Swann's Light Ch. 01

"That's shit Winters" Riel roared, the sound of it carrying easily into the next room where Darfin sat. The pale and thin man slowly closed the Chronicles and set the ancient book aside, a sigh slipping from his lips at the time lost in pursuit of the grimoires true secrets. He rose from his seat slowly letting the actions themselves carry his mind as his brother began to rant.

"I burned that bastard to cinder weeks ago, did just what you asked nice and clean!" Riel was screaming as his brother slipped from the desk and left the room. A moment later he walked in and gave the barest motion, one that easily caught his brothers attention. With a nod Riel followed Darfin's lead.

"Explain Ms. Winters, please. We are quite certain that the only thing left of Swann was the burned remains of his bag and the item we delivered to Mr. Kole. He seemed pleased with it, is that not still the case?" Darfin was fishing, and everything he said was just the bait.

"I killed him. Simple as that" Riel grunted.

"We have an eyewitness who was attacked by Mr. Swann outside one of the bars in Mr. Koles territory, you are free to speak with Mr. Churchill who will verify everything that I am telling you now." Ms. Winters said, her voice so stripped of emotion and bare that it caught Darfin's attention immediately. As Ms. Winters continued speaking to them he reached for her emotions first, the very easiest sense of another persons current focus in any telepathic link.

In a way Darfin heard it as music, a distant sense of what was in the other persons heart. Usually he got the sense of annoyance, or disgust in Riel's case, thinly veiled by professional etiquette. He also got the sense of pride, or fulfillment, for some reason Ms. Winters liked giving them orders. Either it made her feel powerful, or it made her happy to be doing as Mr. Kole desired.

Now he just felt nothing, no song, no distant melody. Silence. He rode that in, her voice dimming so much it was a faint whisper in the back of his mind as he dove into her thoughts and out a moment later, startled.

"Ah at least Mr. Darfin understands the implications of all this. Now correct the problem, or I will be forced to terminate both of you." The last words she whispered in his thoughts were said with such fierce desire Darfin wondered if Ms. Winters had sensed his intrusion. A moment later he realized she just wanted him and his brother dead. He was used to that.

"We will Ms. Winters. I will contact you soon." Darfin said absently before he felt Ms. Winters pull out of their minds. He took a moment, probing the farthest reaches of his thoughts then deeper then most people realized their minds could ever go. Nothing, she was truly gone. Relief, fear, delight? He felt all these things coursing through his body.

"So what are we gonna do Mr. Darfin?" Riel said angrily, obviously infuriated that his brother had backed down so quickly.

"We eliminate Swann, and then dear brother. I think we may be moving up in the world." Darfin said with a slow and devious smile.

His brother raised a thick brown eyebrow, powerful arms crossing over his strong chest. "And how do we find Swann?" Riel growled.

Turning his gaze to the far edges of the room Darfin watched the broken slave girl curled in a ball, staring blankly across the room. She was beyond herself, a puppet, a doll. In a day or so Riel would get bored, and at the best, leave her like that somewhere.

"We go and talk to the one person in the Black Feather family who we can reach easily, the one who can tell us the most about our friend Joshua." Darfin grinned darkly as he came up and pressed his pale hand against his brothers dark shoulder. For a moment he was struck by the obvious differences in them, then staring straight into his brother's gaze he whispered, "Besides, I think you will like this girl. Think of her as a replacement for your old toy."

When Darfin walked away he could feel the heat already beginning to pour of his brothers skin. Nothing brought the fire in Riel like the prospect of throwing fresh meat on the grill.

From across the room the slave girl watched the Child of Nightmares and the Dark Flame leave, whispered a grateful prayer to her god, and quietly slipped from this world.

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Lady Crow hung up the phone slowly, biting her lower as she let her mind pour over everything she had learned. It hadn't taken Crow long to find out about a few artifacts linked to Avasei. Nor did it take the contact she had been speaking with long to inquire whether she had come into possession of a specific piece that had recently gone missing. Her contacts did so love to do business with Lady Crow; it was quite profitable for both parties.

She walked upstairs and paused in the empty warmth of her bedroom, staring first at the rumpled covers on the far kings bed, the dark crimson silks thrown askew, another night of restless sleep evident in every wrinkle. The sound of running water drew her thoughts from what her contact had told her, to what it meant for Joshua. If he had taken the thing her contact had called The Heart of the Sun, then it meant he was far more skilled then even she had realized.

It had never really occurred to Crow that she felt anything for Joshua, at least not until he disappeared. She had met him so long ago that the nine years separating them in age seemed immeasurable. Knowing enough about his background to feel a kinship with the boy, Lady Crow had taken him under her wing. He became the younger brother she never had. Her sense of professionalism took over after that, her belief that he was nothing more then the young talented partner of Lady Crow settled into her thoughts. Yet the moment he walked into her tattoo parlor she had been hit by the relief she felt on seeing him alive, and at how good he looked for a dead guy. In Bahl one could never tell, even with the dead.

Going about shirtless and wearing tight black leather pants was not uncommon for him, not even when on the job. Though then he could usually be persuaded to don some kind of shadow armor. Still, it was not something Crow had never seen before. So it felt strange to feel that now, to find herself admiring the brownish gold of his skin, the hot green of his eyes. Using the excuse of 'inspecting' him to get closer had filled her nose with his scent, something she had not found unpleasant. In fact it was making her blood race a little hotter.

That got her thinking about his stunt the night before, and what he had said. She was pressing her hand against the bathroom door a moment later without realizing anything had happened. As it creaked open Crow could hear Swann humming, see the vague outline of him behind the fog glass, shrouded in a glistening cloud. Crow's heart beat hard in her chest, making her blood feel hot as it poured up and down her body. The realization that Joshua trusted her enough to pay absolutely no attention to his surroundings flicked across her thoughts for a moment, making her feel all gooey. She ignored it completely.

Her clothes were gone in an instant, lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. The simple spell that allowed Crow to phase through walls and doors over short distances also worked her to literally 'slip out of her clothes" in a heartbeat. It made her pause to wonder if she had ever taught Joshua that little trick. With that thought emboldening her, Lady Crow lifted her hand and let slip another of her spells.

The water stopped around Joshua like a moment frozen in time, each glistening drop still twisting and shifting as it hung suspended in air. Lifting a finger to poke one, he turned his gaze to the shower door just as Crow phased through it. The sight of her naked must have stunned him because he didn't seem to notice the water flowing again, in fact he seemed so very pleased and so very confused all at once. Each step towards Joshua made her body warm more to him, the sight of him so strong and masculine getting her hotter than the shower possibly could.

Then her eyes swept over everything else Joshua Swann had to offer.

"What are you...?" Joshua tried to ask her, he was really even rather sweet when Crow threw herself boldly into his arms and pressed into a long kiss. Trying to fight, struggling so futilely against her that each movement of his body made her wet flesh glide slickly against him. As he grew harder between their bodies Crow slipped one hand into his hair and pulled his head back, smirking into his wide and surprised eyes.

"If I hear one comment about old woman then i am going to tear your lungs out." Crow said softly, making her eyes show just how much she meant that right now. A small part of her knew that the last excuse she had for not doing this sooner was the age between them.

For a moment she saw the sincerely stunned expression on Swann's face, saw his eyes narrow for a moment as she stepped back and looked down at the body lying wet and naked in his grasp. When those piercing green eyes finally lifted up from a very slow inspection of her body Crow felt her heart still.

When his hard and deep kiss touched her lips, when his hands grabbed her tighter and pulled her into that delicious wet body, Lady Crow felt her heart race into overdrive and burn with desire. His hands caught her buttocks as his body pushed her back into the shower wall, the hot rain above them shifting in form when Crow reached up to stroke the nozzle. As a hot mist filled the small shower with thick rolling clouds of pleasure and Joshua's teeth grazed her throat Lady Crow had only a moment to wonder what spells Swann was weaving into their sex that she didn't know.

That constant sense of lightness in her body was something Swann shared, something that made them a great team. They could move in fast rhythm over any surface, twisting and angling their bodies to find a way into the tightest places. The hot rolling clouds of mist that filled the shower gathered around them in thicker and thicker masses, until it too was almost like another body in the room. This one as soft as air and hot as sin as it lifted their feather light bodies from the ground, with Crow clinging to Swann and kissing him hungrily she knew he would never see her as old if all the sex started this intense.

His lips and hands were teasing her so slowly it made her want to writhe and giggle, her breasts heaving as he gave them each a slow flickering encounter with his tongue. Hotter then she had felt in months, the strength in his arms made her quiver when he brought one of her legs up. The head of his cock was like a piece of smooth red hot coal, burning her with pleasure as it nuzzled between the folds of her pussy then drove up into her hard. He grunted, growling so very softly against her throat that she shivered from the sensation.

He was taking her deep, his thickness spreading Crow open in such delicious ways. Her arms curled around tight around Swann's neck, pressing her breasts tight to his chest so that each pounding thrust of his hips and rolling counters of her hips made the hard tips of her nipples play over his skin. As her pussy began to quiver around the silken hot penetration Crows head tilted back, her throat exposed to Joshua's teasing lips. Licking and kissing her thundering pulse point, her body shaking as each thrust pushed her closer and closer to orgasm, Lady Crow was vaguely aware of her nails dragging deep into his back when that moment of bliss finally broke.

Their bodies slid and ground together, that sense of floating cushioning both as Swann's deep fluid thrusts reached a point of pure bliss. Crow's orgasm took the fuel of his hot seed and burned all the brighter, making her back arch and the swell of her breasts to press against Joshua's face. Naturally he bit down on the first hard nipple he could reach. When he slowed his thrusts to a moment of stillness, Crow found herself regretting that it had ended. The sudden hard throb of his cock inside her made Crow moan out in delight as he whispered into her ear.

"To the bed then?"

The way he said it, that simple promise of more, made Lady Crow feel gooey again. This time she didn't ignore it.

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The feel of her floating his arms didn't slip away when she did, nor did Joshua feel the need to rush her to the other room. Especially not when Crow stretched out one long leg and, filling her palms with some softly scented crème, began stroking her fingers in slow sensual motions up and down her skin. The distraction proved so very pleasant, the warm atmosphere of the closed bathroom and the lingering magic combining to make every sense dream like.

Her skin glistened, the soft feel of it against his skin as she rose and brushed her hands down his stomach sent a shiver through Joshua's body. His hardness throbbed, her slender fingers teasing up and down his shaft just once before Crow tightened her grip and began leading him from the bathroom. As the tips of her fingers played through the light hair around the base of his cock he resisted the urge to laugh, wondering if he should mention just how ticklish he could be in certain areas.

The distant tinkles of a bell made them both go still, Lady Crow's eyes narrowing dangerously as she watched Joshua. He nodded softly, acknowledging her unspoken question. He had locked the door. The hiss of something burning drove Joshua into action, his arms curling around Crow protectively as he dragged her back into the bathroom. A moment later a spiraling burst of flame tore through the bedroom door and engulfed the furniture in flames. He came up the stairs slowly, the black fires of hell keeping him from any harm. When the man's hell fire eyes moved from him to Lady Crow, Swann could feel his blood turning to ice.

"Swann." Riel said, but never once looked back at Joshua. Not with Crow pressed naked against him.

"Riel" Joshua whispered, his gaze slipping down to Crow as she fought quietly in his arms. He held onto her for only a moment longer, and then trusting her to realize the danger let the Lady slip from his embrace. She turned at once, eyeing him closely then turning to point her palm at the room. There was a rush of power as Riel threw his arm up, the raw energies of magic making the hairs on his body rise and vibrate as Lady Crow channeled that power through her arm and into the burning bedroom. A small pop could be heard, and then the sudden draw of air rushing faster and faster through the building.

"Go!" Lady Crow screamed as she ran towards the wall. The bathroom door cracked like thunder as it slammed shut but both of them knew that even with the spell draining all the air from the bedroom nothing that simple would stop Riel.

"Naked?" Swann asked with a grin, never able to resist the opportunity to properly streak.

"I really worry about you sometimes Joshua" Crow said dryly.

He felt the familiar spell rise in his partner a moment before he cast it himself, his eyes lowering to watch the sensual reverse strip tease that the magic produced.

It started at her feet, the shadows beneath the very soles stretching out into a small pool. Then the dark waters within slid up the skin, a warm caress of ebony that curled and hugged every part of the flesh. He watched her disappear into that dark veil, watched it cradle her, embrace her like a lover born of shadow. The sparkle in her almond eyes made him throb one last time.

"Your getting off on this aren't you Swann?" Crow asked, the teasing still in her voice. Obviously she was.

His fingers curled into her hair as Joshua pulled her into a kiss then took her hand as Lady Crow offered it. With a final burst of magic Swann joined her in phasing through the bathroom wall. Slipping like ghosts through the thick concrete was one of the earliest spells he had mastered; one patiently taught to him by the woman that was dragging him into the alleyway behind her store. They scanned the alley as they emerged then began to run, even managed to get a few yards away before a second violent explosion tore the wall out of Bleeding Art studios. Thrown to the ground by the blast channeling through the alleyway, shielded by the shadow armor from the worst of the flames, Crow and Swann forced themselves to stand as Riel stepped through the opening and set his gaze upon them.

"Swann. We have business!" Riel roared, his dark skin etched with flowing lines of molten red. The cores of his irises blazed with the power of hellfire, the heat of that energy making the blacktop beneath his booted feet boil and steam.

"Nice Boots!" Swann called back. It was all he could think to say.

Riel nodded, lifting one thickly muscled leg and twisting his calf to show off the expensive leather boots he wore. "Custom. A man needs a good work boot."

The dark skinned man drove his foot down then, a burst of flame erupting around his body as the lines of molten red light on his body blazed. Each step made the street sizzle, made the temperature in the narrow alleyway rise a little higher.

"Hello Darfin." Lady Crow whispered behind him. Swann had been quietly wondering when the other Maelstrom brother would appear.

"It is an honor as always Lady Crow." Darfin replied, drawing Joshua's gaze down to the opposite end of the alley where the Child of Nightmares was waiting for them. The tall pale figure gave Swann a polite nod of deference, then turned his gaze to Riel.

"May I try something brother?" Darfin whispered as a cold smile curled his lips.

"Eh?" Riel grunted, his slow burning pace halted by Darfin's question.

"Yea. Sure, but I want the bitch alive. Zombie girls never give it up quite as good as the living." Riel said before turning his hell fire eyes on Lady Crow.

"You wouldn't live five minutes after touching me Riel" Lady Crow hissed.

"Zombie girls?" Darfin said curiously, his eyes drifting up as he considered the possibilities, nodded and slowly crouched "I can do that."

"Oh damnit Riel!" Swann yelled, feeling the sudden rush of Darfin's magic flowing beneath the street. In moments a half dozen spots appeared in blacktop, the spots pooling and bubbling like some thick mud. They rose slowly, their bodies being sculpted as they reached a height of five feet then floated above the pools that had birthed them.

"Wicked" Riel murmured.

"Be ready." Swann murmured, crouching lower and reaching back to find the hilt of his wing blade. Like so many of the tools used by the Black Feather family, the wing blade had been crafted to be a discreet and perfect weapon. A sword that could be pulled from the shadows at any point and just as easily returned. His own wing blade was slightly curved and forged of something darker then shadows, older then light. With the weight of a feather and edges sharper then broken glass Joshua had found very little it couldn't cut through with the proper application of force.

When the black tar girls dropped to the street in front of Darfin, their vacant faces and finely details bodies every bit the reflection of those under the zombie curse, he heard Lady Crow chuckle lightly beside him.

"Really?" Crow asked incredulously. "This is what the great Darfin does? This is the art taught in the Chronicles?"

He heard Darfin's growing laughter, even the harsh chuckle of Riel and felt a moment's sympathy for his 'retired' partner.

"Do either of you have any idea of how many zombie guards I have killed over the years? Or how many low level flunkies?" Crow finished, her voice laced with feminine outrage.

"She's spooky when she's pissed. I like that in my bitches." Riel replied with a smirk.

"Call me a bitch again and I will tear out your eyes." Crow warned drawing Riel's hell fire gaze and causing the heat pouring out of him to intensify for a moment before casting his gaze to the pack of zombie girls and giving a low sigh.