Without prompting, I mimicked her, leaving the print of my own palm over her heart.
“I didn’t need to find you, princess. I knew you were there.”
“We will empower each other from the different realms,” Senka said softly. “We will shoulder the burden together and keep the Hollow safe until nature rights itself.”
“What happens now? You wake up, and I stay here in your place?”
“No, my love. You wake up. I will be waiting for you.”
29
Intense light filled my universe.
I couldn’t sense my body or my surroundings, but the light was everywhere. Inside me, outside me, so much a part of me that there was no clear delineation where the light ended and I began.
A strangled cry, followed by rough hands on my arms, ripped me from the light.
Warren lifted me bodily from the tomb into a harsh, bright world. He clutched me to his chest and sank to the ground.
“Oh, fuck. Thank Senka, you’re alive.” He kissed my eyes, my cheeks, my neck, then captured my lips with a desperation that seemed so strange in the wake of what amounted to a very calming dream for me.
I returned the kiss—because, yeah, I had kinda hated the thought of never seeing Warren again and he smelled pretty good.
When the kiss broke, he pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes. As if in prayer.
“I don’t understand...” I glanced into the tomb. “I was dead. I was going to stay for Senka.”
“Obviously she had other plans.” He tilted his chin, indicating behind me. “She brought me to you.”
I glanced over my shoulder. Senka stood primly on the spotless cavern floor. Not the Senka from my dream, but the dark-eyed, moon-skinned princess I’d come to adore.
I disentangled myself from Warren’s arms and ran to her. Her warm embrace reminded me of campfire smoke and spicy tea and family.
“Was it really you?” I murmured in her ear, her black hair tickling my face.
“It was really me.”
“Why didn’t you let me stay?”
Senka pulled away. She took both my hands in hers. “We all have our burdens to bear, Relle. Mine is not yours to carry.”
Warren joined us. He touched the weight at my neck. “What’s this?”
My fingertips skimmed cool stone. Confused, I unclasped it and pulled it off.
The turquoise First Woman had given me.
“It was real.” I stared at the necklace draped over my palm, flabbergasted. “It was all real. First Man and the corn. First woman. The pine tree. The wolves. The flood.” I held it out to Senka. “It wasn’t a dream.”
She shook her head.
“What are you talking about?” Warren asked.
“Nothing.” I didn’t want to share it. Dream or not, it had been my journey. As I gazed upon the necklace that had traveled the worlds with me, I realized what had been the plan all along. From the moment I woke up in the First World, I’d been playing a part.
Hot tears stung my eyes. I squared my shoulders and caught Senka’s calm gaze. “This is meant for you.”
Senka gently touched the pale white stones around her own neck. “Yes.”
“ ‘Turquoise is influenced by its owner,’” I parroted First Woman’s words. “ ‘When its owner is sick or sad, the stone grows pale. When the owner dies, it shall lose all color. But in the hand of a new owner, the stone will regain its true hue.’” I cradled the necklace in my palms. “ ‘Remember that,’ she told me.”
I gently removed Senka’s colorless turquoise necklace and replaced it with the vibrant piece I’d carried through the worlds. The effect was instantaneous. Pale bronze flooded Senka’s skin. Our gazes met, and I watched in awe as the darkness in her eyes pulled away, revealing beautiful chestnut irises.
I gently removed Senka’s old necklace from her fingers.
“I’ll keep this safe,” I told her as I clasped it around my neck, remembering how she’d told me her mother had given it to her. “And when the stones are healed, I’ll bring it back to you.”
She smiled sadly. “You did well.”
“I’ll stay with you, Senka. No questions asked. We can go right now, together, into that tomb. If you want me, I’m yours.”
She touched my face. “I’ll always want you, Maurelle. We’re sisters now.” She lay a palm over my heart. Why did it feel like such a lifetime ago when she did the same with our blood on her hand?
“Sisters,” I agreed, tears burning my eyes as I placed my hand over hers.
“I don’t want this for you, sister. This is my fate to bear. You are meant for so much more. The Hollow needs you above as much as it needs me below. You still have work to do.”
“But...” I trailed off. I knew she was right. Of course she was right. The rein of Senka Hollow had tried to have me killed. Something was rotten in Denmark.
My job had always been to protect the Hollow from evil. Evil had many forms, and right now, the evil had nothing to do with the shadow touched.
Senka took my hand and squeezed it. “You saved me, Relle. Not just this,” she touched her new necklace, “but here, too.” She touched her chest. “That is enough.”
“I’ll miss you.”
She smiled. A real smile, like I’d seen in the other realm, where Senka knelt barefoot before her fire, stirring hominy that smelled of home. “You know where to find me. Find me by the campfire, singing the songs of our people. I’ll have tea waiting for you and stories to tell.”
Senka’s hand fell away. She turned and descended into her tomb. With a wave of her hand, the stones sealed behind her.
“Still mad at me?” I asked Warren in the silence after her departure.
Thankfully, he didn’t comment on the tears pouring from me. He slipped his hand into mine and squeezed. “Nah.”
We stood for a minute longer, staring at the silent grave.
“She’s so selfless,” I finally said.
“Pot meet kettle.”
I punched him in the arm. He grabbed my offending arm and pulled me against him with a chuckle. “Some people—like you, like Senka—are wired to always do what’s right, even if it hurts. So tell me. What’s the right move now?”
“Everett tried to have me kill—” I broke off. My bullet wounds. My blood was all over Senka’s tomb. That had been real. I lifted my shirt.
“Is this really the time and place for that?” Warren joked.
“Oh shut up.” I laughed, thankful for his goofy sense of humor. He kept me afloat, kept me from falling apart under the weight of dying, living, and losing Senka. Two raw scars glared red from my stomach. I found another puckered scar on the side of my neck beneath my hair.
Warren tugged my hair back, gaping. “What the hell?”
“Everett. His cronies shot me three times. I died.”
“I hate to break it to you, but you’re definitely not dead.”
I rolled my eyes. “Clearly.”
“So... what? The leader of the Hollow is a bad guy? And we’re gonna have to take him down, just you and me? The odds don’t seem good.”
I grinned. “We’re not taking him down alone.”
30
When the world ends, honesty and trust end with it. Life in Senka Hollow could be dangerous, not only because of the darkness, but because a girl never knew who to trust.
Sometimes, though, you just know who’s going to be on your side.
As I careened through the city streets in a department-issued vehicle, I keyed up my Com and dialed Shana.
She answered on the first ring. “Talk to me.”
“Do you trust me?” I asked her.
Her response came so quickly, I knew she hadn’t even had to give it thought. “Implicitly.”
“Meet me at our spot.”
A brief pause as she sifted through my cryptic message. “Copy.”
I cut the call and swerved around another corner. The streets were empty and still peppered with debris from the
earthquake. Like the whole city had shut down when Senka rose.
I fought back a pang thinking of her, alone in the dark.
Shana stood outside Wang Chee in her uniform. She slid into the backseat without question, and I got back on the road as if I’d never stopped at all.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Everett Lear tried to have me killed.”
In the rearview mirror, Shana’s dark eyebrows shot toward her hairline. “Excuse me?”
I gave her the quick and dirty version, with occasional assistance from Warren in the passenger seat. When my sordid tale ended, so did our journey. I cut the engine in front of the Insurgentia’s office and shifted in my seat to look back at my friend.
“I always knew that son of a bitch was shifty as fuck,” she said. “What’s his end game?”
I shrugged. “He didn’t want Senka back in the tomb. That much I know.”
“He didn’t want our only protection against Acura’s darkness back where it could keep us safe?”
“Appears that way.”
Shana ran a hand over her short kinky curls. “Shit. Weston was shadow touched. The darkness has infiltrated the council.”
“Probably.”
Shana glanced out the window. The Collier & Sons sign glinted in the fading sunlight. “Good call.”
“The Insurgentia started it when they sent my brother in to catch Weston at the encampment. Might as well have them there to help us finish it.”
Josiah Bishop leapt to his feet as the three of us barged into the office. He knocked a stack of folders off his desk in his hurry to get away.
“I don’t even have my gun drawn,” I pointed out, feigning hurt.
“You are a crazy bitch!” he yelped, disappearing behind his desk.
Warren raised an eyebrow. “What did you do to the kid?”
“Nothing.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Shana said. She pulled out her badge and flipped it open. “Mr. Bishop. Detective Clayton with the Sapiens Enforcement Agency. You are not in trouble. Please come out and talk to us.”
Josiah peeked over the desk, his short auburn hair glinting in the fluorescent lights. “She has a gun.”
“Give me your gun.” Shana held out a hand.
“What? No!” I took a step away.
She gave me the side-eye. “Nez. If you want him to cooperate, you need to cooperate.”
Grumbling a few of my favorite words, I unholstered the weapon and passed it to Shana. She passed it to Warren, who stared dumbly at it, like he’d never held a gun in his life.
“It doesn’t bite,” I assured him.
He grinned. “Too bad.”
Josiah stood and cleared his throat. He straightened a stack of papers on his desk, pretending he hadn’t just lost his shit when I walked in the door.
After my behavior the last time we met, I couldn’t really blame him. Not my finest moment. Even the Reaper can’t handle her grief well.
“How can I help you, Detective?” Josiah asked.
I cut Shana off before she could answer. “Everett Lear tried to have me killed to keep Senka from being put back in the ground. We think he’s attempting to wrest power of the Hollow by allowing the darkness to take over. We need your help. Well, the Insurgentia’s help. We have three people and a vendetta.” I motioned to indicate Shana, Warren, and myself. “The Insurgentia has numbers.”
“You want us to help you take down the Rein of Senka Hollow?” Josiah asked, voice level. All trace of animosity had disappeared from his voice as he addressed me.
Shana and I exchanged glances. “Yeah,” I answered.
His face lit up, and he pumped a fist in the air. “This is what we’ve been training for!”
“Training?” Shana asked. She looked at me. “These idiots have been training?”
“Don’t insult the help,” I warned her.
Josiah shuffled through the mess on his desk until he found a small radio. He keyed up, feedback squelching as he said, “Code Red. Code Red. All soldiers to Headquarters. All soldiers to Headquarters.” He dropped the professionalism with his next statement: “Holy fuck, you guys, this is it! Get down here!”
Having a vendetta wasn’t exactly the same as having a plan.
Staring down fifty-plus Insurgentia, avidly waiting for me to give them instructions, reminded me exactly how important a plan could be to the success of a mission.
I convened with Warren and Shana, our backs to the kids. “The only thing we have going for us is that they don’t know we’re coming.”
“Do you really think the SEB and SEA are going to fight us?” Shana asked. “You’re the top agent. I’m not high-ranking, but my longevity has to count for something.”
“If Lila told us to fight someone we knew because they were a threat to the Hollow, wouldn’t we?”
Shana worried at her bottom lip. “Maybe. Depends on the person.”
“Could we broadcast something? On that little watch thing you wear?” Warren tapped my Com.
I looked at the magickal piece of equipment on my wrist. Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum hadn’t removed it when they threw me half-dead in Senka’s tomb, which is what happens when you send morons to do an important job.
I grabbed Warren by either side of his face and kissed him. “You’re a genius.”
He blushed. “Aw, shucks.”
“I knew it. You seemed way too relaxed. He’s sexy, too.” Shana winked at Warren.
I ignored her pry into my sex life, well-aware the Insurgentia seated close behind us were hanging on our every word. “We surround Headquarters in secret. I make the broadcast. We infiltrate. We take down the Rein, and we take the council in custody for questioning.”
“How the hell you suggest we take twelve council members in custody with only two cops?”
“Eleven,” I corrected, shoving aside the memory of the councilwoman’s face as we exchanged fire. I’d survived the encounter thanks to a bit of preternatural assistance. I doubted the same could be said for Meade. “And we don’t have to do this the legal way. The Insurgentia could wrap them up in rope for all I care.”
“Who’s taking Everett in custody? He’s going to be well-protected.”
I patted my Taurus. “I’m not taking Everett into custody. He sent me to my death. Now, I’m bringing death to him. My entire life has been dedicated to keeping this Hollow safe from the darkness. The darkness happens to be the man in charge.” I shrugged, but couldn’t stop the smile. “Just doing my job.”
We parked one block down and across the street with a clear view of Headquarters. It was just past seven o’clock shift change, and a steady stream of uniformed SEB officers exited the building for home.
My insides had gone straight past heart-pounding and sailed into defcon-one. I clutched the steering wheel, for lack of anything else to hold, and tried to draw strength from Warren and Shana’s presence in the car.
The toy radio in the cup holder crackled to life and Josiah said, “Unit one in place.”
We remained silent, listening as each “unit” of the Insurgentia stationed at their predetermined location to await battle. Or what I hoped wouldn’t be a battle so much as a gentle takeover.
The final unit called its location.
Shana’s thin, strong fingers curled around my shoulder. “You can do this.”
I glanced at Warren. He lifted my hand to his mouth. “No more moments left, babe. Let’s do this.”
I keyed my Com, connecting to the public channel.
“This is Agent Maurelle Nez,” I said into the mic, voice stronger than I expected. “Late last night, Rein Everett Lear sent me on a run, where I was ambushed and shot three times. Two men then sealed me inside Senka’s tomb to die.
“The Rein of Senka Hollow attempted to have me killed because I had found a way to put Senka back to rights. He also attempted to murder Reina Lila, and covered up the act by throwing her down the stairs.
“The cou
ncil has been infiltrated by darkness. The Rein is dangerous.” I swallowed, nerves jangling. “If you fight us, we will have no choice but to defend ourselves.”
31
Apparently, a quiet, gentle takeover wasn’t in the cards.
Which, let’s be honest, seemed to be the constant modus operandi of my life.
When our teams converged as one upon Headquarters, we found ourselves locked out and at the end of a dozen SEA barrels. I noted the lack of SEB agents with a smile.
“Your people need to figure out their loyalties,” I told Shana.
She rolled her eyes. “Look at it logically. Everett is human. Sapiens Enforcement Agency. Of course they’re going to be dumb as shit and side with the enemy. Because he’s human.”
Josiah came to stand next to me, vibrating with anticipation. “People are going to die.”
“Sociopath,” Shana muttered. “Why’d we hitch our wagon to them again?”
“Because suddenly, our goals have aligned like the Senka-damned constellations.”
“How do we get in? And, uh, past that?” Warren motioned to the stone-faced officers waiting behind the glass.
“Magick.” I grinned. I placed my hands on the glass and called my power. Funny that I’d used the same spell only a couple days before to keep from being ripped to pieces on the asphalt. The bullet-proof glass shimmered.
And turned to ice.
I had to guess the confused officers inside didn’t shoot at the sight of my magick because we were surrounded by humans. That changed when I drew my Taurus and shot over their heads, shattering the ice in an epic display of power.
To the sound of gunfire and screams, I rushed over the threshold.
I bounced off an officer, kicking his gun from his hands as he aimed at Josiah. I came out of the round-kick and shot another officer’s kneecaps, sending him to the ground on a wail of agony.
My only goal was to get past the fray and find Everett. I knew Shana and the Insurgentia could handle themselves, and Warren seemed to be holding his own pretty well with a mix of his borrowed gun and time-travel tricks. So I surged forward, shoving past the wall of astonished SEA officers, disarming them as I could. I felt an affinity with Josiah, riding the excitement of a fight.
Relics and Runes Anthology Page 17