“I convinced Levi to let me teach him how to control his abilities, with the idea that we would both rejoin society and live out our lives together.”
“Best-laid plans,” Dex said, giving her a commiserative smile.
“Yeah. For a while, we thought it worked. We traveled the world, never staying anywhere more than a few years. There were a few incidents, but nothing major. I thought we’d conquered our troubles. But, it turns out, we were just canceling each other out. Our combined power—his draining, mine giving—left the humans more or less the same after we passed through. It wasn’t really a solution, but we took it for a good sign. Things went well for, oh, three hundred years or so. But then…”
She trailed off, and the look of abject sorrow on her face made Dex grow cold. He crawled onto the bed, sat beside Sydney, and tucked her against his side. She smiled gratefully as he put an arm around her. Sam, for his part, took up a position on her other side, carefully threading his fingers together with hers. She seemed to take comfort in that and told the rest of her story to the empty part of the room.
“We had a falling-out. I honestly don’t remember the argument anymore. Something stupid, I’m sure. I got so angry, I left him alone in a roadside inn. I was gone for two weeks.
“By the time I came back…”
She paused, took a deep breath, and said, “Levi had turned everyone in the nearby village into a darkling. He did it on purpose; it was the first time that he’d used his power with deliberate intent. I found him sitting in the inn’s common room, sipping ale, watching a group of darklings rip each other to pieces. It was…horrifying. He was egging them on, urging them to kill each other. I was so shocked I almost threw up.”
Bitterness colored her voice. “When I confronted him about what he’d done, he said he needed the entertainment. He’d gotten bored waiting for me to come to my senses, and decided to experiment. By that time, I think he’d forgotten he was half-human. Centuries of life without purpose had left him jaded. I hadn’t seen it before then, but I think I must have sensed it. We’d been having…marital issues…for at least a decade before that. But I never thought he would sink to that level. The full-bloods, the true immortals, they were the ones who liked to play with humanity. He and I were supposed to be different.” The last was said in a pained, crackly whisper.
“What did you do?” Sam’s question rumbled with sympathy.
Her ice-blue eyes went hard and cold as glaciers. “I tried to save them. Tried to use my power to give back what Levi had stolen. But since I am only half Seraphina, my power is less…powerful. I couldn’t restore what Levi had taken away. And so…I killed them. Three hundred people. Three hundred former people, that is. Three hundred darklings.”
Dex said nothing, but he did squeeze her shoulder to let her know he was still there. God, that must have been awful. To be forced to kill that many people, all because your husband slipped over to the dark side…
“I left him for good,” Sydney said, voice flat. “Told him if I ever caught him draining souls like that again, I would hunt him down and end him. He thought I was joking, of course. He never believed I would truly leave him. But I did. I fled, going as fast and as far as I could. I ended up in the New World, just another settler. I thought having an ocean between us would be…better, somehow.”
“But it wasn’t,” Sam said.
Her smile turned wistful, edged with bitterness. “For a time, actually, it was. I made a new life for myself. Traveled all over the New World, met lots of interesting new people. I put Levi out of my mind, forgot about immortals, forgot about everything that made me so different from other humans. I just…tried my best to start over.
“But it didn’t last. I made a mistake. It cost me everything.”
Neither man said a word, allowing her time to collect her thoughts.
“I met someone,” she said finally. The careful blankness behind her expression gave Dex chills. “His name…well, it doesn’t matter what his name was. He was human, and I…I fell in love with him. And he fell in love with me. I…I never told him what I was. I couldn’t bear it. Somehow, I convinced myself it would be okay, that he wouldn’t notice that I didn’t age the way he did. But of course, that didn’t last. After we’d been together for about twenty years—with no children to show for it—he confronted me. I told him the truth, of course. I loved him; I couldn’t lie to his face any longer. And he…he ran from me. Took off and never looked back.
“After that, I convinced myself I would never take that risk again.”
Sam and Dex both moved in closer, sandwiching her between them, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“It was a stupid declaration, of course. Eventually, I did fall in love again. His name was Michael. He was a rancher…right here in Montana, as a matter of fact. This was back in the early days of American expansion, around the time of the Beef Bonanza. Michael had a giant herd of beef cattle that he took all over the Great Plains. I met him by chance when I was stopping for a rest at a ranchers’ meet. He fell in love with me the moment he laid eyes on me. I told myself I didn’t love him back, but…I lied to myself. When he asked me to join him on the cattle trails, I went with him without hesitation.”
A sad, nostalgic smile. “We…had fun together. I convinced him to give up the cattle trade and settle down on a ranch, and we started keeping house. It was good that I did, because the Great Freeze happened a couple of years later. We’d have lost everything if we’d still been running the trails. But anyway, we set up our little life together, and I kept hoping it would just…stay that way. But, of course, it didn’t.”
“What happened?” Dex asked.
Silence fell. Then, she whispered, “I got pregnant.”
Both men sucked in shocked breaths.
“I gave birth to a baby girl. We named her Harmony. Even though she was still an infant, I sensed the power in her—weaker than mine, but still, it was there. I told myself I would teach her about her heritage myself, train her the way I wish I’d been trained. I saw her as my new beginning, and I thanked Michael every day for giving me that gift.
“By then, of course, he knew there was something different about me—thirty years of marriage, and I still looked exactly the same. But, unlike my previous lover, Michael didn’t care. When I finally told him the truth, he accepted me with open arms. I loved him even more after that, even though I feared his time was growing short. I consoled myself that I would always have his daughter to remember him by.
“But…I didn’t get to keep her, either.”
Her tone went dark, desolate. “I didn’t know it then, but Levi had been hunting for me. He finally found me there, on my little ranch with my little family, and he…lost it. One night, while we were sleeping, he snuck onto the property and killed all our animals. Then, the next day, when we rose to discover the carnage, he made use of the distraction.
“He killed my husband and my daughter. Snuck up on them while I was pulling dead horses out of the barn. I didn’t sense him until it was too late. He did it so fast, I couldn’t stop him.”
“Fucking bastard,” Sam hissed. Dex could feel his partner’s anger like a scorching-hot blanket thrown over the room.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Dex said, his chest tightening with grief. “I am so, so sorry.”
Sydney remained emotionless. “He fled. He’s a coward at heart, so even though he wanted to make me suffer, he was too afraid of me to confront me head-on.
“That was over a hundred years ago, now. I’ve been chasing him ever since.”
That solemn declaration, spoken without any underlying emotion, would haunt Dex for the rest of his life.
The mattress shifted, drawing Dex out of his reverie. He looked over to find Sam’s silvery-gray eyes watching him in the dim room. They exchanged solemn smiles, then both men looked at Sydney. She slept on, seemingly peaceful, but they both now knew she was anything but.
She’d been chasing her ex-husband for over a hundred years.
In that time, Levi had been using his power to create more and more darklings, all to make an army to stand between him and his enraged ex-wife. And all this time, Sydney had been trying to hunt him down all by herself, all while the Agency fumbled about in the background.
So many things became clear after Sydney told her story. He didn’t blame her for keeping it secret, especially given how powerful Levi truly was. The Agency thought it was some kind of plague, not something brought forth with deliberate intent. If they knew the truth, if the DEA got wind of the existence of such power, they’d do everything they could to capture the source of it.
But they would not, under any circumstances, try to kill him. An ability like that would provide an unstoppable weapon for any nation that could make use of it. No way would they allow such a weapon out of their hands. They would try to find a way to control Levi, turn his ability toward their own ends, long before they would ever consider killing him.
And that, right there, would be the Agency’s ultimate downfall.
They couldn’t take that risk. Dex and Sam were both in perfect agreement on that. No matter what, they had to help Sydney find her ex-husband and put him in his grave. The darkling-maker had to be put down.
There was, quite simply, no other choice.
Chapter 21
“I can’t believe you made me wear this stupid harness thing again,” Dex grumbled from the backseat.
Sam chuckled as he glanced in the rear-view mirror, meeting Dex’s glare with a self-satisfied smirk. “What? We didn’t get around to playing with it last night. When at first you don’t succeed…”
Dex rolled his eyes and turned away, grumbling under his breath, which made Sydney laugh. Sam gave her a soft smile, reaching over to squeeze her knee before putting his hands back on the steering wheel. “You doing okay?”
Loaded question. They were about fifteen minutes away from the site of Marlon’s party. If that hunting pack had been sent to kill them—and if their subsequent survival set off warning bells—they might be in for another fight once they arrived. They wouldn’t know what to expect until they got there, which had put all three of them on edge.
Sydney gave him a soft smile, then glanced out the windshield. She gestured with her chin. “Pull over up there. In that small wooded lot.”
Sam raised an eyebrow but didn’t question her. He turned the SUV off the two-lane highway and cut the engine, then sat back with a look that said, “Well?”
Sydney popped open the passenger-side door and gestured for both men to get out with her. She walked around to the back of the vehicle, lifted the trunk, and started rummaging around in a small black bag as the two men joined her.
“What’s this about?” Sam finally asked, unable to keep quiet.
“New toys,” Sydney said over her shoulder, flashing him a wink. She went back to rummaging. “Marlon said we can’t bring traditional weapons. Since I can’t have either of you going in there defenseless, I made a few surprises for us to sneak in with us. Here. Both of you, take off your coats.”
Sam and Dex exchanged questioning looks, then did as ordered. Sydney held up a handful of what looked like decorative pearlized-glass button-caps, the same kind fancy suit-makers used to hide unsightly garment clasps. She marched over to Sam and began applying them to the buttons on Sam’s shirt.
“Uh…Syd?”
She winked. “Relax. These aren’t for decoration. You know those fancy grenades they use to distract big groups of hostiles? The ones that make a lot of light and noise?”
“You mean flash-bangs?” Dex said, watching her apply the button-caps.
She nodded. “These are more flash, less bang. Just pop one off and throw it against a hard surface, or drop it to the floor and step on it. Do it hard enough to crack the glass, but make sure you close your eyes before you do. It’ll create a flash of light that will blind everyone in the vicinity for a good two minutes. Should give you some cover if you need to make an escape.”
“Impressive,” Sam said, frowning down at the cap he could see. It looked like a normal shirt decoration. “Where did you get them?”
“I made them this morning,” she said, flashing him a smile as she attached the last one.
Understanding dawned. “It’s your power, isn’t it? You put some of your power in there.” He hadn’t realized she could do such a thing.
She turned to Dex. “Unbutton your shirt, Dex. You won’t be wearing it once we enter the club, so no point in putting these where they won’t be useful to you.”
He scowled, making both Sam and Sydney grin in response, but he did as ordered, unbuttoning his shirt and letting slide down his shoulders. Sam didn’t bother to hide his groan at the sight of Dex’s hard chest, once again wrapped in that delicious leather harness. Fuck, he looked good.
Sydney took a moment to admire the view herself, then set about placing the little discs over the metal rivets at the end of each leather strap. She made a point to let her fingertips linger over any exposed stretch of skin, making Dex shiver and bite his lip.
When she finished, Sydney smoothed her hands down Dex’s chest, purring. “I cannot wait until people see you in this. Fuck, Dex. You’re going to cause a riot.”
He snorted. “They won’t be looking at me. Not with you in that outfit.”
Sam had to agree with that. Sydney wore a black lace corset that molded her spectacular figure into a perfect hourglass. Her breasts plumped over the top like luscious pillows, inviting a dive into that deep cleavage. Black satin ribbons crisscrossed up the front and back, revealing tantalizing diamonds of smooth, white skin underneath. She wore a short skirt of black lace that cupped her gorgeous ass, along with black fishnet stockings. Her so-called “stabby” silver stilettos finished off the outfit perfectly.
Sydney flashed them both a grin, then went back to rummaging in her bag. When she came back, she held two small leather packets, each about the size of cigarette pack. “These take longer to make, so I don’t have that many. Sam, take off your belt.”
He did, handing it to her silently. Sydney hitched herself up into the cargo area of the SUV, laying the belt across her lap, and carefully opened one of the leather packets. Sam leaned in and saw what looked like a collection of sewing needles, all neatly laid out in perfect rows.
“What are those?”
“I just call them needles,” Sydney said absently. She took a firm grip on the tail of Sam’s belt, withdrew one of the needles from the packet, and gently pushed the sharpened tip deep into the leather. When she finished, it lay parallel to the belt’s stitching, only a thumb-width sticking out. “Use these as a last resort. Aim for the neck or eyes, or at an area of exposed skin.”
“What do they do?” Dex asked, craning his neck to watch as she placed another needle through Sam’s belt.
Sydney looked up at him, then glanced around. She gestured with her chin. “Demon mushroom, twelve-o’clock.”
Both men turned. Sam saw the white mushroom cap growing from the trunk of a nearby tree. Seconds later, Sydney flipped one of the needles toward it—
And the mushroom exploded, making both men jump back with a curse. A cloud of ash and mushroom bits rained down on the forest floor as a tiny curl of smoke rose from the crater where the mushroom used to be.
Sydney raised an eyebrow at their incredulous looks. “Like I said, use these as a last resort. And for God’s sake, don’t prick yourself. They’re only good for one use each, so use them sparingly. Once you break out these bad boys, everyone will know you’re armed, so make sure you have an escape plan before you resort to them. And, remember to aim for exposed skin. You don’t want these going through anything fabric.”
Oh, he really didn’t want to know, but he had to ask. “Why?”
Sydney shot him an ironic smile, then glanced around the back of the SUV. She found a scrap of linen, probably left behind by the car’s previous owner. As they watched, she held up the fabric—carefully, at arms-length—and pulled out a second ne
edle. She thrust the point through the center of the small scrap.
At first, nothing happened. Seconds later, the scrap burst into flames, disintegrating into ash almost before Sydney could drop it. She looked from one to the other of them as she wiped her fingers on the carpet in the cargo bay.
“Because real flames are messier. They won’t react to leather, metal, or plastic. Anything else will ignite, so be careful.”
“Jesus Christ,” Dex muttered under his breath. Sam said nothing. Both men watched in silence as she decorated both belts with a series of needles, spacing them evenly around each length. When she finished, Sam reached for his, but she shook her head.
“I have one more toy to add. I trust you both have blades hidden in your belt-buckles?”
Dex scoffed. “Of course. Never leave home without it.”
She chuckled, then slid Sam’s belt through her fingers until the buckle lay in her lap. She found the tiny hidden clasp behind the buckle and popped out the slim blade. She gripped the tiny handle with one hand, then pinched the flat of the blade between her thumb and forefinger. She slid her fingertips along the length of the blade, moving slowly. Then she did it again, starting from the bottom and working her way upward. With each pass, the blade began to glow a little brighter, until Sam had to squint just to see past the brightness. When she finished, the blade looked like a tiny white flame, shining so bright it made his eyes water. It stayed bright for a few heartbeats, then winked out.
Sydney sheathed it, then handed Sam his belt. She took up Dex’s belt and started doing the same thing to the blade hidden in his buckle.
“These will be good for multiple uses,” she said as she worked. “One cut to an exposed area of skin will be enough to kill. Same rules as the needles, though—don’t try to punch through fabric unless you want to have to deal with human torches.”
“Duly noted,” Sam said as he carefully put his belt back on. He’d been afraid the needles would catch on his belt-loops, but Sydney had stuck them in such a way that they didn’t hinder movement. Clever. Very, very clever.
The Darkling Hunters_Fox Company Alpha Page 26