Beyond the Darkness (Dark Court 1) (3 page)

Eljin opened his eyes, dragged from his sleep by the bumpy dirt road they drove down. The tiny, two-door sedan they’d traded the truck for wasn’t nearly as comfortable. Even as small as he was, Eljin was scrunched. He couldn’t imagine how Zack must be feeling.

“What time is it?”
“About six thirty,” Zack replied. “The sun should be coming up pretty soon.” “Where are we?” Eljin glanced at the trees lining both sides of the road. They

“We’re headed to a friend’s house. He has a place out in the country. This is the only road to his place, so it should be fairly easy to secure.” Zack smiled over at Eljin. “Don’t worry, I’ve known the Gunny for a lot of years. There’s no one on the earth I trust more.”

Eljin nodded to show he understood, and he did, even if it made his stomach clench. Zack trusted this man they were going to see, but he’d never trust Eljin. Message heard. Message understood.

“Can you pull over, please?” Eljin asked as his stomach started to roll. “Why?” Zack looked over at him.
“I’m going to throw up.” Eljin covered his mouth and tried not to lose it before he

could get the door open. Zack brought the car to a stop. Eljin jumped out and ran to the bushes. He dropped to his knees as he lost what was left of his stomach’s contents. Morning sickness was a bitch.
Once his stomach calmed a little, he wiped his mouth on the cuff of his sleeve and went back to the car. Zack looked concerned when he climbed back in but he didn’t ask any questions, for which Eljin was grateful. Zack didn’t want to hear why he was throwing up. It was better to let the man think it was nerves.
They spent the rest of the ride in silence, which was all of about ten minutes. An emotional rock lodged in Eljin’s throat as the trees fell away to showcase a big cabin sitting on the edge of a large meadow, a lake in the middle of it.
It was beautiful, very picturesque, and in many ways, much like Eljin’s homeland. The need to go home was so strong that a sob caught in his throat.
“This is it,” Zack said as he stopped the car. “Stay here while I go in and let Gunny know we’re here. He doesn’t like visitors much.”
Zack climbed out of the car and walked toward the log cabin’s front porch with his hands raised at his sides in a nonthreatening gesture. Eljin wondered why Zack would be so cautious until he saw a man walk out of the cabin, rifle in hand. This was a really bad idea.
Eljin’s hearts slammed against his ribs when the man pointed the gun at Zack. Then he looked beyond Zack to where Eljin sat in the car. He could see Zack talking, gesturing with his hands, but it was several moments before the rifle was lowered.
Eljin’s heart didn’t stop beating rapidly until Zack gestured for him to get out of the car. Eljin had no idea what Zack had said to the man. He could only hope it wasn’t anything about the story Eljin had told Zack. He’d had about enough of people thinking he was a whack job.
He climbed out of the car and shut the door, then walked over to join Zack on the porch. He scooted away when Zack reached out to grab his arm. Eljin couldn’t handle Zack touching him, not anymore. It brought back too many memories, too many desires.
Better they remained strangers.
Zack gave him a funny look then turned and walked into the house, holding the door open for him. Eljin followed at a slower pace. Zack might know the man who lived here, but Eljin didn’t and he wasn’t about to blindly give away his trust.
“Eljin, this is Gunnery Sergeant Montgomery Barnes. We’ve always called him Gunny,” Zack said as he waved to the older man. “Gunny, this is Eljin, the man I told you about.”
Eljin nodded in greeting. He could tell he was being measured for his worth. He understood that concept and couldn’t say he wasn’t doing the exact same thing. The man was a formidable person, muscular like Zack but shorter than him, with salt-andpepper hair cropped short against his head.
“So, Zack tells me you’ve got someone after you,” Gunny said. “Is that right, boy?”
Eljin nodded again as his gaze darted over to Zack. Just how much had Zack told the man? “To be truthful, they’re after me and Zack both. They only want to capture me, they want to kill Zack.”
“Really?” Gunny crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at Zack. “Something you forgot to tell me, boy?”
“I’m not sure if I believe they’re after me.” Zack shrugged. “I think they were just looking for Eljin.”
No, of course not. If Zack believed they were after him he might have to give some credence to Eljin’s entire story and he couldn’t do that. Eljin rubbed his eyes, exhaustion and emotional turmoil making them ache. He just wanted to lie down and sleep, maybe have a shower.
“Is there somewhere I can lie down? I’m not feeling so good.”
Gunny frowned and looked Eljin up and down as if he could tell what was wrong just by looking. “Yeah, there’s a spare bedroom down the hallway, second door on the right.”
“Thank you.” Eljin refused to look at Zack as he walked past him and made his way to the spare room, but when he opened the door and started to go in he gave into his desire for one quick peek.
He paused and looked back down the hallway to find Zack watching him with a funny expression on his face, as if he couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. Eljin turned away and walked into the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.
He leaned back against the door for a few minutes then walked across the room to sit down on the bed. Within a matter of moments, Eljin had his shoes and hat pulled off and lay stretched out on the bed.
He didn’t climb under the covers—he doubted he’d be here that long—just lay across the top of the blankets. Once Zack had the chance to tell Eljin’s outlandish story to his friend, the man would probably boot him out.
Eljin closed his eyes, more tired than he could ever remember being. He knew he was at the end of his emotional limit. He just didn’t think he could take any more, not right now. He’d been through too much.
Tears sprang to his eyes again as he rubbed his hand over the small mound in his stomach. That was probably one of the things he disliked about carrying more than any other, except maybe the morning sickness. His emotions were all over the place. He couldn’t seem to stop crying at the littlest thing.
It made him feel weak and as unmanly as he could possibly be. Not that being a man seemed to help matters, anyway. He’d probably be in a much better position if he were a woman. At least then people would believe he was pregnant.
Another wave of homesickness washed over him. If he were home, he’d be coddled right now, loved and cared for. His people would hold a great celebration at the news of the coming birth. It would be a welcome event. Instead he was alone and lost.
He never should have left home. But it wasn’t like he’d done so voluntarily. Someone had betrayed him, someone had sold him out and turned him over to the human military to be used as a guinea pig.
He’d been on a diplomatic mission with his cousin when they were attacked by men with guns, men dressed like those who’d attacked him tonight. His cousin had gotten away. Eljin had not. That had been six months ago. His life had been hell ever since. The only bright spot was the few hours he’d spent in Zack’s arms.
And that meant the joke was on him.
Eljin shoved his hand into his mouth when deep, racking sobs billowed up from inside. There was no way in hell he wanted Zack to hear him. He’d start asking questions and Eljin didn’t have the answers he wanted to hear.
Eljin cried silently until he had no tears left, just a hollow ache deep in his chest. He wrapped his arms around himself because no one else was going to do it, and then snuggled down into the blankets and pillow beneath him, hoping sleep would take him fast.
As he faded off, Eljin could hear the soft murmur of Zack and Gunny talking in the other room. He couldn’t make out what they were saying but he had a pretty good idea. He also knew his time here was now limited. Soon, he’d have to move on.
He just didn’t know where he would go.
Who would want him?

“What’s his story, Zack?” Gunny asked as he settled into one of the chairs in front of the fireplace, Zack sitting down across from him. “That boy has a lot going on in his head and I don’t believe all of it is rosy.”

“To tell you the truth, I’m not real sure,” Zack replied. “I can’t quite figure out if he’s crazy and in need of serious medication, or if he’s telling the truth, in which case my entire concept of reality just went to hell.”

“Do you remember when I was injured by that bomb? Do you remember anything strange happening during that time?”
Gunny rubbed his chin then shook his head. “No, not really. I mean, you were pretty sick there for a while. They weren’t sure you were going to make it. Docs had you in the intensive care unit for a while and we couldn’t see you, but they kept us informed of your progress.”
“I was in ICU?”
“Hell yeah. You had a head injury, Zack. Where do you think they’d put you?”
“How long was I in the ICU?”
“Couple of weeks, why?”
“And you’re sure that’s where I was?”
Gunny frowned. “Where else would you have been?”
Zack rolled his head. “Oh, I don’t know, a secret government research facility?”
“A what?” Gunny exclaimed. “Boy, have you been dipping into the whiskey?”
Zack chuckled. “You might think I have after I get done telling you what Eljin told me. As he put it, it’s a very outlandish tale.”
“Does it have to do with why you’re hiding out here?”
Zack nodded. “And then some. According to Eljin, the men who are after him, the same ones who want to kill me, kidnapped me from the hospital and took me to some secret research facility to be part of some sick genetic experiment.” Zack chuckled and shook his head at the absurdity of his story. “Apparently, they needed my sperm to help them create some sort of super soldier. I have this dormant gene that I inherited from one of my parents and—”
“Stop right there,” Gunny said, holding up his hand. “Don’t say another word.”
Zack blinked rapidly. “Wha—”
“Not another word, soldier!” Gunny barked.
Zack’s eyes widened. He hadn’t heard Gunny use a tone like that since he was in boot camp. An eerie chill crept up Zack’s spine as he got the feeling that his entire concept of reality had just indeed gone to hell.
“Go get your boy and bring him in here,” Gunny said as he held out his hand. “Give me your keys. I’m going to go hide your car.”
“Hide my car? Gunny, what in the hell is going on?”
“No questions.” Gunny took the car key Zack held out then waved down the hallway. “Now go do what I told you to do. There’s a lot more at stake here than you think.”
Zack had a hundred questions he wanted to ask Gunny but he was more concerned that Eljin might have been telling the truth. The very idea was terrifying. If Eljin told the truth about the genetic experiments then he might be telling the truth about the rest of it and that made Zack hesitate as he reached the guest bedroom door.
Something about Eljin had intrigued him from the very beginning but he’d attributed it to the danger they were in, the adrenaline rush. Zack couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that they might have had sex, and maybe more.
Zack wasn’t gay. Granted, he could look at a man and appreciate his good looks. He might have even had a wet dream or two. But he had never acted on those dark cravings. Of course, since he’d left the hospital he hadn’t really had any cravings at all. He had dismissed it as a side effect of his injury and the medication he was on. Now he wondered if that was true.
Zack took a deep breath and opened the door. Eljin was laid out on the bed, one hand wrapped around his stomach, the other under his pale cheek. Zack paused at the end of the bed and gazed down at the man, trying to see him as someone he might be interested in.
Eljin was a small man, delicate like a hummingbird. He couldn’t have stood taller than five-foot-five and he might be a hundred and twenty pounds sopping wet. He had a sprite-like build, with fine, fragile bones. A strong wind could blow him away.
His long, thick, white-blond braid fell down his back and onto the mattress. Zack wouldn’t have minded seeing all of that glorious hair unbraided. It had to look wonderful. Maybe Eljin would let him brush it out someday?
Zack swallowed past the lump that formed in his throat. What in the hell was he thinking? The thought of wrapping Eljin’s long hair around his hand was making his cock harden and throb in his jeans.
Why was he thinking of Eljin in an intimate way? He was a man. They were both men. Men didn’t get involved sexually, at least not men in the service. It could end a career faster than a roadside bomb. Zack couldn’t think of a single man on the planet that he wanted to have sex with… except maybe the one sleeping on the bed in front of him. How crazy was that?
I am so fucked.
Zack groaned then walked over to the side of the bed. He squatted down and reached over to rub the back of his knuckles along Eljin’s silky soft cheek. Eljin’s eyelids fluttered for a moment before they finally opened.
Zack was mesmerized.
“Hey, hummingbird,” Zack said softly, not realizing he’d used an endearment until Eljin’s eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. “Gunny needs us out in the living room.”
“Is it time for me to leave already?”
“No, Eljin, it’s not time to leave yet.” Zack stood and grabbed a folded blanket off the bottom of the bed. He shook it out and held it open for Eljin. “Come on, let’s go see what Gunny wants and then you can get some more rest.”
Eljin slowly climbed off the bed. He looked worn out, with deep shadows under his eyes, his movements stilted. Zack decided to take things into his own hands. He grabbed Eljin’s shoes and hat off the floor and handed them to the smaller man.
Eljin yelped when Zack wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and lifted him into his arms. His hands grabbed on to Zack’s shoulders, his gaze darting wildly around the room before coming to settle on Zack.
Zack froze, mesmerized by the deep azure-blue of Eljin’s eyes. Eljin looked away. When he glanced back, his eyes were once again pale-blue.
“Do your eyes change color?” Zack asked.
“Sometimes,” Eljin whispered.
“Why?”
Eljin shrugged. “It’s a trait common in my family.”
“What’s their true color?”
Zack inhaled sharply when Eljin’s eyes deepened to a brilliant azure-blue, the same mysterious blue he saw in his dreams every night. Zack felt breathless, like he’d just run a marathon. His heart pounded frantically. His cock pulsed. Blood rushed to his head.
“Wha—” Zack stopped speaking and tried to swallow but his throat was parched, scratchy dry. “This is your true color?”
Eljin nodded, watching him intently. Zack would have felt his stare even if he hadn’t seen it.
“Who are you?” Zack finally asked.
Eljin’s eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them a moment later, they were once again pale-blue. Zack caught a glimpse of them just before Eljin looked away.
“You don’t want to know,” Eljin whispered.
The sad, resigned lilt in his voice sent a pang of heartache through Zack. It wasn’t something he was used to and he didn’t like it. He felt guilty and forlorn at the same time.
“I don’t understand any of this, Eljin.” A myriad of emotions rolled through him. He didn’t know whether to go with the joy at holding Eljin in his arms or the guilt at the sadness etched on the man’s face.
“You don’t have to,” Eljin replied. “I know you don’t want to be involved in this mess. We’ll be—” Eljin hiccupped and his face grew paler. “I’ll be fine.”
Zack didn’t miss the small break in Eljin’s speech. He dropped his gaze to Eljin’s stomach. The overly large hoody the man wore still hid his true form from view. If it wasn’t for Eljin’s delicate bone structure Zack might never have known that the man was thin, dressed as he was.
Zack wasn’t quite ready to address what might be underneath that hoody. He’d had enough surprises for today and it was only eight o’clock in the morning. He wasn’t sure he could take too many more shocks. Better to deal with what he could right now and take on the weirder things at a later date.
With that thought firmly planted in his mind, Zack carried Eljin out of the guest bedroom and into the living room. They arrived in the living room just as Gunny came in the front door.
The old sergeant secured the lock. He glanced over at Zack, stared for a moment, then nodded. Zack had no idea what the man was thinking but he wasn’t in a place to question it right now. He was too confused by all the recent events to delve into the Gunny’s thoughts.
“Come with me,” Gunny said as he walked into his kitchen. Zack followed, confused even more when Gunny walked into the food pantry. “Come on, we don’t have a lot of time.”
Growing more baffled by the moment, Zack followed Gunny into the pantry. Gunny shut the door behind them, plunging them into darkness. Eljin stiffened in his arms. For some unknown reason, he leaned over and rubbed his cheek along the top of Eljin’s head until the man relax.
A moment later, Gunny flipped on the pantry light. Zack’s brows drew together in confusion until Gunny reached over and pushed in a small knot in the wall. A second later, the back of the pantry wall slid open, revealing a stairwell.
Zack chuckled. He should have known.
You can take the Marine out of the service but you can’t take the service out of the Marine
. They were always prepared, no matter what. Zack had no hesitation as he followed Gunny down the stairwell, hearing the wall slide closed behind him.
He was surprised, however, by the room they ended up in when they reached the bottom of the stairs. The hidden floor Gunny had beneath his house was a Marine’s dream. Zack wished he’d thought of something like this.
At the bottom of the stairs the entry opened into a wide hallway with concrete walls. As they walked through the passage, Zack noted an infirmary on one side, a locked cage with numerous weapons on the other. There were also a few small, private rooms with beds and lockers.
The end of the corridor opened into a large room that seemed to be a cross between a recreational room and a kitchen. To one side Zack could see a small gun range, the other held a two-lane bowling alley, strangely enough. Gunny always had liked his bowling.
“This is quite a setup you have here, Gunny,” Zack said. “Expecting Armageddon?”
Gunny snorted and walked over to a cabinet. “You never know what’s going to happen.” He opened the cabinet, revealing a large surveillance system with several high-end monitors. Zack hadn’t seen a setup like that since he’d served in the military.
Gunny hit several buttons before giving a satisfied sigh. “There, secure as a bug in a rug,” Gunny said. “Now we’ll know if anyone comes within a mile of the house.”
“You have a built-in security system out here?” Zack scoffed. “For what, squirrels?”
“There are a lot of animals out there,” Gunny said as he glanced away from the monitors to frown at Zack. “The two-legged ones as well as four-legged ones. I like being prepared for either.”
Zack sat on the couch Gunny indicated, setting Eljin down next to him. Something induced him to keep his arm wrapped around Eljin’s shoulders as they both faced Gunny.
“You’re
Aes Sídhe
, aren’t you, boy?” Gunny asked.
Zack had never heard that phrase before, had no clue as to its origins. It sounded foreign to him. He stared down at Eljin in confusion as the man nodded slowly. There was more going on here than he understood. A cold chill ran up his spine.
“I thought so,” Gunny said. He rubbed a hand down his face. “Christ, boy, what in the hell are you doing out here?”
“If you know about the
Aes Sídhe
then you must know the courts are at war,” Eljin said. “I was betrayed and handed over to one of your secret government agencies, the same one that took Zack. I heard them plotting to kill him. I escaped so that I could warn him.”
“I do appreciate that.” Gunny smiled as he glanced at Zack, a funny little twinkle in his light-brown eyes. “Zack means a lot to me. But you have to know it’s not safe for you on this side of the veil.”
“It’s not safe for me on the other side of the veil either,” Eljin replied as his eyes turned deep azure-blue.
Gunny inhaled sharply. “You’re
fayerye
,” he whispered.
Zack lifted Eljin up onto his lap when he began to shake, wrapping his arms possessively around the man as he glared at Gunny. A low growl rolled up his throat as a fierce possessiveness took hold of him.
“Mine!”
Zack blinked, almost in as much shock as the two men staring at him. Where in the fuck had that come from? Why did he want to rip Gunny’s arms off and beat the man with them? And why did he have an overwhelming urge to rub himself all over Eljin until his scent covered the man?
“Sweet hell!” Gunny swore softly as he jumped to his feet and began pacing. He stopped several times and looked over at Zack and Eljin, his mouth opening as if he needed to say something before snapping shut. Then he’d start to pace again. Finally, he stopped to stare at Eljin, his hands planted on his hips. “Have you completed the… ”
Eljin trembled in Zack’s arms. “It’s not completed but I had to start it when we were together. They threatened to kill him if I didn’t… ” Eljin’s face flushed as he ducked his head, shrugging.
Gunny paled. Zack’s stomach clenched at the worried look on his old friend’s face. He’d been in more than one dangerous situation with the man and he’d never seen him lose his cool or show a drop of fear. The fact Gunny looked frightened now disturbed Zack more than anything else could have.
“Would someone tell me what in the hell is going on?” Zack snapped.
Gunny ignored him. Instead, he knelt on the floor in front of Eljin. “Are you?”
Eljin nodded.
Gunny closed his eyes briefly. When they opened, Zack thought he saw a soul-deep sadness in their light-brown depths.
“Please,
fayerye
, may I?” Gunny asked, holding his hands out. When Eljin nodded, Gunny reached out and laid his hands on the soft mound of Eljin’s abdomen. He moved them around a bit, a large grin breaking out over his face. “He’s strong.”
Eljin uttered a small laugh. “I thought so.”
Zack was losing his mind. Gunny and Eljin seemed to be helping it along. He picked Eljin up and set him on the couch then jumped to his feet. Gunny fell back, landing on the floor. Zack took several steps away from the both of them. He shook his finger at them.
“I don’t know what kind of shit the two of you are playing at but men do not get pregnant. It’s physically impossible,” Zack shouted. He narrowed his eyes at Eljin, his nostrils flaring with fury. “And we didn’t have sex, either. I’m not gay.”
Having said what he needed to say, Zack spun on his heels and stormed back up the stairs and out of the house. He needed fresh air. He needed to get away from the deep-blue eyes that stared at him with so much sadness that it made his heart ache.
He walked for hours, barely noticing the scenery around him. His attention was centered on the argument he was having inside his head. He knew Eljin attracted him. Every time he looked at the man he wanted to strip him naked and fuck him into the nearest flat surface. Maybe that’s what scared him the most. He slept with women. He always had. He didn’t have sex with other men.