Dark Solace

by Tara Fox Hall

  “Why are you so dirty?”

  “I’ve been gettin’ breakfast for myself, catchin’ some fish,” Lash drawled, his accent deeply Southern. “The bott’m of the water heeya is deep mud. Even bein’ careful, I steel got splashed. It’s been a long time seeynce I did it, seeynce I hay-ed the strength and speed ta do it—”

  He put his hand in mine and squeezed gently.

  “Talk so I can understand you, snake,” Titus growled, his eyes red. “Your voice has not changed along with your body. Your mind is still the twisted thing it always had been.”

  Lash gave him a cold look, but when he spoke again, his words were far more clipped, and his accent almost nonexistent. “I’m in your debt,” he said seriously, his words only slightly accented. “I owe you big for this, Sarelle—”

  “Call me Sar,” I said softly, giving him a smile.

  Lash leaned down and kissed me quickly, his mouth moving on mine. I was so surprised, I let him.

  “Stop,” Titus rumbled immediately. “She isn’t yours.”

  Lash leaned back from me and shot him another nasty look. “I never said she was, Titus. But I’ll kiss her if I want to without any shit from you about it.”

  “What did you give me?” I asked Titus.

  “I gave you some of my blood,” he replied. “You’re young enough that it will help you to replace the blood you lost much quicker than any other spell. Time was of the essence.”

  “I would’ve never have guessed demon blood was the magical cure-all of the ages,” I muttered.

  Titus laughed, a great bass rumbling. “It wouldn’t have helped, Sarelle, except that you already are part demon. It was the only thing I had to try, anyway. Otherwise Lash would have had to turn you.” The anger and disgust in Titus’s tone when he talked about Lash turning me was deep as the ocean behind us. I felt his blackness surge out of him momentarily before he clamped down on it and drew it back into himself.

  I didn’t look at Lash. He’d wanted me to be what he was, and now we would never coil together like he’d wanted us to. I couldn’t say I was sorry for that. While I’d have done it to save him, I hadn’t truly wanted to be weresnake. My reprieve now was that much sweeter, that I had been able to save him without losing my humanity.

  “I always wanted a daughter,” Titus said gently in his deep voice, startling me a little. “Now we are truly kin.”

  I’d never drank blood before, and was queasy now knowing that I had, even if I was also grateful. As I couldn’t say I thought of him as a father, I just squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”

  “People are going to start walking around being touristy,” Lash hissed. “You’d better get back to Danial’s.”

  Shit. It was dawn. I was going to have a lot of explaining to do. “I should get back—”

  Titus and Lash pushed me back gently to the bed. “I need to go. You need to stay here and rest,” Titus said sternly. “He took over half of your blood, Sar. You are going to need at least a few days to recover.”

  “I can’t!” I replied, frantic. “They’ll already be looking for me! Theo will be—!”

  “They were delayed in Canada,” Titus said smoothly. “Leri staged an assassination attempt, pretending to be a rogue vampire. Theo is looking for the vampire, and until he finds him, Danial and Devlin are staying there, because they are reluctant to lead any danger to you or the children. Theo won’t find anything, but he’ll search at least a few days before giving up. It’s taken care of.”

  “But they’ll still call! They’ll know I never showed up at Danial’s!”

  “Leri is being you,” Titus said. “She’s wearing your form, and lying in Danial’s bedroom, pretending to be tired and worried. I had her do a little yelling and screaming like you usually do, and everyone’s giving her a wide berth. No one suspects.”

  “I don’t yell that much,” I said, miffed.

  Titus rolled his eyes.

  Weird as this was....it was good news, except now I was going to have to be gracious to Leri for going over and above for me. “What if they get home before I’m well? Theo—”

  “She’s agreed to be you at a distance, not between the sheets,” Titus said, baring his rows of teeth. “We need to get you home before they return. Leri had enough trouble just talking to Danial on the phone. He’s by nature suspicious. She’ll never be able to fake it well enough if he sees her in the flesh.”

  It was always Danial who knew when something was up. It was eerie, the way he knew me. “Why did you cover for me?” I said, curiously. “You told me not to come.”

  “And admit to Devlin I’d lost his Oathed One, who I was supposed to be guarding?” Titus said, laughing again. “Not a chance. He would have kicked my ass back to Hell in no time.”

  Hell, as in the real place. I swallowed hard.

  “Lash, keep her here, and make sure she rests,” Titus continued. “Sar, I’ll see you in a few days.” He left the tent, walking into the swamp.

  I cut my eyes to Lash, who was watching me, a hungry look in his eyes. “Be right back,” he said, then went after Titus.

  I turned over and closed my eyes. Then they abruptly snapped open.

  “Would it hurt her, if I was with her again?” Lash was asking Titus.

  I sat upright and looked outside. Lash and Titus weren’t even visible; they were at least a hundred feet away in the brush, yet I could hear them as if they were right in front of me.

  “Lash—” Titus growled, blackness boiling out of him in an engulfing wave.

  Lash hissed in response. “I care for her. You know that, demon. I want to be with her, if it’s safe for her. Just give me a fucking true answer for once.”

  “I’d swear she was a succubus if I didn’t know better,” Titus said sarcastically. “Lash, so long as she wants you to, I don’t see the harm. Her body is already healing from the blood loss. Besides, I know you already had her when she was risking her life to save you and couldn’t stop you—”

  “You motherfucking son of a bitch—” Lash snarled.

  “Stop it!” I snapped aloud.

  There was dead silence. They had heard me, far away as they were.

  “Lash did what he could, Titus. It hurt a lot, saving him. And if you had helped me instead of trying to stop me—”

  “I figured when you found Lash, you’d call me.” Titus said angrily. “I didn’t think you’d try to save him alone, without at least some magic to ease your pain.”

  “There wasn’t time.”

  “I’ll be coming back for you, Sar, two nights from tonight,” Titus said. “And Lash, you had better be ready to let her go back with me to Devlin.”

  “I like her, it’s true,” Lash hissed, irritation in his cold tone. “But I’m not going to be Theo, betray my best friend for a woman, even one that saved my life. You know me Titus, even if you detest me. You know that’s truth.” He paused. “I’ll let her leave with you. I’ll come back a few days after that, in my truck. I’ll tell Devlin the truth, all of it.”

  “I know you will,” Titus growled, the unsaid warning again in his tone. Then he said some words.

  A glow surrounded my body, then seemed to sink into me. Titus had reactivated the tracking spell. It was clear he didn’t trust Lash not to take off with me.

  “Keep her in bed,” Titus said. “She shouldn’t walk any distances for a while.”

  “You should help me get her to the hotel,” Lash said. “I can get her a room there. She’d be more comfortable. The nights can be cool out here, and if it rains, the tent will take on water, where I’m camped—”

  “Maybe tonight,” Titus said, glancing at him. “But not until then. Don’t move her out of bed, Lash. And don’t keep her up all day either, no matter what she agrees to—”

  “Stop being such an ass!” Lash hissed loudly, his fangs back in his anger. “I just took almost all her blood! I’m not going to try to fuck her brains out right after doing that! I just didn’t want to do something that might hurt
her—”

  “Everything you touch gets hurt,” Titus intoned, then his blackness lifted, vanishing.

  “God damned rotten bastard cocksucker—” Lash hissed, and then he abruptly fell silent.

  A few minutes later he came inside the tent and shut the door. “Sorry about the language,” he hissed. “We should have assumed you might hear us after that demon blood.” He changed, his fangs receding and his eyes becoming human again. “Sit up. You need to eat.”

  Lash gave me some water, an apple, and two sandwiches he’d brought from the convenience store on the pier. He cut up the apple for me first, and fed me the pieces slowly, then the sandwiches. Lash helped me drink a little more water when I was done eating.

  “Do you want me to get you more food?” he said, putting the trash to the side on a bag. “Are you still hungry?”

  I was, but I was also feeling better and better by the minute. There was only one thing lacking. “Chocolate?” I said hopefully.

  Lash looked at me as if he didn’t know what I could be talking about. After holding my eyes for a few seconds, he very slowly grinned, then produced several chocolate bars. He broke those up into chunks and fed those to me, then gave me another drink of water.

  When I was done, he wrapped me up in the bed blanket, lay down beside me, and held me. “Sleep, Sar,” he said softly, stroking my hair. “I’ll be here. You’re safe.”

  I noticed his hands were warm as they used to be, though the calluses he’d always had were missing. I fell asleep listening to his heartbeat. It was strong now, the beats more regular and much slower than they had been.

  * * * *

  When I awoke, it was midmorning, the sides of the tent bright with filtered sunlight. While I was still achy, I was a good deal stronger. Lash was beside me, propped up on one arm, looking down at me. He was under the covers with me now, but his body was not touching mine.

  “Do you feel stronger?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said, my voice soft and sleep-filled. “I desperately want a shower.” I began to raise myself up slowly with effort.

  “Lie there for a while yet,” Lash said, reaching out to push me back down with his hand. “I’ll get you a room later today, and you can shower. But you need to rest now, like Titus said.”

  I yawned, then lay back down, rolling over towards him so that my hands were against his chest. I was still naked, but I didn’t care. Lash still had on his shirt, though it was open down the front.

  It was on the tip of my tongue suddenly to ask him if some gnomes had gotten to him while I’d been asleep. It was coming home to me just how close I’d come to dying last night, and I wanted to be comforted, to feel his warm, familiar body against mine. But when I put my hand on his chest, instead of scales, there was only chest hair and warm skin. I recoiled, biting my lip.

  Lash grabbed my hands, stopping me from moving back. He took in a deep breath, then let it out, his skin rippling as scales formed under my hands. “Better?” he hissed softly.

  I looked up into his flat eyes.“Yes,” I said gently, and then burrowed close with a sigh.

  * * * *

  I woke again at dusk wrapped in Lash’s arms. His leg was thrown over me, the weight holding me immobile. He was snoring faintly.

  I kissed his cheek. His eyes snapped open and he tensed, then he saw it was me.

  “Mornin’,” he said, stretching. Then he looked at the tent sides, which were rapidly darkening. “Or evenin’.”

  “Can you get me a room?” I asked hopefully. “I’d love a shower.”

  “Of course,” he said, grabbing for his jeans. He slid them on, then handed me my clothes from last night. “Give me a moment to pack up some of my stuff.”

  I put on my wrinkled clothes as quick as possible, given I still felt tired and sore. You should be happy you’re moving at all, for almost being drained.

  Lash strapped on his weapons, grabbed my bag by the bed, then helped me to my feet. Although I’d felt strong when I’d been sitting, standing was something else. Lash had to walk beside me, steadying me, as I walked to the truck. Once he got me settled in the passenger seat, he walked to the other side, got in, and started the engine.

  “What about your equipment? Your tent and your gear?”

  He turned his head slightly to look at me. “Do you want me to stay in the room with you?” he said, holding my eyes. “I don’t have to.”

  He wanted sex, not just HBO and a toilet without mosquitoes in it. “I need your help to walk,” I said quickly. “I’ll need your help to climb stairs, shower, and probably do a lot of other gross stuff.”

  “The demon blood will work by tomorrow,” Lash answered, putting the truck in drive. “I can stay the night with you. No one will take anything here I’d miss.”

  I waited in the truck while he went in and got us a room. When he came out, he helped me up to the room, then laid me carefully on the king-size bed. “Stay here until I get back with the bag,” he said firmly. “Don’t shower until I’m back. I don’t want you to faint in the water, and drown.”

  That was bullshit; he just wanted to shower with me. He’d gotten a room with only one bed for a reason. I kept that to myself and just nodded.

  I used the bathroom while Lash was gone. It took me a while to get there and back, and I nearly fainted, but there were some things I simply could not ask him to help me with and this was one of them. I looked in the mirror afterwards, supporting myself on the sink with both hands. I was astounded at how awful my appearance was. No wonder Titus had been pissed off at Lash.

  I was haggard, pale as ivory, and looked every inch of my thirty-four years, my eyes a little sunken in my face. Basically, I looked like hell. My neck was the worst; a huge purplish bruise all down the left side, and in the center of that, two ragged holes from his fangs. They were bloodless, raised, and sore to the touch. There was also blood smears on my neck, on my top, and in the snarled mess of my hair.

  I touched my clumped hair, wincing. I’d been meaning to get it cut and highlighted. In fact, I’d been going to go to a walk-in hair salon today, and have it done. So much for that.

  I made it back to the bed just in time to collapse on it. Lash came back in the room a few minutes later.

  He quickly started the shower, and adjusted the temperature. Then, he helped me off with my clothes, and stripped his own off. Soon after, he was helping me into the shower, and steadying me as I carefully washed away the blood and sweat from my hair. The water felt wonderful, but the warmth of it made me weak and a little dizzy, so much so that I ended up hanging onto Lash’s neck to support myself.

  Without asking, he took the washcloth from my hand and took up where I’d stopped. He was gentle, nothing in his touch that indicated that he was doing any of this for any reason other than I needed him to. His hands didn’t linger on me, and he didn’t stroke my body as he soaped me up under the rapid fall of the water. After helping me rinse off the suds, he shut off the shower, quickly wrapped me in towels and threw one around his shoulders. Then he helped me back to the bed, rubbing my body dry before he covered me up.

  It was so good to be clean, and the bed felt softer than anything. I was out like a light.

  When I awoke in the predawn hours, Lash was under the covers with me, naked, holding me loosely. To my surprise, I was dressed in my plain nightgown.

  He must have put it on me while I was sleeping. I was touched, knowing he’d done it to make me feel more relaxed. But I was anything but relaxed. The hardness of his lean body was pressed to my side, his erection flexing gently against me.

  I’d seen him when he undressed before showering, and later, when he’d put me to bed. Both times, he’d been erect. All I had to do was offer, and he’d take me up on it...

  Lash let out a faint snore, then shifted slightly, hugging me. I let myself relax back against him, falling back asleep.

  * * * *

  I woke up about dusk, my stomach growling with hunger. Ravenous, I turned my body in hi
s arms, and looked up at him. “Hi.”

  Lash looked down at me with a faint smile. “You’re warmer, Sar,” he said softly, as he pushed back my hair with his hand. “Do you feel any stronger?”

  I was hoping I looked better, but I didn’t say that. I had other more important things to think about, like food. “I’m better, but I need to eat something,” I replied. “Will you go with me? There’s a restaurant here, if I remember right.” Lash was younger now, but had his need for raw food changed with his appearance? “Are you hungry?”

  “Of course,” he drawled. “I’m starving. If you want to go in the bathroom, I can dress out here.”

  While I was dressing, I checked myself in the mirror. Titus’s blood had taken effect. My face had lost its paleness, and my eyes were full of life again. I didn’t look the picture of health, but at least I looked a little less like death warmed over. My neck wound was healed for the most part, the bruise having faded almost completely. But my hair was a mess from showering and not conditioning it, not even brushing it.

  “You ready?” Lash said from outside.

  I looked at the snarled mess, and grabbed the brush halfheartedly. This was going to take a half hour maybe, if not longer. “When I’m done brushing my hair.”

  Lash opened the door, took one look at me, and then took my brush from my hand, leading me into the other room. “Sit on the edge.”

  I sat down and he sat behind me, pulling my hair to my back, smoothing it a little.

  “Hold still,” he said softly, and began brushing.

  While he was doing his best, my hair was much too long, and badly snarled. And I was hungry and impatient.“Take your knife and cut it.”

  “No,” Lash said, not stopping his brushing. “Dev loves your hair. I’m not going to cut it.”

  “Do it,” I said firmly. “I’m missing my hair appointment. They are expecting my hair to be shorter, Lash.”