Rising Darkness (A Rylee Adamson Novel, Book 9) (14 page)

“Yeah, well, that’s what you get when a submissive isn’t so doormat-like any longer,” I said, hoping to get a reaction. I did.

The Great Wolf leapt at me, knocking me to the ground. His huge paws were on my shoulders, keeping my hands pinned. His back feet dug into my ankles, locking me to the ground. Fuck, I’d just been owned by an oversized dog.

A blur of blond hair and golden eyes was all I caught as Faris sent the Great Wolf flying. “She’s mine, don’t you forget it, old man,” he snarled in a voice not quite his.

“Liam, ease up. We have to play nice when we want someone’s help.”

“Easy for you to say, you never play nice.” His eyes flicked to mine, golden and oh-so-beautiful. I shrugged. No point in denying it. That was a hard truth about me. Around us the other wolves whimpered and shifted, like they didn’t know what to do. Attack or run. I felt the same way.

“Great Wolf, or whatever the fuck your name is, are you helping us? We’re going to save the world with or without your help, but it will be a hell of a lot easier with.”

The Great Wolf seemed to grow and I realized he was shifting. “I hope to hell you can keep clothes on when you do that,” I said before I thought better of it.

His body morphed in a fluid spell of shifting bones and flesh, not unlike the way Liam shifted.

He lifted his head, and those dark eyes and hair struck me to the core of my guts. It wasn’t Liam, I knew that. But the similarities were so strong I wanted to run my hands over his face to feel the lines of his jaw, the edge of his brow. He wore a button down shirt that could have been a dark blue, and something like khaki pants but his feet were bare.

“You’re related to Liam, aren’t you?”

He nodded and that one word came back to me.

“You’re his fucking
grandfather
?”

The Great Wolf shrugged, a wry smile on his lips that was so like Liam’s it tore at my heart. “I wouldn’t say fucking, yeah? I haven’t had the pleasure of that in a damn long time. But yeah, your wolf was my grandpup. Pity I didn’t get to meet him before he offed himself.” I stood and Faris, or I should say Liam, stayed one step in front of me. The Great Wolf narrowed his eyes. “You can call me Griffin, Tracker. But that one there”—he pointed at Liam—“Who in the name of the mother goddess is that?”

I lifted a hand. “Griffin, meet your grandson, Liam.”

CHAPTER 17

Liam

F
aris didn’t try
to fight for control as they stared at the man in front of them. The resemblance between them was uncanny. Put them in a lineup and Griffin could have been his twin. More so than even his own father.

As if reading his mind, Griffin nodded. “Your mother’s side, boy, yeah? But by the goddess, what are you doing in a vampire’s body? That seems like a damn stupid idea.”

Liam grimaced. “Wasn’t my idea. The vampire is a necromancer. He called on me to use my ability to heal. Then I got stuck.”

“Bullshit. You didn’t get stuck, you chose to stay. No such thing as a spirit getting stuck, yeah?” Griffin didn’t smile, but still he thought the older wolf was laughing at him.

Faris twisted around inside him.
Not stuck?

“Then why I am still here? I tried to leave when I was first in this body.” That was the truth too. In the beginning, he didn’t want anything to do with Faris.

Griffin pointed to Rylee. “
Because you bound your soul to her, didn’t you?
I see the ties between you. That’s the tricky part about a binding. Means you two are together no matter what, and if one of you is dead, your spirit can’t move on. Unless she dies, you’re going to be bosom buddies with the vampire there, yeah?”

He swallowed hard, but there was no saliva to wet his lips. Stuck with Faris for an undetermined time was not something he wanted to have to deal with. Especially not when he was able to see exactly what the fanged one wanted to do with Rylee.

Rylee cleared her throat. “Honestly, this is all damn fascinating, and maybe we’ll get a chance to sit down for fucking high tea at some point, but we’re on a time crunch.” She eyed Griffin. “Yeah?”

He gave her a lopsided grin and looped an arm across her shoulders, which made Liam bristle. He took three steps forward and knocked his grandfather’s arm off her.

“Liam.” Rylee shook her head. But it was too late. Bad enough that he had to share her with the vampire.

Griffin stepped into his space, a low growl trickling over his lips as he physically shoved Liam back. He kept pushing until they were twenty feet away from the others. His voice was low enough that Liam knew Rylee wouldn’t hear, but he wasn’t so sure about Berget. “Boy, what are you going to do when she tumbles with the vampire because he tricks her into believing it’s you?”

Horror, sharp and pungent, smacked him as if it were a living thing. “He won’t fool her.”

“No? Why do you think he isn’t fighting you? Why he isn’t pushing you out? Because that is the flipside. Even a green necromancer could, so fresh to the power that he doesn’t even realize he can toss a spirit. He’s playing you. Learning your moves.”

“He’s not really a necromancer.”

“Then how did he call on you? He’s playing you, Liam. Playing you for the fool you are. Your love for her is admirable, but he’s banking on it. And when the time is right he’ll make her his. One way or another.”

That was not what was happening. Yet even as he thought it, Faris pushed himself forward, stuffing Liam into a back cubbyhole.

Faris reached out and tapped Griffin on the shoulder. “Thanks for the warning, old man. But she’ll choose who she wants. I won’t force that on her.”

Griffin let out a snarl. “She’s my family too now, vamp. Remember, if you mess with her, you mess with me, yeah?”

Faris gave him a mocking bow, even going so far as to stick his leg out as if they were at court. Liam railed against not being able to say anything and when he tried to come to the surface, Faris shoved him back. As if it was no effort.

Fucking vampire, Griffin was right. He was being played.

She’s mine, Faris! MINE!

“She is her own person, Liam. That is something you struggle to understand. She’ll choose, and when she does, I’ll break the bond between the two of you and send your soul to its rest.” Faris gave Griffin a nod and brushed past him.

“Rylee, I believe the wolves and I are done if you have questions?”

Rylee narrowed her eyes and Liam saw in them something that curled his heart around itself. She cared about Faris.

Damn it, he had to find a way to stop Faris, but how?

How the hell could he do anything when he was trapped in the vampire’s body?

I put my hands on my hips and watched closely as Faris strolled toward me. There was something different and whatever the two, make that three, men had discussed, it had pleased Faris. And that made me nervous.

“Griffin—”

An ear-shattering crack exploded the night air. I dropped into a crouch and stared back the way we’d come. Another crack and Griffin clapped his hands. “You pissed off the big ape, yeah? I can’t help you with them. Against the rules.” He shifted into his wolf form and loped to one side, lying down as if he were watching TV.

“Fuck,” I muttered, pulling my two swords free. “Think we can talk them out of this?”

Berget shook her head. “I doubt it. They aren’t smart enough from what I understand. It looks like they think you are the cure to their problems. And once they decide on a course of action they stick to it. ”

“Maybe we can change their minds.”

A tree flew over our heads, the roots trickling soil. I ducked even though it was well above us.

Berget shook her head, dirt flying from her hair. “I doubt it. They decided a thousand years ago that humans wouldn’t see them anymore, even though there are colonies of their kind all over the world. And they’ve not deviated from that. Ever.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

Four of the big apes stumbled into the tiny clearing we stood in. They were all sick, and one carried a child. Not again, I couldn’t do this again. “I don’t want to fight them.”

“We aren’t exactly being given a choice, Rylee.” Faris’s tone was dry and full of sarcasm.

“I know.”

Faris met the first big foot, swung around and was up on his back in a split second. “Let me see what I can do. Just keep clear.”

His mouth buried into the big foot’s thick scruff around his neck. The vampire jerked up, spitting and gagging. “This is worse than biting Alex.”

Alex shook a fist at him. “I is clean, dumbass.”

I danced to one side, avoiding grasping hands. From the sidelines, Griffin let out a couple of short barks that could have been encouragement or laughter. I was betting on the latter.

Faris clung to the back of the big foot, who spun and tried to pull him off. “Probably thinks you’re a giant tick,” Berget said, and I did laugh, though it was short lived.

“Ha! You’re probably right.”

Griffin let out a snorting bark that was definitely a laugh. I ducked and dived between the hairy, stinking land apes, avoiding them fairly easily, considering. Then again, they were sick. Their bodies were covered in hair, but huge patches were missing, showing skin blistered and swollen with pustules. I brushed against one and the pus sack broke open, spewing its contents down my arm. I gagged, and had to drop to my knees to avoid the furred frying pan hand that swept over my head.

“Hurry up, Faris!”

“Can’t find a vein under this matted hair,” he shouted back.

I didn’t have time to ask him how that was possible. A set of large feet were stomping my way. I hit the ground, rolling so that I slammed into the feet.

Alex, beside me yelled, “Log rolls!” He flopped down and rolled around, taking out the big foot family like he was bowling. They howled and moaned as they went down and most didn’t get back up. They were that weak. But the one with Faris was obviously the alpha male. Even sick, he fought for his family. Even though it was a serious pain in the ass, I understood why. To my death and on pain of torture, I would fight for my family.

I backed until I was beside Griffin, watching Faris.

The vampire ripped away a huge chunk of hair, revealing bright pink skin underneath. I didn’t even see him move, his strike was so fast. One second he was upright on the big foot, the next, his mouth was on the bare skin. The big foot went to his knees with a groan, then he fell forward to his hands.

“Faris, don’t kill him.”

The vampire pulled his head up. “Not. Spelling him. He’ll take them back to their nest now.”

He slid from the big foot’s back and stumbled toward us. Falling to his hands and knees almost a parody of the big foot’s fall, he threw up. Blood, black and thick, that was visible . . . .

Visible.

Shit.

“Sun is coming, we need to get you clear. Now!” I grabbed Berget. “Griffin, where? A cave, something like that close by.” I was stuttering my words out and they weren’t even in full sentences.

Griffin leapt to his feet and grabbed Berget with his mouth, dragging her with him. She gave a squeak, but I waved her forward. “Go, I’ll grab Faris.” I ran to Faris and helped him up, Alex on the other side of him.

We stumbled after Griffin and Berget. I could almost feel the sun rising, feel the warmth of it licking at our heels as we bolted after the black shadow of Griffin.

Faris jerked us to a stop, puking up more blood, black and stinking of death. The price of biting someone infected. I took him by the arm and yanked him forward. “Keep puking, I don’t care, but keep moving your fucking feet.”

He groaned. I didn’t look at him, didn’t need to. He retched and heaved as we ran, the sound of splattering vomit was more than I needed. In the past, I had a stomach of steel. Now, after giving birth . . . not so much.

Alex gave a low whine. “Sun is coming.” I dared a glance back to see the tops of the trees lighting up. Fucking hell.

“Faster, we have to move faster. Berget, help us!”

She was my side in a flash. She grabbed Faris and hefted him over her shoulder like he was nothing. Score one for vampire strength saving the day. Maybe that was a bad choice of words.

“Go, just go!” I waved her forward and she took off running faster than I could ever hope to, a blur of black wolf at her side. I hoped Griffin was actually helping, and not take them to some open clearing where they’d both fry. I didn’t slow down, and Alex kept pace with me easily. He could probably keep up to the others, but I would need him to find them if they got too far ahead.

“Fuck,” I snapped out, as I jumped a log. Alex sailed over it beside me, his mouth open and tongue hanging out.

“Fuck,” he yelped as we jumped another log. And the next log was the same. My lips twitched and I remembered something Erik had said while we’d trained.

“Don’t forget to laugh, Rylee. I know it will be hard, but it isn’t just love that you should fight for, but joy too. Without it, your heart will be
empty.”

So on the next log, when Alex let out a tremendous “FUCK!” as he leapt, I let the laughter come. Two more logs like that and of course, he knew he was making me smile, making me laugh.

“Fuckity fuck!”

“Fucker duckers!”

“Alex, stop!” I bent over, unable to get my breath over the laughter spilling out of me. It was the crazy kind of laughter that came from being too tired, stressed, and scared. I didn’t care. I grabbed him around the neck and hugged him as the laughter turned into tears.

He patted my back. “I is here. All is good.”

I drew in a deep breath, the smell of wolf and summer forest filling my nose. “Faris is wrong, you smell pretty damn good.”

He gave me his best, widest wolfy grin. “I smell fine.”

A slow, even breath in and out and I stood on my own. The sun pierced the canopy of the trees, dancing around us. Whatever Faris had done with the big foot family had obviously worked, since we weren’t being pursued. Now it was just a matter of whether or not I’d put my trust in the right person.

“Alex, keep following the others okay, buddy?”

He nodded and stepped out in front of me. “You gots it, Rylee.” The forest came alive with the morning air, birds singing, and small animals waking and going about their business. As if everything was normal and the world wasn’t on the cusp of being eaten alive by a plague and shitload of demons.

I didn’t dare Track Berget and Faris. On the off chance the exchange had faded. Which meant I had to trust those around me, not something I did well on a good day. And this had not been a fucking good day.