Forsaken: The World of Nightwalkers (21 page)

“Inaccurate but close,” Grey said rising to his feet.

“Why don’t you just go get it yourself and leave us out of it?” Leo snapped. “If you’re so damn powerful just take what you want from the other Djynn.”

“I would, but there is only one problem with your assumptions. The nik isn’t being held by a Djynn, it’s being held by a Wraith.”

Leo could tell by the way Faith suddenly clenched his hand within hers that there was something very, very wrong. He didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that they were jumping straight out of the frying pan and right into the fire.

“I’m going to take a wild guess here and say that Wraiths are not very nice people,” he said.

“Wraiths are…” Grey trailed off to hunt for a way to describe them. “They are very powerful and very dangerous. I find them to be a xenophobic, inflexible, and noncooperative species as a whole.”

“And you can’t get this nik yourself because…?”

“Wraiths can kill other Nightwalkers with just a touch,” Faith said quietly. “Their death-touch is useless against humans, but to Nightwalkers…” Leo heard her swallow noisily and he could just about taste the fear on her. “For the most part they stay to themselves, keep themselves away from other Nightwalkers. Wraiths are the boogeymen Nightwalkers tell their children about in scary campfire stories.”

Leo blinked. “You go camping?”

The question was so unimportant that it made her laugh shakily. Then when she looked at him she realized he’d made the joke in order to calm her fears…and she was grateful to him for it.

“So I get it. You need a human to go into some Wraith’s house and steal this nik,” Leo recapped. “Is that death-touch the only thing they can do? Any super speed or strength or any other physical or metaphysical aspects I will find myself up against?”

“No! Leo, you can’t do this! It’s a death wish!” Faith turned a fiery gaze on Grey. “He doesn’t understand the nature of what he’ll be dealing with!”

“It’s no more or less dangerous than bringing him onto the territory of the most powerful Djynn on the continent,” Grey countered firmly. “In fact,
you
are going to be the one in the most danger. A mere touch and a Wraith can kill you. You would be wise to send him in alone.”

“Absolutely not! I won’t send him into a Wraith dwelling with—”

“I’ll do it,” Leo interrupted her.

“Leo!” Faith was breathing hard, her hand shaking in his, her eyes wide with fear.

“Faith,” he said softly to her, using his tone and the strength of his touch to center her, to calm her. “I have made it in and out of heavily guarded fortresses with no one the wiser more times that you can imagine. I’ve killed a man…a monster…in his own bed while a phalanx of guards waited right on the other side of the door. This is what I do. This is what I’m good at.”

“Except Nightwalkers have reflexes, senses, and powerful abilities that you have never gone up against before,” she argued fiercely.

“You’re wrong,” Leo said grimly. “I
have
been up against it before and I know exactly what I might be getting myself into.” He turned back to Grey. “So tell me, what else?”

“My god, you’re insane!” Faith hissed before pulling her hand out of his and pacing anxiously away from him.

“To be very honest, we don’t know very much about the Wraiths. All we know is we must avoid touching them skin to skin at all costs. I know that they are incredibly strong and fast when in their noncorporeal states, but when they are in the corporeal state they are at their most vulnerable, no different than any other Nightwalker.”

“Got it. So the best thing to do is to go after this thing in daylight.”

“Wraiths are not stupid,” Grey warned him. “They most likely use humans to protect what they feel requires protecting. Mortal creatures and mortal technologies.”

Leo chuckled. “Now that’s music to my ears. So the Wraiths can’t operate in sunlight I’m assuming, like any Nightwalker. Will they be awake? Able to see me and warn whatever guards they might have?”

“It’s possible. Like all Nightwalkers daylight is their time for sleep. When sunlight turns a Djynn to smoke we are able to see and feel everything around us, but without corporeal bodies there is nothing we can do about it. The same might hold true for a Wraith. But I will warn you, do not let the Wraiths see you. They won’t forget an insult like this and it is likely they will not let a theft go unpunished.”

“Like I said, stealth and precision extractions are my specialty. But I don’t want Faith coming with me. If just one touch can kill her, she can’t be anywhere near these things.”

“I am not letting you go by yourself!” Faith snapped at him. “I don’t even want you to go at all! If this is the price we have to pay then you can keep your wish! We’ll find another way!”

Grey regarded her patiently. “The wish is already made. It will be done, but only when that nik is in my hands.”

Leo frowned. “What is this nik exactly? Because if it’s a life-sized marble elephant, we’re in a world of trouble.”

“Actually, it’s not a niknak. It’s a nikki.”

Leo sighed. “Okay, you lost me.”

“Niks hold our power, yes?” He waited for Leo’s nod. “There are two kinds of niks. Inanimate niks are called niknaks. However, living niks are known as nikkis.”

“This thing is
alive
?” Leo asked. “Please tell me it’s not Bigfoot.”

“Leo, this is no time for jokes!” Faith said in a burst of emotion. She couldn’t understand why he seemed so damn delighted by this! They’d been tricked into doing something deadly and dangerous. Even the thought of being within a mile of a Wraith left her cold and sick inside.

“It’s the perfect time for jokes,” he replied, a lazy sort of smile crooking up a corner of his mouth. “When things are already funny and happy, jokes are just redundant.”

Faith fought back hot tears. She wanted to scream at him and shake him and make him understand what he was doing! After being faced with what Chatha could do, she would think he would be more wary, more cautious…just as he had been since they’d started this journey. Grey wasn’t to be trusted!

Leo turned and saw the expression on Faith’s face. He reached out for her hand but she jerked it away from him. He followed her with a step and this time caught her hand, pulling it by the wrist until it was pressed against the warmth of his chest, until she could feel the beat of his heart.

“Look at me,” he ordered her when she turned away and stared hard at a row of books some distance away. “Look at me,” he said more firmly, squeezing her wrist tightly until she did. It was not meant to hurt, only to acquire her attention. “Not my eyes, Faith. Not my face. Do what you do and look at me.”

He meant he wanted her to look at his light, he wanted her to read his scroll.

And there it was. All the answers to all of her questions and confusion. Strength. Power. Confidence. Potent words, robust words. Words that had been faded from his scroll…faded and missing from the places they used to inhabit. This was what made him who he was. This was what gave him power. This had been ripped away from him, left him floundering, left him afraid…and now it was back. It was his element, and it was where he belonged.

“All right,” she said quietly, not willing to take any of that away from him. It was dangerous, yes, but he needed that danger, needed to prove to himself that he could win against one of the Nightwalker breeds, the creatures he’d turned into personal boogeymen. It was crazy dangerous and her heart was still in her throat, but she wasn’t about to tell him no.

“I need a floor plan, I need to know what I’ll be carrying and I’ll need to know what I might run into,” Leo said. “And I’ll need weapons. The best you’ve got.”

“If there is one thing I excel in,” Grey said with an amused smile, “it’s in having the very best of everything.”

“I am content,” Apep said with a satisfactory sigh. “Yes. This was an excellent idea and a job well done. He was quite powerful, you know. An excellent choice.”

“You didn’t bring him to me? I wanted to play.” Chatha pouted as he fussed over his surgical tray. The highly polished metal on the tray gleamed from all angles. His tray had been acquired over time, this blade from one place, this from another and so on. The hunting knife with the serrated spine and wickedly sharp edge had come from his last toy. Chatha knew that toy from the inside out. He had studied every part of him over and over again. It had been such a wonderful experience. They had become so close with each other.

He had been very disappointed when he’d realized Kamen had stolen his toy from him. Actually, he had been very put out. Kamen should have been his friend. Instead he had betrayed him and taken his favorite toy away from him. It was really quite fortunate that his mistress had awakened. His mistress but not his mistress.

A god. His god. His god promised him a free hand. Promised him any toys he liked. But he had not brought him the stud to play with, and that made Chatha feel cheated.

“I think it best we leave that dog to lie. He will meet his death. But take pleasure in the fact that he was suffering the entire time. There’s a good boy. Now, I think I’m craving something. Maybe chocolate. Ice cream, perhaps? I like ice cream. What clever things mortals invent.”

“I want Kamen.”

Apep lifted a brow. “Is that so?”

“He stole my toy…so, I want to play with him. Yes. Very much so.”

Apep could tell Chatha was itching for the release he got through his experimentations on his victims. It really fascinated Apep, to find another being of such like-mindedness. He had never thought to find such harmony with someone.

“We will get Kamen back. He is, after all, my summoner. If not for him I would not be here among the living.” Apep moved to look out a window. They were living in some kind of commune, these Templars, milling about and craving direction from their mistress, who Apep now inhabited. They were deliciously subservient to him, respectful really. They had been well trained. But Apep wanted more than absolute mindless respect. He wanted devotion. He wanted them to love him. And more important, he wanted them to fear him with every fiber of their souls.

“We must call in my followers. Tell them the news.” Apep rang a nearby bell and an acolyte hurried in.

“Yes, Mistress?” he said, bowing very low because the last time he had bowed to his ruler it had not been low enough and now he was healing from a broken nose. His might be a hardy breed and very quick healers, but not so quickly as all that and the pain lasted for a good long time as well.

“Gather all of these…creatures,” Apep said, making an encompassing hand gesture. “I have glorious news to share.”

“Yes, Mistress, at once.” The acolyte scurried off.

Apep had to wait an interminable amount of time before the acolyte returned to inform him of his gathered disciples. A whole ten minutes! He was lucky, really, that Apep was in a good mood.

“I am now in a delicate condition,” Apep announced from his position on a balcony above them. He rubbed his belly, though it was completely flat with no outward signs of any pregnancy as yet. But there would be soon enough, and he was most pleased by the night’s efforts and rewards. He had used his godly powers to see to it. Had inbued the rapidly separating cells with part of his godly energy. “I will need volunteers to help me decorate my son’s nursery. Preferably a carpenter or interior designer.”

When they all stood awkwardly for a full thirty seconds, Apep felt a thread of anger weave through him. He knew he should not waste energy on such annoyances, but just the same they should be leaping for the opportunity. Clearly they did not love him as much as they should.

Perhaps this was an opportunity to make them love him. They were not yet cognizant of his magnificence. They still thought he was their puny little mistress, for all he had altered her appearance. For the better, he might add. Certainly this strong, enlarged Amazonian figure was superior to that soft puniness that she had once displayed. Why could they not see that?

“Those who volunteer will be greatly rewarded.” Then, to prove his statement, he conjured a chest of gold. It was piled so high that coins were sliding off and hitting the ground with little clinks. “Or perhaps a greatest fantasy?” He chose a male in the front of the crowd and with a snap of his fingers created two buxom blondes who immediately started to fondle him and rub up against him. “Whatever your heart desires, I can fulfill.” He turned to them with a beatific smile. He was ready for the wave of adulation.