Edge of Darkness

by J. A. Saare

  They had enough power to make anything happen.

  Visions of the past slammed in my head, numerous visuals flooding my brain at once. My heart rate increased, and my breath caught. I became stuck in the moment again, watching with terror as Gabriel had been bound with silver, picked up, and taken by servants to be buried in the ground for one hundred years. He'd told me to stay alive, trying to communicate with me, and had only stopped when he'd been clubbed in the head with a silver bat.

  Never fucking again.

  There was no way the others would get there before me.

  I'd chosen my position on purpose, wanting to be ready to go to his side immediately. There wasn't a clear walkway. Most people would go around to get to the back room. Since I wasn't most people, I'd strategized ahead of time. The only thing keeping me from Gabriel was a thick, three-foot divider. I called on the amulet as I kicked my legs over the wooden obstacle that separated the front of the bar from the back. As soon as I landed, I was in motion, storming to the room my lover sat in. The amulet sensed my anxiety and responded, going warm and thrumming through my clothing. I had my hands ready to grasp a gun or snag a knife.

  "Easy, Rhiannon." Gabriel didn't sound alarmed. "Everything's fine."

  The fuck it is.

  I hurried over and saw the alarmed expressions of the three people who'd been sitting at the popular table. I realized they had also been brought to the meeting for protection and could cause bodily harm. They started running to the small room in the back as soon as I did, getting a frantic move on, trying to match my speed. They hadn't monitored me as closely as they should have. I'd make it to the group with seconds to spare.

  Bane saw me coming and rose from his chair. "Slow your roll."

  "Make me, asshole," I responded and stepped inside.

  I went to the open area beside Gabriel, drawing uneven breaths. I didn't sit and let them know I would fight all of them if I had to. I had one hand on Sucker and another on my Desert Eagle. Adrenaline coursed through my body, causing my hands to shake. I couldn't prevent my panic, not after the violent and tempestuous months we'd spent fighting for our very survival. Fear, doubt, and concern had me looking ahead, trying to figure out escape routes.

  We'd been in tight pinches before.

  We would get out of this one if we had to.

  "Is she always like this?" Joshua tipped his Stetson back and looked at me, nailing me with his slate gray stare. He didn't seem angry, more like bewildered and humored.

  "She doesn't know you," Gabriel replied.

  "Like that explains something." Scott moved back, and I looked at the staff at his side. He'd placed his fingers around the wooden center, and the amethyst stone at the top glowed. His dark eyes held a light in them when he warned, "Tell her to back off, or this won't be pretty."

  I got ready to tell him I'd show him pretty when the mark flared.

  Suddenly, I didn't have a choice about anything.

  I followed the commands in my mind, lowering my hands, standing up straight. I moved to Gabriel's side, rotated to face them, and took a seat. Even as I did, I planned on having a serious talk with the vampire controlling my body. I didn't mind him doing so when he had to, but I didn't like him taking my choices away. These were supposed to be people we could trust, but we didn't really know them.

  They could kill him.

  If they did that, I'd be alone.

  "Enough." Gabriel's admonishment was clear, and he didn't sound at all happy. "If this place was dangerous, I wouldn't come anywhere near it. I certainly wouldn't have brought you here." His next words revealed why he was agitated and had taken control of me. "Your panic and uncertainty bring my authority and power into question."

  "Don't pay her any mind. She's been to Hell and back, and the trip messed with her head." Bane returned to his seat and didn't look at me. "She's trigger happy, but that's not a bad thing. If you earn her loyalty, she'll act the same way if she thinks you're in trouble."

  I wanted to tell them all to kiss my ass but couldn't.

  My lips had been sealed.

  Oh yeah. A fight between Gabriel and me was definitely brewing.

  "If you want our help," Tippie said, addressing me as she leaned forward, "a show of faith would be nice. We already know how eager you are for blood. We need to know we can trust you."

  She must have seen the anger in my eyes combined with my lack of movement. She recognized I'd been put under control and seemed pleased by the fact. She eased back and got comfortable again.

  "She is showing faith. She's merely doing it in her own way," Gabriel corrected but not in an abrasive fashion. "She's no danger to your or yours. I trust her more than anyone here."

  "They know that. I wouldn't let little princess tag along if she could cause an ounce of damage." Bane moved the conversation forward as if the issue had already been resolved. "We want a half-demon to come here, so it's time to fuck with the things he enjoys to make it happen. We also have a loopy fallen angel on the warpath. As soon as Scott and Joshua's issues are dealt with, that's next on the books. Any issues?"

  Those that came with the witch, warlock, and werewolf, shook their heads. I tentatively moved and found I was no longer frozen in place. Everyone looked at me, waiting for my response. Gabriel didn't give me an order, but I got the message. They were waiting for me to voice my opinion. Since I didn't want to be battery operated tank, I shook mine too.

  "Excellent," Bane said, like it was a sign from above. "We'll start right away if there are no objections." No one said anything, but the attention in the room shifted to me. As angry as I'd been, I wanted to shrink into the seat when I realized whatever happened next was going to land on my unstable shoulders. "Scott has a lingering spirit on one of his properties that has to be taken care of."

  No wonder they were looking at me.

  I decided to lick my lips, discovered my movements were my own again, and asked, "What kind of issue?"

  "An old spirit won't leave," Scott told me, although he didn't seem certain about doing so. "She's a residual."

  A residual? Child's play. "You want me to make her pack up her shit and get lost?"

  He seemed shocked, like he'd expected me to tell him he was asking for the fucking world. "Do you think you can do it?"

  Amateur. "Of course I can."

  I wasn't being totally fair. Many necromancers didn't have that ability.

  And they were better off for it.

  "She follows the same path, but she's only visible in the evenings, and the timing is hit or miss," he said. Judging by his look, he didn't believe me. "I've had necromancers try to banish her the last few years, but she refuses to be moved."

  "I can move her."

  It wouldn't be hard. I learned that a while back.

  I'd encountered residuals after we'd moved to the boat, as many liked to wander the docks. One night I'd decided to put my feet on solid ground for a jog. A residual had been there, strolling along my path. I hadn't paid attention to him until he got in my way. Out of habit, since I didn't touch spirits unless I had to, I'd hit an aging post beside him and knocked it loose. Doing so made him stop going in repetitive circles. I'd kicked the cracking piece of wood down, watching him as I did. With each blow, he faded. When I yanked it from the ground, he'd vanished.

  "What do you have to do?"

  "Take me to your domicile." He didn't respond because he still didn't believe me. Fine, I'd engage. "You need to show me an element nearby that's always been there. I take it down, and residual is no more." I frowned, thinking it might not be that easy. "Was this entire place built at one time?"

  "Yes."

  Well, shit. I couldn't blow the house up. "I might have to monitor the path of travel."

  The minute I said it, he turned smug. "I've been told that before."

  His tone was pissing me off.

  Gabriel placed his hand on my thigh. Normally I'd have placed my hand over his, reassured by his touch, but I was tempted to shove him
away. I didn't like being controlled in front of others, even if he had a good reason. I had to do my mental count of ten to keep my cool, already cranky. I also didn't like it when people thought me incapable or viewed me as a plaything to use at their leisure.

  "Did they destroy items?" I asked, giving Scott a nasty tone of my own. "Think about it, Merlin. I'll give you a minute." I knew they hadn't. They'd only done a walk-through. He shook his head, and I let my anger spew. "Then zip the lip and listen to the ghost whisperer in front of you."

  Scott fisted the staff at his side. My insults had landed.

  Booyah. Didn't expect that? You must be new here.

  "Joshua has an issue, too." Bane, to his credit, took my nasty streak in stride, moving things right along. "You need to take care of that as well."

  Scott dropped the questions and accepted I'd do what he wanted. He did give me a sideways glare, and I realized the bastard was taunting me.

  "What's the trauma?" I asked.

  "Poltergeist shit on land he owns," Bane answered.

  "Bring me a parakeet and a dead kitty cat." I'd done my first poltergeist banishing with Goose and followed it up in the future. Those were best for that kind of thing, and I didn't want to go searching for pet cemeteries. "I'll remove the otherworldly infestation."

  "Just like that?" Joshua asked, arching a brow in question.

  Exactly like that. "Yes."

  "As soon as those items are taken care of, we begin work on your problems." Bane looked at me, and his attention stayed on my bright purple eye. "Got it?"

  "I got it." I stood, moving toward the table. "Let's go."

  Go ahead. Take me to shit I don't want to see.

  The tension in the air poofed, and everyone around the table relaxed. They studied me, knowing smiles on their faces, like they finally understood why Bane had agreed to let me venture to the bar with Gabriel.

  I didn't move, wondering if I might be seeing things.

  "The properties are hours from each other." Bane addressed me like the bitchy female he knew me to be. "You'll have to do one at a time."

  "Which one?"

  "Scott is first in line. You need to take care of that right away." His expression shifted, becoming understanding. "No worries, princess. Your shit will be settled in due time. Take care of Scott's residual and consider yourself on a level playing field."

  "Sounds good." Even if they didn't look imposing, these people had connections. I needed them, and apparently they needed me.

  Scott's staff fell over, and I reacted instinctively, catching the end in my hand. I almost dropped it when a painful electric current shot up my arm. I let go of the thing immediately, seeing he had a hand on it the entire time. The eerie white glow in his eyes had gotten brighter. Bane, who was never clumsy, bumped into me and knocked me into Tippie and Joshua. They reached out, touched my arms, and other strange jolts zinged through my body. Energy surged through me in a weird way, pulsing through my veins. I felt like I'd drained a pot of coffee and was riding one hell of a high.

  In the midst of things, I didn't expect the flutter in my head.

  Fury and disbelief merged with terror.

  Fucking bitch. Piss off!

  The last attack transpired while I'd been fighting others, but the first two happened when I'd been alone. Panic hit like a freight train. I was about to suffer something in front of a group of people I'd just met, and I didn't want any of them to see. I didn't have to look at Gabriel, knowing he was in my head. My earlier anger at him dissipated because he would never put me in harm's way. Even more than that, he would save me now. I reached out, ready to go to our warm place, not wanting to be stuck in Hell with Lucifer in the fucking bedroom.

  "Don't take her mind unless I tell you. It's time to give the fallen angel a taste of her own medicine. She needs to know the score." Numerous hands clasped my forearm—belonging to Gabriel, Bane, Tippie, Scott, and Joshua—as Bane got into my face and said calmly, "I've taken a hard look into your eyes, girl. I know you can do this. Go to the darkest place in your head. I don't give a shit what it's about, but make it twisted, demented, and nasty. Hock it up and be ready to spit it out. It's time the bitch got blowback. She needs to know what she can expect if she keeps this up."

  Blowback? What the fuck?

  "This realm doesn't belong to her. She can't do shit here," he said, his grip snug and secure because he'd already known I'd try to ward him off. I gawked at him, fighting the pull that would take me under, struggling for all I was worth. His eyes flickered, becoming black and blue at the same time. "You've endured her torment. I'm giving you a chance to show her some of yours." My fight or flight instinct kicked in as my limbs went heavy. His ice-blue eyes narrowed, and the pressure on my forearm increased. "If she was here and you fought her memories with yours, which one would you use? How would you pay her back? What would you want her to see and feel?"

  Alarms shrilled in my body and mind.

  She was close, and I didn't have time to argue.

  "Do you have one?" he snapped, giving me his meanest listen-now-or-suffer stare, and I accepted time was short. I nodded, full of panic, and his temper faded. "Then give it back to her and use it," he instructed. "Do it. Right now."

  I went to the memory that cut the deepest, leaving behind the ugliest and most horrendous scars, venturing to the night Paine and Jenny had died. My heart ached like new blades had pierced the organ deep. The memory and feelings weren't like sex. They weren't even intimate. This memory came from half-demons who were depraved and cruel. Marius might be dead, but killing him hadn't been enough and never would be. Even after I got my hands on Revenald and did the same, the misery would continue.

  The agony built, ballooned, and exploded.

  "You busted fallen bitch. You picked the wrong target." Bane didn't let me go, and I realized I could still see him. His eyes had turned completely black, and the scar on his face swayed. He was siphoning my memories, taking them into himself, and tossing them back at her. When they landed, he grinned, and it wasn't a pretty sight. "The terms haven't been met. She still has time. Take that from her and consider yourself on my clock. I'll make you wish you'd stayed in Hell. There's more where this came from."

  In a snap, everything lifted.

  This wasn't like before when I'd been tired and drained.

  My body was so strong I was certain I could do cartwheels and punch my way through a wall.

  Bane released me. The instant he did, the other three did as well.

  His eyes reverted to their normal glorious shade.

  "Did it work?" Gabriel asked in a voice that wasn't neutral or calm. He clutched me far too tightly. He'd leave imprints of his grip in the form of bruises even if he hadn't intended to.

  "It worked," Bane responded with a bit of glee. "She took a hit."

  I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath.

  The vampire I loved hadn't just made plans with his family. He'd made them with a creature created from light and dark with a rag-tag crew of his own. They'd struck a deal with me as the primary reason.

  I wanted to be angry but experienced relief.

  The last time I'd been in Hell, I'd willingly engaged in sexual relations with the overlord because I had no other choice. I'd accepted his touch because I had to. I'd watched as he worked Marigold good and hard and had her doing all sorts of things. The fallen angel couldn't help her responses when it came to Lucifer. Like me when it came to Gabriel, she was overtaken by carnal pleasures and desires that fulfilled her.

  This attack hadn't been like the others. They weren't remotely similar.

  The ordeal had been fast, but it lasted long enough.

  When the memories met, fought, and blended, the Lord of Hell was aware something had changed. Despite Bane's decree and warning, I hadn't been fully protected. I cringed when I realized it hadn't been Marigold but myself taking part in what transpired. I continued to feel the hot fingers drifting over my nude form in a teasing and purposeful way.
>
  Bane faced the group, bringing an end to the meeting, but he sounded like the teacher from the Peanuts cartoon spewing nothing but wa, wa, wa's I'd never make out. I also couldn't feel the hand Gabriel had placed on my thigh, even though it was still there. That wasn't a bad thing. I didn't want to associate his touch with anything but him.

  Certainly not now.

  I lifted my hands and clutched my jacket, folding in on myself, willing my body to fade into nothing. The vampire I'd traveled with didn't seem to notice the awful things creeping up and taking shape in my head. I wondered if he should since he usually did. I went into full pussy mode, looking for exits, grasping the amulet because it had become second nature. It flared and waited for me to address threats.

  Only there were none. Not in front of me.

  I wasn't in Lucifer's realm.

  I wanted to go home, turn on blistering water, and shower and scrub my skin to remove that lingering touch. Even then, it would never be enough. I heard and watched Lucifer as he'd spoken to and caressed me. Only now he knew who he was seducing, and it wasn't Marigold. He'd revealed that when he'd assumed a sexual position Gabriel often did between my very open thighs. Lucifer didn't need a fallen angel anymore. He'd been there and done that. The demented fuck wanted the one that intended to free her, the mortal female that his very own demons spoke about in his dimension. The necromancer who traveled through time and challenged fate.

  In many ways, I was a bigger prize.

  He did love his trophies.

  "Rhiannon Murphy." The purr echoed in my head, and I wished it wasn't my name. I wanted to rip at my hair to drive him out. "So very good to finally meet you."

  The world vanished around me, taking me to him again.

  I wanted to die, and it didn't frighten me. Being a necromancer came with one benefit. I had seen the rays of Heaven and knew death wasn't the end. It was only an evolution that would change me into something else and take me to another place. God had welcomed me before and, despite the horrible things I'd done, I believed He would again. I'd see the loved ones I missed and leave the shit-stained portion of this life behind. I could make that happen with ease if I wanted.