“Aaron.”
The memory of our meeting in The Bath House came rushing back. His wild black hair, tattoos, easy grin, and all that exposed skin … My face grew hot. Somewhere behind me, Rex grumbled as he realized there was male competition in the room. Aaron turned to him, lifting a thoughtful black eyebrow. He said something, a somber greeting perhaps, in Charbydon and Rex nodded.
I shot a questioning glance Bryn’s way. She leaned in, bumping my shoulder with her own. “You can trust him. I wouldn’t have called him otherwise. I might not like him, but I’d trust him with my life.”
Aaron turned to me, ignoring Bryn’s remark. “I hear you’ve made an enemy of an Abaddon elder, among others.”
“Yeah,” Rex cut in, “she’s pretty good at that. You should’ve seen what she did to—”
“Rex!”
“What?” he asked innocently, plopping down into Bryn’s love seat.
Aaron chuckled. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”
“Does Mynogan have any weaknesses?” I asked. “Anything you can tell me will help.”
Before Aaron could reply, the buzzer rang again.
Zara’s voice came through the speaker. “Hank asked me to call her,” Bryn told me as she went to the intercom. The fact that he’d called on Zara the Crush and not me burned on so many levels.
“It’s like a tri-world convention,” Rex muttered, fiddling with a glass orb on the side table near the chair.
Irritated more than I’d ever seen her, Bryn darted over and grabbed the red orb from him. “Don’t touch my stuff.”
I let Zara in. She gave me a quick nod before hurrying to Hank, kneeling down, and gently pulling him over. It took several seconds of soft coaxing for her to wake him. They mumbled together, foreheads touching. The pang of jealousy that went through me made me turn away. And then she gasped when she saw his modifier. Aaron leaned over to see.
“How do we get this off, Aaron?” Zara asked over her shoulder, her hand stroking Hank’s arm.
Aaron peered closer. “The metal is a fusion of Charbydon typanum and steel. You can’t cut it or weaken it by heat.”
“What about cold?” I asked.
“Possibly.”
“But how would you do it without hurting him? It’s so close to the skin.” This from Bryn.
“Maybe Carreg will know,” I said to myself.
Aaron’s head whipped around. “You know Carreg? The Astarot noble?”
I shrugged. Slowly, thoughtfully, Aaron nodded. “If he’s on your side, it won’t hurt. If he’s not, you’re up against two of the most powerful beings from Charbydon.”
“He’s on our side.” Unsure of it myself, I had to believe in some kind of an edge right now.
“Yeah, well, they’re not the only powerful beings around,” Hank rasped out, his feverish eyes burning into mine over Zara’s shoulder.
Suddenly I was front and center. All eyes turned to me in question. Only I understood Hank’s meaning. Carreg had said because of my DNA manipulation, I was now one of the most powerful humans on Earth. Either Hank had overheard, or Mynogan had filled him in after I’d abandoned him.
My gaze traveled over them. Hank. Zara. Rex. Aaron. And Bryn. Bryn, who wanted so badly for me to open up, to be like we used to be before Connor died. She gave me an encouraging nod, an outpouring of support and love, and something broke in me. I dipped my head, wanting to hug her, but now was not the time. I had a waiting audience. And a child waiting for her mother. Everything I did or said from here on out would bring me one step closer to her. So I told them everything I knew.
“When I died in the hospital eight months ago, Titus Mott saved me. But he did so with the help of Mynogan.” I drew in a deep breath, feeling violated by what they’d done and hating say the words out loud. “They injected me with his genes and genes from an Adonai priestess. Somehow, they mingled with mine. And … well … here I am, screwed up in the head when I close my eyes, but otherwise the same old Charlie.” I had to believe that. I was the same old Charlie.
Mouths dropped open. Even Bryn hadn’t expected this. Rex laughed. Zara let out a low whistle.
“DNA manipulation …” Aaron linked his hands behind his back, his sharp features becoming philosophical. “I suppose it’s possible. But both Charbydon and Elysian powers? There’s no way they can co-exist.”
I opened my arms and then let them fall against my thighs. “Yeah, that’s me,” I muttered. “Charlie the Freak.” Annoyance rippled through me. Not only did I hate talking about myself, but the betrayal at being an unwitting lab rat really pissed me off. But then, I wouldn’t be here, living, if not for them. “It works on some of those who already have the genes of both worlds in the family tree.” I glanced at Bryn. “Which would explain how some members of our family are gifted.”
“Could be,” Aaron began, rubbing his chin and pacing slowly across the room. “There was a period long ago in Earth’s early history when cohabitation between races took place. You humans refer to it in your Bible. The fall of the angels and the birth of the Nephilim. But even then the number of normal offspring living to adulthood was extremely low. The Nephilim were usually stillborn, severely abnormal, or they went mad from so much power in their blood.”
“It’s where many believe the psychic humans got their abilities,” Zara offered, tucking her perfect honey-red locks behind her ear, her hand possessively on Hank’s.
Aaron turned and stared at me. “You’re our secret weapon.”
“Okay, number one, there is no our except for me and Rex over there, and two, this power comes and goes. It wars with the other. I have no clue how to use it. Look,” I said, grabbing my jacket, tired of being the anomaly on display, “the only thing that matters is getting Emma back. They won’t hurt her until they have what they want, which is me. And don’t ask me why. But I’m not going to sit around and wait. The longer she’s with them, the more memories she’ll have of this, memories she doesn’t need.”
Hank struggled to sit up. “They have Em? I thought she was with Will—” Then he saw Rex. Understanding paled his tanned skin to white. He lost his strength and fell back into the cushions with a string of mumbled curses. Now he understood what we were up against.
I knew he felt as angry and vengeful as I did, and now that the voice-mod was stuck on his neck—well, I’ve known my fair share of men—if I had to guess, he was feeling pretty useless right now. He sat up with Zara’s help, his body healing courtesy of his Elysian blood. Bryn handed her the herbal tea and Zara helped him to drink.
“I’ve a fully loaded Nitro-gun,” he said after a sip, “and more where that one came from.”
“And I can get into Veritas,” Zara piped up. “Find out where Mynogan lives, the businesses and real estate he owns. They have to be holding your daughter somewhere, right?”
Bryn stepped next to the couch. “I can fight.”
Aaron fell in beside her. “So can I. And I can train you in the meantime, Charlie; help you to control your power. They won’t be expecting that.”
Rex sighed heavily and didn’t bother rising from the love seat. “And I suppose I can take a beating as good as anyone else.”
My chest constricted.
“Charlie,” Bryn prompted with a hopeful look in her brown eyes.
I could only nod, humbled by the people in this room who would fight for Emma, some who didn’t even know her. And those who did; I knew they’d give up their lives for her.
“I don’t mean to interrupt this Hallmark moment, people,” Rex said, “but has anyone wondered why?”
“Why what?” Zara asked.
“Why Charlie? They turned her into Wonder Woman, took her kid, and for what? Guys like Mynogan, they’re like Scooby-Doo villains; they always have a master plan.”
I leaned against the foyer table. Guess Will could’ve done worse. Instead of contracting with an evil son-of-a-bitch, he got a smart-ass comedian with a love of theater. Joy. But Rex was right. There was a bigger picture here, one we weren’t seeing. Otorius had all but said the same.
Aaron cleared his throat. “I might be able to help with the why, but first I need to be sure. The library at the mages’ league should shed some light on things.”
I itched to do something, anything other than sitting here and talking about how to get my daughter back. “Fine. I’ll go with you,” I told Aaron. “Zara, you and Hank get into Veritas. Bryn and Rex, pool your powers. You can divine, right?” I asked her, remembering her mentioning it before. She nodded. “Good, use a map, see if you can figure out where they’re keeping Emma. If you find the area, Zara and Hank’s real estate info should be able to pinpoint a location.”
Heads nodded.
“Good.” I turned to Aaron. “Let’s go.”
When we reached the landing outside of Bryn’s door, he grabbed my hand before I could protest and said, “Relax, we’re taking a shortcut.”
The floor dropped out from under me; at the same moment my body changed from the physical to pure energy. What the hell?
I couldn’t gasp or feel my heart racing, though it felt like those things were happening. I tried to squeeze Aaron’s hand, to hold on, suddenly terrified I’d be swept away and dispersed into the air. But no sooner than I decided to panic, I became whole again, Aaron’s hand still in mine.
“It’s simply an issue of manipulating matter and energy,” he said.
I doubted it was as simple as that. I dropped his hand, feeling the weight of my body more heavily than before. And then I slugged him in the shoulder. “Next time, try giving me a little warning, k?”
His emerald eyes crinkled at the corners, his lips twisting into an amused smile as he rubbed the spot.
“So, what are you then, a Master?” I asked, knowing not every warlock or mage could do what he just did.
He laughed. “I was. That was two hundred years ago. I’m a Magnus now.”
Holy cow. Thank you, Bryn. Having a Magnus on our side was a huge bonus. I gave him an impressed nod, then looked around the room.
We stood in the center of a large pentagram, the outline set into a hardwood floor with a deep brown wooden inlay. Two tall windows shrouded by gold brocade curtains and the expensive wallpaper made me feel small and out of place. An altar with ritual paraphernalia sat against the left wall, and shelves full of books, herb pots, and specimen jars lined the right wall. Yeah. Totally out of place.
We were definitely in the headquarters of the Atlanta League of Mages. “Nice place,” I said, looking up at the ceiling as Aaron guided me to the door. The entire room was framed with thick, ornate crown molding. A vaulted ceiling supported a massive wrought-iron chandelier, and the entire room smelled of sage.
“When we bought the mansion, it was about two hundred years in need of repair—just a skeleton, but with good bones. Now,” he glanced around the room, “it has been brought back to its former glory.”
The revival of the old Mordecai House had been headline news when the League bought it a few years back. In its heyday it was the biggest antebellum mansion in Atlanta. Now it was home to the mages. And the décor fit. High and lofty, with a scholarly touch.
I kept pace next to Aaron as we headed down a wide hallway planked with old restored hardwoods. Voices drifted from closed doors, but otherwise the atmosphere was respectful and hushed. “You know why Mynogan wants me, why he’s done this to me,” I stated as we descended a grand old curving staircase to the first floor.
“I have some idea, but I want to check the scrolls to make certain. It all fits, though. The timing. Your body’s ability to incorporate the genes …”
With a whisper, two massive double doors opened, inviting us into the most beautiful library I’d ever seen. Floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Two levels with an ornate wooden spiral staircase leading to the second level, where a small walkway framed by an iron railing went all the way around the room. Supple leather couches sat opposite each other, and there were sev eral matching chairs tucked into corners. On one side of the room, there were study tables and a large map table, and, on the other side, an enormous stone fireplace held court.
Loving the smell of books and leather, I inhaled deeply as Aaron walked to a section protected by leaded glass. His body blocked the case from my view. All I could see were his wide shoulders encased in the green silk and his dark head, which bowed in concentration. He spoke a series of incantations in a low hum of a voice. A thrill went through me as I responded to the energy, the magic in the room. I was waking up to a whole other world that existed in tandem with the one I knew so well. I had so much to learn, and the realization left me a little overwhelmed and highly impatient.
Two clicks sounded as the latches to the case released. Aaron turned his body slightly, and I watched him carefully remove a burnished, ancient-looking scroll tied with leather strings. He took it to the map table and unrolled it with surgical precision, and then I helped to weigh the corners down with cold brass paperweights forged to look like dragons.
A musty scent mushroomed into the air, but it wasn’t like the smell of old paper or books. “Ugh. What is that?” I fanned the air over the scroll.
“Skin.”
“Skin!”
If it bothered him, he didn’t let on. Instead, he peered at the ancient wedge-shaped lines pressed into the skin with black ink, which looked very similar to the cuneiform writing of the ancient Sumerians.
He didn’t elaborate. And I didn’t ask. In fact, I didn’t breathe for the next twenty seconds, giving the scent of ancient skin time to disperse. The thought of drawing that into my lungs made my stomach turn. I stepped back. “What does it say?”
“It’s in Charbydon. From the House of Astarot. About ten thousand years ago, it was stolen by the House of Abaddon, and then, much later, stolen by another.”
The smug tone in his voice drew my attention, and I saw his mouth give one faint twitch. “You?”
He didn’t return my look, just shrugged and surveyed the library. “We have a nice collection.”
Interesting. Aaron was much more than a Magnus. He was an art thief.
“The scroll details the calling of darkness,” he said, “which can only be done in a place other than Charbydon.”
While I didn’t know exactly what the calling of darkness entailed, its purpose made sense. Charbydon existed in darkness, so they wouldn’t need to call it there. “So what does this have to do with me?”
“Charbydon is dying, Charlie. In order to be free of sunlight and live as they are accustomed, they must have a new home. They must call the darkness to cover another place.”
Goose bumps sprouted on my arms. “Atlanta.”
“Yes, I believe so. Eventually, the darkness will spread, very slowly, and in, oh, I don’t know, a hundred years or two, it will cover the planet.”
The weight of his words sent me plopping into the nearest chair. Air hissed from the leather cushion as it molded around my body. “So Mynogan’s talk about saving their world …”
“There’s no way to save a dying moon. At least not that I know of.”
But Carreg believed. He was trying to find a way. Wasn’t he?
I drew my legs in and propped my elbow on the arm of the chair. “And me?” I couldn’t wait for this part. It was sure to be a doozy.
“The only being capable of calling the darkness is one who possesses the power of all three worlds in their blood. This scroll is a myth that goes back as far as anyone can remember. No one, no Elysian or Charbydon, has been able to do this. At first, around the time of cohabitation in your world, the House of Abaddon thought they could breed the perfect being, a Nephilim, to call the darkness over the Earth, to create their own realm and be free of joint rule with the House of Astarot. They’ve wanted this for millennia. Now, instead of looking for a way to live with what they’ve wrought in Charbydon, they’ll steal this land.”
I rested my chin on the teepee of my fingers. “That’s all well and good if I could call the darkness. As it stands, Mynogan will fail simply because I have no clue how to call anything.”
Aaron’s entire being stilled. The emerald-green of his eyes dimmed just a little, and his lips drew into a grim line. The hairs on the back of my neck started to rise. “You don’t have to do anything, Charlie, except spill your blood on unconsecrated ground. Every last drop. Once this blood of three worlds seeps into the soil, darkness will rise, clouding out the sun and overtaking everything.” He cleared his throat and straightened. “According to the scroll.”
Right. Of course. Just a typical day in the life of Charlie Madigan, I thought sourly. “It doesn’t explain why he didn’t just kill me after injecting me with the DNA. Why wait until now?”
“Perhaps the timing wasn’t yet right.” He scanned the scroll again, but shook his head when he didn’t find the answer he was looking for. “There is nothing here about when to begin the ritual. But timing and astrological alignments are everything in crafting. Mynogan must have had a good reason for waiting until now. Whether the myth is true or not, he believes in it. So, we must be prepared.” He turned his back on the scroll, leaning his hip on the table and fixing me with a frank look. “You, my dear, need to learn how to fight fire with fire.”
My cell rang. With some effort, I removed myself from the plush leather chair and then pulled my cell from the clip. It was Bryn. “Did you find her?”
“All we can get is a general area. It’s somewhere around Morningside and Ansley Park.”
Quickly, I turned away from Aaron, not wanting him to see my emotions and wishing I’d left my hair down to cover my face instead of up in the ponytail. My throat closed before I could ask the question that haunted my mind. But Bryn knew me, and she answered the silence over the phone. “I felt her. I didn’t sense any pain” —I swallowed a sob; tears clouded my vision—“or true fright. Just a lot of worry, irritation, and anger.”
I nodded. It was the only thing I could do without crying. My face was going to be the last fucking thing Mynogan ever saw. I managed to say okay and then close the cell, drawing in a deep breath before having to face Aaron. When I did, compassion shone in his gaze. “Don’t look at me like that,” I snapped. “Once we get a location, can you flash yourself in, grab her, and get out?”
“Mynogan isn’t a fool. He’ll have put a ward around her.”
“You have a mansion full of mages, powerful ones.”
“Not as powerful as an Abaddon elder. We don’t exactly have the upper hand here.”
“But you’ll try.” It was a command more than a request. If I had to ask, to beg or plead, I wouldn’t be able to keep my despair in check and the tears at bay.
His dark head dipped. “I will. If not, then we’ll find another way in. Chances are Mynogan will let you walk right through the door. You’re what he wants, after all.”
Every part of me wanted to start walking and not stop until I was in front of that bastard. But I knew I had to have a plan if I wanted to save Em first. I had a feeling if I just turned myself over, Emma would not be set free after my blood soaked the ground. No, she had to be free first. And I wasn’t about to trust Mynogan to simply trade her for me.
I sat on the edge of the seat and put my head in my hands, feeling utterly defeated, feeling the sting rise behind my eyelids as I pressed them with my palms. “I can’t do this. I need Emma.” Her name repeated in my mind, echoing and bouncing around, tearing my heart in two. This wasn’t right. I couldn’t just wait. It wasn’t in my nature. I wanted to scream, to fight and at the same time to curl into a fetal position on the floor. I’d lost my child. I should have been with her, should have known …
Emotions spun inside me, growing bigger and stronger and louder, gathering all that I had, all my fears and hurts and hopes, and turning them into a bloated monster that was bursting at the seams.
A strong hand landed on my shoulder. Spices filled the air. Aaron squeezed gently, the pressure as soft and sure as his voice. “First lesson. Learn how to control your emotions. You won’t get anywhere with Mynogan if you’re at war inside. You can’t fight yourself and him.”
No shit, I wanted to shout, but I stayed silent, trying to calm the storm, knowing that everything would depend on my ability to overcome the powers and control them. I needed to be like Aaron. Calm. Confident. Insightful. After a few deep breaths, I narrowed my eyes on him. “You know, you don’t look like a wise man.” But he sure as hell sounded like one.
“An apprentice could see your turmoil right now. Auras reflect emotion and balance.” He stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. “What does mine tell you?”
He knew that focusing on something would pull me out of my tailspin. Aaron was astute whether he joked about it or not. I straightened, placed both hands on my knees, and stared hard at him. When I saw his aura earlier at Bryn’s, it had been spontaneous, but trying to do it on purpose was another matter.
“Not so hard,” he said. “Just relax and let it come naturally.”
I drew in a deep breath and tried again. Relax. See him as he is. Slowly, the library faded, everything around Aaron dropping away until it was just his form filling my view. A hazy cloud began to take shape around his head and shoulders. But it wasn’t enough. I concentrated harder. Something clicked inside, and I knew then that I was the problem. I was holding back, afraid to open myself up and accept the power. To be in control, I had to lose control of my inhibitions and fears.
My fists unclenched. My muscles relaxed and my arms hung loose at my sides. I was open, accepting.
Vibrant shades of green, emerald, fern, jade, and moss, all blossomed through the haze, overtaking it and becoming a living extension of the being in front of me. Power and emotion tickled my senses and in those colors, Aaron was revealed. Intelligence. Creativity. Valor. Anger on behalf of Emma and me. Worry for Bryn. Determination to succeed. And something else, too, a desire to thwart Mynogan, or perhaps it was the entire House of Abaddon. I sensed a history here. One I couldn’t quite see in an aura alone. I probed deeper, and suddenly hit an invisible brick wall.
“Second lesson,” Aaron said, “learn how to block those that can see inside of you.” Amusement and a splash of ego flickered in his eyes. “Nice try, though.”
Now that I understood I had to let go in order to use what was inside of me, I was surprised at how easy it was to tap into the power. Of course, it was simple doing it here in this peaceful library with a teacher who knew what he was doing. If he hadn’t been blocked, I could have seen into his heart. But outside, in the real world, where emotions ruled me and my daughter was at risk …
“You’ll have plenty of raw power to draw upon. For you, the challenge will be identifying which one to use. You have Adonai power, and with it the common power all Elysians are naturally born with. Same for the Charbydon side of you. You also have your human strengths and the gifts that have been passed down through the blood of your family.”
“Okay, so how do I know which ones to use?” I was well enough versed in Elysian and Charbydon to know what kind of powers were probably passed along to me, but I wasn’t sure how to pick and choose them at will.
“It’s simple, really. They don’t blend well, obviously, or else Mynogan would have been successful at this a long time ago. They clash, correct?” I nodded and he continued. “Makes them easy to identify. The darkness and the light. Elysia and Charbydon. Neither one is essentially good or bad—they are just types of energy, power—it’s how they are manipulated that turns them into good and evil. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it’s like wealth. The actual money isn’t good or evil—it doesn’t care either way—it’s what you do with it.”
“Exactly,” he said, impressed. “So, just like you decide which weapon to use, you decide which power will deliver the most … bang for your effort. The powers will never blend, Charlie. They’ll always be at odds.”
“Great, so, I’m cursed.”
“In a manner, yes. Honestly, you’re lucky you’re not dead yet.”
I was about to throw out some general retort when I paused. “What do you mean, yet?”
It didn’t take a genius to see he hadn’t meant to spill that little kernel of information. “It means that you can’t live forever with opposing powers. One day, it will kill you.”
Just like the others before me.
But one day wasn’t now, and that was all I needed to know. After Emma was safe, I’d figure it out. “So, how do I fight?”
“With your mind. Someone like Mynogan manipulates. He will use whatever fears you have to win. He took Emma from you, took Hank’s power away. He fights dirty. Whatever you send at him, he sends back double.”
I remembered back in the lab when I sent out a bolt of power; Mynogan had absorbed it and then sent it flying back to me. “He takes the energy I send, adds his own, and sends it back.”
“And you can do that, too. You have all his power; his entire genetic code is now in you, Charlie. Abaddons are masters at coercion, mind control, and calling on dark forces to work for them. They can steal your breath with an invisible hand. But, so can you. The trick is to be calm in the heat of battle, to control the power and be the master. You don’t need to learn chants or spells—for specific things, yes, but not for fighting. Fighting comes from within, and you own that.”
His words stirred my confidence. Mynogan thought he could control me. But he was forgetting one important thing. I was as powerful as he was. He was just banking on the fact that I didn’t know how to use it. “What about the Adonai priestess? Her DNA is in me, too.”
“This is where it gets good,” he said. “Besides all the auras, heightened intuition, and being able to heal and manipulate matter and energy, Adonai can control the elements. They could sink an island, bring fire to the land by lightning, destroy or create. Theoretically, you should be able to strangle Mynogan from ten yards, manifest his greatest fear, and zap his ass with a lightning bolt.”
Despite the dire situation, a laugh escaped me. A disbelieving laugh. I stood, stretching my legs and arms. He made it sound so easy, and maybe one day it would be. Unless it killed me first.
“It’s all theory, of course. You’re an anomaly, a lone wolf, Charlie. It has taken thousands of years in the evolution of your family and what Mynogan has done to make you what you are now. I can’t say for certain what powers you hold or what you will become. I’m guessing here.” Aaron rolled up the scroll. A shiver of revulsion went through me to see him touch what was once a person’s or being’s skin. After he secured it in the case, whispering his enchantment over the lock, we exited the library.
“So what does ash have to do with all this?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s all connected somehow. Ash is made from a Charbydon flower called a Bleeding Soul.”
“Sangurne N’ashu. It’s a—”
“A myth, I know. But it is real and the extract is being used to make the drug.”
He paused at the bottom of the staircase, and I realized I’d actually stumped him. “They’re two separate myths, calling the darkness and the myth of the Bleeding Souls.” He shoved his hands in his pocket and let out a quizzical huff. “I don’t know.”
“Yeah, that makes two of us.”
We went silently up the stairs, back to the room we had appeared in earlier.
“So how much, exactly, do you like my sister?” I asked as we stepped inside the pentagram.
A curtain fell over his features. His green eyes became hooded and unreadable, and his mouth stretched into a grim line. Sore subject obviously, but what I’d seen earlier in his aura didn’t lie. “Enough,” he finally said in a flat, even voice, giving nothing away.
I frowned. “Does that mean enough you don’t want to talk about it, or enough as in you like her enough, as in you like her, like her?”
Apparently, I wasn’t getting anything out of him because he chose that moment to grab my hand. “Wait!” I needed a second to prepare, just to take a deep breath. Then a thought occurred to me. “Can I do this, too?”
“You want to try?”
“Hell, no,” I blurted. He broke into a wide grin, something that would have devastated a weaker woman, and I laughed. “I’d end up in the middle of the Atlantic or the top of Mount Everest. I’ll leave the traveling up to you.”
“For now,” he said, closing his eyes, and then whoosh.
We were dispersed into thin air, reappearing on the landing at Bryn’s flat.