The Darkest Touch

Hoping for more payment? In too deep already. But still he replied, "One other, if possible. Locate and destroy Pandora's box."

  "DimOuniak, you mean."

  The "official" name. He nodded.

  She thought for a moment. "I can do that, too. Which task would you like me to start with?"

  "Cameo and Viola."

  The drumming of her nails started up again. "Are they your girlfriends?"

  Jealous?

  The idea turned him on.

  Oh, what a shocker. It wasn't like everything about her turned him on or anything.

  "No," he said.

  "Good. What happened to them?"

  "They touched something they shouldn't have and vanished."

  "I need more details."

  "Do you know what the Paring Rod is?" he asked.

  "Doesn't everyone?"

  Okay, then. "Do you know what it does?"

  "Most assuredly."

  Well, no one else did. "Tell me."

  "It works in conjunction with three other artifacts. The Cage of Compulsion, the Cloak of Invisibility and the All-seeing Eye. I'll need all four to do the things you've asked, but that's not a problem because I know where they are. I stole them and hid them long ago and--"

  "Actually, you don't know where they are. My friends and I found them."

  "Wait. I want to make sure I heard you correctly." She leaned forward, flattening her hands on his thighs. "You already have them?"

  The heat of her skin seeped through the leather of his pants, and he hissed. Too much...not enough.

  Need more. I need more. Must have more.

  "Correct." Somehow he found the strength to set her hands away from him. He would pay her when the time came--pay her so hard...damn it, gently--but he could allow nothing else to happen between them. No spontaneous handling. Not ever again. It would be his downfall.

  But what a way to go.

  "You don't need me," she said with a pout. "You can find the females, the deceased and the box without me."

  He rubbed his chest, saying, "We don't know how to make the artifacts work."

  "You're telling me you have the means to locate anyone or thing in the world, including the most desired object in existence, as well as open a portal anywhere in this world or another, and yet you don't know how to proceed?"

  "Explain. Please," he added. "What is the most desired object?" The box?

  For a moment, clouds rolled through her eyes. "How could I have forgotten it? Even for a moment," she said, reverence in her tone. "He's part of a war he doesn't even understand, which means, thanks to my spies, I have answers to questions he doesn't even know to ask."

  Please don't retreat mentally.

  Thankfully the clouds cleared a second later and she added, "You'll have to give the artifacts to me. All four. I must own them. I can't find and free your girlfriends without them."

  "They aren't my--" He sighed. Why argue? "Fine. They're with the other demon-possessed warriors. All of whom you must vow not to kill. Or harm in any way. Or let anyone else kill or harm."

  A pause. Then, voice devoid of emotion, she said, "What if they attack me?"

  Outside, a light rain pattered.

  Well, hell. What'd I do this time? "They won't."

  "How can you be sure?"

  "I won't allow it."

  The rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Had she thought he would stand back and watch his friends attempt to fell her?

  Never.

  "Very well," she said with a nod. "I vow it."

  He released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. So much had hinged on her response. "Tell me about this war I don't understand."

  A gleam of calculation in her eyes. "That information wasn't part of our bargain, warrior. It'll cost you."

  That would make five payments in total. But this one...this one she would insist he pay today. He knew it.

  Just like that, his resistance crumbled. Was there really a reason to delay?

  His hand shot out and gripped her by the hair, yanking her toward him. "Keeley."

  Her warm breath caressed his face. "Yes, Torin."

  His mind shouted, "What are you doing?" even as the desire to thrust his tongue deep inside her mouth plagued him far worse than any disease ever had. "I want--"

  You safe, he thought.

  But a single moment of weakness could cost them both.

  A swift return of his resistance. He helped her settle in her chair.

  "Agreed," he managed.

  Tremors rocked her, and he wondered whether she feared what had almost happened--or wished he'd followed through.

  "The Titans and Greeks want the box," she said. "Not because they hope to end the terror-filled reign of you and your friends--that was just going to be a bonus--but because they want what is still hidden inside it."

  Still? "There's never been anything inside it but demons, and I assure you, no one wanted those."

  "You're wrong."

  "I'm right," he insisted.

  "No, you're very, very wrong."

  "Right."

  "Listen to me!" she said as a sudden burst of wind tousled her hair. "Zeus didn't command Pandora to guard dimOuniak because of the demons trapped inside. Does that really sound like him? He is selfish. Power-hungry. He doesn't care about the fate of the humans or even the Greeks. He cares about his own and nothing more."

  Inarguable. "So why have someone guard the box?"

  "Because of what is still inside it."

  Frustrated, he said, "And now we've come full circle. Demons were inside it. They were released and placed inside my friends and me. The box is now empty."

  "There's a huge gap in your reasoning, warrior." She rubbed her temple, her own frustration clearly just as keen. "Demons are a dime a dozen. Why care about the ones in the box and not the others still running rampant?"

  "Because ours are more powerful."

  "An attempt to flatter yourself?" She shook her head, clearly unimpressed. "Think about it. The demons weren't put inside the box to save the world from evil. Evil was already here. The demons were put inside the box to keep people from obtaining the treasure."

  The word treasure was like a hook in his mouth, drawing him deeper into her story. "What treasure?"

  Her entire countenance softened, and she said worshipfully, "The Morning Star."

  He racked his brain, came up empty. "And that is?"

  "Something the Most High made, an extension of his power...a power far stronger than what even I wield. With it, nothing is impossible. The dead can be revived. Any disease can be cured. Demons can be removed with no adverse consequences."

  What she described...it was his every dream come to startling life. He could be freed from Disease and returned to his former glory. He could have the life he'd always desired...could have everything he'd ever desired.

  He could bring Mari back to life.

  He could have Keeley in his bed. Naked. His to do with as he pleased. No consequences.

  He would put his hands all over her. He would trace her every curve and bask in the warmth and softness of her skin. He would make her moan and writhe, louder and harder than before. He would put his fingers inside her, take her that way first. Then he would lick up the honey she offered him. Then...oh, then he would fill her up with all that he was.

  Torin's entire life plan shifted. His end goal--changed. Hope--ignited.

  Will stop at nothing to have the Morning Star.

  "Knew you'd like that one," Keeley said with a grin. "Humans originally owned the Morning Star, but Lucifer stole it and had it placed inside the box right along with the demons, most likely to frighten thieves away. Somehow Zeus got hold of it."

  "But if this Morning Star is so important, why give it to Pandora? She's just one warrior. And an incompetent one, at that."

  "Think about it," Keeley said again. "She wasn't given the box for what she could do, but for what she couldn't do--resist its allure. I have heard of her insatiable
curiosity."

  "But...if that's true, why didn't Zeus open the box himself? And why punish my friends and me for doing so?"

  "Silly warrior. He wanted the Morning Star, not the wrath of the demons. And you weren't punished for opening the box...you were punished for losing it."

  Torin absorbed the inundation of new information, shocked to his soul. "If Zeus had been waiting for it to be opened, why not grab it while we were busy fighting the demons?"

  "Someone beat him to it."

  "Who?"

  "It doesn't matter." She stiffened, her attention whipping to the side. Her ears twitched, reminding him of a dog that had just heard a strange noise--and he would never, ever admit that aloud. Even though it was cute as hell. She scowled.

  He barely stifled a moan, thinking she was about to retreat again.

  But she said, "Hades's minions have found me," and jumped to her feet, swiping a blade from the kitchen counter.

  CHAPTER TEN

  EMOTIONS GOT THE best of me one too many times. Keeley tightened her grip on the knife. The minions had tracked her to this other realm. They wouldn't settle for taunting her, as they'd been forced to do inside the prison.

  Shall I bow to you, Your Filthiness?

  Here doggy, doggy. A rat was thrown through the bars. Have a delicious snack.

  Cackle, cackle. Oh, how she'd hated the cackles.

  No, today they'd come to fight her.

  Who--or what--had Hades sent this time? There were so many different kinds of minions to choose from. Animal-like. Humanoid. Nephilim. Spirits. And everything in between.

  "Do you have any true battle experience?" Torin asked, swiping a blade from the kitchen counter.

  Did he not remember being smacked in the face with a branch? "Some." However, most fights with her ended in seconds, and she never even had to throw a punch. But she couldn't go that route; she'd topple the house. Torin would be hurt--because of his stupid brimstone scars, she wouldn't be able to flash him to safety.

  "If you leave," she said, "I can--"

  He raised his hand, speaking over her. "I'm not going anywhere."

  "But--"

  "No, princess. If you're here, I'm here. End of." A tone as hard as iron.

  She stomped her foot. "Not end of!" The house began to shake. "I've got crazy-mad skills and I'm going to use them. Your presence hinders me. So you're going to walk away, or I'm going to...going to..."

  "Now, princess," he said, and traced the line of her jaw with a gloved finger. "You concentrating on me?"

  He's calming me....

  Knows me too well...knows he's my weakness.

  "I realize you're Super Powerful Wonder Woman and all," he continued, all seduction and heat, "but I've been itching for combat. I need it. So do me a solid and let me field this. Please?"

  Must disregard the little flutter in my heart.

  The shaking faded...ceased altogether. "Terrible plan," she muttered. "I won't be able to control my reaction if you're harmed. Maybe it'll be best if there's not a fight at all." Yes. Excellent idea. She pulled away from him--surely the toughest thing she'd ever done--and raced to the doorway, cutting her wrist along the way.

  "What are you doing?"

  Fat crimson droplets pooled in front of the door. But by the time she reached the first window, the wound had sealed and she had to cut again. "I'm blocking the demons from entry."

  "Well, you just stop that right this second. If the enemy isn't able to get to us here, they'll just pursue us elsewhere."

  She ignored him, saying, "Evil cannot enter a home marked with the blood of the pure. And as I still have the light of a Curator inside me, I'm still considered pure." As she raced to the final window, eight minions burst through the glass. Shards sprayed the room, several biting into her flesh.

  She drew up short.

  The creatures were of the animal variety. Her least favorite. Spiderlike, with ten legs each, crawling along the walls. But the ends of those legs weren't soft and sticky; they were metal hooks and scrrraped everything they touched.

  All of the minions peered at her, their hairy lips lifted in sneering grins, revealing long, sharp fangs.

  Something prevented her from flashing each one to another realm...and there was only one viable answer. They were warded. Hades's doing, surely.

  "Our king heard of your escape and would like a word with you, Keeleycael. Don't expect to enjoy it."

  Hades could flash anyone anywhere--except her. He'd always hated that. "Oh, don't you worry. I'll be having a chat with your king soon enough." Calm on the outside while she trembled on the inside. Not ready to face him. Not yet. But soon.

  Before her conversation with Torin, she had forgotten about the Morning Star. If--when--she possessed it, she would be able to kill Hades, free Torin and all of his friends of their demons and bring Mari back to life. All in one swoop.

  Then Keeley could create the kingdom of her dreams. Vast, impenetrable and diversified. A home for immortals who'd been rejected by their own people.

  She would rethink her decision to marry a kind, sweet male, however. She was beginning to think she would do better with someone...volatile.

  "Going to give you boys five seconds to leave." Torin claimed a position in front of her, his stance one of challenge, aggression and excitement. He'd grabbed another blade and gripped the two in his gloved hands. "Stay, and I will reroute your intestines--through your mouth."

  The threat didn't sit well with the minions. They hissed at him.

  "One." Torin's voice rang out, eager. "Five." He gave no other warning, just launched forward.

  The spiders dropped from the ceiling and walls and headed straight for him, Keeley momentarily forgotten. Concern took root...unfamiliar to her. If a single hair on her warrior's head was--

  Wow. Okay.

  Needn't have worried.

  Torin dove to his knees and slid the rest of the distance, going under one of the minions and running the tip of his blade through the creature's torso. Guts splashed onto the floor; organs thudded.

  One down. And so spectacularly.

  She jumped up and down, clapping--and seven sets of beady eyes suddenly focused on her.

  Grinning coldly, she said, "Can't fault the keeper of Disease for his actions. He did warn you."

  Different degrees of rage met her words. Each of the minions kicked into high gear, closing in on her. Scratch that. Not "each." Torin had grabbed two by the legs and jerked them behind him. As the creatures flailed, trying to find purchase, he released them--only to stab each one through the skull.

  Three down.

  Stop watching adoringly. Engage!

  Right. Five minions, almost within reach. Keeley sprang into action, cutting off a claw aimed for her neck as well as a claw aimed for her heart. A third claw slammed into her arm, but she flowed with the momentum, going to her knees and spinning outside the fight circle.

  Jab. Jab. She stabbed a minion from behind, shredding both of his kidneys.

  Four down.

  This was almost fun.

  A claw swiped at her. With one hand, Torin yanked her out of the way. With the other, he slashed at the culprit. Another thud rang out.

  Music to my ears.

  "Stay," Torin barked.

  Barked...at her? Not music. "I was doing so well."

  "But it's my turn." As Torin danced through the minions, his arms moving swiftly, crisscrossing then straightening, always removing a body part belonging to one of the spiders, he flicked her a hard glance. To make sure she watched him?

  Trying to impress me?

  Warm tingles in her chest. No one had ever done such a thing for her. King Mandriael had been so impressed with himself, he'd just assumed everyone else was, too. Hades simply hadn't cared enough. His motto: take me or leave me--hell, just go ahead and leave me already.

  Wait. Warm tingles...the beginning of a bond? She gulped, shook her head. No! Not here, not now. Not ever. Not with him. But the warmth grew more
intense, the tingles stronger.

  Have to stop this.

  A still-beating heart rolled in her direction.

  It was a gift.

  The warmth inside her kicked up another notch until perspiration created a sheen on her skin.

  If I bond to him, he'll kick me out of his life.

  Another claw joined the ever-growing pile of goodies, then a spinal cord...a pancreas. An-n-nd, here came a sloshing stomach.

  Warmer...no, hotter. So hot. Burning her up, the tingles more like slashing daggers. Going to happen any moment...whether I like it or not...

  Maybe Torin would change his mind about the bond. He'd carved her chess pieces, after all. He'd held branches out of her way and foraged for treats, never realizing she'd secretly tossed every morsel, unwilling to risk poisoning. Still. He'd done it. For her.

  He'd also ensured she had a soft pallet every night. Had asked if she was cold and stoked the fire when she said she was.

  "You weren't even watching?" he demanded.

  His voice--loud and filled with incredulity--yanked her from the dread and hope of her musings. He stood in front of her, covered in the blood of the enemy. Hair soaked red was plastered to his scalp. His shirt had several rips, revealing deep wounds in his chest.

  Never looked more beautiful...

  "The demons--" she began.

  "Are dead. They can't become carriers." He scowled. "You didn't watch."

  "I did," she assured him, trying not to betray the fact that her knees had gone weak. "Truly impressive wet work, Charming. Some of the best I've ever seen."

  His expression neutralized even as his chest puffed with pride, a reaction she'd seen from him once before. Liked it then, really like it now. "I can be fearsome," he said.

  Had someone told him otherwise? I'll force the culprit to kneel before him and beg for mercy that will never come! "You can be--and you were."

  He nodded, satisfied with that. "Will more demons hunt you?"

  "Probably not today. But soon." When the spiders failed to return to Hades, he would know they'd been slain. He would seek revenge.

  He wasn't one to let even the mildest of offenses pass.

  "Why did they attack you?" Torin asked.

  "They are tasked with reporting my condition to Hades."

  He planted his feet wide apart, as if preparing for another battle. "Why? Does he still want you?"

  "Maybe. But not because he loves me, if that's what you're thinking. He didn't even love me while we were together or he wouldn't have sold me to Cronus for a barrel of whiskey." Bitterness showing. "I'm a threat to him, and he does not like threats."