Page 41 of Bound By Darkness

“Revenant,” she amends, and I nod.

The air between us is charged—not only with sexual tension, but with something else. Eilish and I are of the same mind; we have a mutual understanding that neither of us have with the others.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

BARON

Earlann

“The short answer to your question is Morrigan,” I say as I turn her around so her back is facing me as I imagine she might still wish to maintain a modicum of her privacy. I begin pulling down her dress until it catches on her bound wrists. Her skin erupts with gooseflesh every time I touch her.

“Morrigan?” she asks in surprise.

“When I touched Cambion’s stone the second time, I wasn’t greeted with visions of the past,” I begin as I shift her hair from her back and spoon it over one of her shoulders. I run my finger down the length of her spine and she shivers in response.

“What did you see?” she asks, her voice shaky.

“I believe Morrigan used the stone as a vehicle in which to reach out to me,” I say.

She nods, and the air vibrates around us with some unseen force that drives me to take her, to experience the slickness of her. I should be suspicious that these feelings are not born of myself, but I’m not. I don’t care whether they originate from her or from me. They feel good. End of story.

The truth is that Eilish is a leech, a parasite, such that I am. We’re one and the same. Yes, she’s angel, as well, but that side of her doesn’t concern me because I don’t understand it. What I do understand is her driving hunger, the need she has for answers. I understand the darkness inside her, and I was well aware of its existence long before black, rubbery wings sprouted from her back.

Unlike Dragan and Cambion, I don’t fault her for her demonic side. I embrace it. The truth of her nature merely draws me closer to her because she’s the only person I’ve everencountered who understands the pain within me. Because she feels it, too.

Neither one of us knows who we are. Our memories are locked away to conceal a truth we might never know. We were manipulated like puppets on a string, neither of us able to control the course of our own destinies due to the selfish whims of someone else.

I need this connection as much as I hate feeling helpless to it.

In general, I abhor ties to others. At the point you care for another person, you become weak. Furthermore, the only person you can ever rely on is yourself. Forget that rule, and you’ll wind up dead. I don’t intend to make the same mistake twice.

And yet…

It’s as if Eilish can see through the shadows that surround me. As if she can sense the man I used to be, behind the darkness that lingers in my eyes. At the same time, she doesn’t label me as Baron, such that the others do. Because she never knew Baron, I am Revenant to her. I am the man I believe myself to be. Neither of us has any allegiance to Baron and perhaps that’s another reason I’m drawn to her. And another reason I prefer to avoid the company of the others.

Of course, most rational people would prefer to avoid the company of Cambion and Dragan as all they do is quirrel with each other and it becomes quite tiresome.

“What did Morrigan say to you?” Eilish asks, probing me to continue our conversation.

“She asked me to become your protector,” I answer.

Eilish is quiet but her surprise echoes in the energy surrounding her.

“She believes you are in danger and I believe she also understands she can no longer rely on Dragan to fulfill the position.”

She nods and appears sorrow laden.

I continue. “She believes someone is forcing her silence which is why you haven’t heard her voice lately.”

“Forcing her silence?” she repeats.

“Yes, she mentioned something to that effect. That there was another force pressing down on her and disallowing her the ability to remain in contact with you.”

“Hmm,” she answers.

“Do you know who or what that force could be?”

“No,” she’s quick to answer. Too quick. Hmm, it would seem she’s hiding something though I don’t blame her. Every man, and woman I suppose, possess their secrets. There’s nothing wrong with that, in my mind.

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