Darkness Possessed (Order of the Blade)

by Stephanie Rowe

  She squeezed his hand. Mutual saving. I love you.

  I love you, too.

  “Stop with the lovey dovey,” Thano said. “Have some mercy on us single guys, you know?”

  Zach raised his eyebrows. “You don’t want to be single?”

  Thano met his gaze, his cheeks still gaunt and pale. “Dude, when you’ve danced in hell long enough, it gives you some perspective.” His focus settled on Rhiannon. “You got a good one, and I have to say, I like that she’s not a sheva. It’s good shit between you two. I can feel it.” His gaze darted across the clearing to where Jordyn and Eric were in a hot debate about something. “Unlike those two, who are probably going to kill each other before they find his brother.”

  Zach grinned. “Yeah, she didn’t seem all that impressed with his offer to put lotion on her back to soothe her burns.”

  “I like her. She’s got spunk.” Thano watched her. “Eric’s kind of an ass who needs a woman who will shut him up. I think it’s good. Maybe I’ll offer to go with them. Might be fun. I heard them mention vampires, and I’m sort of curious to see what they turn up. I’ve heard some bad shit about those things. I’d like to see Jordyn go head-to-head with one of them. She’d win, you know.”

  Zach threw a rock at Thano’s shoulder. “Dude, don’t go getting hung up on a woman. Take a break from that. The last one sent you rogue, and we lost the staff, so stay solo for a while, will you?”

  Thano looked over at him, and the amusement went out of his eyes. “I asked Rohan to put the sheva wards on me,” he said. “I’m not going through that again. It’s not worth the risk. It’s fucking hell to lose your mind like that. Trust me.”

  Zach nodded. “It’s too bad the staff is gone.”

  “Yeah, it would have made the Order’s job a lot easier.” Thano glanced again at Eric and Jordyn, and Zach sensed a restlessness in him.

  He frowned, watching Thano more closely. “You’re really thinking of going with them to Louisiana? What about the Order?”

  Thano looked at him. “When I was rogue, I knew what I was doing. I knew what was happening. I felt like I was so close to being able to reclaim my mind, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to die. I wanted to beat that curse. If I go back to the Order, every time I kill a rogue, I’m going to know what’s going on in his mind. He’s not a monster. He’s me. How can I kill them, knowing that they’re sane inside their heads? I don’t want to do that shit anymore.”

  Zach went silent for a moment, then finally said, “They can’t do it without you. You’re the glue. You’re the one who holds them together. Now that Dante’s gone, there’s no one else who can keep them balanced.”

  “I know.” Thano looked away again. He reached down and grabbed his foot, shifting his leg to a new position. Clearly, his time in the cocoon hadn’t gotten his legs working. One of the best warriors alive, and the only way he could walk was on the back of his horse. “I can’t return to the Order and their mission. Not right now.” And you know exactly what I’m talking about because you’re not going back either, are you? He didn’t look at Zach as he said it, but the words were clear.

  And Thano was right. He did know exactly what Thano was feeling. He took a deep breath. Rhiannon.

  Her love flooded him. Yes.

  Have you changed your mind?

  She turned in his arms to face him. Her eyes were dark with emotion, and full of love. “I can’t, Zach. This is my jungle. I’m the only one left to protect it. I have to rebuild my tribe. It’s what I was created to do. I can’t go back to Oregon with you. I have to stay here.”

  He nodded. “I know.” He ground his jaw, and saw Thano watching them. I can’t walk away from the Order, Thano.

  Thano shrugged. Of course you can. The mission of the Order is to protect innocents from rogue Calydons. You just saved an entire jungle from rogues. You will still fulfill your mission. You’ll just transfer to a more exotic locale.

  Zach went still, sudden hope beating through him. I hadn’t thought of it that way. He thought of Dante, and how they had once traveled far and wide in search of rogues. Settling in the Pacific Northwest had come later, when they realized that there was a very high concentration of rogues in that area. He looked across the clearing at Rohan, who was sitting beside Trevor, talking to him in low tones.

  Rohan was the only one with his hood up. All the others were in jeans and tee shirts, regular warriors, not the hidden, mysterious commandos that Rohan led. They looked so normal, like the guys he had teamed up with for so many centuries.

  He thought of his team. Could he really walk away from the teammates he’d been with for so long? He thought of Gideon and Quinn. Elijah. Ryland. Kane. Gabe. Ian. Even Drew, the young kid. He’d been a part of a team for so long, he didn’t know how to be alone.

  Except that the only time in his life that he’d been truly happy was when he’d walked away from Dante and the Order and set up shop with his wife. And he had that chance again?

  He tightened his arms around Rhiannon, inhaling the delicate scent that was so her. What was the right choice?

  Rohan suddenly stood up and walked over to them. Apollo shifted restlessly, moving his sleek, black body between the warrior and Thano. Zach stood up, pulling Rhiannon with him. “Rohan,” he said.

  “It is time.”

  Zach frowned “Time for what?”

  “For you to fulfill your destiny.”

  Zach narrowed his eyes as he held Rhiannon’s hand. “And what destiny would that be?”

  “My apprentice. You will join us.”

  “Whoa.” Zach held up his hand. “What are you talking about?”

  Rohan cocked his head. “Did Dante never tell you?”

  “No…what?”

  “He pledged you as my apprentice. I thought you were dead, but you’re not, so it begins now. We leave in five minutes.” He turned away and began to stride back across the clearing, message delivered.

  Go with them? If he went with Rohan, he would not be returning to his Order, or staying with Rhiannon…and the moment he realized it, there was only one thing that mattered: Rhiannon. Leaving the Order didn’t feel wrong. Leaving Rhiannon was untenable. He knew then what his future would hold. He knew what his choice would be. Elation swept through him, and he put his arm around Rhiannon’s shoulders, pulling her up against him. “Sorry, but I can’t help you.”

  Rohan looked back at him. “What?”’

  “I’m not going with you.” Zach grinned at Rhiannon. “I’m staying here, with Rhiannon. We have a jungle to protect.”

  She made a small noise of surprise. “What?”’

  He turned to face her, and took her hands into his. “If you will have me, I will stay with you. Let’s do this together. Marry me. I swear I will never try to control you or own you, but I want to go to bed every night with you in my arms. I want another chance to be a father again. You make me believe I’m worthy of a family again, and I want it with you. We’re good together. Let’s rebuild your tribe together.”

  She stared at him. “Our tribe has always been all women. They just have visits to nearby villages with choice males. We raised all the children, and then the males would leave the village when they became old enough, and the girls would stay. It’s no men.”

  He raised his eyebrows at her. “And you think that’s a good idea?”

  For a moment, she stared at him, and then a slow smile spread over her face. “I have to admit, it took both of us to defeat José. And I do like you.”

  “Like me? That’s it?”

  Her smile widened, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, “Okay, I love you, and it totally melts my soul that you want to stay here with me. If you mean it, I would love it.”

  “I mean it.” He bent his head and kissed her. So, that’s a yes, you’ll marry me? I’m too old and conservative to live in sin with a woman. I need the ring. I need the forever.

  She giggled, and her joy surged through him. Yes, I will marry you, as long as
you never take those wards off. It is just love, Zach.

  He pulled back and framed her face with his hands. “No, it’s not just love. It is love, more powerful and more beautiful than any sheva bond could ever be. Of course I’ll keep the runes on my arms. I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

  She grinned. “I love you—”

  “Dante and I made a pact,” Rohan interrupted.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Jordyn shouted from across the clearing. “You need to lighten up, Rohan. That was such a sweet moment. Can’t you get sentimental at least once every century?”

  Rohan ignored her. “Dante and I made a blood pact,” he said. “He offered me one of his team as an apprentice. It’s time. I need you now.”

  “A blood pact?” Zach tensed, his arms going tighter around Rhiannon. Blood pacts held a power of their own. If Dante had really bound him by a blood pact, it was a big deal. “I’m not going—”

  “I’ll go.” Thano spoke from his seated position. “I’ll take his place.”

  Rohan and Zach looked down at Thano. The warrior was leaning back against his horse’s front leg, his legs crossed casually at the ankles. Thano shrugged. “You guys don’t hunt rogue Calydons, do you?”

  Rohan shook his head. “No.”

  “Then I’m in. I need a vacation.”

  Ethan snorted from across the campsite. “Dude, this is no vacation. Don’t offer yourself up for this.”

  Thano grinned at him. “It’s all relative, Ethan. It’ll be fun.”

  Rohan shook his head. “No.”

  James Wolfe grinned. “We could use some lightness, boss. Thano’s more fun than you are. Let him come.”

  Maddox rubbed his goatee. “Besides, he’s got a kickass horse. We’ll look really cool with that horse on our side.”

  “See?” Thano grinned. “They all like me. I like you guys. It’s a perfect match. We’ll make s’mores, drink good beer, and chase whatever bad guys you like to hunt.”

  Rohan walked over to Thano and crouched in front of him. He held his hand out to Thano, who grasped it. Blue electricity leapt between them, and Rohan nodded. “Dante’s power runs strong in you.” He tilted his head. “You are more than you seem, aren’t you?”

  Thano grinned and raised one eyebrow. “You’ll have to earn the right to that information, my friend.”

  Rohan rose to his feet, and turned to Zach. “I accept the substitution. I release you from your duty.” He nodded at Thano. “We leave in three minutes.”

  As he strode back across the campsite, Zach crouched beside Thano. “What are you doing?”

  His teammate’s green gaze was steady. “I can’t go back,” he said. “I need something else. This is my path. These overly intense testosterone-junkies need me. What can I say?”

  Zach ground his jaw as he sat beside him. “You’re sure?”

  “I’m not doing it for you. I have full faith you would have figured out how to get out of it without my intervention.” Apollo bent his head and blew softly in Thano’s ear. Thano grinned and rubbed his horse’s nose. “I’m doing this for me. Tagging along to Louisiana with Eric and Jordyn doesn’t sound like nearly as much fun as goading Rohan into taking that ridiculous hood off.” He looked over at Zach, and his face was more serious than Zach had ever seen it. “Take care of this jungle and your woman, Z. You’ve got it good.”

  “I know.” He hesitated. “What did Rohan mean when he said Dante’s power runs strong in you?” Thano had become a part of the team only fifteen years ago, a complete neophyte at age twenty. Dante had never said where he’d found Thano, and neither warrior had ever ‘fessed up. “And what did he mean that you’re more than you seem?”

  Thano grinned. “Melodrama from a seer who has to make stuff up to be impressive. Nothing more than bells and whistles, dude.”

  Zach studied him. “I don’t think I believe you.”

  Thano winked. “Then you, my friend, are right.” He snapped his fingers, and Apollo dropped to his knees beside him. Thano grabbed his mane and swung onto his horse’s sleek back. Apollo surged to his feet, and Thano looked down at Zach. “Thanks for saving me, my friend. I’ll never forget it.”

  Zach grasped his hand in a firm handshake. “See you around, big guy.”

  “Yeah, you will, for sure.” Thano gripped his hand fiercely. “Make lots of babies, have great sex, and save a few jungles.” Apollo snorted, and Zach stepped back as Rohan’s team congregated near the fire, preparing to dematerialize. “If you see the guys, tell them I’m in the middle of a mid-life crisis, and I stripped the Orders’ assets to buy a Lamborghini, a couple South Pacific islands, and a harem of women to make love to me twenty-four hours a day. I’m sure they’ll understand. Money, sex, and a great suntan are the basics of life, right?”

  “Nothing else matters,” Zach agreed with a grin as Thano saluted him and then rode off to join the rest of the group. As he watched Thano greet his new teammates, Rhiannon slipped up beside him, tucking herself under his arm. She wrapped her arms around his waist as the group shimmered briefly and then disappeared. The last thing he saw was Thano’s big grin and his green eyes as he gave Zach a thumbs up.

  “I think he’s going to cause some serious trouble with them,” Eric said from the other side of the campfire. “Rohan’s pretty uptight, but the others are just looking for a reason to shake things up. Thano’s going to be like a stick of dynamite in that crew.”

  Zach pressed his lips to Rhiannon’s head, and then turned back toward Jordyn and Eric. “Thano likes to blow things up. It’ll be perfect for him.” He grinned at Rhiannon. “Kind of like how protecting a jungle and spawning an entire tribe with the woman I love is going to be perfect for me.”

  Jordyn sighed, clasping her hands over her heart. “You guys are too cute. I have to say, that I’m really impressed that my advice got you two through all your baggage the way it did. I’m really good, aren’t I?”

  Rhiannon laughed, a sound that made his own heart seem to dance. “You are one crazy woman, trekking down here to help me, but thanks. I haven’t had a friend like you in a long time.”

  Jordyn smiled. “How about, after we find Eric’s brother, I come back, and we go out for drinks. Girls’ night out in the jungle?”

  “Hey.” Eric frowned. “What about the guys? What are Zach and I supposed to do while you guys are out? I think we should all go out together.”

  Jordyn raised her eyebrows. “You? What makes you think you’ll be coming back here? Once we find Tristan, you’re on your own.”

  Challenge flared in Eric’s eyes. “Once we have sex—”

  “Oh, enough already with the sex.” Jordyn rolled her eyes. “Rhiannon, you are so lucky you found a good guy.” A flicker of sadness tinged her eyes for a split second. “Love like that is really beautiful.”

  Zach’s chest tightened as Rhiannon looked up at him, and smiled. “I know,” she said. “It really is.” And then she smiled. I think it’s time for us to be alone, Zach. She let him feel her desire, and it went straight south, jerking his lower body to attention.

  I think you’re right. He scooped her up in his arms and nodded at Jordyn and Eric. “We gotta go. Good luck with Tristan.” Then, with his woman giggling in his arms, he headed off into the jungle, to explore his new home with the woman he loved.

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  With a sigh, Jordyn spun her chair toward the dining tables, propped her elbows on the counter of the bar, and leaned back against the battered wood. Slowly, she examined every person in the room, going through the same process she’d used at every other bar she’d visited in the last three hours to see if the man she was looking for was present.

  Even as she did it, she was aware of the low odds of success. Did she really think she’d find Tristan this way? No, but he’d lived here for at least six months, and he had to have had an impact, right?
Somewhere in this town, he’d left a clue before he’d disappeared. According to Eric, this was the last place he’d been seen.

  Her gaze wandered over to the Gaston brothers, and then the door to the bar swung open, drawing her attention. The screen door slammed against the wall, and a dark shadow filled the doorway. The man who stepped inside was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair. His presence was so powerful that the energy in the room actually shifted, rippling as it tried to accommodate the sheer force of his being. She sucked in her breath and sat up, chills racing down her spine.

  Eric.

  He was there.

  She stared at him, her fingers clenching the seat of her stool. He was so much bigger than she remembered. Taller, wider shoulders, a more dominating presence. He seemed to loom over the entire bar, an unstoppable force of power. He scanned the room slowly, starting with the Gaston brothers.

  A part of her wanted to leap up, race over to him, and throw herself into his arms. She was riveted by the raw strength of his body, and she knew exactly how much power radiated from him. He’d been wild and untamed in the jungle, but here, it was as if he were part predator, a feral beast constrained by no one and nothing, stalking through civilization in search of the prey that he would conquer. She recalled his claim that he wasn’t a man, and she suddenly believed him. Yes, a man, but there was something else as well. Something more visceral and dangerous. Something so graceful and lethal, physicality far beyond that of an ordinary man.

  His hair was longer now, disheveled and ragged as it hung over his forehead. His eyes were blazing and dark, his jaw taut, his muscles flexed. The man standing in the doorway was nothing like the flirtatious, irreverent man she’d met a month ago. This man was moody, dark, and pulsing with an energy so intense that it slid down her spine and settled right in her lower belly. This man was a warrior, and he was pure, unfettered male.

  Her heart started to hammer, thundering against her ribs, as she watched his gaze slide over the patrons, moving inexorably toward her. She knew then why she was still wearing her business suit. It hadn’t been to prove herself to the town that had once been her home. It had been for Eric.