Bound by Darkness (10 page)

Surely it wouldn't hurt to take a quick peek around the corner to look for Lonzo before she returned upstairs. She crept forward, straining to hear even the slightest hint that anyone else was in the tunnels. The motion-activated lights flickered on as she moved forward, illuminating the tunnel for some distance in each direction. The place was empty as far as she could see.

Her intention to stage an immediate retreat was put on hold as soon as she saw the dazzling, solid sheet of energy. Words couldn't describe the swirling colors that
changed and shifted and then changed again. It might be deadly to the touch, but why had no one ever told her the barrier was beyond beautiful?

She had to get back but hated to look away for fear she'd miss a wisp of color that might never be seen again. It wasn't lost on her that she stood mere inches away from another world, one unlike anything she could possibly imagine. All she knew for certain was that it bred cold-blooded killers who destroyed lives, leaving more than just their intended victims bleeding and hurt.

She closed her eyes to block out the mesmerizing murmur of power and beauty, wishing she could slam the door on her memories as easily. But some things—and some people—deserved to be remembered despite the pain that never faded. David's dark chocolate eyes and broad smile were burned into her brain, their image as bright now as when she first met him. Eight years wasn't all that long, but it seemed like forever since she'd last touched his face or tasted his kiss.

He was her first love. He'd sworn her to secrecy before confessing he was a Paladin. Two days after he'd proposed to her, he'd died, first from a sword wielded by an Other, and then a second time from a syringe full of poison administered by his Handler.

She shivered, but not entirely because of the chill in the subterranean tunnels. Time to get back topside. She'd check in with Devlin later to reschedule the tour and demand an explanation from Lonzo about why he'd ditched her. She headed for the elevator, but the steady buzz from the barrier increased in volume.

Looking back, she frowned. What the heck? The barrier was no longer opaque. The colors were still bright, but she could see shadows moving through the translucent curtain. Okay, this was bad. Maybe really, really bad. One of the two most common signs that the barrier was about to go down was that it thinned out, revealing hints of the world that lay beyond.

The other sign was sudden streaks of sickly colors replacing the vibrant, healthy ones. Sure enough, gangrenous yellows and greens started to appear at the top near the ceiling of the tunnel and spread rapidly across the entire expanse.

She took off running for the elevator. She had to get it open—now. Her fingers shook as she keyed in the code. No response. Why hadn't she at least thought to hold the elevator on the lower level for the few minutes she'd been looking around?

Devlin had been right—this was no place for a civilian to be wandering alone. As she waited for the elevator to return, she hoped she lived long enough for him to say he'd told her so.

His spur-of-the-moment plan appeared to be working. He quickly keyed in the high-level security code that would recall the elevator and keep it topside. His clearance didn't warrant that kind of authority, but it helped to have friends in high places.

He grinned as he felt the small blast of air that signaled the approach of the elevator. Then he wiped his fingerprints off the keypad and headed down the hall, this time to leave the building. It wouldn't do to be seen
lurking in the area once Sasha Willis managed to find her way back up topside.

“Come in and sit down.” Devlin led the way into his office and dropped into his own chair. “I just got back from an all-nighter down at St. Helens, but I need to talk to you.”

“What about?” Larem asked, although he could probably guess.

“Last Friday Laurel and I had drinks with Sasha Willis. Imagine my surprise when your name came up in conversation.”

“You already knew we'd met. I couldn't very well ignore her.”

“Damn it, Larem, I thought you had more sense. What the hell were you thinking? The last thing I wanted to hear out of Sasha Willis's mouth was that the two of you have been hanging out.”

From past experience, Larem knew the best course of action was to let Devlin rant until he ran out of temper or breath, whichever came first. Trying to reason with the man before that happened would be a wasted effort. It didn't take long.

“Well? Care to explain?”

Larem shifted in his chair, trying to come up with an answer that was close to the truth but wouldn't set Devlin off again. He sure couldn't admit that he'd first sought her out because the Kalith and their closest allies didn't exactly trust Devlin's ability to ensure their safety. Worse yet, he'd also spent time with her because he wanted to.

If Devlin was upset about him and Sasha sharing a cup of coffee, the man would go ballistic if he found out they'd actually gone out more than once, especially if he knew about their last date.

But it was over. To avoid running into her again, Larem had made a trip up north to visit Hunter and his mate for a few days. Upon his return, Lonzo had warned him that Devlin was hot on his trail.

“Last Tuesday, Ms. Willis was nosing around in the building after leaving your office and ended up by the geology lab. I was the one who answered the door because she'd already met me but hadn't yet figured out that I am Kalith. I assumed that could change quickly if she saw Barak and me at the same time. Rather than risk inviting her in to meet him and Lacey, I chose to escort her out of the building. We parted a few blocks later after having a cup of coffee.”

Devlin ran his fingers through his hair in obvious frustration. “Fine. I get why you intercepted her at the door, but the exit to the alley is right down the hall from where you were. The smart thing to do would've been to tell her to go straight and then turn left. Why didn't you?”

Telling Devlin that it was because he wanted more time in her company would not be an acceptable answer. “I pretended to be on my way out so that she wouldn't feel as if she were interrupting anything in the lab. However, Duke was on duty and saw me. Since he hates me, and I figured he'd waste no time in telling her who and what I was, I stayed with her so he'd keep his mouth shut. Once we were safely past him, I left Ms. Willis as soon as I could without being rude.”

Larem leaned back in his chair and watched as Devlin processed the information. Finally, the big man slowly nodded. “So you lingered over coffee just to be polite, knowing each minute she spends with you makes it more difficult for you to blend into the crowd around here?”

Okay, so much for fooling Devlin. “The last thing I want—or either of us needs—is for her to get too curious about me, which is why I left town for a while. She hasn't seen me in days, so hopefully her attention is focused elsewhere by now.”

“Yeah, well, it is. Unfortunately, it's on me. She's got me jumping through so many fucking hoops, I can't—”

A knock at the door kept Devlin from finishing that thought. “Come in!”

Lonzo poked his head in. “Hey, boss, sorry to interrupt, but I think we've got a problem.”

Devlin's eyes narrowed. “Aren't you supposed to be giving Sasha Willis the grand tour?”

“Yeah, well, I was, but I had a flat tire and just now got here. I tried her number and then yours. When neither of you answered, I called D.J. to stall her, but he's over in the admin building working on Kincade's stuff.”

He stopped to take a breath. “The rest of the crew just got back with you, so I ran the last few blocks to get here. There's no sign of the woman anywhere. Even worse, the elevator is on lockdown. It won't accept my access code. Honest, boss, I wasn't more than ten minutes late.”

Larem had a bad, bad feeling about where all this was headed. He rose to his feet, ready to . . . what?
Charge to her rescue? Yeah, like that was going to happen. Besides, there was no actual proof Sasha was in trouble.

Still, he knew for a fact that she'd been exploring different areas in the building lately, because the guys had been talking about all the odd places she'd been seen. Would she even hesitate to go exploring if her assigned guide didn't show up?

Devlin looked even more worried. “I'm the only one around here who has the authority to shut the elevators down completely, and I sure as hell didn't do it.”

Then he checked his cell and cursed; the battery was dead. He dug out his charger and plugged it in to listen to his messages. “Son of a bitch! I don't know where that woman is now, but she was definitely here a few minutes ago.”

The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the Klaxons started blasting. Devlin immediately grabbed the sword he'd yet to put away after his long night of fighting.

He glared at Larem again. “Keep your fingers crossed that she's either back in her office or already on her way up from the tunnels, because if she's not . . .” Devlin shook his head, not wanting to follow that thought to its obvious conclusion. “I've got to go.”

Larem stayed where he was, frozen by the spectre of what would happen to Sasha if the Others got their hands on her. The light-sickness made them little better than animals, out of their heads and raging out of control. If Devlin and his men didn't get to Sasha first, Larem could only hope that she died quickly.

He stared at the weapons displayed on Devlin's wall and at one sword in particular. Then he was on his feet and reaching for the Kalith blade. The Paladin leader had no doubt captured it from an Other who'd had the great misfortune to cross Devlin's path.

Devlin had never ordered Larem to stay out of the tunnels, but then he hadn't really needed to. The last thing Larem wanted was to face his own people in battle. This was different, though. Who knew what kind of hell Devlin and his men were walking into? They could be wading through puddles of blood with no time to spare to hunt for Sasha. Maybe they'd be able to shove her back into the elevator and send her up to safety, but maybe not.

Larem headed for the elevator at a dead run, doing his best to steer clear of the Paladins and guards still pouring in. With battle fever running high, not all of them would immediately recognize Larem as an ally. There were also those among the guards who hated anyone with Kalith blood even more than the Paladins did and might use the situation to rid their world of one more enemy.

The elevator was still in use, warriors milling around and waiting for their chance to wade into the fray far below. No sign of Sasha.

D.J. came running up, stuttering to a full stop when he spotted Larem. “Are you fucking nuts or suicidal? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Devlin thinks Sasha Willis might be trapped down below. Someone has to hunt for her while you guys fight.”

The Paladin looked sick. “Son of a bitch! Just what we need.”

D.J. studied the massing warriors. “Come with me.”

The two of them ran back the way they'd come, not stopping until they reached another elevator at the far end of the building. “This one will bring you out on the right level, but not immediately by the barrier.”

D.J. keyed in his code and then repeated it to Larem. “Use it to haul your ass back topside as soon as you find her. Be careful if you get near the fight. If things are as bad down there as they were last night at the mountain, it'll be hard to tell friend from crazy. Wouldn't want you to get skewered because some paper-pushing twit can't stay where she belongs. Your buddy Hunter would kick my ass off a cliff if I let that happen.”

Then the Paladin was gone, leaving Larem to his own mission. As the elevator carried him down into the darkness, he prayed he got to Sasha in time.

“Oh, God,” Sasha whispered, peeking around the corner at the barrier.

As the seconds ticked by, its energy continued to weaken, leaving no doubt that the Others were poised to pour across en masse as soon as the barrier crashed. She retreated to the dubious safety near the elevator, which still hadn't returned. After keying in her code, she pressed her ear to the cool metal, hoping to hear it coming.

Nothing.

Then the scream of the alarms echoed through the tunnels, calling the Paladins to defend their world. That
the cavalry was on its way was the good news. The bad news was that no civilian's security code worked on the elevators when there was fighting going on, not even hers. She'd have to wait for the first load of Paladins to disembark before she could ride the elevator back up to safety.

But only if it got to her before those . . . those animals did. Had the barrier failed completely? She inched her way to the edge of the outcropping. Mustering her courage, Sasha peeked around the corner only long enough to confirm her worst nightmares stood but a few feet away. The center of the barrier was ripping apart, leaving enough room for the Others to pour through.

Except for their clothing, they looked human, at least at first. But on closer inspection, that pasty gray skin and those freaky pale eyes set them apart. Some hollered at the top of their lungs as they charged across, the guttural sounds pure gibberish to her ear. But there was no mistaking the hatred in their voices. They gradually spread out, curved blades clenched in their fists, looking for a fight.

So far, none had turned in her direction, but it was only a matter of time before some of them came looking for the fastest way to the surface. She slipped off her high heels and gripped one in each hand, knowing they would provide little protection against anyone armed with a sword. But if she pegged someone in the head, it might distract a pursuer long enough to give her time to get away.

She had no idea where she'd end up, but standing
there by the elevator was sure suicide. As soon as one of the Others came any closer, she'd be trapped. Hoping the blare of the alarms would hide the sound of her footsteps, she started moving away from the barrier, first slowly and then faster and faster.