The Jewel of Darkness

by J. Annas Walker

  Thane chuckled. He made a motion in the air as if retrieving something unseen. A bottle materialized. He waved the vapor into the open bottle and placed a stopper in the top. He held it up to the light, grinning.

  “I’ll be right back. Don’t do anything too exciting,” he said and popped out of sight.

  The crew clearing away the bodies from earlier waited off to one side. They seemed eager to get on with the removal of the ashes. Two body bags zipped closed down the hall. A heavy thump came from the entrance way as the other bodies hit the bottom of a large rolling bin.

  Delilah scrutinized the crew’s work, instructing them to get every last trace of dust. She pointed at various spots. When satisfied with their work, she dismissed them, watching as they left. She looked around and then turned to Brandon.

  “Sabrina is missing,” she pointed out.

  Brandon told her about the drugged glasses. “I can only assume the SWAT team that came in here earlier put it there,” he guessed. The assumption felt wrong, but it was the only thing he came up with to explain it.

  “SWAT came here? During the day?” She looked baffled.

  “Yeah. Sabrina woke up and killed them. That’s why all the bodies are stinking up the place. Sabrina said they were here for Hadrian and didn’t seem to know he lived one floor down. I don’t understand the point in drugging the glasses, if they were here to kill him,” Brandon said shaking his head.

  “Delilah, dear, could you come here for a minute?” Hadrian said, poking his head out of the kitchen door. His cell phone was still stuck to one ear.

  “Coming,” she sang. Giving Brandon a chilly pat on his shoulder and a wink, she trailed off after Hadrian.

  Brandon flopped down on the sofa and leaned his head against the back, covering his face with both hands. The thought of Sabrina handling the intruders alone upset him. She became his world almost as soon as they met. All the possible scenarios of things that could have gone wrong made his stomach clench.

  He cursed himself for sleeping through the whole thing, only vaguely aware she tried to wake him. He remembered the loud bangs and the smell of smoke, but the paralysis held him still. An odd ache throbbed in his head at sunset.

  He cut a sideways glance at the kitchen door. After Sabrina nodded off, he had gotten up for a snack. The blood in the refrigerator looked like it should, except there was no type sticker. He had not given it any thought until now, but it tasted off and congealed.

  At the time, he shrugged it off as being a little past its prime. As it was the only bag in there, he did not want to bother having someone bring up a fresh one. One sip was enough to put him off wanting more. He dumped the contents and went to bed.

  “Holy shit,” he said slowly. He had been drugged, too. No one wanted to question Hadrian. They wanted to ensure he stayed asleep.

  The doorbell rang. Frantic pounding ensued.

  Brandon hoisted himself off the couch. He took his time getting the door. No heartbeat indicated to him the insistent visitor was a vampire. He opened the door to find Farrell leaning on the frame.

  Farrell looked underweight at the best of times, but tonight he looked downright haggard. Dried reddish-pink tears crusted his cheeks. His shirt from the previous night hung open. White and gray fur clung to his white undershirt.

  “Please, sir. Please,” Farrell begged. He closed his eyes. A fat pink tear caught in his matted lashes.

  Brandon helped him inside, depositing him on a bench just inside the door.

  Delilah rushed to his side. She slithered her tongue out, tasting the air around him. She laid a hand on his forehead like a mother would a sick child. Giving him a baleful look, she whispered something under her breath.

  A ring of hazy, dark energy surrounded Farrell. It slipped down his body. His color improved from a near translucent white to his usual alabaster. The tearstains vanished, and his clothes cleaned and mended themselves.

  “Thank you. I gave her the drops like you said, but she’s worse, a lot worse,” Farrell said to Delilah. His eyes begged for the help he needed.

  “I’ll take a look at her. We have a good idea who did this. Knowing who gives us a starting point to understanding what happened to her,” Delilah said with a comforting voice.

  She stood up straight and snapped her fingers. Her dominatrix outfit changed into a set of black surgical scrubs. The top had little pink hearts mixed with white and yellow daisies.

  Taking Farrell’s hand, she let him lead the way to the elevator. Glancing back over her shoulder, she called out to Brandon, “Wake Sabrina. Thane will want to see her when he gets back, but do not let him take her anywhere, if you can.”

  Brandon wondered what she meant. Why would he want to take her?

  * * * *

  Sabrina swam in the cool, crystal clear water. The sun shone brightly, warming her face as she glided along on her back. The tall grasses lining the deep water were dotted with purple, yellow, and red blooms.

  She knew this place, the mountain creek near her childhood home. Many hours had been spent here on hot, summer days playing. The perfection felt off.

  Something was missing. Something? No. Someone. Clay Birch should be holding her hand to keep her from getting separated as they floated downstream. A twinge of guilt over his absence brought her up short.

  Sabrina rolled over in the water and swam to the nearest shore. Crawling up the bank, she realized she was naked, except for her necklace. She looked around for a towel but found only a white, eyelet-backed sun dress. She shimmied into it, wrung out her hair, and ran through the surrounding meadow.

  Near the tree line, a tall man in a gray cloak stood watching her. He held very still. Keeping to the shadowy edge, he started following her.

  Sabrina ran flat out. If this really was her home, she knew the house was on the far end of the meadow. The tall grass and being barefoot made running more difficult. Brambles and the occasional thistle caught her dress or tore at her legs. She paid the pain no real attention. She had to get home. Home meant safe.

  The small, white, simple bungalow came into view as she rounded the steep, meadow-covered hill. It looked the same as ever. A shock of flaming red hair bobbing by the open kitchen window caught her attention.

  Sabrina cried out, “Aunt Eleanor!”

  She redoubled her efforts to get home. There were so many things she needed to say to her late aunt. First, the stranger needed to be dealt with, but Eleanor could take care of him with a snap of her fingers.

  She ran up the old, wooden stairs and across the wide, covered porch. Pounding on the door, she yelled, “Aunt Eleanor, let me in! It’s Sabrina!” The door swung open on its own with the next blow.

  Everything looked just like it had the last time she saw it. The smell of dinner cooking and a cake in the oven filled the house. Humming came from the kitchen.

  Sabrina dashed in the direction of the melody. Eleanor, her long, bright hair tied back in a bushy ponytail, was bent over, pulling a pan out of the oven. A tea kettle puffed away on the stove. Chopped vegetables lay on the counter next to the bubbling stew pot.

  “Eleanor there’s a man in a cloak outside in the trees! Help me! I think—” Sabrina’s next words were cut short when Eleanor stood up and turned around.

  Eleanor transformed as she turned to face Sabrina. The cloaked man took the place of her aunt. His hand stretched out to her in a gesture of offering. The cooking smells changed to a heavy, cloying clove.

  “Walk with me,” he whispered in long, drawn out syllables.

  Sabrina roared as her inner lioness did. “No!” A collection of dark rainbows and shadows filled the room with a blinding light. The last thing she saw before the light blotted out everything was the cloaked man protecting his face from the light.

  She sat up suddenly in bed, inhaling deeply. The dream left her disoriented. Her head hurt and the air felt close. Nausea set in, making her grateful she no longer had the ability to be sick.

  The doorknob turned slowl
y. Someone tried to be quiet. She tensed and sighed with relief when Brandon’s head appeared. The sight of him brought her to tears. She blinked hard twice, hoping to stave off the flow.

  He came in and sat on the edge of the bed. Opening his arms, he silently offered her a hug.

  When she scooted to accept, there was a moment’s pause. She gave him a quick sniff. All that registered was his earthy dark amber and honey. Feeling secure in his identity, she allowed him to embrace her.

  “I dreamt I was swimming. When I got out of the water, a man in a gray cloak chased me home. Eleanor was home, but when I went to the kitchen for help, she turned into the man. A bright light pushed him away, and I woke up,” she said quickly, not wanting to forget any part of the dream. “I feel like I’m going crazy.”

  “You’re not crazy. While you were sleeping, we learned a lot,” Brandon comforted. He gave her a quick summary of the night’s events.

  “We were drugged? Stars above! That explains it,” she said hopefully. “And the team of men?”

  “Atlanta SWAT, or rather men in their gear. We won’t know yet if they were real members. I’m guessing they weren’t. Your father is dealing with that part of the equation. Keeping work and home separate is hard to do sometimes in our line of work,” he said nonchalantly.

  “Maybe the dream was not anything more than a drug induced hallucination,” she murmured. Deep down, she hoped.

  “I left out one thing. The clove you’ve smelled belongs to Charon,” he admitted, sounding a little reluctant. He gave her a tight squeeze.

  “Who?” Did she hear him correctly?

  “Charon, Ferryman of the River Styx. It seems Edgar stole Thane’s scythe to allow Charon access to the earthly plane,” Brandon answered.

  He seemed like he withheld more information from her in his answer. What was he protecting her from? The lioness within disapproved.

  She considered this for a moment. She pushed away from him, smoothed her hair, and looked him in the eyes. Baring her fangs, she gave a little growl.

  “Okay. I wanted to skip this part, but I can see where this is going. Thane thinks he has gone to all the trouble to get here for you,” Brandon admitted. “But don’t you worry about it for now. We are doing everything we can to keep him from taking you.”

  The lioness roared in her head at the threat. She felt the primal power recharging her system. The pendant grew warmer around her neck. Dark rainbows danced and twirled on Brandon’s pale skin.

  Before, she had avoided the man in her dreams. He frightened her. She pushed him away in the parking deck out of fear, and Camilla paid the price. Now, to learn that he planned to separate her from her love, she became more than angry. She was furious.

  Brandon stared with a startled look. Whatever he saw must have seemed unfamiliar.

  “Let him try,” she said coolly.

  Chapter 14

  Sabrina threw her leg over the edge of the bed. Her feet hardly hit the floor as she bounded for her closet. Flicking through the rack, she wished she had something more flexible to wear, something she imagined Delilah would wear. She needed something she could move easily in, something that would allow her to be both comfortable and nimble. Disappointed, she realized her wardrobe was full of clothes better suited for the mall than for the butt-kicking business.

  Shadows from around the room coiled and twisted. They gathered along an empty hanger dangling from a hook on the closet door. Arms and legs attached to a body suit took form. Moments later, a black Spandex outfit materialized. On the floor, a pair of boots rested below the new suit.

  Sabrina ran her hands along the dark fabric. It felt like nothing she knew, like air and smoke made solid. It was there but only just barely. She pulled at the sleeve. The garment gave and stretched as it molded to the form of her hands.

  She stripped off her clothes, tossing them over her shoulder haphazardly. Carefully removing the body suit from the hanger, she unzipped the back and tugged her way into it. The long zipper was difficult to reach. She started to use the finger motion she saw Eleanor use countless times to pull up long dress zippers. Unsure of herself, she hesitated.

  “Let me,” Brandon offered. He ran one hand down her side, stopping at her hip, while pulling the zipper higher. He let go of her body to shift her massive pile of blue-black curls. The zipper made a little snick as it seated at the top.

  She adjusted the necklace to a more comfortable position over the high collar, but it refused to leave her skin completely, creeping up the back of her neck. She ended up having to roll the mock turtle collar down. The creeping stopped when it came in contact with her flesh. A light tingle ran the length of the chair from the pendant. It subsided quickly. The pendant lay quiet once more.

  “I’m not complaining about the view I just had or about that outfit, but I have to ask what you plan to do,” Brandon said, running his hands over the slick fabric. There was both admiration and concern in his voice.

  That was a good question. Did she have an answer? What could she do?

  “I can do anything I want,” she responded, as much to her own questions as to his. Turning to face him, she looked up to meet his eyes. “I walked in the sun and lived to tell the tale. I called cosmic energy. I went to Death’s door and came back on my own. Maybe Thane was right. If he is, then, I’m a goddess, at least in part, and who is Charon to come into my home and attack the people I love?”

  “Now wait a minute. Diana would have told you anything you wanted to hear to get you to join her. How do you know Thanatos isn’t doing the same thing?” Brandon gave her a wary look.

  “Thane,” she corrected him.

  “Thane. Thanatos. It’s really just semantics. No matter what name you call him, he’s the god of Death. I don’t understand why he needs you in the first place. You would think if he’s such a badass, he could fight his own battles,” Brandon stated.

  “I refuse to believe all of this is a coincidence. If I can, I plan to take that scythe back and send them all packing. This is my home and yours. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let thugs, supernatural or otherwise, come in here and threaten the people I care about most. To hell with them all!”

  Her inner lioness gave a low, rumbled growl in approval. The pendant responded by glowing dimly, bouncing the rainbows and the shadows inside. Heat rose as magic layered her body.

  “I thought you said you didn’t give a damn about the scythe. I’m not about to let you put yourself in danger,” Brandon said, anger building in his voice. His brow furrowed. He pulled her to him quickly and hugged her tight. “You are my world. There’s no point in forever without you.”

  Feeling somewhat stifled, she wiggled herself into a more comfortable position. When she could get more air, she said quietly, “You’re my world, too, but what kind of world will we have if I don’t do something to stop this?”

  “We’ll get Delilah to do it. Taking risks and using magic is what she gets paid for. You’re a precious treasure. Your father and I both love you.” He gave her a kiss on the top of the head. “You’re Midnight’s Jewel, the most coveted prize in the universe, and you’re mine,” he replied. He let go.

  She took a step back, brushing her hair out of her face. Pride swelled in her chest. The jealous goddess within revelled in the praise. “You’re mine, too, you know. Magic may have attracted me to you, but I made the choice to stay and be what you are. But, Delilah was right. You can’t change what you are deep inside. Other vampires started out as humans. You’re all human underneath. I’m not and never have been. Part of me is a goddess and that can’t be ignored. I didn’t die like a human. My soul isn’t tied to my body by magic in the normal vampire way. If I can stop this, I will. You are mine to protect as much as I am yours.”

  Brandon’s jaw worked in a tight, clenching motion. His eyes tightened, and his lips pressed into a thin line. He seemed very unhappy with her declaration but quietly listened.

  “I don’t understand everything about myself, but I kn
ow I’m not helpless. I killed six men today and stood in the sunlight. Magic comes to me when I call. Don’t underestimate me. Let me help,” she said, almost pleading. She rolled her lip to one side and bit it gently. One fang lapped over the top.

  He stood watching her for another moment. His face smoothed. Putting his hands up in defeat, he said, “All right. I give, but on one condition. You don’t go off with Thane alone and include us in your plans.” He dropped his hands to his sides.

  Delighted, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his body and squeezing him tight. The pendant’s glow grew brighter. Magic slithered along her skin. She knew when he drew in a sharp breath that he felt it, too.

  Holding still and closing her eyes, she thought of how much she loved him. The molten pool in her core spread throughout her body. Her nipples rose to hard pebbles. The tight body suit flexed as they rose. She felt them stretch the fabric. Lifting her face, she pressed her lips to his.

  Brandon’s cock stiffened against her thigh. He kissed her back. Grasping the tab, he slowly lowered the zipper. Halfway down, he stopped, looking at the door with annoyance.

  Soft steps were followed by a light rap.

  Sabrina huffed. “You’re right. We need a vacation after this is all over. Somewhere quiet and alone,” she said with a lilt of exasperation.

  He pulled the zipper up in a hurry, pinching her neck slightly at the top. “It’s like living in a three-ring circus,” he complained. He marched to the door and jerked it open. “This has better be good.”

  Thane leaned against the doorjamb, his arms crossed in front of him. “Interrupt anything good?” A coy smile spread across his face.

  Sabrina jumped in before Brandon could answer. “You know you did. So, don’t look so smug. What do you want?”

  “Oh, well, a little birdie told me the sun was rising in around two hours, and I didn’t want to keep anyone up past their bedtime.” He gestured for them to follow him.