Into the Darkness (9 page)

“I’m just as stumped as you are.
Starting with that strange bull-headed creature talking to me. What were those? We haven’t even—“

“What did you say?” the Boss stood in a rush, now towering over
me. His eyes blazed, his face perfectly blank. “Did you say it
spoke
to you? Did you understand it?”

“Is that…
bad?”

He was just about to take two steps toward me when the room froze over.

Speaking of strange…

Chapter Eleven

“Hey, bro, where you goin’?”
Charles asked as Jonas burst through the door like his ass was on fire.

Jonas rounded on him, stabbing a finger back the way he’d come. “Fucking Boss has lost his mind! That stupid bitch-human attacked
me!
What the fuck was I supposed to do, let her continue to stab me?”

Charles reeled for a moment, trying to get his bearings.
“The…bitch-human? You mean Sasha? She’s
here?
”

Jonas stared at him. It looked like he was deciding if he should answer, or hurt Charles in some way. Charles kept talking to forestall a terrible decision.

“Well, what’s she doing here? You didn’t go get her, did you?”

“No I didn’t go fucking get her! I don’t know how the hell she found us, but she’s got some tricks up her sleeve, I’ll say that much. She can make her blade g
low red—though her choice of blade is strange. Still, that’s not normal for a human bitch. And her skin…she’s not what she fucking seems—I’d bet she’s working for the enemy, that’s what I’d bet… Already been trained and trying to get in close to the Boss.”

“She can…” Charles was having a hard time focusing within Jonas’s hard stare. “But she’s just a human.”

“Exactly. She’s just a fucking human. But yet, she’s got magic. So now you tell me, is that fucking normal?”

Now Charles was having a hard time navigating the landmine of F-bombs, mostly because they were emphasizing Jonas’s rage. Nothing good ever came from Jonas being in a rage. “Uh…”

“No! That is not fucking normal!” Jonas shouted into Charles’s face. “But if fucking Boss thinks I am going to go slinkin’ into the woods, hiding my face, then he’s a fucking
fool!
I don’t need this outfit! I got my own shit in the works!”

Confusion settled over Charles like a fog. “What’s that suppo—“

Charles cut off as a prickling sensation tickled his scalp. “Can’t be…”

Jonas swung his body toward the front of the house, disbelief masking his face. “Get the weapons!”

*****

The Boss burst into action, movements so fast I could barely make them out. He rushed to the far end of the room, touching and then swinging a lamp to open a hidden door in the wall’s paneling. Next
, he dashed inside a closet, coming back with leather, swords, and knives. He bee-lined straight for me, all humor dried up. He was the man I’d always seen before tonight.

“Here,” he said, thrusting a wicked looking dagger at me.

“What do I do with this?”

“Hopefully nothing.
Otherwise, use it like that letter opener. Only this will work better.”

As I gingerly held the shining hilt, curved like serpents at the end, the Boss shrugged out of his plain, long-sleeved tee-shirt, revealing his upper body. I stared, drool forming at the corners of my mouth. His body was perfe
ction; toned and cut, meaty pecs and a chiseled six-pack. My brain shuddered to a stop as my body started to tingle. In addition to the tattoos on his arms, ancient runes cut down the side of his stomach, scrolling curled over his shoulder like smoke, or draped across a pec like a muscle accessory.

It was so. Damn.
Hawt
!

“You’
re distracting me,” he said, shaking his head and taking a few steps back. He shrugged into a tight leather vest, then fastened his knives into holsters around his body. Next, he strapped on that wicked looking sword before shrugging on his large, leather duster.

“Why not a gun?”
I asked, watching the ebb and flow of his body.

“Swords are cooler.” He threw me a grin as he finished securing heavy boots, his hands blurring they moved so fast.

“But seriously…”

He straightened and grabbed my arm, narrowly missing my reflex to poke him in the arm with my knife.

“You’re good with blades. What a surprising human you’re turning out to be.” He hustled me to the hidden doorway. “I’ll explain about weapons at a later date. For now, make your way to the secret room.”

He bent down and got right in my face, his commanding presence shocking into me when his beautiful dark eyes connected with mine. “Stay in that room, and stay safe! I wil
l come for you when the danger has passed.”

I barely felt the gentle shove into the dark corridor. The door banged shut, pitching me into total darkness. Still I stared and blinked, half confused how I could possibly be this turned on without bursting into flame
s. More, what the hell was this feeling that hated a separation from him, no matter how short, no matter how dire?

“I have absolutely lost my mind. There is no other explanation.”

Taking a deep breath, my chest glowed warm, making the magic along the walls flash into color. I followed dumbly, my mind not in the present, still focusing on the non-man that tugged at my soul like he owned it.

When I stepped into the rectangle room, after nearly falling down two flights of stairs, I had no recollection of getting there. I was burning with lust
, but freezing with that strange presence like I felt in the alleyway only a few nights ago. Or was it last night? I was losing time along with sanity.

I sat on the leather couch, watching the colors swirl around the room, wondering how many there were and how long this would take, when suddenly the air wrenched with a
bang.

“What the—“

BOOM!

The walls shook.

What the hell is happening out there?

The colors in the room started to swirl madly, looking like
the cartoon,
Alice in Wonderland,
on acid.

BOOM!

I paced, not liking to be caged up and safe, while a fight raged. Call me crazy—or just plain stupid—but I wanted to join the ranks and push back. That same feeling that always loved the thrill of high speed sung in me now, wanting action.

Then another thought struck me. Where was Jared? Why wasn’t he in here?

In another flash of thought, I knew why. He was just a human, whereas I was a special kind of freak. In the land of insanity, where normal is mundane, Jared didn’t rank nearly as high. Which meant, he was lying somewhere, hurt and afraid, completely forgotten about.

I was running before I knew which way I should go.

I burst out into chaos. Moving bodies were everywhere, clashing and fighting, flashes of light gleaming off colored blades, hacking and slashing. Women fought right alongside the men, faces aggressive, stabbing and slicing.

I had no idea which people represented my side.
Or if I even
had
a side.

I weaved in and out of the large beings, hardly noticed, dodging and feinting with each butt pucker of warning. I allowed my sixth sense to lead, no idea where I was headed, just knowing that I needed to steer clear of the flying metal and somehow get to Jared.

Thank God these non-people didn’t use guns—I wasn’t lucky enough to effectively dodge stray bullets!

I sneaked through another room, having to weave
through fewer numbers of fighting people—I could tell which warriors belonged to the house a little easier in this room on account of some were still naked—and let myself into a brightly lit space. Most of the house thus far had dimly lit, or hardly lit, rooms. This was the first with glaring bulbs and I found myself shielding my eyes for a minute while I adjusted.

Jared lay in a bed in the corner, huddled up and hugging his knees, clothed in a loose sheet. His eyes were wild and hair a mess. It looked like he was having the worst day of his life. And I was the reason for it.

Guilt would have to wait until tomorrow.

I darted after him as another colossal
BOOM
shook the foundation.

“C’mon Jared, let’s get to safety!” I yelled over the noise.

BOOM!

“What’s happening?”
Jaded asked in a small voice.

“Weird magic things, I think.” I moved a shade and peered outside through the window.

Something with glowing purple eyes looked back.

“Oh crap!” I dropped the shade as if it was on fire. “Jared
we’ve gotta go!”

“Home?”

“No—I don’t know. Wait…maybe! Yes, home!”

Being that these people were predators worried about their territory, and I knew a thing or two about that since I was an avid fan of the Discovery Channel, I figured that this fight was the equivalent of one lion trying to kill the other lion and claim its
mark. Only on a larger scale.

Even if I was wrong, this had nothing to do with me, and I didn’t see any reason to hang out any longer than I had to.

I grabbed Jared and helped him to his feet. He gingerly waddled after me, and I didn’t want to think why that was. He would need a blast of Forgetful Juice, but he’d need to be alive to get it, so first order of business was to get the hell outta here!

We made it halfway through the room when the window
exploded. Glass sprayed the floor, nearly reaching us with its sharp and deadly blast. We turned slowly, mouths open, fear blossoming, as glowing purple eyes stared at me through the ragged shade hanging loosely in the jagged glass window.

“Oh shit!” I swore, feeling that
feeling
again. The one I felt before. Where my body started to flush, then heat, prickles sticking my arms, chest and head like acupuncture, awakening my senses. That substance in my middle blossomed, expanding, filling every inch of my body. My skin felt like it turned translucent, faster this time than the last, joy and ecstasy giving me a buoyancy unlike anything I have ever felt. I could have been flying, my feet soaring through the clouds. My laughter, pure and clean, bubbled up, drowning me. No man-made drug could possibly relate.

Purple eyes sparked. “I can promise you great rewards.” The voice was disembodied, echoing in my mind, louder than thunder.
Subtle. Curling into my ears with finesse. Stroking my brain and hugging that power blossoming in my chest.

My blade glowed red-orange, reminding me that these things were bad news. Whatever was zinging through my body like Prozac on steroids allured this thing, and I had a feeling my version of rewards were different than its
own.

“
Go. Now!” I yelled in the deadly quiet room.

Jared startled next to me, but continued to stare at the pulsing purple eyes.

“C’mon!” I ripped his arm with me, jerking his body to a start.

He staggered behind me as the foundation quaked beneath us, another blast sounding off to the far right. As we emerged into a dimly lit room, the walls started to glow again, not having been able to compete with the light from a moment before. The glow was weakened, though, as if whatever was happening outside was aimed at the very fiber of the house.

Clutching Jared’s hand tightly, I contemplated which direction to go. Towards the front was the way I knew, but it was also bombarded. On my best day I might be able to sneak out, but no way could I get a lumbering Jared out behind me. The back was the next logical direction; but assuming there was a backyard, there had to be people loitering around. With swords.

So, Mr. Wizard,
where did that leave us?

I took a
deep breath, watching distractedly as a naked man shimmied his way across the room like a fencer, his long, pointed sword glowing blue-red as it whipped back and forth in front of an overwhelmed opponent. It wasn’t the only thing whipping back and forth…

“Why is everyone always naked here?” Jared wheezed beside me.

“I’ve been wondering the same thing. C’mon, let’s go.”

Following my sixth sense, I walked quickly across the nearly empty room, turning a quick right, then another left, yanking Jared around, through and under fighting people waving swords. No one so much as glanced our way. I thought
it very strange, but didn’t want to stop and ask for a survey as to why.

We hit the room with the desk, the one where I’d watched the couple fornicating, and then halted. Being near the front of the house, this space was alive with activity
. Swords and knives of all different colors tore through the air, landing ripping blows to opponents. Blood splattered the floor, people screamed and shouted, someone went flying past my line of sight and smashed into the wall like a floppy pile of limbs.

There was no way we could get to the secret door.

BOOOOM!!!

Jared and I fell back into the doorway, the ground quaking beneath our feet. The swirling colors in the walls swelled, lik
e an electrical surge, before they dimmed. Then went out!

The hair rose on my arms. Something seriously wrong just went down, I could feel it. Whatever that color shifting was, it was meant for protection, and now it was gone.