Page 99 of Lucifer's Mirror

Running Out of Time

It’sbeentendayssince Zayne left, and Khaos hasn’t kissed me again.

I don’t know how I feel about that.

Wait. That’s a goddamn lie. I feel confused and sad and hurt and lonely and… just a little bit stupid. Everyone has warned me about Khaosti: Zayne, Hecate, even Thanouq.

Who would have thought a kiss could stir up so many emotions?

But he’s changed toward me. I find him watching me openly now, and he touches me often, even when we’re not training. And I know—though I’m guessing Khaosti doesn’t—that one dayitwill happen between us. I’m strangely content to wait and let things fall into place. It’s like a time-out.

Since Zayne left, we’ve been training every day, and I’m getting better. Khaosti was right: I’ll never be able to beat him in an outright fight. He’s too big and so much stronger than me. But he’s been teaching me some moves, and my body remembers. One day, he had Erik, the boy who helps out at Hecate’s house, come and join us. He’s more my size, and I beat him easily.

My sword fighting is getting better as well, and I’m fitter than I’ve ever been. I can easily scale the cliff face now.

I miss Zayne, but I’m sort of happy. Happier than I ever remember being.

But—and it’s a huge but—my memory has shown no sign of returning. Nothing. Not a flicker since that moment in the temple. I often think about going back, but something has kept me away.

The frustration is driving me crazy.

Hecate says not to let it worry me. We have time. Just relax, and it will come.

I’m not sure I believe her. Maybe it’s gone forever.

We’re sitting down to dinner—the six of us—when there’s a commotion outside. Hecate gets to her feet and hurries to the door. She comes back with a man in tow. He’s the same guide who took Zayne away ten days ago.

“This is Stefan,” Hecate says. “Sit down, Stefan, before you fall down.”

I notice now that he’s wounded. His face is pale, his lips almost blue. His right hand is pressed against his side, and his shirt is stained dark with blood. His eyes are shadowed as he sinks into the chair opposite me.

He turns his attention to Khaosti. “I went to the house as you asked. It’s gone. Burned to the ground. I found one body among the ashes.”

“Fuck,” Khaosti mutters.

“Is it Brown?” I ask. “Is he dead?”

“I presume so. Damn. I should have sent him home. I knew there was a good chance they’d trace you there. For some reason, they can hone in on you. Likely they’ve been searching and found traces of your passing.”

My mind is numb. I’ve never known anyone who died before. I didn’t know Brown well, but he’d seemed a nice man. He certainly didn’t deserve to die at the hands of those things. “You think it was the shadowguard?” I ask.

“Of course. Though they must have come in force. Brown would have fought to defend the house.”

“Who was he? Is he related to the Brown on Earth?”

“Not related, though they were both guardians. When the guardians get too old for active duty, they’re given other positions. Often, they look after the safe houses on different worlds.”

“They get the honor of serving the Astrali,” Hecate murmurs. “They’re warriors, and you reduce them to mere servants, waiting on you hand and foot.”

“At least they are serving a useful purpose.” Khaosti sounds defensive.

“Of course, they are,” she replies sweetly.

Hecate doesn’t look much older than Khaosti now—perhaps more mature. Her hair is dark red with no hint of gray. Her face is unlined.

She turns back to Stefan. “How were you wounded?”

“When I discovered the fate of the house, I headed back here to report. There are groups of shadowguard wandering the countryside, killing everything they come across and burning the land. They are searching. I found other homesteads razed to the ground, their occupants slaughtered. I was ambushed just as I was heading into the mountains. I managed to fight them off, but I was stabbed in the stomach and…” He hesitates and then raises his head, and I can see the savage bite marks on his throat. He’s been bitten—does that mean he’ll turn into a shifter like Zayne or…?