Dwellers of Darkness (27 page)

“You might need me. I will go as well,” Owen spoke up.

I started to deny their requests.

“My lady. Where you go I go.” Simmons flew up into my eye line. Cal and he had been sitting on the mantelpiece watching the drama unfold.

Cal came up beside Simmons. “You, girlie, will only get into trouble if I don’t go.”

“Ember, we are in this together. There is no way you are doing this without me,” Mom said, determination fixed on her face. I recognized this look, and I knew better than to argue.

I pressed my mouth into a hard line and nodded. “Fine.” I turned back to Lars. “We are
all
going. Make whatever arrangements you need to get things in order, but that’s how it’s going to be. No more fighting or ‘my plan is better than your plan’ bullshit. We need to be a team. You may not like each other, but we all hate Aneira. We have a common goal. Let’s not forget it.”

This was probably the stupidest decision ever, but it was made.

Then I started thinking about what would happen when you put a Demon King, an unhappy mother, a group of killers, an unpracticed Druid, and a Dae on a road trip together?

There’s no doubt. This is the most stupid decision ever made.

Family time is fun time... whoever said this needs a hard slap to the head.

I pressed my face against the tiny window of the plane. The
Pindus Mountain terrain spiked and fell in dramatic surges below me. It was breathtaking. This wasn’t some family vacation, but I was still excited to be in Greece. I had traveled to quite a few places in Europe, but the center of the ancient wonders of the world wasn’t one of them. Though I doubted sightseeing was on the itinerary.

A hand gripped mine in a painful clutch as turbulence dribbled the private jet like a basketball. I turned to look at Eli leaning back in his seat next to me. His eyes were closed, his face white, his jaw clenched, and his breathing was fast and shallow.

“I finally found something you’re afraid of.”

One of Eli’s eyes opened, peering at me. “Not afraid, just extremely untrusting of this human contraption. This isn’t natural; it shouldn’t be able to be in the air.”

“So I’m gathering you have never flown before?”

He turned his head forward and looked at the ceiling. “Never needed to. I was meant to be on the ground with my feet touching the earth. I prefer running or riding my bike.”

Most everyone in the group agreed using the doors would be suicidal. Aneira would have her soldiers watching them. Since the Dark Dwellers couldn’t use them anyway, we decided on other means of transportation. Lars had his private jet prepared for us, and within the hour we were in the air.

The plane was sleek, plush, and installed with all the latest gadgets. Every video game and touch-screen device you could imagine was set up in the chairs. Each one included its own separate pod of gizmos and contraptions. Josh was in
World of Warcraft
heaven. I don’t think he closed his eyes once or stopped thumping the buttons on his chair.

Our pilot was Fae and so were the gorgeous flight attendants, Jessica and Melanie. They worked for Lars, and he was their first priority. Lars had retired to his private office in the rear of the cabin as soon as we boarded and had not been seen since. Melanie hovered close to his door and went in and out with refreshments a few times.

It had been a stressful plane ride. All fourteen hours of it. Even after my appeal to “get along,” the collaboration of Lars, the Dark Dwellers, and Mom had been less than friendly and cohesive. Lars had declared several times he was none too happy about the extensive entourage escorting us to Greece.

The aircraft dipped again. My hand received another crushing squeeze. “Pansy.” I smirked and his grip tightened. “
Ow!”

Now Eli smirked. “You really want to screw with an edgy Dark Dweller? Haven’t you learned anything?”

I leaned in; my face was only a breath away from his. “I enjoy screwing with edgy Dark Dwellers.”

The corner of his mouth hooked up in one of his bad-boy grins. “Well, I am really tense and edgy right now.”

I grinned. “Ever heard of the mile high club?”

“Funny enough, I have.” His lips grazed mine as he spoke, sending flutters in my stomach. “And I’ve always been curious about becoming a member. How does one go about it?”

Heat scorched my skin where his lips brushed. Peeping over the headrest of my cushy, swivel chair I spotted Mom, Thara, and Torin seated in the built-in sofa near the back of the plane—across from the bathroom. Icy blue eyes locked onto mine as Torin returned my stare. Anger flecked with tortured longing appeared in his eyes. I quickly turned to the front.

“Think we’ll have to wait.” Sneaking back there for a “quickie” would be awkward, embarrassing, and cruel. This wasn’t the first time I had caught Torin watching me and Eli with a wistful, furious, or pained look. I felt both sad and guilty. His hurt was hard to take. Our connection wanted me to do everything in my power to make him happy. But the thing that was causing his pain was me and my own happiness. I was far too selfish to give Eli up.

The bond frustrated me because I wanted it to go away. I had been trying to center on where it came from. To see what made me want to protect or go to Torin. When Lars pulled me, it was a physical thing. My arms and limbs moved without thought, and the more I fought it, the more it hurt. My connection to Eli was in my veins, body, my skin... everything. It was
my
need to be near him not a physical pull.

Torin’s bond was somewhere in the middle. My brain would shut down, and I would just respond. It was like a code embedded in me long ago, which turned me off and the connection on. I would react first. When I gave myself a moment and forced myself to think, I would realize it wasn’t really me who was feeling that way. It was almost like an outside entity had latched onto me, controlling my thoughts and actions. It didn’t feel particularly good when I went against it, but it wasn’t painful or unmanageable like with Lars.

Eli’s hot breath against my neck brought me out of my thoughts. “Are you sure? It would really calm me. You would be doing the community a service,” he said into my ear, his hand moving up my leg.

Breath caught in my throat. It was tempting, but I shook my head. “Sorry, guess you’ll have to earn your wings on the way home.”

A barely audible growl emitted from his throat. “You know better than to tempt me and take it away. You ready for the repercussions?”

I did, and I was. If the plane wasn’t full of people, I would gladly let him show me. “Punish me later.”

“Oh, I will. Tenfold.” He sighed, giving me a quick kiss before leaning back in his seat.

A crackle came over the jet’s loud speaker. “This is your captain. We will be landing shortly. Melanie and Jessica will be coming by to see if you need anything.”

Cooper had flirted excessively with Jessica from the moment we took off. They had both disappeared awhile back, and I had little doubt he had gotten his wish to get laid. Probably several times. Jessica came down the aisle straightening her shirt, looking a lot more unkempt than she did at the beginning of our flight. Cooper followed only a minute behind. His strut to the seat was self-satisfied. I wasn’t sure if I was jealous or grossed out at the thought Cooper and the stewardess were getting it on in the lavatory.

Josh spent most of the trip playing video games that hadn’t even been released yet. Gabby, Owen, and Cole sat in front of us, sleeping most of the way. They were not thrilled to be in the air either. Sitting up, I looked past Eli. Kennedy was curled in her seat, her head on Jared’s lap as they whispered and giggled together.

So freakin’ cute.

I turned to the window and watched the sweltering tarmac greet the wheels of our plane. Eli kept his eyes shut the entire time. He let out a huge breath when the plane came to halt.

“I want to welcome you to Larissa, Greece. The current time is nine twenty am, and it is already eighty degrees on this August morning,” the captain announced.

Larissa had the closest landing strip to the
Meteora region, but it wasn’t a commercial airport. We were on a military base. Because we could land here told me a lot about Lars’ authority and power. Whether it was through glamour, money, or blackmail, I didn’t know. I didn’t especially want to.

Lars had a luxury shuttle waiting for us as we exited the plane. The trip from the base to the town of Kalambaka was uneventful. No one looked twice as six huge tough-looking Dark Dwellers, three ethereal Fairies, a yellow-eyed Demon, a human, a Druid, two flying pixies, and a Dae exited the van in the middle of town square. I had to wonder if Lars glamoured all of us to look like ordinary tourists, or if the people here saw strange things all the time. I knew keeping us under the radar from the Otherworld spies was vital.

Lars checked us into the local hotel giving firm instructions. “You have sixty minutes to rest and prepare. We will not be returning. From here on, we will be camping and hiking through some rough terrain.” He waved his hand. “Now go. I want you all back here in an hour.”

“I need a shower,” I grumbled and turned toward the room I had been allotted.

Eli grabbed my waist from behind, pulling me into him. His lips grazed my ear. “Me, too.”

Exactly one hour later
, we stood in front of the hotel. I hadn’t gotten any rest, but the shower refreshed me. The feeling was quickly fading as the heat pounded down relentlessly. I squinted up at the view, shielding my eyes from the blinding sun. Above the quaint town of Kalambaka, giant rock formations stood strong and prominent, reaching toward the sky. Visible through the puffy clouds, stone pillars balanced a sun-toasted stone monastery high on their shoulders. Worn white-washed stone buildings with red-tiled roofs circled the square, which included hotels, bakeries, restaurants, souvenir shops, and a church.

I was already in love with this area; it felt alive and full of mystery and intrigue. The landscape along with the delectable food brought people here. The scents of tomatoes, pesto, and bread filled the air. I took a deep breath, and my stomach growled with need to taste each delicious smell wafting my way.

“I did a little research on the way over.” Kennedy pulled out a piece of paper with her notes. “Meteora means ‘middle of the sky,’ ‘suspended in the air,’ or ‘in the heavens above.’ The six monasteries were built on natural rock pillars. Scientists
think
the pinnacles were created some sixty million years ago, developed from the river and earthquakes. It is said the first people came to this area in the ninth century. To escape everyday life, some eventually settled in small caves, embarking on lives of solitude, and meeting occasionally to worship and pray. As time progressed, the cave dwellers grew into a small community concentrated around the growing number of monasteries.”

She never did a “little research” on anything. It was one of the reasons she had been called a nerd and geek through school. She loved facts as much, if not more, than I did.

We now stared at her instead of the stone pinnacles.

“Yes. All quite fascinating, Ms. Johnson, but scientists will never accept the truth.
We
helped create this land.” Lars strode up, slipping on his sunglasses. His meaning of “we” was “Fae.” So I was right. This land
was
filled with magic. It was unearthly in its beauty and intrigue. You could feel it all around. I had only been here a few hours, and already I could sense this place burrowing itself in my skin. The history of the town whispered in my ear to come explore, to uncover its secrets. It was as if a siren sang her song to trance me into loving the white-washed stone and red-tiled roofs. I yielded to the desire without question. Even the shops around the square held stories from long ago about the folks coming in and out daily, their happy times and tragedies. The people and their pasts were embedded in the cobble streets under my feet.

The sight of a boy carrying bags of bread, meats, cheeses, and other items brought me back to the present. The local lad obediently placed the items at Lars’ feet. Lars handed the boy a wad of money. “Thank you, sir. Anything else you need, you come to me. I will take care of you,” he responded in English, then ran off elatedly with his roll of bills.

Lars watched him leave before turning to us. He had changed into cargo pants and an army green T-shirt that fit him perfectly. Even dressed down, Lars projected staggering authority. “I hope you have all rested. We will be hiking and mountain climbing through some especially rough terrain in very hot weather. I have army-issued packs ready for us at our pick-up location.”

“Oh, yeah, the fifty-five minutes we had w
ere so refreshing after a fourteen hour flight,” I griped, rubbing sunscreen on my arms. I wore khakis and a black tank with my hair up in a ponytail. Most of us looked like we were about to enter the Amazon jungle or trek across the Sahara. We were dressed in shades of green or tan pants, a tank or t-shirt, and hiking boots, which were a gift left by Lars in each of our rooms. I had to admit he was very organized and prepared. This must have been what he had been doing on the flight here, getting everything ready for us.

“Well, maybe if you spent the time resting, it would have been more beneficial. Remember my room was next to yours.” Cooper looked at me with annoyance and then turned to Lars. “This town better be full of single, horny women.”

Eli snickered. “When did the need for them to be single ever stop you?”

“True. They only need to be horny.”

“Enough!” Lars’ voice ripped through the banter. “You are all like prepubescent water fairies. Control yourselves, please.”