Blood Before Sunrise

by amanda bonilla

  “Do you really want to torture yourself with the truth, Darian?”

  Damn mind readers. “Can I talk to him?”

  “No. It doesn’t work that way.”

  “He knew. Azriel had to have known all along what would happen to me. It isn’t coincidence. I just want to know the why and how of it.”

  Moira sighed. “He made you what you are.”

  What was that, exactly? Damaged? Distrustful? A control freak who refused to open up to anyone?

  “He made you strong,” Moira said. “Perhaps Azriel strayed from his path, but without him, you would have died today.”

  “Raif made me strong.” No way was Az going to get the credit.

  “Raif made you a fighter,” Moira corrected. “Azriel made you capable.”

  I opened my mouth to argue. I didn’t want to acknowledge that Azriel had done anything but permanent damage by taking me under his wing. But Moira’s gaze locked with mine, a warning—or a suggestion. Do not speak of it. Her voice echoed in my mind. Leave the past in the past, Darian.

  After a moment, Moira stood. “Brakae, Reaver’s glass must be returned. Things are still too volatile here for my peace of mind.”

  “I agree,” Brakae said, and I suddenly felt like an outsider in a private conversation. “Go with my blessings.”

  Moira handed over Brakae’s half of the glass and bowed her head before looking to me. “See you on the other side.”

  She held out her hand, and I clasped it. “Count on it.”

  “Brakae,” Moira said, turning to leave, “I shall see you soon.”

  She nodded and raised her hand to gesture her off. “Good-bye, Moira.”

  A ripple of energy stirred the air, sending the snowflakes swirling, and then Moira was gone. “Will it always be like this?” I asked, feeling centuries old. “Constant threats and me here fighting while time flies by at home?”

  “No.” Was it my imagination that she actually sounded disappointed? “You won’t be often called upon. So few know of the hourglass, of me, of O Anel. It is nothing but legend now, and besides Moira, you have the only other key. That is what you’re meant to protect.”

  She was lonely. Bitter. I knew that tone well. I’d been alone for almost a century, hiding away at Azriel’s command. I could only imagine how bad it was for her, here in this place where her deep connection to time aged her at a whim and in any direction. “I’ll come visit when I can. And I’ll bring Raif too.”

  She pulled me into her arms and squeezed me—hard. My ribs wanted to crack under her fierce display of affection, but I totally didn’t mind. I put my arms around her as well, to let her know she wouldn’t feel so separated from the world she’d once known now that I had something to say about it.

  “Now, you go home,” Brakae said. Was it my imagination that her voice sounded younger, more childlike?

  “Just click my heels together?”

  Brakae pulled away, gave me a strange, innocent look. “No, just use the Key. Why would you click your heels together?”

  Wouldn’t she get a dose of culture shock if she came home with me. “Right, use the Key. Honestly, I’m not sure how.”

  “Just concentrate. The Key will do the rest.”

  My heart pounded a staccato against my ribs, and my stomach twisted like a pretzel. Christ, was returning to the mortal world so hard to face? I wanted to go home. I needed to see Tyler, but I was so afraid to face him, I didn’t know if I could bring myself to leave.

  “Go with my blessings, Guardian.” Brakae’s voice calmed me, slowing my racing heart. “And I will see you soon.”

  My gaze swept past Raif’s long-lost daughter one more time to the place where Faolán’s body lay. Hourglass in hand, she turned away from me, toward her dead lover, and left me where I stood.

  “I’ll be back sooner than you think.” She didn’t acknowledge me, but I knew she’d heard. I left her to grieve and dangled the emerald pendulum before me. Just concentrate. Okay. I pushed my fear and anxiety aside and stared into the glowing green depths of the gem as I had so many times before, allowing infinite green to consume me. I want to go home, I thought, Tyler’s face looming in my mind. Time to go.

  A chill breeze blew my hair back from my face, stealing my breath. And a dark, cold, cloudless sky welcomed me, stars blinking in the inky blackness of a new moon.

  Ruins.

  In the mortal world this place was nothing but weathered granite with stones leaning and pieces missing, but the feeling of power was no less strong for its decrepit age. My body hummed with power, my bones singing under my skin. The energy here was unmistakable, but somehow I didn’t feel the magnetic pull of the stones the way I had in O Anel. Time once again ticked within my soul, seconds passing like a dual heartbeat, and I welcomed it. I was finally home, where I belonged. My knees buckled from sheer exhaustion, and I sank down on one of the toppled slabs of cold stone, rested my head in the crook of my arm, and allowed my eyes to close for the first time in what felt like forever. God, I was so…fucking…tired….

  Chapter 32

  “Oi! What do you think you’re doin’ out there?”

  My head scraped against stone as I cracked my eyes open. Shards of sunlight pierced my vision like a thousand daggers digging their way into my brain. Turning my head toward the sound of shouting, I shielded my face with my hand. Two security guards ran across the expanse of short-clipped green grass, nightsticks drawn and at the ready. Not what I needed, considering I didn’t have a passport or ID, not to mention that I wasn’t exactly human. The faint glow of my eyes would raise more than just suspicion if they got a good look at me. I couldn’t lie here like a dazed disaster victim any longer.

  “Charlie!” the security guard shouted to his partner. “Call it in! What the bloody hell does she think she’s doin’?”

  The last thing I wanted to do was move. But being arrested wasn’t going to help me out at all. I rolled to the side, off the slab of granite I’d fallen asleep on, and became one with the light. Ghosting past the charging guards, I barely avoided the one in the lead as he skidded to a stop. Eyes bulging in disbelief, he pointed to the stone where I’d been lying a few moments before, mouth agape. His partner nearly crashed into him as they exchanged amazed expressions. I doubted seeing a woman’s phantom form disappear before their eyes was the strangest thing they’d ever witnessed here. This was Stonehenge, after all. The magical energy was palpable.

  Careful to remain hidden in bright sunlight, I wound my way along the footpath, avoiding the crowds of tourists. It took longer than I expected; I didn’t have my usual energetic pluck. I managed to break away from the masses and put the ancient ring of stones behind me as I left the viewing area and passed through the main entrance into the parking lot. I had one thing on my mind: Find a phone. Meandering through the rows of parked cars, I finally came across an empty tour bus, the door left wide open by the driver. A cell phone rested on the dash. Thank God. I had no idea how much an international phone call would cost the poor guy, but I only needed a few minutes of his airtime. I wasn’t thrilled about stealing anything ever again. But hell, I’d already stolen time itself—pretty hard to top that act of thievery. Besides, the owner could dispute the charges later. I ducked behind one of the seats with the phone and stared at the blank screen.

  I left my coat behind.

  I didn’t think about dialing, or the fact that I’d scared the shit out of two security guards and stolen some poor guy’s cell. No. My only thought was that I’d left my fucking duster in that hotel room in Spokane.

  I stretched my neck from side to side, lowered my legs from their drawn-up position against the back of the bus seat, and pushed myself upright. Stiff didn’t begin to describe how I felt. More like frozen in joint-locked agony. I felt through the tears in my shirt finding nothing but smooth, unmarred skin. Just like a comic book superhero, I’d healed during the night. I breathed a sigh of relief. It made me feel just a little less fallible to be my not so easi
ly wounded self again. If only all of my troubles could be solved so easily.

  Hands shaking, I flipped open the phone and dialed. A burst of nervous energy set my feet to bouncing as the call connected. I waited as the phone rang, and rang, and rang to the point that I almost gave up hope he’d answer. Just pick up. Answer, damn it. Please.

  “Hello?”

  Tears sprang to my eyes at the sound of his voice. I’d had no way of knowing for sure if he’d survived the attack at the hotel; it was only at this moment that I realized I’d been making myself believe he was okay. Knowing it for sure made my limbs weak with relief.

  “Raif.” I choked on his name, a half sob.

  “Thank the gods,” he said on an exhale. “Darian, are you all right? Where are you?”

  “Wiltshire.”

  I waited through the pregnant pause on the other end. No doubt Raif’s mind was going a mile a minute. “England?”

  “Yes. Well, more to the point, Stonehenge. How fast can you get here?”

  There was another space of silence. I almost wished I could see his expression.

  “Xander has some connections, and I can call in a few favors as well. I’ll be there as soon as I can. No more than twelve hours.”

  “Raif.” God, I couldn’t believe I was about to say this. “Come alone.”

  His response was slow. “If that’s what you want…”

  “It is. And one more thing—”

  “Darian,” he said, cutting me off, “is everything okay? What the hell is going on? I would have expected—”

  “I know what you expected.” It was my turn to cut him off. Of course he’d expect me to want Tyler to come instead of him. “But you don’t need to worry about that right now. Can you do something else for me? Stop by my place and grab a change of clothes. I have a spare coat in my closet. Bring that too.”

  “Anything else?”

  Yeah, my katana. But even I didn’t know where it was. “Just get here.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  I snapped the phone closed and put it back on the dash. For a second, I thought about curling up in one of the bus seats and going back to sleep. But it would be just my luck that the bus would take off to God knows where and I’d sleep through the whole excursion. I’d had enough adventure to last a lifetime in the past several hours. I didn’t need another one.

  Stepping down out of the bus, I found a quiet spot away from the parking lot and sat down in the grass, my shoulders sagging in exhaustion. Drawing my legs up to my chest, I rested my arms on my knees and my forehead on my arms, effectively shutting out the rest of the world. Five words—five little words were all it would take to have Tyler by my side. But that was not the way I wanted it to go down. I didn’t want him to think I had so little respect for him that I’d leave without a trace and then just wish him out of thin air. I wanted him, though. I needed him. I ached to feel his arms around me, his breath on my face, to hear his voice whisper in my ear. Tears scalded my cheeks as they trailed silently to my chin. I missed him so much, it was a physical pain, a fist squeezing my heart. All I could think of was seeing his face again, but instead I’d done the right thing and called Raif to come get me. This journey had been about him, after all. I owed it to him to reunite him with his daughter.

  As the day progressed, the tourists filtered in and out of the area. I did the smart thing and remained in my incorporeal form. It had been so long since I’d been able to join with the night, day, or anytime in between that I’d almost forgotten I could do it at all. It felt good to be invisible, uninteresting. If I could have, I would have lived the rest of my life this way, the wraith of Stonehenge scaring curious onlookers away.

  It wasn’t long before I slumped over to curl up on the grass. I was still beyond tired, having been awake the entire time I’d been in O Anel, and who knew how long that actually was. The sun rose higher in the sky, its warmth lulling me back to sleep. There was something to be said for constancy. The sun rose, it set, it rose again—all in a glorious twenty-four-hour period. I appreciated that. My thoughts wandered as I drifted, and as I succumbed to sleep yet again, it was with thoughts of seeing Tyler comforting me.

  “Darian!”

  I stirred against the cold and felt around for a blanket.

  “Darian! Where the hell are you?”

  Right here. Sleeping. Leave me alone.

  “Darian, it’s Raif. Show yourself.”

  Damn. I wasn’t in my bed, was I? And my memories couldn’t be attributed to a restless sleep riddled with nightmares. Wonderful.

  “Darian!”

  Raif’s voice penetrated the sleepy haze pulling me back toward endless oblivion. I rolled, my body becoming corporeal as I came to my knees and then to my feet. The sun had set long ago, and night had descended over the sacred ring of stones. I listed to the right, then stumbled toward the dark outline of Raif’s body, shaking off the dregs of sleep. “I’m here,” I said, my voice weak and hoarse. “Raif, I’m here!”

  He spun around, and I couldn’t help the cry of relief that burst from my lips. He raced across the dark landscape of the parking lot, closing the distance between us in six quick strides. I would have barreled right into him if he hadn’t reached out and wrapped his hands around my shoulders. Holding me at arms’ length, he looked me over from head to toe, then spun me around, inspecting me for damage.

  “Darian, where have you been?” The fear, mixed with relief, in his voice caused my heart to slam against my rib cage. “Are you hurt?”

  “How long have I been gone?” I was afraid to hear it; my ears cringed away from an answer, but I had to know. “How long, Raif?”

  “A little over three months,” he said.

  No. I shook my head and clenched my fists. Fuck! I’d feared it had been years. I’d hoped like hell it had only been days. But over three months? It was still too goddamned long. “How is he?”

  Raif let go of my shoulders, then ran his fingers through his tawny hair, which had been, until lately, neat and pulled back. In fact, he’d trimmed it short since I’d seen him last. It looked good on him. He opened his mouth, paused, and looked away as if trying to decide how much to say.

  “Tell me the truth,” I said.

  “He’s mad with worry,” Raif said with obvious concern. “I haven’t seen him for a while. He had to be forcibly removed from Xander’s house when he accused me and then my brother of playing a part in your disappearance.”

  My heart stopped its erratic beating and took a nosedive straight into my stomach. I’d done a number on Tyler. I’d been so stupid! Like a note on his pillow would have been enough reassurance to convince him I was coming back to him. My stomach turned with nausea, or was that regret making me feel as though I could throw my guts up? “I had no idea,” I said, helpless. “Raif, when I left, I had no idea I’d be gone so long.”

  “Darian”—Raif stepped toe-to-toe with me so he could stare right into my eyes—“where have you been?”

  “O Anel.”

  “The Ring?” Raif translated the words, confused. “What is that? Where’s the Oracle? Fallon? What’s happened to you these many months?”

  God, where to begin. He knew part of it, but the way everything intertwined made my head spin. And I knew it all forward and backward. “Fallon,” I said, still weary from lack of sleep. “Or rather, Faolán…” I thought of Brakae, her grief. “Raif, I was afraid he’d killed you.”

  “You should know better than that,” he said. “It will take a better man than him to send me to the shadows for eternity. But you disappeared. You were there and then—gone.”

  “About that—”

  “You’re wanted, Darian.” He blurted it out as if he’d had to force the words out. “Adare has ordered that if you are found, you’re to be turned over to the PNT for questioning. Despite my testimony of what I saw, that you were in fact a prisoner and not an accomplice. He wants answers.”

  Shit. I’d forgotten about that. Just one more thing to
pile on my plate. “Adare will get his answers,” I said. “Later.”

  “And what about me?”

  “Raif,” I said, “you’re going to get your answers right now.”

  I reached inside my pocket and pulled out the emerald pendulum. It glowed bright green in my hand, pulsing with warmth and power. It knew what I was going to do, and apparently it didn’t object too much.

  “What is that?”

  “The Key,” I said, for the first time not hating the weight of the damned thing as I looped it around my neck. The sound of time’s passage left me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you ready, Raif?”

  “For what?” he asked, bemused.

  “To see your daughter.”

  His jaw dropped. I smiled. I couldn’t help it; I’d never seen him thrown like that before, and I was happy it had been me to do it to him. I stepped in, laid my cheek on my friend’s shoulder, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around me. It didn’t matter that we weren’t blood related. Raif was as much my brother as if we’d been born of the same parents.

  I held the emerald before me, concentrated on where I needed to be, and lost myself in its depths. Next up: one family reunion.

  The darkened landscape melted away, and we appeared right where I’d left Brakae in the center of the ring of stones. Raif let go of me, turning a circle as he took in his surroundings. “I know. What a mindfuck, right?”

  “Amazing,” Raif said. “But, Darian, what does this have to do with—”

  “Father?” Her voice was younger than when I’d left, that of an adolescent girl, not that of the grown woman.

  His eyes widened in disbelief, glistening with tears. I swallowed the baseball-sized lump that had grown in my throat and squeezed his hand before taking a step back. This was his reunion, not mine. And they both deserved this moment of happiness.