by Hazel Hunter
“I think we haven’t gone far enough,” she said. “We’re supposed to be here, but we can’t stop here.”
Mathias heard the last as he entered the semi-circle.
“Two days,” was all he said.
If this wasn’t Tenebris, who knew how long it would take to actually find it? A new plan began to formulate in her mind. Maybe it was time for the dragon’s eye seeds. Though she hadn’t said it out loud, she glanced at Shayne. At the Midnight Market, he’d already made it abundantly clear that he didn’t approve of their use. Mathias probably didn’t even know she was carrying them, in her backpack in the Spider King’s special pouch.
“Fine,” she said, standing.
“Fine?” Mathias said, his eyebrows arching. “Since when is anything that I say fine?”
Shayne got to his feet. “Exactly,” he said, though it drew a glare from Mathias.
She gripped the straps of the backpack.
“If it’s two days, then it’s two days,” she said. “I’m going to get busy.” She waved her phone at them before she turned. “I’m going to photograph the obelisks,” she said over her shoulder. “Maybe you could record our GPS coordinates and photograph that fountain.”
There was no reply as she stalked off. When she was sure that neither of them had followed her, she slowed. She thought of the seeds in her pack. Was this really the time?
She snapped a few quick pictures of the obelisk, not even seeing it. Instead she stole a cautious glance at the fountain. Shayne seemed to be taking pictures, while Mathias was setting up camp. A small fire was burning and she thought she could see the air mattresses. Quickly, she stepped behind the slanting obelisk, its base buried somewhere in the sand below.
Though she removed her backpack, Gillian hesitated before opening it. Though she’d never taken dragon’s eye seed, she sensed it might be a one-way, one-time trip. If this wasn’t the place to cross some unseen passage to Tenebris, her quest would end, two days or not. She looked at the obelisk in earnest. Unlike the smooth arch with its few symbols of Linear B, the surface of the obelisk was covered with deeply and perfectly carved cuneiform. This was a Wiccan place, she was sure. But was it related to Tenebris? She bit her lower lip. There was one quick way to find out. Taking a deep breath, she pulled off a glove and pressed her palm against the cool stone.
Sometimes visions exploded on her in a cacophony of sight and sound. But this one was unlike any other. As though she were standing at the bottom of a filling pool, the water of her vision slowly rose around her. With it came a deep coldness, seeping into her. But as she watched, the ruins all around rebuilt themselves. The obelisk straightened, the arches became complete, and soon she was standing in the site as it had once been: beautiful, perfect, a marvel.
There were people there as well. They passed each other, moving this way and that. The crack in the canyon’s end where they had come from was an enormous tunnel, something to rival a modern subway system. People came through, nodding and smiling at each other. Dim snippets of conversation drifted by.
“The Straits,” said one woman, indicating with a hand over her shoulder.
Two men shook hands, one introducing a third: “From Crete,” he said.
As though their destination was a given, the places mentioned were always where they’d come from.
Then the scene changed.
The buildings remained the same, but the people grew angry and suspicious. She saw one woman jerk her son away from a man, shouting curses at him. She saw two men come to blows, only to be pulled apart by their friends. There was unrest and unease.
The scene changed again.
Everyone was fighting and screaming. The din was deafening. But clear in more than one of the terrified shrieks was the word she’d been longing to hear for so long.
“Tenebris has fallen!” screamed a young man, his face a mask of pain, his one arm bloody and hanging useless.
“She has destroyed Tenebris!” screamed a man in a toga, sprinting for his life, covering his ears. “It is gone!”
Some of the men had swords and strange crooked scythes. Others only had iron bars or whatever clubs they could find. They fought viciously. Their violence and hatred washed over her. Dead bodies lay everywhere. One woman cradled a child, weeping as if her heart would break.
Gillian removed her hand from the stone. Between one breath and the next, she was back in the present day. Gasping, her eyes darted all around. Her vision had been so real that she expected to see the wild mob. Their panic had fueled hers. But as her heart and breathing slowed, Gillian returned fully to the present. The terrorized citizens were gone. Once again, she stood in ruins.
But now she knew. They had said Tenebris. Though it wasn’t how she’d envisioned first hearing the word on ancient lips, they’d said it.
With a shaking hand, Gillian pulled out the pouch of seeds from her backpack. Whatever strange material the Spider King had given her, it kept the heat of the seeds within. When she opened the cinch at the top, she was met with a puff of hot air at once.
Dragon’s eye seed was rumored to give people the eyes of dragons. People who took it saw what the ancient beasts were supposed to have seen. However, it was also known as a powerful poison, one that could burn people from the inside out.
Gillian looked down into the pouch. She had always known that the maps would only take her so far. She shook out a tiny black seed, cinching the pouch closed. A palmful of the seeds would have burned her, but the one was only warm. Although she’d been about to put away the rest of the seeds, she paused. Two days, Mathias had said. Though the seeds were the bridge, she didn’t know how long they would take to work. She didn’t know how long after they worked it would be before she crossed to Tenebris. Once she was there, she didn’t know how long she would want to stay and collect data. She looked at the single seed in her palm. If one seed would do the trick, two might be faster. She opened the pouch again and poured out another seed. This time she tucked the pouch away. Then, before she could change her mind, she popped them both in her mouth and swallowed them dry.
CHAPTER TEN
IN HER LIFE, Gillian had never taken anything stronger than aspirin. As she felt the dragon’s eye seed go down, she waited. Would she pass out? Would she imagine herself taking wing? But as the seconds and then the minutes ticked by, it was neither of those. Instead, she felt heat begin in her stomach. Quickly, she was suffused with a powerful sensation of warmth. It was not the burning she had half-expected or feared. She felt fine. When she stood, she didn’t shake. When she walked, she didn’t stumble. The only difference was a strange silvery outline to the ruins. The light was soft. If she looked at it too closely, it wasn’t really there. As she made her way back to the fountain, she realized that dusk had fallen. Though there was a deep indigo light in the sky, the sun must have set. She’d never seen a sky such a gorgeous shade of evening.
Shayne approached.
“It’s getting dark,” he said. “I think it’s best to stay near the fire.”
Without a word, she followed him, watching the roll of his hips, and taking in the broad expanse of his back.
Mathias looked up from a pot of water he was boiling. “Did you get the pictures you wanted?”
Gillian smiled at them, her beautiful men.
She shrugged and let the backpack drop. The shimmery outline she had seen around the architecture surrounded Mathias and Shayne as well. Mathias gleamed a mossy green shot through with threads of gold. It made her think of the end of spring, when the sunlight was like honey in deep green leaves. She turned to Shayne, whose outline was a vibrant scarlet. The passion in it made her heart ache.
“Gillian?” he said.
“What?”
“Are you all right? You look a little…out of it.”
Mathias helped her to sit on the nearest bedroll.
“You’re wonderful,” she blurted out.
Instead of making him smile, he furrowed his eyebrows.
&nb
sp; “Gillian, what’s going on?” he asked.
“She looks high,” Shayne said.
Gillian glared at him. “Please don’t talk about me like I’m not here.”
“All right,” he said, fixing her with a stern gaze. “You look high.” Then he scowled. “Gillian, please tell me you didn’t take those seeds.”
“What seeds?” Mathias asked.
It was on the tip of her tongue to lie, to pretend that she didn’t know what Shayne was talking about, but she nodded.
“I did.”
“What seeds is she talking about?” Mathias demanded.
“We bought dragon’s eye seeds,” Gillian said.
“Seven hells, Gillian, lie down,” Shayne said, his voice strained. “How many did you take? When was this?”
She pushed him away when he tried to lay her on her back.
“I only took two seeds. And I did it about ten minutes ago. Look, I haven’t fallen over yet.”
“Dragon’s eye seed is a slow-acting poison. If you really had taken a killing dose, it might take hours for us to find out.”
She scooted away from him and realized she was now sitting next to Mathias.
“Do you have a lecture for me too?”
He looked amused. “I was actually wondering if you would let me try some.”
Shayne stared at him. “You can’t be serious.”
“What? Dragon’s eye seeds? It’s been centuries since I had them. They’re impossible to get anymore. When am I going to have this opportunity again?”
“You’ve had them?” Shayne demanded. “Is two lethal?”
Gillian was fascinated by the fact that whenever Shayne raised his voice, warm gold sparks seemed to fly from the color that outlined him.
His aura, she realized with some satisfaction.
“Not even for someone Gillian’s size,” Mathias said.
Gillian watched as the gold sparks died down. It was sad to see them go.
“So you think she’s safe?” Shayne said.
“I’m anything but,” she said, and kissed him.
When their lips met, a flash of pure ecstasy rushed between them. There was a moment of deep shock, and Gillian wasn’t sure who was more surprised. But in the next instant she had turned to Mathias. He’d been watching with the avid eyes of a cat.
“Well?” she asked, a slight hint of challenge in her voice.
Mathias took her chin between his fingers, holding her still as he kissed her. She marveled at how different Mathias’s kiss was from Shayne’s. It was soft, but she could still feel the power underneath. It was a tease, like the wisp of smoke before a spark burst to flames. She took her time, allowing Mathias to explore her mouth thoroughly.
When they broke the kiss, she looked at Shayne. His gaze was nothing less than smoldering, and his aura was thick with gold sparks.
“What are you doing, Gillian?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.
“What I want to do,” she said, reaching for him again. “What I think I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.”
“Gillian,” he said, standing, “you are literally on drugs. Don’t do something you’ll regret later.”
Gillian laughed softly.
“I wish you could be in my mind right now,” she said softly. “I wish you could see the things that I am seeing. I have never seen so clearly. We spend so much time worrying about things that we don’t need to worry about.”
“Give her what she wants,” Mathias said, his voice a velvet purr. “Don’t be a fool.”
He slowly rose and stood in front of Shayne. By the flickering light of the fire, they looked like young gods come to share warmth and human passion. Gillian shivered.
“I know you, Shayne,” Mathias was saying. “I know that you want nothing more than to please. You want it so much that it’s driving you insane, isn’t it?”
Shayne started to protest, but then Mathias’s hand was between his legs, squeezing him gently. Instead of whatever he had been planning to say, Shayne hissed instead. When he looked up, he locked eyes with Gillian. There was something desperate and dark in his expression.
“Come here,” she whispered. “Come here, let me have you.”
That was all the coaxing he needed. He was stumbling, falling to his knees in front of her. Her mouth was on his, demanding he respond. As his lips parted, her tongue slipped inside. Gods, he tasted good. How had she never noticed that? She could eat him alive.
Mathias sat next to her, one arm draped around her waist, his mouth nuzzling at the crook of her neck. When she broke the kiss with Shayne, Mathias was grinning at her.
“You look very pleased with yourself,” Gillian murmured.
“Look at what beautiful toys I have to play with,” he said with a soft laugh.
“I’m not your toy,” Shayne growled.
The only response that Mathias made to that was to cup his hand around the back of Shayne’s neck, and bring him close for a deep kiss. They were practically on top of her. She could feel the passion between them. For a moment the colors of their auras mingled, trying to meld, only to back away from each other. Though she’d been spellbound, she came back to herself. She reached down between Mathias’s legs and squeezed him just as he had squeezed Shayne. She found that he was more than half hard. With a few strokes of her hand, she brought him to full erection.
Mathias broke his kiss with Shayne long enough to glance down at her with a grin.
“Distracting little thing,” he said, knotting his hand hard in her hair.
Gillian gasped, remembering their night together. Shayne made a protesting noise. Mathias’s glittering green eyes looked between them.
“Who first?” he mused, but Gillian didn’t wait for him to answer his own question.
She opened Mathias’s trousers, pulled out his cock, and lowered her mouth to it. She started with slow licks along the shaft, working her hand at the base. When she glanced up, Shayne and Mathias were kissing again. Mathias’s hand in her hair was loose, but she knew how quickly it could tighten. She swirled her tongue around the tip, making his hips buck. His hand gripped her hair, making her whimper.
At that, Shayne broke the kiss, and knocked Mathias’s hand away from Gillian’s hair.
“For the love of all the hells, be gentle,” he growled.
Any other man would have been frightened by that tone, but Mathias looked delighted. A slow, sultry smile spread across his face.
“Why should I?” he asked. “Tell me why in the world should I?”
Mathias’s expression was practically a dare. Shayne seemed as if he were on the verge of something violent. This was how they’d been together so long, pushing and pulling until something had to give.
“Because I said so,” Shayne snarled.
That was all the warning that Mathias got before Shayne grabbed his hair, twisting far more cruelly than Mathias had done to Gillian.
“Gillian,” Shayne said. “I want him to use his mouth on you. Is that all right?”
Gillian almost laughed at the polite language.
“Yes, sir,” she murmured with pleasure. The honorific slipped out without her planning it. It brought a dark satisfaction to Shayne’s face.
“Take off your clothes,” he said.
She started to reach for the hem of her shirt, but Shayne stopped her with a gentle slap to the wrist. The surprise made her yelp, and she looked at him with confusion.
“Stand up. Let us see you do it.”
Gillian felt a hot river of heat spill through her. Gulping, she stood up.
The cool wind of the desert brought goosebumps to her skin, but she stripped as Shayne commanded. At last, she stood in nothing but her skin and her gloves. The two men watched her with hungry eyes, like beasts ready to devour her. The cold air made her nipples tighten. She started to raise her hands to cover them.
“No,” Shayne ordered. She dropped her hands back down. “Turn around and let me see you.” As she turned, their gazes raked her sk
in. “That’s a beautiful girl. Go and lie down on the bedroll.”
She lie down on the pad, gazing up at a dizzying array of stars. They had come out when she wasn’t looking, far more than could be counted. For a moment, she was lost in their depths. But then Shayne dragged Mathias down to the bedroll as well. With one foot, Shayne lightly spread Gillian’s legs. He pushed Mathias down between them.
“He’s going to eat you now. If he doesn’t do it exactly the way you want it, I’m going to punish him.”
Gillian’s eyes widened, but then she looked at Mathias. His lips were red from kissing Shayne. Though his eyes held a look of desperation, there was no fear. Instead there was only the hunger of a man who had needed this for a long time.
“Who knows,” said Shayne, darkly humorous. “I might punish him anyway.”
The keening sound that Mathias made struck Gillian to the very core. She needed this as much as he did.
Shayne forced Mathias’s head down between her legs. There were no delicate licks. Instead, it was nearly an attack. The pleasure was instant and almost painful as he savagely sucked her clit and lashed it with his tongue. Gillian’s body arched as the sensations crashed into her.
Shayne released Mathias’s hair and stretched out along her side. Both he and Mathias were still clothed. She had never been so aware of her own nudity––and Mathias’s relentless mouth.
“Beautiful woman,” Shayne whispered. He turned her face to him and kissed her. “I can taste him on you,” he said in the same soft tone. “Do you know that? I can taste the fact that you’ve been sucking his cock. Did you like that, Gillian? Did you like getting him hard?”
“Yes,” she gasped, as Mathias’s tongue tortured her.
“You have no idea how beautiful you two are together,” Shayne continued. This time, he pitched his voice so that they both could hear. “I’m getting so hard just watching you eat her.”
She heard him unzip his trousers. Then he took her hand and wrapped it around his cock. She mewled at how hard he was. He closed his hand over hers, showing her how he liked it, how much force he wanted her to use. Then his mouth closed on her nipple. His lips were like a vice, and the maddening lashing of his tongue matched that of Mathias. They worked her then, Shayne’s strong arms surrounding her, and Mathias’ strong hands at her hips. Desperate to writhe, they held her tight, pleasuring her without relent. Though her back arched high, there was no escape. Shayne gnawed at her too sensitive nipple, his deep growl of satisfaction thrumming in her ribs. Mathias teeth grazed her tender nub, sending a shooting tendril of ecstasy into her belly. She was going to come.