Playing with Darkness: Book 3.5 (Sensor Series)

by Susan Illene

When a large black bird flew over our heads, I glared at it. That was no ordinary bird, but a fae who’d used a spell to change into that form. For the first few minutes of our walk it circled closely and squawked at us. If my hands hadn’t been full, I might have been tempted to shoot the thing. It was a relief when it finally flew away and headed south.

  Ulric remained quiet as we moved along, but Kerbasi grumbled every time he tripped over a rock or some brush. When he stumbled over a small hole in the ground and fell, I couldn’t help snickering. His face was covered in mud when he lifted it up. Due to recent heavy rains, the terrain was soggier than usual and the warm summer temperatures kept it from freezing like it might have any other time of year.

  Kerbasi staggered to his feet and wiped his face with his blue t-shirt. There were splotches of mud all over him. Seeing him look so messy was almost cute.

  “My shoes are inappropriate for such terrain,” he grumbled.

  “Well, you’re the one who turned down a pair of boots when I offered to get you some,” I pointed out.

  It was all we could do to get the guardian to agree on wearing jeans and t-shirts instead of robes. He’d drawn the line at footwear and insisted on keeping the sandals he’d brought with him from Purgatory. How did the archangels expect me to change the ways of a forty-five-hundred-year-old immortal, anyway?

  “Put on the spare shirt in your pack,” I said, grateful I’d insisted we all bring a change of clothes just in case. “We can get the rest of you cleaned up later.”

  The guardian might be clumsy, but he was also fastidious. He wasted no time removing his shirt and getting out the spare one. I caught a glimpse of light olive skin and heavy muscle before he covered himself back up. It was really too bad a nice body was wasted on an evil man like him.

  As soon as he was ready, we continued on our way. Kerbasi was a lot more careful after that, choosing every step as if there might be landmines ahead. When the city came into view, I wasn’t sure whether to be glad or nervous. I slowed my pace to match the guardian’s.

  “You need to keep a low profile while we’re here. Don’t talk to anyone, keep your wings hidden, and don’t touch anything. Understand?” I gave him my most menacing look.

  The corner of his lips lifted. “We shall see.”

  “I mean it, Kerbasi,” I said, adjusting Sable in my arms. “We’re not here to cause trouble. I just want to get my cat better, return the portal device, and get out of here.”

  Ulric glanced back at us. “As much as I’d love to stay with you two, we’re gonna have to part ways when we get to the city. I’ve got business with someone that will take most of the day.”

  I couldn’t blame him for wanting to ditch us.

  “How will I find you when we’re ready to leave?” I asked.

  He grinned. “You’ll find me at The Slap and Tickle. It’s on the northwest side of the city.”

  Something told me the business he’d be conducting was not the kind he’d be making money from. Living out in the bush, he probably didn’t see women very often and especially not ones where he didn’t have to hide his werewolf nature. I’d heard his race could get rather wild in bed when they were able to let loose.

  “Fine. Take care of yourself, but if we don’t get back to you by nightfall then you can assume something went wrong.” I was getting the sinking sensation this trip was already doomed.

  Feidlimid became visible about the time we came upon the gravel road leading to it. I’d been there a few weeks ago, but a lot had changed since then. When I’d left, the fae had just begun recovering from a fatal blast that had destroyed much of the outskirts of their city.

  They were building a new wall to replace the old one that had been obliterated. It didn’t look to be much taller than my height at this point, but layer by layer they were laying the stones to make it impenetrable. In the meantime, an invisible dome infused with protection spells shielded them against everything except my race, which was immune to magic.

  It was a sensor who’d attacked Feidlimid before and they needed physical barriers to guard against us. We were the natural enemies of all supernaturals. They only tolerated me inside the city because they found me useful.

  A druid and an orc stood as sentinels at the gate. My senses had told me that long before we got close enough to see them clearly. I didn’t know the druid, but I recognized the orc’s signature as Varn.

  As soon as he saw me coming, he covered his sunken-in nose. I’d learned the best way to deal with difficult orcs was with violence. They respected you more for it.

  “You back,” he said in a nasally voice. “You no hit me again?”

  I smiled. “Not unless you give me a reason.”

  “And you say I am the violent one.” Kerbasi snorted.

  “Who this?” Varn asked, narrowing his eyes at the guardian.

  The orc was bulkier than Kerbasi, but about half a foot shorter. The height difference didn’t make him any less intimidating, though. Something about his large, misshapen head with tiny facial features just made a person want to keep their distance. It didn’t help that the orc’s meaty fists looked like they could take down an ox with one good strike. That’s why I’d hit him in the nose when he gave me trouble the last time we’d met. It was the only vulnerable spot I’d found on him.

  “He’s no one of any importance,” I replied, shrugging.

  The guardian’s shoulders stiffened, but the warning look I shot him kept his mouth closed.

  “He go inside now.” Varn nodded at Ulric. “But you and the weird one wait for escort.”

  I shifted Sable in my arms. “How long is that going to take? I’ve got a sick cat here who needs help immediately.”

  The druid, wearing the typical dark gray robe his race preferred, stepped forward. “Your arrival was noted the moment your plane landed. Someone will have been dispatched by now and sent to meet you here. It won’t be long.”

  That explained the bird that’d been flying annoyingly over our heads. There hadn’t been any fae wandering outside Feidlimid the last time I’d visited. Maybe the elders had decided to extend their perimeter security now that their shield was back up. They’d learned the hard way that sensors like myself couldn’t be stopped from attacking in time if they didn’t have someone out far enough out to notice them. Magic spells would alert them to anyone else approaching, but not us.

  “Fine, but I can’t wait long.” I glanced down at Sable. “She’s getting worse.”

  The druid stepped forward and ran his pale hand over the shape-shifter. Sable relaxed at his touch. He was sending out faint healing vibes that seemed to improve her condition a little, though not enough to make her feel better.

  I couldn’t make out all of the druid’s features with his hood drawn closely to his face, but his bushy blue eyebrows stood out. He was also pursing his thin lips.

  “It feels as if she’s been poisoned, though I know not with what. You will need to visit Garvan as soon as your escort arrives. He is the one who can help.” The druid moved back to his previous post.

  “Thank you,” I said, giving him a respectful nod.

  Ulric squeezed my arm. “I must be on my way, but you know where you can find me if you need anything.”

  “Don’t have too much fun.”

  A twinkle lit his eyes. “That’s the plan.”

  I watched him swagger through the gate with envy. Would I ever have that kind of easy access to the city or would the fae always be distrustful of me? One thing was for sure—as long as I had Kerbasi around I doubted they’d ever see me as anything but a threat.

  A few minutes later a familiar druid popped up on my radar, heading toward the entrance at what had to be a brisk walk. Nienna was coming. That was fine with me. I actually liked and respected her so it wouldn’t be that bad to have her as an escort.

  When she appeared down the road wearing the same dark gray robe as the other druid, I moved closer to meet her. The guards didn’t try to stop me as I went past the
gate. I braced myself for the dome. It felt like an electric charge hit my mind and body as I passed through it. Sensors were not meant to be hit with that much magic at once. If I’d still been mortal, it might have knocked me out.

  Nienna’s lips twitched when her gaze met mine, but she immediately turned her attention to Kerbasi. He’d followed close behind me when I’d come past the gate.

  “Is this who I think it is?” she asked.

  Had word about the guardian reached the fae city that fast?

  “This is Kerbasi.” I waved my arm at him. “He’s just a travel companion. No one you need to worry about.”

  I kept my face blank. Sometimes if you acted confident enough people would believe the most obvious of lies. Politicians did it all the time.

  She peered closer at him. “His eyes are swirling. There is only one race I’ve heard of with such an unusual feature.”

  When Kerbasi opened his mouth to respond, I stomped on his foot. Immortal or not, he could feel my boots squishing his toes with only open sandals to protect them. He winced. This was going to be difficult enough without the guardian making matters worse.

  “He’s not going to cause any trouble while he’s here,” I said in what I hoped was a reassuring voice. “Can we please get going? I’ve got a sick cat here who needs help.”

  She looked down at Sable, her expression turning concerned.

  “Perhaps I could take your cat to the healer for you. The elders will not be pleased if I allow the guardian into the city.”

  I gritted my teeth. No one was taking my cat anywhere without me.

  “I’ve got something the elders want—and you know what it is. The only way they’re getting it is if I’m allowed into the city to take care of my cat first.”

  She took a step toward me. “I could take it from you.”

  Sable lifted her head a fraction and growled.

  “Over my dead body,” I replied, cuddling her closer.

  Nienna sighed. “I don’t want to fight you, Melena. But I can’t let you into the city with this man.”

  She looked at the silver cuff peeking out from under the sleeve of my t-shirt. Then she glanced at the matching one Kerbasi wore. Something told me Nienna knew we couldn’t get across the city without each other—it spanned three miles. The guardian would get towed along if I moved beyond our half-mile range. That was the deal I’d had to take to keep Lucas and me from being confined in Purgatory after I’d broken in there.

  “You’re going to have to make an exception because the only way you’re getting the device back is if you let us in. You’ll just have to trust that I can keep him under control.”

  Kerbasi grunted.

  I glared at him. “So help me God, if you cause any trouble you’re going to spend the next week watching the Lifetime Network, starting as soon as we get back.”

  A shudder ran across his body.

  “You can make him do that?” Nienna asked incredulously.

  I nodded. “I can. It’s part of the deal with the archangels. I can use whatever methods I choose to help him find his humanity and become a better person.”

  “That Lifetime Network is not a lesson in humanity. It’s torture.” His eyes swirled faster in what I had come to recognize as a sign of annoyance. “If I’d known about it before, I would have forced my prisoners to watch it.”

  I was rather certain Lucas would have preferred having his skin flayed off. Hopefully Kerbasi never got his old job back and figured out a way to pipe in cable there.

  Nienna pursed her lips. “If you are sure you can keep him in line, I’ll allow you inside, but if anything happens expect repercussions.”

  “Fine. Let’s go.”

  I’d agree to anything at this point. Poor Sable had been more than patient through all of this. If something went terribly wrong with Kerbasi, I’d just have to deal with it.

  Nienna turned away. “Follow me and I’ll take you to Garvan. He’ll be able to care for your cat.”

  We passed by small homes in various states of construction with workers busily moving around them. The poorest of the fae had lived here before. Not only had they taken the worst of the blast, but they’d had the most unstable homes. Houses made of dried mud. The magic spells that were supposed to protect them hadn’t been enough to stand against the force of the explosion.

  This time they were building them with metal support frames and wire mesh before encasing them in the mud—which I assumed would then be shaped and dried. Hopefully the homes would hold up better than the previous ones if another attack ever happened.

  The roads had been reconstructed with cobblestones similar to other parts of the city as well. Even fresh plant life rose up where it had been obliterated. The fae knew how to recover quickly, though the magic I felt thrumming around me probably helped.

  Nienna took us in a southeasterly direction to a section of the city I hadn’t visited before. The smell hit me first—a pungent aroma of manure. It reminded me of the semi-trucks that I’d driven past on the highway that hauled cows. In those cases I could speed up to get past them, in this one we just kept moving closer to the source.

  The houses in this area were made of gray stones and didn’t appear to have any lasting damage from the blast. They were spaced apart enough to accommodate the livestock penned between them. There were cows, pigs, donkeys, chickens, and various other farm animals.

  I already had a good idea which way we were headed. Regular animals didn’t come up on my sensor radar, but shape-shifter cats did. There were at least two dozen of them a quarter-mile away at the edge of the city.

  Sable was still resting in my arms, but her ears twitched as we got closer and she briefly opened her eyes. I rubbed her paw with my thumb to sooth her. She might still be feeling miserable, but I could also sense worry coming from her. I’d always hated going to doctors too. Sable was smart enough to know that was basically what was happening.

  A scream had me twisting around. In front of the house we’d just passed an older elf woman had flattened herself against her door and looked in our direction with terror in her eyes. More fae stopped what they were doing—to the point of dropping whatever burdens they were carrying. My senses were suddenly overwhelmed with the fear and panic of those around me.

  With a sinking suspicion, I turned my attention to Kerbasi. He had his gray wings out and was literally preening them in front of a flock of geese. In turn, they were squawking up a storm and extending their own plumage out. His stretched a whole lot farther than theirs did. He nearly knocked down a small pixie boy when he turned too fast for the child to get away.

  Oh, for the love of…I walked over and kicked him in the back of the leg.

  “Kerbasi, if I have to put Sable down to shoot you, I’m going to be really pissed. Put your damned wings away and leave the geese alone.”

  He folded them—though he kept them visible—and turned around.

  “You just attacked me. I could retaliate against you for that,” the guardian said, glaring at me.

  He’d threatened that more than once, but he’d yet to actually do anything. I couldn’t win against him in a physical fight. He was too strong, but I could punish him with extra humanity lessons. Or just shoot him a bunch of times.

  “Retaliate if you want, but we both know I can make you more miserable than you can make me. Remember those frappuccinos you like so much? You’re not getting another one for the next month if you don’t hide your wings right now.”

  I’d known helping him figure out his favorite food and drinks would come in handy eventually. There wasn’t a Starbucks or any place like it near my house. He relied on me to take him to one if he wanted something.

  “You play dirty, sensor.” He gave me a hard look before turning his wings invisible, though I could still see the outline of them thanks to my immunity to magic. “You would have made an excellent protégé.”

  I jerked my chin. “Get moving.”

  He glanced at the geese one last t
ime before heading back to the street we’d been traveling down. Along the way, I sensed tendrils of magic reaching out as he repaired the rips in his shirt. It’d been shredded when he’d exposed himself. Too bad his abilities didn’t extend to dirt removal—that would have been handy earlier.

  Fae scurried out of the way or into their homes as we passed by them. When I ramped up my hearing, I picked up hushed whispers. They were speculating about Kerbasi and wondering if he was an angel or something else.

  The gray wings probably threw them off. Most people knew angels had white and demons had black. His were interestingly in between. As far as I was aware, this was the first time a guardian had traveled outside of Purgatory. Because of that, not many people in the supernatural world knew about them. I sure hadn’t until Lucas had been imprisoned.

  As soon as we went far enough down the street that there were no more gawkers standing about Nienna hustled close to me.

  “I should take your weapons, you know,” she said in a low voice.

  A humorless laugh escaped me. “Not if you want me to control the guardian, you won’t. Sometimes the only way to deal with him is to shoot holes in him. I can get a full twenty minutes peace if I shoot him in the mouth.”

  A choking sound came from her.

  “You’ve certainly got your work cut out for you,” she said after a moment. “I’ll let you keep your weapons, but try not to shoot anyone else.”

  “Deal.”

  We came up on a large ranch-style house at the end of the street. It stood on its own with several small wooden buildings positioned on the north side. I could sense shape-shifter cats within the structures and saw a few perched in the expansive windows. Most were in the form of a lynx the same as Sable.

  “Garvan lives there,” Nienna said, pointing at the house. “He’s a breeder and trainer, but he’s also got the healing touch with animals.”

  There were several elves inside the house. They felt something like morning dew falling against my senses, though one had a weightier sensation about him. Not necessarily a bad one, but it told me he held strong magic. He registered in my mind as being about four hundred years old.