Dark Awakened (The Devil's Assistant Book 2)

by HD Smith

  “Raven, the Name Caller, has them. She doesn’t know where Cinnamon and the twins are yet, but I’m sure she’ll figure it out soon enough. I must save Thanos and stop Raven. To do that, you must let me go, before it’s too late.”

  “I want your word that you’ll save all my children.”

  “I can’t agree to that. Thanos I will promise to save, but not the others.”

  She scowled at me, pushing the blade in closer.

  “I won’t leave them trapped, but I won’t risk my life for them either. If I’m able to neutralize Raven, then anyone left standing is free to go—until Mab tracks them down of course. They have their blood back, they’re on their own.”

  She narrowed her eyes. Without warning she placed her hand on my chest. Her white hot touch burned as she chanted in Ancient. I could sense her probing my thoughts and feelings, touching my soul where Thanos and I were connected. The power at my core started building.

  “Enough!” I screamed, pushing her off me.

  She stumbled back, shocked by my strength. “What are you?”

  I rubbed the spot where her hand had been. “Next time you should just ask,” I snapped. “I don’t appreciate having my heart checked.”

  “You’re not human.”

  I laughed. “That ship sailed a long time ago.”

  “What, then?” she spat.

  Wisps of power flared and a wave of energy flowed off me. The connection to my body was starting to bleed power into this place. I hadn’t been able to feel it before, but now the churn that roiled in my core was back. I had to calm down and contain it, or I might destroy myself and Gizelle before I convinced her to let me go. I reached for the pendant at my neck, but it wasn’t there. I took several deep breaths and tried to shake off the energy. The pendant was with my body, and I had to trust it would do its job from there.

  Gizelle licked her lips as if she could taste my aura. Gasping, she dropped to one knee. “My queen.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Are you freaking kidding me? Get up,” I said, “I’m not Jayne.”

  She stood, eying me. “You have the power. I can taste it on the wind. I can feel it”—she put her hand over her heart—“here.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “I felt the call. My distant relatives were of the fallen, but things are not settled yet. I must stay here.” She paused as if considering her words. “I am Chimera, my queen. No matter my situation, my heart belongs to the Fallen realm.”

  “Chimera are from the fourth realm?” I asked, trying to understand what she meant.

  “Without a doubt. We may appear pagan now, but our allegiance will always be with you.”

  Whatever. It would take more than flowery words to convince me she was loyal to anyone but herself.

  “You don’t know how to walk through time, do you?” I asked. Omar’s strategy had paid off, but as usual he hadn’t given me all the information. I’d moved my body here out of necessity, which, I’m sure, was exactly what he planned. Gizelle’s warning about him came to mind, but I was the one that needed a way to Purgatory. I suppose there could have been another way, but what was his gain by having me see Gizelle? “I have to go,” I said, considering what my next move should be.

  She laughed, crossing her arms over her chest. “You must promise to save my children first.”

  “You have no idea what you’re asking. I can’t be worried about them. They have their blood back, they’re on their own.”

  “No, I want your word,” she said.

  I tried again to will myself out of this place. She just stared at me.

  “Fine,” I said, “you want my word, you have it. Now let me go.” How the hell I’d save them all was beyond me, but being trapped here—as I was before in the Deeps—for an unknown length of time wasn’t my idea of fun. I’d eventually relent and promise, no matter how bad my odds were.

  “You must save them from Mab as well,” she clarified.

  “Oh, hell no. I can’t promise that. I’m going to be lucky if I can keep them from killing me while I’m worried about not killing them. They have to deal with Mab on their own.”

  “I want your word that you will save them, from death and Mab. I will keep you trapped here until you agree.”

  She straightened her spine. She wasn’t going to budge.

  “And if I fail?” I asked.

  “You die.”

  Of course I would. “This is an impossible task and you know it,” I argued.

  “You seem resourceful,” she replied. “You will not fail.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “I have but one gift. Do you wish to know what it is?”

  I stared—was she serious? “Fine, sure, what is it?”

  “I can see the fate of my children. I know what must be done to save them. That is why you were taken to the estate, and why you must promise me before I can let you go.”

  “You’ve seen me save them?” I asked.

  “No, but I know that getting your word is required, just as I knew that you would save Thanos if you were taken to the castle.”

  “So was returning the quads’ blood a happy accident, or did you know that would happen too?”

  “I do what must be done.”

  “Thanos was trapped in the fourth realm for five hundred years,” I said. “Do you actually expect me to believe that you knew five hundred years ago that I needed to be taken to the castle to save him? Why not just go and get him if you knew where he was?”

  Her jaw clenched. “It’s not that simple. Events must align and I do not see the outcome until the prerequisites are met,” she said.

  “Are you kidding me? What was step one, marry The Boss and have the quads?” This was ridiculous. She couldn’t actually expect me to believe she’d been orchestrating Thanos’s rescue for five hundred years.

  “No,” she said smugly, “Step one was for my brother to kill himself so that I could be born.”

  I stared at her wide-eyed. This was impossible to believe. I knew Thanos’s father was dead, because Gizelle lived, but to actually understand that his father deliberately killed himself so that Gizelle would emerge to take the next step to saving Thanos was just hard to wrap my head around. No wonder Cinnamon hadn’t wanted to explain. I wonder if this was why Omar hadn’t tried either. It was so crazy. Who would actually believe it?

  What else had she done to bring me to the castle? Had she controlled other things in my life? “I think Omar was mistaken when he described you as clever and cunning. I don’t think those two words are strong enough for what you are.”

  She shrugged. “I’m a mother. My children will survive.”

  “Did you give me Jayne’s blood?” I asked, needing to know exactly how far reaching her manipulations were. “Did you make me what I am?” Was she the reason my life had been such hell?

  Holding her head up, she said, “Your fate is not controlled by me. I simply used the most likely candidate.”

  “Most likely candidate?”

  “Yes, Claire, the most likely to win. The others don’t have the same odds.”

  “The Name Caller—”

  “Stole him in the first place,” she interrupted.

  “And the others?”

  “Weren’t put in my path. You were the best choice, and it worked.”

  “Except they aren’t safe—they’re trapped by Raven,” I said.

  “And now my intuition tells me I need your word.”

  I wanted to hit something. She had Ronin take me to the quads so I’d reawaken the realm and save her son. Now I was stuck in this hell with no obvious way out unless I gave her my word. I sighed. It wasn’t like the mission was any less impossible before.

  “You have my word. I will save the quads from death and Mab.”

  She looked away for a moment, then nodded at me. She placed her hand on my arm. “You may go now.”

  An electric charge bristled across my skin where she touched me. It left a faint heaviness as if
her touch lingered. I rubbed my arm, but the sensation remained.

  “Do I save them?” I asked, remembering she implied she would know the outcome after the prerequisites were met. Getting my word was the prerequisite in this case.

  “Go,” she commanded, pushing me away.

  I gasped, stumbling away from her physical body. Just like that I was back in Mab’s castle. Gizelle was floating in front of me. I winced as a sharp pain flared just below my sleeve. The place where Gizelle touched me now throbbed as if I’d been branded. What the hell had she done to me?

  Looking down I realized I was still in the toga. I thought of my favorite jeans and t-shirt, redressing instantly. I was feeling a bit like a two trick pony—magically change clothes, check, jump my body across vast distances, check. Now, if only I knew how to defeat a psychopathic teenager with at least two uber-powerful bodyguards that weren’t allowed to die. Oh, and maybe how to control the supernova at my core without destroying any major cities in the process.

  I looked at my wrist. At least two hours had passed.

  I grasped the pendant at my neck. It was cool to the touch and helped calm the rage of energy at my core. The buildup cycle continued as I sensed the excess power sluice off.

  I considered my next move. I could go back to Omar and discuss options, or pop over to the castle and try to get Cinnamon and the twins out. Of course, Omar’s goal was protecting the realm—I’m not sure he really cared who held the queen’s title, which meant he might lead me down a path that ended in the realm’s survival, but left me a casualty of the war.

  I decided not to take that chance.

  I closed my eyes and located Thanos’s line. As before I instantly slipped to his location. Unfortunately, so did my body.

  I stood there frozen in the ballroom, staring at Raven, her eyes wide with shock. The door behind me opened, and someone—Mary I think—yelped as if surprised by my sudden appearance. The servant dropped a tray of something, which clanged loudly, bringing everyone out of their stupor.

  “Kill her,” Raven commanded.

  I released my hold on the pendant, which sent my power into protective mode. Regrettably that was a very unstable state for me and everyone else in my vicinity. Raven’s expression was smug as she eyed her two protectors. After watching my battle with the curator, she probably hadn’t expected much from me in a fight, but she was about to have a rude awakening.

  I tried to hold the surge back, but the force inside me kept building. A crackle of energy sounded, sending pulses over my entire body. Raven’s mouth dropped open as wisps of energy coalesced in my palms.

  “Protect me,” she yelled.

  Thanos and Mace moved in front of her, which meant the hellfire I was building couldn’t be thrown in her direction. With no better option, I threw my hands out to the sides. The hellfire ripped through the ballroom walls, leaving a swath of charred destruction in its wake.

  Gizelle’s brand thrummed with pain as the energy readied itself for another strike. Was her mark a reminder to protect the quads? Either way I had to get out of here before I killed one of them. Closing my fists into a tight ball, I extinguished the orbs, which wouldn’t keep the power at bay long.

  Slipping the line and physically trying to move my body wasn’t something I could do quickly. If I was somewhere else and needed to get back to Thanos, our bond would make that easy. I’d slipped the line to his location almost instantly. But trying to control it, and concentrate while also avoiding attacks from Thanos and Mace, wasn’t something I could manage without a bit more control and practice.

  So I ran.

  Chapter 33

  Getting out of the castle wasn’t the hard part. There’d only been three servants before and if they were now under Raven’s control I assumed she’d need to give them the command to chase, or they’d just ignore me. Her zombies weren’t the brightest bunch, just deadly when directed. I knew she’d correct that oversight soon so I had to hurry.

  I made it into town before I saw anyone else. I ducked between two of the buildings, crouching down to catch my breath. I heard commotion coming from the castle, which probably meant Raven had just given the command to find me. I had no idea what her range was, but it was best to assume anyone in town was under her control.

  I needed a place to hide.

  Thinking back to how the town had looked when I arrived, and comparing that image of closed businesses to the buildings I could see on the other side of the street, I knew that the building on my right had been closed and boarded up. I made my way to the back. I tried the door, but it was locked. There was a small boarded up window, but there was no way I’d fit through it. I shook my hand, trying to sluice off some of the building power. I shook it again, as if the power was being stubborn—as if it were trying to collect in my hand. Unlike before, however, the energy wasn’t coalescing into hellfire. It was just waiting, as if it knew I needed to use it.

  I reached out for the doorknob. Tiny sparks danced at my fingertips, as if waiting to be unleashed. I grabbed the knob, but nothing happened. “Open,” I said, remembering how the power word had worked in the museum. I heard a click and the knob turned in my hand. Not overthinking it, I darted inside.

  I relocked the door and made my way to the front of the store. I wouldn’t be able to stay here long, but I needed time to think and consider my options.

  The room was dark. Dust motes swirled in the slivers of light that streamed in through the slats covering the boarded up windows. Based on the layout I was sure this place had once been a small grocery or convenience store. A few wrappers and debris were scattered on the floor. Two metal shelves ran the length of the room. A single dented can of beans was the only thing left. The rodents had picked this place clean long ago.

  I peered through a small gap between two of the wooden planks. Mary was running down the street—eyes black. She stopped to speak with everyone she saw, which was now a lot more people than had been out early. It was as if the whole town had been called to action—presumably under Raven’s control—which meant I needed a plan, and fast.

  I did a double take as a man on a horse stopped to speak with Mary. For a second I thought it was Ronin, but fortunately it wasn’t. The thought of him being trapped by Raven made my heart skip a beat. At least Mab hadn’t gone back on her word yet, because anyone she sent would just be a problem for me. Raven would trap them and I’d have another powerful player to deal with. I had to warn Ronin to stay away. I couldn’t take the risk that his ability to hide would keep him safe from her control, and if she got her hands on him, I was screwed.

  I checked my wrist. T-minus nine hours and thirty minutes. Time was running out, but I had to warn Ronin—and maybe he could give me advice on how to control the power. Or hell, maybe he could just order me to control it—would that work? Somehow I doubted it would be that simple.

  There wasn’t much more to the store than a one-room shop, but there was a storeroom and a small broom closet. The storeroom was where the small window in the back led. I didn’t want to get spotted while I figured out how to find Ronin, so I opted for the cramped broom closet.

  I closed my eyes and thought of Ronin. Jumping to anyone’s location without first seeing where I’d land was dangerous, and the lack of control to stop it was worse. I focused on Ronin and slipped my presence down the line that formed between us, being careful not to let my body follow. As with Thanos there was already a line of sorts connecting Ronin and I. Unlike my line to Thanos, which was so fixed I’d instantly materialized with my body in tow, my physical form wasn’t immediately whisked down the line to Ronin’s location. I was able to send my presence ahead first.

  I was surprised to find myself back at the museum. Ronin shouldn’t have been able to enter the grounds, but he wasn’t the only one. Quaid was here too. They each positioned to the side as the big three stood in the center of the room arguing.

  I stayed still for a moment, half expecting Mab to look in my direction. Then I rememb
ered there was something about the museum that didn’t let her sense my presence. She hadn’t sensed me earlier as I’d watched her through the illusion of Raven’s glass prison, so I had no reason to think she’d sense me now. I turned my attention back to the group.

  Everyone was in the room where Raven had been kept for five hundred years. The only thing remaining was the settee, but no one was using it.

  Ronin and Quaid watched as the royals bickered.

  “The girl should be dead,” Harry yelled, pointing at Mab. “You were supposed to handle it years ago.”

  “We’re all in danger now,” The Boss added.

  “It was your favorite that let her out,” Mab spat back at The Boss.

  “There should have been no one here to let escape,” Harry said, throwing his hands out, gesturing to the room.

  My attention snapped to the side as Ronin left his post and started toward me.

  Can he sense me?

  I was about to open my eyes and blink away when I saw him make a small downward gesture with his hand. I decided that meant for me to stay where I was, so I waited.

  He slowed as he approached me. He looked down the corridor I was standing in, as if he were just making sure everything was okay. Pausing, he said, “Be at the Wild Hare two hours ago, lass, but don’t leave yet.”

  It wasn’t until he continued on around that I realized no one else gave any indication that they’d heard him. He’d repositioned himself closer to Mab. Ronin stood at parade rest, as if guarding her. Mab’s eyes fixed on him for a brief moment before returning to the others, but that was it, I was sure she hadn’t heard him say anything.

  Considering Ronin’s words I realized he wanted me to meet him in the past before this meeting, which meant I must have already spoken to him. But I couldn’t leave yet—Ronin wanted me to hear something.

  Harry crossed his arms over his chest, scowling. He was more agitated than I’d ever seen him.