Page 8 of Wicked (Dark Delights #5)

Shadrach

Everyone was still waiting in the main room when Shadrach returned, gobsmacked and more than a little turned on. They all turned at the sound of his footsteps, and Talon frowned at him.

“There’s remarkably little blood spatter on you. I take it you didn’t get as dirty as usual.”

He hadn’t. Why hadn’t he? That human spat in his face.

He should’ve pried his fingernails off with the blade he still held like an afterthought.

Instead, he’d gotten far too close, tasted his blood.

His head still swirled with it, and goddamn, it was the sweetest tasting blood he’d ever had.

Nothing would ever measure up. He wanted more , but he wasn’t willing to maim the human to get it.

“Unfortunately, Luke was right,” Shadrach said, flapping the knife at the human, who was leaning against the half-wall with Malachi. “Torture doesn’t exactly work with him. He laughed .”

Luke huffed out the barest approximation of a laugh, though it held a grim edge. “Yeah. That’s Isaac. ”

“How do we get him to talk, then?” Talon asked.

“Why do you want him to talk?” Alex asked, glancing between them.

“Isaac might’ve been spying on some people for Sloan, but I doubt Sloan has been telling him anything about his plans.

None of the paladins are privy to the inner workings of Sloan’s mind.

Isaac wasn’t a captain or anything. Nate was probably closer to Sloan than Isaac is. ”

“We can’t just let him run back to them, little bird,” Talon said. “Imagine how Sloan would react if Isaac told him we kidnapped and tortured him.”

“Then why did you kidnap and torture him?” Alex folded his arms haughtily.

“All right, look, perhaps it was compulsive, but I meant well. I overheard that he was spying on your people. Without him there, the dissenters can continue to meet without a snake in their midst.”

An ironic statement coming from a viper like Talon, Shadrach thought.

“I’ve, uh.” Nathan stopped, crossing his arms, and then forged on.

“I’ve got Daniel’s number. I could contact him, warn them that Isaac’s been reporting to Sloan.

If they’ve said anything compromising in those meetings, they might need a warning.

I don’t know how bad things have gotten since I left. ”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Ira said.

“I’ll make him talk,” Shadrach said, crossing the room and returning the knife to the weapons table.

“Give me time. Let him stew for the day. I’ll enter his dreams tonight and see what I can learn.

His defenses will be down there.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d entered a human’s dreams. Most of them were tedious places.

Nightmares about nudity in public spaces and imaginary monsters in the dark.

What would a paladin’s dreams be like? What would that paladin’s dreams be like?

Alex cast Talon a look at that that Shadrach couldn’t interpret.

“What happens if we just let him go?” Luke asked, looking from one face to the next. “Hypothetically.”

“Hypothetically, he runs back to Sloan,” Shadrach said with impatience, “and knowing we’ve kidnapped one of their people right out from under their noses will be enough to convince them all that we deserve to die.”

“Many of them are already convinced we deserve to die,” Malachi groused.

Shadrach gestured at him. “The rocker wannabe speaks the truth.”

Malachi flipped him off with a sneer, and Luke leaned toward him and murmured, “You’re my rocker wannabe.”

Shadrach rolled his eyes so hard it hurt.

After a beaming smile at Malachi, Luke added, “I’m just not sure what our options are long-term. Are we ready to kill him? Because if not, we’ll have to let him go eventually. We can’t just hold him forever.”

“We can hold him for now,” Shadrach said.

“Let me see what I can learn from him. In a few days, we’ll reassess.

” Something about the prospect of killing the human set his teeth on edge, but he couldn’t put his finger on why.

Isaac was an enigma wrapped in crazy. Shadrach might even be sad to see him go.

He was certainly making things interesting.

“Okay,” Ira said with a decisive air. “Shadrach can take the lead on this. I think he’s probably our best hope of getting through to him.”

That was high praise from Ira .

Nathan blew out a breath. “I’m not inclined to doubt a prophet, but I’m going to worry nonetheless.”

“Yeah, same,” Luke said.

Shadrach deadpanned, “I’m really feeling the love, you guys. So glad I threw my hat in with you all.”

“You go where Talon goes,” Wolf said.

Shadrach sniffed loftily. That was true, unfortunately. Boredom got the better of him, and Talon joining up with the ex-paladins was the most exciting thing to happen in centuries. Talon was also the only other leviathan on the west coast. Where else would he go?

“Shadrach can take the lead, but I’m sticking around,” Nathan said, sending an apologetic look Storm’s way. Storm laid his hands on Nathan’s shoulders, massaging gently.

“Me, too,” Luke said. “It’s still pretty early. Why don’t we order breakfast?”

The humans continued to converse, and Shadrach turned away. They didn’t trust him to deal with Isaac. They didn’t know the thought of the cold-eyed redhead sent heat spiraling under his skin. There was something about the human that was different than any other. He couldn’t put his finger on it.

Talon’s approach startled him from his thoughts. “If you don’t want to be involved, I can take over,” he offered. “I didn’t mean for you to get wrapped up in this. I thought we could handle it quietly. I should’ve known I couldn’t keep anything from Ira.”

The thought of Talon being the recipient of that flinty-eyed glare made Shadrach want to gnash his teeth—which was stupid. Why should he care who got to torture the paladin? The end result would be the same.

“No, it’s fine,” he said belatedly. “Ira says I can get what we need from him. I’ll do that and then we can wash our hands of the whole mess.”

Talon nodded. “Okay. None of the others will say it, but I trust you. You know what you’re doing.”

None of the others would say it because they didn’t trust him, and it was a rare thing for even Talon to admit it. Shadrach gave him a gentle shove.

“Don’t go getting soft on me, Talon.”

He chuckled, a sound as sharp as a blade’s edge. “Never.”

As promised, the humans stuck around all day.

It wasn’t unusual, since they ran their private investigative business out of the Rink during daytime hours.

In fact, the more unusual thing was for Shadrach to hang around all day, watching them work.

He generally claimed to have better things to do with his time, though at this hour of the morning, that would’ve been sleep .

He could’ve gone home and done exactly that, if only to pass the time, but the thought of going so far from the Rink and leaving Isaac in the others’ hands made him…

uncomfortable. No, it was better to stay close by.

Around midmorning, Luke left to do boring PI things, and Alex was on the sofa with the laptop, typing up some paperwork.

Shadrach paced for most of the day, too antsy to sit, too nervous to leave.

It felt as though there was a rope connecting him to the paladin locked in the storage room, like he’d gotten free somehow and looped the rope keeping him captive inside Shadrach’s sternum.

It tugged incessantly, like a hooked fish being reeled in. Caught and not yet aware of it .

He wasn’t caught by anything, goddammit. So he ignored the sensation and paced some more.

After the humans ate lunch, Nathan let out a sigh and said, “Shadrach.”

“Yes?” he answered, not faltering.

Nathan glanced between the other humans, and when none seemed forthcoming, he said, “You know humans need to do things like eat and drink, right?”

Shadrach stopped walking to pin Nathan with a withering look. “Yes. I’m not an idiot.”

Nathan pursed his lips as though struggling not to say something.

Shadrach arched a brow, daring him.

Nathan cleared his throat. “I just mean that he’s been in there all day. He’ll be getting hungry and thirsty. Do you plan on seeing to his needs?”

Shadrach smirked. “Not for a while. Humans can survive for some time without those needs met, and I want him desperate.” The sooner he talked, the sooner he could be rewarded with things like food and water. If pain wasn’t enough motivation, perhaps starvation and exhaustion would be.

Nathan sighed, looking at the other humans. “This is inhumane.”

“Yes,” Shadrach answered before any of the others could. “I am inhuman .”

Ira lifted a staying hand. “I know it seems extreme, Nate. Just trust me.”

Shadrach turned away. Their opinions didn’t matter to him.

When the sun fell toward the horizon, Shadrach posted himself outside Isaac’s makeshift cell, leaning back against the door with his elbows resting on his knees.

He closed his eyes and let his mind drift toward the consciousness in the room behind him.

Isaac was tired and uncomfortable, his exhausted mind slipping into darkness as the moon rose outside.

Shadrach imagined his head lolling forward; he’d have a crick in his neck when he woke up.

Talon had coaxed Alex into going home. The only ones who remained, in fact, were Nathan and Storm, reclining on the sofa together like neither had any intention of leaving. Shadrach couldn’t even muster any offense. At least they weren’t bothering him.

He eased inside Isaac’s slumbering mind, wading through the darkness and diving deep into the pools of his dreams.