Dawnbreaker

Four

Danaus found me the next night standing barefoot in my backyard with fire swirling around me. A thick bank of trees encircled my house, blocking the show I was putting on from the view of my closest neighbors. And a show it was. For the past hour I had been conjuring up balls of flames and streaks of fire so that it looked like my body had attracted its own comet. I was trying to replicate what happened on Crete, but to no avail.

At the Palace of Knossos the swell of power from the earth had been so great it pushed into my body and I was able to use it to create fire. That had been different than my usual fire manipulation. Before, the power came from within me, and with time it became exhausting. On Crete, the power came from another source—the earth.

I needed to learn to tap this power source if I was going to have any hope of defeating the naturi. Unfortunately, I was having no luck so far.

I could feel Danaus’s eyes on me as I went through dozens of different martial art stances I had learned over the long centuries. I struggled to find a center of peace while calling on my ability at the same time. But there was no peace within the fire. It was pure energy that jumped and burned, full of passion and barely controlled excitement.

“If you move your hand fast enough, I bet you could write your name,” Danaus said when he was only a few feet away from me.

Smirking at him over my shoulder, I folded my hands over my chest while my name flared to life in jagged, flickering letters before me. It hovered in the air for a full five seconds before it finally went out.

“Show-off,” he muttered, threading a lock of hair behind his ear as the wind picked up.

My long black skirt swayed in the breeze and I let all the fire I had called up dim and then finally go out, plunging the backyard into complete darkness. Only a little light drifted down to us from the house where Tristan was sitting at the computer up on the second floor. Last I had checked, the nightwalker was exploring the world of iTunes with my credit card.

“Practice?” Danaus asked.

“Not quite,” I said, looking down at my empty hands. Frustration beat at me until I was nearly clenching my teeth. I couldn’t do this alone. I needed help. “Do you remember what happened on Crete? When I used my ability?”

“Yes, the power from the earth consumed you.” Danaus cocked his head to the side as he looked at me, taking in my bare feet for the first time. “You’re trying to replicate it. Mira, you couldn’t control—”

“I know, but I have to learn how to. There has to be a way.”

“I thought you said that nightwalker couldn’t do earth magic or even sense the earth because your human form died.”

“Yeah, well, nightwalkers aren’t supposed to be able to control fire either,” I said, snapping my finger so that a little teardrop of fire hovered in the air for a second before I extinguished it. “It seems that I’m the exception to more than one rule. I’m a conduit for the powers of the triad, and I can also be a conduit for the powers of the earth. I have to learn to control one of them. As long as Jabari’s alive, I don’t see it being the powers of the triad, so that leaves me with learning how to control the power I receive from the earth.”

“Are you getting anything now?”

I shook my head, causing my red hair to cascade around my face. “Nothing.” It was true. I felt nothing whatsoever. There was only the cool grass beneath my feet. There wasn’t even the pulse of life.

“Maybe you can only use the power when it is near its height,” Danaus said.

I gazed out at the blackness of the yard, staring out toward the trees. For a moment I wondered if there were any naturi watching us, but then released the thought just as quickly. Danaus would have told me. “If that’s true, this power won’t do me much good even if I learn to control it.” I started walking back toward the house with him at my side.

“It could help when we go against the naturi at the next sacrifice.”

“Any word on when and where that will be?” I asked as I slowly mounted the stone stairs to the patio. With a wave of my hand, I lit a handful of candles I kept outside for Danaus’s benefit. His eyesight was nearly as keen as mine, but I imagined that he would feel at least a little more comfortable in the circle of candlelight.

“No word from Themis yet. The fall equinox is coming up, and our theory is that they will strike then.”

“I thought as much.” I slumped into a chaise and stared into the candlelight while Danaus chose a chair across from me.

“If you’re going to learn how to control the power you get from the earth, you’re going to need a teacher,” he said, thoughtfully scratching the dark stubble on his chin.

“I doubt I’m going to find someone listed in the yellow pages,” I sneered, shoving one hand through my hair to push it out of my eyes.

“True. You need an earth witch.”

“Hmmm…yeah, that would be a great idea if all the earth witches weren’t already sided with the naturi. I’d rather not get a mentor that was trying to kill me at every turn.”

“Not all of them are.”

Grabbing both arms of the chaise lounge, I pulled myself up until I was sitting on the edge of the seat. “You know of someone,” I announced softly.

“Yes.”

“Is this person associated with Ryan in any way?” I asked, dreading the answer. I didn’t want the head of Themis involved in my training, if it was at all possible.

“No, she’s outside of Themis. I met her months ago when I was looking for you. She lives just north of here in Charleston.”

“Girlfriend?” I demanded, leaning in close for his answer, but he only snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s right. The powerful Danaus doesn’t participate in such base human emotions such as love and lust. You just kill.”

“Much like you,” he countered quickly.

“No, I loved Michael,” I whispered as I pushed to my feet. I had loved my bodyguard, and the naturi stole him from me. “Sometimes living is about taking ugly risks that don’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell. But all in all, those are the risks truly worth taking.”

“I take risks.”

“Calculated ones.”

“Working with you is a calculated risk?” he demanded, arching one eyebrow at me.

A smile finally teased at my lips as I looked down at him. It was a calculated risk, but one that was only slightly in his favor. We both hated the naturi and we both had a deeply ingrained sense of honor. Beyond that there was little else keeping us from killing each other. “Please contact the earth witch for me. See if she will come to Savannah. I have some questions I would like to ask her.”

“Do you want me to bring her here?”

“No!” I caught the panicked flare of my temper and cleared my throat. “Take her to my town house in the city. I’ll meet you both there when she arrives. My secret home outside the city is starting to feel significantly less secret than it had before.”

It was nearly an hour later before I finally shed my dark shadow so I could travel to my next meeting alone. While I appreciated Danaus’s presence when there were so many naturi wandering around, I needed to take care of this next matter alone, though I still had mixed feelings about it.

I meandered through the cemetery with the heels of my boots sinking into the soft earth. The rains that summer had been heavier than usual, leaving the earth feeling like a damp sponge. The graveyard was outside the city limits, but judging by the headstones, was as old as the city herself. Angels wept, their faces streaked with time and wear. Grave markers were worn to the point that the names could be made out only by touch now. I wandered toward the back of the expansive graveyard and crossed a small stone bridge that led to an isolated island in the middle of a large lake.

With the death of my first bodyguard, I had purchased all the plots on the island. Here, I would give my guardians their resting place. Upon reaching the island, I paused before the gravestones of Thomas and Filip. Neither had served me long, preferring to pick fights with creatures they had no business tangling with. There had been nothing I could do to stop their unfortunate deaths.

And then I came to Michael. The last of my bodyguards to die. After he had been hired, I referred to him and my current bodyguard, Gabriel, as my guardian angels. Michael, with the golden hair and sweet smile, looked after me with an unwavering vigilance. He protected me during the daylight hours and chased away the darkness during the night.

Now I simply wanted to weep for him. I should never have brought him with me to England. After it became clear that the naturi were hunting me down in Egypt, I should have sent him straight back to the United States where he and Gabriel would be safe. But instead I kept him close to me out of my own selfishness. And the result was his death.

To make it worse, I didn’t even have his body to bury here among his comrades in arms. According to Ryan, his body had been stolen away by the naturi for some bizarre reason.

I knelt down in the damp grass and ran my fingers over the letters of his name etched into the thick marble slab. My fingertips slid over the smooth edges as I tried to recall his crooked smile or the rough feel of the tiny hairs along his arms. Gabriel had taken care of all of the arrangements once he returned to the United States, and I visited as frequently as I could. I didn’t want the naturi to see me here. I wouldn’t fight them while standing over Michael’s grave. My angel deserved his rest. He had earned it.

Behind me a shoe scuffed along the concrete of the bridge that connected the island to the shore. I had sensed Gabriel coming, but he was being polite by making a little noise to announce his arrival. He didn’t want to catch me unaware with his new guest.

While they approached, I scanned the entire graveyard to find that we were completely alone. Well, as alone as we could be. I couldn’t sense the naturi, and was beginning to wonder if I should have brought Danaus along for the meeting. This was as good a site as any for an ambush.

You trust this one? I sent the question winging into Gabriel’s mind. The unexpected words caused him to nearly stumble but he quickly recovered.

Less than the others before him, but more than any of the others I was considering. He concentrated on making the sentence as clear in his head as possible so I could read it. Gabriel wasn’t a telepath, but I had taught him to arrange his thoughts in such a way that I could easily read his response without the clutter of other thoughts and emotions.

“I pray to you do not regret the choices you’ve made that have brought you to this point,” I announced in the air without turning from Michael’s empty grave.

“I think I have stepped beyond the point of regrets,” came a reply from a soft, even voice I had never heard before. The accent was Asian, possibly Japanese. I hadn’t spent a great deal of time in the region, so my knowledge of the dialects and accents was weak.

Wiping all expression from my pale face, I turned and looked at my newest companion. He stood just over five and a half feet tall, with a slender build and short spiky black hair. His age was hard to determine. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties, but the images and memories running through his mind spoke of a life lived much longer. He had to be closer to ten years older, at least.

“As I am sure that you have been told, my name is Matsui,” he said with a slight bow of his head.

“Yes, Gabriel also told me that you came looking for me and that you already know what I am,” I replied, keeping a comfortable distance between us. “How do you know of me?” As I asked the question, I sat within his mind. I could not read many of his thoughts, as I didn’t understand the language, but I saw the images in his head. He had known other nightwalkers.

“You are a legend around the globe. Even to the Soga Clan,” he replied.

“A clan of nightwalkers?” Gabriel asked, coming to stand beside me.

“Similar to a family, but larger and more complex,” I said, folding my arms over my stomach. “The system of honor and politics is more…complicated in the East, so the Coven has been largely content to let them cling to their old ways so long as it doesn’t spread to the rest of the world.”

“And even in my small part of the world, you are known,” Matsui commented.

“The Grim Reaper in known the world around, but I would still not seek him out. Why have you come looking for me?” I countered.

“I wish to join those who guard you during the daylight hours. I heard of Gabriel’s position a couple years ago and hoped that you would be in need of another guardian. I served in a similar capacity to the Soga Clan. I am well-versed in various fighting styles—”

“I’m not concerned about your ability to defend yourself or me. If Gabriel wasn’t convinced of your skills, you would never have made it this far. I want to know why you would leave the Soga Clan to join me.”

“Word reached the Eastern nightwalkers of the naturi and their attempts to break free, yet few are willing to help,” he said with a frown and a slight shake of his head. “Only three nightwalkers that I know of have gone to the Coven. I came here looking for you. It is said you defeated the naturi in the past, and I wish to help you defeat them now.”

“Does the Soga Clan know you are here now?” Gabriel demanded, shifting his weight from his left foot to his right. I could feel his anxiety rolling off him in thick waves. He didn’t trust Matsui.

“I have their blessing.”

Gabriel looked up at me and frowned. In the past, he had carefully hunted down the other bodyguards, selecting them from retired Special Forces members of the United States armed forces. He had even found bodyguards in former club bouncers skilled in various fighting styles. But each one he hunted down he personally selected for a specific reason. Matsui was the first to ever come looking for him, and it set him ill at ease.

“You may have a misunderstanding of this particular position,” I explained. “Gabriel does not fight the naturi. He protects me during the daylight hours when I travel. He protects me from other humans that would harm me if I was discovered.” It was a partial lie. Gabriel had fought the naturi in England, but he was never meant to. He should have never been in that position in the first place, but I screwed up, resulting in Michael’s death.

“Protecting you as you strive to defeat the naturi would be an honor,” he said with another bow of his head.

I frowned. “All my bodyguards begin and end where you are standing. I’ve buried more than I care to count, all of them dying in some fight or battle. It’s a short life and a violent end.”

“But it is my life and my right to spend it how I wish, no matter how short it is,” Matsui replied, giving me almost verbatim the same answer that Gabriel gave me years ago.

I smiled and Gabriel snorted, shaking his head beside me as a reluctant smile lifted his own lips. “Very well,” I agreed with a nod. “You’ve got the job. For now, you take orders from Gabriel. You sleep and eat when and where he tells you to. And if at any time he thinks you are a threat to my existence, he will not hesitate to eliminate you. No questions asked.”

“I understand. Thank you for this opportunity. I will not disappoint you.”

“Go ahead back to the car,” Gabriel ordered.

Matsui nodded and headed back across the bridge as Gabriel and I turned toward the headstone with Michael’s name on it.

“I found the angel that you were looking for, and the marble sculptor has begun working on it,” Gabriel softly said. “He said that it would take a few months.”

“That’s fine. We’re in no hurry,” I murmured, sliding my hand into the open hand of my angel’s.

Gabriel squeezed my hand once, his thumb brushing across the top. “Michael would not have any regrets about what happened. Don’t make him your regret.”

“He was slipping, Gabriel,” I whispered, finally giving voice to the guilt that had been eating away at me. “I should have seen it happening. Or maybe I did and just hadn’t been willing to admit it until it was too late. He was losing his focus, getting too wrapped up in me. He shouldn’t have been there. Neither of you should have been in England.”

“We were at your side, which is where we should always be,” Gabriel firmly said.

A soft sigh escaped me as I squeezed his hand before releasing it. “Maybe Matsui will last a little longer than some of the others. At least he has been around other nightwalkers in the past.”

“Do you trust him?”

A little laugh escaped me as I bumped my shoulder against his. “Not at all.”

“I was just checking. Afraid you’d lost your mind for a moment.”

“No, I don’t trust him, but then there hasn’t been a single one that we trusted at the onset.”

“It seems that you’re becoming more popular. A Japanese nightwalker clan has heard of you. Am I going to be fighting off guardian wannabes with a stick?” Gabriel teased, but I could tell by his tone that he was partially serious.

“The Soga Clan sent Matsui. He’s not here because he wants to be here,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m sure they’ve heard of me. I’m the only nightwalker in existence that can manipulate fire. I’m also six hundred years old. They didn’t just hear about me. But I’m sure they just heard about me joining the Coven.”

Gabriel paced a couple steps away from me, his heavy steps sinking in the soft earth. He crossed his arms over his strong chest while bending his head to look at the ground in thought. “I don’t understand.”

“I think this is their way of throwing their support behind the dark horse on the Coven. When all hell finally breaks loose, I’m the one they expect to survive. Matsui is an emissary, a gift, in a way.”

“And you think he will do a good job protecting you because he’s been ordered to?”

“He will for the honor of his people. He may be my bodyguard, but he will always be a part of the Soga Clan in some fashion. Matsui will do everything he can to protect me.”

“If you’re so sure that he will protect you, why don’t you trust him?”

“Because I’m not sure that he actually wants to be here, that he wants to be my bodyguard. I like my men to be dedicated, mind, heart, and body. His heart’s not in it yet.”

“Hopefully that changes fast…”

“Or he gains a spot on my little island,” I finished, my eyes sweeping over the headstones one last time. There was still room for more.