"How?" Gabe gripped Blake's arms, lifted him a few inches, then slammed him back to the hard ground. "How are you infecting them?"
"Want me to tell you?" Blake asked, an odd light flaring in his eyes. He glanced between Gabe and Celeste. "You want me to tell you how we do it so you and the Shadow can ride to the rescue?"
"I'm going to fucking kill you." Gabe let go of one shoulder to drive his fist into Blake's jaw. The infected Warder didn't seem to notice. The look in his eye coalesced into a resigned glee.
"I'll tell you," Blake said, an hysterical laugh ringing in his voice. "First, we—"
***
Celeste watched in shock as Blake's chest began to glow. An amulet, exactly like the wooden discs Warders used for spell craft, only larger and worn as a necklace. A brilliant stream of light burst forth from the circular charm, blinding them. A second later, in a sucking rush, the light drew back into the amulet. Celeste realized it was acting like a calix, the suction dragging the Voratus demon from Blake's body. But instead of capturing the demon's soul, the amulet was setting it free.
Gabe, apparently realizing the same thing, reached for the amulet. He tried to rip it from Blake's neck. The amulet wouldn't move. Celeste wasn't even sure Gabe was able to get a grip on it. His long fingers grasped, slipped, grasped again.
The terrible sucking sound went on, dragging not just the demon, but all signs of life from Blake's body. His skin paled in degrees, losing its healthy flush, taking on a waxy sheen. The spark in his brown eyes dimmed. From the center of the amulet, a cloud of dull, oily red swirled up from Blake's chest into the freedom of the sky. The infecting demon was escaping, pulling a pale gray cloud along in its wake.
With a sinking heart, Celeste watched what remained of Blake's soul leave his dying body. Any information about how the Warders were being infected and who might be involved went with it. Not more than sixty seconds later, the bright light from the amulet flicked off. Blake's body was cold and still. It was over.
Gabe rose to his feet, staring down at the traitor he'd sworn to kill. In the end, revenge was empty. Blake was dead, but not at Gabe's hand.
"He knew," Celeste said. "He knew what would happen if he said he'd talk."
"Yeah," Gabe said. He stepped away from the body, coming to wrap his arm around Celeste's waist. "I think he knew exactly what would happen. Asshole."
"You okay?" Celeste tucked herself into Gabe's side. Reaching one hand to Gabe's shoulder, she felt his injury. Not bleeding. Not completely healed, but getting there.
"Fine. Did they hurt you?"
"Didn't even touch me," she said. Looking at Blake, she asked, "Can I go near him?"
"I don't think there's anything left to be dangerous. Why?"
Without answering, Celeste walked to Blake's body and leaned in. Tentatively, she poked at the amulet. It shifted under her finger, no longer fused to his chest. Trying not to contact Blake's cooling flesh, she pulled the necklace over his head and brought it back to Gabe.
Fashioned of a wooden disc, it was identical to the discs the Warders used in spell crafting, only larger. The discordant buzz of spell craft prickled across her fingertips. She shuddered. Shadows hated spell craft. She didn't recognize the sigil burned on the front. A different sigil was burned into the other side. Also unfamiliar. But Shadows didn't work spell craft. They used crematus discs on occasion and the calix to kill Vorati, but that was it. She looked at Gabe, a question in her eyes. He took the amulet carefully, studying both sides.
"I've never seen these sigils before," he said. "I think Blake used this to hide. To block the Voratus inside him so we couldn't sense it."
"That would explain why his energy signature felt so weird. Not like a Voratus at all. Have you ever heard of Vorati using spell craft?"
Gabe didn't answer right away, just turned the amulet over and over in his hand. "No. One more thing we can add to the list of things they don't do. They don't nest. They don't infect Warders. They don't do spell craft."
"Except the Vorati are doing all of those things," Celeste said.
Gabe put the amulet in his pocket and withdrew a handful of crematus discs. "These are the last I have. Let's get this mess cleaned up and go home."
Taking two discs from Gabe, Celeste took care of the Voratus she'd killed and the next nearest body. She left Blake for Gabriel. Without ceremony, he dropped the disc on Blake's body and moved on. When the five bodies were ash, they waited, hand in hand, to be sure a stray spark wasn't going to start a fire. The crematus discs were designed to isolate their effect, but surrounded by dry, dead leaves, it paid to be careful. The forest settled into a stillness that wasn't still at all, filled as it was by the skitter of small animals and the rustle of a chilly breeze moving bare branches. Gabe took Celeste's hand, gripping it in his larger, warmer one.
"Let's go home," he said.
They walked in a companionable silence for a few minutes. "Did you find Anna? Was she alright?" Celeste asked.
"Scared, but fine. We'll take her home as soon as we get back."
"I'm sorry I left the tower."
"Shh." Gabe leaned over to kiss the top of her head. His lips were warm, his breath hot against her hair. "I know why you left the tower. I would have done the same thing."
"What do we do now?" Celeste asked. She didn't want to break the mood, but she'd rather know where they stood than worry he'd leave. He said he was staying, but what was happening with the Vorati was bigger than the two of them. They'd have to tell their people. And in spreading the news, they'd destroy their privacy. No one would be happy to see a Warder and Shadow together. The divide between their people went back more than fifteen hundred years. It was one of their oldest laws. In her memory, no Warder or Shadow had ever violated it. Every power would demand they separate. That was one thing she wasn't willing to do.
"We go home," Gabe said. "I'll have to talk to someone about what happened with Blake. I want to give her the amulet."
"Her?"
"The Director who sent me here. Right now, I'm not sure who we can trust. Maybe the Vorati are working this spell crafting. Or they have help on the inside. They had Blake. There could be more. I need to let Amelia know."
"I should get word to some of the Shadows," Celeste said, running through possibilities in her mind. Who wouldn't think she was crazy?
"Then," Gabe said, "we live our lives."
"It's that easy?" Celeste asked. The stone tower appeared through the trees, shutters barred, prepared to stand against any assault. Home. At least for now. If she got her powers under control, home could be anywhere. It was a giddy thought.
Gabe turned her into his arms, lowering his head. Mouth brushing hers in a slow, sweet kiss, he said, "It's not going to be easy" His lips moved against her in a soft caress. "Nothing this good is ever easy."
"I love you." The words escaped Celeste in a gust of sound. She hadn't exactly meant to say them. It was too soon. Made her too vulnerable. She didn't care. Celeste saw all the way to Gabriel's soul and she loved him. Uncertain, she studied Gabe's face for a response.
"I know you do," he said. Unable to help herself, she smacked him in the chest. Gabe grazed his lips over her cheek, stopping to whisper in her ear. "I love you, too."
Relief. Then questions bubbled in her mind. How would they stay under the radar? What was happening with the Vorati? She shook her head. They'd figure it out. Dropping her hand to his, Celeste twined her fingers with Gabe's as they finished the short walk home.
***
Later that night, after Anna had been returned home, after Celeste had healed Anna's mother and cooked a simple meal for dinner, she and Gabe lay on the oversize couch, watching the fire. Fitz's well-worn bed still in place beside the hearth. Celeste didn't have the heart to move it. Not yet. If not for the comforting weight of Gabe's arm around her waist, she'd be overwhelmed by grief for her friend. Gabe stroked warm fingertips over her arm, soothing the pain he felt through their bond.
The in
trusion into their lives had already begun. While at Anna's house, Gabe had borrowed a phone and called his Directorate. He’d been surprised to find that the Director Amelia was somewhat tolerant of Gabe's determination to stay with Celeste. Amelia hadn't given explicit permission, but she had agreed to keep their association a secret for the time being. Why, they had no idea. It wouldn't be the first time a Director's private agenda subverted the law. As long as Amelia was working on their side, neither Gabe nor Celeste was prepared to question her.
Celeste hadn't been willing to risk the phone to her uncertain electrical control. Anyway, she didn't have anyone's number. Without a phone herself, she hardly needed to be able to place a call. Eventually, someone would be out to check on her. She wasn't in a hurry. Amelia would pick up the amulet from Gabe in a few days. Would the Director investigate the mystery of an amulet designed to hide Vorati infection in Warders? Or would she shove the thing in her desk and pretend all was as it should be? Celeste didn’t know Amelia at all and Gabe had only grunted and looked disturbed when she’d asked what he thought. He only seemed to care that Amelia would cover for them as long as he agreed to take on specific missions away from Celeste on a case-by-case basis. An easy decision since Gabe had no intention of abandoning his duty. He just planned to pursue it in a different way.
The world of Shadows and Warders was changing, centuries of the status quo crumbling to dust. Their people could not contain the evolving Vorati. Not as they were, divided and at odds. The Warders and Shadows would adapt or fail.
Celeste thought the bond might just be the key. She and Gabriel were stronger together than apart—strong enough to take on any threat. If more of their people bonded, if this connection could happen with others, the Shadows and Warders might have an edge in the coming war. It remained to be seen if their people would change in time to save themselves. Celeste wasn't afraid. Whatever was to come, she and Gabriel would face it head on. Together.
Celeste's challenge, for the foreseeable future, was to learn to control her growing powers. The idea of leaving her isolation in the mountains was tantalizing. They could go anywhere. She let her imagination wander. It had been years since she'd seen the ocean. Or a city. No, the beach. She'd get a bikini. Something with lots of strings and not a lot of fabric. She pictured Gabe tugging on the strings holding a skimpy bathing suit on her body. Slippery suntan lotion. Salt and heat. Definitely. A trip to the beach was first on her list.
Gabe's fingers drew longer and longer arcs over her skin, the pattern growing decidedly more sensual. A hum in her throat, Celeste rolled to face him. She buried her face in his neck, breathing deep of the earthy, herbal scent of Gabriel. His heart beat against her, its rhythm picking up just a bit as she stroked a hand down his back to dip beneath the waistband of his jeans. Hot, smooth skin over tight muscle. The man's ass was a work of art. Celeste squeezed, smiling into his chin when his cock swelled. The bond between them shifted, their warm affection spiking with arousal.
"So," she said in a conversational tone, as if she didn't have her hand in his pants, "you know it’s been a long time for me?"
"Since last night?" Gabe asked, pretending not to understand. She dug her short nails into his tight ass, grinning when he flinched and ground his hard cock into her hips.
"Not counting last night. Before you showed up, it had been years. Decades."
"That's more than just a long time," Gabe said, working his way under her shirt to unfasten her bra. In a swoop of hands, her shirt and bra went flying through the air. "That's a fucking tragedy."
"A fucking tragedy is exactly what it is," Celeste agreed, wiggling her hips to help push her yoga pants off. She'd already popped the button on his jeans. She shoved at them, dragging the fabric out of her way.
"We have three days."
"Hmm?" Celeste asked, already losing the train of their conversation. She had Gabe mostly naked. What did they have to talk about?
"Until I have to meet Amelia," Gabe explained, rolling Celeste to her back, spreading her legs. He tore off his shirt. "Three days."
"Mmm," she murmured. Gabe settled against her, his hard length pressing to her damp opening, then filling her, inch by slow inch, the pressure delicious. With her last scraps of thought, she said, "Lets stay here. On the couch. Naked."
"For three days?" Gabe asked. He pressed in to the hilt and paused, savoring her tight heat.
Celeste arched her back, twisting her hips as she ground against him. So full. Full of Gabriel, his cock inside her, his energy twining with hers, sharing flashes of his pleasure, giving him a taste of her own. "At least three days. Maybe forever," she said. Wrapping her legs around Gabe's hips, Celeste gave up on words.
Their bodies surged together, moving in concert. Wrapped tightly in Gabriel, his arms around her, his soul bound to hers, Celeste knew that no force in their universe could tear them apart. More than desire, more than lust and friendship, the love they shared was a power stronger than anything she'd ever imagined.
Turn the page for a note from the author and a preview of Shadow’s Awakening, Book One of the Shadow Warder series.
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Shadow Warder series order:
Prequel Novella: Shadow’s Passion
Book One: Shadow’s Awakening (August 2014)
Book Two: Shadow’s Pleasure (December 2014)
Do you want to know what happens next? Read on for an excerpt from Book One in the Shadow Warder Series, Shadow’s Awakening.
Shadow’s Awakening: Excerpt
Shadow Warder Book One
Hannah’s pillow was flat. Not surprising. She’d been using it since high school. She shifted her head restlessly, trying to nudge the hard foam into a more comfortable position. No use. The pillow was a loss. Too bad she wasn’t getting a new one anytime soon. Or ever. If she managed to survive her current situation, Hannah was buying a whole new bed. Something big, a queen at least, with five hundred thread count sheets and fluffy down pillows. Tons of them. She sighed.
Her wish list got longer every day. A new bed. Clothes that weren’t dirty and threadbare. Food. Some days she’d give almost anything if they’d feed her something other than PB&Js and frozen dinners. If she knew what her captors wanted from her, maybe she could figure out what to offer in trade. After close to six months of captivity, all they seemed to want was her pain. Hannah would have preferred not to give them any more of that.
As if Glenn read her mind, a thin line of burning agony sliced into her forearm. There were all kinds of ways to cause a human being pain. By now, Hannah thought she knew most of them. When it came to physical pain, some of them liked their fists. Some liked to improvise with whatever they had on hand. Glenn was partial to a blade.
“Tell me how that feels,” he said. His tone was mild. Almost gentle. Hannah had learned to fear his calm more than his rages. “Does it burn? Is it a sharp pain or dull? I’d like you to be more specific than the last time. All your screaming was distracting.”
His round, pale, face was genial. Absurd when paired with the long knife in his doughy hand. Shiny and razor edged, it dripped Hannah’s blood from the tip in a steady plip, plip on the hardwo
od floor of her room. Idly, Hannah wondered how much blood she’d lost if there was enough to drip from the knife. Had to be a lot. The pain in her arms was a warm haze through the fuzzy static in her head. Hannah knew she would have to pretend it hurt more if she didn’t want Glenn to come up with something more inventive. He always knew when she was numbing out. And she was just getting used to the knife.
Glenn changed his grip on the knife handle, pressing the sharp tip into the sensitive nerves of her elbow. A rage of fire shot up her arm. Hannah couldn’t hold back the jerk and thrust of her body as she screamed. Glenn removed the knife and leaned back, a replete smile on his broad face. He stroked her sweaty hair from her face as he watched Hannah’s struggle to calm herself.
“That’s all I wanted, girl. An honest reaction,” he said.
Hannah made no reply. She still shuddered from the echoes of pain in her arm. The sheets beneath her hips were damp. With a flush of shame she realized that she’d lost control of her bladder. Every time she thought there was no further humiliation Glenn could visit on her, he found a way. Her head throbbed with pain and the static that had been her companion for the past three years.
Even before her world imploded and her kindly stepfather became a sadistic monster, her body had begun to fail her. She fought to think through the mess in her head. It wasn’t the pain that debilitated her. Pain she could handle. It was the static, the insistent buzz in her head of a radio that wouldn’t tune in. Like drops of water from a slowly leaking faucet, it had been nothing to start: a fuzzy noise that made to harder to concentrate. Whispers, murmurs that never clarified into comprehensible sounds. Like eavesdropping on a conversation she couldn’t quite hear. Hannah had been able to work around it, the same way she could ignore someone interrupting her when she was on the phone.
Over the space of a few short months the whispering, staticky buzz became a sensation as well as a sound. Unrelenting, interfering in the simplest of thought processes, the fuzzy noise and pain turned a four way stop sign into a decision of monumental proportions. She wanted to believe that she would have found a way to escape Glenn if she could think clearly. If only the buzzing murmurs would just shut up.
Shadow's Passion: The Shadow Warder Series: Prequel Novella Page 13