Dark Matter

DARK MATTER

Elemental Enmity Book Two

by

Christie L. Rich

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Christie L. Rich on Smashwords

Dark Matter

Elemental Enmity Book Two

Copyright © 2011 by Christie L. Rich

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Cover Design:

Amber McNemar

www.ethinkgraphics.com

Dedication:

To my husband Max. I would be lost without
you.

To Taran and Serayna for making my days
brighter.

To all those who have helped me reach this
goal.

A special thanks to Stephanie, Lacey, Amber,
Nann, and Andrea.

To my sisters for always being
there.

I couldn’t have done it without your
support.

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DARK MATTER

Elemental Enmity Book Two

Prologue

Zach, lord of space and void, leaned
against the ragged trunk of a palm tree staring at what was
supposed to be the forbidding walls of the Order’s secret compound.
He squinted, searching for some sign of movement in the darkness.
His muscles tensed involuntarily. Where was Luke?

They had agreed to meet back here hours
ago. Knowing the fool, he had probably gone and gotten himself
caught. Realizing that could even be an option made his gut clench
with worry but most of all rage.

The compact was not only broken, the
humans were waging a silent war against the fae all the while
pretending to be allies. How had it come to this?

His heart sank with a realization he
didn’t want to admit. He had grown lax in his duties, thinking
mortals could never really pose a threat to a race that had lived
millions of years.

He still didn’t believe them capable.
He was aware the Order had been running their absurd experiments
for the past few decades, but they had been centuries away from
discovering the key to creating a male Elemental. From what he
sensed here, they were closer than he ever imagined possible. The
situation reeked of treason and treachery. But who?

The obvious answer lied in the selfish
whims of his sister. He should have listened to his mother and
never followed along with Ainessa’s foolish ambitions. He sighed,
running a hand through his hair. No matter. His life was set: an
unending punishment for one foolhardy decision.

He couldn’t feel Ainessa here, but that
didn’t mean much at the moment. Everything about this hellish place
was off. The moment he had stepped near the compound his abilities
had gushed out of him as if from a severed artery. The elements
swirled wildly around him, disordered and volatile reminding him of
days he would rather forget.

At least Styx had not made the journey
with him. He had been able to open a portal to contact his trusted
steed, but he wasn’t sure if the message got through before the
connection was severed. He had tried to drift back home with the
last vestiges of his strength, but something had tethered him to
the island. Zach had already scoured the jungle for any sign of the
bloody machine that had stolen his power. This was the last place
it could be.

The time for waiting was over. Luke was
not coming.

With the stealth of a cougar, he crept
toward the walls intent on finding a way over them. He was still
stronger than most humans would ever be, but he wasn’t capable of
jumping that high at the moment. He glanced around one last time
before running his hands over the smooth surface checking for
finger holds. He bit back a curse and shifted his attention to
finding another option. Nothing but a lizard could scale those
walls.

His only chance lay in the angled trunk
of a palm tree. He hoisted himself up to the level of the rigid
fronds then scanned the compound below.

The Order had indeed been busy.
Nondescript buildings stretched nearly to the cliff’s edge with a
large central hub anchoring the rest. The building was four stories
tall, but he suspected most of the structure lay within the depths
of the earth. He narrowed his eyes, focusing in on his target.
Where else would they hide a machine capable of changing the world?
One carefully executed jump and he would be on his way to ending
this charade.

Silent as a cat he leapt effortlessly
onto the wall. In an instant he was crouching behind prickly bushes
waiting for the guard to pass. The man didn’t even turn his way.
The sickly-sweet stench of cheap alcohol drifted around him. He
smirked. So much for security.

His hope growing with every step toward
his mark, he crept between the maze of buildings. Thoughts of Rayla
refused to stay buried. With the Order handled, he would be able to
see her soon. Leaving her in the borderlands with Finn as her only
protection was the hardest thing he had ever done.

Sending her to Ignis was a mistake,
especially with Finn’s resolve to bond with Cassie and Heath rising
in the ranks of underlords. He regretted it the moment he had left
her, but he would never be able to focus on truly winning her until
he was sure she was safe. His only chance was if he could swiftly
resolve this problem and return to her before any real damage was
done.

So much had changed in him since he’d
first seen her. Love was a possibility he never thought might be
his again. After their first encounter, he’d convinced himself he
had to claim her for the greater good of his people. Yet when he
had seen her in the woods with that look of horror haunting her
stormy eyes, something within him had reviled at the thought of
taking her forcefully like he had….

His thoughts spiraled downward to
another time and place. An image of raven hair framing a delicate
face pushed its way to the surface of his mind. A slight smile
turned the edges of his mouth. It was so easy for him to see her
still. If only he had done things differently back then. He would
have had more time with her—no he couldn’t think about that now.
Only one thing happened when he allowed himself to visit the past,
and he didn’t have time for despair. Those days were gone. Faine
was a distant memory. Rayla was his new reality.

He wouldn’t make the same mistakes with
her. It had to be her choice or not at all. Her heart was still
attached to Luke. No matter how flimsy the connection, he would not
live that way again. Even love wasn’t worth that price.

He slipped through a side-door, quickly
disarming the security system. He wouldn’t even know how to do this
sort of thing if it hadn’t been for his prolonged stay among
humans. The fae had no need for mechanical devices, which was
probably the reason they fascinated him so much. He had tired of
the drudgery of court long ago and fled to the human realm, finding
more than just solace and entertainment among the
mortals.

They were an odd race, full of
mischief, capable of causing horrendous atrocities, but, all in
all, the people reminded him of how goodness can conquer the most
miserable of circumstances. He had taken to downright studying them
after the end of World War II. Under such dire and hopeless odds,
they had come together and managed to overthrow the worst tyrant
the world had ever seen. Unfortunately, humanity didn’t know about
Nigel Lambert.

Zach had found the Order unsavory from
the start. They were nothing more than a greedy vat of oiled pigs
as far as he was concerned, but this man knew no bounds.

He had campaigned against bringing men
into the Elemental equation the moment the idea was introduced, but
he had been outvoted. The council had called him biased in the
worst way and ordered him to step down as their leader. What would
they think of their decision now?

He descended the first flight of
stairs. A search of the entire floor revealed nothing out of place,
just an oversized furnace room and some odds and ends of computer
parts. The second through fourth floors failed to yield anything
more substantial.

When he opened the door to the fifth
level, his body surged from the pulse of immense power nearby.
Something felt wrong, but he couldn’t name it.

The hallway stretched deep into the
earth. Why did these people insist on building subterranean
labyrinths? They still held the misconception that iron limited fae
powers. It had been a necessary lie to cover a plan gone extremely
wrong. And this place had been built entirely of the metal. What
exactly were they trying to hide down here?

Halfway through the maze, he sensed the
presence of an ancient force. One he hadn’t felt in a very long
time.

He shook his head. It could not be, yet
he couldn’t deny his feelings. How had she managed to obtain such a
thing or, worse yet, to bring it here? He cursed through gritted
teeth. The headstrong twit just might have done it this time. The
Creator could not possibly overlook an attempt as deliberate as
this.

The farther he walked the more fear
sank into him. His entire race would be homeless again if he didn’t
stop Ainessa. He would use mortal means to leave this place if he
had to. He didn’t want to abandon Luke to face this alone, but he
now realized it was necessary. With his decision made, he hastened
to retreat, only to stop short.

Ainessa stood before him with an
angelic expression on her face. Two large men flanked her.
Something about them seemed familiar, but he was unsure of exactly
what.

She curtsied in greeting. “How good of
you to come, Ammon. We’ve been hoping you would.” She lifted her
hand daintily toward her chin exposing a silver ring on her middle
finger. It was goblin made. There was no doubt about that.
Intricate filigree laced up the sides and around an enormous blue
stone. A pinprick of light pulsated at the center like a
heartbeat.

Funny that something so small could
house the power of creation. Entranced he stared for what seemed an
eternity. He felt the pull but fought the heady sensation. As
enticing as it was, one such as he could not ignite the germ. “How
many times do I have to tell you to call me Zach? I am no longer
that person.”

“
You will always be Ammon to
me, little brother, no matter how many attempts you make to change
your name.”

He ignored the sentimental cadence to
her voice. It was just a manipulation tactic. Ainessa was beyond
feeling. He pointed at her ring. “I can’t fathom where you got
that, but you must return it. We cannot risk—”

“
Not to worry,” she said
brightly. “I have a plan.”

He sighed. Didn’t she
always?

She passed her hand over the
ring and it surged to life, lighting the entire corridor. He gaped
at his sister. He had underestimated her
again
. For her to have that much power
could only mean one thing.

“
Where is Luke?” he cried,
reaching out with his mind to locate his friend. “What have you
done to him?”

“
He wore out faster than I
expected.” She shook her head dismally. “And to think he is a
lord.” She cocked her head to the side. “However did he become
one?”

Zach winced. His show of favoritism had
harmed the only person who had really ever helped him.

She lowered a pale finger toward the
stone. The moment she touched it, smoky tendrils snaked around him
like demons freshly released from hell’s gates. He ran but it was
no use. The darkness swirled closer to him, tasting his strength
before it attached to his skin.

He screamed his pain, but no one was
left to hear him as he collapsed to the dirt floor. He’d fallen for
her trap. His last thought before unconsciousness claimed him was
simply…Rayla.