The Company of Darkness (20 page)

Something was wrong. 

Something beside the fact that Ethan had a demon squatting inside him, seething with anger since he’d broken things off with Cady.  Something beside the fact that he’d moved into an even seedier hovel trying to avoid her detection.  Something beside the fact that he felt no sense of purpose anymore when he rose from sleep.  His body went through the motions, exercising, eating, showering, everything needed to keep in peak physical form, but nothing touched his heart.  He wasn’t sure he had one anymore.

After drugging her the night before, Ethan had watched outside her apartment for the rest of the night, wanting to make sure she was alright.  It was far too easy to botch the dose and give her too much, so he stood by, sometimes from the alley and sometimes outside her window on the fire escape, taking hope in the steady rise and fall of her chest. 

Ash wanted more, of course – he always wanted more – Ethan could feel it now.  He might’ve been tempted to go inside and check on her more closely except for the strong magic he found on the windowsill, barring him from entering from the fire escape.  It made him smile even as Ash churned his stomach inside; Cady had prepared better than he had.  Sure, he could go the long way and break into her apartment again to reach her, but Ethan was still in control enough to keep the reins on his own actions for the most part. 

Once Ethan saw her up and getting ready for work he’d quietly slipped away, establishing a new center of command, dusting off a different alias and attempting to salvage some of his life again.  Only somewhere around dinner time something went wrong.  Something to do with Cady, he felt it in his gut.

Her number wasn’t programmed into his new phone, but he knew it easily enough.  And yet, something kept him from dialing it.  How could he possibly expect to get his life back if he went running back to Cady at the smallest sign of danger?  And there wasn’t even a sign, nothing more than a vague feeling of unease, the subtle but persistent idea that she was in trouble. 

He shoved it away, burying his feelings for the duration of the long night.  But when he found out she didn’t show up for work the next morning, he started to get more and more concerned.  Maybe that made him weak or a fool – probably both – but Ethan had to satisfy his curiosity, it was the only way to set it aside and move on.  If she turned out to have the stomach flu or something, he’d be proven the biggest moron ever, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Cady needed him. 

It was mid-morning by the time he made his way up to the fifth floor of her apartment building.  Ethan didn’t spare a single thought as to whether any of his stuff remained in his old apartment.  The movies, the clothes, none of it mattered one iota.  He’d been trained to pick up and leave at a moment’s notice, and he’d existed that way for years now, never regretting anything he’d left behind until it came to Cady. 

He could’ve easily defeated the locks, but Ethan knocked, in case she was home.  What he would even say to her… he had no idea.  He only knew that he had to see her again, assure himself she was fine and whole.  Instead it was her brother Ian who came to the door and Ethan tamped down a surge of annoyance that he wasn’t sure came from him or Ash’s influence over his emotions. 

“What do you want?” Ian asked, getting right to the point, his stance none too friendly.

“I’m here to talk to Cady.” 

Ian’s expression didn’t get any more sympathetic.  “She’s not here.”

“Where is she then?  She’s not at work.”

“That’s none of your business, is it?”

That was debatable, but Ethan didn’t want to get into it with him.  “Look, I just want to know if she’s alright.  Let me see her and I’ll be on my way.”

“She doesn’t want to see you, not after you blew her off.”

Not quite sure how much Ian knew about the details of their supposed breakup when he’d gone into hiding, or if she’d actually confided in him since he’d left the second time, Ethan didn’t want to trust his opinions on the matter.  “I’d rather hear that from her directly.”

“I don’t give two fucks what you’d rather hear.  Get the hell out of here or I’ll remove you myself.”  Ian filled the doorway with his impressive shoulders. 

A lesser man might’ve been intimidated, but Ethan knew he could best Ian easily through his superior strength and training.  Still, it was hard not to respond to the belligerent tone.  “You sure you can do that?”

“Not only am I sure, I’d consider it a pure pleasure.”  His eyes glittered with malice.

“Alright, you asked for it.”  Ethan rolled his shoulders, dropping into a fighting stance.  He struck hard and fast at the solar plexus, another blow to the neck, followed by a strike to the nose, pulling his punch so the bone wouldn’t shatter and drive into his skull.  No matter how good it felt to hit the asshole, Ethan didn’t want to kill the man. 

Ian staggered back, but didn’t go down, surprising him with his endurance.  Ethan pressed his advantage though, stepping into the apartment, and following up with a sweep to the legs, knocking him on his ass.  It didn’t take Ian long to scramble to his knees, retaliating with a clumsy swing at his groin, which Ethan deflected.  Ian got one foot under him and pushed off, launching a tackle Ethan didn’t anticipate so quickly after the botched blow, and the men crashed into the breakfast bar hard. 

They grappled for dominance and it surprised Ethan how strong Ian was, much stronger than he’d expected, but then again, it’d been a long time since he’d had to fight a regular human (not counting his attack on the guy in the theater).  Despite the guy’s training as a bouncer, Ethan’s skills far outstripped him and it was only a matter of moments before he regained the upper hand.  It felt good to fight, to give his aggression full reign, and Ethan drove Ian back with hit after hit before catching him in a chokehold. 

Ian still tried to fight back and Ethan sent a bruising blow to the kidneys that made him gasp for breath and that signaled the end of his struggles.  Only when Ethan was absolutely sure Ian was out cold did he let him slump to the ground and step back with a deep breath of his own.  That’s when he saw it. 

The tattoo.

“Son of a bitch…” Ethan breathed, more shaken by the sight of the glyph than any hits Ian had landed on him.  No wonder the guy had given him so much trouble; he was faster and stronger than expected because he’d been marked with a bound demon.  How long had Ian been working for the Company? 

Feeling the world sliding into a topsy turvy mess where he wasn’t sure which way was up and which down, Ethan staggered back, not knowing what to think.  Would he find Cady bound and gagged in the bedroom?  Or had they taken her offsite somewhere?  How long had the Company even known about her involvement with him?

Sure enough, the apartment was empty, and Cady’s room looked the same as always, slightly messy, but not as if she’d left in a panic anywhere.  Knowing it wouldn’t go anywhere, he tried calling her phone, only to have it ring from the living room, stuffed between the cushions of the couch.  Quickly, he paged through the screens, looking at the last incoming and outgoing calls, but he didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary.  He slipped it into his pocket, delivering a swift kick to the back of Ian’s head when he showed signs of stirring. 

Ethan had to think fast.  Who knew who else might be watching the apartment?  Maybe they were out there right now, waiting to take him in for breaking protocol?  Was that what Rikard had meant by his cryptic call before leaving town? 

Then again, what if he was making a mountain out of a molehill?  Just because Cady hadn’t gone into work and wasn’t home was no reason to work himself up into a lather, was it?  There might be a perfectly good explanation for her absence and Ian’s glyph, though he couldn’t imagine what it could possibly be. 

Prepared to back off and get some perspective, Ethan almost missed the tiny spot of blood on the cheap linoleum floor.  At first he dismissed it as Ian’s blood – he’d landed some good punches, after all, but something made him take a deeper look. 
Ash
made him take a deeper look, if he was being honest with himself.  Down on all fours before he even realized he was moving, he got right up next to the spatter and breathed deep, taking in the coppery traces. 

It was her blood, he knew it, and someone had spilled it in her own apartment.  Whatever had happened, he had to get to the bottom of it, even if it was only to hear Cady tell him herself that she never wanted to see him again. 

“I have to find her,” he whispered in the empty room.

“We have to find her.”
Ash echoed in the stillness of his mind.  

* * *

The droning sound was driving her nuts. 

Before Cady could even open her eyes, the low pitched mumbling filled her senses, making it difficult for her to think or sink back into oblivion.  She officially hated it.  The lights were too bright in the modest room.  Or maybe there was too much white, reflecting it back and making her eyes hurt.  She snapped them shut again, even if she couldn’t slip back to sleep. 

Even when she heard the scrape of a chair on the other side of the table, Cady didn’t open her eyes, preferring to remain in the cocoon of darkness for as long as possible.  A brief peep revealed a small white room with a white table and two chairs, one of which she sat slumped in.  It reminded her of a police interrogation room (only cleaner), which did not bode well for options on who’d stuck her in there, but her money was on the Company. 

At least she wasn’t dead though, she’d been sure Rikard was about to choke the life out of her before she passed out.  If her mind had been working better she might’ve put some thought into whether she was still alive because of Company orders, or in spite of them. 

“Look at me.”

Ugh
, it was Rikard.  Her face pinched into a scowl, but she ignored him, tilting her head to one side to cover an ear with her shoulder, looking for some respite from the chanting. 

“I said look at me!”

“I’d rather not,” she said stubbornly, taking the tiniest peep at him before squeezing them shut again, just because she knew he wanted them open. 

“You have to obey me.”

Cady let out a long sigh.  “Are you back to that again?”  She cracked one eye open.  “If I look at you will you turn off that annoying… whatever it is?  It’s giving me a headache.”

His eyes flicked up to the tiny holes of built in speakers, high up on the walls and she noticed a small camera next to it.  Someone was getting a good show.  “Cooperate and answer my questions and I’ll give you something for your pain.”

“I’d rather not trust the word of the guy who tried to kill me, thanks.”  For whatever reason she wasn’t afraid of him anymore.  If he’d wanted her dead, he could’ve easily killed her.  

“I didn’t try to kill you,” he glowered.  “I simply made you more pliable for transport.”

An idea came to her, a risky one, but Cady was running short of options.  She wasn’t about to tell them anything about her and Ethan, but if she pushed Rikard’s buttons enough, maybe they’d send someone else in to talk to her?  Someone she could play the innocent teenager with.  Someone who didn’t know for a fact that she was lying through her teeth where Ethan was concerned. 

“Transport where?” she asked, taking the offensive.  “Where are we, anyway?  Is this some kind of secret underground bunker?  Is that why no windows?”

Rikard’s jaw twitched, but he still sounded calm enough when he answered.  “This is the part where I ask you the questions and you give me the answers, not the other way around.”

“No, actually this is where I politely ask you to fuck off,” she said, giving him double deuces, “and ask to speak to someone else.”  She smiled sweetly for the camera, even though the droning noise made her want to scream at them to stop. 

“We’re wasting time.  You will answer my questions, and if you cooperate, you will be released.  Do you understand?”

“I understand you’re a total asshat,” she muttered, secretly thrilling when she saw him grind his teeth harder together. 

“What is the nature of your relationship with Ethan Shaw?”

“What is the ratio of chainsaws to squirrels in a Katy Perry song?”

“What?” he blinked, taken aback.

“Oh, I thought we were asking nonsense questions.  Your turn.”

“When did you first meet Ethan Shaw?” he tried again, and Cady decided to go for broke.  Covering her heart with her hand, she puffed out her chest and started singing. 

“
My country tis of thee...
”

“We’re not getting anywhere,” Rikard bit out in disgust, looking to the camera as she continued to sing. 

“
Sweet land of liberty…
”

“The compulsion’s not working, not even with the pod.”

“
Of thee I sing…
”

“Interesting,” a female voice came over the speakers, and the droning chant ceased, causing Cady’s song to falter. 

“Initiate drug protocols?” Rikard asked.

“No, bring her to the campus… and send for the dreamer.”