The Darkest Secret

Haidee stepped to his side and was given her first full look at them. She gasped.

Amun’s jaw clenched—me, only want me—but the sound prodded Secrets from his hiding place as effectively as her coldness had driven him there earlier. While Amun had battled the six men who’d wanted to «borrow» her, she’d turned into ice walking. Her hair had morphed into icicles, her skin had looked like crystal and her eyes…her eyes had lost all hint of color.

He’d been riveted by the beauty of her, queen of the winter storm, and awed by the strength of her. His demon had been terrified, retreating as deep into his mind as possible. The others had felt the pull of her again, even though she hadn’t touched Amun. They’d fought, screamed. Yeah, they’d done that before, but never that quickly or that determinedly.

He just didn’t know what to do about it.

Whatever kept Haidee from dying eternally, whatever brought her back to life again and again, had to be responsible for her change. No mere human could do that. What that made her, what that was, though, he still didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure Secrets had the balls to try and find out. Still. They were going to have to merge with her mind again.

Amun had to know the truth. And maybe, with the answer, he could find a way to save her from the torture of being reanimated. Of course, that meant she would die permanently one day, and he couldn’t even contemplate that without sickening.

She was his.

And he was going to have her. All of her. Yes, the cold he felt while they pleasured each other could hurt him. He realized that now. But he wasn’t going to let something as minor as freezing to death stop him from being with her.

He’d already lost the war with his resolve to stay away from her. While they were down here, at least. Up there, they would part, and that knowledge only increased his urgency to have her. Tonight. Tonight, he wiped her former boyfriend from her mind and claimed every inch of her.

At least Secrets wasn’t whimpering, or the others screaming, because she stood at his side. That was a start. Secrets was too focused on the Horsemen and their thoughts — or rather, what consisted of their thoughts — enjoying the puzzle of them. There was a strange buzzing noise inside White’s head, shrieks inside Red’s, moans inside Black’s and utter silence inside Green’s.

«She the one who iced the congo?» Red asked no one in particular. A cigar hung from the side of his mouth.

The crowd finally noticed Amun and Haidee. Some snarled and flashed their teeth, some licked their lips in glee, but all left the tent as if their feet were on fire. Only the Horsemen remained.

The congo. The men who’d thought to beat him to pulp, allowing them to rape and dismember Haidee without interference? Most likely. Guys had been as big as apes, with a mind-set to match, so the name fit.

«I believe I asked you a question, warrior.» Red tossed the cards atop the tabletop and turned, eyes of the cruelest blue leveling on Amun. The shrieks inside the being’s head increased in volume. Secrets burrowed through them, still seeking thoughts and intentions. «I’ll hear your answer now.»

«Yes,» Haidee said, answering for him. She sounded confident, unafraid. But for once, Amun could feel the emotions pouring off her. His brave girl was terrified but determined. «I did. I iced them.»

If the Horsemen thought to punish her… Amun curled his fingers around a blade the congo hadn’t managed to steal from him, ready, almost eager.

«Very cool,» Black said, waving them over with a smile that did little to soothe Amun’s dark mood. «Sit, sit. We’ve been expecting you.»

They had, had they?

Amun needed a better read on them, and suspected Secrets would have an easier time sorting through the noise if Haidee wasn’t there. Yet he couldn’t be without her. Not just to guard her — not that she needed guarding, because damn, he was still in shock over her ability — but because the other demons inside him might use her absence to overtake him. He would lose focus, returning to that mindless state of horror and pain.

Stand behind me and press your back into the tent flap, he told her as he moved forward. He gave her a gentle push in that direction. You’ve got a weapon?

«Yes,» she whispered.

She didn’t question him, but he knew she wanted to. Once again, he wished the connection went both ways, that she could push her voice into his head. Why the hell couldn’t she? Just then he wouldn’t have minded if she heard every thought he had, knew every urge he experienced. Her safety came before everything else.

He eased into the only empty seat at the table, the horsemen encasing him from every angle. He studied their faces more intently, noting the flawlessness of their skin, the purity of their eyes, the utter amusement in their expressions.

Amusement? Why?

Amun knew the moment Haidee did as he’d ordered and increased the distance between them, because Secrets sighed in relief and homed in on the three males and the female, at last digging past the buzzing, shrieking, moaning and silence.

—so damn bored…

—most fun I’ve had in a while…

—too bad we have to kill him…

—girl might be useful, though…

The other demons cackled, a thousand wind chimes in a storm. They weren’t so loud that they overpowered Amun’s other thoughts, and they weren’t so stalwart they overwhelmed him with dark urges. Oh, he could feel the things they wanted him to do. Taste the Horsemen’s blood, cause their screams. They’d been locked away so long, they were desperate. They also sensed Haidee was nearby, the frost of her skin like an invisible tether, and so they behaved. He could deal.

«You want safe passage from this realm,» Red said, a statement of fact, not a question.

«As with everything here, you must buy that passage,» White added, her voice as lilting and delicate as a snowfall.

Black smiled at him, all teeth and menace. «I hope you’re ready for this.»

Green, he noticed, never spoke a word. Just watched them all through enigmatic eyes. Amun felt a momentary sense of kinship.

He nodded at each of them.

«We’ll play two hands,» Red said. «No more, no less. If you lose, you will give me a hand. And I don’t mean a round of applause. Feel me?»

Behind him, Haidee choked on a breath.

I’ll be fine, sweetheart, he told her, even as he arched a brow at his opponents. Ask them what happens if they lose to me.

She obeyed, her voice strained. He was proud of her. She was scared but unbending, used to being in control, but allowing him to lead.

Red shrugged one of his massive shoulders, his attention never veering from Amun. «If I lose, I’ll escort you out of this realm myself.»

Secrets released an uneasy sigh. Over the centuries, Amun had learned the subtle nuances of his demon and knew Secrets sensed something amiss but hadn’t yet figured out what.

So now came the real negotiation. Ask them what happens to you during — and after — all of this, he told Haidee. What happens to you if I win, and what happens to you if I lose.

Once again she obeyed, and all four of the Horsemen grinned.

«Why does the woman speak for you?» White asked in that snowflake voice, ignoring the question. She was frowning, clearly unable to think up a logical reason on her own.

«Tell us what we want to know,» Haidee insisted, ignoring the question.

Good girl.

Black lost his battle to hide his amusement and gave them another toothy grin. «We keep you no matter the outcome, of course.»

Amun leapt to his feet and slammed his dagger into the middle of the deck, causing the table to rattle.