The Key of Darkness (The Bradbury Institute Book 1) Read online

  “The dangerous stuff has all gone to the same buyer and every time I get a lead on the guy he disappears like smoke. I knew John wouldn’t pass up a chance to sell the Key, so I decided to make a mess for him and see if I could flush out his buyer.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell Chet what you were doing? They might have worked with you.”

  Knox shook his head. “They wouldn’t risk something like the Key. But I knew it would be the best way to find out who he’s been selling to. Look, I know you think my morals are suspect, what with being a thief and all.” He chuckled, a hint of his insouciant smile returning. “And you’re right. But whoever dear old dad is doing business with is bad, Eve. Very, very bad. And nobody knows who they are.”

  Eve considered this, wondering not for the first time why Bradbury had people like Pete and Sanngrid. The answer seemed obvious. “If they’re that dangerous, Bradbury needs to know who they are.”

  Whatever answer Knox may have given her was stilled on his lips as he froze, a look of horror on his face. Eve realized he wasn’t looking at her but rather behind her. The cold sting of ice bit into the skin just above the small of her back, sending a sickening, familiar tendril of energy into her body. Dropping her drink, Eve grabbed onto the railing to keep from falling as her knees buckled.

  Black Diamond Guy stepped out of a swath of shadows that draped over him like a cloak. The ring bit deeper into her flesh as he wrapped his other hand around her throat, roughly pulling her to him.

  “You have something of ours, Knox Delafield. Now we have something of yours.” He jerked against Eve’s throat, making her gasp. “Be at the dippemess in one hour and we might be able to work a trade.”

  He climbed over the railing, dragging Eve with him, and they fell into the night.

  Chapter 20

  Eve screamed, the sound muffled and strangely flat. For an endless moment the city lights blinded her as fear seized her body. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the oncoming ground as they rushed toward it. In seconds she was slammed into a hard surface, rattling her bones and knocking the breath from her.

  Rough hands yanked her up. She found herself staring into the face of Black Diamond Guy. “Who are you?”

  “Now, now.” He stepped back and removed his jacket, then the harness and wire hidden under it. “You wouldn’t tell me your name, why should I tell you mine?”

  They were standing on a balcony below Mueller’s. She couldn’t tell how many floors. Rushing past her captor she flung herself at the railing and threw her head back. “Knox!” Over and over, as loud as she could until the back of her throat felt ragged from the effort. Every time, though, it sounded muffled, as if she were underwater.

  She turned back to face him. “What did you do,” she demanded, voice hoarse. “Is it some kind of spell?”

  “Scream all you want.” He grinned. “No one will hear you.”

  “I bet you say that to all the girls you kidnap.” Bravado was about the only weapon Eve had. She glanced around, looking for something, anything, she could use.

  “Tell me your name.” His eyes were as dark as the black diamond ring he wore.

  Eve could think of no reason to refuse or lie. It would be easy enough for him to find out any number of ways, and it might buy her some goodwill or even better, time. So she told him.

  “Eve,” he said. “My name is Crantz. I work for a man who wants something from your friend Knox and he will stop at nothing to get it. If he tells me to kill you I won’t hesitate. You’re nothing but a means to an end. Understand?”

  She nodded. “But it’s not like that. Knox and I barely know each other. He won’t trade anything for me.”

  Crantz took her hand. “That’s too bad. I’ll probably have to kill you then.” He sounded almost bored by the idea. “Great dress, by the way.”

  He pulled her along as he opened the door to the apartment and made his way to the exit. The place was empty and dark. Eve dragged her heels, trying to pull her hand free. Stalling for time was the only plan she could come up with.

  They reached the door. Crantz swung her into a wall, pinning her at the shoulder with one hand. “Look, don’t make this difficult. I don’t want to have to drag you through the streets but if you won’t cooperate I’ll make you.” He let go of her, holding up his hand to display the ring.

  “What, what kind of magic can you do with that?”

  He leaned closer and whispered, “Do you really want to find out?”

  Damn it. Eve tried to think of a way to maneuver him into a position she could take advantage of with some of the moves she learned from Sanngrid. Then she considered everything Knox had told her and decided playing helpless might get a better payoff. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  He stroked her cheek. She didn’t have to fake trembling. “Don’t you worry, Eve. I won’t hurt you unless I have to. Now, we have an appointment to keep.”

  The dippemess turned out to be a carnival. A mélange of laughter and music mixed with the heavy perfume of beer and cheap food in the autumn night. Her dress elicited a few stares but otherwise people were too busy having fun to pay attention to Eve. Crantz guided her to a spot near the Ferris wheel. She shivered and rubbed her hands over her arms as he checked his watch and lit a cigarette.

  “You cold?”

  “Yes,” she snapped.

  “Hm.” Crantz continued to smoke.

  So John Delafield was selling off the family’s magical artifacts. Eve was completely unsurprised to learn there was gambling going on in that casino. John and his grabby, social-climbing wife had been the antithesis of the rest of the family, especially matriarch Rebecca. No wonder Rebecca’s will stated only Eve or Knox were to be trusted with transferring the Key to Bradbury. She might have known her son was selling potentially dangerous items. Now it seemed Knox wanted to clean up his father’s mess. It relieved her to think of Knox in that light, rather than think him capable of doing the same thing his father was apparently doing.

  Eve thought of the temp job she should have started by now, clerical work in some drab gray office. She knew how to organize things, how to change the toner cartridge in a copier machine, how to create a database and use mail merge. She didn’t even mind making coffee if she had to because at least then she’d know it would be good.

  She had no idea how to get information out of a dangerous sorcerer.

  Surely Knox would have gone to Chet and they’d have some sort of plan to keep the Key from falling into the wrong hands. But to whom did those hands belong? And how could she get Crantz to tell her anything?

  The minutes ticked by, the night growing cooler. Crantz didn’t touch her, barely seemed to be watching her even, but she had no doubt if she tried to make a run for it he’d use the ring. Not that she had any intention of running. She didn’t speak German, had no idea how to get back to the apartment, and had lost her handbag somewhere along the way.

  Somewhere out in the night, Pete Cadkin was supposed to be watching over her. The thought bolstered her courage and she decided to see if she could learn anything before Bradbury’s muscle showed up.

  “So what is it Knox has that your boss wants?” Eve tried to keep her voice soft and girlish. Not quite playing dumb but close.

  Crantz dropped his cigarette to the gravel, grinding it under the toe of his shoe. “Not buying what you’re selling, sweetheart.”

  Eve clenched, the muscles around her eyes contracting. Maybe this is why Pete squints all the time, he’s pissed. “Why does your boss want something as dangerous as the Key of Darkness? What does he plan to do with it?”

  “Well aren’t you a curious one? Eve.” There was amusement in the way he emphasized her name. “Bet you’d pluck the apple right off the tree and not give it a second thought.”

  “I know when I’ve bitten off more than I can chew,” she snapped.

  “You sure about that?” His lips curled into a semblance of a smile as he tapped another cigarette out of the pack. “Knox De
lafield runs with a fast crowd. Almost as dangerous as the Bradbury Institute.”

  She opened her mouth, wanting to spit out a retort, an insult, anything. Nothing came.

  Crantz grinned as he lit the cigarette and inhaled. “I know you’re with them. I don’t know exactly what happened in that alley today but I know when someone’s dropped a brick load of magic on me.” He used the cigarette to point at her. “You’ve got yourself some Bradbury muscle looking out for you. So where are they now, Eve? Are they going to swoop in and rescue you at any moment? Or do you suppose they’ll leave you to die and try to follow me once I’ve got the Key?”

  Eve took a step back. Pete used magic in the alley? “You told Knox you’d trade me.”

  “I lied, sue me.” He held up his hand, fingering the black diamond ring. “You were a naughty girl and took a peek inside this. Can’t have that, now.”

  Maybe making a run for it wasn’t such a bad idea. “I don’t know what you mean,” she lied. She hadn’t meant to peek, but she had. And she’d seen parts of a face shrouded in shadow – was that the person who wanted the Key? She doubted what she’d seen could be turned into a useful image of the man, but knew better than to expect Crantz to believe that.

  Crantz pursed his lips and shook his head. “You’re really going to have to sell it harder to make me buy it. He knows you saw him.” He strode toward her, forcing her to walk backwards, her heels tottering in the gravel. Once he had her backed up against the gate that circled the Ferris wheel he traced a finger across her jaw line. “And guess what, Eve? He saw you too.”

  Sanngrid’s voice filled her head. Knees, crotch, wind pipe. And always fight dirty. Tears leaked down Eve’s cheeks. Her voice wobbled. “I can’t do this. I’m just a personal assistant. A secretary.”

  “They took advantage of you.” Crantz came closer. He smelled of expensive aftershave and high end alcohol barely covering deeper layers of something corrupt and foul. “They’re using you, Eve. It’s all about the Key. You know that, don’t you?”

  She bit her lip to keep it from trembling. “No one’s coming for me, are they?”

  He stroked her hair, pulling gently on a tendril that had escaped the fancy updo. “It’s a shame, really. Such a waste to kill such a lovely creature. It’ll bother my conscience for a whole minute.”

  Eve doubted he even had a conscience. A sob broke free and she buried her face in her hands.

  Crantz flicked his cigarette away, stepping so close she could feel the heat of his body. “Now let’s not do that, shall we? It’ll ruin your makeup. You don’t want to die with raccoon eyes, do you?” He brushed her hands aside and tipped her chin up, using a thumb to wipe at her tears.

  Cocking her hand backward, Eve slammed the heel into the soft tissue of his throat at the same time she dug one vicious self-defense heel into his shoe. He sputtered, pain reddening his face, unable to cry out and clutching at his throat. She raised her knee hard enough to send his balls halfway up his torso, ripping her skirt in the process. Shoving him away, he went to his knees hard in the gravel. She grabbed his hand, slammed her elbow into his temple, and twisted the ring from his finger while he was too stunned to stop her.

  “Thanks for this.” She held up the ring for him to see. “Tell your boss Bradbury’s coming for him.” Not wanting to push her luck, Eve turned and ran as fast as she could.

  She barely got twenty feet before colliding with Pete in a messy tangle of limbs and torn dress. “Are you okay?” He looked over her shoulder at Crantz who was still doubled over.

  “Fine, let’s go.” She glanced back. “I think he’s alone but I’m not sure.”

  “I have a gun.”

  “Right now a car would be better.” She tugged at him.

  “Got one of those too.” Pete wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her as she struggled through the gravel in her heels.

  Eve removed the offending shoes as soon as they were in the car. “I owe Sanngrid a bottle of wine.”

  Pete maneuvered the car through the busy city traffic. “Make it tequila and you’ll have a friend for life.”

  Grinning, Eve opened her mouth to speak but searing pain in her hand made her cry out instead. The ring – it was coming from the ring.

  “What is it?”

  She tried to open her fist but the muscles refused. Attempting to pry it apart with the fingers of her other hand proved useless. The pain intensified, hot as a brand and spreading quickly.

  “Kane, talk to me. What’s going on?”

  This time the tears were real. “I took his ring. It’s hurting me. Oh God, it hurts.” The heat began to bleed into glacial ice. He hovered in the midst of it, knife-sharp and cold. Eve could feel him reaching for her through the void, slowing her heart and cutting off her oxygen.

  She had a vague awareness of the car jerking to a stop. Gasping for breath, she looked at Pete. A faint blue-silver glow emanating from him was the last thing she saw before everything went dark.

  Chapter 21

  Pete hauled Eve into his lap, enclosing her fist with his. Heat radiated from her flesh. Her head lolled against his shoulder, eyes closed, face slack. Probably for the best that she’d passed out. The veins in her hand stood out, dark under pale skin. The spell began to travel up her arm in a black spiral of dark magic.

  Gathering his energy with a simple indrawn breath, Pete focused on Eve’s hand, small and cold in his. This ring she’d taken was heavily enchanted and lashing out, perhaps acting as a conduit. He pushed his will against it, managing to pry her fingers open. The ring – or whoever was on the other end of it – pushed back, hard. Eve’s hand closed and her eyes fluttered as she fought to breathe. The pulse in her wrist was getting weaker.

  Pete began to chant an old spell that called upon dangerous magic. Chaotic magic-- the kind not found in the sacred circles and ancient books of ceremony. Instead it was in the fullness of clouds before they burst with rain, the sharp breeze that carries the promise of kite-ripping winds, the solidity of earth that threatens to tremble and cave underfoot, the flash of lightning that barely misses igniting a conflagration. The elements of nature answered his call, as they always had, unleashing a tempest of energy inside the car. Blue-silver light spread from their joined hands and broke into fractal patterns, filling the vehicle.

  The ring released its hold, its surrender rippling through Pete and the patterns of light. He opened her fist and let the ring drop to the floorboard. She woke as he concentrated on grounding the energy. The light melted into nothing.

  Their breathing was the only sound in the car. Eve tried to sit up straighter. The edge of her dress caught on the door handle, tearing more of the fragile lace. With more reluctance than he cared to admit, he helped her back into the passenger seat.

  “What was that?” Her voice sounded scratchy and rough.

  Pete searched for something to use to pick up the ring. A removable ash tray with a snap-on lid did the trick nicely. He used a pen from his inside jacket pocket to maneuver the ring into the container, the lid giving a satisfying snap as he closed it.

  He held up the container, rattling the ring. “I had to deal with this cursed ring of yours.” His cell phone rang. Answering it, he kept one eye on Eve as he listened. “Yeah, I got her. She’s mostly okay.”

  “Is it Chet?” she asked, groggy. “Tell him I’m fine.”

  Pete nodded for her benefit. “Good, but I still want my two minutes.” He closed the phone and started the car, pulling back into traffic.

  “Knox is handing over the Key,” he said. “He told Chet it’s not even here in Frankfurt. He left it stateside.”

  Eve coughed. “His father’s been selling things from the family collection of magical artifacts. Knox told me at the party.”

  He glanced at her. Even with her fancy dress torn in several places, hair in disarray and makeup ruined, she still glowed with an almost painful beauty. He forced his gaze back to the traffic but allowed himself the luxury of placing his ha
nd on her neck, rubbing his thumb across the column of her throat. “Just relax. We’ll talk about everything soon enough.”

  She sank into the seat, eyes half-closed. They traveled the rest of the way in silence, Pete only removing his hand when driving demanded it.

  ****

  Exhausted and aching, Eve sank into the sofa and gratefully took the mug of hot tea Chet offered. “How soon do we leave?”

  “Twenty minutes,” Chet said. “We’re taking a private plane to Berlin and leaving the country from there.”

  “I can’t believe you fought that guy off by yourself. I was afraid you’d be…well, I was afraid.” A tinge of regret subdued the usual insouciance in Knox’s attitude.

  “I’m not surprised.” Pete gave her a small packet of healing herbs for her hand. Meeting her eyes, one eyebrow quirked, he said, “You got me on my back.”

  Heat rose in her cheeks. She looked away. “I got lucky.” She cleared her throat and took another sip of tea. “Do you think the ring is still dangerous?”

  Chet said, “We’ll be able to tell more about it once we get back. For right now, I don’t want anyone touching it.”

  The face the ring had shown hovered in Eve’s imagination. She’d never seen the man before, but there was something familiar about the features that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. “If a way around any curses or spells or whatever can be found, I can read that ring.”

  Knox adjusted his tie and smoothed back his hair. Apparently the time for regret was over. “Short of hanging my dad upside down by his ankles and caning him, that might be the best way to find out who he’s been selling all that stuff to.”

  “Considering the kind of magic in that ring,” Chet pointed at the closed ash tray in the center of the table. “And some of the other things they bought from John Delafield, I think we can assume they meant to use the Key.”

  “I don’t understand that at all,” Eve said. “Why would anyone want to summon a demon? Does he think he can control it?”