Oblivion Heart (Darkling Mage 4)

“I’m sorry for breaking in,” I gasped, wriggling out of Herald’s clutches and slowly, firmly pushing his shockingly strong hands away from my general face and neck area. “But I need help. I found out that they’re keeping the Mona girl in the Prism and – ”

Herald’s eyes darkened, and I swear to you the room went freezing cold. “Who told you about the Prism?”

“Dude, I’m so sorry I woke you up.” I mean I was genuinely sorry, I was pretty sure he was seconds away from killing me.

Herald grabbed my shirt again, his eyes and his voice somehow even frostier when he spoke. “Who. Told. You.”

“Prudence,” I blurted out. “Actually, Gil brought it up, and Prue tried to cover it up by deflecting but by then it was too late. Mona’s a siren. Something controlled her that night at the warehouse. She’s the best lead we’ve got on tracking down the Tome.”

Herald’s eyes narrowed.

“You know I’m right,” I said quietly, in what I hoped was an appeasing manner. “This is in both the Lorica and the Boneyard’s best interest, Herald. I’m not asking you to come with me. I just need to know where it is. I’ll do the rest.”

He released me, and I heaved in relief. Herald folded his arms across his chest, but at least the creases in his face that suggested he wanted me six feet under were gone.

“So you’ve at least given things that much thought.” He nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his forehead still wrinkled. “And no one saw you come into my apartment?”

I held up my hand. “I swear. I knew which unit you were in from the last few times we hung out here.” That was one of the ties that bonded us – video games. I wanted to get into tabletop gaming, too, and Herald was into that, but that’s a topic for another time. I puffed my chest out. “I remembered where you were, and I shadowstepped here all the way from some bushes in the compound.”

He snorted. “If that’s supposed to impress me – well, fine. I’m glad you didn’t shunt yourself into a brick wall.”

Hell, I was glad, too. I used to be absolutely terrified of trying to shadowstep to a destination that wasn’t in my line of sight. This meant that I was growing more confident in my powers, and getting stronger. Which was just as well, since I wasn’t done stepping for the night. Wherever the Prism was, I was obviously going to have to shadowstep all the way into Lorica headquarters to find it.

“I need your help, Herald. I know this is asking a lot, but that’s all I need. A location.”

Herald sighed, then sat on the edge of his bed, his hands clasped together, his head hung low. “This can get me in a lot of trouble, Dust. I know you took precautions not to be seen, but – fuck. Okay. You’re right. This affects us all.” He turned his eyes up at me, and they seemed to glimmer with something like annoyance, or disappointment. The second hurt more. “Whatever happened to Carver’s instructions? No apocalypses, remember?”

I cleared my throat. “There won’t be one. I swear. I’ll do this myself. Quick in and out job.”

Herald leaned back on his bed, planting his hands into the mattress, sighing, ruffling his hair in mild frustration. “The Gallery. Head into the center.”

The Gallery? Who the hell would have known? That was the name the Lorica gave to the section of their offices where artifacts were stored and sorted, where Herald worked as an archivist. I never would have guessed that the doorway to the Prism would be hidden among the hundreds of relics and enchanted items stowed away there.

“The center,” I repeated.

“It’s the heart of the hub. You know how all the shelves are arranged, like roads leading out of a plaza? Just head to the middle. You’ll find a seven-sided crystal. Each side corresponds to a different security level within the Prism.”

“What the hell,” I muttered. “I didn’t know this ran that deep.”

Herald shrugged. “There’s a lot about the Lorica that remains classified. Sure, us grunts in the archives don

’t deal with criminals, but we’re there to see them being transferred anyway.”

“So you saw them bring Mona in?”

He shook his head. “Pretty sure you said the warehouse massacre happened at night. I work hard, but I don’t stay quite that late. You’ll probably find her in the red sector. Highest security clearance there is.”

I chewed my lip. Fuck. The Lorica wasn’t messing around. “Okay,” I said. “Thanks for filling me in.” I tugged on my backpack, securing it, and therefore, Vanitas, to my body. “Here I go.”

“Dust. Wait.” Herald rose from the bed, planted both his hands on my shoulders, then fixed me with a long, serious stare. “Come back alive. Okay?”

“Sure,” I said. Despite my nerves, I made myself give him at least half a grin. I didn’t have to force myself very hard. It was nice to know that Herald cared.

“Don’t die,” he said, his thumbs digging into my collarbone, his eyes twinkling with menace. “Because you owe me big time for this. And you can bet that I’m going to collect.”

See? Told you. Demon blood.

Chapter 14