The Dark

by Cheyenne McCray

  “What’s that?” Copper focused on Cassia, her gaze steady.

  “One side or the other will claim victory—sooner than we expect.” Cassia slowly looked from Coven sister to Coven sister, looking for some sign. Something.

  “We will learn the truth of who the traitor is.” With a sinking feeling in her gut, Cassia added, “And it won’t be long.”

  When the witches scried, everyone made sure to steer clear of the kitchen, including Jake. He grabbed a quick meal of mutton, vegetables, and fresh bread along with a tankard of ale from the Cauldron of Dagda before returning to his room.

  The cauldron had fortunately been taken out of the kitchen and set on a table that was easily accessible to everyone in the Alliance. Jake wasn’t crazy about mutton, but it was food, and that’s what the cauldron had served up.

  It was fascinating, really. A guy just reached into the cauldron and grabbed whatever met his hand. Like what the D’Danann called a trencher—a foot-long, six-inch-wide, carved-out wooden plate. It was usually full of some kind of meat as well as bread, and sometimes vegetables. Reach in again and there’d be a huge metal mug the warriors called a tankard, full of gut-stomping ale.

  With his stomach roaring with hunger from the smells of roasted meat and freshly baked bread, Jake scooted his chair up to the table in his room. He focused intently on his laptop as he ate and studied the weapon schematics.

  When he was in the Marine Corps, after his men had been murdered in the Bamiyan Valley, Jake had dedicated himself to creating weapons to fight dark magic.

  A goddamned walk in the park.

  Right.

  Jake tore off a chunk of mutton with his teeth and grimaced at the strong, gamey, almost greasy taste. His stomach was bitching too much to give a damn about the taste of anything right now, so he worked on eating the mutton while he studied the latest weapons schematics.

  As far as what he’d been able to design up until this point, he’d managed to come up with the heart-seeking bullets that had done their share in fights against the Fomorii. Modifying existing Tasers into demon-Tasers had been another one of his brainstorms.

  All along, he’d been working his ass off to create some kind of god-stopping weapon, too. He’d dead-ended at every turn, with every modification. He’d used a sophisticated computer simulation program to “demo” the weapons, and each design would fail spectacularly.

  Jake washed down the mutton with some ale and tore off a hunk of bread.

  He knew he was onto something with the laser device he was working on now. But in every damned scenario the weapon failed.

  He snorted. Failing was definitely an understatement. No metal or any other material known to man could handle the intensity of the laser without exploding into a million goddamned fragments.

  Jake went still as a thought occurred to him.

  No metal or any other material known to man.

  Known to man.

  D’Danann. Dark Elves. Maybe even Light Elves.

  Could they have any materials strong enough to handle a laser like this?

  Well, hell. It was worth a shot.

  Jake wiped his fingers on a paper towel before snapping his laptop shut, grabbing it under his arm, and heading out the door. His strides ate up the distance toward the command center.

  “I need to meet with every head of the Alliance,” Jake said the moment he spotted Hawk.

  The D’Danann warrior gave a quick nod as if he recognized Jake’s urgency. “I will get word to Keir and Tiernan.”

  Jake gripped his laptop as he jogged the short distance to the PSF’s own strategy room. “Fredrickson,” Jake called out, then nodded to another officer. “Hopper. Join me in the Alliance command center ASAP.”

  “Gotcha, Captain,” Fredrickson said as he and Davies set aside what they’d been working on and headed out the door.

  Jake followed them. Hell, yeah. David Bourne and two other Marines were entering the warehouse. Bourne had a couple of healing scratches on his face and three or four stitched-up cuts on his arms.

  “Speed.” Jake went up to the man and they shook hands. “Thanks for covering my back at the park.”

  “Damn, Bull.” Bourne stared at Jake. “I still can’t believe you’re alive.” With a shake of his head, Bourne continued. “That knife wound you took to the gut, shit—you should be dead. And that chick with the fire show—you weren’t kidding about these guys being useful in a fight.”

  “If there was time I’d tell you, ‘I told you so,’” Jake said, holding back a grin. “Right now we’ve got some matters to discuss with the Alliance.”

  Jake nodded to the other two Marines, who stood at attention. “Good to have you,” he added before he looked back at Bourne.

  Bourne rubbed his close-cropped hair. “You know it won’t be long till the FBI, CIA, and fuck knows who else will be in here, too.”

  “For now they’re concentrating their efforts in other ways,” Jake said.

  Bourne nodded. “Gotta thank the Almighty for that.”

  Jake went on. “The last thing we need is any of the agencies sticking their noses in our business. We don’t have the time or the manpower to deal with anyone who doesn’t have a clue about what we’re dealing with.”

  Jake shifted his laptop to his other arm and glanced up at the night-darkened skylights as he walked with Bourne and the two other Marines to the command center.

  The day had slipped by incredibly fast, so he wasn’t surprised to see the Drow King, Garran, in the midst of the mix of most of the key Alliance players in the command center.

  Body heat warmed the crowded command center. The room smelled of sweat, but also had the clean scent of good magic, as well as the earthy smell of the slightly darker magic of the Drow.

  The Drow King Garran was in the room along with two of his most trusted warriors, Yale and Zyn. Garran’s First in Command, Carden, always stayed in the Drow realm in case something happened to Garran. Smart move.

  The King of the Dark Elves matched Jake in height, weight, and build, and had silvery-blue hair down to his shoulders. His skin tone was bluish-gray, and his eyes were an odd liquid silver.

  Like other Drow warriors, Garran wore a breastplate with chest straps, although as King his gear was jewel-encrusted. He had recently married Hannah, one of the D’Anu witches.

  Bourne and his men did a double take when they caught sight of the Dark Elves. Jake introduced the Marines to the Drow as well as introducing them to the D’Danann warriors. As usual, Hawk, Tiernan, and Keir represented the D’Danann.

  The D’Danann had conceded to wearing human T-shirts and jeans, but under long black coats that concealed their swords, daggers, and any number of other weapons.

  The Drow used bows and arrows as well as swords and daggers. They were quick when it came to whipping those suckers out and shooting pewter arrows with diamond heads.

  Jake rubbed his formerly wounded arm. He’d had a taste of one of those arrows. Not something he wanted a repeat of. He’d rather have been shot in his arm with a bullet.

  Lieutenant Fredrickson stood beside Officer Jamie Hopper. She was an excellent choice to replace the injured Landers.

  The only absentees from the command center were the witches who were doing their scrying thing. The three witch reps were normally Rhiannon, Copper, and Silver.

  Jake and some of the other leaders pulled up chairs in front of the several huge screens mounted on a wall. The remaining leaders continued to stand, but faced the monitors.

  Jake brought up the weapon schematics he’d been working on and filled the screens.

  Bourne whistled through his teeth. “If that’s what I think it is, that’s one kickass weapon you’ve got there.”

  Hawk leaned forward to study the design. “What is this?”

  Jake explained how the weapon worked, and the power behind what he was pretty sure could take out a duo-god.

  “It creates a high-powered electromagnetic containment field,” Jake sai
d to Otherworld warriors, who looked confused. “The intensity of the field would be so great that it could completely obliterate even a god.”

  David Bourne was nodding as he obviously grasped the concept.

  Hawk furrowed his brows. “Obliterate—that is not a word we are familiar with in Otherworld. What is the meaning?”

  “My guess is that Captain Macgregor means forget about heads and hearts.” Fredrickson shook his head with a slight grin. “Darkwolf will explode into pieces so tiny it’ll take a microscope to find a particle of the sonofabitch.”

  The Otherworld warriors gave nods of approval.

  Bourne leaned his hip against the workstation that ran along one wall. “That’s a great concept.”

  He went on, “However, don’t wanna be the one to burst your bubble, but with the amount of firepower you’re talking about, you’d blow up yourself and everything within a hundred-foot radius. There’s nothing on Earth that can handle that kind of firepower.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I come up with, too.” Jake moved his gaze from Bourne to the D’Danann and Drow. “That’s where you guys come in.”

  Garran raised one eyebrow and the D’Danann warriors had puzzled expressions.

  Jake stared at the Drow and D’Danann. “I’m willing to bet there’s some kind of material in Otherworld that would help us manufacture this piece of weaponry.”

  “The Drow are masters of many metals.” Garran’s brows furrowed. “I do not believe the Dark or Light Elves, even the D’Danann, have such materials.”

  Jake’s gut sank, but he wasn’t about to give up hope.

  Garran looked as if he was considering his thoughts carefully. “However, Mystwalkers have what you need.”

  The D’Danann made sounds of unease and Keir scowled. “How, when most are slaves to the Shanai?”

  “As you said, most.” Garran studied Keir. “There is a faction of free Mystwalkers to which your own mother belongs.”

  “This is true,” Keir said in a quieter voice. “And they are creating weapons to aid us in this battle. Perhaps it is the metal they use that you speak of?”

  Garran nodded. “I have heard rumors at best. Few know where the free Mystwalkers reside. But it is there that the metal can be located.”

  The gut feeling that Jake sometimes got grabbed hold of him. “Then we need to see these Mystwalkers.”

  Garran met Jake’s gaze. “You will need to speak with Cassia. I believe it is she who can help you.”

  That made perfect sense. As the daughter of the Great Guardian, Cassia probably knew damn near everything. And if she didn’t, she could ask “Mother.”

  “Shit, if you can put that thing together,” Bourne said, “you’ll have one slick piece of hardware.”

  “I’ll get with Cassia.” Jake closed the laptop and the weapons schematic vanished from the screens, replaced by the satellite image of San Francisco that had been there before. “Now we need to get to other business.”

  The team members made sounds of agreement and Jake took the reins.

  “First off,” Jake said, “do we have any leads on the sonofabitch who’s selling us out to Darkwolf?”

  “Could be daughterofabitch for all we know,” Officer Hopper said, and several of the Alliance leaders looked at her and chuckled, but their voices were uneasy.

  Hawk braced his left hand on the hilt of his sword. “The traitor must be someone close to the Alliance leadership.” He looked to each member of the team. “One who knows of our plans in advance to have time to warn the warlock-god.” He paused. “It could very well be one of us.”

  Jake broke the silence that followed Hawk’s statement. “The traitor wouldn’t necessarily need more than a few minutes’ notice. All it would take is a quick cell phone call, and Darkwolf and his Stormcutter bastards would hit us in no time.”

  “That would mean it’s someone in the PSF—or one of the witches.” Fredrickson glanced at the D’Danann and Drow. “I don’t think you guys have gotten that far into twenty-first-century tech yet. Although you do that mindspeak thing and can fly like hell.”

  Fredrickson nodded to the Marines. “You’re just now joining the team so it can’t be you.”

  Hawk, Keir, and Tiernan glared at Fredrickson. “Not the witches,” Hawk growled.

  Jake had a hard time himself believing it could be one of the D’Anu. He looked at Fredrickson and Hopper. “One of ours?”

  Fredrickson scrubbed his hand over his short red hair. “Hate to think so, but we’ve got to consider everyone.”

  The idea that it could be one of Jake’s officers had his shoulders tensing so badly his head ached from the back of his skull to his temples.

  Another thought occurred to him that sent a chill up his spine. A thought he refused to voice.

  Cassia. Could it be her? She had the power and the opportunity.

  Not to mention she’d been missing, supposedly in Otherworld, since the dark goddess was destroyed and the demons sent back to Underworld.

  Jake mentally shook his head, not wanting to even think along that route. Then why did Cassia save your ass, Macgregor? To throw the Alliance off the scent?

  He sucked in his breath. You’re a bastard for even thinking the traitor could be Cassia.

  Out loud Jake said, “Here’s my suggestion. We pick one rep from each faction of the Alliance.” He rapped his knuckles on the map table at the center of the room. “If we have a single person from each faction who knows the plans, we’ll be closer to eliminating leaks.”

  Jake met every wary gaze. “No one else will be allowed to know the plans until we deploy, and then only the leaders of the Alliance. The rest once we reach the destination.”

  When he had looked at all the men and the two women present, he continued, “This doesn’t mean we don’t trust everyone here. It just cuts down on the chance of the info getting to Darkwolf.”

  “Agreed,” Garran said in his deep voice.

  Jake nodded to him, then Bourne, before he said, “Garran, of course, as Drow King will represent his people. Bourne since he’s the head of the Marine contingent. Also myself, as I’m in charge of the whole show on the human side of things.” Jake moved his gaze to the three proud D’Danann warriors. “You’ll have to choose among yourselves. I’m not going there.”

  The warriors looked at each other, each obviously wanting to be the one. They were Alpha to the bone, three powerful leaders.

  “Hawk,” Keir finally said, with a slight nod to his half-brother.

  Hawk looked about as shocked as Jake felt. Keir and Hawk had been the worst of enemies since childhood. But Jake had to admit that the two had been getting along better for some reason since Keir’s marriage to Rhiannon.

  “I agree.” Tiernan glanced at Hawk. “Hawk was here when it started, from the very beginning. He was the one chosen by the Great Guardian to warn the D’Anu.”

  Keir smirked. “Although he did cross over without waiting for permission from the Chieftains after petitioning them.”

  Hawk shrugged. “But you came.”

  “And you had to face the Chieftains, and almost could not return to claim your mate,” Keir said.

  “Hawk, Garran, and myself then.” Jake cleared his throat. “What about the witches?”

  “Not Silver.” Hawk sounded as though he was grinding his teeth as he spoke. “My mate is with child.”

  “Hear you on that one.” Jake shook his head.

  Too bad. Silver had been there from the beginning, and had been the one who’d performed the ceremony that brought Hawk to San Francisco. She’d started it all—if it hadn’t been for her, this city and other parts of the world would probably be history.

  Jake glanced in the direction of the kitchen, even though he couldn’t see it through the command center’s walls. “I think we’ll have to let them decide.”

  “That settles it, then,” Bourne said.

  Jake held up his hand. “One more thing. You’re going to get the whole story later, b
ut—” He rapped his knuckles on a nearby desk before he got it out. “Learned something over the past few days.”

  A lot of somethings.

  “What?” Hawk asked with a hint of hardness to his voice, as if he knew something he wasn’t going to like was coming.

  With a sigh, Jake said, “Cassia—she’s not a D’Anu witch.”

  Those who knew Cassia looked at him in a sort of stunned silence.

  “She’s Elvin. Full.” Jake’s gaze moved from the Dark Elves to the D’Danann warriors who would “get” the significance of what he was about to say. “Cassia is the daughter of the Great Guardian.”

  If Jake had thought the room was silent before, he was mistaken. This time it was as if everyone had stopped breathing completely.

  “By all the gods,” Hawk said, breaking the stillness. “I cannot believe it to be true.”

  “Believe it.” Jake shook his head, still having a hard time getting the thought to gel. “Saw for myself when I was in Otherworld. Cassia and her mother—the Great Guardian—saved my life.”

  He blew out his breath. “Also saw a whole lot of other things in the City of the Light Elves while I was there. Cassia’s a Prin—”

  He cut himself off, remembering Cassia had asked him not to mention she was royalty. “A principle member of the Light Elves’ Guardians, or something like that.”

  After everyone had a moment to digest that tidbit. Hawk said, “Very well. As daughter of the Great Guardian and because she is fully Elvin, Cassia should represent the Light Elves.”

  It was Jake’s turn to be stunned. He hadn’t thought Cassia would be asked to be on the elite team.

  Jake pinched his eyes closed with his thumb and forefinger for a moment before he looked up and nodded. “Done.”

  14

  Jake hit the showers and turned the water on as hot as it could go, trying to ease the tension of exhaustion and frustration, not to mention being generally pissed.

  There was a lot to be frustrated and pissed about. Darkwolf. The traitor. Cassia and the ascending Guardian thing, or whatever it was.