Of Shadow Born (20 page)

Kade chuckled. "Little bit over the top, huh? But Amrhic says light bulbs hurt his eyes, so we humor him. If he wants torch light, that's what he gets." He squeezed her hand. "You get used to it after a while. I don't even notice them anymore."

"You're not exactly one of the average population, Kade." She said it with a smile. "And I don't know if I'll stick around long enough to make it to 'a while.'"

Neither one of them spoke again until they'd reached the door at the end of the hall. It stood open without being propped, held there by its own weight
. Judging by the thickness. Melanie thought it would take an army to get through, if they managed to get this far into the warren of hallways and twisting passages. Bolted from the inside, it would buy anyone in the room quite a bit of security.

And there went a thought that, before the last few days, would never have occurred. She shook herself, trying to dislodge wariness. She was safe here, at Kade's side, in the heart of a hidden fortress. She was safe.

"What's that saying about the journey of a thousand miles?" The voice came from somewhere beyond the door. It sounded rich and warm and as though the speaker hovered just on the edge of laughter.

Melanie glanced up at Kade. "That it begins with a single step?"

Kade shook his head, his smile as wry as it was amused. "He thinks we're eavesdropping. We didn't want to intrude," he offered to the faceless voice.

"I don't leave the door open when I want to be alone. Come in, come in."

They crossed the threshold in step. Melanie realized after the fact that she expected to walk into a library. After all, if the man she would meet was a collector and curator of all the knowledge of Kade's organization, it stood to reason there would be shelves and stacks of books to be referenced and recorded.

Instead, the room opened into a perfectly ordinary-looking parlor. There were couches and end tables. More iron sconces decorated the walls and tablets hung between them. They displayed pictographs and hieroglyphics and directly to her right, a gorgeous example of an illuminated page, gold glittering in the
flickering glow from the smokeless torches ringing the room.

There was a display case full of curios and a carpet on the floor with an intricate border of bright colors that immediately suggested Persian influence if it wasn't authentic. There were vases and sculptures and figurines on every surface. There were curtains along the back wall, left open just enough to reveal another doorway.

And only one book, left open on the sofa with a length of ribbon in the crease of the page to mark the place.

"You look disappointed," the man just rising from his seat said. He stepped forward and offered his hand in a firm but gentle shake. He covered Melanie's hand with his other and met
her gaze evenly, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes proving that he smiled often. Silver threaded through his dark hair liberally, a contrast to the dusky hue of his skin.

Torchlight reflected from eyes that seemed nearly black and yet somehow still welcoming. He wore pinstriped slacks with a crease in the legs and a crisp white shirt with the cuffs rolled up
, the first few buttons undone to reveal the undershirt beneath. Melanie found herself thinking of Omar Sharif and not librarians at all.

"No." She forced her tongue to move. "No, not disappointed. Just surprised. Pleasantly."

The man, the custodian, grinned and gave her a somewhat playful bow. "As pleasantly for me," he promised and straightened again, then offered Kade his hand as well. "It's been too long," he told the other man. "I've thought of you often."

Kade, to Melanie's new surprise, looked uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. "Nice to see you again," he allowed, "but the visit's not about me."

They stared at one another for a few heartbeats, then Amrhic nodded and smiled again. "Of course not." He turned back to Melanie and gestured her toward the couch he'd left. "Please, make yourself comfortable. I'm not one to stand on ceremony."

"Go on," Kade prompted when she looked over her shoulder at him. "Right behind you."

Melanie had never been good at taking over someone else's space or getting comfortable in a stranger's home. She sat beside the still-open book and let her gaze drift over the page on display as she settled. What she expected, she couldn't have said, but realizing the man had been reading
Clear and Present Danger
by Tom Clancy caught her completely off guard.

Amrhic chuckled as he settled into an armchair that faced them both. "Have you read it?" he wondered, as though Melanie had spoken aloud. When she shook her head, he did as well. "I have, seven times. It's a favorite. I'm a Jack Ryan fan."

"About the meeting," Kade interrupted.

"There's no harm in being pleasant, is there, Mr. Kade?" The words hung between them as Amrhic crossed his legs and Kade clenched his jaw. "Very well then, down to business. What do you want to know?"

Kade didn't say a word. Amrhic studied Melanie expectantly. Melanie glanced between both men and knew that her eyes had gone very wide.

"Me? I don't know what to ask. I don't know anything." She gripped her legs, curling her fingers against the little folds
of denim at her knees. "I didn't know I was going to be in the hot seat." She frowned and thought and dared a brief sidelong glare in Kade's direction. "I guess I want to know what's happening to me."

"Happening." Amrhic's smile went a long way toward soothing the sudden flight of butterflies beneath Melanie's ribs. "Explain it to me."

"When this is over, I'm never going to say the word 'impossible' again," Melanie vowed and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, held it, then opened them and soldiered on. Hiding from the rancor hadn't saved her and it wasn't likely to help her now.

"I understand walking through shadows. I mean, theoretically. I can do that because Kade's with me. But this thing with Noura
..." She shook her head. "We were in his apartment and she came through the wall. She moved like nothing I've ever seen and then she attacked me. She would have stabbed me, I think, but something happened and time slowed down.
She
slowed down, at least. And Kade," she glanced his way and saw him nodding in agreement, though he didn't chime in. "He says he didn't do it, so it had to be me, but I've never been able to do anything like that."

"Never been taught," Amrhic corrected gently. "But capable, yes. We are all filled with poten
tial." He paused and considered, then favored her with another warm smile. "Your parents, maybe grandparents, chose to forget the power hidden in their blood." He stood, slipping his hands into his pockets as he rose.

Melanie stared at his back. "Chose to forget what? My parents? You know my family?"

"It's my job to know," he said over his shoulder. He stopped before the curio cabinet, attention on one of the figurines within, though Melanie felt certain he'd memorized every detail of the collection long ago. "That's what I do," he went on without looking at her again. "Remember. Names, places, bloodlines. Yours is particularly impressive. It's a pity the choice was made, but not much of a surprise."

A chill swept over her, making her skin tingle.
She tried to ignore it as the feeling crawled up the back of her neck. Deep, even breaths. Amrhic would explain.

He turned to face her as though he'd heard the mental reassurance. He smiled again, but this time it didn't settle her nerves. "Your great-grandfather was a Warden. One of those tasked with keeping our secrets safe. After all you've seen and the attacks you've endured, I'm sure you understand the need."

She nodded roughly. "I understand. I think I do, at least, but my great-grandfather? One of you?" She looked to Kade, brow wrinkling. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

Kade opened his mouth but Amrhic interrupted. "He didn't know." He held up a hand and
came toward them again. "We are, perhaps, unduly concerned with our security. We trust very few in the grand scheme of things. We surround ourselves with layers of protection and we parcel out our duties very carefully.

"Gabriel Clairmont, from whom you are descended, only needed to know how to read old signs. Wards, runes and other sorts of record-keeping. He needed to know how to solve the riddles presented to him and keep the answers close to his chest. He was exceptionally good at both," he added with a faint smile.

Melanie narrowed her eyes. "You couldn't have known him. You're too young."

Amrhic chuckled. "I never met him personally, it's true. But in my role as custodian, I am given remembrances of all who've gone before. Your great-grandfather was much respected and greatly admired."

Melanie pressed the heel of one hand to her temple. She could feel her pulse kick against the pressure and closed her eyes, willing it to slow down again.
Impossible. Impossible!
So much for her vow. "If my grandparents and parents knew about this, why wouldn't they tell me? How could they choose to forget?"

"We all make choices," Amrhic answered reasonably. "What to eat, which shirt to wear, and those, I'm sure you agree, have much less consequence than a battle between the supernatural forces of dark and light, evil and good. Forgetting exempts and protects them. It takes them out of harm's way."

Melanie opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Then why bring me back in?"

She wanted an apology. She wanted him to say they'd made a mistake. What she saw in his expression instead was compassion. Not perfect, but a salve at least, to her whirling mind.

"That talent, the ability to uncover answers when no one else can, is vital to our survival. There's been no one like your great-grandfather. Others have a gift, but nothing that could match his level of skill." He smiled and nodded, confirming what she guessed before he said the words. "No one until you."

Chapter Seventeen

She had to move. She shoved to her feet and brushed past Amrhic, leaving Kade where he sat. She walked halfway down the length of the room, past the glass cases and displays of ancient things. She turned on her heel and faced the men again but didn't retrace her steps. She gripped her arms, digging her fingers into the skin until nerves throbbed in protest. Awake, real, this was really happening.

She felt like laughing. She wanted to cry. She did a little of both as she asked, "Don't
I
get a choice?"

To his credit, Amrhic didn't follow her. Neither, for that matter, did Kade. He watched her from the sofa, gaze intent and fingers curled on the arm, but he didn't move. She could only guess how much it cost him not to grab and shake her. They were talking about his way of life, protecting things he'd been taught to fight for growing up. Things that
had killed his father and brother. This was his world and his way of living. She'd allowed him into her life, so why couldn't she embrace his?

Why not cling to hers? There was nothing wrong with moving on. Choosing not to be part of a war she hadn't volunteered to fight. Her grandparents made the decision to protect the family. Her parents hadn't t
aught her anything. She had no good reason to throw herself back into the ring.

Except knowing what she did now, having seen incredible things, she'd never be able to put them out of her mind. Even if she walked away, she'd remember for the rest of her life and she'd wonder how the battle went and whether Kade survived.
If she walked away from this crazy past, she'd have to walk away from him.

Which meant she really didn't have a choice at all.

She might as well have reasoned through the thoughts out loud. The moment she heaved a sigh and gave in, nodded and felt her shoulders settle, Amrhic went to a table at one side of the room and tugged the draped cloth away.

The table proved to be a rolling cart and the hidden object the tablet from the museum. She knew it even from a distance. Her breath hitched as the urge to step closer tugged beneath her ribs again. She wet her lips and swallowed. No more hesitating. No more holding back. She'd made her decision. She went to join Amrhic.

The custodian brushed his fingers across the tablet with the kind of touch Melanie had only seen used on a treasured object. A relative's old bomber jacket. The portrait of an ancestor. A grandparent's hand-sewn quilt. His expression mirrored the gesture, warmed by a fond smile. When he lifted his gaze to hers, it surprised her to see a glint that might herald tears.

Amrhic cleared his throat and drew back his hand. "Forgive me," he said, smile widening. "We've been afraid we might never find this. To see it here and in one piece is something of a miracle. I confess that it overwhelms."

"Nothing to forgive." Melanie smiled in return. "I get choked up at work sometimes, too. It's nice to be around people who appreciate what they've got." And, she confessed to herself, that was indeed pride humming through her. She'd restored something important, accidentally or not.

"Will you show me what you did when you put it back together?" Amrhic beckoned her closer to the table.

Melanie stepped forward, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I didn't do anything special. Just put things back where they ought to be. The tablet did the rest on its own. I mean, I had my hand here," she demonstrated, letting her fingertips hover just above the engraved surface, "and the pieces moved without my help." The memory still stunned her. She pulled her hand back. "And that was it."

"No," Amrhic argued. "That wasn't it." She looked up and found him studying her curiously, a faint line mar
ring the space between his eyebrows. "What happened next?"

She swallowed and looked at the stone again. "I
...felt something in my fingers. Like a buzz, you know? Like when the refrigerator isn't grounded and you grab the handle in bare feet. I got dizzy, it started glowing—"

"Will you touch it again?" Another prompt from the distinguished man at her side. This time his eyes were eager, filled with hope.

She tucked her hands beneath her arms and retreated the step she'd taken. "I don't know if I should. I don't want to ruin anything."

"Please," he implored, voice gone soft enough to count as a murmur. "There are secrets locked within this tablet and you, Melanie, are the only key. Don't be frightened. You are among friends."

Melanie glanced over her shoulder to where Kade still sat. He'd leaned back into the sofa and draped an arm along the back. The space at his side looked open and inviting. She could curl there and she knew he'd drape his arm around her shoulders. He wouldn't scold or blame. The temptation to hide came on strong.

But so did the urge to stick to her guns and follow through.
You decided to accept, remember? It's just a piece of stone. What's the worst it can do?
She hesitated another moment, then stepped forward again. She brushed her hands against her jeans, just in case her fingers sweat. She took as deep a breath as she could manage, laid her hand against the tablet and closed her eyes, willing the buzzing sensation to return.

She counted seve
n seconds. Nothing happened.

"Relax," Amrhic told her when she opened her eyes again. "We're in no hurry. Take your time and find your center, then try again."

Find her center. Cool and calm. She let her eyelids drift shut and tried the technique she'd learned when she’d dabbled with meditation. She imagined white light filling in the outline of her body. It spread from toe to head, meant to sweep away any other obstacles, clear her mind and let her accomplish a goal. With the image full and glowing brightly, she laid her hand against the tablet again.

Still nothing.

Then Kade murmured, "Don't try so hard," behind her. The warm weight of his hands rested on her shoulders and like magic — real magic — the buzz of power swept over her so quickly she thought she might truly faint.

When she opened her eyes this time, the tablet blazed with light. Amrhic stood beside
it, staring not at the stone, but the two of them. "Then it's true. You echo—"

"Not now," Kade said, cutting Amrhic off. "It didn't last long when this happened before. No point wasting time if you're looking for something."

"Yes." The other man shook himself and turned his attention to the tablet. Words were still appearing as he bent close, squinting against the light. "Here," he said, stabbing a finger toward marks that moved like ants as they marched into place. "These are the names of founding families," he explained as the letters resolved and he moved the pointing finger to another written word. "Those who became the core of what we are. Can you read them?"

Melanie and Kade answered
yes in unison. It made Amrhic look up from his study again. It made Melanie glance over her shoulder in turn. Kade smirked down at her and gestured toward the tablet with his chin.

"What happened to the prophecy?"

Amrhic frowned. "Happened? What do you mean?"

"The last time we did this, there was a prophecy. A riddle about a child with ancient eyes. Kade called h
er the sage?"

"Ah. Yes." Amrhic bent over the table again. "A direction for the one who finds and reads the tablet first. A pointer, if you will, to the answers we seek."

Melanie hugged herself again and leaned back against Kade's reassuring warmth. "What answers are we looking for, exactly?"

Amrhic smiled
, though he didn't look up. "A way to end the struggle between the two halves of our family." His finger never stopped moving. "From the beginning there have been two schools of thought. Those who favor darker means see the power we inherited as a means to change the world. They prefer to keep to the shadows, manipulating and controlling those they hide behind."

"Penumbra," Kade rumbled, explaining.

Melanie caught herself nodding. She knew this much already.

"We, on the other hand, step into the world and protect those targeted by the men and women who want to rule. We keep the balance," Amrhic said, "and the cost can be dear."

Kade's hands tightened on Melanie's shoulders. "So how does the tablet help?"

"Not everyone remembers their beginnings," the custodian said with a tolerant smile. He didn't look at Melanie and she admitted relief to herself. "Ignorance, however, doesn't always keep them safe. If someone else recalls
a name or a family line, there are ways to find them. Once done, some can be swayed to join the darker side. And if not, they can surely be eliminated."

He tapped his finger against the stone again. "If the names are here, the family lines continue."

"Which one is mine?" The question slipped out before she thought better of it, but once asked, she let it stand. If everything he'd said was true, the tablet acted as a physical tie to an ancestor more than three thousand years back. How many people could claim the same thing?

"
Matsimela." Amrhic didn't miss a beat. His finger moved, tracing a line beneath a new word. "He is the man who made the tablet in the first place. It's fitting, then, that you should be the one to restore it. Perhaps he planned that all along."

Melanie couldn't say whether the tablet called her or her own curiosity forced her to take a step, but she moved abruptly forward, the need to touch the stone impossible to resist. Kade's hands slipped off her shoulders but his touch didn't matter in the moment. Hot tears threatened when she pressed her palm against the surface and felt it pulse once, faint pressure against her skin.

Then the glow faded, the names disappeared and the tablet cooled.

"No. No!" Melanie jerked her hand back. "What did I do?"

"Nothing wrong. Nothing to worry about." Amrhic spoke calmly. "You broke the connection between yourself and Kade. That's what fuels your power. It's...interesting." His gaze shifted between them. "We haven't seen an echo this powerful in a very long time."

"That doesn't answer the question." Kade's voice sounded sharp. "What does the tablet have to do with winning or losing the battle?"

Amrhic and he locked gazes for a moment. A muscle jumped at the edge of Kade's jaw and Melanie made fists to stop herself from reaching for his arm to soothe him. "Strength in numbers," the custodian answered when the challenge passed.

"It's a
simple concept, but valid all the same. The side with the greater numbers has the advantage. If one or the other is wiped out or greatly lessened, then the battle ends. The tablet points out families we may have lost," he explained, with a nod to include Melanie, "and reminds us of those who need watching. If the sand begins to flow again, and more grains are lost—"

"I get it," Kade interrupted, making a curt gesture with one hand. "I g
et it. It's a roster. All I need to know. Thanks."

That said, he reached for Melanie's shoulders and turned her toward the door, propelling her ahead of him. If she'd stopped, she thought for sure he'd simply barrel over her and not look
back. She didn't have time to protest. She barely managed to lean around him and call out a thanks of her own before he'd steered her through the door.

She jerked out from under his hands the moment she had room to move. "What is
wrong
with you? Are you going to start growling?"

Kade's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the hands-on, Kade, and not in a good way. One minute everything's friendly and calm, the next you're hustling me out of there like your butt's on fire." She peered back at him. He looked somewhere, anywhere but at her directly. That twitching muscle along his jaw was getting a serious workout today.

"I don't want us to get tangled up in all this business about echoes. We stick to the important things, agreed? Find the
sage, shut down Penumbra. The rest of this can wait until that's done."

Melanie frowned. "It doesn't sound like it works that way. Us being linked together like this. We can't just pick and choose when to accept it, right? We can't just turn it off."

"No." He sounded like he wished he could give any other answer. "But we can't let it distract us, either. We can't let it distract anyone else."

"Like
Amrhic?" She summoned a very small smile. "I don't think he was about to march us to a church and marry us." She paused, curiosity surging again. "Temple? Shrine? Where
do
the shadow-born get married?"

Kade's expression clouded. "Depends on the couple and this is what I mean. It's not important."

"But it is." When he frowned harder, she held up her hands, gesturing him to patience. "Bear with me for a second, okay? Stop and think and listen to me."

He took a breath, held it and kept scowling, but he let it go with a shallow nod after a moment. "I'm listening."

How had she become the voice of tolerance here? She was the one new to a world of magic and shadow creatures and prophecy. Maybe that made it easier to convince herself to go with the flow. She'd never known a different way to live this life. She'd been thrust squarely into the middle of Kade's world, and he'd claimed he wanted to be stuck with her. Well. He got his wish.