Demons (Darkness #4) (6 page)

The demon lurched toward the Boss.
Swirling magic sparkled along the Boss’ flexed arms, his sword at the ready. His eyes flashed excitement and wrath ready to be unleashed.

Before he could run forward to meet it,
though, leaving Sasha open again, Jonas barreled through. Brawn and snarls, orange sword whirling, the crazy male slashed. The sword cut through the demon hide, eliciting a hissing snarl. A dagger blossomed out of nowhere, Jonas’ manic grin one to match that of the demon. Orange blazed and seethed around his arms, turning his body into a weapon. He slashed with them, raking the creature’s arm, ripping leathery skin off like peeling a banana.

Sasha
stared straight ahead, as if she could still see the demon through a wall of males and fur. Sweat beaded her brow. Her breath came in fast pants. Her thumb stroked her whistle.

“
Stefan…” she whispered.

Toa’s head bent, panting as well. Dominicous stepped forward to slash the creature but staggered, the magic
pulsing in the link swung from one person to the other wildly.

Three wolves
and a mountain lion vied for position, trying to close Sasha off. Jameson was there, fighting them back, keeping them from her, but also from the fight. Keeping himself from it as well.

“Fight together!” Charles screamed despite himself, his vision clouding, going dark. Pain screamed at him, stabbing
then ripping away, leaving him dizzy in its wake.

Jonas was flung to the side, a gaping hole in his arm where a claw had gouged.

“Stefan…” Sasha pleaded.

“Get her out of here!” t
he Boss screamed, his sword flashing up, ready for the strike.

“Give her more magic!” Toa yelled back
, on hands and knees. “She cannot disengage once the spell is laid. It is too intricate—”

“
I can’t give to her and fight it off at the same time,” the Boss growled. “She’ll have no protection! I will trade my life for hers if needed.”

“Instead you’ll accomplish th
e opposite!” Toa’s head drooped, the magic whipping through the link in hard slashes, pounding Charles, then back toward Toa, then to Dominicous. Painful chaos.

T
he bear fought to get through. The demon bore down. The Boss’ sword came up, as fast as that thing, but before he could lope off an arm, its whole body convulsed.

Its screams cut off
at exactly the same moment Sasha fell. Charles dropped his sword in order to catch her, only getting half her body in time, her face scraping the concrete. He cradled her in his arms, half falling on her in a wave of dizziness. He quickly checked for a pulse, his heart in his throat, barely able to see and not caring.

“C’mon, Sasha, be okay,” he prayed, his
fingers finding the spot on her fragile neck. Her head lolled.

“We’ve
disbanded it,” Toa said in a hiss, struggling to get up. And failing.

Charles glanced through the crack in bodies
, his vision clearing in a wave as the link dissolved. To an oily black smear across the concrete. The burnt hair smell had turned into a smell of charred flesh.

“If it wasn’t for you, would she have made it?”
Dominicous asked Toa, shaking like a tall building in an earthquake.

“I was able to cut it off around her spell. Had she had m
ore power and energy, she would’ve disbanded it quickly and easily. She needed more energy. More power. Only one person could’ve supplied it—through a blood link.”

A beat
in her neck pushed back at Charles’ fingers. He sighed in relief as Jonas came running up, blood gushing out of his arm. Behind him loped the huge tiger and a mountain lion.

“She ne
eded you,” Toa accused the Boss, still not able to stand.

The Boss stared back, uncertainty
warring his blank mask.

“If you won’t use your blood link, Stefan, you need to allow someone else to enact one. She cannot be this vulnerab
le again. You nearly killed her,” Toa pushed, anger contorting his face into something out of a nightmare.

“You have to figure out a way to link with her magically,” the Boss retorted.

“You think this is over?” Toa shot back, stunning everyone mute with his uncustomary animation. “There’ll be more demons. There’ll be more perils. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in a week. Right now, you are her only hope. And you’ve failed once—what about the next time? What then? Will you let your pride kill her, or will you let someone else help her to live? A blood link is the only way!”

Charles barely had time to witness a flash of anxious defeat cross the Boss’ face before he was hobbling up
with Sasha in his arms, Jonas helping him stand. He didn’t have time for the challenge that was sure to follow—Sasha wasn’t out of the woods yet.

I was giving Toa a run for his money in the blank stare department. “I’m sorry, come again?”

Toa sat across from me in one of the many rooms in the mansion. Calm and unaffected, as normal, he was trying to convince me to gnaw on his vein. This, to him, was a perfectly normal request.

“With magic like yours, it is sometimes necessary to establish another blood link so you can
acquire help in times of…stress,” Toa explained for the millionth time.

“You are creating the current times of stress, Toa.” I grimaced. The thought of drinking his blood was…revolting. Drinking blood period, when I logically thought about it, turned my stomach. But with Stefan it was intimacy so acute that I felt it the length of my body. It didn’t seem abnormal with him. Even the taste was sweet and earthy, pleasurable.

“No, Toa. Just…
ew. No. And Stefan would flip.”

“Stefan
has given his consent.”

My flat stare became incredulous. Toa’s stare
never wavered. “Stefan gave his consent?
Stefan.
The guy that made my bodyguard pee himself when he thought Charles might’ve laid a hand on me. That Stefan?”

“
He realizes that his inaction nearly killed you the other night. You are the most precious thing in his life; it is not asking overmuch to secure your survival. He sees the value in what I propose. He is facing issues from his childhood that shaped him in both negative and positive ways. He’s latching onto the negative, clouding his judgment. He has realized this—he is an excellent leader to have done so. It now becomes your obligation to follow through. When he can’t help you magically, you will need to turn to another.”

“And that’s you? So you’re going to what, shadow me the rest of my life?”

“We could’ve lost you, Sasha. Your father, this clan, and our entire organization would’ve suffered. We need to take steps to prevent that.”

“Okay,” I waved my hand like I was swishing away flies. “You can cut out the lecture tone and talk normally. You don’t have to be all professional about it.”

“That is exactly what this is—a professional arrangement. You share a very soft link with Dominicous. He is family. Would it be so strange if you extended that link with the person who shares his blood link?”

“Y
es. It would.”

We were back to the stare
-off. Those ice blue eyes held mine serenely, his hands clasped in his lap. I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked for a cup of tea next with a pretty little flowery cup and a saucer.

Still…I had to concede that it had been a close call. I’d been out for two days, so near the brink that o
nly Stefan’s blood could revive me. If Toa hadn’t disbanded that demon just in time, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. He had saved my life, and now asked to have an easier way to do it in the future.

My stomach turned for a different reason
. I hated that Toa was right. That I’d needed Stefan’s help with that demon, and he wouldn’t supply it. Worse, since that night, three nights ago, he’d been distant. Fear, uncertainty and guilt washed through the link constantly, his emotions raging from one thing to the other even though his face stayed perfectly blank. That demon had triggered old wounds, and now he was trying to shut me out.

But sucking blood from the guy in front of me was a bit extreme. Plus, in what world did I want Toa to feel all my emotions
? I might be able to figure out how to cut them off without simultaneously cutting off Stefan’s, but I’d still feel what Toa was feeling.

Yuck. No way.

I shook my head. “Why didn’t Stefan talk to me about this? He doesn’t just give up control.”

“As I said, he does not like it, but he does see the value in it. I doubt he wanted to show his weakness by admitting his inabilities.”

“You people and your fear of weakness.” I blew out a frustrated breath. “Look, either we need to find a different way to share magic, or we just won’t. This has gone too far into insanity-ville.”

Toa maintained his patient tone as he said, “Stefan
is sacrificing on a personal level so that you may have some assurance. Some safety. Will you spit in his eye by refusing?”

Lead settled into my body. The one thing I didn’t want to do was let
Stefan down for any reason. He’d constantly backed and supported me, sacrificed for me, taken the hard road to stay with me. I owed him some discomfort if it meant he’d rest easier.

I
recommenced the stare off, assessing. I really didn’t want to. I really, really didn’t.

“I’
m not convinced he approved this,” I muttered.

“What does the link tell you?”

Guilt rode through it heavily, laden with a sense of failure. My heart dropped. He did know. He was sacrificing his dignity, allowing others to see that he couldn’t provide for me as he ought, in order to keep me safe. This was terrible, but it was what he wanted.

I shook my head, trying to think of a way out of this.
And failing.

Stefan sat in the early morning light at the back of the mansion, breathing the fresh air to calm himself. The link with Sasha had winked out a half hour before. He’d felt her doubt, and then she’d muffled their tie, something she did when she was uncomfortable with his presence. It didn’t take a genius to know why.

After another fifteen minutes he heard her soft, even pace behind him, making her way to the stone bench
on which he sat. He tried not to hunch in on himself as she settled quietly beside him. She didn’t touch him as she usually did—not even a glance of the arm.

“So…” She stared out at the budding day
, the trees swaying in the chilly breeze of the morning. “You’re under the impression I need to share emotion-space with Sir Stares-A-Lot, huh?”

His intestines felt like crawling snakes. “I let you down, Sasha. You could’ve died.”

“True. I could’ve died a few times since I met you. I’ve been overextending my whole magical life. And you’ve always been there to pick up the pieces. I trust you, Stefan. I trust that. You’ve always kept me safe.”

“Not this time.”

“To err is human. Even though, you know, you’re not actually human. Look, Stefan…tell me what’s wrong. Confide in me. Don’t just pawn me off on some blondie vampire look-alike because you’re too chicken to open up to your future mate.
Please.
”

“I just…” How did you tell the love of your life
that you weren’t worthy of her? That you were a coward. That the male she pledged her life to could not provide for her.

His body hunched.

“Hey,” she whispered, swinging her leg over his and sitting on his lap, facing him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled his face into her neck. “I know why you did it, okay? I know it was something to do with your parents. It’s okay to be afraid, Stefan. We can’t be hard all the time. If you can’t admit it to me, you’ll end up brittle. You don’t have to hide that stuff from me.”

He shook his head again, emotion he’d been
pushing down since he was young bubbling to the surface. “I can’t,” he pleaded.

“
Tell me what happened,” she whispered. “To your parents. Confide in me.” She hugged him tighter, combing her fingers through his hair. Soft support. Unconditional love such that he could barely remember.

Before he could help himself, it was all tumbling out.

He’d been sitting in the living room as the sun sprinkled through the windows. The knock at the door had echoed down the empty hall. He’d opened it to Jestin, one of the warriors that fought regularly with Stefan’s father, scratched and beaten to hell. His face warred with death and sorrow. Lead had settled deep in Stefan’s young chest, then, struggling with the dread he’d felt as he read the defeat in Jestin’s eyes. The loss.

“
Jestin was the only one who lived,” Stefan heard himself say. The words sounded hollow. “Two humans called a demon up on the territory line. We were tight with the
Mata
at that time, sharing the coverage of patrolling that line. The demon was a strong one—very strong. It dominated, then killed, those who had called it. The
Mata,
with some of our clan, were supposed to provide the first layer of defense while a team of magic workers tried to cut it down. Tried to banish it.”

Stefan shook his head, his body quivering under the petite body of his beloved. “That thing ripped through three people in a split second. Just as the clan was scrambling, trying to get control, the
Mata
took off. Most of the first layer of defense ran like cowards. My father, a fierce fighter and the Second of the clan, did what he could to organize his men, but they weren’t enough. Not after the
Mata
had fled. The magic circle was working on it, but that demon took down the line in record time, my father fighting a good fight, but…

“My mother was a green. She had intricate abilities with magic, so she always worked the spells
in a Merge with the backing of a few powerful magic users. She couldn’t fight—not with the responsibility of casting a spell to take that thing down. She stood where she was, resolute, as, one by one, everyone got chopped down around her. She suffered a hit right before the spell did its job. That thing cut out her midsection. It cut out my unborn sister. Jestin said that when she hit the ground, she was dead. As was the fetus.”

Sasha squeezed him hard.
Fire burned away his insides, remembering the day he’d heard he was going to be a brother. He was going to be the big protector—his sister’s own personal guard unit. His dad had given him a male-to-male talk about the seriousness of his new duty—he would have to be steadfast to her and keep her safe from any danger. His father handed him this personal mission, the responsibility of a grown male.

At the time, Stefan had felt like the most powerful male alive.

It had all been torn away, along with his parents, with each word out of Jestin’s mouth.

“Every time I think of a demon,
” Stefan purged quietly, “I think of losing everything. What if the
Mata
had stayed? The group would’ve taken some losses, yes. That thing was manic. I might’ve lost one parent, but my mom would’ve been protected. She would’ve made it. I would have a sister. I wouldn’t be so damn alone…”

Pain heaved, trying to rip free from the casing he’d stored it
in all these years. “I can’t protect you, Sasha,” he admitted. “I let them die. I should’ve been there. I was old enough to help. I was already orange by then—orange magic would’ve helped.”

Something inside him broke. His inadequacy of
that day raged to the surface, merging with the inadequacy from three days ago.

He didn’t know how he’d continue if he lost her. She’d become the most important thing in his life. He would give up everything for her—his clan, his life
—everything. And even though every fiber of his person recoiled at the thought of sharing her, if it kept her alive through his failings, then it was worth the torture of knowing another male had a claim on her. He would make sure she lived at all costs; he had no one else but her.

He dug his face into the sweet
-smelling skin of her neck and let it all go. Clutching onto her like a lifeline, he purged the fears of losing her, the loneliness of all those years, the desolation after hearing the news spilling out in childlike sobs.

For a wonder, she held on to him. Instead of sneering in disgust at his vulnerability—something the majority of the females in his clan would’ve done—she held onto him fiercely, as if she was protecting him from his past. As if she was trying to ward away the memories with the warmth of her body.

The lid ripped off their link, her unconditional love and support bleeding through and filling him up. Her worry for him, her devotion no matter what, soaked into his soul. He was ripping at her clothes before he knew what he was doing, stripping off her pants as she yanked at his. Her lips smashed down on his, hot and needy. He ripped off her panties and clutched her hips, pulling her onto his erection, sinking all the way in. Her moan of delight matched his. So tight, so hot, squeezing him in ecstasy.

“I love you,” she whispered,
swiveling her hips on top of him. His girth slid within her wetness. “You and me, Stefan. I don’t need anyone else. I know you’ll protect me. When it comes to surviving, I put my faith in you.”

Magic whipped around them
. He squeezed her tight and held on, thrusting into her savagely, needing her reassurance. Needing her body to back up her words.

They pushed harder and faster,
her body crashing down on his manhood. She bent to his neck and bit, hard, her teeth ripping his flesh. He exalted in it, liking the brutality. Loving her fierceness.

The draw
pulled through the core of him, directly from his balls. He thrust harder into her, his body slapping against hers.

“Take mine,” she murmured, her lips once again on his. “Reinforce the mark, Stefan. Make me yours again. Only yours.”

He took her to the ground, his body held tightly within hers. He open
ed a small cut on her pulse and fastened his lips around it. Her nails dug into his back as he tasted her life’s blood, spicy sweet, like her smell. Like her personality. The decadence of her aroma tickled his nose. Her hot sex gripped him.

His world fell over. Out of control and loving it, he pumped harder, his lips against her throat,
releasing the special secretion that marked his female as permanently his. He felt her magic pooling around him, her special way of doing the same thing. Mate was a title, marriage was a certificate—what they were doing was a merging of their souls—irreversible.

The deep tingling started at the base of his balls and worked through the base of his shaft. Sasha was moaning, her eyes fluttering, on the edge. He pushed harder, the friction of her body
consuming him. As they neared the edge, right on the cliff, he took one more deep draw from her neck.

“Oh my
holy Lord
!” she screamed, her body shuddering, her sex clenching his dick.

He exploded.
Emptying into her in a hard gush. He collapsed on top of her, utterly and completely spent.

“Crap,” she said, panting. “That was the best yet.”

“Uncle.”

“What?”

“That’s what you always say when we spar and you want out of the various hold I’ve got you in. Uncle.”

“Oh.
There is no way I am carrying you.”

He huffed out a laugh.
“Wimp.”

He climbed off and hauled her up. “I take it you didn’t take his blood.”

Her gaze burned hot with anger. “Don’t you ever give your permission for something like that again. You talk to me about that stuff. If there’s something wrong, we’ll figure it out. If I need to link with someone else, then we’ll come to that conclusion together, and we’ll hold hands and bear it together. You don’t leave me out to dry because you’re feeling insecure and vulnerable. Not unless you want a foot up your ass!”

He laughed as he brushed off her back. He loved when she got riled up.
“Understood.”

“He tried to guilt
-trip me. Tried to use you to get me to do it.”

“If I thought it was a political ma
neuver, I wouldn’t have let them. But they were worried. No one could help you when I didn’t. Sasha, my head isn’t on straight. I lost myself to fear.” He gritted his teeth, hating to admit this weakness to the one female that he didn’t want any weakness with.

Her rage melted into quiet support. She slipped her arm around his back. “I know. And it’s okay.”

“I’m worried I’ll do it again. I hate the word ‘worried,’ and yet I’m worried you’ll need me and I won’t be able to clear away the fog. Especially if that…”

Calling Tim
a mongrel wouldn’t win him any votes at the moment. “Especially if Tim and his…”

She should just stick a knife in his ribs now
; it’d be easier. “Especially if the
Mata
are around.”

Surprisingly, she laughed. “Wow, t
hat was tough, huh? Being nice? You’re as bad as Jonas.”

“Jonas lost a parent in that…situation, too.”

Her face fell. She nodded.

After they partially dressed t
hey walked back to the mansion in silence, her little hand in his. Finally, he gave in. “I’m not one to…talk about…feelings.” He grimaced. “But I’ll try to fill you in on…issues, okay? For you, I’ll try.”

And he’d hate every minute of it.

She laughed again, hugging him close. “
Men.
You bitch and moan about being sick or having a papercut, but tell your significant other about a legitimate problem? Oh my, no, it’s more fun to let them worry and fret.”

“And then bitch.”

“Absolutely we have to bitch! When it’s your fault, we have to give a little back.”

Chuckling, he swept her up into his arms. As he climbed the stairs, her head lulling on his shoulder, he just hoped he could maintain control for what came.
Losing his leadership, and having Dominicous try to rip his arms off, was nothing compared to what he’d suffer if he gave in to fear and it got her killed. He just wished he knew an easy way to navigate through his past. He wished the stakes weren’t as high.