Shadows of Fate (Shadow Born) Read online

  Blond curls bouncing, Hilda shook her head. “Nope. I just like to watch.” She blew a kiss and began to disappear. “I’ll see you at home.”

  Brenna sighed, turning back to the van. The assignment had gone easier than she had anticipated though it had left her drained. Sliding into the gray leather seat, she flipped the ignition and let the van run for a few moments as she chose a radio station. She let the soft classical music flow around her and the adrenaline slip away.

  Ninety years of fighting demons took its toll on anyone. She pressed her head against the steering wheel. But it gave her something worthwhile to do. Even after she served her penance, she could never return home. This was her life now. There was no going back. Still, there were days when the thought of doing it another second left her feeling empty.

  Once her heartbeat returned to normal and her breathing slowed, she pulled the van onto the road. Seraph would be waiting for a report and with another assignment. The cycle of work never stopped lately. Demon activity was on the rise.

  Brenna drove out of Denver proper, across what had once been Interstate 70 but was now a mess of broken concrete and refuse. Knuckles white against the steering wheel, she tried to avoid the wandering coyotes that raced across the jagged road in search of food. Scavengers were the only type of animal life that had thrived after the Fall.

  The Fall was a war unlike any mankind could have anticipated. New experimental warheads had not only rendered the surface world unlivable for decades, they had worn away at the Veil separating the planes of existence. Eventually, the Veil began to rip. Each tear was like a black hole, pulling in everything around it until this boundary between worlds was stabilized by its Guardians. But there had been a price. Humanity was forced to come to terms with a new reality, one where their worst nightmares turned out to be true. Creatures of myth and legend now lived among them.

  The inhospitable environment forced the survivors, both human and the nonhuman creatures humans called deviants, to build cities underground. Once the atmosphere became livable, they returned to the surface to rebuild. These once crowded underground structures now housed the offices for the newly restored governments, law enforcement agencies, and prisons. The headquarters for the Interspecies Relations Taskforce, or IRT, was west of Denver, underneath the remains of the Justice Center that had once been affectionately called the Taj Mahal by locals.

  During the Rise, as the survivors began to rebuild, each region pieced together a government system to maintain a semblance of peace. Communication between the states had been impossible, which had put an end to nationalized government. Each state was broken into districts. Those districts were responsible for policing their own, and the laws were often brutally enforced. The IRT was in charge of keeping the peace between the species in the Rocky Mountain District. This had been Brenna’s reality for the last ninety years.

  A half hour later, Brenna pulled into the makeshift parking lot on the upper level of the tunnels. Jumping onto the dirt, she secured the van with a simple charm. She shook her shoulders to release the tension in her neck then pulled her pass out of her back pocket. With a quick charge she pressed it against the innocuous metal rectangle on one dirt wall. Dust settled from the ceiling as the room shifted to reveal the entrance to a narrow set of tunnels.

  She moved into the darkness and hit the switch to close the chamber. In recent years, as local power stations came back online, they had managed to pipe electricity into the underground, so a chain of Christmas lights lit the passageway. The red, green and blue bulbs strung against the dirt walls gave the path a surreal look. Brenna wasn’t sure what a Christmas tree was, because such things predated her time on Earth, but it must have been spectacular.

  When she reached the end of the tunnel, she freed the athame from her back and slit open her palm. She waited for enough blood to well up, and pressed her hand against the glass doorway. The enchantment recognized her blood and opened. It was primitive and messy, but it worked, and suited Brenna’s style of magic. The lights blinked as the spell unwound. It was a different world inside. Hospital-like with glaring white tile and white washed walls, at first it hurt your eyes.

  She waved to the receptionist incased in a circle of spell-proof glass. Lucy flipped her off, then went back to typing. Barely five foot, she looked like a mix between a Cheshire cat and pink hippo. Well, aside from the furry pink wings folded against her back.

  “Love you too, sweetie,” Brenna said, blowing a kiss. Thankfully Lucy considered her a friend. Brenna had no desire to be on the gargoyle’s bad side.

  “Seraph wants you.” Lucy looked up for a moment, humor in her piercing blue eyes. “He’s got someone with him.”

  “Thanks.” Brenna stepped forward, motioning for her to open up the security window. When Lucy shook her head, she added, “I got you something.” She pulled a chocolate moon pie she had pilfered from the underground market from her duster’s pocket and waved it against the window.

  The partition shifted and the pie was snatched from her fingers. By the time Brenna looked back, only crumbs were left on Lucy’s face. The gargoyle belched, and went back to typing.

  Laughing, Brenna walked inside. Cameras lined the narrow hallway as she made her way to her office. The halls were filled with a menagerie of creatures forced into an uneasy truce, due to their contracts with the IRT. Species that were sworn enemies often shared offices.

  When the void between worlds had been bridged during the Fall, all manner of creatures had spilled onto this plane, some drawn to the blood and chaos, others simply ripped away from their homes. Now, trapped here indefinitely, they waited for a chance to return home. It could be a week or a thousand years, there was no way to know. In these unstable times, the Guardians let none approach the portals unchallenged, and left few alive. All they could do was to make the best of it.

  It didn’t make for a stress-free working environment. About once a day, it got bloody. Sometimes worse.

  She was halfway to her office when she sensed it. Magic. Not your normal everyday run of the mill magic, but Shadow Bearer magic.

  Brenna froze, pulse racing. There were very few from her home world who would voluntarily cross over to the earthly plane. They had their own civil war to worry about. This plane was used solely for banishment. Her defenses flared, and she cloaked herself in protective magic. She would be surprised if her father had sent an assassin after so many years, but she wouldn’t put it past him.

  She moved closer, blade clutched in hand.

  The shadows from her office light danced across the glistening white floor, allowing her to see the outline of two figures inside.

  “Quit screwing around and get in here.” Seraph’s gruff voice echoed in the hall. “I don’t have time to wait.”

  Defenses sliding away, she rolled her eyes. She was the most dedicated employee Seraph had. It wouldn’t kill him to show some patience. Her red flag still at half mast, she stepped into the office.

  And panicked.

  Praying it didn’t show on her face, she glared at the man sitting behind her desk. Magic poured off him. Magic so powerful it was unmistakable. He was one of her kind, perhaps even her clan.

  Heart pounding, she took him in. Seated behind her desk, on her chair, his leather boots propped on the metal top, he seemed to fill the entire room. She put him at six-and-a-half feet. His shoulder length black hair was pulled back with a strap of leather, but a few tendrils had escaped and draped across his violet eyes. There was a virility about him that was frightening—and breathtaking. He was the epitome of what she both loved and loathed about the men of her world. But it was more than that, her body immediately responded to his presence. She burned to touch him, to remind herself of what she had left behind, and it appalled her.

  “Have I been replaced?” She shrugged off her duster and tossed it on the chair by the door. “Don’t you think two Shadow Bearer mages are a bit much? You can barely handle me.”

  Seraph snorted. “I co
uld handle an army of you, little girl.”

  “Sure you could.” She walked over to the desk, motioning for the gorgeous stranger to move. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all.” His raspy voice slid over her like hot fudge. Thankfully, she was allergic to chocolate.

  He stood, towering over her by more than a foot. His body was as lean and chiseled as his face. He stepped aside.

  Careful not to touch him, she took possession of her chair again. The scent of sage still lingered in the air around her.

  “Gray is one of my new recruits,” said Seraph, but Brenna quickly tuned him out. Vaguely paying attention, she stared at the picture that hung on the wall next to him. Puppies, playing in a field of daisies. Happier days. Happier thoughts.

  “Are you listening to me, Brenna?”

  She jerked. “Of course. Gray is working with us. That’s great, welcome.” Giving Gray a quick salute, she turned back to Seraph. “I’m glad you brought him by, but I am busy so, if that’s all…”

  “He’s your new partner.”

  Her hand froze in midair. “I’m sorry?”

  “Xavier’s tests came back. It’s bad. I can’t keep him on active duty.”

  “So you’re giving me someone who’s wet behind the ears?” She cringed at the power surge coming from Gray. His anger was tangible. Too bad, but there was no way she was working with someone who was probably here to kill her. “I don’t have time to teach him the ropes. Give him to someone else.”

  “He’s one of yours.”

  “Which is exactly why I don’t want him.”

  “He is in the room. And he doesn’t care what you want.” Gray’s hands landed on the desk in front of her. “You are the only person who comes close to my power level. I might kill the others in less than a week. Do you want that on your conscience?”

  He had a point. Although he clearly had a skewed perspective of his own abilities.

  As partners, they were required to share their magic. Most of the time she had to work solo because one big job would burn Xavier out for weeks.

  “I guess you’re going to have to work alone. I don’t work with Shadow Bearers.” She faked a yawn, slid back in her seat and crossed her arms. “I have work to do. Lots and lots of work.”

  Seraph held up a hand. The sword that hung from his shoulder shifted. The jeweled scabbard glistened in the fluorescent light. “I didn’t ask your permission, Brenna. Gray is your new partner. Deal with it. Take him home with you. He needs a place to live.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. He’s homeless too?” The grin spreading on Gray’s lips was like salt on a rancid wound. “I don’t have time for this.”

  “Make time.” Seraph threw a file on the desk in front of her. “It’s done.”

  Brenna glared at his retreating back. Leave it to Seraph to put her in an untenable situation.

  “What’s in the envelope?” Gray reached forward to grab it, but she yanked it away.

  Glaring at him, she opened it. “Our next assignment. It’ll keep until tomorrow.”

  She began to slip it into the top desk drawer, but Gray muttered an incantation under his breath. It appeared in his hand as if it had been there all along.

  Slamming her hands on the table, Brenna rose to her feet. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “My job. See if you can keep up.” He leaned against the wall, flipping through the file.

  Her anger spiraled. Even the sound of his breathing was getting on her nerves.

  She stepped from behind the desk, and stood in front of him. “I just pulled a job. I’m exhausted, and I have to take you home and get you settled. Put the file down and let’s go.”

  “No.”

  A simple word. An infuriating word. A word that made her want to pull his hair out. Instead she moved closer, her lips inches from his. His breath danced across her skin as her magic spun around them.

  He looked down at her. “You look like your father when you’re angry.”

  Now she would have to kill him.

  Chapter Two

  Brenna closed her eyes, urging her pulse to steady as she pushed through her rage. “You know my father?”

  “Somewhat.”

  There weren’t many people on her world who had seen her father. As Lord of their clan, he kept himself secluded. For Gray to have seen him meant he was either royalty or high level military. Neither option boded well. “If you’re that high up in the clan, I should know you. I haven’t been gone that long.”

  “A lot can happen in ninety years.” He handed her the file as if he hadn’t just challenged her a moment before. “Seraph said you knew a place I could stay.”

  She’d let it go, for now. “Where’s your stuff?”

  He gestured to a leather messenger bag propped against the black metal filing cabinet. A scabbard lay beside it, showing the hilt of a katana.

  “That’s it?’

  He shrugged. “I travel light.” Uncurling his lean body from the wall, he grabbed the bag and tossed the thick strap across his shoulder. “Shall we?” One arm outstretched, he waited.

  His glamour wrapped around her, warping her reality as it tried to bend her to his will. He was getting to her. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she allowed herself to enjoy the pure masculine energy he exuded.

  An overhead light flickered as Gray stepped into the narrow hallway. Sparks flitted across the white washed walls and the light exploded.

  She had warned Seraph. Two Shadow Bearers in the same building was dangerous. Two working together was a recipe for disaster.

  With a wave of her hand, she turned off the rest of the lights. Staff yelled and grumbled in the halls as the emergency lighting kicked in.

  “Tap down your magic,” she said, turning to Gray. “This place was built by humans. It can’t handle this much power.”

  There was a flicker of distrust in his violet eyes. “I’m not going to lower my defenses just to make you more comfortable.”

  “Of course not,” Brenna said, shaking her head. “Let’s blow up the place then. No one will miss it.” She stormed off, the heels of her boots snapping. He may be the first man her body had reacted to in ninety years, but he was just a beautiful bastard. There was no accounting for taste, even her own.

  When they reached the reception desk, Lucy’s face appeared behind the protective glass, a snarl on her lips. “Blow another light, and I’ll kill you myself,” she growled, rising on tiptoes. Her tiny ears flipped forward, she blew out a long breath and turned to Brenna. “Three more moon pies and we’re good.” She slammed the glass closed and disappeared behind the counter.

  Instead of taking Gray topside through the chambers, Brenna led him to a set of elevators. They stepped inside, the door closing behind them. She leaned against the metal wall, next to the control panel.

  Between floors, she casually pressed the red stop button. “Why are you here?”

  Gray dropped his bag. “Meaning?”

  “Did the Council send you? Did my father send you? Were you banished? Did you come here for the hell of it?”

  “Try again.”

  “Enlighten me.”

  “No.”

  “No.” She moved closer. “No is not acceptable.”

  A smile played across the slash of his lips. He didn’t appear the least bit threatened. “No is all I’m willing to give.”

  For a moment frustration stole her ability to speak. “I will find out.” She turned and hit the elevator button, plunging the metal death trap downward again. “We’ll be working together from now on and nothing escapes my notice.”

  His body shook as he chuckled, causing the leather strap tying up his hair to slip free. Thick black curls cascaded over his shoulders as he stepped forward. “I didn’t imagine you would equate yourself to God so soon in our relationship.”

  Brenna bit her tongue and embraced the sharp haze of pain. He was intolerable. Maybe her housemates would kill him in his sleep. She sure as hell wouldn
’t stop them if they tried.

  Unnerving silence filled the car as they waited. When the button dinged and the doors slid open, the tension still followed them through the darkened tunnels. Sweat trickled down her back. She adjusted the corset to allow herself to breathe more easily.

  “Nice Outfit. If that’s standard issue, I could definitely get used to this place.” He grinned. “But there’s no way I’m parading around half naked. That’s way above my pay grade.”

  Brenna took a deep breath, biting her tongue. Absolutely intolerable.

  Unlike the tunnels that guarded the entrance of the lair, these were rarely used. Dirt swirled in the air, burning her eyes and teasing her nose, as she pushed forward. Normally, she would have wrapped a scarf around her face, but she hadn’t planned on being here tonight. If she was going to pass Gray off as a friend to the other residents of the boarding house, he couldn’t be seen coming out of the tunnels.

  After the Fall, single family houses had fallen out of favor. Protection in numbers was the priority. Once the atmosphere had become hospitable, the few families left had moved back east away from the worst of the damage. This population shift created a renaissance of sorts in the eastern states. Factories were erected and commerce began to flourish.

  But at the same time the West had been forgotten. Even now, fifty years after the Rise began, the only residents of the western states were law enforcement, rogues, gypsies and, of course, deviants. Most were forced into housing units, or boarding houses out of necessity. Former hotels and mansions turned residential, each room rented, meals and facilities shared between those who lived there. Underground tunnels ran beneath many of them, preparing for the worst. Each house was run by one person who created and enforced the rules. To get in, you had to pass their inspection, but once you were in it was until death. Of course, if you broke the rules, that might come quicker than you thought.

  They stepped out of the tunnels onto the broken pavement near what had once been Golden, Colorado. The boarding house she was taking him to, the one she shared with Hilda and several others, had once been a historic landmark. As they moved down the road toward the once stately manor house, she could feel his humor rising.