Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel

by Becca Blake

  “No,” I said. “Absolutely not.”

  Another loud fit of coughing came from across the warehouse. I returned the amulet to my bag and sprinted back to Ayla, with Maki following close behind me.

  I found her where we’d left her, though she now rested her head on Celia’s lap. Her shivers had turned into full-body convulsing, and sweat coated every inch of her skin.

  As we approached, Celia’s gaze shot straight to Maki. “What is he doing here?”

  “He’s here to help,” I said. “How’s Ayla?”

  “Not great.” Celia allowed me to change the subject, though she continued eying Maki with suspicion. “I don’t know what to do for her.”

  “Can you call Ed?” I asked.

  “I could,” she said slowly. “But I’m not sure I should. Marcus might be listening in on his calls.”

  “We need to figure out what this is,” I said. “She’s getting worse.”

  “What happened to her?” Maki asked.

  “The Arbiters gave us an injection that suppressed magical abilities,” I said. “She’s having a terrible reaction.”

  Maki crouched beside Celia and examined Ayla. “I know what this is.”

  “You do?” Celia asked.

  He nodded. “I worked with Dr. Moran when he was researching this. He told me it was purely academic, as using it would be highly unethical.”

  “Ed tried to refuse, but Marcus demanded it,” Celia said.

  “So, what’s wrong with her?” I asked.

  “He mentioned severe illness as a potential side effect. He said for someone who had a higher than normal concentration of magical blood, it would be like poison.” Maki paused, then added, “but he thought that was a hypothetical situation. He didn’t think anyone alive could have enough magical blood for that to be a concern.”

  “Well, obviously he was wrong about that,” I said. “Is there a cure?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Ayla offered me a smile that was as weak as her wavering voice. “You have more important things to worry about right now.”

  “I need to speak with you privately,” Maki said.

  I followed him across the warehouse and stopped when we were out of earshot. “What is it?”

  “The emerald needs a sacrifice, and that girl might die anyway,” Maki whispered. “Her death could be useful.”

  In an instant, my sword was against his neck. “Not. An. Option.”

  He raised his hands in defeat. “Fine. Have it your way. But if you want this to work, there will need to be a sacrifice. I’ve studied this emerald more than anyone. I know how it works.”

  “If anyone deserves to be sacrificed, it’s you.” I twisted my wrist just enough for him to feel my blade move.

  “That could work, I suppose,” Maki said. “If you kill me, I imagine the power I took will return to the emerald. Though, if you do that, how can I tell you what you want to know about your parents?”

  That was enough to shut me up. I’d been so focused on bringing down the demon lord that I’d somehow forgotten what led me to Maki in the first place. I couldn’t kill him until I learned the truth.

  I lowered my sword and returned it to its sheath.

  Maybe we had to work together for now, but once I got what I needed from him, I would make sure he was dead.

  “Okay, let’s say we find someone,” I said, thinking aloud. “How do I know you won’t use that sacrifice to give yourself more power?”

  “In the years since I left the Arbiters, exposing the Council and freeing us from the demon lords are the only things I’ve been able to think about. Maybe I haven’t always gone about it in the most honorable ways, but there is nothing I want more. I don’t want power for myself. I want power to destroy them.”

  “That still doesn’t answer my question,” I said. “Whatever the reason, you want power. Why should we believe you won’t take it for yourself instead of channeling it back into the emerald?”

  “If this power can be used to stop Raxael, I don’t care whether I have it or this amulet does. It’s all the same to me.” He shrugged. “But either way, I’m not convinced this will work out how you hope it will.”

  “Ed seemed pretty confident it would work.”

  “Dr. Moran has never used the emerald himself. He’s never experienced its power.”

  “The power that came from killing dozens of innocent people? If we accept that, we’re no better than the Council,” I said.

  “Let me do what needs to be done to finish this,” he pleaded. “No matter what you do tonight, those people are dead. Nothing will bring them back. One more death, and we can make sure their lives meant something. That they made a difference.”

  “Their lives did mean something. And then, you killed them.” I shoved the amulet into my jacket pocket. “I won’t accept that power from you.”

  “Then, that leaves us with only two options,” he said. “We can run… or we can die.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Run or die.

  “I need to get some air,” I muttered as I got to my feet.

  What if Maki was right, and the emerald was useless without a sacrifice? Without it, we would have no chance against Raxael, and everything we’d done so far would be a waste. But if we killed someone just so we could use it, we’d be no better than Maki, or the Arbiters.

  If we tried to use it, and it failed, we would all die.

  How could I ask the others to take that risk?

  Our only other option was to run and try to find another way. We’d be Oathbreakers, living on the run just like Maki had been. But at least we’d be alive.

  The room blurred around me as I hurried outside, leaving Maki and the others behind me. I breathed in the cool afternoon breeze. The fresh air was a relief after being stuck in the musty warehouse.

  It was a few minutes before I noticed Orion sitting on the ground near the door, looking up at me with concern etched in the lines of his forehead.

  “Is everything alright in there?” he asked.

  I slid down the dirty wall and sat next to him. “Nothing is alright anymore.”

  “True,” he said, letting a cynical chuckle escape with the word. “I didn’t have a chance to say it earlier, but I’m sorry about what happened with Jacob back there.”

  I resisted the urge to brush off Jacob’s betrayal as no big deal. Orion knew me well enough to see right through that. Besides, after all the talk about life and death and human sacrifices, it was a welcome distraction.

  “I should have known not to trust him.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up over it.” Orion pulled me in close. “It’s not your fault.”

  “I just didn’t believe he’d choose Marcus over doing the right thing. I mean, he hates the guy,” I said.

  “Well, that seat on the Council probably went a long way.”

  “I don’t think he even wanted to be on the Council,” I said. “That was what his dad wanted for him.”

  “Maybe. But when you grow up with a parent like that, it can be hard to fight those expectations of who you’re supposed to be. He was under a lot of pressure.”

  “Are you defending him?”

  “I’m just saying that I get it. Hell, when I was his age, I’m sure I would’ve done the same thing if I thought it would earn me a word of praise.”

  “I don’t believe that,” I said.

  “My dad always wanted me to take a Council seat. When he saw me fail, again and again… Well, he made sure I knew how he felt about me.” Orion let out a heavy sigh. “Not even becoming a commander was good enough for him. And even after he died, I kept trying for that Council position, as if it would change anything.”

  “At least now that we left Haygrove, you’re finally free from trying to impress hi
m,” I said, offering him a half-smile.

  “Yeah.” Orion laughed. “If his body hadn’t been burned, I’m sure he’d be rolling over in his grave about me breaking my oath.”

  I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. You deserved better.”

  “It is what it is.” He shrugged slightly, just enough for his shoulder to push my head up. “Jacob might come around. It doesn’t seem like he said anything to Marcus about the emerald. That’s promising, right?”

  “Maybe.”

  Truthfully, I wasn’t sure what to think about Jacob anymore. Part of me wanted to call him to fix things between us, to convince him to leave Haygrove and his father. The other part of me never wanted to see him again.

  Either way, I didn’t have time to worry about him. We had to focus on what to do next.

  As though he sensed I was ready for a change of subject, Orion cleared his throat. “Celia is going to stay and fight with us.”

  “She doesn’t have to do that,” I said. “None of you do. Celia doesn’t want to be here, and Ayla isn’t in fighting condition. All three of you should go somewhere safe.”

  “And leave you alone?”

  “There’s no reason you should risk your lives. You warned me not to do this, that it would be too dangerous, and I didn’t listen. I don’t want anyone else to die because of me.”

  “Celia is sticking around, and so am I. We’re both here because we chose to be. After serving as a commander and on the Council, we both have a lot to make up for, and you don’t get to send us away.” He rubbed the scruff on his chin. “You were right earlier. Even shorthanded, even without our magic, I can’t imagine we’ll have a better opportunity than this.”

  “I’m not so sure anymore,” I said.

  “Why not?”

  “Maki thinks we should do another sacrifice to power up the emerald,” I said. “He says it’s the only way to use it, and that it won’t work unless we do.”

  Orion stood up and leaned against the wall, tapping his foot. “As much as I don’t want to trust anything that comes out of his mouth, it would make sense. Magical artifacts like that all have their own rules.”

  “But it’s possible he’s wrong? Or lying?”

  “Sure,” Orion said. “Though, there’s no way to know for certain until we use it.”

  “Then I have to take that chance.” As I stuffed my hands into my jacket pockets, I let out a gasp.

  “What is it?”

  I pulled the insides of the pockets out to be sure, but there was no mistake. When had he swiped the amulet from me?

  “We need to find Maki.”

  Inside the warehouse, we found him standing near a broken window, gripping the ledge with both hands. It was just barely too small for him to climb out, and I imagined he was making the same calculation.

  When he heard us approach, he spun around and hid his hands in the pockets of his dark brown trench coat.

  “Is everything alright?” he asked.

  “Where is it?” I demanded.

  “Maybe you should pay more attention to your things.”

  “Give the emerald back,” Orion said.

  Celia carefully removed Ayla from her lap and stood up. While Maki’s attention was on us, she crept toward him with nearly silent footfalls.

  “So, what’s your plan?” I asked, trying to keep Maki talking to give Celia time to get to him. “Take the amulet, do another sacrifice, and take Raxael’s place?”

  “I suppose. Most importantly, I won’t let you waste it. I won’t let Raxael get his hands on it, which is exactly what will happen if you go through with this tonight.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “He’ll kill you and take it, which will leave me with no way to—”

  Maki turned just in time to see Celia rushing for him, and in a flash, he disappeared. She ran into the window just as he reappeared near the entrance, next to where Orion and I stood.

  He hunched over, gasping for breath. When he saw Orion coming, he moved his body like he wanted to shift again, but nothing happened this time.

  At least the ability being unpredictable worked in our favor.

  Orion’s fist sailed through the air and connected with Maki’s nose. He lurched forward, and Orion tackled him.

  “Coward,” he snarled as he straddled atop Maki, holding him in place while I fished the amulet out of his pocket.

  “You don’t understand—” Maki began, but Orion cut him off with another punch.

  “Do you have anything we can use to tie him up?” he called out over his shoulder.

  Celia returned a few minutes later with a coil of rope around her arm, and she and Orion bound Maki to a nearby car.

  I ignored his pleas for us to release him and looked to Orion and Celia. “What do we do now?”

  “They said Raxael is coming tonight,” Celia said, checking her watch.

  “What time?” Orion asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “They originally told me he’d be coming at midnight tomorrow, but it sounds like they were trying to catch me off guard, too.”

  “I can summon him here,” I said, rubbing my neck. “The surprise will be on our terms. Not his.”

  “What should we do with Ayla?” Orion tilted his head in her direction.

  “There are rooms upstairs. She should be safe up there,” I said.

  Orion helped Ayla to her feet, and I slipped under her arm to help support her weight. Together, we walked her upstairs, and I laid out a blanket for her.

  “Will you be okay?” I brushed the pink strands of her hair out of her face.

  “Of course,” she muttered, smiling weakly. “I’m sorry I can’t help.”

  “If anything happens, you might want these.” I handed her the pair of daggers I retrieved from my house before we left Haygrove.

  Despite her illness, her face lit up. “You kept them?”

  “Of course,” I said. “I’m glad they’re back where they belong.”

  Ayla set the daggers down beside her. “Be careful out there.”

  “I will.” I squeezed her hand. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

  On my way out, I closed the door. I didn’t know what would happen when Raxael arrived, but if nothing else went our way, I hoped he wouldn’t find Ayla. She’d been trying to escape a life she didn’t want, and I dragged her right back in. She didn’t deserve to die here with the rest of us.

  “She’ll be fine in there,” Orion said as we returned to the lower level.

  “I’d feel a lot better if we had something big enough to barricade the doorway,” I said.

  “She’ll be fine,” he said again. “And so will we. We have a solid plan. If all goes well, this should be over quickly.”

  I wasn’t sure I believed him that everything would be fine, but I could at least agree that, one way or the other, it would be over fast.

  “Celia, wait over by Maki. When the fighting starts, cut him loose. Either he’ll help us fight, or he’ll create a distraction as he runs away,” Orion said.

  “If he wants to defeat Raxael as badly as he says, I’m sure he’ll fight with us.” I shot him a pointed look.

  “I hope you all know what you’re doing,” Maki said. He leaned back against the car and closed his eyes.

  “Riley, wrap some of that rope around my wrists,” Orion continued. “Keep it loose, but make sure it looks convincing. If we want him to think you’re handing over prisoners, we have to sell it. As soon as you activate that amulet, I’ll break free and join the fight.”

  “And if it doesn’t work?” Celia asked.

  “We’ll just have to hope it does,” Orion said.

  After tying his wrists behind his back with enough give that he could slip his hands out, I put the amulet around my ne
ck. It was much heavier than I’d expected, an unpleasant weight that pulled down on my neck. The metal that encased the emerald was cool against my skin as I tucked it under my tank top.

  “Is everyone ready?” I asked.

  “As ready as we’re going to be,” Celia said.

  Orion responded with a grim nod.

  I held my hand above my chest and closed my eyes. Fear crept in as I tried to calm my erratic breathing, and even the exercises I used to channel my suppression magic did nothing to help.

  Realistically, we had almost no chance of succeeding. I was putting all of our lives in danger for a task we could never hope to accomplish. But if we didn’t try, how many more people would the Council allow to die as they worked for the demon lords?

  “Riley?” Orion’s soft voice interrupted the downward spiraling of my thoughts. “We don’t have to do this. It’s not too late to walk away.”

  “No.” I took a weighty breath. Pulling my shirt down, I touched my shaking hand to the base of my neck where the demon lord marked me.

  Nothing happened. After a few long seconds, I opened my eyes, half expecting to see him standing in front of me.

  “Are you doing it right?” Orion asked.

  “I don’t know. Raxael said—”

  As soon as I said his name, the invisible mark on my chest burned bright through my skin. I cried out as it snaked across every inch of my body with electric energy. Agony unlike anything I’d ever felt surged through my veins and knocked me to my knees.

  Somewhere in the distance, I could hear Orion calling out my name.

  I dug my fingers into the dirt that covered the warehouse floor, grabbing desperately for something—anything—to tether myself to the world around me.

  Glowing circles surrounded by demonic runes radiated on the ground beneath my hands. I drew in shallow breaths as red light flooded the dark warehouse and a rush of air swirled around us.

  Orion stood with his legs spread apart, his feet planted firmly to brace himself against the rush of air, while Celia held onto a car for support.

  As the world calmed, Raxael stood before me. His wicked green eyes glowed as he looked down at me, and a smile slithered across his face.