The Dark Calling

by Cole, Kresley

  Couldn’t take my eyes off it, me. “I gave it to her when the three of us were on the road to save Selena. Told Evie to return it to me when she’d chosen me for good.”

  “I see.” He shuttered his expression, but I caught the glint of pain. “She’d intended to give it to you before the massacre. I took it from her drawer after she fled the castle, but I will return it to her.” He pocketed it.

  “Hell, Reaper, she might give it to you. I saw the way the two of you were looking at each other when your kid was kicking away.”

  “You say that just when I’ve decided I’m the interloper in her story with you.”

  Seriously? I mulled that over for a moment, sighed. “We all have our curses. The people of my blood are cursed to love only once. You’re cursed never to touch any but one. And Evie? She’s cursed to love us both. She really does, you know.”

  “She did. Before . . .”

  “She still does.” Unfortunately. “You know, Evie and me were only together for one night. Took me nearly dying in the trench before anything happened between us. She didn’t want to give up on you.”

  He tilted his head at me. “Why tell me this?”

  “It proves her feelings for you never died.”

  “Thank you. It helps.”

  I gazed at the cabin, picturing her asleep. “She’s due on her birthday.”

  “Just so,” Death murmured. “What if I hadn’t escaped the Hanged Man? Were you prepared to raise my son?”

  “De bon cœur.” Wholeheartedly. “I told Evie that you’d rather me keep her and raise your kid as my own than risk them at the castle. Was I wrong?”

  He leveled his gaze at me. “You were not.”

  Why’d he have to be so damned stand-up?

  Straightening his shoulders, he said, “You’re a good man. I can think of no one better to be a father.”

  Before I could ask what he’d meant by that, his eyes flickered to the sphere yet again.

  “You keep looking at it, Reaper.” Making this Cajun nervous. “Where’s your head at?”

  He shrugged.

  Not the answer I was looking for. “You made that haze sound like some kind of a drug. Life in there was simpler, remember? Being out here is crippling. Do you feel a pull to it? What if you just walked right in?”

  “If I felt a pull, I would slit my own throat. Hear me, mortal, I will never again be taken by that sphere.” Even as he said this for the umpteenth time, his gaze kept straying to the light. His eyes began to glitter. “A thought has just entered my mind. An idea.”

  He turned that starry gaze toward me, and chills raced up my back. “Reaper?”

  49

  The Hanged Man

  Day 587 A.F.

  He’s mine once more!

  Death was back in the fold. My sphere had lured him back in.

  Through a frosted windowpane in the study, I watched him exit a truck in the courtyard. He yanked a bound Empress from the cab.

  “I hate you!” she screamed at the Reaper. “I knew this would happen!” Her eyes were red, her face pale. She shook uncontrollably in the falling snow.

  Was she still pregnant? I couldn’t tell with her coat. Despite her fury, her glyphs were dim, and her hair remained blond. She must be tapped out from fighting the armored knight. Not that she’d had much in the way of abilities even months ago.

  Death’s recapture was so predictable; he must have wanted it to happen. His leaving had been a blow to my sizable ego. Without my immortal henchman, I’d felt vulnerable, taking steps to protect myself. But now his card was in my hand once more. I smirked, victorious.

  When Gabe landed in front of him, I cracked open the window to eavesdrop.

  “Hail, Reaper. I am glad to see you’ve once again found clarity.”

  Death gave an arrogant chin jerk in greeting. This time around, I would do more to curb that arrogance. No longer would I tolerate being called a little man.

  Gabe asked, “Where is your mount?”

  “Lost.”

  “I see. The Chariot and the Tower?”

  Ah, yes—where had Kentarch and Joules gotten to? I was greedy for more fuel for my sphere.

  “Be on watch for them.”

  Gabriel nodded. “And the hunter?”

  Evie cried, “Jack’s dead!” She turned on Death, beating his armored chest with her bound hands. “How could you? He trusted you, and you struck him down!”

  So sublimely satisfying. Not only was this a win for my alliance, Death had yet again fed her a dish of betrayal, killing her first love.

  Speaking of alliances . . . my gaze shifted past them to the menagerie. Where was Fauna? Probably sleeping, even through this disturbance.

  “I’ll kill you for what you did!” Evie spat at Death. “I told you we were too close to the sphere—”

  “Silence!” he ordered.

  Gabriel asked him, “What are you going to do with her?”

  He answered, “A gift.” I love gifts.

  “The Hanged Man is in the study.”

  “Very good.” Death yanked on Evie’s bonds. With a cry, she went careening along behind him.

  Gabriel took flight, beginning his watch. Backdraft from his wings turned the courtyard into a snow globe.

  I hurried from the window to the desk I’d commandeered from Death. Taking a seat, I opened a drawer. Beside my new weapon was the Empress’s cilice.

  Death’s spurs clinked in the hallway as he made his way to me. I liked it here in his former office. The temperature was brutal outside; inside, the fire radiated heat. I propped up my feet on my desk and ran my fingers over the barbs on the cilice.

  Death entered, posture erect, black armor gleaming. A terrifying vision.

  I rose, cilice in hand. “Well, well. What do we have here?”

  “A gift,” he said in his raspy voice.

  And what a gift she was! “My thanks, Reaper.”

  “Aric, what are you going to let him do to me?” Evie clasped her bound hands together. “Snap out of this. I’m begging you.”

  “Silence!” Death yanked on the rope, causing her to totter, then handed me the end.

  With a smile, I accepted it, reeling her closer. With my other hand, I raised the cilice.

  She paled even more. “Get that thing away from me, you freak!”

  “We’ll have to amputate a good part of your arm to get this back into place, but your flesh will regenerate. Cooperate, and Death won’t take your head. For now.”

  Eyes glassy with rage, she said, “I’m warning you, Hanged Man. You don’t want to do this to me.” Was her hair beginning to turn red? Her glyphs emitted light!

  I whipped my head up to the knight. “There’s still some fight left in her.” She couldn’t harm me, but she might be able to poison Death. “Do something!”

  “Like what?” he sneered with such contempt that his very voice sounded different.

  I scowled. “Knock her out so I can get this cilice on her—”

  “That’s not the boss!” Lark’s scream carried from the menagerie.

  My stomach dropped as I gazed upon this armored stranger. Then who was towering over me, drawing his sword . . . ?

  50

  Death

  Our ruse was up.

  To evade detection, I’d been waiting leagues from the sphere—but I could still hear Fauna’s scream echo down the mountain.

  No need for me to remain concealed any longer. I began to sprint from where I’d paced a hole into the ground.

  Could my wife and Deveaux fend off Fauna’s creatures and the Archangel long enough to kill Paul?

  Would that noose even work? So many risks.

  As I ran, I replayed this morning. Had my plot been a colossal misjudgment?

  I waited until she’d awakened and dressed, then said, “I have an idea, sievā, but you will not like it.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Let’s hear it.”

  “It involves the mortal,” I said.
r />   Jack cast me a quizzical look. “Am I finally goan to hear what you refused to tell me on the dish last night?”

  I’d needed time to analyze my idea. “You mentioned that you wanted to walk in my shoes. Why stop there? You and I are nearly the same size. You can borrow my armor and swords, then stroll directly into the castle. They will think you’re me. Paul’s ego is his weakness; he’ll assume I came crawling back.”

  Jack’s eyes began to glimmer with anticipation.

  But Evie shook her head vehemently. “Even if Jack has a disguise, I won’t send him in to face Arcana. Why should he alone have to take such a risk?”

  “Because if he succeeds, I will give him the castle.”

  “WHAT?” she and Jack said at once.

  Brows drawn, she asked, “And by extension, you’ll give him me?”

  I clenched my fists to keep from reaching for her, striving not to reveal how much this prospect gutted me. “I want him particularly motivated to secure the castle. As in olden times, if he wins it; he keeps it.”

  “You’re talking about abandoning your home? You’re a freaking homebody. You’d never leave behind all the belongings that you’ve safeguarded for millennia.”

  “None of that matters now. I would sacrifice anything to have you and our son safe in that stronghold.”

  “Including me and Tee?” Her hand went to her rounding belly.

  Never to see her? Never to meet my son? My gaze bored into hers as I murmured, “Anything.”

  “Oh, I’m in,” Jack quickly said.

  She pointed out, “You’d be going up against three powerful killers.”

  “I’ve faced worse odds for a ton less upside. You were worried about me shooting your friends. I woan take a gun, will only be carrying swords and a noose. With that disguise, I can walk in and strangle the Hanged Man. Then Gabe and Lark woan be threats.”

  She cast a glare from Jack to me. “The plan won’t work. If Lark’s awake, she’ll scent the difference. Gabriel could too.”

  I said, “Not if they don’t get too close, and Jack is wearing my clothing underneath.”

  “He would have to sound like you. And, Aric, you’ve already commented on—how should I put this?—his license with the English language.”

  I’d said he slaughtered the English language anytime he attempted it.

  Jack’s lips curled. “Now, how hard will it be to sound like an arrogant prick from Russia?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Latvia.”

  “Come on, peekôn.” I loathed it when Deveaux called her that—because she clearly loved it. “I can learn a few short phrases to use and imitate his accent.”

  She turned to me. “You sweetened the pot too much. He’s not going to be thinking straight. I’d rather take the risk myself. I want to reclaim the castle, then think about the future . . . .”

  Jack and I both pressed our case to her, and half an hour of arguing ensued.

  At length, she said, “Fine! I’ll agree to this—if I go as Jack’s prisoner. We’ll wrap the noose around my wrists, and he’ll lead me inside with it.”

  “Bonne idée,” Jack said. I thought he was making a valiant effort not to crow with victory.

  “Are you two happy?” A flash of something cunning crossed her blue eyes.

  I suspected she had agreed to the battle strategy, but not my terms. No matter; if Jack succeeded, I would keep my word and forfeit my home.

  Which meant that regardless of the day’s outcome, somehow I would be losing my wife for good.

  “No time to waste.” Jack started unbuttoning his shirt. “Let’s do this.”

  Though she’d seen both of us unclothed, she turned her back while we traded clothes.

  But I hesitated to hand him the first piece of armor. “I have never—in two millennia—allowed another to wear this.”

  “First time for everything. Come on!” He could barely contain his excitement. And why not? He’d be getting what he wanted most. The castle was icing on the cake.

  Wearing Jack’s gloves, I helped him strap on the pieces.

  “Damn, this metal’s light.” He pounded his gauntleted fists against his chest. “Are we pissing off some death deity with this stunt?” Jack knew I’d been divinely led to this suit by my god sponsor.

  “Probably.”

  When he dropped the visor down, I did a double take. I hadn’t gazed at my armored self in a mirror in ages. Was this what I looked like to others? No wonder everyone was terrified of me. Add in red-eyed Thanatos . . .

  Then I recalled that my steed was dead. Turn your mind from that scene, from the guilt.

  Jack asked me, “You never get, uh, claustrophobic in here?”

  He had no idea. “Just try not to think about the decomposing corpse I scavenged the suit from.”

  He muttered, “Beck moi tchew.” Bite my ass.

  Reminded of his drawl, I said, “The Empress can talk over you, but you’ll need an approximation of my accent. Say the word silence as I might.”

  “Saylanss.”

  I stopped myself from cringing. “Enunciate the syllables, mortal.”

  She added, “And sound more arrogant. As if you never make mistakes.” I stiffened at that, and she noticed. “I’m not giving commentary, but you do usually sound infallible.”

  “Infallible?” Choking back my frustration, I managed a harsh laugh. “I killed my parents, my unborn sibling, and nearly my wife and son. Infallible and I aren’t in the same realm.” I regretted the words as soon as I’d uttered them. The Empress wasn’t the only one having difficulty governing her emotions.

  She softly said, “Aric, don’t.”

  Assuming a brisk demeanor, I said, “We’ll spend the next hour practicing some catchphrases. You can get used to the armor and the swords at the same time.”

  Another mile beneath my boots. Wolves howled from the castle, preparing for a hunt. Still time! I powered up a mountain rise, fingers digging into the snow . . . .

  Before she and Jack set off, I told him, “I am entrusting everything I love to you, mortal.” I would be doing something so much harder than riding in to save the day. I’d be letting go. Depending on another. A rival.

  “And I’ll handle it, Reaper. But I want it noted that you once told me you’d never need my help.”

  “I need it more than I’ve ever needed anything.”

  With a nod, he continued to the truck, giving me a moment alone with my wife.

  I told her, “Be your magnificent self. At any cost.”

  She gazed up at me from under a shining lock of hair. So beautiful, she pained me. “Aric, if I don’t succeed, you’ll have to win the game.”

  “I know I have no right to ask anything of you. But imagine what the next centuries would be like if you do not seize a victory. Could any man withstand such guilt and loss for one lifetime, much less several? I am relying on you to fight hard and prevail. I am expecting you to slay our adversary.”

  The pulse point in her throat fluttered. Nervousness about the upcoming battle? Or my nearness?

  “I believe in you, love.” I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, knowing it would be our last kiss.

  She allowed it, which made my heart thunder . . . .

  Running headlong, I spied the boundary’s glow in the distance.

  The need to charge into that fray blistered me inside. I didn’t crave the Hanged Man’s false sense of clarity—I craved fighting for my family.

  I felt as if my entire endless existence had led up to this. As I ran, I clenched my fists impotently. Please, gods, let her prevail.

  How many times had I clenched my fists because I couldn’t touch? Now I couldn’t even kill—the one thing I’d been born to do.

  51

  The Empress

  “Evie, now!” Jack yelled, his voice distorted behind Aric’s helmet.

  As I slipped from my bindings—the noose—Paul’s expression twisted.

  That light behind his head flared. “You can’t
kill me.” He still held the other end of the rope.

  “This is for Finn, you asshole!” With a wave of my hand, I commanded the noose to strike. Like a serpent, the length shot up his body, coiling around his neck.

  “Nooo!” His fingers clutched the rope, digging in between the hemp and his skin.

  Finn’s icon was stark on his right hand. I’d barely kept up my damsel-in-distress act when I’d first seen it.

  Wolves howled, answering his scream. They were inside the castle!

  When Lark had first blown our cover, Jack had run for the door and slammed it closed, locking it.

  What sounded like a stampede headed this way. Our plan depended on Paul’s quick demise. Could I take him out before those animals swarmed the study? Before Gabriel returned? I’d been stunned by his menacing new size.

  Gritting my teeth, I tightened Paul’s noose. His eyes bulged and his glowing light flickered, but he still fought me.

  Jack raised one of Aric’s borrowed swords, positioning himself between me and the door. “They’re coming, Evie!” Wolf claws clattered in the hallway.

  Tighter, tighter. But Paul remained on his feet, grappling against my hold. His face was purple. Veins jutted in his neck and forehead.

  He made unintelligible sounds, his eyes pleading. Vessels burst across the white. Why wouldn’t he die? With each moment, I was weakening.

  What if the noose didn’t work? As I kept up the pressure, I tried to muster spores . . . .

  Nothing. I’d only weakened myself.

  Growls sounded from the hall just before the door bowed. Surely they couldn’t break through—

  In a rush of splinters, the wolves tore at the wood, ripping out chunks with their fangs.

  Jack jabbed the sword through a hole in the door.

  Yelp.

  The blade came back bloody, but the wolves kept attacking.

  I tightened the rope even more, cutting short Paul’s gurgling. “Die already!”

  A giant frizzy head breached the door, jaws snapping the air. Cyclops. He snatched his head back just as Jack swung.