The Dark

by Cheyenne McCray

  He went on, “No sign of activity registered anywhere around there.” Jake glanced at Cassia. “But thanks to a vision by the old D’Anu high priestess, we’re fairly certain he’s got his Stormcutters there.”

  “I don’t know why I’m surprised every time Janis has shown up to give us information.” Copper shook her head. “She’s against us killing, but she gives us crucial information when we need it.”

  Cassia was seated next to where Jake stood, and she leaned forward as she said, “It’s Janis’s only way of doing what’s right without crossing her own boundaries.”

  Copper gave a slow nod. “You’re correct, of course.”

  “The Presidio is massive.” Rhiannon walked closer to the monitors on the wall. “What, around fifteen hundred acres? Did she narrow it down to a location?”

  “Crissy Field.” Jake cued up an aerial view of the area that stretched along the tip of the San Francisco peninsula. “Which is to our advantage.”

  He pointed to the former airstrip on the northern end of the Presidio. “With our U.S. Marine friends, we can come at Darkwolf from the bay and the land.”

  Jake’s gaze met Cassia’s when she tilted her head up, and she said, “It’s so open there—so few trees. If he was closer to a wooded spot, likely the Stormcutters would have a harder time forming.”

  “Probably why he chose that particular area—so he’s not limited.” Jake propped one foot on the seat of a folding metal chair and rested his forearm on his thigh.

  “Unfortunately for us, that’s one of the trade-offs. An ideal location for our forces to come at from all sides, but puts us out there bare-assed.” Bourne shifted his stance on the other side of the room. “We’ve got an MEB of seventeen thousand Marines on our doorstep now.”

  He gave a cocky grin as he continued, “They got here faster than we expected. As far as I’m concerned, now that we know where the bastard and his Stormcutters are hiding out, they’re history.”

  “Here’s the bad news that I mentioned.” Jake’s whole body tensed as if he was hearing the news for the first time himself. “Apparently the sonofabitch has at least twenty-five thousand Stormcutters now.”

  One of Jake’s lieutenants whistled through his teeth. More murmurs came from those in the room, along with shocked expressions.

  Cassia glanced at Lieutenant Fredrickson, whose demeanor had changed significantly in the past few days.

  He didn’t react to Jake’s announcement, and she sensed extreme emotional pain within him. He was not exhibiting his usual in-your-face personality. Cassia started to wonder why when it hit her.

  The magic within her caught the current of his feelings. Fredrickson had been having sexual relations with Alyssa. Guilt and anger at being used rolled from him in waves. Alyssa had apparently been using him for sex, and to get information out of him.

  Cassia looked away. What was done was done, and she wasn’t going to add to his pain by bringing it up—to anyone.

  “With Darkwolf’s god-powers and the Stormcutter abilities,” Jake was saying as his eyes met Bourne’s, “they might just be a match for the next wave of Marines you’re bringing in.”

  Bourne shook his head. “We’re talking twenty thousand of us, including the Alliance, against a possibility of twenty-five thousand Stormcutters. Not to mention the incredible amount of firepower we’ve got at our disposal.”

  He looked far from convinced at Jake’s assessment as he went on. “We’re down a few thousand, but with our superior training, I don’t see how we can possibly not have the upper hand here.”

  “Your Marines are very likely not trained for this magnitude of powerful magic,” said Alaia, the dark-haired, green-eyed leader of the Mystwalkers. “Even with the Mystwalker ability to transform into mist, along with the use of our daggers, the Stormcutter numbers were too much for us to truly make a difference in the last battle.”

  “Your people and your weapons helped save many lives,” Cassia said as she looked at the Mystwalker leader. “The deaths and injuries our Alliance suffered could have been far worse.”

  “This is true.” King Garran’s long silvery-blue hair shone beneath the room’s lighting, and the gems on the leather straps crisscrossing his chest glittered. “We have much to thank you for.”

  The other leaders of the Alliance voiced their agreements. “We are pleased to do what we can to assist.” Alaia gave a low nod and glanced at Daire. “However, were it not for the Light Elves we might all have been destroyed.”

  Jake’s gaze met Daire’s. No matter his personal feelings about Daire, Jake respected the hell out of the man. “I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to repay you and your people.”

  Daire gave a low nod like Alaia had. “We would do anything for Princess Cassiandra and those she cares for.”

  “Princess Cassiandra?” Copper shot Cassia a grin. It was the first smile Jake had seen out of any of the witches in days. “To think, all this time we’ve been mingling with royalty.”

  “Well, that’s interesting.” Rhiannon tilted her head as she studied Cassia. “Yet another mystery of our Cassia to come to light.”

  Cassia’s cheeks turned pink as she shot a glare toward the Elvin man. “It’s not something I like to announce.”

  Daire gave a light shrug and an unrepentant grin.

  Jake could barely hold back a grin of amusement of his own. Instead, he braced his hands on the map table at the center of the room, and looked each of at the Alliance leaders. “We do have more good news.”

  “And that is?” Bourne asked.

  Satisfaction rolled through Jake as he told the group. “The god-containment weapon is ready.”

  “Goddess, that is great news,” Rhiannon said with a note of hope in her voice.

  David Bourne eyed Jake head-on. “Have you tested it?”

  “Only in simulations.” Jake pushed away from the map table. “We put in all the specs on the metal, and in the simulations the weapon works perfectly.”

  Jake shoved his hand through his hair. “The only problem we see with the whole thing is that I need to be damned close to Darkwolf to use it. We’re going to have to play it by ear, but I’ve got to find him. And fast.”

  “I don’t like the idea of you using something as powerful as that weapon,” Fredrickson said, lacking his usual vigor, “without testing it first.”

  “I agree.” Cassia gave Jake a pleading look. “It could kill you.”

  “It’ll work.” He met and held her gaze. “The containment array will hold him. Then you can send him wherever you’re planning on ditching the bastard.” He paused as his heart wrenched. “Problem is that, to do your thing, you’re going to have to be close, too.”

  “I can protect myself with my magic.” Cassia closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. “I’m afraid that I can’t protect you when you use your weapon.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” he said, unable to take his gaze from hers. “You don’t know for sure his magic won’t blow away your shields.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Cassia focused on the rest of the group. “Yes,” she added quietly. “Jake will hold Darkwolf and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  Expressions in the room ranged from concerned to thoughtful to unreadable.

  Cassia cleared her throat. “Magic is what started this. Magic is what will finish it.”

  40

  Tonight would determine whether the Alliance won or lost. Of that, Cassia was certain.

  As a black PSF Humvee powered through the night and neared the Presidio, a storm of magic roiled in Cassia’s belly. The sensation was like the havoc her magic had created before Jake had helped her complete her transition.

  She had full control over her magic now, but as they headed toward their destination she still squirmed in her seat, and she clenched and unclenched her hands.

  Goose bumps rose on her arms and she rubbed them from her shoulders to her elbows. The dusty smell of the well-used vehicle obscured any other sce
nts and caused her to sneeze.

  Kael sat in the back, but close enough that he was almost sitting between Jake and Cassia.

  Cassia flexed her hands again in her lap and looked out into the darkness and the glittering city. The city should be teaming with life, not empty and dead.

  She caught sight of National Guardsmen patrolling the streets, now sadly quiet due to martial law. Everything that had happened to San Francisco over the last several weeks had ground the city to a halt, and she wondered how long it would take these people to rebuild their lives once Darkwolf was destroyed.

  The Alliance would destroy him. They had no choice.

  And the resilient people of this city would recover and rebuild.

  Jake reached over the console and squeezed Cassia’s fingers as he drove, drawing her attention to him. Lights from the vehicle’s control panel glowed, casting shadows and green light onto his features.

  She tried to stop trembling from the nervous anticipation coursing through her body. He gave her a smile, but his expression was concerned rather than reassuring.

  Yes, Cassia had the power of a Guardian now, but she was far from invincible. Unlike the Great Guardian.

  She wished more than anything that her mother could be here to defeat Darkwolf, but the Great Guardian never interfered, only guided.

  Well, unless she was interfering with her daughter’s love life.

  Cassia sighed as she thought about her and Jake facing Darkwolf on their own. She knew she wasn’t close to being a match for Darkwolf, with his warlock’s dark sorcery and the power of two gods at his disposal.

  She was positive the Alliance hadn’t begun to see the full measure of Darkwolf’s abilities.

  And Jake—dear goddess, would his god-trapping gun destroy him instead of performing like he’d planned? Like they all hoped?

  To send Darkwolf to a place where he could never do them harm again, Jake’s weapon would have to work. Darkwolf needed to be incredibly vulnerable, unable to defend himself, for Cassia to hold as much power over him as she needed to.

  A shiver caused her to tremble to her toes for just a moment. Jake was going to have to get close to Darkwolf to use the array gun.

  Darkness crowded the vehicle as they continued through the night toward the Presidio. From land and from the bay, thousands of Marines and Alliance warriors were descending on the location Darkwolf had taken over.

  One of the biggest questions had been whether or not they could break through the warlock-god’s magical barriers. Everyone was counting on Cassia and her newly gained Guardian powers to bring the shield down—at least long enough to let the Alliance regiments flow into the Presidio.

  The sheer number of Alliance warriors and Marines who would soon pour onto Crissy Field should keep Darkwolf from reestablishing his barriers. Once breached by so many beings, it should be nearly impossible for Darkwolf to do anything but go on the defensive.

  Everything depended on what happened tonight.

  The Alliance hoped to take out as many of Darkwolf’s men as possible before the warlock-god unleashed the storm that would turn his puppets into deadly water funnels.

  The Humvee rounded a corner. Almost there.

  Cassia and Jake drove one of the lead vehicles since she had to take care of that barrier.

  Her heart beat faster and faster. Magic spread throughout her body, like bolts of electricity shooting inside her. Sparks flickered at her fingertips, lighting the interior of the truck and causing Jake to glance at her.

  She ran her fingers over her Kevlar vest, over her beating heart, as if she could feel it through the body armor.

  But she had full control over her magic now.

  Yeah, she’d just keep telling herself that.

  “Do not worry, Princess,” came Kael’s comforting thought in her mind. “We will succeed in defeating Darkwolf.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Cassia said out loud and Jake looked at her, but she didn’t explain.

  When they neared Crissy Field, Cassia could see Alcatraz to the northeast and the Golden Gate Bridge to the northwest. Lights glittered from cities surrounding the bay on opposite shores.

  Newspaper and television reports made it clear that people in every city around the San Francisco Bay lived in constant terror that the madness in San Francisco—whatever it was—would soon spread to them.

  They finally parked in one of Crissy Field’s ghostly, empty, tourist lots. Rocks that were scattered across the paving crunched beneath the Humvee’s tires, and the engines of their entourage tore up what had once been near silence.

  The other Alliance and Marine vehicles pulled in around the Humvee. Through the darkness, massive ships waited, silent death anchored just off the shore. Like the stealth of night itself. Cassia knew countless Marines were positioned and ready for the signal.

  Before Cassia could climb out, Jake caught her by the back of her head and drew her face close to his. “I love you,” he said softly.

  For just that one moment it was the two of them. Only them.

  Oops. And Kael in the backseat.

  But she pushed the wolf from her thoughts. So much emotion welled up inside that her throat grew tight. “I love you, Jake.”

  He brushed his lips over hers in a light kiss before drawing back. “Let’s kick some ass, Princess.”

  Cassia would have laughed if she hadn’t started shaking so much at the stark realization that this was it.

  “I love you, too,” Cassia said to Kael through their connection.

  “As I do you, Cassiandra.”

  “Don’t let me out of your sight.” Jake drew back, sliding his fingers across the nape of her neck as he moved away. “We need to get to Darkwolf together.”

  “I shall not lose you, either,” Kael said.

  Cassia glanced up at the sky to see that storm clouds had started swirling, and her heart pounded faster. “He knows we’re here. We’d better hurry.”

  Jake gave her a look that only lasted a moment, but could have been minutes. They both climbed out of the vehicle, Kael following with a lithe jump onto the pavement.

  Cassia’s body positively vibrated with magic as she walked toward the trees at the east end of the marsh, beyond the fenced-off wildlife protection area. A hint of a sweet scent, like honeysuckle mixed with the salt of the bay. She scanned the darkness, searching for some sign of Darkwolf’s barriers.

  Nothing.

  She continued forward, cresting a grassy knoll, Jake at her side, his Glock in his hand, and Kael just feet away. Behind them, Marines and Alliance members spread out and took position.

  Thunder rumbled overhead.

  Jagged lightning cut the sky, illuminating the empty shore ahead.

  Goddess! Darkwolf was preparing to attack.

  Maybe his barriers were already down.

  But when lightning lit the sky again, it reflected off a clear shield, like a soap bubble with an iridescent glimmer.

  Icy wind kicked up, whipping her hair around her face and stinging her cheeks as she neared the barrier. If she touched the shield, Darkwolf might recognize her through the magic and come straight for her, before she even had a chance to take the barrier down.

  Instead, she held up both of her palms, several inches away from the shield, and explored it with her magic.

  Fat drops of rain began pelting her hair and face, landing on her eyelids and rolling down to blur her vision. She blinked away the water and ignored the rain. She concentrated on feeling the dark god-powers Darkwolf had used to create the barrier.

  Her skin crawled and she shuddered from the feel of dark sorcery oozing from the shield. She pressed her own magic against it and fought not to recoil.

  Smells of sour laundry replaced the scents of grass, verbena, and that honeysuckle-like scent. Rain pounded harder on her.

  Time was running out.

  Even though her mental exploration of the dark sorcery barrier made her stomach queasy, it also told her something that she’d sus
pected. Darkwolf had been far too cocky.

  He’d only put enough of his dark power into the shield to fend off normal magic from any one of the races of beings in the Alliance, including the D’Anu witches.

  What he hadn’t counted on was her, an Elvin Guardian who had attained her full powers.

  “Now, Cassia!” Jake shouted above the growing sounds of thunder and wind.

  Cassia focused her magic. Held it tight while letting it build inside her as fast and as intense as the storm that now raged.

  She imagined herself a tsunami, her magic rearing so high and powerfully that it would slam into the barrier and shatter the black force keeping the barrier in place.

  With a burst of raw, intense, but focused magic, Cassia released her powers.

  Golden magic rammed the shield. She stumbled back from the force of the rebound that hit her straight in the chest. At first she couldn’t catch her breath, and almost fell. Vaguely she was aware of Jake steadying her from behind.

  The power of her magic illuminated what had been an invisible barrier, her magic making it sparkle with gold.

  Jagged lines zipped along the shield, shooting like spears from the location where she had blasted it.

  Thousands of fractures appeared in the barrier until it looked like a dome of cracked, golden safety glass.

  Heart thundering even more, Cassia pushed herself from Jake. She flung out another blast of magic.

  The barrier exploded.

  The cracking sound was almost deafening and Cassia clapped her hands over her ears.

  Sparks lit up the night and the falling rain. The sparks twinkled as they fell back to earth and faded as the shield dissolved and the noise vanished.

  Cassia moved her hands from her ears, her palms facing up.

  At her command, gold light shot into the sky like a gigantic sparkler.

  Kael released a loud, haunting howl.

  The signals.

  Shouts, cries, and roars carried above driving wind, rain, and thunder.

  The battle had begun.

  With the aid of lightning and her Guardian-enhanced vision, Cassia saw everything more clearly than if she’d been wearing military night-vision goggles.