Karen Duvall - Darkest Knight

She looked puzzled before recognition brightened her eyes. “Oh, my.”

I smiled, feeling warm affection for the gentle monster the heart had come from. “This is the heart of Aydin’s gargoyle. All he has to do is eat it and he’ll become human again.”

“But how…?” She swallowed. “I don’t understand. It should have shattered along with the beast when it turned to stone.”

I slipped the heart back into my pocket. “I know, but there’s a reason that didn’t happen. It’s a long story.”

The mixing bowl I held grew suddenly warm. Glancing down at the lumps of dough on the pan, I saw steam begin to rise as if the cookies were baking. What the hell? The edges were turning brown and they weren’t even in the oven.

The wooden spoon in my hand exploded in flame.

“Oops,” said a quiet voice from the doorway.

I threw the spoon onto the stone-tile floor and stomped on it to put out the flames.

“Rusty! What have I told you about using cloaking spells in the house?” My grandmother soaked a towel under the faucet and tossed it over the smoldering spoon. “I hate it when you sneak up on me like that.”

Sneaking? I was more concerned about the fire. Even so, the very idea of a cloaking spell that could evade my senses had me worried.

Aurora crouched down and mopped up the mess of burned wood and ashes. “Honestly, Rusty. What were you thinking?”

“It was a joke,” said the young woman who stood leaning against the counter. “I didn’t mean for anything to catch on fire.” Her hair was the color of flame, long and wavy, and she appeared close to me in age. Maybe a year or two older and about five inches taller. Forest-green eyes reflected an odd combination of confidence and uncertainty. Her gaze flicked over me, then back to Aurora. “I thought it would be a fun way to introduce myself.” Her mouth tilted in a smug smile.

My grandmother shook her head and tossed the ruined towel in the sink. “Chalice, this is Rusty, one of the Hatchet knights staying with us.”

My heart fluttered. A sister knight, and she stood right in front of me. This was a moment I’d been longing for, but I somehow didn’t feel all that pleased to meet her. Rusty’s choice of introduction left a bad taste in my mouth, not to mention burned fingers.

“Hello, Rusty.” I blew on my hand. “I’d shake your hand if it wasn’t for the blisters.”

Aurora grabbed my arm to haul me to the sink. She flipped the knob on the faucet and cold water flowed over scorched flesh that was already starting to heal.

“Honestly,” my grandmother mumbled. “Rusty can be such a show-off.”

“Sorry, Chalice.” Sincere regret shone in Rusty’s eyes and my irritation waned. She was my sister. I couldn’t stay mad at her forever.

I grinned. “No worries. It’s already healing. See?” I waved my pink fingers at her.

“No wonder I have so many gray hairs,” Aurora said as she tossed me a fresh dish towel to dry my hands.

Another young woman, her small stature and dark complexion in sharp contrast to Rusty, joined us in the kitchen. She was about my height and had an ethnic cast to her features; her shoulder-length hair was stick-straight and shiny as black glass.

“Hey, Natalie,” my grandmother said. “This is Chalice.”

“Hello,” I said, happy to meet another sister.

She waved a small hand. “Hi.”

An awkward silence followed.

“You’ve witnessed Rusty’s ability firsthand,” my grandmother said as she tossed a glare at my red-haired sister. “Natalie has a unique talent for finding things.”

I was pretty good at finding things, too. I wondered if she shared my freakish anomaly of heightened senses. “That’s a handy skill to have.”

“I’m a psychometrist,” Natalie said.

Oh, yes. I’d met a few psychometrists in my previous line of work. They were clairvoyants with a unique ability to read psychic impressions that people left on objects. There were some who could even recite the history of things that were hundreds of years old. The Vyantara had often used psychometrists for authenticating the cursed and charmed objects I stole for them.

When the phone rang, everyone jumped. I imagined recent bad news to be the cause, though its delivery would have come via angel and not fiber optics. It was obvious that the nerves around here were strung as tight as a hangman’s rope.

Rusty snatched the wireless phone from its cradle on the wall. Her expression tense, she nodded and murmured something in the receiver before hanging it up.

“A fire broke out in a farmhouse outside of town.” She glanced at each of us, her expression grave. “The snow slowed it down, but flames are playing leapfrog in the treetops and spreading fast.”

Aurora put her hand to her chest. “Dear Lord. Was that the fire chief?”

Rusty nodded. “The fire’s almost out of control so he’s calling all volunteer firefighters.”

A firestarter who fights fires? That’s a switch. “Is there anything I can do?” I asked before thinking. Fire scared the crap out of me.

“No, Chalice, but thanks anyway.” She flashed a smile faster than I could blink. “Natalie, will you drive?”

Natalie nodded.

Rusty trotted to a closed door near the front of the house and yanked it open. Coats and jackets dangled from hangers and she pulled one free.

Aurora had followed her and I was right behind. “I think you should take Chalice with you,” my grandmother said.

Rusty blinked in surprise. “There’s nothing she can do.”

“Yes, there is.” Aurora looked at me, her face tight with concern. “We have a room stacked with boxes that contain the curses and charms Quin Dee brought to us.”

Quin. I’d never forget the angel whisperer who got killed because of me, though the angels had made sure he didn’t stay dead for long. My heart tripped over itself at the memory of his sudden and welcomed resurrection.

“The knights need protection at all costs,” my grandmother added in a voice edged with panic. “We can’t lose any more. Chalice, will you help them?”

“I’ll do what I can,” I said, my brain whirring as I tried to remember what all had been in that stash of hexed objects. It was Aydin’s pilfered treasure that he had entrusted to Quin. He’d wanted to make sure my sisters would have them someday. My job would be teaching them how to use each one. “I’ll grab a charm or two that could be useful.”

Rusty huffed out a breath. “We don’t have time for this. The chief said the fire is reaching a critical point.”

“I’ll hurry.” I followed my grandmother to a room in the back of the house.

It was all here. Every old rusted trunk, rotted wooden crate, ancient cardboard box, barrel and jar. I felt their power the moment I crossed the threshold into the storage room, but I was immune to their effects. Having endured the gargoyle’s curse, I could handle these objects with impunity, as could Aydin. My sister knights could not.

I scanned the stash, remembering what most everything was, and reached for a weathered old ox horn. It had special properties that would be useful in a fire.

I ran outside, where Natalie and Rusty were already sitting inside a battered old red Jeep.

Rafe marched toward me. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I scowled. “Since when do I have to check in with you?”

“Since the day I became your guardian.”

Which was little over a month ago and I still wasn’t used to the idea. “Is that part of the deal?”

“More or less.”

I shrugged. “Well, I’m going with my sisters. You do whatever you want.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking superior and irritating the crap out of me. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”