Whispers of Darkness (The Deadwood Hunter Series)

by Rachel M Raithby

  Chapter 30

  Lexia woke the next morning, a slight pounding behind her skull. She rolled over and realized she was alone. Stepping from the bed she pulled aside the curtain to find the sun a bright orange ball low in the sky, just rising. Her hand absently rubbed over her heart; turning and glancing around the room her heart rate picked up to a pounding tempo. Her jeans were pulled on, a jumper hastily slung over her silk slip. Her feet silently running down the stairs she followed the ache, the pull in her chest. She knew now what had awoken her - the pain, the heart-retching ache in the center of her chest. Only this pain, this unbearable emotion, didn’t belong to her, it belonged to Lincoln.

  Lincoln!

  Caden was passed out in the living room, his clothes in a trail from the front door. She wondered briefly when he’d finished drinking. Stepping outside, she silently jogged past Caleb passed out in a chair, the empty bottle of whiskey discarded by his feet. The fire was a blackened smoldering pile now and Lexia briefly smiled, remembering the fun they’d all had last night.

  She was running, her breath heavy and labored. She had no idea where she was going or how she knew this was where Lincoln was. Lexia’s composure was slowly crumbling, breaking a little more with each passing second. She was near now, far away from the house, from the clearer patches of land that surrounded it. She slowed to a walk, her feet sore and caked in mud, she’d not put on shoes in her haste to find him. The land started to clear, the ground becoming grassy and then she saw him.

  He was knelt on the ground, his shoulders hunched over, his head dropped forward and his hands spread into the grass beneath him.

  Lexia ran to him, wrapping herself against his shuddering body. He instantly turned into her, burying his head into her chest. “Shush, shush,” She whispered, kissing his hair.

  Lexia’s eyes glanced behind him and then she understood his pain, his agony. Simple wooden crosses with names carved into them read ‘Lola Turner’, ‘Nathan Turner’.

  For a while Lexia just held Lincoln, her hands wrapped around his head, fingers tangled into his hair, slowly stroking him until he stilled and looked up at her, his eyes raw with sorrow.

  “How did you find me?” he whispered.

  Lexia smiled at Lincoln, taking his hand and placing it over her heart. “I followed my heart.”

  “It’s the anniversary of their deaths... I’ve never been to see them since they were buried.”

  Lexia crushed her mouth to his, kissing away his pain, replacing it with her love. She pulled back, the raw edge of his sorrow numbed. “You’re not alone anymore, you have me. You don’t have to be alone in your grief anymore.”

  “Everything’s just so messed up, I want to fix this for you but I don’t know how.”

  “Linc, you can’t fix this. Stop hiding from me, stop keeping things from me. We’re together in this, our pain, our worries, our joys, all shared. I realize what it means now to have a mate. You’re not just the man I love but a part of me, you will be forever etched into my soul, a bright fierce light that will never leave me. It doesn’t matter how messed up our lives get, we’ll never be alone, you’ll always be in my heart, as I will be in yours.”

  Lincoln looked up, a smile lighting his face. His lips brushed hers as the ground shook beneath them, the quiet early morning forest shattered with the sound of an explosion. At the same time, Lexia felt her powers come back to her, felt it rush through her veins like fire and she cling to Lincoln as she felt the auras of many Hunters.

  They were up and running before Lexia had even gasped out, “Hunters... lots of hunters... To the east.”

  Lincoln took her hand, cursing when he saw her bare feet. “Lex, your fucking feet!”

  “I’m sorry. I was so caught up in your sorrow, I was desperate to find you.”

  The run back to the house took half the time it had taken Lexia just earlier. As the house came into view, Caleb stood, the chair he was asleep on knocked to the floor.

  Another explosion rattled the forest.

  “I rigged mines all around the perimeter when you first arrived,” he said as they ran up to him.

  They skidded to a stop as Caden ran from the house. “What the fuck was that?” he gasped, looking at them, pulling jeans on as he ran.

  “Caleb here has been planting mines and not telling us,” Lincoln answered.

  Another explosion rattled the forest around them.

  Lexia dropped Lincoln’s hand and walked away from the men as they argued over their next move. Sitting on the porch step, she blocked out their words and let the world drop away. She focused on the swirling darkness, the auras, life energies of the people that wanted her loved ones dead and her as a weapon. The more she concentrated, the more energy left her. She focused on the individual energy’s of each hunter, counting them as they scattered; some were tinted with red, pain. Some faded, flickered as they clung onto life.

  We stick together; she’s safer with us all...

  Take the truck...

  Caleb, this isn’t your fight...

  Lexia snapped back to herself. Her voice, strong and stern, cut their arguments off, “There are just over twenty Hunters still capable of fighting, some will soon heal and join in. We need to spilt up, if we meet them all together...”

  “We could stand and fight. I have guns, there are more explosives,” Caleb said.

  Lexia spoke before they started to argue again. “NO! Caleb they do not know you are here and I do not want Linc’s home being destroyed. You will take the Jeep, fill it with supplies. We’ll run, lead them away... We can meet up later when we’ve lost them. The forest is our territory.”

  “You’re right the forest is our territory, Lex, and we don’t need a Jeep in the forests,” Lincoln said.

  “Lincoln, winter is approaching, I won’t survive living in the wild. We need to escape.”

  “Why not just jump straight into the Jeep now?” Caleb asked.

  “Because if we just leave now, the Hunters will find the house. They’ll destroy it, destroy all the memories, just like they did to my house. If we lead them away from here, they’ll never find it.”

  “How will you even get past them?” Caleb snapped.

  “Because we can move silently through the trees and they can’t.”

  “You’re no cat, Lexia,” Caleb snapped.

  “No, I’m not but I was trained by the best.” Lexia ran into the house and slid her feet into her long leather boots and slid her knives into them. She paused in the doorway for a second and looked one last time at what had once been Lincoln’s home; she could almost picture him as a little boy running and laughing across the wooden boards.

  Another explosion rattled the house walls.

  “Head towards Deadwood, I’ll be along route 90,” Caleb called as Lexia ran toward the sound of the explosions, Lincoln and Caden close on her heel.

  She paused for a second. “Caleb! There is a backpack in Linc’s parent’s room, make sure it’s packed. There is a wooden box in it that can never fall into the hands of my mother.”

  He nodded at her and disappeared into the house. Lexia turned and carried on running, Lincoln took her hand.

  “Can you see where they are without wearing yourself out too much? I think it would be best for me and Cade to stay human with our clothes.”

  Lexia laughed, “Yes I should be fine.”

  When they approached the perimeter, they were greeted with the sounds of moans and shouts as the Hunters called for help. Trees were on fire, huge chunks of land ripped apart, and a smoky haze covered the scene. Lexia took hold of Caden’s hand as well and opened up her ability that could read the life forces of the living. They moved silently as one, avoiding any Hunter injured or well. She gripped onto the hands she was holding as the energy drained from her body and a sheen of sweat coated her skin. God I miss being at full strength!

  “Lex, are you okay?” Lincoln whispered into her ear.

  “Yes, just a little further I can do it,” she
whispered back, moving to her right to avoid an injured Hunter. By the feel of its aura, they were going to die.

  When they’d made it through the mess left behind from the explosions, Lexia snapped shut her mind and fell into Lincolns arms.

  “Shit, Lexia, you’re not strong enough yet!” He picked her up as they started to quickly make their way around the back of the Hunters.

  “I’ll be okay in a minute, you’ll need to roar soon otherwise they will find the house.”

  Lincoln’s eyes were full of concern and she could feel the anxiety coming through the bond but he just nodded his head and carried on moving.

  A few minutes later Lexia said, “Linc, put me down. We need to lead them towards us before it’s too late.”

  “I’ll run with you,” he protested.

  “No, I’m fine. You can’t shift and fight carrying me.”

  “Okay, but stay near my side, okay? I’m not losing you.”

  Lexia brushed her thumb across his cheek. “We’ll make it through this. Now roar, baby.”

  It always amazed her how a human body could make such a noise. She pulled her knives from her boots as his roar echoed around them sending birds up into the sky and Hunters their way.

  “Run!” Lexia yelled as she felt them coming.

  The three of them dashed through the trees, leaping over fallen branches and ruts in the earth. Branches whipped past Lexia’s face, against her body but she never slowed. She could hear the noisy path of the Hunters behind her but a quick look in her mind’s eye confirmed they were scattered across the forest in groups no larger than 4. They’d make easy prey split up. Lexia stopped and stood with her back to a tree as she waited for the lone Hunter to cross her path.

  “Lex!” Lincoln hissed a few trees up. She held her finger to her lips and gestured for him to hide.

  The Hunter made no effort to silence his footsteps across the ground. Knife ready to strike, Lexia whipped out from her hiding spot and swiped the blade across his neck. She was running before his body slumped to the ground.

  “They’re scattered in small groups, we should take some of them out.”

  “I’m not leaving you, Lex,” Lincoln stated in a stern tone. Lexia knew there’d be no point protesting, he’d never budge.

  “I’ll take to the trees, you stay with her,” Caden said as he stopped.

  “Caden, are you sure?” Lexia asked.

  “Yes, here,” He threw his jeans at Lincoln. “I’ll catch you up.”

  Lincoln took her hand once more and dragged her forwards as Caden disappeared into a mass of lights and took to the trees as a sleek leopard.

  Lexia ran with Lincoln letting him lead her as she kept her focus on Caden. She knew she shouldn’t as it would drain her already short supply of energy but she couldn’t help but worry.

  She tensed as he hovered above the dark light of a Hunter but he took the Hunter out and moved on.

  “Hey Lex,” Lincoln squeezed her hand, “he’ll be fine, I wouldn’t have let him go if I didn’t think he could handle himself. He’s a lot stronger since he accepted his leopard so stop keeping an eye on him.”

  “I just worry. I don’t want him to get hurt because of me.”

  “Lex, stop. He’ll be fine and the longer you watch his energy the more tired you’ll become... We are going to need your strength, Lex. Out of all of us you are the one that will get us out of this. You’re the strongest, the fastest.”

  “You’re fast.”

  Lincoln chuckled, “I am but when you change I’m nothing compared to you.” He changed direction, taking them west back towards route 90.

  “I hate it, Linc. I don’t want to be like that,” she whispered.

  “I know you do, baby, but what you don’t see is that when you fight, you are nothing like them. Your heart is what makes you so strong, and your determination to save those you love. I’m not stupid to think we aren’t going to have to fight our way out of this, but when we do fight, don’t hold back, Lex. Never give up fighting, okay?”

  She nodded her head and then felt Caden’s energy approaching. He dropped down seconds later in front of them and shifted.

  “Jeans,” he panted, “I took out five but there are quite a few out in this forest. They stopped following me though, I think they are regrouping.”

  “Let’s get out of here then, Caleb should be waiting by now.”

  The three of them started to run again. Lexia was feeling tired, though. Her calves burned with strain, slowing her down. Lincoln kept hold of her hand keeping her going.

  “Come on Lex, not much further and we’ll be in the Jeep,” he said, urging her on.

  But as he said those words Lexia felt Hunters, they were heading straight for them. Her legs faltered and she nearly tripped. She pulled Lincoln to a stop, Caden stopped too and turned to look at her.

  Lexia put her hands to her head and tried to focus her mind, she needed to see what they were facing.

  “Lex? Lex, what is it, what’s wrong?” Lincoln said, his hands covering her own.

  “Cade’s right, they did re-group. There’s ten of them up ahead, they are coming right at us.”

  “Do we fight?” Caden asked, his voice a sharp rasp.

  “No, I’m too tired. We can’t fight them and guarantee I won’t get poisoned again.”

  “Then we run!” Lincoln growled, turning and running back the way they came.

  Lexia lost track of the direction she was going in. She clung to Lincoln’s hand, concentrating on the calming feelings flowing into her from their bond. She knew she was slowing them down, could feel the Hunters gaining on them but no matter how hard she pushed her tired body, it wouldn’t go any faster.

  Lincoln tracked left. “No, we can’t go that way!” Lexia gasped, feeling more danger.

  They ran a little further, Lincoln in front and Caden behind to get through the trees that were now very tight together.

  “Linc... Linc, isn’t this the way...” Caden yelled and then cut off.

  Lexia skidded to a stop, Lincoln and Caden at her side. She looked down the cliff at the raging river below them.

  “Yeah Cade this is the way. Shit I should have recognized the place; Dad never let me up here.”

  “You were a kid, Linc,” Lexia whispered.

  “Cats don’t like water,” Caden said, slightly out of breath.

  “Cats don’t like Hunters, either,” Lincoln said as he looked over his shoulder at the fifteen Hunters that had just skidded to a halt barely four meters away from them.

  Lexia took hold of Lincoln’s hand and then Caden’s.

  “You’ve reached the end of the line, Lexia. You have no choice. Come with us quietly and I promise the shifters will live,” said Derrick.

  Lexia smiled, glancing over her shoulder and then back at the raging river. “You say that like your promise means something, Derrick.”

  “It does, Lexia. I keep my word.”

  “Your word means nothing to me, and there is always a choice.” She jumped, gripping her hands tight and dragging Lincoln and Caden with her.

  The fall was fast and she only managed to drag in a small breath before she hit the water. It felt like crashing through an ice wall. The current took her the second she hit the water but she clung onto Caden and Lincoln’s hands as she was dragged under. Desperately kicking her legs, Lexia sucked in a deep breath as she broke the surface.

  Lincoln came up seconds after her, his other hand wrapped around her waist. As she felt Caden’s hand nearly tugged from hers, she pulled back and Caden broke the surface with a gasp. For a second the three of them seemed frozen, just floating in the water while it raged around them, but then the current took hold of them tossing Lexia like she was a toy and slamming her into a rock. The air left her lungs and Lincoln’s arm left her waist, his hand ripped from her grip as she was dragged under, swallowing water.

  Lexia held onto Caden’s hand like it was her life line. She was tossed over and over, water raging past he
r, cold and furious and unrelenting. She was slammed forward into another rock but managed to hang onto it.

  Her arm was pulled as Caden carried on but she didn’t let go and started to pull him towards her. His head surfaced and he sucked in a breath, his eyes going wide, water dripping from his hair.

  “Come on! Grab the rock,” she screamed to him as gunfire went off.

  Bullets flew into the water around them with a pop pop, one grazed her arm as she pulled Caden towards her. Screaming as her flesh burnt, she refused to let go of him as more bullets were fired.

  She heard someone shouting from above and the gunfire stopped as Caden got hold of the rock she clung to.

  “LINCOLN!” Lexia screamed, looking all around her but couldn’t see any sign of him. “LINCOLN! LINCOLN!”

  “Lex, there!” Caden said, urgency in his tone.

  Lexia looked in the direction Caden was pointing to see Lincoln floating face down in the water. She didn’t think. Gripping Caden’s hand Lexia pushed off the rock towards Lincoln. They managed to stay above the water but they were being dragged the wrong way. Lexia pulled against the current trying to rip Caden’s hand away and kicked with her legs towards Lincoln. She felt a fresh wave of power course through her muscles giving her enough strength to reach him.

  Her free arm wrapped around him as the current took her again. Her head was dragged under as she tried to keep Lincoln’s head out of the water. As her head broke the surface, she gasped in a breath shouting to Caden, “Hold onto my waist. I need both arms to keep his head out of the water!”

  She was dragged under but felt Caden wrap around her waist lifting her. Lexia turned Lincoln’s limp body around and looked at his face; blood covered the left side of his head. He was a dead weight and kept on dragging her under as she struggled to keep him above the surface.

  “He’s not breathing, Caden!” she spluttered. “We need to get out of the water.”