“I’m waiting,” Haidee sang.
And she had called him stubborn. Very well, sweetheart. Just remember, you asked for this. He pushed the vision out of his mind and into hers, praying it worked.
It worked. She gave another sharp intake of breath, this one shaky around the edges. “Amun,” she said on a moan.
A moan of need?
Even as they continued to march forward, her hands slid up his back, then around his sides…playing with his nipples… Her breasts once again smashed into him, but this time her fingers traced a path down…down… Holy hell. She would do it, he thought, awed and guilty and so aroused his hunger and need were probably seeping from his skin. She would give him what he wanted, without any hesitation. Right here, right now.
He would have to stop her, couldn’t let her—she rubbed his cock through his pants, and his lips parted on a silent groan. He couldn’t stop her, would let her—
“I’ve thought about this, too,” she said huskily.
He licked his lips. You have?
“Oh, yes. You are a beautiful man, and just looking at you arouses me. You’re all I think about anymore. All I crave.”
Oh, gods. He was going to spill. She’d done nothing but stroke him, and he was going to spill. Haidee, I—
One moment they were surrounded by the rocky walls of the cave, hearing the drip, drip of water, the harsh rasp of their breathing, and the next they were encompassed by absolute darkness and utter silence, by sensory deprivation.
“Amun?” Her voice was shaky and soft, but there. Thank the gods, he could still hear her voice. “What just happened?”
They’d entered the Realm of Shadows, he realized, dread joining ranks with his lingering desire. Finally. Progress. Damn the timing, though.
Amun stopped abruptly. Haidee stumbled into him, but his body absorbed the impact. So good, even then. More than hearing her, he could feel her. They weren’t so deprived, after all. He reached back to steady her, careful not to let his blade touch her.
“What’s going on?” she whispered.
He moved his grip to her wrist and drew her hand to his mouth, pressing a quick kiss into the wild flutter of her pulse. Do you remember what the scroll said?
The scroll from the backpack. She’d asked for instructions on how to successfully navigate the next realm, and the backpack had provided them. Only, the instructions had been convoluted and asinine.
~You must see~
See through the shadows? Sure. His pleasure. He’d taken the scroll from her as he’d wondered how. A flashlight? Shockingly, the moment the question had formed in his mind, ink had begun dripping over the paper, new words forming.
~All of you~
Another convoluted answer. Still. He’d demanded the backpack provide him with a light source that would push through the darkness, but nothing had filled the pack. Which had to mean a flashlight wouldn’t work. Which also had to mean the pack could not provide “all of you.” And that had to mean he already had “all of you,” whatever it was, because the pack was here to help them and wouldn’t leave them in the lurch.
He’d then returned his attention to the scroll and demanded to know what awaited them in the shadows if they failed to find the mysterious, all of you light. Once again, ink had dripped down the tattered, yellow page.
~Death~
Then he’d demanded to know what “all of you” meant.
~All of you~
Funny. All of him—his body, perhaps?
“We must see. We must use all of you, or us,” Haidee said, words trembling from her and bringing him back to the present. “I still don’t know what that means.”
Him either, but he didn’t tell her that. Keep your fingers hooked on my belt loop. Whatever happens, we can’t be separated.
“All—all right.”
When she complied, removing her free hand from his still burning erection, he released her other one and gingerly started forward. He kept his arms outstretched, hoping to feel his way.
Soon he noticed that as quickly as the darkness had arrived, it was dissipating in spots, leaving little pockets of light. Would have been wonderful, except shadows danced around the light—and those shadows had fangs.
Something sharp sliced into his arm, and he mentally cursed. He shoved Haidee into one of those golden beams, but the beam moved several inches away, returning her to the dark. Something else sliced into his arm. The fangs, he was sure. They must have gotten Haidee, too, because she stiffened, moaned.
Damn this!
What should I do? he demanded of his demon, abandoning thoughts about “all of you.” They’d gotten him nowhere. As Strider would say, the backpack and scroll could suck it.
At first, Secrets remained silent, still. Sleeping? Now? Or was Amun’s other half still beaten to the back of his mind with the others? But the demon must have been searching for answers because suddenly Amun knew to follow the light. The shadows weren’t allowed to touch—or bite—anything in the center of those glowing pools.
He watched the macabre dance of light and dark for a moment, enduring several more nibbles, until Secrets locked on a pattern.
Move with me, Haidee. Now! Amun leapt forward, straight into the center of one of those beams. Haidee remained directly behind him. One second, two, he waited. Again!
They leapt once more, following the light to its next destination. On and on they continued, jumping, pausing, jumping again. For hours. He knew Haidee was tiring, could feel the tremble in her slight form.
You’re doing great, sweetheart, he praised her.
Before she could reply, a thick, cloying darkness once again enveloped them. No longer were there any pockets of light. No more fangs, either. Thank the gods. He stilled, Haidee pressing into his back. They could rest for a moment, decide what to do.
Secrets prowled through his mind, agitated, and suddenly Amun knew. More shadow-dwellers were coming. Close…closer…
Be ready, he told Haidee.
“For?”
Something worse. He didn’t yet know what a shadow-dweller was, but he knew that much. At least with the total cessation of sight his other senses kicked into hyperdrive. His ears picked up the whistling sound of wind. Or was he hearing…screams? His nose scented sulfur, and his mouth tasted copper. His palms tingled, sensing a spike of aggression in the air.
Demons, he said. Shadow-dwellers were demons. Minions, like the ones he’d absorbed. They approached, and dread detonated inside him. Would he absorb them?
Haidee first, his sanity second, he decided, switching direction. Rather than moving forward, he inched to the side until he encountered the solid length of the wall. He placed himself in front of her, offering what shelter he could.
“What are you doing?”
He wouldn’t lie to her. She needed to know the danger they were in. I told you. Demons approach. I won’t let them reach you.
“I can help you fight,” she replied, far from scared.
I won’t risk you.
A growl of menace sounded beside him, followed by another. And another. Haidee stiffened. So did he. A jumble of thoughts suddenly slammed into his head, each revolving around the taste of his organs. The demons had spotted him, were utterly starved and looked forward to eating every part of him.
And then, suddenly, they were there, attacking from every angle. Amun swiped out with his arms and knew he’d made contact with several of the creatures. Maybe he’d delivered killing blows, maybe not, but it didn’t matter how many he felled. There were so many, they converged on him en masse.