Ignoring the feeling, he faded into another shadow. He needed to feed. Doulzen stopped, taking the time to make sure he was completely secluded in the darkness, and then pulled off his hat. He tipped it upside down and pulled the secret pocket open. A small pouch of life force glowed within the dark. Doulzen lifted it to his mouth and sucked it in. The essence floated into his mouth. The taste of berries coated his tongue. He swallowed and a zing of energy jolted through his body. His hunger was hardly sated, but this bit had to last him until he returned to his clan.
He relaxed against a tree trunk, letting the energy sink into the depths of his core. It stifled some of the hunger, just enough to keep him going. When he got to Ovander, he'd find more. His mouth watered at the prospect. It would end in a feast for all his clan.
He faded back into the shadows, blending in, becoming one with the darkness, and shadow-walked his way back to Priya. His stomach knotted when he set eyes upon her. The moonlight had moved since he'd been gone, now cascading over her. Priya's hair had come out of its ponytail and fanned around her. Her lips parted as she panted in her sleep. Her face was flushed and his cock grew instantly hard. She was beautiful. Shadows closed in around her, dark tendrils whispering across her body. He could feel the heat from her flesh on his fingertips, though he stood on the other side of the tiny stream. He ached to touch her, but it was not the time. Work and his clan came first. Yet he continued to trace her through the shadows . . . every dip, every curve of her body.
Doulzen pulled the shadows back, reining in his control. He would take the female to Ovander, find his birds, and disappear from her life forever, leaving no true mark upon her future. He'd keep himself a fleeting memory, someone passing through, getting her to her family. Even as he told himself he wouldn't get close to her, his eyes wandered back to her sleeping form and he wondered about the man who stalked such a small one. Did he wish her harm? Was she telling the truth? She had nothing on her for travel, no backpack as most humans would have. As far as he could tell, she wasn't even carrying a wallet . . . and he'd been looking often at her ass despite his attempts to avoid it. Who was she really, and if her family was waiting for her in Ovander, why had they not come to her Grandmother's funeral to retrieve her?
Chapter 5
Priya rolled over, blinking. Sunshine. Morning. She slowly sat up, fluttering her eyes open fully. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. She'd slept a lot harder than she'd thought she would. A bird tweeted and Priya looked around for Doulzen. She didn't see him anywhere. Her body itched to shift into her bird form and take just a short flight through the morning air. She looked around for a good place to hide while she shifted, but the best she could find was a large tree with limbs and roots covering one side. She walked over, looking around and over her shoulder for any sign of her stranger. When she was sure he wasn't present, she ducked under the limbs and roots into the small hidey-hole she'd found.
Excited to change for even moments, Priya's heart skipped. She couldn't wait to be in the clouds and against the sunshine. Warmth slid over her skin, heightening her senses, and feathers sprung up, tucking skin beneath the downy lengths.
A twig snapped in front of the little hideout and Priya froze mid change.
Gads! Was it Nicholas? Doulzen? She willed herself to shift back. Her stomach twisted from the shock of shifting again so soon, especially after how little she'd had to eat in the last twenty-four hours. Sweat glistened her skin as she breathed through the partial change, listening. Steps zeroed in on where she crouched hidden. The footfalls came closer and closer. Her feathers tucked back where they belonged, Priya stepped out and pretended to redo the button on her jeans as she stepped into view, hoping her shaking hands wouldn't be noticed. Doulzen stopped a few feet away from her.
He cleared his throat. "Sorry. I wasn't sure what happened to you."
"Aww, were you worried, my non-protector?" She flipped her loose hair over her shoulder, more than a little irritated that she hadn't gotten to shift and fly. She trudged past him, bumping into his broad form.
"I suppose I deserve that," Doulzen said.
Priya looked back at him. "Apology accepted."
"I didn't apologize. I simply think I deserve a little ire from you, given how harsh I was yesterday. But my statement still stands. I'm only going for the feathers." The shadow from the brim of his hat obscured his eyes, making it difficult to read his face. She both wanted to throw something at him for being a jerk and pull his hat back to get a better look at him in the daylight.
Priya settled for changing the subject. "Do you ever take off the hat and coat?" She continued toward the small stream. In the sunlight, she could see the grove he'd brought her to last night. Green bushes with large, heart-shaped leaves circled the area. The trees were a little more spaced out than she'd thought the night before. Hills rolled back beyond the stream as it flowed out of a little alcove tucked between them. She kneeled down to the water and splashed some on her face, cooling her skin from the semi-shift. Her stomach still twisted, so she gulped a handful of water and urged her body to calm.
"I find little reason to remove them." His voice was right behind her and she startled, looking back. With the sunlight in her eyes, the shadows flitting across his face still obscured her view of him.
"So you don't shower or anything?" She couldn't help it. The words just slipped out as she tried to shield her eyes from the light.
Doulzen didn't comment. He stood there for a few seconds before leaning over her, his face inches from hers. His eyes shimmered as if the very moon had collected in them to reflect out at the world. A scar on the underside of his chin marred his flesh and she resisted the urge to trace it. His breath was hot on her skin. Stubble peppered his sharp features. She swallowed. Her eyes darted to his lips, then back to his eyes. He pulled the water flask from behind her and replaced the lid. She hadn't even seen him fill it.
"Aside from cleaning myself, I rarely remove them." She could feel the words as they slipped out of this mouth, whispering over her skin. His deep voice stirring a part of her she wasn't quite sure she wanted stirred by a stranger who clearly walked on the darker side. He could be a killer, and she'd asked him to be her traveling companion, even slept with him near. What in the world was wrong with her?
Doulzen stood again and put the flask back in his pocket. Priya returned to the water, splashing her face, but this time to cool her desire. She let the liquid slide down her neck, chilling her flushed flesh. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and stood.
She had no idea where to go from here. He'd said east the night before. "Guess we should be on our way. Following you." She put her hand in her jean pocket to be sure her two feathers were still there. She rubbed the soft feathers between her fingertips to comfort herself. Knowing one was Gran's put her mind back on finding her family.
Doulzen walked ahead of her, leading her out of the grove and back onto the main walking trail. Priya wasn't sure how often the trail was used, but it was enough that she could tell it was a trail. Her stomach growled.
"Hungry?" Doulzen looked back at her.
"A little." Okay, a lot, but she didn't want to say that to him. "But let's just keep walking. I'm sure there's another town or something close, right?"
"Stopping point would be some time tonight. Without transportation other than our feet, we'll hit a little town this evening. If you're hungry, it will be best to eat now, as the day will get hotter and I won't be stopping much until we have to. I'm of a mind to get you to Ovander as quickly as humanly possible."
"And what would you have me eat out in the middle of nowhere?" She spread her arms and concealed the twinge of pain from her left arm. The cut from the shadow hunter's arrow was still sore. She glanced at the underside of her forearm, and the area was swollen, red, but seemed to be healing. It was a touch deeper than she'd thought it was last night, but had it closed? Or was that dirt? Priya wiped at it before looking back up at the stranger.
D
oulzen reached into his coat—because he evidently hid everything in his coat—and pulled out something wrapped in leaves. "I anticipated you might be hungry so I picked these for you this morning." He handed her the wrappings.
She pulled the leaves open to reveal blueberries. Her mouth watered. She felt a little pang of guilt for getting pissy with him after he had been thoughtful enough to find her food. "Thank you." She put a handful in her mouth, the semi-sour sweetness bursting as she swallowed. She ate the whole bunch in a matter of moments as they walked. Priya let the leaves fall to the ground and considered the stranger she'd managed to coax into helping her. Last night he'd come off so unfriendly. Unhelpful, even. But in the daylight, he had a heart. She couldn't say he was her friend, but he wasn't her enemy either. If he wished her any harm, he would have done it by now.
***
Doulzen turned away, berating himself for sneaking peeks at her breasts. Why had she gotten her shirt wet? It showed nearly everything. Well, at least in outline. The material had clung to her firm, round mounds, and his cock had hardened. He'd had to use his coat to hide his damn erection. His body betraying him was a new experience. His control was unequaled, and yet this little slip of a female was getting to him. He found her fragility . . . endearing. Doulzen quickly reminded himself humans were a boundary he shouldn't be breaching. He just needed to get her to Ovander, get the birds, and be done with it. He ran a hand over his forehead.
"Aren't you hungry?" Priya asked.
"I already ate." He kept walking. He pushed his cock down, hoping to stifle more of the erection. The sun needed to hurry up and dry her shirt out so he could actually look at her. Doulzen growled. Why should he want to look at her? She was human. He needed more of his kind, not hers.
"Something wrong?" Her breaths panted behind him. Is that what she would sound like beneath him? Doulzen shook the mental image from his head.
"I'm fine. Keep walking. It's going to be a long day. We'll stop in a few hours to break for water and I'll find us more food." Why was he taking care of her? She could find her own food. He glanced back. Her body was flushed with exertion. He inhaled her familiar airy scent, as if he'd been trapped in a musty old building and had just walked out into the fresh breeze. He couldn't place where he knew it from though.
He turned and let the shadows beneath his trench coat cool his heated skin. The shadows would always be with him and that power would always be there to draw from. He mentally thanked Erebus for his gift and jumped over a crag of rocks on the trail. Trekking like this meant little to his body, which was always moving. And if they could keep this pace, they might actually reach the little eastern town of Nith before sundown. He'd get her fed, send her off to a lodging room, and then go hunting again, feeding on the essence he had left. This area had once been prime hunting ground for firebirds. It was hard to believe he wouldn't find another out in the open. Maybe not a white one, but a golden one would still do the job and replenish his own stock.
His eyes shifted over the ground, watching for tracks from the birds or feathers left behind. They didn't normally leave any, but it happened, evidently . . . He rubbed over his pocket to make sure his white feather was still there. This was actually his very first white feather and he wasn't sure if he wanted to keep it or sell it. His shadows seemed drawn to the damn thing; he could feel the pull, gentle, but there.
A crack sounded, breaking Doulzen from his thoughts. He halted. A tree? A twig? He didn't hear Priya walking behind him. He turned.
Priya was a few feet away, seemingly frozen in place. A look of horror stretched across her pale features. Doulzen cocked his head and looked down. He stood on loose boards. He'd somehow lost sight of where he was walking and stepped onto some kind of overhang or trap. Doulzen moved a step toward Priya, and another crack sounded. In seconds the planks broke. He felt the whoosh of air as he slipped down. Boards scraped across his face, but he flung his arms out to protect himself.
"Doulzen!"
He couldn't use his shade magic while she watched, so he kicked his feet out to each side as he fell, catching on the hole's walls. His decline slowed as he fell further into the shadows, and the smell of feces burned the inside of his nose. The dark should have felt peaceful. It should have left him energized, but instead, something was sucking the energy out of him. Doulzen dug fingertips into the ground, seeking a hold, and finally came to a stop with a foot and an arm on each side. It wasn't a huge hole, so he could climb back up. But he looked down instead, wondering.
A pair of glowing green eyes met his. His heart leaped into his throat. It could not be!
The shadows shifted, his energy being pulled away. The shadows from the hole were being eaten by a scarab, sucked into a small vortex getting wider as the shadows disappeared, leaving light and those glinting green eyes. His pulse rocketed and he tried to push himself up the hole, never taking his eyes from the green ones so intent on him.
The giant insect ate all the shadows. The dark was just sucked up under its wings . . . gone as light invaded the hole and the glint from the beetle's back broke Doulzen's focus. He shook his head. This creature was going to eat him alive, suck out all his shadow magic. The insect was sacred, aligned with the light. Shadows fled away from the thing, its glinting body a reflection of light as a magic source. They shouldn't fucking exist. No one had ever actually seen one. It was just something shades read about in old texts.
Doulzen pushed with his arms, but the very heaviness of them made him lose his grip. He slipped closer to the scarab. One of its thin legs reached up toward Doulzen. He yanked his feet up. He'd be done for if that thing touched him. Shit. He prayed Erebus would see him through or else he would be beetle food. He tried to pull the shadows, call on them from deep within the hole, through the earth, but they shrank back as if afraid. He couldn't blame them—they were their own living entity, and they couldn't fight a scarab any more than he could.
"Please say something! Are you okay down there?"
Priya was looking down the hole. "Go get something to pull me out, dammit!" It came out harsher than he'd intended but there was a freaking giant insect trying to devour him.
She slipped away, and the bright sun filtered into the hole, bouncing off the creature below him. Sweat broke out on his brow, rolling into his eyes. His heart hammered against his ribcage as he tried not to look back down at the creature's hungry eyes. His fingers slipped again in their hold.
Chapter 6
The hole was so deep, Priya could barely see anything except Doulzen's hat. She had heard the wood snap when he'd first walked onto it. The hole was narrow, but wide enough she wouldn't have been able to just reach both sides if she'd fallen in. A little of the edge crumbled as she backed away from the splintered wood and ground. Gads! She needed something ropelike.
Priya shook her head and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. How could he just fall into a freaking hole? It was like he hadn't even noticed it until it was too late. Her hands shook as she brought them up to untie and retie her hair. She couldn't just leave him here. She scanned the area. They had gotten a little off the path, and she, of course, had blindly followed him. Idiot.
Trees were scattered everywhere but no vines or ropes of any kind. There had to be some kind of fallen branch or something she could use. If she could just get a better look . . .
She glanced over her shoulder, listened for a moment, and then shifted, her senses instantly returning to the normal state Priya had missed. She needed help for the human, fast. Her body heated as the feathers overtook her and she flapped higher and higher. Once she was high enough to see a broader area, she used her sight to zoom in on the landscape. Her gaze darted from one tree to the next to the next. There! Priya banked right, hard, and tucked her wings into her body to cut through the air. A long limb lay against a tree just off the trail on the other side. Perfect!
She flew to the limb and grabbed it with her talons. It didn't move. She dug her claws in and flapped her wings backward as hard
as she could, trying to force the heavy branch to budge. The limb stirred, but her current form didn't have the strength to haul it. She let go and shifted back to human. Priya grabbed ahold of the dry wood and pulled it up under her arm. It was long, cumbersome, but she dug in her heels and ground her teeth. She would make the damn thing move. Splinters dug into her fingertips, but she didn't let go. She heaved with it one step at a time, squinting her eyes closed, pushing herself to make it move . . . farther . . . farther.
Her foot slipped back out from under her and she landed on the ground with a hard thump. Pain lanced her arms as rocks and dirt dug into her skin. Her ankle twisted as the tree limb fell on top of it, shooting sharp pains up her shin.
"Shit!" She pounded her hands into the ground, angry with herself. Doulzen didn't have time for her to mess this up.
Priya pushed up from the ground and moved the wood off her legs. But as she stood, her ankle buckled with throbbing pain. Tears welled in the corner of her eyes as she collapsed back to the ground.
Biting her cheek, she sucked back the tears, glared at the godforsaken limb, and made herself stand. The pain shot up her ankle again but she was expecting it this time. She limped forward and pulled one end of the limb back up under her arm.
"You will move," she commanded the branch, but she meant it for herself as well. Priya stepped down on her hurt side and pushed through the pain, tugging with fingers, arms, and her full weight, leaning forward with each steady step.
The limb slid along the ground, the grass, and she strained against the pain as sweat dripped down her forehead. Keeping herself going with all the effort she could muster until she was beside the hole again. She let out a huff and dropped the heavy wood with a solid thud. Dust flew up around it.
Dark Burn: Fated & Forbidden Page 3