stuff flittered into his room. A couple times I folded laundry and left it in the basket in the living room. Later I’d find it put away, tucked inside his dresser. I never commented on it, and neither did he.

“Coffee?” Eli tugged a t-shirt over his head.

“Is that even a question?”

“With you? No.”

“They can wait five extra minutes for me to get my caffeine intake, right?”

“I think they’d prefer it.” Smacking my ass he headed out the door.

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re such an angel in the morning,” I grumbled, slipping on my chucks and following him.

As we walked outside, I continued to feel on edge since at any moment Lars could “call” on me again. I had tried every way possible to tell Eli. But when I attempted to get close to the topic, my throat seemed to close, and no words came out. It felt like being raked over coals, an experience I did not want again. Eli had sensed something wrong, but I brushed it off as still not feeling well.

Almost everyone was out at the training site by the time Eli and I got there. Only Owen was missing, probably in his lab like a freaky scientist, analyzing more of my blood and screaming,
It’s alive!

Josh, Jared, Cooper, and Gabby were stretched out on the grass, watching. Mom sat under a tree, book in hand and Thara next to her. Cole and Torin were standing beside Kennedy as she faced the vast meadow.

Eli put a hand on my lower back, urging me forward to join the group. Torin was busy helping Kennedy but turned when he heard us approach. His gaze went directly to Eli’s hand. He looked away, a flash of heated agony reflected on his features. I stepped away from Eli, feeling guilty. Whatever emotions he had for me were not going to disappear overnight, no matter how much I thought I didn’t deserve them. Life didn’t work out so simply.