by J. N. Baker
With the number of people already here, plus those who had made the journey with us, we had nearly a thousand, maybe more. Perhaps we stood a chance after all.
Jade pushed past me with two large crates in her arms. “It’s still not fucking enough,” she muttered as if reading my mind.
“Lord William, someone approaches!” a vampire woman shouted, pointing to the trees.
I looked up as a cloaked figure emerged from the shadows. As William made his way toward the creature, Jade dropped her wooden boxes and was hot on his heels. I set the crate I was carrying down beside Jade’s and followed after them. Alec, Annie, and Ryuu were close behind me; I could hear their light footfalls in the muddy grass. Well, mostly just Annie’s. God, she was so new. The girl had a lot to learn in a very short amount of time if she was going to survive.
“Greetings, sire,” a gravelly voice spoke from beneath a black hood. It was like metal nails grinding against each other in a garbage disposal. I cringed. Not an inch of flesh was visible on the creature, the long robe hanging loosely around its hunched body, concealing even its hands. Yellow eyes peered out from the darkness as it bowed.
William nodded. “This is Litharo, one of the shadow people.” The creature bowed a second time.
“We have gathered all that you have requested, Lord William. My people will follow you into the depths of Hell if that is where we must go.”
“Very good. You have done well, Litharo. I am pleased.”
“Thank you, sire.” It bowed once more.
The creature’s eyes locked onto mine. It was only a split second, but I suddenly felt uneasy. And then it was gone, disappearing back into the darkness from which it came.
“And those are the good guys?” I whispered to Alec as a shudder ripped through me.
“Well, kind of.”
“What do you mean, ‘kind of’?”
“They will do whatever it takes to find favor with the Lord once more,” he explained. “It’s said that the shadow people have spent thousands of years trying to make up for something they did, something unforgivable. Some say that they’re neither living nor dead. They just are.”
“What are they?” Annie squeaked.
Ryuu grimaced. “Trust me, you don’t want to know. I made the mistake of finding out a few years back. I didn’t eat anything for nearly a week. Just be glad they’re on our side.”
“Whatever you do, never make eye contact with them,” Alec warned.
Shit.
Traveling through the darkness, I moved farther away from the castle walls. My bare feet sloshed through the moist grass as I headed for a small lake just outside the castle grounds. I needed to get this blood off my skin—my blood. I slipped into the shadows, leaving the torchlight from the castle behind me; it wasn’t like I needed it with my advanced eyesight. I walked through the darkness until I reached the farthest point in the lake, where I was sure wandering eyes wouldn’t find me. I stared into the water’s calm surface. It looked so inviting.
I shimmied out of my cargo pants and peeled the sweat and blood-soaked shirt off my skin. I threw one last glance over my shoulder and hurried out of my bra, wading into the water wearing nothing but my lace underwear. With a quick thought, I retraced my steps and snatched up the filthy black shirt from the shoreline and dragged it out into the water with me.
I stopped twenty feet out, my back to the castle. The cold water hugged my hips, sending goose bumps racing across my skin. I dipped my head under water, trying to scrub the blood and grime from my flesh. I cursed under my breath as I did my best to wash the tattered shirt. I had nothing else to wear. I’d probably be spending the rest of eternity as haggard Lara Croft. I could thank Jade for that.
Something rustled in the bushes and I spun around, dipping farther into the water. Josh stared at me with wide eyes, one of the torches gripped firmly in his hand. He tried to find something else to look at and failed. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, starting to turn away.
“It’s fine,” I called after him and he came to a stop, his shoulders visibly tense in the dim firelight. “I’m pretty sure this little lake is plenty big enough for the both of us. Besides,” I added, “it’s not like I have anything you haven’t seen before.”
Josh inched his way back around, taking a hesitant step toward the little lake. He jammed the torch into the soft ground and the light flickered across the water. His eyes were glued to mine as he unbuttoned his jeans, pushing them farther down his hips.
I forced myself to turn away, trying to give him privacy. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen him in a swimsuit or even boxers over the years, but I had a suspicious feeling he wasn’t wearing either of those. I tried to focus on the shirt in my hand. What was I doing with it again?
Josh splashed into the water, making his way to my right, putting moderate distance between us. I felt his eyes on the back of my head and I dipped farther into the water, holding the soaked shirt over my breasts.
“Sorry about your girlfriend,” I blurted out, addressing the elephant between us. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I realized that probably wasn’t the best analogy for our current position.
“It’s okay,” he said after a while. “She was kind of asking for it. Besides, I heard what William said. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it,” I breathed. Thankfully, he didn’t hear me.
“She really isn’t that bad, Zo.”
“I’m sure.”
“She’s actually got a really good heart,” he continued. “It’s what originally attracted me to her.”
“And here I thought it was her boobs,” I sneered.
Josh reached over and splashed me and I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
“So…you and Cody, huh? Does Alec know?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not what you think.”
“No, of course not. And I’m sure it was just a figment of my imagination that I saw him standing in your living room in his birthday suit.”
“With two dead guys bleeding all over my carpet. Right. That’s hot. You sure know what I like.”
Josh laughed. I could hear him moving in the water. His voice came a little closer. “You know, Cody’s always had a thing for you.”
I didn’t dare look at him. I could hardly breathe just thinking about his broad shoulders, his perfectly chiseled jawline, his muscular chest, his likely naked body, the way that body had felt pressed against mine in that dark, flooded godforsaken dome back in Santa Cruz. Josh was talking about Cody, but all I could think about was him. I scolded myself, remembering who he was. Who I was now.
“Not anymore, he doesn’t,” I said finally. I fidgeted with the shirt in my hands, cleaning the same spot for the fifth time.
“What do you mean? Come on, you two would be perfect together.” I could hear the humor in his voice. “Better than that asshole you’re with,” he muttered under his breath. I let his last comment slide. I didn’t think it was intended for me.
“I’m immortal, Josh. Cody’s not.”
“And?”
“And one day he’ll grow old and die, just like everyone else. And that’s something I can never do.” A sharp pain gripped my chest for a moment and then passed. I exhaled.
“There you are, baby,” Tiffany said as she stepped into the clearing. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me. “Oh.”
“Don’t worry,” I started, “I was just leaving.” But not without ruffling a few feathers on my way.
Throwing all self-respect out the window, I straightened in the water, slinging the wet shirt over my shoulder. My eyes locked with Josh’s and I headed straight for him. He made a choking sound as I coiled my arms around his neck, pressing our bodies together. He was so warm in contrast to the cold water around me that it sent chills racing down my spine. His smooth chest scraped against my bare breasts and heat pooled between my legs.
“I’ll see you around,” I said, breathless.
To h
ell with breaking rules, I was setting the whole damn friendship handbook on fire. And I found I didn’t give a shit.
I thought I saw steam escaping Tiffany’s ears as I made my way to the shoreline on shaky legs. I could feel Josh’s eyes on me, following my every move, running over every inch of my bare flesh. The heat between my legs built until it was a raging inferno that consumed my whole damn body.
I took my sweet time stepping back into my clothes. After all, I’d already destroyed every moral fiber in my being, so why the hell not? I stole a glance over my shoulder as I pulled the wet shirt over my head. Tiffany’s face was bright red and Josh’s mouth hung open. I felt both disgusted and oddly pleased with myself as I made my way back to the castle.
And I was right. He wasn’t wearing any boxers.
As I neared the castle, footsteps trailed after me. I spun on my heels, hand reaching for my sword’s hilt. But my hand stopped short.
“Josh?”
He stood a good twenty yards behind me. His pants were back on and his body was still dripping wet. The torch from the lake was in his hand, casting flames in his icy eyes. He’d come after me? I was surprised to see that Tiffany wasn’t with him.
“What are you doing?” I asked when he didn’t say anything.
Josh watched me with unreadable eyes and then jerked his head to the side, motioning for me to follow him into the darkness. He didn’t wait for me to respond, turning around and heading toward the forest. Where the hell was he going? I glanced over my shoulder at the illuminated castle behind me before taking off after him.
As Josh disappeared into the shadows of the forest, I wondered if I’d crossed a line with him back at the lake. A voice in the back of my head screamed yes. Guilt settled in the pit of my stomach as I approached the tree line. I would have to apologize. He had a girlfriend and I hadn’t exactly respected that by pressing our naked bodies against one another while she was standing twenty feet away. Not to mention that I’d broken about every rule in The Boundaries of Friendship handbook. I crossed the line. Dammit.
I took a deep breath and stepped into the trees with my eyes down. “Look, Josh, I’m sorry about before. I shouldn’t have done that, especially not in front of Tiffany. Or, you know, at all. I don’t know what the hell came over me. It was stupid and I’m sorry. I’ll apologize to Tiffany if you want,” I forced myself to say.
When Josh didn’t respond, I looked up and froze. He wasn’t there.
“Josh?”
Laughter filled the dark forest, laughter I was unfortunately growing all too used to. I unsheathed my sword, eyes scanning the trees around me. Something shifted in the darkness, something big. I made a slow turn, sword raised as an enormous black shadow crept through the trees, circling me. Stalking me.
“So, it is true,” the creature rasped. “You will follow the human anywhere. That is good to know. Very good,” it purred.
I tried to remind myself that it wasn’t real. William said it was just in my head. That meant it couldn’t hurt me, right? But what if it was real this time? What if the beast had finally come for me? My fingers flexed on the sword’s hilt.
“Show yourself,” I hissed.
“How would you like to see me?” the voice asked. “Like this?” Something crunched to my right and I turned, sword raised as the yellow lab darted out of the blackened forest, coming to sit on a tree stump in front of me. Its fur was still wet and flattened to its body as if it had just come straight from the storm I’d seen it in. The air left my lungs and I stumbled back a step, sword still at the ready.
“Or, perhaps you would rather see me like this.” In a blink the dog was gone and something shifted to my left. I spun on my heels and gasped, the sword nearly slipping from my hand as a still-shirtless Josh stood before me, his blue eyes piercing mine. The Sythen chuckled. “Ah, yes, you do seem to prefer this form. Shall I use this form from now on?”
“You leave Josh alone!”
“Or what?” the Sythen growled, red eyes peering out from the darkness. The ground trembled beneath my feet as the serpent beast crept forward, its massive jaws inching toward Josh. Thousands of razor-sharp teeth loomed over him as a long, forked tongue slipped out of its mouth and ran along the side of Josh’s neck. “What would you do to keep him safe?” the beast hissed. “What would you do?”
In a flash, Josh’s body jolted forward and his eyes bugged out of his head. The Sythen chuckled, ripping its long talon from Josh’s back. Josh stumbled back a step, grimacing as he gripped his torso. When he pulled his hands away, they were coated in blood. His eyes shot to mine, his face already growing pale. Josh slipped to his knees before toppling over on the forest floor.
“No!” I shouted, lunging toward Josh as he disappeared.
A twig snapped behind me and I whipped around, swiping my sword through the air until it connected with something hard and unmoving. The sound of metal clashing with metal rang in my ears.
“Easy,” Alec said, his voice low as he withdrew his sword from mine and returned it to the scabbard at his hip. “It’s just me.”
I exhaled, dropping the tip of my sword to the ground. “Sorry,” I mumbled, leaning over my sword’s hilt for a moment, taking a deep breath. What the hell just happened?
Alec’s bright golden eyes were wary as he took me in. “What are you doing out here, Zoe?” he finally asked, as if he weren’t sure he was prepared to hear the answer. I wondered if what happened on the plane had messed with his head more than it had mine. Doubtful.
“Just training,” I lied. I didn’t need Alec more worried than he already was. What good would that do? “I needed to blow off some steam and thought this would be the best way to do it.”
Alec looked at me for a moment until I thought he was going to call my bluff. “If you wanted to train, all you had to do was say so,” he told me, extending his hand. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” I asked, taking his hand and letting him tow me back through the trees.
“To train,” he answered. “You said you wanted to train and I’m happy to oblige. It’s been years since we’ve sparred. It’ll be fun.”
I threw one last glance over my shoulder as we exited the forest, blood-red eyes watching me leave.
Right, fun.
The farther we got from the forest, the more I felt the need to hit something—kill something. I let my anger build with each step until it was pulsing throughout my body, just waiting to be unleashed.
Alec brought me around to the back of the castle where there were fewer curious eyes to watch us. “This will work,” he said, a smirk dancing on the edge of his lips. Maybe he needed this as much as I did.
I took a step back from him, twirling my still unsheathed blade in my hand. He was right, it had been years since we’d trained together. I’d grown a lot since then, as he was about to discover.
Alec unsheathed his sword and made a slow circle around me, the fire from nearby torches reflecting in his golden eyes. “And here I was hoping for some hand-to-hand combat,” he said. “If I remember correctly, that was your favorite. Or perhaps it was just your favorite with me.”
I lunged toward him in a calculated strike and he raised his sword to catch the blow. He was still just as fast as ever. I swung again, and again, Alec matching me blow for blow. And then he vanished and I spun on my heels, throwing my sword up just in time to catch his as it came down on me.
“Not fair,” I grunted.
“All’s fair in love and war.” He shrugged, bringing his sword down again.
Fucking teleport. That was always his favorite trick when we used to train together, disappearing and reappearing until I was either too tired to go on or too disoriented to fight properly. He always won. And then he disappeared for good.
I growled, diving for him as he raised his sword for another brutal blow. My shoulder connected with his hip, flipping him over my back. He landed on the ground with a loud thud. I was on him in a microsecond, my sword pressed firmly to his throa
t. I smiled down at him. “I win.”
He had me flipped in an instant, his muscular body pressing into mine until it was hard to think straight. “Are you sure about that?” he asked, cocking a brow at me.
As his lips inched closer to mine, my knee connected with his inner thigh and he grunted, rolling off me. It wasn’t until he was standing that he realized his sword was now gripped firmly in my left hand. I spun both blades in a circular motion and grinned.
A cheer erupted from behind us and both of our heads whipped around to find a small group of onlookers gathered for the show.
“That’s right!” Cody shouted. “Get him, Fido!”
Josh stood beside him, his expression blank as he watched on with Tiffany glued to his side. I couldn’t get the image of him covered in blood out of my head. The rage returned.
“Come on,” I shouted at Alec, swords at the ready.
“Give me back my weapon first,” he told me, reaching out in anticipation of the return of his blade.
I shook my head. “Nope, sorry. All’s fair and all that shit,” I sneered and Alec growled.
He charged at me, only to disappear into thin air right before impaling himself on my blade. I whirled around but he wasn’t there. He was playing head games. Call me crazy, but I’d had just about enough head games lately.
Suddenly Alec came at me from the side, a short blade clutched in his hand. I caught it between my two swords, throwing force into each of my swings as I drove him back, keeping him on the defensive. His breaths became short and ragged as he tried to keep up with his one blade. I had him. I was finally going to beat him and Alec knew it.
And then he faked right and teleported behind me, his sword slicing across my back, ripping the skin wide open. The crowd gasped and I bit back the cry that was on the tip of my tongue.
“Do you concede?” he panted.
“Never,” I snarled, spinning around and spear chucking his sword at him. I was fast, but he was faster. And I was counting on that. As Alec reached up to snatch the sword from the air before it hit him, I brought my own sword down on him, slashing him across the stomach. His blood splattered up my arms and he grunted, stumbling back a step. Someone cheered.