shaede assassin 05 - shadows at midnight (11 page)

“Easier said than done,” Liam muttered.

I knew that better than anyone. But I’d been alone in Padma’s dungeon. “We have each other,” I said. “And we’ll get through it together.”

I spoke the words with confidence I didn’t feel. Only Asher remained silent during my pep talk and I looked through the darkness in hopes of getting a glimpse of him. I had his back. I had all of their backs. And Ty would get us through this. I knew it like I knew my own heart. There wasn’t anything in this world or any other that he couldn’t do.

“All right then,” Julian said. “Let’s get a move on.”

“Ready, Ty?”

He took my hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Ready.”

“I want bodies touching,” I said. “Everyone accounted for. Ash?”

“Yeah.” His tone vibrated with tension.

“You ready?”

“Yeah.”

He wasn’t ready. But he didn’t have a choice. I’d meant what I said. We’d get through this together. He wouldn’t have to go it alone. “Okay, time to move out.”

Ty let go of my hand but he kept his body close to mine as we continued down the dark corridor of the labyrinth. The air thickened and sweat trickled down the back of my neck and into my shirt despite the chill that permeated my clothes. Every step forward took a concentrated effort as every instinct in my body urged me to turn around and run back the way I’d come.

Quiet descended on our group, the only sound that of our footfalls on the solid ground beneath us. My mind raced with questions, so many things I wanted to ask Tyler in the hopes that he’d finally open up to me. The words he’d asked me to speak aloud in my studio—
Sia’i, rolqir al Nys’Asdar
—echoed in my mind and cold power flared from my ring. What in the hell had those words meant? What sort of magic had they awoken? And what inescapable consequences had speaking them triggered?

“You’re going to fail, you know.”

The darkness melted away in an instant and I stood face-to-face with Azriel. Tyler and the rest of the team vanished and I spun in a circle to find myself enclosed by four stone walls.
Don’t fall for it, Darian. This isn’t real
.

“You should have drown yourself in that bathtub all of those years ago,” Azriel replied in his cool, silky tone. “It would have saved us both a world of trouble.”

I’d never told him that mere nights before we’d met, I’d thought about drowning myself in order to escape Henry’s abuse. But my husband had barged into the bathroom and yanked me from the tub before I could do anything quite so foolish. The illusions conjured by the Rakshasa used my own painful past to get under my skin, but they never did get the details quite right. That’s not to say they didn’t affect me, though.

Could I walk out of an illusion? Any step I took could lead me in the wrong direction which might’ve been the illusion’s intent all along.

“You’re giving her exactly what she wants. The both of you in the same place. She won’t make another bargain, Darian. If you go back, you won’t ever leave.”

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up, Az?” I’d sworn not to engage, but it was too easy to fall victim to the false reality. “I wouldn’t be in this mess if you’d just left me alone to begin with.”

My name carried to my ears on a long drawn out whisper. Azriel’s dark gaze held mine as I tried to turn toward the sound that seemed to surround me.

“Stay with me.” The coldness in his eyes gave way to longing and his lips curved in a sensual smile. “We can be together here. We’re the same, Darian. We’re meant to be together.”

If that was the truth, not Xander, his own ambitions, or the entire supernatural world would have kept him from me. Instead, he’d left me. “You’re a liar, Azriel. You’ve always been a liar.”

“Daarriiaan!”

Again the whispered voice intruded into my consciousness. I broke the hold of Azriel’s gaze and looked over both of my shoulders. “Tyler?” A ghost of sensation danced along my left arm as though invisible fingers gripped me tight. I leaned in to the contact and let out a sigh at the reassurance I felt. “I got out of here once, Azriel. I’ll get out again.”

“Who says you ever left?” The kernel of doubt planted by his words rippled through me in a wave of fear. I swallowed against the lump that rose to my throat and willed myself to calm the hell down.

“No.” I refused to believe it. I’d smelled Ty’s scent when he came to get me. Felt the icy chill of his magic. It pulsed from my ring now to remind me of its presence. “You’re not real,” I said with finality. “Now leave me the hell alone.”

A surge of power shot up my arm and I gasped as though emerging to the surface of frigid water. Darkness permeated my vision and I coughed as I tried to fill my lungs with air. Power vibrated through me and I shook out my hand, desperate to banish the sensation and at the same time grateful for the clarity it provided me.

“Get it the hell off of me!” I said through pants of breath. I pulled at the ring but it wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t control the power, had no idea what it even was.

“Darian.” Tyler spoke low in my ear, his words meant for me alone.

“No!” I shook the remaining cobwebs from my mind as I gave the ring another tug. “It’s too much, Tyler. I don’t know how to handle it.”

“You have to calm down.” The urgency in his tone caused me to still. “Breathe through it and let the magic work.” I took several slow breaths and Ty relaxed beside me. “That’s it. Don’t panic. Don’t fight it. It’s the bond,” he explained. “That’s all. Settle into it.”

That wasn’t all. But now wasn’t the time or place to get into it.

“I need you solid, Darian. Because shit’s falling apart.”

My mind further cleared and though I couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of my own face, I heard the chaos around me. Tyler was right: shit was falling apart and I had no idea in hell how to get us out of this.

CHAPTER TEN

I wasn’t the only one who’d succumbed to the illusions. Ty seemed to be alone in his ability to withstand the invasive Rakshasa magic. He kept it together amid the disoriented conversations the other members of my team held with themselves and the visions implanted in their minds. Concern for Asher was foremost in my thoughts as I reached out and steadied myself on Tyler’s strong frame. “How in hell are we going to help them?”

“I got through to you,” he said. “You can get through to them.”

“Our bond—”

“Made it easier,” Tyler replied. “That’s all. I can manage one or two of them, but not everyone. I need your help.”

“I can’t see my own hand in front of my face.” Stumbling around in the dark wouldn’t help me to break anyone from the hold of illusions. If anything, it would only encourage me to topple back into them.

A small orb of light came to life in Tyler’s palm. It illuminated his face, casting shadows that gave his features a truly dangerous edge. I didn’t understand the power he possessed—and at times it frightened the hell out of me—but right now, I was damned thankful for it. He gave the orb a little bounce, as though letting a fledgling loose from his grasp, and it floated between us, suspended in midair.

The otherworldly light permeated the darkness and spanned in a six or seven foot circumference. He could have illuminated our path the entire time. Why in the hell hadn’t he? I didn’t have time to worry about what Ty was hiding from us and why as I scanned the narrow corridor for Asher. He must have been beyond the light’s reach. “Ash?” I called out. “Asher!”

“Stop!” Louella’s frantic plea drew my attention away from finding Asher. It was best to deal with the crisis in front of me first. Ash was a big boy. For the next few minutes, I’d have to trust that he could take care of himself.

“Darian…” Azriel’s voice swirled in my head. The illusion tried to resurface and cold magic flared from my ring. I took Ty’s instruction to heart, and rather than fight it, I welcomed the icy chill, gave myself over to it. The discomfort faded and I no longer felt the cold burn of magic on my skin. Azriel’s voice faded into the back of my mind and retreated to my memories where it belonged.

Thank god.

“Louella!” I gripped her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. She didn’t acknowledge me, didn’t feel the contact. She stared past me at whatever image the invasive magic had conjured in her mind.

“It’s not true!” The desperation in her voice tore at my composure. I doubted the most stalwart soul could endure being taunted and manipulated by distortions of their memories. “Don’t say another word!”

“Louella!” I spoke clear and firm close to her ear. “It’s not real. Listen to me. Fight your way out of it. Turn your back on it. Remember where you are and why.”

I coaxed her again and again until her eyes cleared and she focused on me. “Darian?”

Recognition was a good sign. “Focus, okay?” Not that it was easy, or even possible. But if I could instill her with enough confidence, maybe she could fight the pull of the illusions before they could take hold of her again. I pointed to the orb of light that Tyler had conjured. “Use that. Let it hold your attention. I need you to help me with the others. Do whatever you can to break the spell, understand?”

“Darian!” Ty’s voice called out. “Incoming!”

Great. What now? “What is it?”

“More goblins!” Ty called back. “Ten, maybe twenty!”

Shit
. Ten, he could probably handle on his own with another one of those freaky bursts of light. Twenty could be a problem, especially if they fanned out to flank us.

“Help Ty,” I said to Louella. “I’ll handle everyone else.”

She took off toward the action while I focused on taking care of the rest of my disoriented team. I didn’t know what was worse, the sound of a fight that echoed from my left, or Asher’s angry shouts from my right. I took off toward Ash but Liam blocked my path. His big body nearly filled the narrow tunnel. No way was I getting past him.

“Get the fuck away from me!”

The words weren’t meant for me. His gaze was wild and unfocused, his lip curled in a cruel sneer. The light from the orb illuminated his features, made the blue tattoos on his bald head appear darker, more sinister. He was already a scary mo-fo, but right now, he was damned right terrifying. I didn’t think that a good rough shake would snap the burly Shaede out of his trance and so I opted for a more drastic approach. I pulled back my arm and let my fist fly. It caught Liam square on the jaw and he reeled backward.

“What the fuck?” He gave his head a violent shake and his tongue flicked out at the split on his lip. With murder in his gaze, his eyes lit on me and he took a lunging step forward before realization dawned and he checked himself. He opened his mouth to speak but I didn’t have time for explanations.

“Goblins. Ty and Louella need help. Get your ass in gear!”

He took off without even a stutter in his step. The fight would help to hold their focus and keep the illusions at bay. At least, that’s what I hoped. The sound of Ash’s voice had quieted and in the dark, I lost sight of him. I managed to track Julian down next. He sat on the floor, as he emphatically pointed at his invisible tormenter, and shouted a string of profanities. He wasn’t as easy to rouse from the illusions as Louella or Liam, but I managed. After my fourth try, his gaze was clear enough that I knew I’d won him back. I sent him off in Ty’s direction as a flash of blinding light barreled down the tunnel to my right. Scary or not, Jinn magic was a godsend when fighting goblins…

I caught sight of Asher in the periphery of my vision. I took off toward him when a dark form came from my right and took me to the ground in a not-so-gentle tackle. The goblin’s fetid breath gagged me as its massive body pinned me to the ground. Large, tusk-like teeth that protruded from its bottom jaw glistened with saliva in the low light of Ty’s orb. Black, beady eyes looked me over and its bulbous nose wrinkled as it bent over me and sniffed. Its leathery skin scraped over mine like sandpaper and I shuddered.

Ewww
.

I rolled my head to the side just as its fat, equally leathery tongue flicked out at my cheek. The goblin let out a moan of approval as though he’d just taken a taste of a molten lava cake fresh from the oven. Its stomach rumbled and I couldn’t decide if I was more disgusted or afraid. Either way, I wasn’t about to become a snack for a hungry goblin.

Its bulk posed a problem. I was strong, but even supernatural strength couldn’t get his large, hulking form to budge. My daggers hummed at my sides, hungry for blood and I was more than happy to feed them if I could just manage to wriggle them free from their sheaths. Sort of hard to accomplish, though, when there was a mountain sitting on top of you.

The goblin shifted and my breath rushed from my chest in a violent,
woof!
of air. “You’re crushing me, you stupid son of a bitch!”

It reared back at my enraged shout, giving me just enough clearance to slide my arms to my sides. I wrapped my palms around the daggers’ hilts and ripped them free from their scabbards. I spun them in my grip and stabbed, burying the blades in the flesh on the outside of the goblin’s thighs. It let out a bellow of pain and jerked backward, tearing the daggers free in the process.

I rolled away and dragged in harsh breaths to fill my aching lungs. From the corner of my eye, I caught a large fist swinging toward me and I rolled out of the way, barely missing the blow that connected with the rock wall beside me, sending chunks of rock and dust into the air.

The goblin had a good three feet on me and at least two hundred pounds. The thing was
huge
. Not to mention hungry. It licked its lips as it came at me again and I dodged another wild swing of a meaty fist the size of my head. I leapt out of the way and came to a skidding halt. The daggers vibrated in my palms and I gave them a quick spin, more to release the tension in my arms than anything. The goblin came at me again, and rather than fall into retreat, I met it head on, digging my feet in to pick up speed. When our bodies threatened to clash, I leapt and planted one foot on the goblin’s knee. I used it as a step and propelled myself upward, climbing the damned thing like a mountain. I settled atop one massive shoulder and with every ounce of strength I had, I stabbed downward and buried both of my daggers into the goblin’s skull.