by Aliyah Burke
She leaned closer. “Is that supposed to be a threat or a promise?”
“Promise.”
She kissed him quick. “I’ll be right back.” Sniffing the air, she picked upon the faintest scent of deodorant. Using her speed, she ran after the one she’d located. Slowing before she reached him, she used the wind to her advantage. She knew they’d expect her to come from downwind, but she didn’t care if they were able to pick up on her smell. She was coming for them and caught them all looking in the other direction.
They’d set alerts around their perimeter and she easily disengaged them. There were four men and she used a katana to reach out and tap one on the shoulder. “Looking for someone?”
The man who looked at her swore and lifted his weapon. She killed him before he could even curl his finger around the trigger.
“I only need one to answer questions,” she announced to the other three. “Who’s it going to be?”
Her question was answered in the next moment and the only member of The New Order left had been secured against the tree trunk. “What are you doing up here?”
Hate swirled in his gaze. “Go fuck yourself.”
“I’m good, thanks. Just had a nice round of fucking before I came out here. What are you doing out here? I don’t like to ask again and can just yank it from your mind.”
“Then do it, bitch,” he spat.
“Suit yourself.” She stepped up and touched his face, mist swirling around her as her sign burst to life, lending its power.
She shoved beyond the filth in his mind, searching for her answers.
“Shit,” she swore, releasing him. The man slumped forward against the ropes, blood dripping from his nose and ears. She wanted a hot shower to scrub the nastiness from her.
She took their weapons and made her way back to where she’d left Luc.
“What happened?” he asked, stepping into view.
“Something big is going down, but they’re keeping these people on a need to know. All they know is they have to protect this area and kill anything that comes into view. That means human-wise, that isn’t one of theirs. Or demon.”
He cupped her cheek. “You’re ashen. You go into someone’s mind?”
“Yes. Disgusting pig.”
He threaded his hand around the braid going down her back. Lips to hers, he breathed against her mouth. “Let the memory go.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. It’s not for your conscience to carry. Let it go.”
Staring into his green eyes, she found herself doing just as he’d ordered. The filth from that man slipped away and lightened the grip on her soul.
“Thank you for whatever you just did.”
His kiss was brief. “I didn’t do anything. Let’s go.”
She hesitated and stopped him, turning him back to her. “No, you did something. What was it?”
There was a bit of darkness at the corners of his eyes before it vanished. “Nothing. We need to go.” He pulled free and struck out.
Is he taking the bad from me?
Luc spat as he walked, trying to get the acrid taste from his mouth. He couldn’t explain what was going on, all he knew was he and Dracen were connected on levels he’d never known people could be.
I’m going to have to tell her about this. I don’t know what it means but perhaps she does.
That night, when she set up the tent, he hung back, staring out over the snowy landscape. The night was alive with the howls from the wolf pack and he smiled at the haunting beauty.
“What’s bothering you?” she asked when he joined her inside the tent.
He took the food she handed him and sank to the sleeping bag. “Nothing.”
“Something is off, Luc. I can feel it, but I can’t pinpoint what it is.” She ate a bite. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know what it is. Something is happening with me, though. I’m not as tired as I used to be. I hear things better and can see sharper. The cold bothers me even less at times when you’re away to not share your heat with me.”
She held his gaze. “And?”
“And I can take those bad memories from you that you see when you get into someone’s head.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Is that what you did to me?”
“Yes.”
Dracen grew thunderous and he shook his head firmly.
“No, you don’t get to be pissed about that.”
“Why not?” she demanded.
“Because I’m helping you. Those things are tearing you up inside, Dray. I can’t protect you from everything but I can from that.”
“What about you?”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t bother me.”
“Bullshit.”
“I’ve seen and done enough that I can move on from it. It doesn’t eat at me like it does you, Dracen. You have a heart of gold despite the cold persona you project. Let it go. I can do it. I’ve done it. And I will continue to do it.”
“How is this happening?”
He grabbed her hand. “I don’t know. None of this is making any sense to me, but it is what it is.”
“How can you be so calm about it?”
“What do you want me to do? Yell? Scream? What of what we’re doing makes logical sense? We’re tracking on foot through the Boundary Waters in the middle of winter. Nothing more than tents. That’s by definition foolish. Yet we’re doing fine. This entire situation is odd. We’re hunting demons and their human idiots.”
“You don’t need to take those from me,” she protested.
“I know,” he said, trying to calm down. “I know I don’t have to. I want to. You’re shouldering enough, let me carry some of it.”
“It doesn’t make sense. I can handle it.”
“This isn’t about you being able to, we both know you can. This is about the fact you no longer have to. Now let it go, and tell me what you’re thinking.”
“It’s more what I feel. It’s in the air. Danger. Can’t you feel it? It’s humming along the particles, dancing on my skin, taunting me. But I can’t find out where it’s coming from yet.”
“Do you think it’s your artifact?”
“I don’t know. I’ve not had one so I don’t know what it feels like to find it. But, I find it hard to believe that it would be the feeling of unease and uncertainty that I’m getting now.” She shrugged and he focused back on the food in the pouch he held.
All the while he thought about what she’d said about feeling it on the air. He couldn’t identify it, but something did seem to be off to him.
“So how do you want to handle this?” He knew how he would, but as he’d stated, this was her op.
“We have their comms. I’d like to scout in opposite directions, keeping in contact with the radios. We can be on another channel. Check in every fifteen minutes with each other. See what we can come up with.”
“See, here I was expecting you to say you wanted to go do it alone and I stay here and wait.” Luc quirked a smile in her direction.
“I would prefer that, but I didn’t think you’d go for that.”
“Not at all.”
She rummaged through the pack he’d been carrying and came up with the extra batteries for the radios. Keeping one, she put the other near his leg. “Didn’t think so.”
“You want to go now?”
One second her hand was empty, the next she held her sword and a knife. It never ceased to amaze him how they could just appear in such a way.
“Finish your food.”
“Who makes your weapons? I’ve never touched material like that.”
A ghost of a smile flitted across her mouth. “A demon named Inaki.”
“Wait, you have demons in the vineyard?”
“No, we have a demon there. Inaki has been with Lian for centuries. He is our weapons master. I don’t know what he does to make them but he does a damn good job.”
“He looks like the scaled freaks we’ve seen?”
; “No. He’s tall, powerful and dangerous when angry.”
“You care for him.”
“I do. He’s always been there for us, never complains even though his own kind don’t want him anymore.” A shrug. “He’s one of us.”
More intrigue about the woman named Dracen. Hated demons with a passion that could rival anything, and yet was a staunch defender of a demon. He finished the food and sucked the remaining bit off his thumb. “I’m ready.”
He shoved the extra battery into his pocket, then rose up on his knees and made short work of checking the guns he was going to carry with him—the MP5 and the M16. He loaded extra cartridges into his pockets. As he put on his coat, he noticed her watching him.
“Yes?”
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Why you’re doing this?”
“Stop doubting everything, Dracen. You and I are in this together.” He winked at her. “Ready to bag some demons?”
She hooked the comm to her ear and nodded. “Channel seven if we’re checking in. otherwise keep it on theirs.”
“Roger that.” He unzipped the tent and flipped up his hood as he stepped out into the blowing cold.
Dracen stood tall beside him, again appearing unaffected by the icy wind that whipped around them. To be fair, it wasn’t as bad as it had been to begin with. She stared at him then walked off to the left.
“Guess I’ll go right,” he muttered. Readjusting the M16’s strap on his shoulder, he set off.
As agreed, in fifteen minutes, he changed over to channel seven. “Checking in.”
He paused by a tree as he waited to hear back from her. For a few moments there was nothing then she was there.
“Progress?”
“What, no sweet talk? No how much you’ve missed me? How you want to get me naked?”
“So the cold has made you delusional?”
“Far from it, babe. I’ve not seen anything. People or animals.”
“Me either. You okay to keep going?”
“Fifteen minutes out in this isn’t enough to wear me out.”
“Does anything?”
“You did in the cabin. Care for a repeat?”
“Not right now, but soon, yes.” She was gone and he knew she wouldn’t be back until the next check-in.
“At least the cold is furthest from my mind now. Although this is a bit extreme when it comes to taking a cold shower.” He willed his unruly cock back under control and set back off on his way.
The line was suspiciously silent. For a group who had supposedly found something, they weren’t keeping in touch with each other. Pausing, he clicked through the other channels, just in case they’d figured they were compromised and had wanted to change.
The wind blew and he squinted against the spears of icicles that stabbed him with each unrelenting gust. Give me the jungle any fucking day over this ball-freezing shit. Christ, I hate the cold.
As he got ready to check back in, he froze when voices filtered to him on the howling wind. Using the trees as cover, he inched his way closer, doing his best not to think about the cold leeching into his pants.
Peering around the trunk, he found himself staring at four men who were huddled in a small circle as they spoke. They muttered about the cold and fell silent when a fifth ambled up.
“You’re supposed to be on guard,” the last to arrive stated as he integrated himself into their small group.
“From what?” one complained. “It’s fucking freezing out here. There’s not a goddamn thing lurking about. Except the wolves. And I can’t even shoot those.”
“We’re out here to protect it. You want to argue about it, take it up with those in charge.” He scowled. “But all I know is if something gets through on your watch, you’re going to be wishing it was colder for the hell you’ll be engulfed in. It has to be important to have all of us around.”
“Don’t make no goddamn sense to be guarding a small fucking hole in the ground all the way out here. I mean, let’s face it, I could have dug them a bigger one. And in a place with, oh, I don’t know, heat.” He stomped his feet and bounced around in an effort to warm up.
“You really hate the cold, don’t you?” another commented.
“I’m freezing my dick off. Wanna suck it to make it warm?”
“I’m no fag, you bastard.”
“Mouth’s a mouth, as far as I’m concerned. Just like if you bag an ugly woman’s head, her pussy is still a pussy.”
Luc shook his head. Why the hell are they protecting a hole in the ground? That doesn’t make sense. I don’t remember her saying anything about a hole.
The men jawed a bit more and he slipped away, as unannounced as he’d arrived. When he was a safe distance away, he clicked to the shared channel with Dracen.
“Everything okay?” Her tone was low and slightly breathless.
“Heard something. What about you? What’s going on?”
“Nothing, just had to take out some demons.” Silence. “What did you hear?”
“The group I walked up on was talking about guarding a hole in the ground. The humans aren’t sure why they’re guarding it, but there are a lot of people to do so. It’s a small one. Any clues?”
“Let me get back to you. I have to move, more demons coming.”
Just like that she was gone. Luc switched the radio back over and listened to the chatter as he continued on his way. She’s preoccupied if she didn’t ask me if I killed the humans. Or…whatever that hole represents is way worse than the humans ever could be so they’re no longer her concern.
He continued his perimeter search, hoping to discover the location of the mysterious hole. A tingle skated up between his shoulder blades and he turned in time to block a man who’d jumped from the trees to land on him.
Dressed all in white, only his eyes were exposed, and he hit Luc with some weight, bearing them both to the snowy ground, his knife at the ready, trying to make contact with his throat.
Shit! Luc blocked his assailant’s downward strike with his arm, the blade cutting easily through the material of his gear. He threw a punch, catching the man in the cheekbone and knocking him a bit off course. It didn’t stop him, just gave Luc a second to breathe. They grunted, rolling around in the snow, until he finally put the man on his back and broke his neck.
He ripped the facemask off and stared down at a seasoned man with short-cut brown hair. His head, angled to the side as it was, allowed Luc to see the small tattoo on his neck.
“Why did you wait so long to kill him?”
“You would be here to see that.”
“I headed over when you mentioned what you did.”
He peered up at her and found her expression blank. Pushing to his feet, he shook his arm and winced. Bastard got him. She neared, pulling something out from her coat. He noticed the gauze seconds later as she made short work of exposing the injury.
“Not deep, you’ll be fine.” She fixed him up then stepped back.
“I don’t like to take lives, Dracen. I will do it, but it’s not fun for me.”
“Okay.”
He didn’t sense any judgment from that comment so he let it go. Flexing his fingers, he checked the pain threshold for the wound. “What’s next?”
“We set up something close by then come back to take a look at that hole. See if we can figure out what is so important about it.”
“Let’s do it.”
They backtracked a bit and put up the tent in a secluded area, then covered their tracks before slinking back out to check on that which was being protected.
Chapter Eight
Dracen rolled her shoulders in a meager attempt to loosen them up as she sat perched on a branch overlooking the hole that The New Order assholes were guarding. Through the nocs, it didn’t appear all that impressive. Still, The New Order goons had a nice setup around it. Housing, fire pits and guards. Plenty of guards.
How did they get all those men up here without attracting som
e sort of attention? Why do I keep forgetting that The New Order is extremely well funded by some powerful men?
She canvassed the area, searching for anything to give her a hint as to what they were after. Nothing.
She put the binoculars back in her coat pocket and scrunched her toes inside her boots a few times. She wasn’t cold, but she would prefer to be cuddled up against Luc somewhere warm where clothing was optional. And refused.
The knowledge had her weaving on the branch and she swore in her mind while she scrambled to right herself. This isn’t good. I can’t be thinking about him. Yet she couldn’t stop herself from doing that very thing.
The click in her ear snapped her from thoughts of Luc.
“We have four more like this but they aren’t sure which is the right one.”
The man’s voice sounded familiar to her and she narrowed her eyes as she tried to place it.
“Make sure they’re all guarded. And tell them to stay alert. Those damn Guardians have been known to drop in from the sky all unannounced and shit. I have no wish to tell those men that we lost the stuff to them.” A different man spoke this time.
She waited a bit more to see if they were continuing their conversation, and when that was negative, she switched to the channel she shared with Luc. Impatient for him to come on, she reached for her nocs once more.
“Checking in,” Luc said in his unhurried way.
“Where are you?” The question slipped free before she could stop it.
“Halfway around the compound. You?”
She put the nocs up to her eyes and searched. With her vantage point, she could cover the entire area, and she worked her way visually to the halfway point from where they began. Nothing.
“Watching. Did you hear them talking about the other holes?”
“Yes. You didn’t tell me where you are. Are you watching me?”
“I can’t see you, we’re on opposite sides.”
“You sound frustrated, babe. Do you want to see me?”
Yes! “Nope.”
“Then you should take the nocs off me.”
She flushed. How had he known she was looking for him? “What are you talking about?”