The Darkest Edge of Dawn

As Emma ran out of the room to tell Rex the good news, I remained on the bed filled with dread. I’d lost her once to Mynogan and his cause. And now there was another psychopath threatening our world. Llyran had come into my home, claimed to be the Adonai killer, and invaded my mind. It left me feeling exposed, weak, and just a little neurotic.

The additional guard of Brim, along with Emma’s warded bedroom, was more than enough security, if my daughter was actually in her room at the time of danger. To compensate, she had several amulets of protection, some of the strongest known, all made by the Elders themselves, which she wore at all times except in bed and the shower. But was it enough? I’d been told a thousand times that it was, but …

I grabbed the phone from the nightstand and dialed Aaron’s number, deciding to put a little more protection on my daughter just in case. Everyone involved would most likely sigh and roll their eyes, both at the League of Mages and here at the house, but I didn’t care. He didn’t answer, so I left a detailed message.

Next, I called Titus Mott’s private line, not surprised that he didn’t answer. He was probably off in his mad scientist world working on some experiment—hopefully something that involved a cure for ash. I left a message telling him that Llyran was still in the city and asking him to send the Adonai’s medical file to my office as soon as possible.

Titus had been studying the once-captured Adonai, trying to find a way to identify and neutralize his powers. Our weapons worked well on almost every off-world species, but the highest of each world, the Adonai and the nobles? Not so much. Titus had been trying to give us law enforcement types an edge over the heavy hitters. Maybe there’d be something in the file to help me deal with this one.

Then I went downstairs with my weapon and returned it to the holster in the hall closet, half amused and half horrified that Rex had tried to protect us and shot the ceiling. We were lucky, to say the least. And I realized I’d have to lay some major ground rules with Rex where my weapons were concerned.

Emma was already in the kitchen when I entered and went straight for the leftover lasagna. Once every inch of my plate was covered, I sat at the table, grimacing as the hunger pangs turned painful. Those first few bites actually hurt. It wasn’t until I had at least eight forkfuls in my belly that I began to feel simple hunger versus extreme need.

“Whoa, slow down there, kemosabe,” Rex said, entering the kitchen in dry clothes. He grabbed two bowls from the dishwasher. “There’s no Valium in this entire house, by the way.”

I gave him a sarcastic smile, cheeks full of yummy lasagna.

He ignored me and set two bowls on the table, got some spoons from the silverware drawer, and then pulled the ice cream from the freezer. Emma, I noticed, stayed quiet, standing by the counter just watching Rex as he scooped ice cream into two bowls and then tossed a glance over his shoulder. “You in or what?”

She blinked as though jolted, and then sat down, eyeing him as he ate.

“Okay,” he said finally, noticing she hadn’t touched her ice cream, “what gives?”

Em grabbed her spoon and pushed the scoops around the bowl as I continued to chew. “Mom told me who you really are.” Her voice was quiet and small.

“Oh.” Rex paled. “Shit.” I kicked him under the table. “I mean … well … yeah, about that …” I’d never actually seen Rex at a loss for words before. He dragged a shaky hand through his damp hair and shot me a glare. “Thanks for the warning.” I decided to show mercy and intervene, swallowing my bite and then clearing my throat.

“Can he hear me?” Emma asked before I could speak.

“Uh … well, no I don’t think so.” At her instant disappointment, he hurried on. “But I think he can sense things. You. Your mom. He’s aware, I guess you could say, just not in an active way.”

“So can’t you just leave him?” she asked, and it was Rex’s turn to look hurt.

“Feeling the love right now, ladies. Feelin’ the love.” He plopped his spoon in the bowl, looking totally dejected. “Sure I can leave him. Just feed me some arsenic, stick me under a guillotine, shoot me in—” I kicked him again, this time harder. “Ow! Stop kicking me!”

I’m sure my kid would love to hear that Revenants entered at the brink of death and left on the brink of death. Sure, Rex could heal Will’s body and stay until old age or natural causes took him, but he didn’t have to. If a Revenant wanted to leave, because the body was getting too old and decrepit to enjoy life or for whatever reason, he simply put the host into a suicide type situation or was careless enough that an accident would happen. It was the dark and dirty side of possession, and one of the reasons why soul-bartering was illegal.

“It’s okay,” Em told me. “I know how they leave.” She blinked rapidly and stared down. “I don’t know why I asked that.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I said. “Right now, Dad is safe. He’s not going anywhere. And Rex isn’t leaving until we find a way for him to leave safely, without hurting Dad. Right, Rex?”

“I already said as much. I’m not the bad guy here, you know.”

Em nodded to no one in particular, finally spooning a bite of ice cream into her mouth.

For a while, we ate in silence. Until Rex cleared his throat and nudged Emma with his elbow. “So, um, me and you … we’re cool, right?”

The determined gaze she gave him impressed even me. “So long as you keep my dad safe and promise not to leave him. Then, yeah. I guess we’re cool.”

“Cool.”

An uncomfortable few seconds passed before small talk resumed. And when Emma started telling Rex about communicating with Brim, I knew we’d somehow get through this. It wasn’t hard to see the relief. Emma finally understood her odd suspicions and feelings, and Rex was able to be himself, which he’d been all along anyway—so much for the acting skills. And me, I didn’t have to lie anymore or pretend. Still, it was more than odd sitting around the table with my family, with a man that looked and sounded just like my ex- husband, and knowing he was trapped inside there somewhere.

I saw it in Emma’s eyes, too. The curious looks, the sadness, and even the hope when we talked about ways to bring Will back. That was the only thing keeping her together, the knowledge that he was in there somewhere; she could see him, touch him, and know he was safe. And one day he’d be back. And Rex, well, he could charm the pants off anyone, and Emma was no exception. She’d been completely taken with him from the start; she just didn’t fully understand that the craziness was coming from Rex rather than her dad.

After the ice cream was gone, I stood at the sink rinsing the bowls as they went into the backyard to let Brim destroy the bowling ball. Their muffled voices floated through the window, sounding relaxed and easy, above the soft clink of the dishes.

Without warning, my chest constricted, and my throat swelled. Intense loneliness filled me. Tears burned my eyes and I sniffed, finishing my task and then going upstairs to bury my face in my pillow.

For once I wished I had a warm, hard, male body to curl into, to make me feel safe and protected. I had to look out for everyone, to comfort and protect them … but where was my protector?

I stared at the empty spot next to me, remembering Will lying on his back, one leg bent and one arm thrown over his head. How it was the perfect invite for me to scootch over and rest my head on his chest. His arm would come down around me and his hand, warm from sleep, would rub my arm.

Yeah. Lonely. That explains everything.

* * *

My dreams kept me tossing and turning for a large part of the night and morning, my mind playing over disjointed scenes of the warehouse, the hellhound, and Llyran being pulled through the window and into the darkness.

Aaron had warned me. My blood would make me a target, a beacon to all the psychos and grand-scheming lunatics of the world. Because I was different, seen as an instrument. An anomaly. Something unique and powerful.

Hah. If only they knew how random that power was, and how little I knew to control it.

I rolled over and hit the alarm button before it could ring. Great potential, my ass, I thought, returning to my back and throwing my arms wide with a loud huff, wanting nothing more than to pull the comforter over my head and sleep all day.

I turned my head to snuggle into the pillow, catching movement on my forearm. My skin turned paler, almost