Dark Ascension

by J. D. Brown

  The King scowled. He looked like he wanted to object, but there was probably nothing he could do to stop Tancred from going.

  “Fine,” I said. “Just stay out of my way.” With that, I yanked the door open and marched into the hall. Maria and Jesu followed, with Naamah close behind. No one spoke as we briskly walked the distance to the guest wing, but after climbing the tower stairs, I couldn’t seem to help myself. I was so frustrated with Tancred’s two-timing agenda, and I opened my mouth to say so—

  Jesu covered my mouth with one hand. He gripped my upper arm and pulled me into Maria’s bedroom. Naamah shut the door and locked it.

  Maria opened a drawer and pulled out a zip-lock bag full of dried Adder’s Tongue. She dumped the herbs into a shallow dish and then lit them on fire with a match from the nightstand. It wasn’t until the fragrant smoke coiled in the air that Jesu finally loosened his grip.

  “What the heck?” I said, jabbing him in the ribs.

  Maria rummaged through her armoire for some item while Naamah unearthed a lap top from a small desk drawer.

  “I’m adding three more tickets to the itinerary,” said Naamah.

  “Three?” I planted my hands on my hips. “I only counted one unwanted addition. Damn Tancred.”

  “Plus your father and I,” said Jesu.

  “What?” I shook my head. “No. Don’t even start. I’m not risking your life again. And why on earth would Dad come? He’s human. He’ll be a hazard.”

  “Your father is stronger than he looks.”

  I searched Jesu’s gaze. He couldn’t be serious, could he? “What’s up with you and Dad? Why did Brinnon say he should have been involved?”

  Jesu opened his mouth as though to answer, but then seemed to think better of it and started over. “We are going with you.”

  “Jesu, please. I need you to stay here and look after my folks and Anthony. They’re all alone in a vampyre castle.”

  “Maria will keep an eye on them.”

  “Maria has her job. This one’s yours.”

  Jesu furrowed his brow at Maria.

  “She’s my political eyes and ears in the castle,” I explained. “You’re my... familial ones. I mean, if you want to be.”

  “What I want is to make sure you survive this.”

  I groaned.

  “Got it!” said Maria. She held a small item in the palm of her hand and blew on it, disturbing the bits of dried herb that clung to her skin. My eyes widened at the object. It was smooth, oblong, and about the size my fingernail. It was also green. Jade green.

  “Um, guys, what’s that?” I pointed to the stone.

  “It’s exactly what it looks like, my friend.” Naamah left the laptop on the desk and went to his wife’s side. Maria beamed with pride as she held the stone out for me to take. “The one you gave Brinnon—the one Valafar stole—was a decoy.”

  “A decoy?” I gasped. “You made a fake philosopher’s stone?”

  “Or bought it at a flea market.” Maria shrugged.

  “So Valafar has a counterfeit—an actual ordinary gemstone. And we have the real thing?”

  “We thought it might be a good idea,” Naamah explained. “Of course, we didn’t anticipate the Alpan Council, but...”

  But they did anticipate Valafar.

  Of course they had. Even I knew there was a chance the incubus wouldn’t keep his promise. That’s why I had smoked the entire guest wing before giving the ring to Maria to hide.

  “But when I told you about the Council, you gave me the fake one. You would have let me lie to them?”

  Maria shared a look with her husband. She placed the stone in my hand and curled my fingers around its smooth surface. “This is bigger than any Council, my dear. Keep it on your person. Never let it out of your sight. When the time is right, use it.”

  I held my breath in anticipation. The first time I touched my ruby, its power shook me to my core. Even its absence had an effect. I expected worse from Apollyon’s jade, but the rock felt completely ordinary. “Are you sure this is the right one?”

  Maria grinned. “Positive.”

  I glanced at Jesu. He was looking at my fist, where the stone sat. A healthy dose of indecision creased his brow, but there was no shock in it.

  “You knew about this,” I said. “That’s why you’re okay with me going to China and possibly facing Lilith. You knew Valafar took the decoy.”

  “What I know is you will not stop until your children are safe, and I respect that.” Jesu shook his head and scoffed. “No, I agree with it. So I am all in, Ema. Whatever that means, whatever you want to do, I am in.”

  I buried the jade in my pants pocket. “Does that mean you’ll stay here and look after my parents?”

  Jesu rolled his eyes. “No.”

  “But you said—”

  “Logan and I are going with you.”

  “Fine,” I said, not knowing how to convince him. As for Dad, I could always lock him in the hotel room or something. Just because he was a Jumlin didn’t mean he was a vampyre. As far as I could tell, my father was about as supernatural as a dormouse—which meant his mortality was fragile. Just because I hated the guy didn’t mean I wanted him to become collateral damage. Why couldn’t Jesu see that?

  VALAFAR

  Death was dark and smelled like dog breath. A dull ache throbbed in my throat, and my chest burned slightly, but at least I could breathe. Why would I need to breathe if I’m dead?

  Something hot and slimy licked my face. My eyelids blinked open to hazy shapes and the pain intensified. I sucked in a sharp breath. Big mistake. My lungs wanted the air, but my throat was so raw, it was like sucking shards of glass through a straw, only the straw was my windpipe. I coughed in reaction, but that hurt worse.

  “Bloody hell,” I croaked.

  A dog whimpered. I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed them with my palms while taking small, shallow breathes. When I opened my eyes again, the room came into focus. Rutty, wooden walls rose from a dirt floor. Cobwebs and grime formed a green-tinged film over a lone window. The bed I lay on was a simple twin-sized frame with an itchy cot that smelled of mold. Brown blotches stained the yellow lining. I’d woken up in worse conditions before. Still, I pushed away from the bed and sat upright, worried about lice or cockroaches or worse.

  A glass of clean, clear water sat on the windowsill. My tongue sat heavy in my mouth, my throat parched. I didn’t go to it, though, because Lilith stood in the corner watching. I lowered my gaze and sighed.

  Not dead then.

  Though there was still a chance she poisoned the water.

  Mum took a step toward me, and then lowered a bony hand to Lupa’s head. The wolf cowered low to the floor, then seemed to think better of it. She lifted to rub against Mum’s leg. Lilith ran her fingers over the dog’s tawny coat and grinned.

  “Welcome back.”

  I looked away. My esophagus ached for the water, but I refused to give her the satisfaction. I checked my hands, suddenly remembering that I had been stabbed. Dry blood stained my left palm, but the wound had already scabbed. It would be fully healed by the time I got a chance to shower.

  I wish I’d died instead.

  “Well,” said Lilith, sounding bored. “I hope yer ready to get back to work. Find Shénshèng. Make sure we get to her before Ema does. Oh, an’ one more thing...” She reached into her cloak pocket and then tossed something at me. I flinched out of the way, but it was just the ring. The fake philosopher’s stone. It landed on the cot. “Fix yer mistake.”

  Lilith turned with a dramatic flair of her cloak and then left the room. Lupa glanced at me then trotted after her mistress.

  I pocketed the ring, stood, and then grabbed the glass of water. It seemed safe to assume she wouldn’t poison me when she had just given orders to protect her precious plans. I chugged the liquid. It was a Godsend against my raw throat, cool and soothing, but the pain only stopped for that fleeting moment. Once the water was gone, the throbbing burn returned with
a vengeance, demanding more. I grimaced. It would soon heal. I just had to wait it out.

  I set the glass down, phased, and then headed back to the castle. I had no idea what time it was, or how long I’d been unconscious, but I could feel the moon’s cool rays against my essence. Hopefully Ema hadn’t left yet.

  CHAPTER 13

  Mom sat on a cushioned armchair near the flickering fire, a loom and needlepoint in her hands. She glanced up as I entered the room and gently closed the door, but her attention quickly went back to the tiny stitches.

  I released a breath, grateful she didn’t feel like talking, and then went to the dressing nook. I changed into a T-shirt and jeans, and made sure to transfer the jade from one pocket to the other. Would the stone even work for me? My ruby was linked to my DNA so only I could use it. What if Apollyon had done the same? Even if the genetics I shared with Apollyon was enough, how did the ring work, exactly? It wasn’t like the jewel had an on/off switch.

  I made a mental note to ask Maria, and then found the suitcase I had used when we traveled to Italy. I opened it, laid it out in front of the armoire, and immediately realized I had no idea how to prepare for this trip. Did I bring weapons? Adder’s Tongue? A bag full of prayers? I didn’t plan on hurting Lilith, and I didn’t think she wanted to hurt me, but some protection was probably a good idea. I ran my fingers through my hair, then decided to start with the basics—clothes and toiletries. I grabbed my toothbrush from the bathroom and was on my way back to the closet when Mom spoke.

  “Going somewhere?”

  I paused near the hearth and chewed my lip. Better get this over with.

  “Dad and I are going out of town for a little while.”

  Mom blanched and her brow creased in the center. “For how long?”

  I shrugged. “A few days, maybe. I’m not sure.”

  “Then I’m coming with.”

  “Um, no. You’re staying here.”

  Mom stood, her needlework forgotten as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Ema Marx, you will not leave me here with these... these...”

  I upped my brow and waited for her to say the word.

  “...These people,” she exclaimed.

  I rolled my eyes and went to the dressing nook. Mom followed.

  “You’ll be fine,” I said, tossing the toothbrush into the suitcase. “Maria will be here. And Sara, she’s the one that brings your meals. If you need anything, just ask them.” I winced, realizing I would owe them both a huge favor for putting up with Mom while I was gone. I made a mental note to let Maria know to toss her in the dungeon if she got to be too much.

  Mom stood in the doorway. “So that’s it. You’re just going to abandon me again?”

  My hands curled into fists, but I bit my tongue and pushed away the urge to argue. She was trying to get a rise out of me, and I refused to give her the satisfaction. Not after what she’d said about her grandchildren. Instead, I found my prenatal vitamins and added them to the pack.

  Mom stomped her foot. “You are an impossible child. I won’t stand for it. I’m going to have a word with your father about this.”

  I snorted. “Go ahead.”

  “Humph!” Mom stomped away from the nook, but we both knew she wouldn’t leave the room. She was afraid of the guards. Of everyone in the castle, really. I smiled to myself as her footsteps stopped and the bed creaked under her weight.

  I looked over everything in the suitcase, re-folded and re-arranged the clothes to save space, and then decided I’d better ask Jesu what kind of arsenal I should grab from the weapons room. I used our shared bathroom—ignoring the pouting adult on my bed—to enter his room.

  Jesu was topless. And wet.

  My gaze followed the rivulets of inky back hair slicked against his pale shoulder blades. He smelled like shampoo and clean skin. Droplets glossed his pristine muscles as they ran down his back to the peeking mounds of his supple butt cheeks. He wore a pair of black jeans, but they hung low on his waist—very, very low. I swallowed hard.

  “Hey,” he said while rummaging through a drawer, hopefully looking for a top.

  “Hi.”

  He faced me, giving a clear view of his washboard abs. My cheeks burned, and I lifted my gaze to his chest. Wait, no. I shook my head and looked at his biceps. Shoot. My gaze slid to his crotch. Oh my god, what is wrong with me? The wall... I looked at the wall.

  Jesu chuckled. “You okay?”

  “Uh-huh,” I said to the Victorian pattern near the mantle. “I was just thinking, we should grab a few weapons to bring with. You know, just in case.” I watched from the corner of my vision as Jesu finally pulled a T-shirt over his head.

  “I can take care of it,” he offered.

  “I want a sword this time,” I said. No idea why, they just looked cooler than the little daggers Jesu gave me last time. I faced him as he pulled his mop of wet hair out from under his collar and then did a little Fabio hair flip. I laughed, and then winced. “Oh crap. I forgot to tell Anthony I’m leaving.”

  Jesu shrugged. “I think he will live.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Be nice to him. He’s a confused little human. He breaks easily.”

  Jesu’s cheek dimpled in a small smile.

  “Oh, and if you feel like staying here to give Maria a hand with Anthony or my mother, you’re totally allowed. I won’t hold it against you.”

  “I’ll pass.”

  I squelched my lips together and pouted. “I really wish you’d let me do this on my own.”

  Jesu crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, I would feel really great if you called the whole thing off. Including the contract.”

  “You know why I can’t.”

  He drew a deep breath and then nodded. “Yeah, I do. I get it.”

  I eyed him from under my lashes. “You do?”

  Jesu reached across and grabbed a necklace that had been laying on the nightstand. As far as necklaces went, this one was pretty hideous. Like some kind of summer-camp craft. A piece of wood dangled from a thin leather cord by a small length of cheap metallic wire. The wooden part wasn’t a charm or a bead or anything like that, but literally a piece of wood, like a woodchip. Jesu closed the distance and looped the leather necklace over my head, letting the woodchip hang between my breasts.

  “Um, what is this?” I asked.

  “Call it a good-luck charm. Promise you will never take it off. Ever.”

  “Okay.” I touched the woodchip and noticed a symbol carved into the center. It looked like an eye. Kind of creepy, but all right.

  Jesu lowered his hands and searched my gaze. He smelled like sunshine and lemongrass. I looked away, unable to meet his eyes and not fall for them.

  He sighed. “Ema, I have to go with you. I have to make sure all three of you come back in one piece.”

  I knew he meant me and the twins. Not Tancred. Not Dad. I pulled my lips between my teeth. You have to say it. This wasn’t fair to either of us. I couldn’t keep stringing him along. He couldn’t come with, not because of Mom or Anthony—they’d be fine with Maria—but because he needed to stop wasting his time with me. He needed to go fulfill his true destiny so he could finally start a better path. The right path. Say it. Tell him to leave. Tell him you don’t want him around anymore. Tell him to find the right girl, the girl from his premonition.

  The words kept breaking apart in my chest.

  “That’s the plan,” I said lamely.

  “Good.” Jesu took my jaw in his hand and tilted my face upward. My gaze found his dazzling, studious, emerald eyes, and my knees weakened.

  Then he kissed me.

  Not on the forehead.

  Not on the cheek.

  Not on the nose.

  But on the lips. Full, soft, and tender. He kissed me, and I forgot how to breathe.

  VALAFAR

  Of course Jesu would give Ema the claror and make my life more difficult.

  I hovered in the hallway, completely phased, while eavesdropping on the entire wing. I ex
amined every wave length that bounced through the air. In the next room over, Naamah’s fingertips pounded away at a keyboard. He paused every now and again to scribble on a notepad. The scent of Adder’s Tongue ebbed from the cracks in the door frame. The smoke wasn’t thick enough to stop me from phasing in the massive corridor, but I definitely could not enter their room undetected. My mind worked through other ways to steal the information I needed. It wouldn’t be easy now that they all knew to be more careful.

  Ema approached the corridor, her footsteps palpable as she reached for the knob. I flew into the tower stairwell to avoid detection, and waited. Her door opened. She crossed the hall, and then knocked on another door. “Anthony? It’s me. Can I come in?”

  She disappeared into the human’s chamber and the doorway clicked shut. I flew to the threshold of her ex’s room, wary of the guard stationed there, and listened.

  “I’m going out of town for a few days,” said Ema.

  The man’s anxiety was substantial. “Where?”

  Ema’s tone rose in pitch, relaying her nervous. “China.”

  I shook my proverbial head. Ema wouldn’t give Anthony any specific details. He wasn’t important. I needed Naamah. I needed some way to tap into his cellphone or his laptop. Technically, I could just waltz into the room, put them to sleep, and take what I needed—but the moment they woke, they’d tell Ema and change their plans. They might know I took the stones, and to be extra cautious, but none of them knew for certain that I was here now, and I needed to keep it that way for as long as possible. Information was easier to extract when people felt safe.

  But I didn’t have time to wait for them to get comfortable enough to let their guard down. I needed that information now, before Ema left. I needed Naamah and his wife to leave their room. I needed something to distract them long enough for me to scroll his browser history.

  Jesu exited his chamber. He walked right past me without a second thought. Without the claror he was blind to me again.