Out Of The Darkness (11 page)

Nalik knew the other male was toying with him, and he pulled his own blows. Matched for match, they were probably equally as strong a warrior as the other. And he sensed that the other male
held just as many of the magical arts as he. But this male was most likely born with his powers, whereas Nalik’s were thrust upon them.

Would that make a difference?

“Riders come!”

He heard the warning but it mattered little to him. Had Cassandra had
opportunity to escape the camp? He would hold this man on the line like a mouse as long as it took for his female to flee. The earth rumbled again.

Weeds sprung up around the man
’s legs, pulling him to the side. More vines wrapped around Nalik’s opponent’s sword arm.

Cassandra watched, then. Nalik fought the urge to laugh. She had depth inside her, probably more than she even knew.

“Your little plantling is quite strong.” The big bastard hacked at the vines with his hampered arm. The vines wouldn’t hold the man for long. “She older than she looks?”

Nalik put the end of his sword under the man
’s chin. He had him, and they both knew it. “Younger. Girl is just a bit past
twenty.”

“You in
to children, then?”

“She
’s full grown, and my mate. No one shall separate us.”

“You so sure about that?”

“More than anything else in any world.” And he meant it. He would never be letting her out of his sight. He may not actually claim
her as a
Rajni
, but for the rest of her days he would make damned certain she was safe. “I’ll die to protect, and I’ll live to care for.”

“Then you best finish up with me here, because those
Woldhan bastards coming over the hill where your little flower hides aren’t even a third as nice as I.” The big blond bastard dropped his sword to the ground. Surrendered, though both men knew there was no real fight between them. “Best get to her and quickly.”

“You help me protect her and you shall have my loyalty and my sword for all of my days.” And after the display he
’d just put on the other male had to recognize what that meant. The blond male nodded. He held out a hand, in the embrace of Dardaptoan warriors of old. Nalik clamped his own hand on the male’s arm.
Here
was a worthy ally, a male Nalik could respect.

They just knew. Like recognized like.

And Nalik had fought Woldhan mercenaries before. He wasn’t eager to repeat that with Cassandra in their path.

“I am Jushua. Best go to her then. I have enough portkeys in my tent to get my men to safety. I can hold it open for you and your female.
If
you make haste.”

Nalik took to the sky.

**
*

Cass heard the sounds of riders coming, and the first thought in her head was that it sounded like another earthquake. She was close enough to the camp to hear the sentries calling out warnings. She could still see Nalik where he and the big blond man fought. She saw when the other man threw down his sword. Did that mean Nalik won?

It didn
’t matter; she could see the group of men on horseback coming in the distance behind the rocks she hid on. There were hundreds of them, and they didn’t look friendly. Cass did the only thing she could think of—she ran back toward the camp she’d just escaped.

Nalik landed in front of her, turning back into a man before she could react. She hadn
’t seen him flying overhead. He wrapped her in his arms and ran with her over the rocks and grasses, down the hill back toward the camp. What was he doing? Weren’t they supposed to be going
away
from the camp?

She tried to ask, but they were moving far too fast. The motion-sickness that had always plagued her threatened to rear its ugly head. She swallowed it down—she would
not
get sick while he was carrying her. That would be so wrong.

He finally stopped moving when they reached the largest tent in the camp. A crowd of men were gathered around a growing red haze. He sat her back on her feet and pointed to the red. “Portkey.”

“To where?” There must have been more in the tent she hadn’t found.

“I don
’t have a damned clue. We’re hitching a ride with the blond wonder and his crew.” His hand on her shoulder was tight, but reassuring. Cass had never been happier to see him. “Stay close to me, no matter what.”

“Ok, but Nalik…” She wound her fingers around the pocket of his tunic. She wasn
’t letting go of him again. Not until they were home.

“Yes?” Impatience was all she heard. “Spit it out.”

She stepped closer to make absolutely sure she wasn’t overheard, though the sound of the approaching riders—whatever kind of people they were—was thunderous. “I have two dozen portkeys in my pocket.”

He stared down at her for the longest time. Then he surprised her by grinning. He leaned down and kissed her neck. Cass shivered, despite the threats surrounding them. Why had he done that? He whispered so low that she barely heard him. “Keep that little secret to yourself. We don
’t know where we’re going, or who we can trust. You stay with me at all times.”

“Stuck to you like glue.” She wasn
’t letting go of the darned man until they got to where they needed to go.
Then
she’d reevaluate how she was feeling about him. Something between them had changed. She didn’t know what; hopefully she’d get a chance to find out.

The red ether was growing and the riders were getting closer. Cass could hear the shouting behind her.  The sentries still standing guard at the edges of the camp were
yelling, running toward the center. They took up a guard position behind Cass and Nalik and some of the other men. The riders were shouting, and flaming arrows were striking the tents. Cass fought a scream. This was even greater proof that the riders meant more harm than good.

It was something out of a bad horror movie, the kind her cousin Rand loved to watch when they were kids. Only this was far more real, far more terrifying. Her fingers tightened on Nalik
’s tunic, though she refused to let herself look like a pitiful weakling in need of a big handsome man to save her.

Even if that was what she actually was. She had no illusions about herself. Not in
this
place.

An arrow hit the canvas tent behind them and it burst into flames. Nalik yanked her against him and protected her head with his arm. He cursed, “Go. Fast. I
’ll be right behind you.”

He had his sword ready. The blond man was there, appearing at their sides before Cass had even recognized movement. “Take your female and go. I have half my men to get through the key; the others have been given orders to protect your female, this side and that.”

“I am in your debt.” Nalik nodded, giving Cass a small shove toward the ether.

“I will take you up on that at a later date. Your female is going to balk upon the portkey. Best see to her quickly. I still have men to enter behind you.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but she
was
terrified. The last time she’d ever seen a portkey open it had dragged her
here.
Where would this one take them?

Hard hands wrapped around her waist and he lifted her off her feet again. He
carried her toward the red. “We’ll do it together, then.”

He stepped into the ether, and it surrounded them.

Chapter 23

Cass was sick. As soon as the ether cleared and revealed where they’d landed, she crawled away from Nalik and lost the meager contents of her stomach. Thank goodness she hadn’t had much in there to begin with.

Nalik
’s hands lifted her off the grass and to her feet. He whispered in her ear. “Don’t appear weak, if you can help it. We don’t have a damned clue where we are or what these people are about.”

She didn
’t need the reminder. “Why did he help us?”

“I don
’t have any idea.”

“He had to have a reason.” One of the family rules that her Uncle Jason had drilled into her and Jade and Becca, and all of her cousins
’ heads, was that people didn’t do things without reason. Be they good people or bad; they
always
had a reason.

“I
’m sure he does. And I have think part of that reason is boredom. He’s a strange one. And far older than I am, I think. Do not let your guard down.”

“I don
’t plan on it. Sticking to you like glue, remember?”

“I may be mistaken, but I think I
’ve been to this layer before.”

“But what does that mean?”

“It means that once we’re alone we can use some of those portkeys and get home.”

“But when are we getting to be
alone
?” Cass looked around at the men. They were excited about something, and as the red mist disappeared she could see the blond man emerging. It was then that she realized that most of the men surrounding them hadn’t come through the ether with them. They’d already been there.

And there were women and children of all ages greeting the men. It reminded her of the news clips that were all over the television of soldiers returning from the Middle East being reunited with their families. A small bit of her tension lessened. Just a bit. They were soldiers of some kind, but what did that mean for her and Nalik? “I think they
’re back with their families. I don’t think they mean any harm.”

“Do not be naïve. They
’re at war, and war remains a constant in every layer. They will kill us without thought or mercy if it furthers their cause. Do not forget it.”

“I
’m not an idiot, Nalik. But I still prefer to see the best in people. And look at them. They don’t have war on their minds now.” Men were holding toddlers and sobbing. How could she not be touched by what she saw?

“It
’s been many months since most of my men saw their women, their youth. War tries men’s hearts, probably more so than they will ever let be known.” The blond man was behind them, and Cass turned at his words. “Welcome to Euschao, home of the displaced and forgotten. I am Jushua,
dharran
of these people. Leader of this land.”

“
Dharran
?” Nalik had tensed beside her, and Cass wondered if it was because Jushua had taken her hand and pulled her away from Nalik slightly, or because of the unfamiliar word. She looked at Nalik, and knew at once that the word
wasn’t
unknown to him. “That’s not a word from the Euschao languages.”

“I am not of Euschao, originally, though most of my men are. How know
you of the
Dharouix
word? It is a private name for my ancestors only.”

“Then one of your ancestors found their way into
my
world.”

“Impossible. All of my people are accounted for. Or lost to death by fires of the Three Hells.”

“You missed one, then.”

Chapter 24

Suspicion flooded the other male’s face, and Nalik understood it to some extent. Here he was, a stranger, questioning Jushua’s knowledge. And he and Cassandra were in a hell of a vulnerable position. “Know you anything of Gaia or Levia?”

“No. Those worlds are not accessible to us. There are walls preventing my Kind from traveling there.” Jushua held up a hand. “Stay yourself from saying more. We shall adjourn to my home, where we can speak more.”

“We need to get home.”

“You know as well as I that a woman of her fragility of strength cannot portkey more than once in a tri-hour. She was already sick from the portkey once. Another trip will make her just even more ill than she still feels. Come with me. We shall talk worlds history, she can rest and partake of my mother
’s sweet pies. And you can tell me how a male who speaks of Gaia and a world I have never heard of ended up in Evelanedea, the most distant of the worlds. The most guarded and isolated.”

Nalik didn
’t have to like it, but he did feel they owed the man something. Without his portkeys, he and Cassandra would still be in Evelanedea—directly in the path of those riders.

Riders similar to the mercenaries that had plagued Relaklonos for centuries. He and Jareth and Adrastos had fought the demonic realm mercenaries on quite a few occasions. It was not something he wanted to repeat, especially with his
Rajni
so close. A wise man did not risk his female, ever.

One glance at his female had his decision made. She still looked quite ill. She most definitely could not travel by portkey easily. At least not any time soon. He
’d seen men twice her size leveled by too rapid portkey usage. There was no way a mostly-human girl would be able to withstand the pull on her body from the keys. He looked back at his new host. “A few hours, no more. Her sister and family are most likely beyond themselves with fear for her now.”