Kelly Gay - The Better Part of Darkness

It was too late to hide. I stepped in front of Titus and aimed.

The chief came down the back steps with a tray of Styrofoam iced teas and a Bojangles bag.

“Charlie,” he blubbered in surprise. His big body froze on the landing. “What the hell are you doing now?” But understanding had already dawned on him.

I inched up the steps, keeping the gun trained. “Sorry, Chief.” There was no other choice but to shoot him. He knew it, too. If they found him shot on the steps, he’d be free of suspicion. “It should wear off in a few hours.”

He drew in a deep breath, totally irate. “You can forget about being invited to the company picnic. That goes for you, too,” he said, eyeing Titus. “In fact, you’re both fired. Fired. You hear me?”

“Titus, take the tea.” If the chief was going to drop, I’d rather save the tea because I was dying of thirst.

Titus took the tray and the bag as the chief sat down on the dirty floor of the landing. “Anne-Marie will kill me if I fall and break something,” he said with a growl. “Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Just do it already. And don’t hit the leather jacket.”

He deserved it, and he knew it. The chief would always hold a soft spot in my heart and one day I’d forgive him for his part in the gene therapy. But not today. I aimed and fired, jumping with a start as the stun tag sank into his beefy thigh. He let out one curse before listing to the side and then slumping over.

“Come on,” I muttered to Titus, running by the chief and to the back door.

Outside, I stumbled to a stop. I’d been prepared for daylight, but it was dark. I’d missed an entire day. Titus pointed over my shoulder. “Over there.”

Spurred on, we raced down the steel steps and across the parking lot. The chill of the October night flew through the thin hospital gown and my bare feet dug into the minuscule asphalt pebbles that littered the lot.

I took the driver’s side, sliding into the seat in a rush of adrenaline. The key had been left in the ignition. Once Titus was in, I started the car and drove out of the parking lot with the headlights off. I didn’t turn them on until we were halfway down the block.

It took another five minutes to access the interstate. Thank God, I thought as we joined the flow of traffic. We made it . I glanced at the clock. And we had just enough time to make it to Mott Tech before Amanda’s time ran out.

“He has people at the hospital,” Titus said quietly, gazing out the window for a silent moment. “I’m sorry about my brother. It’s time he took responsibility for what he’s been doing …”

“I’ll hold you to that,” I said. I took one of the teas, pierced it with a straw, and took a long, loud drink. Then I voiced an idea that had been forming in the back of my mind. “The weapon you’re working on with that Adonai, Llyran, the one that can neutralize power,” I said. “I want you to use it on me.”

Taken aback, he blinked. “It’s nowhere near to being ready. And why would you want to use it on yourself?”

“Because eventually, these two powers will kill me, and I’m rather fond of my life. One of them has to go. Preferably both.”

He dug into the Bojangles bag and handed me a wrapped chicken sandwich. I shook my head. “You can have it.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Titus said, putting the sandwich back into the bag. “If we make it out of this, I’ll make it my number-one priority.”

“After the ash, ” I said.

He nodded. “Of course.”

There was no one else on this planet who could accomplish the things Titus Mott had. And despite how I felt about him, he was the only one who might be able to help me and most everyone I loved.

We arrived at Mott Tech right on schedule, the guards waving us through.

I parked the sedan at the front of the building, my headlights beaming two jinn as they waited in front of the glass doors. One of them used the radio while the other motioned for me to turn off the high beams. I waited a good five seconds before complying.

“Any ideas?” Titus asked, popping the door handle.

“Yeah. Kill Mynogan.”

I stepped out of the car, practically naked in my bare feet and napkin-thin hospital gown. As the jinn came forward, they leered at me. I leered back. Assholes. One of them grabbed my arm, but I jerked away, falling in behind the other jinn as he led the way around the side of the building.

We followed a flagstone path away from the building and into the landscaped gardens. The cold brush of wind that came off the lake and through the woods stirred my loose hair and covered me in chills. I crossed my arms over my chest as I stepped carefully over the cold stones.

Titus walked behind me, the other jinn bringing up the rear. At least I had Titus at my back rather than the jinn.

The songs of crickets and katydids echoed all around us. Moonlight bathed the area in a soft glow, lighting our way as we wound through the trees. The scent of the lake grew stronger, and the long, drawn-out croaks of frogs became louder. Soon, we were on a path, which skirted the lake.

Ahead was the pavilion. Hank told me once he’d attended a wedding out here. I could see the attraction. It was a romantic setting, with an arched bridge spanning a creek that fed the lake, and the pavilion, which had been built to resemble an old Victorian gazebo.

Figures in shadows waited, lining the path to the pavilion. Three on each side. All dressed in black. How clichéd. Surprisingly, we skirted the pavilion and came to a large meadow at the back of the building where a wide, circular area of soft grass had been cut. Surrounding it was a garden straight out of a Monet painting. My heart began to pound, steady and stronger and faster.

Mynogan stood in the center of the lawn.

Alone.

I marched around the jinn in front of me, the words snarling out of me as his hot hands clamped over my upper arms to hold me back. “Where’s my daughter, you sick sonofabitch?”

“Ah, Charlene. Always a class act.” He folded his hands behind his back, the moonlight glinting off his white hair and skin, making his black eyes even more menacing, like two black holes lost in the shadows. “Your daughter is there in the pavilion.”

I whirled, but then was dragged back around to face Mynogan. “Let me go!” I threw back my head and busted the jinn in the jaw. He stepped back, doubling over. I spun and roundhouse-kicked him in the same spot. Pain shattered through my bare foot as it connected with thick bone.

And then I was running.

Almost there, the back steps of the pavilion just within reach, my heart in my throat, my arms pumping. A hand delved into my flying hair, pulling me up short and so hard that I was lifted off my feet. The breath left me as my back hit the ground. My vision wavered, making the moon bounce back and forth in the sky.

The first tug on my hair made me reach and grab the hand, trying to pry the fingers off as I was dragged across the lawn flat on my back, kicking and screaming. Sharp, stinging pain seared my scalp. I twisted my body but couldn’t get traction to push or pull myself to my feet.

The jinn stopped in front of Mynogan and forced me onto my knees. I lashed out again, my arms flailing as he released my hair and then pinned my wrists behind my back.

Pants came out of me in ragged succession. I glanced up. Mynogan stood before me, smiling.

And then it hit me. My heart stopped.

Oh, God.

This was my nightmare all over again. In the grass. On my knees. Mynogan and Titus both there. Mynogan in black and Titus in his white lab coat. But this time Titus was watching pale-faced and scared shitless.

“What do you want from me?!” My voice cracked, thick with desperation.