Darkness Awakened

by Stephanie Rowe

  "The Goblet has to come with us, now." Wendy shot Theresa a hostile glare. Theresa flicked her tail and then snorted with amusement when Wendy jumped and ran to the other side of the room.

  "Wendy's right," Derek said. "We need to bring Mona so we have leverage for our negotiation."

  "What? I don't think that's a good idea," Justine said.

  "It's the only option. Satan Jr.'s not a fool, right?" He slid a glance toward Justine as he opened the door to his china cabinet. "I mean, he recruited Wendy, after all. That shows he must be smart." He selected his most expensive wineglass and held it up. "Nice, right, Wendy?"

  The goblet he'd selected had been part of a set of four, but the other three had exploded and killed his uncle in a "freak accident," according to his family. It was pretty damned exquisite, and he was certain it would do the trick. He held it up and Wendy's eyes widened. Justine nodded and Theresa gave him a thumbs up.

  "It's beautiful," Wendy sighed. "I can't believe it's still intact after all these years."

  "Immortality works on crystal the same as on humans," Derek said. "Let's go."

  "Right." Wendy's face was flushed with excitement and there were beads of sweat on her forehead as she practically skipped toward the door. "Satan Jr. won't believe it when I show up with all of you and the Goblet. I'm so awesome."

  "Awesome isn't the word any of us are thinking right now," Theresa said, as Derek reached the door first and pulled it open.

  In the hallway stood Justine's doorman. His jaw was jutting out, his arms were folded across his chest, and his brow was furrowed in anger. "She's the traitor." Xavier pointed a finger at Wendy. "She's the one who forced me to turn Derek into an assassin. She's the threat to the Guardian, and I will not fail at my job." Then he pulled a gun out of the back of his black jeans and pointed it at Wendy.

  "Wait! Don't!" Justine shouted and lunged for his arm, while Derek lowered his shoulder and side-tackled Xavier…hitting him a split second after a shot rang out.

  As he and Xavier careened sideways into the wall, the bullet hit Wendy right in the chest. She shrieked, dropped to the floor, turned gold, and shimmered out of sight.

  Well, shit.

  Justine stalked over to Derek and Xavier and glared down at them. "Nice work, Xavier."

  The doorman nodded. "You're welcome, Justine. Always glad to help." He kicked Derek off him. "Derek, I think you need to go—"

  "Shut up!" He and Justine shouted at the same time.

  "Derek is on our side," Justine added. "Don't you dare send him off into a deep sleep right now."

  "But he tried to stop me." The big man tucked his gun out of sight as Derek rolled to his feet.

  "Because you killed her!" Justine said. "We needed her alive!"

  Xavier blinked. "You did?"

  "Yes!"

  "Why?"

  "Because she was the one who knew how to find Satan Jr.," Justine explained, unable to keep the frustration out of her voice. "I don't suppose you know how to find him, do you?"

  Xavier frowned. "Who?"

  Damn.

  "Wow. With Wendy dead, you'll never find Satan Jr. in time. You guys are totally screwed," Theresa said. "And I don't mean that in the naked, sweaty way that leaves you writhing with pleasure and begging for more."

  Justine flopped down on the couch, pulled a pillow over her head, and primal-screamed her frustration into the softness.

  They had been so close to finding him, and now…nothing.

  "Anyone want a pretzel? With all this doom and gloom, I'm jonesin' for some comfort food."

  All hands went up.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Twenty minutes later, they had practically cleaned out the freezer of pretzels, Xavier had confessed to being appointed by Iris to protect the girls, and Quincy was still in shock.

  And most importantly, Satan Jr. was still at large.

  Derek and Justine each had their laptops out and were searching the Internet, but it wasn't that easy to find a listing of Satan Jr.'s favorite hangouts or residences.

  The clock was ticking, and unless they found Satan Jr., they were all seriously screwed.

  Together, they were a pretty formidable force, but their combined ass-kicking skills were going to be useless if they never found him. Instead, they were just going to roll over and die, all because they couldn't find the bastard.

  "There's nothing here about him!" Justine slammed her computer shut and shoved back from the table, her fists bunching in aggravation. She turned to Xavier. "Are you certain you have no idea what Satan Jr. looks like? He had to have been near Wendy when she made you try to kill me. She doesn't have those powers."

  Xavier shook his head. "As I already explained, I was talking to Wendy when I felt a cool draft over my back. The next thing I knew, everything I saw had a gold tinge to it."

  "Damned gold." Derek said. "It's probably the effect of being under Satan Jr.'s influence. Wendy turned gold before she died, too."

  Xavier shrugged. "All I know is that I had a sword in my hand and I was on my way upstairs to kill Justine. But when Derek showed up, I told him to do it instead. I thought maybe I could force myself to stop him, or that he'd be too strong for me to compel, but he wasn't." He looked at Derek in disgust. "You let me down, and then nearly got me run over by a city bus."

  Derek didn't seem ruffled. "She's still alive, isn't she? I'd say I did all right."

  Xavier grunted.

  Justine stood up and walked over to Xavier, who was sitting on the couch with his feet up, eating pretzels with Theresa. "Xavier, I appreciate your trusting Derek not to kill me, but we really need to find Satan Jr. Did you see Wendy arrive or leave?" They'd already been over this several times, but there had to be something they'd missed. There had to be a clue they just weren't seeing.

  "I told you. She took an Uber."

  "Alone?"

  Xavier shrugged. "Honestly, I was watching her legs, not who was with her."

  "She must have loved that," Derek said.

  "I can't believe I fell for a woman who was possessed by the devil's spawn." Quincy was lying on his back on the floor, staring at the ceiling. "I'm such an idiot."

  "Hey!" Justine said, unfortunately feeling the need to defend her newly discovered dad. "Satan isn't the devil, 'spawn' is a little harsh, and she was in cahoots, not possessed." Derek raised a brow at her, and she shrugged. "They're my family."

  "Back off, devil girl," Quincy said. "I am now seriously considering the viability of Derek's theory that I'm going to die in two days. My world has been shattered and I appreciate being allowed to piss and moan a bit, if you don't mind."

  Derek thumped the table in victory. "Do you have any idea how good this feels to have you believe me after years of being told I was crazy?"

  "Well, I feel like shit, so back off."

  Derek grinned at Justine. "He's a math professor. They get moody when they learn the world isn't all about logic and mathematical theories. He'll be fine."

  "For at least two days, he'll be fine. After that…maybe not so much." Justine yawned and glanced at her watch as she weaved back to the table. It was almost two in the morning. Less that thirty-six hours until Derek would die from the Curse, and they were wasting time talking about his brother. "I need caffeine." Lots of it. Too bad Mona was still massage oil. She was the best espresso around.

  "Hey!" Theresa suddenly jumped to her feet. "Holy shit!"

  Justine whirled around, her heart thumping. "What? Did you find something!"

  "No, but Zeke did." Theresa hurried over to the table and set her laptop in front of Justine. "And you think I've been wasting my time with cybersex. Read it."

  She leaned forward. "'T, I can't believe you are locked away in an FBI cell. I want to meet you, bask in your smile while I hold your hand...'"

  "Skip to the end," Theresa interrupted.

  "Fine." She did as directed. "'And if you still want to find Satan Jr., I've attached the Google Maps driving directions to
his place in Connecticut.'" She looked up at Theresa, shocked with excitement. "Are you kidding? Zeke found his place?"

  Theresa grinned, her eyes glowing. "He's amazing, isn't he?"

  "Damn right he is. I totally give him permission to marry you."

  "Marriage?" Theresa squawked with alarm. "Who said anything about marriage? I'm not marrying anyone!"

  "I know. You're an independent badass. It was just an expression." Justine double-clicked on the attachment, her heart pounding with anticipation. "How can he be sure it's the right address?"

  "He talked to someone who has been to his mansion. Zeke gave him info about something magical or something, and the guy gave up Satan Jr. in return."

  "Damn. He's good." Justine bent forward to read the attachment while Derek leaned over her shoulder, his chest brushing against her back. She caught his woodsy scent and smiled.

  Derek set his hand on her as he read. His touch was automatic, instinctive, and it felt so good that it made something in her soften. "That's about an hour and forty minutes outside the city," he said. "We can make it there before four. I'll get my keys."

  Normally, the thought of getting Derek alone for two hours in the middle of the night would make her mouth water. Now? It was a little overshadowed by the fact they'd be on their way to track down an insane son of Satan in hopes of averting a very nasty fate. "Okay." She pushed back from the table. "Let's go."

  "You look like you haven't slept in days," Xavier observed from the couch.

  "We haven't," Derek said. "Not really."

  "You'll be a liability behind the wheel. I'll drive." Xavier stood up. "My job is to protect Justine, so I want to be there. I'm pretty damned good at magical battles."

  "Perfect." Justine nodded. "The more help the better. Let's do it."

  Derek agreed. It would suck to pre-empt the Curse with a fatal car accident due to one of them taking a nap while they were supposed to be driving. Derek tossed him the keys to his limo. "Let's go."

  An hour later, Justine could barely keep her eyes open as she and Derek tried to stay awake to go over their plans. The back of his limo was well-stocked with food and drink, and it was comfortable as hell.

  Too comfortable.

  She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "How much longer?"

  "About forty-five minutes. Why don't you guys grab a couple minutes of sleep? It'll sharpen you up," Xavier said from the front seat. "I'll wake you up if anything interesting or unusually dangerous occurs."

  She knew she should stay awake and keep working on a plan, but she was so damn tired she could barely think.

  "We'll take ten. That should be enough." Derek closed the privacy panel, and then they were alone.

  Completely, and utterly alone.

  Too bad she was too exhausted and strung out for sex. All she wanted was to sleep. She was sitting sideways on the seat, her feet tucked up under her, an arsenal of weapons on her lap. The fake goblet was in a box on the seat between them. Not exactly prime snoozing position, let alone full-on canoodling.

  "Come here." Derek set the box on the floor and held out his arm. "We both need some rest."

  The offer was too tempting to turn down. She shoveled all the weapons onto the floor, then scooted next to him. When he lifted her into his lap and curled her legs under her, she didn't argue. She was too freaking tired, and his warmth felt too good against her.

  She sighed and rested her head against his chest. His fingers were drifting through her hair, while his other arm held her against his body. A cozy, intimate moment that could be so romantic if they were different people, in different circumstances, on a different mission.

  "This could be it," he said. "In less than an hour, the Curse could be lifted."

  She closed her eyes and nestled her face against the curve of his neck, letting the soft touch of his fingers in her hair relax her. "Or his house could be empty."

  "Or he could kill us with fireballs the minute we step out of the car."

  She shook her head. "He won't kill us until I hand him the Goblet."

  "And if you don't? He'll kill you eventually. And then you go to the Chamber." His fingers trailed down the side of her neck, and she shivered. "Unless you kill me first."

  She pressed her finger to his lips. "Can we not talk about that?"

  He lifted an eyebrow. "Is the Guardian having second thoughts about killing me?"

  "No." She wasn't, was she? Nothing had changed: she was going to prove she was a worthy Guardian, save Mona and wind up having her own chapter in the next edition of the Treatise. And life was going to be grand. Rah. Rah. Rah.

  This is what she'd wanted. A chance to prove herself. A little bit of interest in her life. So what was wrong with her? Why wasn't she fired up? She had plenty of people to kill, to save, and to battle. Life was good.

  Except it felt completely wrong. All of it.

  She felt his warm sigh against her neck, and she sighed. "What about you? Are you still going to kill me if this doesn't work out with Satan Jr.?"

  "It's you or my brother."

  She lifted her head and looked at him, but his face was in shadow. "That's not an answer."

  "I know." He caught her face between his hands and fastened his gaze on her as they went under a streetlight. The utter regret and pain in his eyes nearly broke her resolve right there.

  Oh, God. She could love this man. Under other circumstances. She'd never be foolish enough to fall for a man who was her one-way ticket to the Chamber of Unspeakable Horrors. Never.

  He dropped his head slightly, until his lips were almost on hers.

  "Don't," she whispered.

  "I can't help it." The words had barely slipped out before his lips touched hers. It wasn't a wild, sexual kiss of someone looking for loophole sex. It was the kiss of someone whose soul might be her perfect match.

  She pressed her hand against his chest to push him back, but instead, her fingers curved into the fabric and she let her lips part under his. Yes.

  Then a loud beep made her jump back. "What was that?" Her chastity belt alarm going off? Lord knew, she needed one, apparently.

  "It's Xavier on the intercom." He kissed her quickly. "Don't go anywhere."

  Better plan: run away as fast as I can.

  He reached around her and pushed the intercom button while she pressed her hand to her forehead and tried to regroup. "What's going on, Xavier?"

  "There's a man standing in the middle of the road up ahead and he appears to be aiming a flamethrower at the car. Shall I mow him down?"

  Justine frowned. "What does he look like?"

  "He's wearing a gold Elvis jumpsuit."

  She met Derek's gaze. "Satan Jr.?"

  "Gold jumpsuit and mechanically assisted fire throwing? Sounds like a Satan wannabe to me."

  Her heart started to hammer. Satan Jr. was here? She looked at Derek. "It's time," she whispered. "We're not ready."

  "Yes, we are." He picked up her weapons and set them in her lap. "We got this."

  She stared at him. "I don't want you to die," she admitted. "I don't want to kill you, and I don't want anything else to kill you."

  He smiled. "I feel the same about you, sweetheart. Let's go make that happen, okay?"

  "I wish we could, but—"

  "Humor me."

  Justine took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay."

  They didn't move for a moment, though. They just stayed there, staring at each other. What was waiting for them outside the car? This was it. Their chance. They couldn’t afford to blow it.

  Derek leaned forward and kissed her gently. "Ready?"

  She swallowed, then nodded. "Ready."

  "Let's go deal with him, then." He hit the intercom button again. "It's probably Satan Jr. Stop the car." He caught her arm as she started to strap her weapon on. "We're going to have to deal with this, Justine."

  She bit her lower lip. "By 'this,' you mean how we're going to approach Satan Jr.?"

  He shook his head. "I mean us. It
's getting complicated and—"

  "No. I can't allow that to happen." She pulled out of his grasp and started gathering her arsenal. "My mother's eternal soul is at stake and so is mine. This is about business, Derek. I can't forget that. Ever."

  He inclined his head in acknowledgement. "When it's over, we're going to talk."

  "Fine. When this is all over. If you're still alive, we'll talk." She shoved the last dagger in her ankle sheath. "You ready?"

  He picked up his gun and opened the door. "I've been waiting for this moment my whole life."

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Justine stepped out of the car first, with Derek right behind her. Xavier had stopped the car next to an alley that smelled like rotting food and public bathrooms. Trash littered the ground, and a rat scuttled by.

  Xavier started to get out of the car, but Derek waved him back in. "You play backup," Derek said. "If he kills me, get Justine out of here so you guys can regroup."

  What? There was no chance Justine was going to let him pull some macho shit on her and make her run away. "No way. I'm the Guardian. This is my battle."

  He glared at her. "I'm the one who's Cursed. It's my battle. I'm not going to let you get killed—"

  "Helloooo? I have a flame thrower. I suggest you throw yourself at my feet and beg for mercy before I incinerate you." A burst of flame shot over their heads. "I'm very dangerous."

  Justine turned quickly and saw a man standing in the middle of the road, just past the entrance to the alley. He was over six feet tall, with wavy blond hair, blue eyes, and sparkly red eyeliner. His skin-tight gold jumpsuit accentuated his dark tan. Thick muscles in his shoulders and chest suggested he spent his share of time in the gym, and his huge quads looked like they would split the seams of his leggings if he moved.

  He looked like a guy overdosing on testosterone to make up for a whole boatload of daddy issues to her. "You must be Satan Jr."

  Perfectly coiffed white-blond eyebrows went up. "You've heard of me and my many accomplishments? From who? One of my many devastated victims? Or from one of my many clever and devoted admirers?"