Darkness Rising

by Keri Arthur

  “The danger does not come from the restrictions.”

  I opened my eyes. Even though awareness of him was a weight I could feel, he wasn’t even looking at me but rather leaning, arms crossed, against the window, staring out. His expression was thoughtful. Distant. And perhaps just a touch wistful.

  “Then what does the danger come from if not the restrictions?”

  He didn’t answer immediately. Then his gaze met mine, and in those bright, mismatched depths I saw bleakness.

  “Sleep, Risa. I will wake you when it is time to go.”

  He had to be the most frustrating, pigheaded man I’d ever known—except he wasn’t a man and I really had to stop thinking of him in those terms. But it was damn hard when he was wearing that form and—by his own admission—gaining more human characteristics the longer he remained in it.

  I blew out a breath that contained more than a little irritation, then determinedly closed my eyes. Given everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours, it wasn’t entirely surprising that I quickly slipped into a deep sleep.

  The smell of coffee woke me many hours later. I muttered something unintelligible even to me, then rubbed an eye and glanced blearily at the clock on the nightstand. It was close to six thirty.

  I twisted around in the bed. Azriel was still standing near the window, but on the table between him and the bed was a small tray containing several plates and a steaming coffeepot.

  “I ordered freshly brewed,” he said. “As well as bacon, eggs, and toast. You will eat before we leave.”

  “And if I don’t, you’ll force it down my throat?” I said, somewhat amused.

  “If it comes to that, yes.” There was little happiness in his expression, and certainly no sense of it in the energy of him. “It is advantageous to my quest to keep you not only safe but in a fit condition to face whatever might be waiting.”

  “And the quest is all,” I muttered, tossing off the bedcovers and reaching for my clothes.

  “You wish me well away from you. Succeeding with this mission is the only way to achieve that.”

  I glanced up at him as I pulled on my jeans. He still wasn’t looking at me, yet I knew he was as aware of me as I was of him. I could feel the electricity of it in the air. See it in the taut set of his shoulders.

  “So if we don’t succeed, I’m stuck with you following me around for the rest of my days?”

  “Until either I am dead or the mission is in ashes.” He finally met my gaze, but no matter what I might feel in the air, there was as little emotion in his expression as ever. “Eat, Risa. We will need to drive to this mansion of yours. I cannot risk a journey through the gray fields.”

  “But I can take Aedh form.” I frowned as I sat down and poured myself a fresh cup of coffee. Coke would have been better, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. “And why can’t we risk the gray fields?”

  “Taking Aedh form will weaken you too much. Besides, if the Raziq can track your father’s energy, they may well be able to track yours.” He shrugged, the movement eloquent. “And we dare not risk the fields because the Raziq still roam there. They were sidetracked, not vanquished.”

  “So you think they’ll be able to find us if we enter?”

  “I do not know, and I prefer to be safe.”

  I sipped the steaming coffee, then picked up my knife and fork and tucked into the bacon and eggs. Despite there being enough on the plate to feed an army, I finished it off in no time. After also finishing the coffee, I rose and strapped Amaya back on. The black blade spat and buzzed, as if angry about being left alone so long.

  “You are her lifeblood,” Azriel commented. “She is angry.”

  Oh great. I’d managed to piss off a sword. Was there no end to my talents?

  “Apparently not.” Azriel pushed away from the window and picked up the jacket lying on the other bed, handing it to me. “Are you ready?”

  “Not really, but it’s not like I have a choice.” Not with the threat hanging over both Ilianna and Tao.

  Tao. I closed my eyes for a moment and prayed like hell that he’d come out of whatever the elemental had done to him okay.

  Azriel didn’t comment. Maybe even he didn’t know what fate awaited Tao.

  We grabbed a taxi outside the hotel. Despite the fact that rush hour had passed, there was still a fair amount of traffic on the freeway and the going was slow. I directed the driver to a house just up the road from the mansion’s main gate so that he didn’t think it odd or—worse—do something civil-minded like phone the police.

  The night was clear and the air crisp. I shivered and zipped up my jacket, glad Azriel had grabbed it.

  “The Aedh waits at the gate,” he commented. I peered through the darkness but couldn’t actually see Lucian. Then again he’d been around long enough to know how to remain hidden from prying eyes. “I will go inside and neutralize the guards.”

  I frowned. “I thought you said it would be too dangerous to walk the gray fields at the moment?”

  His gaze met mine. “Only if I’m accompanied by you. Alone, I’m just another reaper on the fields. Your presence, however, is like a beacon to those attuned to you.”

  “And the Raziq are?”

  “I cannot say for sure, but I am not willing to run that risk. Wait with the Aedh until I return.”

  And with that, he winked out of existence. I headed for the gates and, in the shadows of the signs, saw Lucian.

  “Hey gorgeous,” he said, stepping away from the back of the sign he’d been leaning against. “Why the hell did you arrive by taxi?”

  “Azriel was worried that the Raziq might have been able to sense my presence in the gray fields.” I let him sweep me into his arms, feeling the tension in him, the urgency—an urgency that spoke of the need to move, to fight. “For the same reason, I couldn’t become Aedh.”

  “He’s being overly cautious.”

  I shrugged. Maybe he was, but it was for my safety and I couldn’t exactly argue with that. “Did you bring any weapons?”

  He smiled. “A small armory, starting with two long knives strapped to my back.”

  “Knives aren’t going to be much use against Raziq. They may not even take human form.”

  “Ah, but these knives are specifically designed to cut through energy beings.”

  “So Raziq.” And reapers.

  “Yes,” he said, leaving me wondering if he was confirming one thought or both.

  I pushed down the slither of unease again and asked, “Was there electronic surveillance?”

  He nodded and slid his hands down to my butt, pressing me a little closer. Despite my certainty that passion wasn’t part of his emotional makeup right now, he was fully aroused and as hard as a rock.

  “The anticipation of an oncoming fight does that to me,” he commented. “But I shall restrain the urge to ravish you senseless until after we complete our mission.”

  “Just as well,” I said drily. “Because if you’d tried, I would have knocked you out.”

  “That wouldn’t have been any use.” He grinned as he tapped his head. “It’s way too hard.”

  I snorted softly and pulled away from him. “Did you neutralize the surveillance?”

  “No, but I do have contacts who have few scruples and who respect only the power of money. This entire area will be blacked out in—” He paused and glanced at his watch. “—three, two, one …”

  Right on cue, the lights in the nearby houses went out. I raised my eyebrows. “And just how did they manage this, given said contacts don’t sound as if they actually work for any power company?”

  “It’s easy to knock out a grid if you know exactly where to strike.” He shrugged. “This way, it’ll also look less suspicious.”

  True. Azriel reappeared and said, “The guards have been neutralized for two hours.”

  “And if we need more time than that?” Lucian said.

  Azriel barely even glanced at him. “The mansion is not endless, and not
all the rooms are furnished. Shall we go?”

  That last was directed at me. I nodded, walked across to the white wooden fence, and leapt over it. And tried my best to ignore the ache in my side as I headed down the long, asphalt road. Crickets chirped loudly in the paddocks to either side, their song stopping briefly as we jogged by, then resuming once we were gone. The asphalt eventually gave way to stone, then the road split, one fork heading to the zoo, the other toward the mansion. We went over a second set of locked gates and continued down the road, the paddocks on either side giving way to trees, parking lots, and picnic areas.

  “There is a gatehouse just ahead,” Azriel said, his voice soft and oddly at one with the darkness. “The mansion lies to the right of the gardens.”

  I nodded, went over the fence to the right of the guardhouse, and pressed a hand to my side as we continued on. The mansion soon loomed before us, dark and regal in the moonlit darkness.

  “How do we get in?” I asked as we walked to the main door.

  Lucian produced an electronic lock pick. “How else?”

  I smiled. “You do think of everything.”

  “Someone has to.”

  I wasn’t entirely sure whether the barb was aimed at me, Azriel, or both, but annoyance slithered through me. I thrust it down. In truth, I hadn’t really thought much about our task here, relying on the two men to get me in and out. And really, what option did I have? I might have been trained to fight by the best guardians the Directorate had ever produced, but that didn’t mean I was proficient at anything else a guardian might do. Like breaking and entering.

  Azriel caught my arm as we climbed the steps, stopping me abruptly.

  “There is magic here.”

  Lucian stopped and looked over his shoulder, his expression disbelieving. “Why would there be magic here?”

  Azriel hesitated. “I do not know. And it is … vague.”

  “Define vague,” I said, wondering if the Raziq had somehow beaten us here.

  “It does not have the feel of the Raziq,” Azriel commented. “And it does not seem to be active. Rather, it waits.”

  “Waits? How can magic wait?” Lucian asked impatiently. “Magic is not sentient, reaper.”

  “Not as such, no,” Azriel bit back, hostility briefly flaring in his voice. “But spells can lie inactive until set in motion by an event or action.”

  “Whether or not that is true in this particular case, we have no choice,” Lucian said. “Not if you want to find this key of yours.”

  Azriel glanced at me. I shrugged. Lucian was right—we didn’t have a choice. I motioned him on, and he pressed the lock pick against the door. After a moment, there was a soft click and the door opened.

  I glanced at Azriel. “Any change in the magic?”

  “No.”

  Maybe that meant Lucian was right. The two men flanked me as I stepped through the doorway. The hallway beyond was wide, and filled with shadows that did little to hide the opulence. At the far end of the hall, a grand old staircase swept upward, splitting to left and right on the landing before rising again. There were several doors leading off the hallway itself, but I couldn’t feel any particular vibe coming from any of them. The dragon on my arm lay still and quiet—although to be honest, I had no idea if she’d react to the keys as she had the book. She’d come from the magic contained within the book, but the keys were entirely separate.

  I stepped to the left, into what looked like a library. Though it was darker here than in the hallway, both demon swords flicked fire across the walls, giving me more than enough light to see by, but also stirring fear. The swords were reacting to something—and I had to hope it was merely the slither of magic in the air that Azriel had sensed, not something far worse.

  My gaze swept the walls and bookcases, but I couldn’t see anything resembling an ax. There was nothing coming through on the sensory lines, either.

  We moved on into the other rooms, searching the opulent dining and drawing rooms, a billiard room that contained fierce-looking stuffed animal heads, and the half-furnished kitchen areas. Again, there was nothing resembling an ax—or anything else that kicked the psychic radar into gear—in any of them.

  We mounted the stairs. And for the first time since entering the beautiful old building, energy slithered across my skin—a caress so light it barely brushed the hairs on my arm. But the Dušan stirred in my flesh, and my gaze swept the hallway above. It was here. It was somewhere up here.

  “You’ve found something?” Lucian said, studying me with a frown.

  “I think so.” I paused at the landing, trying to catch hold of the elusive sensation. It came and went, as if there was still some distance between us.

  I frowned at the long hallway visible through the richly painted arch. It didn’t seem to be coming from down there, although the sensations caressing my skin were so fleeting it was hard to be certain.

  “Risa,” Azriel said softly, “we do not have all night. Pick a direction. If it is wrong, we can go the other way.”

  I bit my lip, studying the doorways to the left and the right, then abruptly turned left. I strode past a bedroom, not even bothering to look inside, drawn on by the faint pull of power. After a short series of steps, we entered another hallway—one less opulent than the others we’d seen. The rooms to either side appeared empty, aside from one that contained office equipment, but I didn’t bother stopping. The pull was getting stronger, and it was coming from the room at the far end of the hall—the exhibition area, the sign near the door announced.

  I stepped inside. It wasn’t just a single-story room, but rather three, with an atrium in the middle and a soaring, white-painted, window-lined, wooden ceiling. Moonlight poured through the glass, giving the room a cool, eerie feel. I took several more steps forward, trying to pin down the location of the energy that was burning across my senses. The Dušan stirred and writhed, moving from the left to the right as she did so. I frowned, wondering if she was actually giving me a hint. I walked right. While bookcases lined the upper level and there was a café below, this level was filled with information boards and the artifacts that had been collected over the many years of restoration. I walked past several boards then stopped suddenly as the energy all but exploded, blasting heat across my skin and making Amaya hiss her fury.

  It was here. Somewhere.

  I scanned the half-height boxes, seeing the remnants of a rusted garden seat, the strap off an iron fence post, and a pickax.

  It had to be that. Had to be.

  “Have you found it?” Lucian asked softly.

  “I think so,” I said, reaching for it.

  But my fingers had barely brushed the wooden handle when hell broke loose around us.

  “What the fuck—?” Lucian said, spinning around.

  “That dormant magic,” Azriel said grimly, “is no longer so dormant. And we are no longer alone. We need to leave—now!”

  I gripped the pickax’s rough handle firmly as he wrapped his arms around me. Power surged—his power—running through every muscle, every fiber, until my whole body sang to its tune. But this time it failed to make us into energy beings, failed to transport us into the gray fields and away from the mansion.

  Valdis spat and screamed—an echo of her master’s frustration, I suspected.

  “What’s wrong?” I said, fear gripping me as he stepped back and drew the sword.

  “The magic is preventing travel through the gray fields.” His gaze went past me, and his expression became grim. I didn’t even want to look. “Can you take Aedh form?”

  I reached for her immediately. Her response was swift and harsh, no doubt due to the tension twisting my insides, but nothing happened.

  “It is as I expected,” Azriel said. “We have stepped neatly into another trap.”

  “Then we fight our way out of it,” Lucian said, drawing the long knives out of their sheathes and running to the right.

  It was then I saw them.

  Twisted, half-huma
n, half-animal beings.

  Fuck.

  I drew Amaya. Her anger filled me, shoring up my courage. And I needed every ounce of it as I turned around and saw that there weren’t just one or two of these creatures, but at least a dozen. Their inhuman faces were twisted by madness, and bloodlust shone in their eyes. Whatever—whoever—had done this to them, they’d killed any remnants of humanity left within them.

  “Stay behind me,” Azriel said. “We’ll try to get to the door.”

  But even as he said it, the creatures surged forward. He swung Valdis, the blade screaming as her fire sent blue lightning flashing across the moon-cooled shadows. Body parts went flying but they didn’t seem to care, just kept on coming—a relentless tide from which there seemed no escape.

  They swarmed over him and lunged at me. I moved backward, Amaya gripped in one hand, the pickax in the other, swinging both as hard as I could. My arms shuddered every time a weapon hit flesh, but it didn’t seem to make a difference to the tide of bodies in front of me.

  And their stench … they smelled like humans who were now rotting inside. My stomach twisted and rolled, but I wasn’t entirely sure the smell was solely responsible for that.

  From the back of the pack, blue fire begun to erupt, and I knew Azriel was attempting to return to me. I had no idea where Lucian was, but I could hear the howls and screams of creatures to the right and guessed he was still doing damage.

  A shadow leapt above the writhing mass of twisted flesh, coming at me with speed—a dark form with feline features and half-furred skin. It resembled a man-sized cat—a cat with twisted, yellowed canines and hands that ended in long sharp claws. I ducked, letting the thing arc high above me, and swung Amaya. Her hissing was lost to the inhuman sounds these things were making, but her black blade sliced through the creature’s underbelly with ease. Blood and gore rained down on me as the creature’s momentum sent it tumbling over the railings and down onto the floor below.

  I didn’t look to see if it was dead. I didn’t have the time.

  Another creature leapt at me. I backed away, hit the railing that ringed the void, and swung both weapons. The creature snarled and twisted, its clawed hands lashing out—not for me, but for the pickax. They were after the key, not us.