Darkness Surrendered (Primal Heat Trilogy #3) (Order of the Blade) (32 page)

“No.” She walked over to him. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”

But he shifted away from her when she went to touch him, shaking his head. He knew she was wrong. So very, very wrong.

***

The pain woke Vaughn. The pain, and the absolute certainty that something was so very,
very
wrong. He lurched back to consciousness, his body screaming with agony as he peeled his eyes open.

His gaze fell on the rubble surrounding him and he instantly recalled what had happened. “Drew!” He lurched to his knees, then his stomach heaved from the pain and the aftermath of using his powers, and he vomited, his body shuddering.

The minute the spasm was past, he hauled himself to his feet, surveying the destruction around him. “Drew!” There was nothing stirring around him, no life forces at all. Not even an insect. His mouth pasty dry and caked with dust, Vaughn reached out with his mind over the connection Drew had built between them, but there was nothing.

He had no idea how to access that connection without Drew to hold it.

His heart aching with grief, Vaughn knelt beside the indentation in the sand where Drew’s body had been, the blood still caked in the granules. Some of the sand was disturbed, swept aside by the hands of whoever had picked him up.

Vaughn laid his palms on the tracks left by his assailant and closed his eyes. The energy level was frenzied and high, vibrating at a frequency he recognized. He knew that energy signature... it was a Calydon, but which one? It was someone he knew, he was sure of it. He concentrated more closely and tried to relax, but he couldn’t identify it.

He finally gave up, unable to get a read, but the only Calydons he knew were Order members. An Order member had taken Drew from him…again. They would pay for that mistake. Dearly.

He hauled himself to his feet and turned around. His truck was still there, and he shoved his hand in his pocket. Still had the keys.

Vaughn worked his way across the rubble, holding his left arm immobile with his right so as not to jar his injured shoulder. No one had been at the mansion when he’d left, and he had a feeling he knew exactly where he could find the bastards.

No more mercy for the Order.

No. More. Mercy.

Ian’s face darkened, and he turned away, giving his back to Elijah.

No forgiveness.

Elijah ground his jaw against the urge to pursue the topic and make peace with his teammate. Now was not the time to deal with Ian. Not for either of them. But he couldn’t stop looking at Ian as a new idea occurred to him. That night he killed Ian’s
sheva
was the night his mind had first started to fragment. He’d killed thousands of innocents before he’d killed Ian’s
sheva
, and it had never bothered him before, even when he’d killed other
shevas.

But that night had been different, and it had snapped something inside Elijah that had continued to unravel once Frank had gotten a hold of him. What had been different about that night? What about that night had triggered everything?

Ryland raised his brows and drew Elijah’s attention back to the room. “You’re not holding onto Ana, but you’re sane. What gives?”

“I’m recovering.” Unsure of exactly how far the Order’s new tolerance for
shevas
went, Elijah opted not to give the details of how tight the bond was. Ana pulled her sleeves down over her arms. To hide his marks, or Ezekiel’s? No need to give a visual reminder of how dangerous the situation was becoming. “But Ezekiel is stronger than I am,” Elijah admitted. “Faster, stronger, a better warrior.”

“He’s better than all of us put together,” Quinn said.

Ryland scowled. “How can he be stronger than you? You’re the chosen one.”

Elijah ground his teeth. “I think I’m the chosen one because he doesn’t want to kill me. He didn’t want to kill Caleb, and he doesn’t want to kill me.”

“So? How do we work that if you aren’t strong enough to take him out?” Ryland challenged.

The rest of the Order was saying nothing, allowing Ryland to ride Elijah’s ass, which made Elijah suspect the others were as frustrated with him as Ryland was, so they were going to let Ryland push at him until he got the answers they all wanted.

In Dante’s day, the Order hadn’t been like this: fragmented, secretive and divisive. It had been open, honest and tight.
We need a new leader
. He sent his thought to Quinn and Gideon, who both nodded.

You know anyone capable of pulling us together like Dante did?
Gideon asked.

Elijah scanned the room, inspecting the team, and his gaze came to settle on Thano. He was only thirty-five, a kid compared to the rest of them. He didn’t have the hang ups about Dante’s death because he’d known Dante for only seventeen years, instead of five hundred. And he had an irreverence to the crap people hung on him. He seemed to have a knack for easing Ryland’s aggression.
Thano. He needs to be our new leader.

Gideon snorted.
He’s a kid. We’ll beat the shit out of him.

Yeah?

Gideon and Quinn both turned to look at Thano. He was tossing his halberd up in the air, acting oblivious to the tension in the room, but his eyes were sharp as he watched the old guard. One eyebrow went up at the look they gave him, and he caught his weapon, growing still under their scrutiny.

Yeah.
There was a note of satisfaction in Quinn’s voice.
Yeah, it has to be the kid.

It’s not up to us. The weapons need to choose him,
Gideon said.

They will.
Elijah felt certain of it.
We’ll perform the ritual as soon as we have time. They’ll pick him.

“What the fuck are you guys talking about now?” Ryland interrupted. “How are we going to take Ezekiel out?” Tension was radiating from his shoulders. “We don’t even know where he is.”

“I think I know.” Thano’s voice was quiet. “There’s a town further up on the coast called Cat’s Cradle where there have been six murders in the last three hours. Those are the first murders in fifty years. Eleven women have gone missing over the last few days.”

Ryland scowled. “How would you know? You’ve been fighting for the last hour.”

Thano held up his iPhone. “It’s called technology, old man. Breaking news email alerts. Welcome to the twenty-first century, big guy.”

“So, if he’s there, then what?” Kane paced the room, limping badly. “We go there with our weapons out, hoping to find him before he takes us down? How’s that going to work? We need a
plan
.” He turned to face the team. “We’re running around aimless right now. For hell’s sake Ezekiel relocated directly into the mansion and brought his army with him. He could kill us at any moment, and he’s letting us know that. I’m not sitting around waiting for him to take us out, and I’m not interested in hauling ass to some distant town, only to have him kick our ass because we’ve got no strategy. He’s stronger than we are. He has more weapons. He seems to have acquired an assortment of Calydon talents, like relocation and throwing off the tells of his physical presence. What, did he pick up the talents of every Calydon whose weapon he owns?”

“There is only one Calydon I know of who can redirect the tells of his physical presence,” Ian said. “Dante.”

Kane and Ryland both stiffened. “Dante is dead,” Kane said. “Ezekiel never had access to Dante’s skills.”

“His son isn’t dead,” Elijah pointed out.

“His son has become Ezekiel,” Gideon said. “I saw it happen. That’s why Ezekiel has his talent. We need to research all the other Calydons whose weapons were used in the rite to find out what talents Ezekiel has. Before he uses them on us.”

“Before he uses them on
me
.” Elijah knew what he had to do. “I’m the only one who can get close enough to Ezekiel to kill him. I’m the only one who he will relax around enough that I could do it. He’ll kill the rest of you before you can even get close. It has to be me.”

Quinn raised his brows. “Even if you get close enough, how are you going to kill him? You grievously wounded him with your throwing stars, and he barely even reacted.” He gestured at Elijah. “He’s helping you heal, and look at you. You’re fine already. He’s that powerful.”

Elijah didn’t need to look at his body to know every wound was gone. He felt strong, and he felt great, and that meant Ezekiel healed at least that fast, if not faster. “I don’t know how to kill him, but I’m not going to find out hanging out here.” He looked around the room at the team who had stood by him for so many centuries. It was his turn to step up, and it felt good. He was ready, and he was psyched. “I’m going to him. I’m going to go on the premise that I am considering his offer to work alongside him and rule the world.”

Ian cocked his head. “And share your
sheva
? From what you’ve said, he wants both of you.”

Elijah glanced at Ana. She was standing by the dresser, quietly listening to everything people were saying. Her eyes met his, and he saw the dark fear in them.

Then she nodded once.

Yeah, screw that. He wasn’t handing her over. “No. I’m going to leave her here.”

Ryland cursed, but before he had a chance to argue, Ana stepped forward into the middle of the room. “I’ll go.”

Elijah shook his head. “No. If you go, he’ll try to tighten the bond.”

She met his gaze. “I know.”

She knew and was going anyway? Elijah’s brands began to burn with aggression. “I can’t handle that.”

She looked at him, her silver eyes haunted. “Yes, you can. You’re stronger than you realize, Elijah.”

He looked at the woman who had taken his soul and given it life again, and he knew there was no chance on earth he would ever be strong enough to handle her bonding with another male.

Gideon cursed under his breath. “Actually, Ana, I’m with Elijah. The
sheva
bond is some heavy shit. He wouldn’t be able to handle it. No Calydon would.”

Ian made a small noise of disgust from the doorway. “You would be surprised at what you can handle.” His voice was quiet.

The energy in the room shifted, and Elijah felt a stab of guilt. He looked right at Ian. “I believe our rules regarding
shevas
are wrong. I’d never kill her if I had a chance to do it again, Ian.”

Ian narrowed his eyes, and called out his weapon. “That statement serves no purpose but to try to protect your own
sheva
. It changes nothing about what happened before.”

Elijah tensed, his forearm tingling with the need to call out his throwing star. “Are you threatening me?”

“Hey!” Gabe stepped between them. “What the hell’s going on? We’re up against the worst bastard in the history of the world, and we’re actually wasting time listening to Elijah apologizing for doing his job? Hell, he’s actually
apologizing
for killing a
sheva
in accordance with his Oath as an Order member? And worse, he’s actually refusing a smart battle strategy because it might endanger his
sheva
, who, by all rights, should have already been killed?” He called out his hooksword and leveled it at Ana. “This ends now. Elijah needs to do his damn job without being distracted by you.”

Elijah was across the room and in front of her before he’d even realized he’d moved. “Back off, Gabe.” He managed to keep his voice controlled as he slid his hand behind him and made sure Ana was hidden. “What’s your problem? Now isn’t the time to go off on
shevas
. We need Ana, and you can’t kill her.”

“The Order is crumbling, and I’m trying to stop it!” Gabe snapped. “In times of chaos, we revert to following the rules! It gives us control! You’re deviating, and we’re going to lose it all because of that!”

Thano whistled softly. “You guys are a bunch of uptight bastards, for sure.”

Gabe glared at him. “What the hell do
you
know?”

Thano shrugged. “I don’t have all the emotional shit you guys have when it comes to the Order—”

“We aren’t emotional,” Gabe said. “We’re warriors.”