Page 4 of Hunted By Darkness

“I’m looking for an old friend. I was told you might know where to find him.” I breezed into a speech prepared the night before. Silas made it clear no one found Black without help. He’d want a name, but I didn’t intend to get that far.

Silas’s eyes were on us, and by the sideways look Black directed at the bar, he’d already noticed. “Oh? Don’t suppose you can give me the name of the one who told you where to find me? You know, to properly thank the helping hand,” Black probed, his posture projecting cool calm, when his razor-sharp eyes and clenched jaw suggested otherwise.

This man killed for a living. He was always ready for things to turn violent, and Silas being in the room put him on edge. So did some unknown shadow offender who’d given his location to me. The paid killer was distracted enough to miss Lev walking over, tripping, and tossing his drink directly onto Black’s outstretched arm.

Isavedthe bottle of booze Lev knocked over in his feigned concern over the man he’d just showered with booze. I used it as an opportunity to brush Black’s naked hand. Withcareful strength, I yanked on Tobas’s spirit and severed their connection. It’d become second nature to move from one fluid action to the next, so I effortlessly trapped the stolen soul and withdrew my hand from Black’s to place the bottle far enough away from the chaos.

Black hadn’t noticed the subtle flash and glow of my necklace as I turned and waved at the bartender, the eerie sensation of collecting Tobas’s soul slithering up my arm and across my chest. “A little help, sir. A towel, maybe?”

Silas appeared with a towel in hand, the side of his mouth ticked up in amusement. Our gazes connected, and when I licked my lips and glared at him—our sign for mission accomplished—his grin was positively blinding. “Fancy seeing you here, mate. Thought karma had finally caught up with you. Pity it hasn’t.Yet.”

Black sneered as I handed him the towel Silas gave me. The sour man refused it and chose to glare at Silas instead. “You have some fucking nerve showing your face around me after—”

Ignoring the growling man covered in scotch, my mercenary crouched next to me and took my hands in his. “Whatever brought you to Black isn’t worth it, princess. You’re better off with someone who can handle you. Whatever price he’s asking, I’ll take half. Whatever you need, I’ll do faster. And I’m much prettier to look at, yeah? What do you say? How about you ditch Black for Silver?”

I nearly sighed and rolled my eyes. He’d gone off script again, but it wouldn’t be Silas if he hadn’t. His eyes danced, giddy I was at his mercy and much too proud of himself for it. He’d pay for that later.

Black was on his feet, but Silas didn’t move. He didn’t need to. The bartender was already at the table with his hand on Black’s shoulder.

“Leave it,” I heard the bartender murmur.

Silas winked down at me, then helped me out of my seat, pretending to be the prince when everyone knew he was the rake. “Right, we’ll just be going on our merry way, then. We’ll call what you pulled last time even, yeah? Or would you like to settle things tonight, Black?”

I hadn’t gotten the full story from Silas about his history with Black, but now wasn’t the time to ask questions. I stayed quiet, and for once, so did all the voices in my head. Even the soul I’d stolen didn’t tug at me.

I’d trapped him in a corner of my mind until I wanted him to hear me. It was something I’d worked hard to learn so I could think if things didn’t go as planned. But Tobas wasn’t fighting like I thought he would. If anything, he was uncomfortably compliant.

Black was red in the face, but he didn’t try anything, just stood there and seethed. Whatever history they had, it was enough to stop him. His eyes jerked over to me before he clicked his tongue and stole the bottle of scotch from the table. “She’s all yours, you smug bastard. I don’t want whatever mess she’s wrapped up in, anyway.”

Lev had already left the pub by the time Silas led me out to the street. We were going to rendezvous outside the city in case someone thought following us was a good idea. Black would be interested in why I went searching for him, but Silas didn’t seem worried that he’d do anything about it. After their exchange, I was starting to understand why.

Black was afraid of Silas.

Everyone was.

“Should we—” Lev started to say as we closed in on the front door, but Silas was quick to cut him off.

“Ah-ah, better to hold that thought for now. I have very important business to discuss with our resident devourer of men here.”

“That’s a new one,”Ryker snickered in my head. “Devourer in more ways than one, aye, Nika?”

Great. Taunted by men inside and outside of my head. Lucky me.

Lev crossed his arms, his judgmental eyes narrowed on the giant buffoon spouting shit. “Now? After we’ve barely walked through the door?”

It wasn’t a new thing, but it’d become clear over the last half year very little got in Silas’s way when he decided to do something. Lev knew I’d handle it when the time came to put an end to whatever nonsense Silas was starting.

“Troublesome indeed, lad, but necessary business all the same. Wouldn’t want to emotionally scar a precious thing like you. What I’m about to say isn’t fit for cute wanker ears, you understand,” the mercenary went on self-importantly as if what he said wasn’t absolute nonsense. Nothing was more Silas than talking out of his ass to fit his own version of the truth.

One look at Lev and I could tell he was losing the battle with himself. For all his wit and low tolerance for assholery, my best friend had a weird soft spot for Silas. He’d been on the receiving end of countless pranks, but other than grumbling and scoffing, Lev seemed to enjoy every bit of it. Not that I could talk. I mean, I shared a bed with this oversized jokester every night.

Silas didn’t wait for Lev to answer before ditching him at the front door.

He’d taken us to another safe house he kept out of necessity, and it was our third since we upended the Dark Fae Society. Another spot in the middle of nowhere. The start of every horrormovie, Lev argued, when we first saw it in the clearing, the sun’s rays breaking through the tree cover and shining down on the isolated cabin.

Silas swept me into his arms like it was his favorite thing to do and took the stairs three at a time. My brain didn’t have time to catch up before the oversized brute flew down the narrow second-floor hallway, entered the farthest room on the right, and kicked the door closed behind him.

“Hey!” I growled. “We need to debrief about—”

---