Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Margo Bond Collins

  After a while, they arrived at a cave.

  “It’s good enough for shelter overnight. We’ll be out of the woods tomorrow morning,” Lanni said.

  Michael walked through the crowd to find Lyla. “Are you okay?” he asked her.

  “Yes, but you don’t look good. Where are you hurt?”

  Michael was dizzy. He could feel the energy draining from his body by the second. His mind started to drift.

  “You’re as white as a sheet, Michael. What happened?”

  He felt pain in his left arm. He looked at it, thinking he must have been injured in the last fight. It didn’t hurt, really. He just couldn’t seem to find his feet anymore. Then his world spun out of its orbit.

  Lyla held Michael, who had collapsed onto her. “Cayson! Lanni!” she shouted. “Light, I need light,” she said.

  Someone lit a torch for her.

  She could feel blood seeping out of his upper arm. “Left arm,” she muttered to herself. She pulled his sleeve up and looked at his arm. The blood seeping out of the cut was black.

  “Poison,” Cayson muttered.

  “Shaman!” Lanni called out.

  An old woman approached and crouched to look at the wound. She shook her head, took out a jar of potion, and held it against Michael’s already blackened lips, making him drink it.

  “Will this fix him?” Lyla asked.

  The shaman shook her head. “It will keep him alive until the morning.”

  “You can make an antidote by then?” Cayson asked.

  She shook her head again. “The brotherhood’s poison is the nastiest kind. It will take days to make the antidote. He doesn’t have that long.”

  Chapter 14

  Lyla and Cayson got as low to the ground as possible. The brotherhood had still not figured out their prisoners had gone and their hounds were dead. They saw the legs of one of the guards Michael had killed sticking out from the corner where Michael had hidden the body. Cayson crawled to the corner and shoved the legs back under cover. Then he signaled for Lyla to come over.

  She got on all fours and crawled over to him. Cayson pointed at the water tank.

  “It’s too big. Might dilute the poison,” Lyla said. She pointed her chin at a room where a couple of guards sat around a table playing some sort of game. “That jug of water is the right size.”

  “How the hell are we going to put the poison in there?” Cayson asked, staring at the jug in the middle of the table. “Why don’t we go back to get Lanni and a few more men and attack them, head on?”

  “No, Lanni and the men need to stay where they are to protect the women, children, and the injured. Let me try something.”

  She picked up a small rock and threw it at the far end of the yard. The two men looked outside, paused for a bit, and then started their game again. She threw another larger rock. That was when they stormed out the door toward the noise they’d heard.

  She crawled into the room and poured poison into the water then sneaked back out.

  When they couldn’t find anything, the men walked back.

  They heard a voice coming from an adjoining room ask, “What was it?”

  “Must have been some kind of animal,” one of the men said on their way back.

  They sat down and resumed their game. Eventually, they drank some of the water. They reacted immediately, realizing they had drunk their own poison, the poison the shaman had made from Michael’s blood. The two poisoned men scrambled toward the neighboring room from where Cayson and Lyla had heard the other voice earlier. Another two guards searched the room and the immediate area around the bunker. When they found nothing, they joined their poisoned friends in the room in the middle of the yard. The men must have been relying on their dogs to bark at intruders, not realizing Michael had killed the hounds.

  Lyla and Cayson followed but kept their distance. They peered through a gap in the wooden panel of the side wall and saw a man—probably the leader—holding a jar of potion in his hand.

  “We have only one dose of antidote. Even if I do give it to you, which one of you will take it, and which one will die?”

  The two poisoned men cried out for mercy.

  The leader sat down on a bench, looking amused. “How about you fight for it? The survivor wins the antidote.”

  Without any discussion, the two poisoned men began to fight like mad dogs. In the end, only one survived, but barely. He crawled toward the leader, reaching his hand out for the antidote. The leader swung a hunting knife, slitting his throat, and the body of the man fell to the ground.

  “Hey!” someone shouted from behind them.

  Lyla and Cayson scrambled to their feet and looked behind them. A group of men from the brotherhood was charging out of a bunker.

  “Plan B,” Lyla said.She and Cayson hurled smoke bombs the gypsy tribe had given them toward the men. The thick smoke and sparkling fire slowed them down because they weren’t sure if the smoke was poisonous or if there would be an explosion.

  Lyla threw another bomb into the room where the leader was, and then she followed it.

  The remaining men in the room ran outside through another door, but the leader stayed.

  In the thick smoke, he stood and smirked at Lyla.

  “You think a gypsy trick will work on me? You don’t look at all like a gypsy. But apparently, you’re with them. Now what do you want, beautiful?”

  “The antidote.”

  “What a beautiful voice. What’s your name?”

  “You identity thief.” Cayson charged at the man, but with one swing of his arm, he knocked Cayson to the ground. He pulled out a knife, which Lyla knew for sure had a poisoned blade.

  He bent down to use it on Cayson, but Lyla leaped quickly into the air and kicked him, sending him to the ground. He dropped his knife as well as the antidote. She darted toward the jar as the man and Cayson fought for the poisoned knife. They rolled on the floor, punching and kicking each other.

  Lyla knew Cayson was going to get cut if she didn’t do something. She had no time to think. She darted over, pulled out one of the hunting knives Michael had given her, and stabbed the leader from behind.

  He roared and turned around.

  She stabbed him again in his chest. Again and again, she stabbed, and still, he seemed to approach her.

  “Enough, Lyla.”

  Until Cayson pulled her away, she hadn’t realized she had been stabbing the leader’s dead body that had fallen on her.

  As the smoke from the bombs subsided, one of the gangsters from the yard came storming toward the bunker.

  Cayson tugged at Lyla. “Let’s go. We have to run now, Lyla.” They hurried out the side door and ran into the woods.

  They heard footsteps and what sounded like an entire troop of men chasing them. The brotherhood was fully alerted now.

  They kept running, but she didn’t know if they would make it through the open field and into the woods. Lanni had said they only had to make it to the woods, and then the brotherhood would give up the chase.

  She glanced behind her. They were getting closer by the second. The woods were far in the distance. She knew they had no chance of making it.

  Then they heard a hum and the low growl of space creatures.

  The brotherhood stopped.

  A giant man with a staff resting on his shoulder stepped out of the woods. He walked toward Lyla and Cayson.

  The brotherhood had stopped chasing them and had turned around, heading back to their bunker.

  In the distance, they saw a smaller shadow.

  “Father!” Cayson gasped.

  His father darted out with a group of men led by the giant man with the staff.

  From behind them, they heard the echoes of voices from the brotherhood. “The Guardian! Run!”

  The man with the staff ran past Lyla and Cayson, giving chase to the runaway brotherhood. Soon after, the field grew quiet, and the air was filled with the stench of blood.

  Chapter 15

  Mich
ael opened his eyes, and Lyla’s beautiful face zoomed in and out of focus. He blinked and tried to gather the pieces of his memories together. He blinked again. What did he just see? He bolted up. “Lyla, you’re covered in blood!”

  She sat at what appeared to be his bedside, or bench side, or whatever it was he was lying on.

  She smiled. It was the same beautiful smile he had seen before, and there was no sign of pain, unusual with the amount of blood on her shirt. “It’s not my blood,” she said.

  “So whose blood is it?” He tried to stand and step away from the bench and fell face down onto the ground. Apparently his legs couldn’t bear his weight just yet.

  Lyla helped him up. Sitting on the bench again, he narrowed his eyes at her. “What happened?”

  Cayson walked into the room with a glass of water, accompanied by Ryan and a giant man he didn’t know. Seeing the stranger, he refrained from saying her name.

  “Drink some water. The shaman said you’ll recover soon,” Cayson said and gave him the water. He pointed at the tall man. “This is the Guardian. Last night, you were poisoned by one of the brotherhood’s knives. Lyla and I went back to the brotherhood’s bunker to find the antidote. We were outnumbered but were rescued by the Guardian. He saved my father, too. Everyone is safe and sound now. So as soon as you can get up on your feet, we’re heading back to the Daimon Gate.”

  “How does that explain the blood?” Michael pointed his chin at Lyla’s shirt.

  “She killed the leader of the brotherhood with a hunting knife you gave her. He bled all over her.”

  Michael gazed into Lyla’s eyes and said nothing.

  “He doesn’t want to speak when I am here. I’ll go and prepare the others for your trip,” he Guardian said and left the room.

  “Can I have a moment with Lyla, please?”

  Cayson and Ryan left the room.

  “What’s so serious, Michael?”

  “Your father originally didn’t want to send me. He said it was more of a technical problem, so he wanted to send Uncle Lorcan.”

  “Lorcan Brody? Gale’s father?”

  “Yes. But I convinced Ciaran to send me because I know there is one thing that Ciaran worries about more than a technical issue. And that is you taking on too great of a responsibility too early.”

  “He wanted me to be his tech geek for a few more years?”

  Michael chuckled. “Yes, he wanted you to be his little princess for as long as possible. He attempted to change fate, and he was wrong to do that. I was wrong too.”

  “I still don’t see what the big deal is.”

  Michael held her bandaged hands. “This is the first life you saved.” He pointed at the blood on her shirt. “That was the first life you took. And they’re both because of me. You’ve lost your innocent mind because of me. Once you’ve lost your innocent mind, it can only get worse. You’ll soon be involved with the multiverse issue. There is no way back.”

  “We didn’t have a choice. And it wasn’t your fault.”

  Michael chuckled. “I failed the very mission Ciaran sent me here for—keeping you out of this mess. He predicted whatever is coming at you now will be bigger than you can handle. And if I could have kept you out of this just for a little longer, things would have been different.” He shook his head. “But I failed miserably.”

  “Well, I haven’t seen anything big coming my way yet. And no matter how big the problem is, shouldn’t I be the one who judges it, not my father?”

  Michael smiled at her. “Ciaran said you’re a talker. You’ll talk me into doing exactly what I don’t want to.”

  “What? I didn’t make you do anything you didn’t want to.”

  He just smiled and hopped off the bed.

  “Are you okay now to walk the distance?” she asked.

  He nodded. “By the way, I don’t trust the Guardian.”

  “You don’t trust anyone. But he did save our asses last night. And he saved Ryan. And he sheltered all of the gypsies.”

  Michael put his belt on and tucked his weapons into their appropriate places. “Where’s Lanni?”

  “When we got to this camp, Lanni said his job was done. He left.”

  Michael nodded. “He doesn’t trust the Guardian, either. How many gypsies are there?”

  “Sixty-four.”

  “And you plan to take them all back to Eudaiz?”

  Lyla shook her head. “I don’t have that kind of authority. But I can show them the way to enter legally so that they won’t get robbed by identity smugglers in the future. I’ll tell them they have rights, and that Eudaiz and the Daimon Gate recruit citizens based on virtue, not wealth or property.”

  He looked at her and smiled.

  She blushed. “What?”

  “Nothing. Just please refrain from anything that would give away your true identity. Can you promise me that?”

  “Sure. Absolutely. I might be naïve, but I’m not an idiot.”

  Michael took Lyla outside and found that the group of gypsies had prepared for the trip. Little Linx approached him.

  “Are you okay now?” she asked, reaching up and holding his little finger.

  Michael crouched. “Yes, I’m fine now. Thank you, Linx. Do you like playing games?”

  She nodded.

  “We are going to take a walk,” he whispered into her ear, “and it’s going to be a long walk. The rule of the game is that if you stay the whole trip and never ever call out Lyla’s name, and always stand next to her, you will win. And when you win, I’ll give you a very beautiful dress that will make you look just like a mermaid. How does that sound?”

  She nodded and grinned. She kissed him on the cheek and enthusiastically went to stand next to Lyla.

  Lyla looked at him, raising an eyebrow. He winked at her.

  The Guardian approached and said, “All of these people want to go to Eudaiz. But they don’t have a Pass, so they will have to take the Daimon Gate tests. I have no intention of going there and have never had a Pass to go to the Daimon Gate. So I’m afraid I can’t take you there.”

  “Thank you for what you did for us last night. We can take it from here,” said Lyla.

  The Guardian led them to the forest and gave them a map. Then he returned to his camp.

  They walked for a while, and Ryan approached Lyla.

  “I still can’t talk to you, Ryan. I’m angry at you for leaving me at the Daimon Gate.”

  He smiled like a kind old grandfather. “You will have to forgive me one day, Lyla. No matter what happens, remember I love you like my daughter.”

  She teared up instantly. “Ryan, what’s wrong?”

  Michael put his hands on his daggers and glanced around to scope the field.

  “Cayson and Fifi, come here,” Ryan called out.

  Ryan pointed at the open field. “That is the crossroad. You all must pass through to go back to the Daimon Gate. It isn’t a problem for Eudaizians and citizens of the Daimon Gate member universes. But citizens from other universes have to cross that road before entering the Gate, and it isn’t a walk in the park.”

  “We know that, Ryan. I’ll talk to them,” Lyla said.

  Ryan nodded. “You have to cross the road like everyone else, Fifi. I know Cayson falsified your information on the application…”

  “Father!”

  “Let me finish. Falsifying information in the Daimon Gate is a grave offense, Cayson. They’ve already figured it out. As soon as you set foot in there again, you will be burned. As for Fifi, the falsification forfeited her rights to attend any tests in the Daimon Gate. I have used my lifetime credentials and my privileges to trade off for two pardons—one is for Cayson’s life, and the other is for Fifi’s right to enter the tests. But you still have to take them and pass to be with Cayson.”

  “You did what?” Lyla asked, and tears rolled down her face as she saw disaster coming her way.

  “Forgive me, Lyla. As I said, I love you like my daughter.”

  “Please Fathe
r, don’t. Return the pardons. Do whatever. I can’t take this.”

  “It’s too late son. Lyla, I don’t know what it is, but there is a force coming from the outside. It is dark, and it’s headed for Eudaiz’s central system. It has many forms, and it can take the tangible form of a creature. The Guardian is one of its forms.”

  Before anyone could say anything, Ryan raised his hand to signal for silence. “I haven’t much time. Whatever that thing is, it feeds on people’s deepest emotional wounds. I don’t know exactly what it wants, but I think it wants to steal someone’s profile. Once it has done that, the person will perish. The Guardian wanted my profile. He offered help, and I accepted it to get out of the brotherhood’s hands. But what the Guardian didn’t know is that I had already traded my privileges in the Daimon Gate and swore to die at the crossroad. When I die, the Guardian will have an empty profile.”

  Ryan turned to see a whirl of blue smoke coming from the forest.

  “It’s time. These travelers don’t know anything. They can’t survive. But all of you will survive and pass through to the Gate. Gale knows. He will open the Gate for you when you approach.”

  “Father!”

  “I love you all…” Ryan darted toward the crossroad. When he crossed, his body disintegrated into particles.

  Cayson wept.

  The group of gypsies rumbled, and some cried out when they saw what happened. They looked back at the forest and saw the blue fire coming. They looked at the crossroad and hesitated, not knowing if they would disintegrate like Ryan when they crossed.

  Chapter 16

  Lyla looked at the group of confused and desperate travelers of the multiverse. Everyone had deep emotional wounds. She didn’t know how to help them, but she was definitely going to try. She thought that what Ryan was referring to, the thing that had taken the Guardian’s form, was the Shadow she had detected. If it was a computer program that fed on people’s emotional wounds, why did it differentiate between Eudaizians and the rest? Eudaizians had emotional wounds, too.

  The blue fire came closer. It approached in waves and encircled them. Even if they wanted to run to one side or the other, they couldn’t be certain that the blue fire wouldn’t burn in that direction.