Darkness Possessed (Order of the Blade) (34 page)

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jordyn run to Rhiannon, and kneel beside her. She shook Rhiannon, but got no response. Jordyn then looked up, tears streaming down her face as she shook her head at Eric.
What?
Denial roared through Zach, a deep-seated fury at what Jordyn was trying to tell Eric.

Rhiannon had to be okay. She had to be.
She had to be!

With a roar of fury, he suddenly went on the offensive, attacking José as fiercely as he was being attacked. He hurled fireball after fireball, moving forward toward his enemy, hammering relentlessly. José grinned and moved forward as well, both of them surging with power as they advanced on each other, José was still feeding off Zach's assault, getting stronger with each blow.

Well, fuck that. If José could absorb Zach's fire, then why couldn't Zach do the same thing? Zach dropped his shields and let the arrows hit him. The first one struck right in his chest, and he staggered. The second one hit his gut, and he went down on his knees. But he still didn't shield them. He just accepted them into his body, drinking in the fire that was trying to kill him.
Bring it on,
he gasped, as his body shook with agony.
I want it.
He closed his eyes as he lost his balance and fell onto his stomach, unable to hold himself up. Again and again he was hit, and he just lay there, opening himself to the fire. He felt as if his internal organs were burning up, incinerated by José's assault.

"Get up!" Jordyn screamed at him. "Get up, Zach!"

He didn't move.

He cracked open his eyes, and saw Eric with two swords, charging at José from behind. Jesus. The stupid bastard. He'd never take him down. "Get her out of here," Eric yelled at Jordyn, just as José flung him backward with a burst of flame. Eric was catapulted into the air, and he disappeared into the darkness of the jungle, still shouting commands at Jordyn to get to safety as he sailed out of sight. There was a crash and a thud, and then silence from Eric. Shit! No more were allowed to die for him!

Zach's gaze shot to the women, and he saw Jordyn trying to drag Rhiannon's inert body away from the fire, but flames were raging all around them, ignited by the fire raging between the two warriors. The women were trapped. They were going to be burned.

Horror welled inside him, numb, terrifying horror. Rhiannon was going to burn to death in his flames! "No!" As he screamed in rage, he felt something shift inside him. José's flames stopped attacking him, and they merged with his, becoming a part of who he was. Strength and power exploded through him, and he lunged to his feet, insane with terror for Rhiannon. He slammed a fireball at José, throwing him backward a hundred yards as he raced toward the last spot he'd seen the women before the fire had cut them off from him. The flames were torrential now, destroying everything in their path. He charged though the fire, searching desperately for his woman. "Rhiannon," he bellowed. "Where are you?"

"Zach!"

Jordyn's scream came from his left, and he spun around. He burst through the flames and saw Rhiannon and Jordyn huddled in a tight ball, trapped by the fire that was only inches away on all sides. He leapt over the flames and landed with his feet on either side of them. He had no time to get them out. He had only one chance, and this time, it was going to work.

He called out his own fire, the one that had killed his daughter, and he swept it around the three of them, erecting a flaming shield. The sphere took shape instantly as he crouched over them, encircling both women with his arms. As he did it, he pushed the heat of his fire to the exterior of his sphere, knowing that the heat alone could kill them.

Flames and heat hammered at him from all sides, but he fought to keep his shield around them, and to keep the heat at bay. Jordyn's arms were still around Rhiannon, and she looked up at him, her face flushed and red from the flames. "See what happens when you stop fighting who you are? I'm good, aren't I?"

He was not in the mood for therapy right now. "Rhiannon," he said. "Wake up!" He gave a gentle mental push at her. She was so close that he should be able to feel her, but still he couldn't. Fear began to lick through him, and he shoved harder at the heat, trying to protect her. "Rhiannon!"

Again, no response.

He was almost overwhelmed with the need to pull her into his arms, but he couldn't break the circle of protection. He knew his touch had helped her before. "Come on, Rhee." He shifted his weight enough so he could move his leg against hers. "Pull up her dress, Jordyn. I need skin to skin contact with her."

Jordyn leaned over to Rhiannon and slid her dress up enough to expose her leg.

"My jeans," he ordered.

"I don't undress men anymore, just so you know," Jordyn grumbled as she yanked up his jeans and shoved his sock down. "Men need clothes."

He moved his leg against Rhiannon, and this time, he felt the warmth of her skin against his. His heart seemed to skip for a second, and then electricity poured through him. He could feel her life force weakening. He could hear the slow thudding of her heart. He could sense the enormity of her soul, all of it weaving through him with such beauty that it was almost overwhelming.

Using the connection between them, he pushed all his life force at Rhiannon, pouring all his healing energy into her. He didn't even care that he couldn't call upon the
sheva
bond to connect them. He didn't need to. Her soul was such a part of his that healing her was like breathing life into his own heart.
Come back to me, my love. I'm here for you.

She coughed suddenly, her body shuddering as air surged back into her lungs. She opened her eyes, and her gaze met his. "Zach?" she whispered, her brow furrowing in confusion. "I thought you were dead."

He grinned, elation flooding him. How was it possible that one woman's voice could change his entire world? "Never. I had to rescue my woman."

She smiled, a smile so filled with affection that he was filled with a sudden urge to do a Tarzan chest-pounding thing and claim her as his own. "You were almost too late," she pointed out.

"I know. Sorry about that. "

Jordyn wrapped her arms around Rhiannon's shoulder. "No sex while I'm here. That would just gross me out."

Rhiannon turned, her eyes widening in surprise. "Jordyn? What are you doing here?"

"I'm on vacation. It was a total surprise to find you unconscious, about to be raped by your ex, while Zach here set the jungle on fire trying to save you." Jordyn looked up at Zach. "What now, big guy?"

Forcing himself to tear his gaze off Rhiannon, Zach looked around. The flames were raging around them, becoming even fiercer, and he knew José was feeding them. "I think—"

Rhiannon suddenly sucked in her breath and stood up. "He's calling me," she whispered.

"What?" Zach rose with her, changing the shape of his protective dome to accommodate her new position. "You can't go there—"

"I can't help it." Agony coursed through her eyes. "I can't stop myself." She started to walk, and Zach swore, moving with her to keep her protected.

"Rhiannon!" Jordyn grabbed her arm. "Stop it!"

"Get off!" Rhiannon flung Jordyn away, and the woman fell backward, tumbling into the fire.

Swearing, Zach widened the sphere of protection, just barely getting it wide enough to keep Jordyn from burning up. "Get up," he snapped at her "Get back over here!"

Jordyn scrambled up, racing over as Rhiannon broke into a run. Swearing, Zach kept pace with her, and so did Jordyn, who was frantically shouting words of empowerment at Rhiannon, words that were making as much difference as using a squirt gun on a forest fire.

He couldn't grab her to stop her, or he'd lose control of the sphere keeping her from being burned. Fucking José didn't even care if she burned up. He just wanted to exert his control over her. "Rhiannon," he said. "Look at me."

She didn't even turn her head, but waves of anguish poured off her.

"Dammit, Rhiannon! I love you! Can't you feel it?"

She still didn't look at him, and started running faster, away from him, into the fire, toward José, but tears were pouring down her cheeks.

Zach ran with her, and Jordyn kept pace, her athletic build having no trouble keeping up with them. Shit. How could he reach her?

"You have to kill José," Jordyn shouted at him. "Or she does. One of you does! It's the only way to free her. The
sheva
bond is too strong."

Rhiannon was running in a dead sprint toward José, and it was all Zach could do to keep the sphere moving along with her, keeping it big enough to protect both women. "There has to be another way," he yelled back. "He needs to stay alive until I can save my teammate!"

"You have to make a choice," Jordyn yelled. "You can't save them both!"

"I have to!" Suddenly, they reached the end of the fire, and burst out into the jungle. The flames stopped, as if contained by an invisible wall, and they were surrounded by lush, green vegetation. Rhiannon's realm. That was how to do it. This was her world. Her power zone. He dropped the flaming shield, freeing them all. José stood between two massive trees, his hands on his hips, a smug look on his face to see his
sheva
racing toward him.

Well, fuck that. This was her world now. Zach touched her arm, and sparks leapt through them. "Rhiannon—"

She whirled toward him suddenly, and for a moment, elation swept through him. She had come back to him. Then there was an explosion and a crack of black light, and then in her hand was José's sword. It was then that he saw the anguish in her eyes, and he knew that something was terribly wrong. "Rhiannon—"

"I love you, Zach. I'm so sorry," she managed, tears streaming down her cheeks, just before she plunged José's sword right into Zach's heart.

Rhiannon screamed in horror as she watched herself plunge José's sword into the heart of the man she loved. She staggered back, the scream still reverberating in her head as she watched Zach clasp his chest and go down to his knees. How could she have done that? How could she be so weak as to have let José force her to hurt him?

Zach grabbed the handle of the sword, his gaze fixed on hers. "I love you, Rhiannon.
I love you.
"

His words burned through her, and she whispered the words back, the words that were so loud in her mind. "I love you, Zach—"

But even as she spoke them, she felt José push at her mind.
Turn around, bitch. Show your lover who you really belong to.

Her body turned against her will, and she faced him. He was standing there in the bold, aggressive stance of a war god. Feet apart. Arms folded across his chest. Shoulders back. Powerful. Arrogant. Utterly male. He smiled at her, an empty, lascivious leer that bisected his angular face. "Come over here and fuck me while your lover dies."

His words plunged straight into her mind, and she felt the familiar call of resistance warring with the compulsion. Somewhere inside, her soul screamed in agony and protest, but her feet began to move toward him.
Stop it, Rhiannon! Just stop it!
But her body didn't belong to her. It belonged to the man whose brands marked her body.

The
sheva
bond. So romantic. So horrific. Slavery of the worst kind.

"Stop it!" Jordyn screamed, as she ran up to Rhiannon. "Don't do this, Rhiannon! You're too powerful for this! Stop it—"

José flicked his hand, and a burst of hot air flung Jordyn back. Rhiannon's body tensed with the need to grab her friend, but she couldn't break José's spell. She watched helplessly as Jordyn landed beside Zach, who was down on his knees, trying to get José's sword out of his chest. Jordyn groaned and rolled onto her side, alive, but hurt.

The blade of José's sword was on fire, and Zach's skin was glowing orange as José's fire burned him from the inside out.

What had she done? How pathetic was she? She was the chosen one the prophecy had selected to save her jungle, and yet her tribe had been exterminated, the man she loved was dying by her hand, and her only friend was being tossed around like a tumbleweed. And what was she doing? Ignoring them all to get fucked by her soul mate. Yeah, because she was a warrior, right? No, it couldn't end like this. She could not let it end like this. Being a
sheva
didn't control her. She had to be strong.
She had to fight.

Her soul screamed in agony as she tried to erect mental shields between her and José, but their blood bond gave him easy access. Every shield she erected, he tore down, his laughter echoing in her head. Tears of frustration and anguish streamed down her cheeks as she continued to walk right toward the man who owned her.

Zach jerked the sword out, gasping in pain. He looked up at her, his eyes glowing so fiercely she could see flames dancing in them. "Rhiannon," he growled. "You're stronger than that."

Adrenaline rushed through her, followed by a stab of hope. Was she really stronger than the destiny that had controlled the fates of every Calydon and their
shevas
since the beginning of time?

"Look at me, not him," José snarled, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Involuntarily, Rhiannon dragged her gaze off Zach and focused on José. His thought pulsed at her, his unyielding push.
You are mine.
His words echoed through her, twisting until they were her own. This man, this brutal man, was her soul mate. She was his
sheva.
Bound to be a part of him until one of them died. She was his—

No!
Those weren't her thoughts!She realized suddenly that he was trying to direct her thoughts now. Always before, he had never bothered. He'd just wanted her body and her lust. But now, she could feel the tendrils of his power crawling through her brain, trying to take over her thoughts.

Fresh resolve surged through her, a sudden influx of self-preservation. If he took her mind, she had
nothing.
Frantic, she willed her mind to focus, to think, to own itself. Her jaw clenched, she focused on the staff in his right hand, concentrating all her energy onto it, so he would feel her attention on him and maybe relinquish his efforts, not realizing that she was controlling her own thoughts, not him. She stared at that damned torch, examining every engraving on the staff. Dozens of flowers, like the ones that should be a part of her. The faces of demons. Assorted Calydon weapons. She saw a sword. A battle-axe. A dagger. A spear. There was a man having sex with his
sheva,
doggie style, yanking her head back by her hair. Not loving and romantic. It was domination and ownership, and she hated it. Was that what the
shevas
were originally created for? It wasn't about love and protection. It was about creating female slaves who could never say no to their masters.