Dark Gift

by Kim Richardson

  “That’s just it.” Tyrius shifted on my shoulder. “They shouldn’t be this faint. The blood is still wet, so the crime happened within the last four hours. Not long enough for the energies to be so faint. They should be much, much stronger. More potent.”

  “What are you trying to say?” asked Gareth, his brow lowered as he huddled closer.

  Tyrius lifted and then dropped his shoulders. “I’m not sure. Just that the demonic energies have been diluted somehow.”

  “Diluted?” I exclaimed softly, my tension growing stronger. “On purpose? To throw us off maybe? But that doesn’t make sense. Clearly, they want us to find the bodies.”

  “Exactly,” mewed the cat. “I can’t figure out how they managed to cross into the church either. I can’t detect any dark spells or enchantments.” He sighed, shrugging. “This demon fivesome’s pretty messed up.”

  “Can you tell what kind of demons did this?” asked Gareth, pulling the question out of my mouth. “Lesser? Mid? Greater demons? A couple of ghouls and imps?”

  Tyrius let out a breath. “No. I can’t. The energies are too faint.” The cat nudged my neck with his head. “Sorry, Rowyn. I know you were hoping to get at least a species to focus on. I got nothin’.”

  “Don’t apologize, Tyrius.” I gave my friend a rub under his chin. “You’ve given us plenty to work with. We know it’s five demons and not just one. And we know they’re using some kind of concealment that keeps their demon energies hidden. But we don’t know how or why.”

  Damn. I’d been really hoping Tyrius could have pinpointed the demons responsible. That would at least have given us some real clues to find and stop them.

  My eyes found the elf and I saw the same disappointment twisting his features.

  “We’ll just have to work with what we have,” said Gareth.

  My brows reached my hairline. We? Since when was there a we? I hadn’t heard from him in seven months, a week and three days—not that I was counting—and now he thought he could just show up and we could be a team?

  “Um, Gareth,” I began, as I spotted a few secret pockets inside his coat when he twisted slightly forward. “Shouldn’t you be tending your shop?” Unless he had a human working for him when he took days off, but I seriously doubted the secretive elf would let anyone work so close to him.

  Gareth looked surprised at what he saw on my face. “It’s closed on Wednesdays.”

  Liar. I could see the muscles in his face straining to keep from showing any emotion. If he wasn’t wearing a hat, I’d bet his ears were turning red.

  I put my hands on my hips. “Why are you really here, Gareth? It’s not the first time a couple of demons made a meal out of a few half-breeds.”

  The elf frowned as he took in my question, his jaw clenching. “No. But it’s the first time I’ve ever seen them carve half-breed into their chests.” I scowled at his tone, which only seemed to tick him off further. But I noticed he said chests, plural, so he’d known about the first victim too.

  “What happened to the ‘I don’t want to get involved,’ crap you used on me before?” I accused. “Because this—you here—that’s getting involved.”

  Gareth pressed his lips together, so I pressed on, not really knowing where this anger was coming from. “How did you know to use my name with the detective over there? How did you even know I was going to show up?”

  But I answered my own question. It was Gareth I’d sensed watching me at the first victim’s site. He was the one I’d felt spying on me. It wasn’t the demon killer. It was Gareth. Damn that elf.

  The elf cleared his throat dryly. “I’ve been around a lot longer than you. There are things you still don’t know about this city, about the half-breed community. What happens to them concerns me. It concerns me greatly.”

  “Is that why you chose to live among the humans? Because it concerns you greatly?” Yeah, okay, that was low, but I was angry. The elf knew how to push my buttons.

  Gareth’s expression was guarded as he said, “You’re not a half-breed, Rowyn. You can’t possibly understand.” Ouch. That. Hurt.

  I felt a guttural growl trying to escape from my throat, and I pushed it down. I opened my mouth to add an insult, but what could I say to that. He was right. I wasn’t a half-breed. I was a bastard. A monster. Raised as an angel-born, but I wasn’t that either. I had angel and demon essence in my veins. Well, archdemon more specifically, according to the old hag. So what did that make me?

  Had the elf heard Lisbeth when she told me that I had the blood of the archdemon? By the perceptive way he was watching me now, his eyes alight with the confidence of secrets, I wasn’t so sure.

  “Can you two stop with the pissing contest?” interrupted the cat. “There’s something else I haven’t told you.”

  “What?” Gareth and I said together, annoying me all the more. His mood was tense and I could smell his aftershave. It was a pleasant musky smell, and I scowled.

  Tyrius squirmed on my shoulders, like he was nervous, unsure how to say what he was about to reveal to us.

  “Spit it out, Tyrius,” I said, a little too loudly. Detective Walsh looked up at us from his phone, probably thinking Tyrius had swallowed a piece of evidence or something. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up. The man frowned but kept talking on the phone, his face a shade redder than a few minutes ago.

  “Take it easy, woman,” spat the cat. “Before you make me spew a furball on you.”

  I exhaled. “Sorry, Tyrius. Go ahead.” I was watching my feet, but I could feel Gareth’s eyes on me.

  “There was another presence,” announced Tyrius, and I stiffened. “It was faint, but I felt it.” The cat swallowed. “I felt an angel presence.”

  “What?” Gareth and I said at the same time again.

  This time, the entire police force and clergy all homed their attention on us. The last thing we needed was the human police looking at us like we were holding something back. Detective Walsh was eyeing us strangely, like we’d suddenly become suspects.

  “You believe the angels did this?” Gareth lowered his voice so that only the three of us could hear.

  “Angels don’t like to get their hands dirty, especially in half-breed blood,” said the cat, “but I know what I sensed. And it’s definitely angel. I don’t know if they were here before or after the werewolf was killed. The aura is too faint.” I heard the disappointment in his voice. He really wanted to solve this case as much as I did.

  “It’s possible the angels got word of what the demons were doing and came to stop them,” I voiced, though I didn’t sound convinced.

  I hadn’t seen an angel since that night Gareth saved my ass. Maybe they’d given up on me. Maybe with the destruction of the White Grace, they’d decided to give me a break? I doubted that was true. I couldn’t let my guard down, not until the Legion of angels itself told me the bounty on my head was lifted.

  Tyrius nodded. “That would explain the faint angel presence I felt. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard of the Legion getting involved with half-breed matters. Isn’t that the job of the angel-born?”

  “It is.” I sighed. “Maybe this is bigger than we thought.” My tension began to build. “If the angels are involved, the angel-born will be here soon.” And I didn’t want to be here if Jax showed up. It would just make things uncomfortable, and I didn’t need that right now.

  But it seemed my life was a roller coaster of crap because I turned to the sound of a commotion just in time to see Jax stroll into the church.

  6

  Jaxson Spencer waltzed into the church like he was God himself, coming in for a routine checkup. He moved with the same liquid grace, oozing confidence and power. With the light spilling through the stained-glass windows on him, he seemed to glow, just like an angel. His hair had grown out a little since the last time I’d seen him, and fair fringes curled close to the nape of his neck.

  He did have a glow about him. It was a healthy glow, not the gaunt and drawn look he ha
d the last time I’d seen him after Gareth had exorcised the jinni Jeeves from his body.

  He wore a dark suit with some expensive and flexible material, which slid smoothly across his athletic body as he made his way further inside the church. He looked good in it. Hell, he looked friggin’ finger-lickin’ good. The souls help me, he was beautiful.

  But he was also an ass.

  He was with another young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. The stranger was a few inches taller than Jax, his shoulders wider, and his skin a shade darker. His hair was cut so short it was impossible to tell if it was brown or black. His features were pleasant, not as pleasant as Jax’s but nice to look at nonetheless.

  I half turned when Jax broke from the police officer he was talking to, his motions sharp as he strolled his way towards Detective Walsh with his suit jacket open. I watched as the two angel-borns flipped some badges at the detective, some faux government agency no doubt.

  “Demon balls,” cursed Tyrius, and I winced at the sharp claws that perforated my skin. “What’s this candy-ass doing here?”

  “Investigating the crime scene,” I answered, glaring at the angel-borns. “They want to make sure whatever’s killing the half-breeds doesn’t spread over to their precious angel-born asses.”

  “You going to say hi?” came the cat’s voice, making me stiffen.

  “No.” I turned so that my back was to Jax and his friend. Gareth was watching me, a curious expression on his face, but I ignored him.

  Damn. I could feel my blood pressure skyrocketing until it pounded behind my eyeballs. It wasn’t love. Hell no. It was anger. Beautiful, hot anger. I was furious, really. I was feeling betrayed that after we’d saved his ass, he’d never even reached out to say thanks. That’s what really pissed me off.

  I smoothed out my emotions. I didn’t want Jax to feel like he had this kind of effect on me.

  Tyrius shifted on my shoulders. “Here comes Tweedledee and Tweedledumber,” he whispered as he settled with his tail around my neck.

  “Hi, Gareth,” came Jax’s voice behind me as the two men shook hands. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “You’re not the only one,” said Gareth, and my breath came in a rush. Damn that elf. “Seems we all have a common interest in these killings.”

  Clenching my jaw, I stilled my features as best as I could and turned around. “Hi, Jax,” I said, smiling and glad my voice came out even, professional, and almost cheery, though my heart was having a wrestling match inside my chest with my lungs. His face was even healthier close up, but instead of his playful and mischievous green eyes that I’d grown so accustomed to, there was a new darkness there, a whisper of a troubled past.

  Jax searched my face for a beat too long. “It’s nice to see you again, Rowyn.”

  “Get back, Goldilocks,” growled Tyrius, as he whipped out his claws, “or I’ma go all Edward Scissorhands on your ass.”

  Heat rushed to my face, but I was glad inside. “Tyrius,” I warned, though I couldn’t be prouder of my best friend than at this very moment. Seeing Gareth smile made it even better. “Down, boy. That’s a good kitty. There are humans about.” My smiled widened at Jax’s own surprise at Tyrius’s outburst of anger. Wow. He is so clueless.

  Feeling much better, I brushed past Jax and stuck my hand out to the stranger who had been watching us with a comical smile curved over his clean-shaven features. I couldn’t see the P-shaped birthmark on his neck—the archangel Michael’s sigil—but I was positive he was from the same house as Jax.

  “Rowyn Sinclair,” I greeted the stranger, still smiling.

  The stranger’s eyes pierced me as he took my hand. “Ethan Walker,” he said with a firm handshake, his skin rough and calloused, denoting hours spent handling weapons.

  Ethan squeezed my hand gently before letting it go. “Pleasure to meet you, Rowyn,” he said, his voice rumbling pleasantly. “Too bad it had to be under these unfortunate circumstances.” His gaze slid to the corpse and I saw his jaw clench.

  True. But I made it a mission to stay away from the angel-born. I might have had some of their blood, but I wasn’t like them.

  When my gaze slid to Jax, he was frowning, not appreciating how Tyrius had told him off. Well, whoop-de-freaking-do.

  Jax moved away from us and stood facing the body, his motions conveying a nervous jerkiness as he stared. I wondered if he was thinking of the Netherworld. God knows what the demons had done to him during his short stay. I would have loved to pick his brain about the Netherworld, but it was clear that Jax would never share that story with me. Or anything else ever, for that matter.

  “The writing’s the same as the first victim,” he said after a moment. His features were tight as his eyes took in the gory details of the scene. “It’s some demonic language.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” spat Tyrius and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing. “You got all that in the last three minutes?” Oh, my kitty cat is very angry. I felt him perch up on my shoulder so he was eye level with Jax.

  Jax circled the corpse to get a better look at the head. “Male. Early thirties. The cops have no ID for the guy. He could be anybody.” He looked at the missing fingers. “He was tortured. He bled out. That’s what killed him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this kind of human sacrifice before.”

  I rolled my eyes. “He’s a werewolf,” I said, and Jax turned around to look at me. I caught a policeman looking at me so I lowered my voice. “Trust me. I know a werewolf when I see one.”

  “You mean when you smell one,” offered the cat, his fur brushing against my cheek.

  Jax looked unconvinced. “Are you sure?”

  Are you freaking kidding me? “Yes. I’m sure. Just like I’m sure the other victim was a vamp. You knew her. Vicky, Danto’s friend.” By the widening of his eyes, I knew he had no idea the first victim had been a vampire or Vicky. Had he not looked at her head?

  If the council didn’t even know the victims were half-breeds, what the hell were they even doing here? If it weren’t for the simple fact the victims were half-breeds, this looked like your typical, occult, demon-worshiping-wacko human serial killer.

  My eyes found Gareth and we shared a long look. I could see the thoughts behind his dark eyes.

  “What does the council expect you to find here?” I asked Ethan, but Jax answered.

  “Clues to catch and eliminate the demon that’s committing these murders,” he answered. “What do you think?” Well, at least he suspected the killer was a demon. So, he wasn’t completely clueless. Just an asshole.

  Tension pulled Jax’s shoulders back. “It’s our mandate as angel-born to keep the world safe from demons,” he said, and I couldn’t help but feel the emphasis he put on the word demon as though it were directed at me. “We do it because we want to because it’s important to us. Not because we’re getting paid to do it.”

  Very mature. I pursed my lips, stifling down my rebuke. He was trying to get a rise out of me. I don’t know why, but I wouldn’t let him.

  Ethan said something under his breath and rubbed his jaw. With his hands in his pockets and his shoulders up about his ears, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here.

  Jax glared at me, and I don’t think I’d ever seen him—him and not Jeeves—look at me with such anger before. But I really didn’t care anymore. I was tired of his bullshit.

  He wasn’t a true friend. And that meant I didn’t have to be nice to him.

  Jax pulled out his phone and turned his back on us. He moved around the corpse, snapping pictures with his phone and walking around slowly to get different angles and closer shots.

  Ethan’s eyes were on the corpse before flicking to Jax. “Did you figure out what the writing says yet?”

  A soft “mmm” came from Jax as he scrolled the screen of his phone with his finger. “It’s either race or blood. I’ll have Daniel run these through the Elder Codex database and see if he gets a match.”

  �
��Good one, Columbo,” Tyrius snickered and both Ethan and Jax’s eyes snapped back to mine.

  “You know what the writing says. Don’t you?” accused Jax. Damn. There was real anger there again.

  I pursed my lips. “Nope. No clue. I’m just as clueless as you.”

  Jax watched me for a moment. “You’re lying. You know something. Tell me.” He moved to stand in front of me, his own anger growing. “You’re obligated to tell me.”

  Oh, no he didn’t. “What was that?” I let out a cheerless laugh. “Obligated? Listen here, Jaxon. I’m not obligated to do anything but maybe kick your sorry ass. You better not go there if you know what’s good for you.”

  Jax blinked at the fury creasing my brow. “You can’t keep information from the council. That’s like treason.”

  I got right in his face. “I’m not part of your precious council or your world,” I said, my anger filtering out of me like sweat. “We would have never crossed paths if I didn’t accept that job from that goddamned council.” If he was going to threaten me again, I was going to kick his ass in front of his friend. I didn’t care. He deserved it.

  Jax’s features twisted in a scowl. “You’re not going to tell me?” he said, unbelieving. He looked like a spoiled little rich boy who never knew the meaning of “no,” and I wanted to kick him in the teeth. “We’re on the same team, Rowyn. We all want to find these demons.”

  Somehow, I didn’t think that was true. “That’s all we have,” I answered. “You’re welcome to do your own investigating.”

  I was glad and surprised that Gareth wasn’t saying anything either. Seeing as they were friendly, the elf could have told Jax the truth, but he didn’t. He kept quiet. For me or for himself, I had no idea, but I was thankful for it.

  As I watched Jax’s face redden in his irritation, a thought occurred to me. Perhaps I could twist this to my advantage.

  “Okay, fine,” I said, smiling at him without showing any teeth. “I’ll tell you.”