Rising Darkness (A GAME OF SHADOWS NOVEL) (28 page)

Chapter Twenty-six

SHE LEAPED UPRIGHT.
Her bleeding feet grew wings as she raced back toward the cabin. The decision was no longer based on a question of intelligence versus stupidity, or doing what she was told, or even based on some fragile hope for survival. She knew she was running back to her death, or something much worse. But she ran anyway, because she couldn’t do anything else.

The kestrel dove at her head, shrieking, and Nicholas stood in the path as if he would bar her way. She waved an arm at the bird and ran through Nicholas’s insubstantial form.

As she passed through him, for a moment she felt intense warmth. A knife flashed at the edge of her/his vision, quick as a striking snake. It sliced across her/his throat. Blood spilled down her/his front, and she/he fell to the ground.

Then she stumbled out the other side, gasping, and left both the ghost and the vision of his death behind her.

She didn’t have time to marvel at another weird experience, or mourn what had happened. Regaining her balance, she raced down the path.

Before she could make it halfway back to the clearing, the black diamond man began to emit a strange humming noise, a harsh discordant vibration that made her want to claw at her ears. The noise grew louder and intensified. It tore a rent through the psychic realm, and Michael’s vibrant, powerful energy began to keen with strain, like crystal about to shatter.

Her existence narrowed to a screaming denial.

WAIT!
She hurled the word with the full force of her terror.

It was a horror. It was a miracle. The black diamond man hesitated before destroying Michael utterly.

There you are, Mary.
The man’s voice was creamy with satisfaction.
Didn’t I say you might have been happier to leave all of this alone?

Demented with fear, she said,
You wanted me once. Do you still want me?

The black diamond man laughed.
How do you know I won’t have you after Michael’s been destroyed?

You won’t get me again that easily, you son of a bitch,
she said.
Let him go and I’ll walk back. I swear it.

And if I don’t?

Panic had her scrambling for scraps of supposition and guesswork that were so insubstantial it felt like she tried to clutch at dust motes dancing in the air.
Make no mistake, together Astra and I are more than strong enough to bring you down.

That’s assuming you can get free to join her.

She lifted her gun and clawed at the safety catch, transmitting everything she did down the telepathic link. Then she put the muzzle to her mouth.
I can stay free of you, one way or another. I’m going to count to three. Then I’m pulling the trigger, and you know I’ll be back.

Years from now?
His chuckle was a darkness that crawled around in her brain.
I think I’ll concern myself with that when it happens. Right now I’m going to enjoy destroying your twin. He’s been such a pain in my ass. This is the first time I have EVER had him pinned to the mat. I’ll deal with you after he’s gone.

She flung everything she had into one insane bluff.
I’m healed, and I have all my memories back. And I remember how much I loathe you. Destroying you will be the only reason for me to continue existing.

Funny,
he said.
We haven’t answered one vital question. Are you sure you CAN exist when Michael’s gone?

He and I have existed without each other for nine centuries, remember?
Bitterness burned at the back of her throat.

No, Mary. You and he haven’t SEEN each other in nine centuries. Existing in the universe without his energy to complement and balance yours is something I don’t think you’ve learned how to do. Ariel and Uriel hadn’t learned it. Neither had Gabriel and Raphael. I would destroy one twin, and the other just . . . unraveled. Both times it was kind of like pulling a snag in a knitted sweater.

Destroying Michael won’t unravel me. You saw to that.
She projected as much conviction as she could.
You altered my spirit. You changed me.

I didn’t change you enough,
he said slowly.
I didn’t have enough time to completely break your spirit and reform you. If I had, you would have been totally bent to my will.

She shuddered. Was that a touch of doubt she heard in his mental voice?
No, you failed at that. I may not be what I once was, but I am stronger than I’ve ever been. I’m starting to count. One.

Okay, I won’t destroy him,
he said.
Not yet. I’ll hold on to him until you walk into the clearing.

Her laugh was raw and animalistic, more like a snarl. The gun’s metallic muzzle rattled against her teeth.
Let him go or it’s no deal. Two.

Slow down. You’re counting too fast. There are things to consider here. How do I know you’ll keep your word?
His mental voice was a silken obscenity.
After all, right now I do have such a pretty bird in the hand.

Can he walk on his own if you let him go?
Her shaking legs wouldn’t support her any longer, and she sank to her knees.

There was a thoughtful pause.
I don’t think so. I’m not sure. I don’t want to loosen my hold on him to find out until you and I have a deal.

Her eyes stung with sweat. She pulled the muzzle away from her mouth and mopped at them.
Have two of your men help him. I’ll walk in as they walk him out. When you see me, you’ll tell them to leave him and come back to you. I’ll know if you do.

Hmm,
he murmured.
Thinking, thinking.

Despair threatened to drown her. What was she doing, buying them minutes at most?

If Michael couldn’t walk, the Deceiver would only take her and then take him again. She wouldn’t even have the brief peace of death.

But she knew that, even if all she gained were minutes, she would do anything to keep from hearing that strained-crystal keening from Michael’s spirit again. Anything.

Her mental voice had turned to rags.
Make up your mind. Yes or no.

Silence, both psychic and physical.

She waited another heartbeat then put the muzzle to her mouth again. Michael was right. It did have a kick. She bent over until she was in a ball, bracing both her hands and the butt of the gun against her knees, and angled the gun with care. If she pulled the trigger, she wanted to suicide successfully, not end up brain damaged and trapped in her body.

When the bullet tore through her head, would she know? The brain has no pain receptors, but all around the brain were nerve endings located in the head.

Her breath shook. She said,
Three
.

All right,
the black diamond man said
. Congratulations, you have a deal.
He showed her a mental image of Michael’s body sagging between two men. She could see both the psychic and the fleshly wounds that scored him. His face was covered in blood. The two men carried him away. She caught sight of his legs moving weakly before the image cut off.
They’re leaving with him now, so start walking back.

She pulled the gun out of her mouth and retched. All she brought up was bile. She shuddered and spat, wiping her mouth with the back of a trembling hand.

There, there, cookie,
the black diamond man told her. He sounded cheerful.
Pull yourself together and get moving, or I’ll tell my men to bring him back.

“I’m coming,” she said out loud, her voice hoarse. She climbed to her feet stiffly, like an old woman. “Keep your goddamn shirt on.”

Edging down the path, still sick with tension, she darted her gaze everywhere in an effort to keep from being surprised by any of the Deceiver’s creatures. The kestrel had disappeared, but Nicholas kept pace with her. When she glanced at him, the ghost shook his head, but he no longer tried to stop her.

She fought to keep in contact with Michael’s energy. Her success was patchy at best, but at least it was enough to confirm that he moved away from the clearing.

The black diamond man wanted her badly enough to gamble on letting Michael go, and that frightened her more than anything. She flashed back to her last life, and the memory of him sprinkling some kind of powder into the crevices of her wound. Dread flooded her body again.

She whispered, “Okay God, if you’re bored and you have a few minutes, now would be a good time to lend us a hand. At least until Michael has a chance to get away.”

She hoped Michael would forgive her. She had done her best to rescue him. Once the Deceiver got hold of her, Michael would have to figure out the next move and rescue her. She knew this was a trap. She knew that the Deceiver wouldn’t let Michael go if he could help it. If they lost this crazy gamble, she was very sorry, but selfishly she hoped she would get to die first.

Up ahead, the cabin appeared through a break in the trees. When she reached the edge of the foliage, she paused to peek into the clearing. Her gaze skittered around, taking in details.

Several bodies littered the ground. Several more guards were alert and positioned at various places through the open area. They all had that queer, smudged quality in their auras. A black limousine parked at a slant across the gravel drive, blocking the way.

A handsome young man leaned back against the limousine, one foot crossed over the other. He was dark-haired with a clever, narrow face and dressed in a tasteful navy blue business suit. He held a handgun in a relaxed grip at his side, the muzzle pointing to the ground.

For a startled moment she felt a happy, relieved incredulity.

Justin hadn’t died in the fire. He was alive.

Then she saw it. The aura surrounding Justin’s body was so black that it shimmered, diamondlike, created from the pressure of an existence that had spanned the ages.

Her world crashed around her, and she clutched at a tree trunk to keep from falling. Horror sank razor-edged teeth into her.

No. No. No.

Oh God. Not Justin.

Justin was truly dead.

She didn’t know she had any more tears left until they poured in burning streaks down her face.

Dark spirits clung to trees, bushes and to some of the men. They rustled and whispered, the oily sound like a toxic sludge pouring along the edges of her mind.

Two men crept toward her through the woods.

She held the gun to her temple and took a step into the clearing. By then she had gone so hoarse she didn’t recognize her own voice. She said, “Two of your assholes are trying to come at me from behind. Call them off. Order the men with Michael to come back. Do it now.”

Not-Justin turned toward her. He gave her a delighted smile, and he looked so like Justin’s roguish, unrepentant charm she gagged.

He said in Justin’s pleasant, familiar voice, “There’s our princess. Hold on a moment.”

She waited. Her stalkers withdrew. Her mind jumped from the men in the woods to the two transporting Michael. They dropped him and began jogging back.

She reached for Michael telepathically.
This was the best I can do. I’m so sorry.

She thought she caught a thread of whisper in reply just before an invisible wall slammed down between them, blocking out all communication.

“Now, cookie,” said not-Justin. “I’m a rather jealous sort. Right now I want all of your attention on me. I’ve kept my part of the bargain. It’s time for you to keep yours.”

She hesitated, remembering Michael’s promise to kill her before he let the Deceiver take her. Her hand clenched on the gun’s grip.

Not-Justin cocked his head. “You know,” he said. “Much as I love Mel Brooks’s sense of humor and his satire on racism, this is not nearly as amusing as that ‘shoot-the-nigger’ scene in
Blazing Saddles
, when the black man holds himself hostage. Put the gun down or my men go back to Michael. I’ll have them cut off his hands and feet. If he doesn’t bleed to death while I deal with you I can finish him later. I do promise you, cookie, if it comes to that I will be delighted to take my time with him.”

The gun dropped from her nerveless fingers. It hit the ground.

“Excellent,” he said, smiling. He pushed from the limousine and strolled through the bodies toward her. “I guess I’ve made it rather obvious how much I want you.”

“Well, yes. . . .”

He lifted his gun and shot her.

She felt it punch her left shoulder. Her body arced backward as the clearing whirled. Then the ground came up and slammed into her. She thought she heard someone roaring.

Distantly, she got the impression of several men running out of the clearing. The dark spirits lifted from the trees and flapped away.

Two wingtip shoes came sideways into her vision. The Deceiver said, “As you might have gathered from your last life, I might want you alive, but I’m not averse to a little judicious maiming.”

Her mouth opened. She tried to take a breath. One of her hands scrabbled at the grass. Then she spiraled inward in an agonized epiphany.

Red was important to her.

Red filled her mind, a warm, glowing vibrancy like live coals except for one dark torn place. Her awareness flew in that direction, past the pumping heart and the working bellows of her lungs, to the jagged hole that ripped through her body.