In Darkness Reborn (4 page)

Barak was not about to tell Devlin the truth, so he used the words Lacey had used to describe Barak's adverse reaction to the mountain. “Altitude sickness. Dr. Sebastian and I made a trip up to Mount Rainier today. Evidently I have not adjusted enough to this world yet to handle the extreme elevation. I should be fine after I eat.”

As if his words had conjured the pizza delivery out of thin air, the doorbell rang again. He resigned himself to having a Paladin for a dinner companion. At least he'd ordered an extra-large pizza, figuring on eating the leftovers for a day or two.

Good manners in this world dictated that he ask, “Would you care to join me for dinner?”

Eyeing the large box, Devlin responded, “What kind did you order?”

“Vegetarian.” Barak hid a smile, waiting for Devlin's reaction.

Just as he expected, Devlin looked thoroughly disgusted. “Laurel has definitely been a bad influence on you, but I can choke some down. I missed lunch today, and Laurel had to cancel our dinner plans.”

Barak set the pizza box on the coffee table and brought two plates in from the kitchen. “Help yourself.”

Neither of them felt the need to maintain polite conversation while they consumed all but one piece of the savory pizza. Devlin eyed the remaining wedge, then smiled at Barak.

“Since it's your pizza, I'll leave that one for you.”

“How very generous of you. Now go home. I want to go to bed.”

The smile disappeared. “Do you need help?”

“No, I can manage alone.” Even if it killed him.

“Are you working tomorrow?” Bane asked as he picked up the pizza box and plates and carried them into the kitchen.

On another day, Barak might have protested, but it would take all the energy he had left just to make it to bed without crawling again. He pushed himself up out of the chair while Bane was out of sight.

“Yes, I am expected at ten o'clock. Dr. Sebastian is having me work the same hours she does until I learn my duties.”

Bane's green eyes saw too much. He started to offer a steadying hand, but he caught himself at the last second. “Did Dr. Sebastian tell you that her brother is a Paladin?”

Barak struggled to keep his voice neutral. “We met yesterday.”

The Paladin frowned. “I take it the experience wasn't exactly fun.”

“No, I enjoy having a street person jam a gun in my back and punch my jaw. I look forward to chatting with him again tomorrow.”

Devlin sighed. “That fool never makes it easy on himself. I'll have a talk with him.”

“That will not be necessary. The man was attempting to protect his sister. I would have done the same if the situation had been reversed.”

“You have a sister?”

Barak gritted his teeth for letting that slip out. “I didn't say that. I just meant that if I were to see an unknown Paladin approach a female that I cared about, I would have responded in a similar manner.”

“If it continues to be a problem, let me know.”

That wasn't going to happen. Either Penn Sebastian would learn to accept Barak or they would come to blows again. He couldn't have Bane or Laurel always standing between him and trouble. It would only make things worse for him.

Hiding the effort it took, Barak followed Devlin to the door. “I didn't think to ask. What caused Laurel to cancel your dinner plans?”

“One of the newer Paladins took a sword to the gut when the barrier went down yesterday. It's his first time with a major wound and he isn't handling it well. She was hesitant to leave him yet.”

“Do we know him?” Not that he cared. Much.

“Yeah, it was that boy you cut on the face the other day. Roy, I think she said his name was. He'll be fine in another day, but the first time you go down like that is tough.” Devlin opened the apartment door. “Keep me posted on your progress. And watch out for Penn. He might not be able to handle a sword, but he's a damn fine shot and throws a mean knife.”

“Thanks. I feel so much better now.”

Devlin's laugh was wicked. “You can handle him.”

Barak watched out the front window until Devlin drove away. The big Paladin was no longer his enemy, but he wasn't exactly a friend, either. It was difficult enough to live in this strange world, but not having anyone to confide in was the worst part. He should be used to it, because he'd been very much alone in his own world. It was a place of darkness, and secrets were a way of life.

But here, it seemed as if most people lived surrounded by the noisy camaraderie of coworkers, family, and friends. With a few notable exceptions, conversations ended abruptly when he walked by, only to resume again when he was out of hearing—or so they thought. Leave it to these humans to assume that because he looked like them, his senses were like theirs.

While his eyesight was no more keen than the average human's, his sense of smell and hearing were far more acute. If he had lashed out every time he'd overheard a snide remark, he would have been fighting from dawn to dusk. Such slights were not worth the effort. Besides, his own kind hated all humans, as if each one had been the same as the next; he could hardly blame the humans for feeling the same way.

His bed was calling. The sooner he crawled in between the sheets, the sooner this aching weariness would end.

For the first time, he had something to look forward to, working with Lacey Sebastian tomorrow. He owed her for her unexpected help coming down off the mountain. Without it he could have died up there on the steep slopes. She had obviously thought his illness had been due to the altitude. Perhaps that had been part of it, but geological phenomena of all kinds resonated deep inside him.

His body was not yet in tune with the pulse of the local mountains, and even a relatively quiet volcano such as Mount Rainier took some getting used to. Eventually he would be able to judge its mood without becoming ill. He could only hope that he could continue to hide his affinity for the moods of the mountains.

On that cheery note, he turned off the lights and sought out the refuge of his bed, hoping to dream about how it had felt to hold Lacey in his arms.

The shrill ring of the phone startled Ben, even though he'd been expecting the call. He let it ring a few more times before he answered.

“Hello.”

“Another shipment is coming in the next time the barrier drops.”

Ben swiveled his chair around to watch the door. It was unlikely that someone would enter his office uninvited, but he hadn't gotten this far by being careless. “Tell your friend that the quality of that last batch was crap. The damn stones fell apart a few hours after they arrived.”

The voice on the phone sounded completely indifferent. “I'll tell him, but I don't know how much control he has over what they bring.”

The older man shook his head. “I don't give a damn about his problems, and you can tell him so. I'm the one risking my neck here. If Devlin Bane or Blake Trahern manage to backtrack Ritter's trail, I'm a dead man. If you can't make it worth my while, I'm out of here.”

The silence coming across the phone line was chilly. “I believe I have reminded you in the past about not mentioning names. I do not like having to repeat myself.”

“Sorry, sir. I wasn't thinking.”

“Yes, you were,” the voice corrected. “But you were only thinking about yourself and not the big picture. We're all in this together. If you screw up, we all go down. I won't let that happen. Do I make myself clear?”

Hell, he should have retired two years ago. He should have said no when they'd first approached him. He should have stayed away from the track. There were a
lot
of things he should have done. Now all he could do was say, “Yes, sir. Very clear.”

“Good. I'm glad we have that settled. Is there anything else I should know about? How about that stinking Other? What is going on with him?”

“They keep shifting him around, probably because no one wants that filth around for long.”

“I hear he made a trip to the Missouri facility with Bane. No one seems to know why.” Again the silence hung heavily between them.

“I hadn't heard that. I suppose I could make a few inquiries, but I'm afraid that would draw unwanted attention to us. I do know he's been reassigned to the Geology Department. Perhaps I'll learn more about his movements now.”

“Good. He's a complication, and I hate complications.

“Yes, sir. I know.”

As if to throw a favored pet a bone, the caller said, “The money has been transferred into your account. The amount was slightly higher than expected.”

Ben took all the risks, yet he was supposed to act grateful for the few extra crumbs they threw him. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“See that you do.” Then the phone went dead.

Ben waited a few seconds, then dialed a number from memory. “I want to place a bet on Saturday's race.”

E
arly the next morning Barak stood down the street from the Center, holding a cup of Starbucks coffee and trying to blend in as the river of commuters swirled around him. A few muttering under their breath about him being in the way, but he had more important things to worry about than causing someone to be late for work.

How was he going to enter the Center without another confrontation with Penn Sebastian? He didn't give a damn about the Paladin, but after yesterday's fiasco on the mountain Barak didn't want to give Lacey Sebastian another reason to reject his help.

Unfortunately, Penn Sebastian was firmly planted near the entrance. Bracing himself, Barak finished off his coffee and dropped the cup in the trash. If he had to fight, he wanted both hands free.

He matched his pace to that of several other people headed in the same direction, hoping the small knot of strangers would provide cover until he had to make that final turn down the alley leading to the entrance. So far, his ruse seemed to be working since Penn's attention was directed toward the opposite end of the street.

Barak's luck held long enough for him to cross the street unnoticed, but at that moment Penn slowly turned his head to stare right at him. Had the Paladin been aware of him the entire time? Judging from the smug look on his face, it was entirely possible. Barak shed all attempts at blending in with the crowd and met the Paladin's angry gaze head-on.

Penn rose to his feet, ignoring the way the rest of the early-morning commuters stepped sideways to avoid contact with him. More than one yanked out their cell phones, perhaps to dial 911 for assistance if Penn made a threatening gesture in their direction. The poor fools had no idea just how dangerous Penn really was, or that Barak was at least his equal.

“I see you came back.” Penn's teeth flashed whitely against his grimy skin.

“I am expected.” Although not wanted.

“So my sister told me,” Penn sneered. “Seems you have a habit of letting women fight your battles for you, Other. First Dr. Young and now Lacey.”

That did it. Barak dropped all pretense of civilized behavior and went right for Penn's throat. “Keep their names out of this, Paladin.”

Penn grabbed Barak's wrists, trying to pull them away from his neck. His face was turning an interesting shade of red when another pair of hands appeared from behind Barak and yanked him back away from Penn.

Penn struggled to catch his breath. “I'll kill you for that. I meant what I said. Quit using my sister to hide behind.”

Trahern shook his head in disgust. “Shut up, Penn. As usual, you don't know what you're talking about.”

Barak stepped to the edge of the sidewalk to glare at Blake Trahern. Where had he come from? Judging from the look on Penn's face, he hadn't been aware of Trahern's approach, either.

“Go to hell, Trahern. This isn't any of your concern,” Penn spit out.

Obviously Barak wasn't the only one who brought out the worst in Penn.

“Been there; done that. We all have.” Trahern turned his ice-cold gaze in Barak's direction. “Bane sent me for you. He has something for you to look at.”

“Tell him I'm busy right now.” And if these two Paladins didn't get out of his way, he was going to be late. Barak started forward, turning his back on both Penn and Trahern.

Trahern's big hand clamped down on his shoulder and yanked him back a step, sending his temper soaring. If it took a street brawl to convince the Paladins to leave him alone, fine. He took a quick swing at Trahern, who managed to sidestep Barak at the last second, sending him barreling right into Penn. The two of them fought for their balance, barely managing to keep their feet.

Trahern separated them again, glowering at Barak. “Listen, Other, you want to go one-on-one with me fine, but not out here.”

“He won't be much of a challenge, Trahern. Not after I get finished with him.” Penn tried to shove Trahern out of his way, but the bigger man stood his ground.

Before they could outmaneuver him, a feminine voice entered the fray. “Damn it, Penn—I told you yesterday to leave Barak alone!”

Barak took advantage of Lacey's intervention to shove Penn, sending him stumbling into the street. A cab blared its horn as it swerved around him, while Barak tried to rein in his anger before he said something to Lacey he might regret.

Trahern intervened before Barak could string together anything coherent to say. “Dr. Sebastian, I was just looking for you. Devlin Bane would like to borrow Barak for a few minutes. One of us will make sure he gets back to your lab when we're done with him.”

“Gee, thanks for asking, Trahern.” Lacey glared at all three men equally. “Knowing Bane, he sent you here to kidnap Barak before he could report for duty. Fine. Take him if you have to, but tell Devlin that we've got work to do, so make it quick.”

After shooting them another dirty look, she walked away.

“That went well. I'm sure she's going to be in a pleasant mood the rest of the day.”

Trahern's dry comment eased the last of Barak's tension enough to allow him to regain control of his temper. He forced himself to stop admiring the feminine sway of Lacey's hips as she walked away from them. As much as he enjoyed the view, he was sure that Penn Sebastian wouldn't appreciate him staring after his sister.

“Shall we go find Devlin?” Barak put in. “I have a feeling the longer I'm gone, the worse her mood will be.”

Penn was already settling back down on the ground in his nest of filthy blankets. “Lacey carries a mean grudge, too. With any luck, she'll be waiting to gut you both with one of my old swords.” Then he closed his eyes and pretended to doze off.

Trahern jerked his head toward the other end of the alley. “Let's go.”

Barak fell into step next to Trahern. “If I might ask, how is Miss Nichols adjusting to life here in Seattle?”

Trahern's eyes warmed up a few degrees at the mention of his woman's name. “I'd guess better than you are.”

Considering the fact that Brenna had only traded one big city for another, that was no doubt true. Barak had stepped across a line to enter a new universe. He had to wonder about Brenna's taste in mates, but there was no doubting the strong feelings Trahern had for her. And from what Barak had heard, few had ever seen the tough Paladin smile until Brenna Nichols had brought him to heel. Although Barak had only met her briefly, he had no doubt that she was as strong a woman as Dr. Young.

Trahern keyed in the entrance code to the building, then stood back and allowed Barak to enter ahead of him. Inside, Barak waited for Trahern to lead him to Devlin Bane's office. He was surprised that he was being allowed to venture so far into the Paladins' stronghold without someone raising the alarm.

“What does Bane need me for?”

Trahern shrugged. “He told me to hunt you down. I did. That's all I know.”

The finality in his words discouraged any further discussion, leaving Barak no choice but to follow along beside Trahern in silence. Instead of worrying about what Devlin had in mind, he concentrated on his surroundings. It only made sense to be aware of any potential escape routes from the Center. He was relatively sure that neither Bane nor Trahern posed any real threat to him, but he couldn't say that for the majority of the Regent organization.

“Devlin's office is just ahead on the left.”

Trahern made an abrupt turn and walked back the way they'd come, leaving Barak to cross the last distance on his own. Cullen Finley looked up from his keyboard long enough to glare briefly in Barak's direction before turning his attention back to the screen full of numbers in front of him. D.J. was sitting next to Cullen, but he either hadn't noticed Barak's approach or else didn't care.

That was fine with Barak. He'd had enough of fighting Paladins for a lifetime. Besides, he wanted to get back to the geology lab and Lacey Sebastian. She might not like him any better than these guys did, but she was definitely easier on the eyes, to use one of Devlin's expressions.

He knocked on the office door. He could hear Bane talking, probably to someone on the phone, since he could discern only one heartbeat beyond the door. Although Barak couldn't make out what the person on the other end of the line was saying, Devlin wasn't liking it. Barak knocked again.

“Damn it, quit pounding on the door and come in!”

“Thank you as always for your courtesy,” Barak murmured as he entered and sat down in one of the chairs facing the desk.

Devlin shot him a dirty look as he paced back and forth across the room with his cell phone in his hand. Then he gestured toward a bunch of small bags piled in a messy stack on his desk.

Barak hadn't needed him to point them out. He'd felt their cold pull as soon as he'd stepped through the door. Rather than immediately examine them, he sat perfectly still and closed his eyes, ignoring the faint stirrings of power dancing over his skin.

Except for some residue, the bags were empty, but there was no denying they'd been used to transport more blue stones from his world. The thievery continued. He'd tried to warn the Guild elders, but they had not been willing to listen. Rather than police the barrier, they had claimed that no one would be so vile as to rob their already dark world of its remaining light.

Another lie, one of so many.

Because he would not show fear in front of Devlin Bane, he leaned forward and picked through the bags. Luckily, there was so little dust left in them that the glow his touch generated was almost too faint to be seen. When he heard the click of Devlin disconnecting his call, he dropped the bags and sat back, willing the small flickers of light from the dust to fade back into darkness before the Paladin noticed them.

Although Devlin had already seen Barak cause one stone to glow, he didn't know how rare that ability was among Barak's people. Or what other gifts came along with it.

“Those are from your side of the barrier.”

Barak wasn't sure if Devlin was making a statement of the truth as he knew it or asking a question. He chose to answer anyway.

“Yes, they are.”

“And the blue dust inside the bags comes from those stones like the one Jarvis showed us back in Missouri.”

Another non-question.

“I would assume so.”

“Don't try the enigmatic alien routine with me, Barak. Just remember: I'm the one who brought you into this world, and I can take you out again.”

He grinned. “I've been dying to say that to you.”

There was much about human humor that Barak didn't understand, so he remained silent and waited for Devlin to get to the point.

“Okay, seriously, I wanted to know if the bags themselves have any special significance in your world.”

Barak shook his head. “Not particularly. They are often used to carry personal belongings. Perhaps there might be a way to determine if they were all made by the same hand, if we were to run chemical tests on them. But without some kind of norms to compare them to, that would seem pointless.”

Devlin dropped down in his chair, making it squeak in protest. “I was afraid of that. We're grasping at straws here.”

Yet another expression that made no sense by itself, but the frustration in Devlin's voice spoke for itself. “May I take a couple of the bags to see if I can do anything with them?” Barak asked.

The Paladin studied the pile in the center of his desk for a few heartbeats before lifting his gaze to meet Barak's. He picked a couple of the bags at random and tossed them across to Barak.

“Why not?” Then he glanced past Barak to the door behind him. “Don't mention that I've given them to you.”

Barak understood Devlin's reasons for caution, but he didn't like it. Always being on the outside, first in his world and now in this one, grew tiresome. “Of course not. We wouldn't want anyone to think you might have asked me for a favor.”

His barely suppressed venom startled Bane into sitting up straight. “Damn it, Barak, that's not what I meant. We're trying to keep a lid on this whole mess. Only a handful of the locals, and Jarvis back in Missouri, know what we suspect is going on. Until we know who can be trusted, we're not talking.”

Barak didn't know what was more startling: that Devlin Bane had just apologized or that he might actually trust Barak.

“I'll see what I can tell about the bag and get back to you,” Barak replied quickly. He slipped the two small bags into his jean pocket. “Now I need to get to the lab.”

Before Devlin could respond, his desk phone rang. He looked at the caller ID screen, snatched it up, and snarled, “Whatever you want, it can wait.” Then he nodded in the direction of the door. “See if Cullen or D.J. can show you the way. Otherwise, I'll take you when I get off the phone with Col. Kincade's idiot assistant.”

Barak wasn't about to beg one of the other Paladins to show him to the lab. Besides, Cullen was no longer at his desk, and D.J. was staring at his computer screen with a big grin on his face. Barak waited until D.J. murmured something under his breath, his fingers flying across the keyboard, before slipping past him and around the corner.