Beautiful Darkness

Army of One

Macon was insistent. He was in no condition to go anywhere, but he knew we didn't have a lot of time, and he was determined to go with us. I didn't argue, because even a weakened Macon Ravenwood was more resourceful than four powerless Mortals. I hoped.

I knew where we had to go. The moonlight was still pouring through the ceiling of the coastal cave in the distance. By the time Liv and I helped Macon navigate the shoreline leading to the moonlit cave, one painstaking step at a time, he had finished asking me his questions and I was asking him mine. "Why would Sarafine call up the Seventeenth Moon now?"

"The sooner Lena is Claimed, the sooner the Dark Casters will have secured their fate. Lena is growing stronger every day. They know the longer they wait, the more likely she is to make up her own mind. If they know the circumstances surrounding my demise, I imagine they want to take advantage of Lena's vulnerable state."

I remembered when Hunting told me that Lena killed Macon. "They know."

"It's of the utmost importance that you tell me everything."

Ridley fell into step alongside Macon. "Ever since Lena's birthday, Sarafine's been summoning power from the Dark Fire to become powerful enough to raise the Seventeenth Moon."

"You mean that crazy bonfire she started back in the woods?" The way Link said it, I was pretty sure he imagined a trash can burning by the lake at night.

Ridley shook her head. "That wasn't the Dark Fire. It was a manifestation, like Sarafine. She created it."

Liv nodded. "Ridley's right. The Dark Fire is the source of all magical power. If Casters channel their collective energy back into the source, it becomes exponentially more powerful. A sort of supernatural atomic bomb."

"You mean it's gonna blow up?" Link didn't look as sure about hunting down Sarafine now.

Ridley rolled her eyes. "It won't blow up, Genius. But the Dark Fire can do some serious damage."

I looked up at the full moon and the beam of moonlight creating a direct path into the cavern. The moon wasn't feeding the fire. The power of the Dark Fire was being channeled into the moon. That's how Sarafine called the moon out of time.

Macon was watching Ridley carefully. "Why would Lena agree to come here?"

"I convinced her, me and this guy John."

"Who is John, and how does he fit into all this?"

Ridley was biting her purple nails. "He's an Incubus. I mean, a hybrid, anyway. Part Incubus and part Caster, and he's really powerful. He was obsessed with the Great Barrier and how everything would be perfect if we got here."

"Did this boy know Sarafine would be here?"

"No. He's a true believer. Thinks the Great Barrier will solve all his problems, like it's some kind of Caster Utopia." She rolled her eyes.

I could see the anger in Macon's eyes. The green reflected his emotions in a way the black never had. "How is it that you and a boy who isn't even a full-blooded Incubus were able to talk Lena into something so absurd?"

Ridley looked away. "It wasn't hard. Lena was in a bad place. I think she believed there was nowhere else for her to go." It was hard to look at the blue-eyed Ridley without wondering how she felt about the Dark Caster she was only a few days ago.

"Even if Lena felt responsible for my death, why would she think she belonged with the two of you, a Dark Caster and a Demon?" Macon didn't say it with spite, but I could tell the words stung Ridley.

"Lena hates herself and thinks she's going Dark." Ridley glanced at me. "She wanted to go to a place where she wouldn't hurt anyone. John promised he'd be there for her when no one else would."

"I would have been there for her." My voice echoed off the rock walls surrounding us.

Ridley looked right at me. "Even if she went Dark?"

It all made sense. Lena was guilt-ridden and tormented, and John was there with all the answers, in ways I couldn't be.

I thought about how long he and Lena had been alone together, how many nights, how many dark Tunnels. John wasn't a Mortal. Her touch wouldn't kill him with its intensity. John and Lena could do anything they wanted -- all the things Lena and I could never do. An image crept into my mind, the two of them curled up together in the darkness. The way Liv and I had been in Savannah.

"There's something else." I had to tell him. "Sarafine didn't do this alone. Abraham has been helping her."

Something passed across Macon's face, but I couldn't pin it down. "Abraham. That's no surprise."

"The visions have changed, too. When I was in them, it seemed like Abraham could see me."

Macon lost his footing, nearly tripping me. "Are you certain?"

I nodded. "He said my name."

Macon looked at me the way he had the night of the winter formal, Lena's first dance. As if he felt sorry for me, the things I had to do, the responsibilities that fell to me. He never understood I didn't care.

Macon kept talking, and I tried to focus. "I had no idea things had progressed so quickly. You must exercise extreme caution, Ethan. If Abraham has established a connection with you, then he can see you as clearly as you can see him."

"You mean, outside of the visions?" The idea of Abraham watching my every move wasn't a comforting thought.

"At this point, I don't have an answer. But until I do, be careful."

"I'll get right on that. After we fight an army of Incubuses to rescue Lena." The more we talked about it, the more impossible it felt.

Macon whipped around to face Ridley. "Is this boy John involved with Abraham?"

"I don't know. Abraham's the one who convinced Sarafine she could raise the Seventeenth Moon." Ridley looked miserable and exhausted and filthy.

"Ridley, I need you to tell me everything you know."

"I wasn't that high on the food chain, Uncle Macon. I never even met him. Everything I know came from Sarafine." It was hard to believe Ridley was the same girl who almost convinced my father to jump off a balcony. She looked so sad and broken.

"Sir?" Liv's voice was tentative. "Something's been bothering me ever since we met John Breed. We have thousands of Caster and Incubus family trees in the Lunae Libri, hundreds of years of history. How is it that this one person comes along out of nowhere, and there's no record of him? Of John Breed, I mean."

"I was wondering precisely the same thing." Macon started walking again, leaning heavily to one side. "But he's not an Incubus."

"Not strictly speaking," Liv answered.

"He's as strong as one." I kicked at the rocks under my feet.

"Whatever. I could take him." Link shrugged.

Ridley fell into step next to us. "He doesn't feed, Uncle M. I would have seen it."

"Interesting."

Liv nodded. "Very."

"Olivia, if you don't mind --" He held out his arm to her. "Have there been any cases of hybrids on your side of the Atlantic?"

Liv slipped her shoulder underneath Macon's arm, taking my place. "Hybrids? I should hope not...."

As Liv continued along the rocks with Macon, I lagged behind. I pulled Lena's necklace out of my pocket. I let the charms roll around in my palm, but they were tangled and meaningless without her. The necklace was heavier than I imagined, or maybe it was the weight of my conscience.

We stood on a cliff above the entrance to the cave, surveying the scene. The sea cave was huge, formed completely from black volcanic rock. The moon was so low, it looked like it could drop right out of the sky. A pack of Incubuses guarded the mouth of the cave as waves crashed on the black rocks in front of them, sending shallow rushes of water across their boots.

The moonlight wasn't the only thing attracted to the cave. A host of Vexes, swirling black shadows, flowed up from the water and down from the sky. They were cycling through the cave's entrance and the opening in the ceiling, forming some kind of supernatural waterwheel. I watched as one Vex rose up from the water, a whirling shadow reflected perfectly in the sea below.

Macon pointed to their ghostly forms. "Sarafine is using them to fuel the Dark Fire."

An army. What chance did we have? It was worse than I thought, and the possibility of saving Lena more hopeless. At least we had Macon. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to try to help you get inside, but from there you'll have to find Lena. You are the Wayward, after all." Help us get inside? Was he joking?

"You're making it sound like you aren't going with us."

Macon slid down the rock until he was sitting on the overhang. "That assumption is correct."

I didn't try to hide my anger. "Are you kidding? You said it yourself. You think we're gonna save Lena without you -- a Siren who's lost her powers, a Mortal who never had any, a librarian, and me? Against a pack of Blood Incubuses and enough Vexes to take down the Air Force? Seriously? Tell me you have some kind of a plan."

Macon looked up at the moon. "I am going to help you, but it will be from here. Trust me, Mr. Wate. This is the way it has to be."

I stood there staring at him. He was serious. He was going to send us in alone. "If that was supposed to be reassuring, it wasn't."

"There is only one battle that awaits down there, and it doesn't belong to me or to your friends. It's yours, son. You're a Wayward, a Mortal with great purpose. You've been fighting as long as I've known you -- the self-serving ladies of the DAR, the Disciplinary Committee, the Sixteenth Moon, even your friends. I have no doubt you will find a way."

I had been fighting all year, but it didn't make me feel any better. Mrs. Lincoln might look like she could suck the life right out of you, but she couldn't actually do it. What waited below us was a different story.

Macon drew something out of his pocket and pressed it into my hand. "Here. This is all I have, as my recent trip was rather unexpected, and I didn't have time to pack." I stared down at the small square of gold. It was a miniature book, held shut with a clasp. I pressed on it, and it sprang open. Inside, there was a picture of my mother, the girl from the visions. His Lila Jane.

He looked away. "It happened to be in my pocket, after all this time. Imagine that." But the charm was worn and scratched, and I knew without a doubt it was in his pocket today because it was every day, as it had been for who knows how many years. "I believe you'll find this is an object of power for you, Ethan. It always has been for me. Let's not forget, our Lila Jane was a strong woman. She saved my life, even from the grave."

I recognized the look on my mother's face in the photo. It was one I thought she saved for me. It was the look she gave me the first time I read the road signs out loud through the car window, before she realized I could read. It was the look she gave me when I had eaten one of Amma's buttermilk pies by myself and slept in her bed with a stomachache as fierce as Amma herself. It was the look she saved for my first day of school, my first basketball game, my first crush.

And here it was again, staring out from inside the tiny book. She wouldn't abandon me. And Macon wouldn't either. Maybe he did have some kind of plan. He had cheated death. I pushed the book into my pocket, next to Lena's necklace.

"Wait a second." Link walked over. "I'm glad you have that little gold book and all, but you said the whole Blood pack was gonna be in there, plus Vampire Boy, and Lena's mom, and the Emperor, or whoever this Abraham guy is. And last time I checked, Han Solo wasn't around. So don't you think we need more than a little book?"

Ridley was nodding behind him. "Link's right. You may be able to save Lena, but not unless you can get to her."

Link tried to bend down next to Macon. "Mr. Ravenwood, can't you come with us and take out a couple a guys for us?"

Macon lifted an eyebrow. This was the first real conversation he'd ever had with Link. "Unfortunately, son, my incarceration has weakened me...."

"He's Transitioning, Link. He can't possibly go down there. He's incredibly vulnerable." Liv was still holding Macon up, for the most part.

"Olivia is right. Incubuses possess incredible strength and speed. I'm no match for any of them in my present state."

"Luckily, I am." The voice came out of nowhere, and she ripped through the darkness even faster. She was wearing a long black coat with a high neck and wrecked black boots. Her brown hair was blowing in the wind.

I recognized the Succubus from the funeral right away. It was Leah Ravenwood, Macon's sister. Macon was as shocked as the rest of us to see her. "Leah?

She slid her arm across his back, supporting him, looking deep into his eyes. "Green, eh? That will take some getting used to." She laid her head on his shoulder, the way Lena used to.

"How did you find us?"

She laughed. "You're the talk of the Tunnels. Word on the street is my big brother's taking on Abraham. And I heard he isn't too pleased with you."

Macon's sister -- the one Arelia took to New Orleans when she left Macon's father. The Sisters had mentioned her.

"Dark and Light will be what they are."

Link caught my eye from behind them, and I knew the question. He was waiting for me to make the call. Fight or flight. It wasn't clear what Leah Ravenwood wanted from us or why she was here. But if she was like Hunting, and she fed on blood instead of dreams, we had to get away fast. I looked at Liv. She shook her head, almost imperceptibly. She wasn't sure either.

Macon smiled one of his rare smiles. "Now, what are you doing here, my dear?"

"I'm here to even the odds. You know I love a good family feud." Leah smiled. She fluttered her wrist, and a long staff, made of polished wood, appeared in her hand. "And I carry a big stick."

Macon was at a loss. I couldn't decide whether he looked relieved or concerned. Either way, he was stunned. "Why now? You don't usually concern yourself with Caster affairs."

Leah reached into her pocket and took out a rubber band, pulling her hair into a ponytail. "This isn't just a Caster battle, not anymore. If the Order is destroyed, we may be destroyed with it."

Macon gave her a meaningful look. I recognized it as his not in front of the children expression. "The Order of Things has stood since the beginning of time. It will take more than a Cataclyst to bring about its destruction."

She smiled and swung her staff. "And it's about time someone taught Hunting some manners. My motives are pure, like the heart of a Succubus." Macon laughed at the thought. From where I was standing, it didn't sound so funny.

Dark or Light -- Leah Ravenwood could go either way, but it didn't matter to me. "We need to find Lena."

Leah picked up her stick. "I was waiting for you to say that."

Link cleared his throat. "Um, I don't wanna be rude, ma'am. But Ethan says Hunting's down there with his Blood pack. Don't get me wrong, you seem pretty badass and all, but you're still just a girl with a stick."

"This" -- in a split second, Leah extended the rod straight out, inches from Link's nose --"is a Succubine Staff, not a stick. And I'm not a girl. I'm a Succubus. When it comes to our kind, the females have the advantage. We are quicker, stronger, and more clever than our male counterparts. Think of me as the praying mantis of the supernatural world."

"Aren't those the bugs that bite off the heads of the males?" Link looked skeptical.

"Yes. Then they eat them."

Whatever reservations Macon may have had about Leah, he seemed relieved she was going with us. But he did have some last minute advice. "Larkin has grown up since you last saw him, Leah. He's a powerful Illusionist. Be careful. And according to Olivia, our brother keeps his mindless hounds with him, a Blood pack."

"Don't worry, big brother. I have a pet of my own." She looked up at the ledge above us. Some kind of wild mountain lion, about the size of a German shepherd, lounged on the rocks, its tail hanging over the side. "Bade!" The cat leaped to its feet and opened its jaws, flashing rows of razor-sharp teeth, and jumped down beside her. "I'm sure Bade can't wait to play with Hunting's pups. You know what they say about cats and dogs."

Ridley whispered to Liv. "Bade is the voodoo god of wind and storms. Not one you wanna screw with." It reminded me of Lena, which made me feel a little better about the hundred and fifty pound cat staring down at me.

"Stalk and ambush is her specialty." Leah rubbed the cat behind its ears.

At the sight of the wild cat, Lucille ran over and swatted her playfully. Bade nudged Lucille with her muzzle. Leah bent down and picked her up. "Lucille, how's my sweet girl?"

"How do you know my great-aunt's cat?"

"I was there when Lucille was born. She was my mamma's cat. My mother gave Lucille to your Aunt Prue so she could find her way around the Tunnels." Lucille rolled around between Bade's paws.

I hadn't been so sure about Leah, but Lucille had never let me down. She was a good judge of character, even if she was a cat.

A Caster cat. I should have known.

Leah tucked the staff under her belt, and I knew the time for talk was over. "Ready?"

Macon reached out his hand, and I took it. For a second, I could feel the power in his grip, as if we were in some kind of Caster conversation I couldn't comprehend. Then he let go, and I turned toward the cave, wondering if I would ever see him again.

I led the way and, motley or not, my friends were right behind me. My friends, a Succubus, and a mountain lion named after a volatile voodoo god. I only hoped it was enough.