LIES AND DECEIT
BOOK 1 – DARK MYST SERIES
CATHERINE FORBES
Copyright © 2011 by Catherine Forbes
The sky was a clear sheet of darkness stretching over the hideous residential area. Hundreds of stars seemed to be watching my every move, some twinkling as if with excitement—or with anticipation, in this case. They were my silent witnesses, watching intently and keeping my deadly secrets. I could spend hours looking up, mesmerized by the sheer beauty and unmistakable feeling of pure contentment. Unfortunately, at the moment, the simple pleasure of stargazing was a total distraction. I had a job to do.
I gazed at the invisible barrier with increasing interest. It was but a shifting of air, a slight glimmer that my eyes just managed to glimpse. If I hadn’t been concentrating, I wouldn’t have seen any sign of it. But I’d have felt it nonetheless. Never had I been so close to such complex sorcery that had actually succeeded in doing what it was supposed to do. Most high standard spells such as this failed for many reasons—mainly the ignorance of the caster. But this...I was definitely impressed at the strength of the force. I couldn’t feel any weak spots, any tweaks that I could work with to bring it down without my own magical aid.
The power of it prickled over my skin as I stepped closer. I almost shivered. I was close enough to reach out and touch it now, but I didn’t feel like being electrocuted. My insides frying to mush wasn’t on the agenda. Instead, kneeling on the soft grass, I took off my backpack and rummaged through it.
It was pitch black and the temperature was freezing, which were the conditions I worked best in. The natural light of the moon was blocked by the huge trees around me. I didn’t dare look up to try to see what I could of her. The moon swayed me even more than the stars.
“How’s it going?” a male voice in my ear asked, sounding very much ticked off.
I smirked delightfully as, ignoring the question, I pulled a shiny black ball (about the size of a tennis ball) out of my backpack. I carefully set the ball on the ground, right in front of the invisible barrier, and stepped back. I took a deep breath and stared at the ball, forcing my power into it. I didn’t blink, didn’t breathe, didn’t move. My heartbeat slowed drastically and my skin became even colder than it usually was. It would have seemed I was dead to any mortal. I had to use all of my energy pushing out and guiding the power that lay deep within—else it would be like a wild animal, becoming highly dangerous, highly destructive to everything around me.
Slowly, the little ball began to dissolve, becoming a black ooze that spilled onto the grass. It was pretty disgusting; it even gave off a horrid smell of rotten flesh, which I had the pleasure of finding out in my childhood. After a minute or so it started to bubble, then finally began to separate into hundreds of tiny spider-like creatures, the only difference being their gaping mouths full of razor-sharp teeth. The creatures made their way onto the barrier, making it spark and crackle, though it didn’t seem to hurt them. In a matter of seconds, the little beauties had made a hole—big enough to walk through—in the impressive spell by chomping and eating the magic. I continued to fuel them with my power until they were done and made their way back to the ground, where they turned back into the black ooze and then back into the ball.
“Myst? Silence will not be tolerated. You know that.”
I rolled my eyes as I came out of my trance and settled my power. The most irritating thing on a job was always having someone yapping in your ear, expecting you to answer back when doing so could easily alert your enemies. I always thought of throwing away the human device that was uncomfortably stuck in my ear, but apparently it cost a lot of money, and apparently money was important.
“Silence is bliss,” I replied, flatly, as I took a step forward and picked up the ball. I placed it back in my backpack and then swung the pack over my shoulder.
“You’re lucky you got this job.”
I stayed silent as I carefully stepped through the hole in the barrier. Passing it made my skin tingle and the hairs on my bare arms and neck stand on end. The caster was obviously top level, as this spell required raw power to be moulded to one’s will. If the body and soul weren’t strong enough or experienced enough, tapping into the power of the earth would result in a very messy death. I had once been a witness to such a death and, believe me, it wasn’t pretty.
When safely crossed, I came face to face with a wooden fence, about seven feet tall. I didn’t need any fancy magic to get past this obstacle. I simply jumped and landed right on top, where I crouched, scanning the dark back garden that it enclosed.
“We were going to send someone else,” the voice continued with a tone of superiority.
My thin eyebrows rose. “Delan,” I said, “I grow tired of your immaturity. What you feel toward me is mutual. I, however, am not a fool. I am professional, as should you be. Now, be a dear and give me an update on their status.”
The small back garden was unkempt, the grass and weeds about a foot tall. Other than that, it was empty. My eyes scanned the long grass as I tried to locate the magical traps that lay hidden within.
“The female and three males are still at the diversion site,” replied Delan. It sounded like he was going to say something else, but nothing more came from him.
I nodded, looking left and right. The only way forward was...well, forward. I couldn’t run the length of the fence to the house, as the barrier intercepted it (apparently this caster was smart enough to be fond of abnormal shapes), meaning I would have to make more holes, which would take time and power I didn’t have to spare. Strolling through the grass was the only option. In one quick motion, I landed with a soft rustle.
There were several traps ahead of me, all of them familiar, more or less. I grabbed my backpack once again, this time looking for something a little more bizarre-looking than the ball. It was the shape of a star, but the five points were elongated into sharp edges. Flat in my palm, thin needles sat on the ends of the points, aimed vertically, toward the sky. It looked metal, with symbols etched deeply into the silver. It was old, nearly twice my age, and that was saying something.
I lifted my hand to my chest and without hesitation placed the star just above my breasts, the needles piercing my skin and embedding themselves into my flesh. I took deep breaths, getting used to the hot sensation that spread throughout my body. Once the feeling settled to a steady pulsing heat, I whispered one word: “Adune.” I shuddered, my eyesight diminishing to black. The word echoed in my head, over and over. But after a minute, everything went back to normal. Well, not exactly normal. When my vision returned I instantly looked left and right, seeing several eyes looking back at me—my own shimmering green eyes. The copies of myself were identical, and I had to try my best not to look away in shame. They were tall and naturally thin. Each had very long black hair tied back in a tail; skin-tight black leather hugged their curve-less bodies. The long pointed ears were very noticeable and clearly my best features, if I should say so myself. I never tried to hide them, as I was proud of what they represented. My kind are beautiful and flawless, and at one time so was I. But, unfortunately, I was foolish enough to make a mistake on a job that cost me my beauty. I couldn’t care less about looks; it was the fact I messed up that made me feel shame, and the scar tissue running down the right side of my face and arm was a reminder. I was very lucky my eye went undamaged. Luck: a word I hated, and something I never wanted to rely on.
A shiver ran through me as I pushed the thoughts away. It was such an inappropriate time to be thinking of such things. I nodded to the copies and they moved into action, each one carefully walking to a trap hidden in the grass. I stood perfectly still, as all the traps were clearly visible to the copies, but not to me. Once they were all st
anding at one, being careful not to get too close, they started waving their hands in strange gestures. It took two minutes and then they moved to another location, to another trap. I really shouldn’t have been surprised, but hell, there were a lot. It took a half hour before all five copies returned to me and nodded, indicating that their ritual was completed. I frowned; this was certainly the longest part of the task. Having more copies would have been wonderful, but for now that was impossible.
I covered the star with my hand and pulled it free in one motion. The copies disappeared, and only tiny marks were left on my skin, where the needles had penetrated. I returned the star to the backpack, once again swinging it over my shoulder. I started forward, confident that all the life threatening magic was disabled.
The white house was a typical two story and looked like all the other houses on the street. Normality can certainly be deceiving. I approached the back door and looked it over. This was going to be the simplest part. I didn’t sense any magical traps or spells. But, then, I already knew I wouldn’t. One might wonder why the door had been left plainly locked—those who’d done so simply had no need to spell it. Inside the house, that’s where the ultimate death traps where, bigger and badder than what I had faced. I wouldn’t survive long in there, but I didn’t need to.
I lifted my leg and kicked the door. The force of the blow caused it to brake off its hinges and fall into what I assumed was a kitchen. I didn’t need to be quiet now; this was nearly over. If nosy or concerned neighbours heard the noise and perhaps called the cops, I’d be out of sight or long gone by the time they got here. I was betting for the latter.
“Starting shadow walk,” I said, pulling a vial out of my trouser pocket and downing the contents quickly.
“You have five minutes,” came the reply from inside my ear.
I didn’t feel any different, and everything looked to be the same, but I knew the effects of the liquid worked almost straight away. I slipped the vial back in my pocket and stepped past the doorway, into the house. My eyes scanned the small kitchen, equipped with the normal appliances of a normal modern-day household. It was clean and very tidy. It looked too perfect—meaning it was fake, a scene purely for show. These creatures didn’t live like humans, but to fit in and not draw attention, they had to pretend.
There were three doors in the kitchen. One was open, showing a cosy living area with a widescreen television. I instantly headed for the other two, opening the door closest to me, then closing it when all I found was a few mops and a hoover. I ignored the faint smell of blood that wafted out into the kitchen; obviously the mops had been used to clean up messy incidents.
The third door opened with a loud creak. I smiled as I looked down the wooden stairs leading into a basement. With great haste, I made my way down the stairs, reaching the bottom and looking over the room. It was large, with long tables lining the walls. Many different things lay atop the tables: weapons, files, witchery charms, and other magical devices.
I approached the files, but my gaze kept flickering to the large cage at the back of the room. I could smell dried blood coming from it. My race had been caged there and treated like animals. Tortured because of a sadistic hunger for power. My hands turned into fists as anger burned through me. I wanted to slit their captors’ throats and feel their blood on my fingers. I wanted to rip them to shreds and feed on their flesh. I shuddered and steadied my breath. Killing them would come in good time, just not tonight.
I started riffling through the files, stuffing many of them into my backpack, which I’d swung around on my arm. A box containing even more files had been hidden under the table; I went through it as well. I had two minutes to get out of the house before the potion stopped working. If I didn’t, I was dead, and I surely wouldn’t give them that satisfaction.
There was a scratching sound behind me and I spun to find nothing. It could have been a rodent, or my imagination, so I went back to my riffling and grabbed the last set of files, which I had to hold as my pack was full.
I nodded to myself, turned to face the stairs—and stopped, frozen. There, standing ten feet in front of me was a creature I’d never seen, only heard tales of. My mouth almost dropped open as it stared directly at me. It kneeled on its hind legs, head tilted and red eyes unblinking with a look of amusement. Long horns curled backwards from its head, nearly touching the bat-like wings protruding from its back. Long claws started to scratch along the floor.
I grimaced. This was just unbelievable. I certainly wasn’t invisible to this creature. I threw the files that were in my hand at its stone-like, triangular face, hoping for a distraction as I took a few steps and tried to leap over the thing. I might as well have thrown flowers at it, as the pages failed to do anything. The creature extended its wings, and the spikes that erupted from the ends of them caught my side. I didn’t feel the pain, as the need to escape overwhelmed me. I landed on the ground directly behind the creature, and it turned to hiss in my face, leaning over me. I held on dearly to my pack as I kicked with both feet and tried to get some distance between us. The creature didn’t move; it was like stone. I tried to crawl backwards, to get closer to the stairs, but its razor sharp claws slashed the right side of my face. The wound burned, and I immediately started to see black dots disrupt my vision. Poison. I blinked slowly in understanding.
“They have a freaking gargoyle,” I said.
I meant to shout it, but instead it came out as a whisper as I faded into unconsciousness.