Darkness Unbound (Dark Angels 1)

“I didn’t open it, but it looks like it. It’s the right shape. I left it on your dresser.” She dropped the ladle into the pot, then reached for the bag of corks on the shelf above her head. “I ordered the cake. It should be here for dinner tomorrow.” She paused, then looked over her shoulder at me. “Make sure you are.”

I frowned, an odd sense of tension tightening my limbs. “It’s Tao’s birthday. You know I wouldn’t miss that.”

And yet she was warning me not to. Which meant she’d sensed something on the wind. Something that meant trouble.

The image of the sword-carrying reaper rose like a ghost, and I shivered.

“I know. It’s just—” She paused and shrugged.

“Ilianna, just spit it out. What are you seeing?”

“I’m not seeing anything, that’s the trouble.” She glanced at me again, her expression concerned. “I’m just sensing an unease in the air. Something is brewing, Ris, and it’s going to hit us hard if we’re not careful.”

Then we’ll be careful, I wanted to say, but I resisted the impulse. It was too flippant, and I’d known Ilianna too long to treat her warnings that lightly.

“Then maybe you need to start working on some more protection charms,” I said. “Better to be safe than sorry.”

She nodded. “Next on the list. Not that Tao will want anything to do with them.”

But only because Tao believed he was more than able to protect himself. And given that he—like his human mother—was a fire-starter of incredible strength, he was probably right. I pushed away from the door frame. “Is Mirri coming over tomorrow night?”

Mirri was Ilianna’s lover, a mare she’d met at some creativity and love festival she’d gone to a year ago. She wasn’t a witch in the sense that Ilianna was, but she was a pagan. And like many mares, she was bisexual, whereas Ilianna was desperately trying to keep the fact she was a lesbian under wraps. Especially from her family.

“No. She’s working night shifts at the moment.”

I nodded. Mirri was a midwife, and was currently working in the Royal Women’s natural birthing center. “Do you know that Tao is hoping to seduce her if you two ever break up?”

Ilianna laughed—a deep, throaty sound that tugged a smile across my lips. “I know. He’s hopeless when it comes to women. I seriously doubt if there’s been one he hasn’t lusted after.”

“He’s not so hopeless when it comes to seduction, let me tell you.” The man, quite literally, was dynamite. In bed and out.

She quirked an eyebrow, her amusement evident. “I thought you’d stopped going down that path.”

“I have. Sort of.”

“Meaning that when your date book is empty and you’re feeling horny, he’s more than ready to float your boat?” She shook her head. “How can a woman who looks as hot as you not have a man around to cater to her more earthy needs? What is wrong with the men of this city?”

“This is a question I ask myself constantly.” I grabbed a mandarin from the fruit basket and began peeling it. I actually wanted something more substantial than fruit, but given the task I’d soon be facing, I wasn’t sure my stomach was up to it. “Have you got that meeting with Mike this afternoon?”

Mike was our accountant and a good friend of my mom’s, having handled her considerable finances for well over twenty years. He was also, as far as I could tell, her lover—although that was a passion both of them kept well hidden. I was pretty sure the desire for secrecy was coming from Mike rather than Mom, because she never hid anything from me, not even her lovers. But I’d never questioned her about it, simply because it was her life and her decision. That hadn’t stopped me from asking Aunt Riley, but she was as in the dark about it as I was.

“Yeah, Tao’s going to cover the first part of my shift.” She glanced at me again. “If you want a shower, you’d better go. The water will shut off in ten minutes.”

My eyes widened as I popped a slice of mandarin into my m

outh, and she smiled. “A car’s about to hit a hydrant and the water will have to be shut off temporarily. But don’t worry, no one gets hurt.”

“Damn, it’s handy having a witch as a best friend. Thanks.”

She nodded and started her humming again, happily corking her pretty bottles of harmony potion. I spun on my heel, eating the rest of the mandarin as I headed for my bathroom. We each had our own and, like all the other rooms in this place, they were oversized, with each one containing a massive spa bath, a double walk-in shower, and a big basin. In mine, the oversized white wall tiles contrasted sharply against the warm black slate under my feet. I stripped off, dumping my clothes into the chute that would suck them down into the auto washer-dryer system we’d installed a few months ago.

Mod cons are us, I thought with a smile as I stepped into the shower and the water automatically came on at just the right temperature. Sometimes, there were benefits to being obscenely rich, and one of those was never having to battle with the water temperature or do the laundry. I hated washing and ironing—something I’d picked up from my aunt, according to my mom. Of course, she also blamed Riley for my Coca-Cola addiction, but I honestly think I was born with that. I liked to joke that if I cut one of my veins open, it’d bleed fizzy brown liquid rather than blood.

Once I’d showered, dried, and brushed my hair, I padded into my bedroom. Again it was huge, but it didn’t really look it, thanks to the rich violet on the walls. According to Ilianna, purple was a comforting and a spiritual color—one that generated mystery and tuned intuition. I’d picked it simply because I loved the color. It matched my eyes and contrasted wonderfully with my silver-blond hair.

I walked into the wardrobe and got dressed, donning faded, well-worn jeans and a wool sweater as well as grabbing spares to wear later, knowing I’d have to change once I left the hospital. The smell of the dead and the dying always seemed to cling to my clothing.

I slipped on my boots, then grabbed my watch from the bedside table and glanced at the time. It wasn’t much after seven, but if I took the long way around to the Children’s, I’d probably get there a little after seven thirty. I might be able to get in to see the little girl then.