EDGE OF NIGHT

by Rae Morgan, Emma Sinclair, Sherrill Quinn

  He paused and took a deep breath waiting to see if she had any questions. But she remained quiet, so he continued speaking.

  "I admit that I don’t remember many of the specifics, they’re written down in our sacred texts somewhere, but long story short, she pitted the brothers against each other. There was a fierce battle but the only one that died was the priestess. She cursed the brothers with her dying breath, that they’d forever battle for supremacy.

  He lost himself for a moment as he remembered sitting at his grandfather’s knee hearing these stories that had been passed down for generations.

  "The dark brother, my great-great-grandfather, saw her for what she was, a manipulative bitch, but the light brother, Kyle’s ancestor, never quite got over it. He continues to battle for supremacy.”

  “I still don’t understand, how do I fit into all of this?”

  He took a deep breath.

  “Demons. Day and Night. All this has been around for a hell of a long time. There’s a lot of sacred texts, more than most humans can imagine. We have librarians whose job is to read them full-time. Even after millions of years only a small fraction of the texts have been catalogued.”

  “So, long story short, you have no idea how I fit into this.”

  He didn’t want to answer the question. He ran his hands through his hair, and then around his goatee.

  “Yes.”

  “But the only way for darkness and light to continue to mutually co-exist is for me to die?”

  He remained quiet. What was he supposed to say to that? “You know the dream, it says that one of us will be your salvation, the other your death.”

  “But it’s never happened before. That the salvation part has worked?”

  He didn’t answer, just shook his head.

  “Do you... do you know when?”

  He walked over and stood behind her chair. He wanted desperately to touch her, but didn’t know how she’d react. He couldn’t imagine it would be that well considering he just told her she was going to die. “I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

  She surprised him by reaching up and grabbing his hand, resting it on her shoulder. "Will... when the time comes, will you do it?"

  “Gwen... ”

  She stood up to face him. She was so small, she barely came up to his shoulders. She was still dressed in nothing more than her fluffy bathrobe. He wanted desperately to hold her in his arms and never let go.

  But he, more than most, knew that was impossible. Especially when she was asking him what he thought she was asking.

  “Just... when the time comes, I know you’ll... do it... kill me, quickly and as painlessly as possible. I just... please? I don’t know much about Kyle, but I know he scares me. I don’t think I’d like to die at his hands. It wouldn’t be... pleasant.”

  He couldn’t have kept himself from touching her for anything at that point. He grabbed her and pulled her close, hugging her tightly. Her head buried in his chest. He was afraid that if he were to pull away now he’d see tears streaming down her cheek. He couldn’t handle that right now.

  Instead, he held her close, his hands rubbing up and down her body.

  Damn, he was going to miss her warmth.

  He had no idea how long they’d been standing there when she pushed him away. But he wouldn’t let go. He kept a tight hold of her.

  “Derek, you need to let go of me.”

  But he didn’t want to. God, he didn’t want to. There had to be some way of keeping her safe.

  But if the alternative was a world of never-ending light? The death of millions of people? Was that a fair trade?

  “Derek, your phone is ringing.”

  Finally, her words and the shrill ringing coming from his breast pocket penetrated his consciousness. “What?”

  She was smiling when he finally let go of her, though he could see that her eyes were red from crying. “You need to answer your phone.”

  “Right.”

  There was only one person that could be calling him. Only one person would dare.

  “Brad, this isn’t really the best time.”

  “I was starting to think you weren’t going to answer. You have to get back here now. There’s something you need to see.”

  “Brad... ”

  “Derek, you know that I’d never demand anything from you, but this is important. You need to come back here now.”

  “All right. I’ll be there soon.” He hung up the phone.

  “You have to go.”

  “Yeah. Are you going to be all right?”

  She looked outside. Dawn was approaching. Lights were starting to come on in some of the other buildings on her street.

  Odd that she’d been avoiding sleeping at night all this time when in reality, it was the ruler of the day that was trying to kill her.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

  He walked back over to the drafting table and flipped open one of her sketchpads. He grabbed a pen from the table and jotted down his number before ripping the page out and handing it to her.

  “This is my cell phone number. Now that I’ve given it to you, two people in the whole world have it. Call me if you need anything. I can be here in a matter of seconds, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  He wanted to lean down and kiss her, to taste those succulent pink lips, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t live with knowing how she tasted and then having to live the rest of his life knowing that he killed her.

  Instead, he extended his hand and ran it down her long blonde tresses. That was going to have to do.

  He turned and dashed down the stairs. Before any normal person could have reached the bottom of the stairs, he was back at his office. Brad sat at his desk, volumes of old books spread around him.

  “Derek, you are so not going to believe this.”

  * * * *

  Gwen spent some time up in her studio straightening, but she couldn’t bear to paint. It just wasn’t in her at the moment. And she left the tarps over the paintings she’d painted earlier.

  About the time she was placing her last brush in the holder, she wasn’t sure how it had gotten quite so messy, her stomach started to rumble again.

  “I never did eat breakfast.”

  Funny what a difference a few hours could make. A while ago she’d been convinced she was going crazy because she was talking to herself. Now... well, now she only wished that were the case.

  She left her loft and walked downstairs. Along the way, she dragged her hand down the railing. Had Derek’s hands touched the railing when he’d left before?

  “Good lord, when did I turn into such a sap?”

  After dressing in her favorite pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt, she headed back into the kitchen and got the eggs out of the refrigerator again. As she cracked a few into a bowl and fluffed them with a fork, she thought about her predicament.

  Could it even be called a predicament? In order for life to go on the way it always had, for there to be both light and darkness, she was going to have to die. She poured the eggs into a heated skillet, listening to the hissing sound they made on contact.

  It wasn’t like her to take things lying down. Normally, she’d be the first one to fight, especially fight to stay alive. She’d been doing that for as long as she could remember. First when she still lived with her mother, and later when she’d been older and shuffled from foster home to foster home. She’d battled her way through art school working any job she could find, and she’d worked her ass off to become the successful artist she was on the verge of becoming.

  And now? Now, none of it mattered because she was going to lie down and die.

  “This sucks,” she said as she moved her eggs around the pan with much more force than necessary.

  “Indeed, I’m afraid it does. It would have worked out so much better if it were me you fell for instead of Derek.”

  Gwen dropped the spatula into the skillet, sending uncooked eggs splattering all over the stove, the floor and the cupboards
. While she was usually a neat freak when it came to her kitchen, she couldn’t really get herself worked up over spattered eggs.

  With Kyle standing in her kitchen like he owned the place, she had much bigger problems on her plate.

  “What are you doing here?”

  He sauntered around her kitchen island. She would have backed up if she had anywhere to go. This was the second time he’d had her cornered, and she didn’t like it.

  She eyed the piece of paper underneath her telephone on the other side of the room. Why hadn’t she just programmed Derek’s number into her cell and kept it on her? Because while she accepted what Derek said, she thought she’d have more time.

  “You don’t look very excited to see me, Gwen. I take that to mean Derek has told you all about the little problem we have.”

  “Well, I’d say that killing me so that you can take over the world is more than just a little problem. At least to me it is.”

  “Yes, I can see how that would be. Your eggs are burning.”

  And her stomach felt like she’d already eaten the burned eggs. She turned off the stove and moved the burnt mess to another burner.

  “So, what now?”

  She couldn’t believe that she was remaining quite so calm in the face of her possible death.

  “Now, my dear, we’re going to have some fun.”

  She had trouble swallowing past the lump in her throat. She was pretty sure this fun was going to come at an awful, painful price for her.

  He walked further towards her until he was standing directly in front of her. She could feel the heat radiating from him, and it sickened her.

  “How do I get in touch with Derek?”

  “I don’t know.” She was completely unprepared for the backhand that slashed across her face. Her hands flew to her cheek and tears sprang to her eyes.

  “I’ll ask again. How do I get in touch with Derek?”

  “His... his number is over by the phone.”

  His blue eyes blazed into hers as if he was measuring her truthfulness. But eventually he seemed to come to the conclusion she was telling the truth.

  “Call him.”

  She walked to the phone, her feet heavy. She dialed the number and waited for Derek to pick up. “What do you want me to tell him?”

  There was no time for Kyle to answer though because Derek answered the phone.

  “Gwen, honey, what’s wrong?”

  Before she could speak, Kyle wrenched the phone from her grasp. “Honey, isn’t that sweet?”

  She closed her eyes as she imagined what Derek must be going through. And it was all her fault. She shouldn’t have made him promise her that he’d be the one. She should have just left well enough alone. Done her duty for mankind, and that would have been the end of everything.

  She couldn't hear what Derek said, but Kyle let loose with the most evil hiss of a laugh she’d ever heard. Tingles skittered up and down her spine.

  “Okay, loverboy, just meet us in the VIP room of Club Insomnia at dusk.”

  She could hear Derek’s voice, though she couldn’t make out what he was saying, then Kyle hung up the phone.

  “Are you ready to go out?”

  She didn’t bother answering the rhetorical question.

  He stepped back and stared at her. “Actually, I think you should probably change into something more appropriate.”

  “Listen buddy, if you think I’m going to dress up to go anywhere with you, you’re out of your mind.”

  “Ah, but that’s the beauty of having supernatural powers.” He waved his hands a few times and, within seconds, she was dressed in the most uncomfortable outfit she’d ever worn. She imagined the surprise must be clear on her face, because he asked, “Didn’t Derek ever show you any of his little tricks?”

  She looked down at herself and was shocked.

  She was dressed head to toe in red leather. Her feet started with two-inch platform red heels. Red leather pants hugged her legs like second skin. The red leather bustier top barely covered her nipples and gave her more cleavage than she’d ever imagined possible.

  She had no idea what her face or hair looked like but it felt like she was wearing more make-up and hair spray than she’d worn since high school.

  Another wave of Kyle’s hand and they were standing at the door to Club Insomnia.

  Chapter Six

  Derek’s heart pounded, and he felt his normally cold skin start to boil. He practically broke the phone in half, he closed it so hard.

  “What’s wrong?” Brad asked.

  “Gwen.” Her name came out as barely more than a strangled sound. “That bastard’s got her.”

  “Well, that’s good.” At the murderous look he sent Brad, he changed his story. “I mean, not good, but at least you know how to fix things now.” His hand swept out to encompass all of the books spread out across the room.

  “How sure are you?” He didn’t want to risk Gwen’s life on a long shot.

  “Look Derek, I know this isn’t the most positive thought, but even if I’m wrong... does it matter? She’s going to die no matter what.”

  “Damn it.” He kicked the wall so hard, it felt like the whole building shook. Good thing the walls were made of sturdy material.

  He knew Brad was right. Hell, he’d even agreed to kill her himself if the time came, but he never once in a million years thought it would actually happen. Or maybe the whole thing was just wishful thinking on his part.

  Gwen was going to die. The only thing he wasn’t sure about was at whose hands.

  He turned to walk out of the room. While he’d normally just magically transport himself to the Club, he needed some time to think.

  He left the office but didn’t get very far before he turned around and went back to Brad.

  “If things turn... bad. You know what to do, right? You can keep things going here, right?”

  “Derek... ”

  “Right?” The tone of his voice left no room for argument.

  “Right.”

  He turned and left the office. He drove his Aston Martin across town at a speed that would have endangered mere mortals. Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about things like death.

  He walked into the VIP room of Club Insomnia at the exact moment the sun fell low in the sky. Had the situation not been quite so dire, he knew his cock would have shot to attention when he saw Gwen on the other side of the room dressed from head to toe in red leather. Fucking hot was an understatement. But when he saw how she was restrained, her arms shackled behind her back, tied to a piece of pipe that ran the length of the room, his blood started to boil for another reason.

  “Right on time,” Kyle said.

  The room was brighter than Derek would have liked, but he knew it was a strategic move on Kyle’s part.

  “I wouldn’t want to miss this, you know,” Derek said dryly.

  He wouldn’t meet Gwen’s eyes. A distraction wasn’t something he could afford right now.

  Kyle walked over to Gwen and stood next to her. His hand came out and ran down her cheek, down her neck, and into the incredible cleavage the red outfit gave her.

  Derek’s hands clenched into fists. He wanted nothing more than to cross the room and kill Kyle with his bare hands, but he couldn’t.

  “I’d think you’d be very anxious to miss this. You’ve already watched me kill one woman you loved.”

  A woman he loved.

  He didn’t know how he’d missed it, but it actually didn’t become clear to him until that second. He loved Gwen.

  He desperately hoped that she felt the same about him.

  “I don’t think you’ll be killing Gwen,” he said.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw her flinch, and he knew why. She was thinking about his promise to her. That he’d kill her before Kyle if the need came to it.

  Kyle laughed.

  “Funny, but I think I’ve heard that before.” He was speaking of Tabitha. “But you know the deal. I’ll let Gwen live i
f you give up power to me.”

  He hadn't done it a hundred years ago and he wasn’t about to do it now. He simply hoped that it had a better outcome than last time.

  “Sorry, not going to happen.”

  Gwen let out a little chuckle.

  “You’re so anxious for your lover to die?” Kyle’s attention moved from Derek to Gwen. “I guess you’re not as much of a lover as you thought.”

  “Don’t listen to him, Gwen,” he said , though he still couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes. It was obvious that she was afraid. Although she was trying to appear strong, he could see the miniscule shivers running through her body. Still, trust and acceptance radiated off her in waves. She was going to trust him with whatever he thought needed to be done.

  The feeling was absolutely incredible.

  And he decided right then and there that he wasn’t going to let her down. Brad’s information had to be right. It just had to.

  “I’ve been waiting a hundred years to see you suffer again.”

  “You don’t think I’ve suffered every day for the last hundred years because of what you did to Tabitha?”

  Kyle shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, you can’t suffer too much.”

  Derek took the biggest risk he’d ever taken in his life. For the first time since he walked into the room, he met Gwen’s eyes straight on. He stared deep in her eyes as he spoke to Kyle.

  “Go ahead and kill her.”

  She flinched, but kept her gaze completely trained on him.

  Kyle didn’t seem to be prepared for that. Yet, he wasn’t the King of Light for no reason. He was nothing if not adaptable. “If you say so.”

  Out of nowhere, a dagger appeared in Kyle’s hand. It only took one step for him to be right in front of Gwen.

  Derek’s heart felt like it might actually pound out of his chest as he watched Kyle out of the corner of his eye. He raised the dagger high in the air, and then it began to fall. Derek watched the whole thing like it was in slow motion. Derek and Gwen’s eyes remained locked on one another the whole time.