Darkness Rising: Disciples of the Horned One Volume One (Soul Force Saga Book 1) (27 page)

M
orana adjusted her tight
, black dress and fluffed her curly copper hair as she walked down the dim tunnel. After she left that idiot Mikhail to return south, she’d flown to her master’s base in the northern mountains, as bleak and desolate a place as she’d ever visited.

It suited Connor Blackman perfectly.

She approached the library Connor had carved out of the mountain and paused outside the entrance to pull the neck of her dress a little lower. Morana didn’t know why she bothered. Connor never noticed her no matter how short her skirt or how low her top. Was it her or did he have no interest in women in general?

Morana squared her shoulders and stepped across the threshold. As always the darkness of the place struck her like a cold fist, sending a thrill through her whole body. How she wished to join Connor in this wonderful, consuming darkness. Soon, he’d promised her. For now he needed her soul force uncorrupted so she could move about as his agent in the wider world.

Connor had carved the library out of solid stone; the tables and bookcases were simply stone he’d left behind and shaped to his needs. Ancient tomes and scrolls covered the gray shelves alongside stranger artifacts like a horned demon skull that still retained eyes which followed her every move. If it had lips she suspected it would have licked them. The entire collection radiated demonic corruption.

She reached out to touch a black gem that pulsed with power, but caught herself before her fingers could brush the cold facets. Last time she touched something in his collection Connor had been very upset with her. She had the scars to prove it.

Morana strutted down through the rows toward the back of the room, swinging her hips in her best imitation of a cheap whore. She’d tried this trick before and, of course, he’d ignored her like always. Maybe this time she’d have better luck.

Connor sat in a stone chair turned inky black after years of absorbing his corruption. Long, black hair covered his face as he looked down at the blackened metal amulet in his hands. That artifact never left his possession. Morana had asked him about it once and he just smiled and said it was the key to eternity. Whatever that meant.

She stopped a safe distance from him and after a moment he looked up, veins black in his pale face, lips blue as a corpse, and eyes as crimson as blood. She shivered, wishing she had the courage to discover for herself if those lips felt as cold as they looked. “Master.”

“Morana.” The emotionless, precise voice showed her neither warmth nor affection. “How fare things in the city?”

She grimaced. He wasn’t going to like this. “The Unkindness is finished and the death of the Santen family has been discovered.”

Blue lips peeled back from clenched teeth. “The others?”

“Still in place and undiscovered.”

“That’s something, at least.”

“Mikhail, that idiot, destroyed the gate.”

She’d expected Connor to hit the roof at that, but he just waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter. It was just a proof of concept. Now that I know it works I can move on to the next phase.”

“Do you have another mission for me?” Please don’t send me to join Mikhail.

“Return to Port Valcane. I have agents arriving in the near future and they may require your assistance. In the meantime see about gathering up whatever remains of the gang. I’m sure we can find some use for them.”

“After Mikhail destroyed their base they may not want to work with us anymore.”

Connor’s gaze bored into her. “I trust you to persuade them.”

D
amien followed
Lane into the dining room. A long, cherry table filled the center of the room, the surface covered with elaborate settings for each guest, including five forks, three knives of various shapes, two spoons, and an odd hooked device that looked more appropriate for a torture chamber than a formal dining room. On each plate rested a vellum card with a guest’s name written on it. Lane sat at the end of the left-hand row next to Baron Trasker. It may have been meant as an insult to stick her at the end of the table, but it pleased Damien as she at least wasn’t surrounded by potential enemies.

A crystal chandelier hung over the center of the table, its scores of candles casting a warm glow throughout the room. In each corner a large green potted plant spread wide leaves. Lane and most of the barons took their assigned seats. The other guards stood against the wall behind their charges and Damien mimicked them, standing behind Lane. At the head of the table, Baron Kannon remained standing. He whispered something to Miles. The majordomo nodded and hurried out through another door. Behind it Damien caught a glimpse of the kitchen. The smell of spices and roasting meat wafted through the momentarily opened door.

Baron Kannon raised his hands and the mumbled conversations fell silent. Two young, female servants emerged from the kitchen, each bearing a bottle of red wine. Damien quickly scanned the wine as well as Lane’s glass, plate, and utensils. No poison. So far so good.

When everyone had a full glass Baron Kannon said, “A toast, to another year of cooperation with my fellow barons, and continued good relations with the kingdom.”

He addressed that last bit to Lane, who offered a polite nod. They all raised their glasses. “Hear, hear!”

Everyone drank and Baron Kannon took his seat at the head of the table. More servants emerged from the kitchen. They carried platters covered with little disks of bread smeared with some sort of gray mush. Damien didn’t know what it was, but he was glad he didn’t have to eat any.

He scanned the food and found no poison. The next two courses were salads, also poison free. By the time the soup came out Damien was starting to think they weren’t going to try and kill Lane tonight. One of the pretty, young servants set a bowl of deep-red soup in front of Lane.

Damien’s nerves jangled when he encountered an especially nasty poison floating in the steaming liquid. Lane lifted the larger of her two spoons as Damien rushed to gather all the poison into a small ball.

He managed it with half a second to spare before she dipped in for the first bite. He wrapped the poison in a soul force bubble, turned it invisible, and dumped it in the dirt around the farthest plant. It didn’t instantly turn black, so the poison must not have been quite as bad as he feared.

For her part Lane chatted away with Trasker and the baron across from her, as fat a man as Damien had ever seen. No one gave her any searching looks like they were expecting her to fall face first into her soup. The poison was probably a slow-acting one, something that would sicken her overnight. Part of Damien wanted badly to kill them all on the spot, but he had to be sure all the barons were involved and not just Trasker.

The next three courses were clean, and smelled delicious. Dessert was some sort of whipped concoction topped with flames. Another poison was mixed with whatever accelerant produced the flames. Damien purified the food again and dumped the second poison in the same pot as the first. The edges of the plant’s leaves turned brown.

The second poison must have enhanced the effects of the first. That was risky. If Lane hadn’t cared for either the soup or dessert their plan might have failed even without Damien’s interference.

“I don’t know about you,” Sloan said. “But I’m starving.”

Spending the evening removing toxins from Lane’s food had soured Damien’s appetite. “I think I might be coming down with something. My stomach is a mess.”

Sloan nodded. “I hear you. Some of this rich food is poison.”

L
ane took
her seat at the end of the row. The barons had probably stuck her there as an insult, but Lane refused to let it bother her. She had a job to do and petty tricks wouldn’t stop her. She felt completely at ease knowing Damien stood behind her. Though she wouldn’t deny having the young sorcerer along had annoyed her at first, he’d proven himself a skilled protector and pleasant companion. He might be the first sorcerer whose company she’d allowed herself to enjoy, outside her mother.

Across from her Baron Marris couldn’t take his eyes off her chest. She smiled at him. “Baron Marris, how’s your lovely wife?”

He grimaced and his face went white. “Fine.” His voice sounded more strained than she’d expected.

Beside her Barron Trasker chuckled. “Well struck, my dear. I’m afraid we’re all missing our wives. Given the tense situation with the kingdom we thought it best to leave them at home. It’s been a lonely few weeks.”

He didn’t sound like a traitor. Did the barons really fear the king would target their families? Even if they voted to leave the kingdom, Lane didn’t believe King Andrew would do anything to innocent women and children. She’d met the king several times and found him to be kind and decent.

“Rest assured, Baron Trasker, that the king would never do anything to bring harm to an innocent.”

He patted her hand in a fatherly sort of way. “It’s sweet that you believe something so naive, but in war there are no innocents and no one is off limits. The king will do what he must to keep his nobles in line.” Trasker’s voice turned hard. “And we will do what we must to protect our families.”

Lane reconsidered her initial assumption. Maybe Trasker
had
betrayed the kingdom. If he truly believed his family was in danger he might not consider it treason, but rather a desperate attempt at self-preservation. If that were true, what else might these desperate men be driven to? Hopefully nothing too drastic. Nevertheless she found herself doubly glad to have Damien watching her back.

Baron Kannon made a toast and the first course arrived. Lane smiled, she loved pâté. She wasn’t alone and soon everyone had polished off their appetizer.

“I don’t suppose you’d care to give us a preview of the king’s demands,” Trasker said.

“You already know what he expects: the border secure and your taxes paid on time. I’m here to listen to your concerns and work out the details of a final agreement. I’m sure tomorrow’s meeting will be productive and this ugly matter will be put behind us.”

Trasker’s smile seemed forced. “Of course, tomorrow.”

The rest of the meal passed with little more than casual chitchat. None of the nobles pressed her for information. In fact no one seemed especially interested in the meeting tomorrow. The only interesting thing beyond the delicious meal was twice she would have sworn her food moved on its own. Lane must have drunk more wine than she thought.

When the servants had cleared the remains of dessert Lane felt full to bursting. Kannon rose again and said, “Gentlemen and lady, I hope you enjoyed tonight’s meal. Sleep well, for tomorrow we have much to do. If any of the bodyguards are hungry feel free to help yourselves to any leftovers in the kitchen.”

The gathering broke up, and most of the barons headed toward their rooms. Several bodyguards jogged into the kitchen. Lane expected to see Damien among them, but he simply stood, hands behind his back, waiting for her.

She went over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“I don’t have much of an appetite this evening. Are you ready to head back?”

She’d planned to offer to wait while he went for something from the kitchen, but if he wasn’t hungry there wasn’t much point. “Sure. It doesn’t look like they plan to do anything important tonight.”

She headed for the door and Damien followed at the appropriate distance, his gaze darting around the room, trying to look everywhere at once. He looked more nervous than when they’d arrived. Had something happened she wasn’t aware of?

Lane paused and looked back. “What’s wrong?”

“Not a thing. Please keep going.”

Lane knew a lie when she heard it, but clearly Damien didn’t want the barons to hear what he had to say. Curious and a little anxious, Lane set as brisk a pace as she could and not look like she was fleeing back to her room. They arrived at their rooms and she reached for the door.

Damien grabbed her wrist and looked up and down the empty hall. He leaned in close and for a second she thought he meant to kiss her.

“Someone’s been in our rooms,” he whispered in her ear. “They’re gone now, but they may have left a surprise. Let me go first.”

Lane tried to swallow, but found her throat dry. Her over-full stomach churned. She nodded and he released her wrist.

The door to her side of the suite opened slowly. Damien still stood in front of her, shielding her from anything that might wait inside. Lane found herself glad to have a sorcerer for a bodyguard. She expected him to move, but Damien never even twitched. His body remained taut and his eyes alert as he examined the room with senses other than sight.

After five tense minutes he said, “It’s safe.”

Damien went through the door to her side of the room and waved her in. The moment she crossed the threshold he shut the door and threw the bolt. He concentrated for a moment then sighed. “I warded the room against eavesdropping so we can speak freely.”

“How did you know someone had been in our room?” Lane sat on the edge of the bed.

“I put an invisible thread of soul force across the doorway. Someone snapped it halfway through dinner. It might have been a servant coming to see if the room needed cleaning, but I didn’t want to take chances.”

She smiled. “You’re taking your role as bodyguard pretty seriously.”

“It seemed prudent, especially considering someone tried to poison you at dinner.”

Lane choked and burst into a coughing fit. She had to have misheard. Damien sat beside her and patted her back. When she could breathe again she said, “Poison?”

He nodded. “In the soup and dessert. Don’t worry, I removed it and disposed of it safely.”

She stared at him. “I thought my soup stirred on its own. That was you?”

“Yes. I didn’t recognize the poison, but I wanted to be sure I removed it before you had a taste. Did any of the barons seem suspicious to you?”

“I only spoke to Trasker and Marris and they seemed tense, but no more than you might expect considering the circumstances. Perhaps the barons didn’t know about the poison.”

“Perhaps. If they’re surprised when you walk into that meeting tomorrow you’ll know for sure. Just make sure you don’t eat or drink anything they offer.”

No kidding.