"Kian," my voice sounded out of breath. Every nerve ending still begged for his touch. Tears and snot covered my face.
Kian's eyebrows slightly raised, and he had a smug look on his face. Everything about him exuded sex.
My eyes were drawn to his exposed chest where the shirt opened. I clasped my hands to avoid reaching out to caress him. Trying to calm myself, I began to inch away.
"Like I said, you can fight it."
He moved, so he was over me. Our eyes even. "However, fate cannot be changed. Or undone." He kissed my cheek, and my body leaned into him begging for more. He got up, his movements like a cat after a nap in the sun.
My thoughts were once again my own as he moved away to stand. Bile filled my throat.
He stretched. He was lean. His muscles looked flawless. Everything about him was too perfect. No visible scars, his face was perfectly symmetrical and his body impeccably proportioned.
"Come with me. Stop the battle." Picking up his cell, he texted someone. His fingers were so long and sexy.
"What did you do to me?" I asked, sitting up.
I touched the spot, looking at where his fist had penetrated. No wound. Everything was whole. In fact, I felt energized. No more than that. It was like I'd downed a box loads of caffeine. Everything seemed brighter and more in focus.
Feeling high, I focused on trying to understand what Kian had done to me. "What did you do," tears of frustration gathered in my eyes.
Looking up from the phone he raised an eyebrow, "Dianna." He shook his head and returned to texting. "Expecting someone you see as the enemy to reveal secrets."
As he chuckled, I quickly shoved on my clothes. Sex with Kian would be all-consuming, like throwing yourself into a pyre. But my body planned to do just that. Ultimately something that would hurt beyond imagining and devour you.
Kian said, "Come here."
I looked at him through my hair. Seeing him, his lean muscles and dark beauty I started to move towards him. Stepping back, I was horrified.
What had he done to me?
He came forward, and I raised my fists slightly crouching. "Dianna. You have lost the war." He shook his head.
A bag was on my bed. It looked plain but had designer made gym bag written all over it.
I left it alone.
Kian sat on the bed, unbuttoning his pants.
Lacing my boots, I then put on the leather jacket from Whisper. I breathed in the clean scent of her cloves.
As I looked around for my handbag, Kian said, "Running. Fighting. Both can be quite amusing."
I turned away from him. Sneaking a peek at him, I watched him unzip the gym bag and put on jeans and a black tee. He neatly folded his button-down shirt and slacks and put them in the bag. I doubted he had a weapon when he could control me so easily, but I didn't trust him to not have one.
Barefoot, he moved until he was next to me. "Ultimately, both are futile."
I said nothing and bit my upper lip. The scents from Kian were somehow more. I put my hand on my nose to block them, but my hand smelled like him. My hand returned to my side. A growl escaped my throat. It sounded non-human, guttural.
He moved away to finish getting dressed. Not caring if I had my bag or not, I used my speed and fled.
Running out of my apartment, I ran to the stairs. My feet barely touched the steps. Slamming against the door leading outside to open it, I kept running. My throat started to burn as tears threatened to spill out.
Cry later. Run now.
The cold felt good. It helped me block what had happened with Kian. Snow was deep, and the sidewalks hadn't been shoveled. The roads had been plowed, but snow continued to pile up on the sidewalks. The flurries made it hard to see, as they reflected the streetlights, turning everything white. I trusted my memory, but turning a corner, I slammed into what felt like a brick wall. My butt hit the blue mailbox on the corner as momentum had me ricocheting and sprawling in the snow.
Kian's eyes were glowing as he looked down at me. His feet were still bare.
"Dianna. You are the most stubborn of anyone I've ever met." He reached down to help me up.
I ignored his hand and stood up. My hip and bottom hurt, but it was just bruising. As fast as it hurt, the muscles repaired themselves. What had he done to me? "How did you get here so fast?"
"I will answer every question if you promise to come home with me." Kian's enigmatic eyes stayed locked on mine.
Shaking my head, "I will always fight you. I will never go with you."
"Even though I can tell you more about-" Kian's words were cut off as a dark deformed hand unfolded to life, twisting around his throat.
From the blackness covering the side of the building, shadows peeled away and folded into shape, revealing the Shadowed Man. Snow fell through the blackness that made it. As if it was only a shadow, instead of a creature of death.
I moved to run as Kian used his hands to rip apart the tentacle at his throat.
"Pretty unmaker," Shadowed Man's voice ground out. Black tendrils oozed and writhed around its form.
Kian took a fighting stance, knees slightly bent. "Do you think you can face me? You? A mere worker for a general of a pathetic fallen race?" Kian's face lit with excitement.
Nothing about him radiated the fear pouring into me at the sight of the Shadowed Man.
The Shadowed Man roared its mouth full of yellowed, jagged teeth. Spittle flew everywhere.
Some landed on the borrowed jacket as I dodged away.
Twisted arms and dry, blackened tendrils reached out for Kian. He dodged easily. Kian moved as if gravity didn’t affect him.
More wisps grabbed and clawed at Kian, but he was too fast. Faster than Alec. The Shadowed Man fell into the snow, only to burst out from behind Kian, pushing him into the brick wall of the side of the building.
Kian fell in a roll and bounced off the wall like an acrobat. Pushing his feet, and doing a flip he landed in the soft snow. His teeth were bared in the mimicry of a smile. Like a predator revealing its fangs to prey.
"Poor beast. Unable to do anything but destroy," Kian taunted. He lashed out to hit the creature.
Without my own speed, I would have been unable to follow his movements. It the time it took me to blink, Kian had grabbed and torn five shadowy limbs that surrounded the creature. The creature was on his knees from the damage.
The tendrils that always seemed so fierce curled inward to shield itself from the danger.
Kian stood over the Shadowed Man eyes afire. "Run to your master, beast. Tell him that you have failed. Dianna is mine!"
The Shadowed Man shouted out a terrible cry. It sounded metallic and like a howl all at once. Its form melded back into the wall. As it did its head pointed towards me, it croaked out, "Join us and feast forever. Or die."
Kian laughed as it fled.
He had just given an ass-whooping to the creature that had tossed me around like a rag doll. Adrenaline gave me another shot, telling me to run. But I was too frightened to move. Scared Kian would notice me again, turning away from the shadows. I was so afraid. Scared of what Kian really was.
But I was so sick of running. I was tired of the terror and the horror. No more.
Kian moved away from the darkness, and his eyes were back to the strange seas that called me. He cursed and turned his face into the falling snow. He crouched down. Snow landed softly on his dark hair.
"I will go." His dark lashes framed his eyes. "You will return to me, Dianna."
My muscles shook. "What the hell are you?"
He shook his head, "Not hell. That place is home to a pathetic lot." He paused, "If you want to know. Come to me. I will leave you alone until you come to me of your own will.” He stood up with a hand palm open to me.
"Don't hold your breath," I said.
He shrugged, "Once again, you fail to see what is in motion." He came closer so we could see each other more clearly in the icy weather. "You cannot fight what has already happened.” His hand reache
d for my cheek, caressing it.
I pushed his hand away and stepped forward. "I won't run from you." Kian titled his head as he listened to me. "And I will never run to you."
He lowered his hands. "If that is what you think, your path will be even more treacherous than before."
"You will never touch me again," I said softly. "I belong to no one. I choose my path. You are the most dangerous monster I've ever encountered." I glared at him. "That doesn't mean I can't defeat you."
"More battle?" The snow started to fall harder, lowering visibility. Even so close, it was hard to see more than the outline of him as the snow rushed downward. The figure of him was suddenly not in front of me.
"I'll wait in anticipation," he whispered in my left ear.
Spinning around to the side where his voice had been, there was nothing. Just more falling snow. Whatever Kian was, it wasn't human. The next time we met, I would fight.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Fresh snow kept coming down as I stood there. I was no longer scared. The reappearance of the Shadowed Man had shaken me, but now everything seemed still. The soft puffs from my breath were even. It wasn't hopeless.
The Shadowed Man was something that could flee. A creature that feared its own demise wasn't unstoppable destruction and death. It was beatable.
This was a fight with hope. A huge weight was lifted. No more would I run from the beast that dominated my nightmares. No one else would suffer the fate that my friends and countless others had suffered. Things were bad, but there was a chance. However small the chance, I would take it. I would fight. One way or the other, it would end.
The Shadowed Man could be playing possum. I waited. Nothing happened, except more snow. No creeping shadows manifesting. Breathing slowly, I stared into the darkness. Nothing was there except the snow piling up.
Kian had done something to me. The odds of him explaining what he had done without strings attached were nil to none. He had pretty much stated that I had to come to him to find out whatever answers he held. It was doubtful he would be willing to let me go if I was foolish enough to come knocking. I never planned on willingly seeing him again.
Debating about going back home or going to see Whisper, I chose the latter. I needed to get a key from my landlord to get back into my place. It was still well before dawn. Any sane person would be asleep, so I was fairly certain Whisper would be awake. Being exposed to the other in the world didn't do a lot for a person's sanity or sleep habits. In that way, we were cut from the same cloth.
My cell was in my purse at my apartment, so I'd have to hoof it. Walking in the storm felt good. It was cold out, but Whisper's place was only about nine to eleven blocks from mine. It all depended if you took Third Street or Fifth Street to get to Banneret Avenue.
Her shop was in the middle of the large building there. Tall steel buildings surrounded most of downtown, but from most of Third Street to Seventh Street the city had the old buildings from almost a century ago. Some of the buildings were newer, built in the 1940s. However, about a third of the buildings were historical landmarks. Each with a bronze plate on the outside detailing their historical significance. Whisper's place didn't have a sign explaining the building's history, but it looked like a café that someone had built in the 1920s. It had four levels of apartments above it.
Breathing in and out slowly and deeply, I stretched. Every muscle, joint, and bone in my body felt magnificent. It was pointless to worry. Hope was in the air.
Looking up, I saw that I'd reached my destination. I went to the alley behind the row of buildings. The fire escape ladder was up. I jumped up to grab the ladder and ended up on the first level of the fire escape. Well, that was new. Trying not to remember the agony under Kian's fist, I walked up to the fourth level of the fire escape.
I knocked on Whisper's window; shave and a haircut. She opened her window. The smells of her plants, roses and African violets were faint. Her eyes were clear as if she hadn't been sleeping. Her hair was fluffy and messy from lying on a pillow.
Smiling at me, she gestured for me to come in. I crouched down as she moved her plants aside to let me pass. The window led to her kitchen, which was right next to her living room. It was open and not separated. There was a hallway with a couple doors, the typical one bedroom, and one bathroom apartment.
I needed to talk to her about a couple things. Her thoughts on the Shadowed Man, Kian, Dominick and his order, and if anyone else had tried to peddle drugs at her club. I didn't want to bring up Roth; she'd hated his ass from day one.
Whisper was allied to the order, which Dominick and Alec belonged. I hadn't been joking when I told Dominick I'd defend her, even to the point of killing humans if they dared try to harm her. If the order was full of super-powered humans though, I'd need help. Hopefully, that day never came.
Whisper sat on her chair with lace on it, plopping down in it with one leg over the armrest. It looked like an old recliner that she'd had reupholstered in a sky blue microfiber. I sat on the matching re-upholstered couch. She'd updated both. The couch was soft, and like the scents of flowers in her home, relaxing but contemporary.
"You need some food, Dianna?" she asked. Her hands were folded on her lap.
"No. Just needed to talk."
"About what?"
"What can you tell me about this knight's order?"
She met my gaze unflinchingly. "I pass things I overhear to the Order. Generally news about gangs, new drugs, any oddball rumors. That sort of thing. Dominick and Alec are the assassins. They have abilities."
"You read leaves for them?"
"No." Whisper shook her head. "They mostly deal with people they call tainted. I can see the mark too."
"Why didn't you ever tell me about the mark," I asked feeling left out of the loop.
She shrugged. "Well, we both seem crazy enough as is. I wasn't sure when, but I did plan on saying something."
I nodded. "Okay. What else do you do for the order?"
She looked at her fingernails, picking off the old paint with one hand. "Well, sometimes I can get the locations, like I do for you for their leader, Hendricks. Sometimes I just call when a tainted shows up. Usually, that's about it."
"What do the tainted look like to you," I asked.
"To the Order, they describe a mark on the face of humans." She bit the inside of her cheek. "For me, the tainted look like demons from a Dürer work. Dehydrated, bony looking things." She shuddered. "I've never been certain if they were pure evil or humans that are cursed, or possessed, or if they could be saved.”
"What do you mean?"
"Well, what if there is a priest out there with the oomph to boot out the evil if it is possession?" Her shoulders slumped. "What if they can be saved?”
I thought about it. "Say you're right, that they could be saved, wouldn't Alec be searching for a way?"
"Perhaps. But he has always seen those with the mark on their face. And he grew up being told they are evil. Working for the devil. I don't think he would explore options to save them."
"You're probably right." I changed the topic. "What about the doctor?”
"Yamada?"
I nodded.
Whisper continued, "Well, we met not long ago, maybe a month? I wasn't sure about introducing you since you are so private. She is originally from Kyoto, grew up in London, and moved here after becoming a doctor. They are pretty secretive too. Somehow she’s connected to the Order of Teresa." She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "Not my secrets and I really don't know much about her."
"Okay."
Whisper looked at her hands. She looked up, biting her inner cheek, "Well, Dianna, we're you pissed to find out about my connection to the boy's club?"
I let out a short laugh. "Kinda. It makes sense. I'm hurt you hid it from me when you didn't need to. But we both have our fair share of secrets.”
She said, "True. Well, the order guys like their privacy. I didn't tell them about you." She looked into my eyes, “Ya
mada knows, but he and Alec are tight, so she'll keep her lips zipped." Itching her nose, she said, "Tea time."
I followed her the short distance to her kitchen, sitting on one of her lavender padded metal chairs.
“So are those questions why you came over,” Whisper asked while grabbing a banged-up teapot.
"Just something else," my voice cracked a little.
She stopped moving, turned to look at me, the kettle filling with tap water in her hand. "Dianna?"
I closed my eyes, "Do you know about any other creature that could use-" I stopped, my words seized up.
I couldn't say anything. I held my throat, kneeling at the painful burn inside it.
She knelt with me, "Oh no, Dianna. What happened?" Her eyes flashed, "Was it that scummy boss?"
I shook my head. "No." The words were a croak. I tried to say Kian's name and more fiery stinging filled my throat. I stopped. The pain lessened.
Whisper's hand was on my shoulder.
So I couldn't say anything about Kian and what he'd done to me. How about the nightmare? "The Shadowed Man," my voice was hoarse.
"The boogie man?" her eyes were worried.
"Could be. I called the thing from that night at Clare Lake the Shadowed Man. It killed everyone but me. It's here now." My voice was hoarse at the thought, "In the city.”
"That is a giant ball of suck," she said, helping me stand.
I sat down in a chair, and she made tea and got out some handmade scones and cookies out from a cookie jar disguised as a blue police box.
I nibbled on a lemon and blueberry scone. My throat had already healed.
"So, are you going to kill the Shadow Man?"
"Shadowed. And that's the new plan."
She raised her eyebrow at me, "What was the old plan?"
"Survive."
Laughing, she put the tea leaves, sugar, and cream on the table along with two-holiday mugs. One with the words, "Jolly This!" with a cartoon Santa Claus holding his crotch. The other had a faded image of a barbarian with a sword over his head and a Santa hat on his head.
"Good plan."
Dead Wrong Page 17