Dark Wings (Never Dark Book 1) (19 page)

Underworld

Lucas

The
whiskey went down smoothly and I dropped the empty bottle into the wastebasket beside my desk. That was the last bottle. I swayed drunkenly on the edge of my desk, looking out at the city. The strange clouds and unnatural lightning had long since passed. Maybe Violet had, too. I shook the thought from my head. It didn’t sit well with the alcohol and the need to destroy something increased. Shortly, my body would heal itself from the damage of the alcohol and I’d be as right as rain. But until then, I sat in the blissful fog of incoherency.

My hands were still bloody—dry, but still red. I didn’t want to wash it off, at least, not until tonight’s events fully sank in. Famine stabbed Violet and I
’d killed Famine. All of it was such a blur… it happened so quickly. Soon, I’d be summoned back to the Underworld and trapped there until it was time to end the world in a few hundred years, or they replaced Famine, whichever came first. Dex would take control of all my assets while I was gone. My thoughts fell to Shade and Conquest.
They’re going to kill me.
I was tossing up whether to tell them it was me or not. If Violet survived, she had to claim the kill herself, otherwise her Council would make assumptions. Trust me when I say that was the
last
thing you wanted to happen.

“Lucas?” Eva’s comforting voice filled the silence and I heard the door click be
hind me. Her soft shoes padded across floor until I saw them come to a stop in front of me. “Is everything okay?”

I dragged my gaze
from her shoes to her face. Her gold eyes shone with concern. “You know I’m upset?”

She nodded. “I was experimenting with some aura spells. I was a little worried when the dark
est aura I’ve ever felt was coming directly from your room. Tell me what happened…”

I stared at her face and
I felt safe. I felt like everything was going to be okay. Eva made me feel like my grandma did when I was human, before she passed away. “Famine is dead. I killed him.”

Eva’s brows furrowed. “And that’s why you
r aura is dark? You hate your brothers—more than I do, and that’s sayin’ something.”

My lips twitched and I almost smiled. “That’s not the reason.
Violet and Famine were fighting and I let them… in the end, he stabbed Violet and I lost it… I tore his heart from his chest.”

Eva’s lips parted and she loo
ked genuinely hurt by the news about Violet. “Is Violet okay?”

“That’s what’s killing me. I have no idea. She was in such bad shape when I took her to the angel headquarters…
I could’ve turned her into a demon. She was borderlining death… I could’ve saved her.”

All I had to do was force my blood into her wounds and she would have become a demon…
but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“Hey, you did a good thing.
She didn’t want to be a demon... I knew you weren’t all bad.” She extended her hands to me and I hesitated. “Can I take a look? At what happened?”

S
haring something like that was personal. I watched her hands for a few seconds before I decided to place mine in hers. Her hands felt thin and papery. She closed her eyes. Behind her eyelids, her eyes moved rapidly. She gasped a few times and her fingers twitched around my hands. Minutes passed and I could tell by the way the deep lines carved their way through her features that she was engrossed in the events. Her eyes flicked open and she pressed my hands together.

“That must have been hard for you…”

I didn’t reply.

“I can do a spell… it will tell us if she’s alive.”

I pulled out of her hands and ran them through my hair. “Her body would be in the Never Dark by now...”

“
I know. That’s why I’m going to need something that belongs to her.”

“I have nothing.”

Eva narrowed her eyes at me. Her molten gold eyes sparkled, even in the dark. She wasn’t looking at me. She was looking into me. “Underneath all that darkness, I see a hint of red.”

“And w
hat does that mean?”

She turned from me and approached the unmade bed.
The black sheets were tangled into a knot and my pillows littered the floor. “Red in your aura symbolizes Love…” She plucked something from one of my pillows—a long red hair. Eva smiled knowingly at me. “Or passion.”

“Is that all you need?” I asked, steering the conversation away from sex. Eva nodded.

She knelt on the floor and wrapped the string of hair around her left index finger. She placed her palms together as if she was praying. “If I’m strong enough, I should be able to gain visual access to the Never Dark realm and locate her.”

“What do I do?”

“Watch.” She closed her eyes and began chanting in a foreign language. I watched her intently. Waiting for any sign on her face that said Violet was okay… or dead. The hard walls of the room slowly became translucent, displaying the night sky and light pollution in every direction. I gasped and sobered up immediately. Above us, beautiful colors danced and mingled. I was awed. I’d never seen anything so remarkable. The colors floated away and I glanced at Eva. Blood ran from her nose and down over her thick, dark lips. I wanted to help her, but I knew better than to interrupt her. She gently rocked back and forth, chanting and humming. A familiar building brought my attention back to the spell. It was the Never Dark Council room. I spotted Violet standing fiercely before the Council. I stared at her as if she was a ghost. There was color in her lips, her eyes, and in her cheeks. She pursed her lips like she was full of confidence, but she didn’t fool me. I could see the slight tremble in her bottom lip.

One by one the Council entered
and took their seats. They still looked the same as I remembered. Violet’s hands twitched at her sides. I gritted my teeth. I was anxious for her. The Never Dark wasn’t exactly known for being nice, regardless of the situation. The last time I stood in front of the Council was at Violet’s initiation. They ordered the guards to beat Violet until she ‘learned some respect.’ I was powerless to help her, just like now.

“Miss Ashton, we see you’ve been very busy
,” Ahriman started. “Famine is dead, is he not?”

“Yes
, sir.”

He adjusted
his blue robe around his shoulders and sat forward in his chair. “Tell us how you killed him.”

Violet’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. She ran her fingers over her forehead. “It’s a little blurry…”

“We have ways to make you remember,” Willow snapped.

Violet glowered at W
illow from underneath her brow. “That’s not necessary.”

“Then speak and make it quick.”

“I came across Famine in Logansville while I was hunting trackers. He was preparing four horses—strange horses. One was a pale white, one was red, and one was—”

“We don’t care what color the horses were. Get to the part where you killed him.”

Violet nodded. “I stabbed him through the chest and hacked at it until there was nothing left. I scooped it all out, too, just to be safe.” Her eyes remained unflinchingly on Willow’s face.

“Do you know the
offense for killing a demon that you’re not assigned?” A smug smiled spread over Willow’s lips and my hands clenched into fists. I knew she’d play dirty.

“Yes, ma’am.
It’s thirty whip lashings, a star demotion, and house arrest for two weeks.”

“Well then, guards!”

Violet stiffened as the guards advanced on her. I ran to Violet’s side to protect her, but I couldn’t do anything. I wasn’t really there. “No, no, no,” I mumbled under my breath. “That’s not fair.”

“Wait!” Sebastian, the orange C
ouncil member ordered. “Violet did save the Earth. She made a mistake letting Death compel her, but she has more than made up for it with the death of another Horseman. I think that requires a reward, not a punishment.”

“What she did was
unauthorized,” Willow argued. “We punished an angel yesterday for the unauthorized killing of a Skatter demon.”

“Yes, but he did it on purpose. Violet here stumbled across Famine. Look at her mission schedule, she was meant to be in Logansville. Check Earth’s classified weather reports. There was nothing natural about the storm that was brewing yesterday. Violet is a hero, not a criminal.” Violet stared dum
bfounded at Sebastian. He stood up for her, even I was confused… until an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. I didn’t like the way he looked at her. Like she was something delicious that he could eat.

“Sebastian has a point
,” Ahearn agreed. “Let’s vote.”

The vote was pointless. Willow was the only one to vote against Violet. I kept my eyes on Sebastian as he smiled cockily at Violet and she returned it with a thankfu
l nod of the head. Jealousy definitely wasn’t a feeling I was used to. Since becoming a demon, my emotions were heightened. When I was angry, I was incredibly angry… my jealousy seemed to be following that same path. I scowled at him.

“It’s settled
, then. Violet shall be rewarded, not punished,” Seth announced. “I’d like to suggest she gets her three stars back and another gets added. She has endured a lot and we are lucky to have her fighting for us.”

The Council agreed except for Willow, but her presence was ignored. I looked at Violet. The happiness in her eyes said it all. She
did
like being an angel. She enjoyed fighting for what’s right. I’d already taken her heart and her spirit and crushed them under my shoe. But that smile… I’d never take that smile and destroy it. I liked it where it was… on her face with her beautiful eyes and high cheekbones.

The Never Dark realm faded away and the
beautiful array of colors returned. I watched them for a little while. Violet’s favorite part of being an angel was the teleporting and I’d have to agree. There was something about the colors that washed away all the anguish and replaced it with contentment. The colors disappeared and a soft thud hit the floor. I rushed over to Eva and knelt down beside her. Blood ran from her nose and down the front of her black robe. I scooped her up, laid her on my bed and tucked her under the blankets. Her eyes flickered open and her voice was weak.

“She is an amazing girl, Lucas.”

“I know.”

Slowly, she pointed a finger at me. “You don’t deserve her.”

I smiled. “I know.”

Eva’s hand dropped onto her body as she fell into a deep sleep. I stared at her for a little while as she slept peacefully. I can’t be all bad… right? Eva stuck around even though she
knew how dark I was. I’d be the first to admit that I’ve treated her badly and she’s the closest thing I had to a friend. A shiver erupted over my skin and I heard the Underworld calling me back. I closed my eyes.
I’ve already done one selfless thing tonight, why not another?

I rustled through the draw
ers in my oak desk, trying to find the spellbound contract I had Eva sign when I saved her from War. I pulled out a folder as thick as my forearm and flicked through it. My body twitched as I fought the summoning. I wanted to free Eva before I left. I found the contract and tore it in two. I grabbed a pen from my holder and scrawled across the paper.

Dear Eva,

You’re free, friend.

Lucas.

I dropped the pen and weightlessness consumed me as I traveled back to my own realm. Happy. Content and craving the next time I would see Earth’s pretty surface.

Epilogue

Violet

They say that it is
better
to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all
. I call bullshit. Some people would argue that the experience of loving and losing a person is worth it. It’s for the experience, they say. I disagree. To lose someone you care for immensely is the worst feeling in the world. I’d take kidney stones or a broken arm over the depression and the sharp heartache that follows me around any day. When you break an arm, you get up and you get it fixed. With a broken heart, you’re stuck with the memories forever. You carry around the shadows that are left over from losing the one you loved and they never seem to go away.

I’ve been to Earth three times now and I’ve driven past Lucas’s building every time.
Today was no different. He hadn’t surprised me on any of my hunts and so I assumed he’d gone back to the Underworld. The last time he left for the Underworld, I didn’t see him for three years. This wait might be nine hundred years. I’d be long gone by then, but he’d still be as young and sexy as he was now. If I hadn’t loved him in the first place, I’d be able to move on now, but instead I watch his club like a depressed, lovesick stalker. Today, I came to say my goodbyes because I was forcing myself to move on. In the last few weeks, I’d grown as a person. I’d made friends and I’d gone to parties. I hadn’t made the step to start seeing people, but I knew it was coming. I needed to do something for myself for a change and it was going to be hard, but I couldn’t live a life with Lucas. He was a demon. The exact thing he’d trained me to kill. Our love is over… and has been for a long time. I just refused to believe it. Lucas loved me. He gave up the apocalypse for me and I’d never forget it, but I needed to forget him, for the sake of my own happiness. I was given a second chance at life and I was prepared to live it.

I started the car and drove off. I kept glancing in my rearview mirror until his building eventually disappeared from sight. I looked ahead. The late afternoon sun warmed my cheeks. Today would end, as most days do, and tomorrow would bring a new day. A new me. And I was ready for that.