Heart's Darkness

by H D A Roberts

  "Have at it."

  "Do you really have a plan for dealing with him?" Rose asked, nodding at Solomon.

  "If you can confirm that I won't be actually killing him?"

  "You know I can't do that," she said, but she smiled.

  I'd known for some time that Solomon wasn't a Cherub anymore, or a Fallen one, for that matter, but that was all I was really sure of. His Aura had been packed with conflicting energies, which left me in some doubt over what I was really dealing with. But, thanks to my Liaisons, and what they weren't saying, I was finally able to act with confidence (not that I wouldn't have destroyed him, one way or another, after what had happened to Maggie. At least now I was able to do it without staining myself irretrievably).

  "I guess I'll have to take the chance then," I said, looking deep into my mind, for High Magic.

  For Death.

  "I'll be off, Matty," she said, kissing my cheek gently, "see you soon."

  "Oh, Rose, before you go, I have to ask. Maggie... did she... is she... home, now?"

  That sounded stupid, even to me.

  "You know I can't tell you that, Mathew."

  "I know, I just thought I'd ask."

  "I can tell you that she was a sweet soul," she said pointedly, "kind and generous... good, understand?"

  I smiled at her, "Thanks for everything Rose. And you really did give me the time I needed."

  She held me, her head under my chin, and then she stepped back and vanished.

  Time resumed.

  I was ready.

  Solomon leaped back into the attack. I strengthened my shields and focussed even harder. The Sight snapped on, and once again, Death was all around me.

  But not in Solomon, which was actually reassuring. No Death means no Entropy, no Entropy means no Life. He wasn't alive, and thus, I couldn't kill him. I could only send him back home, where hopefully Neil will have an Imp waiting with a particularly sharp (and barbed) pitchfork.

  I drew Entropy in by the bucket-load.

  Now, you'd think that by drawing in Death, things around you would die, but it's the opposite. Without any Entropy around, the world burst into bloom and growth. The grass instantly grew and became greener, the air moved a little quicker. Little daisies bloomed.

  That wasn't a problem for plants, which were relatively simple things, although the daisies would likely die in the cold now, and I felt like a bit of a dick about that. But you shouldn't do anything like that to a complex creature, or what you got was everything growing out of control. That's how you got things like tumours, for example.

  Anyway, my Aura was now full of Entropy. That did feel cold, and awful.

  But damn if it wasn't effective.

  I focussed it into a beam, and he wasn't ready for it. His shield bowed and shattered. The energy tore straight into his torso and cut him neatly in two below the stomach.

  He screamed as he fell, his eyes filled with pure agony and awful hatred as smacked into the ground, facing upwards, thrashing against the pain of Death eating him from below. I emerged from my Shadows so I could look down at him with my own eyes, rather than with Magic. I wanted to savour this moment.

  He bucked and clawed at the terrible wound. It was grey and rotting, bubbling where Entropy and Black Magic were battling it out. I knew which would eventually win, but I had a little time.

  "Oh how I wish I could make this hurt more," I said, sending further beams of Entropy to snip off the last of his wings and his other arm. He screamed over and over, and I did my best to fix it in my memory.

  I wanted to hurt him, to make him pay for Maggie, for the Witches, the Duellists, and bloody Aldwich... but I dared not take too much time. He might recover, and I couldn't risk him becoming immune to Entropy, as well.

  "Screw you, just do it!" he screamed; at long last, he was in too much pain to call his own power. Speaking from experience, there's very little that hurt more than Death Magic.

  I glared down at him one last time.

  "Well, if you insist," I said, my voice utterly unrecognisable, cold and dark.

  I conjured a little ball of pure Magic, and dropped it carefully into his mangled shoulder. Like some horrific Jack-in-the-box, that Grotesque limb returned, and this time he didn't have Magic or even limbs capable of stopping it. The arm was now thicker than his thigh had been, with seven fingers, each tipper by a razor-sharp talon.

  It reached for his head, and Solomon started screaming again.

  I watched as Solomon was banished, and it took about fifteen excruciating minutes, but finally, once his face was ruin, and he'd stopped screaming, the limb reached down and tore out the Demon's heart. He collapsed into dust, leaving the ugly limb and its dreadful roots of blood vessels and veins behind (still writhing and twitching) for me to put a final end to with the last of my Entropy.

  I watched as the dust blew away, the fresh air taking the stench of him with it until the last traces were gone, and I could relax at last. I felt the sun on my face and took a deep breath, finally dropping my shields.

  Bloody hell, that wasn't fun...

  But it was over.

  "That was cold, little brother," Killian said, making me jump.

  "Jesus Christ!" I bellowed, "Why does everyone feel the bollocking need to try and make me shit myself?!"

  I turned towards him and he barked out a laugh.

  "Sorry," he said, walking over to pat my shoulder, "That was some impressive work. Controlled. I felt it three counties over!"

  "Thanks," I said, "And he's not dead, just to clarify."

  "I know a banishing when I see one, Kid. I was referring to the torture as 'cold'. And the whole 'ripped apart by his own evil hand while unable to help himself' thing. Speaking as someone who saw the Inquisition at its height... that was lovely."

  "He... he did some bad things to a friend of mine. If I could have been assured that he wouldn't get away, I'd have made it last a lot longer."

  "I know what happened," he said, sadly, "I'm sorry about the girl."

  I nodded, "So am I, it was such a bloody waste."

  "It always is," he said quietly, "Come on, let's get out of this field and Portal you home. Goodness knows what's happening back there."

  Chapter 31

  It was bedlam.

  The last time I'd packed the Vampires into the house, at least the staff had been given a little warning. This time there was a mad scramble of women who needed clothes, feeding (which presented its own problems) and shelter from the sun (not urgent, but necessary).

  Killian and I arrived about the same time as an ambulance from the James Sutcliff hospital, which was quickly (and to my relief) revealed to be full of coolers (three guesses what was in them).

  We walked in to find my staff darting about, their hands full of sheets and clothes. A jeep (one of mine) pulled up not long afterwards, and suddenly there were shopping bags being collected by a quartet of women, who smiled and hugged me on the way past to the East Wing, which was where they'd stayed the last time.

  Tethys appeared from somewhere and threw herself into my arms.

  "Again with the Vampires, Mathew?" she said, squeezing me tightly to her.

  "I felt the need for a little attention this evening," I said.

  Tethys chuckled, "Fifty-eight supernatural women and my sister... aren't we ambitious," she said, kissing my cheek playfully.

  Killian snorted and waved as he walked past us towards the drawing room. Shortly afterwards, there were giggles and squeals. Apparently Lord Death was a bit of a fixture at the Red Carpet...

  I held Tethys to me and she rubbed my back gently.

  "Was it bad?" she asked.

  "In the hotel, yes. I'm not sure about the fight."

  "There was a fight? And you obviously won. Is he gone?"

  "Back to the Pit, and it takes a while for anything banished there to get strong enough to be sent back. But I doubt he's getting out again. He made a deal with Neil after all."

  "You want to talk about
it?" she asked gently.

  "I do."

  "Okay, come on, Miss Jenkins has soup," she said, leading me to the kitchen.

  Miss Jenkins was looking a little frazzled, but she ladled out a full bowl of something beefy for me and brought out a couple of freshly baked rolls. I thanked her and she smiled, returning to the meat she was preparing for the guests that ate solid foods.

  I told Tethys what had happened and she smiled with satisfaction, dipping a spare spoon in my bowl from time to time.

  "Good bloody riddance!" she said, "And very good work, Matty."

  "I try," I said tiredly.

  "Crystal's been asking about you, by the way," she continued, turning her eyes on me, "She's fond of you."

  "I'm fond of her, too."

  "They're all rather attached to you," she said, her smile widening further still, "imagine what would happen if I let them catch you sleeping."

  I glared and she bit her lip.

  "Stop it, I know that look," I said.

  "What look's that?" she said, stroking my fingers.

  "A very naughty look, indeed."

  "You like the look, don't deny it," she said, lifting my fingers to her mouth and nibbling gently.

  "You know I do."

  "Do you have any idea what Kandi goes through when you put this look on my face?"

  I snorted, and she just smiled at me.

  We sat there for a bit, just comfortable with one another.

  She shoved her chair over and I put my arm around her. I kissed the side of her head and she leaned against me.

  "So, you wouldn't let me keep them all last time, but how would you feel about a dozen or so? I'm willing to negotiate, but I won't go lower than eight, and I'm willing to share."

  I groaned, which only made her laugh.

  And that was more or less that.

  Status quo restored.

  Well...

  Maybe not completely.

  Crystal was waiting for me in my room.

  Naturally I didn't notice. It was late that day. I'd spoken to Price, made sure her people were alright. She'd told me Crystal was resting, she just hadn't mentioned where. Tethys and Kandi had gone into the East Wing after dinner and hadn't been seen since. Karina had been her usual subtle self and groped me something vicious while pretending to hug me hello, but that was par for the course.

  I'd showered and dressed for bed, tired and desperate for sleep. I only knew Crystal was there when her arms and legs went around me, and I... well there's no dignified way to say it. I squealed like a little girl and fell out of my bed with a thump.

  Crystal laughed and I sat myself up on my banged bottom.

  "That's not nice," I said with a glare as I stood back up.

  She darted to me and wrapped her hands in my shirt, my bed sheets covering her chest as she pulled me into a kiss. Her arms went around my neck and she was up against me, warm and soft. She dragged me down onto the bed and under the covers where she held me very tightly, kissing and nibbling gently. She pulled back, her hands on my face as she smiled at me, the look full of affection.

  I smiled back.

  That was the start of a wonderful relationship. I have no idea what arrangements Tethys made with her, or with Price, but when the others reclaimed the Red Carpet, Crystal stayed with me. I was grateful for that; I'd been dreading the departure (particularly bearing in mind her profession). Apparently she was now working for Tethys, which both made me happy and very wary (in a good way). Tethys' sexual practical jokes were not for the faint of heart. She'd once arranged for seventeen male strippers to turn up at my evil grandmother's dinner party for her local MP. They took video, the look on her face keeps me grinning to this day...

  But I digress.

  I'd been forced to move back into Blackhold (literally. I'd turned up at Naiad Hall and found my stuff gone, replaced by a note from Cassandra telling me that all my things were back home and that was where they were staying for the foreseeable. Demise was with me at the time and thought it was hilarious).

  Naturally that wasn't going to deter Mary, who simply declared that she and the other mother hens would come visit... and then never left. They've lived in the East Wing since then, don't ask me how that happened, but Miss Jenkins loved them, and had been mothering them every chance she got.

  Tethys finally tracked Jocelyn to a small chateau in the Pyrenees, nestled in a valley that was packed with anti-Scrying Wards and Magical defences. If she'd been using purely Magical means, she'd never have succeeded. Jocelyn had beaten every search method Tethys' tame Magicians had at their disposal, but she still had to eat, and she still had to pay staff to look after her property, manage her finances and make sure she wasn't about to be prosecuted for spying on an Archon.

  All of that required communications, and Tethys' mundane snoops finally sniffed her out after more than two weeks of electronic monitoring and painstaking searches through phone company records.

  When Tethys actually explained to me the work that had been done, I authorised a sizable bonus for her people on the spot, it was that impressive.

  Anyway, Kron dropped in to have a little chat with her, which eventually led to The Primus being dragged from the Conclave building by his ear, and then to the Farm for a six month sentence. It wasn't what I'd have given him, but politics demanded that we be reasonable. We didn't want a revolution and, besides, being ejected from power, never to return, was a wonderful punishment for such an ambitious man.

  So things actually started to get to a new, better, normal, and I was happy for once.

  But there was still the small matter of the Demon I'd annoyed...

  Normally when Gabrielle woke me up, it involved a kiss and something akin to a very naughty cuddle.

  This time she dragged me out of bed and threw me to the ground. Before I could wake up, she'd straddled by chest and was glaring down at me, her nails digging slightly into my skin.

  "I saved your soul?!" she almost shrieked, full Demon now, not a trace of Illusion, "I'm a laughing stock because of you!"

  "You'll have to forgive me, what's going on?" I asked, still half-asleep.

  "What's going on is that I'm going to bloody kill you!" she hissed.

  I raised an eyebrow.

  "What?!" she said, her nails, no, bloody claws, dug in a little deeper, "What now?!"

  "If you meant me harm, you wouldn't be here now. Mira wouldn't have let you in."

  "Can't you stop being a know-it-all for one bloody minute?!"

  "What I know is that when your lot offer a temptation, you leave an 'out', an alternative. I'm guessing that's part of the rules?"

  She glared, but nodded.

  "Well, you told me the out, and you meant to. You helped me, and it wasn't an accident. I can't repay that debt, but if you ever need me, all you have to do is ask."

  "How can you know these things?! It's not right."

  "I know monsters, Gabby, and I know intelligence. You may be a Demon, but you're no monster. And you're too smart to make mistakes like that. I won't insult you by asking why; just know that I'm very grateful."

  She scowled down at me, but her eyes softened, just a little.

  "Do you remember when you came for me? When I was in that circle?" she asked, leaning down a bit.

  I nodded, I was hardly likely to forget. She'd been taken by essence harvesters, drained nearly to banishment. I'd fed her back up to health, with a kiss. Nowhere near as romantic as it sounds, she could have killed me.

  "Kiss me like that now," she said, smirking, "and I'll consider us even."

  "No musk this time," I insisted.

  She grinned, "Alright, just this once."

  We kissed, and I didn't shield. She fed and made happy sounds for a long time until finally she pulled back, a satisfied look on her face, leaving me rather randy and a little tired.

  "One more step towards my side of the road, Mathew," she said, pecking my lips once more.

  I cupped her face with my hands and
smiled.

  "Very scary, Gabby," I said.

  She turned away from me, but then stopped, snapping her fingers.

  "I almost forgot. Message from Head Office. My father says thanks for returning his property in a timely manner, and far ahead of schedule. He would like to assure you that Solomon will be... well taken care of for the foreseeable future."

  "That's reassuring."

  She smiled, it was a very dark thing, "It should be. He failed to live up to his end of the bargain. Head Office doesn't like that."

  "And his end of the bargain would be?"

  As if I didn't know. He was there to infect me with the Black, and he nearly managed, too. I doubted that he'd known what the plan was. He was only supposed to hit me with the stuff, enough that I couldn't expel it in time.

  Rather than reply, she just smiled, and then she was gone, without Crystal ever having heard a thing. She stirred as I got back into bed.

  "Mm, Matty, you smell nice," she purred, half asleep.

  Oh bollocks. Damn it, Gabby!

  Afterword

  Thanks for reading Heart's Darkness! I hope that it was worth the wait, and that you enjoyed it. I would like to say a huge thank you to all my readers for sticking with me, and for all your emails and posts of support, they have been a real gift to me.

  Heart's Darkness is a transitional book, where Mathew begins his journey from student to master, growing into his role as the First Shadow. The next book will begin 'The Descent Sequence', which this novel (and the one before) has (hopefully) set up. I leave you to guess what that title means, and what the books that follow will be like!

  I can't say when Book 6 will be out, but it won't be a colossal wait (we aren't talking years, don't worry!). In the meantime, thanks again for reading!

  If you enjoyed the book, and you have some spare time, I would greatly appreciate a review, and any comments or questions can be sent to me directly at hdaroberts@gmail.com, or to my Facebook Page, where I will be posting updates in the future.