His Soul To Keep (Dark Knights of Heaven Book 1) (4 page)

Chapter Five

Rail clawed his way through the blinding darkness with pain so intense he envisioned broken glass slicing into his brain. He hadn’t felt this bad since his initial punishment by the Hierarchy.

Was he being punished now?

Cassidy’s voice, soft as a feather and tinged with fear, worked its way through the black fog filling his mind. Her trembling tones guided Rail out of the darkness and toward consciousness. Forcing his eyes open a crack, he locked onto Cassidy’s gaze. A mix of concern and relief danced in her beautiful eyes. Why hadn’t he noticed her eyes before? They were the color of dark caramel flecked with gold and emerald, made brighter by her sable hair hanging loosely around her face.

A face of a true angel. The kind poets wrote prose describing and sculptors coaxed from stone. The kind he’d lived amongst once.

He blinked a few times and Cassidy’s face vanished.

In the next blink, the image of Kaz on the verge of transforming as he held Cassidy to the wall filled his vision. Everything turned red.

"Let. Her. Go." Rail didn’t recognize his own voice. Each word drove another glass shard into his brain.

"Rail? Man, you okay? What did she do to you?" Boomer knelt next to him. "Let’s get you on the bed."

Ignoring Boomer and his pain, Rail snapped, "Kaz! Let Cassidy go. Now. She didn’t do this." When Kaz hesitated, a rumbling growl filled the room, making the walls vibrate.

"Please, Kaz," Cassidy gasped, keeping her eyes locked on Rail's. "I don’t know what’s wrong with him…but I’m pretty sure making him angry isn’t a good idea right now."

With a grunt, Kaz stepped back, hands held high. "What happened?"

"We were talking." Rail used the edge of the bed and Boomer’s arm to pull himself up, only to drop back to the floor, his legs turning to Jell-O. "Damn."

Cassidy was at his side a moment later. "Are you okay?"

"No. I feel like my head is going to explode," Rail caressed her hand, driven to calm her fears, "but I’ve felt worse."

"What can I do?" she asked softly.

"Well," Kaz snapped before Rail could answer. "You can explain what happened here."

Cassidy turned and stood toe-to-toe with the big man. "I told you, we were just talking and he collapsed. Jesus! If I had done something to him, would I have screamed for help? No. I would have ran. I would have escaped, asshole."

Rail was stunned. Cassidy’s first thought when he’d collapsed had been to get help and not escape. Which was probably why his brothers were confused.

As he watched Cassidy stand up to Kaz and stare him down, pride blossomed in Rail’s chest. His
Aktura
was strong, brave, feisty, and definitely not a wilting flower—in other words, a good match for him. For a brief moment, he could see a future with her. He shut those thoughts away before they woke his old fear. Guilt gnawed at his heart.

Kaz stepped around Cassidy and hefted Rail onto the bed. "The way you look, it reminded me of…"

"Yeah, I know. I thought the same thing." He winced as Cassidy sat down, jostling him slightly. "But I didn’t do anything to warrant punishment. Besides, when was the last time any of
them
even took notice of what we were doing?"

"Who?" Cassidy rubbed his back in slow circles, as though it were the most natural thing for her to do.

Rail began to purr. A low rumble in his chest. Her touch felt so good.

When Cassidy’s hand hesitated, Rail glanced up to see confusion turn to barely hidden amusement in her eyes. The corner of her mouth tilted in a half smile, her hand moving again.

"The Hierarchy," Boomer snarled and kicked the desk chair out of the way.

"Why would they punish you for talking to me? I am your, uh,
Aktura,
right?"

Rail closed his eyes. Searching, he reached out and felt the resonance of his soul laced with Cassidy’s. The warmth of the connection washed over him, easing his mental and physical pain. Threatening to reopen the emotional wounds he wanted to keep locked down. "Yes. No question. You’re mine."

Mine
. The word reverberated with such possessiveness; it sent shivers down Cassidy’s spine—not from fear, but excitement.

Oddly enough, she felt just as possessive of Rail. He belonged to her in a way she didn’t understand. Seeing him in pain woke a desire to take care of him, help him. Protect him. A desire she chalked up to the soul connection he’d mentioned. But hearing
mine
leave his lips with such certainty woke a different kind of desire in her.

Something more primitive, carnal.

"What were you talking about?" Kaz’s voice broke into Cassidy’s sensual thoughts.

"Uh? What?" Cassidy looked up, hoping the warrior didn’t notice the heated blush creeping over her cheeks.

“I asked what you were talking about? Just talking wouldn’t put him on the floor writhing in pain.”

"Oh, I asked Rail how those monsters could find the soul-keepers, but you guys can’t." Once again, Cassidy was met by blank stares. "Hello? Do you know?"

"It’s just the way it is," Boomer answered dully. "We believe Lucifer created the
skratars,
specifically to hunt
Aktura
. It’s a given they’d be able to find them."

"That doesn’t make sense. The
Aktura
are connected to you, not them. You should be able to find us too." Cassidy turned when Rail placed a hand on her leg and squeezed lightly.

"Please stop."

"The pain again?"

He gave a single slight nod. "Like rolling thunder before the storm—in the distance, but not quite here yet."

"Okay, okay. No more questions." Cassidy worried her bottom lip between her teeth. She was on to something. There was a connection between the questions, Rail’s suffering, and the blank looks on the other guy's faces—as if the subject flipped a switch in the men’s brains, shutting them down. She could almost see it. Her mind worked through the threads, slowly worrying a knot apart. "A deterrent," she blurted as the thought clicked into place.

"What?" All three men stared at her.

"The pain. Don’t you see? It’s another punishment. A deterrent to stop you from thinking too much about finding your soul-keepers," she explained, smiling in triumph.

"Huh?" Boomer leaned against the doorjamb, confusion mixed with pain on his face. "Rail’s not looking for you. You’re right here."

Cassidy shook her head. "We were discussing why you can’t identify the
Aktura
until after you stumble across them in one of those
skratar
attacks. I kept pushing when Rail wasn’t able to answer my questions…then he keeled over in pain. It makes sense that something is blocking the thoughts." An evil glint sparkled in her eyes as she leaned toward Kaz. "I bet if I questioned you and got you thinking about the
Aktura
in the same way, you would—"

Visibly panicked, the big man cut her off, "Now’s not the time or place to test that theory. You up for traveling, Rail?" He pushed Boomer into the hall.

"Give me an hour?" Rail asked softly.

His voice sounded so weak, Cassidy worried about the aftereffects of this punishment. "Maybe we should take more time?" she asked hopefully, noticing Rail’s body still tensed under her hand. "You look like you could use a nap."

Kaz looked back and nodded. "Sundown’s in three hours. Be on deck in four." With a grunt, he pulled the door closed a little harder than necessary.

Cassidy listened to the heavy footfalls echo in the corridor. It was obvious Kaz was not happy about her being there. And now he was suspicious of her intentions.

Grand.

Even if Rail and Boomer hadn’t deferred to Kaz, Cassidy would know he was their leader. It wasn’t that he was the picture of a modern day soldier, right down to his tank top and camouflage pants, topped off by a standard military hair cut—it was his demeanor. He expected to be obeyed.

She’d met men like him before, both corporate and military. They commanded respect where it needed to be earned. Well that was just too bad—he was going to have to earn her respect.

Oh well, guess we aren’t going to get along
.
Cassidy smiled. "Hey, are we on a boat?" she asked after a few minutes to break the lingering silence.

Rail gave her a funny look, as if to ask,
Are you planning another escape attempt?
"A barge, actually."

"A barge?" she asked dubiously. "In Nevada?"

Rail sighed, relaxing his muscles as he stretched. "Yeah, an old river barge we stashed off Hemenway Harbor. It’s a relic from the old shipping days up and down the Colorado River. There are still a few places in the bay that the tourists haven’t taken over."

"So you guys, uh,
squat
wherever you can?"

"No." He chuckled and then winced, rubbing his temples. "We have a home, which you’ll get to see in a few hours, but we need temporary base camps near whatever area we’re working in."

Rail’s laugh surprised Cassidy with its warmth. "Oh. I guess that makes sense. You can’t just check into a hotel, right? Coming in covered in blood and carrying weapons might make the front desk clerk ask questions." She smiled to keep things light and distract Rail from the pain. With a breath, Cassidy switched from an inquisitive tone to a more conversational one. "What brought you to Nevada? Did you know those monsters were here?"

If Rail noticed, he didn’t acknowledge the shift in attitude. Cassidy gave herself a mental pat on the back.

"We heard about the animal attacks and came to investigate," he answered quietly, a twinge of guilt in his voice.

Cassidy shivered. She could have been another statistic. Then again, as far as the world was concerned, she was. "Good thing."

Giving Rail a prolonged look, she watched his body relax. He wasn’t rubbing his temples anymore and the pain had faded from his eyes. She’d guessed right. Changing the subject from the fate of the soul-keepers to something mundane had released him from the punishment. Playfully, she stroked his jaw, running her thumb over the stubble. With two fingers, she tilted his chin up. "Your color’s coming back."

"I’m feeling better too," he answered softly, lifting her fingers to his mouth, brushing the tips against his lips. She pulled free.

"Good, but I still think you should rest until you have to leave." Cassidy tried to suppress the tingle of heat caused by his light touch, but she couldn’t.

God, was she actually trembling from that
kiss
on her fingers?

Somehow, he was sucking her in, making her accept his story. Making her accept him, accept the whole situation. An overwhelming, life changing situation. Damn it.

She could no longer ignore the constant hum deep within her body. Instinctively, she knew it was Rail’s soul. If they weren’t connected, how else could he send shockwaves of heat and desire through her with just the slightest touch or look?

"I think we should
both
rest until it’s time for
us
to leave." Rail kicked off his boots and slid further back onto the bed. Holding out a hand, he motioned for Cassidy to join him. "There’s plenty of room. We don’t have to touch, unless you want to."

Was he hoping she’d ask to cuddle or something? She pushed the thought away, knowing where it would lead. Carefully, Cassidy laid down facing him, tucking her hands under her chin. "So," she started cautiously, "do you do anything besides hunt monsters?"

"Like what?"

"I don’t know. A hobby other than collecting weapons and chasing demons?"

Rail shook his head. "No time. We hunt constantly. And we move around a lot. It’s always night somewhere in the world," he added casually.

Cassidy nodded, despite being slightly confused. "Is that important? Are you allergic to the sun or something?"

Rail exploded with laughter. "I told you I wasn’t a vampire, sweetheart." It took him a moment to gather himself. "I could spend all day in the sun. We all can. The
skratars,
however, cannot, so we have to hunt them at night. Occasionally, we find a nest and go in during the day, but since the nests are always underground, I suppose it doesn’t really make a difference." He shrugged.

"Do you hunt things other than the skaters?"

"
Skratars
," he corrected. "Yes. We hunt other demons, minions, dangerous elementals, or non-humans. It’s part of duty to protect humanity, but lately our focus has been on the
skratars.
Not stopping them could mean our extinction." He waited a moment then asked, "What do you do for a living?"

"Research assistant and analyst."

"What do you research?" Rail turned toward Cassidy, propping himself up on an elbow.

She smiled. "Whatever I’m asked to. I help people verify findings, compile data, complete reports, help fill in the data holes…you know, that sort of thing."