Darklight 4: Darkblood Page 4

  The blue-haired hunter growled. "What's this?" she asked, looking at her animal companion. The velek’s gem glowed brightly, matched by the gleaming gem in Inkarri’s forehead. The velek looked up at her, then swung its head in our direction, the grotesque faces in its horns writhing and screaming.

  Oh crap.

  I pressed my body flat against the roof, feeling the strange dips and grooves beneath me. The rest of my team did the same. The rocky material dug painfully into my ribs. The noisy street fell absolutely silent. Sweat pricked my forehead.

  "What do we have here?" Inkarri asked. The velek bayed loudly in response.

  The green-haired hunter sighed wearily. "Can you shut that thing up?"

  Inkarri chuckled. "Shut it up? Lucra, my velek has been bound to my aura by Zeele himself, at the command of our Lord Irrikus, to sniff out prey… especially vampires. They have a particular reeking odor. He bays only when there's prey about, so we must have missed some vermin."

  I could practically hear the slick, sadistic smile cross her face. The velek, for its part, refused to be silenced. It bayed noisily, the sound approaching our building. My palms grew clammy. I turned my face to the side and spotted Roxy gritting her teeth. We had spread out as much as possible in the shadows, but my heart still burned from Dorian’s proximity. His eyes met mine for half a second, intense and focused, as if ready for the velek to magically leap onto the roof at any moment.

  We couldn’t run. They would be watching the roof now. Dorian's eyes narrowed, and his hand rose a few inches, but he made no movement with his fingers. The dancing lights above the sky, which had seemed almost fun before, shifted and cast us in a somber blue glow.

  “I saw one!” a new voice cried suddenly. “A loose vampire!” It was a man's voice, dramatic and loud.

  "A vampire?" a woman called out, her voice choked with panic.

  The velek bayed on.

  "You must save us," the male voice demanded. He let out a howl that bordered on hysterical. He gasped abruptly. "There! Didn't you see the flapping cloak? It went that way."

  “Hunters, on me.” It was Lucra, the green-haired ruler, and he apparently needed no more convincing.

  “Damn it, Lucra, hold your eagerness,” Inkarri snapped, but the frenzy of a potential hunt overwhelmed her authority.

  Multiple sets of heavy footsteps thundered toward us as his comrades joined him. I reached for the handgun holster at my shoulder. Roxy went for the knives at her sides. Dorian lifted himself slightly, ready to jump into defensive mode. Shrieks rose up below. Blades were drawn from sheaths. Boots clattered against the golden street as more rulers joined the chase.

  The velek continued to bay. "Silence!" The velek fell abruptly silent, as if Inkarri had flipped a switch. An echo of her enticing thrall was all she needed to quiet the animal.

  The noise ascended to a terrifying crescendo of panic, then began to fade. Did they pass us? I stayed alert, keeping my breathing silent and shallow, straining to hear whether they were looping around the back or coming up through the house. Dorian lowered himself back down. We exchanged a shocked look. His fangs, still extended, looked almost amusing with his confused expression.

  What the hell just happened?

  Risking a peek through one of the peepholes, I saw that the hunters had moved away from us. Screams and shouts rang out in the distance. Lights flickered farther into the city.

  The man's voice came again, pleading and hysterical. "Everyone should get indoors! It's not safe with vermin running about. Won't you think of your children? Vampires have no morals. They're as good as shrieking decays when it comes to wanton destruction."

  There came the sound of hurrying feet and moving bodies. Doors and shutters began to slam, then silence fell. I raised an eyebrow at Laini. What kind of bizarre relationship did the rulers have with vampires that they could simultaneously loathe vampires and find them inferior, yet still be so afraid?

  "Did you really see a vampire?" Inkarri snapped.

  "Of course," the man replied smoothly. “Are you suggesting I would lie about such a serious matter?”

  “I’m saying I don’t trust you, Juneau,” Inkarri replied, her voice acidic. “You’re as slippery as a Siron toad.”

  “A delight as ever to see you,” Juneau said smoothly. “Do give my regards to your father.”

  She mumbled something under her breath. The tapping of hooves sounded louder, then wandered away, accompanied by Inkarri's solid footfalls.

  More clattering hooves approached, and wheels squeaked as a carriage rolled up to the building where we were hiding. Barely moving, I put my eye to the crack between two of the chimneys and saw the edges of the gaudy carriage from earlier sidle up to our hiding place.

  The man, Juneau, cleared his throat. "Whoever is up there," he whispered, "I promise you don't want the hunters to find you. Whatever the hell you are, you'd better come with me."

  I gaped at Laini, her stiff body unmoving. Roxy nudged me. She shook her head sternly.

  He coughed. "I won't wait all day. It's either come with me or try your luck with the hunters, strangers."

  Laini darted a look at Dorian. Kane began to unsheathe a large knife from his hip. Dorian flicked Kane's hand, stopping him from making any murderous moves.

  "We're running out of time," Juneau called up, raising his voice slightly. "I can't very well shout at rooftops all day without attracting suspicion." He had a point.

  Dorian's eyebrows rose, and a hopeful glint flickered in his eyes. He shrugged. "He's not dark," he mouthed.

  Laini nodded. Even Kane's fangs had retracted, though he still wore a look of intense suspicion. Could we trust this Juneau? I glanced up the street, where a ghostly echo of sound carried over the buildings. It wouldn't be long before they realized it was a wild goose chase. A skimmer drifted up into the sky several blocks away, cutting through the multicolored mist. Dorian glanced at it, then gestured for us to follow.

  Quietly, cautiously, we crawled toward the edge.

  "Oh, there really was someone," the rider said softly, pressing a splayed hand across his chest. In the shadow cast by the building, I only saw the soft glint of his silver hair. He beckoned us. "Come! Quick."

  Using a cast-iron trellis that started on the roof and poured down the side of the building, Dorian disappeared over the edge. Kane snorted.

  "Well, it would've been nice to have a choice," he said before he too disappeared over the lip of the roof, swiftly followed by Laini.

  Chapter Five

  Lacking vampire abilities, Roxy and I took longer climbing down, but as soon as my feet hit the ground, a bolt of pain rushed through me and struck my chest. I was too close to Dorian, but there was no helping it. Dorian hurried to the cart, making room for Roxy and me. The carriage had been backed up to the building, and the Immortal ruler yanked the back doors open, leaning against the carriage with a little smile of affected boredom.

  "Well, do the accommodations satisfy?" Juneau gestured to the inside of his carriage, the long, trailing ends of his immaculate crimson robe sweeping the ground as he did. Inside the carriage lay piles of fabrics and blankets. Trinkets hung from the ceiling. With a final lingering look at the Immortal man, Dorian entered slowly, tensed for a trap or an attack. Nothing happened, and after a moment of him rifling through the gathered fabrics, he gestured for us to join him. We crammed in behind him, batting our way through sparkling pink tulle and silky piles of multicolored ribbons.

  The ruler poked his face inside, eyeing as many of us as he could see. Kane was currently drowning in a heap of black lace and tulle.

  "Hide under the cloth and don't say a word." The doors shut, and darkness enveloped us.

  "Lovely," Roxy grunted and dove for the red satin. I followed suit. Inside, I patted the area around me and hit something.

  "That’s my leg," Laini muttered.

  Oops. My face hit scratchy fabric. Why couldn't I have found silk? I pressed myself against the material, feeling the chi
ll emanating from the metal even with the cloth between me and the bottom of the carriage. The vehicle began to move, creaking as it went. Beams of light passed through the tiny windows at the rear, illuminating all manner of fabrics, bolts upon bolts of them.

  A musky perfume rose from the cloth and tickled my sinuses. I rubbed my nose roughly, trying to contain a sneeze, wriggling away in the hope of reducing the itch. The pain in my chest surged, and I hissed as stars exploded before my eyes.

  "Lyra," Dorian breathed, pained, his voice so near I could practically feel his breath.

  My heart squeezed with agony, made worse by the knowledge that he was suffering alongside me. My fingers reached toward the sound of his voice. I peeked with one eye and saw his pale fingers reaching back to me. Pain exploded inside me when I grabbed his hand, but I didn't care. I clung to him like my life depended on it. The cart bounced along, the driver softly urging the velek on.

  The burning surged, but I only tightened my grip, clinging to consciousness just as tightly. Dorian squeezed my hand in response. I occasionally felt him wince as the cart rolled over a bump, jostling us. I closed my eyes, sparks flying across the backs of my eyelids. Would we ever find a cure for this curse? A fuzzy recollection of Echen’s story streamed through my mind, hope mixing with the pain and the sound of rustling fabric.

  After more bumps and turns, the cart slowed to a creaking halt. The velek snorted. A weight shifted in the front.

  "Here we are," Juneau chirped as he yanked open the doors. Light flooded the carriage, revealing the rainbow kaleidoscope of fabrics once again.

  Dorian and I released each other's hands, snatching them back quickly before anyone could see. The pain still thrummed, and black spots flared at the edges of my vision. Now that I could see, I scrambled to the side of the carriage farthest from Dorian.

  Kane sat up. A square of turquoise lace partially hid his face. "Are you going to kill us?" he asked bluntly.

  The Immortal cocked his head to the side with a chuckle. "No immediate plans."

  Laini climbed out warily, followed by Kane and Roxy, who’d also been nearest to the doors. Roxy leaned back in to help untangle me from the scratchy tulle while the Immortal watched. His red robes swirled together, shades mixing when he moved like the blurring of a phoenix's feathers. Pulling one of my knives from my boot, I tucked it out of sight up my sleeve as I hustled out into a large courtyard, creating some much-needed distance from Dorian. Each step caused the burning in my heart to fade. Kane helped Dorian out, who immediately sucked in a grateful breath of relief. The Immortal raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

  I looked around, taking stock of the location where we now found ourselves. Towering jade walls surrounded us. Here, the musky fragrance grew stronger. Purple and gold lights shone upward from the ground throughout the courtyard, which consisted of a single slab of smooth stone and something like a Zen garden with sandboxes and various statues. Odd plants rose up from the gray sand at the edge of the courtyard, swaying in the air like kelp does in water but with no apparent trigger that would snap them back to place. The plants lined the tops of the walls like hedges.

  I marveled at our mysterious rescuer, seeing him fully now in the soul-light. He was taller than all of us, even Kane, but easily a head shorter than Inkarri and her companions. His silver hair went down to his waist and was adorned with various minute braids and tiny jewels. His pale skin was slate gray but with a pearlescent sheen that caught my eye, a flattering shade in the underwater aesthetic of the courtyard. His yellow eyes flitted from one of us to the next, sharp as a cat. I almost expected to see a tail twitch behind him.

  He flipped his hair nonchalantly. "Well, let's get started." Without any explanation, he turned toward the creature on the front of the carriage. "Secure the walls, please, Charrek."

  The metallic man grunted and hauled himself off the carriage, which jolted with the sudden change of weight. Inside the carriage, bolts of fine linen dislodged themselves and fell to the ground, but the Immortal ruler paid no mind.

  The ruler’s servant, Charrek, looked like the other creatures I had seen in the city—brass skin, with small horns protruding from a patch of white hair. He strode toward the massive gates set into the jade wall behind us. The violet gates glowed, crafted from some kind of wood that looked like it was covered in a film of water, no doubt to complement the aquatic design of the courtyard. With a powerful tug, the creature yanked a huge bar down across the doors, sealing us in. The heavy sound sent an unsettling chill through me. I couldn’t tell if we were safe, or imprisoned.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see a home built like something out of a warped old book. Two dollhouse-like stories sprawled across the generous area, the exterior walls a profound blue with white curlicue trim. If I squinted, I swore every window was trimmed with the shape of seahorses in a chain. Shadows pulled back from the hooded windows and disappeared. When I turned back, he was smiling easily.

  "There. Was that so bad?" he asked with a shrug. "Although I wasn't expecting so many of you. What a delight to see something new."

  "We weren't expecting you at all," Roxy piped up beside me. She shot a wary side-eye at the ruler, who simply continued to smile.

  He rubbed his pointed chin thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right. You may call me Juneau. I am of House Tolgroth, a noble family here in the magnificent city of Itzarriol." He bowed low to us, sweeping his hand over his chest. His long nails, each a different jewel shade, peeked out from the ends of his robes. “I happened to spot you on that dreadful building because I’m the only one who can stand to look at it. What good luck for you. Did you get a chance to see how ugly the building was? It draws the artist’s eye like nothing else.”

  Laini, the closest to Juneau in the courtyard, stared blankly at him. She looked surprised, her eyes wide and lips slightly parted, like he’d caught her off guard. I could understand that reaction to an enormous, absurd, peacock-dressed Immortal who’d apparently just saved us all from a terrible fate.

  Without warning, Juneau scooped up Laini's hand. "My lady, what a pleasure to meet you."

  Kane's jaw threatened to unhinge itself and fall to the ground. Conscious of the knife still hidden in my sleeve, I stared at Juneau as he clutched Laini's hand as if she were a delicate maiden and not a fierce warrior. Dorian opened his mouth to say something, but not before Juneau stooped over and brought Laini's hand toward his mouth to bestow a kiss.

  Laini blinked up at him, then a spark of clarity flickered across her face. Her eyes narrowed, and she tugged her hand free of his grasp, her nails catching the flesh of his palm. He sucked in a quick breath as a slick of black blood pooled in the wound.

  "That stung!" he protested, clutching his hand to his chest.

  "Don’t touch me without permission," she said, with a low growl of warning. "I’ll cut more than a hand next time."

  His four-armed companion hurried over, moving with surprising speed despite his size. Juneau lifted his other hand and waved the creature off.

  "No need to worry," he said. "It was just a misunderstanding."

  Charrek stopped and went still as a statue, observing us all with sharp wariness.

  Juneau's eyes snapped to Laini's face, and he smiled, appraising her with a calculating look. "You're fast," he said. "I apologize for offending you. I am excited to meet all of you, and my enthusiasm got the better of me."

  Laini raised her eyebrows but said nothing. If Juneau had hoped to convince her completely, he failed. Her frown thawed by the tiniest fraction, though.

  Maybe a good night’s sleep will smooth things over. I bit back a stressed sigh. While Juneau could turn out to be evil, he’d saved us, and I was grateful for that.

  "What do you want?" Dorian asked.

  Juneau tore his eyes away from Laini as if he had suddenly remembered the rest of us existed. "An excellent question, strange travelers.” His face blossomed into a wide smile. “You're welcome to hide from the hunters in my home—as long
as you can keep my interest."

  He trained his catlike gaze on Roxy and me with round, fascinated eyes.

  "To start with, tell me about these two."

  Roxy and I exchanged glances.

  "Us?" I tensed, ready to let the knife slip down my sleeve. Roxy’s face immediately took on the carefully neutral expression that meant she was ready to fight. Being a human in this plane too often meant being an easy target.

  Juneau brought up his elegant hands and interlaced his long fingers. "Your auras are incredible," he said, as if Roxy and I were creatures to be celebrated. "I would have thought that you were just in possession of some very powerful soul energy, but there's nothing like that here." His lively gaze landed on me.

  Juneau tapped his bottom lip as he looked me up and down. "Ah, but your energy is weaker now than it was back in the city. I suspect there's usually more color in your cheeks. Are you sickly, perhaps?"

  Dorian grunted. I narrowed my eyes, knowing the carriage ride with Dorian had sapped my strength. However, I refused to let this Immortal see any sort of weakness. I frowned instead.

  "Seems kind of a rude thing to say when you don’t even know what we are," I said wryly.

  "And being the rude smartass is kind of his thing," Roxy said, jerking a thumb at Kane.

  “That’s right,” he confirmed loudly, making his way to stand beside Roxy and me. He glared at Juneau.

  Dorian sent a pointed look toward Kane, a note of warning flashing across his face. Kane’s big mouth might ruin our chances at playing the long game with Juneau. Although trust was too strong a word, I believed Juneau might actually have good intentions. He’d saved us, after all.

  And if he was trying to trick us? We would play along until we needed to act. The world always thought that a soldier’s job must be tiring from the physical activity. It was, but that was nothing compared to the constant churn of the mind as it tried to stay two steps ahead of a potential enemy.

  “Well?” Kane prodded.

  “It’s because he’s never had such an interesting group of people at his dinner table before,” Roxy said. Her probing gaze never moved from Juneau. “What kind of people do you usually entertain? Irrikus? You seem fancy enough for such company.”