by K Fisher
Hazel had nothing to lose anymore.
No real or substantial love life to speak of, no friends that needed her, and no living family. Danira was Aiden’s sister, which meant Hazel had far more information than Danira possibly knew she possessed, information that might help the strangers in the other room; Strangers that claimed to need her.
She climbed out of the comfortable bed and dodged the darting form of Charlie, the cat still pissed off at her for leaving, she assumed. Making her way towards the door, Hazel had an odd feeling that opening it and entering the room with strangers was her own internal way of accepting the role they had placed in front of her. The hesitant and anxiety ridden woman allowed herself to open up and accept those who claimed to be new friends to her, who told her they wanted to keep her safe.
When she opened the door to the hallway, the light immediately made her blink, wishing she was a morning person so the bright lights wouldn’t burn holes in her face so terribly. But after a few seconds of adjusting, Hazel made her way towards the sounds of voices in the kitchen, the smell of bacon and eggs urging her forward and ridding her gut of any hesitancies.
Light green eyes captured her as Faye turned from her position at the counter, a large cup of coffee in her hands. “Morning, Hazel. I trust you slept fitfully as you thought over all our proposals?” Her small frame was draped in a large, comfortable shirt. Plaid sleep pants brushed against the floor. Nothing sinister there, nothing to be afraid of. So why was her heart still beating wildly?
Because her dream wasn’t a dream at all, it had been real, and she was praying there was no way for Danira to find out where she was after that connection, praying she wasn’t already on her way to their location. “Slept well.” Hazel glanced around at the others, clearly she was the last person to get up.
Caden was seated in his same position on the couch as the night before with a laptop propped on his lap. The only difference was the large plate of hash browns tediously balanced on his other knee. Tucker was standing in front of the microwave, arms crossed over his chest as he stared it down, paying no one else any mind. The moment it pinged, he whipped the door open and grabbed the cup within, stuck a finger inside the liquid and immediately placed it back in the microwave to heat it up further, not even looking over towards Hazel when she entered the room.
Faye put her hand in the air, waving it off in his direction. “Don’t mind him, he ignores the world until after that first cup of coffee. Which evidently, must be as hot as hell. I think it reminds him of where he came from. Hell.” Tucker gave a grumble, his eyes rolling in response. Caden spoke up then, placing the plate and his laptop down before stretching his legs out in front of him, not wasting any time jumping the gun.
“You’ll be dead in a week. That’s not a threat, it’s a fact. She found you and you didn’t stand a chance. If you have a death wish, I can drop you off on our way into town this afternoon, but if you want to give this a try – not only can you save your own life, you may be able to save many more lives than that. I thought you were all about helping people? The police officer mentality?”
“Listen, you don’t have to lecture me,” Hazel said then, pausing as all three set of eyes fell on her.
“I’m in.”
Chapter Eleven
Danira tore away from the table, her face twisted in a mask of rage as her hands rose to her blonde hair. For some reason, feeling her scalp and hair beneath her fingertips helped ground her to the tent and what had just transpired. The fact a newly knowledgeable Affinity had just bested her in dream state was humbling, enraging, and not something she could allow to continue.
Outside, Portland’s passersby did not touch or see her home. It was hidden to their eyes, the power diverting them around and onward as they went about their night. It was a trick she had picked up from the Affinity she took power from last. A young man who had desired nothing more than to be hidden away from the world, born with the power to do just that. He had been an easy one to sway, even easier to destroy afterwards. Nico had ensured that.
“Nico, my pet,” she groaned, massaging her forehead as she searched for him in the tent. Long flowing silk rippled as dark smoke parted the entrance to her room. Slowly, it filled the space until Nico’s shape came into focus before her, the silk falling perfectly back into place behind his body. His eyes were a piercing brown, standing out amongst the smoke and the midnight black skin that slowly became more and more of a physical shape.
A moment later, the tall man was all that remained, the darkness of his Affinity had disappeared altogether. He was dressed in a brown suede suite, the fabric tight against his broad shoulders and thick muscles of his arms, narrowing against his slim waist. His normally closely shaven face and hair had started to grow. It was long atop his head, the shadow of a beard spreading across his lips and along his strong jawline. It was clear by the bags beneath his eyes he was having trouble sleeping, and the realization her most trusted hunter may be starting to doubt his position with her suddenly became apparent.
“My little brother’s Affinity is in the possession of the Guardians. It has never been more important to get her here. Do you understand, Nico?”
A muscle in the side of his jaw twitched and his lips thinned as he gave her a curt nod, eyes focused on the floor of the large tent without blinking. Danira frowned, shoving down the growl in the back of her throat as she slowly approached him, her dress reaching towards the ground and scratching along her ankles with each step. She stopped when she was in front of him, looking up to her contracted killer. He had been just a boy when she found him, thin and scared as he drifted between his spirit self and physical world.
His Affinity had been brought on by experiencing the death of his parents. They had been shot and killed by his older brother when he was young, it had reigned terror down upon the small boy, stirring his powers. Danira had sensed him, sought him out and promised she would care for him before the police got their hands on him and took him to jail. With his brother long fled, they would surely believe the boy left behind had been the murderer, of that she had assured him.
The young boy, not knowing any better, agreed quickly. When he did, he had made a pact with her, a promise that could not be broken for as long as she lived. He was at her beck and call, his powers would feed and assist hers while he did her bidding. There was never an escape. In return, she taught him how to control his Affinity and jump between planes. How to become one with the spirit world and travel through their own to seek those she wanted to find. He could teleport within realms, finding those with an Affinity like a hunting dog, powers she could not have dreamed of obtaining, so perfect for her quest. Danira cared not whether Nico felt happiness or fulfillment, only that he kept his eye on the prize and did not allow doubts to impact his work for her.
She hated to hurt him, hated it so very much.
“What plagues you, speak now.” Danira’s hand reached out across the space between the two of them. The light of the candles within danced along her wrinkled skin. Although she was weakened from the time spent with Hazel and her brother, she had a small bit of power left over, power she wanted to make count.
The wrinkles displeased her and made her feel close to death. They needed to be replenished if she was to prepare for the struggle that would surely follow her journey to get Hazel. That was Nico’s other job, the one he really needed to keep his mind on.
Her hand fell on his broad chest, resting against the suit despite her wish to feel his bare skin. Even with the clothing between her fingertips and his body, her power surged through him and drained every bit of his energy it could get its hands on. Much like it had when her body had been buried so very long ago, searching and pulling power until an Affinity died and she rose to live once more. It pulled and sucked at Nico, taking his power into herself like a deep drink of fresh water. Her wrinkled hands filled and smoothed, eloquent and young as they had been in her younger years. Danira’s blonde, aging hair thickened and darkened u
ntil it spilled down her back and over her shoulders, curves filling the dress on her body.
Nico staggered forward into her hand, a groan escaping his lips as his hands shook at his side in both anger and pleasure, a delightful mix she always wanted to keep him in, if she could. She didn’t take from him often, but now that Hazel did not trust them and had united with the Guardians, she needed as much strength as she could. Nico was powerful, he would recover in a short time.
He sucked in a breath of air as though he were in pain, brown eyes snapping to capture hers in his gaze. There was hatred there, clear as day and as piercing as she had seen in quite some time. It was soon replaced with a guarded gaze, as though he looked right through her body and had forced himself to mentally step away from what was happening. At first, his attempt to hide his emotions had been angering to Danira, but over time she had found it a personal challenge to break him down. Whether it was with rage, or pleasure.
Besides, in the end he did her bidding. No matter the fight it took to get to that stage.
“Do you have doubts? Speak to me now.” This time, her tone was a deep growl, young and full of energy. Her body felt refreshed, powerful. She was going to take from the man before her, relish in this Affinity that surged through her body while she rode his.
Using Nico, after all, had always been a great game of hers. One that she could always break him down with, one that he always begged for eventually. It was a twisted dance between the two of them, driven only by the knowledge that he would never truly escape her grasps. She knew what was best for him and would never let him go.
“We are fighting much more than anticipated. I do not know if my power can truly match all of them together. You would wish to send me on a suicide mission if you ask me to go retrieve her now.” His voice was husky and low, doubtful as he kept his eyes on Danira.
She broke the distance between them, the front of her now youthful body pressed against his tall frame. Danira could feel the ripple of muscles beneath his suit, her hand snaking downward to begin unbuttoning the front. Nico did not move a muscle as her fingertips danced along each button.
“I do not want you to focus on Hazel, bring me one of the others, whichever you feel most confident taking. She will come to us if we have one of her friends, as will the others. If we can get them on our field, I can control the rest and at the very least, I get another power or two to assist with our quest. They will believe you mean to attack Hazel when you get there and will work to protect her, leaving them unsuspecting of your true target. I will prepare a cage for the one you choose so work quickly, if Hazel does not follow the others who wish to obtain their stolen Guardian friend, it will still leave her defenseless and parted from them. Either way, I feel we will be able to take down this bothersome group once more.”
Danira’s other hand moved to Nico’s chest, sliding his suit upward. He knew what was happening, stiffening before sighing and allowing the suit to shrug over his shoulders and fall to the floor, succumbing to her touch and where it would lead them both. Her hands moved to his pants, unbuttoning and unzipping as she kept eye contact with him, the light green shining and excited. Despite how tall she was, she still leaned forward to kiss Nico, her lips demanding as they worked against his. She moved away to meet his angry gaze with one of her own, yanking at his pants.
“Take these off and tell me you understand me, my pet.”
There was a grit to his teeth, jaw clenched as his dark brows narrowed in response to her demanding words. When he responded, it was low and guttural, his own large hands replacing hers as he moved his pants over the round of his ass and down his muscled legs. Danira’s red painted nails lightly scratched the exposed skin beneath his briefs, snaking up towards what she truly wanted.
No matter how much he hated her, he knew the pleasure she provided and would be hard for her, ready for anything she offered him. He was always hard for her by the time she grasped him, a puppet under her control. Just as she had expected, Nico was thick and warm in her hand as she wrapped her palm around him.
“Yes,” he breathed, “I understand, Maven.” His voice was softer as his eyes closed and his head fell back in pleasure.
Danira lowered his boxers and freed him, eyes falling to examine the needy length presented to her. A heat filled her body as she remembered just what it felt like to have him buried inside of her, the natural curve of his cock caressing her G-spot as she drained more power from him.
She dropped to her knees on the floor of the tent, a position she seldom took and he knew it. But everything Danira did was deliberate and manipulative, all with a larger picture in mind. When she took the tip of his cock into her warm mouth, she squeezed her lips together, tongue darting out to swirl along the head as she sucked him inch by inch. When he reached the back of her throat, she kept him there, eyes lifting to seek his face.
Nico was looking down at her, the anger and lust fusing as pleasure started to take over. His hips shifted forward, pushing himself the smallest bit deeper. His moan vibrated down his body, hands reaching for her hair only to stop themselves and clench until they shook. He knew better than to touch her in any demanding way unless instructed. He had been trained to accept whatever gift she decided to give him, whether he deemed it a gift or not.
She pulled him a bit out of her mouth, using her teeth to lightly scrape against his sensitive skin. A shiver of pleasure erupted along his arms, body flexing as his head fell back once again. She plunged him back into her throat, one of her hands wrapped around the base of his cock as she stroked in unison, the other softly massaging the tight balls beneath. His breathing had quickened, a curse erupting from his lips in response to her hungry mouth on him.
Instead of giving Nico more, Danira was back up on her feet quickly. Turning away from him, she started towards the front of her tent and left him desiring more of her touch, held in a moment of pleasure that would not be completed. “I have some errands to run to prepare the cage, be quick about getting one of the Guardians. We will finish this later.”
Before she left, Danira peered over her shoulder at the silent Nico. His back was to her, pants still abandoned on the floor as his fists remained clenched at his side. Slowly, a black mist crept up his body and consumed him, erasing all traces of his physical body and the clothing upon the floor.
It would have been as though nothing had happened between the two of them there, if not for the energy that remained.
Of course Danira wanted to finish what they had started right then and there, but the long game was most important. Nico was falling away from her more and more each year and eventually would run his course. She needed to collect as much power as possible before that happened, whether it was through killing those who protected the beings who possessed an Affinity, the Guardians, or through enslaving each and every one of them to replace Nico.
Despite her brother being in the way, Danira knew she would succeed. Hazel was too unpracticed in her Affinity, and the others were merely children. They would be no match for what she had accumulated over her travels. Danira did not know why her brother chose to protect the girl, and had never run into him in the past during her hunts. But whatever it was, she’d find a way to destroy his spirit forever if he continued to stand in the way.
If she was the Affinity of life, and he of death, no matter how funny the roles seemed for them both now that she had chosen life for her own self gain, only one of them could truly have their way and Davina had not come this far to fall at the hands of one who was already gone from their world.
Danira Lacko had been on the earth long before Hazel, and planned to be there long after she erased the girl completely. No amount of power from her brother would be able to save the girl once she was in her grasp and the final bit of her plan was securely in place. Never again would she have to fear the reaching hand of death, seeking solace in draining the powers of others to keep it at bay. No, she would forever be free when the realms were connected and those with an Affin
ity were treated as gods, never able to die when others, humans, went on to their final resting place.
Without another look back, Danira exited her tent and entered the darkness of night outside. The crickets that had filled the park with their songs before were silent, every being in the park knowing something was amiss. Behind her, the flowing silks were erased from sight until only the night remained.
Chapter Twelve
Twenty-eight years prior
“Lenora, we have to leave now, Mr. Tamoro said there will only be about an hour window to work with. Just get in the car with me.”
Markus Levy was already in the driver’s seat, body strained and tight as every fiber of his being fought against what they were doing. But it was the only thing that would keep their daughter safe and away from the hands of evil. They had traveled for weeks, their money finally taking them as far as Portland in their travels. It would be where Hazel was finally left in the end, and according to their connection, Mr. Tamoro, she would be quietly kept away until she was a bit older, and adopted out to another connection. One that was aware of what she was, of what she would finally become when her powers came to fruition.
Markus’ light brown eyes peered over the passenger seat and out the window at his wife. She was standing outside the door, rain sprinkling down upon her as she stared into the back seat of their car. Her eyes were dead and wide, emotionless as she focused on nothing, and yet focused on everything.
Their daughter, Hazel, was strapped into the car seat in the back, the victim of her mother’s haunted stare. It was the moment that Markus and Lenora had been afraid of for so long, the moment when they would be forced to leave their baby girl, just a year old, in the hands of those they were told to trust. Strangers they had paid to uphold their wishes and keep their little girl safe.