Page 124 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

The boss stared. The anger cleared from his eyes. “Okay. You, too. Outside.”

“Return to our room, Maddy. I’ll be back in a bit.” Dom lowered his voice. “Did you try what I think you tried with the OC?”

She chewed her lower lip. “I couldn’t help it. I thought he was going to kill you. Obviously, it didn’t work, but I think he realized what I was doing.”

“Not a smart move.”

“Excuse me! I was a little worried about you.”

Dom smiled and crushed his lips to hers. Breaking away unwillingly, he said, “I appreciate the gesture. Now, get going. I’ll catch you later. This earthquake was strong. It must have done a lot of damage.”

He was right. Outside the keep’s walls, homes had crumbled to the ground.

Displaced, frightened Immortals ran toward the snappish OneCreator. “Don’t bother me. I know nothing more than you do. But I will.”

He gathered the Feard and Michael around him. “Angor has storms and unpredictable weather. Vast has breezes and sun. But OneWorld does not have geological disruptions. We’ll each take different zones in Vast and fly above to assess the damage. Come back to report to me.”

The OC seemed perplexed, as if he didn’t understand what was going on. That was something for the tight-lipped bastard who claimed to be all-powerful. Though Dom was angry with the OneCreator, he acknowledged that his temper tantrum had been out of character.

The Feard, Michael, and the OC took off like six spokes of a wheel. Dom’s assignment took him over Contemplation Meadow and the Aeries Range. Maybe an eighth of the homes in the grassy meadow had tumbled down.

He dropped into the valley to chat with the Immortals gathered there. They were worried, clamoring for answers. The black-winged assassin had none.

He questioned a female who stood in the rubble of her home—fallen timbers, collapsed walls, cracked steps. Her wings flicked in and out. She was nervous.

“Sorry about your place,” said Dom.

“Do you know what happened?”

“No. Have you felt the other earthquakes before this one?”

Both turned toward a noise as another portion of her roof caved in. “Last week, the ground shook a little. I thought it was my imagination.”

Leaving her to mourn the destruction, Dom soared into the air again. After counting the collapsed homes in the meadow, he moved on to the Aeries Range. The area was expansive, and his flyover took some time. He saw no permanent damage. Of course, the Immortals who lived here resided in rocky but exquisite cave-like dwellings. They were intact, though the residents were shaken.

Once he finished with his grid search, Dom rejoined the others outside Sanctuary Keep. Only Remi reported widespread damage in the city of Farfield to the south. The bronze spike-winged assassin detailed the destruction. Whole neighborhoods collapsed. Immortals buried under wreckage. Others helping to dig them out.

The OneCreator listened, closed his eyes, and drew a deep breath. He held it for some time before he exhaled. “The buried are uncovered. The homes are restored.”

He leaned forward, his palms on his knees, as if he were wobbly. Dom had never known the OC to be exhausted. Or violent as earlier.

Straightening, the OneCreator tapped his ear, obviously carrying on a telepathic conversation. “Harmony needs help. Groups of Scourges are running amuck in Angor. It seems they had a similar quake. She’s got her hands full. Ely, Remi, Ohngel, rein them in.”

As if reading Dom’s mind, he said, “No. Return to Madeline. You must prepare for court tomorrow.” When all but Michael had flown off to assume their duties, the OC latched onto Dom’s shoulder. “You know what she can do?”

“She told me, showed me a bit, but I don’t know if I believe her.”

“Believe.”

“Did you give her these abilities?” asked Dom.

“I did not. And know that I would have destroyed her if I doubted her character, her propensity to do what is right. Still, time will tell if she can handle such power.”

“Can she extinct Immortals?”

The OC nodded.

Dom feared what the OC might be thinking. He added, “She can handle the gifts. Maddy’s strong.”

---