Darkest Knight (18 page)

Gus snorted and so did Aydin. I’d almost forgotten he was still here.

“You see?” Gus said, giving Aydin a friendly pat on the arm. “My friend here agrees with me. In my opinion, it’s a fool’s errand to help this man-child.”

“Give him a chance. Kids like him are notorious for making bad choices. I just hope he grows up to make better ones.” Speaking of choices, I should inspect Evan’s clothes to see what he’d chosen to take from the ruins.

I patted his coat pocket and found the flying charm. “Eureka!” I held up the feather.

Gus frowned. “So that’s what he was doing? Stealing charms?”

“And curses,” I said. “The feather he got from somewhere else. But he was in the fatherhouse to take whatever he could find.”

Gus’s eyes sparked with interest and he ran a long-fingered hand along the inside of Evan’s coat. Aydin watched him, his feline nose twitching with interest.

“If you find anything, hand it over,” I told him, nodding at Aydin, who nodded back. We were both concerned that Gus might consider Zee’s ghost less payment than he deserved. Especially since I wouldn’t let him eat it in front of me.

Gus suddenly jerked his hand back. “Ouch!”

“What happened?”

When he lifted out the ebony mirror inscribed with some familiar symbols, I almost dropped the flying charm. It was the Aztec scrying mirror I had used to summon my father.

He handed me the mirror and stuck the side of his thumb in his mouth. “Cut myself on a sharp edge.”

“Oh.” I glanced down at the drop of blood he’d left on the mirror, but didn’t stare at it for long. The last time I did that I was hypnotized by the enchantment contained inside the artifact. This was neither a charm nor a curse, but a tool for angel evocation. I had no clue how or why Evan had it, but I knew where it came from. The Vyantara.

nineteen

WE DROPPED EVAN OFF AT HIS “NEST” SINCE
we didn’t know where his parents lived, or if he even had parents. He wasn’t conscious when Aydin carried him to the pile of ratty old pillows and blankets on the theater’s abandoned stage. The rest of the rats had left. He gave Evan a mental suggestion to ensure he didn’t remember being possessed. That way he had no recollection of a gargoyle, either. The less info he could deliver to the Vyantara, the better.

“But if they find out he no longer has the scrying mirror, that could be a problem,” I told Aydin.

The two of us stood inside the basement of the fatherhouse ruins. He’d remained solid in gargoyle form so that he could pry off the welded door from the safe. Being that he couldn’t speak, our conversation was one-sided.

Aydin used a talon to make a circling motion over his head.

“Yeah, they’re crazy enough to hurt him, or worse. But there’s a chance they weren’t the ones who gave it to him.”

He held out his hands and shrugged.

“I don’t know where else he could have gotten it from. Maybe he bought it on eBay.”

Aydin folded his arms and tapped a clawed foot on the concrete floor.

“Okay, probably not. But he could have bought it off the black market. The Vyantara aren’t the only ones who deal in the buying and selling of enchanted artifacts.” I’d run into competition more than once during my years as a thief.

He sighed and headed for the melted safe.

My heart pounded. This was it. The changing charm would make Aydin human again and we could finally start living our lives together like we were meant to. So much of magic required belief to make it work. I believed, thanks to Aydin’s encouragement, but I wasn’t so sure Aydin thought this charm could help him.

He stood rigid with his feet apart to brace himself and hooked his talons into the space between the rock wall and the safe’s door. Arms shaking, his muscles rippled beneath his fur and he growled so low and deep that I felt it vibrate in my chest. There was a screech of tortured metal followed by a loud pop, and then Aydin held a three-foot-square metal door in his fisted claws.

I rushed over to peer into the hole. The key lay apart from the small boxes and large envelopes stacked inside. The old iron charm was pitted and showed signs of wear, and the distinctive wolf’s head bared its teeth as it howled silently at an unseen moon.

A chill of both rapture and dread rippled through me. Though happy about this rare opportunity for Aydin, the magic was tainted by a dark curse thousands of years old. I only wished I knew more about what it did.

I found a tattered canvas bag sticking up from a pile of rubble and placed the contents of the safe inside. I didn’t touch the changing charm. “I’ll look through all this later with Quin. It could prove valuable enough to keep.”

Aydin reached for the charm and I grabbed his paw. “Don’t touch it.”

He turned to face me and tilted his head sideways like a dog that’s heard a high-pitched sound. His body faded to his ghost self and he took a step forward to merge with me.

You don’t trust the changing charm.

I released a mental sigh.
No.

His eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.
Me neither, but you already knew that. I don’t know much about it, but I do know that werewolves have used it to force the change. It’s been said the charm works on anyone, not just werewolves, but I imagine there are side effects.

I hadn’t thought about that.
What kind of side effects?

He shrugged.
Maybe it changes more than physical appearance. What if it changes a person’s personality? Or what if it turns them into something they’re not prepared to be?

I shuddered at the thought of Aydin’s sweet nature becoming savage or cruel, or instead of human he became a were animal of some kind. It wasn’t worth the risk.

I doubt it would work on me anyway,
Aydin said.

Maybe, maybe not.
I still wanted to keep it. Better it stay with us than go back to the Vyantara.

You must admit that lately I’ve been more useful as a gargoyle than human. How else could I have taken you away from the Canadian fatherhouse or helped you rescue that boy from the cellar? Not to mention today.

He had a point and I grudgingly agreed.

I felt like someone had let all the air out of my balloon. I’d been so hopeful that we’d found a cure, yet it could be an even worse curse than the one I’d survived. I hoped there was information with the other safe documents that told more about the charm.

I slid the iron key into one of my leather gloves and stuffed it in the bag.

* * *

After a good day’s sleep, I was ready to review my treasures from the Vyantara’s safe. Quin and I sat in the small storage room in back of Elmo’s Coffee Shop. My recent discoveries were spread out on the cot Elmo kept there for guests, the last one having been Quin, who had been dead at the time of his visit. Now that he was alive and well, his living arrangements had been transferred to Elmo’s home. But memories of him waking from death still unsettled me.

“Past history, Chalice,” Quin told me as he leafed through the papers from one of the envelopes. “Stop letting it bother you so much.”

“I can’t help it.” I slid a VHS tape from one of the envelopes. The label said it was a recording of a ghostly encounter three decades ago. “It feels like it happened only yesterday.”

“You’re not that far off,” he said absently, and a slow grin spread across his lips. “Well, I’ll be damned. Here’s a recipe for perfume made from blood.”

“Really?” I scanned the typed recipe card, its edges browned with age. A dark stain in the corner had me guessing it came from the perfume’s main ingredient. What a great gift for the Vyantara to offer their enemies. A perfume or cologne this potent would attract vampires from hundreds of miles away.

“Hello.” Quin snatched a page from the top of his paper stack. “What’s this? Looks like a list of names.”

I leaned sideways to check what he had found. The names at the top had a line drawn through them and one of those names belonged to Quin. “Appears to be a list of prospects,” I said. Written beside each one was a supernatural ability or unique skill of some kind. These people had been targeted for recruitment. The list didn’t surprise me, but the handwriting did. I recognized Gavin’s pretentious scrawl. “This entire collection appears to have been Gavin’s private stash. I bet the rest of the Vyantara don’t even know it exists.”

“That would explain why the safe’s contents were still there when you found it.”

“Yeah.” I lifted a folder that had Maria’s name on it. Too bad it was empty. “So Gavin knew about Maria. Figures.”

“The man was filled with secrets. It’s too bad he took most of them to the grave with him.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, at least not the grave part. Which made me wonder what the Vyantara had done with his remains. After seeing his creepy shadow swirling around a vortex meant to suck me in, I now knew part of him had stuck around. Should I be worried?

I tugged the onyx scrying mirror from my jacket pocket and handed it to Quin. “We found this on Evan.”

“Wow.” Quin ran a finger over the carvings on the handle. “How do you think he got it?”

“No idea. I’m fairly sure Gavin was the last to have it. It should have been among his other supersecret goodies in the safe.”
Now
I was worried.

“Anyone who was at the summoning ritual could have gotten their hands on this.”

True. But everyone who had attended was now dead. With the exception of Barachiel and me.

“I need to know where this came from,” I told Quin as I reclaimed the mirror. “The only one who might know is my father.”

Quin pinned me with a serious stare. “You planning on performing another summoning?”

“Absolutely.” I needed more from Barachiel than just to satisfy my curiosity. As a fallen angel, it was possible he could help me find Maria.

I went to my room and gathered the supplies I’d need for my journey and the summoning ritual.

Since I’d be venturing into a dangerous place, I felt obligated to let Rafe know my plans. He deserved that much, and I wouldn’t have the chance to say goodbye to my grandparents or sister knights. Maybe Rafe could be reassigned to another knight because I certainly couldn’t give him what he wanted.

It would be best to meet up with him at the cathedral where he could open the veil with no problem.

I wanted to walk there, but Quin insisted on driving me. We never knew when Maria would pop up, or even how she found the knights to begin with. It was like she had a homing device to track us. I figured she used black magic her father taught her.

“When will you be back?” Quin asked when he dropped me off outside the cathedral.

“I don’t know.” The concern on his face made him look like a lost puppy. “Time may work differently on the other side of the veil. I could be back in an hour or a year.”
Or never.
But I felt no need to worry him.

Once inside Geraldine’s shrine, I sent Rafe a mental message that I needed to speak to him. The silver surface of the veil appeared almost immediately and Rafe walked out into the peaceful garden room looking like a million bucks. He hadn’t scrimped on the finest in men’s fashion: sports coat with a turned-up collar, thick wool scarf, twill pants, neatly pressed, and a cable-knit sweater thick as a blanket. He smelled good, too.

“I was hoping you’d call,” he said, his smile only a bare grin. “I wanted to apologize for what I’d said to you.”

I shrugged. “I’ve already forgotten.” Which was partly true. Our friendship was now strained thanks to him, but I’d been too focused on recovering charms and finding Maria to think much about our fight. I had more important things on my mind. “I thought I should let you know where I’m going.”

He scowled. “Don’t tell me you’re running off to do something stupid.”

“Not stupid, just necessary.” I took a step toward the doorway and tilted my head in a request that he join me. “Walk me to the ruins and we’ll talk along the way.”

He hesitated, then matched my steps as we made our way up the stairs and out the door into the frigid night. “Thank you for allowing me to guard you for at least a little while.”

I laughed. “There’s only so much you can do, Rafe. I’d ask you to come with me, but you can’t go where I’m going. You’d self-destruct or melt or something.”

He grinned. “Or something.”

I hooked my arm through his as we walked down the street. “Try not to worry. I have Rusty’s fire and my knives to protect me.”

“The squires have been asking about you.”

“That’s nice.”

He nodded. “You made quite an impression.”

“Let them know their training is far from over. There will be homework and tests.”

“I’ll be sure to tell them.”

We walked in silence for a few blocks, Rafe’s eyes turning to look to the side and behind us almost constantly. He’d get a kink in his neck if he kept that up. But the night was quiet, traffic was light, and the streets were empty of people. My senses told me we were alone, but that didn’t stop Rafe from taking his guardian duties seriously.

“Is he going with you?” Rafe asked me.

“If you mean Aydin, yes, he is. He shouldn’t have any trouble crossing to the other side. We each have one foot over there already.” I glanced up at Rafe’s face. He wasn’t amused. “Lighten up and don’t be so jealous.”

“I’m not jealous.” He sounded like he meant it. “I’m traditional. I have an obligation to the Arelim and to the knights to maintain proper order within our ranks. You make that very difficult to do.”

I sighed. “Rafe, times have changed. You need to change with them or you’ll get left behind.” We had arrived at the ruins and I stopped to look up at him. “Tell my grandparents that I miss them and I’ll see them soon.”

The weight of his stare made me uncomfortable. “Be careful,” he said.

“I will.”

A rustling noise came from the broken steps leading up to the fatherhouse entrance. Dark as it was, I had no trouble recognizing Maria’s faceless silhouette and her hooded cloak billowing around her ankles.

I grabbed my throat and gasped for air, but there was no need. Shock at seeing her is what took my breath away, not Maria herself. She appeared to study me as if watching me under a microscope. Like the specter of death itself, she stood still and completely unconcerned. Why should she worry? She had nothing to fear because no one could hurt her. At least not as far as I knew, though everyone had his or her kryptonite.

Rafe tensed beside me and I tightened my grip on his arm. “She’s not doing anything,” I whispered.

“Yet.” His body hardened and I knew he would sprout wings and grow a foot taller at any second.

“Don’t make a spectacle,” I told him. Even from this distance I sensed Maria’s loneliness. Arrogant and thoughtless, yes, but there had to be more inside that sociopathic head of hers. After centuries of life spent in darkness, this world outside the veil must be new to her. It intrigued her. Though I marginally understood how she might feel, it was no excuse for murder. “She’s not surprised to see you with me, Rafe. She doesn’t feel threatened and she apparently has no plan to take action.”