Beyond Everlight: an Urban Fantasy Novel (Fearless Destiny Book 1) Page 22

  The stairs were slow going with my prosthetic. They could find me at any moment. Sweat broke out at the nape of my neck and along my hairline, blood thundered in my ears, and the clatter of boots grew louder.

  Shit. Someone was coming up the stairs. There was nowhere to run. I was smack back between floors, but I had to try. I began to climb.

  The boot-falls grew closer until they were practically at my back.

  “Kenna!”

  Brett? My best friend stood on the steps below me.

  His face was drawn. “I knew you’d come this way. Come on, we need to get you out of here.”

  He held out his hand and I stumbled down the stairs to take it. He pulled me in for a quick hug and then turned his back on me and crouched. He wanted to carry me. There was no time for pride. I climbed on and we took the stairs two at a time. He set me down at basement level and we burst through the double doors into the garage. We’d barely taken a step when three Fearless Officers I vaguely recognised appeared from behind a blacked-out van.

  “Grab my arm!” I hissed at Brett.

  He didn’t question, just curled his fingers around my upper arm.

  “You bastard. I fucking hate you. You’re supposed to be my friend!” I kicked out at him with my good leg

  Brett’s expression smoothed out into his standard dispassionate one; his preferred expression of choice when dealing with a difficult client. “I’m Fearless first.”

  “Fuck you!”

  “Good work Donohue,” the Fearless with the designer stubble and overly gelled hair said. “Darius and Vince saw you take the stairs, and the idiots thought you were aiding the target. I know she was a friend of yours, but I’m glad you proved them wrong.”

  Brett’s eyes narrowed, “And you? What did you think Karl?”

  Karl grinned. “Never doubted you, Man.”

  Brett snorted and shoved me at Karl. “Take her in. I got other shit to do.”

  For a moment I was confused. Had I just been played? But one look in Brett’s direction, and the sorrow in his eyes told me we’d just been plain unlucky.

  Karl grabbed my arm and I shook him off. “What is this? I’ve done nothing wrong. I came to see my sick sister. Besides, you’re supposed to be going after denizens. Do I look like a bloody denizen to you?”

  Karl shrugged his massive shoulders. “You were tithe and now you’re here. For all we know, you’ve returned with a host of denizen eggs inside you ready to hatch and tear us to shreds.” His shoulders dropped, and the arrogant lilt to his voice levelled out. “Look, it sucks, I know. What they did to you was uncalled for, but we’re just following orders. The powers that be want you brought in, so I’m bringing you in. Now, do I need to cuff you?”

  “No. Let’s just get this over with.” I knew exactly what the powers that be wanted. They wanted information, and it was about time they found out the truth.

  CHAPTER39

  T hey’d left me stewing in the interrogation room for ages: no coffee, no water, nothing. Annoyance turned to anger, which grew with each passing minute. I wasn’t a bloody criminal, so why were they treating me like one? I’d been a scapegoat and an unwilling spy. If anything I deserved an apology.

  My reflection glared at me from the mirror opposite. My hair was a windblown mess and my eyes were bright spots in an otherwise pale and pinched face. How many people were beyond that mirror watching me? I lifted my hand and gave them the finger.

  The door clicked open and a plump, rosy cheeked woman with a matronly demeanour, hair tucked neatly in a bun, slipped in. No clipboard or notepad, but she was carrying a cup of coffee, which smelled divine.

  She set it down before me, her rouged lips pursing in a cat’s arse smile. “Hello, I’m agent Dean. I was horrified, absolutely livid, when I heard they’d locked you in here,” she perched her ample behind on the seat across the table from me. “I can’t believe they didn’t even bring you a cup of coffee.”

  Seriously? They were gonna try playing good-cop, bad-cop?

  I leaned in across the table. “Listen, let’s just cut the crap and get to the good stuff. You sent me over there to spy and die. Obviously I was unsuccessful on both counts, but I’m here now and I do have information. Do you want it or not?”

  This time her smile was genuine . . . Genuinely shark-like. Her plump face tightened into a sharper version of itself. “First things first, how did you escape?”

  “On a flying gargoyle.”

  I had to give her props, she didn’t even flinch.

  “And the tithe? What happens to them?”

  And so I told her. Everything I knew. Everything I’d learned and everything I had done.

  Her eyes landed on the collar at my neck. “That collar binds you to a . . . magical flame.”

  “Yes. If the flame dies, the ceaseless army will be weakened and the hoard will push through the gate. Trust me, you don’t want that to happen. I need to get back.”

  She cocked her head. “Why? If what you say is true, you can sustain the flame from here just as well as you can from there.”

  She was right. But mum had told me to get back to the flame. I couldn’t tell her that though, not without dragging my family into this.

  “It’s different for me. I need to be with the flame.”

  She lifted her chin. “Ah, because you’re . . . a hybrid soul?”

  I nodded.

  “So we should just let you walk out of here?”

  “Pretty much.” Yeah, like hell she was gonna do that, but worth a try.

  “Well, I can see your sojourn into Evernight has given you a flair for story-telling.” Her shoulders lifted. “I have to admit it’s a fantastic tale, but that’s all it is, isn’t it?” It was her turn to lean in. “We know what you are, and it isn’t human. We scanned you on arrival. What I want to know now is who the heck you are, and what really happened to Fearless Officer Carter?”

  What was she talking about? Of course I was human . . . a hybrid but human, unless . . . unless the collar had somehow changed me? Shit they believed I was an otherworlder!

  I held up my hands. “Listen, you don’t understand. It’s me, Kenna Carter. This collar must have altered me somehow—”

  “Or it’s some kind of djinn tech, a detonation device perchance?”

  Perchance? Who even used that word these days? I shook my head. “If I wasn’t me then why would I have gone straight to the hospital to see my sister? Why would I ask to leave here? I’m in the perfect place to,” I made bunny rabbit ears with my fingers, “detonate.”

  Her eyes lit up and her lips curved slightly

  Shit! I’d just brought my family into this. “Okay. Fine. Say I’m not me. I’m a . . . a terrorist sent by the djinn to blow you all up with this collar, why keep me here? Send me back before this thing,” I pointed to my collar, “blows you all to smithereens. You can walk me through the gate yourself.”

  “You know what? On second thought, I don’t think that device is a detonator.”

  Man I was so confused. “No?”

  She smirked and shook her head. “Nope. I think Erebus got pissed that we sent a spy. He killed her and sent one of his dirty djinn in her place to spy on us. That device is some kind of recorder. A djinn video recorder. And we’re going to find out just what it is, and then we’ll use this incident to force Erebus to rethink the terms of his treaty. We will not lose any more humans to his tithe!”

  “There’s a no spying clause in the contract?”

  “There is a privacy clause in the contract. This clearly violates it.”

  Either she was really stupid or I was missing something. “Um . . . but didn’t you violate it first by sending me to spy on him?”

  She sat back and gave me what was fast becoming her trademark smug smile. “We didn’t send you. You’re not human. We sent a tithe who is now dead.” She held up her hands. “Dead means no evidence.”

  “Except that I am alive and I’m me!”

  The door opened and
two men dressed in white lab coats came in. They were carrying some kind of machine—a white box with several buttons and a screen. I dropped the veil to see the web of magick that encased it. It was probably embedded with runes. Now that the veil was down I could see more runes, glowing a dull blue etched into the walls of the room. For people who hated the otherworld and everything it represented, they sure employed a ton of otherworld magick. I pulled the veil back up, turning the white box back into a mundane machine and noted the long nozzle attached to it by a wire

  My stomach dropped. “What’s that for?”

  Agent Dean grinned. “That’s to make sure you don’t have anything to report.”

  The nozzle burst to life with a fizz and a laser blade appeared at its tip.

  Were they gonna stick me with that thing? My chair scraped across the floor as I backed up. The door opened again and two guards strode in. They flanked me in warning—struggle and be held down.

  Fuck this. “You should have done your research, Dean. I hacked off my own leg. So if you think this is going to scare me then you couldn’t be more wrong.”

  The laser drew near and my heart slammed against my ribcage—the were aiming for my face. Great, a scar to match my birthmark was just what I needed. My stomach quivered and my breath grew shallow, but I didn’t move. And then he lowered the laser to my neck.

  The collar!

  They were gonna attack the collar!

  “No!” I jerked away and the guards grabbed at me, pinning me to my seat with brute force, their fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to bruise.

  “You don’t understand. You can’t do this. If you do this you’ll kill everyone!”

  A shadow of doubt flitted across agent Dean’s face, and she turned to the mirror as if for guidance.

  “Continue.” A voice crackled through the intercom on the wall by the mirror.

  The laser came down, and sparks began to fly.

  I’m sorry. So sorry. I closed my eyes.

  The intercom on the wall by the mirror buzzed to life again. “Stop.”

  The laser was turned off immediately.

  “Agent Dean, you may stand down,” the disembodied intercom voice said.

  Agent Dean’s eyes widened but she covered her surprise pretty quickly.

  The door clicked open and two uniformed guards appeared. Agent Dean’s brows snapped together. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Commander Raine’s orders, please stand down agent,” one of the guards said.

  Commander Raine? The man who ran the whole Fearless operation? What did he want with me? The guards that had been pinning me to my seat released me and stepped back, making room for the new arrivals. They took an elbow each and hauled me to my feet. “We have instructions to transport the imposter to a secure location.”

  Agent Dean finally relaxed. “Of course. And the device?”

  “Will be taken care of.”

  Her smug gaze landed on me. “Thank you for giving us the leverage we needed.”

  The new arrivals dragged me from the room. I caught a glimpse of a sterile white corridor lined with closed doors before I was ushered into a lift. The guard to my left pressed the button for the basement.

  I looked up at the guard to my left. “Where are we going?”

  No response.

  “What’s this commander like?”

  Nothing.

  Out of the frying pan and into the fire . . . one of mums little sayings.

  The lift came to a smooth halt and the doors opened without a sound. The guard reached for my elbow, but I jerked away, stepping out on my own steam. I was sick of being pushed around. Sick and tired. I wanted to go home to mum and her fresh baked bread and Bella and her homework.

  I wanted all this to be over.

  The collar at my neck flared with heat, reminding me that wasn’t possible. I reached up to touch it, my fingers making contact with a deep scratch where they’d managed to graze it. I gritted my teeth and followed the first guard to a black stretch limo. Only a handful of people operated these beautiful machines—all high up government officials—and this was the first time I’d seen one up close. The door swung open and I was ushered in.

  The commander sat opposite me, green eyes flashing with mirth.

  “Baal? What the fuck?”

  CHAPTER40

  B aal watched me with an amused smile.

  The partition was up and the windows were tinted. If he wanted to hurt me he could. No one would see.

  “You look like a frightened rabbit.” He rubbed his bottom lip with his thumb thoughtfully. “Although, I have to say the look suits you.”

  Today he was dressed in a cream shirt with the top two buttons undone to expose his smooth chest, and dark blue trousers that stretched across his thighs to hint at the muscle beneath. His shirt sleeves were rolled up over his strong forearms, and colourful beads hung at his wrist. The air smelled of liquorice and cinnamon, a comforting scent that had me even more on edge because of its soothing properties. I focused on remaining calm. He was a djinn, not the commander, so maybe there was hope. Maybe he’d been sent by Erebus to retrieve me.

  “I wanted to see my sister. I’m ready to go back to Evernight now, you can take me back.”

  He cocked his head. “What makes you think I’m here to take you back?”

  “But . . . you’re here . . . parading as the commander . . .”

  His jade eyes flashed and his expression sobered. “I’m not parading as anything, Kenna. I am the commander.”

  He pressed a button on the armrest to his left, and the one to his right flipped to reveal a glass and a bottle of brandy. He poured himself a drink and took a sip.

  A quick look through the veil revealed a short balding man with a close-cropped beard and heavy brows, the only thing that remained of Baal were his startling green eyes, which in his old man disguise face looked kinda eerie.

  “You can’t be the commander, you’re a djinn.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Oh, the arrogance of humanity.” He swirled the amber fluid in his glass. “We’ve been around a lot longer than any human. In fact, this mortal realm was once our favoured playground, until the big man himself banished us to the fifth dimension and gave this realm to his new pet, the humans. We’ve snuck in and lived alongside you on many occasions. The Event simply brought our existence into the light.”

  All stuff I knew, but what I didn’t understand was what he gained from the facade. “Why are you doing this? Why would you want to be the Commander of the Fearless?”

  He sat back, a small smile playing on his perfect lips. His gaze ran up and down my body. “It has its perks. There is plenty of beauty in this realm, and I am such a fan of beautiful things.”

  I shuddered. “Stop looking at me like that!” Beautiful wasn’t a word I or anyone I knew would use to describe me—my birthmark had seen to that. I’d been described as fierce and interesting, stunning, but never beautiful.

  He quirked a brow. “I thought women appreciated being admired.”

  “Not when they’re being held hostage by a crazy djinn.”

  He chuckled. “Very well. I will save my perusals for a more appropriate occasion. In the meantime, to answer your question, I am commander because the Fearless are mine.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I created them.”

  “You can’t just create people. You’re not god.”

  He shrugged. “Well, some females would beg to differ, but to clarify, I didn’t create the people, just the spell to infuse them with the necessary Fearless traits.”

  A spell? “Go on.”

  “It was pretty complex and it took its toll, but it was essential to the survival of mankind. I knew that our world would impact yours, that the destruction of our realm’s structure would lead to negligence, and that our denizens would find a way into this realm. I wanted to give you a fighting chance. The Fearless were my gift to mankind.”

  “But . . . Why wo
uld you even care? None of the djinn in your fifth dimension seem to give a crap.”

  “Oh, believe me the monopoly on ‘giving a crap’ about humanity doesn’t belong solely to Erebus. There are others who care, many of which have little or no power to affect the balance of things. But I do. Ibris and I were . . . friends. His death came as a huge blow to me, and the resulting chaos could not go unchecked. I may not agree with our creator as to his choice of favourite, but he is my creator also, and I feel honour-bound to protect what he so lovingly crafted.” His lips curved in a soft smile that was at odds with the person I was starting to know. “Besides, living amongst you from time to time, I have come to develop a fondness of my own for this beast called humanity, and all the qualms that come with it.” He inhaled and exhaled sharply. “So I do my part. I take care of the Fearless, and I work at bringing peace to the fifth dimension in any way I can, because only peace will silence the hoard.”

  That wasn’t the impression I’d picked up from the conversation he’d had with Erebus in the library.

  “So you try convincing Erebus to abandon humanity and help you gain the throne?” I snorted. “Abandon us to the hoard and an ever-dwindling supply of Fearless while you ‘work’ at bringing peace to the fifth dimension.”

  His lips twitched. “Someone has been a sneaky eavesdropping human.” His expression sobered. “I didn’t say my plan was perfect, and yes lives would be forfeit, both djinn and human, but the long-term outcome would benefit us all. Erebus is merely slapping a band-aid on the problem, one that keeps getting soaked in blood and needing to be replaced.”

  His eyes lingered on the collar at my neck and I reached up to touch it automatically.

  Baal leaned in. “I’m not a martyr like Erebus. I’m not into self-flagellation. He means well, but he merely treats the symptoms, not the cause.”

  He had a point, however twisted it may be. “So are you going to make more Fearless? Because last I checked ranks were pretty slim.”

  He frowned. “Yes, that’s something that I’m looking into as we speak.”

  “Good.” I sat back and crossed my arms.