The DarkWorld SkinWalker Series Box Set Vol II: The SkinWalker Series Books 4, 5 & 6: Blood Promise, Scorched Fury, & Fate's Edge (DarkWorld: SkinWalker)

by T. G. Ayer

  Now I knew where my favorite old sweater had gotten to. Greer had been known for sneaking off with my stuff, the reason for many of our spats when we were little.

  Much warmer and far more decent, despite being unable to locate shoes, I headed for Logan’s room.

  The door hung open, and the room lay shrouded in darkness. Logan still slept, his condition unchanged. Despite talking to him, despite his connection with his sister, he remained the same.

  I swallowed the rising tide of despair that threatened to overwhelm me, and forced myself to head downstairs. And was surprised to find Darcy pacing in the living room, her forehead a blur of lines.

  “What’s up?” I asked, moving closer to the fire.

  She glanced up at me, winding a long lock of her blonde hair around her finger. “I’m worried about Logan’s condition.”

  “What’s changed?” I hadn’t seen any difference.

  “Nothing. That’s the problem.” Darcy sighed, her eyes darkening as she turned from the fire and began to pace. “Even after talking to him there’s been no change. I expected some kind of reaction . . . Even a little.”

  “I know how you feel. And all we can do is try.” I shifted to face her, feeling her emotions wash over me. I hesitated, then said, “What is this about?”

  She lifted her lashes. “I . . . I did this to him.” She stabbed a stiff finger into her chest twice, her ragged voice broadcasting her inner turmoil. I had to admire that she didn’t hide the truth of her feelings. “I put him in this place. He wouldn’t be suffering if it wasn’t for me.”

  I shook my head and touched her arm. “Darcy. You know better than that. Had it not been for you, Logan would never have known he had a sister. He’d have never known that he wasn’t alone in this world. He has you to thank for that.”

  I tried to meet her eyes but she shrugged my hand off and took two steps away as if she wanted to run. Then she took a breath and turned. “You don’t understand.”

  Her voice shuddered as she shook her head, as if she knew I totally didn’t get it. Her tone hardened as she continued, “If it wasn’t for me, he’d be at peace. He’d never have regained any of his memories if I’d only done what I was told.” Darcy’s voice, her expression was bitter and angry.

  I laughed softly. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard to date, and let me assure you that in recent months I’ve heard some pretty stupid things.” I stepped closer to her, face-to-face, but she didn’t flinch, just stared at me, confusion making her eyebrows wiggle.

  “You don’t know what you’re saying. I was given a set of instructions and I took it upon myself to ignore them. I let my personal feelings cloud my judgment and now a man’s last moments on this earth will be spoiled, ruined because I couldn’t obey the goddamned rules.” Her voice had risen to a pained cry.

  I laid a hand on her shoulder. “No. If he were able to, he’d thank you. You’ve given him, even if it is for a brief time, the joy of knowing that he isn’t alone, that he still has a family. He would thank you.” I shook her shoulder. “You hear me?”

  She gave a tiny smile but I could see she wasn’t convinced.

  “Darcy, by allowing Logan to regain some of his memories you’ve given him a chance to find her. And us a chance to rescue her. Someone is determined to keep her hidden. She’s important, so important that they’d ruin lives, even kill to keep her away from us. From him. Anybody would be grateful for what you did. You risked your life to allow Logan the joy of one day finding out the truth. He will thank you when he recovers.”

  “If he recovers.”

  “Even if he doesn’t recover, don’t you think he’ll leave this life happy he found her, and grateful to you for helping him do that?” I shook her shoulder again, this time a little harder. “At least allow yourself to see that some good came from your actions.”

  “Okay.” She looked away, the fire drawing her gaze. And as she stared at it, flames danced in her eyes and she let out a sigh. I felt a little weight lift from my heart. In trying to convince her of why her actions had been for the best, I’d allowed myself to see it too.

  I sighed as well. “I was so angry with you.”

  That got her attention and her eyes snapped to my face.

  “I was furious that you wiped his mind, furious that you allowed him to be tormented by returning memories, furious that you didn’t tell him the truth earlier.” Her eyes shuttered and her shoulders dropped the tiniest fraction. “And then I saw Logan’s face when he made contact with her, the joy he experienced when his mind first touched his sister’s. That’s something nobody can put a price on. And you did that for him.”

  Silence fell around us and the crackling of the fire was a gentle interruption, as if it too understood the gravity of the moment.

  Darcy looked hopeful and I smiled, only a small one because that was all I could manage, but I could tell it was enough.

  “I’ve forgiven you, but the hurt hasn’t gone.” I sighed and gave her an encouraging smile. “But that’s for me to deal with. You just need to know that I am so very grateful that you helped him find her. And now, for everything you’re doing to help him.”

  She shook her head, looking so lost. “But I can’t promise that I can help him fully recover. That is what I’m terrified of.”

  “You realize we can’t expect you to do that?” She looked confused. “How can we ask you to wave your hands and magically make him better? We use what we can and take it one step at a time.”

  Finally, she nodded jerkily, then gave a tight smile. “Yes, and the next step is to see what progress he’s made.”

  I turned on my heel and strode to the door. At the threshold I glanced back at her, studying her face, profile backlit in fiery gold. “You coming?”

  She started then stared at me. “Yes. I’m coming. But not until you get something to eat.”

  “Dear Ailuros, is every person in my life out to baby me?”

  “If we don’t, who will?” she asked, grinning.

  I failed to come up with an appropriate response.

  Chapter 28

  I sat beside Darcy as she hunched over, and concentrated on Logan’s mind. Her eyes were closed and her fingers pressed gently at his temples.

  When Darcy stiffened I leaned closer. Her eyes opened eerily, and she stared at me. Blind.

  “He’s touched her mind a few times although she was frightened at first.” She smiled tenderly. “He was very sweet. Tried to ease her into the joining of their minds, careful not to frighten her.”

  I waited, holding my breath as she spoke.

  “He’s seen the place through her eyes. He was confused at first because it wasn’t the beach he’d sent you to, although he somehow knew that he hadn’t been wrong on that end. She’d been there.” She paused and swallowed, tilting her head to one side. “This time he saw a barren land, all craggy dark mountains and red skies. The rivers are red, and their sun hangs low and bloody on the horizon, as if about to explode.”

  I worried what that meant for Sienna but Darcy said, “The girl is ignorant of everything around her. She’s living in the palace, a human servant of the queen. She’s quiet, and unassuming. Unless it comes to her knowledge of weapons technology. She believes she is without power. Humans are mere chattels in this land, and have no freedom beyond their master’s needs. But it has been known to happen that outlanders – as they are called – sometimes achieve high standing in the community.”

  All the more reason to find the place and restore the people’s freedom, I thought.

  “Funny thing, and this is something even Logan finds odd, though they believe her to be human and powerless, she is guarded at all times when she leaves the palace.

  “She’s privy to much that goes on at the court, attends the queen almost constantly, has minimal contact with others. She’s intelligent, and very learned. And from what he saw she’s a master tactician and the queen takes her opinion on board. Apparently she’s proven herself in past bat
tles and skirmishes. She’s still treated as a servant, though.” Darcy let out a soft laugh. “Logan is worried that she’s in danger. He’s happy that she can take care of herself but she doesn’t use her power.”

  “Odd, considering she was so devastatingly powerful not too long ago.” I hadn’t realized I’d said that aloud.

  “Logan thought so too,” said Darcy. “Seems her memory was also tampered with. She can’t recall anything about her past with him and their parents.”

  “I’m beginning to wonder if his parents were their real ones.”

  “The thought had crossed his mind but it’s not something he wants to consider seriously. His feelings for his mother are too strong. But if that is the case, he’ll have to address it at some point.”

  “Any distinguishable features of this world? Buildings, land formations, people?” I asked.

  Darcy frowned as if trying to grasp at an elusive thought. “He was trying to be as observant as possible. The mountains are obsidian black, and dangerously sharp. Unscalable to his eye, but he can’t be sure.”

  “Doesn’t sound very hospitable.”

  “No. But the palace is stunning. Sienna and Logan both think it’s a thing of beauty. Everything is made of obsidian, walls, roofs, parapets, towers, all obsidian, gleaming like black glass. Only the streets are paved with black stone mined from the mountains.”

  Darcy seemed lost in the details of the world and I had to admit I was fascinated too. What I pictured in my mind was a city of beauty and danger, that is both home and prison to Logan’s sister.

  “There are strange outcroppings on the mountaintops, and around the city.”

  Darcy paused her forehead creasing as her blank eyes suddenly cleared and I found her staring at me shocked.

  “Holy crap I think I know where she is.”

  “Where?” I urged her to answer.

  Though she seemed disconnected from Logan’s mind, she wasn’t listening to me. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize it. I’ve seen it before in the mind of a Drakyr. The statues were the giveaway.” She waved her hands above her head. “Gigantic statues of women with towering crowns and even taller wings. “Dragons, Kai. Sienna is being held in the great city of Dyr.”

  “Dear Ailuros,” I whispered.

  Dyr, the mother city of the Dragonlands, the home of the great Queen of the Drakyr.

  “But isn’t-”

  Darcy cut me off. “The Drakyr currently have no queen. To be queen, the dragon female has to be a very powerful alpha. The most powerful of all. And queens are always born paired with a twin brother. Powerful twins are born, the female becoming the queen, the male her General. The twins feed off each other’s powers and it is said that the male is often just as powerful as the female hence the whole leading the armies thing. The last queen of Drakys was Shrya. She was killed two decades ago - her newborn babies too.”

  “Twins?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  Darcy nodded. “Right now, Sienna is attending Shrya’s sister Lyra. The substitute queen has no alpha power but she remains ruling the land until a new queen is found. What’s worse is that Drakys needs a new queen and fast.”

  “Why?” I asked, a little distracted with the thought of twins. Sienna and Logan were twins.

  Twins born two decades ago.

  “Because the red sun of Drakys is directly connected to the power of the dragon queen. She is its keeper and protector. It’s said that the power of their sun lives within the queen and since Drakys has no queen the sun is doomed.”

  “Talk about a buzz kill. This story was going well until now. Dead queens and dying suns?” The story was so bizarre that I actually believed it. The truth was usually the craziest version of the story.

  “There’s some kind of ritual held in the largest volcano of Drakys where the queen imbues all her power into a giant egg. And when the power is returned to her, the sun glows brighter.”

  “And without a queen to complete the ritual, the land is doomed.” I said the words unable to comprehend how devastating that reality must be for the people. “And they haven’t found a new queen in all this time?”

  Darcy shook her head. “There is only one queen at any point in time. If the twins are out there somewhere and are not found, a new set of children will be born only when the living ones cease to exist.”

  “And while they’re out there do they know their destiny?”

  “Not if they’re undiscovered. But if they did exist, they’d have been found by now. The Drakyr armies have a dedicated squad that works solely on finding the next queen. They have the ability to detect the power. No matter how far they have to go, they will eventually find the twins.”

  “So the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question is ‘What do Sienna and Logan have to do with this?” Darcy and I stared at each other. “Could they be the undiscovered twins?”

  Darcy hesitated then began to shake her head.

  And I nodded in agreement. “And of course, if Sienna was the one they would have discovered it by now. She’s been right there all this while. No way she’s the future queen right under their noses.”

  “Unless—”

  “Unless her memory has been tampered with and her powers bound.”

  Darcy’s mouth hung open and I got to my feet. I paced three steps then turned and went three steps back. Then I looked over at Logan.

  “He can sometimes hear us, you know.”

  “Then hopefully he heard what we said and does what he needs to find out more about Sienna and the palace.” I thought I saw Logan’s eyelids twitch but I couldn’t be certain.

  Then Darcy straightened and looked at me. “So what’s the plan?”

  “The plan is to find out more about Drakys and the situation there, then find a way to get in.”

  Darcy nodded then clapped her hands together lightly. “Then Sienna can help Logan recover. I truly believe they are linked in some inexplicable way, and that without her help he may not regain consciousness.” I swallowed hard.

  We had to find her.

  “And if she is the real queen, which is highly unlikely and pure speculation on our part, then she can hone her skills and return to retake her kingdom with the support of the Elders.”

  “Come what may, we bring Sienna home.”

  I appreciated her positivity.

  It made up for my complete lack.

  Chapter 29

  Pacing the patterned carpet of Horner’s office, I scowled and said, “How long does it take to get clearance?”

  He shook his grayed head as if I was an errant child impatient for a reward. “It takes as long as it takes. We have to wait for the Elders to decide. But don’t worry, Kai. I believe it’s merely a formality. They will grant you the clearance.”

  There was a cadence to his speech that I hadn’t yet identified, and it bugged me. But his certainty was reassuring and I stopped pacing and faced him, folding my arms tightly.

  “Sure, it’s just a formality. But I can’t afford the time it’s taking.”

  I was grumbling but I didn’t care. Horner had wanted me on his Elite team, even made me a senior agent, so he had to put up with me.

  I’d arrived forty minutes ago and considering I’d been waiting for clearance for thirty minutes, my mind kept entertaining every possible scenario that involved me turning up late for something.

  Late to save Sienna, late to save Logan.

  Somewhere in the pit of my stomach a sense of anxiety bubbled, filling my gut and making me sick enough that bile rose in my throat.

  The phone rang, the sound shrill and sharp enough to cut ice. And eardrums.

  I jumped, unable to control my response. I glanced up quickly at Horner, hoping he hadn’t seen my reaction.

  Horner’s attention was on his tablet, and he’d already lifted his phone from its ancient cradle. The man insisted on using a telephone that harked back to a time when telegraphs had only just gone out of fashion.

  He spoke a few words - a
language that was foreign to me, yet offered me a strange comfort. His tone was respectful, his expression so neutral that I had no idea whether the council had approved or not.

  I was antsy, wanted to demand the result, but I forced myself to wait.

  Horner thanked the caller, then slowly placed the phone back onto the cradle with a soft click. He leaned back in the chair and rested his elbows on the armrest, pyramiding his fingers.

  “They have approved,” he said, a small smile on his lips. I guess he had the right to be self-satisfied.

  I took a couple steps forward and sat in one of the chairs in front of him. It suited the décor of the place, one of two wingback chairs, in a striped cream and brown fabric, another throwback to an era long passed. To say it was comfortable, was a bit of a stretch, but I wasn’t here to get comfortable.

  “So?” I raised an eyebrow. My arms were folded and the finger of one hand tapped steadily against my arm. Horner’s eyes settled on the moving finger, then shifted to watch my face.

  Then he cleared his throat. “Access to Drakys has always been limited. Free travel across the Veil into the lands has never been allowed, not by the Drakyr and not by the Supreme High Council. As of now, there are only three entrances to Drakys. One of those locations is within the lighthouse on the shore of Sand Beach.”

  I stiffened and stared at Horner, openmouthed. “We were so close and we had no idea.” Then I paused, eyes narrowed. “They were protecting the access to Drakys. But were they also protecting the girl? Or was that only a coincidence?” The questions flowed and I suspected that most of the answers would be mere conjecture.

  Horner shrugged but he didn’t change his contemplative position. “It could be either one of those. But for security purposes you need to assume the worst.”

  Sounds ominous.

  “So you’re going to give me access to that portal?” I asked, questioning the wisdom of accessing Drakys from a location in which I’d almost been killed.