shaede assassin 05 - shadows at midnight (4 page)

I stepped from my corporeal form into shadow. In a breath of warm air I slipped through the back end of the SUV and settled into the backseat beside Ian. He bristled, as though he sensed my presence. Curious. I slung an arm over the seat and turned toward him as I studied my mark at my leisure. Up close and personal, I couldn’t find a single extraordinary thing about him. His dark hair was cut short on the sides and back and left long on top with enough hair paste to keep the bulk of the length standing almost straight up on his head. His dark gray eyes narrowed as he turned toward me and a rush of anxiety coursed through me. I stilled. Didn’t move a single inch as his gaze passed through me to focus on the passing traffic outside the window. Something about him unnerved me and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

I let out a slow breath and at the same moment, Ian’s full lips parted. He cupped the back of his neck and rolled his shoulders. Looked like I wasn’t the only passenger in the back seat feeling a little mild discomfort. Good.

Ian’s driver reached out and cranked up the dial on the stereo. Heavy bass and electronic beats filled the confines of the Escalade in a wild stream of EDM. Swedish House Mafia. I swallowed down a snort. Ian and his crew were almost too cliché. The music vibrated through my incorporeal form in a wavelength that I felt deep in the center of my being. Ian didn’t seem to notice the music as his guys in the front seat bobbed their heads to the beat. He sat still as a statue, his gaze burning a hole straight through me, as his lips formed a hard line.

I needed to get this job
done
. Before Ian’s strange behavior creeped me the hell out.

His gaze focused. Not on the passing traffic, not on the guys in the front seat. His cold gray eyes dialed in…on me. Tendrils of shadow writhed around me, echoing my physical agitation. The son of a bitch looked right at me and a ribbon of icy fear unfurled within me.

No. It was my imagination. A human couldn’t see through shadow. Couldn’t see me. There was nothing special about Ian Dexter. He was simply another black-hearted thug who’d outstayed his welcome on this plane. And his time was up.

Whether it was my own stupid fear that prompted my actions or not, I drew my blade and struck. The dagger pierced his jugular and ribbons of crimson gushed from the wound as I withdrew the blade. My breath left my lungs in a rush as a wry, knowing smile curved Ian’s lips.

“Sh—aede.” The sound gurgled from his throat in a hoarse whisper as he bled out beside me and those gray eyes that had seen right through me, went suddenly blank.

The car sped away and I let it pass out from under me. I brushed the asphalt below, frozen in place in the middle of the street as late night traffic passed on either side of me. My heart raced in my chest as I watched the Escalade disappear in a sea of red taillights. I didn’t dare reclaim my corporeal form. Not when I was so thrown off my game. Instead, I raced toward Belltown and The Pit. I’d been so damned rattled by Ian’s dying word that I didn’t even snag his gold medallion of Saint Jude that he wore around his neck as proof of death. Damn it. I’d never botched a job for him before. Tyler was just going to have to take my word for it.

“How did you know I wasn’t human?” I’d taken my ass chewing for not retrieving Ian’s medallion, and it was time to move on. The client wanted the drug lord’s death to be low-key, but word would spread in the underground. Ty would get wind of it whether or not I’d supplied him with a trophy. It was all the proof he’d need and his anger would be short lived. I was through with shop-talk. Right now, I needed some answers for myself.

 “What do you mean?” Ty’s tone remained flat, the edge of annoyance at my minor fuck-up not yet forgotten.

“You know damned well what I mean.” Ty had sensed my otherness from the get-go. It hadn’t taken long for him to call me on it. As far as I knew, he was the only human who knew about my supernatural existence. But Ian Dexter’s reaction as he bled out beside me, made me realize that I’d been foolish to assume that Ty was one of a kind. At least in regards to his supernatural knowledge.

“Anyone close enough to you could tell,” he remarked with a shrug. His gaze didn’t meet mine. Instead, he kept his attention focused on the crowded dance floor.

Ty was the only person I’d let into my life since Azriel had left me. He didn’t know much about me and yet, he knew more than anyone had in almost a century. Still, his answer didn’t satisfy me. Ian Dexter hadn’t ever laid eyes on me. Had never seen me in my corporeal form let alone protected by shadow. He’d seen through the cloak of darkness that concealed me. And he’d known what I was.

“That’s a cop-out,” I replied.

“Have you met you?” Tyler seemed intent on deflection. “You don’t exactly scream ‘normal.’”

Ha. Ha. It was obvious that the only way I was going to get any answers out of Tyler was to be straight with him. “Ian saw me tonight.”

Ty gave me a sidelong glance. His body stiffened almost imperceptibly before he gave an unconcerned shrugged. “Dead men tell no tales.”

“No, Tyler. He
saw
me.” That got his attention. Ty turned the full intensity of his hazel stare on me. He studied me for a brief moment as though trying to climb right inside my head. “He knew what I am.”

“What did he say?”

“Just one word.” I took a sip from my glass. “Shaede.”

Ty’s brow pinched and his jaw squared. He raked his fingers through the tangles of his bronze-streaked hair and let out a measured breath. “You need to be more careful out there,” he said after a moment. “You think you’re indestructible, but the world is a dangerous place. Even for you.”

Ty’s own mortality made it hard for him to wrap his mind around my immortality. I’d gotten similar warnings from him before but never with such an undertone of fear to the words.

“I can take care of myself.” It was my own stubbornness that prompted the response. My encounter with Ian unnerved me, but I refused to let it rattle me. “Lorik knew what we were too.” The words were meant more for myself than Ty, spoken under my breath.

“What?”

“Never mind.” My past was off-limits. Something I rarely discussed with Tyler. “Humans sense things.” The statement of fact didn’t do much to cheer me up. “Sixth sense, psychic abilities, or whatever. That Ian sensed my presence isn’t what bothered me.”

“What bothers you, then?”

My gaze locked with Tyler’s and for a moment, I lost myself in the hazel depths. “He saw through the shadows,” I replied. “He named me.”

Shaede
. A shiver danced over my skin at the recollection of the word as it rattled in the man’s throat.

“You’ve made a reputation for yourself, Darian.” Ty caught Levi’s gaze and the bartender gave him a nod. I wasn’t quite sure what had just passed between them, but I was fairly certain I wasn’t supposed to know. Ty had his hands in more than I knew about. He was a heavy-hitter in every sense of the word. “You can’t claim anonymity anymore. Rumors spread. Like I said, anyone with eyes in their head and the good sense to pay attention would know there’s something otherworldly about you.”

“You’re not helping to spread any of those rumors, are you?”

Ty’s head whipped around and he fixed me with a stern stare. “I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just insult me by implying that I can’t keep my mouth shut.”

I drained my glass in a couple of swallows. I didn’t see it often, but every once in a while Ty’s temper surfaced and I found it truly frightening. “I’m just rattled, that’s all.”

His eyes dipped to my left thumb and the ring that circled my finger. He slid a manila envelope across the table to me. I didn’t need to count the money to know that every dime of the other half of my fee was inside. “Word of Dexter’s death is going to spread. Lay low for a couple of weeks. I’ll be in touch soon.”

I sensed that our conversation had come to a close. No flirty banter, no wide inviting smiles. My admission had sucked all of the playfulness from Ty’s attitude tonight and he seemed more shaken up than I was. I took it as a sign that I should do what he said and keep a low profile. For a while, at least.

“I’ll be around if you need me,” I said as I slipped down from the tall bar stool.

“So will I,” Ty said pointedly. “When it comes to you, Darian, I’m always available.”

I couldn’t admit—even to myself—as I left The Pit that his words were the most comforting thing I’d heard in a long damned time.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Wake up.”

The air left my lungs in a
whoosh!
as a booted foot made contact with my gut. I coughed and spluttered; my vision blurred as I came instantly awake. Tears stung at my eyes as I longed for the dream of my past that had given me respite. But I refused to let Padma see my distress. I’d die before I gave that bitch the satisfaction.

Cool magic snaked around my wrist, the ring’s presence stronger than it had been since I’d been brought to this prison. I moved to twist it, a habit I’d developed over the years, but before my fingers could make contact with the silver, I was jerked upright by two of Padma’s guards. They dragged me through a series of tunnels into a large room with a domed stone roof. They’d kept me underground for god knew how long. In a tomb I was no doubt bound to be buried in. Padma climbed several shallow steps to an ornate throne that sat above the floor on a sort of dais. She looked so regal, so soft and beautiful with her hands folded demurely in her lap. I couldn’t help the derisive snort that escaped my lips. A wolf in sheep’s clothing if I’d ever seen one.

She brought her fingers up and snapped, the crisp sound echoing off the walls. A moment later, the sound of footsteps shuffling on the dirt floor came from behind me. Some new torture, perhaps? I steeled myself for what was about to come.

“As you can see,” Padma’s smooth, sweet voice announced, “she’s alive.”

“I should decimate your entire race for what you’ve done.”

My heart leapt into my throat at the sound of Tyler’s voice. My breath fogged in the sudden cold and I shivered. This wasn’t like Padma’s illusions. It was so…visceral. Ty’s voice held none of the apathy it possessed when he berated me. In fact, it was so full of icy rage that the air thickened with it. Never had I felt the chill of magic envelope me in the presence of an illusion. I wanted to look, to turn my head and see what was behind me, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. This was a test, she wanted me to look. To lose myself to the illusion. I couldn’t let her win, not when I was already so close to breaking once and for all.

“I don’t doubt that you’d do just that if it was within your scope of power.” Padma practically purred with self-satisfaction. “But not even you can accomplish such a feat. Your Synod would deliver a swift end to your existence on this plane or any other.”

Padma had never engaged in conversation with one of her own illusions before. She was messing with me. “Shut up!” I screamed as I went to my knees. “Shut the fuck up!” I couldn’t take another second of this. I wanted her to kill me and get it over with.

“Alive, but not
unharmed
.” Ty’s voice was a cold burn that I felt right in the center of my soul.

“I never guaranteed the condition she’d be returned to you in. That she’s alive shows my benevolence.”

Tyler snorted.

I squeezed my eyes shut. A violent tremor rocked me from head to toe and I couldn’t do a damned thing to quell it. The illusion was too real and it was a sure sign that I’d finally cracked. There was no returning from madness.

“Rakshasa don’t know benevolence,” Tyler remarked.

“But the Jinn do?”

The temperature dropped another ten degrees or so and my teeth chattered from the cold. “I gave you what you wanted,” he replied. “Now give me what
I
want before I show you exactly what I’m capable of.”

“Take her.” My head jerked upright and I stared at the demon queen. She gave a haughty flick of her wrist. “I’ve had my fill of her.”

My stomach turned at her words as fear trickled into my bloodstream. The footsteps moved closer and I shied from the sound. Who was she giving me to? What was going to happen to me now? I couldn’t believe my eyes, my ears. My senses betrayed me. “No!”

Padma’s guards jerked me upright and tried to hand me over but I fought against them. I kicked out blindly, shut my eyes again to block out the illusions, swung my arms wildly. My left hand went numb from the cold that flared from my ring and I thrashed as strong arms enveloped me.

“It’s okay, Darian.” Tyler’s gentle words and soft tone shattered my heart into myriad shards that speared my insides. “I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”

“No!” I couldn’t take anymore. “Let me go! Let me go!” I clapped my hands over my ears to block out the sound of his voice. “Padma!” The shout tore from my throat. “I’m going to
kill
you
!”

Tyler brushed my hair back and put his mouth to my ear. His skin was cool against mine and I shuddered. “Sleep, Darian.” My limbs grew heavy and a strange sense of calm swept me up in a tight embrace. I wanted to fight. To shout. To break his hold, but I was so,
so
tired. “I’ve got you, love. Sleep.”

Helpless to do anything but obey, I toppled over into darkness.

#

I woke with a scream.

Bright morning light nearly blinded me and I shielded my eyes. I’d been kept in darkness for so long that my eyeballs felt like they’d caught fire in my head. None of my illusions thus far had manifested surroundings that weren’t the underground caves that had become my prison. Maybe drinking my blood and snacking on my flesh had siphoned some of the ring’s power. Because Padma was definitely packing a little extra mojo if she was able to produce an illusion as real as this.