by Cynthia Eden
“Why don’t you use that dark power of yours?” Gregory pressed. “Call her in on the hunt…and let her know I’m on your side. She owes me, and Marguerite will come running to your aid so fast when she knows I’m here.” He smiled at Luke.
Smiled…
And plotted the bastard’s death.
Chapter Twelve
“So…what’s the deal with the scythe?” Amber’s index finger traced over the tattoo on Cass’s back. “Another gift from Luke?”
“Yes.”
Isn’t he the generous one? Only, Luke wasn’t. Not under normal circumstances. “Why did he give it to you?”
“Sometimes, it’s hard to get touching-close to my prey. When I can’t get physically close enough to my target, I can throw the scythe. It always finds its prey.”
So Luke had given him the magical scythe so that Cass would be even better at killing. “Always?” It never misses?
“Yes.”
Swallowing, she pulled away from him. A quick glance outside showed her that night had fallen. She knew that meant they’d be leaving soon. Running again. Amber rose from the bed and dressed. Her clothes were relatively blood free but Cass…
He rose, too, and he stared down at his body. “Think anyone will notice that my clothes are soaked in blood while I’m walking around town?”
She bit her lip, then waved her hand.
Instantly, fresh clothes appeared on his body.
Cass stiffened.
Well, hell, since he gets new clothes…She waved her hand and fresh clothes replaced her rather grimy garments.
“How’d you do that?” His voice rasped at her.
She offered him a wan smile. “Magic.” She’d been hauling that suitcase around before not because she needed the change of clothes—she’d been hiding the Blade of Truth in with the other garments. She’d lied when she gave him the story about the bag containing everything she owned. The bag had contained the thing of most value to her—the knife.
Suddenly, he was right in front of her. “You never told me…what you are.”
No, she hadn’t.
“Trust cuts both ways, you know.”
She supposed it did. “My mother was a fairy.”
Her father…he’d been something entirely different.
Shock filled his gaze. “Fairies haven’t been around for hundreds of years.”
Amber shrugged. “So I look good for my age.” Her head tipped back as she stared up at him.
“All of the fairies are dead.”
“All of the full blooded fairies are dead,” Amber corrected. “I’m still here. I just don’t have as much magic as I used to possess.” Due to the whole missing wings bit. “Once upon a time…” Wasn’t that how the best stories began? Or the worst ones? “Fairies had the purest magic in the world. They were supposedly the first of the ‘good’ paranormals. Always wanting to help people, always wanting to fix things.” To tinker with the world. She swallowed. “But then others found out that their magic could be taken, that it could be tapped if you cut the wings off a fairy. But what our enemies didn’t get—or maybe, maybe they just didn’t care—was that without our wings, the fairies died.”
He’d put his gloves back on. Her gaze lingered on those gloves as a lump rose in her throat.
Someone had cut off his hands…just as someone had cut off her wings.
Only… “I think those gloves are made of fairy wings.”
He stepped back. She stopped her lips from trembling and stared him in the eyes. “I knew it, the first time you touched my scars with them. It was like…a hum of power hit me.”
His gaze turned horrified.
“Fairy wings or angel wings…even before you touched me, I knew it had to be one or the other. Nothing else could harness power that way.”
He started to rip off the gloves.
“Stop.” Her heart hurt.
He’d gone pale. “How can you bear for me to touch you?”
“Some fairies…they gave up power from their wings willingly. To help others. Maybe…maybe that’s where your magic came from. Maybe a fairy wanted to help so she or he gave the magic that allows you to touch.” That was what she had to tell herself. “Without the gloves, you will kill everyone you touch.”
“But when you look at the gloves…”
She remembered what she’d lost.
“How did you survive without them?” His voice was gruff.
Forcing a smile, she said, “I told you…my mother was a fairy. My father was something quite different.”
He stared at her. Waiting.
“A demon.” Her confession came out as a whisper because it was her shame. “My mother was a fairy, but my father was the darkest of the dark. A demon. The baddest of the paranormals. My mother shouldn’t have loved him, it was forbidden. But she did. Light and dark blending together…”
“He said you were light and dark.” Cass raked a hand through his hair. “Luke said…he knew. All along, he’s known what you were.”
“Luke has always known.”
His hand fell back to his side. “What is he to you? Enemy? Former lover? What?”
“He’s someone who scares me. Someone I don’t want to ever face again.” And this was the moment of truth. “I told you my secrets.”
“Not all, not about Luke—”
“Tell me yours. What did he offer you? What did Luke promise you if you brought me back? How much did he pay you?”
His brilliant blue eyes glittered.
“Cass?”
“A mate.”
This time, she was the one who took a step back.
He lifted his hands and glared down at the gloves. “Someone I could touch with my own hands. Someone who wanted me and wasn’t repelled by the Reaper. That is what Luke promised—she is what Luke promised me, if I just brought you to him.”
Her hand lifted and pressed to her chest. For some reason, her chest was burning. “And you’re going to let her go? This…this perfect mate out there? Because if you betray Luke, if you don’t take me to him, you will lose her. I know Luke. He’ll make sure that you never find her.”
He just stared back at her.
They’d just made love—no, maybe they’d just fucked—and now she was feeling completely blindsided. She’d believed him when he said Luke wouldn’t get her again. But now… “Were you lying to me?”
“Amber…”
She couldn’t run away from him. Not yet. Forty-eight hours hadn’t passed. OhmyGod. Had she really only been with him for such a short time? Because it was hard for her to see past him. He seemed to have filled her life.
Think, think! “Luke will be looking for us.”
“No.” Cass shook his head. “He will wait for me to deliver you to his island. He isn’t going to be searching for us.”
Yes, he will. Because I called out to him.
“He will be looking.” She exhaled and tried to think. To plan. “So he’ll probably spread the word to every paranormal he can find…telling them what you look like. What I look like. And they’ll report back to him as soon as they spot us.”
“You know him well.”
Too well.
“If all he had to do was tell the other paranormals to look for you…” A furrow appeared between his brows. “Then why didn’t he do that sooner? Why did he wait and have me look for you?”
“I don’t know why he’s suddenly so hot to find me.” To her, that just meant big old danger in big, bright letters. “But I do know why he didn’t turn to the other paranormals sooner. I’m…I guess you could say I’m Luke’s dirty little secret.”
Fury flashed on his face.
“Things have changed, though. I—” Dammit, tell him. “When the plane was going down, I called out to Luke. I was afraid and I screamed for him in my mind.”
If possible, his face hardened even more. “You and Luke must have one damn strong connection for you to be able to do that.” Jealousy boiled beneath his words.
&
nbsp; She couldn’t look him in the eye. “We do. And because of that…because he probably thinks I’m hurt, he’s going to do everything in his power to find me. The secret will be out. He’ll use anyone and everyone to hunt me.”
His eyes were slits of blue fury. “Why don’t you just send him another psychic message? With that bond you two share? Let him know you’re alive and well.”
“Because if I do that, he’ll lock on me. Luke’s always been stronger than I am. If I give him the chance, he’ll grab hold of our link and take control of it. He’ll find me. He’ll find you.” And that wouldn’t end well. Briskly, she nodded. “We should go. Stick to the backroads and put as much distance between us and him as possible.” Because she knew Luke was close by…but she didn’t tell Cass that part. She’d already overshared enough. “If you…still plan on not turning me over, that is. If you plan—”
He grabbed her wrists. Held tight. “Fuck the mate I don’t have.”
What?
“You think I could go to another after being with you?” Then he was kissing her—so hard and wild. As if she were the only woman in the world. As if she mattered to him.
Maybe she did. Maybe…
“I don’t know her. I know you. I want you. I told you…Luke will not hurt you. No one will ever hurt you. Not while I’m near. I’m breaking the deal with him, and I don’t care what it costs me.”
Hope rose within her, almost painful to feel.
“I chose you, Amber. Luke can fuck off. I’m not afraid of him. Never have been.”
She threw her arms around him and held tight.
His arms closed around her. “You don’t…fear me, do you?”
She buried her face against his chest. “No, I don’t.” Though she did fear what would happen when Luke learned of his betrayal. “Maybe we can run far enough…maybe he’ll never find us.” She looked up at him.
But…Cass shook his head.
He shook his head.
She pushed against his chest and backed away. ‘You…don’t want to leave with me?”
“I want to be with you, hell, yes, but I’m not the kind of man who will spend his life running. I won’t always look over my shoulder, waiting for Luke to appear or trying to dodge every paranormal creature on earth because I’m worried someone will report me to Luke. He will not always threaten you.”
He didn’t get it—
“I’ll make a new deal with him. I’ll get him to back off you. You’ll be safe.”
No. Didn’t he get it? “Luke won’t take a new deal. You go to Luke without me, and you’ll just piss him off. He’ll toss you in a cell and you won’t see daylight again.”
“You underestimate me.” He lifted a hand. “If I have to do it, I will kill the bastard.”
“No!” The sharp cry burst from her.
And she knew she’d just given too much away.
“You…care about him.” The jealousy was back, grating in his voice.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! “I don’t want him dead, okay? I’m not looking to kill anyone. That’s not who I am.” Amber marched for the door. “Look, let’s just get out of here while we can. This place is way too close to the crash site. We need some more distance, and the night won’t last forever.”
She yanked open the door. Amber heard his footsteps behind her. She stepped into the night.
His gloved hand curled around her shoulder. “Do you love him?”
Her eyes closed. “It’s not like you think, okay?” She glanced back at him. “Haven’t you heard? The big, bad Lord of the Dark has a mate. He’s obsessed with the lovely Mina, not with me.”
“Do you love him?” Cass repeated.
Her heart ached. “We need to go.”
His jaw clenched. “You do.”
“There are—I can’t—” Her breath heaved out. “There are things I can’t tell you. You’re better off not knowing, okay? Can’t you just trust me? There is nothing sexual between us. I’m not pining away for him. He’s not pining for me.”
His gaze searched hers. “What kind of man would you love?”
The question actually gave her pause. “Someone who would fight the dark for me.” Her smile felt sad. “And the light.” Because that was what it would truly take.
His hand fell away.
Right. She wanted the impossible.
They hurried into the night. The old pickup was still there, waiting for them, but Cass steered her around it.
“In case the guy called the cops, we don’t want that thing on the road.” He pointed to an older sedan. “That one won’t be equipped with any GPS tracker or alarms. Want to work your magic and get it going for us?”
Sure. She headed toward the car. Cass opened the driver side door for her—mostly because the guy used some super strength and yanked that locked door right open. She was pretty sure he’d smashed the lock to hell and back. She slid under the front seat, dipping beneath the dash and—
“Someone is looking for you.” The voice was low, feminine, and coming from the dark.
Amber’s head snapped up, rapping into the dash.
“You have me confused with someone else,” Cass said flatly.
“I don’t think so. It’s hard to mistake the Reaper. I’ve never forgotten you.”
Amber slid out of the car and she found herself at Cass’s side. A woman stood about ten feet away, a woman clad in shadows and darkness. Her long, thick hair was midnight black, and it trailed over her shoulders. She lifted her hand and pointed at Cass…and then at Amber. “Everyone is searching. And I found you first. Luke will be very, very pleased with me.”
Oh, crap. “Lady, you’re confused. You’re—”
The woman’s lips parted as she laughed. Only that laugh sounded exactly like the call of a crow.
“Hell.” Cass lunged forward and Amber saw the flash of his scythe. He’d pulled his weapon and he was going to use it on that woman.
“No!” Amber grabbed for his arm.
But it was too late. He’d sliced out with the scythe, only…
The woman vanished. She seemed to turn into thick, dark fog and then—a dozen crows appeared where she’d been. Those crows were all calling out, still using that taunting cry that had been her laugh, and they flew up into the air, moving together and swirling high above Amber and Cass.
Amber blinked as she stared after them. “We have a problem.”
“A big fucking one.” The scythe vanished. “Get that sweet ass in the car. Because this time, I’m the one who’s being hunted.”
And the crows—that woman—Amber knew she’d be running right to Luke.
Chapter Thirteen
Cass slammed his foot down on that gas pedal, knowing that time was running out. The woman who’d been in that parking lot—she’d been a very, very powerful witch. And every single crow—Cass had counted twelve of those bastards—would have gone to spread the word about his location.
“Luke isn’t giving me the time I was promised.” His hands tightened around the wheel. Because the guy knows I’m breaking our deal? How would Luke know that?
“We can get away,” Amber said but her voice sounded uncertain.
They’d already driven for an hour, blazing down the dark, deserted road.
“We just have to keep going,” she continued but she shivered next to him, as if suddenly cold. “We can’t stop. We—”
The sedan rounded the curve and the headlights fell on the two men in the road. Two men…and the two wolves who were at their sides.
Cass didn’t even slow down. He shoved his foot down harder on the accelerator. “Hold on.”
“Cass…”
But the wolves were charging at him. They leapt onto the hood of the car and then the beasts came crashing right through the windshield. Glass shattered around them, and the big, white wolf sank its teeth into Cass’s arm.
The car careened to the right, spinning, and it slammed into a tree.
Cass drove his fist at the wolf, again and again, and
the beast wouldn’t let him go. He could hear footsteps closing in…
“Cass?” Fear roughened Amber’s voice.
He glanced at her. She hadn’t been hurt in the accident, but the other wolf’s fangs were now inches from her face.
Screw this. He brought his left hand to his mouth and used his teeth to yank off the glove. He brought that hand toward the wolf—
The beast that had been attacking him backed away, howling.
And the wolf that had been far too close to Amber retreated.
Cass took off his other glove. “They’re surrounding us.” He eased out a slow breath. “When we get out of the car, just stay behind me.” He would take them out. Amber would be safe.
“You’re…going to kill them all?”
Grimly, he told her, “I’ll do what’s necessary.” He shoved open his door, knocking broken glass out of his way.
Amber scrambled out behind him—but she didn’t stay behind him. Instead, she put herself right at his side. “There are a lot of them…”
Two fully shifted werewolves. The two men he’d seen before—he wasn’t sure what those guys were yet. But they’d pulled out guns and aimed them at him. A crow called from overhead.
Figured. The witch had joined the party.
“Not so many. Only four,” Cass said, smiling. The witch didn’t count since she was still in crow form. “This will barely take any effort.”
“Don’t be too sure…”
The taunt came from the right.
Cass’s head turned and he found himself staring into Gregory’s gleaming eyes.
“Got you,” Gregory said. The crow flew down and landed on his shoulder. He reached up and stroked the crow’s head. “Do you remember Marguerite? She was Hycim’s lover…and she was quite pissed when you killed her man.”
“Hycim?” Amber whispered. She inched closer to Cass.
Cass swept his gaze toward the crow. “Didn’t ask about his lovers…didn’t care. He was a dead man walking.”
More crows called from overhead.
“The men here…they all followed Hycim.” Gregory stalked a bit closer. “Werewolves and vampires.”
The two men with guns bared their fangs.
Since when did vamps need guns to attack?