Darkness Arisen

by Stephanie Rowe

  “Another Fitzgerald. Still alive. Amazing.”

  Ian spun around as the voice of the curse boomed through his mind, only this time, he wasn’t imagining it. It was the real voice of the warrior in front of him. It was his voice that had haunted Ian all those years. “It’s been you in my head?”

  Deathbringer pranced restlessly, and Cardiff steadied his mount. “I thought you were all dead by now.” His eyes gleamed with delight as he surveyed Ian’s body. “You look thin, warrior. You’ve been suffering, haven’t you?” He leaned forward. “How does it feel? Too much to handle?”

  Ian’s muscles tensed with the need to strike out and cut down the man who’d been responsible for his father’s death, but he forced himself to remain still. Killing Warwick would not end the curse. The wizard had to undo the spell before he died.

  “You bastard.” Kane’s voice was low, seething with disgust as he stood beside Ian, his weapons clenched in his fists. “You tried to make me kill my sheva.”

  “Tried?” Cardiff raised his brows. “It’s not over yet, warrior. None of it’s over.” He raised his wand, his fingers grasping it loosely. “The circle must be broken. The new Order must be born, and the old Order expunged.”

  Adrenaline thudded through Ian as he lined up beside Kane, rapidly assessing their chances. Ry. We got the bad guy. Get up to the ramparts. Ian had no idea if Ryland was in any shape to hear him, but he had a bad feeling they were going to need backup. Warwick Cardiff had been a legendary warrior, and now he also had demon magic.

  Beside him, Kane was absolutely still. The calm, focused energy of a warrior in battle was rolling off him. “Turn yourself in,” Kane commanded. “The Order is not yours to destroy. It is a legion of honor.”

  Fury hissed in Warwick’s eyes. “Shut up.” A streak of purple light shot out of his palm. Kane blocked it with his weapon, but another one hit a split second later, nailing Kane in the chest. The warrior crumpled to the ground instantly, a spiral of black smoke rising out of his chest.

  “Kane!” Ian hurled his mace, but Deathbringer danced to the left, dodging the blow with ease.

  Warwick laughed and unleashed another flash of light at Ian. Ian swore and blocked it with his mace. The beam bounced off his blade and slammed into the wall. Stones exploded from the castle, cascading all over the rooftop. The nearby gargoyles seemed to flinch, as if they were alive and had felt the impact.

  “Hey,” Warwick snarled. “That’s my home you’re destroying. I’m saving it for my woman.”

  The wizard’s insanity was evident, and Ian swore as he blocked another blast from Warwick. He called back his errant mace and threw it again. And again, the horse spun his master out of the path of the weapon while Warwick blasted him. Ian ducked, and a stray spark hit his shoulder. The agony was incredible, and he stumbled as pain cascaded through him.

  Deathbringer danced around him as Ian fought to remain standing. Warwick’s bitter laughter echoed through the night. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you die yet. You need to lose your woman first.” Then Warwick shot another slash of light at Ian, knocking him to the ground.

  Ian swore, his fingers digging into the roof as he fought against the pain, but his body was frozen, his muscles rigid. He could do nothing but shout in protest as Warwick spun his mount away and the stallion clattered down the stairs, in pursuit of Alice.

  “Shit!” Ian tried to get up, but his body was immobilized in some sort of lockdown spell. “Kane! Wake up!”

  There was a low groan from across the roof, but Ian couldn’t turn his head to see if it was Kane. Kane? Since they weren’t blood-bonded, they couldn’t talk mind-to-mind across long distances, but short distances were no problem. You with me?

  I’m here. Can’t move, though. You?

  No. My muscles are frozen. Sweat began to bead on Ian’s brow as the clatter of Deathbringer’s hooves grew fainter. The wizard was closing in on Alice. He had to get to her. Had to get up. Can you teleport?

  Not sure. There was a pause, then an affirmative. Yes.

  Relief rushed through Ian. Go back to Dante’s mansion. Get help. He didn’t hesitate to ask for backup from the team now. Cardiff was after his woman, and he would call upon any assistance he could. I’ll stay here and deal with the wizard.

  What the hell are you going to do? Lie there and yell at him? Come back with me. Maybe Lily can figure out how to break the spell.

  Lily Davenport was their research expert, and the sheva of one of their teammates, Gideon Roarke. She’d once been their nemesis, but after falling in love with Gideon, the world-famous researcher had become their greatest asset by providing information that none of the rest of them had. I’m not leaving Alice. Just go!

  I’ll be back as soon as I can. There was a ripple of energy in the air, and then Ian sensed that he was alone on the roof.

  Below him, he could hear the fading echoes of the horse’s hooves as the duo thundered after Alice. Ian fought the invisible restraints that rendered him motionless, but he couldn’t break them. Frantic now, he reached out to her, brushing against her mind. Alice. Watch out. He’s coming after you.

  There was a ripple of fear from Alice. He’s already here.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Alice raced around a bend in the hallway, her bare feet sliding on the cobblestones as the thundering sound of Deathbringer’s hooves echoed through the corridor. She knew Catherine would be in the lowest portion of the building, the closest to the center of the earth that she could be. There had to be a basement, a dungeon in this castle—

  A streak of green light crashed into the stones beside her head, and they exploded out of the wall.

  Alice! Ian’s frantic voice filled her mind. Get out of there!

  Trying! Ahead of her, Alice saw a narrow hole in the ancient stone walls. A dumbwaiter slot? She raced over to it as Deathbringer and Warwick rounded the corner. The rider was carrying a wand, a wand that looked just like the one that had killed her. “No!” She reached the opening and dove through it, not even taking the time to look where it led.

  When she started to plummet into the darkness, she knew she was in trouble. Ian! I’m falling!

  She felt Ian’s burst of tension, and then his calm, warrior focus filled her. Let me into your body. Open yourself to me.

  What? Her head cracked against a wall, and she yelped, pressing her hand against the injury.

  Just do it! Suddenly he was filling her with his entire being, like a great summer storm. She felt the strength of his body seem to take over hers, and her body felt like she had just acquired a new surge of life. Call my weapon, he commanded. Now!

  Alice immediately pictured the mace in her mind and called it to her. There was a loud crack and a flash of black light, and then it was in her hand, startling her. There was no way she would ever get used to that. What now? But the question hadn’t even formed in her mind when Ian showed her that moment when she’d been falling into the crevasse in the ocean, and he’d used the mace to stop the fall.She immediately slammed the end of the mace into the wall, but it bounced off, sparks flying. I can’t get it to stick!

  Do it again! This time, she felt the sheer force of his will flooding her, and it felt like his hands were on hers as she slammed it into the stone again. This time, the blade caught, and she yelped as it jerked her to a stop. Somehow, she didn’t lose her grip on it, and she knew it wasn’t her own strength that had held her there. It was Ian’s. Her chest heaving, she dangled from the handle, her fingers trembling from the effort. How did you do that?

  I’m just a great boyfriend. Remember that next time you run off on me.

  Heat washed over her. Isn’t ‘boyfriend’ kind of a weak term for a guy whose brands are all over my arms?

  You seem commitment-averse. I was trying not to scare you. His voice was calm, but she felt his tension. You okay?

  For the moment. Alice peered below, trying to determine how far above the ground she was. She could see a faint light about thirty feet be
low her. The ground, or an illusion? She glanced up and saw only darkness, indicating that she’d fallen a long distance before Ian had helped her break the fall. Cardiff wasn’t peering down at her, and she sighed with relief, realizing that she’d lost him for the moment. It was his castle, though, and she had no doubt he would find her again soon.

  Come back to the roof where I can protect you, Ian ordered.

  For a split second, yearning burned through Alice. The idea of rushing back up to the roof and falling into Ian’s arms sounded like the best idea she’d ever had. But then she thought of Catherine, and she knew she had a promise to keep. I can’t. I need to find Catherine.

  Alice! No! Cardiff is after you! We’ll find Catherine together after we deal with him.

  Tears burned in Alice’s eyes at the idea of leaving him. You don’t understand, Ian. I’ve failed at everything important my whole life. I have to get this one right.

  You didn’t fail. You saved my life.

  Alice’s throat tightened. Yes, she’d helped him find peace so he could save his own life, but in return, he’d renewed his focus on his duty and his family’s honor. Catherine loves me, Ian. How can I walk away from that? She waited, giving him a chance to speak up, to give her a reason to trust that he would help her kill Catherine in the end, despite his oath and his promise never to do such a thing.

  You’ll do her no good if you get caught by the wizard. Get back here, Alice! Now!

  She closed her eyes, regret filling her. She’d given him an opening to tell her that he loved her, and instead, he’d given her a command. I’m sorry, Ian. Then she let go of the mace and let herself fall.

  *

  Alice! Ian bellowed her name, but she cut him off like a blast of cold death. His body went rigid as the loss tore at him and fear for her well-being sliced through him. He fought it off, struggling to fend off the debilitating grief, but he couldn’t get the image of Cardiff out of his mind. Cardiff closing down on her. Grabbing her. Hurting her. Killing her, all to punish Ian. “No!” His voice was a tormented scream, and he tried to channel all the anguish, thrusting it into his body to try to regain the use of his muscles.

  But it didn’t work. He just lay there, like a useless piece of driftwood, cast upon the shore by a storm that had no use for him. Nothing to be done. He couldn’t help her. Couldn’t save her. His failure beat at him, stripping away what little sense of self he had left. Gasping for air, he forced his mind off Alice, picturing the graveyard where Augustus and his father were buried. He imagined the headstones in his mind, reading the words inscribed on the marble of his father’s memorial.

  Here lies Rudolph Fitzgerald, a great father, a mighty warrior, and a legendary member of the Order of the Blade. Honor shall be restored to his name.

  Honor. Honor. Ian pictured the word that he’d carved into his own palm that night. Honor. He had to restore honor to his family’s name. He had to regain the Fitzgerald place within the Order. Dying over Alice would not accomplish that. He had to be stronger than what she made him, because fear of losing her made him weak. He had to be prepared to fight Cardiff when he came back. He had to be the warrior that no one else in his family had been able to be.

  Ian took a deep breath and focused on the starry sky. He breathed in the vast expanse of the night. He studied the full moon, drawing strength from its magic. Its brilliant light filled the night, radiating the same bizarre shade of turquoise that it had the night that Alice had dived into the ocean. Around the moon circled undulating crimson clouds, as if they were stalking the lunar sphere.

  Ian focused on the clouds, watching each one carefully until his mind was clear of all thoughts except the clouds. Alice was but a distant buzz around the periphery of his subconscious, almost out of the way. Drawing upon all the years of training with his father, Ian slowly, carefully, intentionally, eradicated Alice from his thoughts, sealing himself off from her. As he did so, he felt the curse recede, replaced by a humming power that he hadn’t felt in months, not since the first time Alice had died in his arms.

  At the same time, there was a distant ache of loneliness, sadness, and regret, as if he were losing the very thing that made his heart beat… Then it was gone, replaced by the steady, focused mindset of a soldier prepared for battle.

  Alice was gone from his heart.

  All that was left was a Fitzgerald warrior.

  *

  Alice bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain as she hit the stone floor after releasing the mace. Tears burned in her eyes as her knee throbbed, but she didn’t pause to assess it. She just looked around, quickly checking out her surroundings. The cold dampness in the air and the musty smell told her that she was below the earth.

  She crawled out of the crevice and into a long hallway. Doors went off on all sides, heavy steel barriers with bars on the windows. The dungeon. But there were too many! How would she search them all? “Catherine?” She whispered the name, afraid to shout.

  No response.

  Alice hurried up to the first door, biting her lip against the stabbing pain in her knee. She hoped it was just a momentary twist, because she didn’t have time to worry about it. Cardiff would be on her at any moment. She peered through the bars and saw an empty cell.

  Quickly, she hurried to the next one. Empty.

  The next one was unoccupied as well.

  “Catherine!” she whispered more urgently, getting worried about how long it was taking. This was Cardiff’s castle. He would know exactly where that hole had dumped her, and he’d be here shortly… Realization dawned on her. If Cardiff already knew where she was, why was she being quiet? He was most likely well on his way to her, delayed only by the fact he’d had to take the long way around because he hadn’t yet figured out how to shrink himself and the horse to fit through the dumbwaiter passage. This was the time for speed, not stealth! Galvanized by urgency, she didn’t hold back anymore. “Catherine!” she shouted, starting to run down the long hallway. “Where are you?”

  Again, no response.

  But above her head, she heard the faint, distant thudding of a horse galloping.

  Frantic, she ran harder, not even feeling the pain in her knee anymore. “Catherine!” she screamed. “It’s Alice! Where are you?” She reached a split in the hallway, two passageways extending outward in the dark with rooms off them. Which way?

  She peered down each corridor, and realized that the one heading east, toward the ocean, was significantly darker. Almost no light penetrated. “Catherine,” she breathed, a chill rippling down her spine. Was Catherine absorbing light rays? Not that. Not yet.

  Frantic, she sprinted down the gloomy hallway, right into the darkness that seemed to swallow her up as soon as she stepped into it. It was thick and cold against her skin, the way death would feel. She didn’t bother to call Catherine’s name anymore. If she was preying on light, there was no point.

  Alice focused on the darkest spot in the hallway, on what looked like a bottomless black hole in the atmosphere. That was it. That was where Catherine was. She hurried down the passageway, fighting against the pain in her right knee. She reached the door and grabbed the bars, standing on her tiptoes to peer through.

  At first, she could see nothing.

  After a moment, her eyes adjusted, and she could discern a faint white blur in the corner. It was as if all the light that was left in the room had concentrated on that one place, like a faint spotlight was shining down from above. As she looked more closely, she could see a woman sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped around her legs, her face pressed to her knees.

  Ragged blond hair tumbled down around her, the tattered ends dragging on the floor. She was wearing a white robe that had slid up to reveal arms so skinny that Alice’s breath caught. “Oh, Catherine,” she whispered. Dear God, what had happened during the months that Warwick had stolen her? Suddenly, her resolution vanished. How could she kill this woman? Catherine was all she had left, a friend who was as close as a sister. How could she strip
Catherine of life?

  There had to be a way. Ian had to be right. There had to be some solution that neither of them knew about. “Catherine!”

  The woman in the corner didn’t move. She didn’t lift her head, even though Alice knew that Catherine had to know she was there.

  Alice quickly tried the door handle, but it was locked. She rattled it, and the noise was loud in the hallway. Frantically, she stood up on her toes and peered through the bars again. “Catherine,” she said, keeping her voice as calm as she could. “It’s Alice. I’ve come to get you out of here.”

  Catherine shuddered at Alice’s words, and she slowly raised her head. Her formerly blue eyes were a lifeless gray, and there were dark shadows beneath them. Her face was drawn, and her lips were a bluish purple. Alice’s throat tightened, and she gripped the bars. “Oh, my dear Catherine,” she whispered, her heart breaking for her friend’s anguish.

  “Ally?” Catherine’s voice was raw, as if she hadn’t spoken for days. “Is that really you?”

  “Yes, it’s me.” Alice tugged on the bars. “We’re leaving.”

  “No.” She shook her head, her face becoming even paler. “You made a promise, Alice. It’s time. You have to do it.”

  Tears trickled down Alice’s cheeks. “No. There has to be another way. I have the Order of the Blade with me.” She thought of Ian on the roof. Ian? I need some assistance, here. “They’ll help—”

  “They can’t help! No one can help.” Catherine tried to stand, but her legs were too weak, and she fell, her knees cracking on the hard floor.

  Alice instinctively reached through the bars, trying to help her. Ian had not responded to her call, and she couldn’t feel his presence. Ian. Are you there? “I helped someone save his own life tonight, Cat. Someone who I’m not supposed to protect, an Order of the Blade member. I helped him live by giving him my golden light.”

  Catherine stared at her in disbelief. “But that’s impossible. You can’t do anything even close to saving a life. And how could you give the golden light to an Order of the Blade member? He would never qualify.”