Darkness Unbound

by Zoe Forward

  Amun-Ra’s face mottled red. She waited, expected him to curse, but nothing came.

  Seth laughed.

  Kane asked in her mind, Are those gods threatening you?

  There’s nothing you could do if they were, but I’ve got this. She met Kane’s gaze where he knelt with the other guys. His cheek spasmed, indicating he was holding onto control, but not by much.

  Astrid thought to him, I’m fine, calm down. She addressed Amun-Ra. “How about I just focus on eliminating daemons and use my abilities for that? Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do as a Scimitar soldier? I’m not going to go on some sort of killing rampage like Zannis did.” Pain pierced her heart for an instant at his memory.

  Amun-Ra nodded. “If you lose control or begin to do such, I know how to eliminate you.” He shifted his gaze to Kane.

  “You fuck with Kane, and I will fight you and any one of your friends that threaten him.”

  She stepped back when Amun-Ra glared. Horrifying images of Kane tortured consumed her mind.

  Pressure vise-clamped her chest. She wheezed out, “I get it. I’m sorry.” The pressure released.

  Amun-Ra ordered, “Your parentage is not to be common knowledge.”

  She fought her urge to drop to her knees and mumble assent. “What about Kane? I want him to know so that he will understand.”

  Amun-Ra nodded, which Astrid assumed gave her permission for that.

  “She is a handful,” Amun-Ra said to Seth. He released a long and hard sigh.

  Seth nodded. “She was the right choice for this.”

  Both gods disappeared.

  The right choice for what? Astrid strode back toward the magi, most of whom other than Kane still remained kneeling with fixed stares on where the gods had been.

  “What the hell was that?” Ashor thundered as he struggled to a wobbly stand. “What’d you do to me? And then you have a little private meeting with gods?”

  Astrid put her hands on her hips. “You owe me an apology for attacking my back.”

  “Daemons don’t care to follow rules,” Ashor growled.

  “Asshole,” Astrid mumbled. Loudly she said, “A little heads-up on the rules or lack thereof before we started might’ve been helpful.”

  Ashor stepped forward and towered over her.

  Kane stepped forward, but Astrid held out her hand to ward him off. Let him, she thought to Kane.

  “I repeat, Astrid, what was that? A friendly chit-chat with two gods? Did you summon them or did they just…show up?”

  “I don’t know how to summon a god. They just showed up. They seem to like popping in and out of my life all the time. That’s not common?”

  “Hell, no. They’re not known for appearing in our lives frequently, if at all. Had any of us spoken with such disrespect to them, then we’d be struck down where we stand. The same with Ma’at, who miraculously left you alive. So, I repeat, what is going on with you and them?”

  Her gaze slid to Javen, who knew about Seth’s last visit. He stared at her as if stunned. Beside him Christian gaped and ran a hand through his spiky hair. The other guys also gazed at her as if she was an outsider.

  Astrid pinched her nose. “Honestly, I’m on thin ice with Mr. Blue…uh, Amun-Ra. He won’t kill me because I’ve got his grandson on board who apparently has some sort of prophesy he’s destined to fulfill.”

  “Who was the other god?” Ashor asked.

  “Seth.” The sweat dampening her underarms and back worsened as the morning sun, now higher, beat down on them.

  “As in the god of war? You are on friendly terms with the most unpredictable of the gods?” Khyan asked.

  Astrid nodded. “I just met him. He’s my father.”

  Khyan pointed at the sword at her side. “Did he give you that? It’s not like any sword I’ve ever seen.”

  “Let’s accept that there’s weirdness with me and those two gods, and leave it at that. They were pissed that I…that I hurt Ashor. So consider their visit done out of concern for you. Did I prove that I can hold my own?” Astrid asked, losing patience with twenty questions.

  Everyone stared at her in uncomfortable silence.

  Ashor asked softly, “You were an insolent soldier, weren’t you?”

  Astrid rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t ever in the military. I was never a soldier. Intelligence only. CIA. They tried to ingrain subservience to authority into me. Didn’t take. Are we done?” she asked Ashor. “I need a few hours of sleep.”

  Ashor nodded.

  She forced herself to stride past all the piercing stares, not daring to glance Kane’s way. One hint of disapproval or a glimpse of him giving her the you’re-not-one-of-us glare and she’d fall apart.

  She moved as if on autopilot. Minutes later she glanced around, disoriented. She’d ended up in her bathroom. Her subconscious desire to wash off the nauseating sweat must’ve brought her here. She turned on the pulsating shower jets and stepped into the spray, not caring that the water hadn’t warmed up yet. The water warmed to blazing hot, and streamed over her body long beyond the finger pruning phase.

  Eventually she recognized that her time to exit had long passed, but her body responded to the command to twist off the shower as if on slo-mo. She slipped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. As she turned she saw Kane leaning against the doorframe.

  Everything in her body warmed and tightened. All thought slid from her brain. She drank in the tight T-shirt as it hugged his sculpted pecs, the carved abdomen, and the way his arousal pushed tight against the jeans. She choked out, “You guarding the door?”

  He shrugged and granted her a once-over before pushing away from the door. “Next time, it might be safer for Ashor if I kicked his butt.”

  Astrid grinned, drinking in his praise. “He came at my back.” Her pulse raced as he closed the distance. She ran her tongue over her lips and locked onto the heat brewing in his gaze. Electrical charges zinged throughout her body.

  He grumbled, “If Javen hadn’t tackled me, I’d have been right there with you when he did that.”

  “No comment on my little up close and personal gods moment?” She held her breath, terrified to hear rejection.

  He tilted her head and lowered his head to hers. She opened at the first touch of his lips, drawing his tongue into her mouth and kissing him deep. He changed the angle of the kiss and licked inside her mouth with long, deep strokes. His hands gripped her ass and pulled her close to him. She moaned and wove her hands in his hair as she kissed him again and rocked her pelvis into his.

  He pulled away and kissed down her neck. “I figured you and those gods have a unique relationship to have forced me into this the way they did. I’ve got other things to sweat, like making sure you stay safe.”

  Sweet relief washed over her. She ran her hands under his T-shirt, tracing the grooves of his abdomen southward to undo the fastening of his pants. She freed him and glanced down at his thick erection. There was a drop glistening on the swollen head. Her gaze locked with his for a second before she smiled and dropped to lick it off. His entire body tensed. She took him in as deep as she dared, smiling at his throaty moan. His hand stroked her hair.

  The heavy weight of him against her tongue, the warm scent of dominant male, the restrained urgency in his touch—she never wanted this to end. She withdrew and plunged again.

  “Bella, that feels...so good.”

  The hoarseness in his voice shot straight to her center. She reached between her own legs and pressed her fingers against her swollen clit, aching even for the slightest friction. The contact made her moan around him where he was buried to her throat.

  Kane released a pent up breath and slid his other hand into her hair. She kept her eyes on his as she sucked him. His gaze filled with so much need and desire that her heart clenched. Her heart insisted that he wanted everything she had to give. That he wanted her on more than just a physical level. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

  She shoved the thoughts aw
ay and focused on him and the slide of her tongue over his skin. His muscles tightened. A groan tore from his throat. And then he was coming, hands tangled in her hair, thighs crushing her sides. She swallowed what he gave and rested her chin on his lower belly.

  He pulled her upright and latched onto her mouth. This was so right.

  A desperate pounding resonated through the tiled room. Javen’s clipped accent carried through the door. “Astrid, I know you’re both in there. Open up or I’m coming in. This is important.”

  Astrid groaned and pulled away from Kane.

  Kane murmured, “We are not stopping right now. It took me over five years to be here. I can kill him or at least release the dragons on him to keep him busy for just a while longer…”

  “Javen doesn’t get worked up over much.” She smiled up at Kane, struck with an unexpected insecurity.

  He smoothed her hair. “You are so beautiful. We are not done here.”

  “You’re just saying that because you don’t want me on your bad side.” She granted him a silly smile.

  He briefly touched his lips to hers before righting his pants and striding to the door. He whipped it open.

  “Ah,” Javen whooshed out and backed up with a knowing leer. He sought beyond Kane to her. “Your team has been called to action. Ashor is…well, you fucked him up. I don’t know whether to be proud of that or horrified. He’s pretty much the best at this shit. Kira said he couldn’t go. We’ve got two daemons together. Ashor wants to see if you can get us there and handle it before the team flying down there arrives. I suggested we get you pissed and send you in alone, but based on that look…” He pointed to Kane. “We’re keeping you on the organizational end of things right now. I rounded up the other guys.”

  Astrid slid past Kane to grab her clothes. “We’re not ready,” she said to Javen.

  Javen shrugged while discreetly not watching her. “You’ll have to be. I’ll go with you guys this time.”

  Astrid pulled on her underwear beneath the towel, not comfortable with a full Monty in front of Javen. “We’ve never even trained together in the same room. This isn’t…Ashor is sending you as our babysitter, isn’t he?”

  Guilt spread across Javen’s face.

  “Fine. Just so long as you recognize I’m running this op.” Her gaze slid to Kane with the impulse to beg him to go too. At least then she’d have one person she knew she’d trained with on site. One person that she trusted. Right now, her guys were a disjointed group at best. She needed another week or two. Then, they’d be ready.

  “Who’ve you got on your team?” Kane demanded.

  His I-know-best tone raised her hackles. She cut her eyes away from him and pulled on her shirt. “You weren’t interested. So I formed my own unit.”

  “Who?” Kane demanded, suddenly in her space.

  Astrid put her hands on her hips just above her panties. “I recruited from those available.” She pulled on her tactical pants and shoes. She reached around Kane to grab her backpack, vest and sword. “Where are we meeting?” she asked Javen.

  “Sunroom.”

  She nodded. “We’ll make do with where we are in training, then.” She swung her gaze to Kane for a second. She wanted to ask if he was coming, but didn’t want to hear him say no. She left, following Javen.

  ****

  Kane’s blood was on low boil by the time he rounded the curve into the sunroom. He’d caught the panic in Astrid’s mind at the thought of running her new team on this mission. Her safety left in the hands of a stoned Brit? No fucking way.

  At the sunroom doorway, he pulled up sharply when he heard a rare softness to Astrid’s tone.

  “I got you something.” She smiled uncertainly and handed a sheathed blade to Javen.

  What was she doing giving that bastard gifts? Kane recognized the mark of topnotch craftsmanship in the seven-inch serrated blade.

  Javen balanced the blade in his palm and then ran a finger along the steel. “How’d you know?” Javen never removed his eyes from the blade.

  “Hard to miss how attached you are to your knife, and I know you were sad when you lost it a few weeks ago while fighting. I recognized its maker. A few years ago I did a little thing for the guy. He doesn’t like customs much, but for me he cranked that one out last week. Consider it a thank you for helping me.”

  Javen grinned and slid the blade into his tactical vest. “Thanks.”

  Astrid’s eyes went wide when she saw Kane. She inhaled sharply and stepped back.

  Javen clipped his fist on Kane’s shoulder as Kane entered. “I told you he’d show up, Astrid.”

  “So where are we headed?” Markus announced as he stepped into the room, wearing nylon khaki hiking pants and a rayon Hawaiian shirt.

  “What are you doing here?” Kane asked.

  “A little faith once in a while from you might be nice, bro. I was recruited for my…talents.” Markus smiled.

  Astrid threw a tactical vest at Markus who caught it midair. “Please consider wearing it. It’s loaded out.”

  “Which talents are we talking about exactly?” Kane asked, directing the question to Astrid.

  Markus rotated the vest between his hands, grimacing. “If I thought you meant to sound like a condescending asshole, Kane, I’d punch you.” He slung the vest over one shoulder. “But I know you’re just suffering from chronic blue balls.” He cocked his head and stared at Astrid. “Still.”

  Astrid’s cheeks blazed red. She pointed at the vest. “You’re gambling with your life if you refuse to wear it, Markus.”

  Kane’s jaw clenched so hard he was surprised he didn’t break a tooth. I don’t want you doing this, Astrid. I mean fighting daemons.

  She stared up at him. I’m not someone you need to protect. You know I can do this. I want you with me…with us, but if you’re going to be in my face about what you won’t allow, then I won’t let you through the portal. You knew I could win against Ashor. Why not now?

  “Shit,” Kane cursed. I knew Ashor would never kill you. But a daemon…He rubbed his forehead in a useless attempt to stop the burgeoning headache. This was guaranteed to be a disaster, but he’d be damned if he let her go without him. “Give me five minutes. I’ll be back.”

  Astrid nodded. Her tone gentled in his mind, Team rules apply. That means doing what’s best for the team. No my-way-or-the-highway shit. Out loud she said, “We’re waiting for Ashor to show up and let me know where we’re going.”

  Kane sprinted to get his equipment.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kane shuffled one step behind Astrid through the odd magikal doorway, which landed them into a starless night. The smell of recent precipitation hung in the air. Her gift was bizarre and inconceivable when he tried to wrap his mind around it, but it was also hands down amazing. She’d rested her hand on Ashor’s arm, instructed him to think of the daemon, and poof. They got an instant doorway to where they needed to go.

  All he had to do was reach out to touch her tight ass, which filled out her black tactical pants perfectly. He remembered a time when a member of her team attempted that kind of stupid. She’d whipped around and broken the guy’s finger. The poor bastard couldn’t make a peep on that silence-critical op. Kane gazed at the delicate arch of her neck and swallowed his impulse to touch. He had to get his head in the game.

  She ducked behind a dilapidated delivery truck that had been parked cock-eyed across the street from a warehouse. Everyone copied. A few streetlights cast a yellow glow. The building’s busted out windows, rusted entry gates, and overgrown greenery suggested it’d been forsaken long ago. The bullet spray high on the side of the building was a tragic tribute to wasted ammunition. Waves echoed against a dock nearby.

  “Charming,” Javen bit out. “They’re in there.”

  “Who’s in there?” Markus asked.

  “Daemons. Hashishins.” Javen removed his new blade and absently twirled it.

  Astrid asked to all in general, “I thought daemons liked churc
hes. Have they used this type of venue in the past?”

  “No. I don’t view this kind of change as necessarily good,” Javen answered. “It means they’ve been planning or got themselves someone new running the summoning department. Cripes, I bet that place reeks worse than daemons on the inside. There are probably cockroaches. I hate cockroaches.”

  “That warehouse is at least a block wide,” Cy said. “Where are we? Looks American.”

  Astrid consulted her smart phone. “Detroit. Harbor area.”

  Javen stopped twirling his blade. “This place might be abandoned, but it’s crowded. Lots of people. The daemon…no, two daemons are in the center of that place on an upper floor. Humans on the lower floor. This stinks of a setup.”

  Astrid asked, “Javen, can you get a lock on how many people are in there?”

  Javen shut his eyes for a few seconds. “At least ten humans, maybe fifteen. Only a few Fedavis. Not sure if they’re outside or inside. I do not get why they’re here.”

  “Everyone have ears on and active?” She tapped the wireless communicator in her ear while making eye contact with Cy and Markus. She handed Kane an ear bud.

  Markus shoved the ear communicator in his ear, pulled it out, snorted, and then crammed it into his pants’ pocket.

  Nate rolled his eyes. Kane chuckled.

  “Let’s go around to the water side.” Astrid pointed to the street that ran parallel to the building’s rusted chain-link fence. “If there’s one thing the city will maintain it’s that fence to keep everyone out. But jumping that is an invitation to be snipered.”

  As they jogged, they passed by several vacant homes, based on the overgrown grass, broken windows, and front fences dangling on hinges. Kane whispered to Nate, “What you got loaded in that thing?” He eyed the AR15 assault rifle with its long silver suppressor slung over Nate’s left shoulder.

  “Blackout.” Nate adjusted the rifle and smiled.

  “Nice.” Kane chuckled. “How’d you get the ammo? Thought supplies were depleted.”