The Darkling Hunters_Fox Company Alpha

by Rhiannon Ayers

“I should have known you’d never give up on her,” said an all-too-familiar voice from the room outside the lab. Dex looked up to find Boss strolling in, his hands tucked in the pockets of a fresh white lab coat. He contemplated Dex and Sam with those dead, soulless eyes, then let out a humorless chuckle. “That was clever, by the way. The whole belt-through-the-underwear-through-the-office-chair set-up. I think my men were more kerfuffled by that than they were at finding me trussed up like a slaughtered lamb.”

  “Glad we could give you the chance to use a fifty-cent word,” Dex growled, glaring for all he was worth. He took a deliberate step back—and knocked over both IV stands, sending them and their multi-colored bags of fluid crashing to the ground. The bags burst, spilling multi-colored liquids down the open grate beneath the table. “Oops. Sorry. My butt slipped.”

  Boss sighed. “Miss Anderson? We’re going to need more fluids.”

  The blue-scrubbed woman, the one who’d thanked them so profusely for killing the two darkling scientists, poked her head into the room. She gave Dex a helpless, forlorn look before squaring her shoulders and nodding toward Boss. “Yes, sir. I’ll get it right away.” She scurried off without a backward glance.

  Boss heaved another sigh. “Really, you two, this is totally unnecessary. Do you realize how valuable this creature is to the United States government? Her immortality alone makes her priceless. We don’t plan to kill her if that’s what you fear. We merely want to study her, find out what makes her so different from normal human beings. Once we determine her exact chemical makeup, we hope to use her powers to restore every darkling on the planet back to his original state. Isn’t that a goal worth fighting for?”

  “So, we were right,” Sam said, lifting his chin with an arrogant tilt. “You did think you could use her against Levi. Tell me, does he know you kept her alive? Or did you lie and tell him you killed her like a good little minion?”

  “Levi will never know the difference,” Boss said, a gleam of satisfaction rippling through his expression. “Not until we’ve restored our lost souls, that is. With her help, we can go back to the way we used to be. Then, the Agency can wipe out Levi and all his disgusting little monstrosities, just like we were meant to do. Again, isn’t that a goal worth fighting for? I thought you darkling hunters were hell-bent on destroying my kind.”

  “We are,” Dex spat. “But not like this. Sydney isn’t strong enough to do what you want, don’t you see? That’s the whole reason she had to kill darklings. She can’t cure them.”

  Boss snorted. “Is that what she told you? That she’s not strong enough? Here—let me show you something.”

  He strode to the left side of the room, where a giant flat-screen TV had been embedded in the wall. He picked up a small remote, flipped the TV on, and gestured toward the screen. “Take a good look. Tell me what you see.”

  Reluctantly, Dex did as ordered. The screen showed another lab, this one lined with empty, human-sized cages. Six ragged, dirty men huddled in the center of the room, their arms wrapped tightly around their chests. They appeared to be alive, though none of them were moving. As Dex watched, one of them turned to face the camera, showing a stark, dead, emotionless expression.

  “Those are a few of Levi’s Broken darklings,” Boss said, voice hard. “Normally, we have to keep them caged because they tear into each other if they’re not given a specific target. But that room is situated directly above this one—inside the sphere of influence that surrounds your friend, Sydney Carpenter. They’ve been exposed to her for less than six hours, and already they’re acting like men instead of beasts. I would call that progress, wouldn’t you?”

  Sam shook his head, tone adamant. “So what if they calm down in her presence? That doesn’t mean she can cure them. If you spill water from a cup, you can’t put the same water back in. Spilled souls work the same way. They’ll never go back to being human. And neither will you.”

  “Time will tell,” Boss said flatly. “It took Levi five years to make me what I am today. I’m willing to wait a decade—or more—if it means I will get back what I lost. So will all the other managing directors of the Agency. Sydney is the key to our salvation. And I am afraid I cannot—will not—allow you to steal that away from me.”

  Dex bit his lip to hold back a scathing retort, looking down at Sydney as he did so.

  Her little finger twitched.

  Dex looked up and scowled at Boss. “You’ll never be able to keep this secret from Levi. He’ll figure it out, sooner or later.”

  “I highly doubt that, since he doesn’t even know this lab exists,” Boss said with a smooth, satisfied smile. “Even if he does get wind of it, we can easily move her to a more secure facility. He’ll never find her.”

  “They can sense each other, you moron,” Dex barked with a harsh, half-crazed laugh. “He probably knows you lied to him already. I bet he’s on his way here, right now, to crush you down into another Broken darkling just to teach you a lesson.”

  In Dex’s peripheral vision, Sydney’s left hand spasmed on the tabletop. He took a step forward, hopefully blocking her from view.

  “Levi may be powerful, but he’s not invulnerable,” Boss said with a dismissive scoff. “We’ve been developing ways to defeat him while we’ve been working on ways to defeat her. Soon, no immortal, no matter how powerful, will be able to stand against the Agency. We will take back what is ours and rid the world of their menace.”

  “Then why haven’t you killed him already?” Sam demanded, voice dripping derision. “If he’s so weak and you’re so strong, why haven’t you stood up to him?”

  “Proper planning takes time,” Boss said. “Now, both of you need to come with me. Despite your insubordination, I am willing to let you live. However, that courtesy will not extend past this moment. Cross me again, and—”

  Crash!

  “Hit the deck!” Dex screamed, diving for the nearest metal workstation. Sam scrambled in beside him, and together they tipped the heavy table on its side. Glass shattered, and metal instruments went flying moments before a burst of pure, white light erupted through the room. Dex squeezed his eyes shut as men screamed around them. He heard Boss’s terrified screech, heard the hiss of the hermetic doors as someone tried to activate the mechanism. He risked a peek over the top of the metal table—

  Just in time to see a thick rope of living white fire whip across the room. It smashed through the doors just as they started to close, tearing a hole lined with glowing, molten metal right down the center opening. The blast sent tables flying in all directions in the room beyond, equipment shattering as it smashed across the floors and walls. Soldiers scrambled backward, their guns forgotten as they fought to get as far away as they could. Dex caught a glimpse of a white lab coat disappearing around a corner before he turned back around.

  Sydney stood beside the gurney, naked as the day she was born. Her skin was lit up with a sheet of crackling white fire, as if she stood in the center of her own personal conflagration. Flames rippled through her hair, making it stand out and whip around her head as if blown by unseen winds. Her chest heaved with each indrawn breath, and her mouth was turned down in a rictus snarl. Her hands, curled like claws near her waist, held molten balls of liquid white fire that churned and hissed between her fingertips. As she turned her head to face him, Dex got a good look at her face—and saw that her eyes had once again lost any sign of humanity, replaced by glowing, white-hot orbs of livid opalescence.

  Terrifying and deadly. And also, achingly beautiful. The sight of her like that, lit up with all her supernatural glory, would stay with him for the rest of his life.

  Sydney stared at him, unblinking, seemingly uncomprehending. Dex took a risk and moved out from behind the metal table, both hands held up in surrender.

  “We’re in an underground facility,” he said, trying to keep his voice as soothing as possible. “You were right about Boss being a walking penis-pump. He had you captured and brought down here. I swear, Syd…we had nothing t
o do with it.”

  She contemplated him, face expressionless. Then she turned toward Sam.

  Sam gulped, Adam’s apple bobbing, and stepped out from behind the table to stand at Dex’s left. “We can get you out of here,” he said. His voice quavered. “But we need to move fast.”

  She cocked her head, still staring. Still not blinking.

  Dex heard the scuff of a boot heel.

  Before he could even blink, take a breath, or begin to formulate a warning, Sydney held up a hand and sent a fireball sizzling down the nearest hallway. Screams echoed off the stark white walls, followed by a series of crashing thumps. Sydney lowered her hand.

  Silence fell. There were no more boot-scuffs. Off in the distance, something made of glass fell and shattered on the floor. That was all.

  “Syd,” Sam croaked, getting her attention. He shivered as those blank white eyes turned his way, but he kept his chin up. “We can’t kill them all, Syd. Some of them are innocent.”

  Her expression didn’t change. “None of them are innocent.”

  Sydney turned and strode through the door.

  Dex cursed and scrambled after her, Sam hot on his heels. She moved fast for a woman recently woken from a chemically-induced coma. Dex had to hustle to keep up with her. She strode down the right-hand hallway, rounded a corner, and released another fireball. Screams cut off abruptly as the light sizzled out. Sydney marched over to a tall, double-doored cabinet and placed her hand over the lock. It melted in an instant, glowing-red bits of steel dripping down the front of it. With an impatient yank, she ripped one of the doors off its hinges and reached inside.

  The flames died away from her skin and hair as she pulled out a pair of light blue hospital scrubs. She dressed in total silence while both men looked on. When she turned back to face them, her eyes were still lit up with their holy white light, but at least she didn’t bother with the skin flames. The white-hot eyes were intimidating enough.

  “Get me out of here.”

  No inflection in her voice. She might as well have been a robot.

  Dex gulped and looked at Sam, who nodded emphatically. He stepped out of the room and led the way down the hall, heading back toward the elevator.

  They made it halfway there before six soldiers appeared, pouring in from the nearest intersection. Before Dex could react, Sydney reached out, grabbed the back of Sam’s shirt, and flung him behind her. She lifted both hands, pushing outward as if she were bracing herself against a wall. A sheet of white light filled the hallway from floor-to-ceiling just before the bullets began flying. Dex heard them smash into the light barrier, heard them sizzle and pop as they melted on contact. Sydney held the light wall in place until the gunshots stopped. Then, she heaved her weight forward, pushing outward as hard as she could.

  The light-wall went sailing down the hallway—and incinerated all six soldiers where they stood. Nothing left but piles of thick, white ash.

  The light-wall winked out.

  And Boss stepped out of a side hall, both hands held up in a sign of surrender. He took two steps forward.

  Then, he dropped to his knees.

  “Heal me.” His face was a livid mask of half-formed emotions, though none of those emotions reached his eyes. He stared at Sydney as if she were an angel of God Himself, as if he faced an avatar of the Creator. “Heal me. Put my soul back in my body. Give me back what your husband took away. Heal me, and we can turn this Agency into a weapon the likes of which this world has never seen. We can help you put a stop to Levi’s atrocities. We can wipe him from the face of the earth—him and all his monstrous kind.

  “Heal me, Sydney Carpenter. Heal me, and I will serve you faithfully for the rest of my life.”

  Sydney stopped. Stared at him. Lowered her hands to her sides. She cocked her head, seeming to contemplate the offer he’d put on the table. After a long, breathless moment, she crossed the distance between them and stood looking down at him with those blank, expressionless white eyes.

  She lifted a hand.

  Extended one finger.

  Placed the finger on the center of Boss’s forehead.

  And finally whispered, “No.”

  Sydney released her power. Boss exploded in a burst of white ash, so violently and so suddenly, Dex barely had time to fling an arm over his face. He coughed as a cloud of dust washed over him, and quickly scrubbed his face with the crook of his elbow.

  Yuck. Darkling dust. Note to self: next time, wear a gas mask. Never know what breathing that shit will do to your lungs.

  Sydney glanced over her shoulder and pinned Sam with a look. “Get me out of here.”

  Sam nodded, rising from his crouch on shaking knees. Dex knew just how he felt; his own knees had turned to jelly the moment she sent that light wall flying down the hallway.

  Sydney Carpenter, pissed off and vengeful, was more than a force to be reckoned with. Her power might be drawn from the breath of life itself, but right now…

  Right now, she embodied death.

  They made it to the elevator with no further incidents. Either the female orderlies had already taken cover, or Sydney’s fireballs had already killed them. No use worrying about it now. There was nothing he could do to save them.

  Nothing he could do to save himself if Sydney decided to turn on him.

  No. He couldn’t afford to think like that. Sydney loved him. She loved Sam. She would never turn on them. He had to believe that, had to trust that down to the marrow of his bones. He would trust in Sydney Carpenter until the day he died.

  No matter what.

  The ride up to the ground floor took place in eerie, supernatural silence. Sydney stood in the center of the elevator car, facing the doors, while Sam and Dex flanked her on either side. As the digital display above the button panel slowly ticked upward, Dex found himself wishing he’d thought to grab a rifle from one of those guards, but it was far too late now. He glanced at Sam, exchanging too-knowing looks with him.

  Dex opened his mouth to ask Sydney if she was all right.

  Sydney suddenly cocked her head, listening to something neither man could hear. She sucked in a sharp breath.

  “Do you still trust me?”

  The words were spoken in a low, breathless voice that bore no resemblance to the woman who’d traded barbed quips with the two of them just two days ago. It sounded…feminine. Uncertain.

  The elevator display ticked another floor upward.

  “Do you still trust me?”

  Dex looked at Sam. Sam looked at Dex. They both turned and looked at Sydney.

  “With my life,” said both men at the exact same time.

  Sydney closed her eyes, swaying just a little. The relief rolling off her was palpable—and so was the next wave of power. Before either man could react, she flung her hands out sideways, her palms connecting with both their chests. Sheets of white light engulfed them from head to toe.

  Thankfully, the light didn’t burn. But it did freeze Dex in place, making him feel as if he’d been dipped in dried concrete. He tried to cry out, tried to push against it, but it was as if his muscles had been turned to stone. Only his eyes could move freely, and he whipped his gaze around to find Sam frozen in the same state.

  Sydney looked over her shoulder at him then, her eyes still engulfed by those eerie white orbs. She smiled, just a little, as the elevator display ticked over to the ground floor level. The doors hissed open, and Sydney took a step outside.

  “I love you. Both of you. That’s why I can’t risk losing you.”

  And she placed a hand on the side of the elevator, within the frame of the door. A sheet of translucent white light spread over the opening, forming a wall between them and her. The moment she stepped away, the glow faded from around Dex’s body, giving him freedom of movement at long last. He lunged forward, intent on following her—

  And slammed into the flickering white barrier so hard he knew he’d have a bruise on his shoulder.

  “What the fuck! Syd, let us ou
t of here!”

  Sam slammed into the white light a moment later, then started pounding on it with his fists. “Syd, let us help! For fuck’s sake, we can watch your back!”

  “Not this time,” she said with a small, sad smile. A sheet of white flames flickered up and over her face, lighting her skin from within. “I have to face him alone.”

  “Face who?” Dex shouted, pounding on the barrier.

  “Wait, do you mean Levi?” Sam yelled. “Fuck, is he here?”

  Sydney gave them both one last look—then turned on her heels and stalked away.

  The light barrier stayed in place, keeping both men trapped inside the elevator.

  Dex threw back his head and screamed at the top of his lungs, “Sydney!”

  Chapter 29

  “You’re not strong enough for this, you know. You were never strong enough to kill me.”

  Sydney let the all-too-familiar voice wash over her as she glided to a stop in the center of the glass-walled hallway. She held her hands loosely at her sides, ready to call the fire at a moment’s notice. She could feel Sam and Dex banging away at the barrier she’d left. They’d probably never forgive her for leaving them trapped, unable to get to her side.

  She could live without their forgiveness. She could not live if they lost their souls while trying to fight her battles for her.

  Sydney waited.

  Leviticus Rex strolled into view, looking like a young man just out for an afternoon’s walk. For the first time in well over a hundred years, she beheld the man she’d once loved, the man who’d torn her heart out, murdered her child, and destroyed everything she’d ever found dear in this world.

  He looked good for his age—she’d give him that much. Silky black hair crowned an aristocrat face that could—and did—make women swoon over him. Olive-toned skin set off the ice-blue eyes that were the signature of their kind. He still looked young and athletic, his shoulders rounded with muscle, his waist trim, hips straight beneath fitted black jeans. He wore a tight white t-shirt that showed off his muscular chest, along with a pair of shiny brown cowboy boots.