Exiled - 01 (21 page)

“Okay,” I said.

Rayna turned and leaned over the table. “Thanks for nothing.”

“You’re welcome, my sweet Rayna. I’m sorry we could not come to an agreement.”

I caught a strange movement out of the corner of my eye, but before I could interpret it, Rayna picked up Vincent’s drink and threw it at him. The thick red liquid slid down his face, but he didn’t react.

“Well played, my sweet. A little over the top if I do say so, but well played nonetheless.”

Vincent’s family rushed back over, but Vincent’s hand shot up to stop them.

Rayna pushed away from the table. “Let’s go, Chase.” she said, walking past me.

“Rayna, my dear!” Vincent called, the dark liquid running down his pale flesh and his pink tongue slipping out to catch drops of it.

“What?” She scowled.

“I truly am sorry,” he added, looking sincere in a way I couldn’t quite place.

Rayna’s unimpressed expression changed to one of confusion. She nodded hesitantly and continued to the door.

“Rayna, what the hell?” I said, coming up the stairs into the alley. Rayna ignored me and continued walking. “Rayna!” I called again and ran down half the alley to catch up to her. Her head was down as she read a piece of paper.

“What’s that?” I asked. She didn’t answer me, and she wore a sad expression. I felt comfortable enough with Rayna to know she had my back. She’d proven worthy of my trust more than once, but I still didn’t know her well enough to read her moods. “Rayna?”

“It’s an address.”

“Okay…” She stopped walking and looked at me, her eyes glazed with tears. “Rayna, what is it?” I reached over and slid the paper from her fingers as a single tear trickled down her cheek. I looked at the address. I had never been near there, but I knew it was outside of town. “I don’t understand. You’ve got to give me something here,” I said.

Rayna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The single tear had run down her face and clung to her jawbone, but as she exhaled it shook loose and fell to the ground. “It’s where I used to live,” she said. Rayna reached out for the paper in my hand. “This is the place Marcus found me. It’s where they killed my mother.” I could hear her choking back more tears. She took another deep breath and a new determination filled her eyes and replaced the sorrow. “We need to make a stop before we go.”

“I’m so lost right now,” I said.

“It’s done. The trade is done. Vincent has the scroll and this address is where we’re going to find the answers we need,” she said.

“Wait, what?”

“Vincent was talking to us, only it wasn’t with his lips, but with his mind.”

“Why didn’t I hear anything?”

“Because you wouldn’t drop your shields. We were both trying to explain, but you weren’t listening. You were too busy
being in control
.”

I wanted to react with anger, but she was right. “Why couldn’t we make the trade as planned?”

“Because of what Vincent told us. The Underworld is watching him right now, with the demons being kidnapped. The victims aren’t low level players in the Underworld – they’re powerful. They think the Taryk family is trying to make a big move. Everybody’s on edge and Vincent doesn’t want to attract unnecessary attention.”

“So you two made the trade while acting like he was breaking the deal. Nicely done.” I couldn’t help but admit it was well played, even if I was embarrassed about missing it.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Marcus?” I asked. Rayna shot me a hostile look. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“If Marcus knew the information was there, he wouldn’t let me go. This is something I have to do.”

“Okay.”

I couldn’t argue with her. If it were me, there would be nothing that could stop me. All I could do was support her decision. Whatever was at that address was a different kind of demon for Rayna, one I was betting she hadn’t thought she’d ever have to face. I knew there was no weapon or magic that would help her defeat it.

~~~~~~

Chapter 22

Back at the condo, Rayna took a set of keys from the kitchen and led me to the underground parking area.

“You have a car and we’ve been taking cabs and walking everywhere?”

Rayna gave a half smile, which was the most I’d seen since we left the club. “It’s Marcus’s other car, and I’m allowed to use it in case of an emergency. It’s not what you'd expect.”

“Well, I think this qualifies as an emergency, and I’ve come to learn that very little is ever what I’d expect,” I replied.

Rayna led the way as we passed vehicles worth more money than I’d probably see in my lifetime. We passed classy car after classy car before we came to a stop in front of an older model Jeep with a customized lift kit and large mud tires.

“You’re kidding me,” I said, eyeing the blacked out Jeep with tinted windows.

“I told you it’s not what you’d expect.”

I watched her struggle to pull herself into the Jeep and I came around to the passenger door. “You sure you don’t want me to drive? It’s a pretty big truck for a girl.” I smiled.

Rayna gave me her unimpressed glare. “I can handle it. Besides, it’s a little too much machine for you.” She winked, turned the key and made the engine roar to life.

Aside from the rumble of the engine, the ride out of town was quiet. Once we got onto the freeway, Rayna turned on the high beams and settled back in her seat. I could see her body relax as she started taking deep breaths.

“You sure you’re up for this? We don’t have to do this now. We can wait until Marcus and my mom get back, and let them do it.”

Rayna shook her head. “I’m fine. Is it difficult? Absolutely, but I can handle it.”

“Are you sure?”

“I need to do this. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“Of course I do. I didn’t mean you couldn’t handle it. I just didn’t want to push you into it. Not like I did with Willy. That didn’t turn out well.”

Rayna laughed. It sounded forced, but it was a laugh nonetheless. “
Not well
is an understatement. But on the plus side, you discovered a few tricks, didn’t you?”

I nodded, but I didn’t think I’d come to accept my powers yet. After all these years of feeling like less than a hunter, I suddenly had not one, but two elements. I should’ve been excited and eager to use them, but I wasn’t. I was nervous. I wasn’t sure if I was scared because the magic had just appeared, or that it might disappear just as quickly.

The more I thought about my powers, the soul piece, and the mark, the more on edge I was. There were too many unknowns in this equation. My thoughts were interrupted by the crescendo of the engine as Rayna passed the only car we’d seen since we’d gotten out of the city.

“So what do you think we can expect when we get there? I mean, we asked Vincent for information and all he gave us was an address.”

“I don’t know what to expect,” Rayna said. I could hear the nervousness in her soft voice. At least I wasn’t alone in that particular emotion.

“I guess the real question is: if there are people there, are they going to be willing to help?” I said, but this time I didn’t get a response.

Rayna turned off the freeway and a few miles later we coasted onto a gravel road. Tall stalks filled the fields to either side of us and dust blew up around us, limiting our vision. At the moment I saw the bright yellow sign signaling a dead end, Rayna jerked the Jeep to the right and drove off the road.

“Where are we?” I asked, my voice wobbling as we went over endless bumps. Rayna jerked the wheel again without answering. The car slid down into a ditch and started to push through the field. I gripped the dashboard and door as the Jeep rocked back and forth.

I watched the vegetation fold under us as we moved forward. The Jeep made a final push forward and we plunged out into a rocky clearing. I could see another source of light in the distance.

As we neared, I could tell it was a house, but it was still too far away to make out any details. We drove down another ditch and back up the other side before we were back on a dirt road. Rayna slowed down and pulled to the side of the road, turning off the lights and killing the engine.

We got out of the Jeep and walked down the road before jumping back down the ditch and into the field. The house was still a mile away, but we wanted the element of surprise on our side.

A barbed wire fence surrounded the property, but we both leapt it with ease. We were a few hundred yards from the house when Rayna’s voice came in a loud whisper. “Stop.”

I froze in confusion. The heavy silence around us was eerie, and my senses strained to detect whatever had spooked her. It hadn’t been a sound.

A wall of magic hung in front of me. I didn’t know where it had come from, but there it was. I put my hands out and crept forward, stopping when I felt the edge of it. I closed my eyes and pushed against it.

“Can you feel it?” Rayna asked.

“What is it?”

“It’s a threshold. If we cross it, it alerts whoever is working the spell, a sort of an early warning system for the magically proficient.”

“Do you want to go through it?”

“No.” I waited for her to say more as she stared at the invisible wall, concentration painted on her face. “I think I can get us through,” she said, finally.

I gave a quiet chuckle. “Well that would be both impressive and convenient. How do you plan on doing that?”

“You forget I’m a witch. I have more than just rocks available at my beck and call.” She was right. I was used to her eyes now, and had almost forgotten she was part demon.

I felt her magic come alive around me. She spoke in an unfamiliar language and after a few words, her magic overwhelmed me and I felt the wall in front of us break. She stepped forward and held her hands out, repeating the words as she moved over the threshold. She waved me over.

“What did you do?”

“I made us a doorway.” The feeling of magic became strong again and I turned back to face the wall. “It’s only temporary,” she said, as the magic closed behind us.

“So whoever put the spell around this place doesn’t know we’re here now?”

She looked at the house. The lights were on, but we had yet to see any movement in any of the windows. “They shouldn’t. The spell only works if someone crosses the threshold. It shouldn’t react now that we’re inside.”

“Here’s hoping,” I said.

We walked towards the house, taking care with each step as we neared. The lamp on the front patio was lit, casting a glow in front and to one side of the house. The place looked weathered from the outside, its white wooden siding chipped and faded. Some shingles curled while some areas of roof had no shingles at all. Enough light came through the windows that we had to hug the shadows as we neared. We crouched in the darkness, hearing no sound from within and seeing no cars in the driveway.

“I’m not sure anyone’s here,” I whispered.

Rayna strained to listen. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

Creeping forward, I leaned against the cracked siding and sidled along to the front window. It was grimy and I had to wipe a corner to peer into the living room, which was empty aside from a single couch covered with a stained white sheet. I could see into the kitchen and partway up the stairs, but there was no one there.

I jumped as Rayna slid up beside me. “What do you see?” she whispered.

“Nothing. There’s nobody in there as far as I can tell.” I ducked down below the window and crept up the porch.

“Chase, what are you doing?”

“I’m going in. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”

Before she could respond, I turned the door handle and pushed. I cringed uselessly as the hinges shrieked, and the quieter I tried to be, the more noise there was.

Once I stepped inside, the scent of death hit my nostrils. I pulled a dagger from its sheath and walked further into the house. The carpet was stained, tattered and pulled up in the corners, revealing worn wooden floorboards. The walls looked like they’d once been white, but now they’d taken on a darker shade of yellow. I whirled at a sudden creak behind me to find Rayna.

Her mouth opened slightly as she cast her eyes over the room. I couldn’t tell if the expression was of shock or sadness, or maybe both.