Turn to Darkness (Offspring 5.6) (15 page)

“You know where we are.” He was certain of it. “You’ve been here before.”

“No. You’re wrong.”

“And you’re a horrible liar.”

“You have no idea what you’ve done.” Her breath caught as he pressed against her. The cool glimmer in her eyes simmered down.

“Why not tell me so I can get the hell out of here and away from you.” Oh, how things had changed. To think . . . he’d actually felt something for this elder at the black market. Now, looking into the hard glare in her eyes, Dante realized the feeling he’d had must’ve been pure pity. She wasn’t strong. She wasn’t a woman to be respected. She was just a spoiled brat with mud on her robe and a chip on her shoulder. “The least you could do is point me in the right direction.”

“Go to hell.” She slipped around the tree and took off up the hill at a sprint.

Dante sighed, chewed on his lip and his options. Even if his energy were restored full-force, could he risk teleporting somewhere else—to somewhere he knew? What if he’d jumped to a different dimension completely? Where would he be then? He might never find his way back. And he needed to find a way to contact Ruan. He pulled his cell out of his pocket and tossed it into the mud pit he’d just stepped out of. Another jump, another dead phone. This shit was getting expensive. AT&T was going to own his ass.

Just when Dante thought he was going to have to follow the elder and come up with some sort of pathetic excuse for an apology, she stopped right at the top of the nearest ridge, spun around, and faced him. Wind ruffled wisps of hair around her face and fanned her robe so that it clung to her body. She was tinier than he’d thought. Curvier at the hips, too. He wondered what else she was hiding beneath the weight of that cloak.

“You can’t follow me, though I can see you’re more stubborn than a mule, and will probably try it anyway,” she said, raising her voice so that it carried down to him. “It’s forbidden to pass here, punishable by death.”

“I hardly think—”

“If I tell you the way back to the city, will you promise never to think of this place, or me, ever again?”

Dante couldn’t explain it, but two seconds before, all he’d wanted was to find a way back to San Francisco and ReVamp. To get out of this forest and back to civilization. Now, the thought of leaving this elder behind, not knowing anything about her, letting her vanish into the night felt . . . wrong.

“You’re not coming back to the city?” It was the only thing he could find to say, though he hated the concern lacing his voice.

She shook her head and clasped her tiny hands together in front of her. “I don’t belong there. Never did.” She looked content in this place. At peace. As if she’d run over the logs in this forest a thousand times.

How had her loathing of him dissipated so quickly? She’d easily lashed out at him with her tongue, been rude without regard. But now, her eyes were softer. Her words feather light. Even the air around her seemed surreal. As if she were standing behind a veil of water, the waves rolling up and down her body. Was her maware some sort of protective shield? Was that why her demeanor had changed—because she was now protected?

Dante moved up the hill and watched her go rigid again.

“No,” she snapped, throwing up her hands. She glanced over her shoulder, as if with one step backward, she’d tumble off the ridge, right into oblivion. “Don’t come any closer.”

The air around her wavered and rippled, as if his movements had caused a disturbance in her aura. But he had to know what was going on. Had to understand the switch from pissed-off beauty queen back to the concerned angel he’d first laid eyes on.

“Please
,” she whispered, just like she had in the black market, in a way that made Dante’s blood still. It had the same soothing effect on him, even now. “I wasn’t supposed to bring you here. Please don’t come any closer.”

“Where’s
here
?” He stilled.

“It’s the Black Moon.”

Puzzled, Dante looked up, peeking between umbrellas of fir. The moon was full, far from blending with the black vastness of space. “What are you so afraid of?”

She pointed through the trees. “Head due east.” Warm currents in her voice wrapped around him, tugging him into compliance. “When you come to a series of warm springs, turn and head north. Within half a mile, you’ll come to a meadow with two large boulders leaning against one another in the middle.” She whispered now, leaning forward out of the shadows. “Touch them with the palms of your hands and think about where you want to go.” She turned.

“Wait,” Dante said, keeping his voice low, though he didn’t have a goddamn clue why. “At least tell me your name. It’s not like I’m ever going to see you again anyway.” The words stung, although he knew they were the truth.

The slight curve of her mouth lifted into a coy smile that flipped Dante’s stomach. “Ariana.” She glanced over her shoulder. When their eyes met again, the smile was gone. “My name’s Ariana. Seekers are coming.
Go
.”

The air between them rippled with such intensity that Dante thought he was dreaming, although he’d never actually had a dream to measure it against. His mind couldn’t seem to grasp what he was seeing. He could make out Ariana through the fog of air circling her—her mahogany braid tied with a pale blue ribbon, draping down the front of her cloak, her face downturned—but she was fading. Wavering. Shifting as the air shifted.

Dante reached out, his fingers sinking into the cool air as if it’d transformed into some kind of portal. Then, with a rush of winter wind that howled through the trees, she was gone. The air stilled behind her.

Just when he was about to shadow her footsteps and stand where she’d stood at the top of the ridge, two words echoed through the forest. They reverberated against the earth, the starless sky, off the tall and stoic trees. They came from everywhere, yet nowhere at all.

Thank you.

Dante stopped in his tracks, full of the feeling the words were for him. Feeling somehow vindicated, he smiled and slowly turned down the hill, in no hurry to get back to the monotonous life he dreaded living.

He took a single step in the direction Ariana had pointed, and the branches above him rustled with movement. He glanced up. Falling from the sky, right into the open palm of his hand, was a baby blue satin ribbon.

The one Ariana had tied around her braid.

A smoldering inside him—a knowing—told Dante he’d meet Ariana again. Someday he’d find his way back here, wherever
here
was, and get the explanation owed to him. As he wrapped the ribbon around his wrist and looped it into a knot, he wondered how she’d made an impression on him so quickly. And why she made him feel like there was more life to be lived in one curl of her lips and one melody of her voice than in thousands of days and nights on this earth.

Next month, don’t miss these exciting new e-book love stories only from Avon Books!

THREE SCHEMES AND A SCANDAL

by Maya Rodale

Charlotte Brandon is a schemer. But when her latest plot creates a rather compromising position for James Beauchamp, the rakish man who once broke her heart, chaos ensues. Tired of Charlotte’s conniving, James has had enough; now it’s time for a scheme of his own. Will James manage to outwit Charlotte—and win her heart—with a proposal to end all proposals?

SKIES OF STEEL

The Ether Chronicles

by Zoë Archer

The Ether Worlds are becoming treacherous, and Daphne Carlisle must journey into perilous territory to free her parents from a warlord’s clutches. Her only hope is Mikhail Denisov, a rogue Man O’ War as seductive as he is untrustworthy. Mikhail thinks he has the mission and Daphne figured out, but he’s about to learn that in the Ether Chronicles, appearances can be deceptive.

FURTHER CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN

by JB Lynn

Maggie Lee’s back—and life’s more complicated than ever. After all, being an amateur hitwoman with maid of honor duties and a niece in a coma isn’t easy. But when the one job Maggie can’t take is the only way to keep Katie in her custody, will Maggie be able to make it out alive?

HOT AND HAUNTED

by Saranna DeWylde, Lauren Hawkeye, and Megan Hart

A
N
A
VON
R
ED
A
NTHOLOGY

Halloween is the only time of year when the doors between worlds open to ghosts, werewolves, zombies—and unknown pleasures. Let yourself be dragged in for some tasty tricks and treats as popular erotica authors Saranna DeWylde, Lauren Hawkeye, and Megan Hart serve up three tales of chilling, thrilling passion.

BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT

by Jocelynn Drake, Terri Garey, and Caris Roane

Just in time for the scariest season of all, three beloved paranormal authors come together to tell tales of romance . . . in the heart of evil. Join fan favorites Jocelynn Drake, Terri Garey, and Caris Roane for some seriously spooky love stories.

MIDNIGHT IN YOUR ARMS

by Morgan Kelly

When medium Laura Dearborn mysteriously inherited an old mansion, she never expected to find a link to her own cryptic past. Through her psychic abilities, Laura discovers the mansion’s previous owner, Alaric, and the story of their love—half a century in the making. Kept apart by time, will they lose their newfound romance to the ages, or will they find a way to defeat death itself?