Fangs and Fists, page 28
Haylen had covered it with brush before trekking into the woods. He hoped it might still be waiting for him when he returned.
“Haylen,” a breathy male voice echoed through the cave.
“Nathair,” Haylen replied. “I wasn’t sure if you’d still be here.”
“Apparently I should have moved.”
Haylen’s lips twisted into a wicked grin. Nathair didn’t seem to have changed much.
He continued walking until the tunnel narrowed too much for his natural strides. Haylen wasn’t heavyset, but he still had to hold his breath and squeeze his abdominals to fit through the passage. Just when he thought he might get stuck, it widened little by little until he stepped into a spacious cave. There was a freshwater pool toward one end and a smaller pool at the other, steam rising from its dark water. In the center of the cave, a tall man with a full red beard and long, red hair stood by a fire. Smoke rose through a circular opening in the top of the cave. The man was draped in gray furs and wore fur boots. His pungent scent reached Haylen across the cave -- even beyond his own musky aroma from weeks of hiking with only cold streams for bathing.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Nathair said, his gaze fixed on the fire, even as Haylen approached.
“The last time we met it was 1843.”
“What brings you back?”
“I need a favor.”
Nathair finally turned to him and raised a bushy red eyebrow. “You always did have an impressive pair of balls on you, Haylen. Why should I grant you any more favors?”
“More? I paid well for your lessons. If not for me, you’d have ended up in the tower like the rest of us -- or worse.”
“The tower?”
“You have no idea what’s going on in the world, do you?”
“I try not to let it affect me.”
“Why should it? The masters have left you alone because no one knows you’re alive.”
Long ago, Haylen had helped Nathair fake his death to hide him from the masters.
“At least you kept your promise. I had my doubts, since the integrity of a demon is questionable. Of course, your silence might not have been a question of integrity, but one of self-preservation. You probably realized you’d need me again, and here you are.”
Haylen’s old mentor knew him well, but that didn’t matter.
“I’ve escaped the masters.”
“Have you now,” Nathair said flatly. “From what I know of them, that’s not an easy feat.”
“They want me back, dead or alive.”
“You’d be better off dead if they get you.”
“That’s why I need your help.”
Nathair’s blue gaze fixed on Haylen’s. “What are you asking, Haylen?”
“I need to shed my skin.”
“Let’s have a look.”
Haylen drew a deep breath. Then he efficiently undressed. While he discarded his clothes and boots, Nathair watched him. Once Haylen was naked, the redhead circled him, studying the tattoos that covered Haylen from scalp to foot. His hands hovered over Haylen’s flesh and even touched it in places.
Finally Nathair paused in front of him and again met his gaze. “You’ve been busy, I see.”
“I’ve learned a lot.”
“And now you want to be new again?”
“That can never happen.”
“You’re fucking right it can never happen. You chose your path, Haylen.”
“We choose our path every day. I need to protect myself from the masters. To do that, I must start again.”
“Even if I help you, they still might find you.”
“I’ll have a better chance if I’m… different.”
“And my debt will be paid in full. All right. I’ll do what you ask, if you have the courage to go through with it.”
Nathair was right. Haylen would need courage -- maybe more than he possessed.
“How soon?” Haylen asked, his heart already beating faster. Anxiety coursed through him, but he controlled it. His entire life as a resurrection demon had been about control, and he would need that skill now more than ever.
“You’re trying to be brave. There’s no such thing. Not with this.”
“Just get on with it.”
“Give me half an hour to prepare. I advise you to use that time to reconsider.”
Haylen snarled. He turned away and knelt on the floor in a corner of the cave. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind, but inside he quivered. As Nathair suggested, he reconsidered. He could hide, like Nathair. Without the tracking device, it could take decades -- perhaps centuries -- for the demons to find him. In the meantime, the masters would continue to conquer and destroy. It shouldn’t matter. Haylen should think of himself, like he had done since surrendering his soul to black magic.
“It’s time,” Nathair interrupted his thoughts.
Half an hour had passed with shocking swiftness.
Still naked, Haylen rose and followed Nathair to the small, steaming pool of dark water. A metallic scent emanated from it.
“You’re certain you’re ready to endure this?” Nathair asked.
Haylen’s heart pounded and his mouth was dry. “I am, but I’ll need a bit of help.”
Without a word or hesitation, Nathair shoved Haylen hard into the pool.
Acid squeezed from the blackest magic closed over Haylen’s head. He had never felt such pain in his life, and he had endured much on his road to becoming a demon.
He felt like his flesh was being stripped off by a thousand scalding blades. He wanted to faint or die, but neither happened.
He thought he screamed despite being submerged and it certainly felt like it. He couldn’t breathe and his nose and throat were on fire. His squeezed his eyes shut, but it still felt like they were being gouged out by hot pokers.
Then his thoughts rolled backward -- he was back in the tower, resurrecting the soulless, climbing into their minds. He was on stinking ships and fighting battles until his sword arm felt ready to fall off. His flesh was savaged by blades, his bones broken, his limbs crushed -- but the injuries weren’t all his. They belonged to others -- ones he healed, part of his life force passing to them. He was on his knees on a blood-slicked battlefield when the healing power passed into him, warming him, changing him. He held his newborn son, kissed his wife. Worked alongside his father.
Now he was beyond the pain, though it was still part of him, searing his flesh -- scorching his soul -- a soul he thought had long ago been torn away by demons. There was no way to escape from the pain.
“Haylen,” Madeline said, gazing at him with trusting blue eyes. After all she had seen, she still believed that a demon could once again become a man. “We saved each other’s lives.”
She covered his mouth in a searing kiss. Strokes of her fiery tongue burned him, but he couldn’t resist -- he had no desire to. He wanted her to devour him, to cleanse him with her flames. He thrust his tongue against hers and fire raced down his throat.
Madeline’s hot palms ran over his shoulders and down his back. She grasped his ass and kneaded. A searing fingertip trailed along the indentation of his bottom while at the same time she grasped his balls and caressed.
He wanted to cry out in pleasure-pain, but her mouth was still fastened to his, her tongue thrusting against his. She curled her fist around his cock and stroked. Heat spread over his loins, down his trembling thighs and up his clenching belly.
The beautiful witch slid down his body, her tongue carving a path of flames down his chest while her nails peeled back his flesh, baring him completely to her. His heart raced and he couldn’t tell if he was still breathing.
“How much do you want it?” she demanded in a husky voice. Her breath sent puffs of hot pleasure over his cock head. Her nails scored his inner thighs.
I want it more than anything. Even if it kills me.
Madeline took his cock head into her mouth. Her plump lips rolled over it and her wet tongue swirled around it before flicking the ultra-sensitive underside. She teased relentlessly.
Despite the intense heat, Haylen trembled uncontrollably.
She sucked him deep into her throat. It felt like she was drawing out his very soul. He buried his fingers in her thick red hair, pressing her face even closer as his hips bucked, his cock thrusting into her mouth.
Just when he thought he was about to come, she pulled away only to slide up his body. She shoved him hard and he landed on his back. Madeline straddled him, her legs and pussy melting over him like liquid flames.
She leaned down and kissed him again, taking his face in her hands. They kissed deeply for a long moment before she drew back and rose slightly on her knees.
He stared into her beautiful blue eyes as she grasped his cock and pushed the tip of it into her wet pussy.
“Fuck you, demon,” she said, lowering herself onto him.
She rocked so fiercely that Haylen had to grasp her hips. He thrust up, matching her rhythm. Pleasure and pain overtook him completely, pushing him to his limits.
He would either come or die -- at the moment he would welcome either.
Faster.
Harder.
Deeper.
The sensations were too much. His heart pounded out of control and his soul flew almost beyond his grasp, yet he couldn’t stop -- he didn’t want to stop. He needed to reach the end of this magnificently agonizing journey.
He couldn’t see her any longer, but he could feel her. He felt everything. It was as if every raw nerve was exposed.
Pleasure.
Pain.
Haylen came so hard that everything went black.
Cold water struck Haylen’s face like a slap.
He opened his eyes partway and found Nathair standing over him, carrying a dripping bucket.
“I thought I might have killed you after all,” Nathair said.
Too weak to move, Haylen lay there for a moment, trembling uncontrollably.
“You were dead for a bit, but you went with a smile.” Nathair chuckled. “Now I understand why you wanted this.”
At the moment, Haylen had neither the strength nor the inclination to prompt Nathair into conversation.
Finally he pushed himself up and sat on the rocky cave floor. He glanced down at his body -- his bare torso, his flaccid cock and his legs. He looked at his arms. The tattoos were gone, replaced by new skin.
Wet hair clung to his forehead and neck. He reached up with a shaky hand and ran his hands through it.
“Blond,” Nathair said. “I believe yours was black when we first met, but some things change during the process.”
Haylen scrubbed a hand over his bearded jaw. “I don’t suppose you have a mirror?”
Nathair walked to a wooden trunk, opened it, and removed a polished silver shield. “Maybe this will do.”
He brought it to Haylen, who hadn’t yet mustered the strength to stand. Gazing at his reflection, Haylen looked into the face of a man he hadn’t seen in years. A wheat-colored beard covered most of it. Now with a full head of hair, golden skin, and no tattoos, he looked remarkably different.
“I know what you want,” Nathair said, an almost taunting expression on his face. “During the process, your mind is open and your heart is vulnerable.”
Haylen curled his lip. “You think I still have a heart?”
“Apparently. You want to be a man again, but that won’t happen, Haylen. No man could survive the process, yet here you are.”
“I know exactly what I am.”
“Now that you’re in disguise, where will you go?”
“That’s not your concern.” Haylen stood. He made an effort to appear stronger than he felt as he walked to his discarded clothes and dressed.
“The weakness will pass. Soon you’ll have your power back, and then you can return to Detroit. You endured all this only to walk back to the masters’ lair. All for the sake of a lady witch.”
Haylen glared at Nathair.
“I told you, I saw everything. You used the lady’s image to endure the process, and you underwent the process because of the real lady. You might not be a man, Haylen, but maybe you’re no longer a demon, either.”
“I’m a fool,” Haylen muttered as he headed out of the cave. “A damn fool.”
“Remember not to tell them I’m alive,” Nathair called.
“Don’t worry, old man. You’re dead to me again.”
“Until you need something else,” Nathair murmured.
“I heard that.”
“Good luck, to you and your lady witch. You’ll need it.”
No doubt.
He’d be lucky if Madeline would speak to him again, but he couldn’t have stayed with her -- not without seeing Nathair first. At least now there was a chance for him to, as she had suggested, hide in plain sight.
Nathair was right that he would have a better chance of surviving longer by staying in the wilderness. However, Haylen’s downfall had always been his own ambition, and in regard to Madeline, he was ambitious to a fault.
* * *
Late one rainy afternoon, Maddy was tuning up Gunner’s motorcycle. Since she had returned to Detroit, she had tried to forget Haylen by focusing on her work as well as her magic.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering where he was and what he was doing. She didn’t know if he was safe or if the masters had caught up to him. She wondered if he thought of her at all, or if she had simply been a means to an end for him. As he had so often pointed out, he was a demon.
“How’s he look?” Gunner asked, referring to his motorcycle. Chewing on a hard piece of jerky, he approached Maddy.
One might think the Alpha of Detroit would have better things to do than micromanage a tune up on his bike, but Maddy had learned long ago how attached he was to his vehicle.
“He looks fine,” Maddy said, smiling slightly. She would never quite get used to referring to a motorcycle as if it were a person.
“I hear you’ll be training with Gordon Connors when he gets back in town this week.”
“Ashley arranged for it,” Maddy said.
Maddy’s time with Haylen and his words before he left had been a wakeup call for her. He was right. It was long past time that she grew up and stopped clinging to ideals that didn’t mean much in today’s world.
Her mother and, surprisingly, High Priestess Ashley had been incredibly supportive. Maddy had never been a prominent member of her coven, or at least she hadn’t felt like it. Until the incident with Haylen, she had doubted the High Priestess even realized she was alive, but her work with the demon and as a mechanic for the rebellion hadn’t been overlooked by the coven leader. She had arranged for Maddy to train with Gordon. Though Maddy hadn’t known at the time, her assistance when they had removed Haylen’s tracking device had impressed Gordon and he looked forward to expanding her knowledge. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be in Detroit long. Since the demon occupation, he and his apprentices moved often, traveling to where their help was needed most.
“Sir!” Cliff, a tall, sandy-haired wolf, marched into the garage, his expression tense. “Something has happened you need to know about.”
“What’s up?” Gunner asked.
Maddy paused, staring at Cliff as well.
The wolf guard looked at her and then back to Gunner. “Maybe we should talk in private, sir.”
Glancing at Maddy, Gunner said, “Sorry. Mind if we use your office?”
The Alpha was already striding toward it, Cliff behind him.
“Sure,” Maddy said. She turned back to the bike, but found it hard to concentrate. Cliff had looked worried and that concerned her.
A short time later, Gunner glanced out the office door. “Maddy, come here a minute.”
She approached, her stomach churning. Something horrible was happening. She knew it.
In the office, Gunner tugged the chair from behind the desk and offered it to her.
“Why do I need to sit?” she asked, staring into Gunner’s cool blue eyes.
“Haylen has had absolutely no contact with you, right? Telepathic or anything?”
“No. Why? What’s going on?” She glanced at the wolves.
“You talked to Grit, right?” Gunner asked his second in command.
Cliff nodded. “He hasn’t communicated with Haylen since before the battle.”
“What’s wrong?” Maddy demanded.
“The soulless are gone,” Gunner told her.
“What do you mean gone?”
“Dead again, I guess is the best way to put it.”
“Dead,” she murmured.
“From what we understand, that means Haylen is dead, too,” Gunner said.
Her emotions took Maddy completely by surprise. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. She thought she’d gotten over him, but she’d lied to herself.
Gunner placed a big, rough hand on her shoulder. “Hey Cliff, go upstairs and get her mother.”
His assistant did as asked.
“I’m okay,” Maddy said, wiping her eyes with her greasy hands. She probably had stains all over her face, but she couldn’t care less.
“Are you?”
“No,” Maddy admitted and covered her face again.
Gunner knelt by the chair and tugged her into a firm embrace. It was like being hugged by a living rock -- so unlike Haylen’s body. The demon had been slimmer, strong yet supple. Still, at the moment she welcomed the Alpha’s compassion.
Moments later, her mother stepped into the office followed by Cliff.
“I need to go,” Gunner said, moving away from Maddy so that her mother could comfort her. “We’ll need to look into this. If we find anything else --”
“Maybe he’s not dead,” Maddy’s mother said. “Maybe he released the soulless.”
Maddy glanced up through bleary eyes. She sniffed. “That’s possible.”
“Sure,” the Alpha said, not looking convinced. “It’s possible.”
But it was more probable that the demon masters had caught up to Haylen. He and the demon Jinx were currently on the world’s most wanted list.
