The Ghost and the Darkness Volume 1 (The Fallocaust Series Book 2) (70 page)

“You’re such a dumbass,” I said to him sweetly.

Killian shifted his body so he was leaning against me before grabbing my arms and tightening them around his waist.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I furrowed my brow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Killian paused for a second and I felt him let out a breath. “I just want to check in... make sure you’re... you know.”

“I’m fine,” I said flatly, but that just made him make a noise in his throat.

“In relationships people check in with each other even when nothing is apparently wrong... I’m checking in.”

“I’m just fine... even more fine now that we have some time to ourselves, without dipshit and dickweed always causing trouble.”

Killian, of course, laughed at this. “They’re not that bad, see how well-behaved Perish has been? He’s been trying really hard, and Jade too. He’s a bit... feral, but he’s a nice guy.”

“I just want it to be us again... and Reno.” I sighed and leaned my head against his. “I can’t believe it’s been this long and I haven’t been able to tell Elish where he is. What if I’m too late? All because we turned on the fucking power in Kreig and alerted...
them
.”

The boy was quiet for a moment. We both stayed in our silence as I surveyed the empty land in front of us, tinged blue with a silver hue, even darker now that the moon was gone.

“Do you think he’ll stay in Skyfall now? Since he’s engaged to Garrett?”

Immediately my body tensed. “I won’t let him.”

“But Garrett seems to really love him...”

“I don’t care. Reno belongs to me and he knows it.”

I wondered if he was going to argue with me but to my surprise he just squeezed my hand. “I know, love. I’m sure it will all work out.”

A flicker of jealousy smoldered my gut, and though deep down I knew it was stupid, I didn’t want Reno to love anyone. It was immature and it reflected badly on me but... I was comfortable with the relationship we had. He loved me and was devoted to only me, even if I was with Killian now.

Nothing wrong with that.

“Can I ask you something though?” Killian’s voice raised and octave and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he was going to say next.

“Nope.”

“Reaver!” Killian tugged on my hand. “That’s not what you’re supposed to say next.”

“Then if you’re going to ask anyways, why ask permission?”

He huffed a breath out of his nose.

I rolled my eyes. “Alright, ask away. I’ll prepare myself to tell you to shut up.”

“You knew Elish before you met him in Aras didn’t you? You said he went as James and Jade went as Michael, right?” Killian said.

I nodded. “Yeah, now that I think back I have been seeing him since I was a kid, but he always altered his appearance slightly or avoided me. I remember Leo and Greyson going off with him to the bunker or the East House. I mostly just remember when he started coming with Jade. I dangled Jade over a deacons’ den, did he tell you about that?”

“I’ve heard him complain about it a few times,” Killian smirked. He shifted into me more. “The thing is... Elish was the guy who fired my father. I had met him previously too, he came to our house and Jade was right behind him. Jade gave me some rum and told me I was going to be going to the greywastes soon.”

Huh, I didn’t know that. “Well, I guess we owe him for us meeting, huh?”

The boy was silent for a second. “That’s the thing, I don’t think it was a coincidence. I think he sent me to Aras because of you. I think Jade maybe did his aura reading and saw us as a match.”

I shook my head. “Maybe. Weren’t you ripe to get sold off to a chimera? Maybe you’re a chimera magnet and Elish wanted you far away from the family,” I smirked. “So he sent you to the baddest of them all; my own little sacrificial lamb.” Feeling playful I leaned over and gave his neck a mock-bite. He squealed at me and scrunched his neck.

“Chimeras do seem to like me for some reason... Perish loved me, Jade likes me, you love me, even Elish has always been kind to me... I mean he got Biff for us and he was patient with me when I barricaded myself in my bedroom back in the greyrifts shelter.” Killian’s voice was full of wonder; I think he saw the prospect as fascinating. “Maybe it’s my blood? Hey, even Leo liked me, until... you know I threatened his secret. Maybe I am a magnet!”

“Hmm, I’ll need to watch you then. I might catch you trying to sleep with Jade.”

“Ew, Reaver. He would shred me to bits. Do you see the scars he and Elish have? They go at it like wolverines!”

“Mmm... do they now? Show me...” I let that trail as I gave his neck a small lick before I put my mouth over it and gave it a long suck. I broke the seal with a pop and rubbed his new hicky. Killian scrunched his neck and I could see his jaw tighten as he smiled.

I wasn’t done though; I brushed his hair away from his neck and kissed him again, before my hands started to trail down the rim of his pants.

“Chally is sleeping ten feet away from us, mister, not tonight!” Killian hissed.

But my hands were already down his pants and he didn’t stop me when I grabbed his dick, still soft but hardening with my roaming touch. “And? He won’t hear us.”

“He’s mute not deaf!” Killian said exasperated.

I smiled as I heard a soft moan escape his lips a moment later. He raised his hips and started rubbing himself against my hand. My free hand slid down my own pants and I started to unbutton them.

“Come here,” I whispered.

Not another protest left the boy’s lips; he turned around before giving the sleeping lump in the corner of the room a nervous glance. Then, as I pulled my own dick out, he slid his pants off and straddled me.

Always prepared I dug out a small bottle of lube in my cargo pants pocket and prepped myself, sliding a finger inside of him as he started to kiss my lips.

“You...” He grabbed my chin and made me look at him, his eyes were narrow. It was so cute when he was trying to be dominant. “I get to be in control. I don’t trust you to not make me cry out. Got it, Mr. Chimera?”

I smirked at him and kissed him deeply, opening my mouth and taking him in as he positioned himself over my dick. He then grabbed my member and started to push himself down on it.

Just because I was an asshole I jerked my hips, roughly breaking into him. He cried out and of course I laughed, before he hit me really hard on the shoulder.

I kissed him again though it was hard through the smile, then found my teeth clenching as he sunk my entire length into him.

I leaned back and let him lead, his beautiful body rising and falling on top of me, the greywastes in the distance framing his thin body perfectly. If it wasn’t winter I would have stripped every shred of clothing off of him so I could see those angelic, slender lines in all its perfection. He was beautiful, every last detail of his body engineered to the point where if I didn’t know better I’d say he was the genetically-enhanced one.

He was perfect and finally being alone with him in my element, without people around to disturb us, made me appreciate the flawless creature he was.

Killian’s breathing was in sync with his movements, small little puffs of winter air every time I would sink back into him. Soon I had his dick in my hand, slowly stroking and playing with it.

We were two fugitives, one a chimera and another the chimera-magnet, far from what was no longer our home but, for now, together and safe.

I shouldn’t take him for granted... and I wouldn’t.

I put my hands on his back and held him against me; his fingers gripping my shoulders as he rode me. I moved my hips up and down with his movements and closed my eyes. I could stay like this forever and I wanted to. I could forget everything... I could forsake my revenge; I could... give everything up just to make sure he was still safe.

I couldn’t lose him, not even at eighty years old.

With my mind elsewhere I was taken by surprise when, after a while, his moans started to get louder. Leave it to me to be off in my own head and not even enjoying that I was in the middle of sex with him. That happened more than I cared to admit but I was always one to go inside my head at inappropriate moments.

I started stroking him faster and when his heartbeat reached its quickened rhythm I put my free hand over the head of his dick. I loved him to pieces but cum was really hard to get out of dark clothing and we didn’t have any water to spare.

He groaned and started making short but higher pitched noises. I closed my eyes again and started thrusting myself into him as he came in my hand. I pulled him into me and started rapidly pushing in and out of him as my own pleasure multiplied. This made his moans increase and I came to him shooting the last bits of his cum into my hand.

Afterwards we laid together on our last remaining blanket; he was still out of breath and I was just starting to catch my own. He would fall asleep now and when he did I’d go back to sentrying, but for now I wanted to give him the comfort I knew he missed.

“I love you.” I could hear his smile even though I couldn’t see it.

“What is this love thing? Chimeras can’t love... I tolerate you though.” That got me a smack; I laughed and kissed his neck. “I love you too, Killibee, now go to sleep. We have a long ass day of dealing with greywasters tomorrow.”

“Mmhm, I will. I won’t even ask if you’re going to let me take watch.” Killian yawned and nestled himself into me before falling silent.

I brushed back his blond hair and sighed to myself, thinking thoughts inside of my head that I could never share with him. I wish I could, but I couldn’t scare him... I couldn’t tell him how close I was to not going back to Hopper’s caravan. How close I was to saying fuck it and finding a town for us to live in forever.

But Jade had said they would find us, no matter what. If not Silas than Elish... who had been pulling strings and controlling our lives for longer than I had previously thought.

Had he really sent Killian to attract me? I scowled at the thought, in a way it made sense if he somehow knew Killian would even me out.

The thought that Elish had been controlling what entered and left my life filled my mouth with an odd taste... I know it was in his nature to do as such, but I didn’t want a chimera controlling my life. I was my own person now.

No... I was his weapon.

And I had to kill Silas, not just for revenge but for killing my fathers but because he would kill Killian and continue to seek me. I was made for him and he wouldn’t give me up.

I didn’t have a choice.

This wasn’t my life anymore.

My life was now keeping Killian safe.

He was all I had.

“Alright, what do you want your name to be?” The small town of Mariano was only a half an hour away now, just a small town with a shoddy fence and lots of smoke billowing out of the small structures. Besides a few dogs tied to stakes it didn’t look like they had any protection from the greywastes. Before the Fallocaust this might have been a town. One of those ones that you drove by on the way to a bigger city, where if you blinked you would miss it.

Now it was small, maybe a hundred or so people but it was on the main road so I assumed most of their income came from travellers or caravans. Not the ones heading to Falkvalley though, but for all I knew there were other towns further south or west.

“Lance? That’s my middle name and it was my Grandpa’s name too.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m going to say I’m Chance. It rhymes and it’ll make us look stupid.”

Killian passed our water bottle to Chally and gave me a half-smile. “It sounds cute! Chance and Lance!”

I gave him a look. We had been together long enough that I didn’t need to tell him that I was not cute.

He rolled his eyes at me. “Fine, how about... Jeff, like my dad?”

“Sure, why not...” I could see a man sitting on a wooden chair beside a derelict house. He was holding a shotgun in his hand. I was to assume that’s our welcome party. “Okay,
Jeff
. We’re travellers and we bought Chally from an abusive master out of pity and now we’re pawning him off. I want to stop in some bars to scout for info after we hit the store. We’re staying the night and an hour before daylight we’re leaving, okay?”

Killian nodded but I saw the sadness in his eyes over us having to sell the kid, behind me Chally’s face darkened too but he didn’t say anything.

Heh.

Say anything.

I adjusted the pack of our supplies including the Ieon and remote phone. Jade had stopped bitching about not coming with us to the town but he had refused to hand over Elish’s laptop and the hard drives. The remote phone would be good enough, it had Elish’s number programmed into it and a cell phone was better than that shitty buffering network anyways.

The dogs barked at us, making the shotgun man stand up slowly on what looked like sore back. He gave us a nod and was immediately backed up by a lady with short black hair.

“We usually only get merchants here, unfortunately since it’s winter we can’t give hand outs...” The old man seemed polite enough; we were off to a good start.