Blood Before Sunrise

“Put your sword away,” Fallon said. “That’s not a standard-issue weapon.”

I tucked the blade in its scabbard, though doing so made me feel twice as vulnerable. “Don’t speak to anyone,” he continued as we walked down the long driveway to the main gate. “I didn’t have time to glamour your voice. You’ll betray us if you open your mouth.”

Again, no one stopped us or questioned our actions. Fallon played his part well, searching bushes as we walked as if sweeping the property for any sign of-well-us. My skin tingled as I sensed the approaching dawn, warm and scratchy, made more stifling by the effects of Fallon’s glamour. Already we’d been here longer than I’d hoped. I wanted nothing more than to be rid of both Fallon and Delilah. Now they stood at my side, partners in crime.

The guard at the gate stood at attention, sword drawn and wary. “No one is allowed off the property,” he said, moving between us and the gate. “Adare’s orders.”

“We’re not leaving the property,” Fallon said. “Just checking the perimeter. Also, Adare’s orders.”

“What’s your name?” the guard asked. “I’ve never seen you before.”

I noticed from the corner of my eye Fallon reaching for his dagger, and I stepped in front of him, not willing to risk any lives for what I’d done. I pulled my arm back and swung, striking the guard square on his chin. His head jerked and lolled to the side before he crumpled to the ground.

“I had the situation under control,” Fallon said between clenched teeth.

“No, you didn’t. I’m not about to kill innocents doing nothing more than their jobs.”

Fallon looked at me as if he thought me foolish. Stepping over the fallen guard, he traced his finger down the center of the gate, using his magic to let us out the way he’d let me in a few hours earlier. Why he didn’t just reach into the control booth and open it manually was beyond me, but I didn’t care as long as he got us the hell out of there with Delilah in one piece. He retrieved the dazed Oracle and stepped through the gate. “Are you coming?”

I looked over my shoulder and back to the gate. What would Tyler think of what I’d done? What would Xander or Raif think? For that matter, what did I think?

Fuck it. What was done was done. I wasn’t coming back without Brakae anyway, and with any luck, I’d have the hourglass with me as well. I looked to Fallon and Delilah in their glamoured forms. I’d walked through these gates a woman on a mission, bent on helping a friend and obsessed with discovering the truth.

I walked out a fugitive.

Chapter 20

“What are you so sullen about?” Fallon asked.

I hadn’t said a word since we’d escaped from the PNT facility. Dawn approached, and the eastern gray skies were smeared with red. It seemed appropriate, considering the circumstances. An omen of sorts. Blood before the sunrise. I watched the scenery passing us by through the passenger-side window. We’d left Seattle behind, headed down the I-5.

“Where the hell are we going?” I asked, my nerves winding tighter with every mile we drove.

Fallon shrugged. “As far as this tank of gas will take us. I figure we have enough to get to Spokane. I want to put as much distance between us and Moira as possible.”

She definitely wanted both of us dead, so I couldn’t really blame him for wanting to get the hell out of Dodge. I wondered why she made him so nervous, though. Fallon wasn’t exactly helpless; he’d demonstrated he had power and then some. Yet Fallon was spooked. I only wished I knew why. I decided not to press the matter, though; I had nothing more to say to him and didn’t feel like drawing the SOB into conversation. I turned in my seat to check on Delilah, who sat in the back of the unassuming VW sedan, just as much a vegetable as she’d been when we’d hauled her out of her cell. I rode shotgun-lucky me-and the man whose throat I wanted to slit wide open drove. Not well, I might add. Jesus, I’d seen newly licensed teens with better driving skills.

I’d spent the better part of three hours berating myself for letting this situation get so out of hand. If only Adare had met me at the door that day. If only I’d asked Tyler for help. If only I’d quit fighting against Xander and tried to convince him to work with me. Instead of letting people in, I’d done what I’d trained myself to do for years: I’d shut everyone out-everyone, that is, but Raif.

“Are you going to answer me?” Fallon said. “Or are you going to pout the rest of the way?”

I pressed my palm to the pocket holding my cell. GPS was a hell of a safety net. Even though I’d fled Seattle with Fallon, Raif could find me. I never-ever-went out on a job without a backup plan. The night Tyler had come to my rescue at Reaver’s had been the last straw. I couldn’t bear for him to endanger himself for a task that was none of his concern. Raif, on the other hand, was just as much a part of this as I was. His worried expression was fresh in my mind as I thought back to our last encounter before I’d left with Fallon.

“Raif, hear me out.” I turned to face my friend, hugging my arms to myself to ease the emptiness I felt. It worried me that I’d had to wish Tyler out of my apartment and to The Pit, where Levi could keep an eye on him. His control was held together by the barest of threads. “You don’t want to reopen old wounds. I get that. But Delilah wouldn’t have mentioned Brakae just to piss you off. She knew the PNT would more than likely lock her away for good…or worse. She’d planned on using your daughter as a bargaining chip if she happened to get caught.”

“It’s been centuries, Darian. With no word. Not even a trace of where she might have gone. Why would Delilah keep such a secret for so long?”

I cocked a brow. “Why? Why not? You killed her sister, Raif. I wouldn’t have willingly supplied you with that information either. You wanted answers. I believe she’s got them. But we won’t know for sure unless we can unlock whatever spell Adare put on her so I can get to the bottom of this.”

“Why not just go to Adare?”

“Do you think he’d put our issues before PNT justice?”

Raif sighed. “No.”

“So let’s use Fallon to our advantage. I’ve already stolen this goddamned hourglass; it’s too late to change course now. I’ll make the trade, get what we need from Delilah, and when it’s all said and done, we’ll bring Adare and Reaver into it.”

“And what if Fallon double-crosses you?”

The thought hadn’t escaped me. He didn’t strike me as particularly trustworthy. “When I meet up with him to exchange the hourglass, I’ll activate the GPS on my phone. If he tries anything, you can keep track of where we are. If things go south, you call in the cavalry and you’ll know how to get to me. It’s doable. We can make this work.”

Raif gave me a sad smile. “Darian, are you prepared to face PNT justice over this? There could be serious repercussions for what you’re doing.”

“I know,” I replied with a sigh. “And yes, I’m ready to accept the consequences of my actions. Whatever they might be.”

“All right, then.” Raif’s expression changed from concern to resignation. “We’ll try.”

Though he had no idea how his daughter’s disappearance could be connected to the “Man” Delilah had mentioned or the mysterious Shaede women of my dreams, he promised to see this through to the very end-his daughter returned to him or not. Now, I just had to wait him out. He was tracking me-no doubt there-and as soon as Delilah spilled her little secret, I had to trust he’d get me the hell away from Fallon so I could return the hourglass to Reaver. From there, we’d find his daughter together.

“You’re not much of a travel companion.” Fallon’s voice broke into my reverie. As if he had nothing better to do than listen to himself talk, he continued. “I hope the next hundred miles are better than the last.”

Since we’d confined ourselves to the ridiculously cramped car, my feelings of unease had mounted. Something about Fallon pulled and repulsed me, simultaneously urging me to flee; yet I wanted to lean in closer. My phone continued to vibrate in my pocket at five-minute intervals, and I was pretty sure my voice mail was full because that alert had quit going off an hour ago. Though I worried he’d run the battery down with his repeated calls, that vibrating phone connected me to Tyler and let me know he still cared about me despite everything I’d done to crush