Blood and Fate

The golden-eyed man rose.

His skull should have splintered, his body a lifeless sack on the floor of the Painted Mare.

But instead he stood, tall and unbroken, the hole in his forehead closing itself up over an unnatural span of time, flesh stitching itself together as if the universe was rewinding for him alone.

And he was smiling.

The blood that ought to be pooling on the ground where he should have died had dribbled down his temple, viscous and gleaming, but Elias understood now, it had never been just blood.

It was something else. Dark gold, glimmering, roiling like molten metal in the dim lantern light.

The room was silent.

No gasps of horror. No gunfire.

Just the awful, unseasonable stillness that settled when men were too frightened to move.

Elias's gun remained raised. His pulse pounded, but his hand was steady. "Well, shit," he muttered. "Luck really is on your side, I guess."

The man with the golden eyes wiped at his forehead, smearing blood across his temple, then stared down at his fingers with mild amusement. Then he gave Elias a look that verged on pity.

"Luck?" he said. "No, Thorne. This is power."

Before Elias could, Selene moved.

With an elegant leap, she cleared the table, the blade glinting in the low light.

There was no hesitation, no time spent on words.

She struck.

The blade sank deep into the throat of the man with the golden eyes.

Then there was silence for a moment.

Selene breathed slowly, knuckles white around the hilt. She had stabbed deep, the blade sinking into his flesh as into wood. A killing blow.

And yet.

The man with the golden eyes only turned his head her way.

Selene attempted to wrench the blade loose, but she was unable to.

Her hands and her entire body jerked rigid. Her breath hitched. Her muscles stiffened, frozen in position.

Elias saw it then. The golden light creeping up the dagger's hilt, coiling over Selene's fingers, sinking into her skin.

She gasped a stifled sound of pain.

"Selene"

The golden-eyed man smiled.

"And you thought steel could hurt something like me?" His voice was smooth, unhurried. "You thought mortal hands could unmake what fate had made?"

Selene blinked, and her breath caught. She wasn't breathing right.

Elias moved.

He shoved the table forward, smashing it into the golden-eyed man's knees, pushing him back just enough that Selene stumbled free.

She gurgled, fumbling her fingers, the dagger still buried in his throat.

Elias caught her before she could fall. Her heart was pounding and her skin was clammy.

Her eyes.

They were gold at the edges.

Elias's stomach twisted. He faced the golden-eyed man, rage knotting in his gut.

"You son of a bitch," he growled.

The man with the golden eyes clawed the dagger from his throat, blood rolling thickly down his chest. He brushed it off like an annoyance.

Selene inhaled a ragged breath.

Elias felt the anger boiling just under his skin, a slow-burning fire. "What did you do to her?"

The man with the golden eye tilted his head. "I shared something with her. A taste. The essence of what it means to be chosen." His smile sharpened. "She should be honored."

Selene shuddered. She struggled to catch her breath but managed to sit up, her quaking hand wiping at her face.

"Feels like poison," she rasped.

The golden-eyed man chuckled. "That is because you fight it. But given time…" He exhaled. "You'll understand."

Elias had heard enough.

He pulled the trigger.

The bullet struck hard, sending the golden-eyed man careening back.

But it didn't drop him.

Not this time.

He steadied himself, smoke rising from his chest where the shot had struck. He took a slow breath out and smiled.

"Oh, Thorne," he murmured. "I still don't think you understand, do you?

Elias narrowed his eyes.

The golden-eyed man protruded slowly.

"You cannot kill me," he said, his voice thick with amusement. "I am you. I am the life you lost. The fate you squandered. And I will not be undone."

Elias hardly had time to react before the man with the golden eyes acted.

It was fast.

Too fast.

One moment he was standing across the table.

Next, his hand was on Elias's chest.

And the pain.

Elias struggled, frozen as something cold and wrong tore through him.

It wasn't like being shot. It wasn't like being cut.

It was worse.

It was like something was digging in him, scratching through his ribs, grabbing hold of the parts of him he hadn't wanted to be touched.

He could feel something being taken.

His vision blurred.

His breath faltered.

Selene's voice, far away, unfiltered: "Elias!"

Then.

The man with the golden eyes reared back.

Not by choice.

Something else pulled him.

And then the lights.

The lanterns above erupted, and the Painted Mare was engulfed in darkness.

A whisper sliced through the air.

Deep. Cold. Ancient.

"He does not belong to you."

The man with the golden eyes took a sharp breath and staggered. "No."

The darkness moved.

Elias sank to his knees, unable to keep himself upright. His chest felt on fire, but he sucked in a breath. His vision was swimming, but he saw shadows moving, pulling at the man with the golden eyes, wrapping themselves around him, like chains.

The man with the golden eyes, snarling, attempted to pull free. "No!"

A second whisper.

"The debt remains unpaid."

Then.

The golden-eyed man screamed.

His body twisted, convulsed.

And collapsed into nothing.

Gone.

Quiet hit the Painted Mare like a hammer.

Elias gasped, inhaling a stuttered breath. His hands shook. His entire body shook.

Selene was already hanging on his arm, her voice strained. "Elias. Talk to me."

He swallowed hard. "That…" He coughed, struggling to fill his lungs. "That wasn't me, right?"

Selene's grip tightened. "No. It wasn't."

Elias exhaled slowly. "Shit."

Alistair chuckled breathlessly from across the table. "Well, that was something."

Elias glared at him. "Shut the hell up."

Alistair threw up his hands in a mock gesture of surrender, but his eyes twinkled with mischief. Looks like fate isn't done with you after all, Thorne."

Elias wasn't certain this boded well.

Selene got him up, her hand resting on his arm for more than was needed.

But something felt different.

Elias wasn't certain what had just occurred, but there was one thing he knew.

The man with the golden eyes was not gone.

Not completely.

And whatever had lured him into the darkness.

It was coming for Elias next.