Death of Darkness

by Dianne Duvall

  She stared at him in shock. “What?”

  Moisture welled in eyes that glowed as brilliantly as the sun. “He altered your DNA and made you like me so you would—”

  “He can do that?” she blurted.

  “Apparently so.”

  She frowned. “You didn’t know he could?”

  He shook his head. “I knew he could alter the DNA of babies in the womb, but I didn’t know he could alter the DNA of adult humans.”

  “And yet you don’t seem surprised.”

  “I’m not. My powers are nothing compared to his. His are…” Shaking his head, he shrugged. “Unfathomable even to me.”

  She cupped his face in one hand. “He didn’t do this for your first wife?”

  Seth shook his head. “Too little time had passed since the first Watchers’ sons had wrought havoc in the world. He believed the same thing Gideon, Jared, and the Others did: that we should keep ourselves separate from mankind and avoid sharing what humans called our sorcery with them in order to avoid altering their fate. When I abandoned our self-imposed isolation and not only lived amongst the humans but married one and bred children with her, he feared history would repeat itself. Though he didn’t wish to see me suffer, he thought that granting Ayana immortality and gifts she had not been born with would make that a certainty.”

  Leah struggled to grasp it, all the little implications, the greater ones, too. “I don’t understand. The rest of the Others still believe that. Why doesn’t your father? What changed his mind?”

  He carried one of her hands to his lips and kissed it. “The thousands of years that have passed since then in which I ensured my progeny maintained a careful balance in the world instead of tipping it. Gershom may be mad, but there was some truth to his rants.”

  He had told her what had driven Gershom to hate him so.

  Leah nodded. “You and your Immortal Guardians saved the world. You saved humanity.” She smiled. “Hell, you’re still saving it.”

  “And we stopped Gershom from launching Armageddon. Even some of the Others are beginning to think I chose the right path after all.”

  As Leah’s mind worked to absorb it, her heart began to slam against her ribs. “So… I’m immortal now? I’m not going to grow old?”

  Seth blinked back new tears. “You’re not going to grow old, sweetheart.” He pressed his lips to hers. “You aren’t going to leave me.”

  A sob rising in her throat, she hugged him tight. “I love you so much,” she choked out.

  “I love you more,” he said, voice hoarse.

  She emitted a shaky laugh. “I love you most.”

  Leaning back, Seth smiled down at her. “I’ll love you for eternity.”

  She stared up at him in awe. “We’re really going to have eternity together.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why does my skin feel so weird? It’s prickling or something.”

  “You’re like me now, with my heightened senses, greater strength and speed, and special abilities.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “All of your abilities? Are you kidding me?”

  He laughed. “No, I’m not kidding you. But you’re going to need me to teach you how to harness and control them, so try not to teleport or shape-shift until I can—”

  “I can shape-shift?” she blurted incredulously.

  His grin widened. “Yes. But don’t try to—”

  She glanced down at her arm and thought cat. Fur rippled along her skin as her fingernails lengthened into claws. Leah yelped, suddenly afraid.

  Laughing, Seth rested a hand on her arm.

  Much to her relief, the fur vanished and her nails returned to normal.

  His glowing eyes danced with amusement. “As I was saying, don’t try to do it until I can give you some direction.”

  Excitement bubbled up inside her. “This is so cool!”

  “Want to see something cooler?” he asked, a twinkle entering his eyes.

  “Yes.”

  Rolling off the bed, he set her on her feet, took her hand, and led her into the bathroom. “Look.”

  Leah turned toward the mirror and gaped. Her eyes glowed with bright golden light identical to Seth’s. “Holy crap! My eyes are glowing!” Peeling her lips back, she studied her teeth.

  Seth laughed. “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for fangs.”

  He shook his head. “You don’t have any. You aren’t infected with the virus, remember? You’re like me.”

  “Oh, right.” Spinning toward him, she eyed him speculatively. “So I have superstrength now?”

  “Yes.”

  Deciding to test that out, she placed her hands on Seth’s hips and tried to lift him.

  Seth’s eyes widened as he flew up, crashed through the ceiling, and continued through the ceiling of the room above them.

  Leah let out a cry of dismay as she peered up through the ragged holes and tried to glimpse him. “Oh! I’m sorry! I just wanted to see if I could lift you!”

  No response came.

  “Seth?”

  Silence.

  She bit her lip. She hadn’t actually hurt him had she? “Honey?” she called uncertainly.

  He abruptly appeared a foot away from her.

  She jumped, emitting a little yelp.

  Something powdery covered his hair and shoulders. His eyes narrowed. “Did I or did I not tell you to wait until I’ve given you some instruction before you—”

  Leah couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing.

  His brows drew down farther, though amusement lurked in his beautiful eyes. “Now you’re laughing at me, too?”

  “I can’t help it. You have plaster and dust and bits of concrete all over you.”

  He took a menacing step toward her. “Oh, you’re going to pay for that.”

  She winked. “Are you sure? You’ll have a harder time catching me this time.” Before he could respond, she took off through the castle, running so swiftly the walls around her blurred. It was a heady, exhilarating experience that set her heart to racing.

  Seth’s laughter followed her, filling her with such happiness that she couldn’t stop a broad grin from covering her face… until Seth abruptly appeared right in front of her on the stairwell landing.

  Eyes widening, she plowed into him at preternatural speeds. His arms encircled her as the two of them flew out over the great hall. “Oh shit!” she cried. This was going to hurt.

  Seth tightened his hold and spread his wings.

  Leah relaxed against him as he gently lowered them until their feet touched the floor. “Whew!” She smiled up at him. “That was a close one. Sorry about that.”

  He smiled. “Don’t apologize. This is both new and exciting for you. I had little hope that you’d let me finish my sentence before you began to test your new abilities.”

  She laughed. “You know me too well.”

  His look turned mischievous. “I know something else that will interest you.”

  “Really? What’s that?”

  Leaning forward, he nipped her earlobe and whispered, “You’re going to love immortal sex.”

  She caught her breath as intense sensation rippled through her body. “Oh wow,” she breathed.

  “Exactly.” He nuzzled her neck and rested his hands on her hips, drawing her closer. “Your senses are all heightened. Your vision…”

  “I can see you in the dark now,” she murmured, tilting her head to give him better access.

  “Your sense of smell…”

  When she drew in a deep breath, his scent hit her like an aphrodisiac. Fire licked through her body, luring her into nuzzling his neck. “You smell so good.”

  “Your hearing…”

  “I can hear your heartbeat,” she whispered. It slammed against his ribs as he trailed his soft lips down to her shoulder and slipped a hand up her side.

  “Your sense of touch.” He cupped her breast and drew a thumb across the taut peak.

  Such pleasure shot through
her that Leah’s knees nearly buckled.

  “You’ll feel everything more now,” he promised, ducking his head to close his lips over her nipple.

  She moaned. The great hall around them fell away, replaced by their bedroom.

  Seth raised his head and looked around. His eyes widened. “You teleported us. That was perfect.”

  Leah drew in his scent again, barely paying attention. “I did that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Tuck your wings away.”

  His wings vanished.

  Desire burning inside her, Leah shoved Seth backward onto the bed.

  Though she’d clearly startled him, he offered no protest as he hit the mattress. Instead, his eyes brightened further as Leah climbed on top of him and straddled his big hard body.

  “I think I’m going to like this,” he said, his voice deepening with desire.

  She nodded. “You’re going to like this even more.”

  “What?”

  She lowered her lips to his, letting him feel the hunger he inspired as she kissed the stuffing out of him, teasing his tongue with her own. When he would’ve closed his arms around her, she shook her head and trailed more kisses across his stubbled jaw, along his neck, to his chest.

  He moaned when she tongued one of his nipples, then nipped him with her teeth.

  “When you listed my heightened senses,” she said, “you forgot to mention taste.” She heard his heartbeat pick up, thudding rapidly in his chest as she trailed kisses down his rippling abs. “And you taste very good.”

  “I love you so much, Leah,” he said fervently, his eyes glowing bright gold.

  She grinned. “I love you, too.”

  Thunder rumbled outside as the castle around them began to shake.

  Epilogue

  Seth smiled. He and Leah had ended their brief honeymoon in England and returned to David’s home… though they teleported back to his castle whenever they made love. Now that Leah was like him, the ground shook even more when they made love. So whenever lust struck, he thought it best to place as much distance as possible between them and the immortals who tended to tease.

  He would’ve liked to have had more time alone with her, but Leah—who was as accustomed as he was to being in charge—hadn’t felt comfortable leaving her store in the sole care of her employees for very long. Of necessity, she spent less time working now. Her powers and gifts were too new for her to remain long in the company of humans. And too, Seth thought she enjoyed mothering his immortal crew. She was loving the hell out of having such a large family… and delighted in shocking them every chance she could get.

  Seth had not felt comfortable shirking his duties either. The fallout from destroying the compound in Texas had been remarkably minimal. Seth didn’t know what his father had done, but no one in the military, including Heather’s father, retained either a record or a memory of the place. So he was able to concentrate most of his attention on training the new Immortal Guardians and bringing them into the fold.

  He and Chris had still not found the last missing gifted one. Because twelve gifted ones had been missing, Seth had believed all twelve had been taken and transformed by Gershom. But only eleven newly turned immortals had been in Gershom’s care. And Tessa and the others had no memory of a twelfth.

  Chris believed the woman was dead, executed months earlier by Gershom at the same time Veronica and several other missing gifted ones had been.

  Since none of his Immortal Guardians had yet encountered a female immortal on their hunts, Seth feared the same. He nevertheless continued to search for her. It was yet another reason he and Leah returned early.

  Also, after thousands of years of working almost every minute of every day, Seth just wasn’t used to lolling in bed—where he and Leah spent most of their honeymoon—while David, Zach, and Jared fielded his calls. He did work fewer hours though. He was finally getting used to delegating more responsibility. And he liked having the freedom to enjoy more nights like this one.

  The Immortal Guardians stationed in North Carolina had all completed their hunts early, thanks to the decrease in vampire population Gershom’s defeat had heralded. Now they lounged in David’s living room, enjoying each other’s company. Conversation flowed freely, interspersed with frequent laughter.

  Seth sat beside David on a sofa. The coffee table in front of it had been removed to give Leah room to open more wedding gifts, something he was beginning to believe really would take a year. Their castle was still packed with them.

  His smile widened. Their castle.

  Ami and Marcus reclined on the sofa across from him, their sides glued together. Roland sat in a wingback chair kitty-corner to them with Sarah perched on his lap. All laughed as they watched Adira and Michael help Leah open the gifts.

  Giggling, Adira picked up some curly ribbon and threw it up in the air like confetti.

  Michael did the same with several bows.

  Then the two applied themselves to tearing pretty paper off a box that was bigger than both of them combined.

  Leah laughed and sat back to give them more room to work as it turned into another race to see who could tear off the most paper the fastest. She glanced over and caught Seth watching her. I love you, she told him telepathically.

  She had been working diligently to hone her new skills. And—as usual—the sound of her voice in his head heated his blood.

  She knew it, too. He could tell by the spark of amusement that lit her eyes as he crossed his legs.

  Don’t tempt me, minx, he warned. There are children present.

  She grinned. That’s okay. Their rain boots and umbrellas are right by the door.

  He laughed.

  Adira suddenly stopped playing with the ribbons and paper. The smile left her adorable face as she looked around as though she had heard something.

  Seth watched her, wondering what had caught her attention. One of David’s cats, perhaps? Or Susan’s dog, Jax? Maybe Marcus and Roland’s crazy felines, who persisted in fighting over territory?

  Perhaps not. Adira seemed puzzled.

  Rising, she tromped across shredded wrapping paper and weaved her way through furniture and black-clad bodies toward the front of the house. One immortal warrior after another reached out and brushed an affectionate hand over her soft curls as she walked past.

  Seth leaned a bit to one side so he could watch her.

  Adira stopped in front of the bay window. Pressing her little hands to the glass, she peered out into the darkness.

  He glanced at her parents.

  Marcus shrugged. “Perhaps she heard an animal. We believe her hearing may be more acute than a human’s.”

  Seth hadn’t heard anything, but he hadn’t really been paying attention and there were plenty of sounds here in the room to distract him from those outside.

  “Wow,” Leah said. “Look at this, honey.” Reaching into the box, she drew out a large, heavy shield that was adorned with ornate engravings.

  He smiled. A majority of the gifts they had opened thus far had been weapons and armor of one sort or another. His Immortal Guardians seemed determined to do everything they could to keep Leah safe now that Seth had found her.

  The distant sound of a car engine reached his ears. It swung off the highway and began to creep up David’s long driveway. Probably one of the Seconds returning from some errand. Or perhaps Chris.

  He looked at David. “Think it’s Reordon?” Maybe he had some news about the missing gifted one. The fact that after all was said and done they had failed to rescue one troubled him deeply.

  David shook his head, his brow furrowing. “I can’t access the driver’s thoughts.”

  What?

  Frowning, Seth reached out telepathically to see who was coming… and found nothing. If Ethan weren’t already with them, Seth would’ve thought it was him since Ethan’s mind was inaccessible to telepaths. But Ethan stood across the room, laughing at something Heather had said.

  “Everyone
quiet,” Seth ordered, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling.

  The room descended into silence. Even Michael fell still, no longer tearing at the wrapping paper or playing with the bows.

  Seth looked at Adira, who leaned forward and pressed her nose against the glass. “Adira.”

  She looked at him over her shoulder.

  “Who is it? Who’s coming?”

  Images flooded his mind… of a man being cut open and dissected on an operating table while still conscious.

  Shock tore through him.

  “Who is it?” Marcus asked, his hand going to the sword he’d left on a side table.

  Seth met his gaze. “It’s the man from Adira’s nightmares.”

  Leah frowned up at him. “Adira has nightmares?”

  He nodded. “Ever since she was in the womb, she has had nightmarish visions of a man being tortured. We’ve never been able to discern who it is because the visions are always from his perspective, so we’ve never seen his face.”

  Brakes squeaked as the car slowed to a stop outside David’s tall security gate.

  “I count three heartbeats,” David said softly.

  Seth did, too.

  In the distance, a woman spoke. “Now what?”

  A car door opened. Footsteps traversed pavement.

  “What are you doing?” the woman asked.

  “She’s in there,” a man said, his voice a deep, guttural rasp. “I know she is.”

  “You can’t climb that,” the woman protested.

  “The hell I can’t.” Clanks and clunks sounded, accompanied by pained grunts. Then a heavy weight hit the ground.

  David caught Seth’s gaze. “Shall we see who it is?”

  “May as well,” Seth replied as he stood. “He’s already made it inside the fence.” Waving a hand, he telekinetically opened the gate.

  Every immortal in the room rose and reached for weapons.

  Beneath the bustle, Seth heard a car door close before the vehicle started forward again.

  Marcus gripped his sword. “Whoever it is, Seth, you can’t just let him in here.”

  It sounded as though the man had come for either Ami or Adira. Though Seth was concerned, he remained confident that he and his brethren could keep her safe. No one save Gershom could combat them when they had such numbers. And that bastard wouldn’t see the light of day again.