Page 39 of The Dark Rises
A beautiful witch with dark hair appears in front of Cormal. Her lips twist into a sneer when she sees me. “I’m Carmela. Per your rather forceful request, we’ve agreed to escort you to the lodgings Leandra and her abomination used while they werehere.” Her eyes dart to Madoc, and she holds up a hand. “We did not agree to let a Fae into our town.”
Cormal waves a hand, changing Madoc’s appearance to that of a human male. “All I see is a witch.”
She huffs but motions sharply for the three of us to follow her. It only takes us a minute to get to the studio apartment I shared with Leandra.
“It looks the same as the day we left,” I say in surprise.
One room with a tiny kitchen. A small bed sits in one corner. A couch along one wall. Leandra slept in one and I in the other. It was comfortable. The room is one of the nicest ones we ever stayed in. “There’s not even a speck of dust in here.”
“That’s because nobody has lived here since you left,” Carmela reveals from the hallway outside the apartment. “They’re afraid Leandra might have left a few nasty surprises behind.”
I laugh, noting her position. “That would be something she would do.” Even now, they are scared of Leandra.
Madoc tilts his head and looks at me. “Sometimes you sound like you admire her.”
I look at the witch standing outside the door and shake my head not wanting her to hear my reply. Walking over to the fireplace, I use my magic to light a fire. Once the flames are high enough, I reach through them to the back wall and open the hidden safe. Empty. I run my hand along the inside to make sure. “Nothing. We can go.”
Carmela escorts us to the edge of town where Cormal’s portal stands. “We will not honor any additional requests. Don’t come back.” She disappears.
“Leandra had more power than all of them put together,” I tell Madoc with a sneer on my face and a hint of pride in my voice. “To someone with no power, I thought her magnificent,larger than life and bigger than her enemies. For a long time, I was grateful she gave a dud like me a home.”
When he looks confused, I explain. “No powers. A dud. I thought myself a Fae orphan she picked up along the way, but then I learned the truth of my existence, and I hated her with every fiber of my being. Flip a coin and that’s how I felt any given day.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MADOC
Dead Rock is exactly what I thought it would be—a dirt road town in the middle of The Underworld. A pile of rubble sits where Meri’s home used to be. I study the pitiful stack of wood planks and guesstimate this hellhole was roughly eight by eight. How the hell did it fit two people?
She raises her hands and sifts through the boards, but there’s nothing of Leandra’s here. “Damn it. This is useless. She’s a paranoid bitch on her best day.”
I reach over to pat her shoulder, but she’s already turning toward Cormal and his outstretched arms. Hot wind blows across my face, and I pivot to block it. “Let’s go.”
My gut tightens when I step out of the portal this time and find Callyx standing in front of it. “What are you doing here?”
He dismisses me with one look and turns to Meri. After giving her a hug, he blasts Cormal. “What the hell are you thinking bringing Meri to The Slag?”
“We’re searching for anything Leandra might have left behind. We need a scent for Aamon to follow,” Cormal admits in a low tone. “This is our last stop today. How the hell did you find us?”
Kavi, along with several other large demons, step away from the side of the building. “Sorry. Forgot he hides in the shadows. Bastard followed us.”
Cormal shrugs. “We can use the back-up while we’re here.” Dark blue eyes dart suspiciously from one end of the alley to the other. “We need to get in and out.”
“What the hell is this place?” I ask as I look from one tense face to another.
“Lesser Demons trade unscrupulous services to Higher Demons in exchange for power,” Cormal states tersely. “It’s a brutal, lawless place.”
Dirt and grime cover every surface, but you can barely see it in the near dark. “Is that why there aren’t any lights?”
“Lights attract attention,” Meri inserts quietly. “One of the first rules you learn here. Never bring a light to The Slag.”
She lived in this forsaken place. Ripples of anger build inside me. No wonder her first instinct was to duck the knife coming at her. I throw Cormal a murderous look, and he nods in agreement.
Moving closer to me, he murmurs, “It took me a week to find out Meri was here. I almost killed Leandra over it. Instead, I gave her money to get them out of here.” All these years haven’t dimmed his fury.
“Why didn’t you?” I ask, furious at him for not doing something permanent to save her.
He raises a finger to his lips. “We’re here.”
