Blade of Darkness

by Dianne Duvall

  Ethan took a step forward. “You saw Seth trying to kill Aidan in a vision?”

  “Yes.”

  He and Heather both swore.

  “Erase my memory,” Heather blurted.

  Aidan immediately refused. “No.”

  Heather shook her head. “If you erase my memory and slay the vampires, Seth won’t—”

  “He’ll see the same thing in the mind of any vampire the other immortals capture. And if he fights vampires himself here in North Carolina, he’ll see the same thing Lisette and Étienne will see in the vampires’ minds: Me leading them. Me guiding them. Me promising them the gifted ones who rebuffed me. Erasing your memory and slaying these vampires will only delay the inevitable.”

  “If the inevitable,” Heather insisted, “is Seth killing you, then I say we delay it until we can prove you’re innocent! You gave me this life, Aidan. You made me as strong as I am. You ensured I wouldn’t have to give up sunlight for the rest of eternity. I’m not going to just stand by and let Gershom make you look so guilty that Seth will execute you.”

  The fact that Aidan looked as though there were no point in fighting it anymore scared the hell out of Dana. “Can’t we convince Seth that the man in the vampires’ memories is Gershom?”

  Aidan shook his head. “Your vision was clear. Seth will want to kill me. And, after everything he’s overlooked thus far, this will give him good reason.”

  Ethan stepped forward. “But you don’t even know that it was Seth in Dana’s vision. What if it was Gershom?”

  “It wasn’t Gershom,” Aidan responded.

  “But you don’t know that!” Ethan retorted. “Not with any certainty.”

  “Yes, I do know it,” Aidan said, a sharp edge entering his voice.

  “Bullshit,” Ethan barked. “If Gershom can imitate you, then he can just as easily imitate Seth.”

  Aidan shook his head as anger darkened his features. “You aren’t thinking clearly,” he bit out. “You’re only seeing what you want to see.”

  Dana looked at the others.

  Both Ethan and Heather radiated frustration.

  “Why do you think Gershom chose to mimic me in the first place?” Aidan asked them. “Because I’m the new guy. And the first thing I did when I came here was defy Seth.”

  Heather frowned. “You’re not the new guy. I am. I just transformed last year.”

  Aidan shook his head. “But you’re already a cherished member of the family. You have close friendships with many of the others stationed here. You spend a lot of time with them. They’ve all welcomed you and Krysta and Sarah with open arms and fall all over themselves to ensure you feel welcome. But I linger on the outskirts. I’m just an acquaintance. I’m not really part of the family. I’m just… along for the ride. And temporarily at that. I’m just backup. None of you really know me well.”

  Heather and Ethan shared an uncertain look.

  “I don’t think that’s true,” Heather said, her words hesitant.

  “Most of you rarely see me outside of meetings at David’s home. I’ve spent more time with Cliff than with any of you. And even when I do spend downtime at David’s with the rest of you, your attention is usually focused on each other. Or on Adira. You haven’t known me long enough and don’t know me well enough to notice little alterations in my appearance or mannerisms that may be present when Gershom takes on my form.” He looked to Ethan. “Only Ethan can spot those.”

  Confusion flooded Dana. They had all been so eager to defend Aidan. Did they really not know him well enough to see the difference if someone tried to mimic him?

  “But you all know Seth,” Aidan continued. “And you all know him well. Every one of us does. We know how he speaks… when he’s angry, when he’s tired, when he’s amused or exasperated. We know his laugh. His growls of aggravation. We know how he moves. How he fights. How he reacts to just about everything. Because so many of us, upon transforming, admired him so much that we wanted to be just like him. Do you really think Gershom could convince any of us that he was Seth? Do you really think he could fool us? That we wouldn’t know the difference even without Ethan’s gift?”

  Silence descended, the music still booming in the distance like a struggling heartbeat.

  Neither Ethan nor Heather refuted his words.

  Guilt crashed down on Dana’s shoulders, so heavy she wanted to sink to her knees and weep with it.

  If she hadn’t tranqed the damned vampires…

  If she had just thought before she acted…

  “It would’ve only delayed the inevitable,” Aidan told her gently as he drew out his cell phone.

  Heather looked to her husband, tears in her eyes as Aidan dialed a number. “Ethan.”

  He shook his head. “Maybe Gershom abducted another gifted one while Aidan was with us. That’s all the proof we would need to dispute this latest evidence.”

  Unconsoled, Heather nodded and sheathed her weapons.

  “Chris,” Aidan said. “It’s Aidan. Ethan and I just fought thirteen vampires at Duke. We killed ten and tranqed three, so we could use a cleanup.”

  Dana’s stomach knotted as he narrowed down their location on campus for the network leader.

  How long would they have before Seth found out?

  Ten hours.

  Ten excruciatingly tense hours passed.

  Aidan sat with Dana on a sofa across from Ethan and Heather in the couple’s living room. Dana had pretty much glued herself to his side ever since they had returned home, not letting him out of her sight, which was fine by Aidan. Things were looking pretty grim, so he wanted to keep her as close as he could for as long as he could before whatever confrontation came.

  She was wedged in against his side so tightly now that she might as well have sat on his lap. Aidan thought she probably would have if the other couple weren’t present.

  He wished he could tell her everything would be all right. But the grave looks on Ethan’s and Heather’s faces told him they feared the same thing he did—that his long-standing friendship with Seth wouldn’t stop the Immortal Guardians’ leader from doing what he felt he had to do in order to protect the other immortals as well as the gifted ones. If that meant executing Aidan, Seth would do it.

  And Dana’s vision would come true.

  A program played on the television, but none of them watched it.

  All stiffened when Aidan’s phone vibrated on the table beside him.

  Dana’s hand tightened around his.

  Giving it a squeeze, Aidan took the call. “Yes?”

  “Aidan. It’s Chris Reordon. Are you still with Ethan?”

  “Yes. We’re at his and Heather’s home.”

  “That’s what I thought. Listen, Seth needs to see you and Ethan for a minute. He could use your help with something.”

  Ethan and Heather, who had no difficulty hearing both sides of the conversation, shared a look.

  Chris was all business, his voice lacking the dislike for Aidan that it usually carried whenever the two spoke. And nothing in his tone indicated that an ax would soon fall.

  “Sure,” Aidan said. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

  Aidan actually felt a twinge of hope. Had Seth disregarded the captured vampires’ memories after all and given Aidan the benefit of the doubt?

  “Since the sun’s up and Ethan is young, you’ll have to teleport over,” Chris went on. “We don’t want Heather to be left alone guarding Dana, so we’d like you to bring them, too.”

  “Okay.”

  “Seth is worried that you might not be infusing yourself now that Dana is with you all the time. How’s your strength? Would you like Richart to help you teleport the three of them over?”

  “Is he there with you now?” Aidan asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Then yes, I would appreciate the help.”

  “Okay. He’ll be there in a minute.”

  Aidan returned his phone to his pocket.
r />   “What is it?” Dana asked.

  “Seth wants to see me and Ethan down at network headquarters.”

  She bit her lip.

  Heather leaned forward. “Aidan, do you need blood?”

  He shook his head. “I’m at full strength.”

  Ethan shared a look with his wife. “Then why did you tell Chris you need Richart’s help?”

  “Because Richart is there with them now. If Seth is calling for my head, Heather and I will see it in Richart’s thoughts.”

  “And if you don’t?” Ethan asked.

  Aidan forced a smile. “Then Richart teleporting you two will keep me from expending unnecessary energy.” And help him remain at full strength in case Seth had not opted to disregard the vampires’ memories.

  He stood.

  Dana rose beside him, clinging to his hand and curling her other hand around his biceps.

  Ethan and Heather rose, too.

  Richart appeared just inside the front door. When he saw them, he strolled over to join them and offered Dana a smile. “You must be Dana.”

  She nodded and forced a smile but failed to erase the pensive look from her pretty face.

  “I’m Richart d’Alençon. I believe you’ve met my sister Lisette.” He extended his hand, palm up. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” When Dana placed her hand in his, Richart carried it to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

  “Nice to meet you, too.”

  Giving her a friendly smile, Richart released her hand and met Aidan’s gaze. “If you’re conserving energy, I can take all three of them but will have to make two trips.”

  Richart was only a couple of centuries old, so teleporting more than one or two people at a time was difficult for him.

  Aidan gave the young French immortal’s mind a quick scan and found nothing to indicate they were about to face Seth’s wrath.

  He glanced at Heather, whose face lit with hope. “If you take Ethan and Heather, I can take Dana.”

  Richart nodded. “Shall we go then? Seth wants us to teleport directly to Chris’s office.”

  Ethan and Heather clasped hands and moved to stand beside Richart. The French immortal touched Ethan’s shoulder, then looked to Aidan.

  Aidan glanced down at Dana and murmured, “Here we go.”

  When she gave him a silent nod, he teleported to Chris’s office.

  Richart, Ethan, and Heather appeared beside them just as Chris entered through the boardroom doorway.

  He dipped his chin in a brief nod of greeting as he set some papers on his cluttered desk. “Thanks for coming. This shouldn’t take long, then you can go back home and get some rest.”

  Well, hell. That sounded good. Had Aidan been wrong? Had Seth seen through the vampires’ bullshit memories? Could Dana’s vision of Seth trying to kill him be wrong?

  Or had they, perhaps, managed to alter the course of events so it would never come to pass?

  She had dreamed the vampires who attacked them in her home would kill both her and Aidan. But they had survived.

  Chris strode toward them and offered Dana his hand. “You must be Dana. I’m Chris Reordon, head of the East Coast division of the network that aids Immortal Guardians.”

  Dana started to take his hand but jerked her own back at the last minute. “Wait. Did you say Chris Reordon?”

  “Yes.”

  She narrowed her eyes as her brows drew down in a disapproving scowl. “Are you the asshole who keeps trying to make Aidan out to be the bad guy?”

  Ethan barked out a laugh, then caught himself.

  Aidan struggled to contain his own amusement as Heather grinned and masculine laughter floated out of the boardroom.

  Much to Aidan’s surprise, Chris took no offense.

  Smiling, Chris said, “I used to be the asshole who was trying to make Aidan out to be the bad guy. But,” he hastened to add when Dana opened her mouth, ready to verbally lambaste him, “I’m now the guy who is trying to help everyone else prove that Aidan is not the bad guy.”

  Her expression still unwelcome, Dana grudgingly shook his hand.

  Unperturbed, Chris got down to business. “Aidan, would you join us in the boardroom? Richart, you can come, too. Heather, Dana, Ethan, please make yourselves comfortable. If you need anything, my assistant is right outside that door.” He pointed.

  Aidan gently disentangled himself from Dana’s grip. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Dipping his head, he gave her a swift kiss, then followed Chris into the boardroom.

  Richart entered behind them.

  The door snicked shut.

  Seth, Zach, and a man Aidan didn’t recognize stood on the opposite side of the room.

  The third man was garbed much like Zach usually was. Black pants, black boots and nothing else. Like Zach, he apparently didn’t wear a shirt so it wouldn’t restrict the huge dark wings that peeked over the man’s shoulders.

  Fury filled Aidan. Was this Gershom? Had they caught him?

  “You son of a bitch,” Aidan growled and lunged forward.

  Richart grabbed him by the arm and struggled to hold him back.

  Seth threw up a hand and stepped in front of the Other. “This isn’t Gershom.”

  Aidan stilled. “What?”

  “This isn’t Gershom,” Seth repeated.

  Confusion filled him. “But he’s an Other.” Seth, Zach, and Gershom were the only Others who had strayed from the path.

  Weren’t they?

  “Jared has been working with us in secret for about a year now,” Seth said, moving aside so Aidan could examine the newcomer. “The Others don’t know it. Nor do most of the immortals in the area.”

  Aidan stared at the Other.

  Jared was playing both sides, pretending to walk the line with the Others while aiding the Immortal Guardians? That was pretty damned ballsy. Zach had once been tortured by the Others just for telling Seth his phone wasn’t working when the immortals in North Carolina had needed him. What the hell would the Others do if they found out Jared was actually working with them?

  “Why take the risk?” Aidan couldn’t resist asking.

  Jared’s lips turned up in a grim smile. “A prophetic vision showed me Gershom succeeding in launching Armageddon. In the vision, no one survived. Humans, gifted ones, immortals, vampires, and Others all perished.”

  Hell. Aidan looked to Seth. “Isn’t Jared being here with us dangerous?”

  “Yes,” Seth answered. “But we want to confirm something and could use his aid.”

  Confirm what? “Is this about the vampires we captured?” May as well put it right out there.

  Seth shook his head. “They’re being held at another location. I haven’t had a chance to see them yet.”

  Damn. There went the hope that Seth had read their minds and seen past the bullshit.

  “This is about the surveillance videos,” Seth explained.

  “The ones that showed my doppelgänger with the gifted ones?”

  “Yes. I’d like to try something.”

  As Aidan watched, Seth’s shape changed.

  Zach and Jared’s forms shifted as well.

  When the three finished transforming, Aidan smiled.

  Maybe all hope wasn’t lost.

  Ethan watched Dana’s knee bob up and down, her teeth nibble her lower lip, and wished he could reassure her, but he felt as anxious as she looked.

  She sat in one of the chairs by Chris’s desk.

  Ethan and Heather shared a nearby sofa that was so long Ethan guessed Chris probably slept on it on occasion.

  The door to the boardroom opened.

  Chris leaned out. “Ethan, will you join us?”

  Ethan squeezed Heather’s hand, then rose and crossed to the boardroom.

  Richart stood just inside, arms crossed, a look of amusement on his face.

  Chris closed the door.

  Somewhat reassured by Richart’s relaxed demeanor, Ethan glanced around.

  Aidan stood at the other end of t
he room, beyond the long oak table, staring back.

  Ethan took in the figures to either side of him.

  Four Aidans stared back, to be precise.

  “Okay,” he said, eyeing the quadruplets, “this is weird.”

  Richart laughed.

  “All right,” Chris said. “Let’s do this.”

  Ethan looked from Chris to the Aidans. “Do what?”

  Chris motioned to the Scottish immortals. “Can you tell which one is the real Aidan?”

  “Yeah.” Ethan pointed. “That one. Second from the left.”

  The other three swore.

  Ethan didn’t ask if he was right. He already knew it.

  Chris gaped at him. “How did you know that? And so quickly? You didn’t even hear them talk.”

  Ethan shrugged. “I didn’t have to. There are little things, like—”

  “Don’t tell us,” the Aidan on the far right cut him off in what Ethan thought was an impressively close imitation of Aidan’s brogue. “We have to figure it out ourselves.”

  “Hey, not bad,” Ethan said. “You sound a lot like him, Seth.”

  Seth swore. “Turn your back.”

  Laughing, Ethan did so.

  This was good. This was very good. If Seth had seen the vampires’ memories, they clearly hadn’t fooled him.

  Seth wanted Aidan to be innocent.

  This was definitely good.

  Aidan stood still while Seth, Zach, and Jared—all of whom had shape-shifted into mirror images of him—walked around him in slow circles, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

  Minutes passed.

  “Frown,” one of his look-alikes ordered.

  He did so.

  “Smile,” another commanded.

  He did.

  “Squint your eyes,” the third said.

  It was like taking orders from himself.

  He’d seen his own reflection in calm waters, looking glasses, and mirrors for millennia, yet even he thought they all looked exactly like him. Sounded like him, too.

  Aidan cleared his throat. “I have to say I agree with Ethan. This is weird.”

  Ethan laughed, his back still to them. And Aidan could hear relief in his laugh, so Ethan must be thinking the same thing he was: this was good.

  Aidan’s three carbon copies lined up again.