shaede assassin 05 - shadows at midnight (25 page)

“What? Why?” Asher’s tawny brows drew down over his eyes.

“Ty and I broke the rules,” I said. “And the Synod doesn’t fuck around when it comes to rules or punishment.”

“I guess not.” Asher took a tentative look around. He grabbed me by the upper arm and guided me out in front of him back onto the sidewalk. “Let’s get back to your place. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be out in the open.”

Neither did I.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

I tried to keep my pace measured, relaxed as we headed toward Belltown. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that despite the fact the dark cloud of doom was gone, something still watched me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“I’m leaving soon.” Asher sat across me in the living room, his expression grave. “I don’t feel good about taking off when so much shit is coming down the pipes. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

My chest swelled with so much emotion that I thought it might choke the air from my lungs. Asher was one of the few people in this world that I’d bend over backward for and it was nice to think that he’d do the same for me. I wasn’t alone, though. I had Ty. And whatever threat the Synod posed, we’d have to face it together. “I’m glad you won’t be here,” I said. It was mostly a lie. The thought of him leaving sent a renewed surge of sadness through me. “Tyler says he can manage the Synod and I believe him.” Again, mostly a lie. His overconfidence had me doubting. That arrogance could get him into a shitload of trouble. “But since we’re on the subject, where are you going?”

“Top secret mission,” he said with the mischievous grin that made him look like a carefree kid.

“You’re going after Saben, aren’t you?”

Not gonna lie, it bristled that Raif hadn’t asked me to do it. Had even brushed off my offer as though it wasn’t even a consideration right now. I understood why, though. I wasn’t even close to the top of my game and my own life was a total shit-storm. What good would I be to Raif if the Synod’s sentient magic cloud of doom followed me everywhere I went?

“I am.” It was a testament to the trust we’d built that Ash would confide in me. “Raif is tired of messing around. Saben has promised to meet Raif and Xander with force if they try to reclaim the castle and the royal guard is standing behind him. He’s already proclaimed himself king and shed the title of regent.”

Castle. Good lord. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Xander’s first home was an actual castle. “It’s best to get rid of him now, before this gets any more out of hand.” Not that I thought it could get much worse. Xander renouncing his throne…Saben claiming it…Raif trying to hold on to the birthright that Xander had thrown away. What a mess. “Don’t take backup.” As silly as that advice seemed, it was rule number one in the assassin game. “Don’t contact anyone. You’re going to need a good week of recon, maybe more, before you have a solid plan. Don’t do it at night. You’re unique in that you can be just as invisible during the day and it’ll help to cast suspicion away from a Shaede offing Saben. The blame will still fall on Xander or even Raif, but you’ll be in the clear and there’ll be enough doubt cast to—”

“Darian, this isn’t my first rodeo,” Asher said. “I know what I’m doing.”

 I hovered over the kid like a mother hen. Rueful laughter bubbled in my chest. The person that I’d been a few years ago would have balked at caring for anyone. Now, it seemed like all I did was care. From apathy to empathy in a matter of months. Talk about a wakeup call.

“I know it’s not.” I wanted Asher to come back in one piece, that’s all. “I want you to be careful, so you can bring your smart ass back for a visit.”

He smiled. “You’re going to miss me, aren’t you?”

“I’m going to miss your snarky mouth. When are you leaving?”

Ash settled back onto the couch. “A few days. Raif and I are going to try to work out as many details in advance as we can. Saben has his sympathizers, but more people in the city are loyal to Xander than he thinks.

Damned good thing. I knew that Asher was competent. Deadly. He’d earned the title: Lyhtan Slayer somehow, right? And those praying mantis looking bastards weren’t exactly easy to kill. “Just promise me you’ll watch your back.”

“Please,” he scoffed. “I’ve got this.”

The conversation devolved into little bits of inconsequential fluff. We finished off the box of Honey Nut Cheerios in my cupboard and binge watched a few episodes of
Orange Is The New Black
on Netflix. The sun set and with it came the stifling prickle of twilight that clung to my skin like a wool sweater in summer. And still, it was better than the damned cold that chilled me to the bone whenever the magic flared from my ring.

“Are we going to talk about your Jinn problem, or are we just going to brush that little tidbit under the rug?”

I looked at Asher and shrugged. “I don’t know. I was kind of hoping we could pretend I didn’t have a Jinn problem.”

“What Jinn problem?”

We turned in unison to see Tyler standing to the left of the metal gate of the elevator. He didn’t usually just pop in, opting for more human modes of travel. My heart shot up into my throat. “Jesus, Tyler.” Was everyone intent on scaring me to death today?

He didn’t look too enthused. His brilliant hazel eyes darkened as he regarded me and his lips formed a hard line. I wanted to tell him that’s what he got for eavesdropping. When you only hear part of a conversation, you’re left to make assumptions. I should have let him keep on
ass
uming. “I saw the
Délash
again today.” I kept my voice even and cool. “It saw me when I was hidden by sunlight.” I held up my left hand. “And it saw this, too.”

Whatever Ty thought about what I’d just told him, he kept his face impassive. “What did the
Délash
do?”

“Nothing,” I said. “It sniffed me. Sniffed the ring. And flew off in a huff.” Well, it seemed like a huff, anyway.

“Good.” You’d think I’d just told Ty I’d scared off a stray dog that was digging through our trash or some shit.

“Good? That’s all you have to say about it?”

Ty’s gaze slid momentarily to Asher. “Uh-huh.”

Jesus Christ. All of this secrecy was going to give me an ulcer.

“I think that’s my cue,” Ash said as he pushed himself up from the couch. He stretched his arms up high and let out a groan. Yawned. Checked his pockets as though he might have forgotten something. Stretched again. My lips twitched and I suppressed a smile as Ty’s expression hardened. “Okay, I’m out. I’ll be close though,” he said with a wink. “For a few more days at least.”

“Don’t be a stranger,” I said with smile as he brushed past Ty and slid open the gate for the elevator.

He waggled his brows at Tyler and grinned before sliding the gate shut and pushing the button for the ground floor. What a clown.

“You told Asher about the
Délash
?”

I didn’t appreciate the accusation in Tyler’s tone. “He was there when the damned thing swooped down on me,” I quipped. “You said it would leave me alone.”

Ty swore under his breath and raked a hand through his hair. “I’ll deal with it,” he said on a breath.

“How?” I was tired of beating around the bush with him. I wanted something concrete. Answers that would give me confidence, not fill me with more doubt.

“Don’t worry about it.”

The seal of my temper cracked. I shot up out of the chair and crossed the room to him. “Take it off of me.” I thrust my hand out and he stared at my thumb before bringing his eyes to my face. “Now.”

“No.”

I’d never seen such hard determination in Tyler’s usually soft hazel eyes. He had nothing on me when it came to stubbornness, though. “Do it,” I said again. “I don’t want it. I don’t want anything to do with it. Take if off of me or so help me I’ll cut my entire fucking arm off.”

He studied me for a quiet moment as though trying to determine if he should call my bluff or not. “You can’t,” he finally said.

“Why?” I kept my voice at a controlled burn when what I really wanted to do was shout. What in the hell was this thing that clung to me as though it was a part of my fucking bone structure?

“Because the ring won’t let you.”

“What is this thing Tyler?” My voice quavered with fear. “What in the hell did you give me?”

“I made you the keeper of the ring for a reason, Darian.”

Not the straight answer I was hoping for. “Oh yeah?” I couldn’t help the bitterness that infused my tone. “Why’s that?”

“Because from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew you—”

The world around me shattered. The force of the explosion knocked me off my feet. I flew backward and crashed into the opposite wall. The sound of the windows shattering nearly deafened me. I couldn’t hear past the ringing in my ears or see past the clouds of dust and smoke that choked the air from my lungs. Chaos. Fear. Worry. Disorientation. The destroyed interior of my apartment was like something out of an action movie and I stared, dumbstruck, at the gaping maw that had once been the south-facing wall of my building.

“Tyler!” It sounded as though I shouted through water. “Tyler!” I scrambled to my feet and doubled over as my broken leg gave out beneath me. The bone began to knit instantaneously but it still took me a couple of tries to stand. I choked on the dust that clogged my lungs and squinted through the dark smoke for any sign of him. “Oh my god, Ty!”

Part of the roof had collapsed when the wall gave way, leaving a pile of heavy beams and rubble where my living room met the kitchen. I rushed forward, my body screaming as it continued to heal. Bits of glass that had embedded in my skin pushed out and landed at my feet. The skin at my temple pulled and I reached up to swipe a trickle of blood from my eye.

Before I could dig through the rubble, the pile began to shift. The heavy beams were tossed away like toothpicks as Ty emerged from under the wood, brick, and glass. Debris scattered in his wake as he waded out of the remains of my destroyed apartment. Not even a scratch marred his perfect skin. Hell, barely a hair on his head was out of place.

There was murder in my genie’s eyes when he crossed the space to where I stood. Still too shocked to reconcile what had just happened, all I could do was stare, jaw slack.

“Are you hurt?” Ty took my face in his hands. He examined my temple, the top of my head, my neck, shoulders, arms. “Darian?” He gave me a gentle shake and bent down to eye level. “Are you hurt? Say something.” Another shake. “Darian!”

“I-I’m okay.” Holy shit. My building…my studio was completely
destroyed
. The place I’d called home for decades—my fucking
sanctuary
—was now a pile of debris.

“We have to get out of here. Now.”

In the distance, the sound of sirens howled. The police, the fire department would be here soon. I couldn’t abandon the place. I had to explain what had happened. Shit, what in the hell
had
happened? This wasn’t a warning. One or both of us were on someone’s hit list and whoever had just pulled the trigger was tired of playing games. My money was on the Synod.

“I have to stay.” It still sounded like I was hearing myself from under water. “Do you want the police looking for us as well as the Synod?” I didn’t want to be accused of blowing up my own goddamned building, that was for sure.

A furrow cut into Ty’s brow. “I’ll stay. You need to get the hell out of here.”

Yeah, like that was safe. “No. No way. If the Synod did this—”

“Then you really need to get the hell out of here,” Ty interrupted. “Don’t argue with me on this, Darian.” His jaw flexed as though his next words had to be forced from his mouth. “Go to Xander’s. I don’t want you at my place and you’ll be safe there. I’ll come to get you after everything is settled here. Wish yourself there.”

“I’m staying.”

“I can send you there whether you wish for it or not,” he warned. “It’s up to you how much of my energy you want to expend to get it done.”

Dirty pool. He knew I’d never do anything to intentionally weaken him. “If you don’t show up in three hours, I’m coming back here.”

“Deal.”

“I wish I was at Xander’s house,” I said. “Right now.”

And just like that, Ty sent me away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

If I would have known that nearly blowing myself up would’ve gotten Xander off his duff, I would have done it a long damned time ago. He rushed into the formal living room—a room I didn’t think I’d ever been in in all of the time I’d known him—and jerked me up off of the couch so that he could inspect me from head to toe.

I wanted to remind everyone that I was in fact a supernatural creature who was pretty damned impervious to harm but it seemed like a waste of my breath at this point. Only Asher responded in the way I wanted to be treated: with a gentle smack to my shoulder and a comment that it was going to take a hell of a lot more than an explosion to get rid of me.

He was fucking right about that.

Xander’s concerned stare was starting to make me twitchy. “I told you he was dangerous.”

I wasn’t about to feed into Xander’s paranoia about Ty. “We don’t know the Synod is involved,” I said. “I think we can all agree that I’ve pissed enough people off to make a list of potential suspects a mile long. “It could be retribution for killing Mithras for all I know.”

I doubted you could off a god and not expect a little blow-back.

“She’s right.” At least I could count on Raif to be the voice of reason. “His acolytes were many. A fanatic with his eye on vengeance is capable of anything.”

Damn. I actually wanted Mithras’s acolytes to be responsible. But the more I thought about it, the more I feared they weren’t. Tyler never would have sent me here if he hadn’t thought the Synod was behind the attack. His condo had top notch security and it practically sat at the top of the freaking world. I would have been safe there. Instead, he’d insisted I come here. He might have hated Xander, but he knew that he and Raif would protect me.

As Asher and Raif continued to discuss the many possibilities of who might’ve wanted to blow up my apartment, their voices faded to the back of my mind. The thought occurred that I was officially homeless. A quick redecorating wasn’t going to fix the damage. This wasn’t something I could put a Band-Aid on and call it good.