The Better Part of Darkness

It really didn’t matter. Quickly, I pulled on the tee, leaving the jeans.

“You want a towel,” she asked quietly, motioning to the blood, “to clean up?”

She was scared. And I would have like nothing better than to reassure her, but there wasn’t time. “Yeah, thanks.” I swept by her and into the living room, where I pulled out the extra ammo I kept stashed in the back of Bryn’s coat closet. After reloading and tucking some extra clips in the waistband of the jeans and inside each boot, I straightened to take a wet towel from Bryn.

I nodded my thanks, holding it in one hand while dialing Will’s cell phone number. Voice mail. Again.

“Damn it!” I threw the phone onto the couch and stomped into the bathroom.

I stared at my reflection, wondering how my life could have done a one-eighty so quickly. Always looking for trouble, Connor would say. Why isn’t a normal life good enough for you? both Mom and Dad had repeatedly asked after I’d joined the ITF. Why risk your life?

Only Bryn had remained silent and unjudging.

My parents didn’t understand, even after I explained my need to protect them and myself after Connor’s murder. I’d vowed to never be in a situation where I couldn’t defend myself. And once I had Emma, the desire to protect and defend became even stronger. It seemed the only other women I knew who completely understood my motivation were others in law enforcement or the military, or those who’d been victims of trauma. My parents’ friends and extended family certainly couldn’t understand it. And it always made me feel like the renegade/loser of the family. At least in their eyes.

I removed my charm and washed the bloodstained crystal disk and chain, then splashed cold water on my face, using a clean towel to wipe off the excess and dry the necklace, realizing that my sister understood me more than anyone. And I hadn’t even given her credit for that, along with everything else.

Finished with the towel, I inspected the scratches and a few deep cuts from my trip through the lab mir ror. My bottom lip was still swollen from the deep slice down the middle. Lacerations were healing on my chin and left temple.

Bryn was banging around in the kitchen when I exited the bathroom. “I’m going to make sure Emma and Will get off okay and then I’ll be back.”

“One sec,” she said, her head popping over the cabinet door and then disappearing again. A second later, she came to the counter and handed me a bag of Doritos and a can of Diet Pepsi. “Here, it’s all I’ve got at the moment. Not only do I need to do laundry, but I’ve got to grocery shop, too.”

I hardly ever cried in front of my family. But seeing her standing there, eyes wide and supportive, made my throat close. I couldn’t speak, so I nodded my thanks. A small smile tugged on her pale lips.

“Oh, and take this. It’s a cloaking charm.” She placed a small rectangular silver piece in my hand. It was hammered and irregular. “This took me five months to make. Read the inscription clockwise and you’ll go completely unnoticed by those who wish you harm. Say the last word three times to deactivate it once you get to the car.” I turned it over and saw inscriptions written around the edge. None of the words made sense, just a jumble of consonants and vowels.

“I don’t know how … Here, you keep it.” I shoved it at her, uncomfortable with magic as I’d always been.

She shoved it back to me. “Trust me, you need it. There are two black mages across the street. I saw them from the bedroom window, and they’re not here to window-shop. They had to have seen you come in, so they’ll be waiting. Sound out the words exactly as they’re written. It’s easy. Just say the words and then get the hell out of Underground.”

“What about you?”

“Please. I can take care of myself. Why do you think they’re waiting outside?”

Her bravado made us both laugh, but I came to another understanding. My sister was a force to be reckoned with. She hadn’t earned her spot at the League of Mages by being a weakling. I hugged her one more time over the counter, taking a deep breath of her herby scent. “I love you, Bryn,” I mumbled against her hair.

“Love you, too, Charlie.” She eyed the charm in my hand. “It’s got enough magic in it to use twice, but it’ll wear off fast. Should be just enough to get you to the car and back.”

A new appreciation blossomed for my little sister. “Thanks.”

She walked me to the door. “I’d wait until just before you open the downstairs door before invoking the charm.”

“Got it.”

I was an emotional wreck walking down the stairs. Thankfully Bryn had closed her door behind me and locked it. The last thing I wanted was an audience when I invoked the charm. Magic made me extremely uneasy. It was a practice that I avoided at all costs. And now here I was about to invoke my first spell. Bryn’s probably jumping up and down with glee behind the door, I thought.

At the exit, I drew in a deep breath, reminding myself that I’d faced harder things than this. Invoking a charm should be a breeze. There was nothing to be afraid of, except maybe turning myself into a donkey. Way to be positive, Charlie.

Okay, I could do this. I didn’t have time to deal with two black mages right now, and getting to the car and then to Will’s was priority number one.

With the soda can in one hand, the edge of the Doritos bag held between two fingers, I opened my free hand and read the inscription exactly as it was written. “Brac sabacus romulatus abento inveridon.” I read the clockwise spiral, repeating the chant the four times it was written before the spiral ended in the center.

Nothing happened on the inside, but the air around me condensed to a palpable energetic force. The hairs on my arms stood straight. Holy Mary, Mother of God. I’d done it! Well, at least, I thought so. A feeling of accomplishment went through me. I turned, wanting to race up the steps and tell Bryn.

But it would have to wait.

Here goes nothing.I gripped the knob, creaked the door open, and slipped through the small opening. Hopefully they hadn’t seen the movement of the door. I stepped onto the sidewalk and into the hustle and bustle of Mercy Street at night. The exhausts on every pub and restaurant were working overtime, sending the aroma of food into the air. It all smelled like French fries. I scanned the crowd. Shoppers. Pub crawlers. Couples. And then I spied them standing in the shadow of a large potted palm tree, which held open the door to Abracas Bar & Grill. A long line of patrons waited for tables in the popular eatery, giving the black mages even more cover.

The undercover cop didn’t even see them. I probably wouldn’t have either if it wasn’t for Bryn. Or maybe I would have if I had remembered to tap into my newly discovered gene pool—hard thing to do if you spent your life relying on your human traits and training.

Their once-green aura was tainted with the smut of darkness. It surrounded them like a dirty cirrus cloud. I and other law enforcement called them Pig-Pens. I didn’t make it up, but it sure as hell fit. That was the price they paid for sacrificing their Elysian power for the dark power that fed Charbydon. One male. One female. Both tall and thin with their shoulder-length hair tied back from stoic faces. Their pearly dark eyes scanned the crowd, and they stood so still I wondered if they could be seen by your average Joe.

With a deep breath, I stepped off the sidewalk and into the street at a fast clip. They didn’t follow. Thank you, Bryn! I thought, breaking into a run.

Twenty minutes later, I pounded on Will’s front door in the newly developed and swanky town home community of Weston Heights. He wasn’t answering and my concern spiked. “Will?” I called loudly. “Will, open up!” I pounded harder and rang the bell several times.

Please don’t tell me I’m too late. I hurried around the landscaped walk and knocked on the neighbor’s door. The porch light was off and there were no lights in the windows, unlike Will’s brightly lit end unit. My heart thudded hard. Panic surged through me. My hands trembled as I pulled my weapon, moved to his front door, gathered my energy, and kicked the door directly above the knob. It splintered open with a loud crack.

Carefully, I edged inside the hardwood foyer, staying against the wall and praying they were okay.

Down the hall, the living room opened into a vaulted space. Furniture was upended. Pictures askew on the walls. Fear stole my breath. I was too late.