Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (221 page)

Finally,
a dim light peeked through an opening in the distance. A meadow.
Aiden stopped abruptly before we got there. I slammed into him.
Grabbing my other arm, he pushed me back against something that
felt suspiciously like bark. He stepped close to me. Very,
very
close. Every part of
our bodies touched.

And I
thought his
hands
were warm…Heat flowed from him, cocooning me. I couldn’t see
him too well, but the darkness heightened all my other senses.
And
wow
, he
smelled good. Did his gift make him
this
aware all the time? Even of me?
His arm brushed my cheek as he reached past my head and rested his
palm on the tree trunk centimeters from my head. His other hand was
still wrapped securely around mine.

“
W-What’s
going on?” Talking. Breathing. It all became difficult. Not just
because my mouth was crushed against his chest, either. I took some
breaths, trying to focus on the life
-
threatening
situation.

“
They’re here.”

“
Who?” The Rygons who
attacked Skyler? The ones who followed Sable Gage? I didn’t know
which was worse. I took a deep breath. This wasn’t the time to be a
wuss. No, my cruel mind had other ideas. It raced back two months,
to a forest similar to this one. Delmari’s thrashing body, the
shock of pain showing through his blue eyes. The desperation…Oh
man…

Aiden’s whispering jolted me back to
the present. “Rygons.”

“
W-Why didn’t we take the
truck?”

“
There’s only one road out
of here. If they recognized my truck, we have no idea the abilities
or weapons they possess.” His lips touched my hair as he spoke. “I
don’t want to bite off more than I can chew—not with you
here.”

I swallowed. “Do—Do you think the
Kember is with them?”

“
There were multiple
voices. At least five. I’m not sure what’s going on.”

A cold, biting wind blew through the
forest, rustling the leaves at our feet and tossing my hair in both
our faces. Freeing my hand from Aiden’s, I pulled the strands away
from my mouth and gathered my hair into a loose knot at the back of
my neck.

He snatched my hands and placed them
on his firm chest. Drawing himself in even closer, he pressed me
tighter against the trunk. “Don’t move.”

“
I. Don’t. Think. I. Can.”
In that moment, I realized something. He wasn’t trying to keep me
warm. He wasn’t holding me close just to feel me. No. He was trying
to cover my energy. Placing me between him and the tree—both
minimal energy sources—would make it harder for Rygons to sense
me.

“
Are they
coming?”

“
Yes. They still feel your
energy, but out here, we have an advantage. They’re coming to
us.”

My heart dropped and my voice cracked.
“They’ll set the whole forest on fire looking for me.”

“
They won’t. You know they
don’t possess Kember abilities.”

“
Ever heard of matches? For
all we know, the Kember is with them.”

“
I’ll handle it, either
way.”

Voices echoed through the woods. I
closed my eyes, relying on my average ears to alert me the moment
the shit hit the fan. My breathing rushed out sharp and panicked. I
tried to slow it by taking deep breaths. No use. I’d had too many
bad memories in the woods. It was all I could do to not bury my
face in his chest and hide.

“
It’s okay.” Aiden’s
fingertips lightly touched my arm. Carefully, tentatively, they
half-tapped, half-rubbed against my skin.

Possibly he was lying. Maybe he knew
we didn’t have a chance. Five Rygons weren’t going to die easily.
Whatever thoughts stirred in his mind, only the confident ones came
through to me. He stood calm, composed and…a little stiff. I found
myself relaxing into him, getting lost in the feel of his fingers
swirling circles into my skin. I began to tip away from “shit,
we’re going to die” and drift toward “feeling safe,” regardless of
our situation.

In a single breath, the security
disappeared. Aiden stepped back from me. “Stay here.”

My jaw dropped open to protest, but
the words stuck in my throat.

The
tiniest bit of light leaked through the treetops and cast over
Aiden’s intense face. The dangerous, determined glint in his eyes
returned as it had the night on Portland. His protector instincts
kicked in. It was
sick
to find him so attractive right then, but I
did.

He crouched and
disappeared.

Oh hell. I inhaled and stood unmoving
against the trunk, exactly like he told me. As if this wasn’t
creepy enough.

Branches cracked nearby. My heart
stopped beating.

Grunts
and rustling bushes nearly made me sink to the ground.
Pop
.
Slice
. I winced. Fear welled in my
chest threatening to burst.
Intake of
breath.
Silence…

“
Well, well.” A male voice
sneered. Definitely not Aiden’s low voice.

I snapped my head to the side. A
silhouette with glowing blue eyes emerged from the lighted area.
Immediately, I moved away from the tree, stumbling over a
rock.

Okay, shit just hit the
fan.

Chapter 17

I caught myself before falling and
peered through the tangle of hair in my eyes. A Rygon. Shit. I’d
never been in a faceoff with one. Hadn’t planned on it, either.
They were monsters and killers and…I stifled back a scream. My feet
begged to move. How far would running get me? To the meadow? Maybe.
Not a risk I could take. I wasn’t completely helpless, and no way
would I stand here and let him suck my life and ability
away.

Cocking his head to the side, the
Rygon strode toward me.

Aiden burst through the trees on the
right, a Rygon on his heels. Gun drawn, Aiden fired several shots
at my pursuer. The Rygon ducked, easily evading what would’ve been
perfect shots to the head.

Spinning around, Aiden kicked the
Rygon following him. The Rygon staggered back. Aiden leapt forward,
shoved me back against the tree and took a protective stance in
front of me. I peeked around him. Both Rygons crouched, eyes set on
their target. Me.

They lunged. Aiden met their attacks,
blocking, punching and slicing faster than my eyes could take in.
Skyler told me, weeks before “Aiden’s freakin’ amazing.” I knew,
now, what he meant. In fact, I’d be willing to argue for a more
suitable word, but I didn’t know one that would capture what I saw.
His agility, pace—every strike blew my mind. It seemed
choreographed. Neither Rygon could get around him.

I couldn’t tear my gaze from the
mesmerizing battle: A lot like a tornado whirling toward you.
Common sense screamed for you to run or take cover, but something
about the swirling vortex of doom captivated you and kept you
immobile.

Unlike a tornado, Rygons weren’t an
unstoppable force of nature. Aiden looked like he could fight ten
more at this rate, but I knew they needed to be defeated quickly
and efficiently. Whether they touched you or not, they could still
gradually weaken you by pulling your energy.

I closed my eyes and focused, pushing
my mind toward the Rygon on the left. My breath caught. I flinched,
feeling the strange gooey texture of his mind. Something close to
what tar would feel like. The abnormality almost made me draw back.
Almost. A chill shot up my spine. A shrill coldness wafted
throughout my body as I pushed deeper. I worked my way through the
muck then beyond his paper thin wall of resistance. Moving it
aside, I grabbed hold of his mind and took control of his better
senses. The power burned within me. Satisfaction.
Relief.

He stopped in his tracks and stared at
me, glassy-eyed. Aiden hit him and sent him flying into a nearby
tree.

I took a step toward the Rygon. Aiden,
still in full-blown fighting mode, managed to force me back against
the tree. “Stay back!”

Balling my fists, I continued to keep
eye contact with the Rygon. The longer I stared, the more dominant
the yearning in my body became. My leg bounced. Fire swelled in my
chest—a heat I didn’t understand. The need—no—the want to hurt him,
took over everything else.

Faster than I believed possible, I
bolted past Aiden. No hesitating. No second thoughts. I jumped on
the Rygon and swung my fists as hard as I could. There was a
sickening crunch beneath my fist and blood gushed from his nose.
Under my skin, a faint burning sensation built on my
hip.

“
Taylee!” Aiden grabbed me
by the waist and jerked me off the Rygon. “Stop. Stay out of
this.”

Heart
hammering, breathing rutted, my eyes settled on the knife in the
Rygon’s hand. The knife he would’ve, no doubt, used on us.
Stab yourself
.

He raised the knife to his
chest.

“
Let him go.” Aiden shook
me. “You’re gonna drain all your energy. I’ll deal with
this.”

I wanted
to. I
needed
to.
For Delmari. For the girl. For myself. Somewhere buried in my mind,
I knew I should listen and let him go.

“
Come on,” Aiden said
carefully. “I’ll handle it.”

Blood trickled from the Rygon’s chest.
It thrilled me—made me feel powerful and not like the weak little
Drea I was forced to be. He couldn’t harm me. I was in control. I
could hurt him as much as I needed to.

As if to break my concentration, Aiden
stepped in front of me. He cupped my face in one hand, staring
directly at me. “Let him go.”

I
squeezed my eyes tightly and waged my inner battle. The blazing
pressure on my hip intensified with every passing second.
Drop the knife or kill him? Drop the knife or
kill him?

Taking
more restraint than I knew I had, I ordered,
Drop the knife
.

When the Rygon did, Aiden turned,
still blocking my field of vision and finished what I’d
started.

The thick goop of the Rygon’s mind
released me, and I fell to my knees, gasping. My head throbbed from
concentration. My body swayed from all the energy I used. I fought
to breathe, determined to outlive the growing fatigue. Everything
blurred and I felt the sting in my mind before I passed into
darkness.

*****

I couldn’t quite decide if I was awake
or dreaming. The memory of Rygons attacking danced in the back of
my mind. But, for whatever reason, I walked through a cluster of
trees. If you could call it walking. Something pulled me, like an
invisible cord attached to my midsection. My feet moved, but I
wasn’t moving them. I had no control over my body.

The sun hung low, creating an orange
haze in the sky. I made my way toward a little serene river, its
banks covered in pink and purple wildflowers. Leafy trees and
plants lined the narrow dirt trail I walked, like some kind of red
carpet entrance.

Guess
that answered my question: dream. Had to be. Not bad, for my
imagination. I preferred to be on the beach drinking one of those
cool umbrella drinks, but no fire. Definitely a first. So, I could
deal with the cheesy scenery. Plus, this was
my
dream. Maybe I’d run into some
Abercrombie and Fitch model chopping
wood—shirtless.

My body continued to follow the path,
toting me along. At the water’s edge, a small white bridge
appeared. I blinked: Trippy, but sweet nonetheless. I crossed over
the clear water, wishing I could stop for a moment.
Nope.

I cursed as the walk dragged on and
on. Would I have to stroll in this make-believe land until I
dropped off the face of the earth? Felt like it.

Finally,
I halted when a log cabin came into view. The two-story home almost
completed this perfect fairy tale forest. All it needed now was a
princess and some dwarfs.
Still waiting on
that Abercrombie and Fitch model.
In the
front, there was a huge bay window and a deck that led to a door on
the upper level. Beautiful. There wasn’t another word to describe
it. I urged my body to go toward it, but it wouldn’t. Son of a—!
Who rigged this? I looked down at myself frustrated and ready to
launch out of my so-called body.

A figure on the side of the house,
climbing out a window, drew my attention. Black hair, brown
eyes…The girl.

She took in her surroundings and
walked stealthily toward an old red car. Sneaking out? Nice. The
closer she got, the more I realized something was wrong. Tears
rolled down her cheeks and she shook.

A figure in a hooded, black cloak
materialized and stared at her from behind a nearby
tree.

Oh crap.

My adrenaline spiked. Why was I always
immobile around this asshole? I screamed at the helpless girl, but
no sound came out. I thrashed in frustration. If this girl died,
it’d be all my fault.