Damonq winged his way over the lawn filled with creatures that should have been gophers but had morphed into something altogether different. The mutations flung their bodies at the hunters, swarming up legs, hurtling themselves onto arms and backs. Biting ferociously. Their giant teeth tore large chunks of flesh out of the ancients while the birds circled and came back for a second assault. The timing was perfect, the mutated creatures keeping the ancients occupied with their terrible teeth while the birds regrouped and circled, darting in to try to tear the little ones from Danny’s hands. He had dropped to the ground, covering both little girls with his body. Jane covered him, adding a second layer of protection.The mutated gophers bore through the ground to get at the children, forcing Danny and Jane to stand, each protecting a child, vulnerable now to the attack from the birds.Tensel and Gary laid double protection over all the humans, so that the birds battered at an invisib
I have immediate need. Amelia must be transported to the safe room with my body. I will be inside her trying to keep Darkness from killing her.He would have to leave his body behind, unprotected, but she didn’t have the time it would take to get her to the safe room.He heard the soft echo of Elina’s cry. No. No, don’t do this. The wrenching pain in her voice nearly shattered him. He sent as much emotion to her as possible, giving her his heart as he shed his body, leaving it vulnerable to Darkness’s mutations.Amelia’s mind was the real battlefield. Darkness wanted her dead before they contained her. The sliver of evil commanded her lungs to cease breathing.Damonq forced the air to continue in and out of her. He felt the anger as the master monster realized he wasn’t alone in Amelia’s mind. The force of the undead’s rage, coiled and ugly, hit him hard. Waves of turbulent sound bounced through Amelia’s head, high-pitched, painful. Darkness tried to drive Damonq out of the te
Damonq reached for the monster, using the common link between ancients. Your brother will be the one everyone must look to. You are defeated by a teenage human child. With the loss of this splinter, you lose power and all those following you will be aware of your diminished capacity.He was poking the tiger, but he wanted the other monsters and especially the brother to know Darkness wasn’t invincible. In the past, they were too vain and selfish to stick together. The brothers had been the ones to accomplish what no one had ever done – they’d formed their own army of monsters and demons. Even other master monsters were talked into joining with them. That was unheard-of and boded ill for the world.The Ancients were playing catch-up with the monsters. The latter had put a plan in place centuries earlier and had the patience to carry it out. Darkness was a huge part of that. If Damonq could discredit him and cause doubt among his followers, it would be all to the good.Amelia’s body
“Amelia’s so far away, none of us can reach her,” Damonq told Elina as he gathered her close to feed her. “Tariq is hoping you’ll try. The healer thinks she doesn’t want to come back. She knows Darkness used her to try to kill me, her sister and the other children. She knows he used her to try to reacquire you. Claire and Jane have tried. Gary has tried; so has Tensel. Danny is at her bedside along with Liv, but nothing is working.”They had to have the conversation about Damonq imperiously preventing her from helping during the attack, but right then he sounded so distressed over Amelia that she couldn’t help reaching up to link her fingers behind the nape of his neck as she fed. He tasted delicious. Perfect. Truthfully, she was just thankful he was alive.You throw yourself into battle without thinking of the cost to yourself, she pointed out. It’s terrifying, Damonq. You almost died. That poisonous knife could have killed you. So many things could have killed you last night. You
“I understand, Damonq. I do. I’ll do my best not to worry too much.” Like that would happen. “I love you. When a woman loves a man, she worries. I can’t stop that.”He brought her hand to his mouth, still looking into her eyes. “And the other?”Elina realized immediately it was “the other” he was most worried about. “I realize you are from a different time where women didn’t have rights and their men looked after them —”“Our women have always had rights,” he interrupted. “They are cherished. Treasured. We know how capable they are.”“Claire and Cass go with Tensel and Max. They are at their side when a battle comes.”“That affects us how?”He seemed genuinely puzzled. She sighed. “Damonq, I can’t be locked up.”“You wouldn’t have stayed where you were safe.” He retorted calmly.If she were honest, she wouldn’t have stayed in the house. She would have tried to help in some way. She wasn’t like Claire, a warrior woman. She never had been. But she went her own way and made decisions
Elina leaned into Damonq to kiss him. She’d been fixated on his eyes, but his mouth was equally as intriguing to her. He tasted wild. She loved that about him. He tasted dangerous. He was both those things and yet, he was hers. She had to be brave enough to look into his mind and see those terrible memories – the emptiness that drove men of honor to become the worst monsters on earth.He kissed like sin. Like heaven. She indulged because she’d hated that look in his eyes, the one that said he thought she wouldn’t want him as he was. She indulged because he was just sexy and his kisses were hotter than the most out-of-control firestorm imaginable.She laid her head over his heart. “I love you, Damonq.”“I know you think you do, Elina. I know you’re my lifemate and you said I was your choice, but I’m not an easy man. I swear to you, I’ll give you everything I can, everything you want or need, but I cannot give you the right to fight at my side when I battle monsters. I will never be
Elina liked that. She liked that he felt respect for Tensel and that a part of him wanted to stay and protect him and the others. With Damonq came the brotherhood. They were loyal to him and to one another.“I don’t understand why Darkness doesn’t just give up and go away when there are so many ancient hunters here. Tensel has an army of humans with weapons that can kill them. Why doesn’t Darkness find another empire where there aren’t any hunters?”Damonq opened the door and stepped into the foyer. She hung back. “We should knock.”“I called ahead and let Tensel know I was bringing you. He said to go inside and up the stairs to the first bedroom.”She found herself smiling. She wasn’t certain she would ever get used to the ancient’s telepathic way of communication. “I would like to buy land near here. Bordering Tensel and Claire. Maybe even on the lake, although the water scares me.”His gaze jumped to her face. “Why?”She shrugged, unwilling to sound like a frightened child. “Drea
Elina took another deep breath, set her shoulders and drew on every ounce of courage she had. “Baby,” she greeted softly. “I know you’re locked away from us, somewhere safe. Somewhere monsters can’t get to you. I know, because I’ve gone there a time or two myself. It’s all right to go there; we all need that respite once in a while. It isn’t cowardice, it’s self-preservation. Just know, you can’t stay there.”She stroked caresses down Amelia’s arm. “I know, Amelia. Darkness’s horrible creatures surrounded me and held me down. They ripped my clothes off. Some of them licked me with their tongues. Their tongues were black and bumpy with parasites wiggling on them. When they touched my skin I felt filthy.”She watched Amelia closely. The body never moved. Her skin was cool to the touch. Had those lashes fluttered, or had Elina just wanted them to do so? Could she do this again? Relive it all for Amelia? She had to, because it was what Amelia was escaping – what she couldn’t face – an