Protector of Midnight_an Urban Fantasy Novel

by Debbie Cassidy

  The cocooned humans had been evacuated, the tunnels swept for spiderlings and Arachne’s chamber bricked up. It had taken a couple of days, but it was done. The cracks she’d mentioned hadn’t been found, and Arachne was no longer speaking. She’d gone into some kind of spider coma. It was over. The missing person files had been closed, everyone we had on file accounted for, and there were some extra people who the district was still trying to find homes for. Jesse’s companion, Michael, the other teacher, hadn’t made it. His heart had stopped on the way to the hospital. The kids were in intensive care. We still had no clue how the bus had ended up at the beach, or at least we wouldn’t have until Jesse awoke. She was stable for now, but still unconscious. There was nothing more I could do for her until she woke up. But Drayton was another story.

  I gulped the last of my brandy and poured another. “What are we going to do?”

  Cassie shrugged. “I don’t know. He can’t feed, not like this. He’d kill the human.”

  There were faded scars on his body where the sentinel had attacked. Wounds his power had repaired, and while in his cocoon his incubus had continued to work on him, saving his life but draining his power. So, now he needed a fix, and he needed it bad.

  I took a huge sip of my drink. “Have you seen him?”

  She sucked her head. “No, and I don’t want to. Orin says it’s bad. Drayton has left the building. We’re dealing with the incubus now, and the incubus wants to feed.”

  I ran a hand over my face. “What about a neph? Could he feed off a neph?”

  Cassie snorted. “Sure, he could. And in the process, he would probably kill her. There would be no holding back for him. He’d fuck until his lover was dead, and then he’d probably fuck her some more.”

  “Stop.” I held up a hand. “There has to be a way to take the edge off.”

  He needed a boost, and it had to come through sexual contact. I’d siphoned off him using a kiss. Could I siphon sexual energy into him using a kiss? And where would I get that kind of energy. I wasn’t an incubus, I didn’t feed off sexual energy.

  You choose not to.

  My hand shook, and I almost dropped the glass.

  “Harker, you okay?” Cassie asked.

  I nodded. I focused on Ambrosius. What do you mean?

  When you fed from Bane, it was sexual energy combined with his power that you drew from. You are a cambion, part incubus. The difference is that you have a choice of the energy you take. There are many to choose from: a neph’s power, a human’s life force, sexual energy, rage, to name just a few.

  I had a choice?

  I put my glass on the table and stood. “I think I have an idea.”

  ***

  Bane stood with his back to me, looking out at the night sky. It was chilly this high in the roost, but the air felt pleasant on my skin. The muscles under his t-shirt rippled with awareness.

  “I don’t know how to help him,” Bane said.

  “But I think I do.”

  He turned to look at me, his dark brows snapping down.

  I licked my lips. “I can help him, but I’m going to need you to do something to help me help him.”

  “Name it.”

  I took a step closer, enough to feel the heat from his body. “I need you to kiss me.”

  His nostrils flared and a low growl rumbled in his chest. “Harker...”

  “Please, trust me I—”

  His mouth cut me off, and my feet left the ground as he gathered me up easily. I was a doll in his arms, a plaything, and he devoured me with kisses that burned my soul. My shields melted and the darkness purred, drinking him in. Every last drop of his sizzling energy tugged and stoked an icy heat to life at the apex of my thighs. I moaned into his mouth, my hands sliding up his thick neck, into his silken hair, over his shoulders and back again. He was the pitcher of chilled water I needed to quench a thirst I’d been denying for way too long. His power surged into me along with an edge that I recognized as sexual energy. It had been present last time too, even though that hadn’t been his intention, or had it?

  I should break the kiss now. The darkness’ hunger was sated, but there was a different hunger—almost as insatiable as my cambion craving—and it was all mine. The shock of the revelation had me jerking back and tearing my mouth from his.

  His breathing was ragged against me. His eyes narrowed, and his expression shuttered. He lowered me to my feet and stepped away. “Was that what you needed?”

  I nodded, unable to form words around the crazy lump of yearning in my throat.

  “You intend to feed that to Drayton, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” My voice was a whisper.

  “He isn’t there right now,” Bane said. He folded his arms across his gargantuan chest. “You know, the White Wings used to call the Black Wings demons. They said that the hunger inside the nephs, the powers we could wield, were all part of the demon essence donated to us by the Black Wing blood. Right now, Drayton is gone and only the demon remains. Right now, there’s only the incubus and the incubus is ravenous.”

  “But if I can feed it some sexual energy then Drayton can take control, right?”

  Bane shrugged a massive shoulder. “I don’t know. Drayton is asleep. Buried deep in his psyche. The incubus may just take and take, and it could kill you. But maybe...” He studied me speculatively. “If you have a connection with him, you can draw him back. It may take some acting on your part.”

  “What kind of acting.”

  “The incubus can’t know you’re willing. You must show you’re afraid. It will excite it. It isn’t often the demon gets to take its fill without the effort of glamour. And maybe...maybe your terror will nudge Drayton awake.”

  I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. “Okay.”

  He cocked his head. “It could go horribly wrong.”

  This was Drayton we were talking about. My heart ached. “I’m doing this.”

  Bane glanced at my hands. “We’ll have to bind your hands behind your back.”

  The daggers. Of course. If I felt like I was in danger, then they would materialize. “Fine.”

  He stepped around me and opened the door. Was he deliberately avoiding touching me?

  “I’ll take you to him,” he said.

  ***

  The basement was a dungeon. A cold, stone chamber filled with cages and shackles and racks laden with implements of torture. What the heck did they do down here, and to who? Drayton’s screams of rage had ceased as we began our descent, almost as if he’d sensed our arrival and was satisfied that the ruckus had done the job of drawing us to him.

  “The scourge we bring back from Sunset spend a little time here,” Bane explained. “It’s not usual for them to venture past the border, but over the years it has been occurring more and more frequently.”

  “Do you think it has something to do with the cracks Arachne mentioned and the other creatures that seem to be making their way into Midnight?”

  “It seems too much of a coincidence not to be connected.”

  Drayton wasn’t visible yet, but something inside tugged me forward, warning me and compelling me at the same time. He was close. Bane led me past several cells. This chamber probably stretched under the whole of the north wing, which was pretty huge. How many people could you cram into this space? Yeah, I was focusing on random stuff to ignore the shiver in my chest. My palms were clammy too.

  Drayton came into view, not locked in a cell but shackled to the wall, his chest was bare and his trousers hung low on his hips, his eyes blazed in triumph as he caught sight of me, and he licked his lips. His features were sharper and his eyes were so dark they were almost black. The man I’d grown to care for wasn’t there, instead I was looking at his demon. A demon who wanted to hurt me, the horror was real and I let it rise.

  “Drayton.” I took a step forward. “What have you done to him?” I shot Bane an appalled look. Or at least I hoped I did.

  Bane grabbed me and cuffed my hands behind my ba
ck. I struggled and kicked out, and he released me, chuckling softly.

  “You brought me a treat, Bane,” the incubus said.

  “Yes, I guess I did,” Bane said.

  The pulse at the base of my throat was suddenly thudding way too hard, this felt way too real.

  Bane grabbed me by the back of the neck and dragged me toward him. His violet eyes gleamed and I crushed the urged to smash a fist into his face, not that I could even if I wanted to, cuffs and all. This was just a ploy. Wasn’t it?

  He cupped my head with his huge hands and ran his thumb roughly over my mouth. “She is sweet. I hope you don’t mind, but I had a quick taste.”

  The incubus laughed. It was a dirty sound that made my skin crawl. Where was the charismatic entity I’d seen working The Deep? The thing hanging on the wall was all sharp angles and greyish skin. Yes, it had Drayton’s features but all the softness, all the beauty had been stripped away.

  This was the demon that controlled Drayton. Did I have one? What did she look like? Rivers’ awed face came to mind along with his words when I’d fed from him. He’d said I shone. I blinked away the memory and gasped as Bane ran his nose up the column of my neck.

  “Bring her. Bring her to me now.” The incubus’ tone had grown thick with desire.

  “No, please.” I strained trying to get away from Bane. “Please, let me go!”

  The incubus laughed. “Oh, this will be sooo good.”

  Where was Drayton? Could he hear my screams? They filled the dungeon, echoing hollowly. Bane carried me to the incubus and held me up by the back of my neck. This close up, the inhumanity in the things eyes was like an ultraviolet light exposing every dirty stain. Real visceral fear flooded me, and I twisted from side to side convinced this was no ploy, this was real and Bane intended to sacrifice me to save his friend’s life. The daggers filled my hands but trapped behind me they were useless pieces of metal.

  “Kiss her,” Bane urged. “Take what you need. Take it all.”

  He pushed my face toward the demon. And the thin cruel lips grew nearer and nearer. A strangled cry escaped from my mouth and then something flashed in the incubus’s eye. The dark brown hue lightened a fraction and the pupils dilated and contracted.

  “Please, please, Drayton, don’t hurt me. Don’t—” my words were cut off by the pressure of his lips and then his tongue was in my mouth.

  My shields were batted aside and the incubus began to feed. I wanted to heal him, but I needed him to fight, to rise from his slumber and take the reins. I needed him to know it was me he would hurt if he didn’t stop, and so I closed my eyes and focused on this intimate connection.

  It shone bright—amber power laced with violet. It was Bane’s power and the sexual energy we’d conjured together. Drayton was taking it, absorbing it. Drayton, can you hear me. Please. You need to stop. You need to stop or you’ll kill me. Please...I pushed my thoughts down the connection. He had to hear me. The power was coming to its end, he was drawing too fast and soon it would be my life force he’d be feeding off.

  Drayton, if you don’t stop you’ll kill me. I’ll be dead, just like Viola.

  His lips slid from mine and Bane yanked me back. I sagged against his chest.

  “Drayton? Drayton are you there?” Bane asked urgently.

  The incubus raised his head, and stared at us with green flecked, brown eyes. “I’m here. I’m here.”

  Chapter 30

  It had taken almost a week for humans who’d been abducted by Arachne to recover. Many of them didn’t recall much leading up to the attack. The Deep, the park and a spot behind a bowling alley on the south side of the district were the danger zones. The MED located and cemented off the chute by the bowling alley. Jesse was interviewed and explained that they’d stopped at the beach to collect shells to take back to the school. That was all she remembered.

  I stood in the doorway to her hospital room, watching her tie her laces. It was almost time and my chest ached with goodbye.

  She looked up and locked gazes with me. Her mouth tightened. “What are you doing here? Making sure I leave?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Making sure you don’t get yourself into any more shit, yeah.”

  She stood and smoothed down her shirt. “Well, fuck you, Serenity. I don’t want you here. I have a ride out of Midnight.”

  “Yeah, I know. One I arranged for you.”

  Her mouth trembled and she turned away, giving me the second I needed to bite the insides of my cheeks and prevent a tremble of my own. This was the best way. Cut ties to keep her safe. Cut ties so she would never come back.

  Her shoulders rose and fell in a shudder and then she turned to face me, her expression cold and distant. “You can rest assured that I will not be attempting to contact you in the future. As far as I’m concerned, I was always an only child.”

  Her words were shards of glass burrowing into my chest. But I smiled sadistically. “Trust me. I’ve wished the same thing every fucking day.”

  A rap at the door signaled the arrival of her ride.

  Orin smiled kindly at her. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded curtly.

  “I’ve collected your stuff from your house. It’s all loaded up in the van.”

  She smiled stiffly. “Thank you.”

  I pushed away from the door jamb. “Yeah, well drive safe.” I turned and walked away. No goodbye hug, no kiss, no I love you. The ladies’ toilets were just down the corridor and I clipped quickly toward them, pushed through, locked myself in the nearest stall and began to hyperventilate. I could do this. I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t break. This was the right call. She’d almost died, twice, but the tears were leaking out anyway and ruining my resolve.

  A soft knock interrupted my tight-spot pacing.

  “It’s taken.” I wiped at my face.

  “Open the door, Serenity,”

  “Ryker?”

  I unlatched the door and Ryker stepped in and locked it again.

  “This is the ladies toilets.” I sniffed.

  He picked me up, pushed the toilet lid down and then sat down on the loo with me on his lap.

  “I know.” His emerald gaze was filled with empathy and the final vestiges of my control crumbled. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and sobbed my heart out.

  ***

  The best formula for a broken heart was to get out there and kick some arse, which was why I was hovering in the hallway waiting for Drayton and the continuation of a case that had begun over a week ago. The case of the illegal recruitment. With the house games a mere month away, it was imperative that we resolved this issue to maintain balance.

  Drayton strode into the foyer, shrugging on his jacket. “You ready to execute a warrant, Harker?”

  He’d been all stiff and formal with me ever since...well, since our moment in the dungeon. We’d barely spent more than two minutes alone in the same room, and to be honest I’d thought he’d go without me, hence the hovering, but it looked like Drayton was a neph of his word.

  “Yes, sure. Let’s do this.”

  We headed outside and climbed into the range rover.

  “So, how you liking Midnight so far?” he asked. He wasn’t expecting an answer. He was making small talk. He was putting up walls, but my mind was already, sincerely, pondering his question.

  Let’s see...This was Midnight, the district where the scourge ran once a month and the residents cleaned up after as if they’d just had a rave. It was the home of ghosts who lived forever in a cemetery at the top of a hill. It was residence to the Breed, the Sanguinata and the Lupin. Midnight was one huge hot spot, and if Arachne was telling the truth, there was a whole load of crap headed our way. Midnight was a cesspit of danger and the darkness inside me had never been so uncomplicated.

  I sat back in my seat. “I think it feels like home.”

  His eyes narrowed, and his lips twitched and for a second I caught a glimpse of the Drayton I’d come to lo—know.

  He
started the engine. “Yeah, in that case, Harker, you’re royally fucked.”

  To be continued...

  Serenity’s story continues in Champion of Midnight. Click the image to grab your copy. (Sneak peek below)

  Chapter 1

  The drive to the House of Vitae was mostly a silent one, not for want of trying on my part, mind you, but Drayton was determined to keep conversation limited. If I’d known helping him push back his demon would result in this distance I would have … still done it, damn it. The atmosphere was strained. The memory of what had happened in the dungeons hung between us. I’d seen him stripped bare, out of control. I’d seen the darkest part of him, and although he was grateful for my help, he’d said as much, there was obviously a part of him that was ashamed. Maybe it was time to open up and talk about it? Just push the issue, and clear the air instead of tiptoeing around the subject. I slid a quick glance his way. His jaw was tense, and his eyes were on the road in total focus, a little too much focus, if you asked me. Yeah, maybe talking about stuff could wait.

  It was strange having my shields partially down, but Drayton had made it clear that going to visit the Sanguinata reeking of human was a bad idea. Besides, it was best to keep the number of people who knew about my shielding ability to the minimum. Ambrosius’s words echoed in my ears, his assertion that I controlled the hunger whether the shields were up or down. He’d been silent since the Arachne’s attack underground. Was it strange that I missed his voice in my head?

  A huge set of iron gates came into view with the words Domus Vitae emblazoned across a crest on an arch above. The crest was a shield depicting a serpent and a sword. Neat script reading perpetua vita aeterna et sapientia ran along a plaque under the crest.

  “Life everlasting and wisdom eternal.” How the heck did I know that?

  Drayton shot me a curious glance. “You learned Latin?”

  I shook my head. “No. I didn’t.”