Born of Silence (Immortal Guardians) (10 page)

“
Oh
,” Ferox said on the other end. “
Ally, how nice to hear your voice. I was actually trying to reach Draven
.”

“He’s in the shower,” she replied. “Is there anything I can help with?”

“
Actually, there is. Can you give a message to Thrash for me?
Demetrius and I have been discussing his
…
predicament, and we’ve decided to offer him another chance to keep his position in the Guardians.”

“That’s fantastic,” she said, sitting up in bed. “I’m sure he’ll really appreciate it.” Though Thrash never said anything, she could see that he was restless, needing something more than a good workout could provide.

“
Perfect. Can I trust that you will give this information to Thrash?”

She propped Draven’s cell phone on her shoulder. “Of course.”

“We received a distress call from some acquaintances in
Alaska
that they’re having some trouble with demon attacks
. S
ince he can shift into wolf form and would be able to track better than any of the other Guardians, we figured this could be his chance to redeem himself.”

“Makes sense. When do you need him to go out there?”

“
As soon as possible. Can you work with him and make the arrangements?
”

“Sure, no problem.” She looked at the bathroom door as the shower turned off. “Do you want to talk to Draven?”

“
No, thank you
,
dear
.” Then he hung up.

Steam b
i
llowed from the bathroom as Draven opened the door
and appeared
with a towel wrapped around his waist. He had another towel that he was rubbing through his hair to
keep
the drops from falling a
ll over him and the floor. “Who was that?”

Ally’s eyes traveled over the hardness of Draven’s body. His broad shoulders, taut chest and puckered nipples were just the beginning of her perusal. Every rope of muscle was visible, and the light trail below his belly button ran down under the towel. Despite the fact that they’d just made love for hours, the sight of him still made her shudder with desire. Draven cleared his throat and she drew her gaze back upward, her eyes meeting his. A wicked smile curved his lips.

“Oh,” she said, blushing.
“That was your dad.”

“What did he want?” He
stopped rubbing the towel through his hair and tossed it over his shoulder
.

“He said that he and Demetrius came up with a mission so Thrash can regain his place with the Guardians.”

“Really?” he said, shocked. “Nice. That guy has been moping around.”

“
Moping
? I don’t
know what you think you’ve been seeing, but it’s definitely not moping.
”

“It is. For Thrash, anyway.” Draven smiled and plopped down on the bed beside her. The opening of his towel revealed a whole lot of skin on his upper thigh, and Ally couldn’t help but look it over thoroughly, whic
h only resulted in making him
laugh. “Nymph.”

Her mouth dropped wide open. “
What? Me?
No way, you’re the nymph.”

He took her hand and placed it against his growing erection as he rolled on top of her. His eyes glowed bright green as his gaze met hers. “That might be true,
Caalia
, but if I’m one then you’re one.” He bent and kissed her, and their laughs melted as their
tongues joined a
nd
her body settled beneath his.

Their lips separated and Ally looked into the glowing green eyes of the man she hoped to spend eternity loving. “Can you stay home tonight? We can stay in bed.”

“You know I want to. Gods, you have no idea just how much I want to spend the night between your legs. But they need me.” He twirled her hair around his finger as
a smile touc
hed his lips. “I wouldn’t mind it if you were in bed, waiting for me just like this when I return though. I’ll make you forget we didn’t make love all night.”

She
sighed against him, reveling in the feel of his body on top of hers. “Alright.”

“Besides,” he continued. “You’ve got to tell the wolf to get back to work. I think your job tonight is even more dangerous than mine.”

****

“
Ugh
,” Garrick moaned as he came to under the bright light that shon
e
down on him in the lab.

“Wakey wakey, Guardia
n.”

Oh gods in the heavens.
Of course
it was Dr. Shorman.
“I told you, I’m not a Guardian.”

He shrugged. “Close enough, from what I hear.” Bending over his side-table, Shorman arranged different surgical instruments and instructed his nurses to acquire other tools that Garrick couldn’t pronounce if he tried. The doctor picked up a syringe filled with bright green liquid and huddled over him, smiling.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Garrick asked, trying to move even though he was strapped tightly to the bed.

“Oh,” Shorman said, a little confus
ed,
“I thought you knew.”

Though he still eyed the syringe, Garrick flicked his glance up to Shorman a few times. “Knew what?”

“
Ekhart has finally decided what should be done with you. You’ve been chosen to take part in a new project.” The old man grinned as though he’d just gifted Garrick with a pony on Christmas or something.

This was
so
not good news. “What exactly am I looking at here?”

“Oh, well this is the blood of another demon. So far it’s the only one that we’ve found that your blood will bond with.”

Oh, fuck.

“What demon
? And what do you mean by
bond
?” Garrick asked.

Dr. Shorman waved his free hand in dismissal. “It doesn’t matter, my boy. No point in worrying you if it fails.”

Bull shit
, Garrick thought. Of course he was going to worry.
He focused hard, willing himself to trace from this room, willing that he’d end up anywhere but here. Just like every time before, he went nowhere. He returned his attention to the doctor.
He’d known that they were experimenting on his blood, but it hadn’t occurred to him that they would try binding his blood to that of another demon’s. He didn’t have a chance to ponder the repercussions of that decision because Shorman plunged the needle into his neck and, once the questionable liquid was fully dispensed into Garrick’s body,
t
he
doctor
stepped back expectantly.

It felt like acid was being pumped through his veins and Garrick gnashed his teeth together to keep from yelling out.
A
fter a few more seconds
,
his body spasmed once, arching off the bed and testing his restraints fully. When his body returned to the bed with a th
ud, another spasm immediately ra
cked him. Then another. And another. Garrick’s eyes closed as pain
cascaded
through
every limb
. His groans turned into cries as he seized over and over, until he couldn’t even inhale precious oxygen. The pain spread through his veins, covering every inch of his body. And then, he felt another prick in his neck and looked down just as Shorman pumped black liquid into him. Just as his tremors began to fade, he was sucked into unconsciousness.

He woke again. This time, in the cold darkness of his cell.
Both his and Dani’s lights were turned off, the only light filtering in through the windows in their metal doors.
Dani was sitting Indian-style next to the window, peering at him through the pane. She waved at him, and he returned the gesture before rolling to his knees. He neared the window, slowly and painfully, until he mirrored Dani’s position. Her face was drawn with worry, and he brought his finger to the glass to let her know that he was—more or less—okay.

Slid
ing his finger down the slick windowpane, he froze when he realized that no magic lay behind his touch. He tried again, focusing harder on his Instinct, but nothing happened. He blinked down at his hand in confusion, willed more power and tried to write the letters once more.

Again, nothing
.

What in the ever-loving hell had they done to him? He hadn’t felt this bad since his first day here at the Institute. Looking at Dani, Garrick shrugged and shook his head. His lack of magic seemed to only make her worry more, and she placed her hand against the glass, offering the only kindness she could. He
rested
his hand against the glass, wishing that they could actually touch.

He hadn
’t expected anything to happen. Hadn’t willed anything to. B
ut it did. Their hands glowed, and he felt the familiar warmth and coolness spread up his arm and through his body as the light spread over his skin.

Dani was every bit as stunned as he was, but they bot
h kept their hands on the glass, watching the miracle that engulfed them.

“Well, well,” a voice said from the darkness.

Garrick jumped to his feet, whirling toward the man who spoke. He hadn’t even sensed anyone in the room, dammit!

“Things are a lot worse than I
sus
pected
.” Pyro stepped into the dim light
tha
t
shone through the window in the door
, his face finally showing through the darkness. Even if he hadn’t stepped into the light, Garrick still would have seen the glowing red of his eyes. “Moving in on my girl, are you, Fairy?”

Garrick’s teeth gnashed together at the mere thought of Dani being with this bastard. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d watched Pyro pummel her and force her into things she hadn’t wanted to do. “You make a habit of beating your females?” he asked.

Pyro narrowed his eyes on him. “Not really your concern. The point is, she’s mine and no one else’s. Not yours—”

“Not Ekhart’s?”
he
interrupted.

This earned him a glare of illuminating red. “She does belong to him. Just as I do. But
we’re
meant to be together.”

Garrick’s eyebrows shot up even as he folded his arms. “Has she accepted you? Because from what I saw, she practically threw up
when you kissed her
.”

Pyro growled loudly and took three powerful strides toward him. He punched out with his left hand as Garrick threw his arm up to block the blow.

And block it
,
he had. Pyro’s right hand flew at him next and Garrick spun, throwing out his own fist. It connected with the Ignitis’
s
side and he grunted, but didn’t fall backward. He brought his own fist down on the back of Garrick’s head.

He could have sworn to the gods that stars flashed in his cell, but he had the distinct feeling that they were an exclusive for his eyes only. Garrick recovered his vision quickly, even as he fell to the ground. He rolled over and kicked to his feet, coming up just as Pyro came upon him. Garrick struck out, connecting with Pyro’s face and the demon growled
from the connection
. Pyro took a few retreating steps and the lights overhead came on. Large arms wound around Garrick’s body, bracing his arms against himself.

“Enough,” Burly said, his breath fanning over G
arrick’s ear in a deafening roar
.

Another hand came into Garrick’s view and he tried to pull away as a syringe of that weird-ass black liquid cam
e toward him. Th
e
bastard that held him
was too strong though, and the needle quickly struck his neck and emptied into him. Everything around him started to wave, but he could still make out Pyro’s form as he approached.

“Remember this the next tim
e you go for my girl.”

The last thing Garrick saw was Pyro’s fist coming at his face.

“Oh,
somebody’s
in a bad mood today.”

Danielle folded her arms as she glared at Pyro. He’d just strolled into her cell acting as though absolutely nothing was wrong in the world.
She, on the other hand, felt completely
the
opposite. S
he saw what he did to Garrick. “Why did you have to do that?”

“Hmm? Oh, him?” he asked, hiking his thumb at the window that separated hers and Garrick’s cells.
Her friend
was inside, still knocked out from the beating and the injection he’d just
received
.

She felt a twitch in her eye. She’d never wanted to yell at someone more than she wanted to yell at Pyro. She’d been locked in this cell for years—
years
—and had never felt more anger than she did right now.
“Yes,
him
.
What is wrong with you?
You didn’t have to do that.”