Dark Needs at Night's Edge

44

Néomi had been dreaming of floating and walking through walls again. But now she wanted to wake because her breaths had begun to taste of... soot?

She couldn't seem to get enough air, coughing with each smoky inhalation. And in the haze of her mind, she perceived fire all around her, thought she smelled the flames and felt their heat.

A fire! Why can't I wake?

Feeling so dizzy... she needed clean air... .

At last, she was able to crack open her eyelids. She blinked them in disbelief.

The room was choked with thick smoke. Flames licked the walls and crawled across the bowing ceiling. The boards above her whined under the strain.

"Néomi!"

Conrad! He was here? Through the flames between them, their gazes met—just before a beam snapped and a portion of the ceiling collapsed in front of him.

With a yell, he lunged for her to trace her away, but returned to the same spot empty-handed, as if his arms had wrapped around only air. When he failed at it a second time, he dived into the fire, tearing away the blazing timbers to reach her.

Why did he look so stricken? She wasn't hurt—hadn't even a scratch. In fact, she felt nothing. No perception. Dim.

Then she glanced down. No, no, no... Her body from her waist down was buried under the burning wreckage from the ceiling. It should be crushing her. Why am I still conscious? Where was the pain?

Then she realized...

I died... again?

Néomi was in her incorporeal form once more, wearing her old black dress and jewerly—

A thunderous rending above her drew her gaze. With the ceiling gone, she could see that the roof was sagging in pockets. The enormous rafters began to snap, one by one. Jagged wood hurtled down like spears, hammering into the floor.

Still grappling to get to her, he dodged them.

"Conrad! No!"

One caught him, stabbing into his body, slamming him down. A split second later, the roof crashed over him, shrouding him. With a shriek, she found herself rising through the debris covering her, floating admist the fire to get to him.

She couldn't find him, couldn't see! Then... she spied blood pooling out from under a pile of debris, the liquid reflecting the flames, boiling and popping.

Tonight Cade found himself in a familiar spot—sitting on the edge of a downtown apartment's roof. His female's building neighbored this one, and her top loft and private rooftop pool were readily viewable from this higher vantage.

Cade hadn't intended to come here tonight. He'd just needed to.

He gazed over at her balcony. And there she was.

Holly Ashwin.

His Holly. She was a math geek who wore glasses, no makeup, and her blond hair in a conservative bun; she was sexier than any female he'd ever known.

But as ever, he scratched his head at her antics. She was cleaning an already spotless apartment. Mystifying human.

She'd expire if she saw his place. Just another example of how unalike she and Cade were.

Holly was scholarly—he was deadly. Every aspect of her life was strictly organized. His idea of a day's schedule was wake, eat a few meals, do things, sleep. And any of those were optional.

She didn't even drink. He took a swig just then.

Was she having company over tonight? Her tosser boyfriend? Just as his claws dug into his palms, Cade heard footsteps approaching.

Bloody Rydstrom. His brother had found him. So much for keeping my visits secret.

"What in the hell are you doing up here?" Cade demanded.

"I ask you the same," Rydstrom said, treating him to a look of unmitigated disappointment.

I've never seen that one before.

"You told me you wouldn't come here anymore."

"Fell off the wagon," Cade muttered.

"Humans are forbidden to us as mates for a reason. If you haven't gotten that through your thick skull before, then you certainly should now. The accident with the vampire's Bride is exactly why mortals and immortals should never mix."

Cade narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure Néomi's even dead?"

With a nod, Rydstrom said, "I checked with Nïx."

Why did mortals have to die so easily? The smallest sword thrust had ended the girl forever. She hadn't deserved to die like that.

"If she's dead, then that vampire is out searching for something of mine to destroy." Cade glanced around them. A thousand times over, Wroth had vowed. Cade would be signing Holly's death warrant to approach her right now.

"So you have even more reason to resist her," Rydstrom said. "You have to forget her."

"You think I haven't tried?" Cade ran his hand over a horn. "You think I don't know how bad this looks? I'm stalking a girl, a human who's millennia younger than I am."

"Then it's fortunate we're leaving this town for good. Nïx has given us one last means to destroy Omort—a job to complete. This is our final hope to reclaim my crown. She's adamant about that."

"What's the op?" Cade asked, though he didn't give a damn. He'd agree to anything to take his mind from what he'd done—and from what he was tempted to do with Holly. Even Nïx hadn't foreseen his crazed plans for her.

"We'll receive instructions within the week. Just be ready to move quickly."

Cade exhaled. "I'm always ready."

"Again, brother, this is it—our last chance. I have to know that your head is in the right place."

"I said I'll be ready," he snapped. "Whatever it is, I'll get the job done." Cade rose and gazed at Holly.

For a last time.

With a lingering glance at his female, Cade dropped from the roof.

No sooner had Cade disappeared into the night than Nïx emerged from the stairwell to join Rydstrom. "And how did he react?"

Rydstrom glanced at her, evincing no surprise that she'd found them. "You don't know?"

"I'm ever-knowing, not—"

"Yes, yes, not all-knowing." Rydstrom sighed. "Cade's vowed to do his duty."

When Holly came back into their view, Nïx's golden eyes fixed on the girl and her pupils dilated. Tilting her head, she asked, "And if he finds out Néomi still lives?"

"Lying to him sits ill with me," Rydstrom said. "You're certain I can't tell him?"

Nïx faced him. "I've gone over and over the decision trees. Billions of outcomes all trace back to this decision fork—tell him or don't. It must be this way."

"So you've seen my future?"

"Some of it," she said. "And it's a doozy."

"Tell me," he said, waving her on.

"Rydstrom, you really must learn to ask. In any case, I've got somewhere I need to be. A mystery will be revealed to me tonight, and I can hardly wait."

"You can't leave me like this! And what if we need to get in touch with you?"

She grinned at him, but her eyes were growing vacant, her mind already somewhere else. "Greedy demon, there's only so much Nïx to go around."