armor of magic 02 - rising light (10 page)

***

At the club, Rocco parked on a side street far away from the line of patrons snaking around the building. He dragged Lucius from the backseat and tossed him into the wheelchair. Once again, we chained his wrists to the chair, making it impossible for him to escape. His dark blond hair had lost its luster and had started falling out in clumps. It was a bit sad seeing Lucius Diamond at his decrepit ending; thousands of years roaming the earth just to end up a pile of dust.

I pushed the wheelchair down the sidewalk and turned into an alley behind The Graveyard. Julian and Rocco called on their swords and shields, keeping them at the ready. We had no idea how many other evil colleagues Cosby might’ve invited to this exchange. We were in a dark alley behind a demonic nightclub. I doubted we were alone. But we were prepared. We were going into the situation expecting trouble because nobody in their right mind trusts evil.

“Stay here,” Julian instructed.

He zipped through the alley like a streak of lightning, scoping out any potential traps. His speed had been improving during our visit to the city. And his agility in moving between and around objects was nearly flawless. Only a couple of trash bins clanged and rolled over as he did his quick spot checking. Down by one of the exit doors, Julian’s sword cut across some murky shadows and an explosion of green slime followed. He returned with pieces of green goo dripping from his bleach-blond hair.

“Why are those lizard shifters so nasty?” He shook what he could from his hair.

I was relieved that he had been the one to take out the lizards because they were by far the most despicable of all the shifters. I cringed just thinking about their buggy yellow eyes and rows of sharp teeth. Totally gross.

“Anything else besides the shifters?” I asked.

“Nothing. I barricaded the exit doors with some parked cars. If anything tries to enter the alley from the club, they’ll be slowed down.”

I looked at the other buildings, scoping the fire escapes and doors. Everything looked sealed off or padlocked. Not that a brigade of demons, vampires or shifters wouldn’t be able to bust through, but it would give us enough time to respond rather than react. But no matter how many precautions we took or how much ass we had kicked, you just never knew what might come out of the shadows.

“It’s gonna be all right,” Julian whispered, wiping some of that disgusting green goo onto my shoulder.

I shoved his hand away. “This is a new coat!”

He laughed, nudging me. “You need to relax. You can’t go into this wound up so tight.”

“Maybe I should’ve taken a few bong hits?”

Julian winked, giving me a wry grin. I laughed, and a wave of calmness settled over me. The surfer bro was right. I needed to chill out. I glanced at Rocco, whose eyes were closed as he scanned the alley with his Protector sonar.

“Someone’s coming,” he said, opening his eyes.

Just then the scent of bologna smacked me in the face. Cosby walked slowly down the alley, pulling and tugging at what I could only assume was Charlotte.

“You guys ready?” I asked.

Julian lifted his shield and moved forward. “Let’s do this.”

Rocco gave a stern nod and strutted ahead, keeping his sword ready.

I whispered to Rocco, “Whatever happens, don’t kill Cosby before he breaks the spell.”

He just kept walking.

I waited behind until Rocco gave me a whistle indicating that it was okay to come forward. When Lucius saw that it was Cosby waiting at the end of the exchange, he began twisting and jerking around in the wheelchair, using what little strength he had left, hoping to free himself. Whatever Cosby had in store for Diamond, he knew it wasn’t going to be fun.

“It’s over, Diamond. You took a risk and your investment tanked,” I said.

He leaned his head back, gazing up at me with his pale green eyes. “I should’ve known better than to test you, Miss Farrow. I heard how you got the Scroll from Cagliostro. My pride will be my demise.”

“Pride’s a deadly one,” I said. I should know, mine seemed to keep getting me into all sorts of trouble.

I moved closer to the group and stopped a few feet in front of Cosby. Charlotte stood next to the vampire-hybrid. Her brown eyes were completely shut down, all the twinkle muted out. She might’ve resembled Charlotte on the outside, but something was missing. Her soul? Her healing light? The pinkish aura that had haloed her before had been snuffed out. Any hint of sympathy I had felt for the vampire turned to ice. I jerked the wheelchair toward Charlotte so Lucius couldn’t see anything else.

“Look at what you did to my friend. You’ll pay for this.”

Cosby cleared his throat. “Miss Farrow. Let’s do this quickly and be on our way.”

I detected a tremble behind his words. He sounded nervous and the opposite of confident. He was the one holding all the cards, so why was he so shaky? Sweat dripped from his temples. Something wasn’t right. I could sense it in my bones.

eighteen

The tension in the alley increased as we prepared to make the transaction. I guarded Lucius because I wasn’t about to hand over the vampire to Cosby until that spell was broken and Charlotte returned to normal. The hybrid’s eyes were jumpy and he kept looking over my shoulder.

“What’s going on, Cosby? Expecting company?” I asked.

“Nothing, Miss Farrow. I don’t exactly like hanging out in alleys with Protectors of Light.”

Rocco closed his eyes a moment.

“Are you getting something?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nah, he’s alone.”

“Can you do one more sweep? A larger radius?” I asked Julian.

He smiled, then dashed through the alley and around the entire block, returning in seconds. “All good in the neighborhood. Except for the line of creeps waiting to get into the club.”

Cosby glared at me. “I’m not foolish enough to go up against three Protectors on my own.”

Lucius let out a light chuckle. “You’re a moron, Cosby. Should’ve extinguished you centuries ago.”

Cosby’s face burned red with a mix of shame and anger. “Why didn’t you, then? Hmm? Why’d you just keep stringing me along like a lost puppy?”

“I owed your mother a debt. When my village was hit with the plague, she gave me eternal life.”

“And what a fool she was for that!” Cosby sneered.

I stepped between the two. “Hey, guys. Can you do the personal biz later so we can finish this off? I need to get Charlotte out of here.”

“I’m ready whenever you are, Miss Farrow,” Cosby replied.

I unlocked the handcuffs from Lucius’ frail and blistered wrists and helped him to his feet. I kept him wedged closely between me and Rocco. “Let’s get to it,” I told Cosby.

“What about Diamond?” he asked, squinting his eyes suspiciously.

“You’ll get the vampire when the spell is broken,” I told him.

“Fine. For the spell to be broken, Charlotte must hold the Sacred Scroll as I repeat the incantation. Did you bring the Scroll?”

Julian pulled the container from his coat pocket. “Dude, do we look like amateurs?”

Lucius turned toward me, trying to steady his sporadic breathing. “Miss Farrow … What are you doing? You can’t trust this …”

Cosby stepped forward and clocked Lucius square in the jaw. The vampire fell against me, and Rocco reached over to keep him from falling to the cement. Lucius coughed and spit out some blood and possibly one of his fangs. He was a pathetic sight.

“Totally unnecessary,” I said to Cosby.

He snorted like a warthog. “As I was saying, your friend must be holding the Scroll while I say the words to break the spell.”

Julian opened the tube, removing the Scroll. The white glow illuminated the area around us in an opalescent radiance. Cosby shielded his eyes from the light. Carefully, Julian placed the Scroll into Charlotte’s weak grip.

Cosby grasped her hands and began chanting in what sounded like Latin. “Vigilate potestates tenebrarum. Haec est fortitudo nostra.”

The Scroll began to brighten and rays of iridescent light poured through the alley. Charlotte’s face lit up and her smile returned. She was coming back. My bestie was coming back to me!

“Dude,” Julian gasped, yanking my arm and pulling me away from Charlotte.

Rocco grabbed Lucius and ran over to me and Julian where we stood pressed against the wall. He lowered the half-dead vampire to the ground and lifted his shield, yelling for us to do the same. “Cover yourselves!” he shouted.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I obeyed the detective, trusting he knew something. The three of us created a force field of protection as the alley shifted from white light into a kaleidoscope of red and orange hues. I squinted, trying to focus on Charlotte. Everything had gone blurry and smeary. But when my vision finally cleared, I could see why Julian and Rocco were so adamant about standing back. The person holding the Sacred Scroll was not Charlotte. In fact, it wasn’t even a person. It was that bastard demon mage Cagliostro. He had been disguised as Charlotte the whole time. And now he had the Scroll.

We were screwed. How had we not discerned that? Had my emotions and obsession to save Charlotte shrouded my ability to think straight? What a mess. What a freaking mess!

Cagliostro grinned in my direction, lifting his eyebrows. My stomach knotted and bile rolled up my throat. Then a blast of red light shot through the alley, and the hybrid and the demon mage disappeared with the Sacred Scroll.

I dropped to my knees, screaming. “I’m an idiot! I can’t believe I just handed over the Scroll to Cagli-fucking-ostro. I’m the worst Protector in the history of the Monarchy.”

Julian knelt down next to me. “Technically, I handed him the Scroll. Don’t beat yourself up too much. He fooled all of us.”

“But I know better. I
knew
something wasn’t right. Why didn’t I just trust my gut? I’m so sorry, guys.”

Lucius lifted his sagging head and wheezed, “He didn’t have me fooled … I warned you not to trust him.”

Rocco laughed, but not in an amused way. “Are you kiddin’? Let’s see, eeny, meeny, miny, moe—do we trust a double-crossing hybrid, or a thieving vampire who heads up the AOV? Kind of a Sophie’s choice there.”

Julian looked at Rocco. “A what?”

“Eh, either choice sucked, kid. Like deciding between death by firing squad or hanging.”

“Dude. Firing squad. Much faster,” Julian said.

I shook my head. “Well, this was a total bust. And now we’re babysitting a half-dead vampire.”

“I say we kill him right here and now.” Rocco lifted his sword.

I held up my shield to protect Lucius. “No, don’t. He knows where Charlotte is.”

“You think he’s gonna share that information?”

Glancing down at Lucius, I asked, “Well, Diamond? You ready to negotiate?”

“Let me live and I’ll take you to her,” he whispered.

I looked at Rocco and he reluctantly nodded.

“Okay, deal,” I told the vampire, hoping I wouldn’t regret the decision.

“Can you at least remove one pair of these cuffs?” he asked. “All of this silver is a bit overkill.”

The three of us simultaneously shouted, “No!”

Though things hadn’t gone as planned, at least we would get Charlotte back.

Rocco helped Lucius to his feet. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of this alley. The only thing that would make it worse would be—”

Before he could finish that sentence, a flock of those demon-bats swooped into the alley and surrounded us. We lifted our shields, keeping them at a safe distance. But we were in the eye of the storm.

“Any suggestions?” Rocco yelled to Lucius.

“I don’t know what these are,” he strained over the loud buzzing.

“It’s Cagliostro. He sent them,” I shouted.

“Use the Logos!” Rocco told us.

But before we could speak, a string of bats unraveled and wrapped around Julian like a snake. They were too fast. He tried to wriggle out of it, but once they reached his throat, he became paralyzed. Rocco and I called on our swords and began slicing at the venomous little demons, trying to cut Julian free. Our efforts had no bearing on the swarm as it grew more powerful. I thought for sure they’d swallow us. Instead they pulled away in unison, swooping off into the black night with Julian.

I had no doubt Cagliostro had specifically targeted Julian, thinking out of the three Protectors, he’d be the best one to help decipher the Scroll, just like last time. But Julian had some training and experience now, so he’d be tougher to crack this time around. Still, we were dealing with Cagliostro—the head of the Shadow Order—and he usually got what he wanted.

And then I had a flashback of the Sheriff in Eagle’s Nest—the small town north of Sante Fe, New Mexico—and remembered he had seemed familiar to me. Now I knew why. It was Cagliostro. He had been orchestrating this and stringing me along the whole time. This was all part of his master plan to get rid of Lucius Diamond, take over the AOV and get the Scroll. And I was the one who executed it for him. What a fool I had been.

Rocco and I headed back to the car, dragging Lucius with us. The detective wasn’t going to like what I had to say next, but I needed to start with the easiest of the three challenges ahead of us. My confidence had been shot.

“I think we should get Charlotte first,” I told him.

“You know the order, Farrow. Scroll first.”

“Rocco, please. Whatever we decide to do, we’re doing it together, but think about it. Now that Cagliostro has the Scroll, he has access to Diamond Escorts. He might go after Charlotte to torture Lilith. We can’t leave her hanging. Especially since we’re so close. Julian can hold his own until we get to him.”

Rocco took out a matchstick and bit down as he paced along the sidewalk. “All right, Farrow. I see your point. But we do this quick and get to that Scroll. You got it?”

I hugged the detective, relief gushing through me. He placed Lucius in the backseat. By that point, the vampire was sapped out. He no longer had the ability to allure and influence. He was ready to concede.

“Where’s this escort service, Diamond?” Rocco asked.

“Wall Street. Right next door to IP Montgomery. Disguised as an investment firm.”