Darkness Divides (Sensor #3) (12 page)

After getting everything together, I slung a bag on each shoulder and headed toward Derrick. When I got close enough, I could make out Nik helping him out of his harness. He’d gotten stuck about ten feet up in the tree. Even in the darkness, I could tell the parachute was tangled in numerous limbs and didn’t look like it would come out easily.

I shook my head and kept moving toward them. I’d tried to explain how to steer and gave Derrick all the basic safety lessons, but an hour-long crash course on how to properly use a parachute clearly wasn’t enough. Guess that’s why they made the military school three weeks long.

Nik eventually got the alpha free and lowered him to the ground. After that he flew back up to work on the chute. We couldn’t leave it. Some outdoor adventurers would eventually stumble across it if we did. The fae storm would keep them out of the vicinity of the city, but we were about five miles from there and close to a river used for canoe trips. I’d researched the area as soon as Nik gave me the exact location. It paid to know the lay of the land before entering it, especially when your hosts didn’t like you much.

Derrick was brushing pine needles off his t-shirt and jeans when I reached him. Between the nearby flashes of lightning and my improved night vision, I could see him clearly. He had a few shallow cuts on his face and a possible bruise on his chin, but he was already starting to heal. His pride probably got hurt more than anything.

“You’ve got a twig in your hair,” I said helpfully.

He brushed his hand over his head, but it was tangled in there pretty good. Derrick jerked out the rubber band holding his hair back and finger brushed through it until the twig and a few pine needles came free. Then he took a new rubber band out of his pocket and pulled his hair back again. I didn’t know why he bothered to keep it so long if he wasn’t ever going to wear it down.

“I’m never doing that again,” he swore.

“Are you sure?” I cocked my head at him. “There’s got to be a sky diving club around Fairbanks we could join. Maybe we could go out every weekend and get a few jumps in.”

He glared at me. “Don’t push it, sensor girl.”

A bag dropped down with a loud thud next to him. It was the pack with all of Derrick’s personal items. Nik must not have fully unhooked it from the harness when he got the werewolf out. Derrick checked it over before slinging it on his shoulder.

I looked back up to see Nik had just about gotten the chute free of the limbs catching it. Hopefully we’d be able to leave soon. Dawn was only a few hours away and we had some hiking to do. I pulled out a canteen of water and took a drink. In this terrain, I needed to get myself hydrated before the long walk. Being immortal didn’t mean you didn’t get thirsty and the men with me would think it strange if I didn’t keep up appearances.

Soon, Nik sent the parachute fluttering to the ground and Derrick stuffed it into the empty kit bag he’d brought. We hauled his and mine over to some thick brush and hid them the best we could. Nik came and put an amulet on top of them that my senses told me was some type of beacon. He must have gotten that from one of the fae back in Fairbanks.

“Let’s go,” he announced.

We didn’t make it far before running into a grizzly bear.

Chapter Twelve

Derrick and I stopped and exchanged wary glances. Not long after we met, we’d attempted to save Emily from a black bear attacking her. We’d gotten badly hurt in the process. Lucas had shown up and done away with the animal, though Derrick missed that part since he’d been knocked out, but we didn’t have a nephilim in our pocket this time. That was back when Lucas’ soul was bound to mine and he could sense when I was in danger. Now it was all up to me to save myself.

I pulled my Sig out of the waistband of my cargo pants where I’d holstered it. Last time it hadn’t done me much good, but it was the only weapon I had other than a couple of small knives. The brown grizzly before us looked like twice the size of the bear that had attacked us before. Nothing but a head shot would work on this one. I wasn’t even sure if that would be effective since we were still a good fifty meters from the animal.

Nik laughed and shook his head at Derrick and me. “Not to worry. I’ve got this.”

He strolled up to the bear without a hint of fear, letting his eyes glow red. Vampires didn’t use that trick much, but it was effective when they did. I had no idea if it would work on a bear, but I got my answer when the animal raised its paw at Nik to swipe him.

The master vampire caught it mid-swing and held it. With his free hand he smacked the animal on the side of its muzzle twice, knocking its head back and forth. Damn. It took some serious power to hold a grizzly still and smack it around like that. Maybe someday I’d be that strong.

The bear let out a massive roar that left my ears ringing.

Nik kicked it in the stomach and sent it flying back about ten feet. The huge animal landed with a loud thump on its side. After a bit of shuffling to get itself up, it gave Nik a last look and wandered off—thankfully in a different direction than we were headed.

“Thanks for not killing it,” Derrick said after the vampire returned to us.

Nik patted him on the shoulder. “I know how much you love your furry friends.”

Derrick was big on protecting animals of all kinds—even the most dangerous ones. It might seem weird that a werewolf couldn’t take a bear, but even a full pack of wild wolves would have a difficult time getting the best of a grizzly. They were at the top of the food chain and tough animals to kill. That didn’t stop Derrick from wanting to protect them, though.

Personally, I was considering carrying grenades on my hikes from now on where they might show up. Sable was about the only animal I could tolerate and even she had taken some time to grow on me. I wished I could have brought her with me on this trip, but she needed to stay with Emily more.

We continued on our journey east toward the fae city. There was no need for a compass or GPS. The big storm in the sky lit our way just fine. It took almost an hour of hiking through rugged terrain before we reached Wind River. Drenched, we stared at the treacherous currents. The torrential downpour had transformed the normally inviting river into dangerous rapids.

“There’s no way you’re getting me to cross that on foot,” I said. The pretty pictures I’d seen of it hadn’t made it look that bad.

“You won’t,” Nik said, giving me a reassuring look. “We’ll fly over it.”

“How?” I asked. “I’m pretty sure I won’t be sprouting wings anytime soon.”

“Come here, and I’ll show you.” He held out his arms.

I glared at him. “You can’t fly me, can you?”

“Actually, I can. When I fly I’m using magic on myself, not you. Provided you don’t bleed all over me, it will work.” He stepped up close. “Now wrap your arms around me.”

I gritted my teeth and did as he said, laying my head against his chest. We didn’t have time to argue. The night hours didn’t last long at this time of year and we needed to hurry if we wanted to be safely settled in the fae city by dawn. Nik wouldn’t have many places to hide if the sun came up before then.

“Try anything funny and I’ll rip your throat out,” I warned.

He gave me a peck on my forehead. “Such a bloodthirsty wench. That’s what I’ve always liked about you.”

I barely felt it when we lifted off the ground. Nik held me as tightly as I held him. While we sailed through the air I stared down at the raging river. Rain lashed at us the whole way and the wind picked up when we reached the other side. The last part of the journey was really going to suck.

Nik let go of me and went back for Derrick. He took the werewolf’s pack and arranged it so it would be on one shoulder with his pack on the other. Then he grabbed Derrick from behind to carry him. He’d purposely made it more intimate with me. The bastard.

The two men landed with a splash and didn’t look any happier than I felt at being soaked with freezing cold rain. The long sleeve shirt and light jacket I’d chosen to wear suddenly didn’t feel like enough protection. Couldn’t the fae have at least made it a little warmer? They had to know anyone traveling to the city right now would be miserable. Then again, maybe that was the point.

“Don’t suppose anyone thought to bring an umbrella?” I asked.

“That would look ridiculous. Hiking through the woods with an umbrella.” Derrick grunted.

I grinned. “We’d really impress the fae then.”

“We’ll need to take a southeasterly route from here,” Nik said, leading the way. “The main entrance is on the southern end and that’s where they’re expecting us.”

My boots squished as I walked. All this hiking brought back memories from my military days when we had to do land navigation. It was my personal curse that it would rain every time.

I caught up with Nik. “How many times have you visited this place?”

“Only once, when I first arrived in North America. Before that, I’d only visited the fae city in Europe.” He glanced down at me. “It’s up north in a remote region as well. They like their privacy.”

The rain and lightning struck faster and harder the closer we got. I jumped every time the strikes came down too close to us. Nik and Derrick didn’t handle them any better. Lightning had a tendency to gravitate toward supernaturals and could kill most of them if it hit them directly. I suspected the only reason they dodged these strikes was because a fae controlled them. If this was how we were being greeted now, I couldn’t wait to meet the actual welcome party.

We reached a gravel road. For no reason I could figure out, it began in the middle of a flat stretch of land and led straight to the city about a quarter mile away. Through the rain, I could see a low stone wall surrounding it. The closer we got, the more apparent it became that it had been much higher before. Now it was just piles of rocks the explosion must have knocked down. It would take a lot of work to get the wall back up again.

Two men and one woman stood waiting for us at the entrance. What was left of the gate lay crumpled in a twist of blackened metal next to them. The man at the front was an elf who registered on my senses as being about a decade shy of four hundred years old, though he only looked to be in his mid-thirties. Elves were among the longest lived of the fae races, along with fairies.

This one had light green skin the same as I’d witnessed on two other elves I’d seen before. He wore his long black hair tucked behind his pointed ears and flowing down his back. His dark eyes reflected no emotion and nothing came up on my senses. He’d make for a good poker player.

“Welcome to Feidlimid,” he announced, focusing his attention on Nik. “I am Cirdan. A guardian of this city and the one appointed to assist you during your stay.”

“It is good to see you again, Cirdan.” Nik responded with a bow. At least the master vampire knew the proper etiquette around here.

It had stopped raining as soon as we reached the city gates—or what was left of them—but storm clouds still raged overhead. I wiped my wet hair off my face. My ponytail had fallen apart at some point during our long trek.

“Is that the name of this place?” I asked.

Cirdan’s gaze fell on me. “It is, though most forget once they leave. You are the sensor, Melena Sanders?”

“All day long,” I responded.

He narrowed his eyes. “It is a sign of trust that we allow you to know this name. You should never speak of it outside of these gates.”

The elf wasn’t even trying to hide the implied threat in his words. He knew I’d get the message.

“My lips are sealed,” I replied. What would I do with the damned name anyway?

“Good.” Cirdan turned to Derrick. “You are the alpha werewolf of Fairbanks, Derrick Wilson?”

“I am.” The alpha nodded.

This elf was making a point of calling us by our full names, except Nik, who he seemed to respect. Maybe he could do something to Derrick with that, but he couldn’t do anything to me. My immunity to magic prevented it. Saying them aloud probably made him feel superior in some silly way, though. The fae loved their little power games.

“We appreciate you traveling here on such short notice.” Cirdan’s gaze moved between Derrick and Nik. “There is much work to be done if we are to make this city a refuge once more.”

It wasn’t lost on me that I was left out of that little speech.

“Whatever we can do to help,” Nik said.

“For now, I’m sure your group would like to get some rest. I’ll show you and Derrick Wilson to your quarters.” He gestured to the man and woman behind him. “This pair will escort Melena Sanders to her room at the palace and explain her duties to her.”

They were druids. Fearless warriors who were capable of practicing earth-bound magic. They trained from an early age to fight and kill. These two wore dark gray robes over their bodies, but I suspected both would be in excellent physical shape. I couldn’t make out their faces since they were shadowed with their hoods drawn close. What druids actually looked like, I had no idea since I’d never run across one before. Each of them had a wooden staff in their hand that was infused with strong magic spells. I wished I could have one of those without ruining it.

“Just a moment.” Nik took a step closer to me. “I was assured Melena would be safe during her stay here.”

“She will be,” Cirdan answered. “Provided she follows our rules and causes no harm to others.”

“Melena has come here in good faith with the intention of helping your city. I promised to look out for her while she was here. She does not need these…guards.” He swept his arm out toward the druids.

Cirdan stiffened his back. “The guards are not negotiable. Very few know who or what Melena Sanders is and we’d prefer to keep it that way. The fact that she’s been marked by Lucas of Pistiros—a respected elder among all the races—is the only reason we’ve allowed her to come here at all. If
he
can tolerate her, then we shall endeavor to do so as well, but with limits.”