by Rose O'Brien
He turned on his heel and paced to the opposite wall. They’d at least had the decency to cut the cuffs off him. Exhaustion pulled at him, but he wasn’t going to rest until he saw with his own eyes that Alayna was all right. These Council fuckers had sent her to her death. He didn’t trust them to care for her.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been pacing when the click of the lock turning made him freeze. Dumeril came through the door, his expression grim. Alex’s gut twisted with dread. Had they lost her?
The Svarturan pulled Alex into a tight embrace and released him after a moment, scanning Alex up and down—for what he didn’t know.
Almost afraid to ask, Alex said, “How is she?”
“Awake and asking for you.”
Relief flooded through him so suddenly, his throat tightening. It had worked! She was alive. Talking meant she hadn’t suffered catastrophic brain damage from lack of oxygen. He wanted to whoop with joy, but Dumeril’s expression stopped him. Something else was up.
Pushing past his friend, Alex headed for the door.
“I need to see her.”
He was brought up short by a gray haired man in black tactical gear who stood in the doorway. He was about to shove the guy out of the way when Dumeril’s voice brought him up short.
“Agent Alex Martinez, meet General Silverthorn, High Commander of the Mage Corps.”
Alex met the general’s dark gaze.
“You’re the one in charge around here?”
The older man nodded not saying a word, but his narrow look was assessing. Alex knew what being weighed and measured by a superior officer felt like, and it pissed him off.
“Then I strongly suggest you get the hell out of my way and remove the obstacles between myself and Commander Blackwell.”
The general looked momentarily surprised and amused. He snorted and raised an eyebrow before stepping aside and indicating which way Alex should go.
Dumeril fell in beside him as Alex practically jogged down the hallway. The general’s footsteps echoed behind them.
After a series of twists and turns down seemingly identical corridors that left Alex feeling lost, they arrived at the hospital wing. Alayna had been tucked in a private room, and when Alex entered, a striking woman with long dark hair rose to her feet beside the bed, blocking him and taking up a protective stance.
“It’s alright, Mother. It’s Alex,” came Alayna’s exasperated voice.
As Alayna’s mother stepped aside, he caught sight of Alayna herself.
She was pale and looked thinner than when he’d last seen her. It had been maybe twenty-four hours by his math, but she looked like years had passed. Her long platinum hair was loose around her shoulders and had been brushed. The wounds on her wrists were gone, the skin now unmarred. A green robe covered her from neck to knees, and he couldn’t see if her other more minor injuries had been healed.
He was by her side in two quick strides, his hands on either side of her face. Until he touched her, he hadn’t been entirely sure it was real.
“You’re here,” he whispered.
She reached up and covered one of his hands with hers.
“Thanks to you,” she answered.
Suddenly, emotions that he hadn’t let himself feel in the hours since he’d held her last overwhelmed him. His eyes squeezed shut against the wetness that threated to spill out, and he touched his forehead to hers as relief, joy, fear, pain, guilt, anxiety, and anger washed through him.
“Hell of a thing you did,” came the general’s voice from behind him.
Alex’s eyes snapped open, but they didn’t leave Alayna’s face.
“Thanks.”
“That was not a compliment, son.”
“I’m not your son,” Alex snapped, letting his irritation creep into his voice.
The general was silent a moment before continuing.
“You may not know it, but you just turned the mage world upside down. Whisperers are not supposed to survive a Reckoning.”
Rage boiled within Alex’s chest, and he rounded on the general.
“Maybe if you had bothered to update your medical protocols within the last fifty years, they would have. Magickal healing may not be able to save someone once their heart stops, but we have this little thing called science. Resuscitation is a thing now. Look into it.”
The general snorted again.
“There are those who would say that magick, especially such deadly magick, has a price. A price that has to be paid.”
Alex gave the man a hard look, turning his body so that he was between him and Alayna.
“Are you one of those people?” Alex asked, mentally preparing for a fight if it came to it.
He’d only just gotten Alayna back; he wasn’t about to lose her again because of some sort of misplaced fanaticism.
The corner of the general’s mouth turned up. “No, I am not.”
Leaning around Alex, the general said to Alayna, “It seems you’ve found yourself a rather formidable protector, Commander. I think he’s worth keeping.”
Turning back to Alayna, Alex saw a look of suppressed amusement on her face.
“I agree completely, General.” A note of sadness touched Alayna’s voice. “And I tragically find myself in need of a sergeant.”
The general turned back to Alex, that narrow, assessing gaze having returned.
“I’ve been contemplating very carefully what to do with you since I learned of your existence a short time ago. We could try another memory wipe and send you back to your old life, but at this point and given your powers, it will probably destroy your mind.” He continued. “We could release you on your own recognizance. Commander Blackwell assures me you can be trusted to keep our secret out of sapien hands, although I am not sure that I agree.”
He was quiet a long moment. “Or you can take the commission that she’s offered. You’ll have the protection of the Corps and the Council. And you’ll be with her.”
A smile tugged at his mouth on the last part. Alex didn’t even have to think about it and didn’t hesitate.
“Where do I sign?”
“Love the attitude, Killer, but hold up. There’s a bit more you need to know. And that goes for you too, Commander.”
The general was silent for a moment before he continued.
“I’ve had a chance to review the reports filed by your team in the wake of what happened in Austin. I believe, and many of our analysts concur, Dominic Spino’s crazed plan was likely part of a larger scheme.”
Alayna looked skeptical.
“He was out of his mind,” she said. “Hell bent on destruction, nothing more.”
“He spoke of voices that compelled him to act,” the general said. “Consider the level of destruction releasing that many revenants on a city would cause. When combined with some of the chatter we’re hearing from other sources, we believe we may be looking at Demonic influence.”
“Demons? Are you serious? No one has conclusively proved they exist.” Alayna’s voice dripped disbelief.
Dumeril chimed in. “Think about it. Dominic said he was in an emotionally weak place when the voices started telling him what to do. The few semi-credible accounts of Demonic influence claim those entities are non-corporeal in this realm. Those in a weak state would be more easily influenced. When you look at what kind of devastation those revenants could have caused, consider what that would have done to the dimensional walls.”
Alayna’s eyes went wide. “You mean we might be looking at an attempt to create an entry point for an extra-dimensional invasion?”
Dumeril nodded and Alex sat hard on the bed beside Alayna.
“Furthermore,” the general said, causing Alex’s stomach to twist, “Given your miraculous survival, I believe you and your siblings may have a significant role to play in the coming days, Commander.”
Alayna sighed. “Are we back on the stupid prophecy? I thought they decided that wasn’t about us when it turned out I was a Whisperer.”
Alayna’s mother spoke from the corner.
“Four and four and four
They will stand against the darkness
They will bar the door against the ravenous ones
A child of the golden air
A child of the burning sun
A child of the troubled water
And a child of the wild earth
Born of the same womb
Will unite the people of the sun and moon
In victory, there will be peace.”
Silence hung in the room when she finished speaking.
The general spoke up. “The Blackwells were the first set of four siblings, each controlling a different element and born to the same mother, ever recorded. When Alayna manifested the Whisperer’s curse, it was decided it couldn’t be about them. But she just lived through the gods damned Reckoning. If anyone’s destined to stop a Demonic invasion…”
Silence descended in the room like a thick fog, everyone’s faces gone somber.
“Everyone out,” Alayna said. When no one moved, she raised her voice. “Out!”
She pinned Alex with a look.
“Not you,” she mouthed.
The others shuffled out. Alayna’s mother gave Alex a worried look as she shut the door.
When they were alone, they were both silent, neither meeting the other’s eyes, the only sound in the room the shush of air circulating through the vents.
She broke the silence first.
“So, you sure you want to stick around?”
Her tone was the same one she’d use to ask if he wanted pizza, and he burst out laughing.
“Yeah, fuck it, I’m in,” he said when he’d finally caught his breath, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her hand.
“You heard the general. We’re staring down the barrel of a possible demonic invasion. The fight we just went through is the tip of the iceberg. Safety won’t be a part of the picture anymore. We’re talking about a possible war here. I can’t ask you to be a part of that.”
He flashed her a smile, placing his hands on either side of her face. He claimed her mouth in a deep kiss that left them both breathless and hot.
He pulled back and looked in her eyes.
“I’d go to war for you. I’d follow you through hell and back. As long as I’m with you, there’s nowhere I’d rather be,” he said, his voice strong, emphatic. “Where you go, I go. Understand?”
“Not gonna lie. A selfish part of me wants you with me.”
“Someone’s gotta patch your ass up when you do something crazy and heroic.” A lopsided smile tugged at one side of his mouth.
“You’re one to talk. You busted through a roof on the back of a dragon.”
“Actually, can we do that again? That was fun,” he said, teasing her. “How is the giant lizard, by the way?”
“Recovering,” she said soberly.
Silence stretched between them again.
“I wanted so badly to give you your life back,” Alayna said. “And that is never going to happen now.”
He laughed.
“Before all this, that wasn’t a life, Alayna. It was existing. This, this thing between us. This is a life.”
He kissed her again, his mouth trying to tell her what his words couldn’t.
Pulling back, she whispered, “I love you, crazy man.”
“It’s really good to hear those words when I’m not pinned under a ward,” Alex said softly. “Because, now I get to say them back.”
“Alex, I’m so sorry I did that! I was trying to protect –”
“I know why you did it and I forgive you. Just don’t do that again, okay? It nearly killed me to watch you walk out that door.” He gently cupped her face in both hands. “I love you, Alayna. Whatever comes, we got this,” he said, his voice firm with an unshakable confidence.
With that, he stretched out beside her, pulled her gently against him, and reveled in the feeling of holding the love of his life in his arms again.
Acknowledgments
There are so many people that made this book possible. I want to start off by thanking my mother for her never-ending support and cheerleading. Through so much self-doubt, she was the one that told me that my words mattered. I also need to acknowledge my long-suffering husband who put in more than his fair share of housework and childcare so that I could write these words.
To all the members of the Austin RWA chapter, thank you for your support, advice, wisdom, experience and all the chocolate you shared. I could not have done this without you.
Huge thanks to my editors Jami Nord and Emmie Mears for the invaluable work, advice and feedback. This book is what it is because of them. Check them out at www.chimeraediting.com.
Thank you to my amazing cover designer, Amala Benny. She can be contacted at mayflowerstudios.com. Original photography for the cover was provided by belphnaque@depositphotos.
And to my readers. Thank you so much for going on this adventure with me. Stay tuned, because there is plenty more to come!
Author's note
Dear readers,
Thank you so much for coming on this adventure with me. This book has been the work of more than 10 years, off and on, and I'm so glad you stayed with me to this point.
If you enjoyed "Air of Darkness," please head over to Amazon and leave a review so that others can know what you think.
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Thank you again for buying this book and spending so much time with my characters.
Love,
Rose
About the Author
Rose has been obsessed with ghost stories and the paranormal since she can remember, and she's been telling stories just about as long.
A Texas native, she loves horseback riding, knitting, practicing martial arts, and archery. She lives with her husband and offspring in Central Texas.
She has been known to drop everything to listen to a ghost story and if you have one to share, or just thoughts in general to share, send it all to her at [email protected].