The Jewel of Darkness

by J. Annas Walker

  “Wolfie here is just doing her job. I know, and bravo! Good doggie! But, I don’t want to hurt the bitch. She’s the best security chief you’ve had in ages. Call her off so we can get down to business,” Delilah said with amusement.

  “Camilla, she has permission to enter. Let her in,” Brandon said. He stepped back, holding the door wide.

  Camilla shifted and gave him a stern look as Delilah breezed past him. The naked woman stood silent. Her olive skin appeared paler than usual. Her dark eyes rimmed red like she had recently cried a great deal. Disheveled black hair hung around her face. Her look asked, “What now?”

  “Stay here,” Brandon directed her.

  She nodded once. The air around her shimmered with energy. A moment later, the werewolf took her position at the door, watching the elevator.

  When he got back to the living room, he found the demoness in his seat. She patted the couch next to her, and he sat down on the far end. He never wanted her icy fingers touching him again.

  “Hadrian tells me Little Miss Mix-and-Match has a new bag of tricks,” she said almost sing-song. She ran a hand over the front of her hair, smoothing the strands that escaped the tight, braid.

  “My wife has a name,” Brandon reminded her curtly.

  “Yes, she does, and it should be Unmitigated Disaster. A short while ago, the whole of Cocytus suffered tremors. Do you know what a frozen lake does when it’s shaken? Well, that would be crack. Do you have any idea what a pain in the ass it is to stuff people back into a frozen lake?” Delilah crossed her arms and gave a huff.

  “Does anyone suspect Sabrina?” Hadrian asked. His calm demeanor held but stress played around his eyes.

  “Hell no! Do you think I’m stupid enough to tell anyone I gave her a demon charm to hide from Death or that she could use said charm for anything other than its intended purpose?” She rolled her eyes.

  “What do they think caused the tremors?” Brandon made an effort to be casual. He leaned back and crossed one leg over the other.

  “Oh, just some experimental magic gone wrong. Some poor slob is getting the hell beat out of him. Don’t worry. He’ll take the rap. He owed me a ton of money and a familiar. Now he doesn’t. See! Money really is the root of all evil,” she said with a snort.

  “Do you have any idea what happened?” In the past, Brandon felt certain Delilah knew practically everything. This time, he was not confident she had the answers.

  “Before I came, no. Being here, I sense a lot of activity. There was a vortex and a power transfer. But the magic isn’t earth-bound. It’s much older,” Delilah said, standing up and walking to the French doors. She paused for a moment, smoothed her hair, and continued. “Let me think about this. There is celestial magic at play here. I don’t think the magic belongs to the Sirens. There’s no hint of song. The question is where it came from and if it really belongs to her. The sun is almost up. Sleep on it. Don’t tell her anything. Carry on with business as usual, but stay close to her. I’ll be back at sundown.”

  A ring of fire sprang up around her feet. The flames rose to cover her entire body. When they reached her head, she disappeared, leaving behind a scorch mark on the wood.

  “Damn it,” Brandon cursed. “Does she always have to ruin the floor?”

  Chapter 6

  Sabrina rolled over when the bedroom door opened. A tall, masculine, shadowed figure came in, shutting the door quietly behind him. She watched him climb into bed with her. In a familiar move, he tucked her under one arm and laid his cheek on her head. Taking in a deep breath, she expected to smell Brandon’s honeyed amber scent.

  Instead, a cloying combination of clove and myrrh blended with olive oil filled her nose. She nearly choked. Frightened, she scrambled to get away from this stranger.

  Strong arms wrapped around her, holding her against a muscular body. Chilly air fell on her as he breathed. The silk sheets took on a rougher texture around them. The stranger seemed to be coiling the sheet around her like a shroud.

  The more she struggled the more tangled she became. The lioness in her head roared to life. Power, raw and unchecked, boiled up in her chest. She thought only about making the stranger let go.

  Hazy shadows and dark rainbows flashed from the pendant, pushing the man from the bed. He fell soundlessly to the floor in a heap. The dark rainbows provided just enough light to see where he landed and his next move. When he got to his feet, he made a quick hand gesture, as if pulling something from the air. A scythe materialized.

  Sabrina scrambled to get away from the blade. She fell off the bed with a loud thump. For the first time since he entered the room, she found her voice.

  “No!”

  He swiped at the space between them. A gash with a bright, red light formed in the air large enough for a man to walk through. Snapping his fingers, a gray cloak appeared on his body with the cowl pulled up. He stepped through the torn air. The gash closed, leaving the space as intact as it always had been.

  Footsteps thundered down the hall. The door flung open wide. Delilah, Brandon, and then Hadrian filed into the room.

  “What in the name of Hell was all that noise?” Delilah sniffed the air near the stranger’s departure point. She froze. Her eyes widened, making the yellow-green orbs seem more like search lights. “I know that smell. Why do I know that smell?”

  Sabrina plucked up the courage to be angry. The spent pendant recovered, throwing more dark rainbows and shadows around the room. Her breathing increased.

  If Delilah was here this quickly, it meant she arrived before the stranger intruded. The demoness only visited when summoned. Now, this green-skinned woman had the nerve to burst into the bedroom and sniff around.

  Jealousy welled up in Sabrina. She went from frightened to wicked pissed in seconds. The lioness in her head roared defiantly. This territory belonged to her. No other belonged here with her mate, her devotee. One word crossed her mind. Mine.

  Only when she smelled the metallic scent and felt a wet trickle run from her mouth did she realize her fangs punctured her lip. Shock and embarrassment filled her. She felt their eyes boring a hole through her. Covering her face with her hands, she did not dare look at any of them.

  The room was silent for nearly a full minute. Hands clapped. “All right, boys. Show’s over,” Delilah announced. “Clear the room!”

  “But…I can’t leave her like this,” Brandon complained.

  Hadrian gave an unhappy huff. “Let’s give them a few minutes. Come on. Your room. Now,” he said gruffly.

  Sabrina heard them go down the hall and close the door. The squeak of vinyl and leather told her Delilah stayed. The crisp snapping of the sheet and punching noises drew her attention. She looked through her fingers to see Delilah tidying up the room.

  “When did you get here?” Sabrina asked, trying not to sound the way she felt.

  “I came to visit Hadrian, and, just as I left, I felt the magic balance shift in the apartment. I returned to see if my help was needed,” Delilah replied.

  Sabrina felt guilty, as well as jealous.

  “You don’t have to explain anything to me. I know. You don’t think this green coloring comes from a genetic fluke, do you?” She did not deviate from her task. “I smell my magic in this room and something more. You invoked celestial magic. It blended with mine in the necklace. You’ve got all the symptoms of a demanding goddess and a jealous demon. I’d say that made you the most attractive thing in the universe.”

  Sabrina sniffed back a potential tear. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself. The point of reapplying the charm to the pendant had been to mask her presence. Instead, she turned herself into a shining beacon.

  Anger pushed aside the embarrassment. She grabbed the necklace and tried to jerk it off. Nothing happened. She tugged again, harder this time. Still nothing. She inspected the bezel, but the clasp had disappeared. The edge returned to the smooth, seamless, uniform piece it once was.

  Despair replaced the ange
r. The feeling of being trapped brought her up short. What had she done? All she wanted was to be more like Eleanor, strong and capable. A tear escaped, rolling down her cheek and dripping off her chin in the same place as the blood.

  “Oh, don’t cry,” Delilah cooed. She took a slender finger and raked it along the tear’s path.

  Her finger burned like ice held too long. The blood-tinged water on her cheek turned to ice but thawed quickly. The streak returned to normal in no time.

  Sabrina placed a hand on her cheek and watched Delilah for a moment. The swiping motion she used to remove the tear reminded her of the stranger. She used the sleeve of her pajamas to remove another tear before it fell. As she did, she asked her question.

  “Do you know who was here? And, if you warded the building against Diana, how could they have gotten in?”

  “Question two is easier. Let’s start there. I did ward the building, from above and below. No celestial being should even cross the threshold,” the demoness said decisively.

  “Then who?” Sabrina asked, but she really did not want to hear the answer.

  “Let’s let the boys in on this part. It’ll save time.” She opened the shared bathroom door and motioned for them to join her.

  Sabrina forgot about the other door being demolished. The bedrooms had thicker walls and better insulation, but she was sure they had heard every word spoken. Given how quiet the apartment seemed, she guessed everyone supernatural listened to the conversation.

  Brandon and Hadrian came back. Brandon sat on the bed, tugging Sabrina down beside him. Hadrian propped against the wall nearest Delilah. Both remained silent.

  “I need you to tell me what happened while you were alone. Start with the shower. Skip the part with you and Brandon and finish with the stranger in your room,” Delilah said. Her tone made it seem more like a request.

  Sabrina stared at her hands folded in her lap. Swallowing hard, she forced down the lump in her throat. Taking a deep breath, she told them everything.

  “I just wished to be more like Eleanor. She would know just what to do, or not do, as the case may be. No one would ever try sneaking into her bed. I didn’t know I could call up power like that,” she said. The lump attempted to reform. She worked to keep her voice even.

  “I thought it was Brandon coming to bed. I could see everything in the dark like usual. It didn’t occur to me his face stayed hidden. I should have known there was a problem, but I didn’t.” Her voice cracked.

  Brandon rubbed her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. The honeyed amber scent of his body relaxed her. He let go too soon, in her opinion.

  “The sun is hitting the horizon. We don’t have long. Delilah, can you tell us anything about our unwelcome visitor?” Hadrian steered the conversation.

  “The body build, the scythe, and the departure makes the guy sound like Thanatos, but the scent in the room and the one Sabrina described is wrong for him. So, this is what we’re going to do. I’m going to add a little magic to your necklace to hide the hocus pocus you did. You and Brandon are going to sleep in this room. Hadrian and I will stay in your room,” she announced.

  Both Brandon and Hadrian started complaining at the same time. Delilah laughed at them. It sounded like glass and ice shattering.

  “That’s enough, boys. It’s like this. I’m staying the day. The cat’s out of the bag. Someone knows there is a demon here with you. Now I need it to look like there is a possible demon and a vampire in each bed. We aren’t harmed by the sun the way vampires are, but we don’t like it either. That means security isn’t going to be much help. I want whoever is watching to have to think long and hard about which room to hit. Think of me as camouflage,” she explained.

  The men looked from one another and then to Sabrina.

  Sabrina nodded in agreement. She looked up at Delilah. “Can’t you just take back your magic from earlier? Why do you need to add to it?”

  A patient smile played on the demoness’s dark, sea-green lips. She leaned down, propping her hands on her knees, as if talking to a small child. “Because, you blended the magic with something I can’t control. It turned into something new and very similar to your own makeup. It no longer belongs to me. As long as you don’t blend what I’m about to give you, I can take it back. Understand?”

  Annoyed with being spoken down to, Sabrina nodded.

  Delilah pulled herself up to her full height. She laid one finger on the dark, crystalline stone. Heat and flames licked up her arm from the end of her finger as she cast the spell.

  Dark rainbows and hazy shadows danced around the room. Another dark, hazy film coated Sabrina’s skin like a coat of cold air. It soaked in, leaving nothing but a chill behind.

  “There. That should do it,” she said. Turning to Hadrian, she laid a hand on his arm. “Come on, darling. Let’s turn in. I haven’t slept above ground in ages!”

  Hadrian looked unhappy with his bedfellow but followed her to the master bedroom. “What about the door? I don’t want to hear every toss and turn in there.”

  “Oh yeah! Let’s see,” she said, rubbing her hands together. With an intricate twist of her hands, the broken door reformed itself, stood up in the door frame, and a red glow came from the hinges. “Perfect! Good night, or rather day.” Both bathroom doors swung closed.

  Brandon stayed quiet. He got up long enough to pull his jeans off and to lose his shirt. Everything landed in a pile on the floor. He turned back to his side of the bed and slid between the sheets. One whiff of the pillow left him coughing.

  “Good grief, no wonder he can’t get his own woman. Who wants to get near that stench?” He gave the pillow a toss across the room. “Are you coming to bed or what?”

  Sabrina sat for another few moments before crawling back into bed. She wanted him to hold her, to make everything better. She only needed to feel safe. As she settled in, the sun broke over the horizon. There was just enough time to pull up the covers before the sleep overtook her.

  If she dreamed, nothing lingered when she woke. The room looked the same. A comforting honeyed amber scent came from the man beside her. Everything felt so normal. She snuggled in next to the mass of muscle and sinew still under the sheets.

  She closed her eyes and thought of the last six months, her fairytale. A trickle of doubt entered the memory. Had it all been a fantasy? After so many years, could true love be that easy?

  Brandon rolled over, stretched, and smiled at her. “You’re up. Sleep well?” He smiled.

  “Yes, thanks. I slept better than I thought I would. No dreams. No nothing. It’s like nothing ever happened.”

  “Then why sound so blue?” He wrapped his thickly corded arms around her and tucked her in tight.

  “I don’t know. I feel like a complete freak. I thought of someone I miss, and I screwed up Delilah’s magic. I’ve got Death stalking me. There’s some strange magic in me that wants to be worshiped, and every time I see Delilah, I get so jealous I can’t see straight. You don’t deserve this. It’s entirely my fault,” Sabrina admitted. She buried her face in the pillow. If it were possible, she would have let the bed gobble her up on the spot.

  “No, honey, don’t say that. We really thought turning you would solve your problem. I haven’t regretted it, and I hope you don’t either,” he said, kissing the top of her head. He gave her shoulder a brisk rub and a gentle pat.

  “Even after what I did to you yesterday?” How could he not be angry? She forced him to make love to her. That made it sound tame. No, she used magic to demand he fuck her and worship at her altar. She felt ashamed.

  “You didn’t do anything to me. There was a brief time when your magic held me captive, but I broke free because I already love you. There was nothing to force. The sex was consensual and on my terms,” he reassured her.

  “Good. I thought I had done something unforgivable,” she said with relief.

  “Although, if you want to try again, I’m not opposed to the experiment,” he teased. He rolled over, st
opping when she landed on top.

  Sabrina let out a delighted giggle. Forgiven, she thought. That one word held so much promise.

  There was no blaming her for summoning magic, no condemnation for demanding his affections, and no shame in wanting her husband. With him between her thighs below him, she wanted him. She wanted to slip him inside her and pretend the rest of the world simply did not exist.

  The lioness within raised her sleepy head and yawned. Clearly, the previous day’s activities had taken their toll. The primal power needed more down time to recharge. The beast tucked her head back under a wide paw, ignoring Sabrina.

  A delicate rap drummed out on the door in the old shave-and-a-hair-cut pattern.

  Brandon rolled his eyes hard. He dropped his hands by his side, gritting his teeth. The points of his fangs kept his bottom teeth from meeting the top row completely.

  “Yes?” Brandon called out in an annoyed tone.

  “Let’s go you two lovebirds! Moonlight’s a-burning!” Delilah sang back through the door.

  “Be right there,” he replied.

  He rolled over with Sabrina. Pinning her underneath him, he took hold of one breast and circled over her nipple through the slick pajama fabric.

  “When this is over, we’re going on vacation, and the first son of a bitch that interrupts is going to be drained dry,” he whispered the promise.

  Chapter 7

  A heavier knock landed on the door. Sabrina recognized it as Hadrian’s. No words came with the noise.

  Sabrina and Brandon begrudgingly got up and pulled on whatever they found in the spare room’s closet. It looked like a jeans and a tee sort of day.

  Once at the dining room table, Sabrina saw her father with his usual cup of blood. Two unused mugs sat on the table. At the far end sat Delilah with a plate of steak tartare and a thick, green substance in a glass.

  Hadrian wore gray slacks and a lighter gray buttoned dress shirt. Instead of the usual tie, his top two buttons hung open. He read the paper without looking up.