Leaf, Erin M. - Tango Trio [Dream Marked 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (24 page)

As long as we don’t hit a fragile pocket
, Jared sent.

Parker trudged ahead grimly.
We won’t.

After a few minutes of careful walking, the walls dulled to a sullen, dark red, then gray. A whiff of fresh air made Parker pause, then walk faster. Was that light, too? “Fresh air ahead,” he rasped, coughing. They walked some more then paused when they could see the mouth of the tunnel, a tiny pinprick of light at the end of the darkness.

“Tessa, I think you can drop the shield,” Jared said, gently.

Parker felt the shield drop, but the ground was cool. Nothing burned. “Is she okay?” he asked Jared.

“
She
is just fine,” Tessa retorted. She sounded irritated but alive. Alive was good.

“Baby, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that,” Parker soothed, waiting for Jared to catch up to them. He looked down into her face. She was pale with exhaustion. He cupped her cheek then winced as he left streaks of blood on her skin.

“Parker! What happened?” She struggled to get down. Jared gently put her feet on the floor. She immediately grabbed Parker’s hands. “Jesus.”

Parker felt a surge of healing energy tingle and snatched his hands away. “No! Are you crazy!”

“Let me fix you, and then we can get out of here,” Tessa said, stubborn.

“They’re good enough for now, and you’re too tired to do more.” He stepped closer to her and kissed her on the lips. “You saved our lives. Thank you.”

Jared slipped up next to him and kissed her, too. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Tessa blinked as they drew away. She began to smile then whipped her head around at the sound of footsteps.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” a voice said. Parker shoved Tessa behind him, hackles rising. The outline of a large man blocked the light.

* * * *

Tessa stared tiredly at the man and woman blocking the exit.
What the hell?
She felt a giggle bubble up and ruthlessly suppressed it. This was ridiculous. Why were there so many bad guys? After all they’d been through, her energy level was so low she almost didn’t understand what was happening, except for the familiar ashy scent.
They’re not safe
, she sent to Parker and Jared. She felt their agreement, even as she struggled to make her mind and body function. The couple blocked the exit, and Tessa was afraid she might be too tired to shift if it came to fighting. She was too vulnerable like this—naked and human.

“Who are you?” Parker asked, shoving Tessa behind him. He and Jared closed ranks, protecting her. The man didn’t answer. Tessa peeked between her bond-mates, gasping when she saw how large the man was. He stepped forward, and the woman with him moved to his side. He was at least six-four, and the woman wasn’t much shorter. They were both muscular and armed with some kind of automatic handgun. Tessa blinked, trying to clear her eyes as they watered from the double stench of burning and ash. She could feel the heat against her back growing stronger.
The residual coal deposits and dust must have caught fire
, she thought. Her adrenaline spiked at the thought. If they couldn’t escape they would burn alive. They had to deal with this couple.

“Stop right there,” Parker warned as the man continued to move forward.

Tessa sensed Parker’s exhaustion, too. She peered more closely at the man and woman, trying to see in the low light, then sucked in a sharp breath.
Their auras are connected,
she thought
.
Tessa’s eyes lingered over the couple’s smoky aura, surprised at the way the strands wove into each other.
It almost looks as if—No! It can’t be!

What?
Jared asked her, his hand on her arm.

They’re bonded!
Tessa felt sick.
They’re a bonded couple who’ve taken ‘Path.

The large man smiled, the expression menacing in the dark. “I see you’ve figured it out.”

“Why would you use ‘Path if you’re already bonded?” Parker asked. Tessa sensed his disbelief even as Jared gently pushed her back further.

“You have no idea, do you?” The woman stepped closer. “You’re already trio-bonded. I can see it on you. You have powers, but you don’t understand them.”

“What are you talking about?” Jared asked. He tilted his body so that he presented the smallest possible target.

The man put a hand on the woman’s neck, urging her closer. “You think we’re going to hurt you? Look, no guns. My hands are empty.”

Tessa frowned.
He’s up to something.
She put her hand on Parker’s back, using the contact with him to stealthily rebuild their shields. She was tired, yes, but the surge of adrenaline helped her focus.

“You have something we want,” the woman said, her voice hard. “If you cooperate, we’ll let you live. If not?” She shrugged.

“Like hell,” Parker snorted, backing up slightly.

“We can take it from you by force.” The man let his hand fall away from the woman. She took a deep breath and stilled her body.

Tessa watched them, wary, as tiny pricks of energy suddenly began to sting her skin. What were they doing? She tried to pull more energy from the ground, but there wasn’t any left. The dirt beneath her was dead with the fire. She felt their shields begin to shred.
We’ve got to get out of here!

Jared nodded, and she felt him shift, forcing his exhausted body into his cat form.

“Oh, that’s just lovely!” the woman said, eager. She lifted her hands as the man stepped behind her and placed his palms on her shoulders.

Tessa felt something trickle down her face.
What is that?
The faint, coppery scent of blood was on the air. She touched a finger to her cheek. When she brought it down, her hand shook. The woman was pulling the blood right out of her body, through her skin. Another trickle, and her arms began to sting. Her heart pounded as her body tensed. A wave of dizziness rolled over her.

“Yeah, you get it now. We don’t even have to touch you to take what we want,” the man rasped, head thrown back as if in pleasure.

Parker grunted and dropped to his knees. He shifted, but Tessa could see it didn’t help. Jared was on the ground, his fur wet and sticky as he writhed, snarling under his breath. Tessa felt like she was swimming in a dream. Nothing felt real anymore. She could see droplets of blood floating into the air then disappearing. Another wave of weakness passed through her as the woman licked her lips. Where was the blood going? Tessa thought, then realized the couple was drawing it into their aura, which was growing thicker, stronger. They didn’t even have to process the blood for it to work like ‘Path. Eww.

“How?” she gasped as she began to shiver. “Why are you doing this?” She reached out her hand. A drop of blood slipped from her index finger and drifted away. Then another. She tried clenching her hand into a fist, but the blood welled up between her knuckles. She tried to call Jared and Parker in her mind, but their presence was slipping away. She sent them her love but had no idea if they heard her.

“Simple. Because we can.” The woman smiled, her face serene. Powerful. Tessa shuddered as the woman continued talking. “This is our power. Imagine my surprise when we found out what we could do after shooting up with ‘Path that first time.” The woman shook her head, everything about her growing stronger. Tessa could see her gray aura gleaming from within. Tiny sparks of heat sped through the ashy fluctuations, burning and flaring as the blood was absorbed.

That’s my aura
, Tessa thought, horrified. She blinked, tasted blood in her mouth.
No. I won’t allow this
, she thought, gathering the last pieces of her consciousness into a hard ball inside her mind. Jared and Parker had almost completely faded now. Tessa felt like she was being torn apart. She planted her feet and focused with the remnants of her power. She didn’t shift. She didn’t want that. Instead, she shoved her will at the man and woman, imagining their bodies disintegrating, all their cells, all at once. A wave of vertigo smashed into Tessa, and then the woman gasped, falling back into the man. Tessa pushed harder, imagining her power as claws ripping into the couple’s bond. Tiny pricks of black appeared in their aura. Tessa pushed harder, linking into their bodies now, not just their aura. The moment she felt them flinch, she closed metaphysical fingers around their power and pulled with everything she had. She smelled heat and ash, then beneath it, the scent of night filtered into her senses. The air outside the mine was cool and drenched with living things. Tessa planted her feet into the dead ground and pulled again and again. The woman gasped, collapsing back against her bonded lover.

“No! You can’t—” the woman choked. Her man grabbed her upper arms and pulled her back. Tessa narrowed her eyes at them. She could feel Jared and Parker leaning on her as she sunk her mental claws in, ripping away as soon as she sensed she’d gained a hold. She did it again and again, then suddenly, the couple’s aura shredded in a burst of stinging ash. Tessa caught her breath as the most incredible surge of power shoved her back. She stumbled, trying to swallow all of it. Her skin was on fire, pricking with the energy she’d sucked away from the couple.

The man reached for his gun, swinging it up. Tessa went rigid then forced herself to concentrate. The skin on the man’s hand began to melt. She pulled harder, and he dropped the gun, grabbing his bonded mate and stepping back. “This isn’t the end,” he rasped, voice taut with pain. Tessa sunk herself into the remnants of his aura and ripped again. She felt like her power was an extension of her claws. She could rip and rip then lick up the power. She sucked his energy into her body and strengthened herself, then pushed the excess into Parker and Jared. She could feel them again as their auras fluctuated with the massive energy spikes she was feeding them.

“You won’t get away with this. You can’t steal people’s blood and expect no one to stop you.” Tessa took a step towards the man. The clean air from outside sifting around them like perfume. She wanted out of this mine. The man’s aura was in tatters. He spat and moved away from her, holding the woman up. She looked like she was on the verge of passing out. Tessa couldn’t see even a speck of an aura around her.

“You have no idea what we’re capable of,” the man said, his voice low and angry. “You think you’ve won, but we have ‘Path stockpiled everywhere.”

Tessa snarled and moved closer, raising her hand. The man smelled like carrion to her sensitive nose. Carrion and ashes. He stepped back again then tightened his hands around the woman. Tessa sensed a surge of power from somewhere. The man’s body wavered, and then the woman began to ripple. They looked like smoke on the wind. Tessa pushed forward, trying to stop what was happening, but the man and woman suddenly boiled into an ashy smoke that roiled menacingly for a split second before it faded away on the wind.

Chapter 15

Parker grunted, heaving himself to his feet.
Where the fuck did they go?

I don’t know,
Tessa replied, confusion spilling over their link.

Parker shifted, slipping back into human form. It wasn’t as difficult as it was just a few minutes ago, but he certainly didn’t have any extra energy. He staggered then grabbed onto Tessa to catch his balance. Thank God she was able to keep their aura and bonding intact.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice tired and raspy from the smoke.

“Yeah. We have to get out of here,” Parker responded, taking her hand. He looked at Jared, and the other man shifted to human form. Parker sniffed the air. The mine was burning.

“We’ve gotta go,” Jared said, grabbing Tessa’s free hand and tugging her and Parker toward the scent of fresh air. “How did they just disappear like that?”

Tessa shook her head. “I have no idea. It must have something to do with their power.”

“Shit,” Parker breathed, walking faster. The ground was hot. “No time to speculate. We have to move.”

Tessa stumbled, and he caught her before she fell. Together, the three of them walked faster then broke into a run at Jared’s urging. “This place is going to blow.”

Parker agreed. They ran toward the exit, following the sweet scent of trees and grass and dew. As they broke into the light, the ground shook. Tessa almost fell, but Parker caught her, meeting Jared’s eyes over her head. They had to get farther away from the mine exit. He dragged her into the forest as Jared followed, not caring which direction he headed as long as it was away from the mine. He ran, instinctively following a game trail, ducking under branches and through shrubs. The farther they got from the mine, the better he felt. Suddenly, the ground rumbled, and a huge explosion shook the trees. Parker hit the ground, and Tessa fell on top of him. Jared dropped to his hands and knees and leaned into them, panting.

“Shit! That was close,” Parker breathed, hands closing around Tessa automatically.

“God, I can’t believe they set the mine on fire.” Jared rolled closer, resting his face in Parker’s neck. “No telling how long it’s going to burn. There might be tons of coal deposits underground here, even if the major veins are tapped out.”

Parker shifted, bringing the other man into his arms along with Tessa. “We’re alive. That’s all that counts now.”

Tessa shuddered. “They just disappeared. That was the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen.”