WarriorsandLovers

by Alysha Ellis

  “It was my knife that did it,” Elijah said. “It had my prints on it. It won’t take much effort to find out where I bought it. I have a record of association with Hopewood.”

  “But he was going to kill us all. He had to die,” Eora said.

  “And who’s going to believe that?” Elijah snapped. “Most humans don’t know the Dvalinn exist. No one is going to believe the story I have to tell. I’ll find myself locked away in a maximum security psychiatric facility, never to be released.”

  “You can’t go home,” Judie said. “Not for a while, anyway. You lost a lot of blood and teleporting you in that weakened condition harmed you even more. It will be some time before you’re able to take the strain teleporting puts on your system.”

  “Stay underground? I don’t think so.” Elijah shuddered. “This is not my world.”

  “It’s not my world either,” Judie replied. “But it’s the world I’ve chosen.” Her eyes darkened. “There are some things you’ll need to know. Time passes differently in the underground world. It will take you at least a month to recover but a couple of months here will be many years on the surface. You won’t return to the same time you left. But you can go back. That’s more than I can ever do.”

  “I’m not staying here,” Elijah shouted. “If I go back home and get arrested, fine, I’ll fight it.” A shudder rippled through him and his shoulders jerked. “You can’t keep me here.”

  “And you can’t leave until you’re strong enough,” Judie snapped. “We could have left you in Hopewood’s warehouse. If you hadn’t bled out, you’d have been charged with his murder. This way, you’ll be safe, now and when you do return. We know Hopewood recruited you so easily because you had no one close to you, no one who will be looking for you.” She wagged her finger at him. “So harden up. You got yourself into this at the start. We’re trying to help you out.”

  Elijah’s lips twisted. “Am I supposed to say thanks?” He looked up at the ceiling. “There’s no sun. No natural air. I don’t know how you stand it.”

  Judie smiled. “I miss the sun and sky, but it’s a sacrifice I’m happy to make to be with Huon, Tybor…and our child.”

  Tybor and Huon snapped to attention “We’re having a baby?” they asked in unison.

  “We are.”

  Tybor pulled out the chair from beside the bed and settled Judie into it.

  Huon fussed around her.

  “This is why I hadn’t told you yet,” Judie said smiling. “We can talk about it later but right now we need to sort out these people’s lives. I have a suggestion.”

  “As long as it doesn’t involve any stress to you or the baby, fine,” Tybor said.

  “Once the council has finished with Elijah, he’ll need somewhere to stay. He can come back with us. He’ll be out of the way of anyone who wants to make trouble.” She looked at him, her expression grim. “There are plenty of Dvalinn who will never forgive humans for what Hopewood has done.”

  “Do I have any choice?” Elijah asked.

  “No,” Tybor said tersely.

  “If you go to Ogof, I am too,” Eora said.

  “And if Eora goes, I’m coming too,” added Nieko. “I’m not leaving her.”

  “Do whatever you want,” Elijah said. “But I’m not like Judie. As soon as it’s safe, I’m going home.”

  Tybor stood. “This is something you three can sort out on your own.” He took Judie’s hand in his. “We need to get this lady back so she can rest.”

  “I’m not sick,” Judie protested.

  Nieko could still hear her arguing quietly as they shut the door behind them.

  Waves of anger rolled off Elijah. If he made any effort to disguise it, he failed. Nieko felt the heat of it scorching him. “So what’s the problem, Elijah? Suddenly remembered how much we Dvalinn disgust you? Your near-death experience make you too squeamish to stay?”

  “I never said I’d stay.”

  “I thought we’d be together. You, me, and Nieko,” Eora cried.

  “It might have been okay if we were on the surface. My world.” Elijah ran his fingers through his hair. “Eora could satisfy her curiosity. Nieko could have found out what it was like to be in the sun. It would have been fun.”

  “Fun? I thought we were talking about love,” Eora said. “You believe in love. You said so.”

  “I believe in love for other people. I never said I loved you.”

  “I thought…” Eora looked at him and Nieko’s heart ached at the bereft expression on her face. He tried to get a read on Lije’s emotions.

  “Don’t,” Elijah said, and a wall slammed into place. The rejection felt like a blow.

  Nieko glared at him.

  “I have to get out of here. That’s my priority.”

  Nieko swallowed past the lump lodged in his throat. “So Eora means nothing to you?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know. Maybe. Whatever it is, I’ll get over it. So will you. I’ll be a memory. Something to tell your grandkids.”

  Pain roughened Eora’s voice. “When I thought you were dead, part of my soul tore away. How do I get over that? How do I get over being in love with you?”

  “For a people who supposedly don’t know what love is, you’re awfully quick to throw the word around. You and Nieko, you know each other, you know your strengths and weaknesses. You know you can be together because you want to be. Maybe that’s love—I wouldn’t know.” He rolled the chair backward, away from them. “What you’re feeling for me is infatuation. We’ve been through a traumatic experience. That messes with your emotions. I’m new and different. You’ve got all these pheromones swirling in your system. You don’t know enough about love to know what you’re saying or feeling.”

  Nieko pushed himself up into a sitting position. A wave of dizziness hit but he ignored it. No way was he going to lie down while Elijah stomped all over him. “I know how making love to Eora affected you.”

  Elijah shrugged. “I enjoyed it. A lot. I’m not denying it. I’m just saying it wasn’t love.”

  “And I’m saying you’re fooling yourself…or trying to.” Nieko swung his legs to the floor. The dizziness had subsided and he had an overwhelming urge to shake some sense into Elijah. Before he could push off the bed, Eora was beside him, holding him in place simply by resting her hand on his shoulder.

  “You stay in bed. Nothing will be gained by you falling flat on your face.” She rubbed the bruise on her jaw. “We’ve all been through a difficult experience. We need time to regain our equilibrium.” The fingers on his shoulder tightened, gripping him as if she needed him to hold onto. “We don’t have to go to Ogof. If we keep our heads down we can stay here.”

  “Too risky,” Nieko said. “The council isn’t happy about us. Even though the end result was good, we still broke the rules. Better for us to stay right out of their way. If they don’t see us, they might forget to dole out sanctions.”

  If Eora wanted both of them, then that’s what Nieko would give her. He ignored the odd feeling of longing that fluttered in his chest. So what if he’d felt savage grief when he’d thought Elijah was dead—and joy when he’d seen him wheeled into the room. They were brothers in arms. His responses were natural and expected. Nothing more. Elijah wasn’t attracted to him and he sure as hell didn’t have any softer feelings for Elijah. He was doing this for Eora. “I said I was going to Ogof, and I am.”

  “Sure. Come to Ogof,” Elijah said “If I have to wait until I’ve recovered enough for the teleport, I’d rather have your company than not.”

  “How extraordinarily gracious of you,” Nieko sneered.

  “I’m tired,” Elijah responded. “I’m going back to my room.”

  At the door, he turned back. “How are we supposed to get to Ogof anyway, if I can’t teleport?”

  “We have carts for physically transporting anything too big to teleport,” Eora said. “And thermo-magnetic engines to drive them. They don’t get used much, but for you they’ll make them available.�
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  “Look, when we get to Ogof,” a slash of color highlighted Elijah’s cheeks, “we might as well… I’m open to… I think we can set up a ménage. I’m happy to share Eora with you. Hell, I’d be happy to show you what sex between men is like, but you’re never going to admit you’re interested in that. By the time I’m strong enough to go back to the surface, this attraction,” he met Nieko’s eyes, “all of this attraction will have burned itself out. You and Eora can have your happily-ever-after on your own.”

  “What if it doesn’t burn out?” Eora asked.

  “It has to,” he replied. “There’s no future for us. You belong in your world and I belong in mine.”

  “This is your world too,” Nieko said. “You’re part Dvalinn. You can’t change that.”

  But Elijah was already on his way out the door and he didn’t look back.

  Chapter Seven

  Elijah clung to the sides of the cart as it rattled and groaned through the rock passages. No wonder the Dvalinn didn’t use physical transport. They sucked at it.

  “It’s awful, isn’t it?” Judie sat next to him, a grimace on her face. “The only thing that could make is worse is if I had morning sickness.”

  “Are you sick?” Huon asked from the front seat. “Tybor, stop the cart!”

  “No, I’m not sick,” she replied, “and you have to calm down. We have eight more months of this.” Her face suddenly went pale. Elijah thought she might have been nauseous after all. “I hope it’s only eight more months. How long do Dvalinn pregnancies last?”

  “Same as humans,” Eora said from the rear seats. “I studied it at school. We live much, much longer, but that’s a result of living underground. We’re more or less the same species. Our gestation period is the same.”

  “That’s a relief,” Judie sighed, “But not half as much relief as getting off this stupid cart will be.”

  “The journey will only take a few hours,” Tybor said. “Instead of two or more days if we tried to walk it.”

  The way Huon and Tybor fussed over Judie as if she were the first woman to ever get pregnant, Lije wasn’t surprised they’d insisted on traveling with her. But he couldn’t understand why Nieko and Eora were traveling this way when they could have teleported to Ogof and waited for them to arrive. Nieko’s brooding presence behind him made it clear he wasn’t enjoying the trip.

  But then, Nieko had been sullen and remote since they’d had the conversation back in the clinic. As annoying as it was, he could stand the sulking better than Eora’s wounded puppy look. Hell, the woman was a fierce fighter—he’d seen her take down a man and step over his ashes as if they were so much rubbish. Why should Elijah pointing out the reality of her—crush—make him feel as if he’d kicked her?

  As they entered Ogof, Lije’s chest grew tight. Last time he’d been here, he’d been close to doing something unforgiveable. But the unforgivable had already happened. People had lived here—loved, played and yearned for the sun. Brian Hopewood had killed every one of them. Their ghosts called to Lije from every painted image, every closed door, every deserted street corner.

  “I can’t stay here,” he burst out.

  Judie turned to him, her expression somber. “Neither can we. It suits us to have people believe we live here. It guarantees no troublemakers will come looking for us, but we live farther out. There’s a small settlement outside Ogof, abandoned long ago when the few inhabitants got tired of living in isolation and moved to the city.” She breathed out heavily. “Here you can feel the memory of pain. At the place we’ve chosen to make our home, the only thing the walls remember is emptiness.” Some of the gloom lifted. A small maternal smile crossed her face. “That’s going to change. We’ll all be a community.”

  “You’ll be a community. I’m not staying,” Elijah said. “As soon as I’m fit…”

  “You’re out of here,” Nieko said. “We know, human. You don’t have to keep reminding us.”

  “I want to make sure we all know where we stand. I’ve had enough deception.”

  They traveled on in silence, leaving the painted walls of Ogof behind them. A few kilometers on they came to a cluster of dwellings. Unlike in Ogof, the walls and doors were small and undecorated.

  “This is us,” Huon said.

  “We live there.” Tybor pointed to a place at the far end of the street. “You’re welcome to settle anywhere over there.” He pointed at the opposite end of the village. “Get what you need off the wagon. We are going to be busy for a while.” He glared at them, fierce and powerful. “We don’t want to be disturbed. Understand?”

  The three of them nodded. Elijah couldn’t imagine what kind of person would be stupid enough to bother Tybor. Huon and Judie were approachable, even likeable. Tybor was far more imposing. Apart from the moment of hilarity when they’d discussed his commandeering of the car, and his obvious devotion to Judie and Huon, he seemed to be the epitome of a warrior. Hard. Dangerous.

  Tybor and Huon swept Judie away, leaving Elijah, Nieko and Eora staring at one another.

  “Come on,” Elijah said. “We may as well get settled in and have something to eat.”

  “In the one house,” Eora asked.

  “Yes,” he replied. Was he going to have to spell everything out for them? “That’s what we decided.”

  At first he thought Nieko was going to storm off, but although he stiffened he nodded his head. They unloaded the goods they’d brought with them.

  Long abandonment hadn’t caused much deterioration in the rock-walled dwelling. Basic furniture was scattered around the rooms—beds, couches and chairs needed little more than brushing down to be serviceable. They unpacked in silence, keeping their eyes down as if afraid of what they would see if they looked at one another.

  “I suppose we might as well get something to eat,” Elijah said. They were alone at last but he couldn’t seem to think of a way to breach the awkwardness that had built up between them.

  “I’ll cook,” Eora said.

  “I’ll do it.” Nieko stepped into the kitchen area. “You know you’ll only muck it up.” He sounded bad-tempered. His continued surliness was getting to Elijah.

  “If she wants to do it, why shouldn’t she?” Elijah argued. “You’re not in charge here.”

  “Neither are you, human. As you’re so damn fond of telling us, this is not your world. Shut up. Sit down. Keep out of what doesn’t concern you.” He turned his back on Lije and elbowed Eora out of the way.

  “I’ve about had it with your attitude.” Lije leaped up and strode over to Nieko, grabbing him by the shoulder, spinning him around so they stood face to face, outthrust chins a fraction of an inch apart.

  “Get your hands off me.”

  “Make me.”

  Nieko shoved Elijah. Lije swayed but stood firm. From the corner of his eye, Lije saw Eora stand and walk toward them, but instead of intervening she leaned one shoulder against the wall, folded her arms and watched.

  “You’ll have to do better than that,” Elijah taunted.

  Nieko pushed again, at the same time hooking his leg around Lije’s so he tumbled backward. Elijah grabbed on to Nieko’s upper arms, pulling him down with him.

  Nieko braced himself on his outstretched hands, saving them both from crashing onto the rock floor. Even so, the breath rushed out of his lungs with a solid oomph. He landed on top of Elijah, bare chest to bare chest.

  “Get off me,” Lije grumbled, throwing himself sideways to try to dislodge him.

  “Let me go!” Nieko retorted.

  “So you can take a swing at me? Not likely.”

  “You’re scared I’ll—”

  With a roar, Elijah grappled with Nieko, struggling to turn and pin him. Nieko fought back. Sweat-slick chests slid against each other.

  All the frustration, confusion and anger boiling around inside Elijah for weeks exploded into action. His muscles flexed and he squeezed Nieko tight.

  Nieko squeezed back, hard, as if he were trying to c
rush Lije’s ribs. There was no breath left to talk, a silent struggle for dominance. They rolled over and over across the hard, unswept floor. For the first time since he’d returned to the underworld, Elijah regretted the impulse, born out of pride, that had made him scorn the wearing of what Nieko insisted on scathingly referring to as “the woman’s garment.”

  Dust and grit abraded his skin. He ignored it. Lije was going to show this Dvalinn jerk who was boss. He wasn’t going to be distracted by a few grains of sand. His hands slipped on the sleekness of Nieko’s shoulders, so he dug his fingers harder into the firm muscles.

  Nieko’s scent filled his nostrils—musk and man and warmth. For a moment he could do nothing more than breathe it in. Nieko took advantage of his inattention. He shifted his hold, pushing Elijah onto his back. Nieko rose up over him, his chest heaving, his dark eyes staring straight into Elijah’s. Heat, anger and something far more elemental radiated from him.

  Nieko spread his legs wide for leverage, pushing their groins together. Nieko’s cock, hard and huge, pressed against his. Above him, Nieko hesitated. His eyes widened, the pupils dark. Holding his breath, Elijah lifted his hips.

  Nieko arched back, raising his head like a stallion scenting the wind. Their cocks rubbed against each other again.

  The barriers Nieko had created to keep Elijah out wavered and fell. Elijah felt the surge of wild desire and the confusion that followed. He let his mind reflect the attraction back, reinforcing it with his own needs, with his own knowledge that what was happening was good—powerful and right.

  Nieko stilled. Then he flexed his hips. Once. Twice.

  The air rushed out of Lije’s lungs.

  He surged up and rolled until Nieko lay beneath him. Lije slid his hand onto the back of Nieko’s head and pulled him close—close enough to lock their lips together, to thrust his tongue into the depths of Nieko’s mouth until he could taste all of him—his anger, his doubt and his arousal. He fed the arousal, chased away the doubt. He kissed Nieko harder until he’d burned out everything but desire. Hard, strong and demanding.

  Nieko kissed him back. Tongue-tangling, breath-stealing full-body-contact kisses. His grip didn’t loosen but he wasn’t trying to crush Lije anymore. It felt as if he wanted to meld their bones into one.