Stephanie Rowe - Darkness Unleashed

by Stephanie Rowe - Darkness Unleashed

"So, how on earth could I be your guardian angel, if I was brought here to kill you and everyone else? I've even begun to do it, when I took Dante's soul."

  He stared at her, and suddenly, she saw recognition dawn in his eyes, a truth he'd been unwilling to accept until this moment. For what felt like an eternity, he didn't move, then he dropped her arm and walked away, turning his back on her.

  Regret filled her, but at the same time, a sense of liberation, a freedom from being held to the highest standard by this man who honored her only for who he thought she was.

  After a long moment, he turned back, and his eyes were an even deeper black. "If you aren't our guardian angel, who is?" His voice was bitter and dark, making shivers run down her arms.

  "I don't know."

  "You didn't run into any of them trying to protect Dante when you went to kill him?"

  She shook her head. "No. No one was there from the spirit realm."

  "There was an angel," he muttered. "The oracle said the angel of death."

  She frowned, trying to follow the change of subject. "What oracle?"

  "When Dante freed me, an angel helped him. She was an oracle, a seer of the future. She read my future and then gave me a golden light while I lay dying from my wounds. She said an angel of death would come to me and bring life." He looked at her. "That's you, Catherine. You. I've been looking for an angel of death ever since. For centuries. You're the first one I've found. It has to be you."

  Her heart ached at how badly she wanted to be the woman he saw her as, to be something other than what she was: an angel who killed, a mother who had failed to protect her child. "Then she meant something else, Ryland. I'm not the guardian."

  Again, he considered her, then resolution flashed across his feature. "Fuck it." He grabbed her hand again, and turned her palm up. "Maybe you're not the Order's guardian, but you still matter. The oracle said you were coming, and here you are. I don't know what you're going to do, but I've been waiting almost a thousand years for it. I stand by my pledge." Then he jabbed the end of his machete into her palm.

  She yelped and tried to jerk her hand backward, but he didn't release her. Instead, he dragged his free hand over the end of the machete, so that both of their palms were bloody. His gaze fixed intently on hers, he slowly raised her palm to his face and pressed his lips to her wound. Electricity hummed through her, and heat crashed around her. "I can't—" she protested.

  You can. You wanted the protection of a sheva bond? This is it. This is your protection. No matter what, I will save you as my mate...my mate by proxy, I mean.

  Her body went cold, her hands started to shake, and sweat trickled down her back. "You don't understand, Ry—"

  I do understand. You were betrayed by the man you gave your heart to. I get it. But are you willing to risk your daughter because you're too damn scared to ask one more man for help? A man who owes angels a life debt. A man who has been looking for you for hundreds of years. A man who has the skills to get us all out of here alive. The man who is the only fucking chance your daughter has?

  Tears burned in her eyes, fear gripping her so tightly she felt like her entire body would collapse from the strain. I love her, she whispered. I love my daughter with every ounce of my soul. I can't let her be trapped here.

  He held his bloodied palm toward her. Then be brave enough to help her.

  Catherine ignored the offering and stared at his face, searching for the promise she needed. Will you make me a pledge? As my soul mate? As a man who treasures angels? As the man I know you are?

  Honesty burned in his eyes. Depends. I won't promise what I can't deliver.

  She encircled his wrist with trembling fingers. Will you promise that if I die, if my spirit dies, that you will find Lucy and bring her out of here? The same way Dante did for you?

  He didn't answer.

  She closed her eyes as anguish washed over her. Of course he wouldn't promise that. If he had to choose between Dante and Lucy, he would choose Dante.

  Simon made you promises, he said. Do you really put so much faith in words? Words betrayed you already. Why do you ask for more? Why do words mean so much to you?

  "Because it's all I have! I trusted my instincts and I was wrong!"

  Were they? Challenge glittered in his intelligent eyes. Or did instinct give you all the signs you needed, but you were so desperate that you ignored them?

  "What? How can you say that? I'm not that stupid—"

  No. Not stupid. He placed his bloodied palm over her heart. You were broken. Enslaved by your gift. Simon was your chance for freedom. You took it, because you're a survivor, because you chose a path that gave you a chance, despite the risk. I know, because I did the same thing.

  Tears began to roll down her cheeks, and she put her hand over Ryland's where it was resting on her heart. "I was so scared of what I was becoming," she confessed softly. "I was haunted by what I'd done to the angel enclave."

  I know, Cat. You chose to survive at that time, and Simon was the answer. The bastard then preyed on your vulnerability, but in return, he gave you the tools you'd been missing. Wisdom. Power. Determination. Focus. You aren't the woman you were back then. You got it all now, sweetheart, and you just have to believe in it. You know whether to trust me. Don't let fear win. Let intelligence and instinct win. He tapped his fingers on her chest, over her heart. Listen to this. It never lies.

  Catherine felt warmth spread beneath his palm, emanating out through her body. His touch felt like a gift, a great gift from heaven. She stared at him, at this monster with the silvery scales and claw-tipped fingers. What was he? What was he truly?

  Honor. Truth. Loyalty. Power. Empathy. Hope.

  And the other side of the coin: Death. Destruction. Violence. Murder.

  But nowhere in him did she sense deceit, lies, or dishonor. It simply wasn't there…or was it that she couldn't see it? Because all she could see was a man who made her heart sing, a protector her entire soul hungered for, a warrior she wanted with every fiber of her being. The intensity with which she ached for Ryland was far beyond anything she'd ever felt for Simon. What she'd felt for Simon had been enough to obscure her ability to see his true self, which meant that what she felt for Ryland could also be strong enough to keep her from seeing past her own cravings for him. How could she know what was Ryland's truth, when her perception of him was so entangled in a deeper need that could overshadow all else? How could she—

  With a low growl, Ryland fisted the front of her shirt and yanked her over to him. He slammed his mouth down over hers, and the kiss erupted within her. Fire. Heat. Desire. She could taste the copper of her own blood in the kiss, still on his lips. Her entire body leapt into awareness, and all her walls fell, crumbling beneath the sensual assault of the man she craved so badly.

  You can't think things like that and expect me to behave honorably. I can hear every damn thought in your head about how badly you want me. Ryland's voice was rough and raw in her mind, igniting a cascade of fireworks of desire.

  You are honorable, she protested.

  No, I'm not, and we both know it. If I was, I wouldn't be coveting another man's woman, and I wouldn't be kissing her. He framed her face with his hands, angling her head as he pressed deeper for the kiss, taking more, offering more, giving her everything he had. I'm the one who's a bastard, Cat, and we both know it.

  No, you're not. Her heart swelled for this man who was so rough and so tormented, who didn't even understand love or kindness, yet made her feel safe and protected even when she shouldn't. He was addictive and dangerous and—

  He swept his thumb over her lips, and awareness began to sing through her. Her lips began to tingle, and desire pulsed low in her belly. Ryland? What did you—

  He captured her thought with another kiss, so deep that it seemed to unfurl something buried inside her. Something more than desire. Something more than lust. Something more than need. Something that ached so badly it seemed to bruise her deep inside—

  You
are mine. His voice was a feather whisper through her mind, and then his finger slipped past her lips. More coppery taste. Her blood? Dear God, no. His. He'd completed the blood bond?

  You bastard! Fear exploded through her, and she started to pull away, but then something changed. The fear, the resistance, the anger…they were all instantly banished by the fierce, uncontrollable need that thrummed through every level of her being. Not just need. That same longing in her soul as she'd felt before, but now it was a thousand times more intense. The ache in her heart was beautiful, as if the bruises were the result of a battle won, of freedom achieved, of life and home finally coming together as one. She turned her head into his touch and accepted the gift of his blood, his soul, and his eternity.

  Sweet, Catherine. Ryland's voice was a caress, so beautiful it was as if he were an angel himself, a sound that seemed to lift to the heavens and cascade down upon her in a shower of snowflakes and warmth. Mine to you. Yours to me. Bonded by blood, by spirit and by soul, we are one. No distance too far, no enemy too powerful, no sacrifice too great. I will always find you. I will always protect you. No matter what the cost. I am yours as you are mine.

  The power of his speech was mesmerizing, and she knew instantly that it was Ryland speaking, not Thano, not as a proxy. His words bled with a thousand years of suffering. They hung with death. They reverberated with a passion born of a heart so powerful it could survive anything. It was Ryland, the truth of who he was, filling her, offering himself to her, swearing his allegiance to her.

  The answer rose within her, unbidden, and she welcomed it, offering it with the same purity of truth that Ryland had. Mine to you. Yours to me. Bonded by blood, by spirit and by soul, we are one. No distance too far, no enemy too powerful, no sacrifice too great. Ryland, I will always find you. I will always keep you safe. No matter what the cost. I am yours as you are mine.

  This time, when she felt the burn on her arm, she knew it was Ryland's mark, Ryland's connection, Ryland's claim. She was Ryland's, and right then, in that moment, in his arms, in his kiss, it was exactly where she wanted to be.

  * * *

  Still in the midst of battle with the cloaked warriors, Thano sensed Catherine behind him. He whirled around toward the entrance of the nether-realm, shocked by the sudden intensity of her presence in his mind, so powerful he was certain she was standing right behind him.

  She wasn't.

  There was nothing but the vast darkness of the cavernous entrance, and the odious mist drifting from the opening. Urgency pulsed through him, a need to connect with her. To find her. "Catherine!" he shouted.

  No answer.

  "Hey!" Zach yelled at him, and Thano spun around just as a massive cat-like creature leapt off a nearby rock right at him, massive teeth bared, ready to kill. Its eyes burned red with insanity, and its black and green striped fur undulated with living shadows as it launched itself at them. Apollo sidestepped with incredible speed, and Thano struck the creature as it hurtled past him, its claws trying to gut the horse as it passed.

  "Too slow, kitty cat—" Thano taunted, then swore when shadows fell across the clearing. He looked up as dozens of the grotesque cats emerged from the trees, launching themselves at all the warriors at once, not just him and Zach. "Incoming!" he yelled.

  The other men looked up, and with a chorus of fearsome shouts, they abandoned their battles and engaged the creatures. The enemy became the ally, loyalty springing up between clashing Order members united against a common goal. The battle launched into a full-scale assault, with Zach and the five mysterious Order members fighting side-by-side, defending against the onslaught, allied by the need to survive. Thano kicked his horse into a gallop, plunging into the fray, when Catherine's presence filled his mind again.

  Swearing, he reined Apollo to a stop. What the hell was going on? Catherine?

  No reply. No connection. But as he opened his mind, he suddenly realized he knew exactly where she was, deep beneath the earth, as if he were linked to her directly. At the same time, he felt Ryland's presence, and he realized what had happened. Ryland had blood-bonded with her. What the hell did that mean?

  Weapons were clashing all around him as the others defended against the creatures that had cornered them. "Zach!" Thano shouted. "We need to get into the nether-realm—" Another wildcat landed on Thano's back, ripping open his flesh with such force that he felt the bones in his shoulders shatter. It yanked him off Apollo and dragged him over the rocks. Zach and the others were pinned down against the far side of the cliff, their space being ruthlessly encroached. No chance they could come to his rescue.

  Thano jammed his halberd over his shoulder into the creature's head, a last desperate attempt to free himself. The creature howled with agony, and then clamped his mouth down over Thano's neck. The teeth sank deep, tearing flesh—

  Apollo reared up over him, his massive hooves flashing as he slammed them down onto the creature, crushing it beneath the sheer force of the blow. The beast died instantly, its teeth still clamped around Thano's throat as it convulsed in the throes of death, deepening the wounds.

  "Go party somewhere else, you son of a bitch." Thano pried the creature's jaws free with his halberd, gasping when it was finally off. Blood was cascading down his neck, and he knew that an artery had been torn open. He fell back down, too weak to stand. Apollo positioned himself over Thano, his forefeet on either side of Thano's head, his rear feet braced and ready, protecting his master as more creatures attacked, drawn to the scent of blood and the temptation of death.

  Thano stared up at the belly of his horse, and knew that Apollo was his last protection. "Stay with me, buddy," he said, as he closed his eyes and directed all his energy onto his neck. He had to heal now, right now, or he would be dead within a minute. He concentrated on the wound, visualizing the slowing of the blood loss, the sealing of the artery. But even as he did it, his strength began to wane. He was losing too much blood too fast.

  He was going to die.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Thano's brand was still on her arm.

  Ryland's insides turned to a fermenting, dangerous boil when he looked at Cat's arm and saw Thano's halberd sitting smugly on her skin. Son of a bitch. He grabbed her wrist and stared at it. "How the hell is that possible?" How could it be Thano's halberd traveling down her arm, almost finished? The blood bond had been between Catherine and himself. Not Thano. It hadn't been by proxy. There was no way that it would have felt like that. No fucking way.

  But there was Thano's weapon, filling in even as he watched.

  That fucking halberd was on her arm. Not his machete.

  He wasn't going to deny the truth anymore. The sight of Thano's brand on her arm seriously pissed him off.

  "What are you talking ab—" Catherine followed his glance, and she paled. "No," she whispered. "That's not right."

  Wrath and irretrievable anger began to swarm inside Ryland, emotions that were so dangerous to his self-control. He could not go there. He would not go there. "Fuck!" He wrenched his gaze off her arm and searched her face. "Tell me you're mine," he gutted out, not even caring about being honorable enough to respect his teammate's claim on her. Not right now. He couldn't turn Catherine over to Thano. Couldn't even handle the idea. He was too close to the edge, and he needed this to be right. Thano's brand might be on her arm, but she could overrule it. She could deny it. She could fucking take her life for her own, and he needed to hear that her choice was the warrior standing before her. "Tell me that there is no fucking chance on this planet that you belong to Thano."

  Catherine's eyes widened, and he saw the deep fear in them. Fear of being bound to anyone, including him. Crap. He realized she wasn't going to be able to say it. That was the one thing Catherine couldn't give him: herself. Stumbling away from her, he tried to pull his shit together. "We need to get to the temple," he rasped out, ruthlessly directing his thoughts to the battle they faced. "Come on. Now." His wrists hurt, and he knew that the cuffs would soon be appea
ring. He had no time to obsess about Thano stealing his damned woman, or her inability to give him what he wanted. They had to go!

  He grabbed her hand and started loping relentlessly through the wasteland, knowing exactly which parts were solid, and which places would send them spiraling downward into hell if they stepped on them. Catherine ran beside him, her breath coming in short gasps as she labored to keep up. Against his will, he glanced over at her. She was too damned pale. Where was the woman who had run hard with him through the woods, having no trouble keeping up? "What's wrong?"

  "I'm almost out of life force," she gasped. "I need light. Or a soul."

  "How can an angel be out of light? That's what you are." He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her over an innocent-looking trickle of water that promised acidic torture.

  "I'm an angel of death," she said, limping along beside him. "It's not the same thing. I can't generate my own energy. I'm a parasite."