The Seeker

Hello all!

This is my first story and I'm just testing out some ideas. There's not much sexual action in this first story, more character development and set-up. Please be patient and stay tuned, more action is coming.

*****

Her time was running short.

She knew this with a certainty that burned in her chest and pressed into her skin. Darkness swirled around her and shadows flickered in her distant vision. From where she sat perched on the high, thick branch towering over the clearing, she watched as night fell in thick curtains of dark blue. The moon offered no protection tonight.

She shifted and stretched her hands up over her arms. Her slim body trembled with the tension of inaction. She had been sitting, waiting, watching, for hours. She longed to press her feet into the ground of the clearing, to feel the familiar connection to the lifeforce of the forest. She rested her hand on the rough bark of the Mother tree, sending a gentle burst of energy through the bond, and was rewarded with a warmth that spread across her hand and threaded through her body. The Mother tree had talked to her, wordlessly, in that most secret of languages, through her long hours lying in wait. It pressed images into her mind that filled her with hot and sticky dread, settling in her stomach like a coiled snake. Creatures, dark and cunning, had passed by the tree in the days that had brought her here to the clearing. Creatures that belonged to legends, that could not exist here. Somehow, they had come to life.

Something stirred on the far side of the clearing. She froze, her eyes narrowing at the tall shadow between two young saplings. Her hand instinctively felt for the dagger at her belt. She pressed the small hilt into her palm, reassured by its compact and balanced weight. She shifted slightly, her toned legs flexing, balancing, reading herself to jump. The shadow crept forward. She was out of time.

The Mother tree let out a silent cry, anguish and helplessness leaving her breathless. The trees had lost their power. They could no longer protect the young Fae who lived among them, the Fae whose numbers had been slowly dwindling. Her family was dying. She had come here knowing. Knowing they were there for her. Knowing she would have to end it, one way or another. She would draw them away from the others, giving them a chance to breathe, to recover. The creatures would continue to prowl, but they could protect each other, could hide together, if only the Shadows would stop their attacks.

Keeping her eyes on the dark figure, she returned the dagger to her belt. Slowly, silently, she crept from the branch. She was impossibly short for a Fae, her slight frame reaching a measly 61 inches. Her body moved fluidly under her tunic, the soft fabric hugging her curves. Slim, powerful muscles stretched gracefully as she moved down the wide trunk, swinging from branch to branch, her small feet barely touching the next branch as she swiftly climbed down. She was on the ground in seconds. The Knowing bloomed under her feet as she started running, finding the narrow path without having to look for it. There were three of them. They hunted her.

She sprinted through the darkness, barely registering the glowing eyes of her nighttime companions as she passed. They watched her run, wisps of dark hair escaping the braid that flew behind her. Blood pounded in her ears. They were too close. She needed time... She needed to get them further away than this. She ran harder, stretching her legs and finding pleasure in the burn of exertion, despite the fear on the back of her neck. Further... Further. She needed to get them further away. They wouldn't circle back, she knew, once they caught up to her. But if they caught her too soon, they might stay, might continue to pick off her clan one by one. Her eyes burned as the cool night air whipped past her face.

Laiyla. She staggered, her breath catching in strained gasps, the growl that carried her name echoing through her. Impossible. They couldn't know who she really was. They wanted her dead, she knew. They sensed what she was. But they couldn't know who she was.

She ran.

...

He watched her stumble, could feel her fear and disbelief. It charged the air around her. He chuckled softly. She was wild, evading him for far longer than he cared to admit. He leaned back against the towering birch, following her progress as she led them away from the clearing. He knew what she was doing. But he didn't care about her companions anymore. The killings had been a way of drawing her out, a way to make clear the consequences of her resistance.

It had worked.

His men followed her easily enough. He had ordered them to stay back, wanting to let her tire herself out in the chase. Lazily, he pushed off the tree and started walking.

...

She felt she had been running for hours. Her lungs burned unpleasantly. Her leg muscles strained beneath the fighting leathers she wore. Her nails dug into her palms. What were they waiting for? She strained her ears against the sounds of her own pounding heartbeat, the light thuds of her feet against the forest floor as she moved forward. She could hear nothing.

She chanced a glance back at the winding path. No shadows followed her. Her thoughts raced. They were playing with her. They were letting her tire. Exhaustion pressed in on her. When was the last time she had slept? Or ate, for that matter? She couldn't remember. The past few days felt like a blur.

A solid mass slammed into her middle. She flew backwards, stunned and breathless. Rough hands grabbed her collar and slammed her into a tree. Her head swam. Her vision blurred. She dropped heavily, her limbs a leaden weight. She looked up. Through the haze, all she could see was a hooded figure, his face hidden in shadows. Darkness swallowed her.

...

She felt eyes studying her, calculating, cold. She shifted. Pain bloomed beneath her eyelids. She raised her hands to her head and gasped. Her fingers touched a warm, sticky substance, and she knew that she was bleeding. Tentatively, she opened her eyes. Her world swam and spun. All she knew was pain. Firelight danced among the trees as she blinked up at them, her memory coming back to her in waves.

She was captured.

She sat up, instantly regretting the move. Fresh pain pounded in her head, her breath coming in strangled gasps. She turned to her side, bracing herself on her elbows as she tried to focus. Slowly, the world stopped moving. She looked up.

Cool, dark eyes bore into her from across the firepit. They were filled with rage. Rage, and... Something else. Something she couldn't place. She shivered. Her hand flew to her belt, searching for her dagger. It wasn't there.

"Did you really expect to keep it?" His voice was soft, unhurried, bored. She bared her teeth at him. He shrugged, anger simmering beneath the surface of his gaze. "What do you want?" she snapped. He looked at her blankly and didn't bother to answer. His gaze fell to her lips, and then roamed over her body. Heat rose to her cheeks, and she turned to look at her surroundings.

She didn't recognize this part of the forest. Unfamiliar trees surrounded them, and she reached toward them with her mind, recoiling sharply when she felt a blank space where their essence should be.

Something was very, very wrong here.

She looked back at him, feeling his immovable presence assessing her, measuring her. She studied his face. A shadow of a beard framed his square jaw. Thick lips parted, his breathing slow, measured, his chest rising and falling steadily. His eyes were a midnight black, gleaming in the light of the slow burning fire. He was impossibly big. Muscles rippled under the tight ivory shirt he wore as he shifted and flexed his neck. A deep scar ran up the side of his neck from his collarbone to his ear, and she grinned, imagining him injured and bleeding. He cocked his head and glared at her in silent demand.

"I'm just imagining how I'm going to kill you," she said, emboldened by the presence of the scar. "I think I'll take my time. Haste is waste." She flashed him a grin.

In a flash he was on his feet. She blinked. She hadn't even seen him move. In two strides he was on top of her, grasping her by the neck and pulling her up, pressing her against a wide birch. He growled, the deep rumbling filling her body, sending flutters into her lower abdomen. She wouldn't cower. She stared at him, a silent challenge in her eyes.

His thumb pressed into the hollow of her neck, and he reached up with his other hand and tugged sharply on her braid, pulling her head back and further exposing her neck to him. He pressed harder, and her breaths became strained. He leaned in, his breath hot on her neck, his lips tickling her ear as he spoke. "You should understand, Laiyla, that you are in a position of great power." He lowered his face further and she felt him smile against her neck. "Imagine how many lives you are still responsible for. All of your lovely friends. And some of them, so young. So tender." He pulled away and stared down at her. "Imagine how easily you could bring death to their door."

Bile rose in her throat. Her eyes burned and she stared back at him, seeing the truth in his threat. His grip on her throat loosened. She trembled. "What do you want?" she asked again, unable to keep the tremor from her voice.

His lips curved up in a wicked smile and he looked down at her lips. Heat rose to her neck, feeling the implication of his sharp gaze. He chuckled, the sound low and dangerous. "You're a Seeker," he said softly. "And a quite well known one at that. You speak to the trees. You can reach into minds. You will be useful to me."

She snarled at him, anger replacing her fear. She had always known it would come to this. Seekers were rare, and she had been on the run for a long time. Finding her clan had been a blessing and a curse. Attachments were a weakness, she knew. Still, she couldn't help but fall in love with her place there, a sense of belonging settling over her for the first time in her life, and the feeling was just too wonderful, too right, to deny. She had overstayed her welcome, and now they had suffered for it.

He watched her seething, watched the rage build in the wild look she threw at him, and looked satisfied. He pressed his hips against her, and surprise and fear flashed in her eyes as she felt his thickness prod her stomach. Why the gods was he so big? His eyes danced with amusement. His hand left her neck, and the back of his knuckles grazed her cheek. He ran his thumb over her lips and slowly parted them. Her breath quickened and her heart raced. He opened his mouth, about to say something, when a sound like a strangled animal rang out in the distance. His mouth closed as he looked up toward the noise, and his gaze hardened. He looked back at her, his eyes narrowing. "Sleep now," he commanded, and touched her forehead. Darkness fell.