Hearts of Darkness

by Kira Brady

  Rudrick’s eyes turned soft and sympathetic as he watched the emotion flickering over her face. He knew. When he spoke, his voice had lost the edge of mockery. “You see. The Raven Lord is jeopardizing the future of the race. You are not the only person who realized it. I’ve seen the growing burden you carry, knowing you injure all of us by going along with this mad plan of his. Don’t keep it to yourself any longer. I’m here to help you, sweetheart.”

  She bit her bottom lip. It was treason to listen to his silken words.

  “You’re not alone anymore. Many of us disagree with his choice. Many of us see it’s time to emerge from the shadows and take back the power of the land. Corbette has sat back and watched our sacred powers wane. Fewer and fewer of our children find the power to Change at puberty. Fewer and fewer can master the wind, rain, and sun to nurture the earth as our Lady bade us. If we continue to neglect our steward duties, will She remove Her blessing entirely? If we continue to let the humans rape and pillage the land, how can She not? We have failed Her under Corbette’s rule—”

  “The decline started before Corbette came to power,” Lucia objected, but her traitorous heart wasn’t in it.

  Rudrick shook his head as if disappointed in her. “But he has done nothing to reverse it, and the Lady’s blessings have continued to disappear. You do Her disservice by defending him.”

  Lucia brushed her snarled hair back from her face and took a deep breath. No one spoke ill of the Raven Lord and lived to tell about it. She had grown up thinking all Kivati supported him. She had been raised to think of him as infallible. But what if she was wrong?

  As shocking as it was to hear Rudrick speak of their lord with disrespect, deep down his words rang true. She didn’t think the Raven Lord was willfully leading their people to destruction, but what could she think when all his plans seemed hinged on marrying her?

  “Your people need you, Lucia. Your Lady needs you. Are you willing to help?”

  She swallowed, and nodded. Her stomach turned over at the thought of the Raven Lord learning of her rebellion.

  “Good choice.” Rudrick smiled. He stood and unlocked the gate. “Come out and let me get you something to drink. Hot tea, perhaps?”

  She nodded again. Her mouth was too dry to speak. She stood and brushed the dirt off her skirt. She tried to put some of her usual spunk into her spine. The Lady knew she’d had enough practice pretending to be brazen when all she really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. She refused to be the downfall of her people.

  A soft rain dampened the battlefield, washing the blood into the earth like some sacrificial offering. Slowly, the Kivati and Drekar Changed. Kayla helped collect the wounded from the battlefield. The dead were put to the flame, with a minimum of words spoken over the corpses. No one wanted wraiths to descend and possess the fallen bodies of their comrades.

  The Thunderbird generals were in an uproar over the loss of one of their own. Jace hadn’t survived the battle. He’d been gutted on the end of Norgard’s own blade. Only the Raven Lord was able to keep Kai from killing the Drekar Regent. They needed Norgard alive, for now. The generals circled around Corbette, shutting Kayla out of their meeting. Angry voices lashed on the wind. Heightened tempers caused the clouds overhead to buckle and smash against each other, sounding like a drum circle of drunken giants.

  Kayla watched Hart Change. Light collected at the ends of his fur, starting at his snout and rippling down over his body to the tip of his tail. It looked like a golden blanket that was shrugged off, revealing a very sexy, very naked man underneath.

  “Hi,” she said, when he lay panting on the ground.

  “Hi.” He pillowed his head on his hands and grinned wickedly up at her, reveling in his nudity. The slivers of rain didn’t seem to bother him. They ran over his sculpted chest, trickled between the rocky muscles of his abs, and pooled in the soft hollows of his hips.

  How could she still blush after all they’d done together? This intense attraction had to wear off eventually, didn’t it? The sexual energy was only part of what drew her to him. He pretended not to care about anything, but he rushed into danger for her again and again. He was protective, possessive even, making her feel cherished. He didn’t try to lock her away from the world, but trusted her to make her own decisions.

  “What’s buzzing around that beautiful brain of yours, huh?” Hart asked.

  She gave a lopsided smile and turned to the urgent matter at hand. “Norgard had the necklace,” she said. “I saw it around his neck before I clobbered him with the bottle.”

  “Johnny was in the lair too. He said he wanted to snoop around, remember?”

  “You think he stole the necklace while Norgard was unconscious? What would he want with—” Suddenly the missing pieces fell into place. “Rudrick.” Desi had been bringing him the necklace. He’d told Kayla to find it, and not tell anyone but him. He’d kept news of its existence from Corbette. He’d sent Johnny to sneak into the lair with Hart. He’d tried to get rid of the witnesses by locking her and Hart together on the full moon. “But why? Why would Rudrick want to open the Gate?”

  “Power.” Hart stood up and stretched the kinks out of his neck and back. She tried not to stare. “Rudrick has no love for the Raven Lord.”

  “Do you think Corbette has figured it out?”

  “Who cares?”

  “I do.”

  He rolled his eyes. “If it’s important to you, then it’s—”

  “Werewolf!” Kai snapped from a few yards away. Grief ravaged his face, turning handsome planes into something pained and shadow-wrought. “You trying to blind us?”

  The meeting had apparently ended. Generals ordered their troops and began to evacuate the field. In the distance Corbette argued with Norgard.

  “I can only hope,” Hart called back. He raised his face to the falling rain and licked at the water falling in his mouth. A second later the air around him trembled and black battle clothes appeared on his body. His eyes widened in surprise. “I’ve gotta learn that trick,” he muttered.

  “You’re welcome,” Kai told him.

  Hart gave him the bird. He turned back to Kayla as he adjusted the weapons that had also miraculously appeared on his person.

  “Should we tell the Raven Lord that Rudrick is behind this?” she asked. Kivati moved around them as if they were invisible.

  Hart shrugged, but turned to Kai. “Rudrick and Johnny have the necklace.”

  “We know,” Kai said. “The deepest level of Hell has a place reserved for him, and I mean to send him there screaming.”

  “What’s happening now?” Kayla asked.

  “We’ve narrowed it down to five potential targets where the ceremony would be most effective: Rainier, St. Helens, Adams, Baker, and Lassen Peak. Our forces are splitting, each taking one target. We’ll hunt him down.”

  “What about us?”

  “You don’t need us anymore,” Hart cut in quickly. “Isn’t that right?”

  “Rudrick won’t use the key. He’s posturing. But just in case, be ready to mobilize. You need to stay here in a central location. We’ll send the crows.” With a shimmer of light, he turned one finger into a sharp talon, which he pointed at Hart. “Don’t think of skipping out.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Kayla said. Hart grunted, but she knew he wouldn’t leave her side. His body radiated warmth, and she wanted to curl into it, away from the cold and damp.

  “Good,” Kai said. “May the Lady protect you.” He leveled a flat stare at Hart. “And you. I don’t like you much, werewolf, but may She protect you anyway.”

  “May She grant you justice,” Hart told him quietly.

  Kai dipped his head in acknowledgment and marched off without a backward glance. He Changed to Thunderbird mid-stride and launched into the air.

  Hart stepped in front of Kayla to block the harsh wind that ricocheted through the field in the Thunderbird’s wake. “Let’s go,” he said.

  “Where?” It felt as if the ru
g had been pulled out from under her. The buildup and the battle had adrenaline rushing through her. They were being left behind, and it felt like giving up. She’d be anxiously waiting for the crows to come knocking this time around. She’d be ready, if the wait didn’t kill her first.

  He tugged on the lock of white hair, as he did when he was uncertain. “You could, ah, come home with me. There’s a stocked bunker in the Underground. We’ll be safe from the earthquakes. Safer, at least, than up here in the open.” He glanced at her sideways, gauging her reaction.

  She slid her hand into his. “Of course.”

  He let out a breath. “Come on then.”

  “How will we get there? We don’t have a car.”

  He swore. “We’ll have to ask his royal pain in the ass for a favor.”

  Corbette hardly gave them a second glance when they approached to ask for a lift. His face was stark, like a man facing the firing squad. He motioned for an underling to toss them a set of keys. Then he Changed. A brilliant white light shot out of the tips of his fingers and spread down his arms, engulfing his body like flame. When she could see again, a man-sized Raven hovered above the battleground, beautiful and terrible. His wings shimmered like an oil slick, while his razor-sharp beak snapped at the air. He rose into the gray sky with an army of Crow and Thunderbird at his back, and flew south toward Mount Rainier as if the hounds of hell were on his tail.

  Hart and Kayla headed toward a black topless roadster parked down the hill. Grace appeared as they strolled away from the battle scene. Her hair was disheveled and a thin scrape marred one cheek. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Hart. “Thanks for the heads-up,” she said with an edge of bitterness. “I thought you two would be long gone.”

  “Believe me,” Hart said, “if I could have warned you, I would have. You made it through okay. You always do.”

  She seemed soothed by this. “The cat’s out of the bag, thanks to Corbette. The humans won’t be able to ignore this. They’re probably scared shitless, but they won’t have the good sense to hide. They don’t know what’s coming. Things are going to get ugly. I’m going to warn emergency services. Twenty bucks says they’ll laugh me out on my butt.”

  “I’ll see that and raise you a vial of dragon blood. After all the hours you’ve put in charming the firemen, I’d think you earned a few favors.” He winked at her.

  “Yeah, well, the Reaper has saved those idiots once or twice before. Payback time.”

  “Good luck,” Kayla said, hugging the smaller woman. “May whatever deity you worship protect you.”

  Grace laughed. “You’re getting the hang of things around here, aren’t you? Take good care of this mangy mutt. He needs a keeper.” She gave Hart a playful grin, though stress lined her eyes.

  “I will,” Kayla promised. They watched Grace mount an old motorcycle and roar off in the direction of downtown. “Why does it feel like we’re always saying good-bye?” she asked Hart.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  The ride back to Pioneer Square took them through Interbay and along the water. Kayla watched the skyline rise before them and wondered if it would still be there when the sun rose again. Corbette’s storm had wreaked destruction from Ballard to the edges of downtown. Trees and downed power lines blocked the road, forcing Hart to drive creatively on the sidewalk and through alleys.

  She let her eyes unfocus as they drove along the water. Whitecaps broke on the Sound. A stiff wind stung her cheeks. As they passed the sculpture park, her skin began to tingle. A concrete barrier rose on either side of the road. The air shimmered, stronger now as they passed beneath a bridge and approached the giant bore hole made by the new light rail tunnel.

  “Lady be damned.” Hart yanked the car to the side of the road and parked. “They’re going to the wrong place.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Can’t you smell it? This place reeks of the Gate.”

  She sniffed the air and caught the faint edge of sulfur.

  “Norgard had men guarding this hole. I got out of it, because I was on special assignment. He was a big financial backer for the light rail. Thought he was just looking after his investment. Should have known better.”

  “What’s down there?”

  “Downtown’s built on infill. There’s a lot of crap down there. Old buildings. Old burial grounds. Tunnels upon tunnels. Way down deep, legend has it, the Spider’s lair.” Hart looked at her and looked back at the tunnel mouth. He sighed.

  “We have to tell Corbette.”

  “Sure.” He threw the door open and climbed out.

  “Then we have to go after Lucy.”

  “You aren’t coming.” Searching the skies for crows, he missed her grimace. Spotting two crows that had been trailing them from the Drekar lair, he called out to them. “Hey, birdbrains! Yeah, you. Tell his royal majesty he’s going the wrong way. He’s on the way to Mount Rainier. Tell him to get his royal ass over here. I’m going down.”

  The birds cawed, their grating voices echoing against the concrete barrier on either side.

  “Get out of here!” Hart threw a rock at them, and they flew off. “Dumb birds. Now, you take the keys and go—”

  She tried to rein in her temper. “And how are you going to help Lucia if she’s injured? How are you going to close the Gate without my powers?” It felt funny saying that. Powers. Desi would have gotten a kick out of it.

  He ran a hand through his windblown hair. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “You’ll protect me.”

  “What if I can’t? No, really Kayla.” He put both hands on her shoulders and searched her face. “If anything happened to you . . .” He swallowed.

  “You need me.”

  The ghost of a smile passed over his features. “Yeah, I do.”

  “You need me to help in the tunnel,” she clarified.

  “Fine. Can’t fault me for trying. I want you safe.” He released her shoulders. “But stay behind me. If I tell you to run, don’t argue. Run like hell.”

  Hart wished for the first time that he had a silken gift with words to persuade Kayla not to follow him into the bowels of the earth. Fear ate at him. Hart had never feared death. It was why he was so reckless—and the key to his success as a mercenary. Even now, facing the very real prospect of all hell breaking loose, he didn’t fear it for himself.

  He feared for Kayla. He had turned his back on the Lady half a lifetime ago, but he prayed to Her now. Please, Lady of Life, Mother of the World, please protect this small, defenseless woman.

  Fear put a target mark over his heart. He shook with vulnerability. How could anyone stand this? He wished he could go back to being an island. Alone. Independent. Accountable to no one but himself.

  Then he looked at her sparkling golden-brown eyes and those generous lips smiling up at him and he was lost. He couldn’t go back. Even if he didn’t see the Lady Sun rise again, it would be worth it. His spirit would treasure these precious memories as he floated along the Shining Path.

  “Thank you,” Kayla said. She crouched behind him at the entrance to the light rail tunnel. The dark bore hole opened threateningly like a giant maw. Sulfurous gasses disbursed on the wind.

  He tried once again. “It’s a trap,” he growled. “One way in. One way out. We’ll be crushed. What would your little sister say if you threw your life away like this? Where’s the logic? Where’s your rational thinking? This is crazy.”

  Kayla ran a slender hand along his arm. His skin tingled where her cool fingers touched. He wanted to take her right here in the open, so many times that she wouldn’t be able to walk. Then let her try to follow him into danger.

  She covered the back of his hand and squeezed. “Desi would be the first in line. She always told me to follow my heart instead of my head. Some things are worth dying for.”

  He turned and grasped her upper arms with his large hands. So much bravery from someone so small. He wanted to shake her, but he just held on. “Some things are
worth living for,” he whispered.

  Her lower lip trembled. “I trust you to keep me safe.”

  A strangled noise emerged from his throat. He turned back to the tunnel and closed his eyes. “Stay behind me.”

  He let his Wolf free from its restraints. It rubbed against his skin. The excitement of the hunt pumped in his blood. Beneath the sulfur his nose caught the smell of a recent kill. Blood and death lurked somewhere around the next bend in the tunnel. The scent aroused his wolf, and he tugged hard on the beast to keep it confined and on task. He sifted through the macabre bouquet, searching for his targets, and found them: Fox and Thunderbird had passed through here. A young female had left a telltale path of some expensive perfume. It made him sneeze. He would be able to follow it in his sleep.

  “My phone is dead,” Kayla whispered behind him. “Are there ghosts about?”

  Probably. He pulled the Deadglass out of his pocket and put it to his eye. As he adjusted the gears, the thick opaque forms of the recently departed came into view. Three men in security guard uniforms. They gesticulated wildly and shouted something no one could hear. It looked like “No trespassing.” Rudrick’s victims didn’t even realize they were dead yet. Hart took the Deadglass away from his eye and handed it to Kayla. “Put it in your pocket for later,” he told her.

  The tunnel was circular and even, thanks to the boring machine. Tree roots had been ruthlessly sliced off. They poked through the ceiling like mutilated limbs, oozing sap. Their blood added to the malevolent feel of the tunnel. Around the bend, just out of sight of the opening, the bodies of the three guards lay where they had fallen. Their faces were frozen in fear, their throats torn open. The blood soaked the ground, an offering and a sacrifice to the Gate. Hart could feel the vibrations coming from deep beneath his feet. The earth moved as the Gate cracked farther.

  Kayla saw the bodies and gave a little cry. He helped her over them, and moved on. He drew his sword. The light from the entrance faded until the darkness swallowed them. The warm, humid air embraced him. A heartbeat deep in the earth matched itself to his. He fought to keep his senses sharp against the urge to sleep. If it wasn’t for the odor of death and sulfur, he could almost pretend he was deep inside the Lady’s womb.