Blackbird Broken (The Witch King's Crown Book 2)

by Keri Arthur

  “It’s not another fucking hecatomb, is it?”

  “No, it’s even worse.”

  “I didn’t know anything could be worse.”

  “Of course there can be; a hecatomb—while gruesome—is little more than an information exchange point. It hasn’t the capacity in and of itself to alter the fabric of the world in any way.”

  My gaze returned to the stairs disappearing into darkness. I really didn’t want to go down there, but I wasn’t about to let Mo venture on alone, especially if what lay in wait was worse than a hecatomb.

  “And that’s what we’re dealing with here?” I asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” she replied heavily, “because what lies down there somewhere is a goddamn dark altar.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Confusion stirred through the fear. “But they’re not usually associated with Darkside.”

  “Darkside has witches working with them, remember.”

  How could I forget, when Max was one of them? I pushed away the ache of betrayal and pain; there was nothing I could do about him right now, and it was far better to concentrate on the problem in the cellar than worry about the confrontation that was coming.

  The rising air smelled of earth and dampness, but as I drew in a deeper breath, I caught something else—energy. It was sharp and crisp, reminding me a little of the electric scent that came before the onset of a storm. I suddenly understood why she’d claimed this was far more dangerous than a hecatomb.

  “They’ve tapped the altar into the ley line.”

  “Yes, and we need to detach it before it’s forever stained. I think it best if—”

  “Forget it. You’re not going down there alone.”

  “Gwen, it is the sensible thing—”

  “And how do you work that out?” I cut in. “You can’t protect yourself when you’re spelling, and this may well be a trap.”

  “I doubt it. They wouldn’t risk an altar in order to trap and kill us. We’re not worth that much to them.”

  “If we weren’t worth much, they wouldn’t be trying to kill us all the goddamn time,” I said. “Why don’t you contact Barney and let him know what we’re doing. I’ll go down and check out the cellar. Wait up here until I give the all clear.”

  A smile touched her lips, and her eyes shone. My gaze narrowed. “What?”

  “Nothing. Go.” She touched the two-way. “Barney? You there?”

  I gave her an annoyed look but nevertheless headed down, one hand on the old brick wall and the other holding Nex out in front of me. Despite her light, the darkness closed in, deep and thick. The smell of dampness grew stronger, but the caress of energy remained distant. That suggested the dark altar wasn’t directly under this house.

  I paused on the bottom step and held Nex higher. Her light fanned out, revealing a small, bricked room no bigger than the kitchen above. The wall to my left was covered in a rusty assortment of hammers, screwdrivers, saws, and other bits and pieces. There were also at least a dozen dust-covered wine bottles lying on a rack directly ahead. At the other end of the cellar, an opening had been roughly cut into the wall. The tunnel beyond was narrow and dark, and the strength of the breeze flowing out of it suggested there was an external opening somewhere.

  One thing there wasn’t here in the cellar was a dark altar, and that meant we’d be tackling that small, damp tunnel.

  I took a deep breath, then, as Mo started down, shifted Nex to illuminate the stairs.

  “Discover anything?” she said.

  “A tunnel. How far away is the ley line?”

  “A few hundred feet at the very least.”

  I frowned. “Why would they make the main entrance to their altar so far away? There’d surely be houses far closer to it than this.”

  “Undoubtedly,” Mo said, voice grim. “But perhaps it simply came down to the point that there was a greater chance of the occupants in the other houses being missed.”

  My gaze returned to the tunnel. “There’s no magic protecting the entrance.”

  She stopped beside me. “There’s definitely magic somewhere deeper in, though.”

  “Could it be shoring up the passage? The thing doesn’t look particularly safe from here.”

  “It feels reactive rather than protective, but without getting closer, I can’t say for sure.”

  “Great,” I muttered. I drew Vita and felt a little bit safer with the weight of both daggers in my hands.

  The narrowness of the tunnel meant having to slide in sideways, but even then, it was tight. Moving with any sort of speed was impossible; defensively, the position sucked.

  Thankfully, Nex’s pulse didn’t alter; there might be Darksiders down here, but they were still some distance away.

  Progress was slow but steady. As the tunnel began to slope downward, the caress of the ley line’s energy grew stronger and the air decidedly hotter.

  I swiped at the sweat trickling down my face. “It feels like there’s a damn furnace up ahead.”

  “That’s because we’re getting closer to the ley line.”

  I glanced at her. In Nex’s pale light, the golden rings around the blue of her eyes glowed so brightly, it put the rest of her face into shadows. It was an eerie sight. “I wasn’t aware the ley lines held heat. It certainly wasn’t mentioned in any of the books I’ve read about them.”

  “That’s because most witches use the lines at a surface level. Very few go underground.”

  “Then why do dark witches? Is it just a matter of being safer?”

  “No. It’s easier to tap directly into the energy of the lines from underground. Of course, with that ease comes greater danger.”

  “Because of the closeness?”

  “Because to fully tap into a line—as most dark altars do—you must first step into its flow. The unprepared can be washed away.”

  Unease stirred. “Does that mean you’ll have to step into the flow to disentangle it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you done it before?”

  “Once. It was a most unpleasant experience, I can tell you.”

  Given her habit of understating dangers when she was tackling them, that no doubt meant she’d come close to losing her life. “And is the flow ahead stronger or weaker than that one?”

  “It’s about the same.” There was a smile in her voice, even if I couldn’t see it. “Stop worrying. It’ll be fine.”

  “You keep saying that, and half the time it never is.”

  She chuckled softly. “You really do have your father’s pessimistic streak. He was always worrying about things and situations he couldn’t control.”

  Which only made me wonder if he’d worried about the trip that had killed both him and my mother. I didn’t ask, because I really didn’t want to know. The sad fact was, most of my memories of my mom came from when she was dying in the hospital; I didn’t even have that much of my father.

  The tunnel eventually widened enough to allow us to walk normally, though we remained in single file. The damp smell of earth got stronger, and from somewhere up ahead came a steady dripping sound. Water now seeped down the walls and the floor was slick with moisture.

  Then, from not too far up ahead, came a soft shimmer.

  The threads of magic.

  I stopped abruptly. Mo stepped to one side and peered over my shoulder.

  “It’s a perimeter alarm,” she said eventually. “I might be able to divert it—it’d be safer than disconnecting.”

  Because disconnecting the spell was likely to have the same result as tripping the damn thing. I swung sideways and sucked in a breath, giving her the room to slip past. Once she had, I raised Nex to provide light. The last thing I needed was her slipping and breaking her leg again.

  The perimeter alarm was a fairly simple spell, and it didn’t take Mo long to tuck the lower strings into the upper, allowing us room to duck through it without disturbing or tripping the spell.

  After a dozen or so more steps, the tunnel
opened into a surprisingly large cavern. The water tumbling past our feet ran down a stony incline into a wide, shallow pool that covered most of the cavern’s floor. In the middle of this was a long, darkly stained stone table. Sitting in a shallow basin in the middle of the table was a dark, oily-looking liquid. A long copper rod rose from this, and cut deep into the line of energy that flowed through the middle of the cavern

  The ley line was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. At first it appeared to hold no color, and yet the longer you stared at it, the more beautiful it became. It was a rainbow of perfection, a pulse point of immeasurable power, an artery that belonged to the earth itself.

  And a goddamn dark altar was feeding off it.

  I gripped Nex tightly and fought the urge to send a blast of lightning at the table to smash its grip on the ley line. I had no idea how dangerous that would be, and suspected it’d be better not to find out the hard way.

  I drew in a calming breath and looked beyond the rainbow river. The cavern was oval in shape and, at first glance, didn’t appear to have a second exit. It wasn’t until I spotted shallow stairs cut into the side of the wall to our right that I saw it partially hidden behind an outcrop of rock on a ledge about halfway up the wall opposite where we stood.

  I returned my gaze to the altar. “How long will it take to disconnect that thing?”

  “Anything between ten minutes and half an hour.” She grimaced. “Unfortunately, the minute I start disentangling it, they’ll know.”

  “Then let’s pray for the shorter disconnection time over the longer.” I pointed Nex at the ledge. “I’ll contact Barney, then wait up there for the bastards.”

  Mo nodded. “Be prepared for a major attack.”

  My gut twisted at the thought of facing them alone, but I nevertheless smiled and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Don’t get washed away by those currents.”

  “That may one day be my fate, but today isn’t that day.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief and an odd sense of knowing. “I’ve got a queen to see crowned, a dark enemy to defeat, and Blackbird grandbairns to help raise first.”

  “We haven’t even had sex yet, and here you are anticipating grandchildren.”

  “Because fate will not be denied.”

  “She has been for multiple centuries—why should that all change now?”

  “Because timelines are converging. What was destined will now come to pass.”

  “I hate it when you talk shit like that.”

  She laughed and began taking off her shoes. I walked over to the rough-cut stairs and, as I climbed, activated the two-way. “Barney, you there?”

  “Sure am—what’s happening? Where’s Mo?”

  “We’ve found a dark altar connected to the ley line in a cavern under the house. Mo’s about to disconnect it, and the shit is likely to hit the fan. Can you warn me the minute there’s any sort of unusual activity up there?”

  “Sure will. Is there only one way in and out of the cavern?”

  “No—there’s a second tunnel, though I’m not leaving Mo alone to investigate it.”

  “In what direction does it run?”

  “I have no fucking idea.”

  “Use the compass on your phone.” His tone was that of a teacher talking to a not-too-bright pupil.

  “Oh.” I dragged it out and opened the app. “Okay, it’s saying we’re northeast. Why?”

  “I’ll get our earth witch to suss it out. If she can find the tunnel’s other end, she might be able to seal it.”

  “Why not just collapse the whole thing?”

  “Because we’re in the middle of a large housing estate. The last thing we need is a tunnel collapse taking out a house or two. Tell Mo to be careful.”

  “I will.”

  I signed off and glanced across at her. “Barney sends his love.”

  “He did not.”

  I grinned. “Well, maybe not in so many words, but that’s what he meant.”

  “Get your lying bones over to that ledge and keep sharp.”

  I laughed and bounded up the remaining steps. The tunnel half hidden by the outcrop of rock was a lot wider than the house tunnel, and certainly looked better built. It also didn’t have anywhere near the amount of water leaching from the walls, though the taint of earth and moisture still hung heavily on the gently stirring air. That breeze at least meant I’d smell the demons before I ever saw them—though Nex and Vita would no doubt ‘see’ them far earlier than even that.

  I moved back several feet, then leaned against the cavern wall. While it was unlikely they’d attack from the house tunnel, we couldn’t afford to take any chances. If I lost Mo now, I wasn’t sure what I’d do, or how I’d even recover …

  I swallowed heavily. Given what she’d said about being swept away, she obviously had a good idea as to when death would finally claim her. Unexpected accidents could happen, of course—my parents were proof of that—but that just meant I had to remain a little more alert.

  Mo had stopped a couple of feet short of the ley line. After taking a deep breath, she flung her arms wide, as if in welcome, and stepped into its river. It flared so brightly in response that I had to raise a hand to protect my eyes. For several long minutes, there was no sign of Mo; the light had completely engulfed her. When it finally faded and she reappeared, she was without clothes. Her silvery hair was unbound and flowing around her like a cape, totally ignoring the laws of physics and the directional flow of the energy. Her skin, like her eyes, glowed as brightly as the force through which she now waded, giving her the appearance of otherworldliness. Of godliness.

  I shivered, both awed and frightened by the sight. But I now knew what she’d meant when she’d said it would be easy to be swept away by the power; she hadn’t meant by the strength of the energy flow itself, as much as the fact that it literally passed through her. By entering that stream, she’d become something more than mere flesh.

  But as her hands came down on the altar, a scream rent the air, distant and angry.

  They knew. They were coming.

  And if the number of footsteps echoing through the air were anything to go by, there wasn’t just one or two but twenty or more. And that suggested there was a gateway down there somewhere.

  If there was, we were in deep trouble …

  I stepped away from the wall, Nex and Vita held at the ready. As the scent of ash and evil grew stronger, the daggers reacted. Their blades glowed, and sharp whips of lightning snapped through the air; they were ready and eager to fight.

  All I wanted to do was run.

  I shifted my feet to strengthen my stance. Closer and closer the demons drew, until all I could smell was their wretched scent and all I could hear was the pounding of their feet.

  A lone demon shot out of the entrance. He was obviously a scout, because his gaze swept the area before coming to a halt on me. He screamed something to the unseen multitudes behind him, then attacked. I unleashed the lightning, and he was ash in an instant. So were the six who immediately followed.

  But there were many more deeper still in the tunnel.

  I stepped closer to the entrance and speared the lightning inside. A thick wave of ash rolled out, momentarily cutting visibility but not sound. The demons still screamed, but their steps had momentarily stopped. I pulled back the lightning, sucked in a breath, and glanced across to Mo. Light flickered from her fingers and spun up the copper pole, though I didn’t immediately understand what she was—

  A scrape had my gaze snapping back to the tunnel. A red demon flew out into the cavern, moving so fast, his wings were a blur. I backpedaled and raised Nex, slicing across the claws reaching for me even as I sent a weave of deadly light spinning from Vita. He flicked his wings and soared up and over the net; it continued on, ashing those behind him, sending a thick cloud of black dust into the air. The red demon did a sharp roll through it and slashed at me with wickedly barbed feet. I ducked away, but not fast enough. His claws scoured my back, slicing through coat, swea
ter, and skin. A scream of pain leapt up my throat, but I somehow held it in check, not wanting to frighten Mo. I leapt upward with Nex, stabbing the red bastard deep in the crotch before twisting the blade sideways, cutting through his genitals and leg with equal ease. As his blood sprayed through the air, I twisted around and unleashed more lightning at those in the cavern. Their screams were abruptly cut short.

  But the red demon wasn’t finished yet. He swooped low, coming in fast, his eyes afire with determination and his blood a black stream behind him. I raised Vita; another net of energy formed in front of me as I readied for impact. The red demon hit it hard enough to force me back several feet. One foot hit the cavern wall, and I braced against it as the net consumed the demon. Not even ash remained.

  As Vita’s energy drew back to her blade, an arrow of utter agony shot through my head. It was a warning I had no choice but to ignore. I sucked in several breaths that did little to ease the fire in my brain and glanced again at Mo. Her magic still spun up the copper probe, and though its point now seemed lower than before, it remained attached to the ley line.

  No resting just yet, then …

  The two-way squawked in my ear, making me jump. “Gwen?” Barney said, voice urgent. “You there?”

  “Yep. What’s wrong?”

  “We’re under attack. At least six people got inside the house—”

  “How the hell did that happen?”

  “Long story short, they hit with magic and muscle from several angles. You’ve probably got a couple of minutes, if that, before the six are on you. We’ve stopped the rest.”

  “Good.” I hesitated. “Anyone hurt?”

  “One of the councilors is down, but other than that, no. The ribbons are still active though—Luc attempted to get in after them and was attacked. He’s burned but fine.”

  Burned didn’t equate with fine in my opinion. I ignored the flood of concern and then glanced sharply at the nearby tunnel. While there was no immediate indication of another wave of demons, something was coming. Something that had dread crawling down my bleeding spine …

  “Gotta go,” I said. “Please don’t let anything else in.”