Darkness Wanes

by Susan Illene

  Her long black hair was tousled, and she wore a cheap pair of purple sweats Grant must have given her. Her lips trembled as she gazed up at me with desperation and fear in her eyes. I started to aim my pistol at him, but Grant lifted his hand. He was holding some sort of trigger device. His thumb was pressing down on a button at the top, giving me pause.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, little sister. If I let go of this, there will be a large explosion.” Grant nudged Aniya, and she pulled up her sweater, revealing a bomb with several blocks of C-4 strapped around her stomach. “We should take this time to talk.”

  It was ironic. A couple of days ago I’d blasted my way through Hell, hardly pausing, and rescued Ariel. That should have been the more difficult mission, but now here I was staring at Aniya face-to-face, and I couldn’t reach her. She was only a few feet away, and I couldn’t kill the man holding her hostage. Anger and frustration boiled inside me. I wanted so badly to put a bullet in Grant’s head and end this, but he’d found a way to prevent that—for now.

  I took a deep breath and lowered my weapon. “So you were expecting me.”

  “You wouldn’t be here otherwise.” Grant cocked his head, studying me. “The pictures I have of you don’t do you justice. You look so much like our mother.”

  I’d already been down this road before and refused to talk about her with him. “What do you want?”

  “A million dollars would be nice, but I wouldn’t accept money from your…” He glanced down at the ring on my hand. “Nephilim husband.”

  “Okay, what then?” I asked, gritting my teeth.

  At the front of the apartment, two sets of footsteps came down the stairs. Cori and Lisette had finished checking the second floor. They stopped about halfway through the entry hall, leading me to believe Fallon must have waved them off.

  “I want your death. That’s what I’ve wanted for some time now, but I see it isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.” Grant used his free hand to jerk Aniya even closer to him. “With just a little convincing, your friend here was happy to tell me all about you, but she did not say you’d become…quite like this.”

  A lot of people in the supernatural world knew I’d become immortal, but most didn’t know what that entailed. After all, vampires could potentially live forever, but they could also die by sunlight or beheading. Since I’d been turned, rather than born this way, many assumed that made me as vulnerable as vamps. According to Emily, it was only when she got close to me that she could tell the difference. She said I felt like a natural immortal instead of something that died and came back to life. There was no way for me to sense myself, so I had to take her word for it.

  “You’re right—you can’t kill me,” I said, straightening my shoulders. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  He studied the detonation device in his hand. “You have no idea how much trouble it took to draw you out. I spent months trying to uncover your whereabouts since at the time I had no idea you’d gone to Purgatory. I sent my men out to create all kinds of disturbances around Fairbanks, directing them toward the supernaturals because I thought that would do the trick. Weeks passed with no results, but then you finally showed up and had my people arrested. I would have settled for only taking you if you’d left them alone.”

  “Why the fascination with me?” I asked, trying to hide my stunned response.

  Every attack in the Fairbanks area—the forest fires, shootings, and Aniya’s kidnapping—had been because of me. Gabby’s father would still be alive if I hadn’t drawn the attention of a madman. It made me sick just thinking about it.

  Grant’s blue eyes turned cold as ice. “For all that I do not care for our misguided brother and father, I was not pleased to learn my sister was the one who handed them over to the government—with supernatural assistance. Until I spoke to Aniya, I wasn’t certain if Jerome and Brennan were alive or dead.”

  I lifted a brow. “Is this about getting them back?”

  “No.” Grant shook his head. “I don’t want anything to do with them since the fools decided to work with a nephilim and allowed demons to possess humans. They went too far, but that doesn’t mean their ultimate goal wasn’t the same as mine—no more supernaturals. Then you came along and took them out of the game. That is what I can’t stand for. A female sensor is meant to breed more of our kind—not interfere in men’s business. Now you’ve changed, and you can’t even do that job properly, so you must be destroyed.”

  Oh, that twisted bastard. “Good luck with that.”

  “I'll find a way, eventually.” He worked his jaw. “But for now, it looks like I’ll have to take out every one of your friends—until you beg me to kill you.”

  My blood ran cold. How could such a sick man be related to me?

  “You will not touch my mistress or her friends,” Fallon growled from behind me. I’d been sensing his rising fury with every moment that passed.

  I jerked my gaze to him. “Mistress?”

  He bowed his head. “The master said that you are to be treated as an equal to him.”

  “My little sister, commanding a fifteen-hundred-year-old vampire. How you’ve risen…or fallen, depending on how one looks at it.” Grant clucked his tongue. “All the more reason to finish you.”

  I glared at him. “The feeling is mutual.”

  Fallon leaned close and whispered in a tone so low only I could hear. “I can resolve this situation in one second if you allow it.”

  I did the calculations in my head. The vampire would have to cross ten feet to reach Grant and get his hand on the button before my brother depressed it. If he failed, Aniya would not survive the resulting blast and Fallon might not, either. Cori and Lisette were far enough back and out of sight that they might only be injured, but I couldn’t be sure. I could also hear humans in the neighboring townhouses. The only person who would probably survive was me.

  “No,” I said under my breath. Then I looked at Grant. “Let me tell you how this is going to go. If you want to survive, you’re going to hand over the trigger device without detonating it. Do that, and I will let you walk out of here.” He had to know I was telling him the truth—though I left out the second part of my plan.

  Grant leaped to his feet, jerking Aniya up with him. “Or maybe we should end this right here and now—the very last place where you and your friend were still mortal.”

  “You don’t want to do this, Grant,” I said, tucking my gun into the waistband of my pants. Though it wasn’t easy, I had to do whatever it took to protect my friends and pacify him until I could get him to back down. “You won’t just be killing supernaturals, but also the humans next door. Can you really justify murdering the very same people you claim you want to protect?”

  For a brief moment, indecision reflected in his eyes. “Their deaths would be for a good cause.”

  “Would it?” I cocked my head. “If you were smart, you’d want to live to fight another day.”

  Grant was quiet a moment, and I could almost see the wheels turning inside his head. He gave me a considering look. “You’d really let me leave and escape this place?”

  “Yes, if it means I can save my friend and all the humans nearby.”

  He dragged Aniya across the room and pointed to the spot where he’d just been. “You and all your friends must stand by the couch and give me free access to go. I’m also taking the detonating device with me in case you change your mind or send someone else after me.”

  “Okay.” I didn’t like that plan, but it got me closer to what I wanted. “But you promise not to set the bomb off as soon as you get clear?”

  “Yes,” he said, speaking truthfully.

  I gestured at the others, and we moved toward the couch. As soon as we were out of the way, Grant pulled Aniya with him into the entry hall, keeping his eyes on us the whole time.

  “This isn’t over, sister,” he vowed.

  I glared at him. “No, it isn’t.”

  Grant continued to shuffle backward until
he moved out of sight. I crept forward, recapturing my view of him right as he shoved Aniya away from him and fled out the door, slamming it behind him. My senses tracked him racing toward the parking lot. We rushed toward Aniya where she slumped against the wall, tears streaming down her face as she stared at the bomb still strapped to her stomach.

  “Out of the way!” Fallon yelled, squeezing between us. He studied the bomb for a moment, made a “hmm” sound, and drew a cutting tool from his pocket.

  Part of the reason Lucas had convinced me to allow him to come was that the vampire had spent most of the past year studying bomb disposal. After what happened at Charlie’s house last summer, Lucas had thought it prudent to have someone around with that sort of expertise. Even more so after we’d raided Jerome’s hideout where explosives had been laid all over the place.

  “Can you dismantle it?” I asked. Grant was already pulling out of the parking lot and could decide to detonate the bomb despite what he’d said before.

  “Yes.” Fallon pulled Aniya’s shirt higher and studied the wires. “The bomb has a simple design. Whoever built it either lacked the skills or supplies necessary to design something more complicated.”

  “Just get it off of me,” Aniya begged.

  He clipped a yellow wire. “Alright, that’s it. You’re safe.”

  She gaped at him and didn’t move.

  “Really?” I gave him an incredulous look. “Nothing else?” There wasn’t even a countdown clock on it.

  “I told you it was rather simple.” Fallon leaned around Aniya and unfastened the Velcro harness holding the bomb in place. Every one of us held our breath until he pulled it away from her. Then he went and put it in the kitchen sink.

  Lisette grabbed Aniya and pulled her into her arms. As much as I wanted to join them, this wasn’t over yet. I couldn’t let something like this happen again.

  “Okay,” I said, looking at Cori. “You and Lisette stay with Aniya—get a safe distance across the parking lot just in case. Fallon and I are going to follow Grant. I’ll call O’Connell along the way so he can send someone to take care of things here.” I was still tracking Grant, but he’d be off my radar at any moment. I’d only promised I’d let him go, not that I wouldn’t follow him.

  Lisette let go of Aniya to point at the bomb. “You’re sure he’s got someone who can handle…that?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll let him know it’s here so he can pass on the message to the right people. Just cooperate with them when they arrive and we’ll be back as soon as we can.”

  “Go kill that bastard. We’ll be fine.” Cori held out the car keys. I indicated for Fallon to take them, preferring to keep my concentration on my senses and not on driving.

  Aniya reached out and took my hand, concern in her eyes. “Be careful, Mel. He’s crazy.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I promised.

  She nodded and pulled me into a hug. “Thank you.”

  A lump rose in my throat as I returned the embrace. “I’ll always come for you. I hope you know that.”

  “I do.” She pulled away. “Now go get him before he hurts someone else.”

  Fallon and I ran outside toward the rental car. Thankfully, Cori had parked it close to the townhouse. We scrambled inside, and the vampire started the car, squealing the tires as we tore out of the lot.

  “Go back toward Highway 1. He was heading in that direction,” I said, guiding him along the turns. We were lucky no traffic lights stopped us.

  “How do you plan to stop him?” Fallon asked.

  “Hell if I know. I guess we’ll just have to wait for an opportunity to present itself. The important thing is that we don’t let him get away—no matter what.”

  Fallon grunted his agreement and pressed down on the gas pedal. We merged onto Highway 1, heading south. I sensed Grant return to the edge of my radar, but he was steadily speeding up as we passed Seaside. After encouraging Fallon to drive faster, I called O’Connell.

  “Give me an update,” he said in a clipped tone.

  I’d purposely not given him many details other than I might need backup in the Monterey area and that I was going to rescue Aniya. He hadn’t been happy with my not informing him of my plan until two hours before the operation, but this was personal. I wanted to handle things my way and avoid as much red tape as possible.

  “We used tranquilizers on Grant’s human assistants,” I began, “but he had a bomb on Aniya, and he was holding the trigger. The best I could do was negotiate for him to leave without her. A, uh, friend dismantled the bomb right after Grant left. Aniya, Cori, and my friend Lisette are waiting outside the building. Another friend and I are chasing my brother down Highway 1 going south. We’re passing through Monterey at the moment.”

  “Melena, you should have involved the agency in this,” O’Connell said angrily.

  “There wasn’t enough time.”

  He grumbled under his breath. “Give me the address and I’ll get a team out there.”

  I told him everything he needed to know and answered a few more questions.

  “Alright,” he said, and I overheard his pen tapping against his desk. “I’ve got to make a few calls, but I’ll check in with you as soon as I’m done. You better answer.”

  “I will as long as I have a signal,” I promised, and hung up.

  “Is Grant still ahead of us?” Fallon asked.

  “Yes, but hurry,” I urged. “He’s almost off my radar.”

  The vampire sped the car up to ninety miles-per-hour, edging us a little closer. A few minutes later we passed the town of Carmel. Tree coverage was a lot heavier along this stretch and the highway narrower. I didn’t like driving fast through this area at night.

  “Be careful,” I warned. “The road gets really twisty through here.”

  Fallon’s fingers tightened on the wheel, and he slowed a little. “I am aware. The master owned a house down here while you were living in the area.”

  “Oh,” I said, feeling stupid for not knowing that. I added a few more questions to my mental list that I’d ask Lucas later. Now wasn’t the time to get into a deep conversation with Fallon about it.

  The vampire stared straight ahead. I had to give him credit for his driving skills and ability to anticipate just the right safe speed for the turns. The way Grant moved on my radar felt more erratic, as if he sped up and braked hard. If he kept going south—which at this point there wasn’t any other way to go for over a hundred miles—then it would get dangerous. Fallon hadn’t gotten close enough to Grant yet for him to know we were tailing him.

  “Where in the heck is he going?” I wondered out loud.

  Fallon slowed when a sharp curve appeared up ahead. “I have no idea, unless he thought this was the least likely route we’d follow, or he has more people somewhere down this way.”

  As we reached the mountainous portion of Big Sur, Grant finally slowed down to a more reasonable speed. It could have been because he was playing it safe with the cliffs bordering sections of the highway, or because another driver in front of him put a damper on his quick getaway. I gave Fallon an update, and he continued to close the gap.

  “Don’t get too close,” I warned. “I’d rather find out where he’s going than risk forcing him to do something stupid that could get him or us killed.”

  Fallon grunted his reply.

  O’Connell called me back, letting me know some of the agency’s people had made it to the townhouse. I managed to give him our current location before my cell phone lost the signal. With my luck, he’d assume I hung up on him. I stared at the dark road ahead, tempted to clutch my seat every time Fallon drove along one of the sharp curves on the highway.

  “Slow it down a little. You’re about to reach the distance where he’ll detect us.”

  He gave me a quick glance. “Do you want this finished or not?”

  I stiffened. “What do you mean?”

  “This could go on for hours if we stay too far behind him. We also have no way of knowing if he
has a trap set up for us somewhere, which is possible after what he did to your friend. I suggest we bait him now and see what he does.”

  “This isn’t a good place to bait a crazy man,” I pointed out.

  “That’s a chance I’m willing to take. Are you?”

  I weighed all my options. Fallon was right that letting this continue could be dangerous for all of us. We didn’t know what Grant had planned, but it was possible if we waited too long he could find a way to escape and we’d lose him. Maybe my brother had a guy hanging around the highway somewhere ready to run us off the road, or his destination was full of armed guys with RPGs waiting for us. Grant had accepted my proposal at the townhouse a little too easily. I knew that, though I wanted to think my negotiation skills were getting better.

  “Alright. Let’s end this,” I agreed, hoping I was making the right decision.

  Fallon sped up and broke the quarter-mile gap.

  “That’s him up there,” I said, pointing at Grant’s car on the next rise. My brother was speeding up again, but not enough to keep us off his tail.

  “Good.”

  A couple of miles passed. I held my breath, watching as we edged a tiny bit closer to Grant’s car. Another turn came up ahead with nothing except darkness beyond it.

  I leaned forward. “Shit, if he doesn’t slow down…”

  My brother’s car suddenly went into an uncontrollable skid. My heart leaped into my throat as the vehicle slammed through the guardrails and the taillights disappeared over the edge. The muffled sounds of it crashing below just barely reached us.

  “Stop the car,” I ordered.

  Fallon slowed the vehicle and pulled over to the next available shoulder. As soon as he parked, I jerked my door open and took off running. Grant still showed up on my radar, but his life force was weak.

  I skidded to a halt at the spot where his car had disappeared and looked down into the murky darkness. As my vision adjusted, I spotted his mangled vehicle about a hundred feet below on the rock-strewn shore. The cliff hadn’t been quite as high as I’d thought and it wasn’t a straight drop-off, rather a gradual one. It looked like his car had rolled down along several rocky outcroppings. I searched for a way down and found a spot about fifteen feet below where I could jump.