Darkness Taunts

by Susan Illene

  I turned around to face the men and in the process removed the uncomfortable hand from my shoulder. “What kind of security are you planning?”

  Lucas curled his fingers over the back of the chair next to me. “The restaurant is near the wharf and in the midst of numerous other businesses. Some of them are open late. Despite the event not starting until midnight, there will still be some humans roaming the area. Several guards will be posted around the perimeter, but they’ll have a difficult time distinguishing demon hosts from non-hosts until it is too late.”

  “So you need me to be there to give you the early warning? Wearing that?” I pointed at the beautiful dress like I didn’t ache to wear it.

  Lucas’ jaw tightened. “Yes, wearing that.”

  “I told you I wouldn’t wear anything you bought.” There were some things I really had to take a stand on.

  “Melena.” Aeson drew my attention. “Lucas didn’t pay for it. One of the men from my ménage is a fashion designer. As a favor to me, he began putting the dress together after our first meeting. I’d hoped you would attend the opening with Lucas even before the events of this evening. There is no reason for you not to wear it.”

  My eyes rounded as I glanced between Aeson and the dress. I’d never had anything made just for me. “How could he have even started without getting my measurements?”

  The cambion cleared his throat. “Well, I’ve gained a good eye for sizing up bodies over the centuries and Lucas helped fill in the details. It was quite the discussion…”

  I put my hand up. “Never mind. There are some things I’m better off not knowing.”

  “Will you wear it then?” he asked, worry lacing his voice. I had a feeling his designer would be upset if I didn’t.

  I stared at it for a long minute. “I don’t really have the chest for a dress like that.”

  “Oh, not to worry,” Lucas said, crowding close to me to reach inside the garment bag. “I had a feeling you might try that excuse.”

  From a side pocket he pulled out a black, lacey piece I hadn’t noticed before. “What is it?” I asked.

  “A torsolette.” He ran his hand across the bodice in a way that made me think it wasn’t the fabric he was interested in, but what went inside. “It will give you the extra boost you want—not that you need it. I can assist you with putting it on if you wish.”

  “Um, no. This is something I can handle all by myself.” I grabbed the bag with the dress, yanked the undergarment from his hands, and rushed from the room. Better to get this over with before he made a case for helping me.

  I locked the bedroom door behind me and laid all the pieces out on the bed. The torsolette confounded me at first, but after some trial and error I figured it out. The trick was to tighten the laces just right and get all the hooks lined up. An extra set of hands would have made things easier, but I’d have rather died than ask for help.

  The dress fit over my body like a glove. It had a zipper that slid easily and required minimal twisting and turning to reach. The skirt only came to the top of my thighs and had narrow slits on either side that would reveal the skin of my hips when I walked. It was sexy and it was naughty. If I wasn’t careful, I’d reveal a lot more than I wanted to.

  Lucas knocked on the door, distracting me from my examination of the dress in front of the mirror. I opened it to find him with a pair of tall black boots in his hands. He looked me up and down. His face revealed nothing, but a spark lit his eyes by the time he finished checking me over. I took the boots from him and shut the door.

  “You better be out in the next five minutes or I will be coming in there.” He didn’t bother waiting for my response before he walked away.

  I pulled on the extra tall boots and found they reached the bottom of my knees. They had high heels on them as well. Combined with the dress, the ensemble wouldn’t be easy to fight in and the tight fit made it impossible to hide any weapons. What was he thinking? I dug out a black purse I’d noticed in the garment bag.

  It was designed to go with the outfit, but it was bigger than the clutches most women carried to formal events. I pulled my gun out of the nightstand and tucked it inside the purse. It fit perfectly with enough room for a spare magazine and my knife as well. At least Lucas had considered this much.

  With no time left, I forced myself to walk out of the room. The narrow heels of the boots took a little getting used to, but it wasn’t the first time I’d worn something like them. Micah was the first man who came into my view. He grinned and patted his brother on the back. “Luc, if you couldn’t keep your hands off of her in that black dress she wore, I can only imagine how things will go with this one.”

  “Shut up, Micah.”

  I avoided Lucas’ gaze and turned to Aeson. “Want to check the fit?”

  The cambion walked up and studied me from every angle. I had to give him credit. He kept the pheromones down to a tolerable level and the expression on his face stayed professional.

  “How many men are in your menagerie?” I asked. Being half incubus, I’d expected him to be more into women.

  “Most of them are men. I rarely touch females these days,” he said while pinching the fabric at my waist.

  “Really? Why not?”

  He shrugged. “Your gender never interested me as much—with the exception of my younger days. There is something about the power and physique of men that intrigues me more.”

  “Then what was the big showing when I first came to your home all about?” I still couldn’t forget how turned on I’d been without even being touched.

  “Oh, that was for Lucas’ benefit more than yours.” He stepped away and tapped his chin, frowning at my waist. “He always makes things so challenging.”

  I looked between the two men. “You two haven’t…”

  Micah’s laugh roared out. “Oh, Melena. It’s been a long time since I’ve been around someone so innocent. You don’t really think we live for centuries without exploring all the possibilities, do you?”

  “Uh.” How does one answer that? “Well, I’ve never considered it before.”

  “Don’t worry,” he replied. “My brother will have you corrupted in no time.”

  “No, he won’t.” I took a few steps back toward the hallway as if that would somehow protect me from the degenerates in the room.

  Lucas shot his brother an annoyed look.

  “Say another word.” His voice came out low and threatening. “I’ll be happy to put you on guard detail outside the party for the whole night.”

  Micah held his hands up. “Hey, I’m just trying to prepare her for the inevitable. We both know the only wild side you have is when it comes to sex.” He winked at me. “He’s a bit of an exhibitionist, you know.”

  I couldn’t hold a blush back any longer. Memories of Lucas and I at the club flashed through my mind. No way could I let things escalate further. “I’m just going to take this off now and put on, like, five layers of clothes. See you guys later.”

  I fled the room as fast as my high-heeled boots would take me.

  “Melena,” Aeson called out. “I need you to give the dress back. It will need some minor adjustments before you wear it tomorrow.”

  “Fine,” I yelled back before slamming the bedroom door.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  The next day I had Lucas take me to examine the werewolves’ bodies. He’d let me turn on the radio during the car ride over which helped alleviate the lingering tension. We were both doing our best to pretend as if the events from the night before hadn’t happened. Even Micah kept his mouth shut during breakfast. I’d returned to the idea that the only way to get through my time in Juneau was to focus on the demon threat. The sooner we dealt with it, the sooner I could get away from a certain nephilim.

  While hiding in my room after returning the dress to Aeson, I’d read through the notebook Nik gave me and found a few possible clues about the demons. I didn’t want to give away my suspicions until I was sure, but if we had any hope
of defeating them we’d have to figure out what they were up to.

  We arrived at the warehouse and headed down to the basement. Lucas explained they had a small morgue set up so the bodies could be held until burial arrangements were made. I hoped I could avoid the kids. Dead adult bodies were one thing, but I really didn’t want to face seeing murdered children—especially ones killed by demons.

  Frigid air hit me as soon as we stepped into the dark room. It reminded me of the cold January days in Fairbanks. After Lucas turned on the light, I could see the bodies covered with white sheets resting on metal tables. Bypassing the two smaller forms, I went to the largest first and pulled the cover partway down.

  I sucked in a breath. Someone had beaten his face to a bloody pulp. None of the wounds I could see would have killed him, but the center of his chest had a suspicious burn mark that had faded. That worried me.

  “How did they die exactly?” I asked.

  “We don’t know. A policeman found their car parked at a stop sign with the doors open. The bodies were laid out on the side of the road. Aeson’s people took over from there, but they found no sign of a struggle.”

  I glanced at the other bodies. “No clues at all? The werewolves shouldn’t have died without sustaining some serious injuries, especially the alpha.”

  “The coven sent someone to look them over this morning. They couldn’t find any signs of magic, but the group in this area isn’t well-versed in the dark arts. Do you sense anything?” he asked.

  “Magic was definitely used on them, but it’s faded now. I can’t identify it unless it’s active.” I pointed at the alpha’s chest. “That burn has to be significant, though.”

  “Agreed. We aren’t sure what caused it.”

  “I might be able to help with that.” I dropped my backpack to the floor and pulled the notebook out. Lucas hovered over my shoulder as I flipped to the appropriate page.

  It talked about how demons could kill supernaturals without any obvious mortal wounds. I’d had a hard time making out the rest thanks to Nik’s scribbles being difficult to read, but it was the reason I’d wanted to look at the bodies for clues. When my hair fell over the page, Lucas held it back for me. I did my best to ignore him, but between his close proximity and the illegible script I couldn’t focus.

  “Are you any good at deciphering Nik’s writing?” I asked.

  He let go of my hair—to my relief—and took the notebook from me. A grimace crossed his face as he scanned the pages. “It has gotten worse over the years, but I’m familiar with his style.”

  “What does it say about the burn?”

  “The translation doesn’t explain how it is done, but it does say dead supernaturals who have them usually have a stone placed inside their heart. It acts as a focal point for a spell, but it doesn’t explain what type. Are you certain you don’t sense anything?”

  I shook my head. “I feel a slight trace of dead magic, but that’s it. Is there anything more about the burn mark?”

  “If it was still black, you should have picked something up. With it being faded, the spell must have been completed.” His jaw tightened. “We need to verify there is a stone inside before we make any assumptions.”

  I pulled my knife from the waistband of my jeans and held it out. “Since you’re the expert on removing hearts, I’ll let you handle this one.”

  His lips curled as he took it from me. I moved out of his way and watched as he cut through the middle of the werewolf’s chest. At least dead people didn’t bleed. I didn’t have to worry about blood splatter this time. Lucas made the procedure look almost clinical, though I knew it took more than normal strength to penetrate the ribs as easily as he did.

  When he finished making the vertical cut, he set the knife down and rolled up his sleeve. I knew what he would do next, but couldn’t stomach him doing it this time. Not with a day old body.

  “Wait. Let me grab some gloves.” I went over to a box of them hanging on the wall and took out a pair.

  He lifted his brows when I held them out for him. “I don’t need those,” he said.

  “Yes, you do.” I thrust them into his hands. “If we are going out together tonight, I do not need images of your bare hands digging into a dead man’s body.”

  “I’ve seen you covered in the blood of a werewolf you killed, but now you want to get squeamish over this one?”

  I shifted on my feet. “That was different. He was still alive when all that blood squirted out.”

  “It makes no difference. The mess can be washed off either way.”

  I gave him a pleading look. “Please, Lucas. I’m trying hard to be civil here.”

  “Very well, sensor.” He snapped the gloves on. “We’ll play it your way.”

  He dove into the chest and yanked the heart out, setting it down next to the were’s head. Then he took my knife and cut the organ in half. We both leaned over to see there was a stone the size of an acorn inside. The dead magic felt a little stronger with it out in the open, but I still couldn’t determine what it might have been.

  I brushed some of my hair out of my face. “Are you sure there is nothing in the notes saying what it does?”

  Lucas lifted the stone and held it up toward the overhead light. “No. I’ll call Nik to see if there is anything else in his book, but I doubt he would have left something important like that out.”

  “Have you ever seen anything like this?” I asked.

  He shook his head and put the stone back down. “I’ve seen a few demon possessions, but they were isolated cases. None of them involved killing supernaturals and putting stones in their hearts. We should check the other bodies.”

  I swallowed. “I can’t look at the children.”

  His eyes met mine. “I’ll handle them, but you’re opening the woman up.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but shut it. He’d said I wasn’t weak last night. As much as I hated to admit it to myself, that meant something to me. Now wasn’t the time to prove him wrong by getting angsty over a dead woman’s body. We had to look at them all and at least he would deal with the kids.

  “Fine.” I walked over and grabbed another set of latex gloves. “I’ll need my knife back.”

  He handed it over once I had my hands ready. “You observed how I cut the man open?”

  “Yes,” I said, pulling back the sheet over the woman. She had the same faded black spot over her sternum as her husband. “It will be a little tougher to get through the ribs without your strength, though.”

  Lucas pressed his chest into my back and brought his arms around to my front. “I’ll help you.”

  “Maybe this isn’t such a good…”

  “You don’t really think I’d make you do this alone, do you?” he interrupted.

  There was a dead body in front of me—a woman who’d been murdered in a horrible way. I could keep calm and not get turned on by the man behind me. I could maintain a professional bearing and do the job. Lucas was offering to help and it wasn’t worth arguing over his methods so long as we got the task done.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “You’re welcome.” His warm breath blew over my cheek. “Now press the knife here.”

  He guided my hand to the appropriate spot on the woman’s chest. I cut through the skin until the blade hit the ribs. When I couldn’t push through farther, he added his own pressure to the knife. With our hands pushing forward together, it sliced through easily. I set the blade aside and watched with a surreal feeling as he pulled the ribcage apart. Then he took my hand and guided it inside, helping me to clutch the heart.

  “Lucas, I’m going to be sick,” I said. Feeling the organ within my grasp did not do good things for my stomach.

  “No, you’re not, Melena. You can do this. Just hold it firmly and I’ll help you.”

  I took a deep, calming breath. He was right. I could do this. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  His hands grasped mine tighter and then I felt a subtle charge burst out. The heart
came loose after that. Lucas must have severed everything connected to it with his power. I examined it in my hand after he let me go. All the ends were cut perfectly even so it didn’t look quite as gross as the one he’d yanked out without using his power.

  I set the heart down next to the woman’s head. Forcing myself not to think about it too much, I grabbed the knife and cut it in half. Another stone was inside. I rolled it between my fingers but couldn’t make any more sense of it than the other one.

  “If someone dies like this again, you’re going to have to let me see the body right away,” I said, glancing over at Lucas.

  “You will,” he promised.

  I set the stone down and walked over to the trash can in the corner to peel off my gloves. “Guess it’s time to check the kids.”

  A sheet rustled behind me, followed by another. I felt like a coward that I couldn’t turn around to watch, but dealing with the adults had taken everything I had.

  “They’re clear,” he said.

  I turned around, relieved to see the sheets back in place. “They are?”

  He peeled off his gloves and stepped beside me to toss them in the trashcan. “My guess is the stones only work on supernaturals. The children died in a different manner.”

  “Guess it’s a good thing they were too young for their parents to turn them into werewolves yet.” I looked at the small forms and sighed. “Not that it saved them entirely.”

  “Don’t think about it. It’s easier that way.”

  I looked into his fathomless eyes. “I know.”

  He pulled me into him and leaned his head down. I closed my eyes as our lips touched. It started out gentle, but it grew hungrier. I sunk into it, needing the distraction from the death in the room. He pushed me back into the wall and I wrapped my arms around him. The kiss deepened with each passing moment.

  How long we stood like that I couldn’t have said, but eventually his head lifted from mine. I gasped a lung full of air and looked at him with new eyes. Something was changing between us and it was scaring the crap out of me.