If Ash was unsure of himself, it didn’t show in the confident way he marched down the street.
They came upon a doorway, and though Ash had called the place a shop, the area seemed residential. They entered and climbed the stairs, pausing at a door on the first landing. For the first time, Ash seemed hesitant.
He rapped knuckles on the wood. In the silence that followed, he spoke. “You should know…he may not be happy to see me.”
“What—”
Eden’s response was stopped by the opening of the door. The man who stood before them was older—late forties, Eden suspected. He had kind eyes, but kind eyes would never fool her again. Not after Mikel. His gaze narrowed as he took in Ash.
“You’re not my eleven o’clock.”
“It’s good to see you, Marcus.”
“Who’s she?” Marcus eyed Eden up and down.
“This is Eden.” Ash cast a glance down the stairs as though worried they might have been followed.
“And is this one as crazy as the last?”
“‘This one’ is standing right here.” Eden was tired, hungry, and people kept trying to kidnap or kill her. She had no patience for whatever this was.
“She’s a friend, and she needs your help.” Ash’s gaze was penetrating, but Marcus didn’t blink.
“You said that about the last one.”
“This is different. There’s nothing wrong with her.” Ash shifted from one foot to the other. “Please, just let us in.”
“Are you going to destroy my flat?”
Eden didn’t like this man, and she wanted to say something to let him know, but she only uttered a single word. “No.”
Marcus opened the door the rest of the way and took a fluid step back.
Once inside, Eden understood why Ash had called it a shop, and Marcus had called it a flat. It was both, as though the man lived within a magic store. In one corner was a sofa and TV, but the rest of the room had walls lined with shelves filled with jars of spices, baskets of crystals, and figurines from more religions than Eden could place. Even in her present circumstance, a small part of her was delighted by what she saw.
“I was about to make a cup of tea. I suppose you’d like some.”
Ash answered, “No.”
But Eden needed something to revive her and said, “Please.”
The kettle was already on the stove, and Marcus pulled a second mug from the cabinet and placed it beside his own. From another cupboard, he pulled a box of tea and plucked from it two bags, placing one in each cup. The kettle whistled, and he poured steaming water into the mugs. The way he moved was almost meditative, and though Eden had thought she didn’t like the man, something about him now put her at ease. She defended herself against this reaction; trust was a luxury she couldn’t afford.
Marcus turned and gestured for her and Ash to sit at the small kitchen table.
“My next appointment will be here in fifteen minutes. You should probably tell me what this is about.” Marcus brought the mugs over to the table.
“Eden carries the mark of Agamon.”
Hot liquid sloshed over the rims of each mug as Marcus set them down with a thud.
“And you brought her here? To my home?” He backed away, as though the mark on Eden were contagious.
“I didn’t have a choice.” Ash rose to his feet.
“You always have a choice.” They locked eyes, and Eden felt a world pass between them. A world she didn’t understand and didn’t have time to figure out.
“Please,” Eden said. “I don’t know why Ash brought me here other than he said you can help. Can you? Will you? Please?”
People were after her. People right now, on the streets of London, were drawn to her because of the way she’d been stained by Agamon’s followers. She knew it was probably her imagination, but she felt them drawing close, and it frightened her. How many more would she and Ash defeat before they succeeded?
“You shouldn’t have brought her here.” Marcus strode to the other side of the room, and Eden feared he was going to kick them out. Instead, he pulled jar after jar down from the shelves, setting each on a long, wooden table. “You should have warned me. I could have met you somewhere.”
“There wasn’t time.” Ash sounded abashed, as though he knew he’d made a mistake.
“It leaves a trace, you know.” Marcus measured ingredients into an electric cauldron. “Even after you leave, they’ll sense she was here. Nearby, at least.”
“Then help us,” Ash said. “Help us, and we’ll go.”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Marcus was quick but precise, his hands practiced in this work.
“I don’t have much money.” Ash said it as though it were a challenge.
“So what else is new?” Marcus stirred the contents in the bubbling cauldron. “Come bringing trouble, leave chaos in your wake, and refuse to pay. You’re more like your father every day.”
Something flashed in Ash’s eyes, but Eden couldn’t tell if it was defiance or pride. Maybe both.
“I’m going to give you this, you’re going to leave, and that is where our ways part. Do you understand?”
Ash answered with a single nod.
Marcus lined up three empty vials, each about two inches tall, and pulled their cork stoppers. He placed a funnel into the neck of one.
“With additional time to brew, this would be more potent,” he said, ladling hot liquid into the funnel. “But this should give you some breathing room.”
“How much?” Ash asked.
Marcus shrugged noncommittally. “Fifty meters? Perhaps more.”
He went back to ladling, and Eden approached him. When he’d finished filling one of the vials, she held it up. She felt them—those coming for her—the need of their hunt for her a physical weight bearing down upon her.
“How much do I use?”
“It’s hot—”
But Eden had already splashed some of the scalding contents into her cupped hands. “Do I drink it, or…”
“On the mark.” Marcus made a rubbing motion.
Eden rubbed the viscous liquid over the area on her chest that had been marked with blood. She winced at the burning sensation but kept rubbing until she felt it soak into her skin.
“Is that it? Are there words?”
“No words.” Marcus held out the remaining two vials, now full. “That’s it. Three times a day. Set an alarm, or you’ll wake to the enemy at your bedside.”
Eden clutched the vials as if they were the most precious thing she’d ever been given. “Thank you. I’ll find a way to repay you someday.”
“Repay me by leaving.” Marcus hurried to the door.
He held it open for them, and as Ash walked past, he paused. “I owe you.”
“I’ll add it to your growing tab.” Again, their expressions spoke volumes.
Eden was shoving the vials into her bag when Marcus stopped her, plucking one of them from her hand. He popped the cork and poured some of the precious contents across his doorway.
“Can’t be too careful.” He handed the remainder back to her.
Eden tried not to begrudge him. She needed the potion, but she wouldn’t want him endangered.
Thank you seemed insufficient, but she said it again anyway. She was already breathing easier.
“Be careful,” Marcus replied, and Eden wasn’t sure if he meant out in the world or with Ash.
Or both.
Chapter 13
“Did the creature look like this?” Alex approached, handing Sarah an open book.
Sarah glanced at the page, her eyes widening. “Yes. Exactly like this.”
Alex took the book back and turned the page, scanning its contents. “Cloud of darkness. Differing reports of wings—bat-like or moth-like. What kind of wings did yours have?”
“The salient point is probably the existence of wings,” Kai said. “We were a little too preoccupied to notice which kind.”
“You know, Kai…” Ale
x tapped a finger to her lips as though in exaggerated thought. “Now that you’ve told us everything you can remember, I think your work here is done. Don’t let us keep you.”
“Don’t worry. You aren’t keeping me.” Kai took a seat on the small sofa and swung her legs onto the polished wooden coffee table. “And you aren’t getting rid of me either.”
Alex’s eyes glittered, but she continued on. “What color were its eyes?”
“I-I don’t think it had eyes.” Sarah looked to Kai, but her expression indicated she wasn’t sure either. “But it did seem like it was watching me.”
“And you said it was taller than you?” Alex turned the page.
“Definitely.” Sarah tried to calculate the height, taking into account that it had been hovering off the ground. “Maybe eight feet?”
Alex nodded. “I think we can assume this is our monster.”
“What does it want?” Sarah leaned forward, remembering the dread the apparition had inspired as it passed through her…the flash of images filled with violence and the certainty she would be betrayed. An involuntary shiver ran the length of her body.
Alex scanned the text. “Looks like they’re harbingers.”
“I supposed it’s too much to ask if they portend fluffy bunnies?” The sarcasm in Kai’s question wasn’t enough to cover the fear behind it.
Alex’s answer was a cool stare.
Kai didn’t let it deter her. “How do we kill it?”
“We don’t.” Alex snapped the book shut. “It’s not really alive—it’s a mass of concentrated energy.”
“What does it want?” Sarah asked. “Why is it here?”
“What’s the purpose of any harbinger?” Alex set the book on her desk and took a seat. “To send a message. Tell us something is coming.”
“And this harbinger?” Sarah sat in the chair across from Alex. “What does the book say it portends?”
“Just one thing.” Alex peered out the window into the dark night. “Doom.”
Chapter 14
Kai was apoplectic.
“You can’t seriously be asking me to leave. After that?”
Sarah and Kai were squared off in Sarah’s room, having been forced out of Alex’s study.
“You heard what Alex said, there’s nothing for us to do. The harbinger doesn’t mean any harm. It’s just a warning.”
Kai’s mouth gaped. “A warning of doom.”
Sarah had sensed something bad was coming before the harbinger arrived and had already made her peace with it. She’d had second sight long enough to know better than to doubt it. Arguing with Kai about it seemed equally futile. What was worth the effort was keeping the woman she loved well out of it.
“I wish you could stay, but you can’t.” Sarah might be tired of lies, but apparently, they hadn’t tired of her. “Alex called a meeting for tonight.”
“A meeting about what?” Kai’s eyes narrowed. “About Eden leaving?”
“No,” Sarah said quickly. “And if you run into any sisters, you can’t mention it either. I’m hoping we find Eden before we have to explain much of anything.”
“Then what’s the meeting about?” Kai tilted her head.
Sarah folded her arms across her chest. She needed to shut this down. “Witch business.”
Kai almost choked. “Witch business? You’re using Alex’s talking points now?”
Sarah swallowed the defensive retort threatening to leap from her lips. She wanted to keep Kai from danger, but she had to do it in a way that blew up what was left of their relationship. “Please… I’m not trying to be difficult.”
Her body eased closer of its own accord. She felt herself wanting to fall into Kai’s arms. So much of her life was spinning out of control, and Sarah wasn’t sure of much anymore, but she did know she loved Kai. And that love should be all that mattered, and it would…
If things were different.
But things were as they were, and she needed Kai to leave, so she could go with Alex to look for clues that might save her best friend. If Kai knew she was going, she’d insist on coming, which would lead to only one of two things: Alex refusing to let even Sarah go, or putting Kai in danger. Sarah couldn’t live with either.
The step she took away from Kai was one of the most painful she’d ever taken.
“You need to understand, there are things I can’t tell you and…” Sarah swallowed around the lump in her throat. “I don’t really have to anymore.”
“Wow.” Now Kai took her own step back, the hurt etched on her beautiful face. “Okay.”
She turned to go, and Sarah grabbed her arm. “Kai, I—”
Kai pulled her arm loose. “It’s okay, Sarah. You’re right, you don’t owe me an explanation. I thought what happened this morning was… I don’t know, a fluke. Something you didn’t mean. But if we’re really broken up, you’re right. We don’t owe each other a damn thing.”
The close of the door felt final, and Sarah crumbled. Tears she’d been holding back for hours spilled from her eyes as her body shook with sobs.
A knock at the door caused relief to wash over Sarah. She leapt to her feet, wiping her tears.
“Kai, I’m sorry—”
But when she opened the door, it was Alex.
“I thought you’d never get rid of her.” Alex strode past Sarah into the room. When she spied Sarah’s face, she stopped just short of rolling her eyes. “Look, I’m sorry if you had a lover’s spat, but—”
“We didn’t have a spat. We broke up.” Sarah wiped the last tear from her chin.
“That might be for the best.” Alex’s words were bad enough, but the casual way she tossed them out made Sarah see red.
Sarah shook her head but didn’t have the energy to even be surprised. “All the gods in the universe, and not one of them gave you an ounce of compassion.”
Alex strode toward the door. “Do you need time to grieve, or are you coming with me?”
Sarah pulled the thickest coat she owned from the closet. She’d just decimated any hope she had with Kai to make sure she could go on this little field trip.
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
Chapter 15
Outside Marcus’s flat, a drizzle quickly became a downpour. Eden found herself running beside Ash, the overnight bag slung across her body and bouncing on her hip. Ash carried a much heavier load, yet Eden still struggled to keep up.
Passersby with umbrellas snickered at the unprepared tourists as they streamed past.
Eden was glad for her heavy coat, but it wasn’t waterproof, and the wetness seeped into her bones and made her shiver.
“There.” Ash pointed to a pub across the busy street.
Horns honked as Ash darted into traffic, and Eden followed, making apologetic gestures to irritated drivers.
Once inside The Horn and Stag, Eden felt as though she’d stepped into a fantasy of what a classic London pub should look like—defiantly traditional on a street that housed modern storefronts. On the left, patrons sat atop a mahogany-colored banquette, hands wrapped around pints of ale resting on small, wooden tables. Companions sat opposite on low stools. The bar itself was devoid of seating; people stood in low conversation with one another over their drinks.
As quaint and lovely as the ambiance was, what Eden appreciated most was its warmth. She fell into an open spot on the banquette, peeling off her wet coat and glad to be rid of it. Ash approached the bar without even asking what Eden wanted to order.
He returned a few moments later with a pint of amber-colored ale in each hand. The liquid passed her tongue before she could even taste it and hit her achingly empty belly.
“Please tell me you ordered food.” Eden took another gulp.
“Basket of chips.” Ash sipped from his own glass.
Eden’s eyebrows climbed her forehead. “That’s it?”
A side of fries was not going to cut it. It had been nine hours since the meager meal she’d had on the plane.
Ash studied the con
tents of his pint. “We’re on a bit of a budget. The last-minute plane tickets nearly maxed out my credit cards, and we still need a place to sleep tonight.”
“Oh.” Eden hadn’t considered how much all of this was costing him. “I have a bank card. I mean, it’s my parents’ money, but they give me a small stipend every month.”
Ash brightened, but just as quickly, his face fell. “They have access to your account?”
“Well, yeah, that’s how they put the money in. It’s a joint account.”
“Then they can see your transactions. See where they happen. Where you are.”
“Right.”
Eden hoped this trip would be short enough that she’d never have to tell her parents about it at all. She certainly didn’t want to raise an alarm yet. Her balance was negligible anyway; it was two days until December. The end of the month was always lean.
A server arrived with their order, and to Eden’s relief, the basket was piled high with French fries. Chips, she corrected herself.
She picked up a bottle of ketchup while Ash reached for the vinegar. After a brief moment of stalemate, Ash set down his condiment and gestured for her to continue. Eden doused the basket with ketchup both for the taste and increased calories.
She plopped one in her mouth and sighed with pleasure. She took a slug of ale and gobbled another fry, her stomach unwinding with the relief of being filled.
Ash watched her, seeming amused, as he sampled another bite.
“You promised we would talk.” Eden’s words were almost unintelligible around another mouthful. Ash was going to need to catch up, or she would eat more than her share, and she wasn’t going to let herself feel bad about it. “Or is this like the thing with my phone, and I didn’t hear what I thought I did?”
“I’ll answer as best I can.” Ash took a swig of ale. “Fire away.”
“Let’s start with Agamon. Who is he? I’m gonna need something more than ‘Blackest Sun.’”
Ash cast a wary glance around, but the nearest couple was two tables away and absorbed in their own conversation.
He leaned forward. “Thousands of years ago, in a different world, Agamon was the top general in an army belonging to a greater god.”
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