The Forbidden Read online

  He went through the kitchen to the darkened shop, where he worked his way through the maze of cauldrons, incense, candles, wands, and crystals. Wind chimes stirred and gave soft tinkles as he passed by. The computer screen at the front counter spilled its eerie blue glow over the jewelry counter.

  He stopped at the jewelry display case and studied the pentagrams. One in particular called to him, one that could easily be a match to Silver’s. It was a silver pentagram with an amber center, only the pentagram was larger than hers. He moved behind the counter and removed the pentagram from the display case. It warmed his hand, the amber glowing in the dimness of the shop. Its power flowed through his body and he knew it was meant for him. He slipped the heavy chain over his neck. He would find a way to repay Silver later.

  When he reached the front door, he caught the scent of the warding potion Cassia had put at the doors and windows, and had used to mop the floor. Warding bells tinkled when he opened the door, the only sound on the otherwise silent street. He twisted the simple locking mechanism on the doorknob so that it would lock behind him. Quietly he closed the door, entering the dark street illuminated by an occasional streetlight.

  Making sure the fairly dark street was clear, Hawk cloaked himself and unfurled his wings. With a push of his mighty wings, Hawk launched himself into the air, rising higher and higher until he was above the tallest of buildings. He circled the city, for a moment simply enjoying the freedom of flying, the freedom from the bonds of Earth. When he had stretched his wings, he coasted lower in the night sky to begin his search for the Fomorii.

  The city was relatively small, surrounded on three sides by bodies of water. San Francisco was a crowded maze of streets and hills, brimming with traffic and noise.

  Sounds of humans talking, dogs barking, cars honking, the roar of buses, and the grinding of truck gears met his sensitive hearing. This changed world constantly amazed him.

  Through smells of ocean air, smog, smoke, urine, garbage, perfume, and countless other odors, he searched for the unique rotten-fish stench of the Fomorii. His keen senses sifted out and rejected scent after scent.

  Anger burned his chest and he pumped his powerful wings harder. He would find the damned Fomorii. But how could he catch their scent since the Fomorii would know enough to keep hidden, and likely would not keep their demon form?

  Memories of his time with Silver continuously warmed him in the cool night air. There was something about her that attracted him more than he wanted to admit. He could hear her sweet voice in his mind, smell her delicious scent, taste her on his tongue.

  It took much effort to draw himself from the memory of pleasuring her and to focus on his task. Demon hunting. He searched and searched until he shouted his fury at his inability to find the damned Fomorii.

  It had passed the mid of night when he headed back to Silver’s shop, beyond frustrated that he had found no sign of the beasts.

  October 26

  13

  Silver woke with a start, bolting upright in bed, her eyes wide. She knew. Was certain how she could find her Coven. The Fomorii had practically left a trail of breadcrumbs when they’d tunneled into Janis’s home.

  Early morning sunlight peeked through the curtains, its brightness such a contrast to the darkness of her task. Her gaze darted to the clock, the illuminated green numbers showing that she had slept well over six hours. She felt refreshed and energized, and ready to take on those damned demons.

  She scrambled out of bed, almost stumbling in the twisted sheets. The state of the bed pulled her up short, brought reality back home too, too hard.

  Heat flushed her cheeks at the thought of what she’d done with a near stranger, but the slight feeling of embarrassment was quickly replaced by pleasure. It had been the best orgasm of her life.

  But she needed to forget about last night for now. She needed to tell him what she had realized.

  Her head whipped to look at the bed and she saw that it was empty. Hawk was gone.

  With a mix of frustration and calmness, she stared at the rumpled coverings. What she had shared with Hawk—it had been nothing short of magical. But why he hadn’t sought pleasure himself intrigued her. He had given, yet had asked nothing in return.

  And now he was just…gone.

  She shook her head. She didn’t have time for this. She didn’t have time for anything. For now, she just had to go.

  After Silver took a quick shower, she dressed for the hunt, all in black. She tugged on her jeans, a turtleneck shirt, boots, jacket, and then tucked her daggers into the boot sheaths. She fastened her hair on top of her head with a Celtic-knot pin and made sure her cap and gloves were stuffed into her pocket, then headed out of her bedroom.

  First things first. She would scry with her cauldron to see if she could learn anything new before she called Jake for backup. She hoped Hawk was still around somewhere because she was ready and determined to get going. His help would be invaluable.

  But damned if she needed him. With or without the Otherworld warrior, she would take care of business.

  When she reached her kitchen, she pulled the pewter cauldron from her cabinet of ceremonial tools and set them out on the table. She dragged out the large bottle of consecrated water from the kitchen, then lifted it high enough to pour into the cauldron. The water made a chugging noise and rose up almost to the rim of the cauldron before she set the jug down on the floor beside her.

  She felt the strength of her familiar’s presence even before Polaris hissed and slithered onto a chair, then the table, to curl around the cauldron. His magic joined hers as she stared at the shimmering surface that rippled slightly with the python’s movements.

  Allowing herself to relax, Silver unfocused her eyes.

  Within moments, steam curled from the edges of the cauldron and began to take shape. She raised her head and watched a hallway form within the magical fog. In the vision she could see herself walking down the hallway, straight past a pair of elevator banks.

  Silver frowned. A hallway? Elevators?

  She felt Polaris’s magical push at her mind, as if criticizing her doubt.

  The hallway was inside a building, perhaps leading away from a back entrance. Maybe one of the countless towering buildings on Market Street. Her heart started to beat faster, then faster still. All of her senses prickled.

  This was just a hallway, a normal hallway in a normal building, but something was very wrong here.

  Wary, breathing a little too quickly, Silver forced herself to walk along the corridor. She slipped through a door, into a huge storeroom filled with banquet tables, chairs, and risers. That sense of wrongness grew.

  Darkness was afoot in this place. She could feel it seeping across the floor, chilling the air. Danger here. No question.

  Carefully, Silver inched across the concrete floor to another door, braced for psychic combat, and shoved it open.

  This time she was in a small ballroom. The room was empty and seemed somehow different from the one she had seen in her other vision. It took her a moment to realize the ballroom simply mirrored the other one. In a ghostly haze, she moved across the floor to a sectioned wall. Each section was hinged, as if the wall could fold like an accordion.

  She put her hand on the wall.

  Her stomach roiled.

  Yes. Yes! This was it. Where she needed to be. Where she had to go. She wanted to cast all her spells at once, draw her weapons, charge in and—

  A sudden noise jerked her attention away from the wall.

  She whirled around—and straight out of the vision. In seconds, her mind was back in her own kitchen. The door to the apartment was flung open and Hawk shut it behind him with a loud thud.

  Silver’s gaze shot back to the cauldron. The fog vanished. The water went still. “No!”

  She grabbed the pewter edges and shook the cauldron. Water sloshed over the edge and Polaris hissed as it splashed onto his scaly head.

  How was she able to break through so much this tim
e? Was her gray magic growing stronger?

  She stomped her booted foot on the wooden floor and glared at Hawk. “I was almost there!” she said. “Next time, come in a little quieter, all right?”

  “What did you see?” He strode across the small apartment, quickly closing in.

  For a moment she almost couldn’t breathe as he came within inches of her. He was so gorgeous, and just last night those firm lips had—

  Silver shook her head to rattle the image out.

  He cocked a brow. “Nothing?”

  She shook her head again. “I mean yes, I did see something. But right now it’s not going to do us any good. First we have to find the demons.”

  “I could not locate the bastards last night.” The tenseness of his jaw and the whiteness of his knuckles as he clenched his fists told her how frustrated he was. “The magic that cloaks them—Balor himself must be lending his powers.”

  Silver took a deep breath. “I think I know how to sneak in, right through Balor’s magic.”

  Hawk’s eyes riveted on hers. “Speak.”

  “When the Fomorii attacked, they came up from the ground.” Silver rubbed one hand over her snake bracelet. “I’ll bet we can track them through the same way they came in.”

  Hawk’s expression didn’t change. “To battle that many demons, we need reinforcements.”

  “That’s why I’m calling Jake.” Silver walked across the floor to her computer desk as she spoke. “He and his team are professionals and they’re trained to deal with the paranormal.”

  She heard the scowl in his voice when he said, “They are human. To battle Fomorii is beyond their limited abilities.”

  Irritation flashed through Silver. “Like I said. They’re professionals. And unless you happen to have a small army in reserve, they’re all we’ve got.”

  In her haste to grab the cordless phone, she knocked a picture frame from her desk. Before it tumbled to the floor, Hawk caught it with ease and grace. She grasped her hand around the phone and paused as he studied the picture.

  With her free hand, Silver took the framed photograph from him. Copper’s mischievous grin and Silver’s own smile told of happier times. The picture had been taken two years ago, but Silver felt much older now, that time had been passing by too quickly.

  ‘That’s my sister beside me,” she said as she set it back on the computer desk.

  “She is nearly as beautiful as you are,” Hawk said quietly.

  Silver bit her lip at the way he had used the present tense, as if believing that Copper were alive, just as much as Silver did.

  After punching in Jake’s cell phone number, she raised the handset to her ear.

  “Macgregor,” he said on the first ring.

  Silver told him her plan. “How soon can you gather your team?”

  “I’ll pick you up in five minutes. My team can meet us at the location in fifteen.”

  “Good.” Silver gave him the directions and punched the off button. She glanced up at Hawk. “Let’s go.”

  When they reached the downstairs kitchen, smells of cinnamon rolls and coffee rose up to meet them.

  “Back for more?” Cassia asked Hawk as she pulled a tray of the huge rolls from the oven. “Six weren’t enough?”

  Silver almost laughed at the boyish look on Hawk’s face as he shook his head.

  She told Cassia where they were headed.

  The witch frowned. “I should be going with you.” Mortimer peeked out from the pocket of her apron and twitched his nose in obvious agreement.

  “Someone has to man the shop. I need both you and Eric to handle things.” Silver turned her back on Cassia and slipped through the kitchen door.

  The warding bells barely tinkled as Hawk followed her. She locked the door, then closed it behind her. They strode side by side to the front of the store.

  Jake was already there waiting for her, his black motorcycle at the curb with two helmets resting on the seat. He had a dark expression that matched his black T-shirt and snug black jeans. She smelled the heat of the bike’s exhaust, and it seemed something more was carried on the wind. Something that didn’t belong.

  “You know how to get to them?” Jake asked in his deep tone.

  “Have I ever been wrong?” she said automatically, and Jake winked.

  Their light banter eased a little of her nervousness, but did nothing to cool the anger boiling within her anew at the thought of the Fomorii taking her Coven, and no doubt murdering humans.

  Jake flipped down the visor on his helmet and swung his leg over the motorcycle so that he straddled it. He looked like the real bad boy he was, all in black from shielded helmet to black boots.

  When Silver climbed onto the back of the motorcycle behind Jake, she caught Hawk’s glare. He didn’t seem happy to have her riding on the bike with Jake. Why the heck was he acting so jealous or protective? Just because of one night of pleasure?

  The motorcycle roared through the morning as they headed toward Janis’s house, with Hawk flying somewhere overhead. The moment before he had taken to the sky, he had vanished, cloaked in his own magic.

  While Jake guided the bike up and down the steep San Francisco streets, cool air slipped in through the tiniest openings of her jacket, and she shivered. Adrenaline rushed through her body as her mind raced through the options of what they could do to rescue the Coven members. By the Ancestors, she was determined they would rescue her people.

  In no time they reached Janis’s home and Jake parked at the curb. His team hadn’t arrived yet and the street was eerily quiet once the purr of the motorcycle faded to silence. Silver eased her helmet off, some of her hair slipping from the Celtic-knot pinning it back.

  Hawk suddenly appeared, his wings giving a few powerful flaps before he touched down on the concrete driveway.

  Jake’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit, he really can fly.” Hawk had cloaked himself before taking to the sky at the shop, so Silver wasn’t surprised at Jake’s reaction.

  She slid off the motorcycle, left her helmet on the seat, and strode toward the back door of Janis’s home, her heart pounding. What if there was another demon lying in wait? Maybe more? Would her magic be enough to fend them off, or would Hawk’s fighting abilities be enough to destroy them? Would Jake’s and his team members’ firepower have any effect on the Fomorii?

  Before she reached the house, Hawk grabbed her upper arm. “Wait,” he commanded, and she frowned at him. One thing she hated was to be told what to do.

  She started to respond when the PSF team’s black vehicle pulled up to the sidewalk and Paranormal Special Forces agents spilled from its confines. The vehicle was the same type as often used by SWAT cops, like a huge UPS truck, but with no markings whatsoever—just pure black.

  Hawk released her and she snatched her black cap from her pocket and tucked her hair beneath it, trying to get all the strands under it. PSF officers slipped silently from the vehicle and within moments were surrounding her, Hawk, and Jake. Each man and woman had a hardened expression. A couple of the men and one woman had a cocky look to their eyes, and Silver only hoped she wouldn’t regret involving humans who might not be able to fight such powerful demons.

  Jake briefed them on the plan. If all went well, and no demons were lying in wait, they would work their way through the tunnel left by the Fomorii—if it hadn’t caved in and if it was stable. They hoped the tunnel would lead them to the demons’ hideout where they would attempt to rescue trapped Coven members.

  Silver insisted on leading the way into Janis’s home, and Hawk insisted on remaining glued to her side. The knob squeaked as she turned it, and again the door creaked when she pushed it open.

  Silence reigned as she paused at the threshold. The house smelled stale and reeked of rotten fish. She almost choked on it when she took a deep breath to shore up her courage.

  She moved silently across the scratched and muddied floor to the door leading to the D’Anu chamber that sprawled wide open. Before she started down t
he steps, she eased one dagger out of her boot, and waved her hand to form an illumination spell.

  The blue light preceded her down the scarred stone steps and to the destroyed chamber. She felt the presence of Hawk, Jake, and the PSF squad behind her.

  Jake had instructed two of the team members to guard the entrance to the home, and two would remain at the entrance to the hole, providing they could reach the bottom.

  Silver clenched the hilt of the dagger as she climbed over the rubble and reached the gaping maw of the hole left by the Fomorii. Jake and Hawk were on either side of her now, Hawk with his own dagger drawn, and Jake with his gun.

  She let the blue light of her magic spill into the opening and it illuminated a crude tunnel leading so far down she couldn’t see how deep it went. The smell rising up from the hole was beyond the malodor of the Fomorii. It stunk like a sewer.

  She crouched long enough to pick up a small rock and dropped it into the hole. She held her breath as she waited— and heard it splash within a couple of seconds.

  Silver turned to Jake. “Sewer?”

  He nodded.

  This time she didn’t take a deep breath—the stink was too much. Instead she straightened her shoulders, ready to climb down into that hole, when Hawk pushed his way past her and sheathed his dagger. He braced his hands to either side of the opening. His biceps bulged as he lowered his large body into the hole.

  Hawk’s gut tightened as he climbed down the crudely dug tunnel illuminated by Silver’s magic. Sharp rocks bit into his callused palms but he felt no pain as he found handholds and footholds in the dirt and rock. The stink rising from below was near to overwhelming, but he continued down, testing each foothold before putting his weight onto it.

  As he lowered himself, he heard the steady drip of water, and the flow of the sewer just feet beneath him. His senses constantly sifted through every sound while seeking signs of the Fomorii.

  His boot slipped when he found no purchase, only emptiness. He gritted his teeth as he slid down the tunnel, more rocks scraping his palms and dirt lodging beneath his fingernails. Torn metal cut into his hands and then he dropped.