by Lisa Daniels
“Did Darius know that they weren’t dead? Why didn’t he… oh.” Itzel looked at the men. Of course Darius hadn’t killed the women. He could not judge them as they had no souls, no real life force. It was probable that they didn't even register to him because there was nothing left for him to see. The only reason Itzel had realized they were there was because she was moving a lot slower than the assassin.
Rage began to bubble up, and for the first time, Itzel was beginning to understand the fury that she had seen in the eyes of the other assassins, the panthers who had seen the Unwashed’s work up close. For a moment, she considered reanimating the men in the other room, to use them against their foe. But they were too damaged. He did that on purpose. He knew something would slow me, that I would see something that would anger me, so he made sure I could not reanimate them.
It was rare that anyone would be allowed to bring back the dead. In theory, all druids and assassins could do it because they needed it for judgment. However, this particular type of magic was incredibly risky and was largely left to a few druids to handle. What had happened to Iris not long ago was a warning of what could occur if life and death were not respected. Balling her fists up, Itzel looked at the women one more time. She was beginning to understand the carnage that Darius had left, and she suspected that by the time they left, she would be ready to do the same thing.
Grabbing a decorative spear from the torture room, Itzel sprinted down the hall, the bubbling anger held in place to make her move faster. Every time she encountered one of the Unwashed still breathing, she ran the spear through him, trusting that it would speed up the process. After encountering several more torture areas, each worse than the last, Itzel was livid. And then she quit putting the men out of their misery.
Passing the dying bodies, she began to spit at them. Itzel caused the spit to solidify and slow down. Each one would drive through the Unwashed at a rate that would kill them faster than the wounds Darius had left, but much slower than the merciful deaths that she had provided the men in the beginning.
There was one thing that bothered her about the way Darius had changed his approach. Each of his kills outside of the mountain had been quick. At least quicker than what he had done inside. She remembered how he had drawn out the deaths of the men who had surrounded them, but they had still died within a few minutes. The men she was encountering following Darius’s trail would likely take longer than an hour to die, their lives slowly fading. The assassin had neutralized them by slicing the backs of their knees or broken their backs before slashing them open. They would not be able to heal themselves or fight back as they bled out on the floor. But this was not what he had done in the beginning.
Itzel’s mind had plenty of time to think now that she was less concerned about Darius violating the assassins’ purpose (particularly now that she was doing the same). Now she was concerned with why he had changed his approach.
He wanted you to promise to stay behind. Is this his way of ensuring that you do? Shit.
The realization struck her hard, and Itzel knew that everything he had done was calculated, from the way he had killed the men outside to the slow kills inside the base. She had known that he was cold and calculating, but this was on an entirely different level. It was impossible to argue with him. If you would not see things his way, he would work around you. It was a complaint that other assassins had made, but not something she had fully understood until that moment. Darius believed he was right, and anyone who did not agree would be manipulated into acting as he wanted them to act.
Of course Itzel could recognize that. It was something she always did because it was easier than spending a lot of time arguing with people who were not willing to accept when they were wrong.
For the first time since they had left home, she began to worry. Darius knew what was coming and he had made sure that she was not with him. At first he had made sure she would have access to fire, but then he had taken the fire for himself.
He must have been calculating even back then how to keep me away, and I created a way to circumvent being near him. Why did he come back, though? Darius saved me from the seer, but why not just take care of her when he was going through the first time? Or can he not sense the corrupted women like he does the living?
Itzel was piecing together his actions, understanding why he had acted so strangely, and it was creating a much clearer picture for her. He had slowed her down by leaving the Unwashed alive. He had left the women because Darius was in a rush and had not read their faint or nonexistent frequencies. Itzel had encountered the seer after setting off an explosion that Darius could not have missed, and she knew that he had come back to check on her. As a result, he had saved her from having to fight the seer right as Itzel felt at a loss for what to do.
She was completely in awe at just how quickly he was able to work through problems and find a solution. The only other person who had been that capable had been his predecessor—Phineas.
Itzel’s feet immediately slowed at the thought of Phineas, and a dull pain went through her.
After all of these years, and I’m still not over him. She shook her head and increased her speed. It doesn’t matter. Darius is in trouble now. He’s trying to keep me from something, from some kind of fate. But he has to live through this because he is on the other end, he back-walks twice and if he fails to survive, I would have to—
Itzel stopped dead in her tracks. If he failed, she would have to close the loop, not only allowing him to die, but wiping him out of existence along with the paradoxes around him. It would mean the base would never have existed. Everything about the trip would change, and she would have fragmented memories of an assassin who never existed.
“No. No. Nonononononono.” Itzel pulled the air from behind her, and blasted it forward, propelling herself forward at an impossibly fast rate. Please be enough to catch him. Please be enough.
The druid shot through the tunnels, ignoring the dying men. Unable or unwilling to slow, she was barely able to maneuver around the turns.
Suddenly she reached a giant cavern, and found herself interrupting a tense exchange. She looked up into the eyes of a bald man who looked to be several hundred years old. Humans didn’t live that long. Instinctively, she knew that he had been trying to siphon the life of magic users and ended up aging himself more rapidly. His eyes were much younger than his exterior—then again, the end of a human life was much younger than the age the man looked.
Her eyes began to shift to something on the ground in front of her. Something that was white and red. And barely moving. She knew that it was Darius, and he was mortally wounded. Itzel’s eyes went wide, and she sliced her nails across her arm. As her hand flung forward she heard a familiar voice.
“Don’t look. Don’t look!”
Chapter 9
Coming to Terms in the Aftermath
Something slammed into her, knocking Itzel off of her feet. Her hand continued to move forward, and her blood flew into whomever had knocked her over instead of the human standing over Darius.
But that voice was also Darius.
Something heavy was pressing down on her. Itzel could feel that it was a person breathing heavily.
The familiar voice was strained, like the person was in pain. Still, it managed to be soft, almost gentle. “It isn’t him, Itzel. That isn’t Caspian on the ground. That was what they wanted you to see so that they could trick you. Don’t give them anything. You can’t give them anything that they can use. Your blood is too valuable.”
Itzel looked up into Darius’s eyes. There was pain in them, but understanding. He pressed his hand over her wound, momentarily stopping it from bleeding. The assassin flinched as he got up, but she couldn’t see any blood with his black outfit.
“Ah, it seems we aren’t dealing with a mystic after all. This should be even more helpful once we get her—”
Darius pulled the flame out of his pocket, then held it out. Itzel could hear the smile in his response, �
��She will be very helpful indeed. Soon, you will never have existed.”
Itzel didn’t need him to say a word. She lunged forward, creating a field around her and Darius as he smashed the fire on the ground. Stirring up the currents around them, she made the fire roar to life, scorching everything in the large cavern. Itzel smiled as she watched Darius’s back standing tall with the flames licking the air around him.
“Just to be sure,” she muttered. Usually, she would be too nervous, but after everything that Darius had done, she was going to make sure that he didn’t have to do everything. Pulling out the remaining fire, she tossed them outside of the barrier. She pushed the fire through all of the tunnels, burning anyone and anything to ash.
The fire died down, and Itzel stood up shakily. “I'm surprised you didn’t wind me. That was one heck of a rescue.”
Darius turned around, his eyes looking through her just before he collapsed. Itzel watched as his body seemed to fall in slow motion. Her hand immediately stretched out and created a cushion for him. She was beside him as soon as he hit the air, blood flowing through the air to the floor.
“Oh gods, no.” Her blood hadn’t reached the intended target. It had struck Darius. She ripped his jacket, and blood pooled out to the floor. “Darius, look at me.” Her hands were already working on the wound, but his eyes were entirely unfocused. “No, no. Stay with me. This is not how you die. I won’t let you.”
His hand patted hers. “It’s okay. I knew it was one of the risks.”
“Is that why you told me you were back-walking? You were trying to force the cleanup on me?”
He shook his head, a pained laughed escaping his lips. “I hadn’t intended to die. I just wasn’t going to let you die, and I knew it might be an exchange.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she fought to keep him from losing any more blood. Druid and assassin magic was meant to work in harmony, but it wasn’t meant to work across each other. Druids were not supposed to heal assassins, just as assassins were not meant to kill druids. It was a bond that had been forged thousands of years ago, long before even the oldest druid had been born. Druids and assassins usually did not work directly together to prevent the magic from being abused because both species were immensely powerful. They did go on missions together, but typically they had their own roles and were not near each other when they completed the roles. Of course, there were times when protocol had to be ignored.
If Darius died, Itzel would have been the cause, something that should never happen. The druid kept telling herself that she had to keep the balance by saving him. It was the justification she felt she needed. Pouring an increasingly greater amount of her life into him, Itzel refused to stop, even if it cost her life. The tears were splashing on his pale skin, but she ignored them as her hands worked furiously to sew the wounds caused by her blood. Druid blood was potent regardless of what each individual’s abilities were, but those who could manipulate water could wield their blood like a weapon, poisoning anything that it pierced. His breath continued to get shallower despite her best efforts.
“Stop that, Itzel. You can’t undo what has been done.”
“I should have stayed behind.” The tears flowed freely. “I should have listened to you, but I thought you were in danger. I thought you were trying to—trying to—trying to get killed to seal this place.”
There was a gentle laugh. “I was just trying to keep you from the room. They killed you the first time, so I walked back to save you.”
“You idiot. You stupid, stubborn…” She floundered for the right insult, but found herself unable to say anything as the tears choked her.
Despite Darius trying to knock her hands away from him, Itzel knew he was not strong enough to fight her. Once the blood flow ceased, she began to draw her blood from his. His body tensed, but otherwise there was no sign of how much pain it caused him as she worked. Manipulating his body, she increased the production of his blood and began to heal all of the organs that her blood had wounded. By the time his skin began to heal, she was feeling dizzy, but his breathing had returned to normal.
When there was nothing more she could do, Itzel looked down at Darius. His eyes were closed and his head was turned. “No!” She put her hands on him, ready to restart his heart by reducing the number of beats hers had. Darius flinched and groaned. “My gods, you scared me!”
He did not look at her, but she could tell from his light breathing that the assassin had fallen asleep. Itzel felt herself begin to fade, and her body was too heavy for her to hold up. Flicking her wrist, she created a barrier, just in case there were any more Unwashed skulking about. Then she lay her head on his chest and fell asleep.
She had no idea how much time had passed, but when Itzel lifted her head, everything that had happened rushed back to her.
“I would say good morning, but the sun isn’t up yet.”
Her head snapped to look at Darius. He was smiling softly at her.
“You okay?” she asked, holding herself back.
“A bit sore, but apparently I’m not going to be dying for a while.”
“I am glad to hear it.” Itzel threw her arms around his neck and squeezed.
The sound of his laughter echoed around the cavern. “That does hurt a little, you know.”
“Just move whatever, but don’t ask me to let go.”
He laughed again, and moved her body so that she was lying on top of him. “Spread the pressure out evenly, and it stops hurting.”
She looked down into his pink eyes. “Thank you, Darius.”
“No need to thank me for doing what I should.”
She shook her head, “You did a terrible job of it. And that was by design so that I would be safe. If anyone were to learn of what you did—”
“They would have to admit I was right.”
She laughed and hugged him again. To her surprise, she felt his arms move around her body. “So,” she said, trying not to think about the position they were in, “I guess we managed to wipe them all out of existence, but not quite through your back-walking.”
“Nothing quite like a druid’s fire. Even if that druid is a bit of a fire slacker.”
She pushed up on him and glared down. “I have very good reason to be wary around fire.”
“Yes. Just like every living creature.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. Before Itzel knew it, Darius had wrapped a hand behind her head and caught her tongue with his lips. Her eyes opened wide in shock and stared into his. Her heart began to beat faster. When she didn’t object, he began to gently suck on her tongue. Itzel’s body tensed, and she pushed against him. Her breast pushed into his chest as his hand slid down her body. Spreading her legs, she straddled him, and opened her mouth. His tongue ran along hers as his hand gently pulled her lower body further into his own. With a groan, she let one of her hands slide along his sinewy body, taking in each muscle. His hand moved up her body under her clothing, stroking her back tenderly.
She leaned further into him, letting the kiss get deeper and her body hotter.
After initiating the kiss, Darius was content to let her take control. She kissed down his neck, then rested her head in the crook of his neck as she breathed deeply. The scent of Darius was familiar after nearly a month together, but this was so much closer than what she had experienced. She wanted to be surrounded by him. Itzel began to kiss him more seductively, nipping at him until she felt him harden under her.
She looked down into his pink eyes and saw something that she had never thought to see. Shocked, Itzel stared, mesmerized, into those beautiful eyes.
He gave her a mocking grin, then rolled over so that she was under him. “You never play fair, do you.”
Itzel moaned as he placed his weight on her body. He moved down her body, his hands exploring her. When his mouth got to her neck, his teeth tore into her clothing. Itzel gasped as he tore the clothes off of her body and threw them to the ground. “You realize I don’t have anything else to wear.�
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“Funny,” he beamed down at her, his dimples prominent, “neither do I.” He tore his own pants from his body and flung them on top of the remains of her own clothes.
His hands gently traced her body, and Darius leaned in and tenderly kissed her. Itzel pressed up into him, encouraging the assassin to go at his own pace, but not keep her waiting too long. He opened his eyes and looked at her. With a smile, he kissed her cheek, down her neck, and began to nibble on her ear. Itzel giggled, and arched up a little as she did. His hand slid behind her back and pulled her closer. The chill that Itzel had felt, first from the use of so much magic, then from the sudden exposure to air, was quickly remedied as her body temperature began to rise.
Slowly, he explored her body with his hands and his mouth, until Itzel began to lose patience. Wrapping her legs around him, she brushed her lips against him, encouraging him to move forward with his desires. Gingerly, he placed his neck along hers, and turned so that his mouth was by her ear. He murmured something, but Itzel could not quite hear him because at the same time, he began to press into her. The feel of his tip finally penetrating her after all of the waiting was nearly more than she could handle. She screamed and pushed her body flush against him, orgasming before he had gone any further.
She felt him chuckle against her, but Itzel desperately pulled at him as her body began to relax. He held her tight, drawing out of her, then slipping a little further into her. Again Itzel screamed and orgasmed. She could tell he was gently massaging her with light thrusts, but she was so tense that she could barely register anything apart from the pleasure. Every time her body began to relax, he would murmur something to her, but she never got a chance to hear him because he seemed to know exactly how to keep her body from relaxing for long. It took him nearly two hours before he had fully penetrated her, his body fully pressed against hers so that it was difficult to tell where he ended and she began.