He’d never let me down, but I guess there was a first time for everything.
Okay, time to do my thing. I ran down the slope toward the fence, drawing darkness to me as I went—a trick Killion had taught me, one that utilized the shining ones’ magic that saturated our air. It stung my nostrils and clung to the back of my throat. I breathed it in, ignoring the burn as the magic separated and coated me, doing my will by attracting the darkness to me. To the outside eye, I was invisible, nothing more than a patch of darkness. I was a shadow with free will, a ninja hurtling toward an electrified fucking fence. Time to leap. I used the darkness as a stepping stool, allowing it to solidify for me and fling me upward and over the barrier.
Pretty nifty for a human, huh? Took months to learn, though. Killion almost despaired that I’d never master the skill. I recalled the fight we’d had over it. What had he expected? I was a measly human after all, but Killion was adamant that the magic was there to be used by all, if only we knew how.
I was totally going to teach Nina how to do this when she was older. Okay, so I’d have to convince Killion to allow me to pass on the skill, but if I fluttered my lashes just right, I could—
Whoa, what was that movement across the parking lot?
No, just my imagination. I made it to the building and scanned the windows for an opening.
Warehouse windows were high up, and people didn’t usually bother checking if they were closed because who was going to be able to scale a smooth wall?
Me, that’s who, and lo and behold, there was a window open a crack. Time to do some scaling. The shadows slid up the wall, taking me with them until I was level with the window and able to peer in.
The main lights were off, but there were some lights on over the other side of the warehouse. There were boxes everywhere, piled onto shelves, and onto those forklift thingies they used to move stuff around the warehouse. Everything would be loaded up and shipped to the various stores in the market soon, but right now, it was all sitting here for the taking.
My gut told me I was alone, so I climbed through the window and landed lightly on the rafters. Nimble was my middle name. Or it should be. Danika Nimble Chandra. Nah, that sounded ridiculous.
The metal beams were wide enough to run along. I stopped over the nearest unit and then lowered myself to the top of the massive stacks. There weren’t too many boxes all the way up here. I wanted flour and rice, and those would be kept on the lower shelves.
I climbed down soundlessly, using the darkness to cradle me. The base of my neck pinched, warning me to ease up on the magic use. There was a physical cost to overuse of magic, especially for humans, and it was different for everyone. For me, it was an adverse effect on my vision. The last time I’d overused my little skill, I’d ended up blind for a day. I’d called in sick to work and spent the day in bed to avoid questions.
Not making that mistake again.
Releasing my grip on the magic, I ran down the aisle looking for what I needed. There we were, sacks and sacks of flour and rice. Perfect. I pulled the magic bag from my pocket and began to load up.
This would be so much quicker with help. The flour and rice weren’t heavy once in the bag, but getting them in the bag was no easy feat alone. In the end, I laid the magic bag open on the ground and literally threw in items.
Had I got enough? Probably. I should leave, but then I spied the luxury aisle. Argh, chocolate. Nina and Joti deserve chocolate. Grabbing the sack, I ran lightly across the empty space and ducked into the opposite aisle. As I loaded up, I imagined my sisters, faces bright with excitement as I handed them the treats. I was tempted to unwrap a bar and taste it right now. Should I?
My scalp prickled, and then the lights dimmed even more. Shit, someone was here.
Time to make a hasty exit.
Shoving the magic bag in my pocket, I scanned the aisle, looking for movement. All was still and silent. Was I mistaken? Maybe the lights were on a timer? Idiot. It had to be a timer.
Still, best to leave.
I grabbed the shelving, ready to hoist myself up when hot breath brushed the back of my neck.
“Boo!”
Ice gripped my heart. I let go of the shelf, hit the ground with my boots, and fell into a crouch, daggers at the ready.
Not alone.
They had me surrounded, rising out of the gloom like obsidian ghosts. Except they weren’t ghosts—ghosts, I can handle—these were something else.
Umbra.
The shadow guards that worked for the Winter Court. Everything I knew about Umbra rushed up to crowd my mind now. They were the guards and protectors to the shining ones. They remained hidden at all times unless they intended to do harm. They said once you saw an Umbra, you didn’t live to tell the tale, which always made me wonder who told the tale in the first place? And why were my thoughts going off on a tangent when I was about to get my ass handed to me? Because the fact the Umbra had shown themselves told me they intended to attack.
I was so screwed.
They were huge, hulking figures. Obsidian wraiths with claw-tipped fingers and they were moving in on me.
“Intruder,” a gravelly voice said.
“Thief,” another voice crooned.
“You take what does not belong to you,” the first voice said.
“The penalty for your crime is death,” a new voice sing-songed with glee.
I held up my hands. “Whoa, there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“You were not stealing?” the gravelly voice asked, sounding almost perplexed.
I held up my arms. “If I was stealing, wouldn’t I be carrying…stuff.”
There was silence as they absorbed this information. Yeah, work through that one. I searched my memory. Were Umbra intelligent? My question was answered a moment later.
“I sense magic,” the sing-song voice…well, sing-songed.
“Empty out your pockets, human,” gravelly Umbra ordered.
Eek. If they saw the enchanted sack, they’d know what it was. They’d sense the magic radiating off it. But there was nothing else I could do. I gripped my daggers tighter. Not ordinary daggers, but a gift from Killion. The blades were made of silver woven with obsidian lava, the only element said to harm an Umbra, and one so rare it was almost extinct. Best sixteenth birthday present ever.
I had no choice but to fight. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
And I meant it because they were just doing their jobs. They belonged to the court, and they had no choice but to obey their masters.
Laughter followed my statement. “You? Hurt us?” gravel voice said. “No, human. I’m afraid it is you who must die.”
I guess I should be grateful they’d held off on tearing me to shreds to begin with. The Umbra surged toward me, and my heart leaped into my throat, but I was ready to fight till the bitter end.
A shiver rushed up my spine, alerting me to Killion’s presence a moment before his voice blasted in my head.
Duck!
I obeyed, evading the swipe of claws I hadn’t seen coming. The Umbra screamed as I made a break for it. I could sense them on my tail, above me, and parallel to me. But Killion was beside me, and then his arm was around my waist, lifting me off the ground and carrying me upward. The Umbra behind us rushed past beneath us and then twisted to glare up at us. It had no eyes, but I knew it saw us.
Shit, he’d seen Killion, and I knew in my gut that was a bad, bad thing.
“They won’t live to tell the tale,” Killion said.
And then he dropped me on top of a unit and spun to attack the Umbra in the air. For a moment, I was captivated by the beautiful symmetry and grace of his form as he tore the guards into ribbons of darkness that floated in the air before fluttering to the ground and reassembling. Shit, of course. An Umbra could only be killed by obsidian lava. How would he kill them? We had to kill them all. Otherwise, the Middale Council and the Winter Court would know about him, and every part of me screamed that would be a very bad thing.
/> He’d never said so, but I knew he didn’t belong here, shouldn’t be here. I knew he stayed for me, and right now, he was surrounded. An Umbra slashed at him, and Killion arched his back and bellowed in pain.
Get out. Get out now.
Shit, shit, shit, shit.
The Umbra were batting at him, playing with him like cats with a ball of yarn.
“What is it?”
“Why is it?”
Dammit, Danika, go.
Like fuck! “Hey! Over here, you dumb Umbra!”
The Umbra turned to look my way, and then white glowing eyes popped open in all their heads, chilling me to the bone. Shit.
“NO!” Killion slashed at the Umbra, grabbing at them as they flew toward me, but they were powerful. Stronger than him.
But maybe not stronger than us together.
A cool calm settled over me, and everything fell into slow motion. It was as if I could anticipate every breath of air, every move my opponents were about to make. My body took over, and my daggers cut a swath through the nearest guard, tearing him in two. He attempted to knit himself back together, but that wasn’t happening, because I wasn’t done. Hands moving so fast they were almost a blur, I shredded him with my twin blades.
Killion fought in my periphery, shredding a second guard, but my blades were needed to end the Umbra. We worked as a team where Killion maimed, and I finished off until the warehouse was as silent as the grave.
I stood on the top of the unit, chest heaving, blood rushing in my veins like lava toward the peak of a volcano.
“Okay,” Killion said. “It’s okay now, Danika. You can stand down.”
I blinked slow and sluggish, and then the world snapped into focus. What had happened hit me like a sledgehammer, and my body dissolved into tremors. My knees buckled, but Killion caught me.
“I have you, Danika. It’s okay. I have you.”
8
The snow began to fall heavier as we jogged toward my house. “Where were you? You promised to be there.”
“And I came. I’m sorry I was late,” Killion said.
His flippant tone rankled, and my hands curled into fists. “We almost died.”
“You shouldn’t have gone in alone.”
Was he trying to make this my fault? “I thought you weren’t coming.”
“Have I ever let you down?”
Urgh, he had a point.
“Do not doubt me, Danika. Never doubt me.”
There was an edge to his tone, reproach and anger, and it made me feel instantly small. Okay, so maybe I should have held off. Waited a little longer.
“I wasn’t expecting there to be Umbra guards.” He was silent, and my pace slowed as the real reason for my disquiet surfaced. “You could have been killed.”
He made a strange sound—part snort, part laugh. It was a derisive sound that made my hackles rise.
“What? You can’t be killed now?”
“It’s not that,” he said.
“Then what?”
“Nothing.”
I was tired and fed up and elated all at the same time because we had what we’d gone for. “It doesn’t matter. We have the food.”
“And you’re safe,” Killion said. His blue eyes grew bright, and he stepped closer. He cupped my shoulders, and then his breath kissed my forehead. “I’m glad you’re safe. So very glad.”
There was sincerity in his tone that warmed my blood. I wanted to hug him, to wrap my arms around his shadow waist, but I knew how that would end. He could touch me if he wished, but when I instigated contact, my hands would pass through his form as if he was made of smoke.
Hug me. I willed it so hard it made my temples throb. His fingers tightened on my shoulders, and for a moment, I thought I’d done it. I’d willed him to do my bidding. But then he released me and stepped away.
“Get some sleep, Danika. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He melted into the darkness, leaving me to trudge the rest of the way home alone.
Baba was awake when I entered the house. He looked up from his seat by the fire, exhaling with relief, but then he looked down at my hands, empty of any boxes or goods, and a slight frown marred his forehead.
I smiled and pulled the enchanted sack from my pocket. “Baba, want to see something cool?”
9
The red letter was sitting on the doormat on Monday morning, and the heat of triumph over the success of the heist evaporated.
I’d hoped.
I’d convinced myself.
I’d been wrong.
One of my sisters was chosen.
One of them would be hunted tonight.
Baba took the envelope into the kitchen and sat at the table with it. The girls still had another half hour in bed before they had to be up and ready for school.
Cursing fate was pointless. This was happening, and I needed to steel my heart. I needed to be strong.
Ma wrung her hands. “Open it.”
It had to be Joti. She had a chance. If it was Joti, then I’d keep her home from school and go over some basics with her. Fuck the damn Hunt celebration. I’d remind her of the terrain and hidey-holes.
“Tell us who it is,” Ma pleaded.
She was too pale, and her bottom lip quivered.
Baba pulled the card out of the envelope, and I knew the answer from the dull sheen in his eyes even before he spoke the words.
“Nina.” His throat bobbed. “Nina has been chosen.”
“Chosen for what?” Nina said from the doorway, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “What is that?” She took in the red envelope and then her eyes widened in comprehension. “The Hunt… Is that the Hunt selection?” She took a step back. “I have to be hunted?”
I met her gaze. “Yes, babe. You do.”
“No!” She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “I won’t go. You can’t make me. I won’t.” She turned and hobbled away.
Ma burst into tears, and Baba looked at me.
“Danika, will you speak to her. Explain…things.”
Explain that if she refused to participate, they’d come for her, and when they did, there would be no option to run. Her punishment would be death.
Rage swallowed my thoughts for a moment, and hot embers pricked my chest. I wanted to burn the Hunt down and dance on their ashes. But I was nothing. No one. I was powerless. All I could do was instill faith into my sister’s heart.
I pushed back my seat and stood stiffly. “I’ll speak to her.”
Nina sat on her bed, sobbing.
“What is it?” Joti asked her. “Nina, what happened.”
“Nina’s been chosen to participate in the Hunt.”
Joti stared at me in shock, then her chin quivered, and she burst into tears. She climbed onto Nina’s bed and wrapped her arms around her.
The two girls hugged and cried, and my heart fractured. I lifted my chin and swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Joti, I need a minute with Nina.”
Joti shook her head.
“Joti!” There was a snap to my voice, and Joti immediately released her sister.
“You have to do something. You have to stop it,” she pleaded.
It killed me that they thought I had that kind of power, that they looked up to me to protect them. It killed me to have to say, “I can’t.”
Joti dissolved into a fresh wave of sobs, but Nina wiped her eyes and took a shuddering breath.
“If I don’t go, they’ll come for me, won’t they?”
“Yes.”
“They’ll punish me.”
“Yes.”
“Kill me.” Her voice quivered.
Oh, God. “You have to take part, but you’ll run and hide, and you’ll hide well, do you hear me?” I sat on Joti’s bed and leaned forward to speak earnestly. “Remember the map I showed you. The hidey-holes. We’ll go over them again. You’ll hide, and you will make it to dawn, got me?”
She nodded, and I watched in awe as my baby sister worked through the fear, shut
ting it down and thinking it through. I knew the moment she resigned herself and resolved to fight. Her chin stopped trembling, and her eyes took on a hard edge.
“Can I take knives?” she asked.
My smile was grim. “Hell, yes, you can.”
Midnight until dawn.
That’s when the Hunt would ride.
Participants were given an hour’s head start. How did the Hunt know if you left early? I had no idea. They just did, and those runners were never seen again. Everyone else was ordered to stay inside.
Joti had loaned Nina her expensive running shoes, and I’d dressed her in black, adding camouflage to her face to help her blend into the night. She had a pack containing supplies, and I’d customized one of my guard holsters and added four throwing daggers to it. Still, even with all the prep, Nina looked small and frail, standing in the lounge.
Baba had killed the lights just as they told us to do. The street outside would be deathly silent as everyone waited in their homes for the final package before the Hunt began. This one was for us, the family of the participant.
The letterbox flapped, and something hit the mat.
Baba straightened and left the room to retrieve it.
A brown envelope sealed with red wax and the Hunt’s emblem. Baba broke the seal and pulled out the vials. Five vials, one for each of us except Nina.
He passed two to Ma.
“I’ll take this up to Rav.” She hurried up the stairs.
Baba uncorked a vial and handed it to Joti. “Drink it.”
She did as told.
Baba stroked Nina’s cheek, his eyes wet with unshed tears as he drank from his vial. Ma returned without any vials. She’d already taken hers.
All eyes turned to me.
“Danika?” Baba frowned. “You must drink.”
I stared at the vial and its clear contents. It contained the happy place. It contained the oblivion of sleep.
Everyone drank.
The whole district.
Everyone except the thirteen chosen. Why? So there would be no witnesses. So that there would be no help for the poor teens chosen to run.
Taste My Wrath (The Iron Fae Book 1) Page 6
