“Darius? Wake up! Wake up, right now!”
After a minute of futile tugging and cursing, she realised the seatbelt had locked and would not open. She prayed Darius would soon wake. What if he had a concussion? What if he never woke up? Then an inhuman shriek rent the air and she knew the worst had yet to pass.
Though the softball-sized hail had ceased, if she didn’t do something to free herself from the seatbelt the wraiths would kill her and Darius as sure as the sun set tomorrow. Sudden regret pierced her, that she had not made the most of her time with Darius. How hard was it really to say “I love you,” to take a risk and let the future unfold as it may? Now she might never have the chance.
Yellow talons appeared by the driver side window and she shuddered, yanking at her restraint. The creature smashed the glass and yanked Darius’ door off its hinges. With a slash of its claws, it freed Darius and tossed him out of the truck as if he weighed nothing.
Then another creature knocked the glass out of her window and grinned, exposing three rows of blackened, sharp teeth. She could see red stains and darkened tissue within its mouth and prayed she and Darius would not find themselves on the wrong side of dessert.
“Come with me, pretty,” it whispered, the echoed softness of its voice as frightening as its appearance. It sliced her seatbelt and yanked her out of the truck.
She stumbled, her body full of aches and pains, trying to cope with too many shocks at once. Dragged behind the surprisingly strong creature, she tugged at the bony hand clamped around her arm and winced when it dug its claws through her flesh.
“Not yet. Save some fight for later,” it said before laughing. It threw her next to Darius, who had at least gained consciousness enough to sit and see the danger they faced.
She flew into his arms, almost knocking him over. As she clutched his warm body, she noted the grassy depression they sat upon and the steep rock wall over which they must have fallen. No wonder the truck had rolled.
Darius pulled her from his embrace and scrutinized every inch of her that he could see. “Are you all right?”
She gave him a huge kiss, relieved to hear him speak. “I’m fine.” The tension visibly left his stiff frame and she understood the depth of his concern. Warmth unfurled within her. “You?”
“I’ve been better.” He wiped sticky blood from his forehead and she saw a deep cut over his brow. Then he blinked rapidly, swearing as he removed his contacts. Seeing the real Darius with his bright red eyes made her feel safer, but not as safe as she’d like.
“I hear that.” She strove for a modulated tone, one that managed to belie her utter terror at the situation they faced.
The wraiths, not two now but six, circled around them like vultures. Their constant motion made her dizzy so she focused all of her attention on Darius, squirming deeper into his protective embrace.
“Don’t worry, Samantha,” he said, his voice deep with calm. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Have you ever tasted one of these females?” one of the wraiths rasped. “Such tender flesh, always succulent and brimming with terror.” It smacked its lips, causing the others to join in nauseating, high-pitched shrieks of laughter.
Darius drew her tighter against his body. He made as if to stand before closing his eyes in pain.
“Darius? Are you all right?” she whispered, wishing she could give him strength. As afraid as she was of the wraiths, the possibility of losing Darius absolutely terrified her.
“My head is killing me,” he growled under his breath. “I’m going to obliterate every last one of them. And I’m going to make it hurt.”
His anger made her feel better, though the pallor of his face didn’t alleviate all of her concern.
Darius narrowed his gaze at the wraith nearest them and Samantha waited to see it burst into flame. When it did nothing more than smile at them, her stomach rolled.
Darius muttered, “Shit,” before two wraiths leant forward and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, jerking him from her. They threw him ten feet, into the trunk of a very large pine tree.
The waning moonlight made everything appear in black and white, and the blood streaming down his slack face looked like a dark omen, a portent of death.
“I’m done waiting,” a wraith whispered into her ear before wrapping its hand around her hair and bending her head back to expose her neck.
“You can’t,” another said. “This one’s been marked.”
An argument ensued above her, and at the angle of her neck, she couldn’t see Darius. Desperate for any kind of contact with him, she tried the impossible.
“Darius, are you okay?” She thought as hard as she could, beyond frustrated when the wraith holding her yanked her head back farther and made a thin slash along her throat, a stinging cut that drew blood.
“We have to bring this one to the master intact,” another wraith said above her. “But the Storm Lord is ours to play with. Why not take a turn on him?”
The squabble continued as a rumble of thunder shook the air. Great. All they needed was more hail.
“Darius, wake the hell up. I need you here!”
He moaned and she felt so much relief she wanted to laugh. He was still alive! Her heart blazed with joy and her eyes filled.
“What hit me?”
“Two wraiths. And there are four more making a total of six we have to deal with.”
He didn’t say anything and she still couldn’t see him. She didn’t know the extent of his new injuries.
“I heard what you didn’t say.” He sounded smug, and for a minute she didn’t understand.
“You really hit your head, didn’t you?” She could only imagine the pain he felt, love making it possible to ignore the ache in her neck and the pointed nail scraping her flesh.
“You love me. Don’t deny it. I heard you; I felt it within you.”
Her neck ached, they were both on the verge of being killed and probably eaten by ugly, disgusting monsters, and he wanted to talk about love? She wanted to punch him.
“You are unbelieveable!”
“I know,” he said with no small amount of conceit, and much as she wanted to strangle him, she felt a sense of relief that he at least had all his faculties. The minute they pulled out of this mess, though, she vowed to slug him. Then kiss him.
Apparently the argument between the wraiths had come to a conclusion, for the wraith holding her by the hair tightened his grip and pressed its claws deeper into her neck.
“Samantha,” Darius said with enough force to snap her attention from the threat at her throat. “Affai, open your mind to me. Now!”
With the urgency she now faced, she didn’t question him and at once let herself go. She felt his presence within her, felt him sharing her inner self. And then warmth unfurled throughout her body, filling every pulse and beat of her heart.
“Grasp the wraith’s claw against your neck,” Darius said softly. She did so and saw the creature’s startled glance. Before it could do or say anything, however, it began to glow.
Bright red heat emblazoned the wraith from its cruel hand to the rest of its gnarled body. The heat grew until bright orange flame engulfed it, burning it into a small pile of ash upon the ground. Samantha welcomed the heat, embracing Darius’ blaze with all of her being. She stood then, free from the wraith’s grasp, and felt Darius’ fire licking her skin wherever it touched.
“It flames! It burns!” shouted a wraith. Immediately the remaining five turned on Darius who sat crookedly against a tree. Samantha could sense his strength ebbing and frantically looked about for something to use as a weapon.