Shadow Rising

by Cassi Carver

  Sage laughed bitterly. “What a mistake that was. She puts her trust in you, and you bring her into your filthy Fallen world and get her hacked up. The day you moved into town was the unluckiest day of her life.”

  Kara couldn’t handle it anymore. She lunged at Sage, leaping from across the corridor to wrap her hand around Sage’s throat and shove her head into the dirt wall. If she’d had claws, she would have torn the bitch’s voice box out. “Abbey is everything to me!”

  Suddenly, pain shattered her hold, shooting from her spine in a white-hot burst of agony. She fell to the ground and rolled into a ball, but before she could process what had happened, men gathered around her, taking turns pummeling her prone body with staffs and boots until all Kara could do was cover her head and struggle to draw breath.

  “That’s enough.” Sage walked into Kara’s line of vision, rubbing her throat and smiling. “You’ll have to learn to control your temper in witch territory, Kara. An attitude like that could get you killed.”

  Kara could tell from the glee in Sage’s voice that she’d gotten exactly what she wanted. She’d provoked Kara, and Kara had taken the bait. Stupid ass, she berated herself. Her body ached all over, and when she coughed, she spat out a mouthful of blood.

  “Help her up,” Sage said. A man hefted Kara up by one arm, but she couldn’t stand straight with the crimp in her back.

  Sage grimaced in disgust. “Look at those clothes.” Kara glanced down to see her nice outfit was stained with red soil and blood. “You always were a filthy little castoff. I guess it fits.”

  Kara shook off the pain, straightened her spine and brushed the dirt from her clothes the best she could. Blood coated her tongue, but she swallowed it down. “Are we done? I believe I have an appointment.”

  “Yes, an appointment with Claudius. But you and I aren’t done yet, not by a long shot.”

  Kara smiled, her cut lips stretching wide in true anticipation. “You just brightened my day, Sage. Now I have something to look forward to.”

  Sage laughed, as though Kara didn’t mean every word she’d said. Kara would play nice for now and do what it took to make it out of this hellhole alive. But she and Sage would have their reckoning.

  Kara followed her down the tunnel, trying for her pride’s sake to hide her limp and the pain jarring her bones with every step. She was pretty sure they’d broken at least two ribs and had done something to a disc in her back. She’d heal, but that knowledge didn’t take the pain away. What she wouldn’t give for Abbey to know Sage’s true character. If the jealous witch had been a snake in school, she was a full-grown spitting cobra now.

  The tunnel weaved through the clay soil, going deeper into the earth. Every so often, the walls showed the sparkle of granite boulders that had been bored with either a very powerful drill or even more powerful magic. At the end of the long path stood a large iron door with the same red markings as the walls. One of the men who’d beaten Kara rushed forward to open it for Sage. Kara tried to memorize his features, just in case she was ever lucky enough to cross paths with him again when she wasn’t outnumbered five to one.

  Her heartbeat kicked up a notch when she walked through the door and entered a huge cavern. Unlike the manmade tunnels, this place looked as if it was made by time and the hand of God. Glistening stalactites hung from the roof, and a tiny stream intersected the room. The stalactites were brightly colored and crystalline, like the inside of a geode, but unlike the stalactites Kara had seen in pictures, these weren’t met at the floor of the cave by corresponding stalagmites.

  Apparently unhappy with her pace and her fascination with the hanging stones, a man shoved her forward. “You’re not here for the sightseeing.”

  Her hands tightened into fists, but she willed herself not to spin around and pummel him. Instead, she cast her gaze forward and searched the dimly lit cavern, sifting through the people seated in the center of the room.

  There was a small arc of five hooded witches, each seated on a short, decorative stool. A low fire burned in the pit before them, the flames rising in a rainbow of colors. The man in the center wore a long robe. It billowed around his stool, enfolding him in red velvet. As Kara approached, she was taken aback by the eerie kaleidoscope effect in his eyes created by the firelight while the rest of his face was shadowed in darkness.

  He rose to his feet and pulled back the scarlet hood. His brown hair was slicked in a tight, short ponytail, and a white dress shirt peeked out from under the collar of his robe. “Kara Reed.” His voice was smooth and sure. “Thank you for answering our summons.”

  Claudius Sellers looked too young to be Abbey’s uncle. Kara had been imagining someone who looked more like an aging relative and less like a hot young college professor. “Thank you for inviting me,” she said, trying to keep the derision out of her voice, but not quite succeeding.

  The man holding her arm nudged her hard. “Speak to the high priest with respect.”

  “What? You don’t think I’m serious?” she asked the man, then turned back to Claudius. “Besides just having the shit beat out of me, I am glad to be here, Mr. Sellers. I believe when you understand what happened, you’ll see that I had nothing to do with Abbey’s injury. In fact, I’ve done everything I could do to help her heal.”

  “Please, sit.” Claudius gestured to the dirt floor before retaking his seat.

  The man beside Kara shoved her down. Her body cried out as gravel poked into the tender flesh of her knees, but she clenched her teeth and smiled, determined they wouldn’t provoke her again. “This is a beautiful place you have here. I didn’t even know it existed until tonight, and I’ve known witches most of my life.”

  “It’s one of many gathering spots, but I’m glad you like it.” Claudius’s smile was pleasant. “I’ve wanted to meet you for years, Kara. I’d heard so many things about Abbey’s unique friend. We doubted you were a witch, but we never suspected you were one of them.”

  “Them? Demiáre?”

  He sniffed. “Fallen.”

  Funny how that word had never bothered her until she’d seen it accompanied by such blatant prejudice. “Yeah, well, we prefer Demiáre.”

  One brow tilted as he smiled. “You can call a vulture a sparrow, but that doesn’t take the stench of rotting flesh from its beak.”

  The word ambush was coming to mind, but she still couldn’t believe it. She’d lived peacefully beside the witches since she was a girl. She’d thought she was one for most of her life. That they despised her now made a churning pit in her gut.

  “Can we just cut to the chase, please? I know that Abbey is your future high priestess, and you’re really upset about what happened to her, but I promise you that I’ve done everything I could to help her—and I will continue to. No one feels worse about this than I do.”

  Her eyes moistened from the humiliation of having to defend her relationship with Abbey. No one else on the planet mattered to Kara as much as her oldest friend, and that anyone would accuse her of less stung in the deepest recesses of her soul.

  “Why would your feelings matter?” His cool façade hardened. “The heir to the seat of power of the Northwestern Coven has an Aniliáre king’s sign carved into her stomach. It’s an insult to every witch under my care.”

  Kara clasped her hands before her. Everything he said was true. She’d never meant for this to happen to Abbey, but Gable had come after her because of Kara. And now there was nothing she could do to fix it.

  She lowered her voice and peered up at him with tortured eyes. “I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t know what to do to make it right. I’ve tried everything. And I know if you kill me, you’ll only hurt her more.”

  Claudius cocked his head. “I’m not planning to kill you.”

  “You’re not?”

  He rose and walked around the fire with his robe trailing in the dust, then he knelt down beside Kara and met her eyes. “Killing you isn’t enough.” He swept a finger along Kara’s cheek, and she was amaz
ed at the current of power flowing through him. She’d never felt such raw energy in a witch. “You’re going to heal her.”

  Kara swallowed. “How?”

  “The only way she can be healed—by drinking the blood of the Aniliáre.”

  Her burst of laughter sprayed spittle onto his chin. “Are you crazy? How am I supposed to get that?”

  “Very carefully?” He grinned as though he thought it was funny, and the men around him snickered.

  “They’re spirit bound in flesh,” she sputtered. “They don’t live here. I don’t even know if they bleed.”

  “You don’t need to educate me on the Fallen. That’s your mountain to conquer, Kara. You have three days, or I’ll take what recompense I can.”

  “And what’s that?” She could tell from the flat tone of his voice it wasn’t good.

  “Your life,” he said, and Sage smiled triumphantly at his words.

  “So you are going to kill me, after all. You know I’m not strong enough to get the blood of a black-wing.”

  “I’ll take your life to use as I see fit. I never said I was going to kill you. There may be other uses for you.” His gaze slipped fleetingly over her body and landed on her neck, but her pendants were tucked away under the collar of her long-sleeved dress shirt. “What clan do you belong to?”

  She shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t belong to a clan.”

  His grin stretched wider. “Oh, that’s unfortunate. I would have been willing to negotiate your freedom if you failed to bring me the blood. Now I don’t have any other option to restore honor to our people. I’m a fair man, Kara. If you really believe you can’t get the blood of the Aniliáre, tell me now, and I’ll take you as payment in full before anyone else gets hurt.”

  Kara took a deep breath. “No, I’ll get the blood. But I need more time.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “Okay. Why am I such a pushover? I’ll give you four days. But that’s it. Not an hour more.”

  Kara nodded. She could tell he was just toying with her, and he’d enjoy it if she pleaded for more. “How much do I need, and what do I do with it?”

  Claudius rose and offered a hand to help her stand. She ignored him and got to her feet in an awkward display of agony. He gestured to a woman sitting near the fire. “Bring me the vial.”

  The hunchbacked woman pulled a red glass bottle from a pocket in her robe and came forward. The gold stopper in the top of the bottle was adorned with what looked like a real ruby.

  Claudius took the bottle from her and turned to Kara. “If you succeed in getting the blood, put it in this vial. The blood must overflow the top before you seal it. Then you call me. I will personally do the ceremony, and Abbey will be healed.”

  “Wow. Easy.”

  He handed the vial to Kara, but when she grasped it with her right hand, her ruby ring sent a shock through her. She released the glass like it had bitten her, and Claudius snapped out his hand to catch it before it hit the floor. He was faster than he looked.

  “Let me see your ring,” he said.

  When he reached for her hand, she snatched it back. “No. It’s all I have from my father. You see, all Aniliáre artifacts contain Quanta, and this ring just doesn’t like the bottle. It’ll be fine.” She didn’t know what the hell she was talking about, but she hoped he didn’t figure that out.

  “Keep your ring, for now. If you don’t deliver what’s expected of you, it’ll belong to me in four days anyhow.”

  Kara took the bottle with her left hand and clutched it tightly to her. She’d had enough of these witches. If it wasn’t for helping Abbey, she wouldn’t do a damn thing they asked without putting up a fight. “Can I go now?”

  “Are you forgetting something?” He handed her a card. “This is my personal number. If you want to give up, call me and the challenge is over. Of course, Abbey won’t be healed, but you might survive the week.”

  She shoved it carelessly into her pocket. “I doubt I’m going to be calling in the next couple of days, but thanks for the offer.”

  Sage stepped up beside Claudius and wound her arm around him like a python. “Would you like an escort out?”

  Kara glared at her. “That didn’t work out real well for me the first time.”

  Claudius laughed. “Suit yourself. You’ll see we really aren’t so bad if you keep your end of the bargain, Kara.”

  Biting back a resounding screw you, Kara turned and slowly limped from the room. She didn’t know how such a beautiful place could house such cold people. She wound her way through the tunnels, aware of witches all around her using their cloaking spells. Even after she’d stashed the vial in her pocket, grabbed her weapons and walked into the ebbing light of dusk, they followed. It was hard not to break into a run as she headed for Tray’s car.

  When he saw her ambling toward him, he jumped out of his vehicle and ran to her. “Holy shit, Kara. What happened?” He grasped her upper arms and helped her into the passenger seat of the car.

  “Just drive.” She fastened her seat belt as he kicked up a cloud of dust on his way to the main road.

  “Did they do that to you?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you dial my cell?”

  She leveled a “get serious” look at him. “Kind of hard to get a signal from inside a mountain.”

  He pointed to her charms. “You could have used one of those…necklace things.”

  “And called who? Gavin is gone, Aiden’s looking for a reason to strand me on Mercury Island, and Jaxon needs to keep an eye on Abbey. I’ll deal with this myself.”

  Tray shook his head. “And how are you going to do that?”

  Kara pulled the red bottle from her pocket. “With this. And Julian’s blood.”

  Chapter Seven

  It made for an interesting discussion on the ride home from the summons, explaining how the man Kara had said was dead now had his face attached to the body of a black-wing. Other than the few facts she knew, she couldn’t tell Tray much. She didn’t even understand it herself.

  Along the way, she tried calling Jaxon twice, but the calls went straight to voicemail. When he finally called her back, he told her that the phone’s reception was spotty and getting worse. She filled him in on what Claudius had said about the blood healing Abbey, and he seemed to think the idea had merit, but he warned that getting the blood would be almost impossible.

  By the time Kara and Tray pulled alongside the curb in front of Kara’s apartment, the sun was long gone. She was starting to heal—not quite enough to want to go out for drinks, but enough that she felt bad for standing Tray up. “I’m sorry, Tray. You’ve been so great.”

  He shrugged it off. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Well, if you ever need my help for a case, all you have to do is ask.” She almost salivated at the thought. “Really, I mean it. I don’t get out there as much these days.”

  “Yeah, I’ve noticed a decrease in anonymous phone calls and suspects left drugged in alleys. Can’t say I’ve missed it.”

  “Hey! Abbey and I were committed public servants for years. I can’t even count how many criminals we caught for you. We’ve just been a little off our game lately.”

  “I think you’re right not to take her out there until she’s better. I’ll tell the guys in my unit to stop doing such a good job and leave you with some thug ass to beat as your reward.”

  “Thanks. It would help take my mind off things until I can figure out how to get the black-wing to donate blood.”

  “First you call it Julian, then ‘the black-wing’. Which is it?”

  She wiped her palm across her dusty suit. “I don’t know.”

  “Well until you do…” he began.

  “I know,” she said with a laugh, “be careful.”

  He smiled. “Wow, you are a mind-reader. But I was also going to say, stay in your apartment. The preliminary reports from the scene of the accident show the beam was exposed to a massive flash of heat at the seam before it fell. Forensics can’t figure out
how it happened, but I have a hunch.”

  “Magic?” The first face that popped into her mind was Sage. Could she hate Kara enough to want her dead before she’d even had a chance to fulfill the bargain?

  “Magic. What else could it be?”

  “You’re sure adjusting to the supernatural better than most humans would. We should make you an honorary Demiáre. Our mascot, or something,” she teased.

  “Your mascot? Get the hell out of the car, Reed. I’m one hundred percent human male and proud of it.”

  She laughed and closed the door behind her. He rolled down the window and pulled away from the curb saying, “Call me if you need me.” She gave him the thumbs-up as he drove away.

  They’d actually had a conversation that didn’t involve him pumping her for information about Abbey. She was so shocked, a gnat’s breath could have blown her over. And spending more time with him, she could understand what Abbey saw in him before the attack.

  She wasn’t the matchmaker type, but she wondered if Tray deserved another chance with the woman he loved. Was that disloyal to Jaxon? She didn’t know. Being in love with a dead man who wanted to kill her the next time their paths crossed didn’t exactly make her a love guru.

  Kara walked through the lobby and punched the button for the tenth floor. The elevator seemed like a better option tonight, since her back still ached. She rode it up to the top floor, then entered her apartment and went straight to the bathroom to run a hot bath. It was weird coming home to an empty place. How quickly she’d gotten used to the smell of food cooking and the soft rise and fall of the television in the background.

  While the water was running, she set the vial and Claudius’s card in the top drawer of her dresser, then disrobed, inspecting her suit for damage. “Noooo,” she groaned.

  The blood and soil might come out, but the rips and pulled threads were a lost cause. It wasn’t even in good enough shape to add to her give-away clothes pile. What a waste. She’d have to put it on Sage’s tab.