Dark Ice (8 page)

Chapter Seven

The shadows shrouded the darkened street and relief seeped through Lea at the fact she wasn’t out there. There was an ominous thickness that lay over the city tonight. Perhaps she only felt that way after all the strange events of the day.

She pulled closed the curtains to block out the small window and the stark city night that sat beyond it. Turning, she bypassed the large over-stuffed armchair in the corner of the room that she’d spent the last hour in watching television and headed straight for the door. To be honest, she half expected it to be locked.

Rin brought her straight here from the bar. She questioned him ruthlessly on the car ride over here, but he’d given her one word answers that only left her with more questions. She was mildly surprised when he pulled up in front of the hall and ushered her inside. A feeling of unease rippled down her spine as she walked past two men on either side of the door, as if standing guard. Guarding what, she didn’t know. But the sensation of normalcy was slipping away fast today.

Rin had shown her to a small but comfortable room off the main hall, brought her a cup of coffee and bowed himself out. Lea sat in the room, sipping the drink, grateful for a moment of quiet to collect her thoughts. And yet, at the same time, frustrated over the lack of answers. She’d mulled over the day’s events in her mind until they mingled into a blur of confusion. She was left with only feelings and sensations to act upon. The psychiatrist in her rebelled against relying only on her senses without the fortification of logic.

Now stepping out of the security of the small room and into the vast hall, Lea allowed herself the luxury of instinct to come to the forefront. Logically, the day didn’t make any sense, so her only alternative was to feel her way through these new and foreign experiences.

She squinted into the hall, her eyes attempting to adjust to the semi-darkness after the brightness of the room behind her as she shut the door on its light and comfort.

Ancient looking sconces adorned the intricately carved walls; they were up high enough to illuminate the hall, but left the ground in semi shadow. Lea suppressed a shiver and tried to quell her sense of foreboding.

Near a small alcove on the opposite side of the massive room, Rin stood with his back toward her. He was the only man she knew, so Lea made her way in his direction. His back was stiff and ridged and his curt voice echoed on a whisper.

“It is my duty and I shall fulfill it,” he said to some unknown figure hidden amongst the shadows.

As she neared, he turned on his heel to face her, his broad shoulders blocking her view beyond the opening of the alcove. Lea stood on tip-toe and tried to peer into the darkness. There were too many secrets and things she didn’t understand and she’d be damned if anyone was going to try and keep her in the dark any longer.

“Is there a problem?” Rin asked, his head bowed in respect.

“Hell yes, there’s a problem,” Lea spat, his kind attitude nearly breaking her. “I mean, thank you for saving me. But you told me you knew Dane and you’d give me some answers and all I’ve gotten is shoved into a little room and forgotten about.”

“I did not shove you,” he said indignantly. “And you have not been forgotten about,” he added in a gentler tone. “I did offer you answers, but I am only permitted to disclose certain amounts of information.” He spoke very formally, as if English was his second language. Considering his Japanese appearance, it probably was.

Rin looked up at her and she was struck by how stunningly handsome the man was. He was immaculately dressed and groomed, though there was an aura of untamed power just below the surface. His deep brown eyes showed a depth of emotion that almost scared her and she knew he was being sincere.

“Information about what? I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Rin gazed at her a moment longer before he started to walk slowly across the hall. Lea kept pace with him, waiting for the answers that she so desperately needed. On impulse, she looked back and glanced into the alcove they just left. It was a black hole of nothingness and her agitation went up a notch.

“How do you know Dane?” she asked, not waiting for an answer to her previous question when she was sure it would never come.

“He assisted us with a problem about a month ago.”

“The massacre,” Lea whispered, quickly doing the math in her head.

Rin nodded.

“He assisted,” she repeated. “So he’s a good guy?”

She stopped as Rin halted in front of her and she waited for his answer. Perhaps the most important answer of all. He looked conflicted as he contemplated her question. Lea’s heart pounded hard, ripping nervous energy throughout her body. She searched his eyes and saw the truth in them even before he nodded.

Lea sighed in relief. The part of her that knew Dane from her dreams, knew without a doubt he was good. But having it confirmed by a flesh-and-blood man went a long way to reassure her.
 

“What is he? Is he a man or a polar bear?” For a moment embarrassed heat warmed her face asking that question, but then remembered Rin had referred to Dane as a bear earlier. “For a while, I thought he was a figment of my imagination, but he can’t be if you know him as well.”

“I am afraid I cannot answer what he is, that is not for me to tell you.” Rin said.

“Then what are you?” Lea asked shrewdly.

A smile lifted Rin’s lips and amusement lightened his eyes. “I am a protector.”

“Protector from what?”

“From legends and creatures of darkness,” he answered.

Lea laughed, until she looked up into his face and realized he was serious. “Okay,” she said sardonically. “This is getting stranger by the minute.”

“Life is like that.”

She looked around the hall and noticed the dark silhouettes of men standing guard at the entrance. She had the strange feeling that she’d stepped out of the pot and into the fire. The day certainly had been stressful and terrifying. But the fact she was now in a strange place, with a man she hardly knew and there were men everywhere guarding who-knew-what scared her even more.

“What is this place?” Lea asked, tearing her gaze away from the guards at the door.

“A headquarters, of sorts,” answered Rin. He stopped his slow gait and turned to face her. “I do apologize that I cannot give you all the answers you require. However, I am at your service to escort you safely to your home.”

“I don’t want to be escorted home, I want some answers.” Lea shook her head. “I need some answers. I feel like I’m losing my mind, people are attacking me. I’m seeing things. And I know you’ve been following me.” She pinned him with a gimlet stare. He held her gaze without an ounce of shame or denial in his eyes.

“I do my duty,” Rin replied.

“Duty to whom? I’m sick of everyone seeming to know what’s going on and I know nothing. Why did you stick me in a room, promise me answers and now just send me away with nothing?” Nervous tension turned her stomach as her agitation started to rise. Automatically, her hand went up to her pendant before she remembered it was still missing.

“It must be very frustrating being kept in the dark when other people’s actions affect your life.” Rin reached out and briefly placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I understand. But I am unable to give you any other answers. I was led to believe I had sanction to give you a certain amount of information. I have now been informed that approval has now been removed. My apologies for your inconvenience. Please allow me to escort you home.”

“No. I’ll take her.”

Rin spun toward the door, his hand swept across his body and gripped a sword that had been hidden under his long black coat.

Lea’s heart accelerated in an instant at the words. She knew it was Dane, the deep vibrations of his voice trembled through to her core and made her shiver. She was half afraid to turn around, what if his voice was in her head? Lea closed her eyes briefly and allowed herself the quick luxury of completely feeling the reaction her body had to the sound of his voice. It flowed through her like molten metal, warming her senses, making her languid and relaxed, yet heightened and on edge at the same time.

Part of her didn’t want to move. What if he wasn’t there and it was like the other times and he only existed to her in her dreams? Lea glanced at Rin, his dark eyes shrewd, his hand still steadfast on the hilt of his sword.

She turned toward the voice she knew so well and her stomach twisted.

The man in her dreams stood in the doorway, highlighted by the street lights streaming in from outside. She quickly registered the man standing next to him. But all her attention was magnetically drawn to Dane. Everything about him was the same as she recalled. Everything from his smoldering ebony eyes, the masculine hard lines of his face to the rippling muscles that were obvious even under the dark blue polo shirt and jeans he wore.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly parched. In the flesh, he was devastating. Lea realized this was the first time she saw him in person. And she was glad she’d met him in her dreams first. The aura he resonated was so extreme there was no way she could have breached it in real life. He seemed to overpower everything and consume all around him until there was nothing left but him.

Without thinking, Lea stepped toward him. Rin’s hand flew out and grasped her shoulder, stilling her. A low deep growl resonated throughout the hall and Lea’s stomach twisted once again, only this time a tinge of fear accompanied it. Dane hadn’t moved a muscle, but the warning was clear. Rin’s fingers bit into her flesh as he tightened his grip on her shoulder. Why, she didn’t understand. Now that Dane was finally here, every concern she ever had regarding him disappeared. There was no longer any doubt about him being real, or his intentions.

Her only fear was how to guard her heart against him until she had all of her questions answered. There was something different about him, something animalistic and it drew her to him. But was he a man that had found his way into her dreams or was he what she dreamed, both a man and an animal made flesh?

Chapter Eight

Dane scanned the hall and sensed more than saw the guards gathering along the edges of the walls. The first two guards at the door had been easily disposed of. Though he didn’t kill them, he’d been tempted. He was here for one reason and that was to claim his woman, Lea.

He turned his attention back to her and saw her eyes widen as she finally turned to look at him. His heart squeezed in his chest, a rush of emotion swept through him, the likes of which he had never experienced. The look she gave him made him feel more like a man than the animal he was so used to being. It made him feel stronger, but also weak somehow. Like she had a power over him, one he had never before considered.

Lea took a step toward him and for an instant he felt elated. Until a wave of jealous fury rushed over him as the venator clasped one hand on her shoulder to stop her and his other hand firmly on his weapon. He growled low in his throat and fought the desire to transform and simply rip Rin’s heart out.

Beside him, Darius stiffened as two guards, their swords drawn approached them, emerging from the darkened shadows of the hall. With a sneer of disgust, Darius turned to face the men.

Dane began to move when he felt two more guards advance from behind. He turned on his heel just as one of the men readied his sword to strike him in the back. Appalled, Dane snarled and blocked the arc of the blade with his massive forearm.

“Coward,” he growled between clenched teeth. With an enormous palm strike to the chest, the guard’s sternum fractured with a sickening crack. He flew backward and slid along the slate flagstones back into the shadows he came from.

A dead weight hit him from the side, knocking him off balance. He looked down as of one of the guards fell to the floor at his feet.

“Sorry, Cousin,” Darius called as he went to engage the other guard. He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Dane hissed as a blow to his shoulder knocked him off balance, he staggered sideways before planting his feet wide apart in a warrior’s stance. Annoyed, he blocked the next hit and reached out and grabbed the man by the throat. He lifted the man in the air, tensing his strong fingers around his scrawny throat.

He heard a gasp of terrified horror and for the first time felt a wave of shame at what he was. Dane turned and saw the look of fear on Lea’s face. He dropped the guard in an instant, the man crouching on the ground gasping for breath.

“Enough.”

The call echoed through the hall. There was a command in the voice that made everyone stop and obey. To Dane’s surprise, even Darius complied.

A man emerged from the depths of the shadows, walked around the bodies on the ground and went to stand next to Lea and Rin. He towered over each of them, even Dane.

Dane saw Lea shrink backward and he wanted to go and comfort her. But would she shrink away from him as well?

Darius came to stand beside Dane, providing a united front.

“Tithe,” Dane greeted.

“Dane. Darius.” Tithe nodded to each.

Darius just nodded.