Dark Harvest (Darkling Mage 2)

The house was a bloodbath by the time I moved in, at least from what I could make out in the darkness. From the floor below I could hear yowls of pain as Sterling and Gil cut a swath through the bowels of the compound. Carver had instructed me to jump ahead, to scout for the group. We put out the sun for three reasons, after all: to blind the Viridian Dawn, to give Sterling room to fight with us, and to turn the entirety of our target location into my playground.

I stepped carefully through the darkness, watchful of the ring on my finger. Carver told me that he had opened a two-way link on it, allowing me to contact him if I needed to, but considering the sheer comfort and safety of the shadows, I was confident I wouldn’t have to turn to him for help.

Navigating the second floor was simple enough. Your eyes get accustomed to the darkness, or maybe mine did from spending so much time in low light conditions, whether it was at the hideout, or operating for Carver under cover of night. I suspected that my connection to the Dark Room might have even granted me some ability to see better in the dark.

Yet all that I could see in the house left me somewhat underwhelmed. I was expecting the Viridian Dawn’s base to be, I don’t know, more threatening somehow. Maybe the fact that it didn’t look so dangerous should have made me warier in general, but level two just felt like any old living room. Well, if you didn’t count the sound of men screaming through the floorboards.

This was easy. Too easy. Surely they had to have people posted as guards up here as well. It was stupid, and almost definitely suspicious.

A ring of pale fire appeared by my feet, and I leapt back in shock, biting my tongue to stop from shouting. A body formed, feet first, inside the ring, and really, you’d think by then I’d have been used to seeing Carver teleport, but I was jumpy, okay? Who knew what the Viridian Dawn had in store for us.

The last of the flames licked at Carver’s suit, then died away. He adjusted his tie, smoothing at the creases in his clothes, eyes still gleaming ocher.

“Anything interesting up here?”

“Not yet,” I said. “Which has me worried, if I’m honest.”

Carver scoffed. “These people are amateurs, just idiots who somehow laid their hands on a stock of magical items. Gil and Sterling are slicing through their ranks like – ”

“A hot knife through butter?”

Carver blinked at me. “Yes. That is an acceptable comparison.”

“You have a thing when it comes to normals, you know that? It’s like, you don’t want them dead, not exactly, but you seem happy enough to shed some blood.”

He pretended to examine his fingernails as more screams emanated from the lower floors, as bumps and crashes signaled that Sterling and Gil were making their way up to us.

“And you need to be a little less sensitive about roughing them up. The human body is resilient. The mind, not so much.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that sometimes subtlety works best for incapacitation. It isn’t only about hurling fireballs and lightning bolts. It’s why I prefer defensive magic. It doesn’t drain me as much, lets me save my power for when I truly need it. A well-placed sleep spell works just as nicely. A fear spell would, too. Or one of madness.”

“Excuse me?”

“Shush. Here comes the cavalry.”

Gil was thumping his way to the top of the stairs, but Sterling had already beaten him to it, somehow moving faster, yet more silently than any human – or werewolf – could manage.

Sterling’s skin was rosier, an effect of all the blood he’d consumed. I didn’t need to look too closely to find out, though, considering he still had some on his chin. I cringed, but I gestured at my own mouth.

“You’ve got something on your – yeah, right there.”

He wiped the offending splatter away with his thumb, then sucked it. I cringed harder. Gil looked about normal, apart from the sheen of sweat on his skin. His knuckles and fingers weren’t bloodied.

“You didn’t go dog?”

“Didn’t need to,” Gil said, his breath hoarse, skin flushed from the thrill of battle. “It was pitch-dark down there. Those kids didn’t stand a chance. I think we took out about a dozen.”

“Fourteen, actually,” Sterling said. He burped. I grimaced.

“Excellent work,” Carver said. “But now for the Codex.” He gestured towards the main door leading away from the staircase landing. “Through there, I suppose, though that should be obvious.”

Gil sniffed at the air. “At least four of them in there.”

Sterling cocked his head, inhaling slowly. “A couple are magical. That or they’re packing heat.”

“Yes,” Carver said. “I sensed that.”