Dark Ascension

by J. D. Brown

  Valafar’s daughter veered left. She cut through the crowed at a leisure pace, heading toward a flight of stairs. Valafar’s daughter. I couldn’t believe it. I had never paused to consider that he might have other family, but of course he did. If the stories were true, Lilith had sired an entire race with him. He would have children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all over the world.

  But I couldn’t think about that now.

  I glanced at the main entrance. How on earth was Jesu supposed to hit Lilith with the shuriken in here? Even if he managed to sneak into the building without being noticed, there were too many people in too small a space. Everyone would see him attack her. Panic would ensue. Policemen would be called. The R.E.D. would have a major fit. This plan was falling apart. I should do the safe thing and walk away, but then I’d miss my chance. I might never get another one. I only wanted information. Maybe it was better that Jesu couldn’t act. There was really no reason Lilith and I couldn’t just talk. And if she lied?

  I reached into my coat pocket to hide my fist and let the philosopher’s stone materialize against my palm. I’d been holding it the entire time, keeping it phased between my fingers, but I needed the reassurance of its smooth oblong surface. Or at least I thought I did. Holding the stone in my hand now, it just felt empty. I wished it would buzz like my ruby. Anything to know it really did have power, and that I could wield it.

  “Ahem.” Valafar cleared his throat.

  I faced him and lifted my brow. “What?”

  I expected some snide remark as he glanced past me in the direction his daughter had gone, but there was nothing spiteful in his tone. If anything, he sounded... strangely calm.

  “Are we doing this?”

  “Yeah,” I said, armed with the hope that Lilith at least wouldn’t kill me until my son was born. “We’re doing this.”

  I phased the stone for safekeeping, and used my other hand to grab hold of Valafar’s sleeve just in case I needed to phase him too. I had no idea if I could even do that. I was kind of improvising here. If I was being honest, I think part of me was trying to hold onto something familiar. Valafar probably didn’t care what happened to me, but I was scared and grasping at straws. Or threads, in this case. I’d torn a few tiny holes in his sleeve already from clutching the fabric so tight.

  The staircase and upper landing had a stainless-steel glass railing to overlook the ground level, forming a large loft on the second floor of the gallery. Art-covered walls formed a sleek hallway that lead to several smaller display rooms. Valafar’s daughter led us halfway down the hall, then stopped and faced her father.

  “Wait here,” she said.

  “Why?” He took a step closer and narrowed his gaze, as though he were trying to figure her out. I had no idea what the rest of Valafar’s family knew about me. Who else might be involved in Lilith’s scheme? Was this new succubus a pawn like her father, or was she something worse? The way he looked at her, Valafar seemed genuinely concerned by her presence. He asked me not to hurt her. Like that was possible. If she’d inherited her father’s powers, it was likely I’d fall into a deep sleep before I could ever lay a hand on her. Still, her loyalties would lay with her family, not a stranger. I’d have to watch my back while talking to Lilith.

  “She wants you to wait here.” The woman met her father’s gaze with a stern glare. Valafar’s mouth thinned as he straightened his posture and stepped aside. The woman smiled. “Keep an eye out for her friends.” She gestured to me, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from reacting. “Warn us if you see anything.”

  Valafar scanned his daughter one last time then looked away, facing the hall entrance.

  “This way.” She turned and continued to the end of the corridor, where she stopped before a non-descript door on the right. She opened the door and disappeared into a dimly lit space, not waiting for me to decide if I really wanted to follow.

  I’ve come this far, haven’t I?

  I sucked in a deep breath, caught the handle before the door could shut, and then let myself inside.

  The room was small and dark, lit only by a projector in the back. Some kind of educational video played on the large screen at the front. Rows of cheap folding chairs lined the space in between. A small audience of people sat in the chairs—all of them human. Only, something wasn’t quite right with them. The door clicked shut, locking me in darkness. I let my eyes adjust. That’s when I realized what was wrong with the audience. Their eyes were closed and their heads drooped. All of them. Even the children.

  My breath hitched. Don’t panic. Think this through. I closed my eyes a moment and listened to the softer sounds of the room, picking the whispers apart from the much louder audio of the video narration. The pitter of heartbeats soon found me, along with the faint wisps of breath. The audience wasn’t dead, just asleep.

  Dream magic.

  I swallowed my nerves and opened my eyes, searching the room for Lilith. But she wasn’t here. Instead, I found Valafar’s daughter sitting alone in the back row next to the projector. I went and sat beside her. “What is all this? Why is everyone asleep? Where’s Lilith?”

  The succubus’ mouth curved. “They’re insurance, dearie. Just in case yer prince is dumb enough to come inside. Ya should’a come alone, like I told ya to.”

  I stared at Valafar’s daughter, mouth open. Her accent was different than it was a moment ago. She sounded like...

  She looked at me and the lavender hue of her irises melted into an icy blue.

  “A glamour,” I gasped. My hand automatically went to my chest, but I wasn’t wearing the claror. It wouldn’t have done any good while walking with Valafar, so I gave it to Tancred just in case. He was with Dad, keeping him safe during his trance.

  “Yer wising up.” Lilith faced the screen, and the eye on my side darkened to a deep purple before a lavender sheen shimmered over the top. “I expect your father had something to do with that.” Her accent faded too, back to the performance of pretending to be her daughter.

  Thank goodness I told her I’d hidden the stone, but I worried about the people sitting in front of us. If Jesu tried to enter the room...

  “Where is it?” Lilith demanded.

  I shook my head. “I want information first.”

  Her lips curled. Yellow fangs peeked from under red and black rotted gums. They had been pink and healthy a moment ago. She was toying with me, showing bits and pieces of her true self to scare me.

  “What do you want with my son?” I said quickly, deciding to go straight to the meat of the conversation. I didn’t have time to mess around. Jesu would come barreling through that door, blades flying. No way would he leave me in here unprotected for more than a few minutes.

  Lilith chuckled, the sound eerily pleasant in her daughter’s voice. “You know what’s wrong with him. He has his father’s essence.”

  I furrowed my brow and shook my head. Be smarter, Ema!

  “So how do we fix this? How do we cure my son?”

  She faced me with a cruel impassiveness that sent a dagger to my heart. “My dear girl, I will gladly rip the essence from his chest once he is of age. Until then, I suggest you rest easy.”

  Nausea twisted my stomach. “That doesn’t sound very safe.”

  Her brow cocked. “It’s not meant to. He’ll surely die.”

  A jolt of panic surged through my blood. I curled my fingernails in my lap and drew a deep breath, forcing myself to keep calm. “There must be a way we can both get what we want. You can have the essence, just don’t hurt my baby.”

  “I’m afraid that isn’t possible. My idiot brother wound his essence around your child tighter than barbed wire. There’s no way to separate them.”

  The blood drained from my face and I felt a sickening hollowness in the pit of my stomach. “No. I don’t accept that. We can find a way.” I looked at her. The impassiveness in her expression was cruel; a blunt instrument that struck a crack through my fragile determination. The desperation I fel
t was like an oil spill, and Lilith held a flame to it. “What do you need this essence for anyway? Don’t you have enough of Apollyon in the ruby?”

  Lilith shook her head. “Unfortunately, I need all of it. He was supposed to come outta the Underworld whole. I didn’t know he’d already tucked himself safely away in yer womb.” Her accent thickened as bits of her true form shimmered in and out of existence, like static. “Ya screwed up everything takin’ his cursed seed, just like the last vampryess whore.”

  I pulled my lips between my teeth and winced.

  Lilith smirked “Ya heard enough yet?”

  I shook my head. She really hadn’t told me anything I didn’t already know. I needed more.

  “Why me?”

  “Why you, indeed. Ya see, necromancy... real necromancy... only works between a blood link. Relatives. Apollyon’s been using his offspring to cheat death for centuries, but you were the only one with the correct reproductive organs to bring him back to life. He didn’t know I was plannin’ to bring him back my own way.”

  “But you’re the one that found me and triggered my Nephilim genes. How did you even know I existed, or that we were related?”

  “Well now,” Lilith chuckled. “I thought yer father would’ve told ya that.” She tapped her temple with her fingertip. “I can feel him in here, ya know. Tickles, really. ’Course that means I can see everything in his mind, too.” She clucked her tongue and then murmured, “Oh, you have been naughty, Logan. So many secrets.”

  I froze, my fear manifesting as tiny ice shards in my veins. “What do you mean?”

  She smirked. “Thirteen years ago, a Jumlin man came to me, begging for a way to suppress his daughter’s transition.”

  “No,” I gasped. “You’re lying.”

  “Am I? He’s sure doin’ his damnest to make me honest.” Lilith narrowed her gaze. “I knew what ye were the moment I laid eyes on you. I’d been planning my brother’s reunion ever since that day. See, I couldn’t wake Apollyon myself. I’m only his half-sister. Yer blood is diluted too, but together, we were potent enough. I couldn’t have used his sons, they know better. But you were just a gullible human, completely unaware of yer birthright. ’Course I wasn’t planning on Jalmari whisking ya off to Finland and introducing you to Daddy. That part was sorely inconvenient, but I got my revenge when I convinced Jalmari’s little play thing to help. What was her name, Leena? Ya see, necromancy always calls for a sacrifice, so I convinced Leena you were the key to saving Jalmari. But truth is, our blood link not only woke Apollyon, it also kept us safe. My brother couldn’t have hurt ya in the Underworld even if he wanted to. Leena was the sacrifice. You and I were merely the catalysts.”

  “No.” The shock of her confession shook me to my core, and I dropped the stone. It solidified in mid-air before landing with a soft clink against the wood floor.

  Time slowed as the horror of my mistake struck. Lilith’s icy gaze went to the jade. Her lips curved millimeter by millimeter as time came thundering back. We dove for the stone. Chair legs screeched across the floorboards as they were pushed back by the impact. My hand landed on top of hers, but it was Lilith’s hand that covered the stone.

  Latin punched from her breath, and a beam of green light exploded outward, flinging me through the air like a blast of wind. I landed against the folding chairs, causing a loud clatter as they toppled with my weight, and I ultimately ended up on the floor. My limbs and several ribs scream in pain as I pushed to my feet and faced her.

  The glamour was completely gone. In its place stood the devious old hag I met in the Underworld. The hem of her dark velvet cloak rippled over her frail frame, her hood thrown back to reveal paper thin skin, deep wrinkles, and frail white hair over a balding scalp. Between the tips of her boney fingers, she held the only thing I could have used against her—Apollyon’s philosopher’s stone.

  Lilith cackled. “Thank ya, child. That’s one less thing I’ll have to—”

  A glint of metal sliced through the air and struck its target. Lilith staggered back a step, and then glanced down. Half of a shuriken throwing star protruded from Lilith’s left breast bone, the other half buried in her flesh. I knew without looking that Jesu stood in the doorway. I wanted to go to him, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t take me eyes off Lilith. She gripped the blade and yanked it from her chest. Grinning at the sharp metal, she opened her fist and let the star fall to the floor. A thin trickle of blood ebbed from the edge of her mouth, as well as the wound in her chest. I thought she would collapse. Instead, she started laughing. It was a sick guttural gurgling sound that made my stomach turn. Then she began to shimmer—to phase.

  Two more of the shuriken hit her gut. She teetered back another step. The serum was slowing her down, but not nearly enough. Her legs were phased to her knees, and her thighs were quickly joining them in the ether. She’d be gone in another minute.

  “Screw the plan,” I yelled. “Stop her!” I ran to Lilith, grabbed her arm, and struggled against her essence. She was strong. I could sense the fight in her; the millennia of raw savage instinct honed to a level of precision I couldn’t even fathom. She had been holding back. Even as she looked at me now, face to face as I held on and fought to keep her solid, I could see the indecision in her eyes. She would have knocked me dead if she hadn’t still needed my child. In a split decision toward discipline, Lilith tried to wrangle free by knocking me away and yanking her arm back sharply, but I held on tight, squeezing the rotted flesh beneath her sleeve.

  Jesu was next to me in an instant with a dagger, but Lilith saw him coming and uttered a single word in an ancient dialect. A beam of green light shot out like a bullet and hit him in the sternum. Jesu fell backward in the blast and didn’t get up.

  My heart stopped. “Jesu!”

  I nearly let go as the world crumbled around me.

  Nearly.

  Lilith tried to shake me off. “Time to let go, child, but don’t ya fret. I’ll be back for my brother’s essence.”

  I looked at her, and our ancestor came out of me.

  The blood-link. The Nephilim.

  My vision went red as my knuckles tightened around her forearm until the bone snapped. Lilith screamed. She clawed at my fists with her other hand, but couldn’t get a good grip with the stone between her thumb and finger. I eyed the jade. She paused a moment, sensing the direction of my thoughts, her chest heaving at the pain in her arm. Recalling the stone, her lips moved with the uttering of a spell, but I wouldn’t let her get that far. I grabbed the hand that held the stone and pried her fingers open. She growled as I peeled her fingers back. Another ancient syllable punched from her lips, and the jade lit up like a green light bulb, stinging my vision. I flinched away, covering my eyes.

  When I turned back, she was in the corner, trying to phase again as she inched along the wall toward the door. I took a step—

  “Don’t come any closer! I’ve spared ya thus far, but don’t think I’ll keep your babe alive at the expense of my own life. Take one more step an’ I’ll kill all three of you.”

  I stopped. She had no reason to bluff. The Nephilim in my blood raged. It screamed to go after her, to end it. But I held firm against the chaos. There was no sense in causing a massacre at the expense of my children’s lives, no matter how badly I wanted the revenge.

  Satisfied that I would choose self-preservation, Lilith scrambled to the exit and flung the door open.

  A sword sliced clean across her neck.

  Lilith’s head rolled back and landed on the floor with a sickening thunk, followed closely by the slower, heavier collapse of her corpse.

  “Dad?” My gaze went to the silhouette in the doorway, but the man wasn’t my father. If my heart hadn’t already been broken, it might have gone into cardiac arrest as another jolt of adrenaline rose at the sight of my would-be savior. An Armani cashmere suit stepped into the dim room. Sharp green eyes scanned the scene. Jalmari found me standing before him, and he grinned.

  CHAPTER 23


  I dropped to my knees beside Jesu and pressed my hand against his chest. It didn’t move. I brought my other hand over his mouth, under his nose. Nothing.

  “He isn’t breathing.” I pressed my fingers to his neck and prayed for a pulse, but I was too numb. Panic pulled my nerves apart as I tore my hand away and tried to hear his heart beat instead.

  “Where’s the stone?” Jalmari said flatly.

  “I can’t find a pulse.” Saying the words out loud cause a lump to swell in my throat. “I can’t find a pulse!” I started compressions, but I had no idea what I was doing. How many thrusts? How hard? I read somewhere that doing CPR incorrectly could break the rib cage. My hands trembled in horror. “Oh God.”

  Jalmari lowered to one knee, grabbed my shoulders, and shook me. “Where is it?”

  “Who cares?”

  “It could save him,” he growled.

  My breath hitched as I tried to think through the panic. “It’s... Lilith had it.”

  Jalmari let go of me and immediately searched Lilith’s cloak. He found the ruby and tucked it into his jacket pocket. When nothing else turned up, he searched the floor. I helped, scanning the darkness, and noticed a small glint of green under the screen wall. The video had run out of tape, but the projector was still rolling. The beam of yellow light from the projector caused a sheen to bounce off the smooth surface of the jade.

  “There.” I pointed. Jalmari flew across the room and snatched the stone. He returned just as quickly.

  “Move.” He pulled a knife from his shoe as he lowered next to his brother.

  “What are you going to do?” I scooted aside while Jalmari used the knife to rip Jesu’s shirt open. A deep green welt bruised Jesu’s solar plexus, right where the jade’s power had hit him. I gasped. Jalmari sliced his fingertip with the blade. The cut was small but deep, and his blood flowed freely. He used his blood to draw a symbol over the bruise, and then lifted the jade in his palm, holding it directly above his brother. Jalmari chanted.