Desire: #4 Brightest Kind of Darkness (16 page)

I curl my lips in a wry half-smile. “Guess we weren’t so lucky tonight.”

Ethan flashes a cocky smile, tension easing out of him. “Hey, we’re still breathing, and one more demon is now in Under. I’d call that pretty damn lucky.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. Fast reflexes did. I didn’t even see you move. You were just suddenly there.”

Ethan drops a kiss on my nose. “I’ll always be there, Sunshine. But I think it’s important to continue the defense lessons Drystan started with you. After the holidays, that’s first on the agenda.”

“Are you going to make me get up at the crack of dawn on Saturdays too?”

He gives me a firm look. “Be prepared to work hard. Demons don’t hesitate.”

“I know I need it, but
ugh
.”

He clasps my hand, his expression determined. “It’s happening. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

Just when we reach his car, a snowflake lands on the tip of my nose, making me snicker. “Oh yeah, you were going to tell me your opinion on snow.”

His fingers fold tighter around mine before he releases my hand to open my car door. “I will, but I’m saving it for later.”

“Later, huh?” I raise my eyebrow. “How much later?”

He shakes his head, amused by my persistence. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

Chapter Ten

Nara

The first thing I do when my eyes pop open the next morning is check my laptop for an email from Madeline. I’m surprised to see that the email I sent her bounced. I send another one, then type in her website address in the Internet browser to see if I’d somehow messed up when adding her email to my address book.

When I get a missing page link instead, I frown and try again. This time I get a “this website no longer exists” error. Frustrated, I backtrack and look up all Madeline Strauss names in the London area. Before, where there were seven names, now there are six. Worry seizes my chest and I widen my search.

Breathing in short, choppy breaths, I scan through London’s newspaper obituaries since I last talked to Madeline, then blow out a sigh of relief that I didn’t find her name in any death notices or memorial listings.

Though I’m glad nothing bad appears to have happened to her, I tap my desktop pen in frustration that I can’t seem to find her either. It’s like she never existed.

Rubbing my temples, I close my eyes and try to think of another way I might contact her, but my mind’s blank. I’ve exhausted all possible ways I know to track a person down.

You’d probably think this place is a grunge-punk scene, Nara, but I saw the perfect spot for a slackline in a park near here.

I sit bolt upright. There is no way I’m making full-on Drystan sentences up in my head now.

Heart racing, I switch over to the video chat program on my laptop. While I scroll to Drystan’s user name, another thought hits me. He can help me with the raven book. I try to ping Drystan’s account, but it just shows he’s offline. I quickly type a note in the private message window, then hit send.

N: Call me as soon as you can. Need your help with something.

I flip back to my inbox and sigh. My email to Madeline bounced again. Five minutes later, an incoming video ping sounds. I quickly click the answer button and Drystan’s face pops up.

“Hey, Nara! Talk while I make my way up this embankment.” Curved, graffiti-covered bricks and cement disappear behind him. I can see he’s wearing my scarf partially tucked into his leather jacket as forest suddenly replaces the blue sky above his head.

Once he reaches the top of the incline and rights the video screen in front of him, I tease, “I see you’re putting my scarf to good use.”

“It’s cold out here,” he says, then laughs, eyeing me. “Nice bedhead. So that’s what you look like in the morning.”

I stick out my tongue, hating how messy, finger-combed hair looks good on him, while I’m sure mine resembles a rat’s nest. “I was on a mission this morning. Haven’t had a shower yet.”

“So what did you need my help with?”

“Remember that raven book that you helped me steal back from the demon who killed Freddie for it?”

He nods. “That’s the same book the other demon who possessed me wanted, right? By the way, he really did believe the book held the key to destroying the Master Corvus.”

I swallow at the thought of any demon getting ahold of that book. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Why are you asking me about it? He never did find it before he left my body.”

“I know. It’s safe for now,” I say, running my hand through my tangled hair. “While Ethan and I were trying to uncover more about the book, we discovered there’s supposedly another copy of the same book in The Library of London. We want to confirm if that is or isn’t the case, because I was under the assumption that the book was one of a kind.”

He frowns. “What publisher only produces one book?”

He doesn’t know about Madeline’s involvement in creating the raven book or about the scroll I found inside, so I keep her out of the conversation. “I just know the book was specially created. Since you know what it looks like, would you be willing to go to the library for me and see if another copy of that book really exists?”

“Sure. It’ll give me a reason to explore the city more.”

“Thank you for doing that. So did you learn anything more about your Dad from the kitchen staff?”

“Some.” He sits down and leans back against a tree. “According to them, my father wasn’t officially a Paladin, but he was an honorary one.”

“What does that mean?”

He picks up a dead leaf, twirling it. “I have no idea. He wasn’t assigned a Corvus, but he was a well-respected member of the Order, and a happy-go-lucky guy everyone liked.”

I smile at his his use of “guy”. He had picked up a few of our terms during his short stay in the US. “That’s a good thing, right?”

He shrugs. “Maggie—she’s the head cook—said that he changed after the incident with the Master Corvus. Turned somber and kept to himself. That stoic man is the only father I’ve ever known. To be honest, I’m not even sure why my dad was here. He didn’t have any abilities.”

“Maybe he was there because of his brother. Did you ask your uncle about your dad yet?”

He shakes his head. “No. My dad left the sanctuary a few weeks after everything fell apart and never returned.”

“I think you should talk to your uncle, Drystan. He’s probably the only one who can answer your questions.”

“He still hasn’t said anything about my father ever being here, Nara. That really pisses me off. Why hasn’t he told me?”

“Why don’t you tell him you know and see what he says?”

Drystan gives me a doubtful look. At least he doesn’t outright refuse my suggestion this time.

“Have you met anyone else there?”

Drystan slides the scarf off and rubs the back of his neck. “I haven’t run across any Corvus yet—I get the feeling the Paladins mostly go to them—but I’ve gotten to know a couple of Paladins here, a guy and girl who are only a couple years older than me. They’ve been cool to hang with.” His eyes light up a little. “Hey, did you know that powers can evolve? I had no clue that was possible.”

The incident with David’s demon in my kitchen instantly comes to mind, but I’m still not sure what happened, so there’s no point discussing it. “What do you mean?”

“The guy, Phillip, could warm things with just his touch, but now he can heat something up until it reaches boiling point or catches on fire. Chloe has acute hearing. She used to be able to hear in the same range as a dog, now she can hear you whisper a building away. It’s like that place—the sanctuary—has enhanced their abilities or something.”

“Why do you think the sanctuary had anything to do with it?”

“Because both Phillip and Chloe arrived a week ago and they weren’t like this until recently.”

“What about the other Paladins? Have their powers changed? Have yours?”

“I don’t know any of the other Paladins well enough to ask them, but no my abilities are still the same. Maybe I have to be a Paladin for that to happen.”

“Are you considering joining the Order now?”

“No.”

“Maybe one day—”

“No,” he cuts me off, his jaw muscle tensing. “I don’t belong there.”

“Actually, you might,” I say, worried how angry and lonely he seems. I’m glad he’s made a couple friends, but I still feel he’s holding so much back. I really wish he had someone there he trusted to talk over what he went through being possessed by that demon.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, brows pulled down.

He sounds so accusatory, I laugh. “You’re near a park, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, how can you tell?” He glances around. “I’m surrounded by woods.”

“And you found the perfect place for a slackline, right?”

He sits upright, green eyes widening. “How’d you know that?”

I grin. “You think I’d call the place grunge-punk.”

“How…” He swallows and pales. “Are you in my head, Nara?”

“No, I heard you.”

“How is that even possible?”

I shrug, unsure. “Maybe being there is enhancing your abilities too. Today was the first time I heard more than my name.”

Drystan glances up at the trees and laughs, then his eyes shift to me. “I can’t believe this is happening, but it’s kind of nice to know you’re here with me, at least in my head.”

“I’m not in your head, Drystan. It seems to only happen if you think of something where I’m part of the thought. That’s when I hear you.”

“Still, it’s pretty awesome.”

I smile, hoping it helps him feel less alone. “I’m always just a ping away.”

“Or a thought.” He grins, a slight glimmer of the Drystan I knew shining just under the surface.

Laughing, I nod. “Well, now you have something else to explore. Maybe the other Paladins you’ve become friends with can help you test your abilities.”

“Possibly.” He glances at his watch. “Guess I’d better go if I’m going to find the library. I’ll ping,…er,
think
you later.”

“Har, har.” I snicker, then log off.

Chapter Eleven

Ethan