“If I tell you no, will you think I’m awesome?” he asked her with a spark of mischief. It was then that Elora realized that he was enjoying himself.

“You like this sort of thing, don’t you?”

He ushered her inside and let Oakley take over holding the door. “It’s what I’m trained to do. So I guess you could say that yes I enjoy doing what I have been trained to do.”

She followed him into a long, clinical looking hallway. Lights lined the ceiling and the florescent bulbs shining on the stark white walls were annoyingly bright. Elora watched Cush as he moved, his body poised and ready to attack. His words echoed in her mind, it’s what I’m trained to do, yes I enjoy doing what I’ve been trained to do. For the first time since he had told her he didn’t want a Chosen, she finally got it. Cush was a warrior. It was who he was and what he did. Not only that, but he truly loved it. And she—well—she was a worry and a distraction. He hadn’t wanted to bring her in with him because he was worried she would get hurt. He probably didn’t even fully realize it, but Cush wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself doing what he loved because he would be too busy worrying about her. As she stared after his incredible form, she couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take until he would begin to resent her. If she was what kept him from doing what he truly enjoyed doing, how long until when he looked at her his light blue eyes no longer held the tenderness she saw in them now.

Cush stopped suddenly and reached for her. Elora had never tried to block her thoughts from him, but she didn’t want him to know how she was feeling in that moment so she pictured the thickest, highest wall imaginable and mentally put it between them. As soon as his fingers intertwined with hers, she knew she had been successful based on the frown he gave her. She returned his look with a shrug.

“We will talk about this once we’re done with this mess,” he told her sternly.

Damn straight we will, she thought to herself safely behind her wall, and between now and then I’ll figure out how to let you go.

Chapter 12

“I’m a selfish human being. I’ve never denied that, nor have I ever attempted to claim otherwise. But now I suddenly find myself wanting to do the right thing and frankly the right thing sucks. No, I take that back, the right thing absolutely blows chunks of the sickest kind, and really all I want to do is stomp my foot and scream that I don’t want to and you can’t make me.” ~Elora

Cush was momentarily shocked as he tugged Elora along behind him, her hand still clutched in his. When he had taken her hand in his, Cush felt his soul reach for her. But to his surprise and frustration, the minute his hand had wrapped around hers, all he got was a stone cold wall of nothingness. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. What are you hiding, Little Raven, he asked, even knowing she wouldn’t hear him. All she gave him was a shrug in response to his glare, the little vixen. He didn’t have the time to question her further about it, not when theywere in the middle of enemy territory, and that only frustrated him more.

He found a door with a biohazard symbol slapped across the front of it and decided to take his chances. He had hoped that by setting the crops on fire it would draw out most of the dark elves that might be working there, giving them better access to the drugs that had already been created. As he pushed the door open he listened for any movement. He didn’t bother with looking behind, he trusted Rin to handle things on his end.

He caught site of several huge silver vats lining the walls. Cush walked over to the closest and turned a spout located at the bottom of the tank. Dark red liquid began spilling onto the floor.

“Jackpot,” breathed Elora.

Once they were all in the room, Cush motioned for them to back up against the wall where the door was located.

“Why do I have a feeling this is about to get very messy?” Lisa asked.

“That’s why you should always wear black, Lisa,” Elora explained as she pressed her back against the wall. “Nothing stains black.”

“Hey!” A sudden shout grabbed their attention.

Cush whipped around at the deep voice. Immediately he located the owner of the voice and judged his proximity to Elora. A tall dark elf stood just inside the doorway, only a few feet from his Chosen. The dark elf noticed immediately who was easy prey and started for the humans, but Rin and Cush were already moving.

Rin barreled into the dark elf like a pro lineman and drove him into the back wall. They hit it with such force that it shook the building around them. Cush turned back to face the room and he closed his eyes and called on the energy of the wind. His people were close to nature. They had a communion with it that most did not, and so they were able to draw on its power. Nature was a force to be reckoned with. The wind whipped through the room, toppling the vats over; red liquid spilled out onto the floor as an ocean of Rapture drenched everything in its path.

Cush turned back to see Rin still struggling with the dark elf. He started towards him to help but Rin yelled, “GO!” Cush paused, but then realized that his comrade had assessed the situation correctly. They needed to get out quickly before more dark elves returned. He grabbed Elora’s hand once again and motioned for the others to follow.

“What about Rin?” Lisa yelled as they ran back down the long corridor.

“He can handle himself,” Cush called back over his shoulder, believing his words fully, knowing that Rin was a talented warrior.

They made it back outside where the fires continued to rage. Cush fought back a smile as the dark elves heaped water onto the supernatural flames, unknowingly making it worse. They ran, following the direction they’d come, but giving a much wider berth than the first time. Cush knew that the humans needed to rest but he couldn’t stop; he wanted Elora as far from that place as possible, as far as possible from the dark elves that would kill her without second thought.