Darkness on Fire
Authors: Alexis Morgan
Thank you for purchasing this Simon & Schuster eBook.
Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to bonus content, and info on the latest new releases and other great eBooks from Pocket Books.
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com
ALSO BY ALEXIS MORGAN
The Paladin Series
THE DARKNESS BEYOND
BOUND BY DARKNESS
DEFEAT THE DARKNESS
DARKNESS UNKNOWN
REDEEMED IN DARKNESS
IN DARKNESS REBORN
DARK DEFENDER
DARK PROTECTOR
The Talion Series
DARK WARRIOR UNTAMED
DARK WARRIOR UNBROKEN
DARK WARRIOR UNLEASHED
 | Pocket Books A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 www.SimonandSchuster.com |
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Patricia L. Pritchard
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department,
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Pocket Books ebook edition September 2011
POCKET and colophon are registered
trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors
to your live event. For more information or to book an event,
contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at
1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
eISBN 978-1-4391-6868-4
To all my readers who love the Paladins as much as I do
Acknowledgments
I want to thank librarians everywhere for their willingness to share their love of books and knowledge with all of us. I love the way you always make me feel that no question is too strange, and I’ve asked some dandies along the way.
P
enn Sebastian shifted around in his pile of threadbare blankets, which did little to protect his ass from either the hard concrete or the damp cold of a rainy Seattle day. The need to think good thoughts was riding him hard, and he ran through the exercises that his Handler, Dr. Laurel Young, had prescribed to restore more flexibility to his right hand.
He was probably fooling himself about seeing some improvement. No one expected him to regain full use of his dominant hand, not even him. On that happy thought, he repeated the stretches with his left hand, alternating working each hand in preparation for the weapons workout Barak q’Young, his brother-in-law, had scheduled after Penn’s shift ended.
Most days Penn was okay with his sister hooking up with the guy, even if Barak wasn’t exactly human—or even from this world. But since the man had called a mountain down on his own head to save Lacey from human killers, it would take a harder man than Penn to hold Barak’s alien nature against him. There wasn’t anything the two of them wouldn’t do to keep Lacey safe, which gave them common ground to build on.
Penn resisted the urge to check the expensive watch he kept in his pocket; watching the minutes tick by only made the time drag out more. He wished he could at least read a book, but that was out of character for his well-crafted disguise. Most people averted their eyes as they walked past, not wanting to even make simple eye contact with someone so down on his luck.
A few would drop some coins or even a couple of dollars on his blankets and then hurry on, as if poverty was catching. He used to buy himself an occasional cup of coffee with their largess, but his conscience had put a stop to that. Now he passed the money on to the local food bank.
Another razor-sharp gust of wind cut through his thin jacket and pelted him with a swirl of leaves and dirt. He turned up his collar and yanked his watch cap down over his ears. As if sensing his determination to ignore her efforts to harass him, Mother Nature pulled out all stops. The clouds overhead split wide open and emptied cold rain directly over his head.
Cursing, Penn thought back to the way things used to be, before his life went all to hell with the stroke of a sword. Sometimes, if he tried hard enough, he could almost remember what it felt like to be happy.
God, this never-ending pity party had to stop.
The sound of a nearby door opening snapped him to full attention. Easing his hand beneath the blankets, he gripped his gun, even though he knew that whoever was approaching was a friend—or at least not an enemy.
The footsteps stopped a few feet away. “Penn?”
Penn didn’t bother to look up. “What now, Cullen?”
“I thought you could use a cup of coffee.”
Penn held out his hand and waited for the Paladin to make his final approach. He knew his friends felt sorry for him, but he didn’t want their pity. That didn’t mean he was stupid enough to turn down a hot drink.
“What else did you want?” Because bringing Penn a cup of coffee wasn’t responsible for the tension flowing off his friend in waves.
Cullen frowned down at him. “I don’t want a damn thing, but Devlin said for you to report to him after your shift.”
“No can do.” Penn took a cautious sip of the coffee. “I’ve got a workout scheduled with Barak. Whatever Devlin wants will have to wait.”
“He said no excuses, so do us all a favor and head for his office as soon as you’re relieved here.” Cullen crouched down to look Penn straight in the eye, his concern obvious. “He’s been juggling the schedule all day, trying to keep everything covered and still give a few of us some downtime. I wouldn’t jerk his chain.”
“Fine. Tell him I’ll be there. Now get out of my face. I’m busy sitting on my ass and counting raindrops.”
“You need to snap out of the pity party. God—sometimes I don’t know why we even bother.” Cullen stood up looking thoroughly pissed.
Cullen was usually the calmest of the bunch, and his temper was proof of how overworked the Paladins had been lately. Anyone who could swing a sword had been spending record amounts of time fighting at the barrier. Thanks to his lame arm, Penn was left out of that party.
Cullen tried one more time. “When you’re done with Devlin, give me a holler and we’ll grab a beer and a burger.”
Penn sighed. “A beer sounds good, as long as it doesn’t mess with whatever you and Lusahn have going tonight.”
“Not a problem; I told her I’d be late. She’s taking the kids out for pizza.”
Penn nodded, not wanting to hear what Devlin had to say, but he had no choice. “Okay, I’ll see what’s up with Devlin. One way or the other, I’ll let you know how it goes.”
Cullen feigned a punch at Penn’s head. “It’s nice to see that brain of yours actually does work—sometimes, at least.”
As his friend disappeared back down the alley, Penn’s mind swirled with all the possibilities of why Devlin wanted to see him. He tipped his head back and let the cool splash of raindrops wash across his skin. One way or the other, he had the strangest feeling that things were about to change. He’d see what Devlin had to say and then play the cards he’d been dealt.
An hour later, Penn stood outside Devlin’s door with a boulder-size chip on his shoulder. He couldn’t think of a single thing he’d done wrong lately. A while back, he and Devlin had come to an agreement. Penn would try harder not to screw up and Bane wouldn’t kick his worthless ass out of the Paladins permanently. So far, they’d each held up his end of the deal.