The Dark Calling

by Kresley Cole

  More men attacked, stupidly testing out their bayonets against Aric's swords. Death left behind a wake of bodies for Jack and me to blunder through.

  Over his shoulder, Aric asked, "Where are the Centurion and the Tower?"

  "They left today," Jack said. "Could be for good. Long story . . ."

  By the time we reached the Beast, water was up to our knees. Jack released my hand, then located the hide-a-key under a spotlight.

  Aric headed toward the other side. "I'll drive."

  Jack opened the passenger door, tossing his rifle in. "In you go, Evie!" He helped me up. "Take this key."

  I'd just snagged it when more gunshots rained down; like a blur, Aric had covered the distance to us. Stretching out one of his swords, he deflected a bullet about to plug Jack's skull. "Get in, Deveaux!"

  Jack dove inside the cab, slamming the door behind him. "Jesus, that was close."

  I warily unlocked the door for Death, then handed him the key.

  He jammed it into the ignition. When the engine didn't start, his gaze dropped to the row of tiny rocker switches. He yanked off his gauntlet and reached for the switches--just as Jack did.

  I slapped away Jack's arm with all my strength. "No!"

  "Don't ever come that close to my skin, mortal!"

  Jack held his hands up. "Easier if I just enter the ignition sequence."

  "Do it." As Aric pulled on his gauntlet, Jack pushed the buttons in the correct order.

  "I already unlocked the axles. We're good-to-go."

  Once the engine rumbled to life, Aric shoved the Beast into gear. "We've got to get to higher ground." Waves rolled out from the wheels. If this truck hadn't been so high, we'd already be stuck.

  Jack said, "Go for the main gates. They'll be reinforced against entry--not against exit. I doubt anyone's manning them."

  Aric deftly steered the truck through the outskirts of the settlement, approaching the gates.

  I held my breath as he gunned the engine. His straight arm shot out to protect me, just as Jack's did from the other side.

  Oh God, oh God . . .

  We rammed the metal barrier head-on. BOOM! One gate flew off its hinges. We plowed over the other one.

  Free of Jubilee! I exhaled a breath, though we weren't safe by any means. Rising water already covered the sand road. We needed to put miles between us and that trench.

  I turned to check Jack for injuries. He had bruises on his face and gashes on his arms. The worst one bisected the old scar on his right forearm.

  "You need a bandage." I ripped the hem of my sweater, then tied the strip of material over his wound.

  "Ma belle infirmiere. You okay?"

  My gaze slid to Aric. "As well as can be expected."

  He removed his helmet, swiping his hair off his forehead. His expression remained intent, but I knew him well enough to see how rattled he was. If free of Paul's influence, did he again believe in my pregnancy?

  When I turned back to Jack, he said, "Your eye's turning black." He grazed the knot on my forehead. "They popped you good, non?"

  I was freaked out and on my last stores of energy. My emotions were as up and down as a teetering plank. "I'm sick of assholes attacking me." Through gritted teeth, I added, "Present company not excepted." Blinding headlights beamed our sideview mirrors as trucks raced out after us and buggies launched off the dunes. "Are you kidding me? Are they running away from the trench or chasing us?"

  When a bullet nailed the tailgate, Jack said, "I think it's a little of both."

  Aric whipped the wheel as the Beast's engine roared, sending up a spray of water. "What happened back there? Why are these men so bent on stopping you? And why sentence a female to the plank?"

  Jack flipped off his rifle's safety and checked the chamber. "A suit of Minor Arcana wanted to kill her because of Tee."

  "Tee?"

  Jack rolled down the window. "P'tee garcon."

  Aric turned to me with his brows drawn. "Little boy?" His gauntlets tightened on the wheel. "Our . . . son."

  Guess Death is back to believing.

  "Your son--biologically." With that parting shot, Jack hung out of the window, taking aim with the rifle. I snagged his belt, clutching him as he blasted our pursuers.

  After taking out a truck tire and a buggy's driver, Jack popped back in to reload. "They planned on beheading Evie. She disagreed with the plan, so she took out the entire suit of 'em."

  More trucks and buggies dogged our tracks, trailing plumes of spray. "Can we talk about this later? They're still behind us!"

  Aric muttered, "It's not the mortals I'm worried about." Globs of wet sand splattered the windshield. The wipers couldn't keep up.

  We launched off a dune, suspended in midair for a long moment; again, two arms crossed over me just before the teeth-rattling landing sent us momentarily airborne a second time. A crack spread out along the windshield.

  Aric said, "I didn't think it was that high. Forgive me."

  "Forgive?" A hysterical laugh burst from my lips.

  A buggy raced closer, the passenger firing on us. Back at the window, Jack took a bead, then squeezed the trigger once. Fire leapt from the vehicle's front. An explosion shot it into the sky. The flames reflected over a sheet of water that seemed to be rising by the second.

  "Well aimed," Aric said, with another glance at the rearview mirror.

  Jack scowled. "Do what I can."

  The remaining vehicles bottomed out, headlights receding behind us. I said, "They're getting stuck!"

  Jack twisted around to watch. "Uh, Reaper, you better drop the hammer. I mean, now."

  Aric leaned forward against the wheel, squinting at the coated windshield. "Can't see a damned thing." But he floored it, driving blindly. Soon we were hydroplaning across the surface.

  "I ain't kidding, Dominija." Jack holstered his rifle in the rack above us. "Head for that incline." He turned the spotlight to mark a large dune ahead.

  At the base of the rise, the wheels bogged down, the engine straining. Aric's leg was straight, the pedal all the way down. "Come on, come on."

  The tires gripped at last, and we broke free; the Beast chugged up the dune. Once we reached a higher plateau, I glanced back.

  The lights twinkling in Jubilee began to topple. The entire water-drenched shelf was giving way.

  I watched all that ground get sucked into the trench like a hungry inhalation. As depicted in her temple, Circe had devoured another port.

  Terror from the abyss.

  42

  Jack, Aric, and I rode in stunned silence until we'd reached even higher ground. At every mile, I'd expected that sinister seep to catch us.

  "How do you . . . fare?" Aric finally asked me with a glance at my stomach. He would have no way of gauging my pregnancy through my coat.

  How did I fare? Wow, he'd stumped me.

  When I didn't answer, Jack said, "She's healthy, all things considered. Been eating good since the lion."

  Aric swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I am pleased to hear that."

  I still couldn't believe I was sitting next to him. Couldn't believe what had just happened to Jubilee. "Why did Circe do that?" I asked in a deadened voice.

  "She never intended to hurt you--just the opposite. Unfortunately, she lost control of her powers. It's happened in previous games."

  "And we can never forget what's happened in the past."

  He parted his lips to say something, then must've thought better of it. Smart man.

  But the quiet left me too much time to think. I'd taken down all of the Cups, mainly to save Aric. He'd already been on his way here.

  Would a future Empress read about my gory attack with horror? I told myself that all the Cups would've died in Circe's catastrophe anyway.

  "Those Minors were clairvoyants," Jack said. "Seems they should've foreseen the loss of their settlement--and their lives."

  Aric shook his head. "The future is fluid. Through their own decisions, they altered thei
r fates. Provoking two Major Arcana was . . . ill-advised."

  Once we reached what remained of the old coastal road, Aric stopped the truck. "Which direction?"

  Jack shrugged. "Doan know, me. Where you wanting us to drop you off?"

  In a low tone, Aric said, "I know I have no right to . . . anything, but I will do whatever it takes to protect her."

  "Merci for the assist back there, but this isn't your party anymore. Evie and me are heading out together." After last night, Jack must've taken my advice; he was demanding my future. "We made it work for a time in Jubilee. We can again."

  "You call that making it work, mortal?"

  "You're one to talk, Reaper."

  Aric exhaled. "You're right." To me, he said, "If you bid me to leave you, I will only follow."

  Jack scoffed. "You goan to keep up with this truck on foot?"

  "You'd be surprised what I'm capable of. I ran countless leagues to get here."

  "Why run?" I asked.

  "I lost Thanatos on the way." Lost? That tank of a warhorse had survived a scalding tidal wave and the Lovers' carnates. He'd seemed invincible.

  Realization hit. Aric had run that mighty steed into the ground. How hard he must have pushed Thanatos.

  As if trying to convince himself, Aric rasped, "He could have survived yet."

  A pang of sadness pierced me. Aric had shared a mystical bond with Thanatos that I could never understand. They'd ridden together for longer than I'd been alive.

  "My point remains," Aric continued. "I will be watching over you from near or afar. My success will be improved with proximity."

  Jack said, "And what about her mental health?" Fair question after my behavior with the Cups. "To do right by this kid, she needs to be under as little stress as possible. After the day she just had, she's now sitting tense as a board."

  True. Even though I was exhausted.

  "I'd rather she be tense than dead," Aric said.

  "See now"--Jack tapped his chin--"that's not the way I heard it."

  Aric's gauntlets creaked as he clenched his fists. If Jack's tell was his jaw muscle, Aric's hands gave away his emotions. "I've broken free of the Hanged Man's control, which means I will never hurt her again. I can protect her, as I just got through doing."

  I finally chimed in. "Why now? After all this time."

  "The Fool appeared to me and showed me the future should I not intervene. The end of your life."

  "You left Paul's sphere because you wanted to save me?" I hated how hopeful I sounded.

  He cast me a pained look. "I left because I didn't want . . . because I ached to take your icon myself."

  Honest as ever. "To behead me yourself." An involuntary sob escaped my lips.

  "Sieva, I am so sorry. I was in the grip of his powers." He reached for me.

  But I flinched, leaning into Jack. "Right up until you weren't. Which is almost worse."

  He lowered his hand. "Yes." He stared straight ahead, seeming like he was crumbling inside. And yet he admitted, "Had the Fool not intervened, I would be there still."

  "Gabriel liked being in the sphere. Do you not miss it?"

  "My thoughts were not my own. Rationality disappeared, replaced by bitter rage. Once I crossed the boundary of the sphere, I comprehended everything. Everything I did to you."

  Jack said, "You didn't answer the lady's question."

  My gaze flicked over Aric's weary face. "Maybe this isn't your natural reticence. You might feel a lingering loyalty to Paul."

  Aric turned to me with his eyes ablaze. "That vile fiend is going to die bloody. I swear this to you."

  Well then, my knight was back. Aric had returned to me the day after Jack and I had slept together. Repeatedly.

  "How?" Jack demanded. "You know how to kill him?"

  "Not yet."

  I said, "You smugly told me there's no way to take him out."

  "And you were correct when you pointed out that there must be."

  Jack said, "Maybe we have the means. And if we do, seems we should keep it to ourselves."

  Before we revealed anything, I needed to know: "Aric, do you miss being within that haze?"

  "I am grateful to be free, but there are repercussions. It is simpler within. And this guilt I feel over my actions is . . . it's crippling--as is jealousy. I miss . . . not contending with those emotions." For him to admit even that, it must be pure chaos inside him.

  Jack muttered, "Nothing less than you deserve."

  "Yes. I will gladly take my punishment as long as I can protect my wife and child."

  I said, "Obviously things are different now."

  "I understand that, sieva."

  Jack put his arm around my shoulders. "News flash, Dominija. We've been together."

  Everything out in the open? Sure! Why not?

  Aric grated, "Do you think I don't know that?"

  I had to ask, "How?"

  "If possible, the mortal is even more possessive of you." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not asking for anything other than the privilege of protecting your life. And his as well, then. I saved him twice earlier."

  "And I appreciate that," Jack said sincerely. "God knows I do. But even if you've escaped Paul's control, what if you get reversed again? Evie told me what happened in that castle. How she didn't lose Tee is a miracle. We'd rather face the dangers out in the Ash without you than risk touching gloves with you."

  "I will not be taken in by the Hanged Man's power. It cannot happen."

  "How can you be so certain?" I asked him. "Your hatred came from our history. Which means there's no reason he can't tap into that and turn you against me. It's like you have a bomb waiting to go off inside you."

  Jack pointed out, "Kentarch said the sphere is still growing. It could engulf you."

  "I won't get close enough to allow that." Aric's brows drew together. "Where did Kentarch go? We need to find him as soon as possible. I can't believe he's separated from his vehicle."

  My eyes watered. I hoped Kentarch didn't teleport himself and Joules back to Jubilee. There'd be nowhere to land.

  Jack scrubbed a hand over his face and explained what had happened.

  As he spoke, the duality of the Chariot's card struck me anew. Kentarch was so physically strong, yet he'd been damaged down to his soul. He was a warrior vanquished not by violence, but by love.

  Aric's expression registered his shock. "Issa was dead all along? Then Kentarch is lost." He cursed in Latvian. "We needed him in the fight against the Emperor."

  Jack said, "He wasn't able to help."

  Aric did a double take. "You faced Richter?"

  I murmured, "And Zara. She cost Kentarch his right hand. The only reason we escaped them is because of Circe. In any case, there's no fighting the Emperor. Bullets melted. Javelins and rock too. No weapon can reach him."

  I frowned. Right before I'd killed Lorraine, hadn't the queen whispered something about Richter? What was it?

  Jack added, "That fils de pute has Evie in his sights now, wants to make her his Empress."

  Another string of curses from Aric.

  "So what's your plan, Reaper?" Jack asked. "You always got one."

  "Since I escaped the sphere, my only plan was to reach my wife and prevent her demise. Now I do not know." The infallible knight looked more unsure than I'd ever seen him.

  Jack raised his brows. "Never thought those words would come out of your mouth."

  Aric's I have power over all I survey vibe was shot. "We're going to need food and fuel. I can raid the closest settlement and steal both. If they're disorganized enough, perhaps I can infiltrate and take control, securing a safe shelter."

  "What settlement?" I asked.

  "The Sick House."

  I shook my head. "It's run by the Pentacles. Lorraine--the Queen of Cups--said the Minors were uniting in order to hasten the end of the game and bring back the earth. And that was before I took out an entire suit. Now they're going to be gunning for me and my kid. No plac
e could be more dangerous."

  Jack said, "Besides, how do we infiltrate without Finn?"

  We all grew quiet. Outside, rain began to fall, dotting the cracked windshield of Kentarch's chariot. Like tears.

  I asked Aric, "How is Lark doing?"

  "Not well. She grieves the boy she loved."

  "Did she attempt to revive him?"

  "Paul persuaded her to cremate the body."

  Though I'd figured Paul would never risk the Magician's resurrection, some part of me must not have accepted that Finn was gone.

  Until now.

  I kept replaying his last night when he'd given us that breathtaking illusion of the surf at Malibu. I'd never forget the excitement in his voice and his lively expression. Finn had promised to teach my kid what the sun looked like.

  Rage bubbled up from a bottomless well of it. Paul had robbed the world of my friend.

  Aric said, "That's an example of the Hanged Man's total control. He convinced Fauna, a card known for being driven, to blindly follow his dictates. When she gets free . . ."

  I was confused on so many scores--Aric had returned, Jack was alive, and my heart was torn apart again--but I knew one thing for certain: Paul needed to pay. "No one will be free or safe until the Hanged Man is dead. Which is why I'm going to face him." Now that Death wasn't defending the castle, I might have a shot against Paul and the others. Or at least, the red witch would. "Aric, we do have the means to kill him."

  "How?"

  "Lorraine told us that the only weapon capable of ending him was a noose that had executed twelve murderous souls. Unfortunately, it'd been destroyed. Then I realized I could make another noose, and I happened to have an entire suit of serial killers within reach."

  Jack reached beneath his coat and untied the length of rope from his waist, tossing it on the dash. "No way, Evie. We doan know if this thing will work."

  I needed revenge against Paul. I needed to save my friends. I needed a place to give birth. "I'm facing him. And there's no question mark at the end of that sentence."

  "Look, we doan have to decide anything right away." Jack took my hand. "You just hold on. I got food and fuel, me. We can think things through for a spell."

  Aric said, "What food and fuel?"

  "We worked salvage in Jubilee, looting wrecks. With the help of Kentarch and Joules, I set up a bug-out location, filled it up nice and good." Narrowing his gaze, he said, "You bragged about that castle enough, but I bet you're wishing you had a bolt hole right about now."