Darkness Surrendered (Primal Heat Trilogy #3) (Order of the Blade) (26 page)

Ezekiel stopped screaming and crouched next to Elijah. His breath was musty and heavy, and her stomach lurched from the stench.

The ancient Calydon set his hand on Elijah’s chest, and cursed. “It will all be ruined if you die now. Stay here. Heal. I—” He swore again. “I need to regroup and figure out how to handle this. I’ll be in touch.” He pressed his fingers to his lips and laid them on Elijah’s ashen forehead. “Be safe, brother.” Then he looked at Ana, and his eyes darkened with need. “I will be back,
sheva
. One way or another, you will be mine. There is no other way. It is our destiny.”

Then he was gone, vanishing from sight as he teleported away. The air lightened, and Ana felt his presence disappear from her mind. Elijah shuddered with relief, then passed out, falling immediately into the Calydon healing sleep.

He hadn’t even bothered to ask if she was going to stay there with him.

He knew she would.

He was right, of course.

But Ana wasn’t waiting for Ezekiel to come back for them. Not after that announcement. Not with Ezekiel’s words ringing in her ears. They so needed to get out of here.

She dug into Elijah’s pocket and pulled out his cell phone to call the mansion and get help. What if Ezekiel was right? What if she was his
sheva
? What if that was why he could touch her mind, not because of her connection with Elijah?

Dear God, it would destroy all of them if it was true.

It was with trembling hands that she dialed his phone.

But the minute her head landed on the pillow, she bounced up to a sitting position, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I can’t lie down.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ll fall asleep.” Her face was so haggard and drawn. “I can’t sleep, Elijah. The illusions will come.”

“I don’t care. You’re going to pass out if you don’t sleep—”

“I can’t!” She jumped off the bed, keeping her hand around his wrist. Her body was still shaking. “You don’t understand—”

“I understand perfectly. I know what the risks are, and it doesn’t matter. You’re more of a danger to both of us if you snap.” He swung his feet off the bed and stood up, pulling her toward him. “And I can’t stand seeing you this strung out. I can’t take it.” He scooped her up, tucked her against his chest, and then stretched out on the bed, propping himself up against the headboard.

She was stiff in his arms, trying to get him to release her, but there was no chance of that. “Give it up, Ana. I’m stronger than you are.”

“Damn it, Elijah! Have you completely forgotten—”

“Hell, no, I haven’t forgotten. I’ll wake you up when they start to come.”

“That’s not enough—” She cut herself off.

He tightened his grip on her. “What aren’t you telling me, Ana? For hell’s sake, surprises aren’t a smart thing right now.”

For a minute, she hesitated, then she sagged against him, clearly too exhausted to resist. “Illusionists were bred to be torturers.”

“I know.” He managed not to think about how he knew, and the demons stayed quiet.

“As a result, almost all Illusionists have dark illusions, like my sister. I didn’t, and I thought I’d been spared, but it’s all different now. Not only am I having dark illusions, but—”

“But what?” He slipped his hand under her shirt and began to rub along her lower spine. The muscles were knotted and tight, even though they were trembling from exhaustion.

Ana pulled back to look up at him. “There’s something different about mine. When I do them...it’s horrible, but I can feel a part of my soul responding. Each time I do one...I...” she swallowed. “Something inside me comes alive. Like I’m finally acknowledging my true self.”

Elijah tightened his grip on her, as much for himself as for her. “So, you think you’re going to be an Illusionist who thrives on torturing others?”

She met his gaze. “Yes.”

“Impossible. Your spirit is pure.”

“It’s my heritage, Elijah. It doesn’t matter what’s in my heart. Instincts go far deeper. I can feel it. I asked Grace what her dark illusions are like, and it’s different for her. For her, they are just illusions. For me, they are alive.” She met his gaze, and Elijah saw a lifetime of burden in her silver eyes. “A true Illusionist is one whose illusions are used for offensive purposes, for the sheer joy of hurting someone. Grace’s illusions are dark, but they rise only in self-defense. Mine...I can feel them shifting. I can feel myself changing. I want to use them to hurt Ezekiel.”

He almost grinned with relief. “Hell, Ana, not only do I want to use my legacy to hurt him, but I
plan
to kill him with it. It doesn’t make you bad.”

“It’s different for me.” She rested her palm against his chest, as if she needed the contact with him as much as he did. “The nature of my heritage is such that if I cross that line, I don’t go back.”

He felt her conviction, and his urge to smile faded. “You’re serious.”

“It’s my heritage. Every illusion I do takes me closer to that place.” Her hands fisted in his bloodstained shirt. “If I go to sleep, the illusions will come. It’ll make you crazy, and it will turn me into...a monster.”

He cupped her shoulders. “Listen to me, Ana. I understand what it’s like to be haunted. To live with the knowledge that you could cross that line at any time and never go back. Remember my family?”

Her eyes softened. “I remember.”

He grimaced. “I know what you’re facing, and I swear on my life that I won’t let you cross that line.”

“But how—”

“The air pressure shifts before you do an illusion. The instant I feel it happen, I’ll wake you up. But if you can get even a few hours, it would help.”

“But—”

He cut off her protest, unwilling to allow her to try to be the independent, courageous woman she’d had to be for so long. She had him to help her now, and he wasn’t going to let her turn him down. “And if the illusion comes, and if you start to cross that line, I’ll stop you.”

She managed to look skeptical, despite her exhaustion. “How would you stop me? You’ll be insane.”

“I won’t let it get that far.” He let her see the determination in his eyes. “Trust me, Ana. I
will
stop you. I won’t let you lose your soul, because I know how much it sucks and I won’t let it happen to you. I won’t.” He rubbed her shoulders, trying to loosen her muscles. “You have got to sleep, sweetheart. We have no choice. You’re too dangerous without it.”

Her eyelids were beginning to get heavy, and her body was nestled snug against him. He knew the heat from their joined bodies would be tough to resist. He brushed a kiss over her forehead as he continued to rub her back, easing away her tension. “Didn’t you hear Ezekiel, Ana? He believes you’re his
sheva
. If you really are, he’ll be unable to stop himself from coming after you.” He slid his hands down her shoulders and clasped her hands. “You heard him. He doesn’t want to kill me, but if he uses you to make me go crazy, then he doesn’t need to. He might try to use you to take me out of the competition, Ana.”

She paled. “He already knows about your vulnerability, that you’re susceptible to illusions.”

Elijah nodded. “We showed it to him, clear as day. We can’t afford to have your defenses down. He’s coming back for us both, Ana. It’s just a matter of time. We have to be ready.”

She groaned.
I can’t sleep.
But her voice was so weary.

He kept his voice calm and unconcerned, as if their very lives didn’t depend on her sleeping.
You don’t trust me?

There was silence for a moment.
I do trust you. I trust you with my life.

Then go to sleep. I won’t let the illusions come.

Elijah—

I know the costs if I fail. I won’t fail.
He tucked her head against his chest and wrapped his arm around her.
Sleep, little one. I’m watching over you.

She sighed, and he felt it the minute she gave up the battle, the instant she handed their safety over to him. Her body nestled tighter against his, and her breathing became even as she fell into the sleep she so desperately needed. He pressed his lips to her hair, his throat tightening at the fact she trusted him with both their lives.

Trust...

The word rang in his mind, setting off an alarm. He lifted up her arm to look at it. And there it was, creeping down her arm, another silver line. She’d trusted him with her darkest secret, with keeping her from succumbing to her worst nightmare, and it had bound them even tighter, completing the other half of the trust stage.

They were halfway there: trust and the blood bond were completed. His half of the death stage was done. All that was left was sex, her half of the death stage and his weapon coming to her aid.

But Elijah had a feeling it wouldn’t take full bonding to suck him into her mind enough for her to take him out. Already he was sensitive to her slightest thoughts in that direction. Not that he cared. After that scene with Ezekiel, he was damned pleased to tighten the bond with her.

He would not allow Ezekiel to claim her. No matter what. She was his. Period. He rubbed his thumb over the marks, well aware that tightening the bond would bring him into closer contact with the illusions trying to take over her soul. Damned if they tightened the bond. Damned if they didn’t. Hunted by Ezekiel either way.
Quinn. Gideon. We’re in trouble. Get in here.

***

Vaughn gunned the engine as he drove up over the crest of the steep incline, then he hit his brakes at the sight of the clay walls rising in front of him. A good forty feet of solid reddish clay reaching up to the sky. No windows. No doors. Just clay.

His gut hardened at the thought of Drew trapped in that isolated darkness. He slammed the truck into park and jumped out, going down as his legs gave out on him. Even the eight hour drive hadn’t given him time to heal. What the hell was going on with his body?

He summoned his strength, then willed himself to his feet, staggering slightly. He shuffled across the parched earth and let himself collapse against the clay wall. It was solid and hard, and it seared his cheek where it touched his bare skin. “Drew! Can you hear me?”

There was no response.

Vaughn slammed his foot into the wall, and it bounced off. What the hell? He frowned and rapped the wall with his knuckles, and they bounced off as if it were rubber.

Vaughn? Is that you?

Drew!
Vaughn sagged with relief at the sound of Drew’s voice.
You doing all right?

There was moment of silence, then,
I’m not sure.

Adrenaline raced through Vaughn, and he pressed his hands against the clay, as if he could shove his way right through it to Drew.
What does that mean?