Out of the Shadows: Shadow Warriors, Book 1 Read Free Page B

burned into her mind. She’d barely taken in their mangled condition, a cry torn from her lips, when the demon had pounced. She’d fought him off, but he’d been strong, stronger than any other she had ever fought, the infusion of death in the air lending the demon strength. She would have joined her parents that day had it not been for her goddess joining her in the fight. Carolina pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed deeply, forcing the memories to retreat. She reached down, intending to pick up the lifeless body, when she was brushed aside. Startled, she glanced up to see the shadow warrior squatting beside her.
    “Why do you weep for this animal? It is just a beast.”
    His tone held no condemnation, but she found herself bristling anyway. “I am not crying. That doesn’t mean Tito—”
    “Your soul weeps for him. I can feel it in here.” He thumped his chest.
    Anger and grief mixed together. “I raised him from a kid. I won’t let Billy, a tzitzimime , take another family member away from me. Tito was family.”
    The shadow warrior nodded, but she sensed that family had little meaning to him, when to her it meant everything.
    “You must destroy the carcass. The demon’s blood carries evil that can seep into the ground and spread its poison.”
    “I know.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. She was holding on to her control by a thread. Her world felt bleak and desolate. Why had she been chosen as a guardian? Water was supposed to bring life, not destruction. She looked down at the small, helpless animal. Another life lost because she had failed. How much more devastation could she withstand? She reached out to put her hands under the body, only to find them trapped between the shadow warrior’s two larger ones.
    “C ihuatl , were you not listening? It is poison.”
    Carolina struggled to break free of his grip. She felt the strength in his hands, the roughness that was testament to the work he did. A tingle traveled up her palm and along her nerve endings. The hummingbird on her shoulder pulsated, but it didn’t hurt. Instead, she felt warm and fuzzy like she’d had one too many drinks at the local watering hole. She ignored the throb of her tattoo, glaring at him for all she was worth. “I am not stupid. I know very well what I am doing. And stop calling me woman ,” she snapped. “My name is Carolina.”
    “You do not fear me, do you? Nor do you cower in the face of a tzitzimime . Yet you are human. Why is that?”
    Her breath caught in her chest. He was right. She didn’t fear him. Since the moment he’d stepped onto her land, he had mesmerized her. The heat of his hands warmed the cold thoughts of death and dissipated her anger.
    Before she could sputter any kind of response, one of his hands whipped up and pushed the ripped material of her denim shirt aside, where it had been sliced open by the claws of the tzitzimime .
    His gaze speared her in place. “You bear the mark of a warrior.”
     
     
    The glowing mark of a hummingbird on the woman kept him transfixed. He needed to know more about her. In all his years, he had never stumbled upon a human who bore a warrior’s mark and had the power to call on the elements. She wielded water as masterfully as he wielded his weapon.
    “You have power, elemental power that I have never seen in a human. Just who are you?”
    “I don’t know what you mean.” Her voice came out low and musical, and he found it arousing.
    “You have power over the element of water and you bear a huitzilin , the hummingbird mark. You are no ordinary woman.”
    She laughed at that, a melodic sound tinged with sadness. “Believe me, I am quite ordinary. From sunup to sundown I run this ranch. I rarely get into town and the last man I dated was someone I deeply regret.” She went to move, tugging at her hands still trapped within his one.
    Tomás kept his grip firm. She had shown no fear or surprise at his appearance nor had she backed down from fighting