Stephanie Rowe - Darkness Unleashed Read online

  Annie shook her head and leaned forward, her voice urgent. "Listen to me, Catherine. The pyre leads to things, things so horrific they're beyond comprehension. It's the first step into a hell you can't imagine—"

  "I can imagine. I do know." How she wished she didn't, but there was no way to reverse time and choose a life that hadn't taken her where hers had. She simply had to deal with it and move forward.

  Annie stared at her for a long moment, then leaned back in her chair. "You'll die if you go."

  Catherine shrugged. "Will you tell me how to get there? Please." When Annie began to shake her head, desperation coursed through Catherine. She grabbed Annie's hand. "Think of the person you love most. Imagine them being trapped in that hell you mentioned. What if you were the only person in the entire world who could free them?" Her voice burned with tears she couldn't hold back. "What if you lay awake every night, hearing their voice in your head, calling for you, begging you to save them? What if you loved them so much that a piece of your heart broke off with every minute that passed, knowing that they were suffering and waiting for you to help them?"

  Empathy flashed in Annie's eyes, and she squeezed Catherine's hand. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so very sorry."

  "I don't want sorry. I want directions."

  Annie almost smiled. "You're a brave woman, Catherine."

  "I'm not brave. I'm a mother. Will you help me?" A man would never understand the drive of a mother to save her child, but she saw in Annie's eyes the compassion she needed. Annie got it, on a level so deep Catherine knew it was only because she had personal experience with it. A mother, a child of her own, someone she loved...Annie had lost them, too.

  "There's no way to describe the path," Annie finally said. "It changes constantly. I'll have to take you there."

  Elation leapt through Catherine. "You will?"

  "I'll take you most of the way," she warned. "I won't go all the way to the end. That is up to you. I need to go get some supplies. I'll meet you in the alley behind here in twenty minutes."

  "Oh, thank you!" Catherine threw her arms around Annie. The other woman's arms folded around her instantly, hugging her tight. A friend for life...as long as Catherine didn't accidentally kill her first.

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes later, after having wolfed down a burger and a salad to ease the gnawing hunger in her belly, Catherine was pacing restlessly in the alley behind the bar, waiting for Annie to appear. Not that she could really call it an alley. It was more like a dirt footpath, barely large enough for one small car, and even a compact would probably lose its mirrors on the buildings. It felt cramped and tight, too small, with not enough room to flee if Ryland showed up.

  She'd used the time not only to eat, but also to splash her face with water and stand under the light in the bathroom. She'd raised her face to the dingy fluorescent bulb like some downtrodden scavenger, trying to bleed every last bit of energy from it. She'd fed on it until the room had descended into complete darkness, but it still hadn't been enough to make her skin glow even a little bit. Feeling depressingly pathetic, she'd also taken a moment to absorb the emanations from the bulbs in the back hallway, and the spotlight that had illuminated the alley.

  The spotlight had been bright enough to take the edge off. She knew she wasn't going to tackle Annie in the next five minutes and drain her soul, but it hadn't gained her enough that she would dare to risk sleep. The relief that Ryland had given her had long worn off. Catherine suspected the respite had been more about her body's intense craving for him as a man, than any actual relief he'd given her, which was just not something she wanted to contemplate. She had not fallen for a man since Simon had betrayed her, and she'd thought she was too smart to even notice one now.

  But she'd noticed Ryland. She'd almost given away her hiding place because she'd needed to touch him so badly. What was that all about? Nothing good, she knew that much. But even at the mere thought of feeling his skin beneath her fingertips, a deep yearning rolled through her. She wanted more of him.

  "God, just stop it," she whispered to herself. "You know better." Feeling exposed, Catherine finally tucked herself into a doorway. She used the building to cover her back while she warily watched the alley for both Annie and Ryland, praying the woman would arrive first.

  It was hard to see through the pitch black, an impenetrable shield of darkness that had descended when Catherine had drained the spotlight. The only light that remained was the dull flicker from the spotlight, reaching barely a yard past where she was standing, hiding the rest of the nearby ally in darkness. Farther away, there were lights, but not nearby. Nearby was just darkness. While she waited, every sound was magnified in the looming silence. Catherine couldn't quite suppress the rising fear, wishing she hadn't made it quite so dark. In the dark, things could come and be upon her before she knew they were there—

  A cold breeze rippled across her skin, and she froze. It wasn't just the cool night air, it was something else. A threat. Danger. Something beyond the realm of humanity. Something—

  "Catherine." Ryland's voice was right beside her, and she screamed, leaping out of the doorway. "Hey, it's me." He stepped in front of her and grabbed both her arms, his massive bulk blocking her path, his hands an iron grip on her upper arms. "I'm not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you."

  She froze, almost overwhelmed by the enormity of his presence. When she'd seen him in the graveyard, she hadn't been so close to him, and she hadn't been locked in his grasp. But now, he was in her space, so tall that she had to crane her neck to see him. His jaw was hard and flexed. Several days' worth of whiskers bristled on his face, and his shoulders seemed to stretch a thousand miles. He was a man strong enough to do anything he wanted to her. He was enormous, a specimen of maleness that every young boy—and adult male—would idolize and dream of becoming. But as a woman, she saw him for what he was: terrifying. "Let me go."

  Ryland shook his head. "I have to get back to my friends, then we need to get home."

  "Home?" She tugged at his grip, but he wasn't foolish enough to release her this time, not that she could disappear without a graveyard to hide in. "I don't have a home."

  Something flickered across his face. "You do. With us. With the Order."

  Catherine stared at him as he repeated the same bizarre claim as before, linking her with the Order. "What are you talking about? Why are you after me?"

  He swore under his breath, and then went down on one knee, in a show of reverence so genuine she took a step backward. Instinctively, her hand covered her heart, trying to shield herself from how beautiful it made her feel to have him offering her such respect. "Why are you kneeling? Get up."

  "Catherine Taylor," he said, his black eyes riveted on her. "It is my greatest honor to escort you back to a place of safety. We will fight for you now. I pledge myself to your protection."

  Again, something flickered through Catherine, something that made her want to go down on her own knees and turn herself over to him. Instead, she took a step backward, knowing full well that she was too smart to fall for a man again. The fact she was feeling the need to accept his offer meant he was manipulating her somehow to override her reluctance. It was exactly the kind of thing Simon had done to her, and she would not be fooled twice. "How do you know me? Who are you? Why are you after me?" She glanced around, hoping to see Annie, but the woman was nowhere in sight. She couldn't leave until Annie arrived, but she had a desperate feeling that Ryland was going to try to keep her from going.

  He didn't rise. "My name is Ryland Samuels. I'm an Order of the Blade member. I was part of the team that invaded Warwick Cardiff's castle." Something glittered in his eyes. "You didn't wait for us."

  She stared at him. "You were with Alice?" Her heart tightened at the mention of the woman whom she'd known since she was a child, the one person in the world besides her daughter who brought enough light into her life to stave off the need to feed. Alice was her best friend, the sister she never had
. She was the one who had picked Catherine's broken body off the ground after Simon had left and given her the strength to survive. "Is she okay?"

  Ryland nodded. "She's fine. She bonded with Ian Fitzgerald, one of my teammates. They seem good."

  "She bonded with a man?" Catherine's legs started to shake, and Ryland caught her as she crumpled to the ground. She sat heavily on the dirt, staring at the man still kneeling before her. "Is...is he a good man?" She could barely whisper the question, the thought of Alice being bound to a man was so terrifying. Dear sweet Alice. What had happened to her while Catherine had been locked up by the wizard? "Will he betray her?"

  Ryland raised one dark eyebrow. "She is an angel, Catherine. If he wasn't a good man, I would have killed him before I allowed him to bond with her."

  The unhesitating violence in his words made her shiver, but at the same time, hope sprang in her chest. She could feel his intense loyalty, his absolute determination to protect Alice. Yet at the same time, the fact he was prepared to kill his own teammate painted a picture of a man who could not be trusted. What if she was the one he decided to sacrifice to save someone else? "Well, thanks for telling me about Alice." She struggled to her feet. "I need to get going—"

  "No." He stood up, looming over her again. "You're coming with me."

  And just like that, her fear vanished, replaced with a rising anger. No longer would she let a man intimidate her. How dare he try to command her? Catherine set her hands on her hips and glared at him. "I'm not going anywhere with you." But even as she protested, fear ran cold through her veins once again. How could she stop this man from taking her?

  Irritation flashed through Ryland's dark eyes. "Warwick was trying to destroy the Order by killing the trinity of guardian angels that protect us. We're bringing them home where we can keep them safe. Alice is our angel of life, and we already have the other. You're the only one left."

  She stared at him as she processed his words. "You think I'm one of the Order's trinity of guardian angels?"

  "Yes."

  She started laughing then, the bitter, ironic laugh of someone who didn't really think things were all that funny. "Well, you're wrong. I'm—"

  "You're the angel of death. Our angel of death."

  She didn't bother to ask how they knew what she was. If Alice had fallen in love with one of them, she would have told him. Catherine knew what happened to a woman when she fell in love, and she would never blame Alice for spilling her secrets. God, she hoped Alice had been lucky enough to have made a good choice. "I am an angel of death, but trust me when I say I'm not yours."

  "Catherine!" Annie came jogging down the alley. She was wearing jeans, hiking boots, and a heavy jacket, a slight hitch in her gait from the heavily loaded backpack over her shoulder. Around her throat was a black cord with a dove on it, carved out of what looked like ivory. "You ready?"

  "Yes." Catherine ducked past Ryland and hurried over to her guide, not looking back.

  "You need to wear one of these." Annie handed her a necklace like the one she was wearing. "Put this on. It will help protect you from some of the negative energy we'll be encountering."

  Catherine took the necklace and started to fasten it behind her neck, only to have Ryland snatch it out of her hands. "Where do you think you're going?" he said, his voice edged with tension.

  "Hey!" She whirled on him, furious. How dare he try to stop her from going after her daughter? "Where I go is none of your business. I'm not the Order's guardian angel, so what I do doesn't matter. Leave me alone—"

  "No." His voice was soft but lethal. "The other two angels didn't know they were our protectors, either. Just because you don't know that you're ours doesn't mean you're not."

  Annie's jaw dropped. "You're an angel?"

  "Dammit, Ryland!" Catherine shoved at him. Her identity was not for shouting out to the world. She smiled at Annie, trying to feign innocence when all she wanted to do was scream with frustration at Ryland for interfering when she had things finally worked out. "I wish I was. That would protect us, right?"

  Annie nodded, but her eyes were flitting back and forth between them. "It would help," she agreed. "Or damn us forever."

  Ryland stepped between her and Annie, cutting off their conversation. "Listen, Catherine, I don't have time for this. I have to get back to my team to protect them. They have no tools against what happens here at night, and neither do you. We're going back—"

  "No! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Catherine noticed Annie was starting to ease backwards, and she hurried over to her. "No, wait, please don't go—"

  "He brings bad blood," Annie whispered. "Can't you feel it?" She looked at Catherine, her eyes getting wider. "And so do you. I didn't feel it before, but it's stirring now."

  "No, wait—" Catherine tried to grab her arm, but Annie ducked out of her grasp.

  Annie spat at her. "Get out of this town. Both of you!"

  "But my daughter—"

  The woman's eyes glittered. "I know what it's like to lose a loved one," she said, "so I'll give you time to run. A concession from one mother to another, but that's all I can do. Twenty minutes is all the head start I can give you, and then they'll come for you. So, run."

  Then she turned and bolted down the street and around the corner, taking Catherine's last chance of hope with her—

  "Oh, shit," Ryland moved closer to her, as if to protect her with his body. "Not now."

  "Not now, what?" But even as she asked it, Catherine felt the walls of the building beside her begin to ripple. She whirled around and saw the wood undulating, as if it were steam rising off a hot sidewalk on a blistering summer day. "What—"

  "So much for a twenty-minute head start. Come on!" He grabbed her hand, but Catherine twisted out of his reach. "No, I can't leave, I need to find—" A loud shriek tore through the air and a small, black creature leapt off the wall right at her. As it reached for her, its body elongated into a black, sinewy funnel, like a serpent coming to life. She yelped and stumbled back as its mouth opened to reveal six-inch fangs—

  "Enough!" There was a crack and a flash of black light, and then Ryland swung his machete, decapitating the creature. "Now, Catherine, run!" Even as he commanded her, another serpent leapt off the wall at them. Ryland had just cut it down when another one came, and then another. "Catherine! This way!"

  He grabbed her hand and this time, she didn't argue. She just ducked her head, followed his lead, and ran as hard as she could.

  Chapter Five

  Ryland and Catherine sprinted down the alley, heading toward where he'd left his team. He knew they had minutes, at best, before every building in the town was alerted to their presence and rose to attack. Thano! He thrust the call into his teammate's mind, hoping they were recovered enough to hear him. Zach! We gotta go! Meet me outside. Now!

  There was a ripple of foggy acknowledgment in his mind. The pedicure just started. You want to go now? Really? But even as Thano said the words, Ryland felt the burst of energy from Thano as his teammate sprang to action.

  "What is it?" Catherine looked over her shoulder as the alley behind them pulsed with life...or death.

  "A protection grid woven into the fabric of the city when it was built. It's designed to ward off any creatures from the nether-realm that escape to the earth's surface. Between the two of us, we set it off." Another serpent came streaming at them from the right, and Ryland hacked it with his machete.

  There was a wave of despair from Catherine, an agony so brutal that Ryland almost stumbled. But to her credit, she didn't waver. She just put on a burst of speed, running right down the gauntlet, never hesitating or slowing. Admiration coursed through him as he cut down another serpent going for her head. "Turn left up ahead," he commanded her. "Then take the first right and straight on out of the city." Thano, meet us at the top of the stairs.

  You got it.

  Recognizing a self-preservation instinct when he saw one, Ryland released Catherine's hand so he could fight with
both machetes. He no longer feared that she was going to play any tricks on him or ditch him. She was too intent on getting the hell out of the town alive. "Can you shroud yourself right now?" He wasn't sure if it would work, but if she could cast them all into shadows like she'd done in the graveyard, it might grant them safety.

  "No. Not without a graveyard or some sort of burial ground— Ryland!" She skidded to a stop as a great snake sprang up in front of her. It snapped at her hand, but Ryland grabbed her in time and yanked her back. The snake lunged for her, and Ryland killed it, its head dropping to her feet less than an inch from her toe.

  "Dear God," she whispered. "What is it?"

  "Go!" They were coming out of everywhere now, ghostly serpents with poison more deadly than the talraks. One bite and there was no chance. It cut down on drunken nighttime brawls since the protections would respond to any kind of bad energy, but a tidy late-night bar scene wasn't really a selling point right now. "Come on!"