The Dark Storm

by Kris Greene

  “I said no thanks,” she said a bit more forcefully. When she tried to walk away, Rogue grabbed her by the arm.

  He slid his shades down so she could see the stars shifting in his eyes. The energy he passed through her was so heady that it caused her form to waver. It was like the reality around her distorted and there was a person within a person. She forced the illusion back into place and hissed at Rogue.

  “Save the tough shit, because I ain’t impressed,” he whispered. “Now, either you can talk to me or I can expose you to these good folks in here; what’s it gonna be?”

  Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You’d be just as much up a creek as me.”

  Rogue tapped his finger against his chin as if he were giving it some thought, then smiled. “Yeah, Dutch would probably be pissed that I came in here without an invitation with me being a mage and all, but,” he waved his hand in front of her, causing the illusion to waver again, “what do you think he’d do to a demon who violated his inner sanctum?”

  “Filthy darkling puppet, you wouldn’t dare,” she challenged.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t I?”

  The girl weighed her options. She knew from past experience that Rogue was a man who didn’t play by anyone’s rules but his own, so you could never be sure how far he would go. She could always try running, but with those blasted eyes of his there was only so long she’d be able to hide before he tracked her down. With a sigh, she headed for the exit and motioned for him to follow.

  Rogue had just fallen in step behind her when he felt a familiar magical pulse. Without even thinking, he grabbed the girl and pulled her into a lover’s embrace. She started to protest, but he silenced her with a hand clamped over her mouth. She could feel him working some kind of magic, but before she had a chance to figure out what it was, the lights went out just in the spot where they were standing. Rogue had draped them in shadow, which unnerved the girl, but before she could argue about it, Dutch walked right past them.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  As soon as Lucy entered the Black Court she could feel the magic in the stares that came her way. It was such an intense feeling that she stroked her fur collar absently as he moved across the floor. Physically, she was a strikingly beautiful specimen with long black hair and flawless pale skin, but it was the raw power coming from her that drew everyone’s attention. Some greeted her with smiles, while others flashed looks of disgust, but none of her enemies were stupid enough to challenge the young witch outright. Lucy carried herself with the air of a princess, because technically she was. At one time her late mother, Wanda, had been the White Queen of the coven, and her power flowed strong within her daughter.

  At her usual position at the bar was Sulin, a gifted young healer and one of the few witches Lucy could’ve called a friend. Sulin was a statuesque young lady with hair the color of cornstarch and striking green eyes. She was leaning against the bar, stroking the head of her Pomeranian and speaking in a hushed tone to a handsome young warlock. She must’ve felt Lucy’s presence, because she looked up from her conversation. Sulin reluctantly excused herself and made her way over to Lucy.

  “Trolling for fresh meat?” Lucy greeted her friend with a hug and kissed her on both cheeks. Not wanting to be left out, the Pomeranian licked Lucy’s chin. A handsome young man wearing dark sunglasses gave them a flirtatious smile. Lucy smiled back, but Sulin didn’t.

  “Hardly.” Sulin rolled her eyes at the man in shades and turned her back to him. “I’m on call for Angelique tonight and he was just keeping me company.” Sulin waved at the warlock dismissively.

  “What’s Her Highness got you doing tonight?” Lucy sat on the bar stool and ordered two drinks.

  “I’d be lying if I said I knew. All she’s told me is that something is afoot in New York and she needs me close.”

  “That explains why everything is so dead. I went to two of my regular spots and there was no one there but mortals; even the Triple Six is looking suspect tonight,” Lucy pointed out.

  “Maybe the vampires are at it again; you know how ugly their skirmishes can be,” Sulin said.

  “Tell me about it.” Lucy recalled the damage the Gehenna clan had done to the city before the Lamia had gotten things under control. “So what’s the action like in here tonight?”

  “Other than the Hunt making their usual rounds, nothing special.” Sulin shrugged.

  “The Hunt, I thought I smelled wet dog,” Lucy spat.

  “Don’t start anything, Lucy.” Sulin looked around nervously.

  “Give me a break; you guys run around whispering like the Hunt is the bogeyman or something. Asha and her brood aren’t so tough.”

  “We’re tough enough to break disrespectful weak little witches,” a voice called from behind them. The witch addressing her had been the thorn in Lucy’s side since Dutch had adopted her into the coven. With long deadlocks and china doll eyes the color of a smoldering camp-fire, set in cherrywood skin, she looked like a princess of some forgotten African kingdom. Her shapely hips pressed against her skintight leather pants as she took a wide-legged stance and glared defiantly at Lucy.

  The sisters Lisa and Lane rose to stand beside her. From afar you couldn’t tell one from the other, but up close you could see the differences. Both had milk chocolate skin and dark eyes, but while Lane was petite, Lisa had more of an athletic build. A large gray wolf spider sat perched on the side of Lisa’s head like a flower, while one that was almost transparent crawled across Lane’s neck, leaving a trail of silk like a scarf. The witches eyed Lucy from behind their web-like veils, daring her to make a move but not advancing on her. Though they were dangerous killers, they weren’t very skilled spell casters, which meant they were no match for Lucy.

  “Disrespectful, sure, but broken . . . not in this lifetime, sister,” Lucy said as if she couldn’t feel the intense power building in Asha. Lucy was skilled, but Asha was brutal in her spell casting.

  “Says you,” Asha replied, flipping her long auburn dreadlocks behind her. Azuma, a small brownish monkey, danced on the seat beside her, flashing his crooked teeth at Lucy. Asha and her familiar had been together since she was a girl.

  “Don’t you know when to quit?” Lucy stroked her fur collar. Her eyes warned Asha to stay clear.

  “Oh, oh, I think she’s getting mad,” Lisa taunted.

  “Aw, is Angelique’s prized pupil having a bad day?” Asha ran her fingers over Azuma’s fuzzy head. The monkey rocked back and forth grumbling in anticipation of Asha’s command, occasionally slapping his frail chest. When unbound the familiars could wreak all kinds of havoc, but with a power line like the bond he and Asha had going Azuma could complicate things considerably.

  Azuma leapt and lashed out with his dirty little claws at Lucy’s left cheek. The motion was so swift that Lucy’s eyes never even registered it, but Tiki did. The ferret draped around her neck sprang to life, sinking his needle teeth into the monkey’s forearm. Azuma roared and tried to club Tiki with his fist, but the lithe body wouldn’t remain still long enough for him to land a blow that would count for anything. With panic setting in, Azuma sank his teeth into the soft skin at the base of Tiki’s skull, causing the ferret to let go. Azuma wasted no time darting back to his mistress and glaring at Tiki from behind her leg.

  “You’d better control your rat, little Wanda.” Asha scooped Azuma up but kept her eyes on Tiki.

  “Watch your mouth,” Lucy warned, picking Tiki up and draping him back around her neck. “You’re not fit to speak my mother’s name, the name of a pure witch, but I guess you wouldn’t know anything about that, mongrel bitch!”

  The hurt in Asha’s eyes only lasted for a split second before it was replaced by rage. Asha’s mother had been a Voundon priestess of a long-dead cult, who had become smitten by one of Dutch’s Initiates. She gave herself body and soul to the warlock only to find that he was married, with a family, and she had been little more than sport to him. Shortly after she murdered him she found out tha
t she was pregnant with Asha. As punishment for killing one of their own, the Council took the child and banished her mother to God only knew where. Asha was raised in the circle, but the others always made it clear that she’d never be one of them. The same, however, did not hold true for Lucy. Because of who her mother had been, Lucy was guaranteed a spot at the table whether she wanted it or not. She was the child of royalty and Asha hated her for this.

  As if by magic a blade appeared in Asha’s hand. “You white-trash whore, I’m gonna fucking gut you!” She went to move in on Lucy but found that her body would no longer cooperate. When Lucy tried to take advantage she realized that she was also paralyzed. Though neither one of them could as much as turn her head, they heard the clicking of boots on the tiles and knew that they had made a terrible mistake.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “Cool it, ladies,” Dutch said, waving a hand over each witch. Their magical auras spilled from them and snaked up his arms like two racing serpents. There were few amongst the covens that could neutralize a witch’s power without first preparing the proper ritual and fewer still who could do it to two witches at once. As always, Dutch was dressed in leather pants and a leather vest over his bare arms and chest. Rings of black curls touched the tips of his broad shoulders. He didn’t look a day over forty, but it was rumored that he had been around for well over a hundred years.

  “I didn’t start it, but I’m more than ready to finish it.” Lucy struggled against the immobile spell Dutch had cast on them. Had she been paying attention during her lessons, she would’ve known how to break it.

  “Dutch, just give me five minutes with this whore; that’s all I need.” Asha closed her fist and was trying to work her arm forward. The fact that she had even managed to close her hand while under the spell was a testament to her strength. Unlike Lucy, she was familiar with the spell and could break it against an average witch or warlock, but Dutch was a king.

  “What part of ‘cool it’ don’t you understand?” Dutch pushed a little more power into the spell. It wasn’t enough to hurt Asha, but it was very uncomfortable. “There are battles to be fought, but not amongst each other and not in my house, ever!”

  “Sorry.” Asha heaved, having spent herself trying to break the spell.

  “No need to apologize, Asha. We are all kin here and no one is greater than the circle.” With a wave of his hand he returned their magics and freed them from the spell.

  “Dutch just saved you from a good ass kicking, mongrel,” Lucy said arrogantly.

  Asha’s hate for Lucy grew so intense that she dug her fingernails so deep into her palms that they started bleeding. Smoke rose from the droplets as they hit the floor. “My king, I would gladly give up my position within the Hunt if you would finally let me shut this bitch up.”

  “Asha, remember who you are. Personal grievances are second to the strength of the circle. Are you still a part of that strength?” Dutch looked at her.

  “ ‘I am the joint at the elbow of the sword arm and the neck under the executioner’s blade if my coven requires it of me.’ ” Asha recited it exactly as it was written. When she was adopted in the coven she tore into her studies, surpassing most of her peers. It was because of her devotion to the God and Goddess and the laws of the coven that Dutch had initiated a witch so young into the Hunt. The Hunt was not only the judicial system of the coven; it was also its heart.

  “Oh, now if that isn’t the cutest thing,” Lucy taunted Asha.

  “Lucille Brisbane.” Dutch addressed her by her full name, which she hated. “What trouble do you bring to my doorstep tonight?”

  “Nothing much, just out enjoying the scene and trying to help you take out the trash.” She glared at Asha.

  “Lucy, when are you and Asha gonna let this childhood grudge go? Both of you are promising young daughters of this coven and will be expected one day to show the younger ones as we are trying to show you.”

  “My mother taught me all that I need to know about our coven.” Lucy looked at Dutch defiantly.

  “I find it interesting how you’re so quick to make reference to Wanda in your defense, but you continue to drag her name through the mud,” Dutch shot back. “Lucy, you are not only one of the most gifted young witches I’ve ever seen, but you are a child of royalty and I think it’s high time you started acting like it.”

  Lucy took offense at this. “Listen, Dutch, I know this is your place and all, but I really didn’t come here for a lecture. I came to get hammered and laid, and not necessarily in that order, so if we’re done here?”

  You could almost feel the king’s power spike as all the air seemed to get sucked out of the room. The wiser ones backed away, but the foolish Initiates moved to get a better view. “If it weren’t for my respect for your mother, I would make you show the proper respect for your king.”

  “If it weren’t for my mother, I’m sure there are a few things that you would try and make me do.” She looked the king up and down seductively.

  “Dutch, you’ve got to excuse Lucy. You know she can’t hold her liquor,” Sulin cut in, giving Dutch her million-dollar smile. She knew that Dutch was hot for her and used this to bleed off some of his anger. She tugged Lucy by the arm to let her know that she had gone too far.

  “Indeed,” Dutch said, barely able to control the anger in his voice. Lucy stared at him for a second or two longer before allowing Sulin to pull her away. Before they reached the exit, Dutch called after her, “You will bend, little witch.”

  Lucy stopped short and met his stare. “I may bend, but I will never break. My mother saw to that.” With that said, Lucy and Sulin departed, leaving Asha and her cronies to endure whatever rage Dutch had left over.

  “Dutch—,” Asha began but was cut off.

  “Save it. Asha, you and Lucy are like two third graders fighting over a boy in the school yard.”

  “Dutch, if she’s disrespecting me every time I see her am I supposed to let it go? I am not my mother, and if I have to kick the ass of every witch and warlock to prove it, then I’m ready for the task,” Asha said seriously.

  Dutch smiled at her lovingly. Of all the students, Asha was most like him in her ambition. “Asha, you could go down the line and best everyone in the coven, but it wouldn’t change how some of them see you. If anything, it would make them think you’re more akin to the darkness than the light. If you want to spite them, continue doing what you’re doing, which is rising in rank and in power. Even now you find yourself a Captain of the Hunt and you’re barely into your twenties.”

  “Yes, the Hunt recognizes me as somebody, but my authority doesn’t go beyond the battlefield. What good is working my way up through the ranks if I’ll only be able to go so high? We both know that they’ll never let me sit at the table.”

  Dutch lifted her face so that she was looking at him. “Just because someone is sitting in the driver’s seat doesn’t mean that they’re driving. Come into my office; I need to speak to you about something.” Dutch led the way, with Asha close behind him. When he noticed that the twins had tagged along he stopped short. “I don’t recall requesting your presence,” he told the twins.

  “We were here for . . . ah, moral support,” Lisa stammered.

  “If you want to support Asha’s cause, then find me the rogue idiot who is killing mortals in my domain,” Dutch said, and left the witches to it.

  “Are you crazy or just stupid?” Sulin snapped once she and Lucy were outside the club.

  “What, are you still rattled about what happened with Asha? Don’t worry; the Hunt isn’t foolish enough to try anything,” Lucy said arrogantly.

  “I’m not talking about the Hunt, you foolhardy girl. That was stupid of you to show off like that in Court. Dutch could’ve punished you for challenging his authority in public.”

  “Fuck Dutch, and fuck those ass kissers at Court. I dance to my own beat.” Lucy folded her arms.

  “And that’s your problem,” Sulin hissed. “You think I don’t tire
of the games Angelique and Dutch play with us? Hell yes, but you’d never hear me say it out loud. See, you’re always on someone’s shit list because you wear your heart on your sleeve. I will have my day at the table, but I know I can’t muscle it, so I’ll kill them with kindness and accept the rewards when they come. If you want to rise in the coven, then you need to learn to keep your tongue tied and your teeth showing; trying to kick everyone’s ass who you feel is in your way is only gonna get you killed or worse.”

  “I guess I just don’t have the same head for diplomacy as you do, Sulin,” Lucy said.

  “Which is why the rest of the Initiates are taking bets as to whether you live long enough to collect the trust fund Wanda set up for you,” Sulin said seriously. Before she could continue, her BlackBerry went off. “Duty calls,” Sulin said, reading the screen. “Do you need to get dropped off somewhere, because going back inside the Triple Six tonight wouldn’t be the wisest of moves?”

  “I’ll find something to get into,” Lucy said with a devilish grin

  “I’ll bet.” Sulin looped her arm in Lucy’s. “Look, if you’re not doing anything, then why don’t you come with me to answer this call?”

  “Sulin, I don’t wanna get in your way while you’re working,” Lucy told her.

  “Nonsense. Besides, I could use the company for the ride to Brooklyn. I’ll take care of the healing and then we can hit this spot that I keep hearing about near Park Slope. I hear it’s crawling with delicious young men.”

  “Sulin, do you ever think about anything besides getting laid?”

  Sulin thought on it for a minute. “No, now let’s go,” she said, and led Lucy around the corner to where her car was parked.

  Dutch led Asha to the rear of the room, where an eight-foot mirror dominated most of the wall. He whispered an incantation and stepped through the mirror, causing a ripple in the glass. Asha hesitated. The mirror that served as the door to Dutch’s study was empowered by a spell that only he and Angelique really understood. Any who tried to pass through the mirror without being invited by the king or queen would be ripped to pieces. Asha could feel the power coming off the mirror, and from the way Azuma was ranting so could he.