“Let’s go.” The urgency to get to the fallen sat heavy in his chest. He wanted it to be done.
“My father is here somewhere. I can feel him, which means if he doesn’t already know I’ve returned from the dead”—Declan nodded toward the crumpled form at his feet—“he will now.” Declan’s eyes narrowed. “He’ll be coming after me full on. Do not touch him, he’s mine.”
Julian snorted. He didn’t give a rat’s ass who snuffed the life out of Cormac O’Hara. His business was with Azaiel.
With stealth, they carefully picked their way across the back staging area, noiselessly moving amongst the massive snakes of electrical cables and cases of equipment. There were several staff, some human, some otherworld. None paid them any mind.
It was not what he expected, and he was beginning to suspect it wasn’t so much the cloaking charm that covered his body, but the music. The hypnotic pull was unnatural.
They found themselves in a long corridor that ran perpendicular to the stage. It headed in the direction Jaden had gone, and, for a second, Julian hesitated. Had she made it past the guards with no problems?
“There it is.” Declan pointed toward a nondescript door that was tucked in amongst a pile of boxes and large road cases. It looked easy enough.
He pushed Jaden from his mind. She was a warrior, after all, and could look after herself.
As they approached the door, he felt a change in the air. It was heavy, full of the weight of darkness, and he narrowed his eyes, noticing for the first time the film of gray that slithered slowly around the frame.
“I’ll need a few minutes,” Declan whispered, his face intense as he studied the magick that surrounded the door.
Julian stepped back and watched the sorcerer work. Declan had become an extremely powerful mage over the last few years. His time in hell had increased his strength exponentially.
He was packing some seriously dark mojo and had no qualms about using it.
The energy that flew from his fingers was quick, precise as he drew his own personal charms into the air. It was amazing really, what the man could accomplish.
It didn’t take him long.
“Ready?” Declan asked, not bothering to wait for an answer. He disappeared through the door, and Jaxon quickly followed suit.
The door swung shut automatically, the locking device clicking into place and leaving the two of them surrounded by total darkness.
Julian was immediately assaulted by the taint of evil, of demon and otherworld. It slithered across his skin like a lover’s caress. He should find it repulsive, but he didn’t. He liked it. In fact, he liked it . . . a lot.
A feral smile touched his face, changing the handsome features to menacing as he followed Declan into the bowels of Black Magick.
Chapter 27
Jaden felt like she could eat the darkness. It was that thick.
Her crew had managed to gain entrance to the lower level, not without a few casualties, but luckily they’d all been team Cormac.
Quickly, her eyes adjusted to the gloom. They’d taken a service elevator down and had just spilled out of it into a large, cavernous space. The cold hit her immediately. It was biting, harsh. The air that rushed into her lungs seemed thick and made it hard to breathe.
Down here everything was wrong. Up seemed like down, the air was rank with confusion and pain. She stilled her fast-beating heart, or at least tried to.
“This place is haunted. Things are not right,” Ana whispered.
The magick that slithered across Jaden’s skin was cold, like the underbelly of a snake, and she shivered from the weight of it. The bad feeling she’d been carrying for several hours pressed into her gut, hard. Damn, but she wanted to be wrong.
Ethan was pissed.
“Where the fuck did Castille and O’Hara get to?” he asked her pointedly.
She felt Ana’s interest—though the vampire tried to hide it—as Nico slid into view. His face was blank, his eyes flat and cold. She hated the way he looked at her. Like she’d betrayed him.
Finn’s gaze was hard, but he remained silent, a muscle working its way across his cheek.
Where were they? If anything, she thought they’d fight like hell to get down here before anyone else. Her belly rolled over. None of this made any sense.