Page 19 of The Darkness

Chapter Eight

Darius stared at the spot where Gina and Regan had disappeared. The portal had vanished, leaving only the lingering scent of ozone hanging in the air.

He wanted to believe Regan had lied, but he’d seen the truth in her eyes. Forcing down the panic, he went over everything Gina had told him. She’d cleverly hidden the truth, speaking in half lies, and he’d believed her. Now it was too late. A scream of pain tore through him. It couldn’t be over. She couldn’t die. He wouldn’t allow it!

He left the room, heading for the elevator. It took him up to the roof of the building. As he stepped out into the hot night air, crimson lightning still flashed across the sky.

He’d never been one to pray, even before he’d lost his soul. He’d always taken whatever he wanted and to hell with the consequences. Now he would pray. He would make the gods listen. He sank to his knees. And prayed for a way to save her.

My life for hers. Whatever it takes… Just tell me how to save her.

A shadow passed across the moon, and he glanced up as a huge crow swooped down and landed on the wall beside him. Darius rose to his feet as it watched him, head cocked on one side, yellow eyes bright. It hopped down to the floor, and a moment later, a woman stood before him.

She was tall, slender, with long black hair threaded with crow’s feathers, and silver eyes rimmed with charcoal. Her skin was smooth and olive-toned, her face was marked with curling runes radiating out from the corners of her eyes, and she wore a band studded with rubies around her upper arm.

She was beautiful, yet something about her made him step back and widen the distance between them.

She smiled. “Darius Cole, I presume?”

He nodded, watching her warily, and her smile widened. “Do you know who I am?”

“I can guess.” He looked her over carefully. “Am I supposed to kneel or something?”

“No, but perhaps a little humility would not be amiss.”

He thought about it for all of two seconds. “I’m not very good at humility,” he said.

“No, I’d heard that about you.”

He stared at her. Had she come to answer his prayers or had Gina’s family decided to finish him off, after all? He remained silent, waiting.

She was still studying him in return, head cocked on one side like the bird she’d appeared as. “You know,” she said, “I have often been accused of being an unnatural mother, of not caring for my children. I suppose there is some truth in that, but while I have never involved myself in their upbringing and their lives, I have not cut my ties with them entirely.”

“Are you going to help us?” he snarled.

“Such impatience. I can see why you wind up Regan so much. Then again, I can also see the attraction.” She ran her eyes over the length of his body, and his skin prickled. “I’ve never had a vampire,” she mused. “I always thought they’d be too much trouble, but maybe I should give it a go. Maybe I would like you to kneel for me, after all.”

He growled low in his throat.

“Oh, don’t worry,” she said, “you’re already spoken for.”

“I am?”

Her eyes narrowed at that. “Aren’t you?” she asked. “I was under the impression my daughter had claimed you.”

Something close to hope flickered to life inside him. Darius pushed it aside. Hope was a wasted emotion. What he needed was action. “Tell me what I can do,” he said. “Tell me how to save her life.”

“You cannot. Her life is forfeit. She must die to return the world to balance.”

Rage surged through him. “Then why are you here? To taunt me? To tell me I am to blame?” He turned away, fists clenched at his side. “I don’t need to be told—I already blame myself.” The Darkness was rising inside him. He forced it down and turned back to face her. “Why did you come?”

“Because you asked me.” She considered him, her eyes boring into his soul. “What are you willing to do to be with my daughter?”

He answered without thinking. “Anything.”

“And what do you think Gina is willing to do, to be with you?”

He frowned at the question. “She will not risk the world.”

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