Unarmed, I searched for something sharp or heavy. The only items that fit the bill were a pair of toenail clippers and a floor vase that looked heavier than a small cow.
Didn’t matter. Whoever was in that room was about to die.
Chapter 26
Isurgedinto the secret room, coming face-to-face with an empty leather chair. The light hurt my eyes, and I noticed my shadow stretched in front of me to the right, joined by another. I turned, taking a few steps back from Darius, who stood beside a tall floor lamp. The door quietly closed, leaving us alone in this confined space.
“What treachery is this?” he asked calmly, quietly. “We had an arrangement. How dare you bring them here… to my home!”
Darius had on gym attire: black pants, no shirt, and white gauze or cotton wrapped around his hands. By the looks of the sweat still dripping from his hair, we’d definitely taken him by surprise. My eyes flicked up to a longsword on the wall behind the lamp.
Darius kept his eyes steady on mine. “You foolish child. You could have had everything.”
“If you wanted to know what an imbecile looks like, all you had to do was look in the mirror. Oh, it doesn’t seem like you have any here in your hidey-hole. You’re a courageous man, Darius. Truly.”
He advanced, forcing me to step back. “I value my life. It doesn’t look like you can say the same.”
“You got that right. I’m here because it’s not just my life I value, but the people you threatened to harm.”
I flashed around him, but he caught me by the waist. Darius flung me against the wall, and I fell hard on my back. When he came at me, I kicked his leg and he stumbled, giving me enough time to scramble to my feet. The few maneuvers Niko had taught me were defensive tactics for escaping, and when Darius seized my wrists, I had reason to test their effectiveness.
I twisted my arms and broke his grasp, then kicked him in the stomach. Before I could withdraw my leg, he grabbed it tightly and swung my entire body around. When he let go of my leg, I crashed into the chair, scooting it several feet across the floor before landing on my side.
Darius fell over me, striking my face twice before I shielded myself from the attack with my arms. I tried to buck his weight, but it was useless. I had the wind knocked out of me, but I was in survival mode and not ready to give up the fight. When he made the mistake of resting his left arm against the floor to prop himself up, I lurched forward and sank my fangs into his fleshy bicep.
He shoved my head away, scrambling backward to put distance between us.
I stood up and tested my jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken. “Why do men like you exist?”
He swiped the blood trickling down his arm and sneered. “And what makes you so superior? A congenial smile?”
I withdrew the sword from the wall and sliced the air between us. “Nope. But I’m really awesome at playing piñata. Never tried it with a sword.”
He crawled backward on his elbows until he reached the far wall. Darius lifted the tufted chair, using it as a shield.
“Are you kidding me?” I shouted.
It wasn’t a large room—maybe twelve feet one way and twenty the other. Acting on impulse, I swung the sword and struck the lampshade. The bulb shattered, throwing us into darkness.
I held my breath, moving aside as I waited for my eyes to adjust. With my Mage light concealed, the only way he’d know my location was by sound.
Grainy images slowly came into focus. Darius held the chair, his arms trembling from the weight of it.
He suddenly tossed the chair at me and I dodged it with ease. Darius squatted on the floor, his eyes drawn upward and head cocked to the side. I squeezed the grip of the sword, angling the blade over my left shoulder.
My heart skipped a beat when the door cracked open, and we both turned to look. Before I could see who was coming in, Darius charged at the door, slamming it partially shut as someone roared in pain. A penlight toppled onto the floor, spraying a narrow stream of light across the room in a cartwheel of motion.
“Son of a ghost!”
The door surged open, and Wyatt stumbled into the room. Darius threw a burst of energy into him, and Wyatt’s feet came off the ground as he absorbed what could have been a thousand-volt shock of electricity.
I ran forward and swung my sword, but Darius ducked out of the way. It sliced against the open door, wedging deep into the wood. I tugged, but I couldn’t dislodge it fast enough.
Darius exploded into action, charging toward me and slamming his hand into my chest before I could free the sword. He was testing to see if Mage energy affected me.
My feet came off the ground, and I hurtled backward in the short space until my back hit the wall with a sickening thud. I toppled over to the floor, clutching my chest and wheezing for breath. The energy blast hadn’t put a dent in me, but he’d hit me rather hard with his palms.
Darius pivoted around, gripped the sword, and wrenched it out of the wood. My eyes widened when the flashlight glinted on the metal as it sliced through the air. I rolled across the floor, the tip of his sword nicking my arm, right below the gunshot wound.
