Out Of The Darkness Read online

  Cass had barely noticed the baby Aureliana carried. She and Rathan’s brother had adopted the baby a few months ago. He was beautiful—all the babies were beautiful. Except…this one and Rathan’s both had tiny horns on the top of their heads. Aureliana smiled, and held out the bundle. “You can hold him, if you wish. He loves being right in the middle of everything.”

  Cass took him; she didn’t know what else to do, and getting out of this hall with all these people, some of them downright hateful and nasty, was definitely appealing. She followed Aureliana, aware of Emily walking on the woman’s other side.

  Where was Rydere? He hadn’t left with Nalik—that group had just contained Jushua, Eaudne, the goddess and her husband.

  Rathan’s wife waited inside the sitting room, nursing their son. Rathan’s sister and Theo’s were in there, as well. Aureliana settled on the couch, and Cass took the empty rocker.

  “What did we miss?” Rathan’s sister Danae asked. She didn’t seem all that concerned.

  “Lots of drama. Apparently, the visitors Cass here brought back from Evelanedea are related to the goddess of our people. And the Wolf god isn’t very happy about it.” Aureliana laughed. “And poor Nalik is caught right in the middle of it.”

  Kindara laughed softly. “I bet he hated that. Nalik is not a diplomat. Any more than my brother is.”

  “But Jushua trusts him, and likes him.” Cass felt compelled to point out. Why did she feel so defensive on Nalik’s behalf? Was it because of what he’d tried to do, claiming her? Did a part of her think he was right?

  Was she destined to be his mate? Whether she wanted to or not? How could her life go that way without her being at least willing to make those choices? She would probably never understand it.

  Bronwen, Theo’s younger sister, looked up at Cass. She couldn’t see her, though; Bronwen was almost completely blind, like Theo. “Theo thinks it was an evolutionary thing, like how the Lupoiux need to claim their mates quickly. Apparently Dardaptoans were just stronger when they were mated pairs.”

  “Did I say it out loud?” Surely she hadn’t?

  “You didn’t need to. I can sometimes pick up random thoughts. I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”

  “So you know what Nalik thinks?”

  Kindara burped her small baby, then looked at Cass. “What exactly does Nalik think about what?”

  Cass tried to study the other woman without staring. This was Nalik’s sister-in-law. She was with him when he was hurt. She was his family, yet had Cass ever seen them interacting at all? She didn’t think so. “He…”

  Aureliana took her baby out of Cass’s arms. “You can tell us, Cass. We can probably help you. And those of us here care for Nalik, quite a lot. He’s my cousin and was once one of my closest friends. He also had a hand in raising Bronie. And we all care about you.”

  “Cass?” It was Em. Cass had actually forgotten her sister was there, too. “What happened between you and Nalik Black? Did he do something that upset you?”

  “He thinks he and I are supposed to be together.”

  “He what?” Em sounded horrified, and that had Cass’s defenses rising. Did her sister even know Nalik?

  But then again, did Cass?

  “If he thinks it, it’s probably true,” Bronwen said. “Though he’s made it a year without saying something before. That’s remarkable.”

  “Is it?” Aureliana asked, staring at the blind woman. “Somehow I don’t believe it is. I made it nine months without getting with my demon. It was hard, and it hurt, but I had good reason. Perhaps Nalik thinks he did, as well?”

  “But if you were his Rajni and he waited this long, why would he say something now?” Her sister sounded hopeful now. Cass forced herself not to be irritated with Emily, although it was difficult. “Maybe he doesn’t mean it and he’s just trying to cause trouble.”

  Cass spun on her sister. “Why would he do that?”

  Em took a step back, surprise on her face. “I don’t trust him, Cass. And neither does Rydere. Someone in the tribe betrayed Rydere, remember?”

  “And he thinks it was Nalik. But it wasn’t. I know it wasn’t.” And she did. She had no doubt he meant what he’d said. “It wasn’t him.”

  “Are you sure he’s not tricking you somehow?”

  “Nalik wouldn’t do that.” It was Kindara who spoke, surprising Cass. “Nalik has a sense of honor and loyalty that runs so incredibly deep. And honesty. He’s probably one of the best men I’ve known. I have not agreed with Cormac when he supposed that it was Nalik, even though I can see where the evidence would point to him. And he lost so much thirty years ago—more than anyone else—that a lot of our people wonder why he hasn’t blamed Rydere.”

  Kindara had lost almost just as much as Nalik, hadn’t she?

  “Why would he?” Emily wanted to know, and Cass understood it. “Rydere wasn’t at fault.”

  “A lot of our people believe he was. It is Rydere’s job to protect our people, and many felt—for quite a while—that he’d failed. That was behind some of the stupidity that had him and the others taking you, Emily. And your cousins. They felt they needed to act in a way that was visible to our people.”

  “And then that way ended up with your entire family being absorbed into Dardaptoan society. Many still feel that was a betrayal of all the Dardaptoans who died at your grandfather’s hands. And their families. And close to two thousand families were directly involved. Many feel that Nalik would be the most likely choice of who was pissed off the most,” Aureliana added. “Of course, most of those people don’t know Nalik the way Kindara, Bronie, and I do.”

  Cass sat down on the center rug and rested her hand in her chin. “So what am I supposed to do? I had my mind made up. As soon as I was able I was going home. To my father and Claudette. To my greenhouses. Instead I’m here in the demon world. What am I supposed to think?”

  “Regardless of what anyone else says, how does Nalik make you feel? When you find your Rajni there is this instant connection. This feeling of total understanding and…well…rightness…that comes. Did you experience that?” Kindara asked.

  How had she managed to find Rathan after losing her Rajni thirty years ago? It was obvious Kindara loved Rathan, but was it the same thing? “Do Rajnis really love each other, or is it just…biology, or something?”

  “They love each other.” All the women who were part of Rajni bonds said it, almost simultaneously. That had some of the tension in her shoulders lessening.

  “Still…I don’t love Nalik. How could I? We’ve only been together three days, and half that either I was asleep or he was a ba—” She cut herself off. He hadn’t told anyone he could shift, had he? “He was fighting or off hunting for supplies. Or money.”

  “Maybe you do not love him, yet, but does your heart belong to him?” Theo’s sister asked quietly. “I think it does. You were ready to defend him, against the sister you love very much. And it bothers you, doesn’t it, that others think ill of him? And if you didn’t have strong feelings for him already, why would you be so confused in this moment? And…why would you be missing him so?”

  “I…”

  Emily still didn’t look happy. She sat down beside Cass after handing the baby in her arms over to Aureliana. “Cassie, you don’t have to be with him. Even if you are Rajnis, I’m sure Rydere would stop him if you asked him to.”

  “Hmmm. No, Rydere wouldn’t. Law is pretty clear,” Aureliana said. “Rajni bonds trump Rydere’s power of interference. Even if one of the parties asks for help. He won’t interfere—even for his own Rajni. Unless there is clear proof that one of the Rajni’s acted cruelly or illegally. And somehow I doubt that will happen here. Sorry, Em, but if Nalik has made up his mind—you’d better get used to him as a brother-in-law. Because it’s going to happen. And probably soon.”

  Chapter 35

  Nalik took the spot at the head of the table; the spot usually reserved for the mediator.

  Dammit, he so did not do polit
ics well.

  The Wolf god had handed off the babe he’d carried to someone, so all that were in the room were unencumbered by the innocent.

  Eaudne took the seat at the right of the head. The goddess took the left. They hadn’t stopped staring at each other—or shaking. He had to admire both females’ restraint. If he’d been separated from his young, like he suspected Eaudne had, he’d not be waiting patiently to hold her.

  Jushua and the Wolf god stood next to the females, glaring at one another. It was to them that Nalik spoke. “We can be calm and nice about this. The situation does not warrant fire.”

  The demon king and his brother entered the room, followed by Aodhan, Cormac, and Rydere. Theo was last, and shut the door. They took the chairs opposite each other and next to the Evelanedean and Lupoiux god.

  “Speak you not, Dardaptoan, for you are here only as a token.” So it was to be like that, was it? The Wolf god had always struck Nalik as being an arrogant ass. This didn’t change that impression. Perhaps he should shave some of that arrogance from the dog?

  “A token I will be no longer.” Nalik tilted his head to one side, and with barely a thought knocked the other male into the nearest chair—without touching the Wolf.

  The room stilled.

  Nalik considered his next move, knowing he was about to show his hand just how much Taniss had altered him.

  He held the Wolf god in place easily, not missing the growing concern and anger on the Wolf’s mate’s face.

  Nalik waited for her to challenge him.

  She did not.

  He eased up his hold on the deity.

  “I am sure we all have questions.”

  The Wolf god glared at him. “Starting with what in the three hells are you?”

  Nalik thought for a moment. “Best description I could come up with in thirty years…a frankenbastard. And one none of you want to fuck with. Now, let’s get this meeting called to order. I have things I needst take care of.” He had other more important matters that needed him—like finding his Rajni and fixing whatever it was he’d screwed up. “Jushua, you first. Who the hell are you, and how do you know the goddess? Kennera, how do you know Jushua and his mother?”

  “My mother, as well.” Kennera held her hands out across the table. Eaudne took them, and Nalik almost swore he saw the bond between them glowing where their skin touched. “I do not know how. I thought they both dead by the fires of Evelanedea.”

  The emotion choking her words made them almost inaudible, but Nalik could understand. Most of the occupants of the room could—save for the Dardaptoan Equan.

  Their inability to hear their own goddess’s words—and Nalik’s ability to hear them—illustrated the differences between him and the Kind he once was. And he knew no one else had missed that fact, either.

  “And we thought the same of you.” Jushua’s words were harsh. “Tell me, Kennera, how is that not so?”

  “Because Nelci and I ran.” The goddess shivered. Her Wolf pulled her into his arms. She hid her face in his chest for a long moment. She was far weaker than a goddess should be. Nalik wondered why he was the only one who saw that—was the goddess still ill?

  “Nelciana lives, then?” Eaudne asked. “She is the last of her family line, then.”

  “Yes. She lives. She remained at our home with her infants. They are younger than ours, and are not quite ready for portkey travel.” It was the Wolf who answered.

  “Tell me, sister, how was it that you escaped? We thought you lost with Rhomma and the others.”

  “I was with Nelciana in her chambers when the mercenaries came. We heard the screams and we just knew something was coming for us. So we went out the window. Nelci managed to conjure figures to take our place while we ran. We almost did not make it out of our world. And we knew everyone we loved was lost. So we came to Gaia by way of two other worlds. And we stayed in Gaia until recently.”

  There was far more to the story, and they all knew it, but Nalik could understand why she would not wish to speak more of it.

  “How do we know this is not some trick?” the Wolf demanded. Nalik found himself in the unique position of understanding everyone’s positions and needs. It was disconcerting. “You coming in the guise of those she loves? War and treachery abound, and trust is scarce.”

  “Yet you came here, from another world. We knew not that you were coming,” Eaudne pointed out, finally looking away from Kennera. “And a mother knows her child, even if four thousand years have passed.”

  “How do we know that you are not the imposter?” Jushua asked. “Trust goes two directions.”

  Kennera turned to him and stared at him for the longest time. She lifted her hand and a small ball of orange light hovered above her skin. She hurled it at Jushua, who caught it in his own hands. “We used such to entertain us even when we in the womb together. Remember you not, Ju? We made a promise before our first real breaths were taken, you and I. I have not forgotten it, have you?”

  He rolled the light in his palms before lobbing it back to her. “Evl unh cai sord oh?”

  Tears streamed down the goddess’s face at the foreign words. Nalik looked at the others, the Dardaptoans and demons. “I think the questions have been answered, and we should give them a modicum of privacy.”

  “Agreed,” the demon king said. “I have need to find my female and babe. There is much we need to see to this eve.”

  Nalik looked at Rydere. Now was as good a time as any, wasn’t it? If he did not face this confrontation, then it would hang over his and his Rajni’s head.

  “We talk.”

  Rydere nodded. “Outside.”

  The others, Aodhan, Cormac, and Theo followed as Rydere led the way out into the middle courtyard of Rathan’s castle.

  Nalik knew what was coming, and he didn’t trust any of the four idiots. Theo, maybe. Theo had never avoided him; after Nalik had been found thirty years ago, Theo had sat with him in the Healer’s Hall, while he healed from the more grievous injuries dealt him.

  Theo was still a friend, he guessed.

  The air in the demon world was cleaner than that in Gaia, though the temperature was usually about ten degrees colder. Relaklonos was located one layer above Gaia. Upper layers were most always colder. The courtyard had a good mix of Dardaptoans and demons mingling.

  Nalik followed Rydere to one of the more secluded spots. He was braced for it when the other male turned to face him.

  “You should have told me.”

  “Told you what?” He braced himself; if Rydere pushed, it would not end well for his former friend. “That Taniss fucked with me? You knew that.”

  “But what else can you do?”

  “Want to see a demonstration? Needing the entertainment?”

  Theo stepped up and put a hand on Nalik and Rydere’s shoulders. Nalik knew what the other man was trying to accomplish—but he could have told Theo it was pointless. Nothing would ever be changed between them, and the fact would always remain that Rydere no longer trusted him.

  And Nalik could not forgive his once closest friend for abandoning him when he’d needed him the most.

  “Perhaps this is best discussed calmly,” Theo said.

  “I’m perfectly calm. I do not know why Rydere suddenly needs knowledge of what I’ve been able to do for years. What benefit him will it be?”

  “You should have told me, we could have had Barlaam help you.”

  “Help me? I do not need help.” The only help he’d ever would have accepted would have been helping him die. And he would never have asked his friends—even former ones—to help him do that.

  “Is it reversible?” Aodhan asked. “And are you in pain?”

  “No, to both questions.”

  “How did the bastard manage it?” Cormac was pacing around him, prowling like the other man always had.

  “By fucking around with my damned DNA, that’s how.” Rydere was still very hostile, but the other three males were not. They were more curious. What was
Rydere’s deal? Why did the changes to Nalik bother him so deeply? “My blood. I don’t know what he added, or what he did exactly. But I know the results.”

  “You are no longer Dardaptoan, are you?” Theo asked. “Yet you are like no other I have known.”

  “I’m so unique. I get it.”

  “How strong are you?” Aodhan asked.

  “I’ve never tested to the fullest.” He’d fought beside them, cried beside them, and hurt beside them. Had nearly died beside them, a time or two. The betrayal and anger would remain within him for a very long time. But honesty was easier to give them.

  Maybe that was why when they’d mistrusted and ignored him for near on thirty years it had hurt so badly.

  It shouldn’t have surprised him, he supposed. His family had damned well ignored him for most of his life, so why should those he called friends be any different?

  “So what can you do? I saw you freeze that asshole Wolf. Handy little trick you’ve got there.” Cormac grinned.

  Nalik froze him.

  Just for the three hells of it. Then just because he could he lifted Cormac into the air and twirled him around, feet over head a few times.

  Aodhan was nearly rolling on the ground, laughing like an idiot. Theo was also amused, though Nalik doubted the other man could see Cormac’s expression.

  Cormac had suffered from mild motion sickness at times for centuries. Nalik took advantage of that fact. He finally lowered Cormac to the ground when the other male turned an interesting shade of green.

  Aodhan was still laughing stupid on the grass. Rydere was still glaring, and Theo grabbed Cormac’s boot and pulled him back down to the earth.

  Cormac puked in the bushes, then turned around to face Nalik.

  His fist hit Nalik square in the nose. Nalik didn’t even attempt to stop it.

  He’d been waiting for an opportunity to beat the shit out of Cormac for a long time.

  Nalik was always one to seize opportunities when they presented themselves.

  Chapter 36

  “The boys are rumbling.” Aureliana stood at the window that overlooked the courtyard. “Cassandra, I think you’d better come take a look at this. You, too, Emily, Kinney. Looks like Nalik’s about to take on Cormac. And…my idiot brother is laughing. Nice to see they’re sharing the playground again.”