Henry screamed in a maddened rage, and he must’ve been surprised as hell to see Azriel pop in out of nowhere. Floating in and out of coherence, I listened as he beat Henry to death. He paid him back for every single time in our five years of marriage that he had laid his fists on me. When Henry’s screams died with his body, Azriel took me in his arms, and I thought I’d die from the pain of it. He lowered me to the bed and whispered in my ear, “You’re mine now.”
Mine.
For some reason the word felt right. I wanted to belong to this beautiful stranger, this man who had rescued me from the clutches of death. He wanted me when no one else ever had, and I remember feeling like I wanted to crawl right inside him and stay there forever. It seemed hard to believe, his wanting me. I was so blinded by pain and grief that nothing made sense, least of all Azriel’s motives for killing Henry and taking me away. But I didn’t care. I wanted him too. As I was his, he was mine.
There is a space of time afterward that I don’t have any recollection of. I don’t even know how long it spans. It could have been days or even weeks, but when I finally woke, I was in an unfamiliar place and forever changed. As though I’d been swathed in fine silks, I felt the shadows flow over my skin, entreating me to join with them. I am no longer myself, I thought, bringing my hand before my face. My skin seemed to quaver, shrouded by darkness and becoming solid once more. Like a contented feline, I stretched my limbs, aware of the fact that I no longer felt the pain of my many injuries. In fact, I’d never felt so invigorated or strong.
The lamplight flickered in the corner of the room and I sensed Azriel nearby, his life force pulsing like a beacon through the fog. A sweet scent, like a field of pansies beneath the summer sun, permeated my senses, and I breathed deep, holding the aroma in my lungs.
“What’s happened to me?” I whispered, my heart hammering in my chest.
Dark mist stirred at my bedside and Azriel materialized from shadow. I stared in wide-eyed wonder as he sat beside me and brought my fingers to his mouth, bestowing a gentle kiss on my knuckles. “Fate has claimed you, Darian. No mortal will dare harm you again.”
Being whisked away by a handsome stranger had been exciting. A touch romantic, even. But I knew virtually nothing about the man who’d saved me from my life of abuse. I learned very quickly that Azriel wasn’t a creature to be ruled by his emotions. He simply existed, and was unapologetic for his nature. It never mattered to me one way or another. I think maybe part of me died with Henry.
The town gossips murmured that Dr. Charles and his wife had been the victims of a violent robbery gone wrong. The good doctor had been beaten to death, and his young wife had vanished. The police suspected a kidnapping, and they were fairly certain she’d been raped and dumped in the river or tossed into the bay. They held little hope of finding the gentle girl.
We’d left California and moved north to Seattle. Azriel was very fond of port towns, and he kept close to the water at all times. He said it calmed him to be near the water, and I didn’t question his desires. We never wanted for anything. Azriel’s wealth surpassed even that of Henry’s. Assuming the guise of the leisurely affluent, we spent our days shopping, sightseeing, or simply enjoying the local culture. Our evenings were spent under the cover of shadow, and more nights than not ended with us enjoying each other’s bodies until the sun rose.
Though we didn’t need the money, Azriel had a restless spirit. He craved excitement like he craved my flesh, and it wasn’t long before he went out in search of diversion. He found employment easily enough. Killing for money satisfied his cavalier spirit. And he was all too eager to bring me along. If the humans he worked for noticed anything about us that was more than human, they never mentioned it. One deadly glower from Azriel was enough to stifle even the most stalwart of humans.
I’d never been angry with him for what he’d done to me. Just like I’d never blamed Henry for his treatment of me. I’d welcomed the change, as I was done with humanity. I was curious about what I’d become, though, and I questioned Azriel often, only to be silenced by soft kisses. And if I pressed him further, he silenced me by taking me to bed. On and on it went for years, until one day I would not be silenced.
“Please, Azriel,” I said. “Tell me something, anything. What am I now? How is it that I cannot die? How do we become one with the darkest shadows? I want to know.”
“There are no others,” he said as he unbuttoned my dress. “I have been alone for so long. My people were killed, eradicated. We are unique, alone in this world. And it will be better for us to keep to ourselves. I was the last, and I needed a companion, so I made you. We cannot die unless we are struck down by a magic sword. It’s the only thing that can kill us. It will be better if we hide—for a while, at least. If we avoid them, stay to the night, the humans won’t notice our differences. We’ll soon be forgotten, and no one will care. You and I will live together, forever, and I will taste your flesh for eternity.”
“But—” I protested, and he covered my mouth with his to silence me. I let him, of course—he was a marvelous lover. He never allowed me to broach the subject again.
Maybe in the end, Azriel was just as bad as Henry. Where Henry kept me subservient through violence, Azriel kept me through ignorance. But I allowed it. He never once told me he loved me, but he didn’t beat me either. And so I guess, in the long run, I thought I’d traded my life for a more tolerable existence.
He taught me very little about combat, but he did help me to become a very stealthy Shaede. We meandered through the night together, and he indulged my desire to watch the humans, living their lives, from afar. I believed I’d found happiness.
The cloudy skies and rainfall in Seattle brought a darkness almost as welcome as the shadows we inhabited. Azriel had been more partial to the weather than I. He never missed an opportunity to walk with his face tipped toward the sky as droplets caressed his dark features.
We’d abandoned the city in exchange for a walk in the woods. Abandoned the city sounds as well, exchanging the industrial noise for the pitter-patter of drops striking the leaves and needles of the trees. The bustle of the blossoming city dissipated into the surrounding green, lush and quiet and ours alone.
Ever the obedient companion, I dragged the long hem of my dress through the tall, damp grass. In fact, he rarely left my side or allowed me to leave his, as if frightened I’d run away in search of more entertaining distractions.
“Do you believe we are creatures of nature?” he asked me.
“I believe we are creatures of darkness,” I said.
Azriel’s cool laughter mingled with the tinkling sound of rain. “We are born from air and black earth,” he mused before leveling his gaze on me. “And some of us are born from nothing at all.”
His tone was as dark as the darkest shadow, and his words confused me. But Azriel always talked in circles, so I wasn’t surprised by the cryptic nature of our conversation. But I was not immune to the ominous feeling that accompanied his speech. Dread and foreboding congealed in the pit of my stomach. I reached out to take his hand, but he moved quickly forward and slid from my grasp.
“I’m tired,” he said as he walked. “I am tired of all of this.”
“All of what?” I said, pulling up my sopping skirt so I could run to catch up to him. “Of me? Are you tired of me?”
He stopped, and when he turned to face me, the absence of emotion on his face sent me stumbling back a pace. I knew that look of detachment. I’d seen it a million times from Henry. But I pretended it wasn’t there. I dismissed Azriel’s look, and instead defined it as exasperation with my silly, girlish questions.
“Who could tire of you?” He stroked my cheek, wiping droplets of rain from my skin. “I have plans for you.”
The next morning, I woke alone. Azriel had gone out the night before, the first time in decades he’d left my side, tucking me into bed with a promise he’d return by dawn. I’d assumed he’d taken on a job too dangerous for me to tag along. For
days I searched the city, wandered alleys under the cover of shadow. He had to be dead. He’d promised we would be together forever—the only two of our kind, bound for eternity. No one confirmed that he’d died. I didn’t get a visit from the police telling me, “Excuse me, ma’am, but we found your Shaede lover dead in an alley this morning.” He simply did not come home, and that fact alone was enough to convince me he’d died. Who had killed him and how never crossed my mind. He’d told me to lie low, and I did. I had no intention of sharing his fate, and by his own words, I knew that I’d be forgotten soon.
He’d stayed with me for twenty-five years before he disappeared. Eternity, my ass. What an eternal fool I was.
Industrious, I wasn’t, but I learned fast. Employment opportunities weren’t great for women in the 1930s, and I wasn’t about to become anyone’s maid. Azriel had connections; he’d been hiring himself out, taking money to kill. I’d been his apprentice of sorts, and thank God I’d paid attention. When the first letter arrived, I’d known what it was. Azriel used to receive a letter from a courier each time he took a job to kill. It outlined the mark’s—or intended target’s—name, address, and pertinent information. Sometimes the letters even came with a down payment.
I crumpled the paper, and as its sharp edges dug into my palm, I knew what I had to do. As soon as I made up my mind, it was easy. My first hit was successful. Clean. And I’d found my first contact. I bounced around after that, a freelance assassin, hired by word of mouth. For many years, I attributed my success to gender. My benefactors seemed to get a kick out of hiring a “lady” to do their dirty work. But I kept my standards high, refusing to take any job that involved an innocent. The men who paid me eventually met their ends. Once or twice at my hand. I’d worked for a Russian mob boss for years, and just like the others, his luck had run out. That’s when I met Tyler.
I’d heard about him. His name had been whispered in certain circles with a mixture of respect and fear. And, boy, when I met him, had I been surprised. He didn’t look the part—that was for sure. Cute—beyond cute—with a quick smile and a charm that blew the competition out of the water. I knew that I wanted to work with him the moment I laid eyes on him. I felt safe with Tyler, and I hadn’t felt safe in a good many years. Not since Azriel had taken me from Henry’s home . . .
And now eighty or so years since Azriel had left me alone, I was brought out of the dark by my own kind, hired for the skills I’d honed over decades, and dropped headfirst into the deep end of the supernatural pool. Sink or swim, baby. Isn’t it funny how life can give you a good kick to the gut every once in a while?
But hired I was, and paid a mint for my services. I never backed down from a challenge, never left a job unfinished. And I wasn’t about to start now.
Chapter 7
Not for a very long time, not since my human life, had I felt so lost. It pissed me off to no end.
I took a detour to the warehouse by way of Pike Place Market. I marveled at the people crowding the booths and breezeways, inquiring after the freshness of the fish or inspecting bouquets of dried and arranged flowers, all the while oblivious to one another in a way that comforted me. In a city the size of Seattle, people are packed together, inches from contact, all day. They pay as much attention to the human beside them as they do the speck of dust floating by on the breeze.
I am that speck of dust.
No one paid enough attention to see that quality in me that was other.
Except Tyler.
He knew me the moment he laid eyes on me. With a shrewdness that belied his usually casual nature, he studied me. And as if he could see every molecule that constructed me, he spotted the otherness and did not cower from it. His recognition of me never caused disquiet. Instead, I gleaned a certain comfort from the fact that I did not have to hide my eyes when they glowed against the backdrop of darkness, or pretend I was not fast and cunning and deadly. Ty was much more perceptive than I gave him credit for. It was only his human nature that prompted me to suggest he didn’t always catch on.
I stood at the warehouse entrance, a moment of indecision making me pause. Should I knock? Walk right in? Shout Anybody home? I took a deep breath and held the air in my lungs. I hadn’t been unsure for a very long time; it was a sharp thorn in my side.
Azriel had taught me to be arrogant, and, whether he ever realized it or not, to survive. “We are deadly creatures by our very nature,” he’d say. “Why not put those skills to good use?” I couldn’t disagree with him, not really. What else was there for creatures like us? An eight-hour shift at the local Wal-Mart? I don’t think so. I am a killer and I answer to no one. I am my own woman, my own kingdom, and I am afraid of nothing. Letting the air out of my lungs in a rush of breath, I pushed open the door and strode in, a warrior.
Xander’s throne had been removed. One row of lights illuminated a single trail in the dark, open space. My boots echoed eerily on the concrete floor as I passed through the threshold. The hairs on my neck prickled as I recognized another’s presence somewhere nearby. Could it be Anya, or even Xander himself, who lurked in the darkness, watching me with invisible eyes?
I threw off my long coat and it drifted to the floor, allowing access to the saber I’d hidden beneath it. My steps were guarded. One foot crossing the other, I let my heightened senses guide me toward the disturbance I sensed in the air. Reaching behind me, I wrapped my right hand around the hilt of my saber, ready to rip it from the scabbard at a moment’s notice. Tension thickened the atmosphere as it became fragrant with the sweet scent of my own kind. I should have noticed the smell long before I’d come in. Hell, I should have learned my lesson the first time I’d been brought here. Arrogance, again, superseded good sense. But it had been so long since I’d had to rely on such things that I was definitely out of practice. The air behind me became dense, and in a movement as fluid as a passing stream, I turned. I slid the blade free and faced my assailant, but froze before cutting down on the body that materialized before me.
The Shaede met my height almost exactly and had a lean and wiry build rippled with muscles. He looked lethal, and that was a huge thing for me to admit. His clear blue eyes glowed in the faint light. Hair the color of spun gold was pulled back at the nape of his neck and tied with a length of leather cord. Dressed in an antiquated getup, he looked like a cross between Legolas and Robin Hood—and was just young enough to pull it off.
A cold smile that would have surely frozen flames midflicker danced across his hardened face, showing a glimpse of the killer in him. Absent was any spark of humor, and in its place, only cruel calculation and intelligence. He was a frightening creature, and I instantly liked him.
“You’re fast,” he remarked. “But your stealth isn’t much to brag about.”
“I was asked to be here,” I said, minding my p’s and q’s. “I didn’t expect to be walking into a trap.”
I relaxed my stance, slid the saber into the scabbard. A huge mistake. Before I could say Screw me sideways, I was flat on my back, staring at the laces of the Shaede’s boot. They were brown, by the way.
“You should assume that every room you enter, whether invited or not, could be a potential trap.” He pressed his boot tighter on my throat. “And never let yourself be seen.”
“Point . . . taken,” I said through rasps of breath.
With a reluctance that made me rethink coming here at all, he lifted his foot from my neck. He held his hand out. The smile faded, and from the look on his face, he’d just as soon eat a dog-shit sandwich than help me up. So, in an effort to rack up some brownie points, I declined the offer, and pushed myself up off the floor.
One corner of his lip twitched. A good sign.
“I’m Raif,” he said.
“Darian.” I used a tone to match his in its coolness. I decided he would respect aloofness more than he would a chummy greeting. I was right.
“So, you’re what all the fuss is about?” The question didn’t ring with Anya’s condescension. Rather,
humor, or at the very least, amusement. I really wanted to know what he meant by his comment, but I wasn’t so stupid as to actually ask. “I’m told you are an assassin and your targets have only been humans. Is that right?”
Hmm. That got my attention. Apparently, my skills weren’t going to be used to take out Joe Schmoe down the street. A challenge. Exciting.
“That’s right,” I said, wanting to finish with So what? But since I wasn’t interested in tasting the sole of Raif’s boot, I swallowed those two tiny words.
The cold smile crept back onto his lips. “This’ll be fun.” His blue eyes glowed bright for a fleeting moment. “You’ve got a lot to learn. I hope you’re ready.”
And with a movement faster than any I’d ever seen, even from Xander, Raif drew his sword and struck.
I spent the better part of five minutes in retreat. Raif pressed forward, and I parried his blows without striking a single offensive maneuver. His relentless pursuit had my back bent more than once as I tried unsuccessfully to throw off the weight of his sword. I fought with two hands wrapped around the hilt of my saber, while Raif needed only one.
He twisted and turned, dissipating into a breath of dark air. “You are a poor excuse for a warrior!” he shouted. “You aren’t worthy of the name Shaede!” I ducked and jumped back as he swung his sword and followed with a fist. “You are slow, clumsy, and untrained! You are weak and pathetic; I wouldn’t honor you with a warrior’s death!”
I stumbled and rolled, coughed and labored, and never once had the presence of mind to make my body insubstantial. He had me against the ropes time and again. My mind raced to stay even a half pace ahead. In midswing, he paused, and lowered his sword.
“You’re going to have to do better than that if you want any chance of success in your mission,” he chided, taking an easy step back. His eyebrow quirked and he said, “I thought you were a fighter.”
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