The Darkness Beyond

by Alexis Morgan

  D.J. tried to look happy about it but wasn’t sure how successful he was. The last thing he needed right now was more time to sit around at his apartment with nothing to do but wait for another e-mail.

  His hand automatically reached for the mouse and clicked. Nothing. Good. He really preferred not to go ballistic again in front of Devlin. He sure as hell didn’t want to explain that he’d been playing e-mail tag with another hacker, one good enough to breach the security measures he and Cullen had installed to protect the secret world of the Paladins.

  “You heard me, didn’t you?”

  Devlin waved his hand in front of D.J.’s face to draw his attention away from the computer screen.

  “What?”

  “I said you should get out of here for a while. It wasn’t just a suggestion.”

  D.J. swallowed hard and nodded. “Fine. I have a few things to finish and then I’ll go.”

  As if arguing with Devlin ever worked. The head Paladin immediately crossed his arms over his chest and went into glare mode. “Now.”

  D.J. could be stubborn, too. “Damn it, Devlin, cut me some slack. I’ve spent so many hours at the barrier this week, the post office is delivering my mail there. I want to clear up a few things and then I’ll go.” He crossed his heart and then held up his hand. “I swear.”

  Devlin’s hand shot out to sweep D.J.’s feet off the desk. “I’ll give you ten minutes and then you’d better be gone. Don’t make me bring Laurel in on this. I bet she’ll bring one of those extra-large syringes with her if I ask nicely.”

  “Fine, but using your wife as a threat is really low, Devlin, and you know it. Now go bother someone else so I can get packed up.”

  He tossed his toy back on the desk and started keyboarding at his usual lightning-fast pace. His search brought up nothing. His elusive quarry had once again evaded D.J.’s attempts to track him. Well, D.J. could work just as well from home as he could from the office. At least at the apartment, he had a cold six-pack waiting for him and his favorite pizza parlor on speed dial.

  He shoved the laptop into its case and grabbed his jacket. “I’m out of here.”

  Devlin looked up from where he’d been conferring with his fellow Paladin Trahern.

  “Take tomorrow and the next day off, too,” Devlin said. “If I need you, I’ll call.”

  D.J. waved at his friends. “Sounds good.”

  Not really, but he wouldn’t get anywhere by arguing. Besides, they both knew that there was no predicting how long the barrier would behave. At the first sign of instability, Devlin would be calling everyone in. That’s how things were for them: hours of brutal warfare alternating with hours of boredom.

  Outside, the cool air felt good as he headed toward the parking garage to get his truck. Some of the guys had talked about meeting up at the local watering hole for a few cold ones, but he wasn’t in the mood. Crowds made him edgy at the best of times, and that was the last thing he needed right now. He punched the button on his key to unlock the truck and tossed his computer over onto the passenger seat.

  Traffic was on the light side, so the trip to his apartment up on Capitol Hill went faster than usual. After parking the truck, he took the steps up to his apartment two at a time. Once inside, he cranked up the stereo. As soon as he punched the button, the sound of steel guitar and fiddles filled the air. Lately he’d been liking more twang in his music.

  He found himself really relating to the lyrics about a lover who only existed in the singer’s dreams. It had been a long while since he’d had more than a casual relationship with a woman. Most of the time, the best he could hope for was hooking up with someone who wanted a few nights of hot sex and no commitment. In his experience, women like that were rare enough to belong on the endangered species list.

  He popped the top on a beer and ordered his pizza, tacking a second one on to the order more out of habit than need. It used to be that he could count on friends stopping by to watch whatever sport was in season. Lately, though, his closest buddies had good reasons for sticking closer to home. Devlin had married their Handler, Dr. Laurel Young. Trahern had hooked up with the daughter of one of the Regents, and Cullen had an instant family he’d brought back from his foray into another world.

  Even the two Kalith warriors who’d become part of the inner circle of the Paladins were now paired off with human women. Hell, Larem was even going to be a father soon. No one had seen that coming.

  After hanging up the phone, D.J. wandered toward his media room. The glow of computer screens and the soft hum of hard drives always soothed him. Or at least they used to when he was still king of the cyberworld. He briefly hesitated in the doorway. If his stalker wanted to meet in a cyberbar, fine. Determined to prove his supremacy in the world of hackers, he headed for his favorite computer and prepared for battle.

  Chapter 2

  Reggie’s pulse stuttered a bit. She’d been waiting for hours for the Knightwalker to make his presence known. The second he’d entered the room, she’d felt the familiar sizzle of high-octane energy that came from the hunt.

  Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Bracing herself for a lively encounter, she watched as her newest avatar strolled up to the bar to order a drink. This model had fiery red hair, bright blue eyes, and an athletic build. She’d chosen the redhead because she was everything Reggie wasn’t—tall, voluptuous, and a guy magnet.

  Her avatar deliberately ignored the man at the other end of the counter. Granted, she couldn’t be sure it was really D.J. because the avatar wasn’t the Knightwalker’s usual one. The previous model had the overdone muscles of a bodybuilder. This one was tall, with broad shoulders, looking more realistic than his norm.

  He made no move to approach her, leaving Reggie no choice but to wander back to the table she’d staked out in the corner. That didn’t mean the Knightwalker was ignoring her though. Maybe she was imagining things, but as soon as he looked at her, she could swear the temperature in the cyberroom rose ten degrees.

  Every incarnation the Knightwalker used was hotter than the last. This one had dark brown hair that brushed his collar and dark chocolate eyes that secretly followed her every move. The two avatars had yet to actually engage; instead, they circled each other, watching for any sign of weakness. So far, those had been few and far between.

  Finally the teasing dance ended as the handsome avatar picked up his drink and headed straight toward her table, against the back wall. After setting his drink down, he straddled the chair next to hers.

  The Knightwalker’s smile sent a sweet chill of awareness through her. It was as if this encounter was taking place in real time, in a real place, instead of online.

  “It’s about time we introduced ourselves, don’t you think?”

  She manipulated her cyberself carefully to look at him more directly, aiming for cool and detached. “Any particular reason?”

  He arched a brow. “Because you’re the one who’s been yanking my chain. I thought it would be nice to put a name to the talent.”

  “I already know who you are.” She smiled and added, “Knightwalker.”

  He actually looked disappointed. Had he really expected her to admit to knowing his real name? “Okay, lady, so what should I call you?”

  “Ruby will do for tonight.”

  He shook his head and downed the rest of his drink before standing up. “’Bye, Ruby.”

  She didn’t like watching him walk away. She tried one more time. “Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

  “Because I don’t have much use for cowards, Reggie.”

  She swallowed hard. “I said to call me Ruby.”

  The avatar shook his head. “You’ve been taunting me for weeks with your cryptic little e-mails. Now that I’ve found out your real name, you still want to hide behind your avatar. That hardly seems fair.”

  He started walking away again, but then stopped to look back one last time. “When you’re ready to really play, you know where to find me.”

 
; Then his avatar blinked out of existence, leaving both Reggie and Ruby alone and confused.

  D.J. shut off his monitor, feeling better than he had in ages. Nothing like confronting the enemy directly to raise the stakes in the game. He’d suspected for a while that the hacker who’d been chasing him was one of the avatars he’d encountered in the gaming rooms. Even now, he knew little more about the hacker than the name Reggie.

  This time the avatar was female, but that didn’t mean much. More than once he’d used either demon or female designs to hide his own identity. Reggie could’ve chosen the gorgeous redhead just to attract his attention. But now that he had a name to work with, it would be only a matter of time before he located Reggie in the real world. Of course, the name could be another fake, but his instincts told him differently. Now the real games could begin.

  He reached for one last piece of pizza, not caring that it was cold and a bit past its prime. After a couple of bites, he tossed the rest back in the box. It was definitely time for some shut-eye. Maybe if Lacey was right about the barrier remaining stable, he might even get to sleep in tomorrow.

  No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than his cell phone started vibrating and dancing across the desk. He picked it up without bothering to check the caller ID. Devlin was the only one who would be calling at this time of night. Grabbing his weapons bag, D.J. headed for the front door.

  “I’m on my way.”

  Ten hours later, D.J. fell back against the wall to catch his breath, grateful for the support of the cool stone. His legs burned with exhaustion, and his arms ached from swinging his ax for hours.

  The barrier that separated the tunnels under Seattle from the alien world of Kalithia had decided to prove Lacey’s predictions wrong in a big way. The damn thing had been flickering in and out like an effing strobe light at a seventies disco club.

  D.J. used a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his ax and hung his throwing hammer back on his belt. Now all he could do was wait to see if the barrier would finally make up its mind to behave or if he was going to have to wade through another river of blood before he could find a corner and grab some much needed sleep.

  Trahern staggered over to join him. The man sported a makeshift bandage around his sword arm, but otherwise looked sound. Besides, like all Paladins, he would recover from any wound far faster than a normal human would.

  Hell, even death only slowed them down for a short time.

  Trahern didn’t so much sit down as collapse. “Devlin said the guards would be around soon with food and water. I hope they get here before we have to dance again.”

  D.J. nodded, too tired to talk. At the sound of footsteps, he straightened up and braced himself to fight if it was another straggler being herded back toward the barrier. As soon as he spotted one of the older guards heading in his direction, he relaxed a bit but not entirely.

  Technically the Paladins and the guards fought on the same side, but lately there’d been a lot of tension between the two groups. It had been only a few weeks ago that a new transfer had shot Lonzo and tried to kill one of the Regents who oversaw the entire organization.

  They all knew that most of the guards were on the up-and-up. The trouble was that it was impossible to separate the good from the bad. Until Devlin and the Regents got to the bottom of the conspiracy that infected every level of the organization, they were all being careful about who they trusted.

  The guard was cautious in his approach, holding out two paper bags with grease stains. “Here you go. I’ll stand watch while you two eat. Coffee and bottled water are on the way.”

  “Thanks, Jack.” Trahern accepted both bags and tossed one to D.J.

  Then, in a show of good faith, the guard turned his back to them as he watched the flickering light of the barrier. D.J. sank down on the floor next to his friend, both of them careful to keep their weapons within easy reach. The way things had been going, they’d be lucky to finish half their makeshift meal before the barrier failed again.

  The hamburgers and fries were barely warm, but considering how many hours had passed since he’d eaten that last piece of pizza, they tasted pretty damn good. Trahern wolfed his down and was already reaching for a second burger before D.J. was halfway through his first. Just as promised, another guard came into sight with a sack of bottled water and a thermos of coffee.

  As soon as he spotted them, he veered in their direction. Holding out the sack, he said, “Take a couple of bottles each. No telling how long before I can make rounds again.”

  Then he filled two oversize cups with coffee. “Sorry, they forgot the cream and sugar. Maybe next time.”

  D.J. mustered up a smile. “No sweat. Thanks for this much.”

  The guard wandered on down the tunnel to the next cluster of worn-out warriors. Meanwhile, Trahern nibbled on his fries while watching D.J. out of the corner of his eye. Clearly the man had something on his mind. D.J. wished he’d just spit it out, whatever it was.

  Finally Trahern did just that. “Dev’s worried about you.”

  A flash of frustration gave D.J. a brief surge of energy. “God, not you, too. I swear, everyone has turned into a bunch of nosy old women. I already told Devlin that I’m all right.”

  Sort of, anyway.

  His friend’s pale eyes flashed hot. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. You’ve been moping around here for weeks. Devlin’s not the only one to notice. He’s just the first to speak up.”

  At least Trahern was the kind who normally kept his observations to himself. Anything D.J. told him would remain confidential unless the big man thought it endangered the other Paladins. Unfortunately, D.J. had no idea if Reggie’s incursions were a threat to anything other than his own ego.

  By rights, he should’ve reported the security breach weeks ago, but he’d been convinced he could handle the situation himself. Once he realized he’d come up against someone who was every bit as good as he was, he’d been intrigued. Now he was just worried.

  If he didn’t find some way to block Reggie for good, he’d have to admit his failure and hope that he hadn’t allowed the hacker to do irreparable damage to the Regents’ security. That wasn’t the half of it though. He had no doubt that Reggie was some idiot kid who was in over his head without knowing it. The minute the Regents got involved, the kid wouldn’t know what hit him.

  “I’ve been having trouble with some computer programs I’ve been working on, and it keeps me up nights. Between the barrier being unstable and my mind revving a million miles an hour, I’m not getting enough sleep.”

  True enough. Now if Trahern would accept his explanation D.J. would be all right for the time being. His friend picked up a few more fries, but he was frowning big time as he ate them. He looked as if he was about to say something else when a flash of light had both warriors scrambling back to their feet and grabbing their weapons.

  It was a hell of a thing to be grateful for the barrier failing, but as D.J. charged forward, his ax at the ready, that’s exactly how he felt.

  Reggie stretched her arms over her head and sighed as she worked out the stiffness that came from sitting at her computer for too long. The sun was rapidly disappearing over the horizon, and the evening air was definitely chillier than it had been only an hour before. Time to head back inside.

  After setting her laptop on the desk, she went into the kitchen to zap some leftover pizza in the microwave. While it did its thing, she poured herself a glass of wine and considered her options. She’d worked four tens that week, so tonight was the start of her weekend. She was definitely entitled to kick back and relax a bit. Maybe watch a movie or read a book.

  Her eyes strayed back to where she’d left her computer. No use in lying to herself. Once she refueled, she’d be right back at the keyboard. Call it an obsession but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed tracking an adversary this much.

  Yeah, come Monday she’d be back on company time where she’d have to report any progress she’d made to her
boss. But now, at home and on her own dime, she could enjoy the challenge the Knightwalker presented while ignoring any guilt about having to bring his career to an abrupt halt.

  She finished off the last of her dinner and cleaned up the kitchen before sitting down at her desk. Maybe her efforts would be more productive this time. She’d been checking out the Knightwalker’s usual haunts for hours but with no luck.

  Where did D. J. Clayborne go when he disappeared for days at a time? Did he have another online persona she’d yet to uncover? Somehow she didn’t think so. He was too confident in his abilities to go into hiding now.

  While she’d been hunting earlier, she had discovered an interesting link though. Maybe she’d do some more exploring to see if she could find a way to break through some pretty powerful firewalls. She had no doubt they were some of D.J.’s handiwork.

  Following the same links she’d tracked before, she soon cracked the code and stumbled across a report written by someone named Brenna Nichols. She snagged her favorite stress reliever ball and worked it with her left hand as she scanned the introduction.

  Why was that name so familiar? She tossed the ball back on the desk and started typing.

  A quick search brought up several popular nonfiction books written by a woman of that name, the last one released three years before. This particular Brenna Nichols was a historian who specialized in making history come alive for the general public.

  If this was her next book, why was it hidden in a bunch of corporate files? And who were these Regents the document referred to? For sure they didn’t appear to be connected to any university. There was only one way to find out.

  Before logging off, Reggie saved the report to her flash drive and made a hard copy. When the printer quit running, it had spewed out more than a hundred pages of information. She curled up on the couch and started reading.

  Two hours and a pot of tea later, Reggie set the stack of paper on the coffee table. She stared up at the ceiling as she tried to make sense of the report. It read like nonfiction, complete with footnotes, even though the subject matter clearly belonged on the urban-fantasy shelf at the bookstore. The premise was ridiculous. Whoever heard of modern-day Paladins who guarded the world against invasion, armed with nothing more than swords?