Everlasting (Night Watchmen, #1) (37 page)

Weldon’s behind Mack, pulling him down and out of Jaxen’s hands. The look he shoots Jaxen is enough to make Jaxen take a step back, but his fists remain balled, his breathing heavy. “There, there, brother,” Weldon says with mock concern. He dusts Mack’s shoulders off, fixing him back up. “You know how these young Hunters can be so temperamental, especially when their partner… I mean, love interest is in danger.”

Mack throws Weldon’s hands away and turns to face Jaxen. He looks like a raging bull. “Do not EVER disres
pect me like that again, or I’ll have you carted off to Ethryeal City where the Priesthood can judge you.”

Jaxen clenches his fists tighter, so tight I fear his skin will rip. I grab his hand, pulling him closer to me, trying to relax him, trying to keep him safe from Mack.

“I think your means of negotiation and bribery are lacking in the charm department,” I say, directing the attention away from Jaxen and on to me. “You caught us off-guard.”

Mack laughs bitterly, his eyes two ovals of knowledge I can’t even begin to fathom. “I’m sorry, but in this business, there is no charm. Only death. It’s either you or your foe. Now
, if you will all sit back down, we can continue this plan. Time is of the essence, and we are running out of it. In case you forgot, your deadline for saving your parents is tonight’s full moon.”

I fall into my seat, my words swallowed and crushed by truth.

His eyes shut momentarily, and he releases a small sigh. “It seems the Priesthood has known all along where the other half of the Dagger was placed. They’ve just been waiting for the opportune moment to strike...when the Everlasting would surface and unveil the whereabouts of the other half of the Dagger.

“You will head to the remote recesses of the woods off of Whiskey Hallow Road. There’s an area where there were sacrificial ceremonies held to worship Demons. That’s where Mourdyn had gone to make his deal with Bael, the Demon leader of the Underground, and it’s where he was found by the Divine while trying to raise Bael’s entire sixty-six Legion Army. It’s also where the other half was buried.”

“Great, so since I have no real choice in the matter, how are we going to get there before the full moon?” I ask, feeling like time has become my enemy.

Weldon clears his throat, quieting everyone. “I think you’re all forgetting about someone.” His finger hovers over his head, pointing to himself.

Gavin grins like a fool. “Gear up, boys. Looks like we’re Shadow Walking.”

“What exactly is Shadow Walking?”
I ask, feeling thrilled but also terrified.

“It’s how Demons move around town,” Weldon quickly explains, his voice as dark as his expression. “You walk into a shadow and it takes you to another somewhere else.” He pauses and scratches the back of his head. “It’s, well, it’s one of the few perks that came with what they did to me.”

“Right,” I say, feeling bad for asking. It’s obvious that what happened to him in the Underground was more traumatizing than one could imagine. The fist of reality punches a hole through my heart at that thought. And that’s where my parents are. Suffering. Possibly hooked up to the very same machine I could be used for.

“So we’re just going to walk through shadows and potentially kill ourselves? All for her parents?” Jezi asks, arms crossed. She whips her head around to Mack, her dark hair fanning out like silken fabric. “I’m not down for this. In fact, I want no part in this.”

Mack’s quick to respond. With a dull, tired look he says, “Then go to Ethryeal City and explain yourself to the High Priesthood.”

She seethes in place, but clamps her mouth shut.

“All right, everyone. Gather around,” Weldon says. We all move in front of a large shadow. “We all know the risks involved with the trip we’re about to take. Some of us may not come back.”

“What makes you say that?” Gavin asks. “You’ve got the best Hunters and set of Witches in town. Have a little faith.”

Jezi snorts.

Weldon looks unimpressed. “The Darkyn Leaders didn’t just tell you about the Dagger without reason. They knew we’d come back to Mack and be set on this path. They’ve been preparing for this. In the past, they were notorious for fighting alongside of Demons. Bael has to know by now. He might even be leading this merry band of robbers.”

“So then, what do you suggest?” Jaxen asks, all ears.

Weldon looks at Mack, who’s still sorting through the papers on his table. “We need as many Demon-killing weapons as possible.”

Mack extends his hand out toward a wall, and without looking up, he says, “What’s mine is yours.”

Weldon walks over to the wall and places his palm on it. Bright white light shines in what looks like the seams of a door, and then a knob appears. I inch forward, trying to keep my mouth from hanging open. Weapons of every shape and size line the walls and clutter the table in the center of a room the size of a walk-in closet. There are small glass vials filled with what I assume is holy water, large aluminum cans labeled salt, other cans with brick dust, strange looking daggers and swords, sawed-off shot guns, hand guns, throwing stars...everything you can imagine. Everything a Night Watchman needs.

I run my hand along one of the daggers that doesn’t feel anything like a flux. A shadow seems to pass over the blade as I touch it. “What is this?” I ask, entranced by it.

“A Shadowblade,” Weldon says. “Unlike stabbing a Demon in its stigma and sending it back to Hell, this is used to kill a Demon permanently. They’re extremely hard to come by since they’re crafted by Angels, and we don’t necessarily have them on speed dial. There are only ten that we know of. Mack was somehow lucky enough to come across one.”

“A perk of being a wise Elder who has a knack for collecting things,” Mack says, rocking on his toes and heels and smiling like someone showing off a figurine collection.

“Can we use it?” I ask, pulling it off the rack without permission. It’s too pretty not to. The dagger’s round rather than flat, and the hilt sparkles as if made from diamond. With every movement, shadows seem to swirl inside of the blade.

Mack carefully takes it from my hands. “This, I’m afraid, is too dangerous for the lot of you. Every Demon it’s ever killed resides within this dagger. If it fell in the wrong hands, we’d be that much more in danger.” He delicately puts it back. “But anything else in here is of use.” I settle on a hand gun and an extra flux. Gavin and Jaxen, however, fill a duffel bag each, while Jezi and Cassie grab three out of five bags hanging up on the wall.

“What are those?” I ask in awe. The fabric is light blue and woven like thick cloth, only it has a diaphanous quality to it.

“They’re bags made from phantom cloth,” Cassie explains as she opens the top of her bag. “It’s woven by Banshees we’ve trapped.”

“Banshees, right…” I say, my mind reeling back to an old Irish folktale I had read.

Cassie reaches for the vials of holy water, while Jezi shoves a bag into my chest. “Here. Put your things in here.”

“The bags are woven
and imbibed with a Banshees’ essence,” Cassie says, putting cans of salt in it now.

“That’s gross,” I say, feeling like a kid in a candy shop as I decide what to take with me.

“And just so you know, its depth can hold more than the average bag.” She demonstrates by shoving a sawed-off shot gun into it. It disappears into the bag. “Also, when you put it on, it becomes transparent and weightless. You won’t even realize it’s on. It hangs between our plane and the plane Banshees dwell in.”

I look down at my bag, trying not to see the minuscule stains of blood on the material, and grab everything that Cassie grabs. When we finish packing and storing everything we think we need, Mack hands me a map.

“What’s this?”

“A map to the cavern the Dagger is in. Just be on guard and alert. The dangers that await you have yet to been seen.”

I take it, memorizing every last detail before shoving it in my bag.

“It’s not too late to join us,” Weldon says, quirking up a knowing brow.

“I…I must remain here,” Mack quickly replies.

“Of course you do. You always do,” Weldon retorts. “Brother.” The word sounds like an insult. There’s a flicker of bitterness in his golden eyes.

Mack looks away from him. “Travel safe, and remember, in darkness we must be the light.” He walks past me and pats Jaxen and Gavin on the back, and then leaves the room, sitting blindly at his table.

“Let’s go,” Weldon says, shouldering past everyone. I look over at Jaxen. His smile’s sad. It hurts him to see his friend hurting. It’s the same way I feel about Katie.

We walk back over to the shadow and wait for Weldon. “You have to hold on to each other in order for this to work. I’ll take front. I want Faye behind me and Jaxen behind her. The rest doesn’t matter.”

“Gee, thanks,” Jezi says with a snort.

Weldon acts as if he doesn’t hear her. “Whatever you do, don’t let go unless I say to. It’ll take quite a few jumps. I can’t go as far as full-blooded Demons.” We all link up, one by one. My heart feels like it’s ready to beat right out of my chest. I feel like everything that has happened to me, every bit of my life and all of its unforgiving moments, has all led up to this moment. This is the moment that will change things forever. This is the beginning of the end.

With that final thought, Weldon steps forward, and then we disappear into the unknown. Into the shadows.

Being inside of shadows is
terrifying and exhilarating. The silence is thick, almost suffocating. The darkness is tangible and consuming, like slow drops of lead spreading through your veins and hardening you in place. But then we pass between shadows, and all at once, sounds and smells and sights strike me, making my stomach feel as if I’m doing continuous somersaults. The change is like being on a roller coaster, winding and dipping, curving and dropping, all without knowing what comes next. There’s no time to prepare for it.

Jaxen plants his hand firmly on my shoulder and whispers something in my ear. Every once in a while, he squeezes, and I know it’s his way of telling me he’s there and we’re okay. I focus on that instead of the darkness. It’s the only thing keeping me from hurling.

When I begin to think the jumping will never end, we finally slow until we stop and step out of the shadows. The earthy, damp scent of woods surrounds us, hugging us in welcome. Gravel and snow crunch underneath our feet. A creek is somewhere close by, the refreshing, cold water rushing over rocks. Clouds of white hang in the air as everyone slows their breathing and takes in our surroundings. There isn’t much to look at except for bare trees and white, snowy earth.

I pull the map Mack gave me out of my pocket, along with a compass to pinpoint our exact location. I had only learned how to do this once, and it was when I was twelve years-old with my father. Holding them together now, the memories rush over my rationality and my hands begin to shake. Jaxen stills them with his, and slowly takes the map and compass from me.

Distant, mystifying sounds of the eerily quiet forest fill me. It’s so dark, so haunting. I can sense the unsettled spirits around us, circling, just waiting for a chance to enter the plane of the living once again. Cassie moves closer to Gavin and whispers something to him while Weldon stands over Jaxen’s shoulders and watches the compass. Jezi’s eyes are flitting in every direction, nerves written all over her face. She must feel me looking at her because she looks over at me with tension in her eyes.

“This place is dark. It’s haunted,” she says, pulling her arms tight around herself. “I don’t like it one bit. If the Darkyn Rebels show up, we’ll have no way of knowing. They’ll blend in with the land’s dark taint.”

“It’ll be okay,” Cassie says, reaching out to rub Jezi’s arm. “We can handle it. We have to.”

“It’s that way,” Jaxen says a second later, pointing straight through the barren forest, past the lifeless trees, to a dark hollow spot. “But you’re going to have to read the land for the exact location. Mack only marked the area he thinks it’s in.”

“Great,” Jezi says with heavy sarcasm. “‘Cause risking being infected by one of the many spirits haunting this area is exactly the kind of added drama we need.”

“Can you try, for once in your life, to be positive about something? Just one thing?” Gavin says. “Seriously. We’re all stuck in this. Why not make the best of it?”

“Okay, everyone. Negative energy isn’t going to help,” Weldon says, looking around like he sees past what we cannot. “You’re attracting attention we don’t want.

Jezi huffs loudly and stomps forward in the direction Jaxen pointed us to. We take off after her, tromping through the snow and decayed foliage that muddle the ground. My boots sink with every step, requiring more muscle than I thought. We walk in silence for a while, following Jaxen’s lead, as he consults the map every so often. A long while later, he stops.

“This is the area that’s circled off. It’s somewhere close by.”

“Time to read the land, ladies,” Gavin says, wriggling his eyebrows.

Cassie drops down to the earth, digging her fingers into the snow. She closes her eyes, whispering words of magic.

“Here goes the dumbest decision of my life,” Jezi says before dropping to her knees. She starts doing the same. I join in, asking my Grimoire for the location spell. The moment it appears in my mind, I cast it, and then images flash behind my eyes. Images of the Great Battle. Seconds tick by as I try to absorb everything that moves in a blur. It feels like a pry bar is being taken to my brain, digging and tugging for hidden information.

I clench my eyes and jaw, crushing the snow into water. “It’s definitely in a cave,” I say, seeing a woman carrying what must have been the Dagger into darkness surrounded by rock. I open my eyes for a moment and see a dark hallow spot up ahead. A ghostly form of a lethally dressed woman steps into the darkness with something sharp gleaming in her hands. “There. It’s in there.”

“But something doesn’t feel right,” Gavin says, pulling Cassie to her feet. “My senses are out of whack.”

Jaxen grabs me by the arm and lifts me to my feet. His hand works across my back and down to my hip where my flux rests. He yanks it out and hands it to me. Shadows and fear fill his eyes, but he hides it behind a scowl. “You okay?” he asks.

“Of course,” I say, swallowing back my nerves. “There’s dark magic nearby, we’re finding a missing piece of history, and I have only a little while left until my deadline is met and my parents are killed. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

He looks like he doesn’t know what to say, his mouth opening and shutting. He rubs the back of his neck.

I grab his arm. “I’m sorry. I’m fine, really,” I say honestly. “Nothing I can’t handle.”