Vampire Assassin League Bundle 4 - Eternity (23 page)

It actually
hurt
.

It also unlatched him from her neck, sending arterial spray in a light-imbued arc about them. Thanos licked at the dual puncture marks, while she writhed and gyrated atop him, her moans intensifying, getting louder and louder, heavier and deeper. He was watching, stunned; as she locked her limbs about him, clamping her hips to his, while her entire body pulsated and shuddered in place. And it was all accompanied by the longest, shiver-inducing shriek.

Thanos couldn’t prevent another series of soundless laughter. It was too amazing. And she was too beautiful. And what was happening was too incredible. Well beyond anything he’d been promised. And dreamt. And sought.

And she just wouldn’t cease using her hips against him, her hands skimming along his belly and to his shoulders over and over in a movement designed to drive him into madness and beyond. That was before he factored in the continual pumping of her body onto his. Alternately gripping and squeezing. And it didn’t seem possible that she hadn’t any Amazonian side, since she was more than leading this. She was orchestrating a response beyond his scope of experience. Beyond even his fantasies.

Her body shimmied again. Shuddered. It was accompanied by another long cry that ended with gasps, and then she lowered her face to him, brushing his cheeks with her breath, before attacking his lips in a kiss that grabbed and stalled his newly awakened heart. The thump as it started up again was thick and almost painful. And
alive
.

His canines pierced her inner mouth, gaining harsh moans from her that harmonized with his...and then she nipped back. The slightest prick of pain accompanied her act. And then rapture. Elation. Amazement. The sensation grew as she licked, and then sucked, driving him into whorl of agitation that wrenched any semblance of control out of his grasp. He grabbed her waist and arched up from the floor, shoving his shoulders back into the sofa edge and seizing the ottoman with his legs, gaining stability. Balance. Buttressing. That way he could buck up and into her, each time going deeper with each thrust. Harder. Again. And again. And over and over, lifting and jolting her with a pace that matched the furious sensation thudding through his back before it moved, hitting his groin, and then shattering everything.

Even time.

Thanos threw his head back, his mouth wide to let the longest cry out as everything exploded. Millennia of time disappeared. Legions of endless existence evaporated. Prior experience got obliterated and then overwritten. He’d never felt like this. Never experienced this. Never would he have dared imagine it. The cry turned to bliss-filled sobs as he emptied into her, moving them both with his lurching, spasmodic shudders.

Thanos of Macedonia. Warrior. Sobbing helplessly.

And he didn’t even care.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Thanos.”

The sound of his name went through his mind. He knew that voice. And that tone, although he rarely heard it. Thanos immediately opened his eyes. He was in his domicile. Atop his marble slab. All was the same.

Or was it?

This particular marble slab had been taken from the library at Persepolis while the rest of Alexander’s army destroyed the Persian palace. This piece of marble had two slight flaws. One was near the top, below where his shoulders usually rested. That nick was where the spear that had taken his mortality had glanced, mutely testifying not only to the power of the blow, but the closeness of his killer. And it hadn’t told why. No Persian soldier had been behind the blow. It was a fellow Macedon warrior; one with a jealous streak, murderous intent, and no eye to consequences. The man hadn’t even stuck around to make certain of his kill. That had been the fellow’s death warrant.

He hadn’t died pretty, but he had died. Thanos made certain of it, watching his trussed-up killer burn alive in the flames. Yelling. And then screaming. And finally cursing Thanos, his executioner. But he was too late for that. Thanos was already cursed.

The other flaw in the marble slab was a nick along one edge where Thanos’ chisel had slipped while carving it out. It wasn’t noticeable because he’d hidden it beneath a bed frame of iron, intricately wrought to look like tree limbs, almost like the marble was suspended in midair. That had taken decades to design and craft, once he realized he’d have a lot of time on his hands in this afterlife, and absolutely nothing better to do.

“Thanos.”

Akron was louder this time, the name more defined. It sounded as if Akron knelt beside this cool marble slab in physical reality.

Wait a moment...

The marble was cool against him.

Thanos grunted and rolled off the side, landing on his knees. It took a few moments to blink his resting place into complete focus. Another to adjust to the jolt that he’d actually felt. He was grinning as he rubbed at both knees.

It was all true! And had happened to him! He had emotion and sensation back! And why? Because he had a mate, and he’d actually found her. And she was still here! Right there! He studied her from a like height, since he still knelt at his bedside. Her cheek was resting on a palm. Her eye lashes fluttered while she slumbered away, lost in dreamland. She’d actually slept in his arms, swathed in a double layer of cloth against the hard, unbending surface of his marble.

And that after another round of lovemaking that had collapsed one of his tables in the outer chamber.

“Thanos!”

Ouch
. Thanos slapped both hands to his ears. Akron wasn’t shouting, but it was loud enough to cause ringing in both ears. Thanos was on his feet and out in his corridor before he got called again.

He padded on bare soles that felt every nuance of his cool tile floor, reaching his Recon room. The door knob was slick and cold to the touch. And he felt it. If he’d ever giggled, he supposed that what was happening as he slid into a leather chair and tapped a forefinger to one of his monitors. A dim beep accompanied the instant image of a large room, an ornate table beneath a curved staircase that shadowed the area, and the back of an open laptop. Nothing else. It was all anyone saw of Akron.

“About time.” Akron’s voice came through the speakers in a rush, showing his agitation.

“Yeah. About time.” Nigel’s voice was right behind Akron’s, but not near the volume or depth.

Akron’s sigh was loud and lengthy, causing such a throb of sound it was almost a visceral being of its own. Long moments followed the end of it when nobody said anything.

“Well? What is it?” Thanos asked finally.

“Good thing you live in the middle of nowhere, Thanos, and have little to do with the modern world and real-time technology. I’ve been trying to reach you via all the usual methods of communication. The least you could do is pick up.”

“Yeah. Pick up,” Nigel parroted Akron.

“Why?” Thanos asked.

“It’s about your assignment. Professor Erickson.”

“Yeah. Professor Erickson,” Nigel added.

“Nigel,” Akron asked.

“Sir?”

“What are you doing?”

“Emulating you, Sir.”

Akron laughed. The sound reverberated through the room, rattling every monitor on the counter. Thanos tipped them down one by one before they fell over.

“You are copying me, Nigel, not emulating. And what on earth brought about this phase?”

“It’s not a phase. It’s a change. I’m tired of everyone treating me like I just parachuted in here. They respect you. Everyone thinks I’m a joke.”

Akron laughed again. Even louder.

“You see what I have to put up with?” Nigel complained.

 “Enough. We’ve wasted enough time, and that’s not why I called. How much time is left, Nigel?”

“Eleven seconds, Sir.”

“Hmm. We’ll call you right back, Thanos. Move to line eight.”

The line went dead. Thanos spent the intervening moments skimming his palms along his thighs, raising hairs he could feel against his fingers. It was incredible. Wondrous. And then the monitor went live again, and Akron was talking. Or maybe it was more akin to lecturing.

“...not given. Respect is earned.”

“How do I do that?”

“By upholding standards day in and day out. Without fail. Speaking of — there’s Thanos back on the line. Good. Technology keeps changing and it’s a doubled-edged kind of thing. Complete benefit on one hand, a decided curse on the other. You need to go underground, Thanos.”

“I am underground.”

“I meant figuratively. Go off grid and stay there until we contact you again.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s about your little excursion last night.”

“Yeah. Last night,” Nigel parroted.

“Last night?” Thanos asked.

Akron’s sigh this time was short. It had a growl beneath it, too. Thanos straightened in the chair.

“You were assigned a hit. Professor Erickson. It was easy. Quick. Clean. You could’ve handled it blindfolded.”

“Oh. That.”

“Yes. That. One body has somehow become six of them, mostly decapitated. And guess what? Those deceased men worked for the fellow who contracted us. I’ve already made arrangements to counteract that, since the only quiet man is a dead one.”

“Oh.”

“That’s not the worst of it. There was a frantic call made. I believe they’ve got a written transcript already on the internet. A Lizbeth...ah yes. There it is. Smith. Lizbeth Smith reported something about a black-market antiquity deal gone wrong. According to her statement, Professor Erickson was killed trying to halt it. Hmm. Shows even an archeology artifact student can concoct a decent cover story, doesn’t it? Time, Nigel?”

“Thirty seconds.”

“Good. So, Thanos. To complicate matters, there is now an international search taking place for a missing person named Darcy Mullins, formerly of Vancouver, British Columbia”

Her name is Darcy.
How perfect.

“I can explain,” Thanos started.

“Yes. I know you can. Allow me. You’re mated. It’s wonderful. Everything is sublime. You’re reborn. Nigel and I both send our congratulations.”

“He’s
what
?” Nigel burst out.

“I should’ve called in a 4D team,” Thanos said.

Akron sighed again. At length. And louder. “Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, gentlemen. That cliché happens to be perfectly true. This is beyond a 4D Team now. It was the moment that woman’s statement included the word vampire.”

“She actually said that?”

“Only after her third interrogation, if that helps. She gave a fairly good description of you with her statement, too. And your sword. As well as your abilities with it. Time, Nigel?”

“Ten seconds. Nine. Eight.”

“Line six. We’ll call right back.”

Thanos slapped the disconnect button hard enough that it cracked. He grabbed up another monitor and had it live just as the image of Akron’s study came back into view. This speaker wasn’t as nice. It crackled with the volume behind Akron’s voice.

“You back? Your next contact will be on line thirty-three. On this one monitor only. Disable every other connection you have in that place. Immediately.”

“Immediately?”

“Do I stutter?”

“No.”

“You are about to go back in time, Thanos.”

“I am?”

“Not literally. We aren’t that good yet...although our technicians keep trying. I meant, I need you to cut off everything modern...except your generator. You may continue running it. For now.”

“For now?”

“According to our records, you got your tanks filled...oh. Looks like almost six months ago. You have enough for a few more weeks, maybe months?”

“Yes. But how far are we talking? What era?”

“Oh. I’m thinking seventeenth century should do it. Before global communications.”

“Cable, too?”

“Everything. I don’t want any kind of signal coming from anywhere on that island until further notice. And try to keep smithy work within acceptable levels.”

“Acceptable?”

“I understand mating can be a tricky business, Thanos. I’m going on hearsay, but I’ve been told it’s like a delicate dance, fraught with trauma. Tears. Rage. And sometimes it gets violent. Just don’t go taking out any frustration on metal...beyond your normal. The last thing we need right now is a geological team checking on that pseudo-volcano of yours.”

“Are you ever going to tell me why?” Thanos asked.

“Oh. Of course. Apparently, your mate and this big-mouthed archeology student are BFFs, Thanos.”

“BF—what?”

“Best Friends Forever,” Nigel inserted.

“Forever? How can humans say that?”

“Don’t try and figure out modern lingo now, Thanos. We’ve only got a bit more time, but we are to the worst of it now.”

“And that is?”

 “Hunters are on site. They got to your mate’s BFF before we could. I’m already working to countermand that as well, but I don’t want another international incident. I have to go on supposition that this Lizbeth person is cooperating fully with them and work from there. That means your Darcy is not to contact her in any way, shape, or form. Not even smoke signals. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“I do have one pertinent question for you, Thanos. If you would.”

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you just take both of them?”

“What am I supposed to do with two women?” Thanos asked.

“Oh no. No. He did
not
just say that. And I did
not
just hear it. And they call me wet behind the ears.”

Nigel sounded disgusted. Akron was chuckling. Thanos was frowning.

“Signing off now, Thanos. Good luck. Oh. And I suppose congratulations are in order as well. Nigel?”

And the line went dead.

CHAPTER FIVE

She’d never felt better in her life.

Darcy rolled onto her back and stretched, her head smacking something hard. Oh. She’d forgotten. She wasn’t in some fantastic cloud of bedding. Oh no. Not her. She wasn’t that lucky. She was on the ‘vacation of a lifetime’, accompanying Lizbeth to an archeological site; complete with ancient villas, equally ancient men, and a cot that wasn’t remotely long enough for a good night’s sleep. Their cots had a bar across the top and bottom to hold the cross-pieces together. And just like everything else on this trip, the cot seemed designed with Lizbeth in mind. Not Darcy. Lizbeth fit the airline chairs and could even curl up to sleep. She had no trouble with the bus seats, or even the little speedboat that had brought them out here. The boat had an awning to block wind and rain and sea spray. Liz fit perfectly. Darcy could only fit if she slouched. And that had given her a really nice back ache.