“What? Then you know about the attack on the rebellion base back in Monkshood?”
“What attack?”
“The King ordered it when he found out they were after Quinn, at least that’s what I’m assuming. Shay checked it out… it wasn’t pretty.”
“Fuck… why are they after Quinn? Why the hell is the King after her?”
“I’d tell you but you wouldn’t believe me and since we have managed to find a common ground here, I don’t much want to rock that boat. Suffice to say, she’s powerful. More powerful than any immortal I’ve ever seen.”
“So both sides want her?”
“Something like that,” Slade said with a grimace. It was true, technically.
“But… if it’s just power they’re after wouldn’t it be smarter to just recruit more immortals in general? I mean, it’s a hell of a lot of trouble to go to for one scrawny woman,” Aaron said peering over at the ‘scrawny woman’ in question.
“Scrawny? I don’t know, you haven’t seen how much power she has, Aaron. She took out a whole settlement of outlanders to save my ass,” he reminded him, feeling somewhat defensive of the sleeping redhead.
“I thought you were exaggerating about that…” Aaron returned to musing once more, this time pouring over the map in between furtive glances at Quinn. Slade watched her sleep for a while too but it wasn’t long before he found himself slipping into a light, dreamless sleep.
The night was dark, the sun yet to rise, when Slade was awoken by a loud thudding coming from the front door. He stood as quietly as he could, quickly realising that Quinn was no longer curled up on the sofa. Padding softly down the carpeted hallway, the thudding sounded once more followed by, ‘open up, in the name of the king.’ A sickening feeling rushed through him at sounds of movement behind him, turning and readying himself for anything he was relieved and somewhat pissed, to see Aaron standing there, his eyes bright with excitement. He always did love a fight, that one.
“Where’s Quinn?” he whispered, his voice barely above a breath.
Slade shrugged before motioning towards the kitchen. Aaron nodded, pointing to the bedroom. Slade poked his head around the door but other than leftovers there was nothing of interest. He heard a soft yelp coming from the bathroom and turned on his heel. He arrived in time to see Quinn lowering her knife from his little brother’s throat. She definitely knew how to make friends, that was for sure. Luckily though, Aaron seemed impressed, wild eyed but impressed. Sick bastard. The thudding sounded again only this time it seemed the men on the other side intended to knock the door off its hinges. Quinn huffed out through her nostrils, twirling her blades in her hands as she made towards the door. Her pale fingers lighting up like wicks at the end as she moved with determination and no short amount of malice. Clearly thinking along the same lines, both Aaron and Slade reached out at the same time, each grabbing an arm and dragging her backwards. She hissed at them both and they practically carried her into the kitchen as the door sounded once more. Quickly and quietly, Aaron threw open the hatch to the basement. A steady warmth permeated the air, wafting up from below. Certainly hot but not the roasting oven it had been. Quinn protested silently at first but eventually Slade was able to force her down the metal staircase. He climbed down after and Aaron closed the hatch with a light thump.
“Where’s Shay?” Slade whispered as they listened to Aaron’s purposefully loud footsteps heading towards the door.
“She went to look outside when I got my knives from your bag. I tried to stop her but she wouldn’t freaking listen,” Quinn muttered angrily but he could hear the concern behind her irritation. Hells, he felt the same mixture of emotions, though, there was a little pride in there as well. Damn girl was as stubborn as he was, maybe even more. They listened as Aaron swung his door open, not exactly having to fake being pissed off, as he commandeered the soldiers rousing him from his slumber. Muffled voices and the thudding of boots on the floors above echoed throughout the basement with a vengeance as Slade found himself stepping in front of Quinn at the foot of the staircase. Though, in hindsight that was ridiculous. Between the two of them she was more powerful and better equipped to handle an onslaught. He hadn’t even thought to grab his guns. Some protector he was. Still, he stood guard over her just in case. Sweat was dripping down his forehead, bleeding into his eyes as he began to pant in the heat. It was almost unbearable. He gripped the bottom of his black t-shirt and pulled it over his head in an effort to cool himself down. He felt Quinn hold her breath behind him and chanced a glance at her. She was looking at his back with a look of concentration, squinting in the darkness, the only light sifting through a small gap in the hatch above. He frowned at her in question when she looked up and caught his eye but the whisper about to fall from her lips was interrupted by noises from above.
The thudding of the soldiers boots grew louder and heavier as they made their way into the kitchen, just above where they stood. Quinn reached out, gripping his arm with, what he assumed was anticipation rather than fear. He felt her shake against him as adrenalin coursed through her system and he reached up, placing his hand over hers. She stopped shaking, in fact she froze altogether. He looked over his shoulder to find her staring at their hands, well specifically, his hand over hers and he attempted to pull away, feeling more than a little insulted. As his fingers left hers she suddenly clasped them and pulled them back to where they had sat before. Only now he was holding her hand instead of covering it. He stared at their interlocked fingers for a moment before glancing up at her but she was adamantly staring at the hatch above. Her determination to look at anything but him made him grin but it also made him curious. The way she held onto him as though she had never felt the touch of another before, though he knew that to be untrue. It reminded him of her words in the outlander camp, something about really feeling someone? He wanted to ask her but clearly the timing wasn’t appropriate. Hells it wasn’t appropriate to be even considering such things, yet here he was with a smirk on his face and a glimmer in his eye. If there really were Seven Hells as most of the preacher types claimed, he was certain he was going to have his pick when his time came. Not for this, in comparison to some of his other life adventures this was a fairly minor indiscretion. Still, he was glad he wasn’t being judged on the content of his mind right then and there… The footsteps faded away, along with the muffled voices and he was fairly certain the soldiers were leaving and Shay appeared to confirm his suspicions. Of course her eyes automatically zoomed in on his and Quinn’s clenched hands and of course Quinn ripped her hand away as though he were burning her. And then of course there was an awkward silence broken only by Shay’s wiggling eyebrows. Another reason why he couldn’t wait for her to be back in her true form. How the hell did you strangle a spirit?
“They’ve gone. It was a raiding party and erm… well, Claren sent me down here to tell you,” Shay said with a grin.
“He did?” Quinn asked, dubiously.
“Uh-huh, so you better hurry up. I got the feeling it was some sort of test,” she said, throwing one last suggestive glance between himself and the redhead before disappearing through the hatch.
“I… lets go,” she murmured, clearly uncomfortable, before following after his daughter, except she had to actually go to the trouble of opening the hatch before she climbed through it. The hardship.
“Why did you come up? I didn’t give you the signal,” he heard Aaron mumble from the sitting room.
“Shay said… Shay? What the hell is going on?” Quinn answered, frustrated. He followed into the sitting room preparing to calm the situation but his brother surprised him.
“I’m sorry… I’ve come to certain… realisations and I think I may have been a bit harsh,” he offered with sincerity.
“A bit harsh? A total dick, maybe… but I got it you know. Protecting the family and all that. What I don’t get is why you’re apologising for it?” Quinn replied, straight to the point.
“As I said… certain realisati
ons. Let’s leave it at that,” was his answer, terse but still, well meant.
“Fair enough. What’s with the raiding party?”
“They come out every so often. Used to be once every other moon but they’ve increased patrols to every few days now. Something’s got them stirred up… is it you?”
Quinn puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes as she muttered, “probably,” under her breath, peering behind the curtain and through the window beside Aaron. “What did they say?” she asked, when she finally surfaced.
“That they’re looking for a redhead, a drunk and the spirit of my almost departed niece,” Aaron mumbled drawing a disapproving frown from Slade and something that sounded suspiciously like a growl from Quinn. Shay, naturally, just giggled. Ever since she was a child, her Uncle could do no wrong. Hell, even when he had been considering putting a bullet in her own Father’s brain pan she wasn’t angry with him. Could be, she was just wise beyond her years but Slade suspected there was some serious favouritism going on right beneath his nose.
“They said they were searching every property in the area for rebellion sympathisers but seemed to me that they were looking for someone more specific,” Aaron finally deigned to give a proper answer though Slade almost immediately wished he hadn’t. This complicated things even more. He was dreading the discussion he would have to have with Quinn about getting some outside help. She didn’t appear to be the type to accept help from anyone.
“I think this is going to be more difficult than we thought… we’re gonna need some help,” Quinn murmured, peering behind the curtain once more. Slade stared at her back in dubious disbelief and even Aaron seemed taken aback by it. Eventually the silence caused her to turn around with a question on her face. “What?” she asked.
“You wanting help… it’s an oddity,” Slade explained with Aaron and Shay nodding along with his words. “It just doesn’t seem like you.”
“Right… because you know me so well,” she muttered sarcastically before continuing in a frustrated tone, “look, I’m intelligent enough to know that with the heightened security we wouldn’t make it through the city let alone the fortress. Besides that, I don’t want to use my gifts if I don’t have to. They’re unpredictable and I can’t control my actions. I don’t like it.” He frowned, cocking his head as she avoided eye contact. There was something she wasn’t saying. He just wasn’t sure what. “We only have until tomorrow evening to gather some resources though so… any ideas?”
“We have until the night after next actually. Shay checked on your sister when you were sleeping,” Slade said, still a little shocked by her candidness.
“You did? Is she alright?” Quinn took an anxious step forward, but beside that there was nothing to indicate her concern. Still, Slade saw it and it made him want to take a step forward himself. To comfort her with the touch she seemed to relish in the basement. Yes… just comfort… right?
“Yes she’s okay, the soldiers had cordoned her off from the other captives. Apparently, she was healing them faster than they could hurt them and they were becoming a little rebellious.”
“Sounds about right… was she hurt?”
“Not that I could tell. She seemed pissed but not hurt,” Shay said with a grin. Quinn struggled to return it and Slade could see the obvious strain in her face though he doubted either of the others could.
“What’s going on? What did she say?” Aaron said, looking between Quinn, Slade and the space he assumed Shay occupied. Quinn glanced at him, probably to see if he was being serious before moving towards him and touching his arm lightly. A short, sharp intake of breath and Slade witnessed the moment his brother came face to face with his daughter for a second time.
“Shayby? Shit…okay… so… Quinn’s sister?” Aaron murmured after clearing his throat. Quinn frowned as she looked between him and Shay, still failing to understand his sudden change of heart and Slade couldn’t really blame her. Unpredictable, he thought again, shaking his head in amusement at his brothers failing attempt to appear unshaken. A few minutes later and Aaron was up to speed, though Slade’s mind had wandered from the here and now and into somewhere a little darker and tinted in green. He had sat down on the sofa and tried to pay attention to the conversation developing between them but his eyes kept travelling to Quinn’s hand on his brother’s arm. How comfortable it seemed there and how her eyes would travel down to look at it every so often before looking at him in what appeared to be confusion. Why did it bother him so much? She was helping him to see… there was nothing more to it than that. She didn’t want Aaron’s touch as she had wanted his in the basement… but then, what if she did? It didn’t matter, it wasn’t important right now. She had said she would be gone once their mission was complete so none of it meant a damn thing. So then, knowing all of that, why did it bother him so much? Hells, she was granting him a long standing wish at that moment, seeing his brother talking to his daughter, believing she existed, and yet here he sat resenting it. Seven hells, indeed.
Chapter 11
The next few hours were a lot of back and forth between the four of them. Eventually they made their way into the dining room and each took a seat with a bottle of rye whiskey between them. Quinn sat near Aaron so he could hear Shay’s contributions but she didn’t feel too comfortable with it. She wasn’t sure how hard she was gripping him, could barely feel his skin beneath hers but beside that it made her feel somewhat dirty. She couldn’t explain it but there it was. Every now and then her mind would wander to the feeling of Slade’s hand in hers. She could feel everything. A deep sensation of warmth, lighting every nerve beneath his touch on fire. His hand had sent tingles down her spine, electrocuting her from the inside out. She could barely describe it. It was as though his touch had pulled her through a grey haze, into a world full of colour and the moment she had pulled her hand free from his she was back in the monotone reality she had always known. It wasn’t the first time she had felt his touch but in comparison to the other moments of skin brushing skin, it felt like it. She had half expected to feel Aaron as fully as she did his brother but there was nothing. It was muted. There but not there. She pondered this as she sent furtive glances towards Slade who seemed to have been in a perpetual mood of irritation since they had sat down.
“So, we need help. I know where to get some,” Aaron suddenly announced and Quinn realised the room had been awkwardly silent for a few minutes.
“Where?” She asked, dubiously.
“The rebellion.”
“No.” she hissed. “They’re freaking crazy. They want me just like Jackson does.”
“I have a few friends that I can trust. They’ll help me because I ask them to and no other reason,” he said simply.
“But…” she started to protest as Slade stayed grumpily silent but Aaron was already up and out of his chair, leaving the dining room with a spring in his step. Quinn stared after him with a scowl on her face before turning her attention to his older brother.
“You think that’s a good idea?” she demanded, a little pissed at his lack of interest.
“No.”
“So… why aren’t you stopping him, he’s your brother?”
“Exactly. He’s my brother. I know him. He is as stubborn as anyone, almost as stubborn as you. Tell him no and he’ll do it anyway. If he thinks he can trust them,” he said with a shrug, “I trust him so…” he trailed off, as though that explained everything. He seemed… melancholy. It was annoying.
“What is the matter with you?” she asked, irritated.
“Oh I don’t know… perhaps it’s the mammoth task we have ahead of us, or maybe it’s the King’s men that are actively searching for us? Or it could even be that my daughter is a fucking ghost? Or, and this is my favourite, maybe it’s the seven hells of shit we’ve landed in since I met you?” He shouted the last, stood from his chair and stomped out of the room. Quinn watched him go, slack jawed and pissed off. Days… days she had spent with him and though he had shouted at her
before, never had it been so hurtful. He had only spoken to her like that once and it was when he thought she was giving his daughter false hope, but here they were planning to save said daughter, after everything they had shared, and he decided now was the time to be an asshole. Hells, no. She stood up and stomped after him, finding him in the blue carpeted bedroom she vaguely remembered from earlier. He was standing with his hands on the wall and his head bowed as he breathed deeply, apparently trying to calm himself. She knew she should have taken pity on him but hells, she was too angry.
“What in the hells in wrong with you, Slade? You know, we are all under pressure here. You are not the only one who is worried, or scared, or suffering. You know, I was nearly raped yesterday and you-“
“What?” he whirled round, a fire in his eyes and he seemed three times his usual size as his anger rolled off of him in waves. “Who?” he growled, low and hungry for vengeance. Vengeance for her… she dismissed the thought, ignoring the leap her stomach gave.
“It doesn’t matter. He’s dead. I killed him. But that’s the point, Slade! We are all going through shit and blaming me is unfair. I did not ask for this anymore than you did and if you think that I-,” once again she was cut off but not by his words this time. By his mouth. He surged forward and leant down in one smooth motion, faster than the eye could track and his lips met hers with a ferocious need. She was stunned for a moment, her lips tingling with the unfamiliar yet wondrous sensation. His mouth moved against hers as one large hand threaded itself into her hair, cupping the back of her head as the other snaked around her back, pulling her body closer to him and then, before she knew what she was doing, she was kissing him back. His hot, soft tongue snaked inside her mouth and she found herself massaging it with hers, lost in the sensations he was giving her. Her hands fluttered over his broad shoulders, touching anywhere they could, feeling his skin beneath hers, she gasped into his mouth as each nerve ending was set alight with the feel of him. He pushed against her and she felt the wall behind her as his body gently slammed against hers. She pushed back, her hands moving from his shoulders to rest on his chest, not pushing him away but needing to be closer. The hand that held her back slid lower until it was cupping her ass. He lifted her easily and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her back still resting against the wall as his mouth moved from hers and travelled down her neck; leaving soft, electrifying kisses in its wake. The sensations overtook her, awakening something in her that had always laid dormant. A soft white light emanated from her fingertips, forming long white tendrils that wrapped around them both, looping in and out of their joined flesh. Slade shuddered and let loose a low, throaty groan as they seemed to flow over him, around him, through him. It aroused her more and the white light seemed to brighten so much, intensifying the sensations she felt so much it almost hurt. The best possible type of pain. His hand released her head to grip her hands from where they rested on his chest and pinned them to the wall above her. Her head fell back in wonder as he left a hot wet trail with his tongue getting lower and lower and –
Dancing with Shadows Page 11