Darkness Possessed (Order of the Blade) (7 page)

This time real homesickness filled her, a longing for the world that she truly belonged to, the world she could never go back to.

Rhiannon paused for a moment, then sheathed the knife and walked over to the window. She grabbed the sash and threw it open. The damp air washed across her, and she closed her eyes, inhaling it deeply into her lungs. There would never be anything as beautiful as the feeling of being in the rain, and breathing in the air saturated with dampness. It eased into every cell of her body, and she felt herself relax. As long as it was raining, she felt like everything would be okay.

She rested her palms on the windowsill and leaned out. She had long ago removed the screen so that she could feel the outdoors just like this. She closed her eyes and let the rain splash across her face. The rivulets ran down her cheeks like the tears she had long ago stopped shedding...until tonight.

Laughter drifted across the night toward her, and she opened her eyes. Rounding the corner of the next building was a young couple. The man was tall but lean, and he had his arm around the shoulders of the woman with him. Her hair was plastered to her head from the rain, and both their clothes were completely soaked through. Neither of them was wearing a coat, and it was apparent they had been caught unprepared by the sudden deluge.

But the woman was looking up at the man, her lips parted in joyous laughter as he gazed down at her. He wiped the rain off her cheek and then bent his head. The kiss was so innocent and so happy that Rhiannon felt it slice through the shields on her heart. The raindrops on her cheeks mixed with tears as she rested her chin on her palms and watched the couple kiss.

There was something so magical about the joy they were sharing. It was obvious that the woman was happy, and that she trusted the man whose arms were wrapped so intimately around her. She was kissing him because she wanted to with all of her heart, and the way his hands were resting on her hips was a sweet statement of the trust and connection between them. He wasn't trying to dominate her. She wasn't afraid of him. As the girl's arms slid around his neck, a sad envy settled in Rhiannon's heart. What would it be like to be excited for a man's kiss? What would it be like for a man to hold her gently? What would it be like to have the ability to choose who to give herself to? To kiss without fear?

The couple broke the kiss, and the woman was staring up at him with an almost radiant smile on her face. The man took her hand and tangled their fingers together. Together they began to walk again, taking their time as they splashed through the puddles and let the downpour saturate them—

A hand closed around Rhiannon's throat and yanked her back into the room. She gasped for air as she grabbed the muscular forearm, trying to pry it off as she was slammed backward against a hot, muscular body. "José knew you weren't dead," a low voice snarled.

Dear God. She knew that voice. José's deputy, Raoul, one of the twisted bastards who had tormented her for so long. Terror ripped through her.
He'd found her.
"No!" she screamed her protest as she twisted violently, tearing herself out of his grasp. She leapt for the window, but he caught her bun and jerked her back. Pain tore through her scalp as he dragged her across the floor, ripping her tight bun out of its carefully coiffed prison.

Writhing against his grip, she grabbed her hair, trying to protect herself from the pain as she fought to get free. Frantic, she stretched out her hand, reaching for the potted ferns near her window.
Help me!
A wind began to rattle through the room, and the ferns began to grow—

"Fuck that!" Raoul hurled her onto the wooden floor, and immediately jerked her hands behind her back. She felt the cold rush of metal against the backs of her hands, and knew that he was going to put on gloves that would block her power. Fear tore through her and she screamed, fighting desperately to get him off her. But as always, he was so much stronger than she was, his weight easily keeping her crushed against the ground, pushing the air right out of her lungs.

Her finger slid inside the glove and she screamed, twisting desperately to try to get free. She couldn't even focus enough to concentrate on calling the ferns. They sat there in their pots, yards from her, doing nothing but drifting in the breeze from her open window. Her knife was sheathed, out of reach. She had nothing to protect herself. Nothing.

Panic assaulted her, sheer, raw panic, as she felt the all-too-familiar restraints taking away her freedom. With a shout of fury, she bucked her hips, shoving him off her so she could scramble out from under him. She fell on her face as she tried to stand up, and the one glove that had been partially on her hand slipped off.

She lunged for the plants by the window, and her jaw slammed into the pot as she fell. A fern brushed her cheek, and she commanded its response, praying that being so close to it would give her enough power to control it. "Now!" she commanded, just as Raoul grabbed her shoulder and dragged her away from it.

The ferns didn't respond. Her fear was too deep, paralyzing her and cutting her off from the very source of her power. The plants just sat there, useless, as Raoul jerked her back. She slammed her knee into his crotch, and he roared with pain as he grabbed his balls. She tore herself out of his grasp and raced for the front door. It flew open just as she neared it, and in burst another one of José's men. She skidded to a stop, scrambling backwards as he lunged for her. His meaty fingers locked around her wrist and yanked her forward—

A loud crack exploded through the night, and suddenly the man holding her fell to the ground with a loud crash.

"Really? You still think I can't help you?"

Rhiannon looked up sharply to see Jordyn standing in the doorway, a handgun in her right hand. Her boss was standing with her feet spread, her jaw tense. She looked far more than the manager of a shelter for battered women. She looked like a warrior, the kind of woman Rhiannon had grown up around. Warmth flooded her, and for the second time that night, she felt like this woman could be her friend. Behind her, she could hear Raoul's moans of pain as he writhed on the floor. "Thank you." Her hands were shaking, and she could barely breathe.

"So? You going to stay now?" Jordyn casually walked over to Raoul and pointed the gun at his heart as he started to stand. She pulled the trigger, and he dropped to the floor, blood from his body pooling on the floor. Her move was utterly cool, without remorse, as if she'd taken down many men in her life.

"I wish I could stay, Jordyn, I really do. But this isn't over." Rhiannon picked up her bag, and looked down at her assailants. There was a bright red stain on each of their chests, but she knew it wouldn't last for long. "They'll heal that in less than a minute. I have to go."

Jordyn's eyes widened as she glanced at the man on the floor. "A minute? I hit them both in the heart. They should be whining about the injury for at least a half hour. It's not like they're rogue."

"It takes a lot more than that to hurt that kind of Calydon." Rhiannon hurried past Jordyn and started to run down the stairs.

Jordyn followed her, moving as quickly as Rhiannon. "Why do you have Calydons hunting you? I thought they usually hunted other Calydons. Rogues."

"Generally, yes. But these are different." She reached the front door and yanked it open, hurrying out into the rainy night. "These hunt me."

"Why?" Jordyn followed her to the street where Rhiannon tried to flag down a cab. It sped by her, not even slowing down.

Rhiannon shook her head as she tried to wave down another cab that breezed by her. Dear God, she had to get out of there now. She heard a crash in her apartment, and looked up sharply. Shadows were moving and she knew the men would be after her in seconds. "Jordyn. I don't have time to talk. José is alive. He's going to come find me. There's nowhere to hide. I have nowhere left to go that's safe."

Jordyn glanced up at the apartment, and her eyes narrowed. Not with fear, with focus.

"What are you going to do?"

God, she didn't want to say it. She didn't want it to be real. But there was no other choice. José was alive. And now he would know that she was alive. There was only one option.

"Rhiannon?"

There was another crash from upstairs, and then she heard footsteps pounding down the stairs of her building. "Oh, God. I have to go!" She started to run. She knew she could never outrun them, but there was no other option.

"Wait!"

She spun around toward Jordyn. "What?"

Her boss held up a set of car keys. "Want a ride?" She clicked the button, and the car right next to Rhiannon beeped. It was a Porsche, built for speed.

She didn't even bother to answer. She just lunged for the passenger door and yanked it open. By the time she had shut the door, Jordyn was already in the seat beside her, jamming the keys into the ignition.

As the engine roared to life, the two Calydons burst out the door to her apartment building. They spotted the Porsche immediately, and lunged toward it. Jordyn calmly shifted into drive and jammed the accelerator. The little car exploded forward, leaping out into the deserted street.

Rhiannon twisted around in her seat, watching as the two Calydons broke into a sprint, chasing after them. "They're coming."

"Is one of them a runner?"

Rhiannon glanced at her boss. "A runner?"

"A Calydon whose gift is speed," Jordyn said calmly, with the knowledge of a woman who had seen it all. "That's the only kind who could catch us in this pretty baby."

Rhiannon twisted around, and saw with relief that their two pursuers were fading into the night. "No, it doesn't look like it." She leaned back against the seat and watched her boss, a woman who shot men, drove a Porsche, knew about Calydon traits, and wasn't fazed by having an employee who could control plants. "Who are you, Jordyn? How do you know so much about Calydons? You didn't even blink an eye about what I can do. What are you?"

Her boss looked over at her, and her face was grim. "I'm half of what I used to be," she said quietly.

"Which is what?"

Jordyn shook her head. "Half of what I used to be," she repeated. She looked at Rhiannon. "I am a
sheva,
" she said quietly. "I killed my soul mate to try to save our daughter. I was too late. They're both dead, and now I try to save women from the bad men they love."

Tears filled Rhiannon's eyes, springing free before she could stop them. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. She knew that pain. She knew that pain so well. "Your soul mate went rogue?" She glanced at Jordyn's forearms, but she was no longer carrying the brands of her mate. Was that because he was dead? Would death really free a woman forever from her soul mate?

Jordyn nodded. "Yes indeedy. It was a grand old time." She didn't bother to hide the pain in her voice.

Rhiannon looked away, fighting against memories that would haunt her forever. "At least he had the excuse of being rogue," she said softly. "At least he was insane when he hurt you and your daughter."

Jordyn managed a grim smile. "He was a good man before he went rogue," she said quietly. "I loved him, before he tried to kill me and murdered all our friends and family. It's hard to remember the good man, sometimes." She looked over at Rhiannon. "I have never been as scared as I was the night he went rogue. No woman should ever have to be afraid of the man she loves. Ever."

Rhiannon understood then. She understood it all. When a Calydon bonded with his mate, he was destined to go rogue and destroy everything that mattered to either of them. Fate commanded that the
sheva
kill him to stop him, and then kill herself in despair over his death. For Jordyn to have killed a rogue Calydon meant she had powers and inner strength that an ordinary woman didn't have. For her to have been strong enough not to kill herself after she took the life of her soul mate was almost unheard of. "How did you do it? Not kill yourself?" She needed to know, because that was a fear that lurked over her all the time. What if she killed José, and then wanted to die?

In her heart, that possibility had haunted her for the last five years, the knowledge that if she'd really managed to kill José when she'd escaped, then she should have been so devastated that she would have had to kill herself. She'd been fine, which she'd feared indicated that José was still alive, and now, her fears had proven true.

Jordyn managed a small smile. "I did. I killed myself eight times. But I had a friend who worked with me to bring me back from the dead. He had skills, and I'm somewhat immortal in my own right. After eight times, my grief had finally abated enough for me to handle steak knives without trying to shove them into my chest." She shrugged. "I was lucky. Most
shevas
don't get that chance to live again once they succumb to the
sheva
destiny."

A cold chill settled in Rhiannon's bones. She knew she wouldn't have the luxury of being revived repeatedly until she finally got over her grief. "So that's why you opened the shelter. To help women who are tied down to the wrong men."

Jordyn nodded. "It's what I do. I'll do it until the day I die." She took a deep breath and smiled at Rhiannon. "Where to, sweetheart? What do you think? I can take you to my place. It's a fortress."

"No. A fortress isn't enough against Calydons like that. You know that." A fortress wouldn't be enough against an ordinary Calydon, the kind that Jordyn had killed, and José was even more of a threat. He was so much more dangerous and powerful than any of the others. More than anyone could stop. And yet, she had to find a way to do it.

Jordyn hesitated, and then nodded a silent assent. "What are you going to do?"

"I need to go to the airport."

"All right. That sounds like a good plan." Jordyn gunned her engine. "Where are you going?"

Rhiannon bit her lip. She wanted to say she was running away. She wanted to say she was going to go deep underground and hide again. But she knew it was impossible. Not with José alive. He would find her.