The Better Part of Darkness (26 page)

“Aliens, huh?” Hank said, walking up behind us with Zara and Rex. A faint smile lingered at one corner of his mouth. “I thought you were more PC than that, Bryn.”

“Well, by definition, you fit,” she muttered uncomfortably, red creeping into her cheeks. “Beings from another world, and all …”

“I think Charlie’s starting to rub off on you.”

“Eh, not such a bad thing in my book,” she said with a wink thrown my way, “See you guys there.” She went to stand next to Aaron. He grabbed her hand and they blinked out of sight.

Rex and Zara piled into the backseat of the car as Hank put the duffel bag into the trunk.

I went to stand next to him, needing this moment alone. “You know once we do this, there’s no turning back.” I was pretty sure my fiasco with the jinn in Underground had already sealed my fate as an ex-ITF agent, but Hank … If he joined me on this, he’d lose his job and be brought up on charges right along with me, and the list was going to be a mile long by the time we were through.

“I know,” he said. “I’m not about to leave you now.” He shut the trunk and the fixed me with a determined look. “Ready, kiddo?”

A relieved breath flowed from my lips and my shoulders relaxed. I would have done this on my own, but having Hank and the others with me gave me a much-needed boost of strength and confidence.

We rode in silence to Oglethorpe Park. No one had to speak. We all knew what was at stake.

We parked in the public lot on the opposite side of the bath complex and then blended into the darkness of the woods, at first following the park’s paved walking trail until it wrapped around to the back side of the complex.

The air had a slight chill, the temperature and the cleansing scent of leaves and bark adding a boost of energy to our steps. A near-full moon shed light into the blackness of the woods. And through the trees, the long, rectangular bath complex came into view amid the soft orangey glow of widely spaced streetlamps. We walked single file in complete silence, viewing the back of the building. All the windows were dark, the blinds drawn down.

Finally we came to the center of the building where a large patio spread out into the lawn complete with vine-covered pergola, columns with gauzy curtains, outdoor furniture, and large fire basins. The curtains swayed ever so slightly and seemed to catch the moonlight. Clouds of steam rose from vents evenly spaced along the base of the building.

Bryn and Aaron were already in place at the edge of a small patch of trees that backed up to the walking path. We stopped, and I motioned for Aaron and Bryn to begin.

They walked to the edge of the tree line, linked hands, and closed their eyes. Slowly the air around them coalesced into a soft green mist. The hairs on my arms and legs rose as energy hummed around them. While their hands were linked in the center, their free hands began moving as though part of one being, unraveling the ward.

A low growl split the silence. Hank, Zara, Rex, and I immediately dropped to our haunches. Hank’s hand shot out to keep us still as he moved forward, getting a better view between the tall pines. Seconds later, he moved back and whispered, “Hellhound.”

I looked at Rex. “You’re up.”

“I should be on Broadway right now,” he muttered. “Instead I’m here in the Blair Witch forest, about to get eaten by a hairless fucking dog on gigantic fucking steroids. Why can’t Zara do it?”

“Because my voice only works on the animals of this world and Elysia, not Charbydon.”

His eyes rolled as though he figured that was what she’d say, and then he let out a resigned sigh. “For the record, let it be noted that I hate you all.”

I shoved him toward the trees. He swatted at me, but crawled slowly and halfheartedly into the darkness, hesitating for a moment to shoot a dark glower back at us before blending into the trees. I didn’t like the fact that a Revenant was living in Will’s body, but, in that moment, I formed a soft spot for Rex. He wasn’t just doing this to fulfill a contractual obligation. I’d seen his face after we contacted Emma. He was doing this for her.

“Here, doggie, doggie …” a faint whisper came back to us.

Another growl sounded, followed by a soft whistle from Rex and then silence.

Chain links echoed fast over the stone patio. I was about to curse our luck that the hound was chained, but then there was a loud snap.

Rex darted through the trees at full speed, arms pumping. “I hate you guys!” He leapt over the azaleas by the path and disappeared into the woods on the other side just as the hellhound bounded across the pavement hot on his heels. We ducked, but the tiger-sized, hairless beast didn’t even notice. Its red eyes and slobbering jaws were fixed solely on Rex.

Floodlights lit the patio.

We took up positions on either side of our mages, hiding in the darkness and waiting to pounce.

Through the trees, three jinn warriors in parkas and a black mage appeared, filing through the massive French doors and onto the stone patio. Even from this distance I could see their eyes glowing violet. They didn’t need sunglasses at night, but they did need the coats. And hopefully the chill would slow them down. One of them leaned down and grabbed the broken chain.

“Brimstone is loose again.”

“Fucking great. That means another body to dispose of.”

As if on cue, a far-off high-pitched scream echoed through the night.

“I’ll go check the disturbance on the ward,” the black mage said. “If it’s those damn amateur kids again thinking they can break the ward, I’m going to kill them.”

As the mage stomped across the lawn, the jinn argued over who would go after the hellhound. I glanced over at Hank. We waited, knowing once they separated, taking them down would be easier.

Hank and Zara moved further down the path to intercept the jinn recruited to go after the hound. They could use his amulet to get through, while I stayed put to take down the mage.

He never knew what hit him.

His focus was solely on Aaron and Bryn as he stepped through the ward’s boundary. Just before he called upon his power to knock them out of their trance, I zapped him with my Hefty.

That left two on the patio. After nudging Bryn to bring her and Aaron back to reality, I stood over the mage’s body, reluctant to cut him open. But, all I had to do was think of Emma and I was down on my knees, pulling his sleeve up and slicing his arm with my boot knife. His blood oozed warm from his body, creating a puff of steam in the chilly air. I placed my hands in the trail, wetting them on both sides and scooping some up to rub between my fingers, around my wrists, and up my forearms.
Probably should have removed the amulet first,
I thought as I dripped blood all over his face trying to remove it from his neck.

When I stood, Bryn and Aaron approached. “Well, here goes nothing,” I said, holding up the amulet in my slick red hand.

They dragged the mage closer to the perimeter of the ward as I hesitated at the edge of the lawn. I turned to them, squeezing the carved amulet in my hand. “As soon as I enter, I’ll toss this back to you and then take out those two.” I motioned toward the remaining two guards standing on the patio. “Make sure you get enough blood on your hands.”

Bryn took a deep breath and nodded.

Maybe I should have smeared more blood on me,
I thought, right before I drew in a deep breath and stepped onto the bright lawn. A painful tingle of energy passed over me, and then I was through. Quickly, I tossed the amulet back through the ward and pulled my Nitro-gun, only having a few seconds before the two guards noticed me.

I focused, straightened, then marched purposefully over the grass, the gun held behind my thigh.

The move startled the jinn into what I knew would only be a small window of surprise. But that was all I needed. As I walked toward them, I said, “Your hound is loose,” and then I whipped my gun in front of me and shot twice, once to the left and once to the right. The gun went off silently, the setting on lethal. They dropped with the confused expressions still on their faces.

My pulse pounded, adrenaline rushing through my system and putting me back into my element, doing what I did best. All my years of training had prepared me for this.

Aaron and Bryn ran across the sod and joined me, their hands as bloody as mine.

“Jesus, Charlie,” Bryn breathed, eyeing the dead jinn. “I can’t believe you just walked right up to them like that.”

We all took a moment to wipe the blood from our hands. “Yeah, well,” I echoed her words from earlier, “I have strengths you don’t even know about, too.”

“The jinn would call those
grômms,
” Aaron said frankly.

True.

I moved toward the French doors and peered around the frame. “It’s the main bath. There are three jinn inside, to your left.”

I turned to Aaron. “Detect any sign of the two nobles?”

“Underground. That’s all I’m getting.”

Hank and Zara ran onto the patio and took cover against the wall. I motioned about the three inside. “Zara and I can handle the three,” Hank said. “The rest of you go underground. Those two nobles should be close to Emma. Once you take them out, she’s ours.”

“Bryn, Aaron, once that happens, get her out of here. The rest of us will destroy the Bleeding Souls.” I took a deep breath. “Everyone ready?”

We ducked inside, Hank and Zara going left and the rest of us heading right around the thick palms and heavy curtains. If we stayed low we should be able to make it down the length of the large pool and to the main entrance.

“What’s the stupid hound done this time?” a jinn voice called from the other side of the pool, thinking the footsteps he was hearing were his brethren returning.

We were almost to the main entrance when chairs scraped over tile. Shots rang out, the guards equipped with human firearms. A piece of the stone wall erupted a few feet behind us and rained pieces down on the tile. I heard the whine of a Nitro-gun. And then a voice, splitting my eardrums, a singular tone, like the blare of a trumpet that shook anything that wasn’t bolted down.

Once we made it into the lobby, we straightened and split up, me going down the left hall and Aaron and Bryn taking the right. Every room was empty and dark. I ran back as Bryn met me in the lobby, out of breath. “It’s this way,” she said.

We raced to a door marked
boiler room.
I took lead, easing down the steel stairwell, feeling as though each step brought me closer to hell; the heat was intense. One flight down, the stairs ended at another door.

Locked.

Aaron stepped forward, weaved his hands over the lock, and it released. Neat trick. Carefully, we entered a short hallway that opened up into a vast area of large boilers that supplied endless hot water to the baths above. Steam shot out of release valves, adding intense humidity to the air.

We weaved our way through the labyrinth of pipes, boilers, and controls.

I held up my hand as the area opened up into a control center. An Abaddon female sat behind the counter with her feet propped up, reading a magazine. Behind the control station was a pass-through with a downward ramp.

Aaron motioned toward the ramp. I would go on ahead. He and Zara would take care of the female. I nodded and leaned back to let them pass. They had to completely engage her before I ran for the ramp. The last thing I wanted was for her to call for help.

Both mages dipped their chins. The air stirred around them. A fierce emerald glow lit Aaron’s eyes. The gold flecks in Bryn’s irises turned to fire. It was a beautiful, yet scary, sight to see the power gathering within them. I eased backward, taking another direction to the ramp.

The Abaddon shot to her feet, sensing our presence. I hesitated, worried about my sister. No. Bryn could take care of herself. I had to move.

As I positioned myself at the end of a massive pipe, I checked the all clear, just catching a glimpse of Aaron appearing behind the Abaddon as Bryn lifted her hands straight over her head and then brought them down with a circle motion. A shimmering green circle shot toward the Abaddon.

I darted across the empty space, through the pass-through, and then slammed my back against the earthen wall. A door slammed from somewhere below. I couldn’t see what lay below me, so I stuck to the wall and inched my way down the ramp and soon found myself staring at a long chamber, two stories high, with beam-supported earthen walls and a floor of soil and large rocks. Condensation dripped from the ceiling of the cavern. Patches of Bleeding Souls grew from the spaces where the rocks met the soil. There was no artificial light here. None was needed. A soft moonlit glow from the flowers lit the cavernous chamber, and the area was saturated with the scent of honeysuckle and dirt. I swallowed hard, trying not to gag.

Tools lined a portion of one wall, and carts had been placed neatly in a line along one edge of the field.

With a deep breath, I hurried down the chamber, my footsteps completely muted by the dirt. Further in now, the far wall came into view. It rose high enough so that there were open rooms on the ground level, probably for the harvesters, and then a line of rooms over those, with windows that overlooked the field.

A light appeared in the second-story window. I heard footsteps above as I quickly found the stairs leading to the second floor.