Shades of Darkness

by Alexandra Ivy

  Troy arched a brow. “And he didn’t try to help the two of you?”

  The guards exchanged another glance. Clearly they hadn’t considered the missing guard until this moment.

  “Maybe he was chasing after the prisoner,” Lusca at last suggested.

  “What did you do next?”

  Koral shook her head, grabbing a dagger to throw it at the target. Troy didn’t even look. Keeping his gaze locked on Lusca, he tossed the dagger over his shoulder, allowing Koral’s gasp of disbelief to assure him that he’d hit the exact center of the bull’s-eye.

  “Well?” he urged the male to answer his question.

  Something that might have been admiration softened the male’s expression. Obviously, the way to earn the male’s trust was throwing a tiny dagger.

  Odd.

  “We set off the alarm and went in search of Rimm.”

  Troy nodded. “Was that standard protocol?”

  Koral answered. “Yes.”

  “So why didn’t Jord and Riza sound the alarm and go in search of Rimm?”

  The two studied him with a matching expression of confusion. They didn’t have an answer. Which was all the answer Troy needed.

  There was something funky going on with Jord and Riza.

  He reached into his pocket to pull out another gold coin and tossed it toward Koral.

  “Here.”

  “I didn’t win,” she protested.

  “You gave me what I needed.”

  Unexpectedly, the female tossed the coin back at him. “I don’t want your money.”

  Troy caught the coin. “No?”

  She nodded toward the target. “I want you to teach me to throw like that.”

  “Later,” he promised.

  Troy turned to stroll out of the guard room, already plotting his next move.

  Jord had claimed that Riza was on the ground when he’d found the cell empty. But if that was true, why hadn’t the younger male followed the protocol when he woke?

  Something he intended to discover.

  Chapter 14

  Basq grimaced as they stepped into the alley only to be whisked into a vast desert. Instinctively he flinched as the illusion of golden sand drenched in sunlight surrounded them.

  Dammit. He hated magic. Especially magic that sucked him from one place to another.

  Glancing around to make sure that Chaaya was nearby and unharmed, he abruptly froze. Standing next to him, she was bathed in the dazzling sunlight that made her…glow. Her skin was as pale and smooth as ivory with soft lips that looked as if they’d been kissed by a rose. Her dark eyes held a hint of copper and the Celtic tattoos held a metallic glitter.

  In the moonlight she was a ghostly beauty. In the sunlight she was gloriously, vividly alive.

  Reluctantly he looked away, studying the vast sky above. The bright crystal blue didn’t captivate him with the same enchantment as the sight of Chaaya. Oh, it might have if it’d been real. Of course, it would also have turned him into a pile of ash. Next he surveyed the rolling dunes that appeared to have no end. And perhaps they didn’t.

  Far in the distant he could make out the silhouette of a sprawling structure. It looked like a castle rising out of the sand with the traditional curtain wall and towering central keep. But the stylized décor on the gate reminded him of an ancient Persian fortress.

  Basq pointed toward the castle. “Let’s go.”

  With a strangled sound, Dabbler dug his feet into the sand. “No way. I’ve brought you to the lair of Kgosi. All you have to do is start walking. He’ll find you.”

  Basq narrowed his eyes. “That wasn’t a request. Go.”

  “No.”

  Frustration bubbled through Basq. He didn’t like this place. Not only was the sun unnerving despite its inability to hurt him, but he could feel his power draining at an alarming rate. As if something—or someone—was sucking it out of him.

  He bared his fangs. “Do you honestly think I won’t kill you?”

  Dabbler quivered, his fear sullying the air with an earthy stench. “If I go a step farther, I’m dead.”

  Chaaya moved to stand next to him, studying the brownie with a hard expression.

  “It’s a trap.”

  Dabbler shook his head, his earlobes flapping. “No. I swear.”

  Basq reached to wrap his fingers around the demon’s throat. They were too exposed out here. Vulnerable. He wanted to find the mysterious Kgosi and get the hell out of there.

  “I’m done with games.”

  “Listen.” Dabbler held out his hands in a pleading gesture. “I can explain.”

  “Start talking,” Basq commanded.

  “My father didn’t actually create the bulla,” the demon admitted, licking his fat lips. “He was searching for a place to keep my mother from aging when he stumbled across an empty space between space.”

  Basq eyed the brownie in disbelief. “He just happened to stumble across an unclaimed bulla?”

  “We thought it was unclaimed,” Dabbler corrected. “My father built the palace for my mother, and we settled in to molder in dull isolation. After my parents died—”

  “After you killed them,” Chaaya interrupted.

  “Fine, yes,” Dabbler muttered. “After I killed them and started to create my city, I happened to discover this opening.”

  Basq studied the brownie. There was no mistaking his genuine fear, but the probability that the words spewing out of his mouth were true was zero to none. This male had lived in his own delusion of grandeur for so long, Basq doubted that he was capable of recognizing fact from fiction.

  “You’d never noticed it before?” he asked.

  Dabbler shook his head, flushing at the mocking disbelief in Basq’s voice. “I don’t know if I missed it or if it deliberately concealed itself, but one day it was simply there.”

  Basq let it pass. He was more interested in what they’d walked into than when Dabbler had found it.

  “So you entered?”

  “Of course.” Dabbler hunched his shoulders. “Who wouldn’t?”

  “Most sane creatures,” Chaaya muttered.

  The brownie looked defensive. “I wanted to see if it was a portal in or out of my city.”

  “Ah.” That claim made sense to Basq. “You were afraid that demons might be coming and going without paying your tithes.”

  “I’m a businessman.”

  Basq had several names for a male who murdered his own parents for profit. None of them were businessman. He didn’t bother sharing them. This male was beyond shame.

  “What did you find?” he instead asked.

  “An oracle.”

  “Oracle?” Chaaya snorted in disgust. “They’re fake.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Dabbler said. “But he hasn’t been wrong about anything.”

  Chaaya folded her arms over her chest. “Like what?”

  “He foresaw my city would grow and prosper.”

  Chaaya rolled her eyes. “Could he have been a little more vague?”

  The brownie scowled, obviously annoyed by Chaaya’s disbelief. “He said that my most trusted companion would betray me.”

  “Did he?” Chaaya asked.

  Dabbler looked confused. “I’m not stupid. I killed him before he could try.”

  “That’s it?” Chaaya snorted. “No tall, dark, and handsome man in your future? Maybe an unexpected windfall?”

  Dabbler pressed his lips together. “He warned me that next time he saw me, I would die.”

  As if his words were some sort of magical cue, the sand behind them began to swirl, rising in the air to form a slender tornado. Basq stepped to the side, putting himself between Chaaya and the whirlwind.

  His protective stance, however, did nothing to stop them from being sucked into spin
ning sand. One minute they were standing in the middle of the desert and the next they were consumed by the maelstrom. Blinded by the fierce wind, they were tumbled around like a load of laundry and then spat out into a…

  Harem?

  Basq quickly regained his balance as he glanced around the dark, opulent room. It was as large as a football field and shaped in an octagon with a soaring ceiling that was tiled with gold and rubies. The walls were carved out of stone and the windows were covered by delicate trellises. The floors were hidden beneath woven carpets and the air was thick with jasmine.

  At the very center of the room was a massive pile of satin pillows in all shapes and colors, and above them Basq could make out a vaporous form drenched in silk and gold and decadence.

  Jinn.

  Basq hissed in shock. The elusive creatures rarely meddled in the affairs of other demons. Thank the goddess. Their power was greater than that of the dragons, and their tempers volcanic at best.

  As he watched, the form went from wispy to a solid male who sprawled on the pillows. He was tall and slender and wore nothing more than a golden cloth tied around his waist. His chest was broad and his midnight skin glistened with waves of iridescent color, almost like a mirage shimmering in the sun. His black hair was worn in long dreadlocks threaded with gold, and his eyes were a brilliant green.

  Basq felt the undeniable tug of attraction toward the male, and he knew both Chaaya and Dabbler would be feeling it as well. It wasn’t personal. Just the potent sensual allure of a jinn.

  “Welcome back, Dabbler,” the jinn murmured with a vicious smile.

  “Kgosi.” Dabbler fell to his knees.

  The jinn’s smile widened. “So you decided to ignore my warning?”

  “It wasn’t my fault.” Dabbler pointed toward Basq. “The leech forced me here.”

  The emerald gaze never strayed from the desperate brownie. “There’s no use trying to appeal to my better nature. First, I don’t have a better nature. And second, I have no control over fate.” He waved his hand in a laconic motion. “I see what I see.”

  Dabbler licked his lips. “There has to be a way to change it. There always is.”

  “You’ve wasted your life hoarding money and power, but it will be no use to you now.”

  “You can’t do this to me. You can’t.”

  Jumping to his feet, Dabbler ran toward the open doorway across the room, his scream reverberating through the air.

  Kgosi turned his attention toward Basq and Chaaya. Basq clenched his hands, his fangs instinctively lengthening at the power that thundered through the air. The male was doing nothing more threatening than lounging on his back as his slender fingers brushed the tassels of a pillow, but the echoes of his magic rippled through the room.

  “I did warn him,” Kgosi murmured.

  Basq glanced out the opening, watching the brownie disappear over a sand dune.

  “Perhaps you were premature,” he warned. “It looks as if he’s escaping.”

  The jinn shrugged. “Just give it time.”

  “An oracle’s answer to everything,” Chaaya muttered, moving to stand next to Basq. “That way people forget all the prophecies that are wrong in the hope that eventually one of them will get fulfilled. Then they’re all like ‘Ta-da. Aren’t I amazing?’”

  Basq froze, prepared for a blast of nasty magic. The jinns were infamous for their wiliness to kill over the slightest offense. Instead, the male chuckled.

  “A disbeliever, Chaaya the Gatekeeper?” he drawled. “What of you, Basq?”

  * * * *

  Brigette stood in front of the alley, watching the gargoyle gingerly press his hand against an unseen barrier.

  “I sense the magic, but I can’t see it,” she said in frustration.

  “It is beautiful,” the gargoyle murmured.

  Brigette grimaced. There was nothing beautiful about the illusion of a nasty alley filled with trash between crumbling gray stone buildings. It reminded her of her old village. Well, without the coating of evil gook.

  “What do you mean beautiful?”

  “The sparkles are like stars.” There was an expression of wonderment on the gargoyle’s lumpy face. “As if the entire universe is swirling across the doorway.”

  Brigette squashed her stab of envy. So what if she couldn’t see the sparkles? She was looking for a way out, not imaginary stars. Besides, she’d learned her lesson about wallowing in jealousy. It never led to anything good.

  “Are they dangerous?” she asked.

  “I do not sense evil. It is more…” Levet wrinkled his snout.

  “Yes?”

  “Indifference.”

  Brigette squared her shoulders. She was going to trust the gargoyle. It didn’t make a damned bit of sense, but she was convinced that he wouldn’t deliberately lead her into a trap.

  “Okay. Let’s get this over with.”

  They stepped forward together, and Brigette felt the magic brush against her skin. She smelled jasmine and heat and…sex.

  That was weird.

  Bracing herself for an attack, Brigette grunted in surprise as she was dumped into the middle of an empty desert. She shielded her eyes, blinded by the searing sunlight. If there were any enemies nearby, she couldn’t see them.

  Eventually her eyes adjusted and she glanced around.

  Lots of sand. And nothing else.

  “Ah, sunlight.” Levet tilted back his head as if absorbing the golden rays.

  “It’s not real,” Brigette informed him. She didn’t have a lot of magic, but what she possessed was deeply rooted in nature. This desert was void of life, revealing it was nothing more than an illusion.

  Levet nodded. “Oui, but I turn to stone in daylight. It is a treat to feel the warmth on my skin.”

  Brigette blinked. The creature truly was the oddest thing. With a shake of her head, she returned her attention to their surroundings.

  She couldn’t see anyone, but she caught a familiar scent. “Chaaya and the leech are here.” She turned in a slow circle, searching for footprints in the sand. “Somewhere.”

  Without warning, Levet abruptly pressed against her leg, as if something had frightened him.

  “Oh no.”

  “What?”

  “I smell jinn.”

  Brigette glanced down at his worried face. She’d heard of jinn, but honestly, she’d thought they were a myth. Like the Loch Ness Monster. Or a comfortable bra.

  “Is that bad?”

  “It is not good.”

  Brigette clenched her hands. If Levet was eager to retreat, then the jinn must be dangerous. Really, really dangerous.

  “Maybe we should leave and reconsider our options,” she suggested.

  “A very wise notion.”

  About to turn to locate the portal, Brigette was distracted by a distant scream.

  “Wait. What is that?”

  Levet cocked his head to the side. There was another scream, and at the same time, a small form appeared over a distant sand dune.

  “The brownie mongrel.”

  Brigette’s stomach did a strange flop as the brownie floundered through the sand, his harsh screams hammering her delicate ears.

  “He sounds like he’s dying,” she muttered.

  Levet gave a tug on her robe. “We were leaving, were we not?”

  “Yeah.”

  They cautiously backed toward the portal, keeping a wary eye on the demon, who was waving his arms in a wild gesture.

  “Get out of my way, idiots,” the brownie shouted.

  “Hey, this is our exit. Find your own,” Levet shouted back.

  There were more wild gestures from the brownie before the sand beneath Brigette’s feet started crawling up her leg. As if it’d come to life.

  “Levet,” she growled, trying to
pull her leg free. The tendrils of sand were not only creepy, they were threatening to trap her.

  “I got this.”

  The gargoyle lifted his hand, holding his palm flat as he muttered a magical word. There was a sputter, then a puff of smoke, and Brigette had a flashback to the last time the gargoyle had used his magic.

  He’d nearly killed them both.

  “No, don’t,” she snapped.

  In his typical fashion, Levet ignored her, concentrating on his spell. There were more sputters, then with a wave of his hand, a large fireball formed in midair.

  “There, see?” He beamed with pride.

  Brigette reached out, but before she could grab the ridiculous creature, the brownie barreled by, knocking her aside. Turning her head, she watched the demon leap toward the portal. At the same time, Levet launched his fireball. They met at the portal at the same time.

  Predictably, the fireball exploded as it hit the barrier. Just as predictably, the brownie screamed. A shrill, earsplitting scream.

  Brigette covered her ears and braced herself. She’d already been in a portal with Levet’s magic. She knew what was coming next. Or at least she thought she knew.

  There was a rumble, as if an earthquake was rising beneath their feet. Then, with a concussive impact, the portal blew apart. Wind sheared past Brigette, forcing her to her knees and nearly stopping her heart. Worse, it picked up the loose sand that surrounded them and scoured it across her skin.

  She was being flayed by the miniscule projectiles.

  She didn’t know how much time passed before the ground stopped shaking, but it felt like an eternity. At last convinced she wasn’t going to be ripped apart, she shoved aside her hair that had been tugged from its braid. Sand sprayed out of the thick curls, sticking to her damp skin to form a crusty layer.

  Brigette grimaced. She needed a shower in the worst way. Unfortunately, that was probably not going to happen. At least not in the near future.

  Slowly turning, her mouth dropped open at the sight of the charred, gaping hole. It looked as if a nuclear bomb had struck. Perhaps a meteorite.

  There was no sign at all of the portal or the brownie.

  Her gaze swiveled back to stab Levet with a glare of disbelief. “What have you done?”