shaede assassin 05 - shadows at midnight

by amanda bonilla

  “I got through to you,” he said. “You can get through to them.”

  “Our bond—”

  “Made it easier,” Tyler replied. “That’s all. I can manage one or two of them, but not everyone. I need your help.”

  “I can’t see my own hand in front of my face.” Stumbling around in the dark wouldn’t help me to break anyone from the hold of illusions. If anything, it would only encourage me to topple back into them.

  A small orb of light came to life in Tyler’s palm. It illuminated his face, casting shadows that gave his features a truly dangerous edge. I didn’t understand the power he possessed—and at times it frightened the hell out of me—but right now, I was damned thankful for it. He gave the orb a little bounce, as though letting a fledgling loose from his grasp, and it floated between us, suspended in midair.

  The otherworldly light permeated the darkness and spanned in a six or seven foot circumference. He could have illuminated our path the entire time. Why in the hell hadn’t he? I didn’t have time to worry about what Ty was hiding from us and why as I scanned the narrow corridor for Asher. He must have been beyond the light’s reach. “Ash?” I called out. “Asher!”

  “Stop!” Louella’s frantic plea drew my attention away from finding Asher. It was best to deal with the crisis in front of me first. Ash was a big boy. For the next few minutes, I’d have to trust that he could take care of himself.

  “Darian…” Azriel’s voice swirled in my head. The illusion tried to resurface and cold magic flared from my ring. I took Ty’s instruction to heart, and rather than fight it, I welcomed the icy chill, gave myself over to it. The discomfort faded and I no longer felt the cold burn of magic on my skin. Azriel’s voice faded into the back of my mind and retreated to my memories where it belonged.

  Thank god.

  “Louella!” I gripped her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. She didn’t acknowledge me, didn’t feel the contact. She stared past me at whatever image the invasive magic had conjured in her mind.

  “It’s not true!” The desperation in her voice tore at my composure. I doubted the most stalwart soul could endure being taunted and manipulated by distortions of their memories. “Don’t say another word!”

  “Louella!” I spoke clear and firm close to her ear. “It’s not real. Listen to me. Fight your way out of it. Turn your back on it. Remember where you are and why.”

  I coaxed her again and again until her eyes cleared and she focused on me. “Darian?”

  Recognition was a good sign. “Focus, okay?” Not that it was easy, or even possible. But if I could instill her with enough confidence, maybe she could fight the pull of the illusions before they could take hold of her again. I pointed to the orb of light that Tyler had conjured. “Use that. Let it hold your attention. I need you to help me with the others. Do whatever you can to break the spell, understand?”

  “Darian!” Ty’s voice called out. “Incoming!”

  Great. What now? “What is it?”

  “More goblins!” Ty called back. “Ten, maybe twenty!”

  Shit. Ten, he could probably handle on his own with another one of those freaky bursts of light. Twenty could be a problem, especially if they fanned out to flank us.

  “Help Ty,” I said to Louella. “I’ll handle everyone else.”

  She took off toward the action while I focused on taking care of the rest of my disoriented team. I didn’t know what was worse, the sound of a fight that echoed from my left, or Asher’s angry shouts from my right. I took off toward Ash but Liam blocked my path. His big body nearly filled the narrow tunnel. No way was I getting past him.

  “Get the fuck away from me!”

  The words weren’t meant for me. His gaze was wild and unfocused, his lip curled in a cruel sneer. The light from the orb illuminated his features, made the blue tattoos on his bald head appear darker, more sinister. He was already a scary mo-fo, but right now, he was damned right terrifying. I didn’t think that a good rough shake would snap the burly Shaede out of his trance and so I opted for a more drastic approach. I pulled back my arm and let my fist fly. It caught Liam square on the jaw and he reeled backward.

  “What the fuck?” He gave his head a violent shake and his tongue flicked out at the split on his lip. With murder in his gaze, his eyes lit on me and he took a lunging step forward before realization dawned and he checked himself. He opened his mouth to speak but I didn’t have time for explanations.

  “Goblins. Ty and Louella need help. Get your ass in gear!”

  He took off without even a stutter in his step. The fight would help to hold their focus and keep the illusions at bay. At least, that’s what I hoped. The sound of Ash’s voice had quieted and in the dark, I lost sight of him. I managed to track Julian down next. He sat on the floor, as he emphatically pointed at his invisible tormenter, and shouted a string of profanities. He wasn’t as easy to rouse from the illusions as Louella or Liam, but I managed. After my fourth try, his gaze was clear enough that I knew I’d won him back. I sent him off in Ty’s direction as a flash of blinding light barreled down the tunnel to my right. Scary or not, Jinn magic was a godsend when fighting goblins…

  I caught sight of Asher in the periphery of my vision. I took off toward him when a dark form came from my right and took me to the ground in a not-so-gentle tackle. The goblin’s fetid breath gagged me as its massive body pinned me to the ground. Large, tusk-like teeth that protruded from its bottom jaw glistened with saliva in the low light of Ty’s orb. Black, beady eyes looked me over and its bulbous nose wrinkled as it bent over me and sniffed. Its leathery skin scraped over mine like sandpaper and I shuddered.

  Ewww.

  I rolled my head to the side just as its fat, equally leathery tongue flicked out at my cheek. The goblin let out a moan of approval as though he’d just taken a taste of a molten lava cake fresh from the oven. Its stomach rumbled and I couldn’t decide if I was more disgusted or afraid. Either way, I wasn’t about to become a snack for a hungry goblin.

  Its bulk posed a problem. I was strong, but even supernatural strength couldn’t get his large, hulking form to budge. My daggers hummed at my sides, hungry for blood and I was more than happy to feed them if I could just manage to wriggle them free from their sheaths. Sort of hard to accomplish, though, when there was a mountain sitting on top of you.

  The goblin shifted and my breath rushed from my chest in a violent, woof! of air. “You’re crushing me, you stupid son of a bitch!”

  It reared back at my enraged shout, giving me just enough clearance to slide my arms to my sides. I wrapped my palms around the daggers’ hilts and ripped them free from their scabbards. I spun them in my grip and stabbed, burying the blades in the flesh on the outside of the goblin’s thighs. It let out a bellow of pain and jerked backward, tearing the daggers free in the process.

  I rolled away and dragged in harsh breaths to fill my aching lungs. From the corner of my eye, I caught a large fist swinging toward me and I rolled out of the way, barely missing the blow that connected with the rock wall beside me, sending chunks of rock and dust into the air.

  The goblin had a good three feet on me and at least two hundred pounds. The thing was huge. Not to mention hungry. It licked its lips as it came at me again and I dodged another wild swing of a meaty fist the size of my head. I leapt out of the way and came to a skidding halt. The daggers vibrated in my palms and I gave them a quick spin, more to release the tension in my arms than anything. The goblin came at me again, and rather than fall into retreat, I met it head on, digging my feet in to pick up speed. When our bodies threatened to clash, I leapt and planted one foot on the goblin’s knee. I used it as a step and propelled myself upward, climbing the damned thing like a mountain. I settled atop one massive shoulder and with every ounce of strength I had, I stabbed downward and buried both of my daggers into the goblin’s skull.

  It let out a roar that shook the entire tunnel. Rock rained down on me as the goblin fell. I tumbled down w
ith it, crashing to the hard ground beneath me with enough force to rattle my teeth. Jarring pain shot from my left shoulder down my arm and radiated from my hip where I’d made contact with the jagged edge of a boulder. Ouch. I didn’t think anything was broken but not for lack of trying. Beside me, the goblin let out one last gurgling breath before it stilled. Thank god. I don’t think I would have survived a round two with the damned thing.

  My body screamed in protest as I pushed to my feet. It was perfectly fine staying put on the hard ground, preferably coiled up in the fetal position. Unfortunately, my body wasn’t going to get a chance to rest or recuperate any time soon. Just one of the pitfalls of hanging out in a realm where your usually quick-healing body was met with magical restrictions. What a pain in the ass.

  “Don’t touch me! Don’t you put a fucking finger on me!”

  My pain was instantly forgotten at Asher’s urgent shout. I rushed to retrieve my daggers from the goblin’s skull, which took considerably more strength than I thought it would. When I managed to pry them free, I sensed their need for violence and blood and immediately sheathed them. I didn’t trust them not to guide my hands to attack friend and foe alike and I couldn’t risk hurting a member of my team. The enchanted weapons were amazing in a clinch, but Fae weaponry of any kind was about as trustworthy as a wolf in a barn full of lambs.

  Darkness swallowed me as I backtracked through the tunnel. I hoped that Ty and the others had managed to kill off the remaining goblins and that someone had found Myles since he was the only member of our team left unaccounted for.

  I could barely make out the shadow of Ash’s form in the dense darkness. He stood, dagger held aloft, in a defensive stance. I approached slowly, each step carefully placed and ready to defend myself if need be. Fear widened his eyes and transformed his expression, making him appear even younger than he already looked.

  “I won’t do it,” Asher said, fearful, to whatever illusion taunted him. “You can’t make me.”

  “Ash!” It was never a good idea to get aggressive with someone waving a dagger around. I learned that lesson the hard way as his arm whipped around in a quick downward cut. I leapt out of the way but not before the blade caught my forearm. Painful heat seared over my skin as the dagger cut. Stupid, Darian! I assessed the damage and found the wound to be superficial but it still hurt like a bitch. “Asher,” I said gently this time, “It’s Darian. Listen to me. Whatever you think is happening right now, it isn’t real.”

  “You’re a monster,” he whispered. “I’ll never be like you.”

  I didn’t take it personally. His words weren’t meant for me. It piqued my curiosity, though. Ash had secrets and I’d always sensed that they were dark ones. Whatever illusion his mind had helped to conjure, it wasn’t a pleasant one, and it scared the poor kid senseless. Tremors rocked his solid form and even the dagger quivered in his grasp. I took another—tentative—step toward him.

  “Ash, you’ve got to listen to me. Remember those illusions we talked about? This is one of them. You’ve got to find your way out of it. Listen to my voice. It’s real. I’m real. What you’re seeing right now is a trick. You know all about mind games. You’re smarter than Padma’s magic. Shake it off, okay? Just let it go.”

  His head angled toward me and a thin ribbon of hope unfurled inside of me. “That’s it. You’re a bad motherfucker. Tougher than any of this petty bullshit. Get your ass back to reality so we can get Xander and get the fuck out of here. Whaddya say?”

  In a flash Asher swept his arm out and caught me by the shoulder before slamming me into the opposite wall.

  Ugh. I wasn’t in any kind of shape to be roughed up yet again. The daggers went wild in their sheaths, the magical energy of the blades practically yipping like excited little puppies. They sensed the threat to me and were ready and willing to do a little damage on my behalf. Sorry boys, not gonna happen.

  Ash’s right hand—the one gripping the dagger—came up. He poised the blade inches from my throat as his lip curled in a sneer. “I told you, I won’t do it. Ask me again and I’ll cut your throat.”

  Well, shit. “Ash, listen to me.” I spoke more forcefully in the interest of saving my own neck and getting him free and clear of the illusions. I didn’t have any more time to waste. “Snap the fuck out of it! You’re stronger than this! You know this isn’t real. Think about where you’re supposed to be right now. What you’re supposed to be doing.”

  His gaze cleared for the briefest moment. I couldn’t allow him to lose momentum. “That’s right. We’re in a dark fucking tunnel at the bottom of the earth. And it’s filled with booby traps and nasty-ass goblins.”

  I let out a sigh of relief as the tension in his arm loosened and he lowered the dagger. He kept his left palm pinned against my shoulder, though as if he still couldn’t trust what I’d said.

  “I will kick your ass right here and now if you don’t snap out of it.” Maybe a good old-fashioned threat would wake him up. “And you know I can do it.”

  His hand fell away from my shoulder and his amber eyes cleared. Pain, sorrow, and more of that gut-wrenching fear, passed over his expression. My heart sank into my stomach. Whatever parts of Asher’s past he kept buried, I had a feeling he’d hidden them deep for a reason.

  “Jesus.” He let out a gust of breath as he reached for the rock wall behind me and his posture slumped.

  I caught the back of his neck in my palm and put my forehead to his. “I know,” I said softly. “Not a good time.”

  “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” His eyes went wide as he took in my many scrapes and bruises. His gaze landed on the slice in my arm.

  “I’ll live,” I remarked. “I’m a lot harder to kill than you’d think.”

  “Don’t I know it.” Ash’s face bore no hint of humor. “I’m sorry, Darian.”

  “Nothing to be sorry for,” I remarked. “Let’s get the fuck out of here, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” Ash said with nod. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

  That made two of us.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Rakshasa, man,” Asher said with a shake of his head. “Consider my mind adequately fucked.”

  He was visibly shaken though he tried to pass it off as no big deal. I wasn’t about to call attention to it, I hadn’t held up much better under the assault. Julian had found Myles and with a little help from Liam—who’d taken my right-hook tactic to heart—they managed to break him from the illusions with little effort. The last of the goblins had been routed thanks to Tyler’s magic and Louella’s muscle. I was so ready to find Xander and be done with this foul place. I planned to make Padma pay tenfold for making me endure this hellhole for a second time.

  It took several moments for everyone to gather their wits—everyone but Ty. He watched from the edge of the orb’s light with wary eyes. Our gazes met and he looked away. His magic might have been affected here but it certainly wasn’t null. The ghouls’ illusions couldn’t touch him. I’d never been scared of Tyler. Not once. But a ripple of anxiety coursed through me as I took in his serious countenance. What I didn’t know about him or his magic had never bothered me as much as it did now. And my need for answers burned.

  When everyone felt as though they were mentally stable to continue on, I used the pendulum’s faint glow to keep us on the right track. We didn’t leave ourselves unprotected and held our circular formation of bodies, our backs turned to one another.

  “Padma and anyone who’s loyal to her will pay for it,” I assured Ash. “I’m not leaving here until that bitch is dead.”

  Securing Xander’s safety was our first priority. But I couldn’t leave this place without the key to O Anel. I was a Guardian above everything else and I’d be damned if I let Brakae down by not keeping her secret—and the doorway to the Faery realm—safe. I was going to look into the whites of Padma’s eyes when I ripped the silver chain from her neck. And then, I’d run my dagger through her black heart.

  “This way.” The pend
ulum glowed so brightly that it began to heat the chain it was affixed to. I recognized the long corridor and we picked up our pace as we navigated another two hundred yards or so. I’d lived some of the longest days of my existence in this place. Pain etched the details of my time here in my brain. The faintest hint of Xander’s energy buffeted my senses, the satin glide of cool shadows. “This corridor isn’t a dead end.” I pulled the daggers free from their scabbards and they sang their approval. My palms absorbed the tiny vibrations that traveled up my arm. Down boys. You’ll get your blood soon enough.

  “Julian, you and Louella should position yourself at the far end. Liam and Myles, you two stay at our end. If I’m right—” and I was “—Xander is in the third cell down on the left. Tyler, Ash, and I will manage the king. You four give us a heads up and run any interference. Got it?”

  Julian raised a questioning brow. “He’s not going to believe what he sees,” I explained. “We might have to get him out of here with brute force.” I didn’t want anyone to see Xander in a weakened state. His ego wouldn’t easily recover from the blow. “One more thing. Anything that happens from here on out stays here. Do you understand me?”

  “It stays between us,” Liam said with a nod. “I vow anything I see or hear remains here.”

  “Agreed,” Louella said.

  Julian and Myles nodded as well. I looked to Ash and he snorted. “As if you even have to ask.”

  I knew Ash would never betray Xander. Ty, however, had no loyalties to the king and for good reason. He could make his vow of silence to me later. I’d coerce it out of him if I had to.

  I waited for Myles and the others to get into position. I hated splitting up, but we needed coverage. If Xander reacted the way I had, I could expect him to be dubious, hopeless, disbelieving, and at the very least combative. Tyler might get his chance to cold-cock the High King of High Handed Decisions yet again. Because if he fought us, our only option was going to be to knock him the fuck out.