Black Moon

No. Follow our bond, and you’ll find me.

“Or I could just follow the stench.”

Agony knifed through his head as swift punishment, there and gone so fast he barely had time to draw breath. The connection between them vanished, but his orders were clear. God, how he wished he could tear out the bastard’s throat. One day soon, he promised himself.

But he was the only one who could get close enough to learn Malik’s immediate plans for his so-called super-shifters. To help the Pack stop him. If only he could hold on.

Considering his options, walking through the busy compound, even cloaked, didn’t sound like a great idea. Nick or one of the others might still pick up on his life force moving in their vicinity. Using his magic to translocate was one way to go, but was a method he seldom used. It required a lot of concentration and zapped his energy much too fast. But right now, it was the best way.

Closing his eyes, he let the room fall away. Concentrated on his breathing, finding his center. Then he opened his mind to the black thread of the bond connecting him to the Unseelie. It stretched past the boundaries of the compound, beyond the forest, over the miles almost into the town of Cody. What was Malik doing there?

No time to dwell on it. Gathering his magic, he focused his power. Directed it into breaking every particle of his body down to nothing more than mist—a dangerous transition should he lose his grasp on the power. He let his body begin the journey, felt himself travel through space. Faster and faster, following the dark thread to the end, to Malik.

As he reached his destination, his form once again became corporeal. His boots touched solid ground and he took a deep breath, swaying a little. Blinking the spots from his vision. “Shit, that jacks me up every time.”

“Perhaps you should practice more.”

Malik stood a few feet away, wearing his guise of Evan Kerrigan. He looked like any classy businessman out for a midday stroll, his dark hair smoothed back, sunshades perched on his angular face.

“What do you want?” Kalen said with barely concealed venom.

“So testy.” He smirked. “Watch your tone with me, boy.”

“Whatever.” Glancing around, he frowned. “Why are we standing in the middle of a park? Where are we, exactly?”

“We’re in a small town not far from Cody. The name doesn’t matter. It’s a quaint little place, don’t you think?” he observed, waving a hand at the peaceful, sculpted slice of town.

Across the expanse of lawn, a couple walked a yellow Lab. A man jogged past them on the paved, winding path, doing a double take at the undoubtedly odd sight of a businessman and a guy dressed in Goth attire loitering in the park.

“Yeah, it’s nice. What does this place have to do with anything?”

“Are you so shortsighted? Look around us. It’s the perfect canvas for the first swipe of our brush.”

“Meaning what?” When Malik merely gave him a droll stare, dread crept through his stomach. “You’re not planning to hurt any of these people, are you?”

The Unseelie scoffed at that. “How can someone who’s lived your life still be such a bleeding heart? You wandered through many a town just like this one in your days of being starved and homeless. Did a single one of those people ever offer you a hand?”

He didn’t answer that. Of course, nobody had.

Instead, he shook his head. “That doesn’t mean people deserve to die for others’ indifference. There would be nobody left on earth if—”

“Yes, yes,” the Unseelie cut him off impatiently. “I’ve heard it all. Even so, none of these humans are without their failings. The jogger who passed us is cheating on his wife. The couple walking their dog over there closed the door in the face of a Boy Scout who was collecting cans for the local food pantry. That same Boy Scout struck another student at school just the day before, calling him names. No one is innocent, Kalen.”

“But—”

“This beauty you see is a mere facade. That is why I brought you here, for a simple reminder. And a second exercise toward your tutelage, as well.”

“What are you planning?” he asked, trying to hide his trepidation.

“My Sluagh are coming this way. They must travel by foot, as there are too many for me and you combined to transport them magically.” His eyes were snakelike, glittering and cold. “They will level this pretty little oasis and devour everyone in it—while you and I stand here and laugh over their screams.”

Kalen recoiled in horror. “There is no fucking way I’m going to allow you to slaughter these people, much less help you do it.”

“You will.” Reaching out, the Unseelie placed his palm on Kalen’s forehead. “What’s more, you will enjoy every bloody second.”

“No, I—”

“Abyssus abyssum invocat.”

Hell calls hell.

Their bond opened and flooded every cell, the rush of inky blackness so strong, so painful, it nearly sent him to his knees. He fought against the rising tide of evil and knew instantly he couldn’t fight this battle and win—not without the strength of his mate’s love on his side. Not without her scent, her closeness, her belief in him. He had no footing.

He felt the change take place in his mind, felt the slide into depravity. He couldn’t halt it completely. . . . But out of desperation, he snatched an image of Mackenzie’s smile, the way she looked at him when she was happy. He seized that picture and tucked it close to his mind and heart, even as the corrupted part of his soul rejoiced in the prospect of inflicting his suffering on others.

“That’s it, my boy,” Malik’s voice said in the maelstrom. “You’ve been hurt so much, haven’t you? You want vengeance. Let it fill you.”

Breathing hard, he struggled against giving in. It was almost easier before he’d claimed Mackenzie. At least then, without the strength of her bond to rival Malik’s, there had been little sense of right and wrong to tear him apart. No light to battle the darkness . . .

Light and love. This is what Sariel had meant was his only savior. But the inner battle was killing him as surely as the real war would, when the time came.

“You will watch them suffer and die.”

“Yes.” No! He wouldn’t do it.

“Excellent,” he purred in praise, rubbing Kalen’s shoulder in affection. Affection he knew the Sorcerer craved more than any alcohol or drug on the planet. “They’ll be here shortly. You will remain by my side through it all. By the time your commander and his dogs learn of the attack, it will be much too late.”

He stared at Malik, shaking his head to clear the fog. “No! I won’t—”

“You heard me, boy.” The Unseelie’s face hardened. “You will not fail me.”

The or else went unsaid, but it rang in Kalen’s ears anyway as he glared back. There was just no way he could stand by while innocent people died. No matter how strong his tie was to Malik, no matter how badly his soul called out for blood. Ignoring Malik’s shout of anger, Kalen vanished, teleporting back to the compound. In his own quarters, he paced the living room, fighting to strengthen his shields and push the evil back into a remote corner of his soul. He had to keep his wits about him. Combat this thing.

He’d tell Nick. Right now.

Pushing into the corridor, he hurried to the end and turned down the one leading to Nick’s office. He rapped twice and heard Nick call out for him to come in. He stepped over the threshold, closing the door.

“You look pretty serious,” the commander commented, pushing aside a stack of paperwork. “What’s on your mind?”

Carefully erecting his shields, he met the other man’s gaze. “I just saw Malik.”

Nick bolted to his feet. “Here? How did—”

“No, he’s not here,” Kalen assured him. “He summoned me to a town not far from Cody to tell me his Sluagh are going to attack and kill everybody there.”

Lowering himself into his chair again, Nick let out a vile curse. “When?”

“Any minute.”

“Tonight?” At Kalen’s nod, his expression darkened. “I’ve got reinforcements on the way, but they won’t get