Drake of Tanith (Chosen Soul) (15 page)

There was no further warning before Adonides attacked. Raven at once tried to push herself up. Her instinct wanted to throw her into the fray of violence that suddenly exploded before her eyes. Drake was in there. He was outnumbered.

No he isn’t,
her mind told her.
You’re not afraid for him. You know they won’t hurt him. They can’t.

Oh gods
, Raven thought.

“Come on!” Loki said as he knelt quickly beside her and tried to pull her to her feet. “We’re getting out of here!”

Grolsch appeared on her other side, and between them, they got her on her feet and began to move back out of the clearing. Raven felt panic. “Wait!” she pleaded. But neither man was listening to her. They turned, with her in the middle, heading toward an opening in the trees. Behind them, Raven could hear horrible sounds.
Haunting
sounds.

“Grolsch!” she exclaimed, not understanding how the ork could leave his best friend behind.

But Grolsch shook his head. “We’d best be moving,” he told her simply. There was an air about him that Raven would never have otherwise associated with him. He was frightened.

Behind her, there was a loud cracking sound, like a tree trunk splintering in half. Loki and Grolsch picked up their paces. Over their heads, the canopy of trees became denser, blocking out the light of the moon. Foliage crunched beneath their boots. They covered ground fast and, as they moved, Raven’s blood circulated through her body. With each passing second she felt her strength returning. Drake’s donation was working.

“Let me go,” she breathed, gritting her teeth as she flexed the muscles in her legs and caught her own weight. Loki glanced at her questioningly, but when she shot him a warning glance, he nodded at the ork and both men slowly released her.

They’d moved a good distance from the clearing, but it was obvious that neither of them were satisfied yet because they inched forward, urging her on. She could understand their anxiety. The air around Drake had become nearly un-breathable before Adonides had attacked and she and her companions had run. It felt as though there would be an explosion at any second. Or that the ground would open up and swallow them whole and cracks would follow on their heels, threatening to envelop them if they didn’t get far enough away.

But Drake was back there. And though his essence had suddenly become as foreboding as a nightmare, she carried his blood. She knew the feel of his lips upon hers, his arms around her body, his whispered breath across the taut skin of her neck.

Raven glanced over her shoulder at the thick of trees behind her and the clearing that lay somewhere beyond. She was struck, suddenly, by the stillness. There was no sound. Nothing breathed.

“Wait,” she said softly, almost afraid to speak too loudly and break the silence.

“Raven…” Loki’s voice trailed off. She turned to glance at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking above them, his gaze skirting the canopy and the trees to either side of them, his expression starkly worried. Grolsch’s stance was wide, his hands flexing and un-flexing at his sides. Both men looked positively terrified.

Raven’s brow furrowed. “What?” she whispered.

The trees exploded around them without warning. One second, there was nothing but stillness and foreboding – the next, the air was thick with leaves and flying tree branches. Raven tried to duck, but someone had her. Grips like steel claimed her arms. She inhaled in the air-borne dirt and debris and was pulled against something hard. Her hair flew about her face, obscuring her vision.

And then the ground was no longer beneath her feet.

Chapter Fourteen

Adonides felt the atmosphere change as if a storm had suddenly rolled in, heavy and black. But his pride was on the line, and pride burned a cold fury in a man’s veins. It would forever be the god of emotions, reigning supreme over a male creature’s actions.

Malphas’s daughter had been found in what an Abaddonian would consider a rather compromising position. Adonides was well acquainted with the act of sharing blood with another. It was no insignificant act in the realm of Abaddon. Among devils, it was a sign of trust, and even of intimacy.

Adonides himself had given Raven blood once before. His moral excuse, and the one he was grateful her father accepted, was that she would not have been capable of accessing her power had she not taken it. But he was her father’s steward, a close and trusted member of Caina’s court. He was allowed.

Drake of Tanith – was
not
.

What was worse, though he would never admit it did not bother him as much, was that she’d been so severely injured she’d needed blood in the first place. She’d suffered the attacks of two Rakshins; their bodies were now destroyed and littered the small clearing. And it was obvious from the look of Tanith’s bloodied weapons that he’d been the one to dispatch them. No small feat. Rakshins were not the weakest of Abaddon’s creatures.

What perhaps surprised Adonides the most were the massive set of black wings at Tanith’s back and the fangs behind his lips. The bounty hunter’s skin had darkened to the color of coal, and his eyes burned a hellish red in the handsome frame of his face.

He was a devil. It was something Adonides would not have expected, but it explained much. Depending upon what Tanith’s descent was, it would explain the bounty hunter’s immunity to Fae magic, his incredible skill in combat, and the infamy of his long, impressive career.

Adonides had to admit that Drake made for an imposing figure in his dark transformation, and seeing him as thus gave Adonides pause. But it wasn’t enough to overrun his sense of duty… and the gnawing twinge of jealousy that scraped at his nerve endings.

Drake’s warning was the last straw. Despite the growing unease in the air, despite the odd and absolute quiet of the forest – despite all reason – Adonides attacked.

And now….

Now his guards were dead and he hung limply against a tree trunk, trapped in the bounty hunter’s deadly grasp. His throat was caught tight in Drake’s clawed grip, and his body was numb from the neck down. He’d sustained one too many injuries. He might heal in time, but not if Drake finished the job and killed him now.

Adonides gazed into his opponent’s eyes and quietly marveled at the colors within them. At this distance, he could see that they were not simply red. They were tri-colored – like the princess’s. At their centers burned a hellish flame reminiscent of the fire-laden pits of Nisse. Beyond that, a gold-laced gray warped like molten marble. A platinum circle that glowed like lightning made up the third ring. They were mesmerizing and familiar.

“I know what you’re thinking,” said Drake as he leaned in and his grip on Adonides’s throat tightened.

Adonides felt strange. There was no pain, only fear and a dawning sense of completion. He said nothing.

“You know you’re about to die.” Drake said. “You feel a little strange. Scared but at peace. Death is the ultimate dichotomy.” A beat passed. Suddenly Drake released him and Adonides slid down the tree to the blood-soaked mud beneath him. He was certain the bark of the tree dug furrows into his broken wings, but he didn’t feel it.

Drake stepped back and Adonides watched through blurred vision as a stream of blood threatened his own right eye and Drake gazed down at him. “Would you like to live, Adonides?” Drake asked.

Adonides thought about that. There was a clarity about him in that moment, perhaps afforded by his lack of pain, perhaps by some kind of magic. He was able to think clearly. And he knew that if he lived but went back to Malphas to admit that he’d lost Raven, the king of Caina would most likely kill him anyway. Then again, he might not. Malphas was not the kind of king to needlessly do away with loyal help when it was so hard to find.

If Drake left now, Adonides’s body would heal of its own accord. He might make it through this.

Drake waited, and finally Adonides nodded. He couldn’t quite speak, however. His lungs weren’t drawing in air properly.

Drake raised his head just a touch. “Come after Raven again and I will tear your wings from your body and use them to make her a coat.” He turned, there was a blast of air as his massive wings beat down once, and the infamous bounty hunter lifted out of Adonides’s sights.

The injured devil closed his eyes and rested his head against the tree behind him. It would be days before he retained the full use of his body after the thrashing Tanith had given it. He’d been foolish to attack the man. He was not only a devil, but apparently a very old one.

Adonides frowned and pushed the irritating mystery from his mind. He needed to concentrate on healing. Slowly, he felt the magic blood in in his veins begin to exert its power over the torn muscles, dislocated joints and broken bones in his body. Something in his back repaired itself and feeling flooded into his legs. It
hurt
.

Adonides gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut tight against the pain. And then there was a sound in front of him – like the settling of leather armor and the light step of an assassin. His eyes flew open once more.

Drake of Tanith was back.

Adonides frowned and tried his best to get to his feet. His legs screamed and shook, barely managing to get him upright. He leaned heavily on the trunk as he wiped the blood from his forehead and met the bounty hunter’s silver gaze. Tanith stood before him once more, but his skin had lightened and his wings were gone, as were his fangs. In their place was a smirk of such evil, Adonides was both impressed and taken aback.

“Changed your mind, Tanith?” Adonides whispered, his perilously weak voice quavering badly.

“No,” replied Tanith, and Adonides noticed that even his voice seemed different. It was still the deep, charismatic timbre it had always been, but there was an edge of finality, of ruthlessness, to it that Adonides hadn’t before noticed. “My mind hasn’t changed at all,” Tanith finished, smiling.

And in that single, final moment, it hit Adonides. This was not Drake.

The imposter attacked with blinding speed. Adonides went down and hit the ground like a sack of feathers. It almost felt as though he bounced. His body was no more; there would be no healing now.

With the last of his vision, he watched his attacker’s boots slowly move back into view. The creak of leather reached Adonides as the man slowly knelt beside him. “A parting gift, steward,” came his enemy’s voice. Adonides felt the man’s touch on his cheek. “For one should never go to sleep uncomprehending.”

Light exploded before Adonides’s eyes. He gasped, taking in his final quick breath, as comprehension dawned on him. He saw everything and understood everything. And then he closed his eyes for good.

*****

Drake could scarcely think as he left his dying opponent and took to the skies. A betrayal burned at his brain. She’d taken his blood and then run from him.

His rage simmered, his vision red.

Yessss
. He could feel his father’s approval coursing through him, and for once in his life, he didn’t mind. Anger drove him beyond caring. He didn’t know why he’d left the steward alive. Something stopped him. Maybe it was Raven, her spirit touching his, her more gentle nature rubbing across his morality and smoothing off the rough edges. Maybe she was teaching him mercy.

If so, he was devoid of it now.

Down below, in the absolute darkness of a forest bereft of light sources, the trail Raven had taken beckoned to him. He couldn’t see her; a thick canopy of trees completely covered the trail, shrouding the party’s hasty progress. But he could feel her down there. He could smell her blood; it was laced with his own. And he could hear the whisper of her mind as she fled. She was frightened, but of what? Of
him
?

How could she be afraid of him after all he’d done for her? He’d saved her so many times!

His sinister form blurred over the tree tops. Branches caught fire as he passed them by. Embers crackled and popped behind him, stirred into eddies of flaming ash as he shot over the forest. He lit a trail of destruction behind him. Birds took to flight to escape the flickering flames and animals roused from their sleep, gathering offspring and shooting into darker, safer territory.

Triumphant laughter followed Drake’s hell-bound progress, filling him up inside, heating his blood, and taking over his mind.

There
.

He heard the harder beat of her heart and felt her sudden stillness. They’d stopped in their terrified retreat. He knew they stopped because of him. They were waiting for him – they sensed him coming.

The forest exploded before him, parting to make way for his rapid descent. Branches went flying. Peeled bark lit up by the embers of Hell smacked into tree trunks and cascaded in sparks to the forest floor. A whirlwind of leaves filled the air, scraping at skin and blinding sight. Raven shielded her eyes, as did her companions. But he had the Cainan princess in his arms and was once more rising into the air before she could fathom what was happening.

There was the quick intake of breath before what would have been a scream, and Drake’s hand was covering Raven’s mouth. It was better this way. Without the ability to speak, she would have a harder time casting magic on him.

She didn’t struggle in his grasp – smart girl. The fact that he took her through the night time skies at dizzying speed no doubt had something to do with that. Instead, she had a death grip on his arms where they encircled her body and held her back against his chest. Her heart thudded like a rabbit’s, beating out a painfully quick pace against the delicate cage of her ribs. She was undeniably scared, but Drake knew that the moment he set her down – the moment he let her go – she would do everything in her power to attack him.

That was how Raven responded to fear. She didn’t cower. She didn’t hide. She faced her fears head on and threw a massive amount of magic at them.

Raven had never used her magic on Drake before. It was lucky that he’d managed to evade that particular part of her until now. She was a devil with an inclination to cold and ice. He was the opposite. Her spells would undoubtedly cause him copious amounts of damage.