Entangled Darkness

by Brandy L Rivers

  The majority of the books he’d gathered over the years and all of the files he’d brought about HARP came from Draecyn’s stores. Though there were some he was afraid to touch. Spells so powerful, even reading them would set in motion a chain of events he wanted to prevent at all costs. Just like the one he’d so foolishly written down.

  Thinking back to the wards Draecyn guided him to create, he couldn’t help wondering how he managed to miss Liz’s heritage for so damned long. Same stuff. She had her own spin on it, did it naturally, but it was the same.

  Liz snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Hey, what is it, Trem?”

  He blinked, coming back to the present. “Your father was a complicated man. Yes, we were friends.” He wasn’t ready to admit, at times, he despised Draecyn. Or the fact he doubted his goals so often he wasn’t sure whose side he’d been on for years. So many things he still didn’t understand, and after years of pouring over the damned books, he was no closer to finding answers.

  “You were his right-hand man.”

  Tremaine snorted. “You’re looking at the same files, right? He sent me into hell for five years, Liz. Do you willingly sacrifice your right-hand man?”

  Her eyes rounded as she stared back. “But even after, you were close to him. Growing up, if you weren’t with us, you were with him. You searched for me when I was just an infant.” She paled slightly, swallowing hard as her hand went to her stomach. “Excuse me.” Without another word, Liz slipped past them and into the bathroom. The lock clicked before the water faucet turned on.

  Robert started for the door.

  Tremaine grabbed his arm. “Don’t. Give her a minute.”

  Blue eyes snapped to his. “She can’t start doubting us. Least of all you. How you found her shouldn’t affect where we are now.”

  One corner of his lips twitched when he heard the retching. Tremaine leaned in to whisper in Robert’s ear. “Calm down. Sounds like morning sickness.”

  Robert leaned back, blinking. “You certain?”

  Tremaine half-shrugged. “She hasn’t had a drop of alcohol in a couple months. The woman never gets sick from anything else. I know she was pissed at you, but she’s not acting as if she’s had anything to drink. Besides, I sense the baby.”

  Robert’s face lit up, and he started for the door again.

  Liz stepped out. Robert caught her face in his hands and laid a kiss firmly on her mouth. When he finally leaned back, he whispered, “Liz, are you okay?”

  She nodded, blinking back tears, she made a quick glance at Tremaine. “Sorry. That had nothing to do with your age or how connected we’ve been all my life. My stomach is off. That’s all.”

  He moved closer as Robert made room. Tremaine’s hand covered her flat belly. “I know what made you run for the toilet.”

  “What?” Preston chimed in from the back.

  Liz sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. “Didn’t want to say anything until I knew we were still solid.”

  Robert gripped Tremaine’s arm and dragged him closer. “We’re solid—together. As long as we’re together we can get through anything.”

  Her eyes never drifted from Tremaine’s. He saw fear overthrowing the hope.

  Tremaine swept his fingers through her hair. “We’re one. All three of us.”

  Her lips curled slightly. “Found out this morning. After you ditched me at the house to pull Robert’s head out of his ass.” She shot Robert a glare. “You scared me this morning.”

  “I’m sorry. I can only strive to avoid that mistake in the future. I never want you to doubt me.”

  “So, we’re pregnant.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, looking from one to the other and back again.

  Robert frowned. “You’re not happy?”

  “Timing sucks. Tremaine just told me I’m exactly what HARP is looking for. Learning my magic may draw them to me, but I need to learn.”

  Tremaine tipped her face toward him. “Which is why I’ll train you on how to hide that type of magic outside of our wards, and still train you in case you need it. Trust me, it may come in handy at some point. To protect you, us, our child.”

  Robert nodded.

  Preston threw an arm around her shoulder. “Well, well, mama. A little hellion of yours? This ought to be fun.”

  She sneered at him. “Better behave or I won’t let you near my angel.”

  “Ooh, feisty. I bet you only get feistier.”

  Laughing, she rolled her eyes. “You’re going to be the pain in the ass uncle.”

  Looking back at Tremaine, she tried to sort questions into what she could mention in front of everyone, and what she wanted to ask him alone. Not that she didn’t trust Preston or Robert. But there were some things better discussed in private. Perhaps they could figure out what Draecyn’s true goals were. At this point, she wasn’t sure she really wanted to know.

  Robert looked at his watch and back at her. “I say we stop for the night. We could use a celebration.”

  “Are we invited?” Preston asked, referring to Dacia.

  “Of course,” Robert replied without hesitation.

  Tremaine grinned. “Maybe we should get out of town, do something fun.”

  “Like what?” Liz asked with a smirk.

  “I remember how much you love fondue. Why don’t we go to that new place in Seattle?” Robert suggested.

  Liz snorted. “Can you even get us in?”

  Preston nodded. “I know the owner. He’ll get us in.”

  A smile pulled at her lips. “Then it’s a date.”

  Chapter 7

  Robert looked over at Preston. “You going to drive back?”

  Preston smirked. “I am. Don’t worry, we’ll be there by seven.” He slipped through the door and hurried to his car. Robert turned back to Liz and Tremaine. “Let me get you back. Then I have one more thing to check before we can go.”

  “Like what?” Liz asked with a raised brow.

  “Maybe it’s a surprise for you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t care about surprises.”

  Robert kissed her quickly. “Would you please trust me? I’ll be gone five minutes.”

  “Fine, but hurry.”

  Tremaine nodded. “Agreed. Let’s celebrate, not worry about our problems for the rest of the night.”

  He didn’t like the serious note to Tremaine’s voice but didn’t want to stop and ask. Robert felt the urgency to celebrate before the chaos ensued.

  Robert reached for Liz and Tremaine’s hands, then popped them into their bedroom. “You should probably call Christian. Let him know you aren’t coming back tonight.”

  Liz gasped. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Don’t be long.”

  He grinned. “Five minutes.” Then he left them before Tremaine could add to her demand. He popped into Preston’s Maserati that was flying down the freeway.

  Preston jumped, pushing the gas pedal down harder. “What the fuck, man? I thought we discussed not doing that for the sake of keeping everyone alive?”

  Robert dug his fingers into the dash with a death-grip as the sports car whipped around a corner. “I apologize, but I want your thoughts. Tremaine is scared.”

  “No shit. They put him through hell. His mentor, and supposed friend, the closest thing he had to a father figure, shoved him into the fire pit.” Preston shook his head. “Robert, I have to wonder if Draecyn was involved in shit we don’t know about. He had all those artifacts stored away. I’ve seen some of them. He knew far too much about hybrids, but then he sent Tremaine to save his daughter. And I have a feeling he fucking knew about Liz from the very beginning.”

  Robert pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why would Draecyn bring Tremaine in so deep but not me? After Tremaine had left, he didn’t put me through the same things. Why?”

  Preston shook his head. “No clue. But think about it. Tremaine is part druid. He married a druid, had a child with her. He knew more about Rift Benders than he let on to Tremaine. Did you read all
those journals? Do you have any idea the power Tremaine unlocked?”

  Robert shook his head.

  “Should have read those first. Got his side of the story. Why do you think I tried to tell you to read that shit? You were worried about the reports from other Council members. Ones who were jealous over Tremaine. Let’s face it, his position was always highly coveted. And most of those bastards were tripping over the line into wrong.”

  “You’re right. I made a huge mistake, but I’ve fixed it and won’t make the same one again. I can’t. I love them both.”

  Preston made brief eye contact. “Hey, hey, we don’t need to get all sappy. I get it.”

  “I assumed I’d just get a one-sided diatribe about how he wasn’t in the wrong.”

  “Oh, he went through hell, Robert. He didn’t know which way was up at times. He fought to keep his sanity, his sense of justice. He barely made it through with his direction intact. You know him better than I do, and he sure as hell doesn’t fall into the thinking the Council prefers. Bag ’em, tag ’em, and wash your hands after they’re locked up for good, or at least off the radar. Other than ensuring HARP was decimated, and it looked pretty damned over for a while, he always finished his cases thoroughly.”

  Robert adjusted his cuff. “He didn’t with the Dales.”

  “Tremaine left after dealing with them because he couldn’t handle the corruption within the Silver Council. He didn’t have faith we could weed out the bad seeds.” Preston snorted. “We’ve made a dent, but there’s still so much more we need to do.”

  “True. I need to check to see if a couple things are ready. Now seems like a good time to solidify our relationship in a way that works for us.”

  Preston snorted. “Told you to talk to her.”

  “I don’t know how to stop my thought process.”

  “You going to do it before, during, or after dinner?”

  “When the time is right, though I have no intention of waiting long.

  * * * *

  Eighty-four years ago, several months later…

  “Again,” Rupert barked.

  Tremaine stood in the middle of a snow-covered field. He’d tossed his coat and sweater off. Sweat dripped down his chest, steam rising off his overheated skin.

  He glared back at the Rift Bender, who was forcing him to tap into the power he loathed. Tremaine didn’t understand it, didn’t want to, preferred to avoid it for the rest of his life.

  “I’m not getting anywhere. Why am I even trying?”

  “Practice makes perfect. Now open the damned rift and I can stop sweating my ass off.”

  Tremaine snarled and threw his hands out at Rupert. The rift erupted around him, and the smug bastard disappeared.

  He crept forward, trying to see through the green mist beyond the shimmering wall. A man-shaped shadow ran toward him. Tremaine could hardly make out Rupert’s face as he screamed something he couldn’t hear.

  Tremaine reached in and grabbed Rupert, yanking him through.

  Rupert collapsed to his knees, blood dripped down his face from the gash near his hairline. “Fucking bastard,” he snarled.

  “Opened it, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, to some level of hell.”

  Tremaine snorted. “Doubtful.”

  “Wouldn’t be too sure of that. Wherever that was, it was full of evil.”

  Tremaine offered his hand to help him up.

  Rupert took it, fire in his eyes as he glared back.

  “We done yet?”

  “Yeah. Next time, concentrate more. Your emotions can affect the destination.”

  “I’ll remember that.” Next time I might send you there on purpose and leave your ass there where it belongs.

  “Come on, you’ve earned your reward.” One side of his mouth lifted in a cock-eyed grin. “Seems you’re ready now.”

  Chapter 8

  Anthony walked into his mate’s room. Jules stood at the window. Since finding out Tremaine was in Edenton, his mood had gone to shit. Jealous bastard couldn’t understand why Anthony wanted another lover when he took so many of his own.

  He moved behind Jules and massaged his shoulders. “This worked out better than I imagined.”

  “And how is that?” he asked, bitterness dripping from every word.

  Anthony dug his thumbs into knots. Jules relaxed under his attention. Anthony purred, “That wasn’t Tremaine’s magic. Which means we may have two Rift Benders on our hands. I’m guessing it was the girl he saved after trying to destroy us.”

  “You still want him in your bed?” Jules balked.

  Anthony couldn’t help the wide smile that formed. Tremaine had been wild and untamed. He knew how to fuck. Something Anthony missed tremendously. Ambitious, though for the wrong cause. However, after nearly killing Jules, Anthony couldn’t trust him. Nor was it likely Jules would tolerate Tremaine living if he had his way. Not without the core of HARP ordering him to live.

  “No. Don’t be jealous, Jules. He played his role well, but he was never in it for love. Tremaine proved that when he nearly took you from me. However, our masters want all Rift Benders. You know the punishment for killing one without permission.”

  Jules snarled, “If he hadn’t locked me in the dimensional pocket, I would have died. It put me into stasis until you could find me.”

  “Only because we had another powerful Rift Bender who died in the process of rescuing you.”

  “How did Tremaine manage to rig it in such a dangerous manner?”

  Anthony snorted. “He created the pocket in a wall of rock and had attempted to close it, leaving you stranded inside the enclosed area. I don’t believe he meant to leave it open.”

  “And how did Rupert find the rift if it was encapsulated in the mountain wall? He managed to open it and get me out before it crushed him. Rupert was a more powerful Rift Bender than Tremaine. He should have had enough power to keep the rift open.”

  “Was he?” Anthony challenged. “He may have trained Tremaine, but Rupert couldn’t do half of what Tremaine could.”

  “Rupert embraced his gifts while Tremaine refused to rise to his full potential. Even if he were more gifted, it doesn’t matter because he wouldn’t use his natural born talents. Bastard was always afraid to delve too deep into his magic.”

  “Caution does not equate to fear. He was wise to temper his ability. And he was able to sneak away often enough, out of our reach, to practice on his own. Who’s to say he never embraced his power?”

  Jules groaned. “I suppose it’s possible.”

  “He did nearly kill you, and Rupert couldn’t keep his pocket open.”

  “Fine, I concede your point. But if it’s not his magic, and someone else’s, he’ll caution them against fully exploring their power. Or worse, convince them to hide it away.”

  Rupert’s tone of voice changed, more serious. “We don’t give them the opportunity. We need eyes on them. However, with his pesky translocating lover, he can be out of our sight in an instant.”

  “Do you still have eyes on them?” Jules asked, lazily trailing his fingers down Anthony’s chest.

  “I do. It appears they are getting ready for a night out. Hopefully, I’ll be able to follow them.”

  Jules narrowed his eyes. “Don’t trust me with your favorite fucktoy?”

  Anthony laughed. “We need his talent. I no longer want his body. He may have been fun to play with, but he’s earned punishment, not pleasure.”

  “Remember that, or I will rip his entrails out through his asshole.”

  * * * *

  Liz walked to the window to stare out, placing her hands on the frame. She couldn’t help thinking about the man who followed her earlier. Tony was the only name she knew for him. He had stayed at Sinclair’s when she was young, stalking the halls, searching for something, or someone. Old Lady Murdock constantly told her to hide, to stay out of sight. Liz obeyed, terrified of the man with the turquoise eyes, though he had never been close to her, never looked in her
direction. That scared her worse than anything. Especially when she started to dream about him.

  After one particularly bad nightmare when she was about ten, Old Lady Murdock had shaken her awake.

  “Hush now, child. Don’t want to draw unnecessary attention at this late hour.”

  Liz couldn’t agree more. She scooted to the far corner of her mattress and against the wall, pulling the blanket tight. “Who is that man hanging around Sinclair?”

  The older woman sat next to her, running a hand through her hair. “A very bad man who wants to rip apart everything I stand for. He’d use you if he had a chance. We need to prevent that at all costs.”

  “Why?”

  Old Lady Murdock sighed, looking out the window. “That, I can’t answer now.” She looked down with a sad smile. “One day you will play a major role in deciding an age-old battle.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “For now, you shouldn’t. You are far too young to endure what you have and will have to. And as much as I want to put you on an easy path, I can only guide you around the pitfalls.”

  Always the same cryptic messages. “Will he hurt me?” Liz asked.

  “Who?”

  “Tony.”

  Her brow pinched as she looked away. “Not for many years, but the hurt won’t last because you will be in a far better place with love surrounding you. So rest, because there is nothing he can do for now.”

  Years later, he was back and, thoughts of him still sent fear racing through her. She shuddered, pushing away the nightmares and memories.

  “What’s wrong, doll? You can talk to me,” Tremaine murmured, coming up behind her, much the same as she had approached him earlier that morning. His hands caressed her stomach.

  She turned in his arms, looking deep into his eyes. “How worried should I be, Trem? Do you really think HARP knows what I am? Think they’ll come for me?”