Dwellers of Darkness (Darkness Series #3) Read online

  “You ready?” Cole asked.

  “Yeah, let’s do this.”

  “Crap on ash bark. What if something happens when she touches it? What if she’s not the one, and it hurts her?” Mom rambled, her gaze and questions pointed at Lars.

  Lars waved his arms toward me. “Lily, you know she’s the one. Stop fighting Ember’s true heritage and destiny. Let her be what she is meant to be.”

  Pain and sadness flashed over my mother’s features, but she nodded.

  I had secretly been nervous to touch it, too. Now the fear spread further into my stomach.

  Come on, Em, no turning back now.

  I let go of the wall, and my body fell a few yards before the rope and the boys’ hold caught up with each other. The jolt cracked the joints along my spine. As they steadily lowered me to the ground, the brightness grew to a blinding level. I didn’t even see when my feet hit dirt.

  “Okay, I’ve reached the bottom,” I yelled. They dropped a few more feet of rope so I had freedom to move. I secured my footing before I turned and fully took it in.

  It lay on a raised mound of earth. The blade was etched with Celtic symbols and decorations. The carvings swirled, intertwined, and infused in a gorgeous design. As close as I was, I realized the glow around the sword had begun to pulse. As I took a step toward it, the pulsating picked up. The light was warm and inviting and beckoned me. With every step I took, the more it reacted to me. There was no denying it knew me—wanted me to hold it. The power of it brought me to my knees. I kneeled in front of it like before an altar. I was not religious, but the ancient power this sword contained affected me like nothing I had ever known. Heavy with life and memories. I could feel it brimming with the existence it had lived.

  I touched it. My fingers hit the outside of a bubble of light. My body drank in the magic, igniting my insides with power. I was no longer aware of anything but the light taking over my body. It filled every corner, pushing out thought and emotions. No longer aware of space or time, I heard a voice in my head:

  If you have this sword, Ember, it means the worst has come to light. It is you who needs to end her reign. Time to end the darkness we have dwelled in for far too long.

  Abruptly, I was back inside my body, down in a hole in the ground. My lids pried apart, and I blinked several times. It was pitch black. The glow around the sword was gone. I sat stunned for several beats and heard the voice replay. It was such a comforting sound. I wanted to bask in it, though I could no longer recall if it were male or female.

  Shouting from above crept into my conscience. “Ember?” Mom’s voice screamed the loudest. Other calls tangled around hers. “Are you all right? Answer me!” Dots of light tried to shine down on me, but the flashlights couldn’t quite reach the depth of the cave.

  “Yes. Yes, I’m fine,” I yelled, switching on my headlamp and pointing the light back on the sword. It was beautiful, but the metal no longer called to me. It hadn’t been the sword drawing me near; it had been the spell that enchanted it. I could still perceive its daunting power, but it no longer cared if I held or possessed it. It was neutral to me.

  My fingers wrapped around the handle, bearing the weight as I picked it up. The thing was heavy. My hand slid up the metal, caressing the engraved features. It was not iron or any other metal I felt before. It was something that did not belong to Earth.

  “Em, what is going on?” Cole bellowed.

  Begrudgingly, I stood and gripped the sword tightly against my body. I had come to accept the prophecy and what part I played in it. I felt possessive. It was my destiny, and I was going to fulfill it. “Okay, I got it. I am ready to come back up.”

  They gradually lifted me to the top. Arms grasped me as I neared the surface. Eli grabbed the weight from my hands, lightening Cole’s and Cooper’s load. They lifted me and placed my feet on the ground.

  “Let me see it.” Lars demanded Eli. Eli held it out in his palms while everyone quickly surrounded the sword, ogling it.

  Kennedy stepped closer. “Wow, I can feel it. It is alive.”

  Many things in the Otherworld tended to be alive, like books and weapons. They held history and the life they had experienced. If you are quiet and patient enough, they might tell you their story.

  Her finger stretched to touch it. The moment she did, she hit the ground.

  “Ken!” I dived after her. She blinked and shook her head. “Are you okay?” I helped her sit.

  “Yes. I don’t know what happened. I felt like it tried to talk to me. It was too much.”

  My attention turned back to the sword in Eli’s hand. “Eli, do you feel anything?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  I frowned. I was the prophesized one, the one who should have the connection to it. Why didn’t it try to communicate with me?

  Everyone took turns placing their hands on the blade. Nothing.

  “Kennedy, if our theory is right about who you are, the Druid who put the curse on it is from your family line,” Cole said. “That’s why it is interacting with you and no one else.” None of us could refute his reasoning.

  Lars turned back to Eli. “Let me have it. I will carry it.”

  I cringed. I knew what the reaction would be to this. Protests bombarded Lars’ declaration.

  “You think we’d be stupid enough to let you have it?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “There’s no way in hell you are going to hold it.”

  “Everyone shut it,” I screamed, silencing the combating voices. “It is my burden to bear, and I will carry it.” My proclamation was not ready for the reality. I swiped the sword out of Eli’s hand and went face first into the dirt.

  Damn. That’s embarrassing.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling better about this.” Eli sounded way too amused for his own good. “Glad you’re handling this, Brycin.”

  “Shut up,” I mumbled into the ground. He came to my side, helping me roll over.

  If you ever want to see me naked again, you will zip those lips right now. I glowered at him.

  He smiled and motioned sealing his mouth, the glint in his eyes bright with humor.

  “I really do hate you,” I muttered as he pulled me to my feet.

  I glanced down at the sword. Most of me wanted to kick it, but with my luck I would break my toes in the process. “It’ll be fine. I wasn’t ready for how heavy it is.”

  “How about I carry it on my back?” Eli held up his hand stopping the coming rejections to this idea. “I will only carry it until we get out of here. Then Brycin will take it. Believe me, I have no desire to obtain this sword. Plus, if I did anything, Brycin here would kick my ass.”

  Also I really want to see you naked again. His eyes met mine. Wearing only the sword.

  I blushed and looked away. No matter how familiar we became, he could still make me tremble. When I looked up, I noticed Lars backing away from the group. His body rigid. A look of urgency twitched his features as he looked around. Something was wrong.

  “What?” I took a step toward him. Everyone near me was distracted by the sword, oblivious to Lars. His eyes turned so bright yellow they were almost neon. In that instant he whipped around and ran for the cavern exit.

  “Lars,” I called after him. Where was he going? My feet began to follow him out of the heart of the cave and down the tunnel. The light from my flashlight bobbled on the walls and floor of the cave as I picked up speed.

  “Lars!” I yelled desperately. Why did he leave us like that? He was gone. Not a sound of footsteps or trace he had been there remained. He was as stealthy and sneaky as the Dark Dwellers.

  “Let him go.” Mom came up behind me.

  “Let him go? But he brought us here. Why would he run off?” I looked back at her, her headlamp blinding me. I shielded my eyes.

  “He disappears usually when you need him the most or when he needs to save his own skin. He’s a Demon, Ember. He only thinks of himself. He always has.” />
  I shook my head against her words.

  “I don’t understand, though. We just got the sword. This is exactly what he wanted. Why would he disappear now?”

  “I don’t know why Lars does anything. There are many reasons I kept you from him, but right now I am most worried about you getting hurt. I don’t want you to believe he is more than what he is.” There was more she wasn’t telling me. This was about the past, not the present. Their connection, like her relationship to Eli, was shrouded in mystery. A secret I would eventually learn, but not at this moment.

  Abruptly, I felt a prickling across my skin. A warning. Something was coming.

  “Do you feel that?” I took a few steps back, grabbing Mom’s arm.

  “Yes. The smell is awful. What is it?” She strode back with me toward the group.

  I took a deep breath. She was right. A rancid, rotting-corpse stench wafted to us. “I-I don’t know.” I couldn’t place it, but it triggered a deep-seated fear in my gut. We both started to run to the core of the cave.

  Something bad was coming for us. Was this why Lars had taken off? His powers would have smelled or sensed this sooner than the rest of us. Was this thing so bad he knew to get out before it reached us? My heart wanted to believe he wouldn’t leave us.

  Even if he didn’t care what happened to me, he would care about the sword. He wouldn’t simply leave it, right?

  My thoughts did not have time to focus on him. It didn’t matter. He was no longer here to help fight what was coming.

  I raced back into the room. “Guys, something is approaching.” Everyone stopped and turned to face me. Eli had secured the sword to his back. Even though I hadn’t said no to his plan, instinct made me want to grab it away from him and guard it myself. It was mine. My destiny.

  Before anyone could react, a voice came into the tunnel. “How many of you does it take to screw in a light bulb?” The tone sounded smooth and confident. “I mean there are fifteen of you, counting two pixies, to retrieve a single sword, and yet it took you several days. What does it say about you as a collective intelligence?”

  Shit! I knew that voice all too well.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Lorcan stood at the entrance to the cavern, the light catching his green eyes. His usual leather jacket and dark jeans were replaced with dark green camo-pants and a fitted, black shirt. The death stench had covered up his smell so he was able to sneak up on us undetected.

  His hand rubbed his shaved head. Dax stood next to him, dressed similarly. The rest of them were in Dark Dweller form and created protection around the two men. I knew right away which was which. My connection to them let me feel their auras and know them even in their beast form.

  “With so many of you, it wasn’t hard to track you. Might as well have sent me a postcard from Greece saying, ‘Wish you were here.’”

  Samantha’s beast form stepped closer to me. My eyes narrowed on her. I growled at her in warning.

  “Easy there, Emmy,” Lorcan derided. I hated the belittling way he said my name, and he knew it. It was all a game. A game of power.

  Eli and Cole both stepped closer to me, walling me in. Seeing this, Samantha’s lip curled into a sneer.

  “Why don’t you tell your little kitty to pull back her claws?” I seethed.

  Samantha snarled, but with one look from Lorcan, she stopped.

  “Oh, look, she’s housebroken now.” I nodded toward the Dark Dweller. Samantha growled and paced forward.

  “Samantha,” Lorcan yelled. She continued to growl softly but moved back. “I wouldn’t antagonize her again, Ember. I won’t stop her next time.”

  Funny none of us asked how or why he was there. By now we had learned with Lorcan if there was a way, he had the will.

  “You are outnumbered, Lorcan,” Cole spoke up.

  “Outnumbered?” Lorcan laughed, cutting off Cole. “I spotted half your group scrambling out of the river two miles back. I thought you finally got wise and attempted to get rid of the Light, but seeing Owen, Jared, and Gabby climb out had me reconsider.”

  Relief filled me. They were all right.

  A small sigh came from Cole before he turned a stony expression back on Lorcan. “You are still outnumbered here, and I know you are much shrewder than to come to a fight you can’t possibly win. So why don’t you get to the reason why you are here.”

  “Oh, this will definitely be a fight I win,” Lorcan responded. “But, you’re right, let me get to the point. I came for one last appeal to get you to change your mind. I will get what I want one way or another. I hoped you would come to see how much better it would be working together, against Aneira. We have Ember, the Druid, and now the sword. Everything is in our corner.”

  As much as I hated to admit it, there was a small part of me that agreed with him. All of us together would be stronger, but I could never work with him or align with Samantha or Lorcan. They had killed my friend, kidnapped me, and traded me to the Queen. I would kill both of them first.

  “Let me guess. You want the sword for your own.” Eli tilted his head, edging closer to me.

  “What can I say, brother? I follow the trend. I want what everyone else desires.” He held out his arms. “Now, give me what I want.”

  Eli smirked. “I don’t think so.”

  “You’re not getting anywhere near it.” Cole moved next to Eli with Cooper and my mom following.

  Had he really thought we would agree to work with him? His narcissism was beyond belief.

  Lorcan sighed, looking down at the ground. “I did ask nicely. I came to you, tried to form a deal, but once again you have disregarded my offer. Now, I will do what I should have done in the beginning. Take what I want. This teaches me to try and play nice.”

  He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. For one brief moment nothing happened, but the anticipation kept me on edge. Abruptly, the quiet ended when a high-pitched war cry sounded behind him, and bodies flooded the tunnel of the cave, running toward us.

  My lungs stopped pulling in air when I realized what I was looking at. Fear tugged at every nerve in my body.

  We are going to die.

  Waves of red-eyed Strighoul plunged into the opening, wailing, with their needle-like teeth bared and ready to fight. None had weapons, but they didn’t need them. They were their own means of combat. A shiver cut into my bones as I recalled Vek tearing into my throat the last time I had come across the Strighoul. Just their blood-thirsty gazes had me wanting to cower in the corner. Each was a tall, skinny creature with pasty, white skin. Veins and scars lined their bald, patchy, scalps. Sharp, pointy ears protruded from their heads. Dressed in Goodwill rejects, they flew at us.

  I widened my step, swinging a weapon out from the holster on my back.

  All our Dark Dwellers, except Eli, shifted into their forms. Eli had the Sword of Light strapped to his back, and if he shifted, it would rip off. We couldn’t lose it now.

  I knew Mom could handle herself. But Kennedy stood there completely frozen in fear. Cooper jumped in front of her, blocking the Strighoul. Her powers were too new and unsure. Fear kept her from assisting in the fight. She could do one mean revealing spell, but that wouldn’t really help us now.

  Besides Kennedy, Josh had been the other one who worried me. He had not trained with the rest of us making him an easy target. But when I looked over at him, he held his sword like a pro. He screeched his own battle cry as he dived into the swarm of Strighoul. Swinging down, he sliced into the head of a Strighoul, splitting it in half like a melon.

  Holy shit! When did Josh learn to fight like that? When we had trained together, he had been pretty good, but this was different. He possessed instincts that I didn’t think he’d have. These only came from hardcore training, or maybe all those hours on his video games did help.

  Not having time to think about it, I went into my own battle stance. Four Strighoul ran at me. My blade met with the first one’s stomach. I pulled it out, twisting in a full circle, giving the
sword momentum to slice the next one in half. Blood and matter splattered my face and body. I whirled back around, carving into another Strighoul. In the small cave, no one dared to pull out a gun since bullets could ricochet.

  Lorcan’s Dark Dwellers did not join the fight against us. As my weapon plunged into another screaming creature, I noticed Lorcan moving closer to Kennedy. Cooper was too busy fighting the Strighoul to notice their infringement.

  I thought Lorcan would go for the ultimate prize, the sword. He wasn’t. Instead of going for Eli, who had the sword, Lorcan headed for the Druid. Then it hit me: this was all a set up. Lorcan was using the Strighoul to distract us from what he really wanted.

  Kennedy.

  Cooper must have finally sensed the evasion because he moved in closer to Kennedy. Backing her up against the wall, he guarded her body with his.

  I also needed to protect Kennedy. I would not let them take her. I could feel my body fatigued as it tried hard to fight the iron around me as well as the Strighoul, but they just kept coming. I would only get one step forward when more came at me, pushing me two steps back.

  From the corner of my eye, I noticed the Strighoul begin to head for Cooper. While Cooper was busy fighting them, Lorcan slithered up and grabbed Kennedy. She struggled against Lorcan, but he easily dragged her toward the opening.

  “Kennedy!” I screamed across the cave. I hurtled toward them, pushing through the bodies fighting around me. I couldn’t hear anything, but I saw Kennedy’s mouth open, arms reaching toward me. Dax pulled out a gun. My stomach sank. Oh, please, don’t hurt her. He pistol-whipped her across the back of the head, and her body drooped in Lorcan’s arms. He turned toward Dax, and I could see him shouting something at him. Lorcan’s eyes flared red. Dax shrugged as Lorcan picked Kennedy up, throwing her over his shoulder.

  “Eli,” I wailed, looking around for him. He was in the midst of fighting two Strighoul. Still he found contact with my eyes. “Lorcan!” I pointed. Eli threw off one of the Strighoul and looked to where my finger indicated. When I followed his gaze, the spot was empty. All Lorcan’s team was gone. Like the night, they could slink in and out almost without detection.