Darkness Clashes by Susan Illene

What was it about them that made them such a threat? I’d only seen them once for about five minutes and hadn’t had the chance to find out much. One thing was certain—if Lucas and I ever had children, they'd be sent there, too. Unless we did something about it.
    The instigators of this plot to free them weren’t stupid. They could make me keep any knowledge of Micah a secret through the vow, but they couldn’t force me to cooperate with their grand plan. No, they were counting on me doing it because of what was at stake. I could end up with a child being sent there one day—even if I’d die first trying to stop it.
    I buried my face in my hands, letting my long hair fall forward over my face. Ever since Lucas had returned I’d had my moments of doubt. Not that I’d let him or anyone else see them. It was just that we’d fought each other for so long we still didn’t know how to handle being a couple. A lot of tension remained between us.
    It hung there whenever he refused to answer my questions and every time he left without saying where he was going or what he was doing. Then there was his past. Every time I tried to get him to talk about it he put a solid wall between us. He loved me—I knew that. He'd gone to Purgatory for breaking the rules to save me. But he didn't trust me.
    Now I was giving him a good reason not to.
    A twig snapped and I looked up. Kerbasi. I’d been so wrapped up in myself that I hadn’t noticed him getting closer. He was always nearby. Sometimes it was easier to pretend he wasn’t there at all.
    The guardian had changed his clothes. He now wore a dark gray t-shirt and jeans with a new pair of hiking boots I’d bought him last week. His long black hair billowed in the breeze and his silver eyes swirled lazily.
    I hated letting him see me having a weak moment, but it wasn’t like I could get rid of him. He was like an annoying bee buzzing around that wouldn’t go away.
    “Is this one of those times where I’m supposed to be sensitive to your feelings and not bother you?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.
    I leaned my back against the tree. “Would you?”
    He didn’t answer right away. Just stared at me.
    “No, I don’t think I will.” He took a few steps closer. “You’ve been quiet since that unusually long trip to the bathroom at the airport. I admit using a toilet leaves me unsettled, but it shouldn’t have been difficult for you.”
    “Go away, Kerbasi. I’m in no mood to deal with you right now.”
    I turned my head and stared at the stream. It moved slowly. Unlike my life, which seemed to move with the turbulent force of Niagara Falls.
    “Is it your nephilim lover?” He moved around to block my view. “I must admit I cannot understand the attraction. You fight more than you agree and he doesn’t seem inclined to be near you for long. If you ask me, the two of you are doomed to fail.”
    My body tensed.
    He was voicing my fears. Kerbasi had an uncanny instinct for homing in on them. It was probably what had made him good at torturing his prisoners. But that didn’t mean what he said was true. He had no concept of love, relationships, or what made them work.
    I rose to my feet. “You know what, Kerbasi?”
    “What?” He lifted a brow.
    “You might want to take a hard look at your own life. Name one time in your miserable existence that you’ve ever done something truly meaningful. Something good. I bet you can’t think of anything. So before you judge my life, try finding something worthwhile in your own.”
    I turned on my heels and walked away. Within a minute, I sensed him following me. Halfway to the house, Sable came loping toward me. The shape-shifter cat was in her usual form as a lynx and ran until she reached my feet.
    Kneeling down, I stroked her fur and listened to her heavy purr. As soon as I stood she scampered off—straight toward Emily. The scantily-dressed teenager was ambling along through the woods until she saw me, then she ran