The Better Part of Darkness

as the car bumped wildly over the ground. Coming upon the road, I knew I was going too fast to make the turn, so I shoved the gear into neutral, hit the emergency brake, and spun the wheel, making a one-eighty right onto the blacktop road. Thank you, Connor! All those nights doing doughnuts in his old beat-up Camaro had paid off. I shoved the car in gear and took off toward the gatehouse. In the rearview mirror, black SUVs turned around and followed.

As I rounded the corner, the guards were down on their knees in front of the gate, their semis pointed straight at my windshield. Adrenaline surging, I hit the brakes, sliding to a screeching stop.

Nothing sounded but the purring engine and my thundering pulse.

The gatehouse was flanked by stone walls and then woods. There was no way around. And this wasn’t an ITF vehicle with bulletproof glass. My hands flexed on the leather steering wheel. Glancing in the rearview mirror showed the SUVs flanking out behind me. I swallowed. Terrific.

Talk about bad timing.

Inhale. Exhale. I pulled the keys out of the ignition and then ducked slowly out of the car, my hands held high, as the limo stopped behind the Mustang.

The driver emerged and opened the back door. Mynogan stepped out, tugged his suit jacket down, and adjusted his cuffs. He looked impeccable, his olive skin glowing against the crisp white of his shirt, nearly as white as his hair. “You have excellent timing, Charlene.”

I smirked, my ire bringing out the smart-ass in me. “I could say the same for you, Mynie.”

Carreg was next to duck out of the limo, straightening to his full height and looking just as sharp as Mynogan. Although, with this Charbydon noble I didn’t get the nauseous willies. I couldn’t deny he looked damn good in his suit; the jacket open, no tie, and the collar of his light blue dress shirt open. He shoved his hands into his pants pockets, drawing back the flaps to his jacket. He was posing for a magazine spread and didn’t even know it.

“Shall we take this back to the lab?” Mynogan snapped his fingers at the jinn nearest to him and then ducked back into the limo. Pompous ass.

I handed my weapons over and got into the back of one of the SUVs, trying like hell to remain calm and not lose control like I had in Underground.

Back at the facility, Andy met us as we proceeded from the parking lot to the glass doors. The uneasy, apologetic expression scrunching his face told me all I needed to know. I’d expected to be hunted down by the jinn and Mynogan, not betrayed by some kid I hardly knew. For some reason that made me more pissed off than being relieved of my weapons.

As we filed into the lobby, Andy made the mistake of getting too close. I grabbed his lab coat and shoved him against the wall.

“I’m sorry!”

Sweat beaded his brow and I could smell his fear. Impossible, but I even heard his heart hammering. “Not as sorry as you’re gonna be, you little weasel.”

A jinn hand landed hard on my shoulder. I released Andy with a shove.

“Oh, God,” he choked, dashing by me to unlock the elevator. He dropped the key card twice before sliding it properly into the reader.

Play it cool, I told myself, banking the anger and hum of power that came with it. There was something inside me. Too bad for them, because I was going to let it out after I got the answers I sought. They could take away my weapons, but they couldn’t take this. Guess power did have its advantages after all.

After a tight, uncomfortable squeeze into the elevator, sandwiched between two jinn, Mynogan and Carreg behind me, the doors slid open. Thank God. I was about to suffocate from the corrupt auras of malevolence and misplaced ego.

I was forced to step aside and allow Mynogan and Carreg to lead the party down the hallway, which gave me a chance to shoot daggers at Mynogan’s stiff back. The only thing that made me feel any better about the situation was knowing Hank would be here soon. He’d find a way around the guards. I just hoped it wouldn’t be too late.

Andy opened the door to Mott’s lab, pulling it back and mouthing the word sorry as I stepped by him. I shot daggers at him, too. Like he’d get any forgiveness from me.

The door shut behind us, and I suppressed a shiver of anxiety.

Squaring my shoulders and settling into work mode, I focused on my years of training. I followed the jinn farther into the room, surveying every crevice and corner, ready for anything. My heart pumped and my palms itched. If it wasn’t for needing information, I would’ve started the fight just to get it over with.

In the corner setup with Mott’s couch, chairs, and coffee table, Titus stood to greet Carreg and Mynogan. The doc was scared shitless. His hands trembled, and he reeked of fear, far worse than Andy. His hair was in more disarray than ever and sweat dampened his hairline. I glanced over to the medical lab and saw that Llyran, the Adonai serial killer, was no longer on the hospital bed.

Two jinn left me to go take up wall space behind Mynogan. The other two remained behind me.

I shook my head at Mott. “Why am I not surprised?”

A sincere apology passed through his eyes. To hide his shaking, he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his lab coat. I cocked my head slightly and tuned in to his aura. It was green and slightly dim. Nothing bad there. Interesting. “So what do these two idiots have on you, huh, Mott?”

The jinn behind me sucked in a breath at my name-calling. I didn’t have time to brace against the punch to my kidney, which sent me staggering forward and howling in pain. His fingers slid around my neck, and he jerked me back, squeezing hard. “Apologize to the Lords of Charbydon,” he hissed in my ear. His breath smelled like rancid meat, nearly taking me to the floor.

In one smooth motion, I yanked my arm away, braced my fist into the palm of my other hand for added force, and then sent my elbow flying back into his nose. “Fuck you.” The sickening crack of bone filled me with satisfaction. They fell for that move every time.

Foul, thick fury erupted fast behind me. I spun and braced for his attack, but the jinn froze, his irises burning violet-red hatred. A quick glance over my shoulder showed Mynogan with his hand up. I cocked a triumphant eyebrow at the jinn despite the danger and the retribution he promised me as he backed away.

“Detective,” Mynogan began in a smooth voice so evil it crawled up my skin like a handful of scattering roaches. “I suggest you cooperate with us. Certain loved ones’ lives may be at risk.”

Time stopped as my heart dropped to the floor.

A blink later, white flame erupted inside of me, searing every nerve and cell, every pore and fingertip, clouding my vision and vibrating through my eardrums.

Then, my world came abruptly back into focus. How dare he threaten them! The heat burned. I was on fire, like in my nightmare. Didn’t matter. I had control of this power, whatever it was. And damned if he’d harm my loved ones. Instinctively I gathered it, amassing it until I was about to burst with it, then I sent it out like a whip straight for Mynogan.

A gale force wave lit by blue flame arced across the room, leaving a bitter cold void in its place. I shuddered as the power surged into him.

The only assault on his person was the wind moving his white hair. My mouth dropped open. He had absorbed my blow. His pupils glowed red and his aura grew in blackness.

Figures.

I braced, no time for anything else, as he returned the favor without blinking an eye or moving a muscle in his fancy suit. The power hit me so hard it sent me flying through the plate-glass viewing mirror and into the hard, tiled floor. I slid across tile and broken glass, slamming into the far wall.

Wracking pain flared through my skull and back. Gasping for breath and fighting a blackout, I tried to push myself up, to ready myself for the next attack. The iron-rich scent of my own blood mixed with the sudden aroma of Bryn’s flowery herbal conditioner as my hair fell loose around my face and shoulders. I’d hit the wall so hard, the rubber band in my hair had snapped. I was cut everywhere. My hands, arms, even through the jeans. Warm trails of liquid red ran down my face and neck. It hurt so badly, I couldn’t move.

You should’ve absorbed your own power back instead of letting it hit you, a voice echoed in my mind.