Page 75 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

“Who deleted his name?” she asked.

The Mind Rat cleared his throat, “You did.”

Harmony raced to her computer setup, her fingers flying across the keyboard. “Sure enough. In his records, it looks as though I removed him from the scheduling master list, citing him as a reformed Scourge.” She tapped her head. “But I have a terrific memory and can tell you that the OC never cleared Praevus. And I sure as shit didn’t. I don’t do rebellious crap anymore. What the fuck’s going on? My system’s been hacked.”

She jacked to her feet, yelling at her Scourge workers, “I want the Mind Rat Praevus found and reassigned to his Ordeals. I want to know who erased him from the scheduling list.” They stared over the top of their computers, looking panicked, as if they were about to lose their trustee status. “Now!” she shouted.

The workers’ gazes shot to their screens, their fingers busy on keyboards.

Ely believed Harmony was innocent. He asked the next question. “Do you have any missing trustees?”

Her eyes widened. “How’d you know?”

“Who’s missing?”

“Serita. I put another trustee in her place when she didn’t show for work. I’ve had my henchmen looking for her. So far, nothing.” She gasped. “Damn. She’s Praevus’s boss.”

****

With a wing still archedover her head to shield her from the rain, Dom listened to Maddy’s rant about her shitty luck. But his mind was in free-fall.

Maddy was stalling, as if leaving this spot near the gateway admitted defeat. He wanted to comfort her but couldn’t. So he resisted stroking her burned arm. Instead, he drew parallels between what was happening to her now and his past. The comparison was inevitable. He hadn’t protected himself as well as he’d thought. After centuries of distancing himself from others, his life was collapsing around him because of a human female he’d allowed to touch his heart.

Angling his head, Dom studied Maddy. Even drenched, she was beautiful, but it was her spirit that had lured him. He couldn’t deny an attraction, not even with the boulder in his gut warning him to remain detached. She was becoming a Scourge, his nightmare relived.

In silence, Dom flew them home. Afterward, he left Maddy to soak in the tub while he waited in the salon for the Feard assassins to arrive, a drink in his hand, his legs stretched out as he slumped into a pillow and stared into the fire.

He was the meanest mutherfucking assassin, safe in his dark cloud, eschewing new friendships with Immortals. Then he allowed a human into his heart, and she was becoming the thing he dreaded most—a Scourge he may have to extinct.

Again.But he wouldn’t allow history to repeat itself.

Interrupting Dom’s dark thoughts, Remi flew in first, pausing to study Madeline when she stumbled into the salon in a thick, long cotton dressing gown. No shoes.

Others arrived in a flurry of activity—taking spots on pillows, pouring drinks, chatting. Ely flew in last, explaining he’d been busy meeting with Harmony.

Maddy collapsed onto a pillow beside Dom, but he was careful not to touch her. Though she needed comforting, he was unable or unwilling to offer it. And he suspected the others noticed. “Today, I tried to return Maddy to her home on Earth. We ran into problems.”

Before Dom could quiet his guests and explain, Indigo’s gryphon screeched, drawing everyone’s attention to the grassy area on the side of his home. A howl from Freki met Oskar’s cry. After each beast had expressed dismay over sharing the yard, they settled down to outstare each other.

Indigo jumped up, charging to the edge of the salon, screaming, “If I have to come out there, somebody’s gonna suffer.” When she returned, she sank into her cushion. “Ya gotta be tough with a gryphon. They can be hardheaded.”

Ely drew everyone back to the conversation. “Continue.”

Dom avoided Maddy’s loving glances and shook off her hand when she tried to stroke his arm. “I couldn’t get her through the gateway out of Angor.”

His visitors caught his aloofness because their questioning eyes flitted from one to the other.

“That’s big, right?” said Indigo, leaning against Ohngel, her palm idly resting on his thigh.

“She’s becoming a Scourge,” Dom blurted.

In slow-mo, Ohngel twisted toward Maddy, his eyes narrow slits. “Symptoms?”

“I have these baby fangs.” She opened her mouth, swiping her tongue lightly across her sharp canines. Pointing over her shoulder, she added, “Wings are growing, and I almost combusted when Dom tried to take me out of Angor.”

Indigo raised her hand. “Are we thinking Alarik’s guy Rath missed something? I can call him back.”

Ohngel, still staring, said, “This is not Praevus’s doing. He made her a Sycophant. He can’t make a Scourge.”

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