The Dark

by Cheyenne McCray

  Chosen to overlook me like the stupid, psycho nuns who raised me before I found my calling as a Pagan.

  The batshit crazy nuns thought I was dull. They thought I was nothing special. But I’m smarter than anyone imagines.

  Try to find me.

  Guess who I am.

  I dare you.

  7

  Otherworld

  * * *

  Jake scowled as Cassia vanished. He felt like kicking something or punching one of the walls. What had he been thinking, kissing her?

  But damned if it hadn’t felt right. Even if he had reservations about her, it had still felt right.

  No matter where he stood with Cassia, he was going to have to break it off with Kat. Kissing another woman while he’d been dating Kat exclusively was unfair.

  Jake began looking for his clothing. He was freaking naked in Otherworld, and that witch—or Elvin woman, possibly eggplant-headed shapeshifter—was his only ticket back home. And he’d just pissed her off.

  He glanced at the wooden table that was not much more than kindling now and he winced. The bed frame was cracked, too. To say messing with Cassia in any way might be dangerous was probably a huge understatement.

  Still looking for his clothes, Jake checked the chairs and unbroken tables, then went for a nice trunk off in one corner of the room. The mosaic design on the lid was incredible, and he usually wasn’t one to care about what furniture looked like. This one had an arch with a couple standing beneath, their palms touching as they stared at each other.

  Ah, hell. Mushy crap.

  Jake raised the top of the trunk and, to his relief, found his clothes, cleaner than they’d ever been, from his jeans and shoes to his socks and jockey shorts. The Stormcutters had probably eighty-sixed his T-shirt, but he found a royal blue shirt in the trunk in his size, made of soft brushed cloth. His shoulder holster, dagger, and cell phone were there, but his Glock was missing. He remembered dropping the Glock, and everything else must have been on his belt.

  His arm twinged where he’d been stabbed just below the tattoo as he tugged the clothing on, and his chest ached. The fact he’d survived was a friggin’ miracle.

  No, not a miracle.

  A mystery.

  Cassia had come for him—somehow she had known. What did that mean?

  Nothing. I’m just a lucky sonofabitch.

  After he finished dressing and cramming his feet into his workout shoes, he strapped on his empty holster and clipped the cell phone and dagger onto his jeans. The cell phone not because he thought he could make a phone call here, but purely because he expected to go home soon, no matter what Cassia said. He’d have to obtain another handgun at HQ.

  He skipped tying the strings to the neckline of the shirt and set out the doorway to find Cassia. He had to get home and she was going to send him back now.

  The moment he stepped through the archway, he nearly ran into a gorgeous redhead.

  She bowed before looking at him with gray eyes that reminded him of a misty sky. “I am Kellyn, Princess Cassiandra’s friend. She asked me to look after you.”

  Princess?

  “Ditched me, in other words.” Jake shook his head from frustration and curiosity. “Take me to Cassia.”

  Kellyn didn’t have the same calm-in-the-center-of-a-storm presence that Cassia had always maintained in San Francisco. Instead, she looked flustered, a high blush rising in her cheeks. “The Princess is currently occupied.”

  He managed to be civil in that he didn’t bite Kellyn’s head off. “When will she be available?”

  “I am uncertain.” Kellyn gestured down a long hallway with a heck of a lot of carvings on the wooden walls. The wooden floor shone so brightly it reflected the sunshine gleaming through arched windows. “Would you like to see the City of the Light Elves?”

  Jake wanted to say, “Hell, no. I don’t have time for this crap,” but figured that if he went along with it, he might find Cassia. “Lead the way.”

  Kellyn moved so silently beside him as they walked down the hallway that it was almost eerie. She was only about eight inches shorter than his six-six, graceful, with her long red hair tucked behind delicately pointed ears. He wondered why Cassia’s ears weren’t pointed.

  “We’re up in the trees?” he asked as he glanced out windows while they moved down steps in an expansive hall.

  “Many trees.” Kellyn moved silently toward a pair of wooden doors to their left. “The palace is in the trees, as are many members of the royal court. Other Light Elves live in homes beneath the canopy.”

  Due to his countless years as a cop, Jake automatically catalogued everything. Exits, vantage points, if the area was vulnerable to attack, and even potential weapons if he needed something in a fight—like the decorative spears on the walls or shards of a vase if he had to break one.

  Kiss Cassia again and he might not need a weapon.

  When they reached the double doors, they opened as silently as Kellyn walked. Two armed Elvin guards stood on the other side of the entrance, but neither moved, and Jake figured Kellyn had used magic to spring the doors.

  The walk down the steps from the tree palace was a head trip. A massive staircase led down to paths that split in several directions. Likely invisible to most humans, Elvin guards perched in trees wearing clothing that blended in so well Jake wouldn’t have been aware of them if it wasn’t for his strong cop and former special ops instincts and training. No doubt being around magical beings for so long now aided his “sixth sense.”

  While continuing his mental surveillance, Jake listened intently as Kellyn explained how the city functioned, while also pointing out its beauty.

  They walked by other Elvin men and women, who looked at him like he was the last thing they wanted to see in their precious city. It caused heat to burn behind his ribs.

  He’d never felt so much outright prejudice since he was in school.

  Being the kid on the wrong side of the tracks in South San Francisco, from a family of alcoholics and drug addicts, hadn’t exactly put him on the fast track to popularity. Not that he’d cared what anyone thought of his family. He sure hadn’t given a damn about his screwed-up father, mother, and one of his uncles.

  Yeah, good ol’ Uncle Gary. Now there was a fine, upstanding citizen. Real good about bringing on the dope and booze, and keeping his folks stoned.

  Jake had one relative who’d been good to him. Uncle Dave was the man who’d willed Jake the apartment building in the Haight Ashbury District. The D’Danann, D’Anu, and PSF had used the building for their HQ before the warehouse.

  Kellyn rattled on, a nervous sound in her soprano voice, but Jake barely heard her, he was so lost in thought.

  When he graduated high school, after he turned eighteen, he joined the Marines and turned his back on that life. He’d lived and breathed being a Marine.

  Then—he didn’t want to go there again. For years his dreams had been haunted by what had happened.

  Yeah, that pretty much smashed everything to shit.

  The other part of the reason that he’d left the Corps, though, was to return to San Francisco and be close to his mother. When he’d come back, she’d been ill with emphysema caused by forty hard years of smoking. She’d passed on a few years after he returned. But he’d made peace with her and himself before she died.

  His father was dead from liver disease due to alcoholism when Jake was still in the Corps. After he joined the Marines, he never saw his father again. He’d had a hard time coming to terms with himself over not resolving their differences.

  Family was family, right?

  Jake snorted and Kellyn glanced up at him with a confused expression.

  He ignored her as he took in the beauty of the City of the Light Elves and felt the soft warmth of sunshine on his skin.

  Jake never did hear whatever became of Uncle Gary, and he honestly didn’t give a crap.

  While Jake strolled down a path with Kellyn, he didn’t bother to acknowledge any of t
he pure discrimination in the eyes of the men and women they passed. He simply continued listening to Kellyn talk while he studied the landscape.

  Jake came to a full stop.

  Cassia. On a small patch of grass, surrounded by wildflowers beneath the leafy canopy of trees.

  Kissing an Elvin man.

  Kellyn’s voice became nothing but babbling as he stared at Cassia and the man.

  Jake’s insides flamed and his ears burned as fury rose up inside him. A jealous green monster clawed his gut and he clenched his fists at the same time he clenched his jaws.

  “…to lead Princess Cassiandra through her transition.” Kellyn’s last words penetrated the haze that had overtaken his mind.

  “What?” He tore his gaze from Cassia and the man to look at Kellyn.

  She looked flustered again, and he realized his voice had come out in a growl.

  Kellyn’s throat worked as she swallowed and said, “Daire is to mate with Cassiandra to take her through her transition so that she can fully ascend into her powers.”

  Cassia’s mate, seared his mind as he looked at her.

  Of course a woman that beautiful would have men interested in her, he thought, even as heat expanded throughout his entire being. In San Francisco he’d never seen her with a man—it had never occurred to him that she could be attached.

  Jealousy and frustration warred within him, and irrational thoughts pounded at his head.

  Mine, mine, mine.

  She pulled away from the kiss.

  Her eyes widened and her face reddened when she moved her gaze from the man and saw Jake.

  * * *

  Cassia’s head was going to explode from embarrassment as she looked at Jake. Wasn’t she having the day.

  First, Daire gave her a light kiss this morning. Then Jake had completely tipped Otherworld, and her entire being, with a real kiss. And now Daire had just snagged her and forced another one on her. Only she hadn’t wanted his like she had wanted Jake’s.

  Goddess!

  A part of her wondered if Daire had been able to taste Jake on her lips, but she snapped herself away from that thought.

  Then embarrassment rolled into anger that flared up within her like Dragon flame. How dare these—these males kiss her without even asking? As if it was their due?

  Jake strode toward them with a fiery spark in his eyes and fury on his strong features, and Cassia straightened to her full height.

  Which wasn’t much compared to Daire and Jake, who each were at least a foot taller than her. Cassia was short for an Elvin female, but she knew she more than made up for it in spirit. And magic.

  Kellyn tagged along behind Jake, trying to keep up as they wended their way along the stone path. Tree branches slapped Jake in the face when he strayed from the path. Kellyn looked bewildered by the actions of the human male.

  Jake reached her and Daire. He looked so angry that a large vein stood out on his neck, and she swore she heard his heartbeat.

  “You and I need to talk, Cassia,” Jake said to her, but his blue eyes were on Daire. “Alone.”

  “Say what you will here.” Daire raised his chin as he crossed his arms over his chest. “There is no secret-keeping between me and my mate.”

  Cassia’s jaw dropped as she swung her gaze to Daire, who looked like he could spit fire as he glared at Jake. She raised her voice, “I am—”

  “This is private,” Jake growled, taking a step closer to Daire.

  “I am not—” Cassia continued, trying to be heard over their voices.

  Daire also took a step closer, until he and Jake were inches from each other. “Nothing is too private for you to say to my mate in front of me.”

  “I am not your mate!” Cassia screamed at Daire in a voice so powerful it didn’t sound like her own. Brilliant white sparkles emanated from her in a powerful wave that forced both men to stumble back a couple of steps.

  Cassia’s magic burst from her in a wild, uncontrollable wave, and a nearby oak burst into flame. Smells of smoke and burning leaves filled the small clearing.

  Elves stopped whatever they were doing and stared at Cassia.

  Kellyn hurried to use her magic to put out the tree flames. Another Elvin woman helped her.

  The Dryads are going to be furious with me.

  I will deal with that later.

  Both men stopped shouting, looked at the tree, and cut their gazes back to her.

  Jake stared at her as if she’d grown into an underground Troll.

  Shock and concern coursed over Daire’s features.

  Kellyn looked terrified, her eyes wide and her lips parted as she finished dousing the burning tree with her magic.

  Cassia’s face felt flushed and sweaty.

  Serene, calm—screw it.

  “I. Am. Not. Your. Mate,” she told Daire as she shook with anger and sparks flew from her fingers, elbows, and shoulders.

  She turned to Jake, who winced when one of her sparks skimmed his cheek. “And you. You I will talk to when I am good and ready. Not before.”

  Silence met her ears as she stormed away toward the palace, not caring that she stepped on a wildflower and knocked a leaf from a tree with her flying sparks.

  To the Underworlds with both of them!

  * * *

  How many times had Jake stared at the back of a retreating woman over the past few days?

  Jake shook his head and turned to look at the Elvin guy named Daire. “So much for either of us having a word with her,” Jake said, losing some of his steam.

  Daire gave a slow nod, his arms still folded across his chest. “You must return home, human.”

  Jake just stared at the man. “What’s your hurry?”

  “Princess Cassiandra must go through her transition.” Daire narrowed his brows. “She visioned your near-death, entered the transference, and left before we could begin the process.”

  Daire’s voice grew deeper, and his words came out low and hard. “You must leave now so that I can mate with Cassiandra and finish taking her through her ascension. The balance of all Otherworlds depends on her attaining her full power. She is too valuable to—” His expression shifted to one of mild disdain. “To waste.”

  The anger that had been inside Jake before Cassia left shifted into a cold wave. Thoughts of Daire taking Cassia to bed made his head ache and an ice block lodge in his chest.

  “I’ll leave when it’s time,” was all he managed to get out before he turned away from the man and looked at Kellyn, who stood by the smoking tree. She had a black smudge on her cheek and the smell of burned wood canceled out the scent of wildflowers.

  His skin crawled at the thought of turning his back on an enemy, but his gut told him Daire wasn’t the type to literally stab a man in his back.

  “Take me to the palace,” Jake said in a growl to Kellyn. He sucked in his breath and evened out his tone. “Please.”

  Kellyn glanced from Daire to Jake and bowed. “Of course.”

  If Jake had thought the Dark Elves were not to be trusted, he saw the Light Elves in a whole new way. He’d take the Drow any day after getting a taste of these guys.

  The walk to the palace went by a lot faster. Kellyn remained silent and didn’t pause to show him any of the sights. Instead, they made a beeline for the palace. Jake ignored the distaste in several Light Elves’ eyes as he strode beside Kellyn.

  “I want to see Cassia,” he said to Kellyn as soon as the double doors shut behind them and they were in the huge great room.

  Kellyn gave a stiff bow, firm resolve replacing her uncertainty. “I will see if Princess Cassiandra is taking visitors.”

  He ground his teeth, but tried to keep a polite expression. “Thank you.”

  Kellyn bowed and walked up the staircase. Jake followed, but she had vanished by the time he reached the landing.

  A moment later he thought he heard the muffled sound of shattering glass.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger before r
aising his head and letting out a slow exhale.

  He recognized one hallway Kellyn had escorted him through. Rather than waiting around for God knew how long, he headed down the hallway, to the room he’d woken in this morning.

  He had to get back to the Alliance and work on how to end this war.

  He rubbed his face with his palm as he went over the numbers in his mind again. Including reserves, the beefed-up PSF Department now had nine hundred officers—however, it was three shifts of three hundred cops working at any one time. The SFPD was doing what it could with its manpower, but unfortunately the numbers weren’t even close to being enough.

  Police officers from precincts around the entire Bay Area had poured into San Francisco, but there were other things they had to deal with, so Jake’s team worked with officers in the SFPD to handle the paranormal activities.

  Add the D’Anu, Drow, and D’Danann—the Alliance was barely seven hundred strong. The Drow made up most of the Otherworldly fighters but could only join them at night, which totally screwed the Alliance during the day.

  Bourne had mentioned over two thousand Marines were battle-ready, so that gave them almost three thousand to fight Darkwolf at night.

  If Darkwolf’s captive men were right, that number wouldn’t be close to enough. Considering he had the power of two gods, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Darkwolf had enough power to create a massive number of Stormcutters.

  Jake gritted his teeth as he reached his room. He stopped in the doorway and clenched the door frame with his fingers and shook his head.

  One thing, though, was that the ideas for the weapon he’d been designing on his laptop were becoming more and more cohesive. He churned the ideas over and over in his thoughts.

  He needed to get back to San Francisco and help the Alliance bring down Darkwolf before it was too late.

  Cassia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or explode something else in her room. What used to be her favorite porcelain sculpture of an entwined couple was now nothing but powder covering the wood floor and her robes. She had already reduced a chair to kindling and balls of wool stuffing.