The Council (Darkness #5) (2 page)

“However you define it.”

After another moment of quiet, I said, “Stefan.”

“Hmmm?”

“Is this council meeting going to be a shit show?”

With a small inhalation, Stefan leaned back against the seat and pulled me closer. “I’d be lying if I said no. You will be sought after. Someone will try to bend you to their will—and we have no idea who or how you will fit in their plans. Until we learn motives, it’ll be hard to know how the attack will come, or when. It’ll be harder to keep you protected.

“As for me, they’ll try to send me away, worried I’ll gain favor of one of the Council members. I have a high power level, I am excellent with a blade, smart and can be ruthless. Plus, I’m a good leader—I’ll draw notice. Some favorable, some not.”

“So, we’ll be in the fight of our lives.”

I got a squeeze. “Yes. From the first minute we step onto Council soil.”

The breath tumbled out of my mouth in a sigh. “Well, at least we have a few people we can trust.”

Stefan resumed stroking my hair. “And I hate to say it, but we have the shifters. They’re tied to you, and you to me. I don’t like your connection with them, but in this, I’ll take any help I can get.”

“Just say it—
I was wrong
. Three little words:
I was wrong.
Or go a step further—Tim and his crew stuck around and helped us defeat the demon instead of taking off like cowards. It’s not so hard…”

I got another squeeze. “Don’t push your luck.”

I snickered and settled in tight against him. “Well, whatever you say, I’m glad they’re coming. They’re different; I’m different…”

“There are other humans at this place.”

I scoffed. “They’re pets. They don’t hold any positions of power.”

“True, I suppose. Our way of sticking our tongue out at the majority of humans who keep us in the shadows. I wish it was different. It would make our situation easier.”

“Something in my life easy? Yeah right.”

“Careful, Toa’s Doom’s Day cloud is hovering over your head.”

I laughed and lightly elbowed him. “Well, we’ll just have to stick together, no matter what comes.”

“There isn’t any other way. Especially not with what
will
come.”

After a long trip, only somewhat shortened by love-making, the motorhome rolled onto a dirt road leading up to a small, decrepit barn. Beyond this singular barn there was an empty field leading to forest. It was desolate.

“Pretty good concealment spell,” I drawled, hazy from the many hours of boredom. I opened up and let the elements rush into me, stuffing my body with power before Stefan’s presence through the blood link smoothed everything out. I reached forward with my magic, trying to feel out the spell so I could wipe away some of the charm. Obviously that wasn’t easy inside a motorhome.

Using another tactic, I focused on the mid-morning sun sprinkling the area I knew had a building of some sort within it. That barn was most likely squatting in front or part of the spell, which would be an awesome bit of magic. I could just barely see the monstrous sides of a box-shaped facility, easily three or four stories high.

“They must’ve had a huge group of magical people to get this spell into existence,” I intoned.

Stefan was up, strapping on his sword, his eyes having gone hard and body fluid—all signs he was readying himself for battle. “They did. Older, experienced, adept magical people working in teams and building spell upon spell.”

“So this isn’t necessarily a meeting, this is just where people hang out.” I followed his lead and strapped my dagger onto my belt.

“Exactly. They have many meetings, but never about much. They reside here, mostly. Ready for new placements or recruits.”

“I can’t believe we have to go through all this just so I can be a mage like I already am. There’s nothing they can do about giving us the green light to be mated, right?” I knew the answer, but I raised my eyebrows hopefully anyway.

Stefan regarded me softly. “No. We only need permission from the rest of our clan. They must agree to follow you. I can force the issue, probably, but it would cause dissension. That would backfire on your leadership, and mine. No, we’re just here to proclaim you as a mage. It’s necessary for you to meet the Council and ensure you have the proper magical power level—they like to know all the big players.”

“Yup, Toa has done nothing but lecture me on the magical part of things.” I had to meet the Council and try to keep from getting caught in their weird power games and webs of deception. We’d be here two weeks. That was it. Only two weeks, but apparently that was plenty of time for happy times to turn ugly.

We’d passed through the outer confines of the concealment spell enabling everyone to finally see what we faced. Charles and Jonas wore equally grim expressions outside our motorhome, wearing their battle garb and ready for war. Dominicous and Toa stood near their motorhome, waiting on us to come to them. Dominicous stood firm and solid, his usually twinkling eyes or hinting smile absent. He was preparing for the worst.

Beyond them stretched a massive compound. It could’ve been two Walmarts stacked on top of each other. Two large doors marked the entrance with windows dotting the sides. It was boxy, plain, and made to house a bunch of people.

As a progression, we moved beyond Dominicous’ motorhome, Dominicous and Toa in the lead, Stefan beside me, and the rest behind. We moved in perfect order and synchronization, Stefan’s handling of his Watch—what he called his battle unit—thorough and expert.

Chest tight, breathing laborious, I tried not to fidget. “Is it not going to look strange if we all show up ready for a war?”

“We come with a black mage, a clan leader, and a Regional. We show that we are a united front, ready at arms,” Toa said quietly as we approached the doors.

No one stood outside. No cameras pointed down at the entrance. It was a dark tan building with tinted windows, seemingly unguarded for anyone to walk on through. I had no idea how they monitored their front door, or if they did, and I didn’t plan to ask. I was human—that was already a strike against me. I didn’t need to add “clueless dumb-ass” to the list of accolades.

Dominicous slowed as he neared the doors, but didn’t stop. Just as he was about to bump into the glass, the doors opened inwards, revealing a grim giant wearing a sword and gun. His dark eyes scanned the group, lingering on Stefan a fraction of a second longer than anyone else.

“Welcome back, Regional,” the man said, nodding to Dominicous.

Dominicous nodded back, continuing his straight-backed saunter. Toa glided at his side. Another huge guard stood to the other side, watching our progression silently, his gaze choosing Jonas to linger on for just a bit longer than the others. The two guards were sizing everyone up they didn’t know, and had picked out the two most dangerous. This meant they were experienced.

I had asked Stefan why he hadn’t come here when he was named leader. The answer was simple—there were a great many leaders in the world, and the Council didn’t want to bother with all of them. Only those with the most potential were brought forth. Everything else could be left to the Regionals to handle.

Since he now wanted to step up to Regional, it was time to come forth. Plus,
his prowess had been noticed in whispers and stray words.
And
he had helped capture two huge pains in the ass.
And
he had discovered black level talent.
And
he wanted to mate a human. Pretty much, in their eyes, his visit was just as important as mine.

I wished that was a good thing.

The room opened up into a grand foyer with a long desk off to the right. Couches and chairs dotted the wide room in clusters. The layout was something I might’ve seen in a grand hotel lobby. Two men walked forward from beside the long desk. Large and lithe, they certainly did more than merely push paper and type on computers. These guys also doubled as a line of defense from intruders, I’d bet my life on it.

Actually, scratch that. I didn’t want to bet my life on anything. Not when so many people would be trying to cash in.

“Regional, hello,” said one of the men. He was suave with feathered blond hair. He bowed extravagantly to Dominicous. “I trust your journey went well?”

Dominicous nodded, gaze scanning the mostly deserted room. “Fine.”

“Splendid.” The man turned to Stefan next, his lips turned up in a welcoming style. “And Stefan, is that correct? One of our clan leaders?”

Stefan nodded, eyes scanning like Dominicous. They were both trying to be self-important and ready for an assault at the same time.

“Wonderful.” The man’s gaze flashed to me, his smile remaining plastered on his face. “And Sasha, our first human in a mage role. Spectacular. A great many will want to speak to you, I am sure. And you maintain the black power level, is that correct?”

Before I could answer or even nod, Dominicous jumped in with, “That has not been decided by the Council yet. As of now, she is merely a guest awaiting an audience.”

“Of course.” The man nodded, smile not even twitching. He was well used to strong, violent leader-types. Not good.

“Fantastic. Regional, I will escort you to your rooms. You will be stationed in the same suites as usual. My associate will escort Stefan and his entourage, who will be staying in the Blue wing.”

Dominicous’ gaze swung toward the speaker, hard and cutting. He stared for a moment, his posture tense and robust. The feather-haired attendant met the stare with his pleasant smile, something silent passing between them. Finally, Dominicous nodded and stared straight ahead. “Lead on.”

The “associate,” an aging guy with salt and pepper hair and a neck as big as my thigh, stepped forward. “Follow me,” he barked, turning at once and marching away to the right. Dominicous was led left.

There weren’t any connecting rooms with Toa and Dominicous. The Council attendants were separating us and judging by Dominicous’ severe bad mood, that was intended. Divide and conquer, starting now.

Our progression of eight people in all, followed Mr. Happy through mostly empty hallways and elevators until we got to the back of the third floor, a distance that felt like a football field. He stopped in front of a deep blue door and glanced at Stefan for a brief moment. “This is your suite. I was told you wished to share with your mage…”

“Correct,” Stefan acknowledged.

The man nodded and took a step back, leaving Stefan to open the door and usher me in. He waited until the rest of his guys were ushered into their rooms down the hall before he closed the door.

I wandered into the spacious room, a space plain and sparse compared to what Stefan and his people might’ve done with it. A few paintings of flowers or landscapes dotted the cream-colored walls, a couch and chair faced a tube TV with a desk in the corner, and through a small archway sat a large King-sized bed. I assumed the bathroom was beyond.

“Not real homey, is it?” I asked, plopping onto the couch.

Stefan had a quick glance around before his eyes settled on me. His chest heaved with a deep exhale. “We won’t be together much these two weeks, I fear.”

“Why is that?”

He regarded me solemnly. “They’ll keep me busy. I’ll have challenges constantly, I assume. They want to see my power, how I handle myself, and above all, how much shit I’ll take. Or
won’t
take, as the case may be. You’ll be…”

He took two slow steps and sank beside me on the couch. His muscular arm came around me and gathered me close. “You’ll be a science experiment. There are quite a few humans within these walls, and they have their agendas—don’t think they’re just ignorant pets—but none of them are mages. None have people at their back, supporting them. And none bear a mark of one of my kind. Not one.”

“How do you know?”

“Because none bear a mark, human or otherwise, that is under two hundred years old. I probably shouldn’t have done it. I probably should’ve waited until you were firmly aware of the implications.”

I thought back to that episode where he crashed through my door and made me his. I shivered with the exquisite memory of it. “Thankfully, I don’t think you were strategizing at the time.”

“Hmm.” He leaned down to me. I shivered again as the heat from his breath warmed my skin. “I wasn’t, no.”

I closed my eyes as his lips trailed down to my throat. His hand slipped in between my thighs, applying pressure as it worked its way up.

“We have one night of no drama,” I said in a sigh. “Or day, I guess. Let’s make the most of it before the world goes to shit.”

His hand reached my apex and started to massage. Hot waves of pleasure vibrated up my body. His mouth drifted lower, lingering over my pulse before inching down a little more. Deft fingers left my crotch to quickly strip me of my shirt and bra. His hot mouth surrounded a nipple, sucking gently until a moan escaped my throat, and then increasing the suction to the pleasing side of painful. My head dropped against the couch.

“Sounds good,” he said quietly.

With a quick movement he lifted me and carried me to the bed. After he set me down gently, he stripped my pants and knickers and spread my legs. His tongue worked up my inner thighs, making a hot trail leading directly to my throbbing sex. He expertly parted my folds and licked up my center before sucking.

“Hmmm, Stefan,” I breathed, running my fingers through his hair.

I spread my legs wider as he worked, sucking and licking, one finger entering my body. The heat coalesced, burning now. I arched into him, tingles working through me, followed by fire. My stomach tightened, and then my core, two fingers now plunging. Faster he worked, harder he sucked. My hips swung up to him, my breath tearing out of me in fast pants.

“Almost…”

I couldn’t complete the sentence with the waves of pleasure battering me. I held my breath, everything tightening. So intense.

“Oh god!” I exalted. An explosion rocked my body. Tremors tore through me as he lazily circled my sex with his tongue, letting me come down.

Breathless and languid, I relished in his kisses as he worked up my body. He flicked a nipple with his tongue and then suckled the other, his hands tracing my hot skin with his fingertips. He backed off a second so he could rip off his shirt and slip out of his pants. His large erection bobbed up, drawing my eyes.

“I got lucky with you,” I whispered, closing my eyes as his hands roamed my body slowly.

“What, because I’m well-endowed?” he laughed, nestling between my legs so he could pay more attention to my breasts.