Charlie? he called again. You need to come back. Myles will notice you’re gone. Why won’t you answer me?
No reply.
“Would you all please sit?” Myles added.
Drake moved over, keeping a watchful eye on Myles. This didn’t feel right. Everyone sat down, Drake did the same to avoid any unwanted attention. Charlie?
Again nothing. Could she just be ignoring him or was she in trouble?
Myles place the orb in the centre of the table. “I’ll now demonstrate another gift this can give us,” he continued.
Drake sensed the hum of power in the air, then raised his mental shields and physical ones. Charlie, damn it, where are you?
The crackle of energy made it harder to concentrate. The orb pulsed with red lights, its vibration humming through the air. Splinters of energy shot out as tendrils of power wrapped around every person at the table.
Drake gasped, feeling invisible fingers clawing to get inside him, to get to his power. His eyes bled to black as his inner demon came out. He let out a growl, his fangs extending.
Screams echoed around the room as one by one each demon exploded in a burst of light.
No! Drake thought.
Energy reverberated outwards sending Drake crashing across the room as glass shattered and wood splintered from the blast. The air left his lungs but his power remained in place. Anger soon replaced shock as only he and Myles remained in the shattered remains of the ballroom.
“Nice disguise.” Myles smirked. “You almost had me fooled there.”
Drake scrambled up. “What did you do?” he snarled.
“Simple. I stole and absorbed the power of every demon at the table,” Myles explained. “Except yours, of course, but now...” Blue rippling energy formed in his palm. “Let’s see if the Akaran is still the most powerful of all demons.”
Drake shimmered out just as the blast came at him, then reappeared, the blast hitting the walls behind him, sending wood and plaster flying. Fire formed in Drake’s hand, he hurled it at Myles, who fazed before it could reach him. This was pointless.
Myles threw another energy ball, but Drake didn’t seem to think he was even trying to kill him.
“Why are we doing this?” he demanded. “This building is unstable – even if you bring it down you know it won’t kill me.”
Myles laughed. “No, but it’s fun,” he replied. “I have what I came for. I’ll be seeing you.” He vanished in a blaze of light.
Drake froze. Charlie. He didn’t sense her.
He blurred out of the room, stopped when he saw someone lying in the open doorway. “Scott?” Drake knelt beside him. “What happened? Where is Charlie?” He felt Scott’s life force draining away.
Scott gasped. “Gone, giant stabbed her with something. Tried to…”
Drake held a hand over the wound, and drew magic.
“Don’t,” Scott hissed. “We both know I’m dying. Go. Find her.”
Drake hesitated, this man mattered to Charlie, but Scott was right. No magic could save him now. “I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“Promise – promise you’ll look after her. I loved her – even though I knew she wasn’t mine.”
He nodded. “I will.”
Blood gurgled from Scott’s mouth as he drew one last breath. Drake closed Scott’s eyes, muttered a short prayer. He would send someone later to deal with the body.
Drake shimmered out, sending senses out into the universe where any trace of his mate but felt nothing. Damn, why hadn’t he sealed their bond? Then he’d be able to sense her no matter what interfered. Knowing Goodridge, Charlie might not even be on the physical plane now.
When a deep scan revealed nothing, Drake knew there was only one person left to help him.
The wards of Stanhold prison flashed as glowing swirls of pink, green and red energy. It had been created to shield and prevent anyone from passing through them, but Drake used his full strength to shimmer straight into Irina’s cell block.
The Illuminari leader looked up, frowning. “How did you get here?”
“Never mind. Goodridge took Charlie,” he snapped. “I can’t sense her location. You need to help me find her.”
Irina arose from her cot, grabbed the bars. “Haven’t you sealed the bond?”
“No.” Because I’m a bloody fool.
Irina motioned to the collar around her neck. “I have no power.”
Drake waved his hand and the cell door slid open. An alarm wailed, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. The outer door burst open as two Zexen guards came in, with rifles aimed at Drake’s head.
“Back away from the prisoner,” the first guard yelled. “Put your hands…”
Drake rolled his eyes, waved his hand so the guns went flying. “Tell the Grand Mistress the Akaran needs to borrow her prisoner and will return her later.” He grabbed Irina’s arm and shimmered them out. They reappeared in his office back at his house in Setara City.
“I don’t see how I can help,” Irina remarked.
He pulled out a key from his desk drawer and unlocked the collar. “You’re her mother. You need to sense her and tell me where he’s taken Charlie.”
Irina rubbed her neck. “I can’t. Myles is very gifted. He insulated himself from everyone – even me.”
Drake frowned. “What does that mean?” He gasped. “He’s your son, isn’t he?” He’d suspected Goodridge was Illuminari too but hadn’t thought he’d be related to Charlie.
Irina nodded. “Yes, his father took him from me. I couldn’t do anything to get him back.”
“Why not?” Drake demanded. “You’re not powerless.”
“I was against one of the most powerful men in all of Magickind.”
Drake shook his head. He didn’t give a damn about Myles’ history. “Focus on Charlie then. She has to be somewhere!” he snapped. “Myles will use her to get the orb and with the amount of power he accumulated earlier he might just find it.”
Irina opened her mouth to protest and Drake slapped her. “Look, you might have given birth to her but you’re no mother. No parent would abandon their child,” he hissed. “I don’t care what happens to you, just help me find her!” The walls vibrated from the force of his fury.
“She truly calms you, doesn’t she? I never believed demons could have mates.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “I’ll try, but it would be easier if I could search the different planes myself.”
“Fine, but I’m coming with you.” He pulled out a pair of cuffs, slapped one onto her wrist then clipped the other bracelet onto his own. “Don’t even think of trying to escape. Cate will be seething when she finds out what I’ve done.”
Irina frowned, glancing around the room. “Won’t she send the guards after me?”
He shrugged. “She won’t, I already sent her a message. Let’s go.” He knew Cate would give him hell later for daring to go up against her, but she’d get over it when she knew it was for a good cause.
Irina shimmered out, dragging Drake into the unknown.
Chapter 14
Charlie’s jaw throbbed as she opened her eyes. Argh, not again! How did he knock me out this time? She remembered the giant’s fist coming towards her as she held Scott. Goddess, Scott! He’d been dying. She looked around the glowing lights of the lab. It reminded her of the places she’d seen in Setara after the revolution that the Deva’s and her great-grandfather’s people had used.
Silveron bonds held her wrists in place and her ankles. Her magic felt just beyond reach too.
Great, just great. Everything had been going well until Scott’s distraction, but she couldn’t feel angry with him. If he died she’d be losing someone she still cared about. Charlie sniffed, she couldn’t fall apart, she had focus. Myles needed her to find the Srimtar’s hideout. Maybe Drake would be able to save Scott.
Drake? She reached out him with her mind to feel his presence. She pulled at the restraints, searching for any signs of weakness. But Myles could faze like her. H
e’d know how to keep an Illuminari in place.
She gritted her teeth. “Come on, I know you’re lurking around his somewhere. So come out.”
A door slid open. “Glad to see you are awake, sister,” Goodridge snapped. “Given you’re so eager to begin…” He pulled over a machine.
She frowned at him and glanced at the device. Another mind-reading device from the looks of it. “Haven’t we established those things don’t work on me?” she scoffed. “Why the hell are you calling me sister?”
He grinned. “She didn’t tell you? Irina is my mother as well, I am half Illuminari too.” Myles jabbed a wire into her arm. “This doesn’t just read your mind.” He jabbed something else into her other arm, blood began to filter out through the tube.
Charlie’s mouth fell open. She had always suspected he was also Illuminari but hadn’t imagined they’d share the same mother. “You’re going to bleed me dry? Smart plan, brother.”
“When a guardian nears death the orb becomes vulnerable too.”
Charlie watched her blood flow freely, tried to faze away but the bonds held firm. “The orb isn’t meant for you, why can’t you understand that?”
Myles snorted. “Of course it’s for me. It always has been and soon I’ll finally fulfil my destiny.”
“And what’s that? To be a tyrannical maniac and try to control all Magickind? I’ll be happy to spoil that for you.”
“You won’t spoil anything. I know Drake will come looking for you.”
“Why do you want it so bad?” she asked. Since she’d be stuck here a while she figured she might as well get some answers. She’d never known why or what he wanted the Srimtar for.
“You’ll be dead soon. The Srimtar has the power to right a wrong. To fix a past mistake.”
Another man came out into the room and whispered something to Myles. Charlie heard Irina’s name being mentioned, then the man left.
“Did she dump you at birth too?” Charlie prompted.
Myles scowled at her. “No, I lived with her for five years until my father rescued me from her and her band of outlaws.” He glanced at the machine. “Don’t worry, sister, within the hour it will all be over for you. It’ll be a merciful death given all the trouble you’ve caused me.”
Myles left the room, Charlie scanned the lab. She needed to get out of there. Her blood had already begun to fill the large container.
Think, she told herself. Stay alive.
Drake? she called again.
Damn, she would have given anything for him to bust in and help her free.
Irina? Hell, it was worth a try.
No response.
Come on, focus, McCray. Charlie noticed her watch and ring had gone. No weapons there then. A wave of dizziness washed over her. Shit, had she lost that much blood already?
Charlie’s eyes drooped closed but she opened them again. You must stay awake. She had to get that tube out.
Charlie gritted her teeth, trying to twist her arm enough to get the tube out of her wrist but it was in too deep. Beside her, the machine whirred to life. Her eyes blurred and blackness dragged her under.
Charlie blinked as blackness gave way to a kaleidoscope of colours, reds, greens, blues and everything in between. Did I die already? She floated through the lights. Somehow she didn’t think she was dead.
Where the hell am I? She landed on a floor of purple glass. It looked like her place between the worlds but felt different. Mist swirled around her, forming into images. Then she understood what it meant. These were the memories Irina had kept telling her about.
First a group of people appeared, Illuminari demons. Lightning flashed, and she saw them disappearing into shadow. One Illuminari stood with five other people. A witch, a Nuardan, an Ashrali, a Phoenix elemental and a shifter. The five elder races. Not five, six, she realised.
Words and images rushed to her mind so fast she gasped. Now she knew what she was. The mist around her faded to fall into the glowing form of the Srimtar.
Another image appeared of the six people standing together. One man stepped forward and light began to drain away from the other figures, swirling into an orb. The Srimtar.
Helga’s story came flooding back. This was it. The weapon that could warp time.
Charlie gasped as Myles’s hand clamped around her throat, his eyes flashing azure. His power shot through her, exploding outwards, searching for the orb. She sucked in a breath, her body fazing for a second before she hit the floor. “You want to go back in time. That’s why you need it.”
“It’s easy to find a way to witness the past if you have enough power. But I can’t change it, no matter how hard I try.” He grinned. “My father thought that, that’s why he created the orb for me.”
Charlie gulped. “You mean Oberoth? But he’s dead.”
Myles’s expression hardened. “Yes, your precious family took him from me. But I always knew I’d be able to save him,” he said. “To follow in his footsteps. He never got to retrieve the Srimtar for himself – the first alliance stopped him. They used their power to curse the orb and then Denai predicted you would be the one to protect it.”
Denai? The Denai? As in the mother goddess the witches named themselves after?
Helga’s story suddenly made sense. Denai was her daughter, Denai predicted that prophecy.
“Myles, the ancients cursed the orb with good reason. The past can’t be changed – not unless it’s meant to be.” She’d only been able to save Drake because she was meant to. “You can’t save Oberoth and I’ll be damned if I let you try.”
Myles lunged at her, but she dodged him. Something clattered onto the floor as she called for it. The Srimtar rolled towards her. Myles froze mid-strike as Charlie grabbed it and its power suspended the room in time.
The orb pulsed and vibrated between her fingers, stars swirling inside of it. So many had died because of this thing, for the power held inside it, including her own teammates. She might be able to withstand it, but she couldn’t use it. Time wasn’t meant to be changed. You could only learn from the past, not change it to suit your own needs.
People wouldn’t stop coming for it either. The lure of so much power would never go away.
Charlie knew what she had to do. She gripped the orb, called her power and the Srimtar fazed between her fingers. Once incorporeal, she let the orb hover there a moment then squeezed it between her hands. She felt glass shatter. Light exploded outwards, knocking her and Myles to the floor. Energy reverberated through the air with a roar as the Srimtar broke and its power evaporated.
Charlie winced, feeling the energy wash over her.
“No!” Myles screamed from where he lay. “No! How could you do that? How could you throw away all that power?”
“That power wasn’t meant to be used by anyone. People died to create that orb, even more died because of its existence.” She scrambled up. “The cycle needs to end.”
“No, that orb was mine! It was meant for me!” he cried.
Energy shot through the room as he opened a portal to the spirit realm.
Charlie stood her ground, letting the massive surge of ether wash over her. She felt stronger now; he wouldn’t drag her in either. She threw a bolt of lightning, sending Myles hurtling across the room. She raised her hand, forcing the portal to close.
Drake and Irina appeared in a blaze of light.
“Myles, stop,” Irina pleaded.
“You stay out of this,” he snarled. “That orb was meant to be mine, I’d finally fulfil what my father tried to do. All Magickind would bow to me, I’d be unstoppable.” He glared at Charlie. “You destroyed everything I worked for!” Myles shot up, raising his hand.
“Stop,” Drake commanded, his eyes bleeding to black.
Myles froze, eyes widening. “How?” he hissed.
“I’m the Akaran and you’re still a demon,” Drake said. “Now your mother has sworn allegiance to me, I can control you too.”
“Myles, please. We can be a family now
. Let go of this madness,” said Irina.
Myles fought the compulsion and lunged at Charlie, then fell to the floor, dead.
Charlie let out a breath as Drake pulled her close. “Where’s Scott?”
“I’m sorry, little witch. He’s gone.”
She hugged her demon, glad for the warmth of his embrace.
Irina stood staring at Myles.
Charlie went over to her and touched her shoulder. “I’m sorry it had to end like this.”
Irina sniffed. “I lost him a long time ago. I hoped Oberoth wouldn’t corrupt him but —” She shook her head. “Take me back to Stanhold now, please. My trial begins in a few hours.”
“No, I’ll talk to Cate. With what I found it should be enough to earn your pardon,” Charlie replied. “Go home, we will see each other again soon.”
Irina’s eyes widened, she wrapped her arms around her daughter. “I hope we can be friends now.”
“Me too.” Charlie returned her hug.
Irina stared down as Drake disintegrated Myles’s body then she vanished in a blur of light.
“I’ll call Kaz and Nigel, they’ll have a field day with this place,” Charlie said. “Right now I want to go home, then we’re taking a few weeks off. I think we’ve earned a holiday.”
Drake grinned. “Mind if I fully seal our bond now?”
She kissed him. “You better. Like I said, you’re stuck with me forever now.”
The end
Afterword
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Shadow Sworn.
I hope you enjoyed this book. I’d love it if you could post a review about it on Amazon, Goodreads or another book site. Getting reviews for my books gives me a big thrill and I look forward to hearing what you thought. Perhaps you can mention who your favourite character was and which parts you liked best.
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I look forward to hearing from you.
Tiffany Shand.
Shadow Sworn_Urban fantasy romance Page 9