Darkness Watching (Darkworld #1) (15 page)

Heart beating fast, I pushed open the door and climbed the cramped, narrow stairs. I heard the buzz of a television and several voices behind the red-painted door at the top, and, before I could lose my nerve, I went in.

For a second, I thought I’d wandered into the wrong room. I counted four people, grouped around a large flat-screen television. As I edged closer, I saw the two guys were playing some Xbox game, whilst the two girls watched. One guy was large and muscular with fair hair, the other smaller with unruly dark hair and wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Why so serious?” underneath a picture of the Joker. The second guy seemed to be winning the game.

Claudia turned around as I entered. She wore a plain black skirt and a red shirt today, her hair tied back in a ponytail.

“There you are!” she said. “Guys, this is Ash, she’s our newest, um, recruit.”

The other girl cast me a disinterested look, then turned her eyes back to the screen. She was striking-looking, with glossy black hair streaked with red, multiple piercings, and a butterfly tattooed on the arm she’d draped around the back of the sofa.

There was no response at all from the guys, who appeared to be locked in an intense wrestling match on-screen.

“Come on, man!” said the blond guy. “Give me a fucking chance! That wasn’t fair!”

“Life’s not fair, Howard,” said the other guy.

“You’re an asshole,” snarled Howard.

“That was totally legit, and you know it. You just can’t take losing.”

“Shut up!”

And to my complete and utter astonishment, the blond guy stood up―he must have been at least six and a half feet tall―and hurled the wireless Xbox controller at the other guy’s head. The smaller guy ducked out of the way just in time, and the controller hit the floor with such force the batteries shot out in all directions.

“I’m sick of this bullshit!” the blond guy roared, and he stormed out the room.

“Jesus,” said the dark-haired guy, shaking his head. “Who pissed him off this time?”

“Some
venator
came knocking on his door this morning,” said the girl on the sofa. “Said he wanted him to come and register. Again. Howard nearly tore his head off.”

“You might have warned me.” He put the controller down and started groping under the sofa for the missing batteries.

“Gods,” said Claudia. “Did they give him another warning?”

“I don’t think so. It was some new kid who did it; I think Howard scared him enough that he won’t tell.”

“At least there’s that,” said Claudia. “Sorry about that, Ash. Howard’s a little… volatile.”

“So I see!” I said, a lot more composed than I felt. I was beginning to regret ever agreeing to come.

“Anyway, you’ve not met Berenice or Leo yet, have you?”

“Um, no.” Feeling I might as well make the best of the situation, I said, “Hi, I’m Ashlyn, but I prefer being called Ash. Nice to meet you.”

“Hey.” Leo emerged from underneath the sofa with two of the missing batteries in hand. “I’m Leo. You’re a Fresher, too?”

“Yeah,” I said. “What course are you doing?”

“Same as you. English Literature. I saw you at the lecture yesterday. Decided to show up for once.”

“I guess I didn’t see you,” I said. “I’ve had a lot of new faces to learn.”

“I joined up with this crew a couple of weeks ago,” said Leo, “but my brother, Cyrus, is the one who started this little group of misfits a year ago.”

Berenice snorted. “Well, Cyrus isn’t here, he’s
working.
I guess we won’t be able to teach the newbie any of our tricks.”

“I can teach her,” said Claudia. “I told you, she doesn’t know―”

“Anything?” Berenice snorted again. “A fine little circle of sinners we are. Demons the world over should tremble in fear.”

What had I done to rattle her chain? I’d only just walked in!

“What exactly do you do, then?” I said. “What do you mean by ‘circle of sinners’?”

“I picked the name,” said Leo, sprawling on the sofa in the space where Howard had been sitting. “There are people―even in the Venantium itself―who think all magic-users are servants of Satan. Which is kinda ironic, really. You have any questions, then?”

“I don’t really get who the Venantium are,” I said, ignoring Berenice’s derisive snort. I wanted to learn everything I could. “What do they actually do?”

“The original Venantium was a group of sorcerers dedicated to protecting our world against demons,” said Leo. “That’s the reason for their name;
venantium
means ‘hunters’ in Latin, and each member is known as a
venator
. Sounds more impressive than it is, trust me. Most
venators
I’ve met are total dickwads.”

“Why?” I said. “Claudia told me they help protect everyone from demons. How can that be a bad thing?”

“They’re blackmailers,” said Leo. “The underhanded shit they get up to, you wouldn’t believe. Howard knows it, and he won’t forgive them for it. They arrested his parents for experimentation with magic when he was a kid―don’t ask me what they were doing, I’ve no idea―and he hasn’t seen them since. He tried to break into their Headquarters for answers about five years ago, and they blocked his magic for breaking the laws.”

“That’s horrible,” I said. “Can they arrest anyone for using magic without their permission?”

“In theory, they can, but they often don’t know about it. Simple protective spells will keep most sorcerers from detecting magic-users if they’re done right; we’d never get any peace otherwise. I take it you want me to do it to her?” he said to Claudia.

She nodded.

“Right,” he said, turning back to me. “Don’t freak out, but I’m going to put a spell on you. A shield. It’ll stop anyone from knowing if you’ve used magic. Even a Venantium member could look at you and not know you from a normal person without breaking cover and using magic on you.”

I don’t know what expression he saw on my face, but he seemed to interpret it as nervousness.

“Don’t worry, it definitely works. Only me and my brother can do it, but we learned from an expert – someone in the Venantium itself. Seriously, don’t panic. Just relax.” He spoke in soothing tones, and, for some reason, this grated on my nerves.

“You think I’m going to freak out? I’ve seen demons. Trust me, it’ll take more than a little magic to scare me off.”

He laughed. “Okay. Well, Berenice freaked out when I did it to her. Nearly clawed my eyes out.”

“No danger of that happening,” I said, holding up my bitten nails.

He laughed again. The expression on Berenice’s face would have sent anyone else running for cover, but Leo didn’t look particularly fazed.

“Right. The shield isn’t totally fool-proof, but, even if you run smack into a
venator,
they won’t know you from an ordinary person.”

“And demons?” I said. “Will they stop staring at me?”

“They stare at you?” Leo gave me a curious look. “That’s a new one.”

“Everywhere I go. Well. Except here, and in Blackstone.”

“Hmm,” said Leo. “Must be fun, that. All the time? Do they stare at you when you’re in the shower?”

“
Leo!
” said Claudia.

“Just curious,” said Leo, shrugging.

“They don’t come into my house, so no,” I said, but I was pretty sure my face was on fire all the same.

“That’s weird.” Claudia frowned. “Do your parents have a protective shield put on the house?”

“No. No, I don’t think so. They don’t know anything about demons.”

“That’s not possible. Someone must have put a shield up there. Who else visited your house?”

“Huh? I don’t know, I can’t remember everyone. I’ve lived there all my life.”

“Could’ve been the previous owners,” said Leo doubtfully. “Strange. I’ve never heard of the demons taking an interest in one person before. When did it first happen?”

“Nearly a year ago. The first time I saw one was in the middle of a school assembly, just before Christmas last year.”

“Really?” said Leo.

“Yeah, it was on the day people said the world was going to end.”

“Same day the Venantium went apeshit,” said Leo, giving Claudia a significant look.

“Huh?” I said.

“There was a demon attack in Manchester on that day,” said Claudia. “It almost made the news, but the Venantium worked their subliminal magic and managed to cover it up. Some smart-arse sorcerer decided to summon a demon, and it escaped. It took a day for the Venantium to catch it. Found the sorcerer in his secret lair, where he’d been up to all kinds of crazy shit. They killed the demon, but it was too late for the sorcerer.”

“Manchester?” I felt that chill again, and trembled.
They call it the touch of instant death…
“I live there. Is that why I started to see demons on that day?”

“I don’t know, but I’m guessing it’s because there was more demonic activity than usual,” said Claudia. “I’ve never heard of it happening before the connection, though. Being able to see demons… that’s something that usually comes after years of practise contacting the Darkworld.”

“There’s a theory that loads of people have the connection but don’t realise it,” said Leo. “If you grow up with it, like the kids of people in the Venantium, then you know how to use magic―or rather, not to―from an early age, but, if no one in your family’s a magic-user, you’d have no idea.”

“What about you guys, then? How did you find out?”

“My parents used to be in the Venantium,” said Claudia. ‘They both quit when I was born, said it was too risky. They’d made too many enemies of rogue sorcerers. They told me about the connection, but said that I could make my own mind up whether to use it or not. I know the
venators
are keeping an eye on me in case I decide to go rogue.”

“Sounds like paranoia,” I said.

“It’s bloody ridiculous,” she said. “They’re watching Berenice, too, and Leo. Leo and Cyrus’s father’s really high up in the Venantium.”

“Really?” I said.

Leo shrugged. “Haven’t seen the tosser in years. He left me when my mother died, said he was going to devote his life to ridding the world of all demons, or some overblown claim. Moron.”

“What? Your dad left you?” I said.

“It’s not uncommon for higher
venators
to totally denounce their families,” said Claudia. ‘They claim it’s for safety reasons, but it’s really the power that attracts them. They think they’ll be the one to find a way to cut this world off from the Darkworld for good.”

“Which is impossible,” said Leo. “Our world can’t exist without the Darkworld. They might put Barriers up, but the Venantium are afraid that demons will find a way to break through anyway. It’s their biggest fear―the monsters will overrun their defence systems.”

“Is that possible?” I said.

“No, not unless someone undid the work of a hundred generations of sorcerers,” said Claudia. “The Barrier’s a tightly wound net of spells, strengthened over the years. No magic can touch it. Human or demon.”

“So what are they worried about?”

“Losing their power? Who knows? Anyway,” said Claudia, “you never told me whether anything happened that day, any reason your connection might have awakened.”

“Just a power-cut,” I said. “All the lights went out, and then I saw it. Then they kept appearing.”

“That’s… bizarre,” said Leo.

“I thought she must have sorcerer blood,” said Claudia.

Leo nodded. “Could be. Have you ever seen your family tree? What’s your surname?”

“My surname’s Temple. No, I haven’t seen a family tree. But, even if I had, how would I know if my ancestors were sorcerers or not? No one in my family’s ever been famous enough to make it into the history books, anyway.”

“There’s a way of finding out.” A smirk settled on Leo’s face. “Howard’ll love it. Oi, Berenice!”

No answer. Berenice appeared to be asleep.

“Berenice, you’re not fooling anyone.”

“Oh, so I exist again now, do I?” She sat up, flicking her hair back over her shoulder, and glared at me.

“Stop being a drama queen,” said Claudia. “You could have joined in the conversation.”

“I’m not interested in babysitting the newbie.”

I bristled at that. “I never asked you to, so there’s no reason to be a bitch.”

“
What
did you call me?”

“Berenice! Stop trying to start an argument! And stop laughing, Leo.”

“Yeah, it’s not funny,” snapped Berenice.

“Course it isn’t,” said Leo, still laughing, like I’d told a hilarious joke without even realising it.

“Anyway,” said Claudia, “we wanted to ask if you’re up for a little breaking and entering.”

“Count me out,” said Berenice, glaring at me. “I’ve got other stuff I’d rather be doing. Like sleeping. Or getting pissed.”

“Breaking and entering?” I said. “Why?”

“The Venantium’s library has records of every sorcerer who ever walked the Earth,” said Leo. “If there’s anything on your ancestors, it’ll be in there.”

“And we have to break in… why?”

“Technically, I’m allowed in, but you won’t be,” said Claudia. “It’s only for use by registered sorcerers. Howard’s banned, too.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I said. “Wait a minute―”

“I’m not convinced one night will cover it,” said Leo.

“Well, we’ll see what we find. We’ll do it next week, after the meeting.”

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

“Don’t I get a say in this?” I asked. “I mean, it is
my
ancestors we’re talking about.”

“Exactly,” said Leo. “If it were me, I’d want to know which naughty sorcerer in my family decided to hide him or herself from the Venantium. It’s not exactly a light decision.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions!” I threw up my hands, utterly frustrated. “I keep telling you, no one in my family can use magic. If you’d
met
my parents, you’d know. I’m just an anomaly, a freak of nature.”

“We’re all freaks of nature,” said Leo. “But the demons want something from you. If you come with us, we could help you find out what it is.”

He was right, of course. I did want to know. And if there was no other way…

“All right,” I said. “Count me in.”