by Smith, S. E.
Her mouth went dry. Drakking hell, she didn’t know she could hurt so much. “That’s all you have to say?”
He stared at her in silence.
“So, you want me to find a man?” A muscle in his jaw ticked again, but Mersi was beyond caring. “Warm his bed and have his babies?” Now she saw something feral flare in those brown eyes. “You going to give my kids rock candy, Bren, knowing they could have been yours?”
He didn’t respond, because at that moment, Fiend growled.
This was not a friendly sound. It was a sound that raised the hairs on Mersi’s neck.
Bren jerked the tarnid to a stop. Ahead, Fiend had stopped, his big body alert as he stared at the dune ahead. His body was vibrating.
Bren and Mersi scanned the dune. She couldn’t see or hear anything. Suddenly, Bren reached over and pulled out his sword.
Then she heard the echo of yips and howls. Her muscles tensed. A pack of four-legged, fast-moving beasts crested the large dune. They swarmed down the sand.
Oh, no. The creatures had powerful bodies, and long necks with an armored head designed for ramming.
They also had sharp teeth for tearing flesh apart.
“Corex,” Bren said.
Mersi yanked her pistol from the holster. Bren leaped off the tarnid, raising his sword.
* * *
Bren raced ahead to meet the swarming corex.
The animals were good hunters, and often worked in pairs to ram their prey and weaken it until they could go in for the kill. He swung his sword and dodged a charging corex, before sinking his sword into the gut of a second one.
As he spun, another creature charged at him. He dodged that armored head, but the snapping jaws came close. He dived and rolled through the sand.
He heard the whine of a laser and saw a blast hit a nearby corex. It reared up and let out an undulating screech.
Out of the corner of his eye, Bren saw Mersi standing nearby, feet spread, firing steadily. Her face was set in concentration as she aimed and pulled the trigger.
But then he saw a corex rushing at her from behind. Drak.
“Mersi!” he yelled.
She didn’t panic. She twisted her head, saw the creature. Smoothly, she swung her pistol around and fired. With her other hand, she yanked her knife off her belt, and tossed it.
So fearless, his Mersi.
The blade hit the incoming corex in one of its eyes. The creature reared up, dangerous hooves coming down close to Mersi. Too close.
The darkness inside Bren stirred.
He slashed at another beast to get it out of his way and felt a burning sting on his side. He ignored the pain. He had to get to Mersi.
Then, a flash of movement caught his eye. Another corex was charging at Mersi. It was bigger than the rest, its hide darker—the alpha bull.
“Mersi!” Bren shouted.
He sprinted toward her, but two corex charged at him. He dived to the sand to avoid being rammed by them.
Mersi had turned, her body tense. She fired at the alpha corex, but it was too big, too well-armored, and the laser didn’t affect it.
Bren leaped up, knowing he was too far away. The beast would trample her to death before he could reach her.
She ducked, throwing her arms up.
A huge shape leaped between her and the corex.
Bren sucked in a breath. The new creature was large, black, shaggy, and twice the size of the alpha bull. Its barbed tail rose up behind it, weaving from side to side. Its red eyes gleamed, burning through its black fur.
The corex skidded to a halt, sand flying. The big, black creature let out a terrifying roar and rushed forward, giant jaws clamping onto the alpha bull. With two bites, bones crunched. With a shake of its powerful head, the black monster tossed the corex’s limp body aside.
Bren moved closer, caution in every step. “Mersi. Back away slowly.”
But she was staring at the black beast in disbelief. She stepped closer to the creature.
“Mersi,” Bren hissed.
She held out a hand. “Fiend?”
The giant animal turned and looked at her. For a brief second, a pink tongue lolled out from between razor-sharp fangs. Then its huge head swiveled, its red gaze narrowing on the remaining corex. It raced forward, leaped through the air, and tore through the remaining creatures with wild growls.
Bren closed the distance to Mersi, wrapping an arm around her. Drak. The black beast was Fiend. They both stared, speechless, as the huge demon beast killed the remaining corex. Fiend’s barbed tail slashed and stabbed.
“You okay?” Bren finally asked.
She bobbed her head. “Hajar ran off.”
“He’ll come back once the threat has passed.”
A second later, Fiend trotted back toward them. Bren tensed. But as the animal approached, his body shrank with every step. The black in his fur bled away, leaving it still snarled and tangled, but now beige-brown again.
Fiend nudged his muzzle against Mersi’s legs and let out a tired huff. He was drenched in sweat and blood. She leaned down and hugged him. Bren slowly relaxed. He was certain the animal meant her no harm.
He stared. What the drak was this creature?
As Mersi showered praises on the canine, it wriggled, butting into her to get closer.
She’d seen the animal transform and kill, and yet she was still hugging it like he was just a goofy pet.
Something deep inside Bren quivered.
Mersi said she loved him. His chest tightened. He hadn’t felt love in a very long time. He was certain he didn’t deserve it.
But as he watched Mersi, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, ruffle Fiend’s snarled, blood-stained fur and promise him a treat, Bren felt something move through him.
Something even more dangerous than the darkness that lived within him.
Hope.
5
Mersi rubbed Fiend’s fur. He was sweaty and clearly exhausted. Whatever type of alien creature he was, changing shape to fight had taken it out of him.
“You have a protector.”
She looked up at Bren and then stood. It was then she saw the blood staining his shirt. Her heart thumped hard against her ribs. “You’re bleeding.”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing—”
“Where?” She started patting him down.
“Mersi—”
“Shush.” She touched his side and felt the sticky spill. She poked at the tear in his shirt. A claw had gashed him.
He touched it. “Drak.”
She yanked her scarf from around her neck and knelt down, pressing the cloth to his wound.
Bren made a strangled sound.
“What’s—?” She looked up and that’s when she realized how close she was to him. Her gaze dropped to eye-level…right to the large, swelling bulge at the front of his trousers.
Oh. Mersi froze. He’d said he didn’t want her, but that lie was staring her right in the face.
Desire—hot and humming—roared to life inside her. She wasn’t going to let the stubborn man keep pushing her away. He wanted her and she wanted him.
Then she reminded herself that his blood was on her hands and he was injured. She pulled the cloth away and checked the wound.
It really wasn’t too bad and the bleeding had already stopped. She knew he’d had worse.
Suddenly, a long mournful call of a horn echoed over the sand.
Her head jerked up. She threw the blood-stained scarf around her neck, and jumped up beside him. Fiend was back on alert, staring at the dune again.
Mersi brushed her sweaty hair back. “What now?”
A muscle ticked in Bren’s jaw. “Nothing good.”
Figures appeared on the crest of the dune, clothed in ragtag garments and brandishing weapons.
Her belly clenched into a hard knot. “Sand pirates.”
There were so many of them. She yanked out her laser pistol again and quickly checked it. Her charge was going to run out long before
the pirates were gone.
Fiend growled.
“There are too many of them,” she breathed. Bren’s injuries weren’t bad, but another fight would have him bleeding again. And Fiend was drained.
She gripped Bren’s hand. “Bren.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt you.” His tone was flat and scary.
Her breath caught and she looked into his eyes. She saw something working in them, something unknown that scared her. “We could try and run—”
“They’ll run us down.”
Helplessness welled. She didn’t want to die here.
His fingers clenched on hers. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you.” An ominous promise.
Mersi froze. His brown eyes were darkening, inky black spilling into the whites.
“Bren.” She gripped his arm. “Your eyes.”
For a second, he looked sad. “Don’t hate me, Mersi.”
He leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. Then he spun away, striding up the dune toward the pirates.
Above them, the pirates cried out, the swelling howls reverberating against the sand. They streamed down the dune.
But Mersi didn’t take her eyes off Bren. What the drak was he doing? What was happening?
As she watched, black spilled over his skin, like it was bursting out of him. His clothes tore and burst off his body.
She gasped in horror, her chest locked tight. Fiend let out a confused whine. As Mersi watched, Bren’s muscles bulged, increasing in size. He was completely black now, like he’d been dipped in tar. The man she knew as Bren was gone, leaving a nightmarish creature in his place.
The creature, Bren, turned to look at her.
And that’s when she realized what he was.
“Tainted.” Shock reverberated through her.
He stared at her for one more second, then he turned and let out a roar. He charged at the sand pirates.
Mersi tried to take it all in, her heart pounding so fast she thought it was going to break out of her chest. She watched the pirates scream in terror. Nausea welled in her throat.
She remembered her nightmares. Remembered the horrors of that long-ago village.
Bren reached the first of them. He grabbed a man and tore him apart with his bare hands.
Bren. Her Bren was Tainted. She pressed a fist to her mouth. He was the scourge of the dunes, the monster of the desert. She started to shake.
A killer. Her Bren. Dread filled her when she remembered the whispered myths that said once a Tainted started killing…he couldn’t be stopped.
* * *
Power pounded through him. His vision was sharp, everything in black and white.
Bren threw down another attacker. Then another.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
He thrived on the screams, the darkness within him drinking them up. He had to protect Mersi. They’d threatened his woman and he would end them. Every single one.
Bren threw his arms out and tossed his head back. The black claws on his hands glistened in the sunlight. The pirates were retreating, running.
The darkness smiled. Bren launched himself after the fleeing enemy.
The Taint sensed the pirates’ rotting souls. It could sense all the people the pirates had killed and abused. Darkness was attracted to darkness.
He grabbed a man, tossing him into the air, slashing out with his claws.
Pain speared through his leg and he looked down. A spear had passed right through his thigh.
He yanked the spear out and roared. He spun, his gaze landing on the pirate who’d thrown it. The man cowered on the sand.
Bren swung out with his arm, lifting the pirate off his feet. He flew through the air and slammed into the ground.
“Together,” a deep voice yelled. “Get the Tainted down, or he’ll slaughter us all.”
Swords slashed at Bren’s belly and an arrow whizzed past his ear. A sword pierced his side and he roared, going down on one knee.
“Bren!” Mersi’s scream.
Suddenly, a big, snarling ball of black fur raced in front of him. Fiend clamped his jaws on the ass of a nearby pirate. The man screamed.
Bren exploded into a renewed fighting frenzy. Kill. Protect. Fiend growled, fighting beside him.
Together, the two of them tore through the pirates until the screams faded away, and blood stained the sand. The last of the pirates were dead.
Bren stood there, chest heaving, his blood flowing hot in his veins. He stared at the dead bodies all around him.
The darkness wanted more. Kill. Kill. Kill.
“Bren.”
A woman stepped in front of him.
Mersi. Her face was alert. She was so beautiful. Mersi, sweet Mersi. He breathed deep and smelled her. He smelled the oil she used, made from the gianni vine from the Gal’neena Oasis.
She was beauty and light, and he was darkness.
He took a step back, staring down at the blood staining his hands. No, not hands. Claws.
She’d seen him now. She’d seen the darkness that tainted him. He knew she had nightmares about the Tainted.
About him.
His shoulders slumped and he looked down at the sand, wishing it would swallow him up.
“Hey.” She moved closer and her fingers brushed his chest. Her skin was pale against the inky black. “It’s over now. You protected me.”
Confusion ran through him. Why wasn’t she running? Why was she touching him? Why wasn’t there terror on her face?
Instead, he only saw patience on her features.
“Bren.” She stroked his chest. “You can come back to me now.”
* * *
This was what he’d been hiding.
Mersi’s heart was pounding like a desert drum. All her life, she’d heard rumors, myths, and horror stories about the Tainted.
Bren was Tainted.
Images of the blood and bodies hammered at her mind, but she latched onto one thought. This was Bren. She swallowed. This was Bren.
He’d saved her. He’d protected her. She’d known him for so long. His rare smiles. His strength. The way he ruffled a child’s hair.
She stroked his dark skin. His chest was heaving, his muscles strained.
“It’s okay now,” she said quietly. “All the pirates are gone. You took care of me.”
Inky-black eyes stared at her. Eyes she knew had been described over and over in the horror stories as soulless, wild, and feral.
“Come back,” she murmured.
As she watched, the black slowly faded away from his skin.
After a minute, Bren stood there, naked, his sweat-dampened brown hair stuck to his head.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He nodded.
Then Mersi stepped back and slapped him.
His eyes turned shuttered. “I’m a monster. I deserve more than that.”
“I didn’t hit you because you’re Tainted, Bren.” Her anger welled up, choking her. It felt like an explosion in her belly. “You thought so little of me that you hid this. For years.”
Confusion crossed his face. “You have nightmares about the Tainted. You told me you saw a village once…I knew you’d hate me.”
“I know you,” she cried. “I know you better than anyone else, but you didn’t trust me—”
He grabbed her arm. “I was protecting you. I’m dangerous.”
“You were protecting yourself,” she spat.
“I never wanted you to look at me with horror.”
“Do you see horror?” She threw her arms up in the air. Foolish, hardheaded man. “This is anger.” And hurt.
“I asked for it, Mersi.”
She dropped her arms and blinked. “What?”
“My family was poor. I went to work for a local warlord. He offered me the choice to become Tainted. To become one of his strongest enforcers.”
Mersi swallowed. By the dunes, Bren had asked for this?
She tried to process his words. But this was Bren. Solid, strong, ca
utious Bren. He would never have accepted the Taint recklessly.
“They collected the Taint from a secret pool in the desert mountains.” His mouth tightened. “I drank it.” A pause. “Now I see horror in your eyes.”
“No, I’m thinking it through.” She tilted her head. “The warlord offered you more than money. Tell me why you did it.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw.
“For your family,” she said.
“Yes, I sent them money.”
“No, it was more than that.” She could see it in his brown eyes. “Protection. You told me your family had a sand farm, and it was near desert raider territory.”
Bren closed his eyes, dragging in a harsh breath.
He’d done it to protect his family. Oh, Bren.
Then her pulse kicked. She knew Bren had lost his family. “The warlord reneged?”
Bren’s eyes flashed. “I liked the power, Mersi, and soon—” a ragged breath “—I liked the killing, as well. The darkness…it craves it. Most Tainted are wild, they can’t control it, but I could. It’s not easy, but usually I can limit the killing. The warlord showered me in money and…other things.” Bren dropped his gaze, staring at the sand.
She shot him a sour look. “Women.”
“I hadn’t been home in so long. A part of me didn’t want to go home, not to the dust, the hungry mouths, the despair. But my younger sister wrote me letters. She missed me.” His face changed. “Zari was so sweet. And so smart.”
Mersi gripped his hand. “What happened?”
“The warlord never sent the guards he’d promised. Never protected them. I went home and found the farm burning.” Bren’s face spasmed. “Raiders had killed them all.”
“Oh, Bren.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, wishing she could absorb his pain. She’d always known how deeply he was hurting inside, even when he wouldn’t talk about it.
His arms clamped around her. “Zari was still alive.”
Mersi’s chest locked. Oh, no.
“She’d been infected by the raiders.” His voice was toneless.
“No,” Mersi whispered.
“Yes. My sweet sister was a snarling, hungry, mindless raider.” His arms convulsed on her.