by Ford, Lizzy
“Do you still have those issues?” she asked curiously, rolling onto her side to face him. She propped her head up on her hand.
Darian was stretched out in the space beside her, hands beneath his head. For the first time since arriving at Jonny’s, she wasn’t cold. His warmth made her drowsy and comfortable, and she liked the feeling.
“The memories will never leave. Every day with Czerno …” He drifted off. “I need those good memories.”
Jenn studied him, unable to fathom the type of evil he’d endured. That he was remotely normal now made her realize how strong he was. He seemed unaware of the world or his effect on it at times, but he’d not only survived the Black God, he’d regained his mind.
“You’re an amazing person, Darian,” she said. “I don’t know how you did it.”
“I had help. Couldn’t even walk when Sofi first found me. I had to let go of my pride and realize I couldn’t heal alone. That was probably the worst lesson for someone who was a White God. Thank goodness I was too brainwashed to know it.”
“Sofi helped you, but you wouldn’t have gotten far if you weren’t as strong as you are.”
“Strong or stubborn?” he mused. “I’m going with stubborn.”
“I’m serious, Darian. I admire that about you. You lost everything in the worst way possible yet you don’t let your past cripple you like it does … others,” she managed.
“Some scars stay just below the surface. No one can see them but me.”
“I’m sorry, Darian.” She couldn’t help hurting for him, all too sensitive to the scars left by her own past.
He rolled to face her, mirroring her position. While she welcomed his warmth, the space between them seemed to shrink. They gazed at each other.
“Don’t be. You didn’t do this to me,” he said.
I’ve treated you like shit the past few days. She felt frustrated with herself, knowing what he’d gone through. But she wouldn’t be the one to hurt him again, and he wasn’t going to be the one to pry open the door to her heart. She’d work on burying her emotions again, this time deeper than before.
“I admire you, too, Jenn. More than is probably good for either of us,” Darian whispered.
“You shouldn’t, Darian.”
“I’m not so sure.”
He touched her again, the gentle stroke on her cheek sending warm shivers through her. Her gaze swept over his frame. She found herself liking this Darian too much. Unlike most men, he didn’t back down from her, a reaction that intrigued her. She wanted to push and tease him to see how far he’d let her. But part of her knew Darian would not only excel at the games she played with people; he’d push back. He played to win. For the first time in her life, she thought she’d found someone she wasn’t sure she could challenge without losing herself in the game. The idea of losing herself to Darian was more appealing than she expected.
“Good night, Darian,” she said and shifted onto her back.
“I’ll watch over you tonight. I think you need the sleep. Someone needs to take care of you.”
Jenn didn’t respond. A twinge of gratitude sprang up, and she suppressed it. She wasn’t about to encourage Darian, not when she couldn’t handle the results. She didn’t think she’d fall asleep with the thoughts of her family and Darian’s body close enough to make hers tingle with more than warmth. Whether he used his magic to put her to sleep, or her body needed it, she instantly fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.
She stirred after dawn, startled to see she’d slept so late. A shadow fell across her, and she rolled onto her back, unsettled to see Darian gone and another Guardian standing over her.
“Ikir Damian sent me to get you,” he said. “There’s an issue.”
“Give me a minute,” she said and hastened to her feet. She adjusted her clothing and weapons then swept the backpack up and trotted to the locker room. Jenn splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth quickly.
She heard the sound of someone beating a punching bag. It was too early for the vamps to be up. She went to the door leading into the gym, pausing to watch Darian. He was covered in sweat, the muscles of his exposed back rippling with his movement. He was beating out his demons, the way he did every day. She felt dirty again for treating him as she had, even if it was for his own good.
Jenn pushed herself away from the doorframe and returned to the foyer. The waiting Guardian paced, eyeing the vamps that had gathered around to glare at him.
He held out his hand as soon as she appeared.
“Ready,” she replied and took it.
Chapter Six
Darian stepped off the gym floor and showered quickly, disturbed by Jenn. Last night had brought him no closer to figuring out why she was pushing him away, though he’d begun to realize his body’s response to her was endangering his own resolve not to be involved with anyone else ever again.
He retrieved the bag with the heads of the Others from a locker and exited into the hall.
The Black God awaited him. Jonny looked wary, the same look every Guardian and vamp alike gave him.
“These are for you,” Darian said, handing off the bag.
Jonny accepted it and opened it. He frowned.
“You asked for a daily report,” Darian reminded him. “This was yesterday’s catch.”
“I didn’t think you could do it.”
“Of course I can.”
“Give these to the vamps on duty,” Jonny said. “I had my fill last night. Where’s Jenn?”
Darian reclaimed the bag. Jonny’s gaze went upwards, as if he could see through the ceiling to the second floor.
Towards Jenn’s room.
A different instinct went off in Darian’s mind, one that recognized the look on the Black God’s face as being another sign Jenn was in more trouble than expected.
“I hope you know better than to hurt a certain Guardian,” Darian said.
Surprised, Jonny’s gaze returned to him.
Darian crossed his arms.
“I wouldn’t hurt her,” Jonny said. “Ever.”
“That’s not what your mind tells me,” Darian baited.
“First Xander, now you.” The Black God’s face flashed bright red. “This is my world. Who are you to interfere in my world? Jenn is mine. Damian said so. She’s mine.”
“Jenn is not yours. I don’t have the pretty little boundaries you do, boy,” Darian replied. “I’m the one person on this planet who can fuck up your world.”
“I’m the Black God. My domain is every evil thought and deed. So what if I use what I am to get what I want from her? I have a free pass now. I can do and take and be whatever I want!”
“Yes, you can, but a woman like Jenn would choose death over what you’d do to her. You will not hurt her.”
Jonny stared at him. Darian watched him, gauging the emotions crossing his features. The Black God turned and walked away. Not entirely satisfied, Darian started in the opposite direction. He’d keep an eye on Jenn between his missions to kill Others, even if she didn’t seem to want anything to do with him.
Darian felt a thread of warmth in the hallway. It wasn’t the cold power of the vamps and Jonny but the warmer magic of a Guardian. He turned, expecting to see Jenn. Darian stood at the other end of the hallway where it met the foyer. The Guardian was a man Darian didn’t recognize, who spoke to Jonny for a brief moment before handing him a small note and disappearing.
After reading the note, Jonny, too, Traveled elsewhere. Darian walked down the hallway, uneasy with what appeared to be a summons, delivered by a Guardian. What would Damian want with Jonny? Why not send for Darian, too?
Darian shook off his unease. If Damian needed something, he’d contact him. It must not concern him, if Damian hadn’t delivered the message personally.
Darian ascended the stairwell to the second floor and strode by Jenn’s room. A glance through the doorless entry revealed no one there. He paused in the doorway, eyes going to the bathroom door. It, too, was open. He
glanced at her backpack, which rested in the corner.
Something was up. He closed his eyes and Traveled back to Texas, to Damian’s home. No one was in the White God’s study. Darian peered out the window, where he had a good view of the barn that had been converted into a gym.
“Sofi says to tell you they’re in the wine cellar.”
Darian smiled to himself at his sister-in-law’s Irish lilt. He turned to see Yully in the hallway outside the study, holding one of the dozen cats they’d adopted.
“Thanks,” he said. He strode across the room and down the hallway. The wine cellar had been an addition to the sprawling house, accessible only by leaving the house and descending a set of stairs off the kitchen.
Darian opened the door into the wine cellar. His eyes adjusted quickly to the darkened room as he passed empty shelves to a second door. He paused to draw a knife, uneasy to feel who was inside the cellar.
An Other was there.
Darian opened the door and slid into the storage room. Not only was an Other there, but so was Damian, the messenger he’d sent, Jonny, Jenn, and Xander. The tension in the room was high, each creature bristling with magic.
“He doesn’t need to be here,” the Other said without looking at Darian.
“My brother goes where he pleases,” Damian replied.
“He killed five Others yesterday. I’d rather have him here,” Jonny seconded.
Darian moved away from the door and kept to the edge of the room, sensing he was only welcomed because he was in the unique position to defend everyone there if the Other started blasting people. Curious about what was going on, his eyes strayed from the Other to Jenn. She was almost too still to be breathing, her jaw clenched.
“We’re debating an alleged act of misconduct by one of our Guardians,” Damian explained then faced the small man with purple eyes. “Go on with your wild accusations, Other.”
“Your Guardian crossed into the immortal world. It’s forbidden to do so, has been since the Schism,” the Other said.
“It would stand to reason it’s also forbidden for you to be here,” Damian replied.
“One would think. And one would be wrong. The Original Beings made no such law when they split the two worlds. You have one here. Ask him.”
“Unfortunately, it’s true.” Xander shifted from across the room, his red eyes punctuating the darkness.
“Even so,” Damian said, addressing the Other. “You’ve done more harm here than anything one of my little Guardians could do to the immortal world.”
“Perhaps. However, the rule stands. As the White and Black Gods of this earth, you are bound by the requirement to turn the violator over to us.”
“This is like jailing Al Capone for tax evasion,” Damian said.
“If we do as you say, will you stop whatever it is you’re doing in my ranks and leave me alone?” Jonny asked.
All eyes turned to him. Darian straightened from his position slouching against the wall. Jenn didn’t even blink.
“You have my word,” the Other said after a pause.
“Damian,” Jonny said, turning to the White God, “I will not object if you wish to turn her over to them.”
“You forget, Jonny, it’s impossible for one of us to cross over,” Damian replied. “You can’t condemn someone who didn’t do something.”
Darian moved closer, gut sinking. The station nearest the portal had called him with the previous evening’s activity report early in the morning. Among the movements of Others, they’d seen Jenn. He’d planned on asking her about it this morning, before the summons took her and Jonny from the mountain fortress.
“Ikir, I—” Jenn voiced quietly.
“Quiet, Guardian,” Damian ordered. “To be perfectly honest, shouldn’t this kind of dispute be solved by the Gatekeeper?”
The Other sneered. “The Gatekeeper is unnatural. There was none in the beginning. There should be none now.”
“But there was,” Xander spoke again. “Maybe you are not old enough to remember, Other, but the Gatekeeper existed before the Originals. He was slaughtered by my kind, but he exists now. The Guardian has broken a law that only the Gatekeeper has the power to enforce.”
Darian met Damian’s gaze. The White God winked at him, and Darian resisted the urge to snort. He sensed every creature in the room—except maybe the poor messenger—had an agenda. For once, he didn’t know what Damian might be thinking.
“Assuming this violation occurred, what is the punishment for breaking this law?” Darian asked, stepping into the center of the room beside the White and Black Gods.
“Life,” the Other said. “It becomes ours. The Guardian will be banished to the immortal world.”
Darian wanted to strangle the Other. He looked from the creature to Jenn and approached her. Damian stepped out of the way. A look at Jonny sent the Black God back quickly as well. Darian stopped when he was close enough to Jenn for their bodies to touch. She was tense and still, her mind on lockdown.
“Anything I need to know?” he asked for her ears only.
“I freely admit it, ikir,” she whispered with an air of formality. “I did what he said. I wasn’t there long, but I still went. If I’d known it was off limits, I wouldn’t have gone.”
“But what drew you? Tell me it was magic by one of them.”
Her jaw clenched again. She said nothing.
“You must turn her over,” the Other said. “As a God, you are obligated to follow the few rules you barbarians have here.”
Darian drew a breath and faced the Other. “I may be obligated, but I also owe a life debt to this particular Guardian. She rescued me from three of your kind. Which means I can forgive any trespass she may have committed. Pretty sure that’s a rule, too, right, Xander?”
“It is,” Xander agreed.
“Then it’s settled,” Darian said. “You get nothing, Other.”
“There’s another matter.”
“You’re trying my patience,” he growled.
“Your Guardian stole something from the immortal world.”
“What? Air? Now you’ll tell me it’s illegal for her to breathe the air down there.”
“It wasn’t air she stole,” the Other replied. “It was an object. I want it back.”
“This is getting old,” Darian said, pacing. He glanced at Jenn. Her eyes sparked with fury too deep to be mere offense. “Brother, Jonny, Original. If you’ll excuse us.”
All three hesitated. Damian was the first to show his support by Traveling, taking the messenger with him. Jonny waited for Xander to go before he, too, disappeared. Alone with Jenn and the Other, Darian looked between the two.
“What the fuck is going on?” he demanded.
“I stole nothing of his,” Jenn replied with forced calmness.
“Everything in the immortal realm is ours,” the Other spat.
“I don’t think you’re here for that reason. I’m more interested in what an Other wants from a lowly Guardian. Why did you pick this one to torment?” Darian asked, studying the Other.
“Ask her.”
“Jenn? How’d you piss off these slimy creatures?”
“I did nothing to them, ikir,” she said, ducking her head in typical sign of respect. From any other Guardian, he might’ve believed that’s why she hid her gaze.
“She did nothing to you, and you’re insisting on taking her to the immortal world forever,” Darian mused. “You, Other, get the fuck out. If she stole something from you, I’ll return it. I can find you anywhere you are.”
“If it’s not returned before one day has completed, her life is ours.”
“Fine. Go.” To his astonishment, the Other went. “I didn’t think that’d work. Now, Jenn.”
“Ikir, it doesn’t belong to them,” she said firmly. “There’s no reason for them to pursue this except to—never mind.” She kept her eyes on the floor.
“What did you take?” he asked, curious. He approached her again, stopping only when she gr
ew tenser.
“Nothing of any possible value to them, ikir.” Her voice was tight.
“I’m not asking as the Grey God, Jenn,” Darian said. “They’re demanding your life in exchange for it. Whatever it is, it’s not worth that.”
“It might be to me.”
“It isn’t to me,” he said firmly.
She hesitated then reached into her shirt and pulled free the necklace marking her House in the immortal world. She pulled it off and handed it to him. Darian studied it. There could be nothing the Others wanted with the necklace. Jenn was from a servant’s house, so lowborn she was barely off the streets. Carrying a reminder of a station so far below her current one seemed odd for the pragmatic warrior. It had to hold some great significance to her.
“You said there was a reason for them to pursue this?” he asked.
“It has no value to anyone but me.”
“That’s not what you said, though. They’re after you for some reason. You know why.”
“There’s one way to solve this. Turn me over to them,” she said, looking up at last. There was challenge and defiance in her gaze. “You know I’ll go down fighting.”
“I’m going to return this, and that’ll be the end of this mess,” he replied, placing the necklace in his pocket. He focused on his senses to pick up the location of the Other that had been in the wine cellar. Satisfied he could find it, Darian started towards the door.
“Darian.”
He turned at her voice.
“Thank you.” Jenn looked calm, but she was squeezing and releasing her fists in a sign that she was ready to explode.
Darian held her dark gaze. “Everyone in this room knew something I didn’t about this. How is that possible?”
“Not everyone.”
“What is it you all are keeping from me?”
Jenn drew a deep breath. “A choice. I’m going back to Jonny’s.”
“Jenn, I’m done with this shit. You’ve been acting strange towards me for days now. I want my friend back.”
“That’s not possible, Darian.”