Against the Dawn

by amanda bonilla

  He turned his blue-eyed stare to me for a moment before swinging his head toward Lorik. With a low, warning growl, he jumped up into the back and I piled the length of chain beside him.

  “I see you’ve made friends with the beast,” Lorik snickered as he shut the hatch. “Isn’t that precious?”

  Yeah, I was so goddamned cute. “Get us to the freeway,” I said as I jumped in the back seat. “Traffic will move faster and there’ll be less chance of someone spotting us if the car’s reported as stolen.”

  “Why are you sitting back there?” Lorik tried to sound pouty but all I heard was suspicion in his tone. Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as I gave him credit for. “I’ll look like a fucking chauffer. Get in the front.”

  What a snob. That aspect of his personality hadn’t changed over the decades. “Lorik,” I tried to keep my tone level, but I really just wanted to punch him in the face. “If we’re both up front, no one is watching the wolf. These are close quarters and if you hadn’t noticed, he’s pretty damned big. Do you want to run the risk that he jumps over the seat and bites your head off?” Really, I should have planted the suggestion and let Steve follow through. “I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking one of us should keep an eye on him while the other drives.”

  Lorik grumbled an agreement of sorts which was good enough for me, because I was through arguing with him. I’d been brought on as security in his little business endeavor and my position had deteriorated into comedic sidekick. What a fiasco. I could only hope that Mithras waited for us at the end of tonight’s excursion. Otherwise, I was going to be seriously pissed off.

  I made sure to sit directly behind Lorik, so he wouldn’t be able to watch me through the rearview mirror. Using my phone in the dark interior of the car was problematic and I tried to shield the glow from my screen as much as I could as I opened a text message window.

  Heading to 2573 Tamarack Drive with Lorik to drop off a package for Mithras. Incidentally, the package is a werewolf. Pretty sure he’s a good guy. And a prisoner. Can you help?

  My phone vibrated fifteen seconds later with Ty’s response: What do you need?

  Not sure, I typed back as quickly as my thumbs would work. If you swoop in to save the day, it could blow my cover and I’ll never get to Mithras. On the other hand, if he’s at our destination, maybe I can kill him and save Steve all at once.

  I waited a few seconds for his reply. Who’s Steve?

  Ugh. Seriously, Ty? Steve’s the werewolf. I’ll explain later. I’m hoping for the best, but planning for the worst. Working on the assumption Mithras is going to give us the slip. This is a test of loyalty. If I drop Steve off, can you get him out of there?

  I hit send right at the moment that Lorik looked up at the mirror. “What are you doing back there?”

  “Playing Candy Crush. I’m bored.”

  My phone vibrated in my palm and I swiped my finger across the screen. “You’re not supposed to be playing games, Darian. You’re supposed to be watching the wolf.”

  I looked down at Ty’s text, I’ll be there. Just say the word. In the meantime, be careful.

  Tyler never disappoints.

  “I am watching the wolf.” I looked back at Steve for good measure who happened to be reading over my shoulder. Werewolves could read in their animal forms? Who would have thought…? “He’s fine.”

  No sooner had the words left my mouth when a set of bright lights came at us from our right side. The vehicle slammed into us, sending the front end of the Cadillac into the other lane as we spun a one-eighty in the middle of the road. My head whipped to the left from the impact, smacking the window. The glass shattered and shards of glass rained down on my head. We’d been hit pretty damn hard for that sort of damage. Intentional? Absolutely. Traffic ground to a halt, horns blared and I shook my head to try to clear the fog that settled over my addled mind. Nothing like breaking glass with your head to make an already shitty night worse.

  “I think someone wants Steve back,” I managed to say though in my own ears my voice was a little thick. I wasn’t worried about any cuts or scrapes—I healed faster than most supernaturals—but damn, my head was pounding from the impact. “Lorik, are you hurt?’

  “Hold on!” he shouted as he gunned the accelerator heading down the highway in the opposite direction.

  Don’t you just hate it when your plans go to shit?

  Chapter Twelve

  It’s not like I could coordinate with Steve to find out if he knew what in the hell was going on. And likewise, playing the “nod your head if…” game was sort of implausible with Lorik speeding down the highway at over a hundred miles an hour, swerving in and out of traffic in a smashed car that shook like it was trying to fall apart.

  I watched from the rear window as a set of headlights flipped around in the road and took off after us. Great. Two vehicles involved in a collision flee the scene with about ten witnesses. I doubted that’d do much to keep us off the radar. Lorik threw his hand over the seat, a Beretta clutched in his grip. “Here.”

  “I don’t use guns,” I replied. Too impersonal. “And besides, it’s pitch black outside, I’m not taking the chance that I accidentally hit someone.”

  “Well, you’d better do something,” Lorik snapped. “Because if you don’t get them off our ass, it’s going to be yours that’s in a sling. Understand?”

  I wracked my brain for a possible solution while Steve teetered on unsteady feet in the cargo area behind me. He let out a warning growl, something I suspected translated to: hurt my friends and I’ll hurt you.

  “I got your back, Steve.” I ruffled his fur which I’m not sure if he appreciated or not and turned to Lorik. “Keep driving. I’ll take care of it.”

  I took a deep breath and called on the shadows. They flowed over my skin in a rush of delicious heat that put me at ease. I never felt more comfortable in my own skin than I did when the shadows held me. A reflection on my dark soul, perhaps. But I didn’t really have time to contemplate any of that now. I needed to get Steve’s friends off our backs before they got themselves killed.

  The Cadillac swept out from beneath me and I watched as Lorik continued to race down the highway. In the amount of time it took to take a breath, the pursuing car had caught up and I allowed my ethereal form to settle in the back seat. One man, the driver, shifted into a higher gear while his passenger, a woman, rolled down her window and took aim with a monster .40 caliber.

  This all would’ve been so much easier if we could just sit down and talk it out. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to explain the situation—or ask what Steve’s real name was. Thoughts focused, I reached out and wound a shadowy ribbon around the barrel of the gun and jerked it from the woman’s grip. It flew into the air and landed somewhere on the highway. Well, that’s what she got for holding it outside the window.

  “What the hell…?”

  Now all I needed to do was disable the car without wrecking or killing anyone. Easy-peasy. While the driver and passenger argued over what happened to the gun—namely the passenger’s butterfingers—I knocked the gear shift into neutral. The driver depressed the accelerator and the engine revved while the car slowed down. He threw the gear back into sixth, and I countered by knocking it back into neutral. And then I broke the damned thing off completely.

  “Fuck!” the driver shouted as the shifter seemed to bend and break on its own. Ghosts had nothing on me. “There’s someone in here with us!” the woman said and I immediately counted her as the smarter of the two. “Pull over, Kevin. Now!”

  Kevin the werewolf? See, Steve wasn’t quite so implausible.

  With the car disabled and a few minutes of time bought, I slipped from the car and sped toward the Escalade. Even as fast as my shadow-self could glide through the air, I had a hard time keeping up with Lorik. The tires squealed as the car swerved into the next lane, barely missing an oncoming pickup. Damn it, Steve. I guess the werewolf took my absence as a cue to jump into the fray and try to secure his
own freedom. I couldn’t blame him, really. It’s what I would have done.

  I pushed myself as fast as I could go, gliding right above the pavement as I dodged oncoming traffic. The moment I reached the undercarriage of the Cadillac, Lorik swerved again, making it difficult for me to hit my target and get back inside the car. I’d lost ground but I pushed ahead, this time angling myself so that I was facing the vehicle rather than catching up to it. I slid through the windshield, nothing more than a whisper of dark air and settled into the back seat as Steve took another shot at sinking his teeth into Lorik’s jugular.

  “I can’t leave you alone for even a second, can I, Steve?” I grabbed onto the collar around his neck and gave it a solid yank, preventing him from taking hold of Lorik’s throat. He righted the car on the road, but not before he clipped an oncoming sedan which sent us careening into the guard rail on the right side of the highway. “Calm down, buddy.” I regained my corporeal form and wrapped my arms around Steve’s neck, which was so thick my hands barely met. I held onto him as much to keep myself steady as to keep him away from Lorik. I put my mouth close to his ear and murmured, “Let’s get out of the car in one piece, okay? I won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me.”

  Steve snarled and I added, “I didn’t kill your friends. I didn’t even hurt them. Just disabled their car. Now, calm down or we’re all dead. Do you understand?”

  Chances were good we’d all walk away from a crash, but I wasn’t interested in testing that theory out. Especially if we exploded into a ball of flames. The werewolf lunged at Lorik one last time and I dug my heels into the center console as I held him back. His breath heaved in his chest and I could feel the barely restrained anger shivering over every inch of his thick, black fur.

  “Muzzle that fucking beast!” Lorik shouted as he took a left to double back toward the delivery address. God, I wanted to get there already and hand the situation off into Ty’s capable hands. “Take the chain and wrap its mouth shut.”

  Steve snarled his disapproval and I threaded my fingers through his fur in an effort to calm him. Did werewolves even like to be petted? “I’m not doing that, Lorik. It’ll rile him up again. The excitement got to him, that’s all. Just keep going. I don’t think we’ll have any more interference.”

  He grumbled something under his breath, but I didn’t bother to ask him to repeat himself. I couldn’t give a single shit what Lorik had to say about anything. Steve sat back on his haunches, his massive body taking up the entire backseat. He lifted his nose to the wind rushing in through the broken back window and I was forced into the right corner, one hand still wound in his fur.

  Could the night get any worse?

  I probably didn’t want to know.

  I leaned back against the seat and let my eyes drift shut. The daggers vibrated anxiously at my sides; I’d managed to push them to the back of my mind until now. I could kill Xander for saddling me with weapons that not only recognized me as their owner, but became agitated if not used. They were hungry for some action, and I hoped I’d be giving them something to do very soon.

  God knew I could use a boost of confidence. Once I was assured that Steve had settled down, I released my grip on his collar. The chain jangled as he shifted his position and nudged my arm with his massive head. I reached my left hand up to scratch his snout and when the ring on my thumb brushed his nose, Steve jerked back with a whimper, shaking his head as if he’d been stung. Huh. That was new. “Do you know what this is, Steve?” I whispered and held up my hand for inspection. He shook his head and released a chuff of breath. “Bummer.”

  “I can’t believe you’re talking to that animal after it tried to take my head off,” Lorik snarked from the front seat. “I hope Mithras skins it alive and roasts it for dinner.”

  Steve growled and I patted his shoulder. “Not gonna happen, dude. He’s all talk. Just relax and conserve your strength. You’re probably going to need it.”

  I tried to relax but I was so on edge I thought I was going to jump out of my fucking skin. Grand theft auto, hit and run, fleeing the scene of an accident, kidnapping, the list of our offenses went on and on. Even if we managed to avoid the human police, we’d still have the PNT to contend with if Steve’s buddies had any connections with the Pacific Northwest’s supernatural ruling body.

  The Cadillac slowed and I craned my neck to see out the windshield as Lorik cursed under his breath. A patrol car passed us and the cops inside had their eyes glued to the banged up exterior of our vehicle. A flash of red and blue exploded in my vision and Lorik grabbed his Beretta from the front seat.

  How was I going to dissuade another act of violence tonight?

  I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched my left hand in my right, spinning my ring as I thought over and over, Let us go. Let us go. Please, let us go. The burst of color disappeared and I peeked through one eye to see that the lights had gone off and police car continued on its way.

  “You must be a good luck charm, Darian,” Lorik remarked as he tossed the gun back on the seat. “Because that wolf sure as hell isn’t.” He hit the accelerator and we resumed our earlier pace. “Ten more minutes and we’re home free.”

  Home free? I doubted that.

  I traced the shape of the bear carved into my ring. Could Nys’Asdar have something to do with what had happened? Had I actually willed those police officers on their way merely by thinking about it? These are not the droids you’re looking for… If so, it was as equally cool as it was scary. Why did the men in my life insist on giving me things that took on lives of their own? I already had control issues. I didn’t need my person weighted down with magical relics that made decisions for me.

  Five minutes later, Lorik pulled onto a dirt road that led down a winding trail through a stand of trees. Lights from a nearby building illuminated the darkness, shooting straight up into the sky as if through a skylight. Maybe Mithras had the evil equivalent of a Bat-Signal in his front yard or something. Steve grew agitated beside me and I reached out to lay a comforting hand on his fur. My own stomach was churning and a rush of adrenaline dumped into my blood stream as I geared up for whatever was to come.

  “Don’t worry, Steve,” I said close to his furry ear. “I’ve got magic daggers and I’m not afraid to use them.” He snorted, totally unimpressed. “Really, Steve? That hurts. Well, I have a Jinn, too. What do you think about that?’

  He leveled his narrowed blue gaze on me, lowered his nose to my cheek and sniffed. Weird. But he didn’t snort so I assumed whereas he found my daggers to be no big thing, the mention of my very own genie was enough to get his attention.

  Lorik pulled the car up to the front of a building that didn’t even remotely resemble a house. It always amazed me at the types of structures that could be hidden out in the trees on the acres of private property outside of the city. The PNT had a veritable fortress not far from the freeway and what I was looking at now could only be described as a temple.

  There appeared to be a large round circle cut into the roof which was the source of light shooting up into the sky. Their electric bill must have been outrageous. The building itself was nothing more than a dome of marble curving up from not high off the ground. Raif’s proffered knowledge of Mithras came back to me. Could this structure be some sort of cave with a domed ceiling? Whoever this Mithras was, he took the Roman theological roots of his name pretty seriously.

  To add credence to the assumption that Mithras had an overinflated ego, we were met in the driveway by a throng of men, all bald, all wearing the same strange crimson outfit. Huh. I’d thought Baldy’s style choice was some sort of tough guy thing, but it looked like all of Mithras’s cronies sported the same shaved heads. Their outfits looked like a throwback to New Age spirituality. A sort of yoga-meets-martial arts-expert combo that made me think of herbal tea and meditation. They were a little too serene for what I expected from a criminal organization that specialized in the arms trade.

  “Wait here,” Lorik said as he jumped out
of the Cadillac. I only now noticed that the engine was billowing smoke and smelled like burned rubber and rancid oil. Jesus. We were in rough shape.

  I looked at Steve, who’d begun to pant beside me, no doubt as nervous and anxious as I was. While Lorik recounted his acts of valor and skill to the pod people in the driveway—they appeared totally unimpressed—I spoke a silent wish under my breath, “I wish Tyler was here.”

  The atmosphere shifted, charged with particles of magic. Steve canted his head beside me as though hearing something at a frequency too high for my own ears. He sniffed the air for a few minutes before letting out a long howl that was no longer mournful or hollow. This sounded more like a battle cry.

  I was so damned tired that I could barely move. And the relief that I felt at Tyler’s presence was a physical thing that soaked into every pore of my skin, every vein, every tiny, microscopic particle that constructed me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him.

  “We’re golden, Steve,” I said to the werewolf who must’ve sensed the calm that settled over me. He’d stopped panting, and I no longer felt the ripple of anxiety when I touched him. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of this bullshit tonight, but Ty’s going to get you out of this mess.”

  I leaned back in my seat and sent out invisible feelers as I searched for a powerful supernatural presence. Ty was somewhere nearby, he wasn’t hard to identify since I felt him everywhere. I sensed Steve sitting beside me, a sort of primal, raw sensation that irritated my skin like a sunburn. Mithras’s groupies threw off as human a vibe as Lorik did: which was nothing. And as for the head honcho…I had a feeling that we’d been stood up yet again and I could officially declare tonight’s escapades a total loss.

  Awesome.

  As I contemplated sitting there forever and becoming one with the leather upholstery, Lorik snatched the back door open, his expression one of fierce annoyance. Looked like I wasn’t the only one bummed out about how the night had turned out. “Will you be so kind as to hand over our cargo, Darian, so we can get the hell out of here?” His tone was clipped, each word forced through clenched teeth. I’m sure Lorik wasn’t used to jumping through hoops. Really, he should’ve given up on Mithras and found some other criminal activity to indulge in. Something more his speed, like running books or maybe working on Wall Street.