Shaedes of Gray: A Shaede Assassin Novel

by amanda bonilla

  “Have you ever fought another Shaede?” I ventured. “When there were others?”

  He took the dagger from my hand and cleaned it on a rag before handing it back. “Of course. I was trained by the best. The fiercest warrior among us. No one could best me. Not even him, after a while.”

  “Teach me!” I exclaimed. “Please, Az. I want to fight. I’ll do everything you say. I won’t whine. I won’t complain even a little bit. Train me.”

  He laughed again. “Then you’d be deadly, indeed. Wouldn’t you?” He laid his lips to my temple. “Maybe someday, my love. Maybe someday.”

  Of course, that someday never came. The asshole left me high and dry, and wound up dead. Or so I assumed.

  The way I saw it, I helped the world with the work I did. One less drug lord meant one less supplier for the dealers. And in turn, if I managed to take out the dealer before he could entice some stupid kid into trying his product, then little Sonny might not turn out to be a junkie. Let’s face it: Criminals don’t exactly enhance society. There’s too many of the morally defunct running loose on the streets as it is. I don’t mind taking out the bad guy, but I don’t do it for free either. A girl’s gotta eat. And that’s where Azriel’s philosophy deviated from mine. He never cared who we killed. Not me. I’d never take out a housewife for her life insurance or a witness to a crime just to keep him silent. I had standards. I refused to kill an innocent. But I have no fucking problem killing a man who beats his wife and sells meth to kids. The way this crazy world works, I am far too busy. Decent people are few and far between.

  Which made me wonder about Xander’s unknown target. Was he one of the bad guys? And in who’s opinion? The thought of servitude left a sour taste in my mouth. Whether I’d been paid or not, Xander considered me one of his subjects. And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted him out of my life once and for all. I’d been seduced by the idea of what my training could do for me, the status it could bring me. What if Xander’s motives were altogether more devious? Momentarily blinded by the dollar signs I saw whenever I thought about working for the king, I needed to consider the possibility that he wouldn’t pay me for future services. Or, worse, use me and keep me as another one of his little pets. Just like Anya, bound in a sexy catsuit and purring for a bowl of milk. If Raif considered me simply another subject of his Lord and Master, wouldn’t it stand to reason that Xander considered me in the exact same light? Had he perhaps wooed me with payment for services rendered, only to jerk the rug out from under me? I had to think past the job. What about after it was done? It made me sick to think of how fast I had fallen under his spell.

  I would not, under any circumstances, become a pawn. I wanted answers to the questions of my existence, and serving Xander was one way to get them. Would he give them to me? Or just continue to string me along, keeping me in the dark, just like Az? My mortal life had been out of my control. I would never again allow anyone to keep me under his thumb. Xander was just going to have to make Raif or Anya or some other idiot do his dirty work, because this girl was taking herself off the market.

  I returned the katana to its mahogany case, though it pained me to do so. Next to the sword, I placed the envelopes of money Tyler had given me. Returning the money wasn’t as big as giving back the sword, but I did what I had to do. I couldn’t spend eternity being Xander’s ignorant strong arm. So I returned to the warehouse in the harsh light of day. I set the case inside the door, certain the right person would find it and return it to the king.

  I expected to receive a visit from the High King himself. The sun sank into the western horizon, but he didn’t come. Night came on the heels of twilight, and still my threshold remained uncrossed. Tyler stayed away as well. I was almost positive he’d make an appearance. He didn’t.

  Pensive, and maybe even a little insulted, I sulked around my own space. Where the hell was everyone? Xander obviously didn’t give a shit that I wasn’t interested in serving him, and Ty must have snapped out of puppy-love mode. I should have been relieved. Somehow, I wasn’t.

  After resigning myself to sleep, I lay in bed, tossing and turning and tossing some more. I wasn’t used to staying in at night. I guess I didn’t go out because I expected company. Since no one cared enough to stop by, I wasn’t about to go looking for either one of them. After a few more angry tosses, I finally found a forced sleep that had about as much to do with rest as knitting had to do with swimming.

  Something startled me awake. I lay unmoving to better listen, smell, feel the air for any distinct changes. Besides the scurrying sound of an insect across my floor, nothing betrayed who—or what—stirred me from slumber. The sound persisted; it must have been one hell of a busy bug. My eyes began to slide shut, and I allowed them to close all the way, thinking any danger was beyond me.

  The sound of voices drifted to my ears sometime later. The strangest thing was not the voices, but the fact that they were all facets of the same voice. An echo of sorts, it called out to me in different tones, but spoke as if from one mouth, one throat, and one being. I would have thought I was dreaming if I hadn’t felt its breath on my face.

  “Darian.”

  The moment brought to mind Tyler stretched out beside me in bed, whispering my name while he stroked my hair. His words had been spoken tenderly, though, and the voice speaking my name now seethed with menace.

  “Darian.”

  My eyes were closed, but my senses were as sharp as the katana I wished I still had. A suffocating pressure, like being trapped under a fallen log, pressed all around me. Since my night at the warehouse, I’d come to realize that in the presence of a Shaede the air becomes palpable, dense. I felt this other creature, just as I had my newfound brethren, though the sensations were like night and day. Aside from that, I didn’t know who—or what—it was.

  “Darian.” Again, my name floated to my ears, carried by myriad tiny voices melded into one. I shivered at the whispering sound and wrinkled my nose in distaste as a foul smell reached me.

  “Who’s there?” I asked stupidly. I mean, it wasn’t like the disembodied voice was going to answer, Oh, sorry. I should have introduced myself. I’m George . . .

  The voice didn’t answer—what a shocker—and I slowly inched the covers from my body, readying to defend myself if the need arose. The flutter of something touching my face sent my heart hammering against my rib cage. Like the kiss of sunlight or the stirring of air, I felt the microscopic hairs on my cheek move, sending a tingle deep into my flesh.

  “I’d like nothing more than to suck your innards out through your nose. I bet you taste as sweet as honey.” The words, whispered from the many-faceted voice, stretched my nerves taut, leaving a hollow ache I was desperate to escape.

  “You can try,” I said, cranking up the bravado. “But maybe I’ll surprise you and make you sorry you ever stepped foot in here.” The pounding inside my chest intensified. “If you’re so goddamned tough, why don’t you show yourself?”

  “Perhaps after the eclipse,” the voices sighed. “I wonder, will it change the way you taste? No harm is to come to you until then. Doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun with you in the meantime.”

  Invisible claws, like shards of broken glass, scraped me from head to toe. I clamped my teeth together and pushed my tongue against them, determined not to cry out. I squeezed my eyes tight, feeling the moisture escape from my lids as I lay as still as possible.

  The encounter lasted only seconds, though it felt like agonizing hours. By slow degrees, I unclenched my jaw, fingers and toes relaxing, followed by arms and legs, and finally my core. Again, I heard the scurrying, like mouse scratches in the wall, fading into silence. Alone. No one here but me, my heavy breathing, and pain. Lots of pain.

  Early-morning sun shone in through the skylights, casting a lemon yellow glow on the white coverings of my bed. My pulse picked up its beat once again. What nature of creature could have come to me invisibly in the light of day? I wasn’t going to burst into flames
if I walked outside at high noon, but I was confined to my solid self. This creature didn’t seem to share my restraints. No Shaede, that was for sure. And talk about creepy. What the hell . . . Eating my innards? Eclipse? Whatever it was, it had its Vincent Price impression down pat.

  I plucked my phone from the table beside the bed. In a moment of uncharacteristic weakness, I dialed.

  “Ty, can you please come over?” I said.

  “Give me ten minutes,” he said, and hung up.

  Tyler never disappoints.

  I don’t know if it was the lingering fear that kept me marooned on the mattress, or some other, simpler reason. Weak and wary, I hadn’t an ounce of energy I could devote to leaving the bed. The adrenaline rush had taken everything out of me.

  “Darian,” Ty called out. His footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor. Quiet steps, not his usual elephant stomps. I didn’t answer him. Sick with shame and fear, I stayed immobile, huddled beneath the blankets.

  He touched my cheek. Remnants of fear coated my mouth, and the words came thick. “Someone was here.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know. Not like me. Sun was already up. The thing was in the air, Ty.”

  He sat down beside me. I didn’t turn to look at him; my sudden frailty was a disgrace to my nature. Embarrassment kept me from meeting his eyes.

  “What happened?” His gentle voice soothed me, assuring me it was okay to be scared without having to say it out loud.

  “The voice, I can’t describe it. Like nothing I’ve ever heard before. It touched me, and it wasn’t any tickle either.”

  Tyler tugged at the covers burying my body. I resisted at first, unsure of what his next move would be. Insistent, he pulled harder, and I finally relented, too shaken up to do anything about it. As he peeled back the blankets, he examined the skin that my tank top and shorts didn’t cover. He rolled me gently from my side to my back. My eyes met his. The hazel orbs grew wide, and he sucked his breath in sharply. An angry frown marred his features.

  “Welts,” he murmured.

  “What?”

  “Your skin is welted,” he explained, tracing a fingertip over the raised marks.

  I have to say the news came as a relief. I half expected my skin to be ripped open. “I didn’t see anything; only felt a presence.” Fear was washed away by confusion. Anger approached on its heels. “When I find the creature that did this, I’m going to slice it into a million bloody pieces.”

  Expressing my anger felt good, as if I were reclaiming a bit of my flagging nerve. I put my palms down on the bed, pushed myself to a sitting position, and drew my knees up a little. Closer to eye level with Tyler, I read both worry and fury in his expression. His normally cool body temperature seemed to drop by a few degrees.

  “They’re only welts, right? I’ve healed from worse.”

  “Yeah.” He ran his hands over the miniature roadways of raised flesh along my arm. “Do you think it has anything to do with this job you’re training for?”

  He stopped stroking my arm, and though his gaze didn’t detach from mine, his hands continued with their exploration of the marks on my skin. He moved a palm under my calf, cupping the flesh before traveling up and over my shin. I shivered.

  “I don’t think so,” I answered honestly. “If Xander had a creature like that in his service, he sure as hell wouldn’t need me. I quit that job, anyway. It’s a non-thing.”

  “What do you mean, you quit?” His fingers traced each one of my toes. “You never quit anything.”

  “I quit this,” I said. “I was starting to feel like a possession, and I don’t like that. And I still don’t know who the mark is.” I looked away, distracted by the warm, masculine scent that was one hundred percent Tyler.

  Reluctantly, I met his face again. His soft, greenish eyes held a lustful hunger, and something sparked inside me. Teasing fingers stroked my bare skin, traveling from my toes, across my ankles, and up my shins. I tried to look away, but Tyler’s gaze held me in place.

  “Darian, I wish you’d let me protect you.”

  Good Lord, did he even know me?

  From my knees, his hands spread out across my thighs, over and around, his fingertips grazing my butt at the hem of my shorts.

  My voice caught in my throat. “How do you propose to do that, human?” It’s not like I didn’t appreciate the offer. But I didn’t need to be taken care of. Strong, independent, not to mention indestructible, I wasn’t exactly the damsel in distress. He squeezed my flesh—Oh, dear God!—gently but just hard enough. A-maz-ing!

  “I might surprise you,” he said in a calm, unsettling way. Inch by inch, he scooted closer, rising on his knees until our noses almost touched. “Bring it on.” His voice, gruff and full of innuendo, sent a pulsing thrill straight through my core. “I can handle anything standing in my way. You’d be safe.”

  I snorted. Maybe he should stand against Raif sometime. That’d be interesting. I’d be picking up little pieces of Tyler from one end of the warehouse to the other. The mental image made me cringe.

  Tyler graced me with a confident smile, abandoned my thigh, and worked his way up my waist. He knew how to use his fingers. A series of rippling chills traveled from my toes to the top of my head and back down. He grazed the sensitive skin exposed where my tank top had ridden up, and my eyes involuntarily drifted shut.

  “Don’t presume you know all about me.” His fingers traveled upward, tracing my rib cage. Oh, man, it felt good. I’d almost forgotten the scare I’d had earlier. He kneaded my flesh with his strong hand. I did moan this time. I couldn’t help it.

  “I’ll keep you safe.”

  “Tyler—”

  Before I could pull away, his mouth found mine. Soft, searching, but full of purpose, his lips caressed mine, and I responded, unable to form a coherent thought with my senses full of Tyler. His thumbs brushed my nipples on the outside of my tank top and they rose to stiff peaks, wanting more than a passing caress. He opened his mouth, kissing me deeper, and I leaned in toward him instead of away, like I’d intended. Without considering the consequences, I reached out, dragging my hands down over his chest, enjoying the feel of his muscles through his T-shirt. Lower, my hands acted on their own, brushing the waist of his jeans and then his fly and the hard bulge that made my breath catch in my chest. Tyler moaned, and my heart sped to an unnatural rhythm. Just a pull here and a tug there and he’d be bare to my touch. I wanted to feel him, full in my hand, my mouth—

  His proximity and swaying tactics had easily broken down my defenses. I forced my hands back up his chest, balling them into fists, forbidding myself from taking what I wanted. I tried to ignore his smell, his touch, his reassuring words, and gently pushed him away. It took more effort than I thought I could manage, because what I really wanted to do was pull him a hell of a lot closer.

  “Tyler,” I whispered. I had to stop this. Now. Before either of us was tempted to take it further, I steered his focus to the matter at hand. “I appreciate that you want to protect me, but there’s nothing you can do. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.”

  “I know you think so,” he said. He leaned forward and kissed me again, long and languid.

  My body attempted mutiny, responding to waves of pleasure I knew I shouldn’t want to feel. The moment ended all too soon, and when he pulled back, I opened my eyes. He smiled in a very self-satisfied sort of way that made me want to slap the expression right off his face. But since that might encourage him, I said, “Did it ever occur to you that I’m protecting you by keeping you at a safe distance from all of this nonhuman stuff?”

  He moved in again, but I backed away. I sure as hell didn’t trust myself to be a good girl. “Tyler, I can’t do this. I have to keep my head on straight. Until things cool down, I’m still in way too deep. I have to think of your safety.”

  “Darian, I don’t need protecting.” He actually laughed, though his eyes shone with disappointment. “I’m more than capable.”

>   My brain didn’t have its usual get-up-and-go, so I ignored that little statement. He stood up, giving me a much needed moment to take control of my raging sex drive. I lowered my gaze and banished from my mind the thought of his scent and cool fingers. Shit.

  “Ty, what do you know about the others?” Changing the subject would be best for both of us, or our clothes would be on the floor in a matter of seconds. “Am I the only one you’ve ever known?”

  Backing away, he passed his hands through his hair and expelled a deep breath. He seemed to seriously contemplate my questions before answering, as if divulging too much would risk spilling a secret. “I know of other nonhuman beings.”

  Oh, wow, Ty. Thanks for the Encyclopaedia Britannica answer. I couldn’t believe I’d been so turned on a moment ago, when all I wanted now was to throw something at him. “Do you know of anything that could have come into my apartment this morning? Something invisible, with a mean streak?”

  “Meaner than you?” Tyler’s frustrated smile drew a momentary twinge of guilt from the back of my ragged emotions. “Let me see what I can find out. I’ll meet you back here later tonight.”

  “No!” I said with enough oomph to blow him across the room. I did not want to spend the evening deciding if clothes on or off was the best way to play with him. “Meet me at The Pit.”

  His face fell a little. Well, too bad. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll meet you there around eleven or twelve.”

  Eleven or twelve? Tyler was nothing if not punctual. Everything was changing.

  Chapter 9

  I never made it to The Pit. Strong arms, fast and stealthy, took me from the sidewalk, blindfolding me before I knew what was going on. I kicked and screamed and fought like hell, but I’d been bound by something that kept me nice and secure. The air around me became dense and fragrant as I recognized the presence of my kidnappers. Shaedes. Two of them. And from the tone of their voices, I got the impression that neither one of them was particularly fond of me at the moment.