Dawn of a Dark Knight (17 page)

“Yes.”

“It does have to do with you guys. I thought so. What is it?”

“What did it seem like to you?”

“It had the magi symbol on it and looked ancient, but I don’t know what it was for. Is it like that bracelet the guy at the hospital forced me to take?”

“No. Did you get the amulet?”
Please, say yes.

“The seller got spooked and took off before we could complete the deal. What’s special about the bracelet then?”

Should he disclose this? If she was the
akhrian
, then she would eventually need to know.

Kira added, “I promise I’ll keep the info to myself.”

“This is not for public knowledge. Each of us is given a totem like the wristband when the gods do their little induction ceremony. These items aren’t the source of our power, but they play an important role. Way back in the beginning, there were ten such items—one for each magus. Only nine still exist. The tenth has been missing for a long time, but it isn’t the amulet. Each time we reincarnate and reenter this life, we get the totem back. We keep the unclaimed totems safe.”

“What happened to the tenth?”

“Our enemies discovered if a totem is destroyed, then we can’t come back. It disappeared centuries ago, and the magi of that time were convinced it was destroyed. I’m not so sure. The gods made them. So, I don’t know that humans can destroy them. I think it was hidden.”

“How many of you are there?”

“Seven active.”

“With the wristband, can’t you get a new guy to fill his spot?”

“We may be able to now.”
Because we have you
.

“Why not just get rid of the Hashishins? Wouldn’t it cut down on the workload?”

Ashor shifted uneasily in his seat. “We’re not supposed to do that. Our purpose is to clean up the messes they release. Daemons. It has to do with balance. Daemons aren’t supposed to be here in this realm.” Though, if he found the current summoner, he’d feel no guilt in terminating the guy’s ass.

“What’s so special about that amulet?”

“The gods gave it to us. To aid our healer.”

At that moment, they turned into the airport and headed for an enclosed hangar.

“You have a private plane? I wasn’t kidding when I said I can’t leave here yet.”

He didn’t reply as he pulled the SUV into the hangar. Once out of the car, he grabbed her elbow and dragged her toward the mid-sized jet. Several men crowded around the entry stairs.

Ashor ordered, “Christian, take care of this.”

Christian directed a charming smile at the three men in official uniforms. He waved his hand at them and drawled, “Gentlemen, why don’t we step over here. I’m sure we can come to an understanding.” As if entranced, the men followed mutely in the direction of their minivan.

Ashor noticed Kira leaning in Christian’s direction.
Even she can’t resist the gigolo’s charm.
Irritated, he grabbed her hand and towed her up the plane’s stairs.

The interior was luxurious, yet comfortable, in earth tones, leather, and wood. Ethan reclined in one of the oversized leather seats, dozing.

Eric’s kid, Scott, sat in the back. As usual, his eyes were glued to a laptop screen. Scott’s newest irregular haircut might be the in-thing, according to him, but Ashor thought it was asking too much of his limp blond hair.

Kira asked, “How do you guys afford this?”

“Navid had some precog ability that gave us some good investment pointers. He’s the guy that didn’t make it at the hospital.”

“I am sorry about his death, but isn’t using precog cheating?”

“Perhaps a bit.” Ashor smiled.

Christian bounded up the stairs and pulled the hatch closed. He grinned with an air of playful exuberance.

“We’re good to go. Hey, what happened to the SUV? The rental company will be pissed. We’ll buy them another one, but still a waste of a nice car.”

“Eric said Ashor ran into a little trouble on his way back,” Ethan grumbled, maintaining his shut-eye.

“Javen, it’s all yours. Get us out of here,” Ashor yelled toward the cockpit.

Javen waved and started the engine.

Christian halted on his way to the bar at the front of the plane. He openly gaped at Ashor, who was shirtless in his leather coat.

“How did you heal that fast?” His gaze shifted suspiciously to Kira. “She do her thing again?”

Ashor ignored Christian and said to Kira, “You should sit.”

“Should I buckle in and review the safety information as well? Or do we have a little stewardess to go through the safety instructions?” she tossed back, obviously nervous.

“If there’s any safety information that would help if this tin can crashed, I’d be surprised,” Ashor commented dryly.

“Is that guy at least certified to fly this thing?”

“Perhaps.”

“What’s that smell?” Kira looked toward the cockpit. “The pilot is smoking marijuana!”

“Helps him fly better.” Ashor resisted the urge to smile at her indignant pose.

“Well, he’s definitely flying high somewhere,” she retorted crossly and plumped into one of the overstuffed chairs. “Can’t someone sober fly this thing?”

“No. Don’t worry, he’s only crashed once.”

Ethan grunted, “Twice. Don’t forget that time last year when Nate’s electrical ability went haywire. We had to swim Lake Erie in the middle of winter. Damned miserable experience, to say the least.”

“Thanks, Eth. Really helpful,” Ashor said, rolling his eyes.

“You guys might be virtually immortal, but I’m not. I do not want to die in a plane crash.”

“He’ll get us there. Don’t worry.”

“There? Where is that, exactly?”

Ashor suggested softly, “Relax and buckle in. Want a drink? Might help you chill out.”

Kira shook her head.

Once in the air, which only took a few minutes, she asked, “Ash, could I make use of the facilities, please? Is there perhaps a shower on board?”

“It’s toward the back. Be my guest.”

As soon as she closed the bathroom door, Ethan asked, “Ash? I’ve never heard anyone get away with that.”

“Start, and I’ll ram my katar up your ass.”

Ethan pointed at Ashor’s healed injuries. “What’s going on?”

Christian chimed in, “She’s super hot. Great ass. Is she a free agent?”

“For gods’ sake, stop thinking with your dick,” Ethan complained.

Ashor leaned toward Christian and loosed the rein on the territorial anger roaring through him. He placed a restraining hand on Christian’s neck and said in a low, threatening tone, “No.”

Christian’s eyes widened at the unexpected threat. His hands went up. “Hands will stay off. She’s all yours.”

Ashor let go and fell into a seat. His eyelids fell closed, and he rested his head against the seatback. “It’s complicated, Eth.”

“Isn’t it always with women?”

Ashor released a sigh that communicated irritation, frustration, and a short supply of patience. “She knows nothing about our need for the
akhrian.
She’s a medical doctor, but obviously has a gift for the type of non-traditional medicine that we need
.
”

Christian said, “This is great. Now we can get new recruits. Well, once we get the amulet back, of course. How did you know where she was?”

Ashor’s mind stalled on the image of her touching another magus in healing, especially Christian. He clenched his jaw as resentment spiked. Darkness swirled in his mind. Swallowing convulsively, he struggled to suppress the murderous urges the
kem-seki
suggested.

He had to distance himself from her. She belonged to all of them, not to him exclusively. This extraordinary woman was off limits. Somehow, he must resist the lure of hormones, chemistry, and fated bonding. If he didn’t, the gods’ wrath over rule-breaking might extend to her.

Chapter Fifteen

“Terek, he got her. Shaitan got her. I couldn’t fight him.”

“Mahmud. Your incompetence is disgraceful.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but Shaitan was guarding her.”

“Utter that nickname one more time, and I’ll make you the centerpiece of our next gathering. Did you find out anything from Markus Langford?”

“Not yet. We’ve still got him. We separated the two of them. Nigil wanted to work over the girl at his cousin’s place on Long Island while I worked on Markus in New York. He’s dead. Nigil, that is.”

“At least he did one smart thing before dying. Did you find out anything from him about the amulet or her?”

“We only questioned him about the amulet. Both Markus and the girl claimed they never got it.”

“Find out everything about her from him. Kill him if you must. Kira Hardy has become our top priority.” Terek disconnected the call.

****

Kira gingerly palpated her nose in front of the bathroom mirror. No crunching or cracking. Good. Not broken, although the swelling made her sound stuffed up. If only she had a bit of concealer, then she could mask the bruise over her cheek.

Lifting her shirt revealed a fairly deep gash in her shoulder that needed sutures, but would heal without. However, the scar would be unattractive.

The wrist laceration was barely a scratch. Under the influence of that poison, she’d thought they were sawing her hand off.

Sliding onto the floor near the metal toilet, Kira propped her head in her hands. What a mess.

Markus might be dead. Even if he somehow escaped, she’d put both her cousins in jeopardy. Somehow, she had to convince them that these Hashishins were a serious threat. Then, she would go into hiding.

Doubtless the Hashishins had her on their hit list. She’d be lucky to sense them before the fatal knife strike hit.

Then there was Ashor. On the one hand, he was a terrifying killer. On the other, the guy quite simply put the sex in sexy. He kicked her body into hormone overdrive, shutting off logic whenever she looked at him. Dangerous.

Somehow, he had dogged her mind as a fantasy focal point for years, and apparently he knew. God, how mortifying to discover he shared those dreams. Had he actively participated in the dreams? If so, it would explain why recent dreams had progressed into erotic scenarios she had never even contemplated as possible.

Her eyes itched. With gentle manipulation, she pulled out the contacts. Right now, the grit of the past three days had priority. Pulling herself off the floor, she went to examine the shower. How did one of those brick shithouse warriors fit into this cramped stall? No problem for her, though. Afterwards, she found a comb in one of the drawers beneath the mirror to brush out her wet hair. She left it down instead of rebraiding it. In another drawer, she found a small emergency kit. Using the gauze and tape, she bandaged her hand and shoulder.

As she exited the bathroom, the three magi conversed quietly with their backs to her. She slipped into the seat next to the blond kid who typed madly on his laptop.

“Hi. I’m Kira. So, what’s got them worked up?”

“You.” The kid shoved shaggy yellow bangs out of his eyes to glance briefly in the direction of the low, intense voices.

“You the IT expert?” she said somewhat jokingly and nodded at the computer. She could tell he wasn’t a magus.

“Well, you wouldn’t expect those dinosaurs to know much about technology, would you? They’re all into weapons, training, and that ‘energy’ focus thing called
seichim
, but when it comes to moving into the technological age, forget it.”

“Are you playing a game or something?”

“Nah. Dad would kill me if I did that again. I got sucked into an online game a few years ago and couldn’t do anything else for five days. Lost six pounds.”

“Who’s your dad?”

“Eric. Mom said you helped him get out of the hospital. So, uh, thanks for that.”

“Aren’t you a bit young to be hanging out with these
dinosaurs
?”

“I’m eighteen. That’s plenty old enough. There’s no one else to get the job done.”

His eyes indicated she look at the laptop screen. The screen held the logo for the US Air Traffic Control. “With very little effort, you can completely make things disappear.” He pointed at a dot indicating a plane and said, “Us.” Then he dramatically clicked the ENTER button and the plane was gone.

She laughed, understanding his brilliance.

The hushed conversation at the front of the plane stopped. All three guys shifted in their seats to gaze in her direction.

She smiled at the three solemn faces. “He’s a genius, isn’t he?” She pointed at the kid. Then to the kid she said, “Hey, what’s your name?”

He grinned shyly, pink highlighting each cheek. “Scott.”

She whispered, “Scott, I think it’s time to face the firing squad. Wish me luck.”

After years of dealing with her two overbearing, protective cousins, especially the militant Kane, she was pretty sure she could handle this. But the silent, intense stare from each of the three guys had her chewing her lip.

Extending her hand toward Ethan, she said, “I’m Kira. We haven’t been officially introduced.” She detected a staggering level of pain. His outward appearance of calm was pure deception.

“Ethan.”

The doctor in her rose to the fore. “So, that daemon got you too?” She knelt beside him, clasped his hand. This time the healing power did its thing without a problem, unlike with Ashor. A half minute later, she stopped. With a smile, she stood. A wave of weakness hit. She gripped the seatback to prevent a nose-first onto the floor.

“Thanks,” Ethan mumbled softly. He flexed his arm and rotated his shoulder. He grasped Kira’s arm and pulled her close to whisper, “He isn’t handling this well.”

Kira’s eyes darted to Ashor. Fury glittered in his gaze. The iris sludge swirled fiercely. Although he remained still as stone, she sensed the swelling of dark energy within. Was he jealous? Well, he’d just have to get over it. She was not his exclusive personal doctor.

Admittedly, healing Ashor had been a far different experience from with Ethan. Aside from sexual distraction, Ashor’s energy had captured hers, merged, and then their combined energy led to that instantaneous rapture and beyond belief arousal. Just thinking about it was getting her hot.