Forged

by Jacquelyn Frank

  Ahnvil looked at Kamen with shock apparent in his amber eyes. He had felt that push from head to toe, not just in his midsection like she had physically done. What she had done was more. It was power. Pure power.

  “What have you done tae her?” he asked Kamen, his voice low and terrible.

  “It was done the day she was born. It has been there all along. Only now she has a tool to access it. And I would be careful,” Kamen warned. “She shattered that cup because she is raw and inexperienced and powerful. Half-breed or no, she will be a powerful Djynn once she starts to acquire more niks.”

  “Your lessons will stop. She will learn from Grey or from—”

  “SingSing? Let me know how that works out for you,” Kamen said dryly. “If she asks me to tutor her then I will. Threaten me all you like, it is her choice, not yours. Your issues with me are outside of this subject. Are you interested in fighting it out? I’m happy to oblige.”

  Ahnvil clenched his hands into fists twice, his jaw working. Clearly he wanted to take Kamen up on the offer with every fiber of his being, but as reckless as he was, Ahnvil was a Gargoyle. He had been bred with the instinct to protect the man who held his touchstone in his care. That man was Jackson. Their ruler. And if Jackson needed Kamen to protect their little enclave, then he must be protected as well. It burned him, burned him badly to know that once again he was in the position of having to protect Kamenwati, just as he had when he had been Kamen’s slave.

  Kamen stepped a step closer to him, leaning in to say softly, “I am no longer your enemy. Leave the past where it belongs. Only then can you move forward and find what you need.”

  With that Kamen moved past him, leaving Ahnvil to stew in his words.

  Kat hated crying. She almost never did it. She had learned long ago that tears did nothing to change things and were a waste of some perfectly good energy. But for some reason this had all crept under her skin. As she walked angrily down the long drive, blowing off steam through her pace, she tried to make sense of her emotions. She was so angry with Ahnvil for his antagonistic behaviors! He had ruined her very first attempt at being what she was born to be. Instead of lifting the cup she had blown it to bits and it had been his fault. Where did he get off, trying to tell her what she could and could not do? Yes, she understood he had bad history with Kamen, but that was exactly what it was. History. And it wasn’t her history.

  And maybe he was right and she should be cautious around Kamen, and she would be, but having him teach her a few basic activities couldn’t really hurt anything. Could it? Then there was the issue of his disappearance. Where had he gone. Why? He’d made like he was needed for something but there had not been anything going on since the new Nightwalkers had left.

  New. Old. Hell, they were all new to her. But she had brought them all together and that was something to be proud of. If not for her they would never have come this far. Would never have come to understand there was a curse at all. Whatever happened afterward she had done that much at least.

  None of that had anything to do with her and Ahnvil.

  What about me and Ahnvil? she wondered after a moment, her pace slowing considerably from stomping to a mild march. Just what was it she was expecting here? He had never made any declarations of any kind of feelings for her, and she had never asked him for any. She didn’t even want any. Why would she want any? He was so possessive of her as it was, she could just imagine what it would be like if he had actual feelings for her. It was understood, wasn’t it, that theirs was just a physical relationship? If that were the case, it had felt just a little one-sided a little while ago.

  That wasn’t fair. So far he had been very attentive as a lover. And he had even made as though he were going to reciprocate … but something had gone wrong.

  Before she knew it she had reached the edge of the drive, at the farthest end of the property. The house was very small in the distance now, and she was amazed at how far and how fast she could move when in high temper. She stepped out onto the main road. It could hardly be called a road, she noted. It was a dirt ranch road that led deep in toward the property. It made her wonder if all of the land was theirs. It might have to be, if attacks like the one at the airport were a common occurrence. They wouldn’t want to draw attention to themselves.

  She was only a few feet down the road when she had that thought. All of a sudden she felt exposed, as if she had bitten off more than she could chew. She slowed, turned, and stepped back toward the drive.

  Right when she did that, like a magician jerking back a cloth covering a levitating lady, a man appeared in her path. She sucked in a breath to scream, but he got hold of her in the next instant, slapping a hand over her mouth as he grabbed her throat. He barreled into her, taking her down to the ground, his full weight behind a knee that jammed up under her ribs. Her breath left her in a rush and it was all she could do to suck it back in through her nose. The next thing she knew he was grabbing for her pendant and went to rip it off her.

  The punch of energy that left her body was tremendous. It sent the man flying up into the air with a scream of surprise. The necklace fell back down against her chest. Just as she was sucking in a breath to scream, a second man appeared.

  “Aaaahhhnvil!!” she screamed as loudly as she could. She was set upon again, and by the time a third attacker appeared, the first one had regained himself and was coming back down to the ground.

  “It’s hexed or something!” the first announced. “Take the girl. We’ll let Panahasi figure it out for himself.”

  “Done!” The second and third man grabbed her by an arm each and she felt torsion, as though they were going to rip her in two between them. It was so painful that she was afraid to move for fear of ripping her own arms out of her sockets. In desperation she tried to think, tried to focus on what she had learned.

  Build a bridge. To the heart of the pendant’s power, she heard Kamen’s voice in her head.

  But before she could do so, the world around her just disappeared. The sprawling desert landscape vanished from her sight and all she could see was streaking black and charcoal darkness. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. All the while they were dragging her forward. She could feel the rush of the harsh wind against her, as though they were dragging her at a superfast speed from one point to the next. As they went the temperature began to drop to a point well below the crisp night air of New Mexico, until she felt as though she were out in the bleak exposure of Washington state, or some place like it, once more. That supposition was supported when they suddenly stopped and she found herself knee-deep in snow, light flurries falling down around her. No sooner had she made out the stars in the sky than her whole body heaved with the most profound nausea she’d felt in her life. She vomited into the snow, her arms twisted again as they held her, as if she might try something while puking up her guts.

  “That’s the streak, missy,” one of them said in a guttural back-alley cockney accent. “They always belt up on the first run.”

  She was yanked forward toward what looked an old prison or mental institution, but instead of the front entrance she was brought off to a wing on the far side. As they were going, however, she could see an object hanging from the roof of the building. She felt her gorge rise when she realized it was a body. She looked around frantically, but like the house in New Mexico, this was located at the top of a very long drive and there was nothing but wooded land all around it. They could hang bodies in the open because there would never be anyone to see them except those who lived there. She was dragged inside and then down the stairs. She tried to fight then, even in spite of the painful way they had her arms twisted around, but it was impossible. Before she knew it she was being thrown into a cell. They strapped her in with heavy metal manacles connected to chains that fed back into the wall. The heavily barred wall on the front side of the cell was the only exposure. There were no windows, no source of light other than the industrial overhead lighting outside of her cage. On the other side of the ba
rs was what looked like a workshop. There were tables laid out with all manner of things. From a half-dissected animal on one side, to a pile of books on another and bottles and bottles of objects and powders on the third. It was a massive room overall, but it was jammed full of stuff. And the person who kept the cell was clearly something of a slob. Half-eaten food on a plate was on one of the tables, a discarded shirt hung off a desk chair. There was a desk, but it could hardly be seen under the piles and piles of papers and envelopes and other paraphernalia. On the wall were shadowboxes filled with butterflies and various other insects.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered to the now empty rooms. “I’m in Silence of the Lambs! I’m going to be putting lotion in the basket!”

  She was left alone for quite some time. The only sound outside of her frantic breathing was the drip of water. It was cold, cold enough to have her walking back and forth in an attempt to warm herself. There wasn’t so much as a cot or a blanket. Only the floor and the questionable sanitation of a single toilet/sink combination. Just as she was trying to figure out what she was expected to use in the way of toilet paper, a short man entered the room. Or maybe he just seemed short because she had grown so used to Ahnvil towering over her. Oh God, she thought frantically. What I wouldn’t give to have him here right now! He would know what to do. He would have the power and strength to get her out of this horrible situation.

  “Well, what have we here?”

  “A really pissed off woman is what,” she groused, for some reason feeling like she shouldn’t show any fear. But she was afraid. Without Ahnvil, she had no clue how to navigate this dangerous paranormal world. He had been right. It was dangerous to be involved in their world. But the truth was, if the necklace was what they were after, that house had had nothing to do with it. She would have called trouble to her no matter where she went.

  “Charming,” he said drolly. “Now, we can make this a very simple transaction, my dear. You give me my Amulet and I give you your freedom.”

  “Yeah, right. You’re going to just let me walk out of here and go on my merry way?” she noted. Oh shut up, Katrina! What is the matter with you?

  “Well, aren’t you clever. But I promise,” he said, holding up a hand and giving the most fake sincere smile she’d ever seen. “You will be unharmed and let go if you hand me the pendant.”

  “I can’t,” she said, fighting tears and trying to keep them out of her voice. “It won’t come off. It’s like cursed or something.”

  “Do you mind if I try?” he asked.

  She knew what would happen. An evil part of her stepped back invitingly and smiled. “Be my guest,” she said.

  He looked cautious as he entered the cell. “How is it a human girl like you has this pendant?”

  “I got it from a Gargoyle.”

  “Oh. Him. I figured it might be that. Now, let me see.” He reached for the Amulet and picked it up. He examined it for a moment and then, clearly, made the decision to try and pull it over her head. The minute his intent became obvious, the pendant sent out the repulsion field and they both were shoved in opposing directions. She hit the wall and he hit the bars. They both picked themselves up, groaning.

  “See. I told you,” she said.

  “Hmm. This is going to take some doing. The obvious solution might be the best way. I will have to think on it.”

  Panahasi left her cell and went to walk out.

  “Wait! I need something.”

  “What?” he asked wearily.

  “Toilet paper. A blanket and a cot or something. Maybe if I’m more comfortable I’ll be able to figure out how to get it off me.”

  He rolled his eyes. He didn’t believe her any more than she did. “Very well. What harm is there in providing some last creature comforts.”

  That was when she realized what the “obvious solution” was.

  He was going to kill her and take the necklace off her corpse.

  Ahnvil had felt the danger only moments before he had heard Kat scream for him. Somehow they had cloaked themselves from his senses, making it possible for them to come undetected to the borders of the property. He had run for her, stone rippling over his body, wings exploding from his back. He had seen them attacking her, but before he could reach her they had all disappeared together. When he had reached the end of the drive there was nothing left for him to find.

  He stood in the dirt road and roared with fury.

  He should never have let her leave the house. Should never have let her go off on her own! Now she was gone and there was nothing he could do about it except stew in the most incomprehensible paralysis he had ever known in his life. By the time Ihron and Jackson made it to the end of the drive he was on his knees, breathing hard, unable to catch his breath no matter how hard he tried. Tears filled his vision, tears he couldn’t understand because he couldn’t remember the last time he had shed them. Not even when Jan Li had died, burning to a crisp in his hands as the Curse of Ra was thrown against her from three separate quarters. Maybe one, even two simultaneous hits she could have survived, but not three. She had not been strong enough for three.

  And Kat was nowhere near as strong as Jan Li. He didn’t even know if she was immortal or even had immortal traits. She was a half-breed. That meant any number of variables. Any number of weaknesses.

  “Please,” he rasped hoarsely. “Oh God, please … she’s just a li’le thing. She doesna know how tae fight them off. ’Tis all my fault.”

  “Ahnvil,” Jackson said, reaching to put a hand on the Gargoyle’s shoulder. He roared out, in pain and dismay and what felt like a hundred other feelings. He was responsible for her. He was responsible for her and he had let her down. He threw Jackson off himself.

  Think! You have to think!

  “Panahasi! It has tae be Panahasi.”

  “The Templar?” Jackson asked.

  “Yes.” All three of them looked up to see Kamen standing there.

  Ahnvil surged to his feet, unwilling to be caught kneeling before his nemesis.

  “And what do you know of it?” Ahnvil asked scathingly.

  “He’s a weasel,” Kamen said simply. “Weak. A low man on the totem pole.”

  “Even a low man can hurt her,” Ahnvil growled. “He was the one who took the Amulet from your quarters. The one that captured me. I canna believe he even managed it and now I’m answering for it. I’ve committed one blunder after another and she pays the price.”

  “How did he capture you anyway?” Kamen asked. His affectation was flat, but Ahnvil took it as smug.

  “They drugged me. Before I could process the poison I was out cold. Woke in a cell. I doona know anything about it from here to there. But …” He looked away, his mind obviously working. “But I could find the place again wi’ a li’le luck. I was injured … burning and weak, but … just the same … if I use Kat’s house as a starting point and took tae the sky, surely I could find it.”

  “It’s as good a point as any,” Jackson said. “I’ll call the jet.”

  “It will be hours before you get there that way. If they are using the method I think they are it will only take them minutes. If it is who you say it is and he’s working under the radar, he can’t afford to deal with her for very long. He’s going to use the fastest way possible to get to the Amulet.” Kamen made sure he met Ahnvil’s eyes. “The only way to get it off her is to cut off her head.”

  “Gods above.” Ahnvil was shaking, a cold weight settling into the pit in his belly. He was paralyzed with fear. Couldn’t move. He was the take action sort and he should be moving but all he could do was stare dead into the bright blue eyes of the man who had created him.

  “I can travel as fast as they can. But only to a place I’ve seen. And from the sound of it they’ve moved Templar headquarters far and away from where it was last I saw. We were in the southeast before. Now it appears they are northwest.”

  “That doesna help us!” Ahnvil growled.

  “What about a satellite photo?�
� Jackson asked quickly.

  “That will do. Do you think you can find Kat’s house?” Kamen asked.

  “She left her wallet in the house. No doubt it has her address in it.”

  “One other thing … I can only take a willing person. It took three of them to take her while she was kicking and screaming. Someone who resists me will do no good.”

  “I’ll be going,” Ahnvil said. “And make no mistake about it.”

  “I figured you would want to. But that will leave it to me and to you to get her back,” Kamen pointed out. The unspoken was clear. Ahnvil had shown no aptitude for trusting Kamen. “I have the skills to get us in and out of the stronghold … perhaps without anyone even knowing we are there. Provided you allow me to do what I know how to do.”

  “Magic,” Ahnvil scoffed. “Spells, prayers, and incantations.”

  “Yes. Spells that hide. Prayers that bring luck. Incantations that can steal us away from there to here without anyone being the wiser. Are we agreed?”

  Ahnvil narrowed his eyes a moment, but then with a clenched jaw he nodded with a short dip of his head.

  “Verra well. Let’s do this.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The Bodywalker male with the cockney accent made yet another appearance about an hour later with the cot and the blanket in tow. He also had toilet paper but held it out of her reach.

  “What you gonna give me?” he wanted to know. “Here I brought you all these nice gifties. Do somefin’ for me, yeah?”

  “Like what?” she wanted to know with narrowed un-trusting eyes on him.

  “Well, you’re a bit small for my liking, but you’ve got tits just the same. C’mon then. Show a little.”