A Toiling Darkness (23 page)

“How?” I whispered, unable to hide my
shock.

“Two sisters got away. Took a very long
time, but they rebuilt the family.”

“Not much of a family if they exiled you.
That’s what the scar is right? Proof of your exile?”

She nodded. “Yeah, we have different
opinions. I wanted more power, they didn’t agree with my
methods.”

My eyes widened with understanding. “You
used black magic.”

She nodded again.

“And you approaching me, is what? Revenge?
Do you plan to kill me?”

She let out a bark of laughter, coming out
as angry. “There is no way I can kill you. We lost a lot with that
little massacre you did.” Something dark passed through her
expression when she stopped laughing and before she smiled. It was
right in there for a brief second, quickly covered by that cocky
smile that was getting annoying. “Including a lot of our
spells.”

I sighed. “Then, why are you here, talking
to me?”

“I simply want to look into the eyes of the
one who was cruel enough to destroy an ancient family who existed
before even Ancient Greece.”

“Apparently not destroyed if you’re still
here,” I muttered.

Her smile grew cold, the twinkle in her eyes
dissipating.

“I still don’t understand what made El so
proud of you. You’re not much.”

“Neither are you if he dumped you only after
a couple of months. Why were you with him? Too much magic that you
couldn’t handle.”

“El didn’t dump me.”

“You said it yourself, you were only with El
for a couple of months. I wonder what he found lacking in you.”

“Nothing,” she snarled. “I left on my
own.”

“And he let you. If you were worth his time,
he would have followed you around.” I found something to tick her
off. Maybe I could piss her off enough to leave. One could only
hope. “When I tried to leave him, all he did was follow me around
for weeks until I paid him any attention. The man has too much
resilience.”

She glared again. “The Consort sent him,
maybe he let me leave because he saw that I was no risk.” This time
she hiked up her dress. On her right thigh was a similar brand as
mine, except it was only one circle. “Becoming a true dark witch
takes sacrifice.”

“And you bit off too much and choked.”

She glared at me. “I did what was
necessary.”

“And it goes back to what I was
saying—you’re still useless. No coven to help you and no proper
magic to use.” I pointed to the brand. It was probably the only
thing that kept her from trying to kill me.

She went still, glaring at me until she
turned, downed her drink, threw a tip on the table, and stood
up.

“I know you’re the type to destroy whole
families because of possibilities and you’ll always be like that. I
hope we don’t meet again.”

I smiled politely, embracing the victory. “I
sure hope so.” I saluted my drink to her as she stormed out of the
bar. A moment later, Baron came over.

“What was her deal?” he asked.

“Probably wanted to get a rise out of me so
you would have to smite me.” I gave him a little smile and downed
the rest of my drink. “Hey, I have a couple questions for you.”

He stared at me for a moment, taking in my
appearance. I knew I looked upset, I couldn’t help it. Not when a
witch from a family that should be long gone was being openly
aggressive. That and I really was losing control over my facial
expressions for some reason.

“Have you heard about the slauve?”

He thought about it. “I think so. Someone’s
been going around, asking a lot of questions. All kinds of
questions actually. About missing children and a woman.”

“Missing children?” I asked.

“Apparently eight children have gone missing
over the past week.”

“And that has to do with the slauve
because?” I asked.

“Nosy?” He shrugged. “Some believe a being
is involved. Of course, no one is trying to do anything about it
either.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

What if Kalen was right? What if a being was
killing and kidnapping children? No. No being was in the area
except me and Kalen when that little girl was killed and her older
sister taken. I was absolutely sure of it. And what being was dumb
enough to leave such an important task up to a human. They leave
breadcrumbs all over the place and Kalen was apparently doing a
decent job of finding them here and there.

Baron shrugged again. “Who knows? It’s all
rumors right now. I think he has a necromancer helping him out.
Anything else?” He looked over to another customer, holding up a
finger to let him know he will be right there.

“Yeah, is Seeker awake yet?”

He shook his head. “Sorry, not yet. At least
not yet a couple hours ago. When he’s at his weakest, his guards
like to come in and let loose a little. They left just before you
got here.”

“Alright,” I sighed, not happy with the new
information. “I better get going.”

“Okay, just be careful.” He gave me a look
that told me he knew what I was thinking.

Once again I reassured someone on my
wellbeing. “I’m always careful.”

“Sure you are.” He went to turn and paused,
his expression darkening as he glared over at the door.

I glanced over to see what put him on alert
and saw nothing. Then I could feel him.

Kalen.

His power brushed against my skin, uncertainty
showing in the hesitant way it crawled across my arm. It thought it
found its target, but now it wasn’t so sure. That was what Baron
felt. The power wasn’t just uncertain, it was raw and angry. And it
was aimed at me.

I could feel her. Her existence was calling
to me. She was close, so damn close.

My body moved on its own. My surroundings
blurred as I ran faster than what should be possible. I still
couldn’t get used to this new body. It was sturdier, stronger, and
so damn angry. Chains clanked in my ears, my chest tightened and I
wanted to howl as a response to the howling of my soul. He was just
as angry, even more so. She was close.

I almost had her too.

I can take her. She should be weak,
hopefully dying.

Her tender touch as she ran her hands
through my hair.

Kalen…

The pain in just that one word, in that one
gesture. She didn’t want to fight me. She didn’t want to kill
me.

No! She has to die. I can feel her. It’s
faint, but it’s her. Her existence is calling to me.

I grabbed onto my anger, wrapped myself in
it, and then pushed forward. She needed to die if I wanted to be
free. I needed to find her.

I can do this.

I have to do this.

Kalen…

“Something very angry is coming,” Baron
murmured. The room grew quiet as everyone’s own warning bells went
off.

Just as the last noise stopped—someone
placing down a cup—Kalen burst through the door. His eyes were
black with power, his pupils nearly completely expanded. At least
this time there was a ring of dark brown. Maybe he wasn’t as
dangerously enthralled as he was last time. His nostrils flared
with anger and he moved through the room with desperation. He
glanced around, searching for the source of his anger. Seeing him
again like this gave me a second dose of how dangerous he really
was. He wasn’t holding his knife like I expected, but I was sure it
was on his person, somewhere.

Baron jumped over the counter with the grace
of a cat, his own power crackling around him. I stood up and walked
slightly ahead of him, giving him a free path to the slauve and
still keep myself between them.

“Don’t hurt him,” I whispered, my chest
tightening by all the possibilities. I kept Kalen in view, not
quite trusting him. He stood there, staring at me now that he
spotted me. He wore a dark V-neck sweater with dark jeans.

I once asked if he trusted me enough to keep
us safe and he nodded. He trusted me at the park and now I had to
trust him not to fight in here at least. Baron wouldn’t tolerate
it, not even for me, not even if he feared me. This tavern was his
baby and fathers protected their babies fiercely. Baron was no
exception.

“He either reigns it in, gets out, or faces
me.” Baron kept his eyes on Kalen, unimpressed with the man. No one
in the bar moved. No one wanted to set off either men.

I backed up a little so I could see them
both clearly.

“Kalen...” my voice trailed off and I
swallowed over the dread in my stomach. Kalen was a freakishly
strong slauve, but he was still no match against Baron. Not when
Baron had the something to protect. When I said Kalen managed to
carve a place in my heart, I wasn’t lying. He has. I’m still trying
to figure out how he did that exactly, but he did.

Now the idea of him dying turned my body
cold with anxiety. My gut twisted with a finality of loss that only
death could bring. He found his way past my shields and now I had
to deal with the emotions I never wanted to face again—the feeling
of loss. It was going to happen.

“Darkness.” He glanced around briefly. When
he first walked in, he was full of confidence that his target was
in here. Now he wasn’t so sure and it showed in the shuffle of his
feet and the glances he made around the room. He was
second-guessing himself now. If only he knew how right he was. The
air was thick and heavy with his furious power and Baron’s
electrifying power. “What are you doing in a place like this?”

I shook my head at his question. “You need
to either swallow your power or get out.”

Something in my expression must have warned
him against possible danger. He finally looked at Baron, taking him
in. Baron’s skin had turned translucent, his power running through
him. I could swear humming was coming from him, as if his body was
charging up for an attack.

The two beings stared at each other and if
they did it any longer, a fight was going to break out. I stepped
closer to Baron, wanting to defuse him. He himself was one large
electrical charge just waiting to go off. The rumors of him turning
others to dust with just a look didn’t seem like just a rumor
anymore. This was the first time I was getting a real taste of his
power and it really was electrifying. He was still tense from the
crowd that was here and now Kalen showing up in a whirlwind of
power and anger. One more little thing and Baron was going to reach
his limit.

Fortunately Kalen came to the same
conclusion because he did what I asked. He swallowed his power. I
say swallow because when a being reigns in their power, that’s what
it can look like. Kalen took a deep breath, drawing in all the raw
power he could. His large chest puffed out and slowly, very, very
slowly, he let out a breath that came out more like a hiss.

He shook his head, probably trying to shake
off the remaining power. “I apologize for causing a scene.”

Baron eyed him before sighing. He didn’t
need to swallow his power like Kalen did. He simply dissipated it
into the air. All the hairs on my body stood on end, attracted to
the charges in the air. I had a feeling if I touched someone, I
would get a little shock. Kind of like going down a plastic slide
and then touching someone to shock them. Except his would be a
bigger shock, maybe even deadly. I didn’t want to find out.

“Since you’re new, I’m only warning you
once. I don’t tolerate any fighting in here.”

Kalen nodded. “Consider myself properly
chastised.” If anyone else said those words, they would have been
sarcastic. With Kalen, they were simply the truth. He really did
look sorry.

Baron nodded, accepting his response. He
went back behind the bar, poured a shot of something dark and took
it. When he noticed everyone was still staring at him, he smiled.
His eyes stayed cold and watchful. “Shows over, go back to your
drinks.”

It took a couple of moments, but they all
took his advice. I stayed standing, cautious, as Kalen walked
towards me, his eyes never leaving mine. They were no longer black,
his pupils were back to their normal size with the dark brown
surrounding them. His eyes seemed endless; they were the kind of
eyes women got lost in.

“Why did you enter like that? We felt you
long before you came through the door,” I said. I knew why but I
still needed to ask. I needed to know if he figured out who I
really was yet. I needed him to say it. I still expected him to
look at me with recognition and betrayal in his eyes before his
fury took over and we fought again.

“I felt her here. She was here, had to be.”
Kalen ran his hands across his face, clearly frustrated. He plopped
down on a stool, his feet easily touching the ground. I hopped up
on mine and let my feet dangle. Some of the patrons looked at us,
curious about the man and wondering why he was talking to me so
easily. Maybe I affected him just as much as he affected me. He
always seems quick to answer my questions if he could. A very rare
trait to have in this world.

“Her being the woman you have to kill?”

He nodded. “Akhlys.”

My heart skipped a beat.

I had to work hard not to give myself away,
schooling my face to be the perfect nonchalant one I could manage.
It should have been easy and it has always been. Just not recently.
He glanced down at his hands, clenching them. “I almost had her the
other night too.” His voice was barely a whisper—filled with
desperation and pain.

I don’t know what it feels like to be a
slauve, to be held back by someone’s orders. I never want to know
either. Can you imagine being chained inside a dark dungeon, a
window your only taste of freedom? You’re so close to it too, close
enough to taste and feel it on the fringe, only a few feet away.
And yet you’re shackled to the wall, with barely any slack, and
when you reach out to that freedom, your fingertips are only inches
away. Inches. Just thinking about it was frustrating. I’ve been a
prisoner before, more times than I can count, but freedom was
always easy to obtain. But when you’re a slauve, your body is the
very prison that holds you shackled. Frustration is too easy of a
word to use. It doesn’t do him justice.