Dark Deceiver

by Pamela Palmer

  “I’ll break it.”

  “Your breaking my bones won’t stop me, Punisher. It never has. I’ll have what I want and we both know it.”

  Zander tried to catch him with his other hand, but Kaderil caught the second wrist, as well. “She’s nothing to do with you.”

  “There you’re wrong, dark blood.” Zander struggled against his hold. “She’s the means to my revenge.”

  Kaderil stared at his captain, uncomprehending as he fought to keep those vicious hands controlled. “What revenge?” They’d been enemies for as long as he could remember, but the true hatred was Zander’s and had always been. Bigotry, as the humans called it, toward Kaderil’s dark blood. At least he’d always thought that the cause of Zander’s hatred.

  Zander’s mouth curved in a grimace as he fought to free his hands. “Her life is mine to destroy.”

  The words were followed by the sound of someone stumbling in the bedroom, then a crash as something breakable hit the floor.

  Autumn.

  That moment’s distraction cost him his edge. Zander’s fingers brushed his flesh, sending pain shooting through his arm.

  “Give me the stones, Kaderil.”

  The draggon stone was around his neck, but the other three were in Autumn’s purse in the bedroom and he wasn’t letting Zander near her. He must get the upper hand. Using every ounce of strength he possessed, he pushed the man’s wrists together, grabbed them with one hand, then broke both Zander’s arms over his knee.

  Zander cried out, but Kaderil kept hold of him as he felt the bones reknit beneath his palms.

  “I’m not giving you the stones, Zander. Rith tasked me with bringing the draggon stone to him, and I’ve already told Ustanis I’ll bring the lesser stones to the gate.”

  “That’s not…good enough,” Zander hissed between clenched teeth. “I want them now. All of them.”

  “You still question my loyalty?”

  A strange light leaped in Zander’s eyes even as he laughed. “You break the arms of your captain, dark blood. What kind of loyalty is that?”

  “You threaten a woman who is not Sitheen.”

  “A woman who is human. Of no account except that she has somehow caught your lust. But she is of less import to me than the stones. I will have them, Punisher, make no mistake. And I’ll have them now.”

  “No. They’re of no use to you.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I have great use for them.”

  Kaderil stared at him, watching the light of excitement in his captain’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “Scenters often possess some small ability to call the power from the stones. Ustanis is such a one.”

  “So do you intend to use them to kill more humans?”

  Zander smiled, the pain gone from his eyes, no longer struggling in Kaderil’s hold. “Killing humans is always a worthy goal.”

  “You’re wasting life, Zander. King Rith would not condone such slaughter, even of humans.”

  Zander’s smile turned ugly. “You know Rith so well, do you? Do you think he covets the seven stones so that he can renew the natural power of Esria? Don’t be a fool, dark blood. Rith is a Caller.”

  A chill slid down Kaderil’s spine. “The Callers are no more.” Only a Caller could raise the true power of the seven stones, a terrible and destructive power in the wrong hands, but the last was destroyed eons ago after a brief reign of terror that had left half of Esria dead.

  “Wrong again, Punisher. Rith is a Caller and one of the strongest ever to rise. He has kept his gift a secret. But now that the stones have been found and are all but reclaimed, he will rise as the true ruler.”

  Kaderil stared at him with confusion and a deep sense of foreboding. “He already rules Esria. What more can he do?”

  Zander’s smile was vicious. “With the power he raises from the stones, he’ll break down the very walls between these two realms. Gates will no longer be needed, for the Esri will move freely from our world to this without fear. The entire human race will be enchanted—or dead—and completely at our command. King Rith shall reign supreme. In both worlds.”

  The wrongness shook Kaderil. “He has no right to this world.”

  “Don’t be a fool, dark blood. Our vast superiority gives us every right.” With a quick, sudden move, Zander twisted his hands and grasped Kaderil’s wrists, catching Kaderil off guard.

  Fire poured through his body. Kaderil tried to yank his arms out of his captain’s grip, but the pain debilitated him.

  “Every right to seek out humans and destroy them where they stand,” Zander continued. “Beginning with your female.”

  Kaderil’s vision began to swim. He had to protect Autumn. He had to protect her world.

  Terrible thoughts rolled and crashed in his brain. He’d known King Rith was not the most benevolent ruler Esria had ever seen, but he’d not suspected the man capable of such greed, such destruction. Yet he couldn’t deny the avarice he’d seen in his ruler’s eyes at the talk of the lost gate’s discovery. Deep in his gut, he knew Zander spoke the truth. King Rith would use the seven stones to destroy the human world.

  For centuries he’d been ashamed of the human blood that ran through his veins. In a shift that shook the very foundations of his existence, he realized it wasn’t his human blood he was ashamed of, it wasn’t his human side that didn’t fit.

  It was his Esri side.

  With a massive surge of determined strength, he wrenched free of Zander’s grasp and clamped on to his captain’s wrists, immobilizing him.

  “You’ll not get the stones.” Kaderil’s voice sounded raw and winded to his ears, but fury burned through his muscles, lending him strength. He whipped around, lifting Zander off his feet until he was flying in an arc around him. Then he released his foe, sending Zander crashing through the window in an explosion of shattering glass.

  The Esri was gone.

  As he stared at the destroyed window, he heard Autumn behind him. He turned to find her standing in the bedroom doorway, her eyes as wide as the full Earth moon.

  “We’re on the fifth floor,” she gasped.

  Kaderil sucked air into his lungs, reeling from the onslaught of terrible understanding. With an effort, he shook off the debilitating shock. He had to get Autumn to safety.

  “That gives us about five minutes before he’s completely healed. Get your keys and your purse. We’ve got to get out of here.”

  Autumn disappeared into the bedroom to emerge a moment later with her purse. “You threw your own man out the window? Is he going to forgive you for that?”

  “No. He’ll know what it means.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That I’ve turned traitor.”

  Chapter 14

  “The stairs,” Kade gasped. “Faster.”

  Autumn stared at him, at the way he was nearly bent over with pain after whatever that Esri colleague of his had done to him. “Not the way you’re feeling.”

  “I’ll…be fine. Soon.”

  “We’re taking the elevator. You said we have five minutes before he heals from that five-story fall and comes after us. Hopefully the elevator won’t take that long.”

  Inch by inch, Kade straightened, the look of pain sliding from his face. “I’m healed well enough. The elevator takes too long.” He took her hand. “Come on.”

  “Kade…I’m in flip-flops!”

  But he tugged her to the stairwell without breaking stride. He ushered her through the door, then bent over, pushing his butt into her hips.

  She looked at him in disbelief. “Excuse me?”

  “Climb on.”

  “Oh. You’re kidding.”

  “Autumn.”

  “Okay, okay.” Feeling suddenly like a little girl again, she climbed onto his back and flung her arms around his neck. “Are you sure about this?”

  “I’ve got speed and strength. They’ve got to be good for something.”

  “Yeah, but you’re injured.”

/>   As he leaped down the entire first flight, Autumn squealed, locked her legs around his waist and ducked her head. He was going to kill them. But the landing wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d expected.

  “I heard what he said about the walls between the worlds being torn down,” she said into his shoulder. “Can they do that? Take us over like that?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. But not without the stones. And I’m going to get them first.”

  Her chin hit his shoulder blade at the next landing, clacking her teeth together. “What do you mean?” she asked, when she could get the words out.

  “I’m not going to let it happen. Princess Ilaria was right to give the stones to the humans. She may have known Rith was dangerous.”

  “So you’re going to try to get the two stones your guys already have?”

  “Yes. And they’re not my guys. Not anymore.”

  “Do we need them all? We have four of the seven and there’s one more coming in the mail if we can get it first.”

  “For Rith to take over this world, he needs all seven stones. But to cause other damage, no. A power wielder with a streak of greed or malice is the most dangerous creature in either world. If it suited him, he could call enough power from a single stone to make the entire population of this city walk into the Potomac River and drown themselves. Imagine how long the Sitheen will last against that kind of power. How long any of us will last.”

  Autumn shuddered. “Not long.”

  “No. And once the resistance is eliminated, he’ll have his seven stones.”

  Finally, Kade landed for the last time and Autumn slipped off his back. He pushed her behind him and eased out into the lobby.

  “Any sign of him?” she asked.

  “No. Let’s go.”

  Autumn slipped off her flip-flops, picked them up and ran for the car she’d had to park in the public parking garage down the street. She remembered driving up to this building last night when she still believed in fairy-tale princes and love-at-almost-first-sight. As she ran down the street at a speed too fast to credit, Kade grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. And she wondered if maybe she still believed.

  They ducked into the dimly lit garage and ran up the first ramp to where she’d parked her car.

  “Autumn!” The shout came from behind. “Run! Get away from him!”

  Jack. They were here to rescue her.

  They were here to kill Kade.

  She pressed the button on her key fob to unlock the car.

  “Go with them, Autumn,” Kade said as she wrenched open the driver’s door. “You’ll be safer.”

  “No. Get in the car.”

  “I’ll run. I can escape them easily.”

  “They’re blocking the exit. Get in the car!” Slowly Kade joined her.

  She started the ignition and threw the car into Reverse.

  “I could make you go with them.”

  Autumn slammed on the brakes and turned on him. “If you ever use your power on me like that again, it’s over, Kade.”

  “Autumn!” Jack’s voice rang out, nearer.

  “Hells bells. They probably think you’ve enchanted me.” She hit the gas, shooting the car backward, out of the space, then headed for the exit, praying Jack didn’t have cops following him with cruisers to block the exit.

  “Autumn, you need to go with them. I’ll run.”

  “And what if they catch you? What if Zander catches you?”

  “I’m faster than all of them. I’m probably safer on foot than in this car that can be stopped and surrounded.”

  “Oh…stop it! You’re right. I know you’re right, but I’m not losing you again.” She squealed the tires around the corner.

  “You’ve never lost me. You’ll never lose me unless you want to.”

  Her heart swelled at his words, her eyes burning even as she saw Jack and Harrison blocking her escape. If she stopped, Kade was dead. She honked the horn and stepped on the gas.

  “Autumn, you’ll kill them!”

  “No chance. They’re not expecting me to stop. They think I’m enchanted, remember?”

  Harrison moved, but Jack held his ground. “Dammit.” She laid on the horn. Finally, at the last second, Jack dove out of the way. “He expected me to stop.”

  “He doesn’t know I’m Esri.”

  Kade’s words startled her as she crashed through the gate arm. The midday sun blinded her as she roared onto the street, nearly sideswiping a trash truck.

  “You attacked him.”

  “I hit him from behind. I used no magic. He doesn’t know I’m Esri.”

  “He thinks you’re just a thief?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

  “Nor do I.”

  But her mind kept moving. “It’s a bad thing. He’s going to send the cops after us. If he knew you were Esri, he’d keep them away. Cops and Esri have proven to be a dangerous combination.” She brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “We need to tell him.”

  “He won’t believe you. The voices that advise him told him I’m Sitheen.”

  “And if he thinks you’re Esri, he’ll be coming after you with fire and a death chant instead of a gun. We can’t win, can we?”

  “There’s another problem.”

  She glanced at him. His voice was so calm, so reasonable, she wanted to hit him.

  “What?”

  “Zander may go after them.”

  “Do you think he’s seen them before?”

  “It doesn’t matter. He can sense power in others. He’ll know there are Sitheen in the area and will go after them.”

  Chills raced over her skin. “We’ve got to call Jack. Quick. Get my phone out of my purse.”

  She hit the speed dial and put the phone to her ear.

  “Autumn?” Jack snapped. “What in the hell are you doing?”

  “Jack, listen to me. There’s an Esri nearby. Kade threw him out a fifth-story window, but they heal fast.”

  “Autumn, Kade stole the draggon stone. Get away from him. He’s dangerous.”

  “Jack, listen. You’re in grave danger. That Esri can sense power, even the little bit that a Sitheen has. He hunts Sitheen. He probably already knows you’re there. Get out of there!”

  “Autumn…”

  “’Bye, Jack.” She snapped the phone closed and glanced at Kade. “We’ve got to get out of here before someone comes after us.” She made a right turn but got caught behind half a dozen cars at the light at the end of the block. If someone did come after them, what was she going to do? She couldn’t run a red light. She couldn’t even reach the red light through all the traffic to run it!

  “Where are we going?” Autumn asked.

  “The marina. We need to get that last stone before Ustanis does and get your lead box so maybe he won’t be able to sense them.”

  “But Zander can follow us, right? He can sense your power?”

  “Our power. Apparently you’ve acquired some of your own. And, yes, he can sense it, but only if he’s close. He can’t follow the scent the way Ustanis can the stones.”

  “Okay. The marina it is.” But a flash of light in her rearview mirror caught her eye, sending her stomach into spasms. Two police cars a couple of blocks back.

  “Cops. Oh, Jack, you didn’t.”

  “Go faster.”

  “I can’t outrun cops! I can’t even figure out how to run a red light!”

  “Autumn, I can’t allow them to catch me. If they’re wearing holly, I won’t be able to control them and I’m not that much stronger than humans. I’ll get stuck in one of your jails with no ability to escape. The full moon is tomorrow night. I must get those stones from Ustanis before then.”

  She knew he was right. And if the cops called Jack and he had finally figured out Kade was Esri, he’d kill him. “Okay, I’ll try to lose the cops.” But even as she was wondering how in the heck she was supposed to do that, the sound of sirens ahead made the que
stion moot. The light turned green and no one moved as two more patrol cars, lights flashing, sirens wailing, blocked the intersection in front of them.

  “We’re trapped.” Autumn’s heart sank as she turned to Kade. “You’ve got to get away. Now, while you still have a chance.”

  His expression grim, he shook his head. “I’m not leaving you here alone. Zander’s still nearby. We’re going to have to run.” Tension radiated through Kade’s muscles. He thought of himself as Kade, now. If only he’d run in the parking garage and sent Autumn to pick up Jack and Charlie. She wouldn’t be trapped with him now, surrounded by police. With guns.

  The thought of the damage one of those weapons could do to her made his blood run cold. He couldn’t allow her to get harmed, but neither could he risk getting captured himself, or her world was doomed.

  He wrenched the door open. “Grab your purse. We’ve got to get out of here.” He took her hand and they ran between the stopped cars for the curb as the cars behind them set up a wild honking.

  “Police! Freeze!” The shouts came from the cops in front. The sirens continued to wail behind them. Escape in either direction was cut off and there were no breaks between buildings along the entire block. They were going to have to go through one of the shops. He ran for the closest one, an antique store.

  “Hi!” Autumn called as the proprietor stared. “Just passing through!” They ran through the back and out the door into an alley. The alley opened onto a side street that led straight back, away from the cops chasing them from either side.

  “We’re faster. They won’t be able to catch us on foot.” Autumn’s voice rang with an excited tension that had him looking at her with surprise and admiration.

  “Yes, but they’re in cars. We’ve got to get off the street.”

  The sirens were indeed getting closer again. They entered another alley behind a row of stores. One door, from which wafted the smells of food, stood open.

  “This way!” They ducked into the back of a Chinese restaurant, nearly knocking over a small, dark-haired human. Kade grabbed the man’s neck and said in Mandarin, “You will hide us and tell no one we’re here.”

  He let go and the man bowed and motioned him to follow. Unfortunately, he led them right through the middle of a busy kitchen full of steaming pots and curious workers. He might have controlled the one, but he could not control them all. He had to touch them to control them and the minute he started grabbing for them, others would escape. No, he would have to hope the first held sway with the others. If not, they were in trouble.