Resonance

by T. G. Ayer

  They waited for his blood to gather, the color as dark as night. Then Evie said, “Well, I guess we both swear to keep secret the fact that you have received a message from me, and that you are going to carry out the request within the letter to the best of your ability.”

  He swallowed. “And that you will not tell anyone that I am helping you, even if I fail to deliver on the contents of your letter.”

  Evie pursed her lips. “Sounds about right to me.” She glanced up and met his eyes, recognising strength and conviction in their depths. She held out her hand and he took it, the two bloods mixing together instantly.

  A bright spark of white fire exploded between their hands sending the guard flying back to land on his butt a few feet away. Evie though, remained standing, probably because she was far stronger than the gargoyle.

  He made a face, then got to his feet, dusting his ass as he muttered, “hate when that happens.”

  Evie didn’t want to sound like an ignoramus so she didn’t comment. Instead she took the letter from her pocket and passed it to Darth who snatch it quickly, glanced over his shoulder at the doorway then tucked the note inside his pants pocket.

  “Thanks for this,” she said softly.

  “Only too happy to do it.”

  “So, why exactly are you doing it?” she asked eyes on his face.

  He shrugged. “We know what you are. The Masters made the mistake of leaving you with the Guard. We had to bring you here and strap you down. They already pissed us off when they demanded we dust off that bloody chair and put you in it. That shit just isn’t on.”

  “I heard,” Evie murmured.

  “So we were strapping to the chair with the angel bonds, cos we had to wait for Mykia to come and initiate the final spell, when we saw the Marks.

  Ears ringing, Evie replied, “Oh. I see.”

  He chuckled. “It’s fine. Our legends have spoken of one like you who would bring the winds of change, who would unite the children of the angels.”

  “You don’t appear too in awe of that myth,” Evie observed.

  He shrugged. “It’s not that. We like the uniting part. Just not the reminder of who our progenitors are. Bad blood you know.”

  “I also know that gargoyles and nephilim also had a bloody history, and wars that have gone on for millenia.”

  Darthh sighed. “Some of us don’t believe the old stories. At least not the way they were told to us. And besides, why should we be paying for something that a bunch of idotic people did a few thousand years ago. We figured that if there was ever a time to have the angelics unite it is now. At least we’ll get some time of peace before the shit hits the fan again.”

  “Another prophecy, I presume?” Evie asked.

  Darthh rolled his eyes. “Someone’s a little behind on current events.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Evie thought of Barry’s comments regarding Patrick but she pushed his voice away. “So, how long before I know anything?”

  Darthh pursed his lips. “I’ll have something to tell you tomorrow moring. Just make sure you stay alive long enough.”

  “Yeah about that. What the hell was that thing?”

  The guard frowned. “We’re not sure what happened inside here. Just one of our mages detected an anomaly, sent us all racing over here but we couldn't hear anything and we couldn't get inside We tried for almost an hour and just when it looked like we’d have to report it upstairs there was a huge explosion. Or rather a non explosion. Most of us can’t remember the same thing. A couple guys claim they were thrown to the other end of the dungeons, others say they never moved. Some say the place was reduced to rubble, and other say nope, didn’t happen. But whatever happened, stopped suddenly for no reason and the door opened and you were fine. Weirdest shit I ever saw but the boss said he knows what happened and he’s not telling unless it’s absolutely necessary and that he’d have to speak with you first before he says boo.”

  Evie wasn’t sure what to say in response. She swallowed. “Okay. Right. Oh, I almost forgot. What happened with Barry?”

  “Oh yeah. The overlord. Well, Mykia kinda let Grythh overhear an argument with one of the masters regarding your rights. And Grythh simply carried out her orders and brought him here.”

  “Mykia gave you unspoken orders to bring Barry to me?” Evie was befuddled. What was the new Master of the Irin up to?

  “Yep. No other way he would have gotten to speak to you otherwise. Maybe she didn’t want to wait for the SHC overseer in case they too were crooked.” The gargoyle made a face then hitched up his belt and resettled his sword. “I’d better get going. Food’s getting cold.”

  “Yeah. cold spagbol is the best,” Evie grumbled, fisting the air as she spun on her heel to check on the glowing sword.

  The gargoyles final words before closing the door behind him were, “You do know you can use your magic to warm the food, don’t you?”

  Evie didn’t reply. The man’s response was enough to piss her off for not thinking of it herself but her attention was directed at the bed. The empty bed.

  The motherfluffin’ sword was gone.

  Chapter 24

  Evie had gone to bed, exhausted from the stress of being terrified the guards would spot the freaking glowing sword, not to mention her shock at having conjured the thing in the first place. Whether it was the drop in adrenalin or the effects of her training, or the resulting loss of energy due to the use of her newly discovered magic, Evangeline had slept like a baby.

  And she never slept like a baby. Ever.

  Evie was the lightest sleeper in existence. Patrick used to complain that the sound of time ticking by three thousand years ago would wake Evie, and she suspected he was probably right. Back then, that had been one of the things that had made her unique in Patrick's eyes.

  What would the old master think of her now? Would he approve her sudden display of magic? Of her ability to summon scary glowing swords out of thin air? Or would he be horrified and scared as he usually was when she'd tested her boundaries?

  Evie turned over in her bed, enjoying the feeling of lying horizontally. The previous night having been spent sitting up in the chair of bloody horrors. She still couldn't believe the brotherhood had found it reasonable to have Evie placed in that particular chair. Did it have some sort of meaning to them? Or some connection to Evie herself. Were they trying to send her a message?

  And what about the Shade? Was the evil creature working on behalf of Marcellus' minions or was it actually vice versa? And how did Daniel fit into this whole mess? Evie had already decided that she'd be putting her feelers out in order to track Daniel down, not that she'd expect to find easily.

  He'd hidden right under her nose for a decade and she'd been none the wiser. How was it even possible to live in the same house--mansion, estate, whatever--for ten years, passing each other every day without either of them figuring out who the other was?

  Had Patrick done such a good job of hiding Evie that Daniel would have missed her even if he had looked for her? If the archangel Daniel had had the tiniest suspicion his child had survived the wrath of the Control, he'd surely have searched for her? Or was that simply wishful thinking?

  The man was no father to her. And he never will be.

  Even if he appeared on her virtual doorstep, begged for forgiveness and promised to be the best father in the world, Evie would never fall for it. He'd shown her his true colors.

  He'd tried to kill her even when he knew she was his child. What father would do such a thing? Even an angel ought to be capable of some affection for his offspring? Or was Gavriel simply an anomaly?

  Evie groaned into her pillow. If only Gavriel had been her real father. But then, those were the dreams and wishes of the innocent. She had a sister. Another daughter of Daniel the Archangel. She had to hope that he didn't know the baby existed. But if he did know, there was a good chance he'd be looking too.

  And Evie was going to make damned sure that he never found her. Too m
uch was at stake now, too many lives in the balance, all hanging precariously over the deadly blade called Archangel Daniel.

  Evie groaned and sat up in the bed. There was little point to thinking about Daniel. She had to focus on the here and the now. There certainly was plenty of drama to keep her busy. Evie dressed quickly, smoothing her creased clothing out with her hands, making a face as the wrinkles sprang back up again.

  She needed a bath, a good long soak in a tub would be just the thing. And her hair needed a wash too after all the activity of yesterday that had brought up a sweat. But Evie couldn't see the bath or fresh clothing in her future.

  Unless she stank up the place and Mykia decided to fix things. But Nephilim weren't like humans in that department of their biology. They didn't sweat or shed skin the way humans did. So bathing was more of an enjoyable pastime than a necessary activity in order to remain clean.

  Evie sighed and glared at the tray of last night’s food. She wasn't all that certain of the time but her body clock suggested sunrise. Which meant someone would be along soon. And she had to cross her fingers in the hold that it would be Darthh with news of Julian. Or Barry with an update on the case.

  Though, in this instance, she'd put her money on Darthh as she couldn't imagine Barry making an early morning call even to save Evie's head from the chopping block. Then she shuddered at the thought.

  Back in the day, beheadings were par for the course for a guilty verdict. And from the way the masters had behaved thus far, Evie wouldn't put it past them to demand the death sentence, and to choose the guillotine for her.

  What the brothers had against her, she really didn't know. Then a thought struck her. What if they had good reason to want to get rid of her.

  Good reason as in they knew why Marcellus had been collecting the Seals. So they would also know that she'd taken them to Hades. And they also knew that Marcellus had followed her to the underworld.

  Which meant they would know Daniel had come after him, presumably in search of his missing master. Neither had returned, although Evie had eventually come back alive.

  Would they want her dead in order to pay for her crimes or were they really focused on what she had to give them should she die?

  Evie sucked in a breath. She didn't really know what would happen to the Seals if she died. Why had she not thought to ask Julian before she left Hades?

  Still, there was a good possibility that while she was Hades, she'd be unable to die. Did that mean one day if someone did succeed in ending her mortal life, that Evie would simply end up roaming around the EarthWorld as a nephilim zombie?

  Chuckling, Evie accepted that maybe her trip to the underworld really had scrambled her grey cells. That would probably be the best explanation and the one that made the most sense. Because everything else that was happening around her qualified as insane.

  When the door to her cell opened and Barry walked in with coffee and a bag of beignets, the insanity of Evie’s reality officially confirmed.

  ~ TO BE CONTINUED ~

  Read the next book in the Irin Series:

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  Retribution

  Requiem

  Resonance

  Revelation

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  About the Author

  I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognize that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practice given I have two daughters, who are actually my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes…

  My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in South Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Clou
d. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and volcanoes. The land of green, pure beauty that truly inspires. And because I am so torn between these two lands – I shall forever remain cross-eyed.

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  RESONANCE

  THE IRIN CHRONICLES BOOK 3

  Copyright © 2019 by T.G. Ayer

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art by Eduardo Priego

  Cover art © T.G. Ayer. All rights reserved.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.