by Shéa MacLeod
“Holy hell, Morgan!” It was Jack. My weird night vision picked him out in rich blues and sparkling silvers. His eyes glittered in the darkness with an eerie greenish hue, more like a cat’s eyes than human. I wasn’t sure if that was a Sunwalker thing or a side effect of my vision.
The Darkness didn’t care. The Darkness wanted blood. I started for Darroch.
Jack reached out and grabbed my hand and I blinked. It was like waking up from a dream. I could feel the Darkness ebbing away, slowly, like a tidal wave while reality crept in to take its place, returning my vision to normal.
“Um, I think we better take Darroch downstairs and see if Kabita needs any help.” It was lame even to my ears, but it was all I could think of. I was starting to scare myself with this whole crazy Kissing the Darkness thing. I couldn’t imagine what Jack was thinking. Eddie was right. I needed to get this thing under control or figure out a way to stop using it. Each time I used it, it was increasingly reluctant to leave.
Darroch was out cold, so Jack grabbed his shoulders, I grabbed his feet and we hauled him downstairs where Kabita and Inigo had pretty much cut a swath of destruction through the goon squad. There was blood everywhere and the rich copper tang made my stomach turn over.
“Oh, good, you got him.” Kabita was an oasis of calm in the middle of the wreckage. She didn’t sound any more ruffled than if she’d just had afternoon tea with her grandmother. If she’d have had afternoon tea with my grandmother, she wouldn’t have been anything close to calm.
“Uh, yeah. How are we going to explain this one to the cops? These aren’t vampires or demon spawn or anything. These are humans.” I didn’t have a whole lot of experience fighting humans, strangely enough, but I knew the cops wouldn’t be terribly thrilled with us. Somehow I didn’t think they’d be impressed if we told them we were trying to save the world. Getting locked up for murder was a distinct possibility. The government didn’t give us that much leeway.
Kabita shrugged. “That’s what our government liaison is for. He’s not happy either, let me tell you.” She seemed ridiculously gleeful over that fact. I guess I was wrong. The government did give us that much leeway, which was disturbing.
She gave me a look. “The amulet?”
I pointed. “Upstairs, safe and sound.”
“Better make it disappear or it may become a little more safe and sound.” She pulled out a travel pack of wet wipes and started cleaning the blood off her hands. That was Kabita for you, always prepared.
She had a point, too. The government liked to make artifacts disappear permanently, especially if those artifacts were either of magical origin, or had the potential for weaponization.
“Sure thing. You take care of Darroch and we’ll meet you back at the office.” I grabbed Jack’s hand and hauled him up the stairs before he could argue, leaving her to it. I knew he wanted to deal with Darroch himself, but some things really were better left to the government. Jack would probably kill Darroch, but our little secret government agency? Oh, they’d make him wish he’d never been born.
The amulet lay nestled in a bed of black velvet. The walls, carpet, and even the ceiling were solid black, the amulet the only thing of color in the room. A single light shone overhead, bathing it in a golden glow.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed. So this was what we’d fought for. Bled for. Nearly died for. The amulet was a wide, slightly convex gold disc about four or five inches across with strange symbols carved around a round, blue stone set in the center. The stone glowed softly in the low light, the color of deepest sapphire.
Jack picked it up and gazed at the amulet in his hands, turning it over as though to make sure Darroch hadn’t damaged it. “Yes. This is the Key to Atlantis. It carries all the knowledge and power the people of Atlantis gained over thousands of years of existence. So much power in so small a thing.” He cradled it to his chest, sorrow welling in his ocean eyes. “And it is useless.”
“Useless? Excuse me? We just went through hell to get that thing back and it’s useless? What about that whole blood sacrifice bullshit?” Seriously, I was going to kill the man. Strangle him with my bare hands.
He shrugged. “Unless I am willing to take the same measures Darroch was and murder someone in cold blood, I can only access fragments of the knowledge. Just enough to keep myself alive and it safe until the rightful owner comes to claim it. Even with blood sacrifice only a portion of it could be accessed. The rest would be lost forever. That was the other safeguard.”
“Well, obviously the rightful owner was not Brent Darroch.”
“Definitely not. He was not of the Bloodline, or he wouldn’t have needed to kill you.” He gave me a look. “Well, he might have still wanted to kill you, but for entirely different reasons.”
I punched him in the shoulder. He just smirked.
“So what now? Are we going to find someone from the Bloodline?” I asked. “Do we just keep protecting this thing until someone pops out of the woodwork? Because seriously, these dreams are going to drive me nuts if they don’t stop.”
“So far, in over nine hundred years I’ve not met a single survivor of the Royal Bloodline. More than likely the Royals died out long ago, or their DNA was so diluted it can no longer activate the key. I don’t hold out a lot of hope for finding a survivor.”
I glared at him. “So, I’m still going to be dreaming these stupid dreams? I swear I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep since I met you.” Technically, the dreams had started the day I met Darroch and learned about the amulet, but I wasn’t going to point that out. More fun to blame Jack.
“It’s my duty as Guardian to protect the amulet. Only when it comes into contact with the Bloodline will it truly come alive.” He wrapped the amulet gently in the velvet lining and then tucked it away in his pocket. “I’ve never seen it alive, but there were pictures in the cave where we found it. It must have been a sight to behold.”
“This is so not good.”
He smiled, his slightly longer canines glinting in the soft light. “No, not so much.” He reached out and took my hand. I laced my fingers through his. It felt nice. Better than nice.
“At least we have it now, though, instead of some whacked out lunatic. That’s good, right?” I pointed out. He lifted my hand and kissed it. I guess I could take that as agreement.
“Better go meet Kabita back at the office or there’s going to be hell to pay.” He nodded so we headed outside to the car. The ride to the office was quiet. Each of us lost in our own thoughts. I didn’t even turn on Tom Petty.
***
When we got to the office we walked into bedlam. Kabita and a man I’d never seen before were having an almighty shouting match. I think Kabita might have actually been losing. Scary thought. Kabita didn’t lose shouting matches.
“You are way beyond your purview with this, Ms. Jones.” The stranger’s voice was elegant and smooth as melted chocolate, deep and terrifically sexy, but the tone was all kinds of nasty, as was the cheap suit he was wearing. Definitely government issue. “You had no right to detain Mr. Darroch … “
“I had every right,” Kabita snapped back, interrupting him. Something he didn’t take very well, if the scowl on his arrogantly handsome face was anything to go by. I’d never seen her so pissed off before. Wow, the guy must really get under her skin. “Not only is he responsible for the deaths of several civilians, the unbalancing of power within the local vampire clans, the kidnapping of one of my agents and the theft of a priceless artifact, he was also the mastermind of a plot to enslave the human race. I think that gives me the right to lock his ass up. That’s why you pay us, isn’t it?”
The leather chairs that normally sat in front of Kabita’s desk had been shoved aside so the combatants could snarl at each other without obstruction. Inigo was lounging on the matching leather sofa looking amused. Jack didn’t look like he was going to step in, either, so I did. It took a good five minutes of throat clearing and “Excuse me’s” before I finally gave u
p and shouted. “Oi! You two. Shut up!”
Their twin expressions of utter shock were priceless. The man recovered first, a smooth mask sliding into place, ever the bureaucrat. Oh, he was good, but I could smell a company man a mile away. “Ah, you must be Morgan Bailey. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last. Trevor Daly. I am your government,” he hesitated. I’ll just bet he’d planned to say ‘handler’, but my glare made him think better of it. “I’m your government liaison.”
He held out his hand so I took it. He had big hands, smooth but strong with a slight callous on his right index finger. I bet he spent a lot of time on the firing range. His grip was just the right balance between strength and gentleness. It was the sort of handshake that said, “Look I can crush you with one hand, but I’m not going to unless you give me good reason.”
Of course, he didn’t know what I was. If any one’s hand got crushed, it wouldn’t be mine.
Trevor Daly might be a pain in Kabita’s ass, but I had a feeling he’d be a good man to have behind you in a fight if you could ever convince him to join your side in the first place. Company man to his core, I’d bet. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Daly.”
“Trevor, please. Call me Trevor.” He flashed me what I could only assume was his most charming smile. Oh, he was real good. Unluckily for him, it didn’t work.
Jack scowled. Inigo looked amused. All the testosterone was giving me a headache. I was going to have to haul out a hose any minute now.
“Look Mr. Flirtypants.” I almost laughed out loud as his eyes widened in surprise and a dull flush spread under his dark skin, highlighting the most amazing cheekbones I’d ever seen. Instead I glared him down. It annoyed me when men pulled the charming thing because they thought I was dumb enough to get sidetracked by it. I may have an overactive libido, but I didn’t let it control my intelligence. Well, not usually. “Don’t you start that bullshit with me. I take it you’re the asshole I can blame for this fiasco.”
“Excuse me?” He was practically spluttering with outrage. He clenched his hands into fists so hard his knuckles turned white before he regained his composure, that bland mask slipping back into place. Interesting. They’d trained him well, but underneath he was pure fire and heat.
“Morgan.” There was a warning in Kabita’s voice, but I ignored it.
I propped my hands on my hips and thrust my chest out, Fury personified. Go me. “You heard me. I hold you personally responsible for this fubar situation. Brent Darroch as a client? A ‘magical’ artifact? Really? Did you expect me to fall for that bullshit? I don’t know why you want some supposed ‘Sunwalker’ dead, if Sunwalkers even exist, and I don’t care. Next time you want your dirty work done do it yourself. Don’t expect me to do it for you and don’t use some bullshit story to cover it up, ‘cause I ain’t buyin’.”
I turned my back on him and spoke to Kabita who was staring at me like aliens had just taken over my body, “Darroch? The goons?”
“Daly called in a clean-up crew for the dead ones. I don’t think we need to worry about the ones that are still alive. They’re just hired muscle so we let them go. We don’t exactly want them telling the police what happened. They’ll be tracked to make sure. Darroch,” she nodded at Trevor who was still gaping at me like a fish out of water, “the government will take over there. They’ve got a nice cell for him out at Area 51.”
Area 51 in the Nevada desert was where the government stuck felons whose crimes were of a supernatural nature. A public trial and imprisonment in a regular jail cell were out of the question. I was fairly certain Area 51 didn’t have anything to do with aliens.
“We don’t call it that,” Trevor interrupted.
Kabita ignored him. “As far as I’m concerned we’re done. Job finished.”
“Wait a minute.” I watched Trevor pull himself together. “Did you find the Sunwalker?”
I shrugged. Show time. “There is no such thing as a Sunwalker. My sources tell me they died out hundreds of years ago, not long after the Crusades. The so-called ‘Sunwalker’ we were supposed to hunt was just powerful vampire Darroch wanted out of the way so he could control the local vamps. I took care of it.” I was so going to hell for lying, but I knew there was no way Trevor Daly could follow up on my story. Vamps didn’t leave corpses.
Trevor brushed it aside. “And the artifact you mentioned. The one Darroch hired you to find. Where is it? It needs to be secured immediately.”
Ah, so that’s what this was about. The government didn’t care one bit about a possible Sunwalker threat or Brent Darroch and his friends in high places. They wanted the artifact, pure and simple. It’s what they’d wanted all along. I wondered if they had any idea what it was, what it could do.
“We didn’t find it,” Kabita broke in, her face every bit as bland as Daly’s. “It probably doesn’t exist. It was most likely just another of Darroch’s stories to gain influence with the local vampire clans and to justify the hunt.”
“But you said he had a plot to enslave humanity. How could he do that without the amulet?” Trevor wasn’t giving up that easily. It was now obvious he had some idea of the amulet’s power and he was definitely suspicious of our story. I tried to ignore the fact that his crossed arms showed off a very impressive chest and really nice, broad shoulders.
“He did. He was planning to unite the vampire clans. Do that and you can enslave humanity; turn us all into a bunch of sheep. At least on a local level. Who knows what his ultimate goal was. He’s not exactly sane.” Her face was completely deadpan. I swear if I didn’t know her as well as I did, I’d have totally bought it. I really hoped Trevor Daly did.
Trevor turned to me. I shrugged. “I searched Darroch’s place top to bottom. Never found any artifact,” I lied through my teeth. “A few antique knickknacks, but nothing like what he claimed he had.” I shrugged. “He’s a psychopath and a liar. What can you expect?”
Trevor looked from Kabita back to me, mistrust written all over his face. It was obvious he didn’t completely believe us, but what could he do? Hold us down and frisk us? Now there was an idea. Oh, bad girl! What was wrong with me?
Inigo made a sound that sounded suspiciously of laughter. I glared at him. He just smiled back innocently. If I didn’t know better I’d have said he read my mind.
“Fine,” Trevor snapped slamming his fist down on Kabita’s desk. Temper, temper. “If that’s the way you want to play it. Just remember, Ms. Jones, what I mentioned earlier? That isn’t going away.”
Kabita’s normally dusky skin looked a little pale, but she stood ramrod straight and didn’t give an inch. I was so proud of her. Of course, that was Kabita through and through. When she decided on a course of action, she followed it through to the end. Damn the torpedoes and all that.
I’d no doubt that he was reminding her of whatever it was he’d threatened her with to get our cooperation in the first place. Whatever it was must be something big. My estimation of Trevor Daly dropped way down to scumbag. You did not threaten my best friend and get away with it no matter how hot you are or how nice your ass was.
Trevor snatched up his leather briefcase and with barely a nod to me, stormed out of the office. But not before he paused in front of Inigo and gave him one long, very dirty look. One of these days Inigo and Kabita and I were going to have a talk about Trevor Daly and deep dark secrets. They were not going to like what I had to say and I didn’t plan on giving up until I knew the truth.
“You OK?” I asked Kabita. She still seemed a little shaky.
I watched her visibly pull herself together. “I’m fine, Morgan. Thank you. Trevor Daly is just one of those nasty little things we have to deal with in our line of work. Unpleasant, but a fact of life.”
“Right up there with Zagan demons, huh?”
That made her laugh. She turned to Jack. “The amulet?”
“Safe. And I’m going to make sure it stays that way.”
“Good,” she nodded. “I don’t want to know where it is, eit
her.” Plausible deniability. I guess if it was good enough for the government, it was good enough for us.
“No problem,” Jack agreed. Then he turned to me. “You need a ride?”
Since he drove us to Darroch’s in the first place, he knew I did, but I didn’t give him any grief. I just nodded. I was too tired to do much else. This had been a very weird day. Heck, it’d been a very weird few weeks.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I promised Kabita. She nodded as we exited her office followed by Inigo. Then she shut the door behind us with a firm click. I hoped she wasn’t staying in there to brood. I could tell Trevor Daly had upset her. Our government liaison might be hot, but he was also a major ass. I planned on spending many happy hours dreaming up suitable tortures for him.
“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.” Inigo leaned against the reception desk in the outer office, well-worn jeans sculpting well-toned legs, but he reached out and took my hand. I felt guilty as a shot of pure lust hit me. How could I be drooling over Inigo and still be crazy about Jack? Not to mention that Jack was standing right next to me. Was my libido that out of whack? Maybe there was some truth in Cordelia’s catnip theory.
I gave Inigo’s hand a quick squeeze then dropped it. I didn’t know what else to do with Jack standing right there watching our every move. It wasn’t like either of them was my boyfriend or anything, but still.
“I’ll make sure Kabita gets home OK,” Inigo promised, his sky blue eyes twinkling at me as though he could tell what I was thinking. “Pour a few mojitos down her. She’ll be right as rain tomorrow.”
I nodded. “Jack, could you give me a minute?”
Jack hesitated. He narrowed his eyes a little at Inigo before heading out the door.
“Listen, Inigo … “
In one swift move he was beside me. Gone was the laughter, the twinkle. Instead his expression was dead serious as he cupped my face in his hands.
