Darkness Shatters: Book 5 (Sensor Series)

by Susan Illene

  He put the key into the lock. As he was turning it a loud thump came from behind him.

  “That was not in the slightest bit funny,” Kerbasi said.

  Lucas turned. The guardian looked like he’d taken a severe beating. His clothes were torn to shreds and his skin had multiple lacerations. Blood covered his face, but it didn’t hide his broken nose. Lucas hadn’t considered while driving that Kerbasi would have to be following them—whether he wanted to or not. Who knew how many of the tall Alaskan trees the guardian had slammed into along the way? The thought of it almost made him feel better.

  “You might want to go to your shack for now,” Melena said, giving Kerbasi a warning look.

  “Unless he’d like a few more broken bones,” Lucas added.

  The guardian took one look at his thunderous expression and headed around back. For once, the man had used some common sense. Lucas needed little incentive to attack Kerbasi at the moment.

  They went inside the house and began switching on the lights. For the second time, he noted the empty feeling of the place. “Where’s Sable?”

  “At Cori’s,” Melena replied.

  Her tone was low and cautious and she stood in a defensive stance. Damn the woman for showing fear of him. It only made him angrier at Yerik and Micah for putting her in this position.

  Lucas stepped closer to her and put a hand up to cup her jaw. “I’ve told you before I will not hurt you—for any reason. I do not want to see this look in your eyes again.”

  “You can’t see yourself right now.” Her blue eyes gazed up at him. “But it’s not you physically hurting me that I’m worried about. It’s the words you might say that you can never take back. Ones that could break me in ways kicks and punches never could.”

  That explained her silence during their drive. She was right to fear he’d say something he’d regret. It was also the reason he’d refrained from speaking until now.

  He ran his thumb across her cheek. “Tell me why they’re doing this. What could be so important that they’d risk everything to get it.”

  Melena opened her mouth, then flinched. He glanced down and caught her flexing her hand. Even now, the vow still held her.

  “How can we get rid of that?” he asked.

  “I’ll need to…” She made a sound of frustration. “Just give me a moment.”

  Melena pulled a small iridescent stone from her pocket and closed her eyes, mouthing something silently. Lucas had no idea what she was doing, but he waited patiently for her to finish. A minute later she opened her eyes and looked around.

  “Damn her. She better show up,” Melena muttered.

  He started pacing the room. All this time she’d had a way to call on an archangel. That had to be the purpose of the stone based on Melena’s softly spoken words. Several minutes passed. He was about to give up, but then a familiar flash of light appeared.

  The archangel Ariel stood before them wearing a flowing robe and a crown of brown hair braided around her head. While she was one of the more tolerable archangels, she’d always appeared rather imperious before. Now she almost looked like a frightened animal.

  She turned to Melena. “This is the last time I can visit you.”

  “I know.” The sensor dipped her chin.

  “Give me your hand and I’ll free you from your vow.”

  Melena stretched out her palm. The archangel took it and began working some strange magic over the skin. Blue sparks shot out of it. The sensor winced, but she didn’t try to take her hand back. A minute later the process ended.

  “You are free of it now. I must break your armband next.”

  “But Lucas doesn’t want us to go,” Melena said, rubbing the sleeve of her jacket where the armband would be.

  The archangel narrowed her eyes at him. “I did not risk everything for you to ruin it now.”

  “And I will not risk my freedom or Melena’s on a foolish plan that will never succeed,” he replied in a cold voice.

  She looked at Melena. “He has no idea what is at stake, does he?”

  “I couldn’t exactly explain, could I?” The sensor crossed her arms.

  Ariel took a step closer to Lucas. “Yerik has a son he wishes to free before his mate dies.”

  “I don’t care,” he replied.

  “Perhaps not, but do you care that you have a niece in Purgatory as well? She’s been trapped there for over six hundred years. It is your brother’s wish to free his daughter no matter the cost.”

  Lucas looked to Melena for confirmation. She nodded.

  “Why would he not tell me this?” he demanded.

  She took a step toward him. “Because you’ve always hated sensors and he didn’t think you’d understand. By the time you fell for me he’d thought it was too late to say anything.”

  He could feel his eyes blazing gold. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked in a calm voice.

  “I would have listened if he told me.”

  “Then will you help him rescue her?” Melena looked hopeful.

  He shook his head. “No. The risk is too great.”

  “We wouldn’t be telling you now if we didn’t think there was a chance it would work,” Ariel said. “This is the one opportunity we have to prove the nerou would be an asset on Earth, but only if you are willing to help.”

  “Why wasn’t I informed of all this sooner?” That was what bothered him the most.

  Melena’s eyes filled with sympathy. “Remiel is always watching you. It’s only now that he’s too busy to pay attention that we can finally tell you.”

  “I suppose you have a strategy for how to get in.” He gave her a critical look.

  It wasn’t that he intended to go along with anything, but he wanted to hear what sort of plan they’d devised. It had to be good if they were willing to take so many risks.

  “Well, the first step is to get this armband off of Melena and drug the guardian so she can leave him behind,” the archangel glanced at the sensor. “Then I will give you the location of the portal, but you will only have the next five hours to reach it.”

  It was then Lucas remembered Yerik saying he could open portals. The daimoun must not have had a way to locate them, or he likely would have gone there before now.

  “And weaponry?” Lucas lifted a brow.

  “Yerik’s got all my favorite stuff waiting for us,” Melena promised.

  “Is this what you truly want?”

  Because her wishes were the most important thing to him, even more than the niece he’d never met—though he felt a strong urge to rescue her now that he knew she existed.

  Melena came up and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m not looking to have children right now, but someday it could happen. I don’t want to face the idea of losing them. This is our chance to fix the problem before we have to be the ones facing it.”

  He tangled his fingers in her hair and studied her face. She was asking him to help her secure their future. To ensure they finally had the freedom to do what they wanted with their lives. It almost sounded too good to be true.

  “And what of the possible consequences?”

  Her gaze didn’t waver. “Then we’ll face them like we always have. It will be worth it if we get what we want.”

  “Very well, sensor. For you I will agree to this.”

  “Wonderful.” Ariel beamed. “Now let’s get that armband off.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Melena

  I looked at Lucas. “Are you sure you can handle this?”

  Yerik and Micah were just up ahead. After getting the portal location—which turned out to be in the middle of nowhere in the woods—they’d agreed to meet us. They’d needed time to get the weaponry transported. I’d needed time to drug Kerbasi after Ariel broke the armband so he wouldn’t try to follow me.

  For once his love of food and drink worked to my advantage. We’d left him in his shack snoring, blissfully unaware. With luck, he wouldn’t wake up until
we were already back.

  “I won’t try to rip their heads off, if that’s what you mean, but I can’t promise anything more,” Lucas replied.

  He was still angry. I supposed I should have been grateful he went along with this at all.

  I grabbed his arm. “No matter what your grievances are you have to set them aside for now. Every instinct I have tells me this trip into Purgatory won’t be as easy as last time. All four of us have to be at full strength.”

  “Agreed—which is why you will do the talking.”

  Exhaling a breath, I let him go. “Fine.”

  We walked the last fifty meters to the portal site. Yerik and Micah stood with a pile of weapons next to them. With one quick scan, I could see they’d brought everything I’d requested. Good. We were going to need all of it.

  “Lucas, Melena,” Yerik said, giving us a nod.

  A low rumble came from beside me. I grasped Lucas’ palm and squeezed his hand. He needed to save all that rage for the guards in Purgatory. They were a far better outlet.

  I cleared my throat. “He’s in a bit of a grumpy mood, as you can imagine. Let’s just get the this stuff divided up so we can go before the portal moves again.”

  “Look, brother, I…” Micah began.

  I stepped in front of Lucas, putting myself between the two men.

  “Don’t. This is not the time to work out your troubles. We’re going to get in there, grab the nerou, and get out. Whatever issues you guys have can wait.”

  Resignation filled Micah’s expression. “If you think that’s best.”

  “I do.”

  After giving it a moment to be sure Lucas wouldn’t attack—honestly, it felt like I had a wild beast behind me—I moved toward the gear. I handed everyone a pack containing an RPG and four warheads, which was how I’d asked them to be organized. Ten grenades and a dozen throwing knives were also carefully placed in there. If it came down to close combat, we each had swords and I had my gun as well.

  By the time everyone had their gear we were loaded down. It was going to be awkward carrying so much into a place with little oxygen and extreme temperatures, but we’d likely use up a lot of it fast. I’d considered all of this when I’d made the list. There were some other weapons I would have liked to bring, but no matter how strong we were we could only haul so much without it becoming cumbersome during a fight.

  All eyes were on me as I finished fitting my bulletproof vest and yanking my pack over my shoulder. “You guys ready?”

  They wore armor as well. None of them liked it, but wounds to the torso would be our greatest vulnerability and easiest way to take us out of the fight. If mobility hadn’t been an issue, I might have suggested something to protect our throats. We all drew the line at having our necks restricted, though. I’d tried that once to humor Lucas and swore I’d never do it again. It wasn’t worth the hassle.

  “I’m ready,” Lucas growled out.

  “As am I,” Yerik seconded.

  After Micah nodded, I waved at the spot where the portal should be. “Then let’s open it up.”

  The daimoun stepped forward and held his hands out. Streaks of light ran from his fingers as he shot them at the portal. It blazed open like a ring of fire with a dark center.

  Yerik stepped through first, followed by Micah. I went through next with Lucas coming in right behind me. Everything whizzed by in dizzying streaks of light. My body wanted to lunge forward, but this time I knew better than to give into that urge. I held myself straight up. When I got spit out the other end, I was standing knee deep in salt water rather than face-first in it like last time. A good thing, too, since everyone else appeared less disconcerted than me.

  The men began sloshing toward the beach. Once again, we were on the island of Purgatory with its wide swaths of sand and high mountains at the center—which were about a mile from us. The same piece of driftwood I’d used as a landmark before remained in the same spot. Nothing had changed.

  “Anything on your radar?” Yerik asked.

  “No…” I began, but then flickers of movement entered my range. “Wait, there are six guards coming from that way.”

  I pointed down the beach toward the direction we needed to go. The bright sun beating down on us nearly blinded me so that I could barely see anything except glinting sand, but my previous familiarity with the place helped.

  “We need to find a defensive position,” Micah said, looking around.

  “That rock outcropping should do.” Lucas nodded toward it.

  At least he was breaking his silence for the sake of battle tactics.

  “Let’s go,” I yelled, running as fast as I could toward it. “They’re coming at us fast.”

  The outcropping was at least two hundred meters away. Heat that I’d hoped to never experience again beat down on me. It had be at least a hundred and thirty degrees—maybe more. My breathing grew ragged and my muscles cramped as I worked my way over uneven sand. This place wasn’t Hell, but it was the next closest thing.

  Yerik and Micah made it to the rocky outcropping first, putting their hands on their knees to catch their breath. Immortal or not, the heat and thin air weakened them as well—especially after coming from Alaska. Only the native inhabitants of the place seemed unaffected by its harsh environment. Perhaps they were made for it.

  Lucas stayed at my side as I made my final dash to our destination. I was right not to bring any more equipment than I did. All the weaponry in the world didn’t do you much good if you didn’t have the energy to carry and use it.

  “There they are,” Micah said, gazing into the distance.

  I followed his line of sight to where six guards flew about fifty feet above the ground. They’d be on us in less than a minute. I pulled my RPG out and loaded a warhead into it. The others watched and followed my example. This was my area of expertise. It felt good to be better at something than men who’d lived for thousands of years.

  “Aim for the middle guys,” I ordered. “If we hit them it should injure the ones on the outside. Bonus points if you damage their wings.”

  “We’re facing immortal guards who can’t die and she’s talking about bonus points.” Micah shook his head.

  “Glad I can amuse you in the midst of a battle,” I said, aiming my RPG.

  The guards saw it and began spreading out, but their wings didn’t let them move fast enough. I fired at the second one to the right. It hit him in the chest and the resulting explosion knocked down the guy next to him.

  Lucas, Yerik, and Micah each sent a round down range, hitting the rest of our targets or at least knocking them out of the air. Their aim was surprisingly good for it being their first time using the weapon. The guards were sprawled on the ground, skin and wings burnt.

  “Those were younger guys,” I informed the group. “That should be enough to keep them out of the fight for a while. But we’ve got more coming in from two directions this time.”

  I pointed toward the mountains where a group had come from them and were now flying over the open sandy plain. Then I nodded toward the sea where more were advancing. It was going to be difficult to hide behind boulders with them coming from opposite sides. There was nothing but open ground around us with no other cover.

  “How many?” Yerik asked.

  “Seven from the mountains and five flying over the water. They’re about equal distance from us either way.” Definitely a coordinated plan.

  Lucas knitted his brows. “We’ll take down the guards over the water first. Then face the ones coming from the mountains.”

  I nodded. “Sounds good.”

  We moved around until the boulders covered our backs, then reloaded our RPGs. Everyone took a knee and aimed their weapons. The guards coming from the sea were visible, but too far for a clean shot.

  I put a hand on Micah, who looked like he was about to fire. “Wait for it. We can’t afford for even one of our rounds to miss. I’ll tell you when.”

  The guards got closer. Still, I didn�
�t let anyone engage. No one was firing until I could almost make out their faces. Our attackers spread their wings as they descended for a landing on the beach. We needed to hit them before they touched ground.

  “Now!”

  Four warheads went sailing through the air. They all struck their targets in a spectacular display of fire and burning flesh. The guards fell to the ground in heaps right at the water’s edge.

  “Behind us,” Lucas called out.

  We spun around and found the other group running toward us across the sand. They’d spread apart enough there would be no two-for-ones.

  “Reload,” I commanded.

  We pulled our second to last warheads from our packs and slid them into our RPGs. The guards were close enough I could make out the glow in their eyes. Their wings were folded behind them and invisible to anyone but me.

  “Yerik, take the guy on the far right. Micah, aim for the one next to him. Lucas, you get the one on the far left and I’ll target one of the guys in the middle.” Assuming we didn’t miss, that would only leave us three to fight. I wanted to save our last warheads for anything else that might come up.

  We fired our weapons and once again the rounds shot through the air. Every guard was hit except one who dove to the sand. Dammit. Smart man. He was up and running as soon as the warhead sailed past him.

  “Grenades,” I said, pulling two from my pack.

  Our attackers were less than fifty feet away as we threw them. The exploding shrapnel tore through the guards’ bodies, but it didn’t affect them nearly as much as the RPGs had. They stumbled and bled, but kept coming.

  “Are there any more than this?” Lucas asked.

  I shook my head. “None that I can sense.”

  “Then it is time we fight. I’m feeling the need to sink my blade into something.” His gaze ran toward Yerik and Micah before shifting to the guards.

  The men leaped over the rocks and came down the other side just as the guards got close. There was a clang of metal as swords clashed. One attacker remained for me to face and like Lucas I was ready to spill a little blood—but do it my way.