by Jaime Rush
She took out her gun, tucked in her waistband, and inched closer. She had to shoot where the bullet would go straight into the wall and not down the tunnel. Following their movements, inching closer, she aimed.
Pope threw Yurek, bumping into her and knocking her to her ass. The gun fell to the ground a few feet away. Yurek's snout-full of teeth came at her, but Pope dragged him back. He wouldn’t ‘port away. Not only because he wanted to save his power, but she knew in her heart that he wouldn't leave her there. She scrambled on hands and knees to where the gun landed in the shadows.
She turned, crouching, and readied. Please don't let me hit Pope by mistake.
Pope got the upper hand with the beast, wrestling it to the ground. It wasn't defeated though. It pulled back its hind legs, claws sharp and extended, and readied to push Pope off.
“Suza, wait,” he gritted out and slapped his palm to the beast's head. A small Flare threw it back. It hit the wall and became Yurek again. He started to shift back.
“Now,” Pope said.
She pulled the trigger. The blast echoed, jabbing into her head like a boxing glove. Pope jumped to his feet, surveying the dead man.
“Nicely done,” he said.
She tapped the handle. “Good to know the human weapon can kick otherworldly ass.”
“Pope!” Magnus's voice, a distance down the tunnel.
“We're all right,” Suza shouted. Profound relief washed over her. They were almost ready. And they still had an hour to spare.
Two silhouettes, dragging their full bags like Santa Clauses, materialized in the gloom.
Magnus said, “I figure we're on the north end of Strasford. I can still feel Darkness.”
Pope took them all in with their bags. “Put your hands on my arm. I should be able to bring us close to the compound.”
In a flash, they were back where they'd started taking down the explosive devices. Pope looked relieved. He still had one more very important ‘port to do. Or else they died, but she didn't want to think about that.
Pope rubbed his hands together. “This is going to take split-second timing. You all must be ready, hands on me and on your bags. The moment I set this device off, we're out of here. If the bags get left behind, there will still be enough explosives to damage the town.”
She hated this part of the plan, not that any part of it was great. Pope would start the blast with his Flare on the first device, sending the chain reaction toward the compound. They'd taken enough of the explosives out along the way so that it wouldn't extend outward much.
A man materialized in front of them. His eyes widened as he took in four strangers. “Who are you people, and why are you sabotaging my project?”
“Because the people here shouldn't die for our mistakes, Torus,” Pope said.
He narrowed his eyes. “You're one of us but they are not.” He saw the bags with the square devices pushing against the plastic. “I will not allow you to destroy everything I've worked years to put into place.” He held out his hand, and there was nothing wrong with his glow. “In ten minutes everything will be detonated, so you've failed anyway.”
Suza shot him, throwing him back several feet. “I know I took a chance,” she said, rushing the words together. “But I couldn't let him kill us. Not after all the work we've done.”
Magnus stepped up next to Pope. “You didn't even try to zap him.”
“My Flare isn't as strong as I'd like.” He flexed his hand and tried to summon it. Hardly a glimmer. “I’ve overused my powers. I won't be able to detonate the devices.”
Suza lifted her gun. “I'll shoot one.”
They got into position, and she aimed at the first device on the wall. Click. She checked the gun. “Hell. Empty.”
“I'll do it.”
Everyone turned to Erica. She was holding out her hand, a glow pulsing in her palm. “I've got enough power.”
Magnus said, “No, you—”
“I know I'll die. So go now, all of you. Take everything. As soon as you're gone I'll set them off. That way you're safe.” She gripped Magnus's arm. “It's the only way. You heard him. They're going to set it off in ten minutes. Go.”
Magnus's voice was raw when he said, “I'm not going without you.”
Erica gave Pope a secret nod that told him to make sure Magnus went. “Magnus, I was going to end up dying anyway. So now I get to save a lot more lives than one killer would have taken.”
A sound caught their attention. Torus had crawled to the bag closest to him and was reaching for one of the devices. His hand glowed. He was going to set it off—
Suza felt that now-familiar whoosh and blinked, finding herself on the hill where they'd scoped out the compound. The sound of an explosion riveted her attention below. The ground erupted, as though a gigantic earthworm was making its way toward them. Each device exploded in domino fashion, just as planned. But those explosions were coming toward the compound. Wherever there was an explosion, the ground collapsed in a several-yards wide swath, shaking the sand in either direction for a mile.
What hovered above the ground was even wilder. A dark mist shimmered like heat, a wave of it rolling toward the compound.
“Darkness,” Pope said.
She looked at their group, Magnus and Erica and all their bags. Magnus had his arms around Erica, holding her fast against his chest. Suza stepped closer to Pope, needing that connection as she turned back to the devastation below.
It reached the compound, buildings and cars falling into the gaping hole. She saw no people; they'd all been evacuated. The explosions finally stopped, but the wave of Darkness kept going, drawn toward that portal thing Pope talked about.
High like a tidal wave, it washed over the mountain next to theirs and disappeared right into it. The mountains shuddered. Magnus took a halted breath and stumbled back, as though someone had punched him. Erica turned in his arms, and he shook his head. “I'm fine. The air got thin all of a sudden. I couldn’t breathe.”
Pope surveyed the area. “I don't feel Darkness. It’s gone.” He gestured to the bags. “I have to take these back to my dimension. They're too dangerous to leave here.”
Suza now sucked in a breath. “But from everything you've told me it’s too dangerous for you to go back there.”
Pope touched her chin. “I have to. I cannot risk anyone finding these explosives. They are made from materials not of this dimension. I will take you to your truck, and then I'll go to the finestra on the south side of Strasford.”
“We'll go,” Magnus said. “And we'll wait for you to come back.”
Forty minutes later, Magnus watched Pope step into what looked like a wall of shimmering heat and disappeared.
Suza leaned against the front of the truck, wringing her fingers. “Will he come back?”
“If he can, he will.” Magnus squeezed her shoulder. “He's got a reason.” Unless he got caught, but no need to mention that.
They'd stopped at a store where they bought coats and a pair of shoes for Suza. The night air bit into his cheeks and stung his lips. He took Erica's hand. “We'll be right back.”
He pulled her away, though not out of sight of Suza. He then tugged her into his arms. “That was the maddest, bravest thing I've ever seen. You are the maddest, bravest thing I've seen.”
“I was scared to death to die. I've spent a lot of years taking that sort of risk, willing to die for a good cause. But I've never had anything to live for.” She tilted her head, the breeze blowing her hair across her cheek. “And I don't care if you've got Darkness, that you turn into a beast or that you'll get wildly possessive. I can deal with that.”
He started to protest her willingness to once again put herself in harm's way, but no words came out. Because he realized something. He stepped back and patted his stomach. “I don't feel it.”
“Feel what?”
“Darkness. I don't feel the heaviness.” He held out his hand and stared at it, summoning the lion. Nothing. “I don't have it anymore.
I don't have it!” He swung her into his arms and spun her around. “It must have gone when the whole of it went. Remember when I sucked in that breath? I felt something pass through me. But I was so preoccupied with everything else I didn't realize that dark heaviness wasn't in me anymore.”
She leaned down and kissed him, a beautiful light in her eyes.
“You would have stayed with me anyway,” he said, feeling that sacrifice as much as the one she'd almost made in the tunnel. “Even though I was a beast.”
She put her hand to his cheek. “You weren't a beast.”
She hadn't always felt that way, but he wasn't about to remind her. “Come home with me to Maryland. I need to see my brother.”
She gave him a teasing smile. “And Jessie?”
“Who?”
She kissed him again. “I'd love to come home with you.”
Suza was watching them, a wistful smile on her face. They joined her, and he could pick up her worried thoughts about Pope. She really cared about him. He knew Pope cared about her, too.
An hour passed, the longest of their lives. “He's not coming back,” Suza said, her arms tight around her waist. “The best man I ever fell in love with, and he's gone.” Tears glittered on her eyelashes and spilled down cheeks red from the cold.
Magnus pulled her close. “Don't give up yet.”
“I haven't given up, I just…oh, Magnus, it's not looking good.”
Her grief vibrated through him. He reached out and grasped Erica's hand, pulling her up next to him. She patted Suza's back, clearly as uncomfortable with this comforting business as he was.
Erica sucked in a breath, pointing. The air shimmered in the weird way it had when Pope had gone through. He stepped out of the finestra, looking the way he had when they'd first met: shaved head, tall, and with violet eyes. Suza rushed toward him, which baffled Magnus because as far as he knew, she'd only seen him the way he'd looked when he left.
“You're back,” she said, running her fingers over her face. “I like you this way.”
“My façade stripped away when I entered my dimension. I took on my old one when I came back.” He held Suza tight for a few moments, squeezing his eyes shut. Finally he moved back. “The group who was here never made it back. Darkness exploded as it went through the finestra, most likely taking everyone with it. The government will have to come clean, I suppose, and explain why they no longer have the power they once did. But that is not my problem.” He gave them a guileless smile. “I have a date to prepare for.”
“A lot of them,” Suza said, her gaze never leaving him.
“I'm going back to Maryland,” Magnus said, pressing Erica's hand to his mouth. “We're going back. Amy will be having her baby any moment now. And I need to see Lachlan.”
Pope laced his fingers with Suza’s. “Suza, you’ll come with me to Maryland? I’d like you to meet my family.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she nodded. “But I’ve got to get Carlene out of jail.”
“I have ways of clearing up those kinds of matters.” He turned back to Magnus and Erica. “We’ll visit, but I believe I'll be returning here for a few weeks.”
Suza leaned closer to Pope. “Months. Years.”
He smiled. “Yes, years sounds good.” He glanced up into the night sky. “I like it here.” Then he looked at Suza. “Very much.”
Magnus chuckled, finding it odd to see Pope…well, in love. “Good for you. Both of you.” He turned to Erica. “Good for us, too. I'm thinking months. Years. Who knows? My life is full of possibilities again. And I happen to like the possibility right in front of me.”
She kissed him, something he treasured because he knew how hard doing that had once been for her.
They all crammed into Suza’s truck and drove to Magnus’s BMW, which was still parked at the trailhead. Where Erica had followed him because she thought he was a killer. It was almost laughable now. Everything had happened just the way it was supposed to, though. Aye, he believed in fate.
Erica stared down the trail, her expression dark.
He came up behind her. “Thinking of the man Nester killed?”
She nodded but broke out of the thought, her face reflecting how she released the image. “Let’s get out of here.”
He opened the door and pulled out his phone. “I’ve got several missed calls.”
“Two will be from me,” Pope said, ready to head off with Suza.
“Four are from Lachlan. Something’s wrong.” He listened as Lachlan told him that Amy was going into labor, and then where the birthing center was, and then another call: “I hope you’re not so shattered or mad at me that you’d not come out, especially how daft you got about the baby.”
Erica gave him a questioning look, and Magnus shook his head. “I didn’t get daft. But aye, I was taken in by the whole miracle of it.” There was something magical about Amy's belly growing, her body creating a person inside her. And the way Lucas held her, proud and protective, had sparked that kind of desire in Magnus, too. He deleted that call and listened to the next: Amy just had the baby. And Lachlan was worried about his brother.
Magnus's chest filled with his need to see him. He disconnected and turned to Pope, who was waiting. “Amy’s had the baby. Can you work your magic one more time to get us there? I’ve got an address.”
Pope grinned. “I'll give it a try. We’ll be shielded for a few seconds until I can ascertain whether anyone who should not see us appear out of thin air isn’t there.”
Erica said, “I can wait for you—”
“No, you’re coming with me. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Bossy, aren’t you?”
He smiled. “Aye, it’s not the Darkness. I think it’s the being in love part. It’s something I’ve got to get used to. All I know is I don’t want you away from me. And I want you to meet my brother and friends.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “I'll meet the guy who killed Jerryl?”
“Aye, I’m sure he’ll be there. He’s the new father’s best friend.”
The three put their hands on Pope’s arm. In a whoosh, they stood in a cheery and very crowded room.
“What do I do with this thing?” Amy asked when the nurse set the baby in her arms. Her green eyes were huge as she stared at her baby girl. “I’ve been reading all the books but everything just flew right out of my head.”
Lucas settled in beside her on the bed, pressing close to her. His gaze was on the baby, too. “We’ll figure it out, babe. And look, we’ve got plenty of help.” He gestured to the people around them.
The nurse patted Amy’s leg. “You’ll be fine, darlin’. Every new mom says the same thing, but being a parent is an innate ability. You’ll make mistakes but you’ll get it right most of the time.” She pointed to the group. “Be quiet in here. You’ve all way exceeded the limit.”
Petra squeezed in on Amy’s other side, her face aglow as she touched the baby’s cheek. “You are so beautiful, Francesca Emily Vanderwyck.”
The moment the nurse exited, the shield fell away.
“Pope!”
Petra ran over and gave him a hug. Everyone turned to them, first surprise and then warmth on their faces. Lachlan, standing next to Jessie, also wore his hesitation. Magnus stalked toward him, keeping his expression neutral. Make the bastard sweat another second or two.
He grabbed hold of him and yanked him into a bear hug. “Locky.”
Lachlan’s arms went round him then. “Maggie.”
Magnus didn’t want to let him go, but he forced himself to step back. “It’s alright. I’m alright.” He raised his arms. “I don’t Hold Darkness anymore.”
Jessie stepped closer. “Thank God. But how?”
“It’s a long story, and not one I’m going to dump out here. But it’s gone, Pope is safe, and I’m glad to be home.” He clasped his brother’s shoulder. “With my brother and the woman he’s probably going to marry.”
Jessie's expression crumpled. “I’m so sorr
y—”
“Don’t be. My brother is happy, and that means the world to me.” He turned and gestured for Erica to come over. “I want you to meet the reason I’m happy. This is Erica. Erica Evrard.” He let the name sink in. They had everyone’s attention anyway, all waiting, no doubt, to see if Magnus would explode in Darkness at seeing Lachlan and Jessie. A few soft gasps sounded as he turned her toward the rest of the group. “Aye, Jerryl’s sister.” He introduced her to Lachlan and Jessie.
Erica shook hands with them and then studied the group. “Which one of you killed him?”
Eric stepped forward, his expression contrite. A rare thing in itself. “I did. We were in a war—”
She walked over and thrust out her hand. “Thank you.”
Eric seemed to push past his shock and clasped her hand. “You’re welcome.”
Magnus came up behind her, draping his arms over her shoulders. “Turns out he was a bigger bastard than we thought. No need to get into it but suffice it to say you did the world a favor.” He turned to her. “This is Eric, who’s married to Fonda. She worked with Jerryl.” No need either to mention that she’d dated him. “I’m not going to bombard you with everyone’s names right now; you’ll have time to get to know them. We’re sort of family. We’ve been through a lot together. They’re sort of your family, too. We all share the Callorian essence.”
He couldn’t tell what she thought about that, but her face warmed and her eyes watered. Did she have any family? Anyone in her life? Considering what she’d been doing these last years, he guessed not. Now she would, him and all of these people.
He turned her toward Amy. “But this is the reason we came so quickly. Amy and Lucas Vanderwyck, new parents. And baby Francesca.”
“After Lucas’s mom,” Amy said, her face bright. “And Emily for my mom.”
Magnus leaned down and planted a kiss on her cheek, then shook Lucas’s hand. “Congratulations.” Then he took in the beautiful babe in Amy’s arms. “She’s brilliant.” He took her tiny hand. “Pleased to meet you. Welcome to your mad family.”
