Surrender to Darkness (32 page)

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Authors: Annette McCleave

BOOK: Surrender to Darkness
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A pale pink hue stained her cheeks.
As her color rose, so did Murdoch’s suspicions. “And the kiss in the courtyard, did that conveniently occur on an auspicious day?”
The flush deepened.
“I am so going to kick your ass,” he said softly.
Her gaze lifted. “I had no choice. Sora extracted my promise not to tell you, in case Death discovered our plans. Even if I had told you what I was doing, you would have refused to cooperate.”
“You’re bloody right I’d have refused,” he said, twisting the canvas knapsack in his hands. “With good reason. Look at what happened.”
Kiyoko tilted her head. “What
did
happen, Murdoch? To me, it seemed the berserker did not gain control until Sora-sensei shot you with the arrow. Do you remember kissing me?”
“I remember everything the berserker does.”
“Then you remember who did the kissing. Who was it? You or the berserker?”
“Does it matter?” His hold on the knapsack gentled. “I thought he and I were one and the same?”
“Stop being difficult. Answer the question.”
“Me.” Murdoch hooked the knapsack over his shoulder and began the trek up the hill. “
I
kissed you. But I was barely hanging on, and if you think I’m going to put my desire ahead of your safety a second time, think again.”
 
“Are you sure?” Emily asked Murdoch, admiring the teardrop-cut alexandrite-and-diamond pendant hanging from an elegant silver chain. “It’s kind of expensive.”
He frowned, taking the necklace from her and handing it to the saleswoman. “Let me worry about the price. You only turn sixteen once.”
“But I feel bad. You had to sell your car.”
“I really wish you wouldn’t keep bringing that up.”
“I can’t help it. I loved your Mustang, and I’ll be reminded that it’s gone every time we have to drive downtown in Lafleur’s crappy old pickup truck.”
Murdoch parted with a wad of his hard-earned cash, accepted the small bag in return, and then led Emily out of the jewelry store and onto Santana Row. “Shall we hit Ben and Jerry’s next?”
“Sure.”
He watched her twist a strand of blond hair into a tight knot, let it go, then do it again. “You seemed a little quiet on drive down here. Anything on your mind?”
“A couple of things,” Emily admitted.
“Such as?”
“While you were gone, I had more of those weird dreams.”
He arched a brow. “About the between?”
“Yeah. I talked to Uriel about them, like you suggested, but he doesn’t know what the deal is, either. He’s checking on some stuff for me, though.”
“Okay.” He pulled the door open and ushered her into the ice cream parlor. “Is that it?”
“No.” Her gaze slid to the sign above the cashier. She chewed her lip as she studied the menu. “I’ll have a cup of vanilla.”
“You must be the only person on the planet who comes here for the vanilla ice cream,” he said drily. “Don’t you want to try the Half Baked or the Chunky Monkey?”
“Nope. I know what I like.”
He ordered her cup and settled on a Pumpkin Cheese-cake cone for himself. “So what else is bothering you?”
“The Japanese guy.”
“Sora? Did he do something?”
She shook her head. “No, not the sensei. I like him. He’s cool. I mean the other guy.”
“Yoshio?”
“Is he the one who dresses like Brian? With the nice sweaters and shoes?” she asked between spoonfuls of ice cream.
“No, that’s Ryuji Watanabe.” Murdoch glanced at her. “I didn’t realize you’d spent any time with him.”
“I haven’t. But when I went to see Stefan this afternoon, he was there, in the woods.”
Murdoch halted in midlick. “You talked to Stefan? He came out of his trailer?”
“No. He’s still being a jerk. I really don’t understand why he’s hiding. I could pop into his trailer anytime if I wanted to. Even into Dika’s castle, now that I know the entrance is there.”
“He’s waiting for me to take Kiyoko away.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “You’d think he’d know better, being a mage and all. If the Veil exists, it exists. It doesn’t really matter
where
it exists. Trust me. The
where
is a minor detail.”
“You can sense the Veil?”
“Nope. Brian already asked me to try. There’s none of the rotting algae feeling that signals a dark relic anywhere inside the ranch compound.”
Murdoch glared at her. “Webster asked you to look for it? When?”
“Last night. After he talked to you.”
“That bloody b—” He suddenly remembered who he was speaking to. “Rotter. He should have warned me. Kiyoko might have felt you searching for it.”
“Did she?” Emily stopped eating her ice cream.
“Not as far as I know.”
“But she has special senses, like me?” the teen asked eagerly.
“Not quite like you,” he said. “She reads auras.”
Emily nodded. “The electromagnetic energy that people give off. That’s pretty neat. I wonder what she sees when she looks at me?”
“You’d have to ask her.” Murdoch dumped his half-eaten cone in the garbage. “Would you mind terribly if we headed back to the ranch? I need to chat with Webster.”
“Nah, I’m good. This was nice.” She scooped up the last of her ice cream, stuffed the spoon in her mouth, then tossed the cup. The spoon remained in her mouth until they reached the truck, where she stuck the now sparkling white utensil in the air vent, propping it wide-open. “Am I going to get in shit for telling you about the Veil search?”
“I’ll be very diplomatic,” he promised.
“With Brian?” She scrunched up her face. “No offense, Murdoch, but you guys are always
this close
to punching each other’s lights out. Do you even know what
diplomatic
means?”
He grinned. “Perhaps not.”
“Yeah, well, try not to kill him, okay? I need someone to train with.”
Murdoch tossed her a glance as he coaxed the old pickup to life. “I’m a better sparring partner than Webster.”
“Maybe. But so far, you’ve been kinda busy following Kiyoko around like a lost puppy.”
“Excuse me? Did you just call me a puppy?”
With a little effort, Murdoch managed to keep Emily smiling all the way to the ranch. Not quite the effervescent girl she’d been before Carlos but, hopefully, on the road to recovery.
It was only after he’d parked the truck in the garage and she’d disappeared down the path toward her parents’ home that he realized she’d never explained exactly what it was about Watanabe that bothered her.
 
When Kiyoko pushed open the door and entered the air-conditioned arena, Lena glanced up. If she hadn’t, Kiyoko would have made a speedy escape. But since she did, an acknowledgment was in order. “My apologies. I was looking for Sora-sensei.”
“He’s not here.”
“I can see that,” Kiyoko said, backing up. “I’ll keep looking.”
“We can’t avoid each other forever.”
Kiyoko smiled grimly. “I’m not aiming for forever. Just a few weeks.” She opened the door.
“Wait, please.” Lena sheathed the sword she’d been practicing with and advanced across the sand. “I owe you an apology and I’d like you to hear me out.”
Kiyoko halted, but did not shut the door.
Tall and dark, the female Soul Gatherer had an exotic beauty that she played down with a tight ponytail and stark clothing. Kiyoko had rarely seen her flustered. But she wasn’t her usual self today.
Lena stretched the fingers of one hand wide, then relaxed. “I should have been more open about my situation. I should have told you the thrall demons were blackmailing me, maybe even asked you for help. But I’ve never been very good at that. Asking for help.”
Kiyoko waited for more.
And it came. Stilted and awkward, but thick with emotion. “I apologize for involving you in my trade of the Judas coins. I was desperate to save Heather, but I knew you would never condone handing off a dark relic to the demons. It was unforgivable to use you and the other
onmyōji
to help me do it. I’m sorry.”
It still stung. They’d been friends for eight years. Ever since they bid against each other over an inexpensive set of Victorian archaeological excavation tools at a London auction. But the healing had to start somewhere.
“I accept your apology,” Kiyoko said.
Lena released a soft sigh. “Thank you.”
In the past, they would have hugged. Now they shook hands.
“How is Heather?” Kiyoko asked.
“Better every day. After she finished her program at the rehab center, she started volunteering there twice a week. It’s been good for her. She’s still in regular counseling, and still has some pretty rough days, but I’m hopeful.”
“It’s good that she has you.”
Lena nodded. “Brian’s been great with her. They’ve become quite close. He set her up with an apartment in town, helped her find a job, and introduced her to Narcotics Anonymous.”
“I like Brian,” Kiyoko said. “But I don’t understand the bad blood between him and Murdoch.”
The other woman grimaced. “I don’t either. They constantly bait one another, and when they duel, I cringe. They push the limits every time. Some days, Brian comes back to the house with sword slices on fifty percent of his body. The weird thing is, I know they respect each other.”
“Crazy men.”
“Exactly.” Lena glanced at her. “Speaking of crazy men, what have you told Murdoch about your father?”
“My father wasn’t crazy,” Kiyoko protested. “He did not injure other men on purpose.”
“No, but he lived two very full and separate lives, enjoying incredible success in both. Dynamic businessman during the day, inspiring
onmyōji
leader at night. I always wondered if he had a rare form of schizophrenia.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Your father would have laughed.” Lena’s long fingers squeezed Kiyoko’s arm. “I loved Tatsu-san. You know that. He was a wonderful man, and I’m happy he died the way he would have wanted, defending the world against demons. But I’m sad that he’s gone.”
Her friend’s dark brown eyes brimmed with sympathy. Sympathy that reached deep into Kiyoko’s heart and fed the aching loss she’d blanketed for three months.
“Me, too,” she whispered.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” Lena said, “but you are not your father. You do not need to fill his shoes as both corporate mogul and
onmyōji
leader. That was never your path.”
Kiyoko’s stomach tensed in spite of the gentleness of the criticism. “I’m not trying to do both. Ryuji-san runs the company, not I.”
“Really? Because you look like you’re being pulled in a million different directions at once. The Kiyoko I knew was confident to the point of annoying and never doubted anything.” She grimaced. “The woman who broke
onmyōdō
code to save her father? That was the Kiyoko I knew. I’ve never seen you this tentative, this unsure. I assumed that since you brought Watanabe-san along with you, the company was dividing your attention.”
Tentative. Unsure.
The words were accurate, if uncomfortable.
“No,” said Kiyoko. “I’m concerned that the wave of corruption sweeping Asia may have affected the company and I’m personally reviewing the numbers, but I’m not getting involved in the minutiae of the business.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
Kiyoko took a deep breath, and slowly released it. “Since my father died, everything I’ve touched has turned to shit.”
Lena wrinkled her nose. “You’ve been hanging around Murdoch too long.”
“If you believe Sora-sensei’s divinations, I’m the most gifted mystic born into my family in centuries. Yet I couldn’t save him, Lena. When I arrived in the garage, he was still alive, still fighting to breathe. I borrowed ki from people around me, I used every ounce of my own, and I still couldn’t save him.”
The other woman stared at her. “
If?
Are you saying you don’t believe the divination is true? The one that predicts your transcendence to the right hand of Abe no Seimei? The one that names you as his immortal disciple?”
Kiyoko didn’t respond right away. She let the truth settle around them.
“Consider the facts,” she said. “I broke
onmyōdō
code by borrowing ki
,
I failed to heal my father, and I ended up a broken shell of the person I was. Since then, my spells have not been effective in keeping evil at bay, my own warriors have turned on me, and my home was destroyed by demons. I believed the divination because my father believed. But now that he’s gone—now that he no longer supports me—the truth is coming to light. I am not worthy to transcend. He made an error.”

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