Tempted by Darkness (14 page)

Damian had been pacing for hours waiting to
hear from the young witch he’d planted inside the Wolf estate. When
she’d come to him several weeks ago asking how she could help, he’d
first suspected the woman had been sent by the Supreme Council, but
the longer he’d talked with her the less convinced he’d been that
she was a spy. As near as Damian could determine, Talia was
ridiculously ambitious, and he known right away precisely how to
exploit that trait at every turn. He wasn’t foolish enough to think
she was loyal to him personally—no, she was loyal to her ambitions
and nothing else. Damian would never
trust her
, but he’d
sure use her. Yes, indeed, he knew exactly how to deal with a
personality that so closely mirrored his own.

When he finally felt the presence of another
person on the other side, he stopped and waited. “Master Damian?
Are you there?” Damian was anxious to see the woman who had been
feeding him information—to see if she was as soft as her voice. If
she looked anything like she sounded, he just might find other uses
for her as well. He certainly wasn’t opposed to indulging in the
pleasures of women, he just didn’t see any reason to keep them
around after they’d served their purpose.

Damian had always known it was best to speak
with people face to face because it was so much easier to determine
how honest they were. And at the very least he could know whether
or not the other person was intimidated enough to do his bidding.
But Kathleen had made that impossible and at this point, he had
very few options. The only person he’d ever come close to trusting
was Devin, but even his brother’s loyalty was seriously
questionable.

“Yes, Talia, I have been waiting for you. Do
you have any information for me?” Damian knew he sounded rude, but
he wasn’t at all interested in being her friend so he wasn’t going
to bother with social niceties beyond the barest minimum. He wanted
to know what she’d learned so he could decide how to proceed. There
weren’t many options, but there were a few and the simple truth was
he was going completely insane being trapped behind the seal Kit
locked him behind. Damian didn’t give a shit that she didn’t seem
to know how she’d done it—she had two very simple choices, she
could join him or die.

“I do and I’m afraid it isn’t good. Your
brother has been meeting with Mrs. Wolf. Even though I haven’t been
able to gain access to the part of the estate where they are
meeting, the rumors among the staff consistently center on the
meetings being some sort of training sessions.”
What the fuck?
My brother is training her? In what? And why wouldn’t he tell me he
was spending time with her?
The rage that filled him was so all
consuming the stone lined walls surrounding him vibrated and
shifted precariously. This time when the witch spoke, her voice was
filled with uncertainty, “Are you all right? Do you want me to
continue looking into this or…” she let her words trail off and
Damian tried to get his anger under control. He didn’t want to
alienate her, hell she’d actually displayed an incredible amount of
courage in her willingness to be the bearer of bad news. Most of
his followers wouldn’t have dared broach the subject of his
brother’s possible defection. Damian might not pose a direct threat
at this point, but he could still order her execution, so she’d
taken a risk in telling him news she would have known he wouldn’t
like. He might need others to carry out his orders, but Goddess
knew he didn’t intend to be stuck behind the damned seal
forever.

He took several deep breaths to calm himself
before answering her, “Yes, I’m fine, just disappointed that he
hasn’t mentioned the fact he’s working with her.” It was an
enormous understatement and something he intended to address with
his
dear brother
immediately. There was still the
possibility that Devin was training her to join them, but that
seemed like a remote chance since he hadn’t told Damian what he’d
been doing.

“Please continue your surveillance. Report
back to me anytime you see or hear anything—and I do mean anything.
Something that might seem insignificant to you might be the final
piece of a puzzle for me.” Damian took another calming breath
before adding, “And Talia, I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that
your discretion is of the upmost importance.” He took a steadying
breath before softening his tone, “And I can’t tell you how much I
appreciate your help. You’ll be well rewarded—you have my personal
pledge.”
Hell, depending on how she looks, she might get far
more than my personal pledge.

Devin stood in the dark shadows deep in the
cave and listened as the young witch he’d seen lurking around the
Wolf’s home spoke with his brother. He didn’t know what her
position was at the estate, but the fact she’d been able to fool
everyone was a clear indication that she was a worthy foe. She’d
just hung him out with her words and he fully intended to make sure
she paid dearly for it. What he hadn’t decided was whether to take
her out himself, turn her over to the Wolf brothers, or perhaps
offer her up to the Supreme Council. Since all three options were
likely to end up with the same result he leaned toward simply
taking care of it himself—but he had to admit, shifting the karma
burden off his shoulders also held a lot of appeal. Hell, he would
already spend the next several lifetimes trying to make up for the
mistakes he’d made. Devin had spent his entire life lost in the
shadows of his brothers. First his father had tirelessly compared
him to Marcus—the genius son who had been blessed with all his
father’s talent, but who’d been “brainwashed” by his mother to walk
in the light rather than owning the night. After Marcus had been
deemed beyond saving, dear old dad had focused on Damian.

Damian had quickly replaced Marcus and become
their father’s golden child. Devin’s older brother mastered the
dark magic so quickly he’d soon been a stronger wizard than his own
father, but before that could turn the two into competitors, their
father had become ill. When Damian had gone to Europe to study with
mentors, he’d caused havoc in every location where he’d been
stayed. Rather than being angry as Devin had expected, their father
had been enormously proud of his son’s “exploits and conquests”.
Even now, knowing his father’s mind had been awash in the pain
medication it still rankled Devin that he’d been encouraged to
follow Damian’s example.

Knowing his brother as well as he did, Devin
knew waiting for Damian to cool down wouldn’t work—hell, it would
actually have the opposite effect. Damian had inherited their
father’s temper and giving him any additional time to “stew” was
just asking for the trouble to mushroom into something resembling a
nuclear holocaust. After the mousy young witch quickly scurried
away like the rodent she was, Devin stepped up to the seal.

“Damian, I’ve come to speak with you.” Best
to take control of the situation quickly. Devin felt the granite
floor beneath his feet shift slightly and knew his brother was
barely containing his rage.

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting on a
report since you lost the good doctor.”
Oh, so that’s how he’s
planning to play this, huh?

“I’ve been spending time with Kit and
Braden.” Devin knew the mention of his grandson would give Damian
pause. His brother had chased the young boy all over the globe
trying to secure him. But at some point it appeared Damian’s focus
had shifted to eliminating the young wizard, and Devin wasn’t
entirely certain what had transpired to cause his change of heart.
“I’ve been allowed to come and go at the Wolf estate. At first, I
was watched continually and all of our training sessions together
were closely monitored. But as time has gone on, I’ve been allowed
more time with the two of them alone.” Devin didn’t intend to tell
his brother that the trust he was earning was well founded. He had
no intention of helping his brother kill thousands of innocent
people just to gain power he didn’t deserve. Thinking about Damian
gaining control of the Supreme Council and ruling the magical world
was the stuff of Devin’s worst nightmares.

“Training? Explain,” Damian’s voice was still
laced with anger, but the ground was no longer vibrating.

Devin spent the next several minutes blowing
massive amounts of smoke up his brother’s ass in reference to his
training sessions with the two magicals they needed to further
Damian’s cause. He wouldn’t tell Damian what he was actually doing,
but the longer he could stall, the safer everyone would be.

“They have agreed to assist me? Both of
them?” Damian’s voice was filled with doubt, even as his questions
belied his hope. It was moments like these that Devin wished his
brother could still be saved from himself. The moments of lucid
behavior, brief glimpses of the brother Devin had once admired,
always sent pangs of longing through his heart. No matter how
justified, it was always difficult to watch those you love pay for
their misdeeds and Devin wasn’t looking forward to helping bring
about his brother’s downfall.

By the time he left the cave, he was sure of
two things: first, his brother wasn’t yet convinced there wasn’t
more to the story, and second, he needed to speak with someone at
the Wolf estate immediately about the young woman he’d seen
earlier.