Page 43 of The Dark Rises
Arden turns from giving Daire a kiss goodbye and adds her promise to Madoc’s. “We’ve already put together a schedule. We won’t leave her alone.”
Rivan points to the portal. “Go.”
Vargas shoves me into the portal and immediately follows. Underworld guards look confused when they see their commander, but they quickly snap to attention and salute him.
“Prince Daire is arriving. Look sharp,” he orders them in a hard voice.
Straightening, the two soldiers thrust their shoulders back and chins up.
Daire steps through, looking every inch the prince in his navy windowpane suit and light blue tie. “At ease.” The guards spread their feet but stay alert.
As we walk away, I hear him lean down and whisper to Vargas, “Guess you’ve still got it. But you’re confusing the hell out of them with this face.”
Vargas waves a hand. “By now, they all know I’ve died and come back. It doesn’t hurt to wear this face once in a while to remind them who they fucking report to.”
“Me?” Callyx says jokingly. When Vargas moves toward him, he holds up a hand. “Easy, old man. You’re still the big chief. All I do is spy on people and kill Lucifer’s enemies.”
The Duke of Greed happens to be walking by and overhears Callyx and almost walks into a marble pillar. I chuckle. His shoulders stiffen when he hears me, and he turns, mouth open to say something, but when he sees the four of us staring back at him, he gulps and rushes off.
“Shall we?” Daire suggests softly, his hand raised toward the hall.
I straighten the black silk tie I’m wearing. “How do I look? Respectful?”
Callyx laughs. “Arrogant, as always.”
“That’s the look I was going for,” I say smugly. “Let’s go.”
When I requested the meeting with Lucifer, I made sure to let him know it was a request involving Evren. Surprises suck. It’s better that he’s on guard from the start.
Walking into his office, we find Evren sitting behind Lucifer’s desk with him standing tensely by her side.
“Daire!” Evren says, jumping up to come over and give him a hug. “It’s been too long. You really need to come to dinner. Bring Arden and the cadre. We’ll play old records and dance the night away.”
Lucifer snorts. “She’s been watching way too many movies.”
Daire ignores his father. “We’d love to. Let me know when.” To my surprise, he walks over and gives Lucifer a hug. “Keep your temper in check and hear us out.”
Lucifer shakes his head. “I make no promises, but it must be important for all four of you to have banded together on this request. What is it?”
Instead of returning to the desk, Evren folds her legs underneath her and drops into an upholstered chair. When Lucifer clears his throat and motions to his desk, she wrinkles her nose. “It’s uncomfortable. I don’t know how you sit in it for an hour, much less all day. This is much better.” She props her chin on her hand and looks at me.
“I’m sure Callyx told you about Meri’s new power,” I begin, glancing at Callyx for confirmation. When he nods, I continue. “We need to find Leandra and get her to remove the power from Meri and, hopefully, restore it in Madoc. Denir needs the power for his coronation anniversary. He’ll become more desperate the closer it gets.”
Lucifer drops into his desk chair. With a frown, he shifts from side to side. Finally, he looks up. “You want Evren’s blood to trace the amulet. First, let me be clear, I would never give her blood to you or anyone else.” Power rises in the room, nearly suffocating in its intent.
A cool breeze of power sweeps through the room and, relieved, we all take a deep breath.
“There. Much better.” Lucifer flashes Evren a murderous look, and she winks back at him. “I didn’t use my blood to make the amulet. So that means…” She looks at me expectantly.
“You used a spell,” I reply with a shake of my head at the power she must wield. Something of that magnitude usually requires blood to activate. “Would you share the spell with me?” Maybe I can trace the words.
She frowns. “I gave the amulet to Leandra in exchange for the information she brought me. I can’t, in good conscience, give you the spell.” Slipping her bangle off her wrist, she offers it to me. “Meri is going to need a way to control the power within her while you search for Leandra. Make sure she wears this at all times.”
Disappointed, I take the piece of jewelry from her. “Thank you. This will help.” The intricate bracelet has no clasp, but it does have a deep red ruby on the top. “It’s beautiful.”
She lifts a shoulder. “I find metal to be a great conductor of spells, and I like to wear pretty things. Jewelry allows me to combine the two.”
My eyebrow rises at her words, and I hold the bracelet up to the light. Engraved inside is a spell written in Viridian, which is Evren’s natural language. At the end of the spell is a symbol of a diamond overlapping a triangle. Almost like a signature. This is how we’ll find Leandra.
