Dark Flight (The Shadow Slayers) (26 page)

Kara crept quietly behind Jaxon. “You grew up here?” she whispered.

“Yes.” His voice was strange and low, as though his mind was caught in a different time. “I didn’t have an unhappy childhood. I might even believe Hexa felt affection for me if it weren’t for the way she cast me out when I came of age.”

The walls of the cave were red inside, too, and the soft sound of dripping water sifted through the tunnels. “She kicked you out?”

“Yes. She wanted nothing to do with me when it was time for me to go. I haven’t seen her since.”

“How long ago was that?”

“One hundred and thirty-four years
.
”

“What’s this?” asked Julian.

Jaxon and Kara came around the corner, and Kara slowed to a stop. There was a perfectly placed row of stones along the wall to one room with carvings of some sort prominently displayed on them.

“This was where I slept,” Jaxon answered, “but I don’t know what those are. They almost look like…”

Kara picked one up. It was a rudimentary wood carving. She was more into clay sculptures, herself. Though with the amount of hours she’d been putting into training with Gavin and working at the bar, she hadn’t made a sculpture in weeks. “I’d say this one was a…bear.”

“No,” Jaxon said quietly. “It’s a hellhound. I made that.” He walked along the row of stones, picking up each carving and then setting it back down. “I made all of these. They were some of my only toys. I threw them into the woodpile when I left. I told Hexa to burn them. I guess she didn’t.”

No, she hadn’t, indeed. She’d made a shrine of sorts to Jaxon, and it choked Kara up to be a witness to that fact. She wanted to say something like,
your mother must have loved you
, but it wasn’t her place to put words in the mouth of a woman she didn’t know—one who’d sent her son packing only for him to spend the next hundred and thirty years as a whipping boy in a harem.

Suddenly, Julian’s fangs snapped down, and he hissed, “Someone is here.”

Jaxon’s breath drained from his lungs. “It’s her. She’s still here. After all these years, she’s still here.”

When Jaxon turned and went down another tunnel, Kara followed. She smelled Hexa before she saw her.

“Mother?” Jaxon said.

Kara squinted, but in the dim light all she could make out were the rocks—until Hexa moved. Slowly, Jaxon’s mother peeled herself away from the corner of the room, and her fur was the same shade as the walls. She wasn’t just furry, she had the ability to change colors to match her environment, like a chameleon.

“Who are you?” Hexa whispered. She had the shape of a woman, but she was covered in thick, silky fur, about an inch long, from the tops of her feet to her fuzzy cheeks.

“I am your only son, Jaxon.”

“Jaxon?” Her voice cracked with emotion, then Hexa wrapped her hands around her middle, as though unsure. “You promised not to come back here. What have you done? What trouble have you brought down upon me?”

Jaxon took Kara by the arm and brought her to his side. “This is Kara Reed. And this black-wing is one you won’t have seen before. He is Julian Mercés, lord of the Mercury Clan, risen from the dead.”

“What do you want from me?” Hexa asked.

“We are here to battle Brakken. The time has come to put an end to him. Kara had an audience with the Sanctiáre themselves, and she believes that she and Julian are meant to send Brakken to the Abyss. We have heard that you are the only female who has bested the Shadowland and has learned to stay here permanently. This knowledge of how to manipulate the realms would be a great benefit to Kara. Can you help us?”

Hexa’s coat seemed to ripple with color before turning back to the brownish-red of the walls. “Brakken, you say? Send him to the Abyss? He would no longer darken this world like the living shadow he is…”

“He would be finished—and you would be free.”

Hexa wrapped her arms more tightly around herself. “To have my son here, and the chance that Brakken might finally get what he deserves. I have dreamt of this too many times for it to be real.”

“It is real, Mother, and we need your help. Helping Kara is directly aiding the forces that stand against Brakken.”

Hexa walked forward and thrust a hairless palm toward Kara. “It’s so nice to meet you. Now how may I be of assistance?”

When it was time to go, Jaxon stepped closer to Hexa. Looking unsure, he finally closed the distance and hugged her tight. Hexa seemed stiff in his arms until finally, she gripped him back. “For what Brakken did to you, we will send him to hell where he belongs. I promise you.”

She closed her eyes while she held him, and her eyelids were covered in hair so short, they almost looked normal—except for the red hue. “I have spent well over a century hating that devil, but I have missed you more than I have hated him. I would rather have you alive, and in my life, than live free of the fear of Brakken. If you…if you are not ashamed of me, I would be honored to see more of you.”

“Would you come to my wedding on Mercury Island? I swear you would be welcome there.”

“Your wedding?” Hexa’s eyes went wide. “You and Lace are getting married? Can she not travel here for the ceremony?”

Jaxon laughed. “Lace isn’t invited to the wedding. And my future bride cannot travel to the Shadowland—she’s a witch.”

Hexa’s hand flew to her mouth. “A witch? The one who’s going to help with the spell?”

He stood a little taller. “That’s the one.”

“May the Maker have mercy. Times have certainly changed since you were a boy.”

“So, will you?” Jaxon asked her.

“My son, I haven’t faced a crowd or been to the surface in two hundred years. Let me think on it.”

Jaxon smoothed his hand over her head and ruffled her fur. “Of course. Either way, I will see you again soon.”

“Oh, don’t forget the vial you needed. Here you are.” She handed him a tiny jar made of clay. “If you are successful and if my guidance helps, would you return to tell me?”

“I will return at once.” He squeezed her hand then turned to go.

“Jaxon!” she called. “I am sorry.”

When he smiled, Kara was so proud of the man he’d become. “I forgive you. We all do the best we can with what we’re given.” He glanced at his old room and the toys displayed there. “And you did a marvelous job with the time we had together.”

Witnessing Jaxon and his mother reconnect after so many years and seeing the promise of more to come made Kara long for her own mother. What kind of place was the Shadowland, where the strongest dictated life and death, even afterlife, for so many others?

“Thank you, Hexa,” Kara said.

“Deanna’s daughter—with wings. I never had the chance to meet your mother, but I’ve heard many great things about her.”

Kara smiled and slowly nodded, acknowledging the kindness in her words.

“We must go,” Julian said quietly, and he bowed to Hexa. “Thank you for your time and instruction.”

The three walked quickly from the cave, and when they exited, Kara turned to Jaxon. “Okay, are you sure you feel good about this? Remember, if Abbey doesn’t want to take it, she doesn’t have to.”

“I understand. It will be her choice. Either way, we’ll do what we can.”

“Okay.” Kara nodded and took the vial from him. “Julian, would you do the honors, please?”

With a long-suffering sigh, Julian nicked his wrist, filled the vial with blood and then handed it to Jaxon.

“Thank you. I’ll go prepare Abbey and help her secure the surface. Try to buy us a little time before you join us.”

“Of course,” Kara replied. “Guess it’s a good thing Abbey didn’t listen to you, and she hid
The Book of Death
instead, huh?”

“She rarely listens to me. Every once in a while, she gets lucky and it still works out for her even without heeding my advice.”

Kara chuckled. “I’m sure everything will be fine, but if I don’t see you guys later…tell her I love her. And schedule a plumbing service to install the new parts for the toilets on the eighth floor.”

He crushed her to his body. “Knowing you has been my honor, mistress. You gave me back my pride and introduced me to the woman I love. When this is finished, dinner is on me. All the raw meat you can stomach.”

She squeezed him back. “I think we’ll fire up the barbeque this time.”

Jaxon flashed, leaving Kara and Julian alone for the first time since the break-up. “Okay. You ready?” she asked. “Let’s see if we can get the hang of what Hexa was telling us before we find Gavin.”

“We’re finally alone, and that is all you have to say, Kara?”

Kara turned and started winding her way through the rusty rocks. She had no idea where she was headed, but it beat standing there like a tongue-tied dork.

“Kara.” His voice was a rumble over her shoulder, and in the next instant, she felt the energy of his hand penetrate her skin where he took hold of her arm.

“What?” she asked when he turned her to face him.

“Have you forgotten me so soon? As you said, we aren’t sure what may happen tonight, and I think I have the right to know where we stand.”

“What?” she sputtered. “I was in love with you. You crushed me like a bug under your boot. What moral support do I owe you now? You got your lesson from Mazeki, and that seems like payment enough for your part in this.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Her face twisted like she’d sucked on a lemon. “Of course you did!”

“Yes, I did.” He placed his hands before him. “But it was because I wanted you to stay on the surface where you’d be safe.”

“Did you ever think about saying, ‘Hey, Kara. I saw a scout when we were making love yesterday. I think you should stay home until I look into it’?”

“You wouldn’t have listened. You never do.”

“I might have surprised you.”

“You did surprise me—you shacked up with that Mercury idiot before our bed had even cooled.”

“You broke my heart. You were so cold, I couldn’t fathom it. And don’t you dare call Gavin names. He never disrespects you like that. He still grieves over losing the bond that you two had, and with the way you’ve been acting, I’m not sure you deserve it.”

“He doesn’t disrespect me? He bedded my woman!”

“I wasn’t your woman anymore. And that was your choice. I still loved you, Julian.”

“Have it your way. I won’t beg to get you back. If you want to spread your legs for a silver-wing, be my guest. After I’ve fulfilled my vow and Brakken is in the Abyss, you and Gavin Cross can accompany him there, for all I care.”

Kara swallowed. She still craved Julian to the deepest level of her DNA, but she had to be realistic. He might be infinitely more powerful now, and he might love her in his own way, but he would never be the Julian she first knew.

All the love they’d made and the hours they’d spent together since he’d risen amounted to twenty times the experiences she’d had with the carefree Julian. And she loved this man. God knew she did. But there was still something missing in him, like he had a small empty spot in his core that her stubborn blindness couldn’t continue to cover.

“After your vow to Gavin is complete, you’re free to do your black-wing thing. Just know that I do care about you and want what’s best for you. I can’t see that changing.”

His ebony wings unfolded behind him. “That will be a sweet consolation, no doubt, while Gavin Cross takes you to his bed.”

She was a ball of pain inside. She wanted to tell him she loved him. She wanted to kiss him and forget the world for an hour in his arms. She could do neither. Not now. It just wasn’t enough, he wasn’t enough, and it would be unfair to lead him to believe otherwise.

“I’m sorry that hurts you. I never wanted that.”

He snorted. “I’m not hurt, Kara. Hurting is for the weak.”

“Really? You seem hurt.”

“Not at all. I’m annoyed and inconvenienced and more than a little angry.”

“Yeah, well that makes two of us.”

“The difference is that you allow your volatile emotions to rule you. You make yourself an easy target for the advances of every man with passion and a pulse. You completely lack the clarity and levelheadedness of my species.”

“Well, thank you for making that distinction. Just when I start feeling sorry for you again, you remind me that a black-wing couldn’t fill a thimble halfway with his humanity.” If she couldn’t see the pain in the slant of his features, she would have bitch-slapped him on principle alone.

He squared his shoulders. “I’m keeping my vow to a man who stole my woman. That would be two thimbles’ worth of humanity, at least.”

An amused breath rushed out through her nose. “Okay. You have me on that one. You’re still a part of the team, and maybe you aren’t the spawn of hell itself. Maybe.”

“Ah… So she does like me. She admits it.”

An involuntary laugh bubbled from her lips. “I’ll always like you, but that doesn’t make what you did okay, and it doesn’t mean we’re compatible long term or ‘meant to be’.”

“I can’t convince you otherwise if your heart and mind are closed, but think about it for a moment. Every time we made love was special, and from what you told me, it was even before I’d risen, as though our bodies were created for each other.”