Hidden Spark (Dark Magic Enforcer Book 6) (20 page)

This was what I'd craved, this nightmare world of power and violence, of unknowable energy and unexpected danger. This was what we all wanted, those of us that could lift the veil of Regular life and peek into the wild reality of the Universe. Yes, the danger was real, and yes, we could have died a thousand times over, but when you beat it, dominate the elements and the forces that would destroy you, well, you feel superhuman.

I still had a really bad stitch, though.

After ten more minutes of uninterrupted running, the only sounds our ragged breathing and Mithnite's screams as he endured the final comedown, I eased to a walk then stopped.

"Everyone okay? Kate, you good?"

"Absolutely done for," she gasped, chest heaving, sweaty and pumped full of blood. Oh boy, it was almost all worth it!

Her body glistened with sweat, but her skin shone with the radiance and purity of a newborn after its first bath. I think it was then that I realized just how powerful she had become as a vampire.

Years had passed without me taking notice of her growing strength, but the blood magic was strong in her now, and the fact she'd regenerated multiple times as she was repeatedly touched by fire and unimaginable heat meant she was far superior to many vampires that had years more experience than she. Most would have perished under such conditions. Kate was something else all right, and utterly beautiful.

"Mithnite, how you doing? You okay to go on?"

"Ugh, give me... a... minute." He had his hands on his knees, bent double, soaked in sweat, looking sick and breathing ragged. He must have been hit by the heat a little, making his throat raw, and there were numerous telltale signs on his body where he'd been burned as our clothes melted away.

Checking for the first time, I noted I was the same. There were burns and blackened bits of skin that were already healing over, but I hadn't noticed or even felt the damage in the chaos.

"Okay, catch your breath and stay alert. I don't know what's going on but you can bet this is no accident."

"Really? You mean it's not normal for a volcano to swallow you up in your kitchen when you're showing off your shopping?" asked Kate with a wry grin.

"Um, no. And, er, sorry about your clothes, you both looked very nice."

"There are always more clothes. The main thing is that we're all safe. Mithnite, having second thoughts about moving in with us?" she asked, eyes twinkling. She was as hyped as we were, and I can't tell you how glad I was that she wasn't slapping me about the head, telling me I was nothing but trouble. After all, this was all down to me and the job I'd taken. At least, I assumed it was.

"Haha. No, you guys lead interesting lives, although next time I think I'll skip the outing if it involves anything hotter than a cuppa."

"That's the spirit," I said, then coughed as my lack of fitness made my heart hurt and my side reminded me I needed to get a running machine or go out on my bike more often—make that at all.

"Okay, come on, let's go. Let's get outta here."

"How do we get out?" asked Kate, looking dubiously ahead in the tunnel.

"Guess there's only one way to find out."

Off again, a gentle jog rather than a sprint, the tunnel seemingly never ending.

And then it did, and I teetered on the brink of emptiness, toes half over the edge, arms flailing wildly in the air as I tried to stop falling.

But momentum was too great, and as I caught sight of the enormous cavern the tunnel led to, I grasped at air then fell.

My Hero!

I yelped, cursing for going out without saying something memorable, then my fall was stopped, shoulder screaming in its socket, my always dodgy shoulder girdle tearing and grinding as my rotator cuff took a hammering it was in no way up to coping with. Tiny muscles, tendons, and ligaments frayed and stretched as Kate gripped me tight, saving me from certain death.

Heart deciding it may as well carry on beating, I wrapped a hand tight around Kate's wrist, matching her grip, then half smiled, half grimaced, as she poked her tongue out at me and said, "Maybe you could try helping?"

I looked at the ledge she nodded to and realized I'd made no effort to grab it with my free hand, just let her dangle me there like a resigned worm on a taut line.

"Ugh, sorry." I managed to get my forearm over the edge and the terrible pressure on my shoulder eased. Mithnite grabbed me by my scratched arm and together they hauled me to safety.

"My heroes!" I moaned, before collapsing onto solid ground, ignoring the scraping of rock against nether regions that should never be given such rough punishment.

"That was close. You nearly lost it, Spark," Mithnite observed, telling me something I didn't need to be told.

"Good job you were here, then," I grunted, getting to my feet and shaking like a wet dog. "Thanks, Kate, you saved me." I went to hug her but screamed as my shoulder exploded in agony with a loud rip. My arm hung limp. "Argh, shit, shit, shit. I think I tore out my rotator cuff." The pain was so intense I went freezing cold, shock so severe I felt like I was turning to ice.

After all the pain, all the hurt I'd been through in my life, all the problems I'd had with various bits of me over the years, I'd never had something like this before. It was right up there with being skinned. Okay, not quite, but it still really hurt!

"Here, let me," said Kate. She took my arm gently and felt about my shoulder, sending sharp pains stabbing into me as if my nerves were laid out and being pinned to my flesh with oversized nails. "Yep, it's the nerves, not the muscle. I need to get in there and put everything back where it's supposed to be."

"What do you mean, get in there?" I whimpered, visions of her peeling back the layers and poking it with her fingers making me go cold all over again.

"Just stay still, this will hurt a little." She nodded to me, asking me to trust her. I did, more than anything, so I grit my teeth and let her try to fix me.

The next two minutes were pure, utter agony that was off the scale. She put two fingers between where the front deltoid joins the chest muscle and probed, deeper and deeper until half her fingers were gone, weaving their way behind the muscles, exploring, pushing, lifting, and generally making me wish I had a saw so I could just chop my arm off and be done with it.

"There, finished," she said smiling and standing back. "Good as new."

I winced and cautiously lifted my arm. She was right. It felt like a new arm. Painful, but only because of the unavoidable bruising, not because of damaged tissue. "Ah, that feels amazing. Thank you, that's incredible. Where did you learn that stuff?"

"I'm not just a pretty face, Faz, I did a course."

"A course? On what? Ripping people's muscles off their bone?"

"No, silly, on sports physiotherapy. Well, on deep muscle repair, actually. I was interested. Just an introductory thing Online. While you were, ah... Okay, while you've been moping about for years." Kate shrugged then smiled. Fair enough, I suppose.

"Um, guys?" said Mithnite.

"Just wait a minute, I need to think." I mouthed a silent thank you to Kate, who grinned and bowed, then glowered as I focused on pendulous breasts.

"I really think you should listen. Is it me or is it getting hot in here? And loud?"

We turned, and only then did I realize I was sweating, but so were they. I'd thought it was because of Kate's repair job but it was something else.

"Damn, it's the lava. It's coming. The lake must have risen!"

We looked about in a panic, but we were on a narrow ledge high above a vast cavern with all manner of strange protrusions and outcroppings, but no visible way down.

"What are we going to do?" asked Kate, seeming a lot calmer than I felt. She trusted me, that I'd find us a way out. Now that's love for you.

I held on to the wall and peered down, but couldn't see the bottom. Scanning quickly right then left, I realized that the ledge we were on continued along the colossus of the wall, until it was lost to the rough surface.

"This way, I can't see any alternative." They gave me dubious looks, but it was that or nothing. "Come on, I can hear the lava." And I could, a roar like my tinnitus was building, and it was damn hot.

Without waiting, I turned to face the wall and shuffled sideways away from the mouth of the tunnel, hoping Kate and Mithnite would follow, and fast.

After I'd gone a few meters, Kate joined me on the ledge so I sped up, giving her room so she could get away and let Mithnite join in the fun.

I watched as his hand appeared, then the rest of him, looking almost wild with crazy marks all over his body. His ink flaring red and bright, then stuttering and giving up as he was too drained, only then realizing I'd called to the Empty and my limbs were powerful, hands wide and thickened to grab the rock to keep me stuck to the wall like a limpet.

"Just take it slow and don't look down," I shouted, words lost to the roar of the molten river as lava spat out of the tunnel in a spluttering display of fiery death.

The burning torrent lit the cavern far below, showing us the strangest of sights. Everywhere I could see were oversized, monolithic bridges and walkways, impossibly slender rock pillars, even what looked like buildings fit for giants of long ago, now crumbled half away. The remains of an ancient underground race I couldn't begin to picture. Certainly not giants as we knew it, not dwarves either, or orcs or ogres or anything of the sort.

Then it hit me, what this was, where we were. This was hell. Like a proper, genuine netherworld, one of the endless hells where demons and countless ungodly creatures or unknowable beasties did despicable things to each other and to all the unfortunates that lived and died both above ground and below.

As if to confirm my demonic suspicions, a cloud of noxious smoke clouded my vision and assaulted my nostrils and I almost fell to my death—if we weren't all already dead—as Intus popped into existence on my shoulder. "Wotcha, Spark. Got any Marmite? The kids have gone ballistic cos I'm out and I can't deal with... Um, this isn't your kitchen, is it? Have you been decorating without asking me my opinion? I don't like the new look, it's not very cozy."

"Not now, Intus. Can't you see I'm stuck on a ledge and there's lava pouring out of a tunnel right beside us?"

"Ooh, lava, lovely. 'Ere, who's the naked kid?"

"Can I please do the introductions later? I'm a bit busy right now."

"Suit yourself, no need to be grumpy. I'll be right back, can't miss a treat like this."

I watched in wonder as Intus sprouted wings on her normally wingless back and flew gracefully as a faery, if a little redder and certainly less appealing in the ear department, right at the churning flow of yellow and orange lava. At the last moment, she tucked her wings in and dove straight into the maelstrom.

"Just keep moving, I think there's a way down," I shouted, spying a series of huge steps that led to a bridge far below.

"Hurry," cried Kate, the stress finally getting to her, looking weak and flesh burning a little, her waning reserves only just about coping with the strains on her body.

I hurried.

Things Get Nuts

I shimmied sideways as fast as I could, the air cooling with every step, until finally I got onto a wide abutment. Kate and Mithnite caught up in no time, breathing hard but at least we were still alive.

"Is everyone okay? Kate, you gonna be able to do this?"

"I'm okay, but I'm fading fast. Repairing myself like this is too much, I don't think I can do it again."

"Let's be careful, then. Mithnite, how you holding up, buddy?"

"Been better. But yeah, hanging in there."

He looked a wreck, but I guessed I did, too. "Let's get going. This way."

"Faz, get going to where? What is this place?" asked Kate, the scale of the cavern visible to her and Mithnite for the first time.

"You don't want to know. Let's keep moving until we find a way out." I began walking, not wanting to tell them I didn't believe there actually was a way out. That we were probably stuck here for eternity and it was just a matter of time before the beasties turned up.

We were on a long pier of some sort now, jutting out from the rough wall of the cavern, impossibly high, the wind strong away from the edge.

Wide enough for us to walk three-abreast if we didn't mind risking falling, we stayed in single file and moved fast but carefully, coming to a series of ridiculously oversized steps that led down and onto an arched bridge that seemed to lead to a narrow, towering pillar. From the pillar there were steps that spiraled down and around the massive structure, until lost far below. I didn't know what was down there but there was no other way to go so what the hell, right?

"Oi, wait for me," came the deep baritone of Intus, glowing like the lava she'd just dived right into.

"Damn, forgot all about her," I mumbled.

"I heard that, Spark. I'll have you know I'm not just a her, I'm an imp, a demon of highest regard and—"

"Intus! Please, I'm sorry, okay? But we're a little busy, and very stressed." I stopped moving and we found ourselves all staring down at the three inch demon. My friend, a creature that had saved my life, but can also be a bit funny about the whole gender thing and you certainly don't comment on her height if you want to keep all your bits and pieces in the right place.

"Ah, okay. Hello, Mrs. Kate. Hello, er..."

"Mithnite, I'm Mithnite."

"I know you." Intus paused, cocking her shining red head to the side, ears wiggling, steam hissing off her body as she returned to regular imp temperature. "Yeah, you're the annoying human that keeps calling up Illus, thinking it's clever to summon demons when they're supposed to be minding the kids."

"Whoa! I only did it a couple of times, honest." Mithnite put his hands up as if to ward off anything nasty Intus might do. Truth be told, she'd probably just go hide his socks, or maybe loosen the stitching on his underwear or something—if he had any clothes left.