Sebastian (Bowen Boys, #5)(52)

He was laughing again as she felt the heat dissipate and light touch her skin. She opened her eyes to find herself in another bedroom in their home and several of the beings surrounding the bed. She left them to find out if Sebastian was okay. She knew that they would need their time to say goodbye.





Chapter 15



Darkness looked around for the cats. They had disappeared and she was somewhat disappointed she wasn’t going to get to kill them as well. Taking a deep breath, she looked around at the destruction she’d caused in coming for Wanera. Smiling, she realized she could really get to like this kind of killing. Massive murder count and the feeling of being queen afterward. She went to the room she’d left Wanera in. Hopefully, he’d tell her where that f*cking little prick of a thing was.

The large cat was sitting where she’d left Wanera. He looked vicious and ready to attack. She raised her hand, then lowered it again when she realized that she’d used up all she had, and now she was little more than a human. But he wouldn’t know that.

“What the f*ck did you do with Wanera? I want to see if the little shit is ready to talk.” The cat snarled at her but didn’t move. “You think you can take me on, big boy? Well, you just try it and I’ll singe you so badly your own mother won’t recognize you.”

He growled but still hadn’t moved. She moved more into the room but stopped when he stood. He was f*cking huge, much bigger than she’d seen in a panther before. She took a step back and screamed when hot hands wrapped around her upper arms.

“Hello, Darkness.” She closed her eyes at the voice behind her. She knew that voice as well as her own. Her master.

“Master.” She nodded to the panther. “Is he one of yours? He’ll be a lovely addition to your trophy room. I can’t wait to—”

She snapped her mouth closed when the cat roared. His teeth were as long as her longest finger and as sharp as any blade she’d ever seen. She watched him as she walked toward her, but couldn’t move because her master had yet to let her go.

The cat watched her with his dark eyes. There was no doubt that in her present condition he could rip her to pieces, but she stood still, barely blinking at him as he walked all the way around her. When he touched his nose to her hands, she whimpered.

“Do you know who this is? The cat, do you have any idea who he is?” She shook her head as he moved back and sat down not a foot from her. “He is the friend of Wanera, a trusted friend. They exchanged names and blood. How do you think it made him feel when you nearly killed his friend?”

The threat—because there was no doubt that’s what it was—came from him as a whisper in her ear. She knew that the cat had heard him, too, because he snarled again and showed her all his teeth.

“I don’t…I have no idea what you’re—” Master shook her hard, and her teeth rattled in her mouth. She felt his hands burn into her flesh deeper, and she moaned from the pain.

“Lie to me again and this will go much worse than you can imagine.” He shook her again, and then suddenly shoved her forward to the cat. “He is going to deal with you for his bit of flesh. Then I will take over. You’d better hope that he kills you, Darkness, because I most certainly will not.”

Her body became chilled. He knew and not only did he know, but he was pissed about it. She turned to him to look him in the eye. Wanera couldn’t mean that much to anyone.

“He was cheating. Did you know that? He had a computer set up to help with his counts, and he would be the first to get to them. I didn’t have a computer, and I should have had it before him. Then I would have presented it to you as my idea. It should have been mine.” She realized she was babbling when he raised his dark brow at her. “As his boss, I should have been the one to come up with the good ideas.”

“You’re very right about that. As a boss you should have, but you’re too stupid and too vain to come up with anything.” He leaned back against the wall. “I’ve talked to the others under you.”

The hair on her arms stood up. She was afraid. If he talked to even one of them, she was as good as sentenced. She glanced back at the cat who watched her. Master’s laugh made her turn back to him.

“He is thinking you might suffer more if I take you first.” She looked back at the cat and decided he was her best bet if she wanted to come out of this situation dead. She looked back at the master.

“I served you well.” He nodded. “And now you’re going to give me to this cat to be killed, bloodied like I was nothing to you.”

“You were nothing to me, Darkness. Ever. You were a poor manager, and worse yet, you never learned even after all the training I gave you. And according to some of the others beneath you, you’re not even a good evil person.” His body heated and started to shift before he seemingly got control. “But Wanera, for all the things you thought of as faults, had the loyalty of all the beings who worked for him, better numbers than anyone on your team, as well as their respect. He even, when needed, asked for help. Not from me, but from someone that could get him out of this place.”

“What do you mean, out of this place?” She looked around and saw the cat down on his belly and his hair standing on end. “You can’t mean that he’s dead. He can’t die. Not unless I say so.”