Always.
Well, that was more like my Kade. Maybe the dark energy that had been bothering him was dissipating. It made sense that it would take some time to be cleansed fully from his aura.
I patted my blade, relieved to feel it in my thigh holster. I also had a gun tucked in my waistband. All hidden by my thick trench coat. The weapons would do little against the Dark Fae Lord, but just having them on me made me feel more secure, more in control.
Kade straightened, and turned to look out over the water. “I sense it,” he growled. That sick feeling in my gut flared to life.
“What?” My voice was low and controlled, but on the inside I was screaming. “What do you mean you sense it?”
Rowan and Violet were already moving to start the wards to block us from everyone except the man fishing on the bench. He was too close and would be inside our barrier, so he would see whatever he saw, and there was nothing we could do about that.
Kade broke his trance with the lake and met my eyes. “It has an energy signature similar to the mecca. Now that I’ve connected once, I can feel it.”
What he said sounded logical, but … I was still worried.
“Then lead the way.” I shrugged, acting as nonchalant as him. The sooner we got the stone, the sooner we could get the hell out of here.
Kade walked slowly along the river’s edge with his left hand out, as if he was skimming the energy of the water.
“It’s powerful,” he said, and I didn’t like the tone of his voice. It wasn’t fear I detected, it was interest. He was intrigued with this power, and I was really starting to regret our plan to read the book. We had no choice now, we had to follow through and get that stone first, but that didn’t mean I was happy about it all.
Violet peeked over my shoulder. “I can probably do a spell to bring it up out of the water, so no one has to go swimming.”
Just as I was thinking that was a fantastic idea, Nikoli interjected: “No, it’s far too dangerous. I won’t risk you.”
Violet put a hand on her hip. “Do you know any water retrieval spells?”
Nikoli’s jaw hardened; he stared her down for a few moments, before finally saying, “No.”
Violet looked to Rowan. “You?”
Rowan shrugged. “I can make portals in water, but I can’t pull up objects I haven’t seen or touched.”
Violet smiled. “Then it’s settled.”
That was my best friend. Not exactly humble in her gifts. “Be careful, Vi,” I told her.
After seeing that giant blob of darkness, and how it had pushed my mountain of a mate across the room, it gave me the chills to think of Violet using her magic to connect with it. But if she wanted to try, I wasn’t going to stop her. Nikoli was going to learn something I already knew: Violet wasn’t a fan of being told what to do.
He still tried one final time. “If you absolutely insist on this, then … pull it up, but please don’t touch it. You’re … too important.”
A man telling Violet what to do would normally earn them a black eye, but not this man. Her face softened the slightest bit and I knew his concern had touched her.
“Fine.” She gestured to the case she had in her other hand. “I’ll guide Lucifer right in here and won’t touch it.”
A garbled laugh mixed with a snort escaped me. “Lucifer?”
Violet smirked. “We need to name it, right? Seems fitting.”
It was fitting and depressing. We were pulling a crystal that had earned the name Lucifer out of the lake. Life had really reached a low point. Violet and Kade started to walk toward a bridge that went out onto the water. The rest of us followed but stayed on the shore, keeping an eye out for the fae lord.
I leaned into Rowan. “Do you sense him?” I was pretty sure I’d pick up on his unique, frosty energy. It had a heaviness to it that acted like chloroform on my aura, suppressing it.
She looked around, unsure. “I sense a lot of dark fae magic in that water. It could be him or the crystal.”
I was sensing the same thing. At least it appeared the fishing man had packed up and left. Now there were no onlookers, I felt safe in unhooking my blade, settling it comfortably into my right hand. It eased my nerves the slightest bit, even if the weapon was useless. Violet was standing halfway along the bridge now, hands outstretched. Kade was directing her by pointing to something in the water. Violet had an affinity for water magic. She’d been the genius to think up the spell to enchant the water around the royal houses so the fae could not use them as portals. I hoped she knew what she was doing now, because I had the horrible feeling we were making all kinds of wrong decisions when it came to this darkness.
“Was there anything else in the book?” I asked Nikoli, who had his gaze pinned on Violet.
“No,” he said without turning away, “there was only the spell of location retrieval. All of the other pages were blank. It was like … it only showed me what it believed I needed to know.”
I shivered. That was really creepy. I didn’t like it when magic objects thought for themselves. Too unpredictable. Unable to stand still, I crossed even closer to the bridge, and just as I was about to step onto it I felt a new cold darkness sweep in. Rowan met my gaze, and I gave her a nod. It was the Dark Fae Lord.
Doing a half spin, I looked all around the park and the adjoining water, and saw no one. Nix screeched in the sky and I was reminded that our familiars were doing patrol. I connected to Finn.
Anything out there, buddy?
His reply was instant. Negative. And Nix says the sky is clear. All areas of the perimeter are secure. But I sense a dark energy coming from the lake.
Shit.
Be careful. I’ll be there in a moment. He ended our mental conversation.
I turned my attention to the lake. “He’s in the water,” I murmured to those around me.
All of us took a step forward, the icy water lapping close to our feet. I wasn’t sure who saw it first, but as soon as the water’s ripples grew in size, all of us were paying close attention. The dark energy was getting stronger. I let out a yell as two horns broke the lake’s surface.
“Kade … Vi … you better hurry up!” I shouted, not taking my eyes off those growing swells.
I already had my fae and mecca energy mingling ferociously within me, my wolf inside pressing her own brand of energy to the front as well. Even though I was stronger in my human form when it came to magic, her strength still helped fuel me.
Rowan and Nikoli stepped in on either side of me.
“We need to keep him away from them,” I said, as more of his head appeared. He slowly rose, water trailing off him, his long black robes flowing out behind him, swirling through the dark icy water. He held his staff, the black crystal at the top sparkling in the dull light.
His eyes locked on Violet, who was churning energy through the water, causing a small whirlpool.
“Hey!” I shouted, bringing his gaze to me. “You and I have a little score to settle.”
Chapter Eight
Who you gonna call? Darkness Destroyer.