Into the Darkness (Darkness #1)(36)

The man dodged also, stepping away, forcing space between them. Assessing.

“Why wait, Andris?” Stefan asked, eyes calculating. “Why stall? What are you after?”

“Unsolved mysteries. For example, that male seemed rather usual, as far as humans go. Crying and begging—so much drama. Conversely, that female never showed fear. Then here you are, wasting valuable power to protect her. Is she a pet? Is that the draw? She certainly is pretty—I can see the allure. Maybe she wasn’t scared because she thinks she is always protected?”

Stefan lunged, his sword swiped through the air. Andris dodged, the blade cutting through the air right next to his head. He countered immediately. Stefan met the attack and countered again, fast as lightning. Each time the blades met, sparks flew. The men evenly matched for height and brawn, but Stefan was faster and more skilled. Andris retreated, a step at a time, eyes darting, looking for a way out.

“Another time, then.” Andris gave a slick smile.

I screamed as two more beings lumbered into the room, not much more than smoky wisps of purple. Both apparitions stopped at me, my chest once again surging outward, sensing something in them and wanting to call to it. Or maybe they called to me.

Before I could think more on it, one palpitating blob floated toward me like a plumb of smoke. I shrank back from the swirling burnished gold cage. Tendrils reached for me, connecting with magic. A spark lit up the room, the vapor creature flashing color and imploding, winking out.

Stefan flagged, momentarily slowed. Andris’s blade found his flesh, slicing a huge red gash in his arm.

“No!” I screamed.

“And why do the Dulcha keep reacting to her?” Andris’s voice became suspicious. “What have you found, Stefan? What is worth your life?”

Stefan switched his sword to his other arm, the color of the blade fading to orange. The cage around me did, too. His power was weakening as he tried to keep me out of harm’s way.

Rage and fear consumed me in equal parts seeing Stefan struggling. I registered the look of triumph on Andris’s face as he raised his sword. Without thinking I struck out, focused on that blade.

Black bands rose in the air around Andris like ribbons, wrapping around his sword and squeezing, breaking the blade into shards. Andris screamed and convulsed, drawing his sword arm into his chest, staring, wide-eyed, at his hand where my magic had burned him. His fingers shook, starting to turn a molten red. The color climbed, as if soaking into his skin, burning and blistering as it went.

Andris screamed, still staring, fixated.

Stefan, sword hanging loosely at his side, his face a blank mask. He was damn good at hiding his emotions.

I would have kept staring as well—I had no idea what I’d done—but the last blob of magic drifted toward me. I screamed again, drawing Stefan’s gaze, scared that if it touched the cage something more would happen to him.

Charles burst through the door, blade whirling, cutting across the pouf of magic in his rage. His eyes swept the room, landing on a fleeing Andris. His gaze darted to Stefan, now hot on Andris’s trail, then to me.

I spared a glance for Jared, his arms flailing limply. Good, he was alive.

I didn’t get long for relief. Charles stared at me with crazy eyes.

I probably shouldn’t have ditched him. He seemed slightly…perturbed.

“What the f**k, Sasha?”

Maybe more than slightly…

“You trying to get me fired?”

In three quick steps, he reached toward my neck, probably meaning something awful, only to hit Stefan’s cage. A bright orange spark flared, singeing Charles’s skin.

“Damn it! You come outta there because I got a score to settle with you! I want to shake you like a crying baby!”

“What a horrible thing to say!”

“Yeah! I am a freaking Watch Captain, Sasha! Yet I had to run down the street, in bare feet, naked, with nothing but a cell phone and a sword! Obviously I drew some notice! Plus, I had to go back to your damn apartment for a sword before I even followed you! It was locked!”

“You remembered your phone but not a sword? How is that my fault?”

“Because you flustered me. I’m going to—“ Another flash of orange. “Damn it! You aren’t worth his protection!”

“Another horrible thing. To think, I thought you liked me.”

“You—“

Moaning interrupted my cringing from Charles. One of Jared’s limbs tweaked. He moaned again.

“Go make sure he’s okay,” I instructed.

“No. And you know what, I don’t even want to have sex with you anymore. That’s how mad I am at you right now!”

“Over-dramatic, hmm?”

Stefan stepped into the room. He’d gone out through the window after Andris, he’d re-entered through the door. Judging by the lack of enemy blood, he didn’t catch his prey. Judging by the huge gash on his arm that he tried to ignore, but brought protectively into his body, it hurt a lot.

His eyes found me, deep and dark.

“Can I get out, now?” I asked, shrinking back from his intense stare.

“Charles, grab Jared and get out.”

Charles gave me a smug look of retribution before he did as instructed, gently lifting a moaning Jared and stalking from the apartment.

Stefan closed the door slowly, turning toward me and lowering to the ground, legs crossed. He stared at me through his self-made jail cell. “You…used magic. You attacked with magic.”