Shadows of Darkness (2 page)

The connection between them was electric and intense, igniting his cells like fire licking its way through his body. He was a cold-blooded assassin who'd spent a lifetime honing his utter lack of emotion and eradicating his need for physical connection with a woman, and yet, in mere seconds, she'd stripped away every last defense and created a need in him so powerful he knew he'd be sprinting through the tunnels in search of her if he weren't locked down.

Who the hell was she? And why was she there? No one had set foot in any of the caverns surrounding his prison since he'd been chained up, and he didn't believe it was a coincidence that she was so close, thousands of feet below the surface of the earth in tunnels that no human being would ever stumble across, thinking about him.
Who are you?
He pressed the question at her, instinctively erecting a telepathic bridge between their minds.

She froze in response, and for a split second, he felt her confusion that he was speaking in her mind. Then fear rippled through her, and she slammed up her mental shields, severing their link. Emptiness assaulted him at the lack of connection, and he swore, struggling to regain his equilibrium. She'd cut him off, but he knew she'd heard him.

She'd heard him.
After more than a century of complete isolation,
she'd heard him.
The sudden shock of having his existence recognized by another living creature hit him with an almost violent crash of emotion. His entire being suddenly burned with a need to be acknowledged, to be recognized, to be
seen.

He shoved aside the emotions before they had a chance to claim him. He'd lived his whole life alone. He'd been a shadow in the night, a phantom who was everyone's worst nightmare. His solitary existence had never bothered him, not even for an instant, and he wasn't going to let it start grating on him now just because he'd been strung up like a carcass for a century and had scented a woman so enticing it could drive him mad if he let it consume him.

Her essence became stronger, and he realized she was headed right for him, on a direct path through the tunnels.
She was seeking him out.
Anticipation burned through him, an escalating need to see her, to hear her voice, to drag her against him and taste her mouth against his.

He swore and closed his eyes, raising his own shields to block her scent so he could recalibrate. What the hell? Why was he reacting like that to her? Was it just because he'd been isolated for so long? Or maybe she was some sort of seductress? Not that it mattered. He didn't want to make out with her. He wanted to
escape
.

This might be his chance.

He took a deep breath, summoning the combat-focus that had once been as instinctual as breathing and staying alive. Decades of no food, no water, and no external stimulation had weakened him, and his mind fought against his commands to concentrate so intently.

With a snarl of fury, he forced his mind to respond, channeling what was left of his strength into his mind until it coalesced into the razor-sharp clarity that had once defined him.

Straining to see in the darkness, he scanned the cave that had been his prison for so long. It had taken years for his eyes to adjust to the rampant darkness enough for him to be able to see anything, and even now, he could make out only the faintest dark shapes that indicated tunnel openings, escape routes that were only yards away, and yet completely out of reach.

She was in one of those tunnels, getting closer with each step.

Manipulating his body weight with the effortless grace of a man who'd spent countless hours figuring out how to stay fit and strong even while he was suspended by his wrists in a frigid, underground cave, Levi spun in a circle. He systematically inspected every inch of his cave, searching for indications that would tell him which direction she was approaching from.

Unable to resist the temptation, he inhaled again, and her scent wrapped around him, diffusing through his cells like a tendril of sunshine in a body that had long been dead. Energy pulsed through him, a sense of vitality he hadn't felt in decades. He reached out to her again, this time searching the space around her for more information on who she was. With his attention no longer only on her, he noticed the presence of two powerful males flanking her.

His hands clenched, and his muscles went taut.
She was with two Calydon warriors.
Possessiveness surged through him, a sudden fear for her safety. Was she their prisoner? Were they going to lock her up the way he'd been strung up? Suddenly, it was no longer about sex. It was no longer about his need to be acknowledged. It became only about protecting her.
Are you in danger?
He pressed the question ruthlessly at her mind, shattering her mental shields.

Again, she flinched, clearly hearing him, but once again, she didn't answer. Instead, she thrust him out of her mind as efficiently as he'd penetrated it.

He had to admit, he was impressed with her defenses, but at the same time, it was annoying as hell. He had no idea what the situation was. Did he need to protect her? Was she in danger?

No. No.
No.

His job wasn't to protect
anyone.
He had one last mission to accomplish, and he couldn't afford to get distracted by a woman. He had to escape, hunt down the man who had nearly destroyed Levi's soul…and then kill him. He could allow the approaching threesome to mean only one thing to him: a chance to gain his freedom.

He steeled himself against the distraction of the woman, instead focusing on the men accompanying her. They moved with the lethal dangerousness he recognized as the trademark of the members of the Order of the Blade. The Order was an elite team of Calydon warriors whose mission was to defend innocents from rogue Calydons who had succumbed to their demon heritage and turned into mindless, slaughtering rogues. The Order members were ruthless in their quest, dripping with honor, trapped by their need to save strangers no matter what the cost to themselves.

No Order of the Blade member had ever bothered with him. Yeah, he wasn't one of the good guys, but he wasn't rogue, so they left him alone. Until now. What the hell was going on?

He had only moments until they emerged into his cavern. He could afford no mistakes.

After a hundred years of being suspended by his wrists, he was a fraction of the warrior he had once been. Despite his best efforts to keep his muscle tone, he wasn't even sure he'd be able to keep his balance when his feet finally touched down. His only chance to defeat them was to prevent them from challenging him to a fight he was too weak to win.

He flexed his muscles and pulled himself up so his head was level with his wrists, activating his muscles. He shifted his weight, making the meat hook begin to sway like a pendulum. The arc got bigger and bigger, until he could hit the wall. He braced his feet against the cave and pushed off hard, working his legs, preparing his body. He pushed off the opposite wall, continuing to spin around so he could scan each entrance—

There! He finally tracked them, and he knew which tunnel they would be emerging from.

He spun to face the southwest opening, using his body weight and years of practice to regain control of his momentum and stop the swaying. His entire body was activated and ready, and his mind was clear, as centuries of experience in fighting for his life came back to him.

He studied the dark opening, his mind alert. There was no one to see, but he knew the trio was there, just out of his sight. Did they think he was so weak he couldn't sense them? "Show yourselves," he commanded.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then a blue light filled the cavern. Excruciating pain shot through Levi's eyes at the sudden brightness, and he instinctively turned his head into his arm to shield his eyes. Shit. He'd been in darkness so long that he couldn't even handle light.

"Are you Levi Hart?" A man asked the question, his voice low and controlled.

Fuck the man. Levi wanted to hear the woman's voice. Blinking against the pain in his eyes, Levi lifted his head higher, keeping his eyes shut against the blue light. "Who are you? All of you?" His voice scraped across his throat, rusty from decades of non-use. Adrenaline began to flow, ancient survival instincts that made the weapons branded on his forearms burn with the need for him to call them forth into his hands and into battle.

But he couldn't call them out. The chains that bound him wrapped all the way around his forearms, the treated metal efficiently negating his ability to call out the very weapons that defined him as a Calydon warrior. All he had were his feet, and his intelligence.

The man spoke again. "My name is Rohan. I have a deal for you."

"I don't make deals." Even with his eyes closed, the pain was agonizing. Levi buried his face in his arm again, trying to protect his eyes. Shit. He was at such a disadvantage, fucking helpless. "Turn the light off," he commanded. "Now."

The light didn't decrease.

Then another man spoke, his voice less hard and brutal, laced with an irreverence that Levi didn't recall ever hearing in an Order member's voice. "For hell's sake, Rohan, stop being a show-off. You look like you're overcompensating for some sort of masculine shortcoming that the rest of us don't want to know about. Give the man a hug and a beer, and let's swap campfire stories instead of trying to blind the guy. He'll need his sight to help us, you know?"

"You're irritating as hell, Thano." Rohan said, but the light went out and the cave subsided into darkness.

Levi's body shuddered in relief, and the pain decreased significantly.

"I'm insightful and brilliant," Thano replied, with undaunted cheerfulness. "The fact you find it irritating reflects your own lack of brotherly love, not any shortcomings on my part. You're lucky to have me on your team, and you know it."

"Shut up." But there was a lack of harshness in Rohan's voice, and Levi realized they were a well-oiled duo.

Something shifted inside him at the bond between the warriors, an emotion he didn't recognize. He couldn't remember ever having that kind of camaraderie with anyone. He'd always scoffed at it. He'd considered it a weakness, but there was something about the banter between Rohan and Thano that made the darkness inside him seem even greater than it already was.

He wanted to see them. All of them. Thano. Rohan.
And the woman.

Levi opened his eyes, but he could see nothing. His eyes were damaged from the light, robbing him of what little advantage he'd had in the darkness. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the searing pain in his eyes and continued to stare, trying to get his eyes to function again. Gradually, too slowly for his own satisfaction, his eyes began to recover. At first, all he could see were varying shades of darkness, but then he began to discern shapes.

He could see the outlines of the two warriors, one of which appeared to be riding a massive horse that, strangely, Levi had not sensed. Both men were tall and broad, with shoulders that indicated Levi was going to be pathetically overmatched if it came down to a fight before he had an opportunity to regain his strength.

But where was the woman? He couldn't see her, and he wanted to. He
needed to.

The mounted warrior saluted him. "My name's Thano Savakis," he said, and Levi realized that he was one who'd seemed to find humor in the situation. "I'm honored to meet you, Levi. You're a serious badass."

Levi frowned at the salute. No one had ever respected him. Ever.

"I concur," Rohan said. "Your feats are legendary." Rohan seemed to hum with the kind of lethal energy that Levi recognized instantly as a formidable opponent.

Levi's eyes continued to adjust, and he could make out more details. Rohan's upper body was covered in a hooded cloak that hid his face from view. He was a warrior in his prime, and his energy was ruthlessly shrouded, a warrior in complete control. In his hand was a sword, the blade of which was glowing with the faintest trace of blue light, as if that had been the source of the flash of light.

Levi frowned at the blue electricity crackling over Rohan's blade. He'd heard of that sword. It was legendary, with powers far beyond that of an ordinary Calydon weapon. It had mystical magic that had evoked numerous tales about its power. It was the kind of weapon that would be able to slide through Levi's bonds and free him.

Anticipation rolled through Levi, and he could almost taste freedom. The appearance of that blue blade changed everything. Even though the metal that bound Levi had special properties designed to combat Calydon weapons, Rohan could free him with one strike, which meant he was a man worth negotiating with, not fighting against. "What do you want?" Levi asked. And where was the woman? He still hadn't been able to discern even her outline, but her scent was permeating the air like an invisible caress sliding across his flesh.

"Your skills live beyond you," Rohan said. "Very few impress me. You do."

Levi narrowed his eyes as the meaning of the Calydon's words sank in. He realized Rohan wanted Levi to kill someone for him. That was why the group had sought him out. They wanted him to assassinate someone that no one else could kill.

The deal became immediately apparent. Rohan would release Levi if he would become his own personal assassin. Bitterness spewed through Levi, and he shook his head. Freedom was not worth that price. "Never again." He would rather rot in his hell than
ever
become another man's pawn, or revisit that never-ending cycle of the deadly cravings that overtook him, inducing him to kill. It had taken almost thirty years of not feeding on another soul before Levi had begun to regain his sanity and his self-control, and he knew he couldn't risk it again. "I don't do that anymore."

Correction: there was one more man to kill, the man who'd controlled Levi for so long, who unleashed the monster within him. He had to be killed before he kidnapped other young boys and forced them into the life that had trapped Levi. The only flaw with Levi's plan, the problem he hadn't been able to sort out, was the fact that if he killed the bastard, it would turn Levi back into the monster that it had taken three decades to escape from. Levi was impossible to kill, blessed with an ability to heal from anything, even decapitation, which meant that if he lost his mind again…no one would be able stop him. If Levi was caught in the killing thrall again, without specific targets to assassinate, he knew it was very likely he would find his own targets, and they might be innocents.