Darkness Unbound (7 page)

“What’s going on?”

“Shhh. I can’t bring Kira in here to fix you. Too exposed. Too popular an area right now. So we’re going to have you out in a few minutes. On my count, the lights are going down. There will be a ten-second delay before back-up lighting kicks in. In those ten secs we gotta get from here to halfway down the stairs.”

“Don’t think I can walk. I can barely breathe.”

Christian smiled. “There are advantages to being a magus. One is speed. The other is strength.” His phone dinged again. He unlatched the restraints while counting, “Five, four, three, two, one.”

The room went black. Air rushed from her lungs in a moment of holy-shit-that-hurts when her injured ribs hit his shoulder. Before she could register how much his running jarred her pain into the stratosphere, the lights popped on. He took a flight of stairs a second. Her stomach lurched. She swallowed against the nausea, but her stomach didn’t care.

“Puke,” she warned.

“No, you damn well won’t on me.” He halted and held her to the side while her stomach emptied.

Without warning, he slung her over a shoulder again, and jostled down another flight. He cornered into a hospital hall and onto the elevator where Nate, dressed in scrubs, waited with a gurney. Christian dropped her onto the rolling bed, and covered her in a sheet.

As the elevator car zoomed downward Nate announced, “You’re late.”

“I hauled ass,” Christian replied, “but she had to have a puke break.”

After the ding of two floors, the elevator lurched to a stop.

“What’s going on?” Christian asked.

Nate reached for the control panel. Shocks flew from his hand. Fire roared from the number-pad. “Shit.”

“I can’t believe Ashor saddled me with the newbie fuckhead,” Christian muttered as he shouldered Astrid and stood on the gurney to push open the ceiling escape panel.

As he crawled onto the top of the elevator car behind Christian, Nate declared, “I’m no longer the newbie.” He waved at Astrid.

Christian pointed upwards, at the light peeking through the door opening at an elevator landing a few feet above. He lifted Astrid, indicating she hold onto his neck while he climbed. “When Astrid tries to charbroil me in an elevator, then I’ll call her the newbie.”

“Go to hell,” Nathan grumbled.

“You just tried to send all of us there,” Christian snarled. “I take getting torched in an elevator personally.”

“What happened in there?” Astrid asked as Christian started his ascent.

Christian moved upward, fast. “Mr. Firestarter over there had a malfunction. He’s got like zero control over his electrical ability. Just count your lucky stars that we’re not on an airplane right now. He tried to drown us a few days ago by crashing the plane into the ocean.”

Nate said from below them, “I did not have anything to do with the plane crash. Even Scott admitted there was probably computer tampering.”

Christian cursed. “Why the hell are you here without Dakar anyway? At least Dakar can stop the fires, when you screw up.”

“We get a special power when inducted into magus-dom?” She bit her lip to suppress a smile when Nate flashed his middle finger upward at Christian.

“Yeah.” Christian pried open the elevator doors, which opened onto a busy floor.

A thirty-something nurse in pink scrubs marched toward them. “What’s going on?”

Nate replied as he climbed through the door, “She’s a transfer. Just loading her on a bus, ma’am. But the elevator got stuck.”

Christian said in smooth tone, “We’ve got to get going. Thank you for your help. Why don’t you get back to your duties.”

The nurse smiled dreamily at Christian and giggled.

Christian plunked Astrid onto a new gurney with all the care of a dog tossing its favorite toy. Lacerating pain spiked through her chest when her ribs hit. Stars lit up her peripherals.

Christian texted on his phone.

As they began to wheel the gurney away, the nurse followed, still glued to Christian with moony-eyes.

Christian groaned. He swept off his surgical head cap and ran a hand through his hair. With a slow pivot, he grinned at the nurse and touched her forearm. “Thank you, Cindy. I appreciate you offering your assistance, but we can take it from here, darling. Your patients are lucky to have your help.”

Cindy giggled like a teenager. “Would you like to grab dinner later?”

Christian leaned in and whispered in her ear. He kissed her cheek and pulled away.

Cindy caressed his forearm and stumbled down the hallway grinning like she’d won the lottery.

“Guess I’m not the only one that’s a little off today?” Nate smirked.

Astrid chuckled at Christian’s exasperated snort. Fire alarms screeched. Christian said, “I texted Scott to call the fire department. Last thing we want is this place’s oxygen blowing sky high. What floor was this?”

“Four,” Nate said.

Christian pushed around a corner, swerving to avoid a collision with another gurney. “Another elevator, then. And this time, Nate—”

“Yeah, I know,” Nate interrupted, clicking more times than necessary on the down call button for the service elevator.

As they stepped into the elevator, Christian muttered, “I will kill you if you set this one on fire.”

Nate texted while Christian pushed the gurney out of the elevator and onto the basement loading dock. He gripped Astrid’s forearm and asked, “You think you can walk about a hundred yards to the car?”

Astrid pushed up to a sit, disregarding her vertigo, and put her feet on the ground. When she attempted to stand, her knees buckled. “Nope.”

The elevator next to theirs opened. Colonel Greene and five agents emerged, guns drawn. The colonel ordered, “Halt. Or we will shoot.”

“Nate, get in the car,” Christian ordered.

Nate ran. Two agents shot. Astrid saw one bullet tear into Nate’s shoulder, but he didn’t stop. Her ex-boss’s gaze narrowed on hers. She’d been judged a dissenter, and now a hostile. The colonel fired, but Christian blocked the path of the bullet. He swung Astrid into his arms and bolted for the SUV. The loud blasts of semi-auto gunfire echoed around them.

Christian cranked open the side door and threw her into the back seat. He dove onto the floor. The car squealed out of the emergency loading dock. Bullets whizzed through the vehicle’s door.

Bullet wounds leeched blood and saturated Christian’s scrub top. A glance around found Khyan at the wheel and Nate reclining in the passenger seat, unconcerned.

“Help me, Nate. He’s going to bleed out,” Astrid demanded.

Nate leaned around the front passenger seat. “You okay down there, C?”

“Yeah, I’m having a goddamned tea party.” Christian pushed off the floorboard and gingerly sat next to her.

“What can I do for you? Are you going to die?” Astrid asked.

Christian glanced briefly over the areas bleeding onto his scrubs. “I think one might’ve hit something vital since I’m feeling light-headed, but they won’t kill me.”

“You’ve got at least six bullet wounds. We should be carting you back to the ER.”

He shot her a cocky smile. “Welcome to being a magus, darlin’. Only thing that can kill you is a daemon or one of us.”

“Or one of the gods,” Nate chimed in from the back.

“Or your soulmate,” Khyan added.

“Don’t you feel pain?” She pointed at his bloody scrubs.

“Hell, yeah.”

“Then, why’d you do something so insane?”

Christian shrugged. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

She stared in silence, floored that this guy who barely knew her just took bullets to save her. “Why’d you come for me? I mean, the Company would’ve taken me back.”

Christian replied without opening his eyes, “You’re one of us now. We don’t leave anyone behind. Ever. Besides, Kane has been texting me about every two seconds to see if you’re alive. Him upset actually scares me more than a couple of bullets.”

Her chest constricted at the thought of Kane’s concern. God, she missed him. She said, “Not that I’m not thankful, but what’s going on? One minute I’m drunk in a bar, and the next I’m in a car that gets pushed off an overpass?”

Christian’s voice lowered to that silky tone. “Calm down.”

“Stop it. I know you’re doing some sort of strange mind-coercion thing. I need answers.”

“All right, sorry. Yeah, Khyan and I had a little complication getting home last night. Hashishins ambushed us and summoned a daemon.” Christian shifted to get comfortable. “This is exactly the reason we’re relocating to Mexico. I hate those annoying Hashishin bastards.”

“Really?” she asked skeptically. Khyan’s gaze caught hers in the rearview.

Khyan nodded. “Yeah, really. The fuckers road blocked us on the overpass that leads to home. While Christian and I fought the daemon, Hashishins rammed the car with you in it off the overpass onto the Interstate. You got front ended, rear ended, and pretty much crunched. In fact, I’m shocked you survived.”

“I can’t die.” Yet another lost death moment.

“What does that mean? You’re human. You can die,” Christian said.

Astrid slumped back into the seat. “I’ve tried everything. I’ve been injured by anything you can imagine over the past few years. Nothing will kill me. Is this a part of being a magus?”

“Maybe once you’re actually inducted,” Christian said.

“So it’s not normal. I figured that. Whatever. My life is a fun fest of weird.” The small blade in her right hand cut into her palm. She relaxed her grip.

“Why don’t you chill,” Christian suggested. “We’ll be home soon.”

She closed her eyes. Sleep hit instantly.

Chapter Five

Zannis massaged his forehead as he pushed to a sit. He peered into blinding brilliance.

Light? He expected the darkest pit of the underworld where the spirit soul-eaters were to hack his soul on a daily basis.

Lush farmed fields of green surrounded him for as far as he could see. A well-maintained dirt road stretched out behind him where he sat on the bank of an endless body of water. He shielded his eyes with a hand, squinting into the blazing sun’s hues of orange and red where it rested low on the horizon. For a moment he appreciated the sunset’s beauty.

An enormous wooden ship moved on the turbulent green waters, nearing. A myriad of colors glittered from its bejeweled sides, deck, and mast—amethyst, emerald, jasper, turquoise, lazuli, and gold.

As it neared, he fell to his knees in utter awe. The
Mesektet
Boat—the vessel that shunted the king of all gods, Amun-Ra, into and through the kingdom of Osiris. The father he’d never met could be upon that boat. As a magus, his eternal reincarnation dictated that he never be granted passage into the halls of Osiris’s afterlife, which meant he was not supposed to travel upon this vessel. But his situation had changed. Maybe he’d finally get the peace of death.

Would he be invited aboard? Perhaps, the gods had already decided which
duat
or region of the underworld they would deposit him to start his journey toward Osiris’s halls. Seven regions existed, at least according to myth. Each had horrors and a challenge to be faced before he could pass on to the next level. Once he had passed through all seven levels, then he’d arrive at Osiris’s Kingdom. Heaven. Realistically, this boat was but a vehicle to channel him to his torture.

The vessel halted close by as if a magikal anchor stopped it in its tracks. A tall deity appeared less than five feet in front of him. Zannis squinted into the being’s radiance to ascertain which god stood before him to judge. A striking multicolored
wesekh
adorned the deity’s otherwise naked chest. The tattoo upon the male’s left shoulder was an
ankh
, a T with a circle attached to the top. Identity mystery solved.

Zannis’s knees hit the rough rocks of the road, but he was too awed to bow his head.

“Zannis, son of Amun-Ra,” the god said, his voice booming inside Zannis’s head.

How did he address this multi-named god?
Zannis thought.

The god chuckled. “I have gone by many names.
Sheps,
Lord of
Khemennu, Khenti, Hab
, Thoth,
A’an
. ’Tis your choice.”

“My Lord Thoth, I am deeply honored. Where should I proceed to accept the fate that has been chosen for me?”

“Ah, yes, your path. That certainly remains a conundrum, given the yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecy that requires you propagate, and the fact you are now in the Lower Realm, yet technically not dead.”

Zannis glanced up sharply. He knew little of this so-called prophecy other than it had to do with his son, or at least Amun-Ra’s grandson. Whether it was he or Aneksi that bore the child remained unclear. Now that Thoth had confirmed he was the one destined to be a parent, what was this child was supposed to do?

Thoth smiled. “We are to journey. For now.”

With a flick of Thoth’s arm, Zannis stood upon the main deck of the ship. He asked, “Where are we? Which
duat
?” He circled a three-sixty in search of the god.

Thoth materialized to his left. “We are in
Ouranos
.”

The second
duat
of seven. Supposedly, this was a happy region whose inhabitants farmed.

“We are headed to the next
duat
,” Thoth announced.

The third region was not so beautiful. Creatures of his darkest nightmare awaited.

****

Astrid cracked her eyelids. She quickly yanked the airplane window shutter closed. Low light…much better. She rested her head against the seat back while the world spun and her skull throbbed. At this point she was fed up with the head pains.

Were they from the liquor binge or the hospital fiasco? Apparently the miraculous healer, Kira, couldn’t cure it. The healer must’ve done her thing since her ribs no longer ached.

She massaged her forehead. Had she really faced Zannis? She struggled to piece together the few hazy images. Zannis’s deep drawl of her name ricocheted through her brain.
Oh my,
she had faced him. What had she said?

The spinning in her brain climaxed with a stomach clench.
Damn it
, she was also tired of puking. She put a hand over her mouth and shot to a stand.