Dwellers of Darkness (Darkness Series #3)

by Brown, Stacey Marie

  “I think we still have some work to do on that.” I grinned.

  “Yeah, think I’ve come to regret it,” Gabby replied.

  Eli looked over his shoulder at the closed door. “You were the one who couldn’t handle me being a dickhead any longer.”

  “Oh, you’re still a dickhead,” Gabby piped back through the door. “But now I am not sure which dickhead is worse.”

  “She’s got you there.” I shrugged.

  He nodded in agreement. “True.” He slid off me onto his side, propping his head on his hand. “Gabby, do you have a reason for loitering at my door?”

  “Getting tips to produce my own porno video or was it taping the mating sounds of Yetis, can’t remember which one,” she said deadpan. “Of course, I do. I mean I enjoy sex, but when I am the participant... not listening to it. Cole and Kennedy are already practicing. He wants Ember to get her ass there as soon as possible. That means now not in twenty minutes.”

  The screen door slammed loudly as she exited, and her footsteps grew fainter as she headed back outside.

  “It’s always my ass that people want.” I pushed up on my elbows.

  Eli’s hand drifted under the covers, skimming the side of my butt. “I’ve invited it out on several occasions, but it keeps bringing you along.”

  “Shut up.” I laughed and smacked him. “My ass has too high of standards to be left alone with the likes of you.”

  Eli reached for my face. “Good thing the rest of you doesn’t.”

  When our lips met, lust had every nerve dancing again. I begrudgingly pulled back. “I better go. Cole won’t be so polite if he has to come get me.”

  “Worse. He’ll send Cooper who has no qualms about dragging you out of bed naked.”

  “Please. Being naked is more normal to you guys than being clothed.” I sat up, pushing the covers off. It was going to be another hot day. This type of heat for this stretch of time in Washington was unusual.

  “We’re Dark Dwellers. Being naked goes hand and hand with us. So does sex.” He threw back the covers and sat up, displaying his physique.

  “You guys can all run around naked. I’m quite okay with it. I’m sure Kennedy wouldn’t mind, and I don’t even think my mother would care too much. She appreciates good-looking, nude men as much as the rest of us. Not sure about Thara, unless it’s Torin who is unclothed.”

  I dug in the dresser for the pair of Eli’s sweats I had claimed and made into shorts. I slipped into them, pulling the drawstring tight, then threw on a tank and slipped my hair back into its usual ponytail. Also, something I’d never admit out loud was I liked being in his clothes. Besides his comforting smell, there was an undeniable “we’re together” indication that went with it for everybody to see. Sometimes I really hated I was secretly such a girl.

  Eli scoffed at my remarks and reached over my shoulder to grab a pair of jeans out of the open drawer. It was something neither of us brought up or discussed, but more and more of my stuff flittered into his room. A couple times I folded laundry and left it in the basket in the living room. Later I’d find it put away, tucked inside his dresser. I never commented on it, and neither did he.

  “Coffee?” Eli tugged a t-shirt over his head.

  “Is that even a question?”

  “With you? No.”

  “They can wait five extra minutes for me to get my caffeine intake, right?”

  “I think they’d prefer it.” Smacking my ass he headed out the door.

  “Yeah, ‘cause you’re such an angel in the morning,” I grumbled, slipping on my chucks and following him.

  As we walked outside, I continued to feel on edge since at any moment Lars could “call” on me again. I had tried every way possible to tell Eli. But when I attempted to get close to the topic, my throat seemed to close, and no words came out. It felt like being raked over coals, an experience I did not want again. Eli had sensed something wrong, but I brushed it off as still not feeling well.

  Almost everyone was out at the training site by the time Eli and I got there. Only Owen was missing, probably in his lab like a freaky scientist, analyzing more of my blood and screaming, It’s alive!

  Josh, Jared, Cooper, and Gabby were stretched out on the grass, watching. Mom sat under a tree, book in hand and Thara next to her. Cole and Torin were standing beside Kennedy as she faced the vast meadow.

  Eli put a hand on my lower back, urging me forward to join the group. Torin was busy helping Kennedy but turned when he heard us approach. His gaze went directly to Eli’s hand. He looked away, a flash of heated agony reflected on his features. I stepped away from Eli, feeling guilty. Whatever emotions he had for me were not going to disappear overnight, no matter how much I thought I didn’t deserve them. Life didn’t work out so simply.

  I smiled and approached them.

  “You ready for target practice?” Cole smirked.

  “Don’t tell me... I am the target.”

  Cole smiled smugly and winked as he brushed away a strand of his shoulder length hair that had escaped his tie.

  “We have been working with Kennedy all morning on controlling her direction and intensity. We think she is ready,” Torin spoke formally to me.

  My regret kicked in when I looked around at all the people working so hard to find this sword. Lars’ goal was the same as theirs except when I hand the sword to him at the end. I wasn’t tricking them or even lying, but I still felt uncomfortable not revealing the full truth.

  “Funny, it doesn’t make me feel better.” I frowned. “No offense, Ken.”

  “None taken.” She shook her head, but a smile edged around her mouth. Because she knew she wouldn’t hurt me with the invocations, she had lightened up.

  “Yeah, you’re really distraught over this I can tell,” I teased.

  “Call it payback after years of your and Ryan’s endless taunts.” She winked. Kennedy’s sweet personality had taken on some spunk. She was coming into her own and finally growing into who she was meant to be. Strong, kind, and a powerhouse in her own way. I loved it.

  Sticking out my tongue, I marched into the meadow toward the wooden target they had set up. “Hey. Can I get an air mattress out here or something?”

  “You’ll be fine. She’s really gotten better,” Cole shouted. “You ready?” With my back to them, I gave them a thumbs-up.

  “This might sting a bit.” Kennedy baited me, which made me snicker. Where did my sweet Kennedy go?

  Bending my knees, I positioned my feet onto the dirt, feeling the earth seeping into me. After hearing the chant sail over the wind into my ears, it was only a heartbeat later when the force of her words hit me. Like a hurricane, the power smacked into me, and once again I was in the air. My face hit the makeshift target, knocking it down as I crashed to the ground.

  I lay face first in the dirt, spread-eagle. The sound of feet running to me was mixed with the howling laughter from the group on the grass.

  “You okay?” Eli’s voice reached me first. His hand touched my arm.

  “Oooww.”

  “Oh, Em. I’m sorry.” Kennedy came down on my other side. “Again.”

  I moaned into the dirt. Snickering, Eli rolled me over. “She’s okay.”

  “There’s blood.” Kennedy pointed at my face.

  “Only her nose.” Eli pulled me up, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe the blood off.

  “I am so, so sorry.” Kennedy grabbed my hand; her teasing confidence had vanished.

  “No worries. You warned me it might hurt a little.” I waved it off and grimaced as Eli continued to clean dirt and blood off my face. I looked into his glittering, green eyes. “I know you are dying to make a bulls-eye joke so go ahead.”

  Eli pressed his lips together trying not to laugh. “Me?”

  “Maybe if you imagine yourself the arrow next time, you’d get better trajectory,” Cooper shouted, still howling with laughter. “Become one with the arrow, Em. Be the arrow.”

  I flipped him off ove
r Eli’s shoulder only making the group on the grass hoot louder. I looked at my mom. She had made it halfway to me but stopped. Now seeing I was okay, she was also fighting back laughter.

  “Nice, Mom. You, too?” I threw up my arms. “Go ahead... tell me I nailed it.”

  With that everyone lost it. The situation was hilarious, and I laughed along with them, even though my face hurt when I did.

  “All right, Jared, see if you can sketch the map exposed on Em’s back before it fades.” Cole addressed Jared as we calmed a bit. “Or we’re going to have to do it again.”

  My eyes widened, but Eli had a huge grin on his face. “Seriously. Best day. Ever.”

  “Remember when you said payback is a bitch?” My eyebrow curved. “Yeah, she’s going be one tonight.”

  “Mmmm... foreplay.” He kissed my head and joined Cooper and Gabby.

  Since pictures of my back didn’t show the true detail and marks of the white tattoo, and we couldn’t afford to miss one detail of the map, Jared drew the basic lines, and with his help I would finish it. Josh was right next to Jared, helping him with copying the details of my tattoo. It all seemed to be exciting to him. With the magic and spells, Josh was in heaven.

  With my sketch pad in Jared’s hand, he outlined what he could before it faded. By the time he finished the detail work, Kennedy had blasted me into the dirt six times. I was sore and achy and covered in soil and dried blood. Torin had been resolute on getting me a pad to fall on, but most times I missed it. Just another day at Camp Dark Dweller.

  Actually, it wasn’t much different from my days spent at Camp Demon. As I sprawled in the dirt, a memory of when I blew up the training building crossed my mind. Alki, Koke, and Maya lay on their backs covered in blood, and pieces of the building were scattered over the ground all because of my skills needed work.

  A strange sadness hit me when I thought of my Demon family, of Nic, Rez, and Marguerite. She would call me her dulce nina and hug me so tightly. My mouth began to water at the thought of her cooking. Damn, I really missed that woman. I missed them all, even Koke and Maya who probably didn’t feel the same way. Sick as it was I really missed Alki. They had been my family for six months, and I had felt at home with them.

  As the day wore on, Torin, Thara, and Mom eventually left us, going for a walk. Torin had given Eli so many dirty looks, mumbling under his breath I was relieved to see him go. Eli would ignore him for only so long. Cooper, Gabby, and Eli disappeared shortly after going on a hunt.

  Finally, Cole called time and left the last of us as he headed to the house.

  “You okay, babe?” Jared shook out his cramped hand, watching Kennedy drag her body to him and plop down next to me and Josh.

  “Holy crap, I’m tired.” She leaned her head on Jared’s shoulder.

  “You did well, though. Proud of you.” He kissed the side of her head, folding his hand around hers.

  “Thanks.” She smiled, gazing at him, eyes simmering with love.

  They were so freakin’ adorable together it almost hurt. She was blissfully happy. Jared was such a good guy, and his adoration for her was clear. They were the “cute, sweet” couple who almost made you gag. But all I could feel was happiness for her. Eli’s and my relationship was different from theirs. Neither of us was cute or sweet. We never would be, and I was more than okay with it.

  “I hope all this hard work will lead to the sword so we can get Ryan and Mark out.” Kennedy sighed, cuddling farther into Jared’s shoulder.

  “And West,” Jared added.

  A hard lump formed in my stomach. I was being given the perfect opportunity to tell Kennedy the truth about Ryan. Still, no words came out. Truth clustered on my tongue, debating to leap off or crawl back down my throat.

  Her face was so hopeful. Could I rip that away from her? It was supposedly the right thing to do, but was it really? It would break her. She had lost her family, her home, her life as it had been. All she had was the hope of getting Ryan back with us. I’m sure she still hoped he could go home and be with his family again.

  Josh, who was quietly sitting next to me, saved me from my cowardice as he broke the silence. “You don’t have any idea where this map leads?” He grabbed the sketch from Jared, rotating it around.

  “Nope. Not a clue.” It wasn’t a lie, but keeping the fact Lars had found it familiar seemed like one.

  “Well, we need to figure it out if we’re going to find this sword,” he stressed. “Who do you think might know?”

  “If I even knew who put it on my back, I could start there. But no one seems to even have that knowledge.”

  “Are you sure your mom doesn’t know?” Josh’s eyes held mine.

  Anger slithered up my spine. “My mom said she didn’t, and I believe her. She may have hidden a lot of things from me for my safety, but she is not a liar. She wouldn’t lie to me about this now.”

  “Okay, sorry. Was just asking.”

  “Sorry, Josh.” The subject of my mom did cause me to be a bit snippy.

  “You guys finally done?” Cooper, Eli, and Gabby walked to us.

  “Yeah.” Jared stretched his hands and arms. “Catch anything for dinner?”

  “You have to go get your own, kid. Start providing for the little lady,” Cooper rubbed Jared’s head. Jared jumped up and started to wrestle with Cooper.

  Hands tilted my head back, and lips came down on mine. Something tangy and warm coated my mouth.

  “Ugh!” I pulled back and wiped my lips. Red liquid painted them. “Is that deer blood?”

  Kennedy’s and Josh’s faces looked so appalled I wanted to laugh.

  “Yup.” He kissed me again. “I wondered if you’d be able to identify it.”

  I wanted it to gross me out, like it did Kennedy and Josh. It didn’t. It wasn’t the best thing I ever tasted, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. I grabbed the back of his neck pulling Eli’s head closer to mine. I licked the bottom lip.

  “Yum.” I smiled.

  A deep rumble came from his throat.

  “Oh, ewwwww... Emmmber.” Kennedy’s body shuddered.

  “That... that was just nasty.” Josh shook his head.

  Gabby cocked her head, assessing me. “Okay, she is as twisted as the rest of us.”

  “Oh, she’s even more so.” Eli pulled me up. “Cooper, be ready at ten with the truck loaded.”

  “What the hell? You’re not helping me load?” Cooper held up his arms.

  “Hey. I have managerial duties. I have to train and educate the new Dark Dweller recruit.” He walked backward, tugging me along. I knew where we were headed. You didn’t tease a Dark Dweller, especially Eli, and think it would slide.

  SEVENTEEN

  “When I said I needed to train the recruit, I didn’t mean you could come with us tonight.” Eli sat up from the bed, swinging his legs down to the floor.

  “Well, I did.” I sat up, leaning against the wall, pulling the sheet with me. My desire to go with Eli also came from the fact that when I returned to his room, the bed was made. Neat and tidy as a pin. Eli thought I had done it, and I let him believe it. In the precise way it was made, I knew the truth: Sinnie. It was a calling card from Lars. It obviously wasn’t urgent enough to puppet me into the forest, but it was telling me he needed to see me soon. I had to leave the property.

  “You are not going, and that’s final.” We had been going around and around the same argument for the past ten minutes resulting in the same outcome.

  “I have been captive forever now. First here, then Lars’, then as an actual prisoner of the Queen’s, and now here again. I’m going crazy. This isn’t even an outing in public.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You’re being hunted, so you can’t leave this property.” He pulled on his jeans.

  “Rrrrr...” My head banged back on the wall. “Come on. They aren’t waiting for me at the property line. We’ll be there and back before anyone could possible find out.”

  “Lorcan could be waiting for you. He pr
obably has soldiers around the perimeter.” He sat down, tugging on his boots.

  “But he doesn’t, does he? You could smell him and any others before they even get close to me. He said he was no longer working with Aneira. For some reason I actually believe him. Clearly he hasn’t told her where I am. Otherwise she would be here. She could be looking for me in Europe for all we know. I really need to get out, Eli.” I scooted in behind him, talking close to his ear. “Please.”

  Slowly, I kissed his neck. I wasn’t above using any of my powers of persuasion to get my way.

  Eli grunted. “You have no shame, woman. You really think I am so easily swayed?”

  I let my hand drop over his chest, sliding all the way down, unbuttoning his pants.

  “I can make it worth your while.” My fingers began to convince him. He groaned in pleasure.

  “You are evil, Brycin. Did anyone ever tell you that? You must be part Demon or something.” He leaned back into me.

  “I’ll have to get it checked out,” I purred into his ear. After a moment a deep groan came from him.

  “Fine. You can go.” He turned around and threw me on my back. “But you will listen to every word I say. I am not joking. You will not be stubborn or argumentative. Not only is it dangerous because of what is out there for you, but of what we’re doing. This is who we are. You have to accept both good and bad.” He crawled over me, using his fingers to influence my answer. “You understand? Every word I say. You obey. No question.”

  “Eli...” I moaned as his finger caressed fervently.

  “We agreed?” He pulled away, moving back up to me.

  Teasing, he hinted at entering, but didn’t. Driving me over the edge. “Eli...” I bucked against him.

  “Agreed?”

  I nodded profusely.

  “You use sex as weapon against me, and I will use it back on you tenfold. Got it?” I nodded again.

  He made sure I knew he was dominant one in this situation. And yes, he left his boots on.

  No one was happy about me going. Eli merely sat back, letting Cole and the others try to talk me out of it, but my mind was set. He’d just snigger the more they tried because he knew it only made me more determined.