Descended from Shadows: Book of Sindal Book One

by D. G. Swank

“She told me she was in the lobby. She said she wanted me to help her protect the book from the Dark Set.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” he asked, getting angry again. Then his eyes widened with understanding. “You were going to sneak out on me? After… everything?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry,” he said, his tone sounding flat.

  I turned from him, feeling guilty, and stared down at the cape, the glittering emblem of the Dark Set mocking me. I’d been so stupid. Had the phone call been real? Had Celeste willingly set me up?

  He squatted next to the cape and picked it up, the fabric ripping where the shards of glass pinned it to the floor. “The Dark Set wants you now. They’ve figured out they need you to open the book.”

  I sucked in a breath. “Rowan.”

  He stood and grabbed my upper arm, tugging me to the elevator.

  “I tried to call her,” I said, the words falling out of my mouth as I tripped over my feet. “I called her cell and the landline before I got the text to come to the lobby, and no one answered.” Tears burned my eyes. “They got her.”

  “Don’t panic. We don’t know that.” He sounded kinder than before, but his fingers still dug into my flesh as his other hand retrieved his cell phone from his pocket. When the doors opened on the fourth floor, he pulled me down the hall to our room, and as soon as he shut the door, he placed a protective spell on the door and then placed the call.

  “Sit,” he ordered as he held the phone to his ear.

  Part of me rebelled at the order, but the reasonable part of me complied.

  Bran was quiet for so long with the phone to his ear that I wasn’t sure anyone was on the other end. He stood there for nearly a half minute before he asked, “But Rowan’s okay?”

  My heart slammed against my chest. Had Rowan been attacked too? Was that why she wouldn’t answer before?

  “I’m sure she wants to talk to her too,” Brandon said, then held out his phone to me.

  I snatched it from him and pressed it to my ear. My throat was tight, so I pushed out, “Rowan?”

  “I’m fine. I swear.”

  “The cloaked people tried to get you?” I figured it was better to keep the name Dark Set out of it, especially if any of the agents who were supposed to be watching over my sister were involved in the group.

  “They tried, but Bran’s friend, Judah, stopped them. I’m okay. Are you okay?”

  “Someone showed up here too, but I’m fine and he’s gone.” I glanced up at Bran. “Did any of the cloaked people do anything… odd?”

  “You mean other than try to kidnap me? Yeah,” she said. “They turned into crows and flew away. They must have some kind of shifter magic.”

  “All of them?”

  She was quiet for a moment. “Now that you mention it, that is odd.”

  But not so odd if they were getting magic from another source.

  Like Celeste.

  “Stay safe and call me in the morning,” Rowan said. “I’ve got an even bigger mess to clean now.”

  I considered telling her about the call I’d gotten earlier from Celeste, but it would only upset her. Especially if she concluded Celeste had really set me up. I’d tell her after I sorted everything out. “Love you, Ro,” I said, my voice breaking.

  “Love you too, Bee. Stay safe.”

  I hung up and handed Bran his phone. “What happened?”

  He shoved the phone into his pocket, then placed his hands on his hips, glaring at me so hard it was a wonder he didn’t grimace in pain. “I don’t know, Phoebe. Why don’t you tell me?”

  I sighed. I deserved that. “I’ll tell you, I promise, but I need to hear about Rowan first.”

  I expected him to protest, and from the look on his face, he considered it. He watched me for a few seconds, then finally said, “Five hooded figures appeared out of nowhere and broke into the house.”

  “Didn’t you have it warded?” I asked in dismay. “I should have spelled the house with Rowan before we left. Our coven bond would have made it stronger.”

  “We wouldn’t have let you do that,” Brandon said, shaking his head. “The agents were still investigating. Your wards would have interfered with that. Besides,” he added, “your coven bond is broken. It’s not as effective with only two.”

  Nothing I didn’t already know, but it hurt all the same.

  “So the Dark Set got inside the house?”

  “They incapacitated the two guards on watch duty and made it to Rowan’s room. Judah Hardcastle stopped them as they were about to take her out through her bedroom window.”

  “Was she hurt?”

  He grimaced. “When Judah confronted them, they put up a barrier of some kind and sliced Rowan’s right palm.”

  “They cut her?” I felt light-headed when I realized the implication. “They took blood from the hand she uses for magic.”

  He squatted in front of me and picked up both of my hands, examining my palms. “Did he cut you?”

  I shook my head, tugging my hands free, then reached for my bruised neck. “No, which doesn’t make sense. Why did they only send one mage for me?”

  “They likely knew there were multiple agents guarding your sister and they planned to lure you away from me by tricking you with a text from Celeste. Obviously, they thought you were more malleable.” The last sentence was uttered with a snort.

  I could see why they’d thought so. I was the quiet, meek sister. And of course, I’d fallen for it. “So you think they wanted to kidnap me?”

  He nodded. “Just like they tried to kidnap Rowan. But they didn’t get your blood, so they still can’t open the book. Yet.” He gave me a wry look. “I take it you thought you were meeting Celeste?”

  I glanced down, too embarrassed to face him. “Yeah.”

  He was quiet for several seconds, piecing things together. Then he lifted his chin, his eyes narrowing with simmering outrage.

  “Have you been in contact with your sister since we left your house this morning?” he said tightly.

  “She called me while you were taking a shower.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked bitterly.

  “She told me I couldn’t trust you. That I couldn’t trust anyone.”

  He turned his back to me and walked over to the window. Pulling back the drape a few inches, he peered outside. “Did you tell her where we were?”

  “No. I asked her to tell me where she was, but she told me to go home.”

  “Why did you go to the lobby?”

  “After my nightmare, she sent a text telling me to meet her down there. She claimed she was running from the Dark Set and needed me to help her protect the book.” I pulled out my phone and unlocked the screen. “Here,” I said, handing it to him. “Read them yourself.”

  He took my phone and scanned it. I felt better knowing I’d tried to convince her to trust Brandon. But he scowled as he read it, then handed the phone back to me.

  “We need to go,” he said with a hard look in his eyes. “Pack up. I want to be out of here within five minutes.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bran was withdrawn while we were packing up, and silence hung between us as we loaded up the car and left.

  “I’m sorry,” I said again.

  He gave me a stiff nod.

  “Look, I know you’re pissed at me, but I have something I need to ask you about the magic that mage used, and not just changing into a crow.”

  That caught his attention.

  “He made me blind. And then for him to shift? Do you think he has ancestral magic too?”

  “He made you blind?”

  I nodded.

  He was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know. Maybe. The only thing I know is that the Dark Set wants you now. We’ll have to be even more vigilant. I’d put you in a safe house, but…”

  “You don’t trust me.”

  “I thought we were working on this together, Phoebe. I thought you trusted me.” He
didn’t sound angry. He sounded hurt.

  “And I thought you trusted me.”

  “You’re the one who took off!” he shouted.

  “You’re right, I know you’re right, but… can you honestly tell me you wouldn’t have done the same? Seriously, Brandon. Would you have just ignored a cry for help like that? Celeste is my sister. She is my family, my blood. You can’t—I can’t forsake someone I love like that.”

  Brandon stiffened, clenching his jaw, and I instantly regretted my rash response. I was being unfair.

  “I’m sorry. I know your…family situation is different than mine.”

  “Family is family, Phebes, but I have to know that you and I are on the same side or I’ll have to take drastic measures.” His words didn’t match his tone, though—his mouth had quirked up and he sounded devilish now.

  My eyebrows rose. “Like what?”

  He shot me a wicked grin. “Like handcuff you to me.”

  That caught me by surprise. “You have a pair of handcuffs on you?”

  “Not on me, but in the glove compartment.” His grin spread, his eyes filling with lust. “Let’s just say the thought of cuffing you brings to mind all kinds of ideas I shouldn’t be entertaining right now.”

  It did for me too. Focus.

  “Does this mean you forgive me?” I asked.

  He reached over and took my hand. “I understand, Phoebe. I do. But please don’t shut me out next time. We have to do this together.”

  “Does that mean you won’t ditch me at some point?”

  He gave me a grim look. “No. You’re more a part of this than ever. I’m sure they want your blood to open the book, and I need to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to handle it.”

  Something about his choice of words felt off. Like it was a response he would have made to anyone, but maybe I deserved some attitude after ditching him.

  Anxious energy crawled under my skin as Brandon gunned it down Highway 70 toward Kansas City.

  “I’m worried about Rowan,” I finally confessed after several minutes. “It feels wrong to leave her after she was attacked.”

  “She’s safe,” Brandon said. “Besides, they got what they needed from her. You, on the other hand, are in even more danger now. They failed at their attempt to kidnap you and will likely have more manpower the next time they try.” His lips thinned as he pressed them together, and his anger, which had been simmering below the surface, slipped through his tight control. “Did you even once stop to consider that text might be a trap?”

  Shame washed through me. “No.” And that made me feel stupid.

  He pushed out a sigh, his expression turning contrite, then said, “They were counting on that. I understand why you did it, but I need you to consider another possibility.”

  My chest constricted, already knowing what he was about to suggest. “And what is that?”

  “Celeste called you from an unknown number and then, hours later, the Dark Set used that same number to text you. She could have set you up.”

  Guilt swept through me because I did consider it, but then immediately dismissed the possibility. I’d been wrong. Celeste would never purposely put me in danger. My back stiffened. “No. No way.”

  “Phoebe…”

  “This is why I can’t completely trust you, Brandon. Because you’re so quick to place the blame on her.”

  “And that’s the reason I can’t completely trust you,” he said, defeat in his voice. “Because you refuse to consider that she might not be the angel you think she is.”

  He was wrong. I had no delusions that my baby sister was an angel. But she was no demon either.

  We rode in silence for a few minutes before he said, “I can’t help but wonder if I should tell part of my team where we’re headed so I have more people to help guard you.”

  “You said you trust Judah Hardcastle, but he’s the one who saved Rowan. You need to leave him where he is.”

  “Phoebe…”

  “No. We can’t leave Ro unprotected. Besides, the last two times we’ve been attacked, the two of us have handled it fine.”

  “Okay. I’ll agree for now.” After a few moments of silence, his mouth lifted into a grin. “You call her Ro, and she calls you Bee. And you call Celeste CeCe?”

  I bristled for a moment, wondering how he knew that. I was certain I hadn’t called her that in front of him. Then I realized he’d seen our texts. Gods, I was acting paranoid. He was trying to change the subject. “Yeah,” I answered. “I was barely three when she was born. I couldn’t say her name and Rowan already called me Bee. The names stuck.”

  “I confess, I expected you to be married with kids by now,” he said, stealing a glance at me. “That’s part of the reason I never looked you up.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve barely dated since college. And when you consider my obligation to the book…”

  “But your parents were married and guarded the book. Your aunt too. And the other women in your family history. Why not?”

  “I know, but after my parents died… it just seemed impossible to add a man to the mix. Neither Rowan nor I felt like we could leave Celeste. It wouldn’t be fair to whoever had to stay behind. And what man wants to deal with an erratic sister-in-law?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “What about your sisters? Do they want families of their own?”

  I knew what he was asking. Could Celeste have secretly wanted a husband and children and found a way to clear the path? But surely he could see that aligning herself with the Dark Set was no way to get a white picket fence, two-point-five kids, and a minivan.

  “Rowan is too busy building her YouTube audience and working on her freelance stuff to think about a family right now, and Celeste… she’s always been more concerned with staying sane.”

  “But if Celeste weren’t an issue, would you want a family?” he asked. “A husband and kids?”

  My heart panged. “Of course. It’s not like I get my life’s fulfillment at the library. And while Rowan and I are close, she has her own things, which are different than mine. And Celeste… But like I said, it doesn’t seem fair to drag a man into our mess, let alone kids.” I shrugged. “Besides, the only people we could seriously date are mages, and we’ve purposely stayed away from witch and mage gatherings. We’ve been trying to protect Celeste.”

  Or more like trying to hide her. It was easy to pretend that things weren’t as bad as they were as long as it was just the three of us.

  He nodded, smiling gently. “I get it.”

  “Yeah? Have you, um, ever…” I hated asking this question, but I’d already committed to it and I really wanted to know. “Was there someone you wanted to settle down with?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve dated a few women, but nothing serious. I’ve made work my first priority. Getting appointed to the Small Council was a huge honor, but it was one I had to work my ass off to earn. Lately, I’ve sensed something off in the Valaria community so my focus has been on rooting it out.”

  “Does the Small Council know?”

  “I haven’t brought it to the Council, but Lucia is aware of the situation, which is why she sent me to investigate the missing Book of Sindal.”

  “So you’ve known the Dark Set has returned and you haven’t done anything about it?” I asked, getting pissed. If they’d stopped this months ago, maybe my life wouldn’t have been upended.

  “We think the Protective Force is compromised. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the Small Council too,” he said, appearing unruffled by my anger, “but we have no proof and it might just be my paranoia. It’s far more likely to be contained to the Protective Force. There have always been subsets of disgruntled mages and witches. We can only pull them in if they break magical laws. The circle Caroline Fontenot stumbled upon is the first hard proof we’ve had that they’re up to something, but the Council considered it overreacting to officially declare that the Dark Set had risen. So I’ve been work
ing the case on my own.”

  “Does the Council know what we’re up to now?” I asked.

  “No one knows what we’re up to now. Not even Lucia.”

  “What about the person you were talking to on the phone last night?”

  He froze for a half second, and if I hadn’t been watching him, I wouldn’t have seen it. “You mean Judah?”

  I lifted my brows and crossed my arms. “Were you talking to Judah while you were in the bathroom? Because I thought he was your friend, and it didn’t sound like a friendly conversation.”

  He shifted in his seat. “I was talking to one of my men.”

  “One you don’t trust?” I asked pointedly.

  His face darkened. “It was an official call, Phoebe. You’re eavesdropping on my calls now?”

  “No. I was about to knock on the door because I had to pee, but I heard you talking on the phone. Then I got a phone call of my own.”

  “From Celeste,” he said with a glower.

  I’d stalled any progress we’d made toward getting over what had just happened. But he hadn’t proven himself completely trustworthy either. He may have been talking to one of his agents, sure, but there was more to it… a lot more. And he was keeping it from me. “You know this will never work if we’re hiding things from each other.”

  “You’re giving me that speech?” he asked, sounding incredulous. “After you tried to run off with your sister?”

  “I know you’re hiding information from me, Brandon. There was a whole hell of a lot more to that call than you talking to one of your agents.”

  “It was official business, Phoebe.”

  “So much for that pretty speech about me being as much a part of this as you.”

  “Just because you’re involved up to your neck doesn’t mean you get access to everything.”

  I shook my head and turned to glance out the window.

  He groaned. “Phoebe.”

  I didn’t answer. Part of me wanted to confront him with the fact that he expected me to share everything with him while he was still entitled to keep secrets, but what was the point? He’d use his official title as justification, and old, rule-abiding Phoebe would agree, but this new version of myself—the one who defended herself and faced danger—was feeling stifled by the rules. Especially in this.