Darkness Splintered

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The Raziq were coming.

The energy of their approach was very distant, but it blasted heat and thunder across my senses and sent them reeling. But even worse was the sheer and utter depth of the rage that accompanied that distant wave. I’d known they’d be angry that we’d deceived them, but this… this was murderous.

Up until now, the Raziq had used minor demons to kidnap me whenever they’d wanted to talk to me – although their version of talk generally involved some kind of torture. This time, however, there would be no talking. There would be only death and destruction.

And they would take out everyone – and everything – around us in the process.

It was a horrendous prospect given we were still at the Brindle, a place that not only held aeons of witch knowledge, but was also home to at least two dozen witches.

“We cannot stay here.” The familiar masculine tones broke through the fear holding me captive.

My gaze met Azriel’s. In addition to being my guardian, he was my lover, the father of my child, and the being I was now linked to forever, in both life and afterlife. When I died, I would become what he was – a Mijai, a reaper warrior tasked with protecting the gates to heaven and hell, and hunting down those demons who broke through hell’s gate to cause havoc here on Earth.

Of course, reapers weren’t actually flesh beings – although they could certainly attain that form whenever they wished – but rather beings made of energy who lived on the gray fields, the area that divided Earth from heaven and hell. While I was part werewolf and therefore flesh, I was also part Aedh, who were the energy beings who’d once lived on the fields like the reapers and who were the traditional guardians of the gates. My father had been one of the Raziq – a group of rebel Aedh who were responsible for not only the destruction of the Aedh, but for the creation of the three keys to the gates – and he was also the reason they were currently lost.

Or rather, only one key was still lost. I’d found the first two, but both had been stolen from under my nose by the dark sorceress who’d subsequently opened two of hell’s gates.

Things hadn’t quite gone according to plan for her when she’d opened the second one, however, because she’d been captured by demons and dragged into the pits of hell. I was keeping everything crossed that that’s exactly where she’d remain, but given the way luck had been treating us of late, it was an even-money bet she wouldn’t.

“Risa,” Azriel said when I didn’t immediately answer him. “We must not stay here.”

“I know.”

But where were we going to go that was safe from the wrath of the Raziq?

I closed my eyes briefly and tried to control the panic surging through me. And yet that approaching wave of anger filled every recess of my mind, making thought, let alone calm, near impossible. If they got hold of me… My skin crawled.

It took a moment to register that my skin was actually crawling. Or at least part of it was. I glanced down. The wingless, serpentlike dragon tattoo on my left forearm was on the move, twisting around like a wild thing trapped. Anger gleamed in its dark eyes, and its scales glowed a rich, vibrant lilac in the half-light of the room.

Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary tattoo. It was a Dušan, a creature of magic that had been designed to protect us when we walked the fields. It was a gift from my father, and one of the few decent things he’d actually done for me since this whole key saga had begun.

Unfortunately, the Dušan was of little use here on Earth. It shouldn’t even have been able to move on this plane, let alone partially disengage from my skin, as it had in the past.

“What’s wrong now?”

I glanced at Ilianna – my best friend, flatmate, and a powerful witch in her own right. Her warm tones were rich with concern, and not without reason. After all, she’d only just managed to save the life of her mate, Mirri, from my father’s foul magic, and here I was again, threatening not just Mirri’s life, but Ilianna’s, her mom’s, and everyone else’s who currently stood within the walls of this place. Because not even the magic of the Brindle, as powerful as it was, would stop the Raziq. It had been designed to protect the witches from the evil of this world. It was never meant to be a defense against the evils from the gray fields.

“The Raziq hunt us.” Azriel’s reply was flat. Matter-of-fact. Yet his anger reverberated through every inch of my being, as fierce as anything I could feel from the Raziq. But it wasn’t just anger; it was anticipation, and that was possibly scarier. He drew his sword and met my gaze. If the ominous blue-black fire that flickered down the sides of Valdis – which was the name of the demon locked within the metal of his sword, who imbued it with a life and power of its own – was anything to go by, she was as ready to fight as her master. “We need to leave. Now.”

Ilianna frowned. “Then go home —”

“We can’t,” I cut in. “Home’s gone.”

It had been blown to smithereens when I’d thrust the black steel of my own demon sword into my father’s flesh and had allowed her to consume him. And it was an action I didn’t regret, not after everything the bastard had done.

“Yes,” Ilianna replied. “But the wards your father gave us should still be active. I placed a spell on them that prevents anything or anyone other than us from moving them.”

Azriel’s gaze met mine again. “If they aren’t active, then we stand and fight. They still need you, no matter how furious they might currently be.”

Yes, but they didn’t need him. And they would destroy him, if they could. Still, what other choice did we have? No matter where we went, either here or on the gray fields, others would pay the price. I swallowed, then stepped toward Azriel.

“Good luck,” Ilianna said.

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. Azriel’s energy had already ripped through us, swiftly transporting us across the fields. We reappeared in the blackened ruins of the home I’d once shared with Ilianna and Tao – although to call them “ruins” was something of a misnomer. “Ruins” implied there was some form of basic structure left. There was nothing here. No walls, no ceiling, not even a basement. Just a big black hole that had once held a building we’d all loved.

I stepped away from Azriel and glanced up. The faintest touch of pink was beginning to invade the black of the sky; dawn wasn’t that far off.

Time appeared. The familiar, somewhat harsh tone that ran through my thoughts was heavy with displeasure. Alone should not be.

Sorry. I felt vaguely absurd for even issuing an apology. I mean, when it was all said and done, Amaya was a sword. But somewhere in the past few days, she had become more of a friend, more than merely a means of protection.

And in this case, she certainly deserved an apology. In my desperation to see whether Mirri had lived, I hadn’t given Amaya a second thought. Obviously, neither had Azriel; otherwise, I’m sure he would have collected her. I picked my way through the rubble and found her half-wedged in the blackened soil. I pulled her free, and felt a whole lot safer with her weight in my hand.

“The Raziq have split,” Azriel commented.

Confusion – and a deepening sense of dread – ran through me. “Meaning what?”

The ferocity that roiled through the connection between us gave his blue eyes a hard, icy edge. “Half of them chase us here. The rest continue toward the Brindle.”

“Oh, fuck!”

“They plan to demonstrate the cost of misdirection, and there is nothing we can do to prevent it.” His expression hardened further, and I hadn’t thought that was possible. “And before you say it, I will not let you endanger yourself for them.”

“And I will not stand here and let others pay the price for decisions I’ve made!”

“We have no other choice.”

“There’s always a fucking choice, Azriel. Standing here while others die in my place is not one of them.”

“Making a stand at the Brindle will not alter the fate of the Brindle.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” I thrust a hand through my short hair and began to pace. There had to be an answer. Damn it, if only Ilianna had had the time to create more protection stones… The thought stuttered to a halt. “Oh my god, the protection stones.”

Azriel frowned. “They are still active. I can feel their presence.”

“Exactly!” I swung around to face him. “You need to get them to the Brindle. It’s the only chance they have against the Raziq.”

“I will not —”

“For god’s sake, stop arguing and just do as I ask!”

He crossed his arms and glared at me. His expression was so fierce my insides quaked, even though I knew he would never, ever hurt me.

“My task here is to protect you. No one else. You. I cannot and will not leave you unprotected, especially not now.”

Not when there is life and love yet to be explored between us. Not when you carry our child. The words spun through my thoughts, as fierce as his expression and yet filled with such passion my heart damn near melted. I walked back to him and touched his arm. His skin twitched, but the muscles beneath were like steel. My warrior was ready for battle.

“I know it goes against every instinct, Azriel, but I couldn’t live with myself if anyone at the Brindle died because of me.”

“And I would not want to live without you. There is nowhere that is safe from the wrath of the Raziq.”

“Maybe not —” I hesitated, suddenly remembering what he’d said about the Aedh temples and the remnants of the priests who still haunted that place. They weren’t ghosts, as such, more like echoes of the beings they’d once been, but they were nevertheless damn dangerous. I’d briefly encountered one of them when I’d chased the sorceress to hell’s gate, and it had left me in no doubt that he could destroy me without a second’s hesitation.

“That is not a true option,” Azriel said, obviously following my thoughts. “And there is certainly no guarantee that the priests will even acknowledge you again, let alone provide any sort of assistance.”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take.” And it was certainly a better option than letting the Brindle pay the price for my deceit. “Those who haunt that place weren’t aware of the Raziq’s duplicity, Azriel, but I think they might be now. And you’re the one who told me that if they decide you’re an intruder, they can cause great harm.”

“But the Raziq were once priests —”

“And they’re also the reason the Aedh no longer exist to guard the gates,” I cut in. “This might be the only way both of us are going to survive the confrontation with the Raziq, and we have to take it.”

He stared at me for several heartbeats, then swore viciously. Not in my language, in his. I blinked at the realization I’d understood it, but let it slide. Right now it didn’t matter a damn how or when that had happened. All that did matter was surviving the next few minutes.

Because the Raziq were getting closer. They’d breached the barrier between the fields and Earth and were closing in even as we stood here.

Azriel sheathed his sword, then caught my hand and tugged me toward him. “If we’re going to do this, then we do it somewhere your body is going to be safe while you’re on the fields.”

“Not the Brindle —”

“No.”

The word was barely out of his mouth when his energy ripped through us again. We appeared in a room that was dark but not unoccupied. The scents in the air told me exactly where we were – my aunt Riley’s, who was the very last person I wanted to endanger in any way. I wasn’t actually related by blood to Riley, but after my mom’s death, she and her pack were the only family I had left.

But before I could make any objection about being there, she said, “I’m gathering there’s a good reason behind your sudden appearance in our bedroom at this ungodly hour of the morning.”

Her tone was wry, and she didn’t sound the slightest bit sleepy. But then, she’d not only once been a guardian, but one of their best. I guess old habits – like sleeping light – die hard.

“The Raziq hunt us,” Azriel said, his voice tight. He didn’t like doing this any more than I did, although I suspected our reasons were very different. “I need you both to keep Risa’s body safe while she’s on the gray fields.”

And with that, he kissed me – fiercely, but all too briefly – then disappeared. Leaving me reeling, battling for breath, and more frightened than I’d ever been. Because I was about to face the wrath of the Raziq alone, even if only for a few minutes.

Not alone, Amaya grumbled. Here am.

Yes, she was. But even a demon sword with a thirst for bloodshed might not be enough to counter the fury I could feel in the Raziq.

And why the hell could I even feel that? Had it something to do with whatever Malin – the woman in charge of the Raziq, and my father’s pissed-off ex – had done to me that time she’d tortured me? I didn’t know, because Malin had also erased the knowledge of the procedure from my mind to prevent my father from uncovering what she’d done. But with him dead, maybe it was time to find out.

“Risa?” This time it was Riley’s mate, Quinn, who spoke.

And he was the reason Azriel had brought me here. While Riley might once have been a guardian, Quinn was a whole lot more. Not only was he a vampire who’d once been a Cazador, which was basically a hit man for the high vampire council, but he was also what I was – a half-breed Aedh. One who’d undergone priest training. If there was anyone on Earth who could stand against the wrath of the Raziq for more than a second, it would be him.

I swallowed heavily, but it didn’t do a whole lot to ease the dryness in my throat. “There’s no time to explain,” I said. “I have to get onto the fields immediately. People will die if I don’t.”

“Then, do it.” Quinn climbed out of bed and walked to the wardrobes that lined one wall of their bedroom. “No one will get past us.”

I hoped he was right, but it wasn’t like I was going to be around to find out. I sat cross-legged on the thick, cushiony carpet, saw Quinn open a door and reach for the weapons within, then closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

As I slowly exhaled, I released awareness of everything around me, concentrating on nothing other than slowing the frantic beat of my heart so I could free my psyche, my soul – or whatever else people liked to call it – from the constraints of my flesh. That was what the Raziq were following; not my flesh, but my spirit. Hopefully, they would follow me onto the fields and not wreak hell on the two people I cared most about in this world.

As the awareness of everything around me began to fade, warmth throbbed at my neck – a sign that the charm Ilianna had given me when we’d both still been teenagers was at work, protecting me as my psyche pulled free and stepped onto the gray fields. There the real world was little more than a shadow, a place where those things that could not be seen on the living plane became visible. It was also the land between life and death, a place through which souls journeyed to whatever gateway was their next destination, be it heaven or hell.

But it was far from uninhabited. The reapers lived here, and so did the Raziq who remained.

And right now it was a dangerous place for me to be. The Raziq could move far faster here than I could. My only hope was reaching the Aedh temples that surrounded and protected the gates.

I turned and ran. The Dušan immediately exploded from my arm, her energy flowing through me, around me, as her lilac form gained flesh and shape, became real and solid. She swirled around me, the wind of her body buffeting mine as her sharp ebony gaze scanned the fields around us. Looking for trouble. Looking to fight.

The Raziq were coming. The thunder of their approach shook the very air around us.

Fear surged, and it lent me the strength to go faster. But running seemed a hideously slow method of movement, even if everything around me was little more than a blur. I wished I could transport myself to the temples instantaneously, as Azriel had in the past, but I wasn’t yet of this world, even if I was destined to become a Mijai upon death.

The Dušan’s movements were becoming more and more frantic. I swore and reached for every ounce of energy I had left, until it felt as if I were flying through the fields of gray.

But even when I reached the temples, I felt no safer. This place was as ghostly and surreal as the rest of the fields, but it was also a place filled with impossible shapes, high, soaring arches, and honeycombed domes sitting atop floating towers. And yet it no longer felt as empty as it had the first time I’d come here. There was an awareness – an anger – now, and it filled the temple grounds with a watchful energy that stung my skin and sent chills through my being.

I stopped in the expanse of emptiness that divided the temple buildings from the simply adorned gates to heaven and hell. The Dušan surged around me, her movements sharp, agitated. I tightened my grip on Amaya as I turned to face the oncoming Raziq. She began to hiss in expectation, the noise jarring against the watchful silence. But none of the priestly remnants appeared or spoke. I had no doubt they were aware of my presence, but it seemed that, for now, they were content to watch.

Leaving me hoping like hell that I hadn’t been wrong, that they would interfere if the Raziq got too violent.

Electricity surged, dark and violent. Without warning both the Dušan and I were flung backward. I hit vaporous ground that somehow felt as hard as anything on Earth and tumbled into the wall of a triangular building that stood on an impossible point.

Amaya was screaming, the Dušan was screaming, and their joint fury echoed both through my brain and across the fields. The Dušan surged upward, briefly disappearing into grayness before she dove into the midst of the Raziq, snapping and tearing at beings I couldn’t see, could only feel. A second later she was sent tumbling again.

If they could do that to a Dušan, what hope did I have?

Amaya screamed again. She wanted to rend, to tear, to consume, but there were far too many of them. We didn’t stand a chance… and yet, there was no way in hell I was going to give up without a fight. Not this time. I pushed to my feet, raised Amaya, and spit, “Do your worst, Malin. But you might want to remember you still need me to find that last key. And if you kill me, I become Mijai and beyond even your reach. Not something you’d want, I’d guess.”

For a moment there was no response; then that dark energy surged again. I swore and dove out of the way, and the energy hit the building that loomed above me. Its ghostly, gleaming sides rippled, the waves small at first but gaining in depth as they rolled upward, until the whole building quivered and shook and the thick, heavy top began to crumble and fall. I scrambled out of the way, only to feel another bolt arrowing toward me. I swore and dove to my left, but this time I wasn’t quite fast enough. The energy sizzled past my legs, wrapping them in heat, until it felt as if my flesh were melting from my bones.

A scream tore up my throat, but I clamped down on it hard, and it came out as little more than a hiss. I wasn’t flesh; I was energy. This was nothing more than a mind game.

A mind game that felt painfully real.

Damn it, no! If I was going to go down, then I sure as hell was going to take some of these bastards with me.

Amaya, do your worst. And with that, I flung her, as hard as I could into the seething mass of energy that was the Raziq. They scattered, as I knew they would, but Amaya arced around, her sides spitting lilac flames that splayed out like burning bullets. Whether they hit any targets I have no idea, because I wasn’t about to hang around waiting for another bolt to hit me. I scrambled to my feet and ran to the right of the Raziq. Amaya surged through their midst, still spitting her bullets as she returned to me. The minute she thumped into my hand, I swung her with every ounce of strength and anger within me. Steel connected with energy and the resulting explosion was brief but fierce and would have knocked me off my feet had it not been for my grip on my sword. Amaya wasn’t going anywhere; she had a soul to devour, and devour she did. It took barely a heartbeat, but that was time enough for the rest of the Raziq to rally. Again that dark energy cut across the silent watchfulness of the temple’s fields, but this time it felt stronger – wider – than any of the others.

Amaya, shield! I dropped to one knee and held Amaya in front of me. Lilac fire instantly flared out from the tip of her blade and formed a curved circle that encased me completely.

And just in time.

The dark energy hit the barrier, and with enough force that it pushed me backward several feet. Amaya screamed in fury, her shield burning and bubbling where the Raziq’s energy flayed her. She held firm, but I had to wonder for how long. Not very, I suspected.

Damn it, where were the priestly remnants? Why weren’t they intervening? The Raziq were the reason we were all in this mess – they were the reason the priests were dead. Did they not realize that? Did they not want to avenge that? I know the Aedh were supposedly emotionless beings, but they were not above pride and they certainly weren’t above anger. Surely to god the priests had to feel something about their demise.

But if they didn’t know or care?

Maybe it was time to remind them of their duty to protect the gates.

“Killing me won’t solve your current problem, Malin.” I had to shout to be heard above both Amaya’s screeching and the thunderous impact of the dark energy against her shield. I had no idea where the Dušan was, but she was still very much active if her bellows were anything to go by. “As long as there’s one key left, you – as an Aedh priest – cannot be free from the responsibility of caring for the gates. If you so desperately want to close them permanently and therefore end your servitude to the gates, then you’re better off trying to sweet-talk me.”

“‘Sweet-talk?’” The voice was feminine, and decidedly pleasant. There was none of the malevolence I could feel in the dark energy, yet it nevertheless sent chills down my spine. Malin could charm the pants off a spider even as she dissected it piece by tiny piece. She’d dissected me once. That time, at least, she’d put me back whole, though not entirely the same. This time I suspected she would not be so generous. “You defy us at every turn, you do not take our threats seriously, and you expect us to simply accept your games of misdirection? Since when did insanity become a thread in your being?”

“I suspect it happened the day you lot entered my life.” It was probably not the wisest thing to say, but hey, what the hell? It wasn’t like she could get any angrier. Although the fresh burst of energy that hit Amaya’s shield very much suggested I was wrong. And the fact that she was no longer screaming was an ominous sign that her strength was weakening.

Is, she muttered. If there was one thing my sword hated, it was admitting she wasn’t all-powerful. Yours must draw soon.

Her drawing my strength was the very last thing I wanted right now, but again, until Malin and the rest of the Raziq calmed down a tad, it wasn’t like we had another choice.

Presuming, of course, they would calm down.

“And insanity aside,” I continued, “it doesn’t alter the fact you still need me to find the final key.”

“Not if we have decided that pursuing the remaining key is no longer viable or necessary. Not when it would be easier to simply destroy the gate itself.”

My body went cold. If they did that, then heaven help us all. Hell would be unleashed on both the fields and on Earth, and I very much suspected neither world would survive.

But would the fates and the priestly remnants allow that?

The continuing silence – at least when it came to the priests – very much suggested they might.

“You can do that?” I said, voice hoarse.

“We can now. With two gates open, the magic that prevents its destruction is muted.”

“But how would destroying the last gate free you from their service? The other two are still active, even if they are open.”

“Which is precisely why we have concluded destruction might be the better option.” I could hear the smile in her voice, even if I couldn’t see her. “The gates are all linked. If you can destroy one, you destroy them all.”

“The mere fact you make such a threat shows just how far the Raziq have fallen.” Azriel’s voice cut across the noise and the anger that filled the temple grounds as cleanly as sunshine through rain. Relief made my arms shake, and tears stung my eyes. I blinked them away furiously. It wasn’t over yet. Not by a long shot. It was still him and me against all of them.

“You no longer deserve the name of ‘priests,’” he continued, voice ominously flat. “And you certainly no longer have the umbrella of its protection.”

“Do not make idle threats, Mijai.” Any pretense of civility had finally been stripped from Malin’s voice. It was evil personified – nothing more, nothing less. “We both know you would not dare to violate the sanctity of this place.”

“Not without the permission of the fates,” he agreed. “And that we now have.”

With those words lingering ominously in the air, he appeared.

And he wasn’t alone.