The War of Darkness: The Rise of Darkness Series

By Sarah Earl

There will come a time when the sacrifice of one will alter the tide… Having left her Haven in search of the Augur, Kess discovers that Rome is but the first step in her journey. Desperate to rid herself of the cryptic writing covering her, Kess must now find a way to enter Heaven, to seek the aid of a Scribe.

Yet when Kess discovers the meaning behind the cryptic writing, the truth is far more dangerous than she feared.

As a demonic army gathers, Kess must decide whether she believes the cryptic writing covering her body holds the key to saving her warrior companions. But has she understood the Scribe's cryptic prophetic message, or is she being influenced by the rising darkness?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781528960908

Sarah Earl

Sarah Earl lives in Queensland, Australia, with her husband and three young children. "I have always enjoyed stories which take well-known myths and legends and give them a twist. I hope you enjoy the second book of The Rise of Darkness series." You can follow Sarah's Facebook page: @theriseofdarknessbooks.

Book preview

About the Author

Sarah Earl lives in Queensland, Australia, with her husband and three young children.

"I have always enjoyed stories which take well-known myths and legends and give them a twist. I hope you enjoy the second book of The Rise of Darkness series."

You can follow Sarah’s Facebook page: @theriseofdarknessbooks.

Dedication

For everyone who has read The Rise of Darkness,

thank you.

THE RISE OF DARKNESS SERIES

Sarah Earl

The War of Darkness

Copyright Information

Copyright © Sarah Earl (2019)

The right of Sarah Earl to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528914444 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528914451 (Kindle e-book)

ISBN 9781528960908 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2019)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Epigraph

The marking of the Arc

Shall herald the war of darkness

The likes of which mankind

Has never seen.

Should the Arc be lost,

Mankind will fail.

In Origine Adam

(Lost Pages from the Book of Man)

CHAPTER 1

The Wolf Amongst the Sheep

Kess Grayson stood in the centre of the Sistine Chapel, staring at Michelangelo’s rendition of the Garden of Eden when a dense silence entered the room followed by a chill so deep it felt like her bones would shatter. She dragged her eyes from the mural – where a serpent-tailed figure was handing Eve a piece of fruit plucked from the branches – and looked around searching for the source of her unease.

An Asian man stood in the centre of the room, fingers twitching towards the camera around his neck that he wasn’t allowed to use.

An elderly couple sat on one of the benches lining the walls speaking in hushed voices as they pointed out figures within Michelangelo’s mural.

At the end of the room, a dark-skinned priest passed through the carved wooden arch doorway.

Not seeing anything obviously dangerous she shook her head, eyes trailing back to the same panel where the next scene showed an Angel, face set in anger, forcibly removing the pair from the Garden by sword point. When the prickling sensation continued between her shoulder blades and the hair on the back of her neck spiked, she looked back around. Her gaze returned to the priest drawn by the black robes trimmed with red at the neck. His clothing, combined with the dark pallor of his skin, marked him as a solitary black figure in a sea of colour.

Then she noticed the fluidness of his movements, the graceful slide between steps like he skipped through moments in time. He was close enough that Kess saw his eyes as they skimmed over her, filled with such fathomless depths she felt she could be sucked into them and fall forever.

She tensed, staring at him dumbfounded.

There was no doubt what he was.

A demon.

A demon walking freely through the Sistine Chapel. Her skin itched at the wrongness of the violation to this holy place.

For all appearances, the creature looked human – apart from its eyes. They were blacker than the deepest night, though around the mortals in the room it had restricted the blackness to the centre of its eyes, covering only the pupil and iris. The rest of its eyes were white, so unless someone looked closely, they would think the priest’s eyes were of the darkest brown.

Kess could sense the evil roiling within the creature – the hatred, malice and utter contempt for the humans around it.

She glanced around, wondering how no one in the room sensed the malevolence emanating from the black priest. No one, apart from Miah – the warrior Guardian never far from her side these days – who had circumspectly moved closer as soon as Kess tensed, casually blocking her view of the demonic priest.

Kess sensed Kai – her bonded Angel – moving closer. Stay where you are, she sent to him through their blære bond.

What’s going on? he asked immediately.

Demon.

Kai swore through their bond.

When she sensed him edge closer, she sent urgently – If the hells spawn sees an Angel with us, I doubt we will get out of here easily. Kess glanced around in worry at all the tourists milling about, looking at the chapel’s famous roof. It would turn into a bloodbath if the demon decided to attack, and with this many people, they wouldn’t be able to protect everyone.

She felt his disagreement as he moved another step closer.

I still need to find the Augur, please Kai, she begged the Angel.

The demon-priest sniffed the air as it passed, testing the currents like a hound scenting its quarry, but as yet unsure where it was.

Kess held her breath as it paused, starting to worry as the seconds dragged on, but thankfully the demon continued without glancing back, heading towards a white robed figure who stood in the back corner of the room blessings tourists.

The demon-priest spoke a few words to the white robed, obviously human priest, and gave him a wide toothed smile, which reminded Kess of a shark. To her absolute horror, he took over offering the blessings, eyeing the tourists almost hungrily like he was imagining slaughtering them all.

What happened to people blessed by a demon? Kess shuddered but couldn’t stop the demonic infiltrator without alerting him to the fact that she knew who – what – it was. But even if she did, who would believe a girl ranting about demons in the Vatican. They’d lock her up.

As the demon-priest raised its fingers to bless the first tourist in line, the side of its mouth rose in a lazy grin, as it locked eyes with her across the room. Somehow the creature had marked her as different. Or perhaps it was Miah at her side, blatantly glaring across the room, that it was taunting.

Miah turned to face her. Though no one else would probably notice, she saw the tiny creases at the corners of the warriors’ eyes and the contraction of muscle at the side of her mouth that indicated her worry. ‘We’re leaving.’ Miah’s hand twitched towards the sword at her side though, thankfully, she made no move to draw it.

Without waiting for an answer, the warrior grabbed her elbow as soon as the demons attention was occupied blessing another tourist and guided her under the archway Kai had exited through earlier.

Making sure to keep herself between Kess and the room they had just left, the warrior hustled her directly to the right out of the small anteroom and down a short corridor.

As they came to a junction, Miah made to push Kess right again, yet as a flicker of movement appeared down the hall, she changed direction veering them left instead. As they made their way down the corridor, Miah edged in front of her.

They had almost reached the next bend when Kai appeared in front of them. ‘You’re heading in the wrong direction.’

‘I saw movement in the other corridor. I didn’t know if the demon had friends.’

Kess knew that by herself the warrior wouldn’t have hesitated to enter the corridor, but with her charge in tow had not wanted to place her at unnecessary risk.

Kai’s raised eyebrows lowered. ‘You may be walking into an ambush.’

‘You think I don’t realise that? Where were you, anyway?’ Miah huffed in annoyance.

Kai ignored her question as he glanced around worriedly. ‘What happened?’

‘Demon-priest.’

Kess felt his obvious surprise quickly followed by his concern.

‘Where the hells were you?’ Miah asked again brusquely, glaring at the Angel.

‘Searching the nearby rooms.’ He glanced at Kess apologetically.

She didn’t know about Miah, but she was infinitely glad the Angel hadn’t been in the room when the demon entered; otherwise, their exit would definitely not have been so easy.

As Miah led her out of the dim passage, she stopped so suddenly that Kess would have crashed into her, had Kai not grabbed her shoulder.

The demon-priest stepped casually into view, even though she could have sworn the corridor had been empty only moments before.

The hellion’s wide, predatory grin faltered for a moment as it saw Kai behind Kess’s shoulder before its focus returned to Miah, confident once more.

‘What are you doing in my house, warrior?’ The dark-skinned demon-priest tilted its head regarding them curiously.

‘The house of God is hardly the residence of demons,’ Miah retorted, hand edging towards her spatha.

The demonic priest’s lips pulled back in an unpleasant smile, which somehow seemed to promise pain and madness. ‘Fee-fie-foe-fum I smell–’ it took another deep breath, ‘so many delicious things. And an Angel as well, my, this is a good day.’

‘I wouldn’t count on it,’ Kai said conversationally. ‘My friends and I were just leaving.’

‘Leaving? I don’t think so.’ The demon-priest shook his head. ‘I had thought Guardians immune to Angelic lure, but,’ he shrugged his darkly clad shoulders, ‘lucky for me. A pretty collection,’ he said, surveying Miah and herself like they were prize cattle or perhaps, seeing the hunger in his eyes, prime cuts of steak. ‘A pity your efforts were wasted. Though,’ he paused as he gave Miah a wide taunting grin, ‘I’m feeling generous. I will make you a deal, Angel, one otherworldly creature to another. Leave me your enthrals, and you can go, or,’ the demon’s eyes turned fully black, ‘you can join in on the fun.’

Kai shrugged as if the matter was of no import to him, but she could sense his mind churning.

She tried not to look at him as he tensed like a cat about to strike.

Then he was in front of the hellion with his Jian – his ancient Chinese sword – gripped tightly in both hands as he slashed through the air aimed for the creature’s head. She expected to see the demon burst into a decapitated flame, yet, it was Kai who hissed in pain as the demon-priest’s fingers extended, growing skeletally thin pencil-like projections from its nails, which raked against the Angel’s ribs.

Though Kess could sense it was only a superficial wound, she worried about toxins the creature could carry on its nails. She knew first-hand from battling the Rask all those months ago that some demons had fast acting poisons designed to shut down the body – some causing paralysis or even death.

Miah shifted, launching herself at the demon even as Kess’s mind was still processing the impossibility of a possessed human growing demonic talons.

Knowing she would only hinder them, Kess stayed out of the way as the Angel and Guardian fought the demon. She looked around worried that a tourist might happen upon them, but, thankfully, the way behind remained clear.

Her worry about tourists made her realise something else – they were in the Vatican, not some random back alley. The Vatican with all its treasures would be monitored. Were they – even now – being watched on a guard’s tiny screen? She spun searching for cameras, but strangely there didn’t appear to be any.

The demon picked this spot for a reason, she realised – it was a blind spot. Probably one of the very few that existed within the Vatican, either that or it had tampered with the surveillance systems somehow.

She turned back in time to see Kai press the demon with a feint to the left, forcing it back a step.

With its attention fully on the Angel, it didn’t see the danger of Miah’s spatha until it was too late.

Kess wondered at what she thought to be a riskier move, with Miah stepping closer to skewer the demon, but realised when the warrior pulled her sword free that she had been going for a strike with minimal blood loss. It hadn’t been that the demon had been besting them or had even been anywhere near their equal, it was that the pair had been waiting for an opening to make a strike that would kill the demon yet leave no trace of the attack.

With one final gasp which brought blood to its paling lips the demon-priest collapsed in a heap on the ground.

As the creature’s limbs stopped twitching, the same thought seemed to cross all their minds. As one, their eyes whipped up the corridor, where sooner or later someone would wander. They had been damn lucky no one had stumbled across them already.

‘What are we going to do with him?’ Kess asked, unable to conceive the utter pandemonium that would happen if a priest was found murdered within the walls of the Vatican.

She had become so used to demons being consumed by descent flames that having a corpse lying there shocked her. Especially when he had once been a priest – no matter the creature he had died as.

Even as she watched the skin seemed to become more waxy, sinking in upon itself and was already beginning to lose muscle rigidity now that life and the demonic creature residing within it had fled.

She jumped as Kai laid a hand upon her arm.

‘I will take care of him.’ Kai vanished with the body yet was gone only a few moments before appearing again.

‘Where did you take him?’ she asked, seeing the Angel’s suddenly mucky shoes.

‘A swamp, deep in the Louisiana bayou. No one will find him there.’

Kess felt a stab of remorse for who the priest had been before the demon had taken over his body.

‘There was almost nothing left of who he once was,’ Kai said, sensing her turmoil. ‘He was merely a shell that the demon occupied.’

She had never heard of this type of possession before, and despite how sanguine Kai sounded, she felt his concern about the demon-priest.

Retracing their steps down the hall they found the right corridor and followed the other tourists down several sets of narrow stone stairs outside the Chapel and down the wide, white staircase at the front of Saint Peters Basilica.

With Kai on one side of her and Miah on the other – both scanning for dangers – they led her to the previously arranged meeting point at the base of the obelisk in Saint Peters square.

Within moments of arriving beside the statue Thrain – former Guardian Commander of Athenaeum, her Haven – materialised beside them. Kess still found it hard to believe that he had relinquished command of the Guardians to Cadder – a warrior as equally tough and scary as Thrain – for her.

‘Problems?’

Kess glanced at Miah, knowing she had buckley’s chance of her Guardian not mentioning the demon encounter.

Her heart sunk as deliberately not looking at her, Miah nodded. ‘Best not discuss it here.’

Thrain turned, leading them towards the refuge they were currently staying at – an apartment style building on via Ottaviano.

Before they left the square, they were joined by her two other Guardians: Kisho – the former samurai, who had become her best friend over the last few months – and the tall Amazonian-like Zuri – who fell in with them silently, eyes darting about as they scanned for danger.

More than once she caught Kisho’s deep brown eyes upon her, concern evident at their unscheduled early departure.

Thrain stopped outside the arched entrance of the apricot coloured refuge they were staying at, letting Miah and Kisho pass by before following them into the building.

Kai and Zuri just happened to position themselves between her and the footpath keeping a vigilant, but not too obvious guard around her.

She leant against the stone wall knowing from the routine of the last few days that they would take up to five minutes to clear the three levels, which, from outside appearances looked to encompass several units, yet was one dwelling equipped to house up to forty Guardians.

Being a dedicated refuge, the building, of course, included a training room which took up the entire middle floor. The sleeping quarters and a very large communal style bathroom were located on the first floor above the shop fronts while the top level housed an enormous living area, large kitchen and another bathroom.

When Miah appeared and gave them a nod of clearance, they followed her up the stairs to the top floor where Thrain waited.

Familiarised with the building now, Kess knew there were two separate sets of stairs accessible from every floor, so they could exit at either the front or rear of the building should the need arise.

Stalling only as long as it took for Kisho to join them, Miah informed the others of the unexpected Vatican inhabitant.

‘No more of this,’ Thrain thumped his fist down onto the table which wobbled precariously under the force of the blow. ‘You are not going back in there.’

‘He didn’t see us as anything other than run-of-the-mill tourists,’ Kess said, trying to keep her voice clear of her rising concern that he would order them to pack tonight and take them somewhere far from here.

‘You don’t know what the hells spawn knows,’ the commander said stiffly.

Kai shrugged. ‘The demon believed both ladies to be under my thrall.’ As he saw Kess frown, he explained. ‘When humans spend too much time around Angels, they can become susceptible to the Angels charms and can – depending on the Angel – become little more than mindless slaves.’ He turned back to the warriors. ‘It would have smelt the lingering scent of Angels on them, which has been described as smelling like sunshine. That would have drawn its attention enough to follow them.’

Something tickled her memory – you reek like burnt sunshine – her mother’s words, when she had been possessed by the Rask demon, came back to her. At the time the comment hadn’t made any sense, yet knowing now that her father was an Angel, explained a lot.

Thank you, Kess told her forbandt who cast a worried glance at her. Clearly, his argument to Thrain didn’t allay the fears he had about the day’s events. ‘I have to go back. I haven’t found the Augur yet.’

‘It’s been three days,’ Thrain argued.

‘Right,’ she huffed, beginning to lose the battle with her mounting frustration. ‘It’s only been three days. The Augur has had hundreds of years to learn how to blend in. He is there. Please give me a bit more time.’

Thrain crossed his arms about his chest, eyebrows drawing together in what Kess had come to know as his stubborn look.

Yet surprisingly it was Miah who spoke. ‘The demon appeared to be alone. If we keep clear of the Chapel and the Basilica where the priests are more likely to be and increase the guard, I don’t see why we can’t give her a few more days.’ The brunette looked at the commander. ‘She needs answers. At this point, the Augur is her best chance of getting them.’

‘I don’t like this.’ Thrain glared at her as if hoping she would back down.

Kess crossed her arms about her chest and drew herself up straight. ‘I don’t know where else to look,’ she said, letting some of her desperation slip through. ‘Please, Thrain.’

His eyes darkened for a moment before he bowed his head and sighed. ‘Double guard. Four days, Kess, that’s all you have. And if you encounter any more demons, your time is up immediately.’

‘Deal,’ she said, extending her arm.

With only the slightest hesitation he gripped her, forearm to forearm, in the Guardian manner.

Her eyes darted to his as she felt his fingers brush gently against her inner arm before he released her and strode away.

If it hadn’t been for the tingling feeling where his fingers had brushed the cloth over her forearm, she would have thought she’d imagined his touch.

Trying to distract herself she asked, ‘How could that demon be in the Vatican? I thought they couldn’t enter holy grounds, and it doesn’t get much holier than the City of the Pope.’

Miah shook her head, but it was Kai who said, ‘Holy spaces are no barrier for the highest dominion demons.’

Kess frowned. ‘You mean Lucifer could invite himself to dinner with the Pope?’

Kai firmly shook his head. ‘The devil can’t enter the city.’

‘But,’ Kess was thoroughly confused now.

‘Suffice to say, it’s in the fine print that the devil can not enter Heaven’s consulate on Earth just as God can not enter Ereshkigal – the demonic realm – or the devil’s consular here.’

‘Where?’ Kess asked, horrified that the devil had dominion over any part of the planet.

Kai shrugged. ‘It moves around.’

She knew by his tone that he wouldn’t say anything more on the matter, so she reached into her bag and pulled out a guide book on the Sistine Chapel and flipped through the pages until she got to the chapel roof. She had wanted to ask Kai about something before the arrival of their unexpected visitor but couldn’t for the life of her think what it was.

The room had been magnificent, and she longed to be able to spend more time staring at the frescos which covered not only the roof, but parts of the walls as well, but she didn’t waste her breath asking. There was no way they would let her anywhere near the Chapel again.

Following the images back from the creation of Adam, to the division of land and sea, she saw a figure who looked like one of the ancient Greek gods – Neptune or Triton – and stared at it puzzled for a moment before realising she was looking at Michelangelo’s interpretation of God. ‘Does he really run around up there covered only in a sheet?’ she asked, looking up at her Angel.

Kai choked back a laugh. ‘I don’t know, I’ve never met him.’

Kess caught the flicker of something from him, an opaqueness which she had felt from him before, like he was walling away his thoughts or feelings.

Before she could ask him about it, he announced it was time for the Angelic shift change and disappeared to find whichever Angel was next on guard duty.

CHAPTER 2

Tick Tock

‘You cannot beat time by running through its carriages.’

Hemat Malak

‘Have you decided to see reason yet and admit that your mythical Augur doesn’t actually exist?’ Kai asked when he found Kess with her head against the table top, trying to formulate a plan after another day of fruitless searching yesterday.

Two days.

That was all the time she had left. She knew without asking that requesting more time from Thrain would be a waste of breath.

‘No.’

‘Kess!’ Kai hissed. ‘We have been searching for nearly a week. There is a reason why you can’t find any trace of the Augur because even if he once lived there, he doesn’t now. We will have to find the information you seek elsewhere.’

The hopeful look on Kai’s face died as Kess shook her head. ‘No. The Augur is there. I’m just missing something.’

The Angel gave a growl so reminiscent of Thrain that she laughed.

I am not stubborn, she said, catching the glimmer of thought coming from him.

‘We have scoured the halls, museums, library, catacombs, chapel and basilica. We even searched the rooftops and courtyard colonnade including all one hundred and forty saint statues and found nothing. No sign of him or his mysterious mark. Short of turning up to dinner with the Pope and asking him, I do not know where else you think you can search. I haven’t even sensed a glimmer of someone as powerful as the Augur must be.’

‘Why are demons there then?’ she challenged.

‘There are a million reasons why a demon would be in the Vatican, not the least because of the state’s religious significance to humans.’

Kess tried to hide her smile as she felt Kai’s mental huff of frustration.

‘They would no doubt find it ironically amusing that they, soulless abominations, could freely walk the Vatican’s halls without bursting into flames, like most humans would no doubt expect.’

‘Two more days,’ the commander said, not looking up from sharpening the head of his axe.

Kai threw his hands up in frustration, clearly expecting back up from the warrior. ‘Come on then.’

Instead of rushing past the courtyard today, Kess, trailed by Kisho, Zuri and Azrin, walked through the glass doors and out into the long rectangular expanse. Though simple, the area was lovely, with grey stone tiles under foot and a row of tall trees, curving away from them providing a clear view of the Basilica.

Not as many people braved the icy wind today, so the courtyard was relatively clear. A few people descended the stairs at the far end disappearing out of view: a couple were looking at a wall carved with stone figures, and a priest sat on one of the benches, gripping a cane tightly in his hands.

Though she didn’t sense any evil emanating from the old man, after the surprise encounter the other day, she couldn’t help but check his eyes which were thankfully murky blue, not black. She saw Zuri’s similar glance then with a nod, the warrior inclined her head obviously keen to start the search for the day.

Kess knew that wandering around without any clue as to what they were searching for wasn’t the best strategy, but like the restlessness she used to get in her legs after having one of her dreams, her skin itched, making her sure she was right.

The Augur was still here.

But she was almost out of time.

~

Tomas Wessler sat in the meeting in frustrated silence.

Head Captol Chou was droning on, as he had been for the last ten minutes about the number of books that had been damaged or lost within the Archive during the past year, while Issiah Rell, seated beside him shuffled an alarmingly thick stack of papers as he waited for his turn to speak about whatever heinous infraction he believed the Initiate Chroniclers had committed.

These fortnightly meetings were one of the new initiatives implemented by Seren Pendry since she had taken over as Head Custodian, and included the leader of each faction, the heads of the Vault and Archive, and the Initiate Chronicler overseer.

This was their second meeting, and he didn’t know who he was more frustrated at, Chou for wasting their time with trivialities, or himself for his lack of progress in identifying the Scuro.

Tomas rubbed at his jaw with his index finger trying to loosen the muscles which ached from clenching his teeth for so long.

‘I think we will call a break here, Feng,’ Seren said, suddenly giving him a very pointed stare.

With a disgruntled huff, Chou glared at Tomas as he packed his lists, identifying him as the reason for the interruption.

Tomas waited until the other council members were filing out the door before he stood, yet as he did the Custodian’s bob swished around her face as she shook her head slightly and extended a hand motioning him to sit again.

With a curious glance behind, the last council members filed out closing the door behind them.

Seren looked at him with an expression which flickered between amusement and faint irritation. ‘What is it?’

Tomas put his hands on the table, linking his fingers together to stop them from running through his hair yet again.

At his silence, the Custodian spoke again. ‘You know I petitioned for you to have a place on this board to keep you better informed of the goings on, not only within our own Haven, but elsewhere as well.’

He sighed, slumping forward slightly, deflating with his exhaled breath. ‘I know Seren, and I’m sorry. All this,’ he said, waving his hand around the empty table, ‘Feng and his squabbling with Orly MacAuliffe over the division of resources between the Archive and the Vault. Issiah Rell complaining over a few minor infractions of the Initiates like it’s a matter of life and death,’ he sighed again. ‘It all seems pointless, after what we just faced. What we believe is yet to come.’

‘That is why we must maintain a sense of normality, if only to give the Chroniclers a chance to adjust. We are not warriors – for the most part,’ she said with a small smile, no doubt thinking of Kess and the group of young Chroniclers who had continued training with the Guardians, even after her departure.

There was still no end of contention about Chroniclers being trained to fight as warriors. Yet like so many others, Tomas had found himself drawn to the training yard to watch them and although he had not joined in, he did not begrudge them their wish to be able to defend themselves, not after the uprising they had just faced.

‘We know what’s coming. We, the Luce,’ he whispered, ‘have dedicated a significant part of our lives to that truth. Yet we sit here listening to trivialities when we could be doing more.’

‘What do you suggest we do?’ Seren all but hissed. ‘We are yet to discover a means of identifying whether the uprising purged us of all the Veritá Scuro. Until we do, I dare not move for fear of alerting them of our intentions.’

‘I believe Drazen is the key.’

This time it was Seren who sighed. ‘His room, office and all of his belongings have already been thoroughly searched. Drazen is a dead end. I’m sorry Tomas. I know you worry for Chronicler Grayson, but she has chosen her path, as you did yours a long time ago. We will not make any move until we know the Scuro are gone from our midst.’

‘Can I put together a small team, of those I know I can trust?’ he added hastily seeing the Custodian’s look. ‘I want to try to figure out when and where the final battle is going to occur.’

Seren’s head tilted as she considered his proposal. He could almost see her sharp mind calculating the possible repercussions of his actions.

Tomas kept his face blank, trying not to let his eagerness seep through. A team meant many more sets of eyes and different perspectives of thought, which may be what he needed right now. Fresh eyes. There had to be a way to identify the Scuro. The Luce had their brands. Did the Scuro have something similar?

Unfortunately, the bodies of all the traitors had been burnt on the funeral pyre after the uprising. Like nearly everyone else, he had been in a state of utter shock at the irrefutable presence of the Scuro within the Haven and had not even thought to examine the bodies for any obvious markings until it had been too late.

After a moment, she gave a small nod. ‘A small team,’ she said firmly. ‘Don’t make me regret this, Tomas.’

‘Have I ever?’ he asked with a grin as he stood leaving the room before she could change her mind.

CHAPTER 3

Et Incipit Quaerere

‘Truth searches for no one. It waits to be found.’

Suzy Kassem

Today, much to Kai’s satisfaction, Kess didn’t bother to wait in the lines outside the Vatican, nor did she join one of the guided tour groups; instead, she let him transport Miah, Zuri and herself straight into the courtyard.

The two warriors broke immediately away heading in opposite directions to patrol the area. Zuri had the wider area which she would constantly monitor, whilst Miah was clearing the immediate area then returning. Not that Kai wasn’t capable of guarding her by himself – but the warriors, or at least one of them, were never more than a few feet from her side.

Kai leant back against the stone-carved wall, arms crossed about his chest. ‘Are we looking at anything in particular?’

Kess shrugged. This place, more than any other, made her skin tingle. She sat down on a narrow stone border ignoring the cold nipping her skin through her pants. ‘There’s something about this area.’ Her voice drifted off as she saw a priest sitting on a stone bench across from them.

No. Not a priest.

Looking closer she realised that although he was wearing a long sleeved, ankle length black cassock similar to the Vatican’s attire, the cut was different, and lacked a white clerical collar at the neck.

She studied him from across the courtyard barely bothering to disguise her attention. His hair was grey, yet despite the deep weather lines scoring his face, there was an agelessness to him similar to that of her Guardians. She was also sure that he had been sitting in the same spot yesterday.

He caught her eye as she studied him and nodded.

She returned the gesture automatically, and because she was watching him, saw as his eyes flitted to Kai, widening slightly. It was only a small movement but after spending so much time around her Guardians, the gesture was akin to a gasp.

Kess was sure about him when Miah rounded the corner having finished her patrol of the courtyard. This time his reaction was obvious, taking in her uniform and plethora of weapons, which no one normally noticed.

‘Ciao,’ he greeted casually as she wandered over.

‘Ciao,’ Kess replied, seating herself beside him, though far enough away that she could draw the Angel blade from the small of her back should the need arise. Her ever present shadow Miah positioned herself just behind her left shoulder.

‘Cerco la Augur?’

The old man smiled but didn’t answer, fiddling instead with the cane he held, the handle of which was set into the shape of a goat’s head. Carved in something which looked like bronze, the head was etched in great detail, with the breeds unique horizontal rectangular pupils, a long narrow face and hair dangling from its jaw and chin. Two horns carved from dark brown timber, polished, yet worn from use, curled around the back of the creatures head.

‘I seek the Augur,’ Kess repeated, this time in English.

‘Are you he?’ Miah demanded, clearly having had enough of the man’s silence.

The old man turned his head studying Kess as she watched him carefully. ‘A Guardian and an Angel are unusual company for a young lady to keep.’

‘What makes you assume I am not a Guardian?’

He peered deep into Kess’s eyes leaning towards her slightly. ‘No. I think not. Not Guardian. Not Angel. Not even Chronicler.’

Miah pursed her lips, compressing them into a tight line.

‘You are the Augur,’ Kess stated, looking triumphantly at Kai, who shook his head, eyes wide with disbelief.

This time the man gave her an acknowledging nod. ‘None have sought me in a very long time.’

‘We have been looking for you for days,’ Miah stated brusquely.

‘I felt your need for answers,’ he said sagely, unfazed by the bristling warriors’ attitude.

‘You knew we were searching?’ Kess asked.

At the same time, Miah growled, ‘Why just sit here?’

‘Those who don’t open themselves see with nothing more than their eyes, and don’t find me because they have not the strength to hear my answers.’

Miah snorted at his cryptic reply.

‘Should we be talking about this here?’ Kess asked warily. ‘You know there are demons in the Vatican.’

Sadness entered the Augur’s eyes. ‘The darkness grows with nothing to contest it.’ He looked again at Kess, who fought the urge to squirm under his intent gaze. ‘Come.’

Though obviously old – ancient – if the texts she’d read were accurate, the Augur moved with a sprightliness that had her racing to keep up.

They descended the stairs at the end of the courtyard following as he led them to the far-right corner where he seemingly walked straight through the cream coloured barrier – though she realised with more than a little disappointment as she passed through – that instead of something magical the wall had a carefully concealed gap.

They continued to follow as the old man descended another steep set of stairs, which led them directly beneath the level they’d started on. With another tap of his cane, a door appeared, swinging inward silently.

Miah entered after the Augur with a look that had Kess waiting outside while she cleared the space.

After a few minutes when Miah still hadn’t returned, Kai placed a hand on her shoulder relaxing the dread that had begun to coil in her chest – her concern for the warriors which caused them no end of chagrin.

Miah sauntered through the door raising an eyebrow at Kess’s concerned gaze. ‘All clear.’ At her questioning look, the warrior said, ‘It’s larger than it looks.’

Kess was a few steps through the doorway when she paused, not sensing movement behind her. ‘You’re not coming?’

‘I will stand guard,’ Kai said, barely turning his head.

Are you alright?

‘Peace, Kess. Someone should guard the door.’

Kess sensed there was more to his hesitation than he was saying, but also realised the value in having the entrance guarded.

Be safe. She thought as she followed Miah deeper into the hidden area, gasping in surprise as the hall ended, and they