The Better Part of Darkness

What is that?” I fanned the air over the scroll.

“Skin.”

“Skin!”

If it bothered him, he didn’t let on. Instead, he peered at the ancient wedge-shaped lines pressed into the skin with black ink, which looked very similar to the cuneiform writing of the ancient Sumerians.

He didn’t elaborate. And I didn’t ask. In fact, I didn’t breathe for the next twenty seconds, giving the scent of ancient skin time to disperse. The thought of drawing that into my lungs made my stomach turn. I stepped back. “What does it say?”

“It’s in Charbydon. From the House of Astarot. About ten thousand years ago, it was stolen by the House of Abaddon, and then, much later, stolen by another.”

The smug tone in his voice drew my attention, and I saw his mouth give one faint twitch. “You?”

He didn’t return my look, just shrugged and surveyed the library. “We have a nice collection.”

Interesting. Aaron was much more than a Magnus. He was an art thief.

“The scroll details the calling of darkness,” he said, “which can only be done in a place other than Charbydon.”

While I didn’t know exactly what the calling of darkness entailed, its purpose made sense. Charbydon existed in darkness, so they wouldn’t need to call it there. “So what does this have to do with me?”

“Charbydon is dying, Charlie. In order to be free of sunlight and live as they are accustomed, they must have a new home. They must call the darkness to cover another place.”

Goose bumps sprouted on my arms. “Atlanta.”

“Yes, I believe so. Eventually, the darkness will spread, very slowly, and in, oh, I don’t know, a hundred years or two, it will cover the planet.”

The weight of his words sent me plopping into the nearest chair. Air hissed from the leather cushion as it molded around my body. “So Mynogan’s talk about saving their world …”

“There’s no way to save a dying moon. At least not that I know of.”

But Carreg believed. He was trying to find a way. Wasn’t he?

I drew my legs in and propped my elbow on the arm of the chair. “And me?” I couldn’t wait for this part. It was sure to be a doozy.

“The only being capable of calling the darkness is one who possesses the power of all three worlds in their blood. This scroll is a myth that goes back as far as anyone can remember. No one, no Elysian or Charbydon, has been able to do this. At first, around the time of cohabitation in your world, the House of Abaddon thought they could breed the perfect being, a Nephilim, to call the darkness over the Earth, to create their own realm and be free of joint rule with the House of Astarot. They’ve wanted this for millennia. Now, instead of looking for a way to live with what they’ve wrought in Charbydon, they’ll steal this land.”

I rested my chin on the teepee of my fingers. “That’s all well and good if I could call the darkness. As it stands, Mynogan will fail simply because I have no clue how to call anything.”

Aaron’s entire being stilled. The emerald-green of his eyes dimmed just a little, and his lips drew into a grim line. The hairs on the back of my neck started to rise. “You don’t have to do anything, Charlie, except spill your blood on unconsecrated ground. Every last drop. Once this blood of three worlds seeps into the soil, darkness will rise, clouding out the sun and overtaking everything.” He cleared his throat and straightened. “According to the scroll.”

Right. Of course. Just a typical day in the life of Charlie Madigan, I thought sourly. “It doesn’t explain why he didn’t just kill me after injecting me with the DNA. Why wait until now?”

“Perhaps the timing wasn’t yet right.” He scanned the scroll again, but shook his head when he didn’t find the answer he was looking for. “There is nothing here about when to begin the ritual. But timing and astrological alignments are everything in crafting. Mynogan must have had a good reason for waiting until now. Whether the myth is true or not, he believes in it. So, we must be prepared.” He turned his back on the scroll, leaning his hip on the table and fixing me with a frank look. “You, my dear, need to learn how to fight fire with fire.”

My cell rang. With some effort, I removed myself from the plush leather chair and then pulled my cell from the clip. It was Bryn. “Did you find her?”

“All we can get is a general area. It’s somewhere around Morningside and Ansley Park.”

Quickly, I turned away from Aaron, not wanting him to see my emotions and wishing I’d left my hair down to cover my face instead of up in the ponytail. My throat closed before I could ask the question that haunted my mind. But Bryn knew me, and she answered the silence over the phone. “I felt her. I didn’t sense any pain” —I swallowed a sob; tears clouded my vision—“or true fright. Just a lot of worry, irritation, and anger.”

I nodded. It was the only thing I could do without crying. My face was going to be the last fucking thing Mynogan ever saw. I managed to say okay and then close the cell, drawing in a deep breath before having to face Aaron. When I did, compassion shone in his gaze. “Don’t look at me like that,” I snapped. “Once we get a location, can you flash yourself in, grab her, and get out?”

“Mynogan isn’t a fool. He’ll have put a ward around her.”

“You have a mansion full of mages, powerful ones.”

“Not as powerful as an Abaddon elder. We don’t exactly have the upper hand here.”

“But you’ll try.” It was a command more than a request. If I had to ask, to beg or plead, I wouldn’t be able to keep my despair in check and the tears at bay.

His dark head dipped. “I will. If not, then we’ll find another way in. Chances are Mynogan will let you walk right through the door. You’re what he wants, after all.”

Every part of me wanted to start walking and not stop until I was in front of that bastard. But I knew I had to have a plan if I wanted to save Em first. I had a feeling if I just turned myself over, Emma would not be set free after my blood soaked the ground. No, she had to be free first. And I wasn’t about to trust Mynogan to simply trade her for me.

I sat on the edge of the seat and put my head in my hands, feeling utterly defeated, feeling the sting rise behind my eyelids as I pressed them with my palms. “I can’t do this. I need Emma.” Her name repeated in my mind, echoing and bouncing around, tearing my heart in two. This wasn’t right. I couldn’t just wait. It wasn’t in my nature. I wanted to scream, to fight and at the same time to curl into a fetal position on the floor. I’d lost my child. I should have been with her, should have known …

Emotions spun inside me, growing bigger and stronger and louder, gathering all that I had, all my fears and hurts and hopes, and turning them into a bloated monster that was bursting at the seams.

A strong hand landed on my shoulder. Spices filled the air. Aaron squeezed gently, the pressure as soft and sure as his voice. “First lesson. Learn how to control your emotions. You won’t get anywhere with Mynogan if you’re at war inside. You can’t fight yourself and him.”

No shit, I wanted to shout, but I stayed silent, trying to calm the storm, knowing that everything would depend on my ability to overcome the powers and control them. I needed to be like Aaron. Calm. Confident. Insightful. After a few deep breaths, I narrowed my eyes on him. “You know, you don’t look like a wise man.” But he sure as hell sounded like one.

“An apprentice could see your turmoil right now. Auras reflect emotion and balance.” He stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. “What does mine tell you?”

He knew that focusing on something would pull me out of my tailspin. Aaron was astute whether he joked about it or not. I straightened, placed both hands on my knees, and stared hard at him. When I saw his aura earlier at Bryn’s, it had been spontaneous, but trying to do it on purpose was another matter.

“Not so hard,” he said. “Just relax and let it come naturally.”

I drew in a deep breath and tried again. Relax. See him as he is. Slowly, the library faded, everything around Aaron dropping away until it was just his form filling my view. A hazy cloud began to take shape around his head and shoulders. But it wasn’t enough. I concentrated harder. Something clicked inside, and I knew then that I was the problem. I was holding back, afraid to open myself up and accept the power. To be in control, I had to lose control of my inhibitions and fears.

My fists unclenched. My muscles relaxed and my arms hung loose at my sides. I was open, accepting.

Vibrant shades of green, emerald, fern, jade, and moss, all blossomed through the haze, overtaking it and becoming a living extension of the being in front of me. Power and emotion tickled my senses and in those colors,