shaede assassin 05 - shadows at midnight

by amanda bonilla

  “Backup,” Ty scoffed. “We’ll need an army.”

  And I knew exactly where to find one. “Then we’ll take an army. I know this isn’t what you want Tyler, but I can’t leave him there. I’d never be able to live with myself. Not after what I’ve been through and knowing that it’ll be worse for him.”

  “That’s why I love you, Darian.” The resignation in his voice sliced through my heart. “And also why I feel the urge to drink when you latch onto an idea like this.”

  The first genuine laughter I’d experienced in over a month bubbled in my throat. “I love you too, Tyler.” I couldn’t love anyone or anything more.

  “Now that you’ve consumed your weight in Cheerios, and you’ve decided to throw yourself into the path of a vindictive Ghoul-Shaede hybrid, would you mind coming back to bed?” I sensed the exhaustion in his tone and it sent a shiver of trepidation down my spine. What had he and Xander encountered in the winding canyons and tunnels that led to Padma’s stronghold? “We’ll go see Raif after sunup, but I’m going to need to recharge before I face another member of the Shaede royal family.”

  That made two of us. I put my bowl in the sink and crossed to the bed. I shucked my clothes and Ty lifted the blankets before I slid in beside him. He tucked my body against his and I let out a soft sigh, content for the first time in a long damned time. “Not all of your magic was null in the canyons, Tyler.” I paused, but he didn’t say anything. “My ring has power that can’t be nullified or tamed. Padma knew it. Tried to take it from me.”

  “I love you, Darian,” Tyler said as though those simple words told me everything I needed to know about my mysterious ring. “No matter how far apart we are, I’m always with you.”

  He didn’t speak again, simply retreated into sleep.

  His strong arms wrapped around me gave me the sense of comfort and security that I needed to follow him into sleep. One crisis at a time. First we’d rescue Xander and kill Padma. Then, I’d get to the bottom of Nys’Asdar.

  #

  My insides tangled into a mass of nervous knots as I stood at Xander’s front door. Ty didn’t seem to suffer from any attack of guilt or worry. As cool and composed as ever, he stood beside me and waited for someone to answer the door. Normally, I would’ve walked right in, but Tyler had been thrown out of Xander’s house enough times for me to know that he wouldn’t exactly be a welcomed guest. Especially since he’d helped to turn Xander over to Padma.

  A Shaede that I didn’t know met us at the door. The place was crawling with bodies—armed guards with deathly serious expressions. In Xander’s absence, I’d failed to consider who the duties of his crown would fall upon. And it was obvious that Raif was well protected.

  I kept my mouth shut as Ty and I were escorted into Xander’s study. My heart ached as I thought about the horrors Padma was no doubt delivering on him and I stuffed that anxiety to soles of my feet. Worry wouldn’t accomplish anything at this point. If I was going to get him back—and I was—I needed a level head. I could freak the fuck out later. The guards remained at the French doors after Ty and I were escorted into the study. I can’t say that I was thrilled with being treated as though I might be a potential threat, but I didn’t blame them either. If these sorts of precautions had been taken a month ago, Xander might still be here. His lax, cavalier approach to security had ultimately helped him to sneak right out from under Raif’s nose.

  “Darian.”

  I shot up out of my seat at the sound of Raif’s voice. As I turned to face him, my breath caught in my chest. He strode through the doorway, every bit the warrior I respected, but there were no warm words of welcome. No hugs. No sense of relief. Instead, he walked right past me, rounded the desk, and sat down. Never had he reminded me so much of Xander as he did in this moment, so regal and insufferably calm.

  “You are not welcome in this house, Jinn.” Raif’s tone was colder than Ty’s magic. “And if it was in my power, I’d kill you right here and now.”

  “Xander came to me,” Ty stressed. I hated that he felt he needed to defend himself for what had happened yet again. “He asked for my help. I didn’t force or coerce him to do anything. If you doubt the truth of my words, ask Adare yourself.”

  “I’ve spoken with Adare,” Raif replied as though the truth had no bearing on his opinion. “If my brother should die—”

  “That’s not going to happen.” Raif’s clear blue eyes widened a fraction of an inch at my words. “I won’t let it happen.”

  He gave me a sad smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You certainly don’t lack for bravery, Darian.”

  “Bravery has nothing to do with it.” I was terrified of going within a mile of Padma. Given the opportunity, I had no doubt that she’d kill me. But Xander and I were bound together in our responsibility for taking Azriel’s life. One of us shouldn’t have to suffer for it more than the other.

  “Then you certainly don’t lack for foolishness.”

  Ouch. I leaned forward in my chair and stared my best friend dead in the eye. “I need an army if I’m going to get him back, Raif. So let’s get our asses in gear and quit worrying about the odds.”

  “I’m sorry, Darian, but I don’t have a single body to spare.”

  What? Had my ears suddenly stopped working correctly? “What in the hell are you talking about?” Body snatchers. That had to be the reason why Raif was acting like a crazy person.

  “I don’t have the forces to lend you an army.” Exhaustion pulled at his mouth, lined the corners of his eyes. “Thanks to that buffoon”—he jerked his head toward Tyler—“and my foolhardy brother, word has reached Saben that the king is presumed dead.” The air temperature dropped and my breath fogged the air. Flinging insults Ty’s way wasn’t going help our situation. “Rebellions have to be quelled, rumors squashed. The throne has to be protected at all costs.”

  “Even if that cost is Xander’s life?”

  Raif let out a slow sigh. “Yes. And if he were here instead of me, he’d tell you the same thing.”

  I was aware of the unrest in the Shaede kingdom. For months Xander’s regent and distant cousin, Saben had been spreading propaganda, rallying supporters to help depose Xander. His being taken captive was the perfect opportunity for a usurper to move in. Honestly, it wouldn’t have surprised me a bit if Padma and Saben worked together to destroy everything that Xander’s family had built.

  “Let’s all just take a second to calm down.” Okay, so Raif was pretty fucking calm. And on the outside, Tyler might have appeared stoic, but I knew he was barely holding on to his composure. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to keep my own shit together either. I understood Raif’s sense of responsibility but this was Xander we were talking about!

  “He came to me,” Tyler stressed again. “And I’m sure I don’t need to point out that had he not thrown my ass in a PNT cell, that none of this would have happened!”

  Yeah, no one was going to calm down anytime soon.

  “You were all too anxious to be rid of him, Jinn!” Raif railed. “No doubt you served him up to Padma on a silver platter!”

  “Raif,” I said, “you know that’s not true.”

  “You mean like he served me up to the PNT because he was too much of an arrogant prick to take a fist to the face and move on?” Tyler’s body tensed with the words and another puff of steam clouded the air.

  “Petty children, fighting over a female,” Raif spat.

  As the female in question, I took offense to Raif’s tone. “Both of you shut up!” At my indignant shout, Raif’s guards entered the room. He raised a dismissive hand and they retreated. I still couldn’t reconcile seeing Raif in the role of leader and not that of protector. Warrior. I leveled my gaze on him and he sank back into his chair. “I’m going to forgive your slight because I know you’re upset. I also understand that you have a shitload on your plate. Tyler?” I turned my gaze to one very agitated genie. A muscle ticked at his cheek and his jaw squared with anger. “Can we ma
ke it through the canyons with a handful of people?”

  “Possibly,” he answered from between clenched teeth. “But she’ll be expecting retaliation. I can’t imagine it’ll be as easy to get in a second time. We barely made it through to get you and we were welcomed guests.”

  Raif snorted and I shot him a look. “I’m willing to take my chances.” I didn’t give a shit about insurgencies or political machinations. Raif could worry about the crown and kingdom. My only concern was getting Xander out of that hole in one piece. “Give me five. Louella, Myles, Julian, Liam, and Asher.”

  “Not Asher,” Raif said.

  “Raif, she has the key to O Anel.” Raif’s duty was to the throne now, but would he risk his daughter’s safety? Brakae was vulnerable while Padma wore my pendulum around her neck.

  Raif met my gaze and let out a slow breath that caused his shoulders to sag almost indiscernibly. “You can have Asher as well.”

  Ty pushed himself out of the chair, clearly more than ready to get the hell out of Dodge.

  I stood as well and said to Raif, “We’re leaving in the morning. Before dawn. We’ll swing by on our way out to pick everyone up.” I didn’t need to tell him to have them outfitted with more weapons than they could carry, this was Raif I was talking to after all.

  He inclined his head. Very kingly of him. I was already out the door when Raif said, “Darian, a moment.”

  Tyler stopped ahead of me and turned. “Go ahead,” I told him. “I’ll be right out.” No one would hurt me here, no matter how angry. Ty gave me a tight-lipped smile that was more of a grimace and poofed into thin air. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I stepped back into the study and eased the doors closed behind me. “Tighter security than when I was here last.”

  Raif rounded the desk and wrapped me in his arms. Thank god. I was starting to worry that the pod person had taken over for good. “I’m happy you’re free, but gods, Darian. Of all the asinine things for him to do—”

  We could have gone on for hours about the asinine things Xander had a tendency to do. And likewise, I wasn’t going to bring Ty back into this by trying to justify his decision to go along with Xander’s plan. Rehashing what was said and done wouldn’t help anything. “I’m going to get him back,” I said. “I won’t leave that place again without him.”

  “Be careful, Darian,” Raif said. “Don’t let all of this be for nothing.”

  In other words, don’t die.

  “I’ll have excellent backup,” I replied.

  “Gods, I wish I could go with you.”

  Raif took a step back and I once again took note of the exhaustion that lined his proud warrior’s face. Ruling a country from half-way across a continent had obviously taken its toll. Raif didn’t want this job. He’d never wanted it. Xander was the king and it was my job to bring his ass home.

  “Believe me, I wish you were too. Hold down the fort until I bring him home,” I said. “Don’t let that fucker take his throne.”

  “I won’t,” Raif flashed a deadly smile.

  “Good.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Did you really think it would be that easy, Darian?” Ty gave me a wry smile.

  Of course I did. My mouth puckered into a pout. Damn it. I’d tried to wish Xander out of Padma’s custody knowing that it was a long shot, but hoping just the same. He’d made her a Shaede—well, half Shaede—and that forged a bond between them. According to those mysterious Jinn rules, wishes couldn’t interfere with the bonds of others. Those stupid rules totally sucked balls.

  “I told you, magic is null in the canyons. Even if he had no bond with Padma. Even if he was lying right out in plain sight, you couldn’t have wished him out of there.”

  I bellied up to the bar at The Pit, thankful for a little down time in my favorite haunt. Levi was working tonight and he leaned in as Ty and I bent our heads together and tried to form a game plan.

  “Rakshasa are like Klingon war ships,” Levi remarked. “They can cloak their magic, their lairs…it makes them virtually impossible to track.”

  Lair. That pretty much described Padma’s ratty dirt hole to a tee. If she’d been an actual Klingon, she would have been a hell of a lot easier to deal with. “Okay, so we can’t wish Xander free and we can’t wish ourselves inside. Then the only way to get to him is to fight our way through.”

  “And I can guarantee you that the route won’t be the same,” Ty added. “The entrance to the labyrinth might not be the same. The tunnels could have changed. So could the traps. We’ll be flying blind.”

  Way to rock the optimism, Ty. Sheesh.

  “I have a suggestion.”

  Our heads turned in tandem toward Levi. The kid was crafty, not to mention connected. I wouldn’t put it past him to have a solution to our problem. “I’m listening.”

  “It wouldn’t be exact, but you could have a witch try to scry Xander’s location.”

  “Scry?”

  “Using magick to find something,” Ty replied. His sour tone didn’t go unnoticed.

  “Don’t be a hater,” Levi said. “Natural magick has its benefits.”

  I didn’t exactly share Levi’s optimism. The last time I’d dabbled in human magick, it had cost me dearly. “I’m not interested in paying the price for a human spell.” Money didn’t factor into buying magick and the cost was usually more than the buyer could afford to spare. I knew that firsthand.

  “Scrying doesn’t necessarily require spellwork,” Levi explained. Ty snorted in response and I gave him a look as though to say, I know, right? “All we’d need is something that belonged to Xander. The witch could do the rest.”

  Blergh. I hated to admit that the idea was tempting. Human magick fell outside of the parameters of the supernatural world. Perhaps a human witch could circumvent whatever supernatural power Padma had over the canyons.

  “No,” Ty looked at me as if he’d heard my thoughts. “No fucking way.”

  I quirked a brow. “It couldn’t hurt.”

  “It couldn’t possibly help, either.”

  Levi’s brow furrowed, marring his supermodel good looks. “Pamela could scry his location for you. Probably within a couple of miles. Do you want to make this rescue mission easier, or do you want to get your asses kicked?”

  Assess not kicked was definitely preferable, but I doubted we’d get out of there completely unscathed. That’s not to say I was anxious to work with the human witch again. Pamela was Levi’s ex and pretty damned powerful in her own right. She’d cast a glamour on me about seven months ago and I wasn’t quite over the trauma brought on by letting her do it. “Can she meet us tonight?”

  Ty cut me a look, his jaw flexing with agitation. “We can do this without magick, Darian.”

  I got the impression it was his own magic’s impotence in this situation that had Ty squirming. “We can,” I agreed. “But I’d rather go into this with whatever leg up we can get. No spells, no incantations. Believe me Ty, the last thing I want is to get caught up in that shit again.”

  He let out a resigned sigh as he raked his fingers through the coppery tangles of his hair. “Fine.”

  Levi flashed his signature panty-melting smile. Obviously pleased he’d won his argument. “I’ll call Pam. In the meantime, can you get something of Xander’s for her to work with?”

  My katana was technically Xander’s. So were the daggers he’d given me when I returned from my last visit to O’Anel. But maybe the witch needed something he’d owned recently, sort of like giving freshly worn clothes to a bloodhound. “I can get something. Where do you want to meet?”

  “Your place?” Tyler rounded on Levi and the poor kid wilted like a flower under the midday sun. “Here is fine,” he amended. “We’ll work in the office.”

  Ty didn’t seem any happier about that suggestion. “All right. I’ll head back to Xander’s and grab something we can use to track him.” I turned to Tyler. “Are you coming?”

  Levi cleared his throat and his eyes slid to
the side. I looked toward the entrance to see a man walk into the bar, his commanding stature drawing the attention of most of the patrons there. I knew him… Had seen him before. Here.

  Just before Lorik had kidnapped me I’d been sitting at the bar, chatting with Levi. I’d exchanged a few polite words with the stranger, but damn had he ever creeped me out.

  Recognition lit Tyler’s eyes as he took my hand in his and gave a gentle squeeze. “Will you be okay to go to Xander’s alone? I’ll stay here and wait for you.”

  Part of me wanted to call both Ty and Levi out on this bullshit and demand that they start ponying up some information. But I’d decided a while ago that if our relationship was going to work, I had to put my trust in Tyler. If something shitty was about to go down, he’d tell me.

  “All right.” My voice quavered more than I thought it would. It’s not like I needed an escort, but I couldn’t deny that the recent turn of events in my life had me more than a little jumpy. “I won’t be long.” In and out, that was the plan. I didn’t need to hang around Xander’s house and chit-chat. “Get your witch lined up and ready to work, Levi.” I leaned in to put my mouth to Tyler’s but he turned his cheek as though unaware of what I was about to do, his gaze lingering on the man winding his way through the bar.

  Yeah. Something was definitely up and if I had to guess, the Synod was involved. I hopped down from the stool and made my way across the bar. The stranger’s intense gaze met mine and a cool smile curved his full mouth. He nodded his head to me in acknowledgment as we passed one another and I fought the urge to turn around and stare. I didn’t need to see him to know that the mysterious man was headed in Ty and Levi’s direction. Damn it, the need to know what the hell was going on burned in my gut like a cinder.

  Later.

  I could unravel that mystery later. After I got Xander back. After I made sure he was safe and sound back at his house. And after I made Padma pay for what she’d done to us both.