Chapter 26 It was Olian?!
It was Olian?!
“We are not talking about this right now.” Raymond looked at me after my outburst.
I still stood there, hand over mouth, eyes shifting between the two of them, all the dots connecting in my mind.
This woman, this green demoness with mismatched parts, was the reason for all the chaos.
Honestly, looking at her, it made so much sense.
She looked like a handful, and when she opened her mouth, she proved my point.
“I think you should. Yes, talk it out.” She swayed over to the room and sat on the sofa where we had just been cuddled up. “It’s important for a healthy relationship to face the bumps in the road.”
“Olian, shut up,” Raymond grunted. “There is nothing to talk about.”
“Raymond.” She pointed at me, still there with a look of shock plastered on my face. “I think she would have a different opinion if she could speak right now.”
“Come on.” He grabbed my hand and took me into the bedroom. As soon as the door shut behind us, he spoke again. “Please don’t make a big deal out of this.”
“I’m not. It's just… That’s the woman who broke your heart?
” I could feel the enthusiasm creeping across my face, like finally reaching the itch you couldn’t scratch.
The revelation was so satisfying. “And she chose Metice over you. It all makes so much sense now. I kept wondering why you tense up whenever you’re around him. It’s because of her!”
“I do not tense up around him.” He frowned. “And you don’t need to sound so excited about this.”
“Oh, yeah you do. And I’m sorry, but this has really been bugging me: I thought maybe you two had a fight, or he betrayed you. I was even beginning to think Metice was in on the plot to overthrow Klougus and you turned your back on him with all the others.”
“So many theories,” he grunted. “You could have just asked me.”
“I do remember mentioning it but you ignored me.” I reminded him. “You didn’t even say he was the guy you got left for.”
“It didn’t seem important at the time.” He sat on the bed. “Look, Olian isn’t someone you have to worry about.”
“I’m not worried about that woman.” I waved my hand at him but lowered my voice when I continued because I didn’t want to risk Olian hearing me. “Maybe you should be. You tried to kill her father.”
“You’re not worried about her?”
“Do I look that insecure to you?” I laughed. “I’ve never been the jealous type, and I’m not about to fight over a man, human or shadow. Yeah, it’s a little uncomfortable meeting your first love, but I know who has your eye now.”
“Damn, that’s hot.” He reached for me. “I love a confident woman.”
“Hey, down boy.” I stood and swayed back to the door. “We have company.”
“I can kick her out!” he offered eagerly.
Break
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the others arrived. Luckily for me, Noville carried bags of food with him. I asked nothing besides if it was safe for me to eat before I dug into the steaks, vegetables, and sweet treats.
“I told you to feed her,” Metice grunted at Raymond when he saw how I tore into the food.
“Oh, calm down,” Olian teased. “Let him take care of his human. You worry about yours.”
I raised a brow at the woman. So far, she hadn’t missed any opportunity to bring up the woman Metice had apparently chosen over her.
Every time he spoke, she spun it back to Rayna.
And every time she did, it made me want to meet the mysterious woman even more.
Because she had to be bad to have such a powerful demoness that stressed about her.
Even the little blue demon dog Metice called Piko was over Olian’s snide remarks. When she tried to sit next to Metice, he plopped himself between them. His body expanded to double the size, damn near pushing her off her seat.
“So, which one of you is going to lay out the plan here?” Olian frowned at the food on her plate. “I have other things to do today.”
“You can leave. No one wanted you here anyway.” Cufio rolled his eyes.
Damn, does anyone like her?
“Maybe not, but you know you need me.” She pointed at each of the men in the room.
“Every last one of you has a target on your back. Talkeen knows Raymond is back. The secret is out. And if he’s back, that means his old friends, and his big mouth brother, are clearly on his side.
If you don’t think his people are already looking for you, you’re out of your mind. ”
“She’s right,” Noville spoke. “I went to the gathering before I met up with you at Klougus’s place. The secret is out, and many of the people we thought would be on our side have chosen neutrality.”
“Of course not. The cowards. Don’t choose a side at all so you can pretend to have always been aligned with whoever comes out on top.” Cufio shook his head. “They’re all pathetic.”
“Does that mean we are on our own here?” Metice asked.
“No.” Noville shook his head. “We still have a few allies, and as soon as we decide how and when to move, they will be with us.”
“Good.” Metice nodded.
“When would be the best time?” Noville said. “I’ll update them with the details.”
“Early morning,” Raymond said. “We’re dealing with shadows, but lucky for us, a lot of them aren’t the most skilled—unless things have changed during my time away.”
“No, you’re right. Honestly, I think Talkeen likes it that way,” Cufio spoke. “He doesn’t want anyone to be stronger than him. That’s why he hated us so much.”
“Good. So, first light.” Metice nodded. “No sense in dragging this out.”
“I have the layout of his place.” Noville pulled out a large piece of paper and laid it out on the table between us.
I listened closely as they talked about the plan and memorized the layout. Lucky for me, I had a semi-photographic memory. After a few examinations of the map, I felt confident I wouldn't get lost once we were there.
The drawing was a blueprint of the layout from a bird's-eye view.
The building looked like those simple drawings of Christmas trees, three triangles stacked.
The top, the point of the structure, was marked as the main entrance.
There were two dark circles at the center of the blueprint and four red marks in the corners created by the overlapping triangles.
“When did they build this?” Raymond leaned over the table, examining the map.
“Not too long after you left,” Cufio sighed, “Talkeen did a money grab. He claimed all the resources for himself while Klougus was busy trying to figure out what happened to his brother. By the time everything came to light, this place already existed.”
“What are the dark circles in the middle?” I asked.
“Shadow cores,” Cufio answered.
“He has shadow cores?” Raymond looked concerned. “How?”
“I wish I could answer that.” Cufio chewed his lip. “It’s been centuries since we even heard of one.”
“What’s a shadow core?” I looked around the room, and I was the only one who looked confused.
“Something we banned a long time ago.” Raymond spoke through a tightened jaw. “They’re made of stolen power from fallen shadow walkers.”
“You mean—” I started.
“He killed a lot of people to make that happen.” Cufio nodded. “That’s the only way to do it. Kill them and extract their power before their last breath. Do it enough, and you create a core. It makes your own power a lot stronger.”
“Well, that takes away any hesitation to remove his head from his shoulders.” Raymond’s hand tightened into a fist on the table.
“When we’re inside, make sure you don’t touch that thing.” Cufio pointed at me. “It’s like an alarm system, but it will also suck you in and steal whatever magic you possess. It’s not just limited to shadows.”
“Got it.” I nodded. “And what about the red marks?”
“That’s where we enter,” Noville said. “We’ve done some testing.
Those are the weak points, actually created by the shadow cores.
There are no security details there because his people are afraid of getting too close to the core for long periods.
Also, the barrier is weak, with thin walls and loose soil. It will make it easier to get in.”
“How many people do we have?” Metice asked. “We need to figure out who goes where, and we should enter from all points, spread out and split up their forces.”
“Less than fifty, but it should be enough. Most of the guys who are joining us are a lot stronger than the average man.”
“He built an empire of weaklings.” Cufio scoffed.
“It makes sense when you consider the kind of man Talkeen is.” Raymond nodded. “They’re all desperate, probably can’t fend for themselves, and none of them are strong enough to do to him what he plans to do to Klougus.”
“Okay, so we have a plan. We’ll meet here.” Noville pointed at a spot just beyond the building. There were what looked like coordinates written there. “I’ll let the others know we move at first light.”
“Sounds good.” Raymond threw his locs over his shoulder. He’d let them free of the bun for the first time since we left Earth.
“Everyone rest up.” Metice stood, and Piko hopped down from the seat and shot a glare at Olian.
“Going to get your girlfriend?” Olian asked.
The question got her a serious growl from Piko while Metice said nothing.
A moment later, they were both gone. The rest of them, Cufio, Noville, and Olian, left out the front door.
I think it was because Cufio wanted to make sure Olian didn’t linger and make things even more awkward than she already had.
“That was fun.” I smiled at Raymond after he locked the door.
“Fun?” He sighed. “You have a sick sense of humor.”
“It had to make you feel good, though, right?” I pointed behind him at the door.
He glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
“Watching her poke the bear and get no response. She’s obviously still in love with Metice.” I tapped my finger on my temple. “Any time she could bring up his new girl, she did. And the dog thing, Piko, was ready to bite her for getting too close to Metice.”
“Interesting. I honestly didn’t notice,” he said, and from the confused look on his face, I believed him.
“You didn’t?” I shrugged. “Well, I found it funny.”
“I’m glad you were entertained, but my eyes were on you.” He walked over and pulled me into his arms. “You know you do the cutest thing when you’re concentrating. You roll your thumb across your fingertips, and it makes you look like an evil villain.”
“You think evil villains are cute?” I pursed my lips. “I’m learning so much more about you now that you’re home.”
“If her name is Jericha, yes.” He let out a low growl.
“Oh, you’re being real sweet right now.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“I want you.” His voice was low, intense. “This might not be the time, but I don’t know how much longer I can go without you.”
“Oh.” Suddenly, the room felt hotter, and my stomach clenched. “Where did this come from?”
“You bite your lip a lot.” He kissed me gently, a soft peck that lingered just long enough to get my heart racing. “Every time you do, I look at your lips. I think about how your kisses feel against me, about how you taste. And my mind races with thoughts of tasting you—every inch of you.”
“Raymond.”
“Can I have you tonight?” he asked as he tightened his hold on me just a little, just enough for me to feel his desperation.
“You’re asking?” I breathed against him. “I thought this was your domain. We’re alone.”
“No, not now. Not when there is so much happening. I need to know if this is okay with you. I don't want to confuse you or downplay the seriousness of our situation. Sex before a battle isn’t really advised, so if it is too much for you, I’ll shake it off.”
I put my hands on his shoulders, feeling the tightness of his muscles. “You’re tense. That’s not good for anyone entering a battle.”
“I’ll do yoga,” he grunted.
I scoffed. “Since when do you do yoga?”
“I’ll learn it.” He looked around. “I’m sure he has a book on it somewhere. I’m a quick study.”
“I want to ask you a question, and I want you to be honest with me,” I said.
“Always.” He leaned his forehead against mine.
“Is there a chance we won’t make it out alive tomorrow? Could we die there?”
His jaw tightened, and his brow stitched together. Then, he nodded slowly while keeping eye contact. “Yes, Jericha. There is a chance, but I won’t—”
“No.” I put my finger on his lips to stop him. “Don’t make me any promises. Just pick me up, take me to the bedroom, and fuck me.”
He pulled my finger away from his lips. Then, pressed his against mine as he picked me up and did exactly what I asked him to: he carried me into the bedroom.
Before we made it to the bed, the shadows had removed all our clothing.
I don't know how it happened, but I felt the pieces of fabric disappearing bit by bit until I was naked against him.
He lay me down on the bed, and this time, things were different. There weren't any extra tricks. The shadows didn't interfere. He kissed me gently, from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes. He took his time with me, and I let him.
When he put his weight on me, I arched my back to meet him. When he bit into my shoulder, I tilted my neck to give him better access. His hands traveled the length of my back. My hands cupped his ass, guiding him deeper into me.
In my mind, time and time again, I heard a word, one that scared me more than running into a compound full of demons and facing the possibility of my own death.
Love.
The words that came out of my mouth remained a surface level of encouragement for the man who ravished my body. But each time I spoke, a thought echoed in my head.
“Yes, please, more!”
Make love to me.
“Take me, yes, deeper!”
Make love to me.
“Oh, Raymond. Just like that.”
Make love to me.
And even though I'd never said those words out loud, something inside me felt like I didn’t need to. It was in the way he touched me, the gentle pressures and deep kisses. It was the long, slow strokes that lingered deep inside of me, my name moaned in deep, slow drawls.
It felt like his thoughts had echoed my own, his unspoken words tangled with mine.
It felt like Raymond made love to me.