Page 20 of The World Undone

Better than I had when I’d had to metabolize the same news.

I resisted the sudden urge to glance at Evelyn again, though I was strangely tempted to see her reaction unfold to all of this. Vestigial attachments to an old life, perhaps.

Charlie’s hand unconsciously dropped to her stomach, then she shared a brief, intimate look with Bishop.

They hadn’t mentioned it to any of us, but I had a feeling they had a very specific motivation for ensuring a more stable and peaceful future.

“First, we need something that The Guild stole many centuries ago.” Max’s voice was strong, decisive, and, with an almost indecipherable ripple, the atmosphere of the room instantly shifted from shock to action. “A stone—shadow magic made solid. They use it to forge their bonding ceremonies.”

“They do what?” For the first time, Jace looked almost cross, the vestiges of rage, the clear threat of his power—circling like smoke in his dark green eyes.

Evelyn nodded, drawing my attention, blinking like she was coming out of a trance. She straightened her posture—any lingering feelings she had from earlier were buried under the commanding mask of someone devoted to a new, top-secret mission. “I think I know what stone you’re referring to. They didn’t use it for those purposes initially, but they’ve resorted to that in recent years, after losing their paired blade. I’ve seen it once, but it’s kept under heavy protective detail. I don’t know much about it—only that it never leaves a council member’s sight. It won’t be easy for us to get a hold of, especially if they believe you’re after it.” She shook her head in disgust. “It’s taken a while to confirm, but on one of my last missions with them before,” she waved a hand in Max’s direction, “you know, the fire, I confirmed some of my deepest fears—that they’ve warped the magic they were sworn to protect. After looking at Greta’s notes on some of the patients she’s taking care of, it’s becoming clearer. Not only have they found a way to pull magic from demons, they’ve found ways to mobilize it for their own uses. Beyond what they’ve been telling us—” she shook her head, “even those of us with unseasonably high clearance.”

“They’ve what?” Darius gripped the back of Max’s chair, echoing Jace’s anger with far more volume. His fingers tore holes through the leather lining, white filling poking out at odd angles. He didn’t seem to notice.

Every muscle in Max’s body froze.

Evelyn’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “They used to drain the blood from the demons they kept in captivity and feed it into the realm, through the stone. The barrier, the ether, whatever the hell we want to call it—it requires power to maintain itself—from this side of the veil too. For years, the only power we’ve had access to is blood—protector and demon. Protector blood has become diluted over the centuries, warped—weak. And eventually, through decades of research, trial and error, Guild scientists realized that not all demons had the same magic.” She glanced apologetically at Jace. “With lust demons, for instance, they noticed something different. They’re rarer than vampires and werewolves, partly because they’re harder to identify and capture, and partly because protectors often fall victim to their power without realizing it. But with the influx of attacks and activity over the last decades, their research began to accumulate and take shape. This—shadow magic, did you call it? They were able to identify and isolate it in a succubus about a year or so ago—and, more recently, a new demon they captured. One who feeds on fear and is somehow able to harness demonic energy of other forms and transform it into this shadow magic. My clearance was high, but I still only caught small threads of information from my infiltration. They’re unfortunately very good at keeping bits of information separate and isolated, so that even the people working on it hardly know what the larger context or body of knowledge they’re contributing to is. It didn’t make much sense, collectively, until recently, when we’ve had better opportunities to fill in the gaps—and now, it seems obvious what they’re doing.”

“It’s why The Guild has always preferred capture over kill—” Bishop directed his attention to Atlas, like he was searching for the cousin he used to know behind the darkness. He wouldn’t find him. The Atlas he knew was practically just a kid—he’d been through a lifetime of pain since then, molded into something new. “Why they’ve doubled down on that more recently. They’re trying to find a way to maintain the imbalance they created centuries ago—to fix their now undeniable mistakes. Only they want to do so while in a way that will keep protectors on top of the food chain so to speak. They want to maintain control of the power.”

Haley’s lips dipped with disgust, the first fracture in her indifferent expression. “As insufferably evil as always, in other words.”

Evelyn nodded. “But this last year, they’ve become even more consumed by fear, and that’s translated to only more greed. They’ve read the writing on the wall and decided to give themselves the best chance of survival they can.”

“What are you saying exactly?” Declan asked.

“I can’t confirm it, but I have my suspicions that,” Evelyn took a deep breath, her shoulders sagging slightly, “they’ve actually found a way to inject themselves with this shadow magic, effectively imbibing them with the strength and power of demons. Attaching themselves to the magic of the barrier. Guild researchers have always been invested in understanding the supernatural world. That very thirst for power is the reason the hell realm exists at all. Demons have power and The Guild wants it. Recent events and fears have pushed that research to new extremes—turning that very power into a weapon they can use to protect themselves if the world turns hostile towards them.”

“And how exactly is it that you know this?” I asked. “My father hasn’t mentioned it before.”

“He’s lost council trust in recent years, more so in recent months. He wouldn’t have access to that information. And with his connection to Cyrus, the council has always been hesitant about letting him in deeper.” Her eyes met mine, sad and hazy with emotion and history I didn’t want to untangle. “Even with my level clearance—I’m still unable to confirm. But I’ve heard rumors, seen glimpses of it firsthand.”

“So have I,” Max said. Her focus was on Evelyn. “When we were leaving the lab, we ran into a member of the council—at least I’m pretty sure he was a member of the council.” Her eyes closed, like she was trying to visualize the memory, make it solid. “His veins were dark black, the same kind of sludge-like liquid we noticed them siphoning from some of the demons. Not exactly pure shadow magic, but an essence of it definitely lingered in there. When I focused on it, I could sense it was more than blood they were draining.”

She’d mentioned this run-in a few days ago, but now with this new insight, the direness of it all sank in.

“He teleported away—something very few demons are able to do, especially outside of the magic encasing and pulsing through hell. There’s a reason lust demons need access to hell’s power to engage with their own.”

“Like you can, you mean.” Haley’s voice was emotionless, but I tensed at the unfulfilled accusation.

Max only nodded though, taking her point. “Yes, like I can. I wasn’t sure what I was seeing at the time, but this makes sense now. They’re scared—they know shit’s going to hit the fan so they’re taking the magic and trying to save themselves.”

My teeth hurt from clenching them so tightly.

“And—” Max paused for a beat before she inhaled sharply, “oh my god. Seamus.” She squeezed my thigh under the table, her eyes wide as she turned to me. Panic pooled low in my gut, like my body knew what she was going to say before my brain did. “Today, there was a moment, when the light of my hellfire hit just right, that I could have sworn I saw his veins turn black. What if that’s the reason his shift is so difficult?”

Evelyn’s face clouded in horror. “You think he wasn’t just bitten by a werewolf, but one infused with this distorted shadow magic somehow?”

“Is that possible?” Wade asked her. “Have you seen anything like that when working with them?”

Evelyn shook her head. “I know they’ve been doing a lot of experiments. They’ve been more or less throwing spaghetti at the wall, hoping something sticks before it’s too late—before they lose everything they’ve spent generations—centuries—cultivating. People don’t let go of power easily. That kind of fear inspires bold, unprecedented action. Now that I know more about what our world is facing, it’s not impossible to imagine they’d do something like this. I just don’t know what it could mean for us—or for Seamus.”

“And now the greedy fucks are throwing their people under the bus to save themselves—the rest of the world they’re supposedly sworn to protect be damned.” Darius’s voice was dangerous, the look in his eyes wild with anger.

If I didn’t know him as well as I did, my hackles would be up—as it was, I only shifted slightly, uncomfortable with him standing behind me.

Never have your back to a predator. Blood-bonded to me or not, Darius was no prey.

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