As Darkness Falls by Riley Storm

Chapter Twelve

Iwas avoiding everything.

We’d spent a full day in Vir’s temple paradise, as I was beginning to call it, and while I was feeling more rested and recharged than I had since before my Soulshift so many months earlier, I was still not ready to face the world. I didn’t want to make the next big decision, nor that the ones following it.

Apparently, I was the one in charge, however, and that meant everyone kept looking to me to make the decisions. So as long as I refused to, we could stay here, doing nothing. Which sounded way better than the decision facing me or the reality that, somewhere out there, Lars was walking around with the freaking Blade of Death.

I tried not to think of that.

Which meant I did nothing but obsess over my next decision. The one that had to be made before we left the temple and started heading back–the specific departure time of which was also my decision.

If you ever need to decide that you don’t like being the one in charge of everything, having another person’s life in your hands is a surefire way to go about it. I hated it.

Being in charge of myself was one thing. I could handle that. In fact, I wanted it. That’s why I was so eager to find a way to sever my latest Soulbond. I wanted to be the only one who made decisions about myself. But not anyone, or anything, else.

“We should leave him.”

I started, pulling my gaze away from the form lying on the floor in front of me. The form about which I had to make a decision.

Johnathan.

Or what was left of him, at least. Vir’s energy had seemed to patch him up somewhat, and most of the charring on his side had faded away thanks to our prolonged stay in the temple, but his mind hadn’t returned. He stared blankly into space when he was awake. At night, he slept, though he had night terrors, screaming and crying out to the point that Vir had created a magical wall to block the sound.

But we could still see him. Anyone awake late enough would often see Johnathan thrashing in his sleep, his mouth moving. It was scarier without the sound to go with it.

Something was very, very wrong with Johnathan, and I knew he wouldn’t make it much longer. He wasn’t eating or drinking. If we tried to take him with us, it would only slow us down. Plus, he was an asshole who tried to murder me. I shouldn’t feel any requirement to help him.

So, why am I considering ordering Aaron to have his men bring Johnathan with us?

Part of me agreed that we should just leave him. It wasn’t even a small part of me. I hated him with every ounce of hatred I possessed. There were times I found myself wishing that he’d just died when I’d hit him with the purple energy. That would have made everything so much easier.

Because you’re a coward. You just want to avoid having to decide on whether to leave him or bring him along.

“Damn straight I am,” I muttered to myself, ignoring Aaron’s questioning grunt.

Yet, despite all that, despite my hatred and the further irritation I knew was to come, I’d already made the decision. I was simply stalling on telling the others.

“We’re taking him with us,” I said at last.

Aaron growled but didn’t protest more than that. “Taking him where?”

I prepared myself, well aware that this part would garner me the most protest.

“Home,” I said quietly. “We’re going to take him home.”

“What?” Aaron snapped. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am,” I said, whirling on him sharply, my wolf surging to the surface for the first time in days, angry at being challenged. “His father won’t care for him, but he has other family. Maybe he can recover. You don’t like it? You shouldn’t have put me in charge.”

Aaron swayed backward at my vehemence, but he didn’t protest more. If anything, I saw a glint of approval in his eye.

“Then what?” he asked instead.

“Then,” I said heavily, “I leave that godforsaken town. Forever. For real this time.”

Aaron nodded slowly. “Aren’t you afraid that when you show up, Lars will try something with you? There’s a bit of history between you two now, and he strikes me as a bit of a psychopath.”

I snorted. “Why should I be afraid of him? I’ll have the two of you with me.”

Aaron’s eyebrows went up, but before he could respond, Vir spoke up from across the room.

“I would be glad to go with you, to protect you.”

My lips quivered as Aaron rolled his eyes.

“You know my contract runs out well before we’d make it there,” Aaron said quietly. “It’s technically going to run out before we even get back to the trucks. Though, since we’re all headed the same way, I see no harm in journeying together.”

Vir didn’t have anything to say to that, but I could sense his disdain for the mercenary. Still, Aaron had proven his worth already, and I wasn’t about to stroll back into Seguin without at least a second tough with me. Vir was good, but he was a god, and that meant he was unpredictable. Aaron was a sure thing if I could figure out a way to pay him.

Besides, it was better to have others around. I didn’t want to slip up with the Soulbond. It would play all sorts of tricks on me if the two of us started spending time alone together. I didn’t want that to happen, and with Aaron around, I could be much more certain that Vir would keep his space.

Lost in thought, I watched Johnathan as he sat amid the conjured pillows Vir had summoned for him–after the second time he’d thrashed his way off the cot in the middle of the night, we’d had to come up with an alternate solution.

The conjured pillows. From Vir. A god.

I grinned as an idea hit me.

“What?” Aaron asked, regarding me with extreme suspicion.

“You’re coming with us,” I said confidently.

“I am?”

“Yes,” I said, jerking my chin across the chamber. “And Vir’s going to pay you.”

Vir sputtered and protested while Aaron chuckled.

“This should be interesting,” the mercenary said as the god recovered his words.

“I will not,” Vir denied angrily.

Giving Vir my longest, hardest look, I stared him into silence. “Conjure up some treasure,” I growled.

Aaron shook his head. “He doesn’t even have to do that. I’m sure he’s got gold stashed away in here that his followers forgot about when they abandoned this musty old place a thousand years ago.

Vir grumbled and didn’t move.

“Vir,” I snapped, letting my displeasure flow through the Soulbond. “It’s just gold.”

“But…”

“It’s. Just. Gold. We need his help. Now, pay him,” I said.

Vir got up in a huff like a hormonal teenager and all but stomped to the back of the chamber. I watched as he pried loose a piece of the stone wall and gestured at Aaron before walking over to me.

“Don’t even start with me,” I said, shutting him up before he started. “You can consider this as step one of your punishment for binding us together.”

Vir sighed heavily, caving. “When do we leave?”

I grinned. Much better. Maybe this whole being in charge thing wasn’t so bad…