Illusion of Darkness: Crystal Clear Series, #3

By Lana Kole

Ever since the darkness took her, sanity is a far reach for Mori.
But her lovers won't give up, and neither will she. Not while magekynd's first serial killer is on the loose and a familiar foe is pulling deadly strings behind their backs.
With Black Cat Security on the rise again, Mori's lovers will use all the resources they can find to put an end to the chaos and the evil orchestrator behind the curtain.
It will take everything they've got to prove their love so strong, not even darkness can hinder its power.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lana Kole
• Release date: Jun 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201525521

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Smoke trailed through the room like skeletal fingers caressing her skin. It was heavy in the bar and on her skin, the stench clung to her dress, seeping into each thread like it longed to be there. A wet ring glimmered in the low lights as Moira lifted the glass of vodka to her lips, the burn on her tongue and in her throat such a contrast to the chill in the room.

What do you say we get out of here?

A victory smile curled her lips up as she turned to her new companion, the twitch of his grin doing things to her stomach. As did the way his arms flexed when he threw his leather jacket on, stumbling in the process.

That was what happened when you tried to keep up with her drinking habits.

I thought you’d never ask.

Steps on an old wooden floor, the smoke swirling around them in a goodbye, led them to the man’s vehicle, where she snagged his keys. She checked her watch, multicolored beer signs reflecting off the face. Just after midnight. He mumbled an apology, an excuse, a lie as to why it was such a shitty ride and an apology for his drunkenness. Moira felt out of place on the cracked leather, her skin tight, silver dress gleaming in the headlights of oncoming cars.

A short drive later, they arrived at a less than impressive shack of a house. A hide out if she ever saw one.

More mumbled apologies, and Moira soothed away his insecurities with a sharp nail tracing a line on the back of his neck.

Shall we? Moira lowered her voice, the husky tones suggesting what the man hoped for, why he'd brought her here. A pinprick sensation started at the base of her neck and she turned her head to eye the dark stretch of road. Nothing was there.

His hands shook as he aimed for the keyhole, a soft snick opening the door into the final stretch of her evening.

She could tell he was nervous, the tremor in his fingers giving him away as he collected a bottle of spirits and two glasses. Following him through the house, sparse furniture and empty space greeted her as he led her to the bedroom.

I’ve never done this before, he admitted.

That’s quite all right. I haven’t either, she lied, just like he had. The glasses tinkled as he tried to pour them a drink, and she offered to do it in his place. We don’t want to spill the antidote to our nerves. A gentle smile convinced him, and he handed the bottle over to her.

Turning her back to him, she poured the drinks on the nightstand. His gaze bored into her from behind. Moira adjusted her rings before turning back around, a glass in each hand.

You know, you remind me of someone… but he trailed off, never finishing his sentence as he slurped greedily, his lips curling around the edge of the glass like a tease. A promise of more. A lock of brown hair fell across his forehead, the color appearing almost black to match his eyes in the low light of the room. When his wrist twitched to lower the drink, Moira placed a fingertip under the glass and tilted it back up, encouraging him to finish the libation.

He did.

When she placed both their glasses back on the nightstand, she checked the time again. 12:39.

Slowly, she faced him, watching his eyes close for a moment and blinking open to clear the fuzziness in his head. Soothing a hand over his shoulder and around his neck, she slid her hand through the hair at the nape of his neck. With a flick of her fingers, she pushed him back on the mattress and she straddled him, his mouth slurring what she suspected were meant to be sexy words. His jaw ticked in frustration when she only stared blankly.

He was hard when she settled over his lap, and she counted down the seconds as a lick of warmth went through her. Moira would have been impressed were this a different situation.

His eyes blinked slower.

A look of confusion crossed his face.

His hands settled on her hips, but before he could utter another word, his head listed back as he fell unconscious.

It was silent for exactly six seconds before the door burst open, a chorus of exclamations hurting her ears.

What the fuck⁠—

Why are you on top of him⁠—

I thought we had an agreement⁠—

Moira raised a hand, effectively cutting off the protests as she tried to explain herself.

Don’t look at me like that! It was the only way to get him out of the bar! If I hadn’t, he would’ve drank himself to death. She crossed her arms over her chest, wishing for a sweater to cover up with.

All three of them knew she wasn’t Mori, but as their gazes traced the exposed flesh in her skimpy dress, she wondered if they needed a reminder.

Walker was the first to speak as he took off his jacket and offered it to her. I know, but you can’t run off like that.

Fine. Next time I’ll let him give himself alcohol poisoning and we can question him from the hospital room. The words came out gritted with the effort to rein in her anger.

Kai approached, picking the man up from the bed and carting him from the room without a single word. Hopefully, this will be the last time. We’ve tracked down everyone you could think of at this point.

I know. Her gaze fell to the floor and she left the room. When she reached the van she jumped in the middle seat, meeting Kai’s icy orbs in the rear view mirror. She turned her head before he could speak.

This damn well better be the last time. Moira was tired of seducing men in bars and having to question them. Yeah, she got her fair share of free drinks—but it was exhausting.

Three months of searching dead ends would do that to you.

A sigh, teeming with exhaustion, left Moira as she sat on the bed, finding comfort in the familiar surroundings, regardless if they were not her own. Even after three months, she did not claim ownership of the room set aside for her specifically.

Steady footsteps and constant murmurs from the warehouse filtered through the door, but she took comfort in that, too.

Anything sounded better than the silence in her own head.

Their head.

Whatever.

A shower did not make her feel better, but it was still a relief to erase the lingering smoke stench.

New clothes did little else. Although the snug leggings were much cozier than the slut dress.

A long-sleeved mauve shirt was paired with the leggings, and Moira sighed again at the image she made. It was all wrong, and she turned from the mirror before she became sick.

Red curls? Check.

Gray eyes? Check.

But they were not her curls, nor her eyes staring back when she met her own reflection. It was as nauseating as it was confusing.

A pair of runners fit over her small feet and she stretched lightly, shaking her hands and throwing the rest of the evening off through the tips of her fingers.

Tilting her head from side to side helped loosen the knot at the base of her neck. Maybe food would help the rest.

Food helped with everything. The sweeter the better.

With a deep breath for never ending courage, she left the bedroom and went to face her demons.

The demons in question were gathered around the large circular dining table at the other end of the warehouse. Their heads were crammed together, low voices murmuring in a debate, from what she could tell at the mouth of the hallway.

The table was grand enough to fit twelve people, if desired, but there were never enough agents around to fill it at once.

Will Jareth get a bigger table when BCS is at full force again? As it was now, they were still attempting to contact those who’d gone into hiding after Sicksman destroyed their prior headquarters. They had tripled their numbers the past three months, so order was slowly coming together again. Jareth and Selena were still stretched thin, but the new HQ was thriving.

The guys fell silent when she reached the table and she ignored the darkness in their eyes. They weren’t angry with her, she didn’t think… well, Kai was. Kai was always angry though, and Moira was certain it was just a personality trait at this point. Levi stared almost too hard at her, as if willing Mori to come out. His green eyes focused on her as she leaned in.

What are we conspiring today? She asked, ignoring the multitude of emotions aimed in her direction.

A long pause, like a sigh erasing the tension, preceded an answer, and Kai admitted with a scowl on his face, The guy we brought in hasn’t woken up yet. How much did you give him?

The regular dosage. He had a lot to drink though, so with both of them combined he might not even wake up until the morning.

Kai’s head hung and Moira understood his frustration, if only for the reason that she knew he needed an outlet for his anger. His head lifted and he turned a—surprise—annoyed look in her direction. "Are you sure this guy is the one who can tell us something?"

Moira nodded before he even finished his statement. Yes. You know this. According to everything I know, he was Viggo’s emergency contact, and… she trailed off, not wanting to remind them, but the unspoken words were loud in the air.

He was their last shot at finding another swytch.

Remi’s features stiffened and she raised a hand to lay it on his shoulder in comfort, but he shrugged her off and stalked away. Lips tightening in embarrassment, she flushed and walked around the table to the kitchen behind it and grabbed a donut from the pink box. Moira folded a paper towel to hold it while she poured a cup of coffee and added two packets of sweetener to the black depths of caffeine. The contrast from the bitter coffee to the sweet, chocolate-iced donut helped ease some of the emotion trapped in her throat.

Are you okay?

The voice startled her and she turned to find Walker studying her intently, concern for her well-being etched into the line of his lips and Moira almost rolled her eyes.

Yes. I’m fine. I should be asking you that. If this doesn’t work…

Then we’ll find another way.

A sip of lukewarm coffee stopped her from scoffing. Walker, always so optimistic. Even with their less than stellar odds, day after day of dead ends and no results, he still held the strongest conviction that Mori would return.

Not that Moira thought otherwise— it was the opposite. Moira wished their love would return now, so she wasn’t stuck in this… this limbo.

She sighed.

We will.

Moira was more alone now than she had been in the crystal.

Kai swore in frustration as the drunk bastard’s head lolled to the side. He had yet to wake up, no matter how many times Kai gently patted his face and called for him to wake up.

Fine. He was yelling. Whatever dosage Moira had slipped into his drink from her damned rings had been too much, at least when paired with the alcohol he had supposedly consumed. Checking his bonds one more time, Kai thumped him on the shoulder and left the room.

What was his name again?

Kostya… Vadim? Yes, that was it. The last bastard on the list.

A list that Moira had been able to provide for them from memory. Apparently, while she had known nothing of the underground dealings Viggo had been involved in, she remembered who he’d spoken to most often.

In the kitchen, he found a mug and grabbed the pot of coffee, then poured what was left in the pot for himself. The warm drink brought little comfort, but few things did these days. Instead, Kai pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers while balancing the mug in the other hand.

Moira had been more than helpful from the beginning, after she’d realized exactly what had happened. She compiled a list of Viggo’s contacts, and helped them track down every single one of them. Most of them led to nothing, with no information on how to separate Moira and Mori again. Others led them to the next step, the next person, sending Kai one inch closer to having his Mori back. It fucked him in the head to see her every day, yet have to tell himself that it wasn’t her. It drove him half crazy.

Now they had exhausted all their resources, and Kostya Vadim was the last on the list. According to Moira, he’d been the idealist in the beginning, the one to create the notion of separating a soul from their powers in the first place.

Kai wished people like that would just keep their mouth shut. He sipped his coffee to keep from rushing into the other warehouse and beating the bastard bloody. If it wasn’t for his dumbass idea, Mori would be with him right now, instead of trapped… somewhere.

Moira had been less than forthcoming with the details of what it had been like trapped in the crystal like she had been. The thought made Kai’s hands twitch to hurt something. He hoped to the universe that Mori wasn’t suffering, but he knew it was useless to suspect otherwise. It wasn’t like she was on a beach somewhere enjoying a vacation.

Kai wanted her back, now. He was pissed she’d sacrificed herself in the first place. Replaying the scene in the lab was what kept him up at night anyway, and he had envisioned it a hundred times around. If Mori had just waited—had just trusted them to handle everything—she would have been fine. Levi hadn’t been in danger of dying in the next minute.

He’d just needed sixty seconds.

Kai could’ve gotten her off that table and to Levi in that time.

He could have.

Right?

Shoving the thoughts away, he downed the last sip of coffee and rinsed his mug out before retreating to his room. There was nothing else to be done tonight, besides hope and pray that come tomorrow morning, Vadim would have some helpful information falling off his tongue, or Kai would beat it out of the fucker.

The hallway to the bedrooms taunted him, reminded him of the empty room that belonged to Mori... when she returned.

When. Not if.

A crack in a door pulled him to a stop, and he peeked in on Moira. Asleep in her bed, red curls tossed around the pillow and covers clutched under her chin, Kai almost could believe it was Mori resting there.

But he knew better.

It didn’t stop him from stepping forward though, a push of his fingers opening the door wider for him to slide through. The darkness in the room curled around him like a familiar lover and he wished it was Mori’s body instead. A sigh left the soft pink lips of what should have been his woman, and he froze, making sure she was sound asleep before brushing his fingers across her cheek.

Memories of Mori flooded his head like the crash of the waves on a rocky shore. His chest grew heavy with the swell of emotions that overtook him. He just wanted to see her so badly.

Which sounded ridiculous when he was looking at her in the moment, but it wasn’t her. It was a stranger with her hair and eyes. Her soft lips.

He spoke quietly, a tug in his chest fueling the words. Listen, cupcake. I’m not okay without you here. You’re not yourself, and I need you. His voice caught and he breathed the words past the swell of the boulder in his chest. You gotta show me something, because this isn’t happening until you’re back to yourself. I’m calling in that wish. You know the one; from the woods. You owe me. Now.

It shocked the ever living shit out of him when she opened her eyes.

CHAPTER TWO

Darkness surrounded her. It had for some time, but it hadn’t become her friend, she hadn’t embraced the solitude, the silence, or the never ending colorlessness of her surroundings. No, Mori hated it.

All sense of time had halted—she had no idea how long she had been here, only that it seemed like an eternity. Each second was more difficult than the last, and she lost all sense of herself.

Was she crazy?

Had she ever existed at all?

Were they real?

They, being the men who had come into her life and turned everything upside down, only for her to be left here.

Maybe what she thought had been dreams weren’t dreams after all. Maybe she had always been in the darkness and her mind only created a refuge to give her a break—a reprieve from the madness that would eventually splinter her.

The darkness was like a nail and she a piece of stubborn wood. It dug in deeper, piercing agony, and she could sense the splinter, the splitting, the crack in her own mind.

It was just a countdown to how long it would take it to shatter her completely.

All of these fears compounded every second she was trapped here, and the ringing voice of her own thoughts blocked out the pale fragment of sound until she didn't even hear it at first.

A voice… calling to her. Talking to her. …Chastising her?

You owe me. Now.

Kai?

A tug pulled at her chest, a warmth growing in the center of her body and flaming outward.

Light blinded her as she blinked her eyes open, unable to see past the blurriness of her vision. When her eyes adjusted, it was to a slice of light through the cracked doorway, and Kai above her. Slamming her eyes closed, she didn’t fall for the trick. That’s all it was. Another trick of her mind; there’s no way he truly stood over her, concern and wonder etched into the lines of his face.

Mori sagged against the soft surface beneath her, body heavier than it had been in a while.

This is cruel.

She tried to ignore the raspy voice calling her name, but she was too greedy for the illusion of Kai. Maybe if she saw his face again, even if it was a trick of her mind, she would know her memories weren’t just a figment of her imagination.

Mori? Mori! Glacial orbs studied her face as she ate up the sight of him, anticipating the moment when it all faded away to darkness again. She dared not speak, too afraid to conjure the dismissal of the hallucination.

The world shook around her when Kai grabbed her shoulders, and she gasped at the heat of his palms against her bare shoulders. The weight of his body on hers and the tight hold of his arms around her when he jerked her against him was different than any hallucination she remembered.

When she wrapped her arms around him, it was with the