Darkness & Discovery (The Bespelled Trilogy #2)

by A. L. Larsen

  “Yes sir. Um…sorry.”

  We pressed on into the forest. And after a couple minutes, Athos said, “You’re both way off, you know. He Man was blonde.”

  Bryn grinned at that and glanced over at me. “You called him He Man, too?”

  “Along with a bunch of other things. His name’s actually Athos, though.”

  “I know. I never have to be told people’s names, Luna. Don’t you remember?”

  “Oh, that’s right. Brynaldo the Magnificent knows all,” I joked.

  “It was an obvious dye job,” Bryn said.

  “What?”

  “He Man,” he said. “No one has hair that color. So obviously, it was a dye job. And before he dyed it, he would have been a dead ringer for our new mate here. So I say the He Man reference is perfectly valid.”

  “Wanna hear his stripper name?” I grinned.

  “He has a stripper name?” Bryn smiled ear to ear.

  “Not before he met me. But I decided that would be a good career for him and assigned him one,” I said.

  “You’re still exasperating,” Athos whispered. “And we’re getting almost within earshot of the nearest Order warrior. So please be quiet.”

  “Leather Van Der Pants,” I whispered, and Bryn burst out laughing.

  “Shhh!”

  “Oh please. You must think you’re dealing with a rank amateur,” Bryn said. “I’ve wrapped the three of us in a concealment spell. We could drive a Mardi Gras float and a fifty piece marching band through here and no one would see or hear a thing.”

  “Well, that’s handy,” I said.

  “The only problem is, my energy’s a bit spotty these days, and I already used a ton of it to transport myself to you. So let’s be quick about this, before the spell disintegrates.” And Bryn broke into a jog.

  “How’d you find me, anyway?” I asked as I jogged beside him.

  “Your location wasn’t a secret, the Order told us where you were. They meant to lure Alastair to the trailer. ‘Come alone. Don’t bring the warlock or the young vampire, or the girl gets it,’ and all that TV crime drama bollocks. Apparently the four nephilim surrounding the place thought they could close in like a noose and take Allie out. Pretty overconfident, if you ask me. By the way, Alastair tried to insist on being the one to come and save you, and Joey tried to do the same.”

  “And what, you all drew straws and you lost?”

  “I could never lose at that,” Bryn said, “because I could cheat. Think about it. I could pull whatever straw I wanted.”

  “So how’d you get assigned to the knight in shining armor role?” I asked as I ducked under a tree branch.

  “I didn’t get assigned, I took it by force. Both Alastair and Joey would have come in here guns blazing and probably gotten themselves killed. They were furious that the Order had taken you. But I knew there wasn’t any need for the shock and awe approach and them risking their lives, not when I could stroll in here and get you out quietly.” Bryn looked pleased with himself.

  “So how exactly did you take it by force?”

  “Don’t be mad, but I incapacitated both your vampires. They’re enjoying a little down time until we get back.”

  “Define incapacitated.”

  “You’ll see.”

  “You better not have left them defenseless.”

  Bryn rolled his eyes. “The whole point was to keep them safe, not to leave them vulnerable.”

  “They’re going to be so ticked at you.”

  “No they won’t. I’ll play the poor-emotionally-devastated-Bryn card if I have to, and they won’t have the heart to yell at me.”

  I glanced at him and asked, “How are you, anyway?”

  “I am, in fact, emotionally devastated. But it feels good to be out doing something useful. Gives me hope that maybe someday, I’ll no longer feel like a semi-truck tore through my chest cavity, splattering my heart all over the interstate.”

  “Awesome mental imagery there, Bryn. It’s worthy of a country-western song.”

  Chapter Nine

  It was probably half an hour before we emerged onto a familiar two-lane paved road, and I suddenly realized we were in the Santa Cruz mountains, not all that far from where I’d grown up. And still we kept walking.

  “You parked this far away?” I asked Bryn. “I didn’t know you could teleport across such a big distance.”

  “Oh, I didn’t teleport all the way in to you. I hiked in, and only teleported the last few yards when I spotted you in that meadow. I wish I could teleport that far! This has all been more exercise than I’ve gotten in decades. And let me tell you, I don’t care for it,” Bryn said.

  We hiked down the road another ten minutes before reaching the base of a small mountain that didn’t look familiar. “Here we are,” Bryn announced. A big opening appeared in the side of the mountain, revealing Alastair and Joey pacing anxiously inside. They were in a cave stuffed with sports memorabilia and cushy furniture and lined with flatscreen TVs, all of which were showing sporting events.

  “You left them in a literal man cave,” I said with a grin.

  “I wanted them to be cozy.”

  A moment after they spotted us, Alastair had Athos in a choke hold, driving him to his knees. “Allie, stop it! He’s with us!” I exclaimed, and pulled on his arm to try to get him to loosen the literal death grip he had on my companion.

  Alastair looked up at me, not loosening his grip in the slightest. “Are you ok, Lu?”

  “I’m fine, but let go of Athos! He’s on our side. And I almost killed him less than an hour ago, so choking him right now really isn’t good for him.”

  “What do you mean, he’s on our side?”

  “I mean exactly what I said. And isn’t it obvious, given the fact that he’s not fighting back at all?”

  Alastair looked absolutely perplexed, but let go and stepped between Athos and me, watching him for a long moment. Athos sat on the ground, staring back at Alastair emotionlessly. And then Allie turned to me and asked, “You almost killed him?”

  “Watch the tone! It’s not that far-fetched,” I huffed.

  “But this guy’s even bigger than I am,” Alastair persisted.

  “You’re teetering on the brink of sexism here. Choose your next words very carefully,” I told him.

  He shot one more look at Athos, then took me in his arms. “Ok, I choose these words: I was worried sick about you Luna, and I’m so glad you’re ok. And I’m sorry I underestimated you. You’re a complete badass, and I bow down to your mad skills.” He planted a kiss on my lips.

  “That’s better. Though ‘mad skills’ sounds really funny with a British accent.”

  “But how’d you do it?” he asked.

  “With that little snake-handled knife. Turns out Knifey is to angels as chocolate is to dogs,” I told him. He stared at me blankly, and I said, “Toxic! Chocolate kills dogs. That bespelled blade kills angels and nephilim. Apparently one little nick and you’re a goner, so be really careful around it, ok?”

  “All news to me. But that’s good to know.”

  Meanwhile, Joey was staring Bryn down with a dark expression on his face, hands on his hips. “Don’t ever do that again,” he growled. “What would have happened if you’d gotten yourself killed? We couldn’t bust our way out of that cave. Believe me, we tried. If something had happened to you, we would have been buried alive!”

  “People always have so little faith in me. If I had died, this would have happened,” Bryn said, and the entire mountain disappeared, revealing the black town car parked behind it.

  I let go of Alastair and went to Athos, who still sat cross-legged on the ground. “Are you ok? Let me see your throat,” I said, and he tilted his head to reveal the spot where I’d cut him. It was bleeding again, and I plucked the cotton sweater from around my waist and pressed it to the wound. “So I guess nephilim don’t have that insta-heal thing that vampires do.”

  “We do heal fast, usually. But this wound was mad
e with an atypical weapon. Even though Bryn drew the poison out, the wound’s apparently not just going to disappear.”

  “So is this like, instant Stockholm Syndrome? You were only missing for four and a half hours,” Joey said. “Did you seriously bond with your captor in that length of time?”

  I sighed and straightened up as Athos took over holding the cloth to his throat. “No, Joey. That’s not what this is.”

  “Ok, cool,” Joey said. “So hey, do you think your knife would let me borrow it for a few minutes?”

  “Maybe. Why do you want it?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to use it to kill this Order scumbag that somehow slithered his way into your good graces.”

  “I mean you no harm, I swear,” said Athos.

  “Yeah? Well, I mean you nothing but harm,” Joey said, and took a step toward the big warrior.

  I stopped Joey by splaying my hands out on his chest. Or rather, he let me stop him, since he was, of course, much stronger than me and could certainly push past if he wanted to. “All of you need to learn to play nice, and fast,” I said. “We have to get out of here. Both Alastair and Athos are now at the top of the Order’s most wanted list, and they’re really close by.”

  Joey paused, grinding his teeth for a moment before finally conceding, “Yeah, we really should get out of here.”

  We piled into the town car, Joey driving and Bryn riding shotgun, with me sandwiched between Alastair and Athos in the back. After a few minutes, Alastair said quietly, “Please explain to me why you trust this assassin.”

  “I just do,” I said. “He left the Order, and took some sort of awkward vow to protect me after I asked Bryn to save his life. I really don’t think he’ll try to harm any of us.”

  “You really believe he suddenly up and left the Order? Why would he do that?”

  I looked at Athos. “You want to field that question?”

  “When I joined the Order four months ago I thought it was about making a difference, about keeping innocents safe from vampires. But there’s so much more to it than that. You were right Lu, when you mentioned religious zealotry. They really do think they’re on a divine mission, and that killing enough vampires will somehow earn them a place in heaven. Which is insane, of course. Anyone who’s ever read the Bible knows the nephilim are damned. We’re no more welcome in heaven than demons. And no good deeds will ever change that,” Athos said quietly.

  “Anyway, once I realized how deeply misguided the Order is, I wanted to find a way out,” he continued, “even though it’s supposed to be a lifelong commitment. And when Lu asked Bryn to save me, I knew this was the right time to walk away, no matter the consequences. I owe both of them my life, and I intend to make sure they’re safe. With the Order right on our heels, that’s going to be challenging. But I know I can help them.”

  “You hate Alastair though,” I pointed out. “So there’s an obvious conflict of interest.”

  “It’s not a question of hating him. He’s a vampire, so he’s not to be trusted. And I still maintain that you need to be careful around him.” He shot a look at Alastair over my shoulder.

  After a few moments, Alastair said quietly, “He can stay with us for now. We’ll take him to Las Vegas, and then part ways. The Order will be gunning for him in a big way now that he’s a deserter, and this will at least put a little distance between him and his former comrades, give him a fighting chance at survival.”

  Athos looked surprised as he said, “Thank you.”

  It was the middle of the night by the time we made it to the airport. But the cool thing about chartering your own plane (besides chartering your own plane!) was the fact that you really couldn’t miss your flight.

  Our pilot had been on stand-by and met us at the terminal, and in just a few minutes the flight crew announced we were ready to board. I started to head for the little aircraft. But Alastair held back.

  “So, um, yeah…I really can’t get on that thing,” he told me when I came up to him. “I’ll just drive there and meet you in Las Vegas tomorrow night.”

  “As if I’d leave you behind. If you’re driving, then I am too,” I told him.

  “That’s silly. Why should you miss out on travelling first class, just because I’m being a coward?”

  I rested my hands on his waist. “As if I care about travelling first class.”

  “Still.”

  Bryn had been nearby during our conversation, and he strolled up to us now and said, “You’re not afraid of flying, Allie.”

  “I’m not?”

  “You didn’t like airplanes when they were a new mode of transportation. You didn’t trust them. But you overcame that distrust by getting your pilot’s license,” Bryn told him.

  “You’re joking.”

  “It’s a control thing,” Bryn said. “You don’t like being a passenger because you’re not in control. But you like piloting a plane just fine.”

  Alastair smiled weakly. “Think the pilot might hand over the controls to an amnesiac?”

  “Nope. But I will. Come on,” Bryn said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’ll see.”

  We boarded the plane and Bryn led a more than a little reluctant Alastair up to the cockpit, whispering something to the two flight attendants on the way past. They both smiled and left the plane. I followed Alastair, and hung back at the door of the little cockpit as Bryn leaned in and whispered something in the pilot’s and then the co-pilot’s ear.

  The pilot smiled and got out of his seat. “Have a nice flight,” he said. And both pilots brushed past me as they too left the plane.

  “What did you do to get them to leave?” I wanted to know.

  “I bespelled them. Just temporarily. Told everyone to go home and have a nice cup of cocoa and relax.”

  Bryn slid into the co-pilot’s seat and patted the recently vacated pilot’s chair. “Hop on up here, mate,” he said to Alastair.

  “Why?” Alastair asked.

  “So you can fly the plane, of course.”

  “You’re certifiable. I can’t fly this!”

  “Sure you can. You can drive a car without your memories by simply doing it and not thinking about it. I guarantee flying will be the same way,” Bryn told him.

  “I’m telling you, it’s impossible.”

  Bryn sat cross-legged on the seat and rested his hands palms-up on his knees, middle finger touching thumb. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and said, “Be the airplane.”

  “Yeah, not bloody likely,” Alastair exclaimed. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

  Bryn sat up in the seat and put on a pair of headphones. “Ok, I’ll get you started,” he said. And then he turned to the incredibly complex control panel before him and began flipping switches. He actually looked like he knew what he was doing.

  “Are you qualified to fly a plane?” Alastair asked him.

  “Of course! Just like you. Lu, be a dear and make sure everyone’s all buckled up back there, will you?”

  Joey and Athos were sitting as far from one another as was possible in the main cabin. Joey had a menacing scowl on his face and sat glaring at Athos, while the nephilim was back to doing his statue imitation, gazing back emotionlessly.

  When Joey saw me he asked, “Where’d the crew go?”

  “Um…Bryn sent them away.”

  “So why are we sitting here like this if we don’t have a pilot?” Joey wanted to know.

  “Because Bryn’s going to fly us to Vegas.”

  “Bryn?”

  “And Alastair.”

  “Are they nuts?” Joey jumped up and rushed to the cockpit.

  I went over to Athos and said, “So, this is an odd request, but do you want to trade me your t-shirt for your jacket? My luggage is down in the cargo hold, and I’m absolutely roasting in this huge thing.”

  “Not a problem.” He shucked off his black t-shirt and handed it to me, and then pivoted away in his chair
as I took his jacket off, only turning back around when I’d pulled the shirt on.

  I grabbed two handfuls of the hem of the t-shirt and knotted it at my hip, then sat in the chair across from him. The cabin was comprised of four separate seating areas, each with four big, overstuffed chairs facing each other two by two around low tables. “Oh man. Now you really look like a male stripper,” I said with a grin. He’d put the jacket on over his bare chest, and he rolled his eyes and took it off again, tossing it onto a nearby chair. “And now you’re naked from the waist up, and dressed in black leather from the waist down. Guess what that makes you look like.”

  He smiled at me and leaned back in his chair, crossing an ankle over his knee. “Well, you know, I am out of a job now. And I’ll bet there are plenty of strip clubs in Las Vegas. It’s probably lucky I’m headed there.”

  The engine roared to life then, and I wondered if that was a good sign or a very, very bad one. “Seriously, what are you going to do now that you’ve left the Order?”

  He shrugged his broad, bare shoulders. “Just try to stay alive as long as I can. It won’t take long for the Order to track me down. I signed my own death warrant when I took off with you.”

  “I still don’t really understand why you did that, why you left with us.”

  “It really wasn’t all part of some grand scheme, I assure you.”

  “I know that. But why? I know you said it was because I saved your life, but there has to be more to it than that.”

  “You made me care about you within the first second of meeting you, Luna. Drugging you and holding you hostage was already almost unbearable. And then after you spared my life, I couldn’t let you and Bryn go off in the woods alone, any more than you could have let me die.”

  “The first second…oh.” I felt color rising in my cheeks.

  “I’m so sorry about what your mother did to you. And I’m sorry I eavesdropped on all of that. It was really none of my business.”

  “It’s ok. I mean, I thought I was blurting all of that to a driver I’d met just an hour before. So, it’s not like it was a secret or anything.”

  “Do you want to talk about what happened with your mother?”