Page 11 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

I opened my eyes in time to see Nox flying through the air before crashing into a hideous, gaudy gold statue and cracking it into pieces with the force of his impact.

I turned to look behind me, but all I could see was a swirling mass of darkness. Like a black shadow, tumbling and twisting in and over itself. It towered above me, easily thirty feet high, and it was dense and thick, swallowing all vestiges of light around it.

What had I brought back with me?

“Stay away,” Nox shouted but his words fell on deaf ears. My attention was entirely focused on whatever it was that I had pulled from the Depths. A sane person would be terrified. Or at least, an alive one. Maybe I’d lost my sense of fear when I died. If I was already dead, did I have to worry about dying again?

The scent of death hit me as I stepped closer. Putrid and sharp. It shouldn’t be appealing, but for some reason, I found myself dragging another dose of it deep into my lungs. The smell was followed by a freshness that hinted at icy winds and glacial mountains. Cold. Hard. Mysterious.

I was aware of the other guys arriving, bringing with them a sense of unease. The swirling darkness in front of me scooted backwards, putting more distance between it and the other men. I took a step closer, craning my neck to figure out if there was someone in there.

“Hey,” I said softly. “I just want to talk.”

“I don’t like this,” Rook mumbled. That made me chuckle a little. Bet he was only saying that so he could be the wise one if this all went to shit later.

I flicked a glance over my shoulder at the Revenants. They stood in a line, harsh expressions on their gorgeous faces, their eyes watching the darkness in front of me warily. They all wore long black coats which whipped in the wind behind them. They were intimidating to look at, tall, muscular, all of them looking like they belonged to the Underworld. They should be terrifying. And they were, just terrifyingly hot. I didn’t realise I had a thing for the scary looking bad guys, but I guess dying had changed my tastes in men. I certainly wasn’t going to complain.

“Don’t go any closer,” Nox begged.

I eyed the swirling mist in front of me. Something rumbled deep within it. I could sense a being in there, and I could feel the sadness and agony I had sensed before I pulled it to the surface. I knew I was going to help this creature before I’d even realised I’d made the decision. Guess it was time to find out how dead I really was.

I threw a grin over my shoulder. “I’ll be fine boys. Don’t worry.”

Then I stepped into the shadow.

Chapter Six

Raevyn

Iplummeted into darkness. I could still feel the ground beneath my feet, and I could hear the muffled shouts of the guys behind me, but I was in a little bubble. Granted, it was a pitch black bubble, and I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, but there was something that felt safe about being in here.

I reached out my hand and magic hit me hard. It slammed into my chest and stole my breath. It was like a sonic wave, travelling along my skin and settling in my bones. Wow, this creature must be powerful. I might not have had my own magic when I’d been alive, but that hadn’t stopped me feeling other peoples. But this guy, was a thousand times more powerful than I’d ever sensed before.

I stretched out my fingers, hoping to feel some part of the creature that was tangible. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Something brushed against the back of my legs before I was suddenly soaring higher into the dense black mist. When I stopped, aware that I was ridiculously high off the ground, I waited. I could sense something move closer and then, there were two beautiful, golden eyes staring at me from the darkness.

“That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” I asked and the creature huffed. “Are you hurt?”

I didn’t know what coming back from the dead did to a person, but I was sure there must have been some lingering effects. My own magic was still crawling under my skin. It still felt like it didn’t belong to me, and I really hoped that feeling wore off.

I started to descend again, and the creature placed me carefully on the ground. His golden eyes disappeared back into the darkness and the shadows started to fold in on themselves until I was looking at the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. I mean, seriously. Was attractiveness a requisite for being dead?

He was tall, easily nearly seven foot and his golden skin – of which there was plenty to look at because he was only clad in some loose linen trousers – was covered in tattoos. Swirling designs ran the length of his torso, down both his arms and stopped beneath his chin leaving his face unblemished. His dark hair hung down his back in shaggy waves and his golden eyes stared at me with a mix of curiosity and fear.

He stepped closer to me, his eyes never leaving me as I continued to stare at him. There were so many details I noticed as he closed the distance between us. The silver hoops decorating the shell of his left ear, the sharp, wolf like teeth that peeked between his plump lips, the scars that lay hidden beneath his tattoos, how big his hands were as they reached for my face – oh Gods, he was touching my face. He tipped my chin back, forcing me to look away from him. I wasn’t even embarrassed by the fact he clearly knew I was looking at him.

“Why am I here?” he growled, his accent thick but I didn’t have the ear to place it. Eastern European maybe? His magic floated over my skin, caressing me in a way that had desire pooling low in my belly.

“I don’t know.” I placed my hand on his chest, surprised by how warm he was. He broke away from me and started pacing, muttering something under his breath in his native language. Russian perhaps? No, Romanian.

I strained my ears to hear him speak and somehow, I could understand everything he was saying. Why? And how?

I had to smile at his words though. He was calling me a wicked creature who had bewitched him. How sweet.

He stopped abruptly and faced me. “I need to leave.”

“Nope.”

---