Against the Dawn

by amanda bonilla

  “Keep your guard up no matter what, and don’t forget that there is nothing in this world that isn’t fallible.”

  Yeah. Well, I used to think so, too. Until my little chat with Reaver the other day. But my knowledge of the Jinn was going in the vault for the time being and no one, not even my best friend, would be privy to what I’d learned. “I’ll keep my guard up. Promise.”

  “Good girl.” Raif reached out and took my hand to bestow a light kiss to my knuckles. “Good luck tonight, Darian. And be safe.”

  Goddamn it. My eyes burned with unshed tears at Raif’s gallantry. I’d hoped to come here and warm up, get my head in the game and prepare for what I had to do tonight. Instead, I was a fucking wreck. Totally useless.

  I leaned back against the wall and watched as Raif left the gym. The cold-hearted assassin I wasn’t. Not anymore. Asher walked in a few minutes later, his brow puckered. “Everything okay, Darian? You look a little wound up.”

  I tossed him the practice daggers and went to the weapons wall to grab a new set. Taking my position in the middle of the mat, I turned toward him and adopted an offensive stance. “I need twenty hard minutes, Ash. And don’t go easy on me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “I told you to stop gambling.”

  Azriel paced the confines of our house, his expression dark. Lorik had come in a panic, reeking of booze and god knew what else, begging Azriel to help him out of the mess he’d gotten himself into. This was going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. I was certain of it. Azriel had reached his limit with Lorik and at this point, it might have been a better idea for him to deal with the gangsters than face Azriel’s wrath.

  Lorik sat in a chair at the kitchen table, his clothes rumpled, expression tense. He looked as though he hadn’t slept in a week. Half-moon shadows hollowed his eyes and even his skin seemed to slouch with exhaustion on his face. A deep crease dug into his forehead and he gripped his hands together, the fingers intertwined, before he slammed them down on the tabletop with enough force to topple the sugar bowl a few inches away.

  “I’m a dead man if I don’t pay Axler’s men by the end of the week.”

  Lorik had been specifically instructed by Vasili to keep as far a distance from the Midwest crime syndicates as possible. He’d really stepped into it this time and was in way over his head with one of Detroit’s biggest criminal organizations. Abe Axler and his Purple Gang were about as dangerous a group as you’d find, and Axler already had several axes to grind with Vasili. No doubt they’d egged Lorik on, offering to float his bets with the knowledge that he’d lose it all without the hopes of being able to pay the money back. They could really stick it to Vasili either by killing his son or by using him to get to the old man. Smart, but equally ruthless.

  “You’ve got to do something, Az. Lend me the money. You know I’m good for it. Or better yet, just get me the hell out of here. I need to lay low for a while. At least until the dust settles. Once Axler cools down, everything will be fine.”

  Azriel’s gaze slid to me. We both knew that wasn’t true. Axler would hold a grudge until Lorik and Vasili were both dead. It was time for us to end our affiliation with the Armenian mobster. And his son. We didn’t need the attention a vendetta from Axler would bring.

  “I’ve already talked to Vasili. He’s not paying off your debt and neither am I.”

  Lorik’s head snapped up and panic lit his eyes. “So, what? You’re going to turn me over to Axler’s crew?” His tone escalated with every word. “You’ll let them kill me?”

  “No, Lorik.” Azriel’s tone carried a warning, one I didn’t think Lorik had picked up on. “Though make no mistake, I told your father he should have turned you over to Axler’s men.” The look of betrayal on Lorik’s face had no effect on Azriel. “I’m getting you out of the city. Tonight. They won’t find you and you’ll be safe. But I swear to you, Lorik, if you if you can’t learn to curb your impulses, you’ll find yourself in more trouble that you can imagine. Tonight will be a dream compared to what awaits you. Do you understand me?”

  Lorik nodded, his eyes wide. “I’ll behave. I’ll do anything you want. Get me out of the city.”

  He let his forehead rest on the table and I crossed the room to speak privately with Azriel. “What are you up to?” I asked close to his ear. “Where are you sending him?”

  Azriel pulled back and regarded me with a calm expression, though his eyes were shrouded with something dark and dangerous. “This is not your concern, Darian. We’ll send him away and be rid of him once and for all. Do you trust me?”

  As though he even had to ask. “Of course I do. Do whatever you have to do. But get him out of here.”

  My stomach felt like one of those boxes full of money that people step into and try to catch the bills as they fly around in a brisk swirl of wind. The nerves weren’t atypical—I always got a little worked up before a job—but this time was different. I didn’t like going into a situation blind. Without the opportunity to check out the layout of Atlas ahead of time, I had no idea what to expect once we got inside. Likewise, I had no idea as to the house rules. Would supernatural abilities and powers be neutralized inside the club? How hard would Mithras be to kill? And would his acolytes prove to be a problem?

  Thank god I was taking Asher for backup.

  “I’d love it if you didn’t work any of that mind control mumbo-jumbo on me tonight, okay?” I needed to maintain a laser focus and wondering if Ash was working any angles would only divide my attention and throw me off my game.

  “Don’t worry, Darian. It’s going to take all of my concentration to keep myself under the radar in the presence of so many. One less mind to worry about is welcomed.”

  Knowing Asher had my back was doing wonders for that swirling moneybox of nerves that was still creating chaos in my stomach. The last time I’d gone after a mark to finish a job, Kade had made me pay dearly for my efforts. Ash had been there for me then, I was glad to have him here for me now. I was dressed for my part tonight, playing Lorik’s enforcer to a T. My standard black, thick soled boots, and of course my duster. I slid the katana into the sheath strapped to my back and secured Xander’s enchanted daggers at my hips. To my belt I added six throwing knives.

  “Ready?”

  As Asher slung his sheathed sword over his shoulder, I pulled the hood of my coat up over my head to shield my head from the rain. I didn’t feel like entering the uber fancy secret club looking like a drowned rat. I was an accessory tonight. A tool for Lorik to use. It wouldn’t do to show up looking anything less than one hundred percent.

  “Ready.” His eyes were lit with excitement, twin amber flames burning bright. He was like a kid on Christmas morning, bouncing with anticipation. If tonight went off without a hitch, I’d have to seriously consider working with a partner from here on out.

  Asher arranged to have a car pick us up at my place and drive us out to the Industrial District. It wouldn’t have been a long trek in our incorporeal forms, but I was thankful that we didn’t have to deal with the rain. Another thing on my to do list: buy a damned car. As we traversed the city streets, it wasn’t lost on me who supplied the vehicle that was carting us around. I needed to wean myself off of Xander’s resources and learn to not count on him to always supply me with what I needed. I guess I hadn’t realized how dependent on him I’d become in the past couple of years. It wasn’t fair to put him arms’ length while simultaneously taking advantage of what he generously offered to me. If I was going to convince him to go back to his kingdom and take care of business, I needed to make a clean break.

  “I’m worried that someone inside will be able to see through your mind games.” I still didn’t have a good grasp of what other supernatural creatures were out there and what they could do. “We need to form a plan to deal with it if it happens.”

  “I don’t think it’ll be an issue.” Asher’s arrogance was admirable. “Don’t forget, Sidhe are pretty damned high on the power scale.�
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  “True. But you’re only half Sidhe, Ash.”

  “Half is more than enough, Darian.”

  Yup. Arrogant as fuck. But in this line of work, ego was a necessity.

  As our driver pulled up to the enormous warehouse space that served as a front for the private supernatural club, I wished I had a little of my own arrogance back. After being knocked down a peg or ten, I was finally climbing my way out of the ditch, but I knew I’d never be that reckless, over-confident woman again.

  “Just another day at the office, right Darian?”

  I answered Asher’s expectant expression with a smile. “Sure. Piece of cake.”

  Xander’s driver pulled up to the front of the warehouse and parked. He walked around to my side of the town car and opened the door for me. “Don’t forget, Darian. I’m not here. You can see me and hear me, but no one else will be able to. So try to ignore me, okay?”

  I was a pro as shutting out the world. I had decades of practice. “Keep an eye out for multiple exits in case we need to get the hell out of there. Also, with as tough as it was to score a meet, I’m assuming Mithras is going to come with a small army as security. We’ll need a head count.”

  “Got it,” Ash replied as he climbed out behind me. “Here we go.”

  “Would you like me to return later to pick you up?” Xander’s driver spoke to me directly, and I assumed Ash was already working his charms. “I can wait for you too, if you’d like.”

  “No thanks. We—um, I mean I won’t need a ride home tonight. Thanks for the offer, though.”

  The driver gave me a pleasant smile before closing the door and returning to the driver’s side. “Good evening, Miss Charles.”

  Ugh. I’d never get used to the way everyone on Xander’s staff addressed me so formally. “Same to you.” But they were all very friendly and accommodating so I couldn’t really complain. Just one more thing I was going to miss when I severed ties with the royal household: the company of other Shaedes.

  The car pulled away to reveal Lorik waiting for me near the garage-style warehouse doors. I could almost picture him in a pin-striped suit, complete with a fedora pulled low over his brow and his wingtip shoes polished to perfection. Behind the smirk curving his full lips, I noticed something that I hadn’t before. A weariness and regret that aged him and reflected in the depths of his dark eyes. My stomach tightened with anxious energy.

  “A more deadly creature, I’ve never seen,” Lorik remarked as I walked up to him. Beside me, Asher sized him up, his amber eyes narrowing like an animal on the prowl. “Who would dare cross me with you guarding my back?”

  “Mithras is here?” I opted not to respond to his compliment, though it did bolster my courage a bit.

  “I’ve been promised he is.” Lorik turned his back to me and walked up to the warehouse doors, a set of sliders three times taller than a Lyhtan and at least five times as wide. On the outside, this place was ramshackle at best. I could only imagine what we’d find once inside. “Heads will roll if he isn’t. I’ve worked for months to convince his people that I’m a trustworthy distributor for his product. I have customers lined up and ready to buy. And they’re growing impatient.”

  Lorik spent the bulk of prohibition running booze, it didn’t surprise me that now he’d graduated to running guns. “Let’s get inside and see what the man has to say, then. Shall we?”

  He flashed me a wide smile. “No time like the present.”

  We stood before the doors and beside me Asher’s neck tilted back as he looked up at the tall warehouse façade. “I feel like I’m standing at the gates of Moria,” he remarked. “Speak friend and enter…”

  Dear god. Laughter bubbled up in my chest and I coughed to cover up my mirth. It was pretty tough to behave as though he wasn’t there if he was going to be cracking me up all night. Lorik cut me a look and I said, “Lead the way. Do we walk right in, or what?”

  “You have to be a member to gain entrance, but I was invited which should suffice to get us inside.” Lorik placed his palm against the corrugated metal door and a bright red light flared beneath his hand.

  Beside me, Asher murmured, “I’m expecting him to burst into flames at any second.”

  I swung my hip out and gave him a gentle nudge. He was killing me with the smartass remarks. The doors eased open and a swath of light escaped to cut through the darkness. Tiny golden dust particles floated in the air, twinkling in a gilded swirl as the doors opened wider to allow us entrance. As I stepped inside the building, the particles settled on what little skin I’d left exposed in a light tingle of warmth like a mist of steam. I held my hand out to find that the gold dust clung to me, the tiny flakes glittering in the light as I turned my hand over. Crazy.

  “My god, would you look at this place?”

  Lorik’s tone echoed my awe as I took in the confines of Atlas. Ash’s comment about Moria wasn’t too far off, though what I was looking at now was sort of a strange cross between Rivendell and Casino Royale. This place had the PNT ball I’d attended beat by miles. Opulent and lush, whoever decorated Atlas definitely had the Midas touch. Gold covered nearly every surface, and more of the same gilded flakes swirled in the air like fancy dust motes. The revelers inside all wore a light coating of sparkling color just like I did. The air smelled sweet, like warm sugar and on a whim I caught the gold flakes on my tongue as though they were snowflakes. I could taste the sweetness of the air. Totally trippy.

  “Have you ever seen anything so wondrous, Darian?”

  I was impressed, no doubt about that. But Lorik had never beheld the chaotic beauty of O’Anel, or watched as Gargoyles sprang to life from stone. And nothing—not even this place—could hold a candle to the wonder I felt when I lost myself in the depths of Tyler’s eyes. “It’s amazing, Lorik.” I turned to him and smiled. “Unbelievable.”

  Like Reaver’s basement, this place defied the laws of nature. Outside, night had descended, but in here, a bright sun shone from what appeared to be a false sky. Living, green things sprouted from the dark slate floors, reaching upward in search of sustenance. A large fountain graced the center of the space and other, smaller ones occupied each corner. I looked for alternate exits, anything that might point to a way out, but so far, it appeared that there was only one way in or out. I took note of the bar, several gaming tables, and a small platform where a string quartet played.

  Toward the rear of the building, behind the fountains in each corner, I thought I spied twin hallways. They were shrouded by the thick foliage of tropical, wide leafed trees so I couldn’t be sure. But I had to assume that there was more to the place than this central space. “Do you see Mithras?”

  Lorik was still a little slack-jawed, and more than a little preoccupied with a pair of nearly naked Sylphs that had apparently decided a dip in one of the shallow pools was in order. Water from the fountain cascaded over them as they giggled and splashed water at each other. Nice. It was like a scene right out of a skin-a-max flick. Sylphs Gone Wild: 4. Give me a break. “Lorik.” I nudged him with my elbow and he broke from his apparent trance, turning toward me, brows raised. “Mithras. Do you see him here?”

  “How would I know?” he responded with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’ve never met the man.”

  It was going to be a long damned night. “Well, since we’re not going to walk around tapping guys on the shoulder to ask if they’re supernatural arms dealers with a god complex, how do you suggest we find him?”

  “Relax, Darian. He’ll find us.”

  Like a kid in a candy store, Lorik appeared not to know where to go first. He headed off in one direction and then changed course when something more interesting caught his eye. I tried to keep my focus on Lorik while relying on Asher to scope the place out. The distractions were many though, and I found my attention wandering more often than not. Atlas had all of the visual stimulation of Seven—a primarily supernatural club dedicated to the seven deadly sins—but with a thousand times more class.


  “This place is sick,” Asher said from beside me. “I’ve got to find out how to get an invite because I won’t be satisfied until I’m a permanent club member.”

  I pursed my lips to stifle the smile that threatened. If Xander wasn’t already a member, he’d at least been invited. Maybe I’d offer up a suggestion to Raif that Ash be rewarded for his hard work by pulling a few strings on his behalf. The kid deserved a little fun. I lost Lorik to what looked like a baccarat table—big surprise—and let out a slow sigh. His ADHD was starting to wear my nerves a little thin. Whereas I couldn’t help but be on edge, Lorik seemed oblivious to everything but the cards in front of him.

  “Do you even have the right kind of currency to buy in?” For all I knew, the only money accepted in this place was gold doubloons or some shit. Lorik’s eyes twinkled and he dug into the pocket of his jacket, opening his fist to reveal a small horde of diamonds. “Jesus Christ, where did you get those?”

  Lorik winked in response and spread the gems out on the crimson velvet of the gaming table. “I’ll take the equivalent in chips,” he said to the dealer, a willowy-limbed Fae with silver-white eyes.

  She responded with a nod and a soft smile that revealed a row of glistening pearlescent teeth. Crazy. She counted out three piles of chips: gold, silver, and bronze. They were marked with strange runes that glowed with an otherworldly light and Lorik’s eyes grew wide at the sight, his expression eager. Where was a mind reader when you needed one? I looked around for Asher and found him at the far corner of the club, snooping around and doing exactly what I needed him to do. Guess I’d have to wait to find out what little tidbits of info were swirling around inside Lorik’s brain.

  Like the good little bodyguard, I stood at Lorik’s back, watching the game with disinterest while I scanned the immediate area for potential threats—or any sign of Mithras. As it had been decades ago, Lorik’s luck was still abysmal and he lost hand after hand, sending his temper afoul. “Another drink!” he called out as he tossed his last few chips onto the table, disgusted.