Dark Desire (22 page)

“Yes, but
training and battle are two different things,” Zeke argued. “You have never
been forced to take a life.”

“I almost took
yours, didn’t I? Even if I was under some twisted spell my aunt concocted, I am
Mer
and will not run from a fight. It’s not in our
DNA.”

“Don’t waste any
more time on this. What she says is true, as much as I wish it were otherwise.
She will not be reasonable and stay safe,”
Ja’mel
interjected. “I don’t know if I should be proud or terrified. Either way our
time here is at an end. It is time to meet the enemy.”

Marcus laughed.
“I don’t think the
Mers
have a monopoly of stubborn
females. As you can see, my own woman is much the same as your sister.” He
rubbed his stomach where
Tambra
had landed her punch
and grinned down at her, love softening his gaze.

“Then may
Poseidon protect you, for you are doomed to lose that particular battle.”
Ja’mel
grinned, looking quite pleased with the prospect.

A burst of
laughter erupted from Zeke. “Remember your words,
brother-in-law,
for they will come back and bite you in the ass
someday.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Laris
forced her queasy
stomach to calm as she kept pace with Zeke’s long strides, traveling through
the halls and down the curved stairway leading to the battle below. She
tightened her hand against the hilt of the sword her brother had given her,
hands clammy as she gripped her fingers tighter around the instrument that
would bring death to the unwary in a very short time. There was a surreal
quality to the impending battle not yet sinking in, but there would be plenty
of time to struggle with the reality of what she would be expected to do.

Kill. Could she
really take another’s life?

She stole a
quick glance at her brother flanking Zeke’s left, and their eyes caught. The
understanding of her inner battle and regret shimmered in her brother’s dark
eyes and spoke louder than any words. She knew
Ja’mel
never wished a warrior’s life for her, pushing her into the arena of politics
and diplomacy. Words were her weapon of choice, yet at this moment she could
not regret her decision.

True, she would
grieve for those lost to her blade this day, but she knew at the core of her
being, she would make the same choice again. Her place would always be by her
husband’s side, where she could guard him. It had been their way since the
beginning of time.

 
Laris
jumped with
surprise at the ear-splitting scream reverberating through the building. With
horror she looked toward Zeke. “Dear goddess above, tell me we were able to get
the reporters out of the room.”

“It wouldn’t
surprise me if a few slipped in unnoticed. Humans are far too curious for their
own good.” Zeke’s face tightened into grim lines.

There was no
more time to talk as they made it through the open double doors and out into
utter chaos. She spied Christophe cutting a swath through the
ferals
with deadly precision, and in his hands his swords
blurred as they arced in continuous motion before him.

Tegan barked
into his cell, grinning as his emerald gaze met Zeke’s. “Our army will be here
in three … two … one.” He counted down. On cue the doors burst open, their
forces pouring through the room to engage the
ferals
.
“Men and lady, it’s time to play.” His smile was a nasty turn of lips, sharp
claws bursting from his knuckles.

Zeke glanced
down at
Laris
, and she wished for what felt like the
hundredth time he didn’t obscure his amazing eyes with those damnable shades.
As if reading her thoughts, he tossed his shades off over his shoulder. Those
beautiful orbs sparkled with such deep emotion she nearly forgot to breathe.

“You stay close
to me, got it?” His low growl sent shivers rocketing down her spine.

“There is no
place that I would rather be.” She rose on her toes to place a soft kiss on his
lips.

The back of her
neck prickled, and glancing just behind her she met Adrian’s shocked stare. She
frowned at the Enforcer. “What? Have you not seen Zeke without his shades
before?” Her voice rang with demand and filled with heat.

“As
a matter of fact, no.
It would seem we all have lost the bet. None of us
were even close to guessing what lay beneath those damn shades of his.” Tegan
laughed. “I never expected this. Damn, you have dragon eyes, dude.”

 
“Behold a child born beneath the waves in a
land lost in the mist of legend. Marked by the great dragon, he shall live
amongst the many races, his destiny unknown to all. From this child shall come
the union of two warring nations, and herald in a time of great change and
upheaval. Behold the child, warrior and prince, who shall lead a great army
against an ancient evil, intent to plunge the earth in darkness evermore,”
Adrian whispered in awe. “I never thought to see this prophecy come to pass.”

“What?” Zeke
choked out. “I thought it faded into obscurity. Only my father the king and I
know of it. It’s just superstitious nonsense as far as I’m concerned, but I’m
surprised that you know about it.”

“It
this why you where sunglasses, to hide your eyes?
You could wear
contacts instead.”

“Actually no,
I’m a bit sensitive to light, and it helps so I don’t have so many headaches
And before you ask, I can’t see very well with contacts,” Zeke explained. “So,
how do you know about the prophecy?”

“If we survive
the next few hours I will be happy tell you, but at this time we have more
pressing concerns,” Adrian promised, turning his attention to Tegan. “I believe
it’s time to engage. I will cover Marcus and the women and see them to safety.”

“About
damn time.”
Tegan nodded, a wide grin splitting his face.
“Time to kick
some feral ass!”

Adrian pulled
Marcus,
Tambra
, Mari, and Leola back against the
nearest wall and stood guard, looking for an opening when they could slip away.
The rest of them surged forward to engage the enemy.
Laris
kept a step behind Zeke, the handle of her sword clutched tightly in her hand.
The sounds of steel clashing, guns firing, and the screams of the wounded and
dying rang in her ears. Threatening her concentration for just a moment, the
urge to run the other way nearly overwhelmed her.

Grinding her
teeth
Laris
stuffed deep down inside the urge to flee,
taking in the chaos swarming around her as Enforcers and warriors fought the
ferals
with fierce determination. Gods, there were so many
of them! How could Amari amass such an army without anyone being the wiser?

The sharp tang
of blood hung thick in the air, and her gut twisted at the sight of the dead
and dying laying like broken dolls upon a white marble floor stained red.
Before her horrified eyes she watched
ferals
tearing
at the flesh of their victims in
a frenzy
to feed. So
much
destruction,
and the lives that would be
devastated by today's work were placed firmly on her aunt’s shoulders.

No, she would
never think of Amari as her kin again. Not after all the horror she’d wrought.
The room swarmed with so many
ferals
Laris
wondered how they could ever survive let alone win
this fight. She noticed a young man, possibly a reporter and definitely human,
huddled in a corner with his cell phone recording the horror playing out around
him

A tall, lean
man, his dark hair pulled away from … his pointed ears? …
moved
with lethal grace toward the cowering man, raising his curved sword high over
his head, and then he brought the blade down separating the young reporter’s
head from his shoulders.
Laris
gasped, and he
stiffened, whipping around to face her.
His eyes, as black as
pitch and cold as death, pierced her on the spot.
His features,
beautifully carved yet devoid of any emotion, chilled her blood.
Laris
struggled to break away from his unsettling gaze.
Fortunately, he broke contact first, giving her a sneer of disgust, and he
turned back to the fighting.

A
homicidal elf?
She’d always thought they were a neutral breed, wanting nothing more than to
stay behind the veil and commune with nature.

She took an
involuntary step back as Zeke pulled his matching
sais
from their back sheaths, and her eyes darted over the carnage for signs of any
immediate threats. His white blonde hair seemed to shimmer from the last rays
of the sun coming through the skylights in the high arched ceiling of the two
story room. With eyes sparkling with anticipation for the coming battle, he
winked at her before turning his attention on a feral vampire making his way
toward him.

“Vamps will
overextend. For some reason they always go for the throat of their victim.”
Ja’mel’s
voice sounded in her ear. “Zeke will sidestep out
of the way. When he does go in low for the vamp’s exposed stomach. It will give
Zeke the time to take his head.”

She nodded her
understanding.

“May the gods be
with you, sister mine,”
Ja’mel
whispered, stirring
only a soft breeze of cool air on her ear.

“May the gods be
with you, too, brother mine,” she replied, her eyes never leaving Zeke and the
opening she waited for.

****

Zeke narrowed
his focus on the vampire aiming for his throat. The stench of decay clogged his
nose as he jumped back quickly, barely missing the feral vamp’s poisonous claws
and fangs. In a graceful coordination of movement,
Laris
sprang forward, her sword flashing as she struck fast and hard, plunging the
blade deep into the vampire’s gut using his forward momentum to drive her
weapon up through his body.

Gripping his
sais
in his hands, Zeke sliced through the neck with a
forceful strike, parting the head from shoulders. “
Weres
use their claws to gut you before they go for the killing blow. If you can, go
for their legs and hamstring them. That will keep them from leaping, slowing
them enough to plunge your sword into their heart,” Zeke said casually, as if
speaking about the weather and not how to effectively kill a dark breed.
One of their own.
But that wasn’t quite true.
Ferals
were corrupted, not the same beings they once were.

She
nodded,
her eyes focused on a spot just off his left
shoulder, and frowned. Her gaze flicked up toward the skylight then back.
“Speaking of which, looks like we have a couple
Weres
itching for a fight. And why are they transformed? There is no moon out.”

Zeke turned just
in time to watch the walking nightmares jump clear of Tegan in combat with … an
elf? Zeke shook his head in disbelief before turning his attention back to the
threat at hand. He noted the long muzzle of sharp serrated teeth. Thick black
fur covered his seven foot tall form, long claws tipping the hands and feet,
and blood madness glittered in the dark pit of its eyes. Somehow the good
doctor had found a way to bypass the moon’s effect, giving the
Weres
the ability to change without the aid of a full moon.

So
not good.

 
One of the
Weres
engaged Zeke with a lethal swipe to his torso, while a second leapt for
Laris
. Rage scalded his veins as he roared a challenge, and
his nimble fingers spun his
sais
up chest level a
moment before slashing them across and down the Were from chest to belly.
Howling in pain, the beast dropped to the floor, attempting to hold his
intestines inside his body. With a sharp upward thrust of his left arm Zeke’s
other
sai
sank into the
feral’s
heart. Quickly he pivoted on the balls of his feet to engage the second
Were
.

His heart
dropped to his toes at the sight of
Laris’s
dark hair
strewn upon the bloody floor, her body covered by the huge
Were
.
Too late.
His mind screamed as his chest tightened,
gripped in a steel vise of such devastating pain he could not catch a breath.
The sound of battle around him dimmed, and the only thought circling in his
brain were words filled with accusation, dripping venom into his bloodstream.

I failed her.

A scream tore
from his throat as he lunged for the Were, flinging it off her body with so
much force it crashed into the wall yards away. He dropped to his knees before
her prone form.
So still.
Her dark lashes fanned
against her smooth cheeks, full lips parted as if in sleep. With trembling arms
gently lifted her off the floor. The movement brought a gasp from her. Lids
flying open in surprise as she blinked up at him.

“Did I get him?”
she wheezed out, struggling for breath.