Page 15 of Hunted By Darkness

His grin was distorted by the hold I had on his face. “Growl like that, and I’ll do whatever you want. You’ll get no cheek from me, love.”

I released his face with a click of my tongue, ignoring the kisses he dropped on my shoulder and neck. Lev stared at the journal sitting on the coffee table, and I snatched it up. Turning to the page I’d bookmarked, I showed it to Lev. His brows knitted together in confusion.

Right, no one but me could read it.

“My grandmother and mother wrote this journal. Dugan gave it to me when we went to meet him.” His eyebrow went up in question. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you after, but this part specifically talks about how to form symbols. It’s often used to cast what they call the old magic. It’s magic we draw from the After. Not sure if that’s what she did to Rilas in the room with the box and at the cabin, but if you know the combination, this part tells me exactly how to do it.”

Silas whistled as he leaned his head over my shoulder. “Is that what you were doing down here for four days?”

I scoffed, flipping through the pages. “What? Thought I was just reading for fun?”

“Didn’t see you casting any spells, did I?”

Lev was already closer and looking at the journal with interest. “This is what Dugan gave you? Why? How did he know you’d need it? How did your grandmother?”

I’d learned over the course of reading the journal that it wasn’t only my mother who had clairvoyance. Grandmother did too, though it wasn’t as powerful as Mother’s.

She created this journal and passed it on to my mother. It was everything I could ever want to know—my powers, our ancestry, what Soul Collectors were truly meant to do. The parts specifically addressed to me were areas both my grandmother and mother thought I might need eventually.

One such place was how to call on the magic lingering in the After. They referred to it several times as the old magic. I hadn’t attempted it yet, but I didn’t want to accidentally cast something I couldn’t reverse. If we went after Rilas, I’d only get one shot at it. I’d have to take the souls he collected first, then quickly expel him to the After if what Lev said was true.

“She had clairvoyance too, yeah?” Silas asked, peering at the journal despite being unable to read it.

Nodding, I closed it and escaped his lap. “Seems like it. Doesn’t really matter now. We’ll only get one chance at this, and I don’t want to be sitting on my hands for another few months.”

Silas was on his feet, hands on my shoulders as he stared at Lev. “We’ll be needing those texts first, I suppose. Then we’ll track that demonic brother of mine to wherever cowards go to hide and send him back to where he belongs.”

Lev stood from his seat, peppier than when he walked in. “It’s a plan, and a damn good one in my opinion.” He started to walk toward me. “Dinner?”

But I was already over Silas’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “She and I have important business to discuss. You understand, don’t you, lad?”

I slammed my elbow into the brute’s shoulder, annoyed he’d used his magic and strength to keep me from escaping. “You can’t keep saying that like no one sees through your bullshit, asshole.” I struggled, his magic weaving around my body to keep me from getting loose. “You better hope I don’t get free, mercenary, because you’ll lose your favorite body part when I do.”

Lev chuckled as I was kidnapped, no longer on my side. Damn traitor. “Have fun you two and, Niks, make sure to get some sleep after you’re done playingbusiness partners, will you? You look like one of the undead you’re always talking to.”

“I hope you choke on your first bite,” I yelled out, already halfway up the stairs thanks to the large oaf and his floor-eating strides.

“Love you, too!” Lev called out before Silas strolled into our bedroom.

I blinked, standing in a field of grass. The moon was beaming down as fog rolled in from all sides, obscuring most of the world around me. Trees speared into the sky. The quiet was only broken by the sound of an angry wind. I didn’t recognize this place, but it felt familiar somehow. Why did it feel like I’d been called here? Why did it feel important to be here? Who was I waiting for?

Hair danced around my face as I looked around in confusion, not sure how I’d come to this place or even for what reason. After a little sweep of my eyes, I caught sight of a humanoid shape. It loomed in the fog, unmoving, hair blowing with the wind, frozen and waiting.

I inhaled a sharp breath, but Silas was suddenly next to me, his sword out. He was in his assassin outfit—cloak and mask—but he wasn’t looking at me. He was glaring at the figure ahead. Whoever stood hundreds of feet in front of us, covered in fog, only his shape to distinguish him, Silas saw as our enemy.

Confused, I tried to walk forward, the scuff of dirt and dead leaves barely audible with the harsh wind in my ears. A gloved hand wrapped around my arm and yanked me back. Silas’s beautiful silver eyes greeted my next glance, his masked face hiding his expression, but his voice gave every bit of emotion away. It was dripping with hostility.

“Don’t, love.”

“Why?”

He put a finger to his mask to silence me and deftly swiveled his sword, preparing for a fight. “He’s a demon, little rebel. He can’t possibly be the Soul of Death you’ve claimed. He’s a bloody imposter, he is. You can’t trust him.”

“Who?”

He didn’t answer, just glared at the figure that never moved. I wanted to venture closer to see who he meant. Who was this person I’d called the Soul of Death? Was it Rilas? But why wouldI ever willingly chase after Rilas? What was this urge inside me that beckoned me forward? Why did it feel like I should go to whoever stood in an obscure wall of fog?

“Silas—”

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