Desired by Shadow (A Shadow Walkers Novel) (37 page)

“What do you want?” Dayne watched him carefully as if he was a serpent about to strike.

“Leave the humans to themselves. Let them destroy the world and each other on their own without your interference. I find it wearing to continue these petty skirmishes all because you want to rule. Can’t you rule over one of the other realms?”

“I’m not sure what happened to you. The Thorne I know is a warrior. Not some rejected schoolboy who pouts for the next millennia. Fuck no, I won’t let the humans be. They were created to be ruled and I mean to rule over them all.”

He tried. So now he was clear in his mind to kill his brother. Not giving any warning, he shot a blast of blue energy at Dayne. It was met in the middle by a matching blast of red energy. His brother was fast, he’d give him that.

The air in the room swirled into gale force winds. Terya appeared and with a single gesture, the energy blasts vanished. She floated into the throne room in front of them both. Their mother was beautiful. Truth be told, she looked younger than either of them.

“Boys. Stop bickering.”

Before he could defend his actions, she threw up a hand and trees sprang up around them. “You each have much to learn. Disappointment fills me when I see the two of you trying to kill each other. In our world, there must be balance. Hear me well—if one of you kills the other, you in turn will die.”

He processed what she’d said. This was complete utter bullshit. Dayne jumped in before he could.

“Mother, there has to be some kind of mistake.”

Terya silenced both with a single flick of her wrist. “And to ensure you both understand me, not only will you destroy each other but in doing so, your realms will be destroyed with you.” Birds chirped, frogs croaked and their mother vanished.

Dayne scowled at his brother. “Nice. Guess I’ll have to find another way to kill you.”

“Always a pleasure to have these little chats brother.” Thorne dematerialized back to his realm to think of another way to accomplish his goals.

“Solien. Your greedy bastards cocked it up.” Rawlins appeared at Velvet. Stalking through the dark interior to the corner booth where the demon was kicked back drinking long island iced teas. There was no one around, it was too early.

“Whatever are you going on about?”

“Do you have any idea what I’ve been doing all day while you’re here enjoying a bloody drink? Colin and Jasper took out all of the men because they were going to steal treasure from Robert and his crew.”

The demon’s gaze sharpened. “Treasure. What treasure?”

Rawlins wanted to throttle the guy. “The old Knights Templar treasure was apparently under Rosslyn Chapel all these years. Robert and his crew stole it and divvyed up the spoils. The man you had on the inside got greedy and decided his share wasn’t enough. So he plotted with Bruce and all the men to take it. They hit the crew. Only they didn’t count on Colin and Jasper showing up. Bloody Shadow Walkers cut them down without breaking a sweat.”

He paused in his tirade as the waitress brought him a martini. Drinking it in two gulps, he slammed the glass down. “Bring me two more.” The girl scurried off to get him the drinks and he resumed. “Bruce and a large number of men went to Gwrych to try and take Robert on his own land. Foolish idiots. All are dead. But before one of them was killed, he got off a text. Do you know what it said?” Rawlins could feel his blood boiling. While he might not have approved of the farming activities, this…this would start an all-out war. He preferred to catch his enemy unaware. Not going to happen now.

Solien raked a glare across him. “You’re spoiling my good mood. I’ve only taken a few humans today and I’m in need of more. Finish your tale and be gone.”

Ah. The demon was still torqued he’d thought of the idea of buying a few fast food chains to feed the humans and Solien hadn’t. Let’s see what he made of this news. “The text said that Fury was helping the Shadow Walkers. He’s turned. Can’t you and Dayne control your pet? And that’s not all. They had a bloody dragon with them.”

He had the demon’s attention now. Solien sat forward. “I should throw you into the wall for your insolence but then the authorities would show up and ruin my day. I’ll deal with Fury, don’t worry about that one.” He leaned across the table, pale in the dim light. His hands gripping the wood as claws appeared out of his fingertips. “What do you mean a dragon?”

“A dragon. You know, big giant beast with wings who breathes fire.” He rolled his eyes. The guy looked spooked. Interesting.

Solien sneered. “You will report to Dayne, fill him in on what’s been happening. Then, find us more humans. We’ll need to build our ranks back up. I’ll look into this dragon story.”

Dismissed, Rawlins knocked back the rest of his martini. He’d be lucky if Dayne didn’t incinerate him on the spot when he delivered this delightful news.

One eye cracked open, and Maggie rolled onto her side, retching. Grass tickled her face. She sat up slowly, taking stock of her body. Everything seemed to be in working order though she had a bitch of a headache. Where was Monroe? She’d been thrown into a ravine and wedged between two barrels from the impact of the explosion. Debris fluttered on the air currents like some modern art installation. Sirens sounded.

Hauling her aching body to its knees she looked again. There. Concealed beneath some type of hedge, an arm stuck out. Pushing to her feet, Maggie staggered to the shrubbery.

“Monroe. Wake up. Can you hear me?” Pulling his arm, she half dragged him out. He had numerous lacerations on his body and a big bump on his head. His blond hair looked brown from all the dirt and was laced with twigs and leaves. Oh hell, she’d yanked him too far. With a grunt, he slid down to the bottom of the ravine with her.

“Fuck, that hurt.” A baleful turquoise eye glared at her. “What the fuck happened?”

“Thank god you’re alive. And to answer your question, we were blown up by Rawlins. A Day Walker.”

Maggie staggered to her feet. The ambulance had pulled away, sirens blaring. Who did they have in the back? There wasn’t anyone else there. She waved her hands to get someone’s attention but the police were busy investigating the blast. Black metal caught her eye. “Uh, Monroe. Can you stand?”

Listing a bit to the side, he rested one hand on the ravine. She pointed. “I think that used to be your car.”

“Fuck it all to hell and back. She was my baby. I’ll kill the bastard for this.” He was so angry and it wasn’t humorous so why was she laughing so hard she was crying. Hysterical laughter making her stomach hurt.

“It isn’t funny, Maggie.” He sounded so upset. Her words came out in a jumble.

“I’m not laughing at you or the car. I don’t have a clue why I’m laughing. Nothing is funny. We almost died.” The laughter subsided into small giggles and turned to hiccups.

Monroe patted all his pockets, turning them inside out. “My phone’s gone. Do you have yours?”

“No. My purse and phone were on the ground when the bomb or whatever it was went off. You must have been closer to the blast because you’re shredded and I don’t have a scratch on me.” How was it possible she didn’t have a mark on her? Even her headache was gone.

“Anyway we don’t need a phone. I can get us out of here.”

At the hospital, Fury changed into human form. The nurse on duty told him, well with a bit of a telepathic tinkering, the woman had a purse with her, identified her as Maggie. No last name. The man didn’t have any identification on him. He already knew the car at the site was Monroe’s. They were gone. He had to get to Robert.

Fury met them in the air in his raven shape, telling Draken to land. They took advantage of an empty parking lot. Changing back to his hound form, the middle head spoke. “Robert. The bodies were burned beyond recognition. The man didn’t have any ID but it was Monroe’s Benz. The woman…I’m sorry. Her purse was there, along with her mobile. Maggie and Monroe are gone.”

Falling to his knees, he couldn’t breathe. The volcano erupted, scorching his insides, burning everything away, leaving nothing but ash behind. Robert’s soul split in two as he howled to the heavens. The only woman he’d truly loved was gone.

Monroe’s arched eyebrow said it all. Whatever. “Stow it and listen. Fury gave me his name if I ever needed him. I think this definitely qualifies as needing him.”

“Wait. Gave you his name. How does it work?”

She shrugged. “Beats the heck out of me.” Climbing out of the ravine, she looked around. They’d been carried a hell of a distance by the blast. The field they were in was far enough that if the police weren’t looking in this direction, they’d never see them or Fury. Wouldn’t be able to hear them either. Not sure what to do, she took a deep breath, thought
Please help us
and let it rip. “Fury. If you can hear me, it’s Maggie. Monroe and I really need your help.”

Draken made a keening noise in the back of his throat. And as Fury told Robert he’d gladly help him destroy every last Day Walker, a voice called his name.

“It isn’t possible. Robert. Draken. Follow me.” He leapt into the air, changing into a raven and flew to answer Maggie’s distress call.

Monroe searched the sky. “How long does it take? Shouldn’t it be instantaneous—you call and poof he’s here?” He was sitting down, his back up against a tree.

“I don’t know, I’ve never done this before.” She put her hand up to shield her eyes from the afternoon sun, sending up a prayer he’d hear her and appear. The realization she could have been killed today in the blast—all she wanted to do was see Robert, throw her arms around him and never let go. She’d been thinking about what transpired between them and maybe, just maybe she could see his side. A four hundred year old pirate was bound to have some caveman tendencies. For Robert, his protectiveness was a way to show he cared. She trusted him and most importantly, loved him beyond all measure. They’d have to set ground rules and he’d be making it up to her for a long time, but she felt forgiveness spread through her heart, warming her.