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“I’ll tell you what,” Titus said, putting the sandwich back into the bag. “If we make it out of this, I’ll make it my number-one priority.”
“After the ash,” I said.
He nodded. “Of course.”
There was no one else on this planet who could accomplish the things Titus Mott had. And despite how I felt about him, he was the only one who might be able to help me and most everyone I loved.
We arrived at Mott Tech right on schedule, the guards waving us through.
I parked the sedan at the front of the building, my headlights beaming two ji
“Any ideas?” Titus asked, popping the door handle.
“Yeah. Kill Mynogan.”
I stepped out of the car, practically naked in my bare feet and napkin-thin hospital gown. As the ji
We followed a flagstone path away from the building and into the landscaped gardens. The cold brush of wind that came off the lake and through the woods stirred my loose hair and covered me in chills. I crossed my arms over my chest as I stepped carefully over the cold stones.
Titus walked behind me, the other ji
The songs of crickets and katydids echoed all around us. Moonlight bathed the area in a soft glow, lighting our way as we wound through the trees. The scent of the lake grew stronger, and the long, drawn-out croaks of frogs became louder. Soon, we were on a path, which skirted the lake.
Ahead was the pavilion. Hank told me once he’d attended a wedding out here. I could see the attraction. It was a romantic setting, with an arched bridge spa
Figures in shadows waited, lining the path to the pavilion. Three on each side. All dressed in black. How clichéd. Surprisingly, we skirted the pavilion and came to a large meadow at the back of the building where a wide, circular area of soft grass had been cut. Surrounding it was a garden straight out of a Monet painting. My heart began to pound, steady and stronger and faster.
Mynogan stood in the center of the lawn.
Alone.
I marched around the ji
“Ah, Charlene. Always a class act.” He folded his hands behind his back, the moonlight glinting off his white hair and skin, making his black eyes even more menacing, like two black holes lost in the shadows. “Your daughter is there in the pavilion.”
I whirled, but then was dragged back around to face Mynogan. “Let me go!” I threw back my head and busted the ji
And then I was ru
Almost there, the back steps of the pavilion just within reach, my heart in my throat, my arms pumping. A hand delved into my flying hair, pulling me up short and so hard that I was lifted off my feet. The breath left me as my back hit the ground. My vision wavered, making the moon bounce back and forth in the sky.
The first tug on my hair made me reach and grab the hand, trying to pry the fingers off as I was dragged across the lawn flat on my back, kicking and screaming. Sharp, stinging pain seared my scalp. I twisted my body but couldn’t get traction to push or pull myself to my feet.
The ji
Pants came out of me in ragged succession. I glanced up. Mynogan stood before me, smiling.
And then it hit me. My heart stopped.
Oh, God.
This was my nightmare all over again. In the grass. On my knees. Mynogan and Titus both there. Mynogan in black and Titus in his white lab coat. But this time Titus was watching pale-faced and scared shitless.
“What do you want from me?!” My voice cracked, thick with desperation.
“You may release her,” Mynogan said to the ji
“You have a choice, Charlene. I’ll make it simple so you can understand. Your lifeblood, for your daughter’s.” A brutal eyebrow cocked, and I wanted to wipe the slimy smirk right off his face. “All of it.”
“Why not just kill me now?” He had me. He had Emma. Why make a deal?
“You must do it yourself. A willing gift to the primordial darkness of Charbydon.”
I blinked. “Suicide?” Aaron’s words came back to me. The ritual. Mynogan’s belief that only a person with the blood of all three worlds in their veins could raise the darkness. Fu
Triumph swelled his chest. “Civil War burial ground for criminals and traitors.”
Weigh your choices, Charlie.Carreg’s deep voice glided through my mind. There’ll be no light. No food will grow. Unlike our world, yours ca
“I want to see my daughter first,” I told Mynogan, and then to Carreg, If you’re so worried about it, get your ass out of hiding and fight with me.
Fighting Mynogan now will start a war between the Houses of Abaddon and Astarot. I ca
His words lit a raging fire in the center of my chest, burning a path through every neuron and cell until it engulfed me. I had to clench my fists tightly, nails digging painfully into my palms, to keep from cursing him out loud. He knew nothing! Emma was my world. How could I look in her eyes and sacrifice her? How? Carreg was dumber than a doorknob if he thought for one second I’d make that choice. I’d find another way because I wasn’t giving up my kid. I’d die before that happened.
So, you’ll just stand by and let the darkness come? I shot back at Carreg.
I will not try to stop him, no. There are things, reasons, you don’t understand.
Agreeing to my demand to see Emma, Mynogan motioned to a dark figure standing next to the pavilion.
My mind racing, I thought, I’ll make a deal with you. Carreg didn’t give a shit about me or Emma, and he certainly didn’t know what it meant to be a parent. He obviously didn’t care too much for my city or the planet, either. He wasn’t about to put his plans on the line to help. But I knew the one thing he’d find beneficial. Mynogan dead. When the time comes, you keep my family safe.
And in return?
I’ll kill Mynogan.
Carreg’s laughter filled my head. You’re going to try to do that anyway.
Not if you don’t promise me. His DNA is inside of me, Carreg. I have the same powers, the same strength. Who do you think has more to fight for? Who do you think won’t quit until he’s dead? I can do this. And if you don’t keep Emma and the others safe, I’ll let him live within an inch of his life and turn him over to ITF. How long before you think his lawyers get him out? How long until he’s back in control of the Council of Elders and realizes you helped me? You want him gone? You want control? Then you place your bet with me. You have nothing to lose. Just free the others from the lab and get Em out of here when I spill my blood. That’s all I’m asking.