Page 36 of Marked
It took only a few minutes to catch up with Damien, his long legs making short work of the path they followed.
As soon as she was behind him, she fell in step with him, along with the comfortable silence he carried.
As they made their way along a hill, an apology hung on her lips.
With every step, she wanted to say it more, and as she climbed over a fallen limb, she finally went to release it.
Opening her mouth, Damien silenced her, grabbing her and pushing her up against a tree.
She went to yell, but he slid his hand over her mouth, his eyes darting back and forth.
Her body stilled, sensing danger, and she remained still and quiet.
To the left of them, a hooded figure stepped out from behind a trunk.
Damien’s shadows shot out in defense, creating black blades that protruded around them like a wall.
This person, the same one from the church, had followed them.
Damien removed his hand from Blair and turned toward the intruder, stepping in front of her out of protection.
Watching, the stranger stepped closer to them.
The man then stopped and slowly put his hands up in submission, suggesting he wasn't there to hurt them.
It did nothing to cut the thick tension between them.
Besides his arms raised in surrender, the stranger showed no other signs that would help identify them as a friend or foe.
The thick black cloak he wore had only a hood that bathed his face in darkness, a wall of shadow concealing any features.
Damien's eyes narrowed in on the stranger as he addressed him.
"What do you want?" his rough voice laced with authority.
Blair stepped closer to Damien and wrapped her hand around his bicep, looking up into his blue eyes that were now rimmed with black.
The stranger paused, lowering his arms. After a few quiet moments, he took a step closer to them.
"Leave," Damien commanded, his shadows also taking a step toward the stranger who showed no sign of fear.
A moment of silence hung between them, and then Damien's shadows struck, attacking the stranger who put his arm up to block them.
The shadows cut into his black fabric, ripping it and cutting into his skin.
The shadows pulled back, ready to hit again when Blair spotted movement.
"Stop!" she yelled, her eyes wide and fixed on the stranger's bare arm. The few inches of tanned skin not only showcased dripping blood but also a black mist that traveled around the cut and up his arm.
Blair stepped out, but Damien caught her arm, stopping her.
Yanking her arm away and ignoring his disgruntled sound, she followed her intuition and took another step toward the stranger.
As she lifted her foot again to take another step, Damien's shadows reached across the ground and wrapped around her ankles, stopping her.
She looked down and then back up at the stranger who had not moved.
"Take your hood off," Blair said, her voice strong and unwavering.
Damien stiffened behind her, a low growl in his throat, but it died down as the stranger listened and removed his hood.
A man, around the same age as Damien, stared back.
With his hood down, his features were stark.
Short blonde hair shaved close on the sides with green eyes that peered at them with curiosity.
An upside-down triangle cut through his left eye, connecting to black swirls that traveled down his cheek.
A mischievous smile broke across his face as he eyed Damien.
Blair spoke first, drawing the man's attention.
"You have shadows." she said definitively as he moved his gaze to her. With these words, Damien stepped up beside her shoulder. Blair continued to study the strange man carefully, waiting for his answer.
"I'm Blake. No last name, it’s just too complicated to spell.
You can call me 'Your new best friend." the man said, touching two fingers on his head and saluting, bending at the hips.
A grin covered his face as he straightened back up.
"And you two must be the charming fugitives the Hunters are so pissed about.
I wondered what you guys would look like.
.. gotta say, not what I was expecting." He said with his eyebrows raised.
Damien answered him with a slight tone of disbelief, "So, you were looking for us? "
Blake shrugged as he ripped a piece of fabric off the bottom of his tunic, using it to wrap his arm and staunch the bleeding.
"Shadow currents are strange around this place. I'm just following the ripples. Somehow that led me to you."
This time, it's Blair to answer, "So, you can feel the shadows? That's your ability?"
Blake looked at her with a mock look of surprise, "How do you know our trade secrets?
" and then he winked as a shadow grew above his palm and traveled up his arm, blending into the black fabric he was wearing.
"Feel them, blend into them, tickle them when I'm bored.
Not as flashy as your broody friend there, but I make it work. "
Damien's glare sharpened, but he still didn’t speak. His shadow lay low, coiling slowly around him and Blair as she smirked at the stranger's comment.
"And the triangle around the eye, what is that for?"
Blake turned his back on them and sat on a nearby trunk, pulling his bag off and placing it next to him on the ground.
"I tell most people it's a bad tattoo or that I lost a bet, but.
.." he hikes one leg up on the trunk, leaning against his knee as he points to his eye, "I was born with it. " At those words, Damien stiffens.
Blake then points at Damien, "Does he talk, or is the whole "walking storm cloud" thing part of his personality package?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
Blair tried to fight another smirk as Damien clenched his jaw, quickly looking at Blair before settling his gaze back on Blake, "He talks when strangers stop acting like they're friends."
Blake's eyebrows shot up as he let out a chuckle, holding his hands up in submission for the second time.
"Noted. No friendship. Does that mean we can't compare dick sizes yet?"
In response, Damien immediately takes an angry step forward.
Blair put one hand out to stop him as she tried to stifle another chuckle, surprising even herself.
"Great. I got stuck with broody here first," she motioned to Damien with her thumb, and then moved back to Blake, “...and now what? Shadows with sarcasm?"
Blake laughed and stretched out his arms, completing small arm circles. "And good intel. I might have maybe overheard the list of names you got back at the church. What if I told you I could find out exactly where some of your friends are hiding?"
That piece of information caught both Blair's and Damien's attention, and they looked at each other. Damien returned his eyes to Blake, narrowing them to show his suspicion."Why would you tell us that?"
Blake stood, locking his hands behind his back and bending, stretching again.
"Because I hate Hunters. And I'm bored, so I figured I'd show you where they are."
Blair looked at Damien, who was opening his mouth to speak. "Then walk with us but stay in front." Blair yelled at the same time that Damien spat, "The hell you are."
Blake rested his hands on his hips and looked back and forth between Blair and Damien.
"So, what are you gonna do? Rock, paper, scissors?"
His tone was sarcastic, but a small bit of exhaustion lingered in his eyes. When no one moved, Damien glared at Blair and stepped in front of her toward Blake. His face shifted as he analyzed the marking on Blake.
“You say you were born with that?” Damien asked, eyeing the triangle on his face.
“Yup. Perk of being Shadowborn.” Blake replied, tracing his finger along the mark.
Accepting what he was saying, Damien grunted, motioning with his hand for Blake to lead the way.
Blake smiled as he turned to Damien.
"I knew I liked you, Mr..?"
Damien remained silent as they began walking and Blair let out a loud laugh at the tension unfolding between them.
"He's Damien, and I'm Blair."
Damien stopped and looked at her, his eyes fueling with anger. She stopped as well and threw her hands up, shrugging.
"What?!"
Blake stopped in front of them and turned as Damien demanded his attention.
"Her name is Don't fucking think about it ."
Blair punched him in the shoulder as she walked past him. Blake watched them both, his smile leaking into his words .
"Oh yeah, this is going to be fun!"