The Better Part of Darkness

by Kelly Gay

  For a long moment no one spoke. Rex got up and walked into the living room, plopping down into the love seat with a loud exhale. Bryn wiped at the corners of her eyes. Aaron and Carreg exchanged determined looks, the anger coming off them making the air thick. I scrubbed my hands down my wet cheeks and chin and then went to use the guest bathroom, where I splashed cold water on my face.

  I looked like shit. Eyes red, face puffy, cheeks mottled. I splashed again until the heat left my skin, then I redid my hair, twisting it into a knot with Bryn’s rubber band. The woman looking back at me appeared lost and confused. Everything I shouldn’t be.

  I drew in a long breath and let it out slowly, letting out the fear and uncertainty along with it. My shoulders straightened. A few copper sparks glinted in my irises. What was it Carreg had said about me? I was one of the most powerful humans in the world. Well, I’d have to be in order to save my child. I cocked an eyebrow at my pale reflection, seeing parts of the old Charlie emerge. The tough detective who didn’t take an ounce of crap from anyone, and a royally pissed off, all-powerful mother who was about to kick some serious Abaddon ass.

  On my way out of the bathroom, I came face-to-face with Carreg. “Thank you,” I forced out, “for …” I didn’t know how to say it, so I nodded toward the kitchen table and what had just transpired there.

  He regarded me for a long second. “It was a good way to see how far Mynogan went to guard her.” Then he walked out of the apartment.

  Bryn came up beside me and put her arm around my shoulders. “He’s going back to CPP headquarters to try and contact Mynogan. You okay?”

  I let my head fall against hers. “Actually, all things considered, I’m hanging in there. I’m getting Em back. There’s no question.” The words were enforced by a sweeping sense of positive belief.

  Bryn stared hard at the door. “We won’t stop until we do.”

  “She’s definitely being held wherever the Bleeding Souls are grown. Underground. The humidity, the heat, the smell … It all fits.”

  “Prime growing conditions,” Bryn said thoughtfully. “I still can’t believe it exists. You know why it’s called a Bleeding Soul? It’s part of the Charbydon creation myth. It was used in the Great War when the nobles first appeared in Charbydon and fought with the jinn for control. The nobles used it as a weapon, the biological warfare of their time. It forced the soul to separate from the body. Myth says that’s where the Revenants and Wraiths came from, that they’re really the souls of jinn warriors who have wandered so long that they’ve forgotten who and what they once were.”

  I glanced over at Rex.

  “Yeah, I know.” Bryn said, an octave lower. “Makes you wonder, if the flower exists, what else is true.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Hank and Zara arrived a few minutes later to give us the list of real estate holdings they’d stolen from Veritas’s files. Once again, we gathered around the kitchen table. Mynogan had holdings in everything from downtown condos and office buildings to single-family rental homes and country clubs. We concentrated our efforts in the area Bryn and Rex had zoned in on during the scrying, and found a matching address. Mynogan owned a small, but very exclusive, bath house and spa sandwiched between Morningside and Ansley Park, two large neighborhoods north-northeast of downtown. It bordered part of Oglethorpe Park. Pricey area.

  “The guy’s gotta be loaded,” Rex muttered, scanning the list.

  Over the map, I studied Hank. He’d yet to look at me. His face had healed somewhat, but there were still a lot of bruises and cuts. He must’ve fought like a maniac. And he would have died if Carreg hadn’t kept his word. Despite the fact that I didn’t regret going after my family and leaving him there, the guilt lay heavy in my gut. He must have felt my gaze, because he pushed away from the table and left.

  Great.

  He came back with a black ITF duffel bag, plopping it onto the table and unzipping. “I got everything I could fit in the bag. Hefties, Nitro-guns, human firearms. A few tear gas grenades and additional ammo.”

  “And they just let you walk out of the weapons depot?” I asked.

  “No,” he answered, his voice tight. “Zara helped.”

  Oh, way to go, Charlie. Why don’t you just make him admit to everyone that he needed help from a girl? I couldn’t win.

  Zara fiddled with her voice modifier. Anyone who had potentially come into their path, she’d taken care of with her voice. “No one will even remember we were there,” she said.

  “Impressive.” She’d broken the law to help my kid, and she deserved way more than what I’d given her, but my heart was still smarting over Hank. And as much as I wanted to like Zara, I wanted my friend back more. I hated that he’d turned to her instead of me.

  “So, what now?” Bryn asked, her expression eager to begin, to win back one of our own.

  I hesitated. Proud as I was, I couldn’t lose another sibling. She was all I had left. But I was also turning over a new leaf. Bryn was capable and talented. She loved Emma and had every right to fight for her, too.

  “First we need to scope the location, identify how many are guarding the place. Priority number one is finding Em and getting her to safety. Then, we destroy the Bleeding Souls.” I should be having this conversation with a team of ITF agents and full agency support, not friends, strangers, and family.

  “Take out those damn flowers and we cut off the ash supply,” Hank said.

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” Bryn said. “So who’s going to scout the location?”

  Aaron draped an arm over the back of the chair, meeting my gaze. “I believe I can help with that.”

  I nodded in agreement. He was the only one among us who could blink in and out. They’d never even know he was there. He started for the door. “Be back in a few.” His form disappeared into a cloud of mist as he literally disintegrated into the closed door.

  “Neat trick,” Hank said.

  Rex pushed away from the table. “Who wants to order pizza?” At our look, he said, “What? We gotta eat, don’t we?”

  “He’s right. DeLarano’s stays open ’til one, I’ll order something.” Bryn went to the phone.

  Keeping her head low, Zara glanced from me to Hank, an apprehensive frown marring her perfect face. “I’ll just go and wash up.”

  Her departure was obvious. She was leaving us alone to talk. Once it was just Hank and me, I regarded him for a long moment as he zipped the weapons bag. I had no idea what to say or how to say it, so I just went with my gut. “How are you doing?”

  The muscle in his jaw jumped. “Been better. You?”

  “Could say the same.” Well, at least he’d asked. That was a small step in the right direction. “Look, Hank, I’m sorry you got hurt,” I began as sincerely as I felt. “But I’m not sorry for leaving. I didn’t really have a choice, and I’d do the same damn thing again if my daughter was threatened.”

  Still, he didn’t look at me. A lock of blond hair fell into his eye. He shoved it aside with a quick drag of his fingers. With only his profile to go on, I had little in the way of judging his emotions.

  “Don’t worry about it.” He lifted the bag off the table.

  Feeling as though I was losing him, I grabbed his arm. Hard, sapphire-blue orbs gazed down at me. His look was so guarded, angry, and betrayed. “Hank.” Why couldn’t he understand? “Why are you doing this? You would’ve done the same exact thing, and I would’ve been pissed if you hadn’t.”

  He pulled his arm away. “No kidding. Just let me be for a little while, Charlie.” With that he walked away.

  I sighed and braced my palm on the kitchen table, the other hand on my hip, debating whether to confront him now rather than let this divide grow any bigger.

  Zara exited the bathroom as Hank sat down, his back to me. She came over, looking like she should be in a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue rather than here in Underground helping a group of misfits go up against a Charbydon Elder. “He’s having a hard time.”

&nbs
p; “Really.” She didn’t deserve the sarcasm, but Hank and I had been together for so long. It was always us against the world, two people who had grown to love and respect one another, willing to give our lives to protect the other. I didn’t understand. And I didn’t like being left out.

  “Sirens are different,” she started, ignoring my rudeness. “He’s angry, but it’s more to do with losing his powers than anything. He knows you did the only thing you could at the time. I would have gone after my daughter, too, if someone had threatened her.”

  Her words deflated my ire somewhat. “It’s just … he’s Hank. My partner.” I shook my head, unable to explain further.

  “And he just lost everything that makes him who he is. It’s like you losing your ability to walk or hear. Now, to him, he is weak and of no good to anyone. At least that’s how he’s feeling. Just give him a chance to work through it. He’ll come around.”

  Maybe she was right. I studied her for a long second. “I never really thanked you for helping out.”

  She shrugged, tucking her sunset locks behind her ear with a small smile. “It’s nothing.”

  “Breaking into Veritas wasn’t nothing. You could lose your job and be forced to return home with a criminal record.”

  “If they find out. They won’t.” A spark lit her crystal-blue eyes. Sirens, especially the females, had always seemed the same to me. Haughty, full of themselves because of their beauty, and demeaning to anyone else they viewed as below them in status, birth, or looks. Maybe I’d been wrong about them, too. Like so many other things. Zara was indeed beautiful, there was no denying that, but she was giving, adventurous, and willing to sacrifice her time and safety for a cause that had nothing to do with her.

  “No wonder Hank likes you,” I finally said.

  She blushed. “It took him long enough. I was starting to think I’d have to wear a sign on my forehead before he’d get that I was interested.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, that’s Hank for you.” Laughing felt good. But the feeling was all too brief. “You don’t have to do this, you know. It’s gonna be one hell of a fight.”

  “I know.” A wide smile split her face. “Haven’t had one of those in decades. Besides, I like my home and this city. The last thing I want is for Mynogan to mess it up.”

  I nodded and then sat down at the table as Zara went to join Hank on the couch.

  Pizza arrived just after midnight. Anxiety curbed my appetite, but I ate a piece anyway, knowing it was better to keep up my strength. Rex acted like he was having an orgasm every time he took a bite. I wanted to tell him to give it a rest, but the guy obviously hadn’t enjoyed real food in a while. Watching him eat made my thoughts turn to Will.

  Slowly, I chewed a bite of pepperoni and cheese, completely stunned that Will had turned to such a desperate outlet. He had seemed to be doing so well. But maybe I just hadn’t seen how serious his despair had become, his hopelessness at being able to make things right with me. He had destroyed our marriage, something he never really wanted to do, but had done anyway. And no amount of therapy, addiction counseling, twelve-step programs, or love could erase the past. Something I was sure he must have realized, and probably the thing that made him turn to a proverbial genie in a bottle.

  I tore off a piece of crust, feeling downright pissed off. If he had just stuck with it … been patient. Who knew what might have happened.

  A knock interrupted my thoughts. Bryn answered the door. Aaron had returned. I wiped my hands on a napkin and stood as he slid into the chair and rested his elbows on the table.

  “Well?” Bryn was the first to prompt him.

  I grabbed him a water from the fridge.

  “Thanks,” he said, throwing a look at Bryn. Hank and Zara leaned over the back of the couch, waiting as Aaron drank deeply. Finally, he said, “Sign says closed for renovations. No patrons to worry about, so that’s good. Bad news is it’s heavily warded.”

  “How heavily?”

  “More than a Magnus can break. There are only two others like me in the city, and even if we pooled our power, it’d take at least two days to break it. This ward was made by an Elder. Most likely Mynogan. Everyone who comes and goes from the building must possess a complex key, an amulet, which allows them passage. No amulet, no passage. But, if we can get in, the odds move in our favor. I only detected two Abaddon nobles, six jinn warriors, a black mage, and a hellhound.”

  “I thought hellhounds were illegal,” Zara said.

  “They are. But every once in a while one gets smuggled in,” I told her, returning my attention to Aaron. “How would you break the ward, if you had to?” He’d gotten the ancient skin scroll from the House of Abaddon. Surely he knew of a way to break into Mynogan’s bath house.

  A smile split his face. He knew exactly what I was thinking. “Actually, I have a plan. Simple, really. All we have to do is lure the guards through the ward and take their keys.”

  Disbelieving expressions passed across everyone’s face except Aaron’s.

  “Am I the only one who thinks that sounds way too easy?” Hank asked.

  “There is one other thing. We must have their blood on our hands. Each amulet is made with a drop of the person’s blood. You can’t borrow someone else’s key and expect to walk through the ward. But, if you have enough of their blood on you when you make the attempt, it usually works.”

  “Okay,” Rex said, “I’m not bathing in anyone’s blood. There are health risks, you know …”

  “You won’t have to bathe in it,” Aaron told him. “Just enough to cover your hands should do the trick.”

  Suspicion narrowed Bryn’s eyes. “How the hell do you know this stuff?”

  Aaron shrugged. “It’s in my interest to know details such as these. I’d be an unworthy Magnus otherwise.”

  “How do we lure them through the ward?” I asked.

  “They’ll know if someone is trying to break it,” Hank said.

  “Right. So Bryn and I attempt to break it, the guards will come out. Even if enough of them don’t come through the ward, one of us goes through, throws the amulet back out to the next person, they cover their hands, and so on …”

  “That’ll also draw them out of the building and away from Emma. Once we’re all inside, we get rid of anyone else, find Em, and destroy the crop.” All eyes were on me, and I made sure to look at each person in the room. They all nodded. “We’ll hit them in an hour.”

  We left Bryn’s apartment in two groups. Aaron transported me and Bryn to the parking deck in case Mynogan still had the black mages watching the apartment, and the others would meet us at the car.

  When my weight returned to normal, I helped Bryn adjust the spare shoulder holster I’d hooked around her back earlier. I made sure to equip her with a fully charged Nitro-gun and a Hefty. Gone were the floaty skirts and the charm anklets, and in their place was a grim, near mirror image of me. In fact, she looked downright kick-ass. I couldn’t help but smile.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” I replied as pride blossomed through me. “It’s just … this is a new side of you.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re not the only Madigan who can do damage.” She fixed me with a stern expression and even sterner voice. “I know you think I’m weak and flighty, Charlie, but I’ve got strengths you don’t even know about.”

  I blinked. “I never said—”

  “You don’t need to say it. I see it in your eyes all the time. Every time you come into my shop.”

  “No, I’ve never thought you weak, Bryn. Ever.” How could she think that? “Sure, maybe a tad ‘out there,’ but weak?” Before she could sidestep me, I grabbed both of her shoulders and pulled her away from Aaron and the car. “Listen to me,” I said, angry that she’d even accuse me of what she had. “You’re not weak. You never have been. You know how much courage it takes to be your own person, to embrace your gifts and move forward? If anyone’s weak, it’s me. I’ve been too afraid to even explore what’s inside me. And the onl
y reason I’m doing it now is because I have to.” I released her shoulders, shaking my head and wondering how I’d given her this impression. God. I’d screwed up with so many people in my life.

  Bryn stared at me openmouthed for a split second and then composed herself. The striking woman in front of me suddenly became the small kid who used to follow me and Connor around, begging to join in and threatening us if we didn’t let her.

  I shrugged. “I love you, Bryn. You’re my baby sister.” What else could I say?

  Before I could react, she threw her arms around my neck, sending me back several feet before I regained my balance. “I love you, too, Charlie.” She leaned back and her smile blinded me. “Now, let’s go kick some alien butt.”

  I laughed. That was the first time she’d ever called them aliens, an echo of the many times I’d used that term despite the fact she didn’t like it.

  “Aliens, huh?” Hank said, walking up behind us with Zara and Rex. A faint smile lingered at one corner of his mouth. “I thought you were more PC than that, Bryn.”

  “Well, by definition, you fit,” she muttered uncomfortably, red creeping into her cheeks. “Beings from another world, and all …”

  “I think Charlie’s starting to rub off on you.”

  “Eh, not such a bad thing in my book,” she said with a wink thrown my way, “See you guys there.” She went to stand next to Aaron. He grabbed her hand and they blinked out of sight.

  Rex and Zara piled into the backseat of the car as Hank put the duffel bag into the trunk.

  I went to stand next to him, needing this moment alone. “You know once we do this, there’s no turning back.” I was pretty sure my fiasco with the jinn in Underground had already sealed my fate as an ex-ITF agent, but Hank … If he joined me on this, he’d lose his job and be brought up on charges right along with me, and the list was going to be a mile long by the time we were through.