Shadow World

by Gaja J. Kos

  Breccan laughed—and, fuck if it didn’t sound like pure sex.

  “You needed the fight, Crina. And, as I said, considering the slit-throat frustration that overwhelmed the entire apartment when you entered, Yelena certainly seemed like the obvious answer.”

  I dumped a tablespoon of sugar into my cup, then added a double dose of whiskey. The cream, I didn’t bother with.

  The demon lord shook his head when I waved the bottle at him. His fucking loss. I grabbed the two mugs, handed the plain one over, and plopped myself down in the empty chair.

  If I had any energy left, I would have snickered at how absurd the situation was. Coffee with Breccan after we wrecked most of my living room. Hard to think of anything weirder.

  “Why are you here?”

  Breccan sipped his coffee, those elegant fingers of his flirting with the glossy, raven-patterned surface. “I thought about what you said the last time we spoke.”

  “That I can put you in touch with some quality people?”

  His mouth twitched. “I thought I already made it perfectly clear on where I stand regarding that.”

  Like it or not, my cheeks heated. I blamed it on the whiskey.

  “Fine, so you want me,” I spat out, getting over the word want as fast as I could. “There’s still the small problem of me belonging to Yelena and not being allowed to work for any other denizen of the Shadow World.”

  “Hence my being here.” He placed the mug on the table and angled his head to the side.

  I fought the urge to run my fingers through his cascading hair.

  Pull yourself together, asshole.

  “Should you accept the case, I’m willing to offer you protection, Crina, as well as take any and all responsibility were Yelena to find out about our arrangement. Even shield you with my court, if need be.”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “You’re saying you’d pledge me to you?”

  “Only if it’s what you want. Or if we’re left without options. Otherwise, you’ll have my full protection until the end of the case. Then we part ways with the promise that I would intervene at any time in the future on the off chance Yelena caught wind of what we did.”

  That sounded…a little too good to be true.

  I downed my coffee, drew one foot on the edge of my seat, and curled one arm around my knee. “Why do you care so much? Why go through all this trouble? Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m good, but the job doesn’t require me, specifically.”

  Breccan’s face shuttered. For a second, I almost thought he wouldn’t answer, but then his sigh uncurled through the room. “You’re one of the few demons I know of who sought to live here after the War, instead of retreating to the Shadow World where the authorities’ eyes can’t reach.”

  “As you probably guessed, there really isn’t much allure in the shadows for me.” I bit my lip and briefly contemplated just how much I was willing to give him. I settled on a little more. “I wanted to make a life for myself here. Like you said, with the Shadow World closing ranks, even Yelena keeping strictly to her court, I figured the mortal realm could provide a better future.”

  “And in that we’re alike.” He got up and walked to the window, bracing his hands against the sill.

  Out of instinct or some odd twinge of curiosity, I followed. We stood side by side, gazing out at the slice of Ljubljana the view offered.

  Breccan’s presence asserted itself as a heated awareness at the back of my mind, the power that surrounded his body blanketing my skin and senses alike.

  It was, as much as I loathed to admit it, not an unpleasant state.

  “The airline is important to me,” he said at last, fingers skimming the bottom of the glass. “ArcaneWings is more than a business venture. It’s my foothold in this realm. If the worst happens and Yelena goes off the rails, the Shadow World won’t exactly be the kindest of places to dwell in. And while I enjoy power, the true reason why I care for my position in our native realm is the ability to act. To implement changes.”

  My back hit the edge of the wall as I spun to look at him.

  Changes and demon lords usually didn’t go hand in hand.

  While I’d spent only a brief amount of time in his lands during my missions, I couldn’t recall anything as monumental as that jumping out at me.

  But I believed him.

  Whatever he was up to, however he was running his court, Breccan was doing it in a way that kept the others from finding out. Yelena would have thrown a fit by now, had she known Breccan was…progressive.

  The lack of outrage only further proved how serious he was.

  “Developing safe travel that combines magic and technology is certainly a means of achieving change,” I confessed.

  He turned to me, eliminating some of the space that brought the much-needed distance between us. “I won’t tolerate anybody fucking with ArcaneWings. People rely on me, and my employees… They’re like my subjects.”

  “Yours to protect.”

  Although he didn’t answer, the determination was written in his mismatched eyes. I nodded—more to myself—to taste the decision before I uttered it out loud.

  “Okay,” I said slowly. “I can’t give you any promises, but I’ll look into the job. I’ll contact you when I make up my mind.”

  His knuckles set a blazing trail down my cheek. “That’s all I ask.”

  Some part of me was aware I wasn’t moving away—wasn’t doing anything, really, aside from standing there like a complete ass and gawking at his handsome face.

  Breccan’s gaze dipped to my mouth.

  And his lips followed.

  The kiss was chaste, yet singeing, and when the warmth of his body dissolved into particles, I realized I—

  I mourned the loss.

  Chapter 9

  “Your boy has left the country.”

  Simon sounded way too cheerful for the information he’d just relayed, which could only mean…

  “You suspect he left without the amulet?”

  I could feel him nodding on the other end. “I kept an eye on Viktor’s records, as well as the wider dark side of the net for anything that might indicate a sale. Nothing popped out.”

  Not that it automatically disqualified shit going down, but in this day and age, regardless of how careful people were, dealings of such nature, especially on such a scale, more often than not left tracks of some sort. I toed around a piece of my wrecked table I’d missed while cleaning up the previous night and threw myself down on the couch.

  Beneath the citrus aroma of cleaning supplies, the damn thing still smelled like Breccan.

  “Viktor could’ve taken the amulet with him, regardless,” I mused. “Where did you say he went?”

  Simon’s smugness practically dripped down the line. “Berlin. He’s just boarded, so if you hurry, you can sneak into his place and take a look around the vault. If the amulet isn’t there, you can catch him when he lands for a bit of good ol’ robbery.”

  “That’s a lot of ifs, my friend,” I said, though not without a smile. “All right, I’ll head over there now. You disabled the security system?”

  “You question my magic fingers?” he scoffed.

  “Depends on the magic they’re performing.”

  I had to bite my lip to hold back a snicker as Simon’s appalled silence stretched on and on.

  Finally, he said, “If you weren’t playing the reluctant client, Crin, I’d more than gladly give you a tour of just how versatile they are.”

  “Yeah.” I chuckled and made my way towards the bedroom. “That’ll be a pass. But thanks for looking out for my ass.”

  “Hey, when you pay me as much as you do, I’d be an idiot not to do everything in my power to prolong our arrangement.”

  Wasn’t that the truth.

  After we said our goodbyes, I quickly exchanged the camisole and silken shorts for my armor. Black fucking leather.

  Once in pants that fitted me like second skin and the supple jacket zipped up to ward off the
light chill of the morning, I floated over to Viktor’s high-rise. I was relieved to find that Reiner was nowhere in sight this time, though I still did two laps around the perimeter to make sure I wasn’t walking into any nasty surprises.

  Yelena’s—though not entirely uncharacteristic—ambush when I’d landed in her throne room still rubbed me the wrong way. I wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice, even if I doubted anything could top her 'meet the deadline or die' attitude. After all, I only had two days left, give or take a few hours depending on when she’d marked the official start in that creepy head of hers.

  Yeah, it would be hard to top that.

  After I established there, indeed, were no traps laid out for me, I entered much the same way as last time and made a beeline to the safe. The two-layered ward greeted like an old friend as it licked at my atoms, not recognizing a threat where there definitely was one. Still, as I neared the open space, I slowed, double-checking that Simon had been successful.

  Not that I’d ever tell him that, given that I harbored no ludicrous desire to spend the next decade of my life listening to how I betrayed him with my lack of trust in his abilities.

  With no infrared and no wards within the safe, I retook corporeal form, then slipped on a pair of sleek black gloves. My fingers tingled in the presence of all the valuables lining the floor-to-ceiling high-end industrial shelves, but I refrained from pocketing any of them. Instead, with the image of the amulet in my mind, I snooped through every bit of the place.

  And concluded my search empty-handed.

  Great.

  For a second, I contemplated pocketing something just to ease the blow, but changed shape before I could act on the urge. I could always come rob him another day. Right now, I had more important things to do.

  I filtered back through the crack, then out of the apartment, and made my way to the same little slip of roof where I’d run into Reiner that day.

  The lovely pigeon excrements appeared to have made a full comeback after the rain, and one of the fuckers cooed on the ledge as if its life depended on it. Disgusting.

  I retrieved my cell phone from my pocket and used my free hand to ward off the worst of the glare. The instant the numbers became visible on the screen, I knew I’d lost more time in the vault than was advisable.

  As much as it pained me to admit it, Simon sometimes overestimated my speed. I was half demon with all the advantages my father’s kind had to offer—and then some—but I was not above the laws of nature. Or time, for that matter.

  Cursing under my breath, I rang the warlock. “Is Viktor’s plane still in the air?”

  Click-click.

  “Just landed.”

  “Thanks.”

  I pocketed the device, already reaching for the umbilical cord, and whooshed myself to my lair. The rough walls at the heart of my sacred space wrapped around me—along with a harsh pang of longing.

  I hadn’t been here in a long, long while, and although I preferred the mortal realm, my place of power was still mine. A home that would be with me right to the very end.

  Unfortunately, nostalgia had to take a back seat.

  Holding the image of the airport’s exterior in my mind, I let the power surge through me again. The umbilical cord spat me out in a narrow stretch of shrubs, which resulted in rough branches poking at my butt, but at least the location was fairly devoid of people. Not being able to manifest on the other end of such a travel in particle form was—in this case literally—a pain in the ass. Fucking faulty system.

  I skirted past cars, busses, and versatile clusters of people who all but buzzed with that annoying pre-trip excitement—and no small amount of stress to boot. The volatile blend threatened to adhere to me, but as I pushed towards the arrival gate, the atmosphere changed.

  I wished I could have said for the better.

  Exhaustion laced the air, along with an overpowering sense of rush as everybody scurried to where they had to be. I gritted my nonexistent teeth as I floated over a bickering family with three wailing kids, then banked sharply to the left when a group of men in pristine suits barreled through the haphazard crowd.

  When I reached the proper stop at last, my atoms wheezed out a sigh of relief. Then another, as I realized the passengers of Viktor’s flight hadn’t made their way out yet.

  Lingering near the ceiling, I waited.

  The onslaught of voices and jittering energy preceded their appearance. Seconds later, the first of them shuffled out. Some strode forward with the drive of businessmen eager to get to their next meeting, while others sought out familiar faces among the gathered bystanders.

  Not a single one of them, however, was Viktor.

  Like a complete asshole, I waited for what must have been half an hour after the last of the passengers from the flight cleared the building before I finally admitted to myself that Viktor had given me the slip. It pained me to leave the site, but I eventually made my way to the toilets and shifted into corporeal form in one of the stalls.

  Simon answered on the second ring.

  “You’re positive Viktor boarded?”

  A series of clicks. A harrumph. More clicks.

  “Ljubljana’s airport security has him on camera at the terminal. Last I can see him, he was in line, about to have his ticket checked.”

  “Well fuck.”

  I reached out to press my hand against the cream-white door of the stall before thinking better of it.

  “What’s going on, Crina?”

  My laugh was bitter. “Unless Viktor went poof, someone with a shitload of resources made sure his presence in Berlin wouldn’t be known.”

  “Want me to check the airport cameras?”

  I nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, please. Though I have a suspicion you won’t see the bastard on any of them.”

  Unfortunately, being right could sometimes be an utter bitch.

  Simon promised to keep checking every possible feed, but I was still without the amulet. And now without my mark.

  Wasn’t that just peachy.

  Grunting, I pushed the thought of Viktor aside and focused on the other unnerving disappearance I had on my hands.

  Though instincts screamed at me to get moving, I wouldn’t achieve much if I wandered blindly through the Shadow World. Or this one, if my father had decided to seek refuge here. So I remained seated in the drab chair that stank of cigars and liquor, waiting for Stane to emerge from his “warehouse.”

  My gaze skimmed the office that looked as if it had never seen better times, then landed on the rectangular clock with its glaring red digits. Oh, fuck.

  Thanks to Viktor’s class A disappearing act, I’d forgotten about Hieraven. He would have finished syphoning the power a dozen times by now. If, by some chance, Vuyasin had joined him on the venture, my father really wasn’t the type to stick around afterwards. My fingers curled into fists, scraping the worn armrests.

  When shit started piling up…

  I shook my head just as Stane’s wide form squeezed through the too-narrow door separating his storage of stolen goods from the office.

  “Sorry, Crina. Thought I had another bag of the powder, but Tio must have sold it,” he said as if his empty-handed state didn’t make it clear enough. “We haven’t done inventory since last week.”

  Forcing a smile on my face, I got out of the chair and dismissed his apology with a wave. “No worries. Guess I’ll just have to make a trip.”

  I was about to call the power to me when I remembered, “That asshole I sent your way—he ever make it?”

  Stane’s blue eyes twinkled. “I don’t think he’ll be purchasing any illegal items anytime soon.”

  “Came here with an attitude?”

  “And left with his tail tucked between his legs.”

  “Knew you wouldn’t disappoint.” I grinned.

  Stane parried with a hilariously innocent what-you-gonna-do shrug. “The boys needed a little entertainment.”

  We left it at
that. While my visit ended up as nothing more than a waste of my time, Stane’s usual effect on people he deemed friends still managed to lift my mood. Good thing, too, since I had to get my ass all the way over to Maribor in hopes of obtaining the augmenting powder.

  Although my specialty was killing, not fine-tuned magic, I could whip up a summoning if I wanted to. But since my father knew he was wanted and probably expected Yelena to try to pull the same shit on him as she did on me, he was also smart enough to protect himself. Amulets, wards, whatever he could get his grabby hands on. Given the circumstances, I suspected he really wasn’t concerned about pissing Yelena off by shielding himself from her after all the wrath he’d already stockpiled.

  If I wanted to snag him, I needed to dip my toes into what was deemed illegal even by demonic standards—unless you were a lord, of course.

  And that meant hitting the largest black market in Central Europe.

  I barely paid any attention to the rolling green hills that dominated the landscape beneath me once I left Ljubljana’s concrete behind. I simply set my course northeast and traveled at a steady, though not too tasking speed towards Slovenia’s second largest city. Maribor’s black market had been around long before I was born, run by none other than a demon lord. The very same one who ended up marrying Lena’s sister.

  At times, it was still hard to wrap my mind around the fact that even separated into several realms, the world was fucking small.

  After Alin, the aforementioned demon and crime lord, found his mate, he handed off the entire operation to his second-in-command. And Ilya had kept it running smoothly ever since.

  My thoughts drifted in a dangerous direction.

  Lena’s sister was, like her, only part demon. Yelena’s offspring or not, she still belonged to us half breeds who the pureblooded pricks deemed lesser. Filthier. Lana Ambrose had certainly flashed all those assholes a massive middle finger when she claimed the throne as a demon lord’s equal.

  His consort.

  Mate.

  A pair of mismatched eyes invaded my mind, and I dipped down to weave through the traffic just to give myself a distraction.