Silver (17 page)

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Blake grabs his shirt from the rock beside him. “How did you find us?” Is it my imagination, or do Austin's eyes travel along Blake's torso as Blake pulls on his shirt?

“Quite by accident, I assure you.”

“How did you get here?” Blake's emotions shift from a mix of surprise and anger at being interrupted to a more cautious suspicion.

“Same as you, I expect. Through the crevasse.”

“No one knows about this place.”

“You might want to reevaluate that.” Austin looks at me and winks.

I scoot closer to Blake. I haven't told Blake about Austin, about what he can do. Austin looks completely relaxed, perfectly at home among the rocks and rushing water. Even the cold wind doesn't seem to bother him.

“You've been here before?” I ask. What
is
Austin?

“You could say that. It's my home.”

“I thought you were from England.”

He laughs at that. “That's probably a crime in some parts. Ireland, actually. Although I have spent time in England.” His eyes meet mine, so dark they're nearly black. “So, does all this small talk mean you're not interested in my joining you?”

Blake stands up, stepping in front of the rock. “You could say that. Or do we have to spell it out for you? She's not interested.”

I stand up. “I can handle this.”

Austin laughs. “Yes, by all means, let the girl make her own decisions. She might surprise you.” As he talks, his eyes bore into me, drawing me in.

Blake reaches for my arm but I shake him off.

“Good girl.” Austin's voice is sticky-sweet caramel.

Everything is a blur. Like I'm walking in a thick, hot fog. Austin holds out his hand. The pull is strong. My hand moves toward Austin's on its own volition. It's not a choice. It's a necessity.

“Brianna?” There's a voice in the distance, far, far away. I almost don't hear it but it's there, tugging at the knot of confusion in my heart.

Austin's low voice thumps through me again. “That's it. You're almost there.”

I hesitate. “No.” The word echoes in my head, and I'm not even sure I've really said it. But the fog in my head dissipates and I can feel Blake again—a sense of relief that's mine and his both.

My hand drops to my side. I turn around and run the short distance to Blake. He pulls me against him, part protector and part possessor.

“What the hell was that? Can you use Compulsion?” Blake glares at Austin.

Austin laughs, but his eyes are angry. “Trust me, half-breed, you don't want a demonstration of my powers.” His hard gaze slides to me. “You're a feisty one, aren't you? No wonder he's keeping you alive.”

I want to repeat Blake's question. And
what the hell is Austin
?

“Leave her alone.” Blake's voice is strong, but I feel his wariness as it swims through me.

“Easier said than done, I'm afraid. Magic practically spills out of her. It's quite a turn-on, isn't it?”

Blake starts to move forward but I grab his shoulder, holding him back. Blake glares at Austin. “You're more than a breeder.”

I turn to Blake. “He's a breeder?” Blake hasn't told me everything by a long shot. I feel like I don't know either of them.

Blake nods. “He has the Killian gene, but we weren't able to pinpoint a generation.”

“The Killian gene, is that what you call it?” Austin steps closer to us. “What a piece of work is Man. Always looking for a natural explanation for the unnatural, aren't you?”

He's just summed up the last three years of my life. I've spent them looking for a rational explanation for things that never had one, trying to overcome my birthright by pretending it doesn't exist.

I don't want to contemplate what other secrets Blake has kept from me, so I turn on Austin. “What are you?”

“I imagine that depends on whom you ask.” Austin's smile is eerily sweet.

“I'm asking
you
.”

“I'm just like you, Juliet.”

The nickname holds no magic for me. If anything, my stomach feels slightly queasy. “You're a demigod?”

“God, warlock, angel, demon. Would not a rose by any other name smell as sweet?” He puts his hands back in his pockets. We might as well be talking about the weather. “Of course, you're only half god,” he adds. “I'm the real deal.”

He turns away and walks toward the cliff wall, his back to us. “Enough about me. It's clear you want to be alone. Might I suggest you take yourselves elsewhere?”

“What is this place?” I call after him. I'm not nearly satisfied by Austin's answers.

“Avernus,” he answers, just before he disappears through the crack in the wall.

Once Austin is gone, the cold wind stops. The sound of the river below grows louder.

Blake pauses. “Something's not right.”

There's a sound from behind a large rock by the edge of the bluff. The growl is so low I almost miss it.

Blake disappears from my side and for an instant I am alone in the wilderness, looking around for the creature that made the sound. A thick fog rolls in, covering the ground so quickly that I'm disoriented. I can barely see the cliff behind me, the gray rocks fading in and out through the fog. I can't see to the edge where the little stretch of land falls away to the river below. The ground just melts into the mist.

The bright silver light flares next to me. Blake reappears, illuminated in silver. I want to touch him. I back away instead, my instincts recognizing my natural enemy even as my brain registers that it's Blake.

The growl is louder now, and much too close. I reach for any bit of magic, trying to call back the chill wind that blew earlier. The wind is long gone. I try again, focusing on the water that condenses in the fog, but the fog continues to churn around me with a mind of its own, so thick that I'm nearly blind. I stomp the ground, assuring myself that I am still in the here and now, not lost in the mists of magic. Not that there is any magic here for me. I'm on my own.

I feel the beast's approach before I see anything. Blake does too. His adrenaline combines with mine so that I'm even more anxious. He leans against me, urging me backward as a large shadow appears in front of us.

I reach behind my back, searching for the solid wall of the cliff, not finding anything but empty air. In front of us, the fog dissipates enough for me to make out the silhouette of three massive heads pushing toward us. Not one, but three creatures. Blake pushes with all his weight, forcing me back faster as I try to get my bearings.

My back hits the wall of the cliff hard, which
momentarily knocks the breath out of me. I run my hands along the rock, feeling for the crevice that will take us back to the beach. Blake urges me to the left, and I continue to move as the shadowy figures draw closer.

The three animals snap their teeth and all bark at once, in perfect unison. As they emerge more fully from the fog, I can just make out their features—three wire-haired wolfhounds, gray heads weaving and drooling in perfect synch.

The middle dog lunges forward, baring his teeth. It leaps at me with a speed that's unexpected given the dog's massive size. Blake braces himself against me, ready to take the bulk of the blow, his sword raised. I jump to the side, though there's no way to avoid the massive creature. As I do, my hand and shoulder fall into a hollow gap. I throw my arms around Blake and pull him with me through the crevice. We land hard in the sand.

I scramble to my feet, facing the cliff, waiting for the hounds to plunge through. Blake is already up, his jeweled sword in his hands. We stand like that for several minutes, our bodies frozen, our breath coming in shallow pants. The heavy, salty air blows around me and I breathe it in and out, letting it fill me with power. My arsenal is stocked and I itch to unleash it.

The animals never cross over. Blake stalks forward, his sword raised. As he walks in front of me to investigate the cliff, my outstretched hand follows him, keeping him in my sights.

Blake senses the shift in me. Tied as we are, it isn't like we can sneak up on each other. He stops his examination of the cliff and turns to face me, his eyes flashing silver. “What are you waiting for?” It's both a warning and a dare.

It's so much easier to see Blake for the killer he is as he stands bathed in light, the sharp sword raised. Every beautiful inch of him glows with dark power. His eyes are the eyes of a killer, one who'll stop at nothing until the enemy is vanquished. His muscled body is designed for one purpose: to chase down and overpower the weak.

But I am in no way weak. My survival instinct implores me to eliminate the danger, to take out the enemy. My eyes travel to the sharp blade in his hands, and I can't help but recall the blood that flowed from Dart's neck and throat. It should be enough. I should be able to let loose with a wall of fire.

But there's something else, something harder to grasp. Whether it's the product of the bonding of our souls or something else, it stops me from pulling the trigger.

Blake disappears in a burst of light. One second he's there, poised to fight, and the next he's gone.

I blink, adjusting to the darkness now that the silver light is gone.

There's a flash behind me. Before I can turn around, Blake's arms close around my chest, pinning my arms to my side, the blade pointed at my heart.

“I told you,” he says. “No hesitation.”

I stare at the knife, the tip pressed close enough to my chest that a thin line of blood trickles down my skin. I let my veins fill with water, drawing on the ocean waves and freezing from the inside, until Blake is forced to step away from the icy cold along my skin.

He laughs as he watches me shiver. “Nice.” Then he disappears again, but it's only a second before he reappears in the same spot. Not Blake the warrior god, Blake the boy whose face I've memorized.

I collapse into the sand, still shivering even though the power I just used is no longer anywhere near the surface.

Blake looks back at the cliff wall. “I don't think they can cross over to our world.” He ignores the fact that I posed at least as much threat to him as the giant dogs. “We can't go back there.”

“No kidding.” I'm more than happy to limit our conversation to the monsters on the other side of the cliff. It's far easier to deal with that than with the monster lurking in my heart. “What were those things?”

“I'm not one hundred percent certain. I'm pretty sure they're Arawn's hounds.”

“In English?”

“The guardians of the gates to the underworld.”

“Tell me you mean that metaphorically.”

Blake sits next to me in the sand. His arms come around me, bringing a welcome warmth. “According to ancient mythology, Avernus is a gateway. Legend is that the dead passed through Avernus by crossing a river, and there's definitely one of those there. The dogs are meant to keep the dead from crossing back to the living.”

“So that place is the gateway to hell?”

“Not just hell. All the mystical worlds.”

“If it is what you say.”

“It is.”

“Then what does that make Austin?”

Blake laughs. Not the reaction I expect. He stops when he sees my face. “You're not joking? I thought you realized this before.”

“Realized what?”

“Where did you think the gods came from?” Blake sets his hands on my shoulders and waits. Even with the heat that flows through his hands, the temperature seems to drop ten degrees.

It shouldn't be a surprise. I'm the descendant of a crazy goddess, after all. I'm a mercenary in a vengeful army. Beautiful poison.

“You've been there before,” I say. “To the Underworld.”

“I've never been down to the water, just along the rocks. I've never seen anything there before tonight. Just rocks and water and that icy wind. Not a living thing.”

“But we're not dead.”

“Not yet, anyway.”

I can't look him in the eye. We both know how close I came to losing it. What he doesn't know is that it's happened before. Eventually, I won't be able to stop it. My emotions will win. Fire will beat out cold logic every time.

“Don't worry about it, okay?” he says.

“I could have killed you.”

“You didn't. And you broke the most important rule—you have to strike before we realize an attack is coming.”

“Show off.” I push his shoulder.

“I liked that thing with the cold. Can you make it happen faster?”

“I don't know.”

He moves his hand up and down my side, from my waist to my hip, chasing the last lingering chills from my body. “We should go,” he says, but he's already pulling me to him as we lie back on the sand. I turn to face him, letting my hands run across his chest as I lean down to kiss him.

“Now, where were we?” I ask.

He laughs a little as I kiss his throat. When I lick the lobe of his ear, he shivers. My fingers twist through his hair and I kiss him, deep and slow. His hand brushes along my neck to my collarbone, sending little shocks of lightning along the path of his fingers. His fingers swoop to the hollow of my throat and along my shoulder, sliding down my arm. Then he freezes.

The fire inside him is gone in a heartbeat, replaced with a chill I can feel in my bones. My eyes blink open. His eyes hold only fear, icy and sharp.

“What? The dogs?”

He moves his hand along my wrist. “Brianna.” His voice is barely a whisper. “Where's your bracelet?”

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I pace in a circle. “We have to go back in!”

Blake's hands are both in his hair now. “We're no match for those hellhounds. They won't let us out a second time.”

“What difference does it make? I'm not going to make it to my birthday without that bracelet.” My frustration and Blake's combine, which only makes me pace faster, as if that will somehow help.

Blake grabs my arm, pulling me to an abrupt halt. “You can't risk going back there.”

I pull away and keep walking. “I can't risk not going back.”

“It's only a few more days, right? We can keep you hidden somehow.”

Where have I heard that before? “How? Jonah will be looking for any opportunity to expose me. And he won't let it go. He came to the ranch today on crutches, for God's sake. You think he's going to wait around until I turn seventeen and get all my powers?”

“Jonah we can handle. Those things in there are purebred creatures of the underworld.”

“I'm going back.”

“You can't.” Blake grabs my shoulder. “It's too dangerous.”

“For some, maybe. Not me. After all, I'm a creature of the underworld, right?”

Blake's face is serious. “There's more than just hell down there, Brianna. And you're also half human. That's the more important half.”

“Says the guy committed to ridding the world of all magic except, of course, his own.”

Blake smiles. “I never said I was perfect.”

“Why didn't you just kill me and get it over with?” His sword had been close enough to draw blood. I start to move around him. “Or if the wolfhounds get me, it'll be that much easier for you, right?”

He grabs my hand. “Here's the thing. You can't help what you are any more than I can. My whole life has been dictated by my place in the Circle. Every important decision in my life has always been made for me.”

Including this one.
So I'm just another choice that's been forced on him. The ache in my gut shouldn't be there now that he's touching me. I know he feels it too, because his eyes narrow.

“Let's just forget it,” I say.

He reaches for my chin, looking into my eyes. “Oh hell, I've screwed this up, haven't I?”

I try to shake my head, but he holds me still.

His thumb traces a circle on my cheek. “I'm sorry if I suck at this. I've never had a girlfriend before.”

“I've been watching you for a year, and I don't think I've ever seen you without some girl hanging all over you.”

“
Some
girl, not the same girl.” I feel his frustration building, but then it stops. “Wait. You've been watching me?”

Whoops. I feel the blood rush to my cheeks. “It's not what you think. You were kind of a science project.”

He grins. “For a year?”

“What about Portia?” I blurt.

“Portia? What about her?”

“Didn't you go out with her?”

“It was nothing.”

“So tell me.”

“She's Rush's daughter. Her mom is seventh generation too. You'd think that would give her some standing in the Circle, but she's only a first generation breeder. A one. The Circle can be cruel. I thought maybe I could help her improve her standing. We went out a few times. Before I saw you.”

“You were with her after the poker game.” I can't stop the black emotion that swirls inside. I don't want to feel it. Still, it comes, an inky sea teeming with bloodsucking parasites, latching on and not letting go.

Blake's anger is there too, melding with mine. “What did you see, Brianna? I thought I could forget you if I just focused on someone else. I tried. I couldn't even give her a ride home. Since the night you walked into the kitchen at the party, there hasn't been anyone else.”

My stomach churns with a dizzy cocktail of jealousy and indignation. “What about the Boobsie Twins? Sierra? Kendra?”

“Now you're mad about girls that I talked to before we ever went out? Because if we're going to go there, I seem to recall having to chase you out of a dark bedroom or two.”

“Once.” My voice is quiet.

“You still want him. I've felt it.”

I want to tell him that Austin means nothing. He might be a god, but everything he made me feel was fake. Smoke and mirrors. Yet my pride won't let me tell Blake the truth.

“Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it didn't take Austin over a year to notice me while he dated virtually every available girl in Rancho Domingo,” I say. “Or that he didn't turn away when I smiled. Maybe it's because he didn't forget that he was actually introduced to me at least six times.”

Blake's hand is in his hair. “You know that's not fair.”

“It's still the truth.”

“So now you blame me for the power you wielded with that damn bracelet? In case you haven't noticed, Austin can make you feel things that aren't even true.”

“Like this damn bond?” I want to take the words back as soon as I say them, but I can't.

Blake's anger and my sadness converge into a numb depression that settles in my chest like it's going to stay awhile. I know I should stop. But I want to hurt Blake, to pay for the fifty-seven little hurts he's inflicted on me.

“At least when Austin kissed me, it wasn't with the knowledge that we would end up in a twisted soul bond that could only end in death.”

“Is that what you think?” Blake's voice is so low, I feel it more than I hear it.

“You knew what I was. Maybe you didn't believe it at first, but at some point, you knew exactly what you were doing.”

My arrow hits the mark. Trouble is, it's hard to tell whether the pain that rolls me in nauseating waves is his pain or my own. It hardly matters. We're a match made in hell.

Blake doesn't say anything more. He turns and walks back to the parking lot. I'm free to go back to Avernus and look for my bracelet, to be mauled by a trio of hellhounds if that's what I want. But I won't give Blake the satisfaction. If I'm going to die, he's going to have to be the one to pull the trigger. I'm not letting him out of this that easy.

Blake doesn't say anything when I slide into the passenger seat. He just stares straight ahead and drives me home. I sit not six inches from him. Without my bracelet.

And I've never felt more invisible.