Blood Before Sunrise

all as good as fucked.

“Go, and be well.”

Yeah. Okay. Sure. Time wasn’t something I could afford to waste. I took off at a slow jog in no specific direction without a word of parting to the company of Sprites. No “Thanks.” No “I owe you one.” Nila would just have to take my appreciation as a given. Light glinted through the tree branches, shimmering red and gold and bright green on leaves revealing their fall colors before my eyes. I’d thought spring ruled in this place, but as Nila had so graciously pointed out, the natural order followed a different set of rules.

Where the hell was I headed? It wasn’t like Brakae had been so kind as to leave me a trail of bread crumbs to follow. I lacked a decent sense of direction, and as the landscape changed with each passing second, it was hard to find a landmark that might point me in the right direction. My lungs burned from running, the ache spreading into my chest. Slowing to a manageable pace, I stopped in a small clearing as I realized I’d landed myself in the middle of nowhere, alone, without a path to track. “Would’ve been nice if she’d left me some way to track her,” I muttered as I tried to catch my breath. “Like some sort of infrared trail showing me which fucking way to go.”

Infrared. Jesus, I was dense. I’d felt her presence once; I could feel it again-just one of the perks unique to my evolution. Although the urgency of my predicament demanded that I keep going at a breakneck pace, I knew the only way I was going to find Brakae was to take things slow. Slow and steady. Fuck.

Plopping down on the grass, I assumed a meditative pose. The sun sank in the horizon, an entire day gone in a matter of minutes. Closing my eyes, I drew several deep breaths-in…out…in…out… A chill wind rustled the brittle leaves now falling from their branches, kissing my cheeks with the promise of winter.

I tilted my head to the north, Brakae’s presence coming to me as a slow thrum, pulsing deep into every muscle. It was instantly calming, and I allowed the feeling to spread through my body until I felt as though I could lie down and take a fifty-year nap right in the middle of the forest. God, I wanted to. And I deserved it, damn it. But it would have to wait. First, I had to find my Time Keeper. Then, I had to kill the lousy SOB who’d taken her. Only afterward could I tackle the issue of getting my ass home. Maybe, when all of that was done, I would be allowed to rest.

Slowly, as if I might disrupt the trail with any sudden movements, I opened my eyes and started north. I didn’t run this time but kept a steady and manageable pace, allowing myself the concentration I needed to sense the invisible bread crumbs Brakae had left for me to follow. Drawn as I was to her calming energy, my pace quickened as if all I’d needed to do all along was settle the fuck down and lift my nose to the wind.

Twilight melted away as I walked, the sky darkening to a beautiful navy blue, and with the shifting of time, my panic mounted again. How much time had passed at home?

“It’s about time you got your head in the game,” a voice said from my right.

I whipped around, crouched and ready for a fight. A fawn-colored ponytail swung to and fro with the woman’s gait. Confident. Deadly. Ready.

Moira.

“I’m noticing a trend with you: You seem to always show up right at the tail end of the action.” I stalked toward her, trying not to favor my injured torso. Showing weakness could be dangerous since I wasn’t quite sure if she still wanted to kill me or not. “And where the hell did you come from anyway?” I’d had a lot to process since I’d wound up in this backward place. Allies had become enemies, and enemies, allies. And just because Moira was apparently one of the good guys didn’t mean I wasn’t still wary of her.

“You need to seriously work on your interpersonal skills, Darian.” Moira’s lips twitched, threatening a smile. “You won’t win many popularity contests with that attitude of yours.”

As if I didn’t already know that. I was surprised I didn’t walk crooked from the weight of the enormous chip on my shoulder. Miss Congeniality, I wasn’t. But since I hadn’t exactly been a social butterfly for the past eight or nine decades, Moira would just have to cut me some slack.

“You know, you could have saved everyone a lot of trouble if you’d just come out and told me what the hell was going on. I mean, did it ever occur to you or your brother to say, ‘Hold up, Darian. Before you run off with that hourglass, let us clue you in on a few things’? No, you decided to go all Xena Warrior Princess on my ass and scare me off. What the hell is it with you supernaturals anyway?” My temper threatened to get the best of me, but I kept my tone level. Sure, I was angry. But mostly, I was hurt. I didn’t want to be a pawn anymore. I had a hard enough time trusting, and it seemed that everyone I’d met wanted to use me for his own agenda. “Why do you all wait until the last fucking second to tell anyone anything? You know, I work a hell of a lot better when I’ve been prepared for a job. Winging it isn’t exactly one of my strong suits. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you guys get off on jerking me around.”

“Save your anger for someone who deserves it.” Moira sheathed her sword and sidestepped me as if I were blocking her view, which only served to rile me more. “We can discuss all of your many issues later. But now, you have to focus.”

“You haven’t seen angry yet.” I stepped back into her line of sight so she’d have no choice but to look at me. “Are we on the same side here, or what? I mean, fuck, Moira, way to instill a sense of teamwork. Since I’ve met you, you’ve tried to kill me. More than once. Way to welcome me into the bonds of sisterhood.”

“I’m not your enemy, Darian. But if you don’t stop acting like a fool, I won’t hesitate to make you one. Do you understand me?”

“Fuck off.” Sure, not a supersnazzy comeback. I wasn’t completely convinced I wasn’t her enemy. What about threatening to draw my blood with her jagged blades? Arrows zinging at my head? She sure as hell wasn’t a friend.

Moira smiled. “You have spirit, I’ll give you that. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not your enemy? I am a Guardian. And so are you.” Her tone indicated this was the one and only time she’d lay it out for me. “We have responsibilities that transcend Fae or human laws. Guard the Keys to the mundane world and O Anel, assist the Time Keepers when they need our protection, and maintain the natural order. Perhaps you should focus more on your role as well and abandon these petty squabbles over who withheld what from you and why.”

“I appreciate your laying it all out so eloquently.” I hoped a little sarcasm leaked out in my tone. “Though I’m still not one hundred percent clear on the role I play in all of this.” I threw my arms wide in a sweeping gesture. “But since you’re so interested in explaining things, would you mind telling me why you let me believe that you were the one hurting Tyler? Because right now, I’m having a hard time being anything but suspicious of you.”

“You’re referring to the Jinn?”

Why in the hell did everyone insist on referring to Tyler as if he were “the dog” or some shit? It was demeaning.

“Not demeaning,” Moira said as if she’d heard my thoughts. “I have nothing but respect for your protector. He is held in high esteem by many. Including me and mine.”

I knew deep down-way down, past my bitchy attitude-that Moira was an ally. It just made me feel better to vent my frustration. Faolan said that Moira had helped to imprison the Enphigmale. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that. But still…“You shot at me.”

“I shot-at Faolan.”

“No.” I’d recognized those magic arrows before the melee at the PNT facility. “In an alley. A few weeks ago. You killed a Lyhtan who tried to warn me about something, and then you shot at me.” Not to mention she’d run off like a coward.

“Again”-her voice calmed as if to reassure me-“it was not I who shot at you. Besides, I had no reason to kill the Lyhtan. My brother sent him to you.”

“Your brother? Reaver sent the Lyhtan?” Why in the hell would he send a Lyhtan to deliver a message to a Shaede? I guess Reaver didn’t realize I’d been a target for every Lyhtan within gutting distance since the supernatural community had settled down in Seattle. Or maybe he just wasn’t up on his Shaede/Lyhtan history. “He had to have known that was a stupid idea.”

“He couldn’t reach me and he knew Faolan was close, so he sent the Lyhtan to warn you. By the time I arrived, someone had killed his messenger, and apparently tried to dispatch your Jinn as well. I tried to track the murderer, but I lost the trail. Believe me when I say, those arrows were not meant for you.”

“Seriously, though, a Lyhtan?”

Moira shrugged. “He’s employed by my brother as additional security. He was trustworthy.”

If you say so. “So, I suppose that leaves Faolan as the shooter.” That crafty sonofabitch. It fit together perfectly, really. Faolan would have wanted me to stay good and ignorant for as long as