The Council (Darkness #5)

by K. F. Breene

“What are you even talking about?” I yelled at him, sounds of battle drifting up the hall. A snarl rent the air, someone having turned into a wolf.

  “There goes the neighborhood,” I muttered, my breath getting shallow as I stared at a very real roadblock. If I couldn’t get through, then what? I didn’t have another plan.

  Panic crept up, threatening to take over.

  “No!” I yelled. I had to find a way through. I had to.

  I stepped back. And back again. Staring at that door. Then the walls.

  The walls.

  Three quick steps had my palm flat to the wall next to the door. Wood. Plain, ordinary, non-magical wood. Well, it had some sort of magic protecting it from demons or other creatures. The protective spell was something that ran through the whole complex, though—and judging by the hollow, wispy quality, there wasn’t much juice in it. This wispy quality meant that an angry plant could push on through without any sort of hassle.

  Or… I could just blow it up, like Jonas said. Ingenious in his violence, that guy. Very helpful.

  “Okay. Everyone stand back!”

  The rest of my crew, quiet now that the threat from earlier was gone, and also, three people were animals, backed away. I stared at the wall, pale yellow and slightly stained. I honed in on a black smudge. Fire welled up, mixed with air and only small amounts of the other elements.

  With a huge push, I rammed the spell at the wall and infused another blast of fire. Right as the spell was soaking in, and one second before detonation, I went to throw up a shield.

  I didn’t make it in time.

  Jonas’ body crashed into me, taking me to the floor right before the wall exploded. Splinters of wood and debris fired into the hall. His big body covered mine, blocking any sort of shrapnel.

  “Shields don’t block physical things, human,” he growled as Charles pulled him off me.

  I groaned. Rookie mistake.

  Tim and John filed into the room before me. Charles and Jonas went after me, having to bend through the human-sized hole. The rest of the shifters were wolves and split up, each guarding the entrance but from different sides.

  Cato sat at a mahogany desk, a pen in one hand and a piece of paper in front of him. His eyebrows gently lifted as I stalked into the room and faced him. The others fanned out around me.

  “Well, hello.” He laid down his pen, entwined his fingers, and stared at me.

  In a stern, authoritative voice, I said, “Stefan was taken by Andris. Rudy tried to force a blood link on me. I’m not sure if the two are connected, but I do know Rudy knows something, and I need to know what. Also, your guards must know something, too, unless they went deaf at opportune times.”

  “I see.” Cato reflected a moment, his faded blue eyes honed in on me, but not exactly focused.

  I shifted uncomfortably as he said, “It does me good to see a human own her place within our world. That used to be the way of it, you know. Humans and our kind paired quite often. We were stronger that way. Two opposite halves of magic merging together created a tight bond. I had wondered when I would see it again.”

  “Awesome, great. Toa told me all of that. Focus, please Cato. I need to find out where Andris’ hiding place is. Where are the guards?” I couldn’t help raising my voice. The guy could drive a saint insane.

  Or maybe he had in the past.

  “The guards are dead, of course.”

  Growls ripped through the room. Three wolf bodies braced on our side of the hole, staring outward. Someone must’ve been coming. Cato waved his hand. The huge marble door popped. It silently swung inward an inch, making another hole into the room.

  Which was not great for defense.

  Everyone now changed their position, protecting me from what was coming, leaving me to deal with the old guy with wandering thoughts.

  “Someone killed the guards?” I asked, aghast. “Well, where’s Rudy?”

  “Rudy has disappeared. Well, he thinks he has, anyway. It was him that killed the guards, of course. And while I do not have proof, they met their end shortly after he visited Andris. He has never been cunning or effective when under pressure. It is his greatest weakness. And one must always understand their enemy’s greatest weaknesses.”

  I was waving my hand at him, trying to drag the words out a little faster. “Your enemy? Didn’t you let him have the run of the place?”

  “Oh yes. He and my mage. You see, I have been around long enough to know how power corrupts. I have witnessed it firsthand on many occasions. It is only a matter of time. The issue has always been ferreting out the guilty parties. Using a man such as Rudy—young, ambitious, charming—and pitting him against someone like June, who is organized, logical and hyper-moral, one can really see the cracks that form within the ranks during the struggle for control. Especially when the master is at rest.”

  “Great. Super. Except now my life is falling apart because of your stupid reindeer games. And if Rudy thinks he disappeared, that means you know where he went.”

  A grin lit up Cato’s face as shouting started from the doorway. “Are you okay, sir? Shall we cut these males down?”

  “Do you not see the merits in my methods?” Cato spoke to me. “Now, let’s notice you, shall we? A human within the upper reaches of the black magical power slide. A human trained by one of the great magic workers we know, even though his magic is nearing only the middle of the white slide. You are linked to a god-like specimen—he has power, strength, command, inspires loyalty, and even has a heightened appearance. Your new father is the most brutal, vicious warrior I have ever seen in action. And no, I have not seen your future mate in action, so maybe Dominicous has a rival—”

  “What is your damn point?” I interjected. My wrist was tingling where my imaginary watch ticked away.

  “Impatience. A trait of the young. My point is just this—Fate has gathered the most essential of players to open a door to our past. In doing so, it will secure our future. Through you we will establish a link all but lost. We will rebuild what has been destroyed. We will reform what has been torn apart. And we will live on into the next generations to come as a united species.”

  I started pacing. “Well that is just fucking awesome. God damn Fate. But here’s an issue you might be able to help me with—I’m just kind of rounding back to square one, here. Where the hell is Rudy?”

  More shouts came from the hallways. Swords clashed. A zip of red magic beamed past the hole in the wall. Cato’s men streamed into the room. My guys backed up so they could.

  A new threat had shown up.

  “Ah. So. It has begun.” Cato stood from his chair. “I had no idea Andris would be so effective—he was the enemy I should have been watching closely. I misjudged. And now it will be up to you to set my folly to rights. But first, you need another lesson. Toa has been too easy on you.”

  A blast of white hot magic slammed into me, throwing me back and plastering me to the wall. “I have magic to equal yours. We are on par, you and I.”

  My lungs squeezed. Swirls started to block my vision. I grappled with the spell, just as intricate and fine as the one on that door. Sound cut out. My senses started shutting down. Air escaped my lungs and wouldn’t work its way back in.

  “Embrace your magic. Don’t hide from it. Don’t struggle with it. Embody it,” I heard through the din. Almost like it was said directly in my head. Those words were the only sound I heard.

  Panic griped me as the air ran out. The pain from his spell set off alarms just as my vision started to fade.

  He was killing me!

  I sucked in more magic, filled to the brim, working at that spell. Trying to find the chink in the chain.

  “Embody it.”

  What the hell does that mean? I wanted to scream. I couldn’t though—I had no air.

  My lungs burned. My body tingled fire. The magic threatened to overrun me, which wouldn’t kill me as fast as Cato planned to.

  Black flog encased my brain. My eyes bulged.

>   Just need air. Just one gulp of air.

  My consciousness started drifting. I reached out with magic, feeling for help. Touching on Charles and Jonas who were trying to work past a spell to get to me. To the strange but fascinating magic of Tim and his guys, sparkling green and earthy. I felt the jagged edges of someone bursting into the room looking for a link. I grabbed on.

  My power flowed through me and into the person immediately. Joy dripped into me even as my life force dwindled away, my body and brain both starved for oxygen, while my blood pumped with the sweet elixir of magic.

  That link cut out. Ripped away.

  No. Transferred, somehow.

  Suddenly I was on the precipice of a rolling, surging, flowing power exactly polarized to mine.

  Another magical conductor!

  Cato.

  Of course it was. No one else would last this long without some sort of crazy-ass power. It was both great to know it could be done by me, and horrible to realize I had no way to overpower him. Not even with a link.

  “Embody it.”

  What the fuck does that mean?

  And then I knew. As everything was slipping away, and my struggle for life faded, I let go. I let it all go. Threw the doors wide, stopped trying to fight it, stopped trying to control it, and just surrendered.

  Something clicked deep inside. Snapped closed. Aligned.

  I took a huge gasp. The air was so sweet that it should’ve been illegal to be poured right into my lungs. The magic was so hot it should’ve burned me alive and saturated my body. My blood sizzled. My bones hissed. My fingers tingled.

  I opened my eyes as laughter bubbled out. Elements danced all around me. Laughing and playing, magic invited me to join it. I didn’t need to suck it in; I needed to simply flick the elements in a direction. I held hands with them at all times. Would hold hands, always.

  “We are special, Sasha,” Cato was saying in a hushed bubble that surrounded us. His eyes sparkled as they held mine. “We have a rare gift, and a dangerous burden. If we survive this day, I will show you.”

  “Why didn’t you show me this sooner?”

  “I had to know your merit, of course. Fate-touched does not always mean good. Nature is both brutal and beautiful. A forest fire, causing mass destruction and death, is necessary for rebirth and new life. I had to know which you were. One to destroy, or nurture.”

  “I hate that you are even more long-winded than Charles.”

  Cato laughed. With a flick of his hand, the bubble evaporated. Screaming and yelling assaulted me immediately. Swords clashed.

  “What’s happening?” I yelled, looking around wildly.

  Mine and Cato’s crew stood within the room staring out at struggling and fighting men and women I did not recognize. Mage June lay on the floor, unconscious—hers was probably the link I found. The door had been closed, and now only the hole in the wall stood agape. Except, those trying to burst in froze in midair amid sparks, which led immediately to screaming.

  Cato had some sort of protective spell in place. I didn’t have time to analyze, however.

  “Andris has been busy. There will be a great cleaning of the Council today.” Cato glanced over my people and let his eyes settle on me. “Rudy is unimportant. I had reports of one of your clan members—Jessie, I believe. He stole one of our vehicles shortly after your motorhomes exited the premises. If all goes well, he is still on your side. If not… hopefully he works with the enemy and you know how to track a cellphone.”

  “Jessie!” Hope surged into me. Whether he was a traitor or not, he could definitely lead us to Andris. We just had to hope he still had his cellphone. And also that Charles knew the name of the nerdy guy in the mansion who always played video games. He was the electronic genius of the clan.

  “Okay, we gotta go!” I slapped Charles to get him to focus. “We have to get out of here somehow.”

  “What about Toa and Dominicous?” Charles yelled over the din.

  “I will tell them whence you’ve gone.” Cato leisurely strolled toward the back of the room. “I am sure I will see them. Dominicous will be stuck in the middle of it. Until he learns of the more important battle being waged, of course. He will not resist Fate’s pull. But then, who among us can?”

  “I am so tired of hearing about stupid Fate,” I muttered, the elements pulsing around me.

  “Come out of there, old man! You’ve been crowned long enough!” A colossal guy bent to look through the mouth of the hole.

  “Getting out of here is going to really suck,” Charles groaned, his grip tightening on his sword as he stared at the man.

  “Here we are.” A click sounded at the back of the room, barely heard over the fighting outside. Cato gestured us closer as a small door cracked open. “Every important official has an escape chamber, whether they were told about it or not. I am a crafty old fool who has learned a thing or two in his years.”

  “Please don’t ever be my enemy.” I rushed in that direction, Jonas and the wolves at my back.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” The man straightened up, his stomach nearly filling the entire hole. Muscles waved, his limbs organizing something out there I wanted no part of.

  The wolves loped out ahead of us. I paused for Cato as the spell on the house fluxed and bent. It pulsed again, a surge of color visible for one moment, before fading away into the light of the room.

  “Oh dear, someone has unleashed a demon.” Cato waved me through. “That won’t be much fun.”

  Unleashed sounded to me like something with free rein. Which sounded like a distraction Andris might use—let it loose to rip the place apart and take off so he wouldn’t be followed. It still fit.

  A new blast of urgency hit me. I motioned for Cato impatiently. “No, you go.” He was old after all. I half-worried Charles would have to carry him.

  The wrinkles around his eyes creased as he smiled. “No, no. I will not be joining you. The battle lies beyond.”

  “But—”

  A blast took apart another chunk of wall, spewing wood and debris into the room.

  “Go!” Charles yelled, shoving me through the door.

  “But—”

  My protesting didn’t matter. Charles picked me up and carried me through. We filed into a tunnel, pausing at a crossroads for the wolves to break up and scout it out, and then come back and stare at Tim.

  “Right! Go right!”

  The shoving started again as the weak protective spell on the house flashed.

  “What about those plane tickets?” I yelled back.

  Muffles and explosions echoed through the walls. We passed the opening of a corridor that carried echoes of battle, someone shuffling toward us quickly.

  “Regardless, we gotta get out of here. Ann! Ann!” Tim yelled into what I assumed was the phone. “We’re headed outside!”

  “She’s still inside?” Charles and I yelled together.

  I tried to stop, but damned Jonas kept shoving.

  “Yeah, we’ll be right there. No, she’s in a car at the north end. I got a text earlier. Keep going!” Tim shoved Jonas and Charles, who in turn shoved me.

  Sprinting now, following the wolves’ lead. When they hit a questionable spot, they broke up, scouting out and coming back; so much faster on four legs. Through the middle of the building we wound until we neared the exit and I tripped over something in the way.

  Charles scooped me up in a bear-hug before I could hit the ground. I was shoved roughly against the wall and smothered by a hard back. Opposite, Jonas and Tim held a smaller creature against the wall.

  “Please. Please don’t hurt me,” a man begged.

  I punched Charles to get him out of the way and stepped forward, recognizing that voice. “Congratulations, Harry, you just got picked by Fate. Welcome aboard.”

  I turned toward the wolves. “Bring him. They’ll just kill him inside. He’s too nice for his own good.”

  “But my mistress. She’s fighting in there,” Harry pleade
d.

  “Stop talking like that, Harry.” We ran, Harry carried along with us. “And if she left you behind, she couldn’t have been that worried.”

  “She was protecting me. She told me to hide until it’s over,” Harry sobbed.

  “Jesus.” By the disgust in Jonas’ voice, I could tell he wanted to drop Harry. He did not like sniveling.

  “Well, you’ll hide a little further away than she originally planned. But don’t worry, if any of us, or them, live through this, we’ll get you back to her.”

  His whimper indicated I could’ve broken that to him a little easier than I did.

  I blamed Cato for putting the thoughts in my head.

  Chapter 11

  A spell whizzed by Dominicous’ ear as he ran through the halls, trying to reconnect with Toa. He’d been sitting with Kallias, discussing plans, alliances, and the sudden interest in Sasha and Stefan Cato had taken, when news reached them of Andris’ and Trek’s escape from one of Kallias’ informants. They barely had time to speculate when the door splintered and three guys came barreling through.

  Kallias was getting up in his years, soft and complacent—he hadn’t stood a chance against the behemoths that surged into the room, not even with his magic. Tessa, a quiet female with lethal sword-work, also backed by Kallias, stood over his lifeless body, smeared in blood, after she and Dominicous had dispatched the challenge.

  There was no time for tears, though. Whoever had freed Andris had started a war, and they were cleaning out the good Council members to be replaced by the bad. Or not replaced at all. Wiping everyone out meant starting from scratch. It meant no leadership for their people. It meant their enemies had time, space and resources to chase after their expectations.

  It meant the Europeans had a green light to move in and take over.

  Dominicous had just landed in hell and he didn’t know who was a good guy, and who was bad.

  He also had no idea where his daughter was.

  He dodged the swing of a glimmering red axe waved by a human without magic. The color wasn’t from power. Dominicous’ sword swung, slicing through an arm—giving him time to slip by. He didn’t want to kill anyone until he knew more.