Darkness Splintered (DA 6) (25 page)

“No one and nothing is getting into my circle,” she replied, amusement in her tones. “I made sure of that. Go. I’ll be safe, I promise.”

I hesitated, but really, short of dragging her free of her circle – not something I was convinced I could do given the strength of the barrier she’d raised – I had no other option but to proceed.

I dropped to my hands and knees, took a deep breath that didn’t do a whole lot to bolster my courage, and went in.

Nothing jumped out at me.

I rose and drew Amaya. Light flared down her sides, shifting the shadows and gleaming off the metal stair rails. I walked over and peered down. All I could see was deeper shadows.

Something,
Amaya said.

I frowned.
Meaning what? That there’s something or someone waiting down there for us?

Magic,
she said.
Some kind.

Great
. Not.

I briefly thought about retreating, but that really wasn’t an option. Not if I wanted to find the keys and save Mirri. Ilianna might yet be able to unravel the cord, but I wasn’t about to bet Mirri’s life on it. I gripped Amaya a little tighter and cautiously headed down. My footsteps echoed on the metal, and the sound reverberated across the thick silence. I bit my lip, my nerves crawling, as each step took me farther into the bowels of the earth and whatever it was Amaya had sensed.

My foot had barely touched the bottom step when I heard it. A low rumbly sound that had the hair on the back of my neck rising.

I paused, listening. The sound was not repeated, but something definitely was down here.

Amaya?

Magic ahead.

Maybe it was, but magic didn’t make low rumbly noises. Not any sort of magic I knew, anyway. I raised Amaya and let her light fan out across the shadows. The room was long and cavernous but it wasn’t a cavern, rather an actual, concrete-lined storeroom that was filled to the brim with dusty, somewhat rusty metal shelving. Meaning it, like the stairs, was part of the building rather than something our sorcerers had created. I guess that made sense; why build something when it was easier to protect what was already here?

But did the fact the shelves all appeared empty mean there was nothing here to find?

Something,
Amaya repeated.
Magic. Life.

What sort of life. Demon?

No. Living.

Which really didn’t clarify things. I bit my lip, then stepped onto the concrete.

And found more of that trouble Azriel had mentioned cannoning straight at me.

Chapter 10

The creature came out of nowhere, a skinny mass of filthy matted hair and gleaming canines. I raised Amaya instinctively, realized what was actually attacking us, and flipped my sword around midswing. The hilt smashed across the dog’s head and sent him flying. He hit the left wall and slithered down to the floor. He didn’t move.

I took a deep, somewhat quivery breath and cautiously walked over. The dog’s eyes were closed, and there was a slight trickle of blood coming from a wound just above its right eye. Thankfully he was still breathing. Beside the fact I didn’t want any more blood on my hands than necessary, the last thing I wanted was to kill a dog that was only doing what it had been trained to do. Although given the condition the poor mutt was in, maybe killing him would have been a kindness. He was literally skin, bone, and matted brown hair. Obviously, he wasn’t fed all that often. Maybe that was what the shifter had come here to do. Or maybe they didn’t bother, and simply got a new guard dog whenever the old one died. Lauren seemed the type to do something like that – although maybe that was just my hatred of her showing.

I turned, my gaze skimming the room. There didn’t seem to be anything in this room beyond shadows and the shelving.

Where’s the magic, Amaya?

Back.

Which I couldn’t see. I walked on carefully, gaze constantly moving and my sword held at the ready. Nothing else jumped out at us. Eventually, we neared the rear wall. It looked solid and I had no sense of magic of any kind.

Is,
Amaya said.
Left
.

I raised a hand and skimmed it along the wall. After several seconds, energy skittered across my fingertips. Its feel was dark, and oddly dirty. I resisted the urge to jerk my hand away from its touch and kept on walking, trying to discover the full extent. The patch of magic was about six feet high and four feet wide. If it wasn’t a door, I’d eat my hat. If I’d been wearing a hat, that is.

The last time we’d discovered a concealed door had been in the pit Jak and I had fallen into when we’d first raided this warehouse. Maybe this entrance led into the same tunnels as that one had, or maybe it led to somewhere else entirely. The only way I was going to find the answer was to discover another way to open it.

Can’t press through,
Amaya said.
Magic not same
.

Meaning that, unlike the hidden doorway in the pit, this wall was
actually
solid rather than merely looking it.

I tried anyway, but succeeded in doing little more than breaking my nails. I swore softly, and turned around. “Rozelle, are you able to come down here?”

“Sure. Just give me a moment.”

I raised Amaya, letting her flames chase back the shadows again and, after a few seconds, Rozelle appeared.

She stopped beside me and frowned. “Another nasty piece of work,” she muttered after a moment. “I’m afraid this one is coded. Unless you have the proper key, it’ll kill you.”

“No way you can get past it?”

“Not without a lot of time and effort.” Her gaze skimmed the wall. “And I couldn’t create a doorway myself without knowing what was on the other side.”

“That I can’t say, because I don’t know.” I paused. “The shifter who was outside – he was coming here. Is it possible he could have a key of some kind?”

“I could check.”

“Then let’s check.” There was nothing else we could do. And if the shifter didn’t have a key, then we’d hit another wall. Literally, in this case.

Once we were back outside, Rozelle knelt beside the shifter and ran a hand above his body, her expression intent. After a moment, she sighed and sat back on her heels. “There is some form of magic within him, but it does not feel the same as the magic that guards that door.”

Meaning we
had
hit another wall. Fabulous.

I sighed. “Thanks for the help, Rozelle.”

She nodded. “I could stay here and work on that door. As I said, it’ll just take time —”

“No,” I said softly. “Thanks, but it’s far too dangerous for you to remain here unprotected.”

“I am able to protect myself —”

“I have no doubt of that under normal circumstances, but the person we chase is far from normal.” I hesitated, seeing her doubt, and added, “She can take any form she wishes; tell me, if you saw Kiandra walking toward you, would you not be inclined to trust her?”

“I would sense a glamour —”

“This wouldn’t be a glamour. It’s not that type of magic. We’re chasing a shifter capable of full body transformation. You wouldn’t know it wasn’t the real Kiandra until it was far too late.”

“Oh.” She swallowed. “Then perhaps it
is
wise not to be alone. However, that lock
can
be broken. If you need it done, we can arrange protection —”

“It’s not worth the risk right now, Rozelle.”

Her expression was doubtful. “Are you sure?”

I lightly squeezed her arm. “For the moment, yeah.”

“What about the shield around the building?”

I frowned. “I thought you said it was beyond your capabilities?”

“It is, but that does not mean it cannot be broken.”

“We don’t need it broken. We just need it altered enough to enable Azriel to get inside.”

“That is certainly an easier option than breaking it. All we would need to do is unpick the spell enough to enable us to weave a variation through it.”

“And would the shield’s creator be aware of your handiwork?”

She hesitated. “If we broke it, yes. But, as with the doorway I wove into the stone circle within this building, the creator would only sense it if he or she happened to be looking for it.”

I glanced at Azriel. “It’s worth a shot. If the gate we’re searching for is down there, at least you could get in.”

He nodded, and looked at Rozelle. “If I take you back to the Brindle, would you be able to make the necessary arrangements for this?”

She nodded. “We could be back here in an hour.”

“That would be brilliant,” I said.

She smiled. “Trust me, it is my pleasure. It is a rare opportunity to practice what I have been taught.”

Azriel glanced at me. “Will you stay here, or return home?”

I hesitated, then said, “Home.”

“I shall meet you back there, then.”

With that, he took Rozelle’s hand, then the two of them disappeared. I grabbed the shifter’s wallet, then became Aedh and returned home. The apartment was dark and silent. Tao still wasn’t here. I bit back the instinctive urge to ring and check if he was safe, knowing there was little I could do if he wasn’t, and walked into my bedroom. I’d left the door open and the acrid smell of smoke was stronger this time. My nose twitched and I briefly wondered if we’d ever be able to rid the place of it. Or if, indeed, we’d even bother rebuilding it. Especially if the worst happened with Tao…

I slumped wearily onto my bed and rubbed my forehead, half wishing for coffee but not having the energy to actually walk down to McDonald’s to grab one.

“Which is why I did,” Azriel said, as he reappeared. He handed me not only a coffee, but a double Quarter Pounder.

I raised my eyebrows. “And just where did you get the money for these?”

“One does not need money when one can simply arrange for them to be given.”

“You
stole
them?”

“If they are gifted, they are hardly stolen.”

I grinned. “So if I feel the sudden need for diamonds, you could arrange for them to be ‘gifted’?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Diamonds are hardly necessary for your health.”

“You obviously have no understanding of women and diamonds.”

Amusement creased the corners of his bright eyes. “I think we can take that as a given. Eat.”

I did. Once I’d finished the burger, I took a sip of the coffee and said, “So what do we do now?”

“Until the Raziq or your father comes through with some way of finding either of our sorcerers, I do not know.” He paused. “I would suggest sleeping, but I already know the answer to that.”

“Yeah.” I grimaced. “It just feels wrong to sleep when the clock is ticking for Mirri. But I could go see Uncle Quinn.”

Surprise flitted across Azriel’s expression. “Why?”

“Because, as you noted earlier, if there’s one person in this world of mine who might know how to stop these bastards in their tracks, it would be Uncle Quinn.”

And not just the Raziq, but my father and, hell, maybe even Hunter. They had to be stopped, all of them. And while I knew I was going to have hell’s chance of stopping Quinn from subsequently joining any battle, it was a risk I might have to take.

Because I was beginning to think it could be the only way
anyone
was going to get out of this… the thought froze as my phone rang. The tone told me it was Uncle Rhoan, and I fought back an odd mix of trepidation and grief. Because I knew he’d be ringing about Jak. And that he’d be madder than hell.

Only trouble was, the pain of Jak’s death was still so raw I might end up saying something I’d ultimately regret.

“Then ignore it,” Azriel said, ever practical.

“If I do, he’s more than likely to order me arrested.”

He frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“Because I’m betting he wants answers about Jak’s murder and why Hunter would want him dead.”

And how could I explain any of that without stepping into territory that could ultimately lead him into danger? Because Hunter
would
kill him if she thought it necessary to both keep her secrets and me on the leash.

I took a deep, somewhat quivery breath, then reached for the phone and hit the vid-screen’s Answer button. Rhoan appeared. To say his expression was thunderous was something of an understatement.

“What the
fuck
is going on, Risa?” he all but exploded. “Why the hell would Madeline Hunter want Jak Talbott dead?”

I was tempted to tell him that was a question he should ask the lady herself, but I didn’t actually want him anywhere near the bitch. Not when she was so intent on teaching me a lesson. I licked my lips and said, “I don’t know —”

“Don’t give me that shit.” A dangerous light glittered in his gray eyes. “You know
exactly
why she ordered the hit, and I’m guessing you knew it even
before
you put a sword through the back of the assassin. Tell me what the fuck is going on, or I’m going to haul your ass into the Directorate and make the investigation official.”

Part of me wanted to snarl some smart remark right back at him; the other, more sensible part just wanted to run. The last thing I wanted was a confrontation with Uncle Rhoan, but I guess it was always bound to happen. As I kept fucking noting, it wasn’t like fate had shown any propensity to give me a break.

Which meant I had only one choice.

Honesty.

I swore internally and scrubbed my free hand across my eyes. “Do that,” I said, my voice holding an edge I couldn’t quite prevent, “and you might well kill everyone we both care about.”

His expression didn’t change. If anything, it got more dangerous. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Look, we can’t do this over the phone. Meet me at the café.” I hesitated, then added, “Come alone, and don’t tell anyone else you’re doing it. Not even Aunt Riley.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Don’t fuck me around on this, Risa. I’m warning you.”

“I won’t.”

He hung up and I threw the phone back into my bag for a second time.