by Ciara Graves
Warning: Unputdownable action-packed fantasy, with mages, sirens, demons, dragons, gryphons and a Federal Paranormal Unit
Chapter 1
Mercy
I parked the bike outside my old apartment building, climbed off, set the helmet on the back, and looked upward.
Plastic covering the hole that had been one of the walls to my place snapped loudly in the breeze. I hadn’t been back since before we went to Sector 13. I wasn’t even sure why I was here now, but still, I found myself inside and heading upstairs.
The door to my place was unlocked. Not like there was anything left in there anyway. Tools and several work lamps littered the floor as I walked through the place that had once been my home.
That wasn’t true. This place had never been home. It was just the place I came to crash in between jobs. Where I patched up countless wounds and plotted my next move. I used to have plans for everything. Back up plans, ways to get my ass out of trouble. It was how Damian taught me. Be prepared for anything.
“So much for that training,” I muttered to the shadows.
Damian had been gone this long before, but my gut told me this time was different. His absence ate at me every day that passed without a word from him. A message of some kind.
We’d seen Shuval in Sector 13. It might’ve only been for a second, but she’d been there. Was it possible she went to wherever he’d gone and captured him? Killed him?
I shuddered at the thought of his parts spread out on a table for the dark covens to peruse and purchase. Or would she keep him alive and break him down bit by bit? Torture him until he went insane.
I rubbed at my sore knuckles, picking at the dried blood. Mine or the half-demon’s, I couldn’t tell. Not that I cared. Seemed my hands were always covered in blood lately. It was a bad omen. Damian being gone this long was a bad omen.
Rafael was right. No one in the Underground knew where Damian was. He was too careful. If he and Nor had embarked on an extremely dangerous mission, one he didn’t even tell me about, he’d trust the details with no one, in case the bad guys came looking. But sitting around and waiting wasn’t in my blood. Made my gut churn.
I shook out my hands and rolled my neck.
“Alright, you stubborn bastard,” I said, “I’m finding you before you end up dead.”
Gigi had tried to track Damian and Nor a week ago, but her spell hadn’t gone far. We’d traced it as far as the front door to his place when it sputtered and went out. Gigi had seemed surprised and tried it two more times until she realized what he must’ve done.
The bastard knew I’d try to find him, and he put a shield on himself so I couldn’t. Seemed Nor had, too. But I wasn’t giving up, not yet. I’d found Wesley and Gigi. I’d saved them.
I was going to find Damian and bring his ass home so I could chew him out.
Spreading my fingers wide, I shut my eyes and summoned my mage fire. I pictured Damian’s face in my mind. Only his face. He’d been in my apartment enough times there was a strong trace of his essence left behind.
Fire warmed my palms, and when I opened my eyes, it spread out, swirling around me in an ever-growing spiral. It zoomed around until it latched onto Damian’s trail.
The fire shifted and morphed, taking on the shape of a hound tracking a scent. It sniffed around the apartment, knocking over lamps and shuffling tools, until its head perked up and its ears fell back.
“What is it?”
The fire growled.
I expected it to take off after Damian’s trail. Or maybe sputter out as Gigi’s spell had.
When it turned toward the front door, I frowned. It lowered itself on its front legs and snarled louder, the flames growing, and with it the hound’s body.
I peered out the front door and slowly reached for my holstered gun.
“Impressive trick,” a voice called from a darkness that filled the hallway which had been lit up only moments ago. “Too bad it won’t be enough to save you.”
I squinted, but there was no distinguishing the figure from the shadows.
“Nothing to say? My, that is not how he described you.”
“Who?” I asked sharply.
“Oh, I’m not sure I should tell you just yet. Think I’ll wait to reveal that when you’re begging for your life.”
Footsteps came closer, but the darkness moved with them, preventing me from seeing this new enemy.
The hound’s flames weren’t even enough to penetrate the wall of solid darkness. Shooting into the center mass sounded like a terrible idea.
I snapped my fingers, and the hound bolted forward, the fire exploding until its brightness flooded the apartment.
The man shouted, and the shadows shattered enough for me to reveal a tall, slender figure holding his hands to his face.
The hound slammed into him, aiming for his neck. He grappled with it. The hound yipped as its flames were doused.
It was enough for me to take aim. I raised my gun and pulled the trigger as the darkness closed in around the enemy again.
He grunted, but there was no thud of a body hitting the floor. The shadows remained. I kept my gun aimed in front of me as more fire burst to life in the palm of my other hand.
“That was uncalled for,” the intruder rasped.
“You’re the one breaking and entering,” I reminded him, slowly backing away.
The missing wall was behind me. I only had a couple more yards to go then I’d hit air.
The shadows grew, stretching toward me. He wasn’t a hybrid. His power wasn’t that intense, but he was damned strong.
I’d heard of shadow magic like this. I guess the rumor that the fairies had eradicated their evil halves was a lie. He was a nefari. I’d never thought I’d meet one in my lifetime. Not even Damian had run across one.
Lucky me.
I wracked my memories for the stories I’d heard. There was a way to kill them, and it wasn’t with the silver bullets loaded in my gun.
Iron. I needed iron.
Fire would work, too, but his shadows acted as a dampener, making it hard for me to keep even a small one lit in my hand.
“You could make this simple and agree to come with me without a fight,” he said with a light, fluttery voice that did not match his true nature at all.
I took another step back. The plastic flapped noisily behind me. Close, too damned close to that edge. “And where exactly would you be taking me, huh? Or I should say to whom?”
“I think you already know the answer to that question.” He sighed heavily, and the shadows paused in their advance. “He did say causing you a decent amount of pain was not out of the question after what you did to him.”
Envy.
My scar flared to life in pain. I bit my cheek to stop myself from making a sound.
“You can tell him he’s more than welcome to drop dead.” I took another step back then stopped. I was out of room. There was nowhere to go. Damn it. “I’m not going with you and I’m not about to let him get his hands on me.”
As his dark laughter crackled around the room, I glanced around, searching for anything I could use against him.
And there it was a few feet to my left.
Keeping my face blank, I shifted an inch at a time while the nefari continued his mad cackling. Yeah, no way in hell was I letting him lay his hands on me. I moved another few inches, carefully tucking my gun away.
“What’s this? Giving up already?”
I froze, my hand at my side. “I’m not one for giving up. Thought Envy would’ve told you that much.”
“He did. He also told me not to fail in bringing you to him.” The shadows stretched along the ceiling and parted enough to see the nefari, merely two feet away from my face.
My breath caught at the black flames flickering in his dark, violet eyes.
“You think you can trick me? I’m a fae. I cannot be fooled.”
I smirked. “Maybe not, but you are blind.”
The last word was barely out of my m
outh when I lunged left.
He yelled as the shadows closed in around me. They lashed at my legs, wrapping me tightly.
It didn’t matter. The heavy sledgehammer was in my hands.
As he dragged me backward, I flipped onto my back and with a shout of my own, swung it as hard as I could at the bastard.
His skin sizzled when the iron head of the sledgehammer cut a swath through the solid darkness and hit his side.
The shadows around my legs slithered away, and I was on my feet, rearing back for another swing. I couldn’t see his head, but I aimed high in hopes I’d hit it.
More shadows faded and the sledgehammer crashed into the nefari’s shoulder.
Bone cracked. His yell turned into a screech as he staggered away.
“You should’ve listened to Envy.” I panted as I hoisted the sledgehammer up for a third strike. “I don’t go down easy.”
“You are coming with me,” he screeched and lunged forward.
Somewhere over the din of his yelling and mine, someone shouted my name.
The nefari charged me. I side-stepped, bringing the sledgehammer around to his skull.
His shadows whipped out, wrapping desperately around my arms and legs as he stumbled back, a blank look on his face. The fire in his eyes went out and then he was falling into the plastic draped over the opening in my apartment.
The makeshift wall gave way as the nefari tumbled into it and fell. His shadows clung to me.
I scrambled to grab hold of something to stop from going over the ledge with him.
But there was nothing to grab, and then my feet were on air.
I started to fall, a curse building in my throat.
Suddenly, I was jerked to a stop.
The shadows fell away from my body, and I watched the nefari crash toward the pavement.
Only he didn’t hit the pavement. He landed on my bike, crushing it. My Banshee!
I glanced above me to find Rafael, one hand holding the handle of the sledgehammer I still held with one hand. His other was buried in the brick wall, his muscles straining as he hauled me back into the apartment.
We dropped the sledgehammer, and then I was in his arms, kissing him fiercely. It didn’t last as long as I’d have wanted. Seconds later, he was checking me over for injuries.
“I’m fine,” I assured him, catching his hands and forcing him to look at me. “How do you always get here in time?”
“I had help,” he growled. He nudged the sledgehammer with his boot. “Really?”
“Bullets weren’t exactly working.” As soon as I told him why the nefari was here, Rafael would be dragging me back to his apartment, but we’d agreed to no more lying. Not even if it kept the other one of us safe. “He was a nefari. Envy sent him.”
Our fight from earlier seemed so petty now.
Rafael grabbed hold of my hand and tugged me toward the door without another word. I stopped long enough to pick up the sledgehammer.
His brow rose.
“What? This baby saved my life. I’m not leaving it behind.”
We hurried through the building and down to the sidewalk. A crowd had gathered around the nefari. Shadows leaked from his body, along with blood and bits of brain.
I smiled darkly until Rafael shot me a look over his shoulder.
“What? That bastard destroyed the Banshee,” I pointed out as a pang of loss hit me. “My poor bike. I worked my ass off to get her.”
“Could’ve been your life,” he uttered. “We need to get out of here in case there are more.”
Rafael’s jaw was set.
I didn’t argue, and we hurried away from the scene, keeping our heads low. The sledgehammer probably wasn’t the best thing to be carrying around the streets. But after that attack, if there were more nefari coming after me, I’d be holding onto it. I didn’t have many iron weapons. All these damned bad guys kept taking or breaking them.
I really needed to do some weapon restocking soon.
Neither of us said another word until we were safely inside Rafael’s apartment. I rested the sledgehammer against the couch.
“What were you doing there?” Rafael asked. He hadn’t moved away from the door.
“Thinking,” I replied. I took off my long jacket and tossed it over the chair. “Don’t give me that look. Not like I could know there was going to be some asshole there trying to kill me.”
“You know Envy wants to get his hands on you because Shuval wants you,” he said, dangerously calm. “This is why I don’t want you roaming around the city by yourself.”
“There’s always going to be someone coming after me.”
“I think you just proved my point.”
“What point?” I kicked out of one boot then the other, chucking them across the room. “You are not putting me on lockdown, and I don’t need you acting like my bodyguard. You are my boyfriend. My partner. And there’s some crazy shit going on out there that I have to be a part of.”
His biceps tensed as he crossed his arms across his chest, but remained silent.
“I’m not going to apologize for trying to find Damian,” I went on.
“That’s what you were doing?”
I picked at my nails as I turned around and walked to the windows. “Yeah. I thought if I had a better trail, a place where he… where he almost died, I’d be able to break the shield he placed on himself. I’d be able to track him.” I leaned my forehead against the glass as the night’s events finally caught up with me.
I shut my eyes as the last of the adrenaline from the bar fight and the nefari attack slipped away, leaving me exhausted. Wrapping my arms around myself, I was not about to let Rafael see how shaken up I was.
That nefari had been strong, almost strong enough to take me. If Envy sent one after me, he’d send more. And who knew what else.
“Mercy,” Rafael said, his voice quiet.
I opened my eyes to find him standing only a few feet away.
“You have to be more careful. That’s all I’m asking, and if you can’t do that, then I will find a way to put you on lockdown.”
“The hell you will. Have you forgotten who I am? I’m Mercy Temple. The bounty hunter. Remember? I don’t need to be protected. I’m not some weakling. I’m not fragile.”
“That’s exactly why you need to be careful,” he yelled back, his calm demeanor shattering. “I’m tired of watching you almost die. Did you ever think of that? Yeah, you’re the deadly Mercy Temple. Everyone’s scared of you. Only, guess what? Envy isn’t. These bastards he’s sending after you won’t be. They know you. They know you won’t back down from a fight, which is why I’m asking you to stop putting yourself in these situations.”
“You can’t ask me to just bury my head and what, hide?”
“I’m not asking you to hide. I’m asking you to stop being so damned reckless. Shit, do you want to prove Bowen right?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think he’s right? You really think he should’ve left me behind?” I waited for Rafael to answer, but all he did was stare back at me. “You are not going to start treating me like some damned prisoner.”
“I will if you don’t start understanding how serious the situation is.”
My jaw dropped.
He threw his hands up then walked away.
“No, don’t you walk away from me. Rafael, get your ass back here.”
“Why? All you’re going to do is say the same thing as always.” He opened the fridge, pulled out a beer, and twisted the cap off. “I don’t want to fight with you. Hell, half the time I’m not even sure why you feel the need to turn this into an argument.”
“Because you’re asking me to stop being me.”
“No,” he seethed as he slammed the bottle into the sink. It shattered. “I’m asking you to care about your damned life. Like I do. Yes, Damian is missing. And yes, Envy and Shuval are out there plotting their next move. We’re stuck here until we have a plan. And no, we don’t have one yet,” he a
nswered as I was about to ask if they’d come up with anything. “Until we do, all I ask is that you think before you start fights in bars or go off on your own.” He leaned on the counter heavily, shaking his head.
My mouth opened and closed a few times, but I couldn’t get any words to come out. How intensely we loved each other never ceased to amaze me. How raw those emotions were.
Rafael’s gaze met mine across the room.
“I told myself a long time ago I would do whatever necessary to keep you alive,” he said quietly. “I will, no matter what that means.”
“But I’m never going to be safe,” I tried again as he grunted and stormed toward the bedroom. “Until Shuval and Envy and all the rest are dead, my life is going to be in danger. You can’t expect me to always play it safe.”
“I can because it’s what the old Mercy would’ve done. The old Mercy was meticulous. She planned. She knew what she was doing. She didn’t wing it and hope for the best.”
“The old Mercy stopped existing when she learned the truth about everyone in her life,” I argued.
He paused at the bedroom door and pinned me with an intense look. “Then I suggest you find a way to get her back. We’re going to need her if we’re to have a snowball’s chance in hell of stopping Shuval.”
Then he walked into the bedroom and slammed the door.
I blinked a couple of times then banged my fist on it. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The door flew open, and Rafael’s eyes narrowed. “I am going to bed.”
Then he shut the door again.
“And what? You’re locking me out of the bedroom?” I hit the door until it opened.
“You started the fight. You sleep on the couch. I’m going to enjoy my nice, large bed.” He shut the door.
This time he locked it.
I kicked it, forgetting I’d taken off my boots, and cursed as I hobbled around on one foot. “Asshole,” I bellowed, but the door remained locked. “Not like I haven’t slept on the couch before,” I reminded him, still yelling.
