Darkness Revealed (Guardians of Eternity #4)(63)

Glancing down to make sure that the bizarro world included clothes, she was relieved to discover she was covered in a long green gown with an embroidered tunic that fell nearly to her knees. She looked like she had just stepped out of a medieval painting, but she was too happy not to be stark naked to care.

Of course, the ridiculous dress seemed to fit the strange place.

With a shiver she took in the crumbling ruins of the ancient castle that surrounded her. It was nothing more than a shell of worn, gray stones that were covered in mold, along with empty windows that revealed that the castle was perched on the edge of a cliff with some unknown sea crashing against the rocky shore.

With her heart beating with the same force as the distant waves, Anna slowly turned about, searching through the odd, silvery mist for the familiar form of Morgana.

For long moments there was nothing to see. She might have been completely alone in the isolated, peaceful ruin. Even better there wasn’t the faintest whiff of pomegranates to mar the salt-scented breeze.

Then, as her eyes widened in fear, a large, silver and black wolf appeared in an arched doorway, regarding her with an unnervingly intelligent green gaze.

“Oh…” She took a hasty step backward, her hand pressed to her heart. The wolf halted, as if realizing it had startled her—which might have been a lot more comforting if a strange glow hadn’t started to shimmer around the large animal—and in a blink of an eye it took on a misty, ethereal shape of a man. “Crap.”

“Do not fear, I mean you no harm,” a deep voice rumbled from within the mist.

Anna shook her head. Despite the vague impression of a large, very male figure in heavy armor, it was impossible to make out any actual features. Almost as if the mist battled against holding a steady shape.

That, of course, didn’t mean the…thing wasn’t dangerous. With her current streak of luck, she could almost count on it.

“I seem to be hearing that a lot lately,” she muttered. “Usually right before someone tries to hurt me.”

The mist stirred and Anna had the impression that the stranger had lifted his hands to remove his helmet. It was nothing more than a feeling. Just like the feeling that the man possessed craggy, worn features and a long mane of silver-peppered black hair.

“I sensed Morgana leaving Avalon and moving through the world,” he said, ignoring her comment. “That is what has brought me here.”

She took another step backward. “You know Morgana?”

His short, bitter laugh echoed through the empty room. “Intimately.”

“Then that whole claim of not meaning to hurt me was just a big lie?” she rasped.

“No, Anna Randal.” His hand lifted in what she assumed was a gesture of peace. “I am here to offer you what little protection that I can.”

“Why?” she demanded suspiciously. “Why would you want to protect me?”

“You are blood of my blood.”

Blood of my blood?

A strange surge of excitement raced through her, only to be swiftly squashed. Jeez. How pathetic was it to be excited by the thought that she might have found a long lost part of her family?

He was a blob of mist, for Christ’s sake.

“You mean that we’re related?” she demanded, her tone deliberately indifferent.

“We are more than mere relatives.” The mist stirred, as if in reaction to some strong emotion. “You are the culmination of centuries of hope and sacrifice. You are my ultimate weapon of justice.”

“Weapon of justice?” She shivered as a sudden chill lodged in the pit of her stomach at the ominous words. “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

“Morgana must pay for her sins.”

“Sins against you?”

“I am but one of her victims, just as you are.” The mist neared, bringing with it the smell of warm, rich sage. “There have been an endless number of victims over the years. And should she ever be truly liberated from her citadel in Avalon…”

She frowned as his words trailed away. “What?”

The man hissed, shaking his head. Or at least she thought that he shook his head.

“The world will be bathed in her perversions,” he said, his voice vibrating with a fierce command. “You cannot allow such a fate.”

“Me? What am I supposed to do?”

“You possess the power to destroy Morgana.”

“Oh, no.” She gave a wild shake of her head. The ghost, or shade, or whatever the hell he was, was clearly off his nut. If Anna ever fell into Morgana’s hands she didn’t doubt the woman would bitch-slap her from one end of Chicago to the other. “I don’t. I really, really don’t.”

“You have proven otherwise by simply being alive. Morgana has gone to great lengths to be rid of you.”

Her laugh held a world of bitterness. “Good God, all I’ve done is cause one disaster after another. It’s a wonder that I haven’t managed to kill myself and everyone around me. And for your information, the only reason I’m still alive is because of Cezar, not because of any power I might possess.”

The mist seemed to still. “The vampire.”

Anna blinked in shock. “You know him?”

“I see much, even here.”

“Ah.”

Anna wasn’t sure if she should be pleased or creeped out. It was nice to think someone might be watching over her. On the other hand, the last thing she wanted was a mystical peeping tom. She cleared her throat.