DAEMONEUM

by Laney McMann

  “G—“ Lindsey eyed her. “Stop.”

  “Stop what? What should I stop now, Lindsey?”

  “This isn’t the time for any of this, okay?” Her tone was gentle. “Let’s get this job done, and then we’ll talk later.”

  Danny’s eyebrows screwed up as he glanced between them. “So, you guys are arguing, and you’ve been taking it out on me?” he asked Giselle.

  She didn’t answer, just grabbed his right hand.

  “Since I’m not positive I have a good reading, we’re holding hands so we don’t end up in different cities,” he said.

  Giselle burst out laughing. “Awesome,” she said with a bitter tone.

  “I’ll try my best not to summon the dead while we’re traveling through the gate.” He smirked. “Now hold Lindsey’s hand. I need my left hand free.”

  “Just tell us what city we’re going to, and we won’t have to hold hands like we’re five.”

  “I don’t know for sure, that’s what I’m saying.”

  “Dan.” She stared at him. “I swear to the gods, I’ve had a shitty couple of days, and if you get me lost in between the Leylines in some blacked gate in the Infernal Plane, I will be really pissed.”

  “Nah,” he grinned, trying not to laugh, “not you, G.”

  She dead-eye stared at him.

  “On go,” Danny said.

  Lindsey nodded. Giselle continued staring.

  “Ready. Go.” Danny swiped his left palm out, and yanked Giselle by the right hand toward him, who yanked Lindsey. A vortex of energy swept up over them like a cyclone, enclosing their bodies in green, swirling light. Danny touched his left hand to the side of his throat, and his hawk’s wings fluttered on his skin and wrapped his fingers, removing themselves entirely from his neck. A tiny hawk sat in his open palm. Its talons sunk into his skin, the brown wings spread wide, and the bird flew, as they reeled through the gate, disappearing from Colorado.

  Chapter 21

  Heru rented a car for him, Cole, and Kade to take to the opera. It worked out well for a lot of reasons. For one, it was too far to walk in formal clothing and heels, and two, all of their suitcases were crammed in the trunk. Kade hated the idea of leaving the villa and Verona itself. She’d started to fall in love with it and especially her time alone with Cole.

  “So, once we get to the opera,” Heru said, “the two of ya stay together, and I will do some exploring on my own—not far, mind ya,” he spoke over Cole as he tried to interrupt him, “but as we are all being followed,” he glanced in the rearview mirror, “I need to do some hunting. Time we turn the tables, I hope. Draw all of this silence and hiding they’ve been doing out into the open.”

  The whole “plan,” which wasn’t really a plan at all, made Kade queasy. She knew she was being tracked—it was the reason they had to leave Verona—it was also the reason they’d come to Verona, but being followed when she could see the follower was one thing. The little old gargoyle hadn’t been much of threat. But now that the Daemoneum knew her location, it seemed being out in the open, for good reason or not, was a downright stupid idea. Being dressed in beautiful clothing had given the illusion of a wonderful night. Until now.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Kade said, “and if moving the Araneum is a really difficult process maybe I could help, make it easier. It’s my fault it has to be moved. I can help reroute the thing and be done with all of this. Then the Eldership will see I’m not a threat, and the Daemoneum … well, I don’t know, but …” She couldn’t believe those words had come out of her mouth. Dismantling the central Leyline hub, which was capable of destroying the planet and all Primordial, and moving it was an insane thought. She’d known that since Cole first brought it up weeks ago. Too many ways it could go wrong. Not to mention, as Cole had already said, if the Daemoneum knew where she was, they’d likely meet them at the Araneum.

  But if they could beat them there, maybe even by a few minutes, it might be enough time for her to move the location. It was a thought, anyway, and something—perhaps the only thing—she could do to prove to the Eldership she wasn’t bad. And something to prove Warden Caelius wasn’t guilty of aiding and abetting a threat to the Primordial way of life.

  Cole was staring at her when she glanced over.

  “I mean, I know we'd have to be really careful, try not to get followed,” she continued, “but if we really thought about it, maybe we could come up with a plan. If we could beat the Daemoneum there by a few minutes, maybe that would give me enough time to reroute the lines. I could practice more first. And it would prove to the Eldership I’m not out to get anyone.” Kade glanced at the reflection of Heru’s eyes watching her in the rearview mirror, wondering if Cole had mentioned anything about their theory that the Daemoneum might be after Stella Urbem and not the Araneum at all. That was doubtful, though. “What?”

  Their car passed crowds of formally dressed people strolling along the sidewalk on their way to the opera.

  “That’s a massive ‘if’ and even if that wasn’t case, the bigger issue is our thoughts.” He stared at her like he was hoping she could read his mind. His eyes widened slightly.

  “Right.” She faced the window watching people pass by. “Sorry.” She had to remind herself that outside of the safety of the walls of the villa she could barely speak to Cole about anything important without risking them being heard, or “read,” or whatever the hell was happening with the Devil’s Children delving into Cole’s knowledge through her.

  “Don’t be sorry.” He nudged her. “It is what it is at this point. We’ll deal with it.”

  “Yes, we will,” Heru said. “Once we locate what I am looking for,” he held up his hand, pointing at his finger, which Kade understood to mean the coiled ring, “it will be a different matter.”

  The ring was the problem—the device somehow was not only able to read Cole’s Primordial knowledge, and was possibly affecting the magnetic field as it related to the lines on her and Cole, but was also tracking her whereabouts. She hadn’t given it a lot of thought with all the excitement of being in Italy, but now that she did, it was obvious how the Shadows had always been able to find her all of her life—Dracon had worn the coiled ring to keep tabs on her. He’d always known where she was even if Kade had believed otherwise. It made her sick.

  Cole was still staring at her when she turned away from the scene out the window. “Listen,” he took her hand, “I know this is completely crazy. Going with the flow isn’t what you want to do—it’s definitely not what I want to do. I get it. I’m itching to move, too. But, if the Daemoneum can track you here, they can track us anywhere, and I for one would rather they not know what we’re doing unless it’s by choice.” He gazed into her eyes. “I love that you had that idea, though. You have the purest heart. Please just trust me. You’re safe with me.”

  “And with me,” Heru added. “Warden Caelius is a smart man. He knows what he’s doing. Probably better than us.”

  Cole nodded, squeezing Kade’s hand. “Definitely better than us.”

  “You know I trust you,” she eyed the crowd walking past again, wanting to go to the opera, but not wanting to get out of the car, “but this is crazy, being here,” she whispered. “They’re here.”

  Cole pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers, likely sensing the trepidation rolling off of her body in waves. “I’m not letting anyone near you.”

  “Nor am I, my dear.” Heru came to a stop alongside a curb. “Right now, we simply want to draw the enemy out so we may be on our way peacefully to our next destination without being followed again. I know that sounds backward, but I assure you it is not. There will be trackers who have followed us,” he turned in his seat to see her, “we want that. We want them out in the open. Better to know thy enemy is still who you think it is. Unfortunately, sometimes, there are unwelcome surprises.” He opened his door and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

  Kade thought she knew the enemy well enough. Maybe hiding out in the woods alone w
asn’t the worst idea she’d ever had. Stupid thought. She shook her head. The Daemoneum would find her.

  “Okay?” Cole was still watching her.

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  Opening his car door, Cole ran around to Kade’s side and opened hers. “Welcome to Fondazione Arena di Verona.” He held his hand out.

  Kade let him help her exit the backseat. The first century Roman amphitheater loomed overhead. The building was as breathtakingly beautiful as Cole was. He stood, grinning in his finely tailored suit and pointed up. The amphitheater was so old, it appeared to be crumbling on one side. Built of unevenly hewn stone, it resembled an ancient castle. Beautiful but haunting.

  “Here and here.” Heru thrust something into each of their hands as crowds of people bustled past.

  Kade looked at the object. A small white, tapered candle.

  Cole led her forward, weaving through the people heading into the arena. “You light it as darkness falls. It’s tradition.”

  “Oh.” She smiled, distracted. “That’s nice.”

  “It’s beautiful, actually,” he said, continuing to steer her through the crowd of finely dressed people amassing from all directions.

  “How are we going to spot anyone who might be following us?” she asked.

  “We won’t,” Heru answered, walking in front of them. “They will spot us.” He eyed Cole.

  Cole’s hand tightened around hers. “Stay next to me at all times.”

  Again, it crossed Kade’s mind that coming seemed like a really bad idea. But the only way to flush out hunters was to set out the bait. Kade just wished she wasn’t the bait. And the only way to get untracked so they could leave Verona without being followed was to get lost in a crowd of thousands of people. It seemed completely unorthodox. Her instinct had always been to run.

  As they ambled through the underbelly of the amphitheater, they reached steep, narrow stone steps leading up to their seats. Darkness began to fall as they climbed, and one by one, candles were lit throughout the seated audience. Cole steered Kade along a crowded aisle and found their seats.

  “Here.” He held a lighter up to Kade’s candle and then to his own. The mass of glowing flames was one of the prettiest sights Kade had ever seen.

  “Like it?” Cole hugged her to his side.

  “Incredible. You’ve seen them before?” She wasn’t sure why that shouldn’t have been something she assumed. Cole grew up in Rome and had obviously spent time in Verona with Heru.

  “Just once. A few years ago.” He shrugged, looking across the illuminated theater.

  “With your dad?” That seemed unlikely.

  He glanced at her, and she could tell by his expression, he’d said something without meaning to.

  “What?”

  His blue-gray eyes shifted toward the thousands of burning candles again. “Kade …” he let out a breath and turned to face her directly. “I don’t want you take this wrong way—it was nothing—seriously.”

  Her face was already hot, skin crawling, and she knew her cheeks were probably as red as her scarlet dress. “What was nothing?”

  “It was a few years ago—well, maybe it was two years—” He shook his head like he couldn’t remember.

  She only got hotter, staring at him.

  “I saw the candles with Tiffany.” He averted his eyes.

  Kade let go of his hand and scooted away from him on the bench seat, getting too close to the stranger sitting beside her.

  He bowed his head. “Stop. Please, stop.”

  “I thought this was something special,” she hissed, trying to keep her voice down among the other opera goers. “You …” She wanted to stand up, to leave. The skin on her face and shoulders was crawling, urging her to turn into the monster she was, the monster Cole swore he loved, but a monster just the same. She balled her free hand into a fist, the other one around her lit candle, and tried not to let herself implode.

  “Sparrow,” Cole’s voice was tender, caring. He reached for her fist, scooting her closer to him, and pried it open in his hand. “My grandfather set it up for my birthday. It was my sixteenth. He knew I’d always wanted to come, and after my dad died, he’s always tried to make up for it.”

  She still couldn’t look at him. She knew she should, that it was the right thing to do. They were here because they needed to be—because Heru had set it up, not because Cole was taking her on a date to the place he’d been with another girl. And she knew he had lost so much—they both had—but the thought of him being here, in the same arena looking at these same candles, this beautiful place with Tiffany, made her want to hit him.

  “Kade. Look at me, please.” He placed a warm hand on her jaw and turned her face toward his. “I’m sorry. I should have told you, but I didn’t want to ruin it. You were so excited about going to the opera. What was I supposed to say?”

  She glanced at her lap, wondering where she could drop her candle.

  “You are the only person on Earth, no, in the entire universe, I would want to be here with,” he said. “Hell, you’re the only person in the universe I want to be anywhere with.”

  Kade looked over at him.

  “It was nothing. I swear.” His eyes implored her.

  “If you were sixteen,” she said, “then you started dating her soon afterward—or—” She eyed him.

  He exhaled.

  “You were already dating her.” It wasn’t a question. ”Clearly it was something.” She was on her feet. She thought she might throw up. Her candle hit the ground, melted wax spewing all over.

  “Kade.” Cole reached for her hand, but she snatched it away and started edging her way down the aisle, excusing herself as she went to keep from stepping on people’s toes. “Kade. The show hasn’t even started. What are you doing?”

  She heard him saying excuse me and I’m so sorry over and over again in Italian to the seated guests as he followed her.

  As soon as she reached the end of the row, she practically ran down the somewhat precarious stone steps in her high heels and long dress, trying not to trip and bust her butt.

  “Kade!” Just as she rounded the last step and fled into the open passageway beneath the amphitheater, Cole caught her by the wrist.

  She yanked her arm out of his grasp and kept going.

  “Are you seriously doing this right now?” He kept her pace, of course. He could have kept her pace if she ran full out, she had to remind herself. There was no dodging him or outrunning him.

  “Talk to me.” He reached for her hand again and pulled her to stop. “I’m sorry. Shit, Sparrow. It was goddamn forever ago as far as I’m concerned! And there’s a big difference between just turning sixteen and about to turn eighteen.” He was breathing hard, clearly furious.

  She glared at him. “You came here with another girl, your girlfriend,” she said through gritted teeth. “Someone who you were still seeing a couple of months ago.”

  “I love you.” His eyes were hard, focused, but his voice was soft. “I have never said those words to anyone before. There is zero competition here. None.”

  Some of the fight drained out of her, knowing how vulnerable he really was when he let his guard down and the sweet, loving Cole came through. But she still couldn’t talk. She’d never had a boyfriend before. Never been in a situation like this. Never even knew what this felt like. Jealousy, that’s what it was. Like a plague gutting her from the inside out. Clearly she didn’t know how to handle it.

  “Sparrow.” He placed his hand on her cheek, and the sensation sent a shiver down her neck. “I have dated other girls, you know that. And I can’t change it or anything else I’ve done in my past. I was following the code set by our Elders, which I think is bullshit—trying to do what I believed was the right thing because it’s all I knew. It’s what I’ve been taught. But I can sure as hell take my free will back and decide my future, and I’ve decided on you.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “Please come back into the arena,” he i
mplored. “I want to share this with you.”

  “I have to say this is all very touching, young love, but we do have a purpose for coming here.” Heru stood with his arms crossed a few yards away. “Granted, ya won’t be hard to track, standing alone in the open. But, track is one thing, capture is another, and neither one of ya heard me walk up behind ya. Too invested in yar bickering. Makes ya targets.” His brows lifted.

  Cole’s head dropped. “I’m sorry.” He glanced at Kade, light gray-blue eyes imploring. “Will you come with me?” He held out his hand. Kade took it, gazing up at him. “You’re it for me. You’re it. There is no middle ground.” He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.”

  “Ya see,” Heru said. “It’s not so hard. Making up.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kade said to Heru. “For running off. It was stupid. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Nothing to apologize for.” Heru waved a dark-skinned hand in the air. “My nephew is known for pissing even the best people off.” He smiled, his tattoos shimmering on his neck.

  “Thanks.” Cole’s tone was dry.

  “But I will tell ya this, girl,” he eyed Kade, “my nephew has never looked at anyone the way he looks at ya.” He winked and walked away of them, toward the lower level of the amphitheater. “Stay in yar seats please. Keep yar eyes open. I have stuff to do.”

  Kade let go of Cole’s hand. He looked at her, and she wrapped her arms around his waist instead.

  He led them up the ramp toward the steps and stopped.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Touching his throat with a grin, he said, “Danny’s here.”

  “Here where?”

  “Here, here.”

  “Is that good? I mean, you didn’t tell him to come so …” She had to admit having Danny with them as well eased her nerves a bit. He was a skilled fighter—she’d seen him with Cole the night of the attack with Dracon.

  “Yeah, it’s good. I didn’t break any oaths. He followed me. I’m more interested to see how well he tracks me,” he laughed. “He’s new at this.”