Courting Darkness Read online

Page 4

 

  Shit. What were we dealing with? As we wandered farther into the flurry of white steam rolling along the ground, my ankles began to tingle, and then the tingling moved up my legs and before I knew it, I was shaking like a leaf.

  “What’s wrong?” Smoky reached down and cupped my elbow. “You’re trembling. Are you thinking about my father?”

  “Yes, but that’s not what’s making me shiver. ” I stopped long enough to tell everyone what was happening. “Anybody else feel it?”

  Shade nodded. “I do, but it’s not affecting me as bad as it appears to be hitting you. ”

  Chase let out a short sigh. “I feel something—a discomfort, like a prickling—but I thought it might be the cold. ”

  “Hold on for a moment and let me suss it out. ”

  We had stopped near a bench. Trillian swept the snow off, and I gratefully slid onto the seat. I pulled my cloak tighter around me, then lowered myself into a trance.

  “Just what’s out there? Who’s creeping around in the fog?” The mesmerizing strands of energy clouded my focus, and I shook them off.

  Peel back layer after layer of sparkling mist cloaking the reality behind the magic. Dig into its core, seek the central thread. And there it is . . . a cold thread, a dark thread, steeped in the energy of peat bogs and old forests and bonfires deep in the grove at midnight.

  Touching the strand, I sucked in a deep breath as it sang to me, reverberated through me like an electric fiddle, ripping out an ancient, keening reel. Like a live wire scorching the inside of my eyelids. I caught a glimpse of sentinel fir trees dripping with moss, and toadstools growing off downed snags. Silhouettes flittered here and there—sparkling with energy and yet the sparkles were shrouded in darkness.

  Evil? Not really . . . and yet, not good.

  Red eyes glimmered at me from the forest. An ancient entity, male, old beyond reckoning, he waited in the shrouded night.

  Come, join my dance. You know you must, sooner or later. The Huntress must dance with the Hunter as the moon kisses the sun. Come, join me in a frenzied ring. You, guardian of the Dark Moon.

  I shook out of the web being woven around me and realized that while I’d been in trance, I’d been warm—warm as a summer’s night under the stars. I could still smell rich roses, and honey wine, and the fragrant loam of the earth. The winter snow around me glared, stark and unyielding, and I longed to join the summons.

  Clearing the catch out of my throat, I stifled the impulse to run toward the energy. As foreboding as it was, I still longed to reach out, to touch it, to embrace the entity waiting in the dark.

  “What is it?” Delilah asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know, but it’s Fae in origin. There are several beings waiting down this path. Something dark and hungry—all scuttle and cunning. And the Hunter, I think. He’s old and crafty, waiting in the dark of the night. I want to shed my cloak and go running toward it. ” I turned to Chase. “Show us the portal, please. ”

  Another five minutes of ever-increasing energy and we were standing in front of a shimmering blue field between two trees, off the sidewalk, to our left. Chase had been right—the thing looked just like a portal, only it had a distinctly different feel from the ones we were used to. Which meant it was either a different kind, or a mimic.

  I motioned for Shade to join me. He was the most versed in magic now that Morio was laid up, and he’d have a better chance of helping me if some Big Bad came tumbling through.

  He leaned down and whispered, “This portal stems from the ancient forests. Be cautious, Camille. Powerful beings inhabit the woodlands of Earth. ”

  Smoky cleared his throat, eyeing Shade as his lips neared my ear. I rolled my eyes. Dragons didn’t do all that well in the same territory; even a half dragon like Shade had territorial issues, but mix him with Smoky—whose full-blood dragon testosterone put most alpha males to shame—and we’d been breaking up sputtering matches for several weeks. As polite as Shade could be, he was still, beneath it all, part dragon, and that side had risen to the challenges Smoky had pushed forward.

  I took a slow step away from him to calm Smoky down. Shade cracked a faint smile, and I realized he’d stirred the cauldron on purpose.

  “A real jokester, huh?” I mumbled, then turned back to the others. “We can’t just walk through—we have no idea where it might lead. This has the energy of the Fae Queens written all over it, but I sincerely doubt they conjured it up. They’d summon it to their Sovereignty if they summoned it at all. ”

  “That makes sense. ” Trillian stroked his chin. With his glistening obsidian skin, he was almost lost in the dim light. “But they might know what it is. What do you think about asking them?”

  Delilah and I glanced at each other. The idea of asking the Triple Threat to come out here to help us wasn’t an easy decision. As much as I respected Aeval and Titania, I equally distrusted Morgaine. She might be our distant cousin, but she was out for pure power—her own—and I wouldn’t put anything past her in her attempts to claim what she could.

  I slowly shook my head. “I don’t know, but—”

  “Do you hear that?” Chase interrupted me, blanching as he turned toward the portal.

  “Hear what?” I listened but couldn’t catch anything different from the energy I’d already been feeling. But Chase looked like he’d seen a ghost. He wavered, his eyes taking on a glassy look, then began to bolt toward the portal.

  “She’s calling my name . . . ”

  I jumped to grab his arm, but he shook me off, like he might shake off a leaf. I knew damned well that Chase didn’t have the strength to do that.

  I whirled to Smoky. “Catch him—don’t let him get through that portal!”

  Both Smoky and Shade rushed past me, but Smoky suddenly stopped, bouncing back as if he’d hit an invisible barrier. Shade was struggling, his steps sluggish and forced.

  “I can’t move. ” Smoky’s hair lashed out at whatever the force field was, sparks flying every time the whips hit the invisible barrier.

  “I can barely slog through it,” Shade said, his voice strained.

  “Fuck! Come on!” I motioned to Delilah. We began to run. It felt like I was running through mud, but at least I could move. So could she.

  Trillian was on our heels, and he passed us by, faster than we were. “Elder Fae energy—pure, crystal Elder Fae energy,” he shouted over his shoulder.

  And then, the siren song enveloped me, a beckoning dance that promised to last forever if I’d just embrace the energy. I gasped, reeling from the desire to shed caution to the wind. The wave of passion rolled over me like the scent of peaches, ripe on the vine. Beside me, Delilah let out a choking sound and dropped in her tracks, grasping at her throat.

  Chase was almost to the portal. I paused, torn between going after the detective and helping my sister. But Trillian was within arm shot of Chase, and Delilah was struggling for breath.

  Making my decision, I grabbed her wrists and began to drag her away from the mist that now encompassed us like a sparkling fog. The siren song still lodged in my head, I did my best to block it out as I pulled her to safety. Shade loped in our direction, while Smoky was still trying to break through the barrier.

  Delilah sat up, wheezing. “I couldn’t breathe—it felt like I was breathing water. Chase—what’s happening to Chase?”

  Turning, I saw that Trillian was struggling to control the detective, but Chase broke away, pushing him back. With a wild, panicked look, the detective plunged into the portal, screaming. The gateway exploded with a brilliant light, and then—in the snow-filled night—it vanished, taking him with it.

  Chapter 3

  “Chase! Chase!” Delilah scrambled to her feet, still breathing heavily.

  I let go of her, seeing that she was all right, and ran over to Trillian’s side. He was staring at the last sparkles of the portal as they faded slowly. Magi
c still reverberated through the air, but the pull—the siren song—was gone.

  And so was Chase.

  “Chase! Chase! Where the hell are you? Chase?” I called for him, not really expecting an answer. Finally, I turned back to stare bleakly at where the portal had been. “What happened?”

  “I had hold of him, but something from the other side was stronger—while we didn’t see any hands, I guarantee you, there was something holding on to him. We played tug-of-war, but then he slipped out of my grasp. He didn’t run through that portal on his own—he was yanked in. He might have been drawn to it, but he didn’t go willingly. ”

  Chase’s scream echoed in my ears. “Great Mother, what took him?”

  Trillian shook his head. “I don’t know. But whatever it was, it was big and mean and felt old as the world itself. ” He gave me a long look. “I tried to hold him, Camille. I tried. ” A broken look crossed his face. Trillian held no real love for Chase, but he would never have willingly let go.

  “I know. ” I pressed my hand to his cheek and kissed him softly. “We have to find out what this thing is . . . was. And why it opened up here. ”

  Delilah stared at the sparkles as they scattered, dissipating. Tears streamed down her face. “Oh, Chase . . . is he . . . do you think he’s dead?”

  I swallowed the rising bitterness that rolled in my stomach. “I don’t know. We can only pray he’s okay. ”

  Smoky and Shade stared somberly at the spot.

  Smoky let out a soft growl. “What next? How do we even hope to find him?”

  I bit my lip. “Delilah’s right. We bring in Aeval. Ask her to suss out the energy. She’s our only hope. I’m to pledge to her Court in less than a week. And remember: She owes me a favor for breaking her free from the crystal in the cave. I’ll call in my marker, ask her to help us with this. ”

  “That’s a big marker to give up. ” Smoky slid his arm around my shoulders. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  “We can’t just let Chase get swallowed up by . . . whatever that is. Was. Yeah, I think we have to get the Triple Threat involved. ”

  Delilah nodded. “When will you go talk to them?”

  The urgency in her voice made me wonder—could she still have feelings for the detective? But I knew the answer. Of course she did, and always would. But her love for him was different now—that of a dearly beloved friend, a brother. He was no longer her lover. And I felt the same way. Chase was part of our extended family. And family wasn’t disposable, contrary to what my father thought.

  “Tonight. I’m exhausted, but this can’t wait. Don’t wait up for me. I’ll go alone. The Triple Threat have no love for Smoky, and I don’t think they want a stranger on their land, Shade. ”

  “I’ll come with you. ” Delilah glanced at me, her eyes flashing. “Don’t even say no. ”

  “All right. Trillian, can you drive Smoky and Shade home in the Jeep? We’ll take my Lexus. ”

  “As you wish, my sweet. ” Trillian motioned to the two dragons, and they turned to go. Delilah tossed him the keys, and then we watched as they vanished into the snowbound night. I’d been surprised when I found out he’d quietly gone off and gotten his license with no problem. Trillian was an excellent driver, but he had a thirst for speed.

  I turned back to the area around where the portal had been. “You okay, Kitten?” A glance at her showed she was still crying.

  “Yeah, I’m okay, but Chase . . . did it kill him?” She closed her eyes and I could tell she was searching, hoping to find some sense that he was still around. I lightly touched her on the arm.

  “Let’s go. We can’t help him by just standing here. ” Reluctantly, I turned and she followed me, her head down. As we jogged back to the car, I kept thinking that if Chase hadn’t drunk the Nectar of Life, he might not be in this predicament.

  Yes, but he’d be dead, a voice inside whispered. And would that be any better?

  “Perhaps,” I whispered beneath my breath. Because what I’d sensed on the other side of the portal was old beyond reckoning, and the elder forces of the Earth could be terribly fierce. “Just perhaps. ”

  The drive out to the compound took us half an hour in the blowing snow, and I gave a breath of thanks that Morio had insisted I get snow tires on the Lexus. The thought of him home, still hurting, rankled. But he was healing up and would be good to go within a couple of months. The attack from the hungry ghosts had left him weakened, and regaining life force was a lot harder than just regaining physical health. Hungry ghosts sucked out life energy, and there was no quick fix for regaining that.

  Keeping him and Menolly apart had been a chore in itself. They’d bonded when Sharah used some of Menolly’s blood to keep Morio from dying, and like it or not, the two had a thing for each other now. Both had been very conscientious about not staying in the same room alone together, but I feared it would only get worse once Morio grew stronger. The tension when they were together drove me nuts. It wasn’t that I was terribly jealous—if they ended up sleeping together, fine. I could handle that even though I’d prefer they didn’t. But I had to admit to myself, I didn’t want him in love with her. And right now, I wasn’t sure just what he felt beyond the lust.

  And I—I had my own secrets. Secrets that could lead Smoky to murder. I’d had no choice at the time—or rather, the only other option I’d had was worse than the fate I’d chosen. However you sliced it, this Solstice promised to be less than merry at our house.

  As I navigated the ice and snow, Delilah stared out the window. “So tell me about Iris. What happened? And don’t give me any bull. Of course she needs to tell me herself, but you were there. What went on?”