The Dark Matters Quartet

by Claire Robyns

  Kelan shoved a hand through his hair. “Is this about the rune?”

  “Of course this is about the rune,” she blew out on a sigh. “The moment you had that tattoo inked to your skin, you stripped me of a choice and you didn’t even think to mention it.”

  “Lily, it isn’t…” His hand dragged down the back of his head, his jaw crooked. “It’s more complicated than that.”

  “Fine, then tell me. How is it complicated, Kelan? Let’s discuss it.”

  “Are you honestly suggesting we should risk you falling pregnant now? When our world is on the brink of falling into a war with demons?”

  “You know very well that is not what I’m suggesting,” she retorted. “I am in full agreement with you on that score, but I would have appreciated the opportunity to agree before rather than after the fact.”

  “And?”

  She threw her hands up. “And what?”

  “I assume the full extent of this argument is based on more than a single point we both agree on,” he said.

  Oh, dear Lord! She spun away from him, exasperated beyond words. Her pulse throbbed at her temple. The man was a stone wall that blunted her ability to reason. Her spine stiffened. Not this time.

  “I don’t know how to do this, Kelan.” She dropped down onto the edge of the bed, her palms splayed flat over the silken sheet as she tilted her head to look him in the eye. “I don’t know how to be a wife in a marriage when one half is a barricaded void.”

  Kelan closed the distance between them with a slow stride, his brow creasing as his gaze sank into her.

  “Tell me what you need,” he said, his voice gravel with sincerity. “I’ll do my utmost to accommodate you.”

  A dry, bitter laugh spurted from her. She truly didn’t know what was worse, the things Kelan said or that he actually said them with the best intentions.

  “If that’s the best you have to offer, to accommodate me, it’s not enough.” She shook her head at him.

  He came to sit beside her, one leg squared on top of the bed so he faced her. “Then tell me.”

  Lily sighed. “I need to be accounted for, Kelan. I don’t expect you to love me, or cherish me, but if you want this marriage to be more than in name only, then I need you to invest some small part of yourself in it.”

  The silence lingered, thickened with every heartbeat that passed as he looked at her, until finally he broke the silence with a soft murmur.

  “Have I not told you?” He lifted one of her hands into his, slowly entwining their fingers until their hands were locked, his gaze warming into her. “I care deeply for you, Lily. My life has never been my own to live, but I never regretted that until the day I met you.”

  Lily blinked, suddenly overcome with emotion. Of all the responses she’d expected, this confession was beyond her wildest imagination. If this was what Kelan really felt, he’d hidden it well. But… But she knew Kelan well enough by now to know that he never lied about matters such as this, not to pave a smoother path for himself, not to simply make her happy, certainly not to keep her in his bed.

  He leant in to sweep a light, tender kiss over her mouth and she couldn’t help it. Her heart blossomed, threatening to swell right out of her chest.

  FIVE

  Lily was delighted to discover Greyston hadn’t come alone. Georgina was a fresh breath of female companionship in a castle overrun with soldiers. But she wasn’t their only surprise guest for the day.

  They were just finishing their midday meal when Mrs. Locke interrupted to announce the arrival of Keither McAllister.

  Kelan’s face went slack, then hardened into a grimace. He muttered something barely audible, but Lily was sure she made out Armand’s name, something about having the damned man drawn and quartered.

  “What is it?” She touched his arm. “Who is Keither?”

  Kelan’s grimace tightened. Whether he intended to answer or not became a moot point as a silver haired man surged around Mrs. Locke, his presence dominating the cavernous dining hall. Tall and distinguished, shoulders straight and broad beneath the exquisite cut of his suit despite the advanced years evidenced in his weathered face. Eyes still sharp, and a familiar shade of navy that sent a jolt to Lily’s pulse.

  Kelan pushed to his feet and turned. “Father.”

  A whisper of a smile crossed the man’s stern mouth, there and gone. “It’s good to see you, Kelan.”

  They hugged briefly, stiffly. Lily couldn’t tear her eyes from the pair. Kelan never spoke of his father, of his family. They seemed very formal, uncomfortable with each other. Then again, what did she know of relationships between a father and child?

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Kelan said.

  “I’m not dead yet, son.” The man stepped to the side, his gaze darting between Lily and Georgina. “And which of you lovely ladies is my daughter-in-law?”

  Lily gave a wan smile and rose. That was all she had time for before Kelan took charge, introducing everyone at the table, reserving her for last. He settled a proprietary hand on the small of her back as he steered her from the table to stand before his father.

  “Sir,” Lily said, swallowing with some difficulty at the scrutinizing gaze that bore into her. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet. Kelan has told me so…”

  The lie crumbled on her tongue. She resisted the urge to fidget beneath his stare, an assessing stare that felt like an invasion. Dear Lord, she half expected him to force her mouth open and examine her teeth like a filly he’d just bought. Or whip out a measuring stick to take the measure of her child bearing hips.

  But no, of course not, this wasn’t about her suitability to be his son’s wife. He must know about her demon blood. And he was a McAllister. He was far more interested in her abilities as their demon sniffer.

  Just when she thought she had the latest McAllister in her life all figured out, he did the most extraordinary thing. He threw both his arms around her and wrapped her in a suffocating hug.

  Only for a moment, and then he drew apart to look at her with a warm, satisfied expression. “Welcome to my family, daughter.”

  Lily blinked, no longer sure what to think.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse us,” he said, sweeping a look across the room, apparently taking firm charge of Kelan’s castle, “I need to drag my son away for a long overdue update on our current state of affairs. It would seem,” he went on, speaking to Kelan as they walked out, “I’ve arrived not a moment too soon.”

  “Well,” Georgina said, arching a brow at their departing backs. “That was interesting.”

  Greyston chuckled, but the look he gave Lily was absolutely sober. “It’s as well I’m leaving for Es Vedra this afternoon and decided not to spend the night here. I don’t think I could stomach two of them under one roof.”

  “Es Vedra?” Lily rounded her eyes on him. That was his home, some island off the coast of Spain. What of his search for the Gossamer? She had to bite her tongue in Georgina’s company, however, unsure how much Greyston had divulged. Nothing about demons, that much she knew. They’d already tried to tell the truth to both Georgina and Devon, and that had been a dismal failure. Greyston had had to rewind the entire conversation.

  “Only for a few days, Lily,” Greyston said. “A short reprieve from this infernal goose chase.”

  “Oh, is that what the trip to Es Vedra really is?” Georgina gave a hearty laugh, then winked at Lily. “The way he explained it to me, it’s meant to be a romantic interlude.”

  The tips of Lily’s ears overheated. She supposed some part of her already knew they were engaged in an affair. Georgina had spent the past week on the Red Hawk, for goodness sake. But knowing and openly confronting the topic were worlds apart.

  Greyston reached out to slide a copper curl from Georgina’s cheek with his thumb, looking deep into her eyes as he drawled, “Just be grateful you won’t be spending all your time in chains, wench.”

  “Greyston!” Lily exclaimed, too horrified to guess what exactly he mea
nt.

  “Don’t you know?” Georgina sent her a cheeky smile. “I’m his captive. I’ve been thoroughly kidnapped.”

  “I didn’t know.” Lily frowned at Greyston, who merely returned a lopsided grin that reminded her of every thought she’d ever had of him as a blackguard and a thug. An incredibly handsome, charming one, naturally. She sighed, shaking her head. “Honestly, I don’t think I want to.”

  “Probably wise.” Georgina stood, smoothing down her gown as she smiled at Greyston. “I’m in dire need of exercise. Why don’t we all take a walk to that town I saw at the bottom of the hill?”

  Lily had other plans for Greyston. With him leaving this afternoon already, and Kelan and his father ensconced in the library, right now seemed like the perfect time. Thankfully, Georgina was easily persuaded to separate from Greyston for a couple of hours and accept another escort for her walk into town.

  Electric coils flooded the space with yellow light and Kelan had installed central heating, but no amount of technology could completely disguise the laboratory for what it was. A dungeon, the walls and ceiling reinforced with solid iron, buried beneath the ruins of the original Castle Cragloden.

  Ana lay on the workbench, the rivets along the side of her ribcage removed and the celluloid covered steel plate stripped back to reveal the inner mechanisms of her chest. Neco gently connected Ana’s tubing to the bypass system Armand had invented. The bypass circulatory system drained and preserved the flow of Ana’s own memory sap while the sap from Duncan McAllister’s recording box was pumped into her.

  Lily hated the procedure, but it was the only way in which they could interrogate the information from the recording box

  Once he was done, Neco curled his fingers around Ana’s and gave a grim look at no one in particular, awaiting the command to switch the bypass system on, to start draining Ana’s memory sap.

  Celludrones didn’t experience emotions, not true ones, but every time they found themselves at this point, Neco’s jaw strained and the hand not holding onto Ana clenched into a tight fist. They didn’t experience true emotions, but they were a product of intelligence with decision making abilities. They were the sum of all the memories they’d made throughout their lives. Put that all together, and they cared, worried, loved as much as any brain function was involved in human emotion.

  Neco didn’t need to be here. Armand had taught Lily how to hook Ana up to the system and start the process. But Neco wanted this. He’d asked to be informed, he’d asked to be in attendance, and Lily couldn’t deny him that wish even though she never knew quite how to comfort him at this point. He didn’t know, of course, that Greyston would rewind everything. He didn’t know about Greyston’s ability at all.

  So far as Neco knew, he never flipped the switch. Lily always changed her mind at the last moment, decided not to go ahead with the memory sap replacement.

  “Stop looking as if you’re rusting from the toes on up,” Greyston said to his man. “Ana will be fine.”

  “The odds of that are decreasing,” Neco said in his usual flat voice, no inflection to indicate the worry etched into his strained jaw. “Every time we stand here, Grey, the odds increase that Lady Lily will go through with it.”

  “Trust me,” Lily said softly.

  “Fearing the worst is worse than the worst happening.” Neco’s gaze came to her. “I never understood the logic of that philosophy, until now.”

  “It’s called apprehension,” Greyston muttered.

  “Yes.” Neco inclined his head, thinking that through. “Apprehension.”

  “Don’t be afraid,” Ana spoke up, tugging at their joined hands to draw Neco’s attention. “I’m not.”

  “You have less to be afraid of,” Neco said to her. “When Lady Lily finally decides to complete the procedure, I will be the one left with all our memories. And each day she doesn’t decide is another day of new memories that you will lose and I will have to hold.”

  Lily’s heart plummeted like a stone. Dear Lord, how had she missed this? She’d thought it was only these few minutes that lingered each time to torment Neco, but he carried this worry with him every minute of every day. She’d wanted to respect his wishes, but now she realised she was doing more harm than good.

  “Then let’s do this now,” she told him. “I promise you, Ana will come to no harm. I would never allow that. And this will be the last time.”

  “No.” Greyston stepped forward. “That’s a lie, Lily. We both know this won’t be the last time.”

  She glared at him. Of course it wouldn’t be, but Neco didn’t have to know that. He didn’t need to suffer. Ana would agree to keep these weekly appointments secret. “What do you suggest?” she said hotly.

  His brow furrowed as he looked at her, his face darkening as the moment stretched. Then he shook his head, folded his arms, turned that look on Neco. “There’s something I should have told you long ago. I can rewind time by half an hour.”

  Ana made a strange noise.

  Neco said nothing, simply looked at Greyston with a blank expression. The tension in his jaw eased, but Lily wasn’t sure that was from relief. When Neco went this still, it usually meant he was processing, computing statistics and percentages, searching through his memory sap for an answer to match his question.

  Lily released a slow breath. Greyston had never told another soul, except for her but that had been unavoidable and beyond his control. Whatever his reasons for keeping this knowledge from Neco, she was eternally grateful he’d had a change of mind.

  “We have hooked Ana up successfully many times,” Greyston continued, “and interrogated the recording box’s memory sap, but we always keep the session to less than half an hour so I can rewind us to this moment, right here, just before you flip the switch to start the circulatory bypass.”

  “You can travel back in time.” Neco said. “Rewind the dimension of time.”

  “Only by half an hour,” Greyston confirmed. “And only once within each twenty-four hour period. The time distortion seems to create a ripple that must dissipate before I can disturb it again.”

  Neco processed a few more minutes. “That is not possible.”

  “Not scientifically,” Lily agreed. “Greyston’s ability is not a technological invention. It is linked to his demon blood.”

  “Does that mean you can also rewind time?” Ana asked.

  Lily shook her head. “But if I’m holding onto Greyston, I am taken back with him and remain aware of the dual time lines. No one else is.”

  They spoke around the topic a little bit more, but there wasn’t really much more to say. When they were ready to move on, Neco switched on Armand’s machine without the customary hesitation. He’d lived a life with Greyston and clearly had no experience, no memory, to give him cause for distrust. As bizarre as the concept of rewinding time was, Neco accepted it as Greyston’s truth.

  It took ten minutes for the recording box’s memory sap to fully displace Ana’s, and Lily used that time to tell Greyston what information she was hoping to uncover. “Both Kelan and his uncle Duncan believes that the names of the two King Demons held captive here were Gamgos and Raimlas.”

  “Raimlas, yes—”

  “Precisely,” she cut in. “The memory box has told us that the other demon was in fact Gorgon. There could have been a third demon, or there’s confusion about the names.”

  Greyston shrugged. “You think it’s important?”

  “Perhaps not,” she said. “But it’s niggling me and besides, this last week has been a muddle. I haven’t had a chance to prepare other questions. Have you?”

  “Bigger things on my mind,” he said vaguely.

  Which could mean Georgina, but likely meant he merely hadn’t bothered. He seldom did.

  Lily turned her mind to the specific questions she needed to ask. Extracting information from the memory box was a fussy task. Knowing which questions to ask was sometimes as impossible as magically knowing the answers. It would be so much easier i
f she could just say, ‘Tell me everything,’ but she couldn’t. Or maybe she could, but there were thousands of hours of recorded data there and that would take a lifetime with her allocated twenty minute periods.

  “She’s ready,” Neco announced.

  Lily and Greyston gathered closer around the workbench. “Ana?”

  “Yes,” answered the celludrone named Ana. She retained all the initial data she’d been created with, but none of the memories she’d been storing since her first waking moment.

  Lily leaned over her. “What are the names of the two demons in the cage?”

  “Raimlas,” Ana replied. “Gorgon.”

  “Was there a third demon called Gamgos?”

  “No.”

  “Who is Gamgos?” Greyston asked.

  Ana blinked up at him. “Gorgon gave that name when he was captured.”

  Lily wrinkled her brow at Greyston. “Gorgon and Gamgos is the same demon?”

  “Which name belongs to the demon?” Greyston said. “Gorgon or Gamgos?”

  “Gorgon.”

  “At least we know that’s its real name,” Greyston said.

  Lily’s eyes returned to Ana as she clarified. “So the demon Gorgon told Duncan McAllister that its name was Gamgos?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t understand.” Lily shook her head, glancing at Greyston again. “When Duncan banished the demons, he would surely have extracted the dual truths from them. That’s part of the usual ritual. The demon’s true name, and the date it came through the tear.”

  “So he should have realised one of the demons had given him a false name.” He looked at Ana. “Did Duncan McAllister extract the dual truths when he banished the demons?”

  “No.”

  Lily blew out a frustrated sigh. This was like searching for a specific drop of water in the ocean. “Why did Gorgon give a false name?”

  Ana lay still, silent. Seconds ticked by, counted down by the clock they’d mounted to the wall to keep track of their time.