“Baby, I’m here,” I said and cupped his face. Hot tears dripped from my eyes to paint streaks on his dirty cheek. “We’ve got work to do. Wake up.” I kissed him gently on his soft lips, then sent sparks into my fingers and zapped him on the chest like a defibrillator. His body convulsed and arched upward. “Wake up!”
He groaned, hand coming to test his temple, tongue spitting more sand from his mouth.
“Oh thank God,” I cried and collapsed on him, clutching him hard with my trembling fingers. “Baby, you’re okay.”
“Baby?” he croaked. “That’s a new one.”
I coughed a laugh and pulled back to see his gorgeous eyes peel open. “I’m sorry. I know we don’t use words like that.”
“No, I like it.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think I just hit my head.” His fingers touched his temple and he winced, then he glanced down his body. “I’m naked.”
“Yep.”
“Also, I think something bit me.”
“Welcome to the jungle.”
Marc’s cabin was only a few minutes away, so we got walking.
“You need to learn how to do that clothing construct thing Marc does,” Cash glowered and ripped a fern off a passing plant to shield across his lower section.
I smirked back and tapped the hastily wrapped vines I’d commanded to grow around my body. “I’m happy with my living dress, thank you.”
“Yeah, well, a dress doesn’t exactly cut it for me.”
“I’m also happy with you just like that, too,” I teased, eyeing his powerful and sinuous form. His golden skin was still smudged with dirt, but it gave him a wild look that disheveled him in the most appealing way. “Besides, Marc’s illusion constructs don’t work so well here. We need to get real clothes. He said it’s something about the weather, but I don’t know. Could be more to it. We’re close to the gate, aren’t we?”
“Yes—shit.” Cash turned to me suddenly, eyes lighting up. He lowered his voice to a dangerous level. “Jed.”
“Here?” I hissed and pivoted to check my six. All these emotions I hadn’t faced yet knocked through me. He had been one of my closest friends. My mind whirled with my body as I surveyed the trees. The betrayal was starting to sink in.
“No, I meant he knew you were at this cabin recovering after the Urser incident. It’s possible he knows we’d come back here. We need to be careful.”
We crept through the edge of the forest to enter the clearing in front of Marc’s cabin. The same bungalow style structure greeted us, but this time, with the addition of the makeshift cabin Cash had built while I was sick. It was still only four roughly hewed walls, minus a roof.
I pushed my awareness into the area, but sensed only Marc. “I think we’re good.”
Cash cast a wary eye around and developed a glazed look that I knew meant he used his heightened senses to listen and smell anything out of the ordinary. He gave a curt nod. “I agree. We’re good.”
“We should probably clear that for Marc when this is all done.” I indicated to the makeshift structure.
“Couldn’t agree more, love,” Marc called out through the wire screen of the front door. He opened the door with a creak and stepped onto the porch. He was already dressed in a white cotton shirt and gray slacks and had a bundle of clothes in his arms. It wasn’t the playful Marc I was used to. This man had an abrupt vibe and irritation swam over his aura. “You’re late.”
“We only took a few minutes longer than you,” Cash said as he unashamedly dropped his leaf cover and slipped into a pair of sweat pants. “We’ve still got time. The last we heard, the army was a few hours from the gate. Most of my security teams were routed to assist the human authorities, but there is still one team in position near the gate, waiting for us.”
“You’ve got it all wrong.” Marc gaped at us. “It’s been hours. And it will take another hour to get to the gate on foot.”
By this time, I’d shed my vines and replaced them with a soft, gray linen blouse and cotton pants. “What do you mean, hours?”
“I mean, it’s called the in-between because time travels differently when you’re in it. Most of the time, here on earth, traveling is instant, but there are times when slipping through the dimensions can warp reality. If you’ve been hours, you’re lucky you arrived at all. Just another reason for not arriving bang on in the thick of the battle. It can be disorienting when your ETA is out.”
The close call brushed iced fingers down my spine and I locked eyes on Cash. I walked over to him to touch him. I had to make sure he was real. His face had gone hard. I grasped him around his firm shoulders and squeezed. The discord in his stormy eyes faded as he looked down at me. He bent down and briefly touched my lips with his. “We’re here, that’s all that matters.”
“The good news is that the rest of the Tribunal won’t be far away, but the bad news is that Urser has likely taken the gate. We won’t know until we get there.”
“Marc and you should teleport,” Cash said to me. “If they’re already there, they’ll hear the motorbike coming a mile away. I can run and be there in twenty. That way, I won’t turn up with you and will still have the element of surprise.”
Marc held out a hand to me. “Looks like our clothes are going to waste.”
“I can ask the earth to cover you too.”
As I placed my palm in his, he gave me a wolfish grin. “I’ll most likely be too busy to be concerned with clothes, love.”
“Pick off the darklings first,” Cash warned. “I know you want to save as many as you can, but no quarter, Roo. If it comes to a choice of your life or theirs, you choose yours.” It was all happening so fast. We were late. Urser was there. We’d have to—
Marc pulled me through the in-between.
Chapter 37
The cabin disappeared and we materialized in a forest with trees lifting so high we couldn’t see the sky. Green and brown trunks cast streaky dark shadows around us. A buzzing came from somewhere. A teeming of life up ahead. While I acclimatized to the new sensations, tendrils sprouted through the turned earth at my feet and clothed me. When it was done, I stepped forward, tracking the concentration of the buzz of life, through the thick forest. It must be a gathering of people. I pushed leaves, fronds and ferns aside until the gloom subsided and daylight burst in my eyes. I was pulled back so suddenly I almost fell backward.
“Careful, love.” Marc kept a sturdy hand on my shoulder. “Don’t know what’s down in that water.”
My heart leapt into my throat when I looked down and realized I’d narrowly missed falling to my death. The grassy platform we were on dropped suddenly to a rocky cliff sparsely covered with jungle underbrush. It went down for what seemed like miles until it hit a cascading, murky brown river. On the other side of the chasm, another jagged cliff rose with menace. I took a few steps back to safety.
“We’re here,” Marc whispered. He crouched to monitor our environment and nodded to our right. “And we weren’t the first.”
I followed his gaze to a rickety bridge made from rope suspended across the river and disappearing into mist. Resting against the two poles holding the weight of the bridge were two dead bodies. They’d been deliberately propped up so that they would be noticed. Soldiers. At least, I thought they were. Each had on a black military uniform that had been ripped to shreds, as was the flesh on their bloody faces and arms. Cut to ribbons, were the words that came to mind.
“Who do you think they are?” I asked.
“The hunter’s men. Must be. Look at that insignia.” He lifted a tattered patch with the tip of his finger.
Samson Investigations.
I sighed knowing the guilt Cash would feel when he discovered them. Through the gaps in the black fabric, I caught flesh colored with a star-map. They were Players. Definitely Cash’s men, then. Hopefully their souls were released to Purgatory. Insects buzzed around the bodies and the blood had coagulated. They’d been here a while.
&nbs
p; A loud bird squawked nearby and more took to the skies in a burst of wings. On high alert, I let my sixth sense fly, scoping for the enemy and found auras everywhere. Little sparks of life echoed back at me, on this side of the bridge, and across the chasm. But the question was—friend or foe?
“You feel that, love?” Marc asked.
I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Their auras aren’t right,” Marc elaborated. “Focus.”
I concentrated a little more and used my whole body to listen. Yes, he was correct. The auras pinging back at me had a gritty taint. Could be darklings. Could even be familiars or witches. And across the swaying bridge, beyond the mist and the forest on the other side, I sensed the strongest signatures of all. Gods.
“How far away do you think Cash is?” I asked.
“He’s fast. A few minutes. Five, ten, tops.”
“We should probably wait, right?”
Before Marc could reply, a scream across the bridge curdled my blood.
“That’s the only way across, isn’t it?” I pointed down the bridge, stomach twisting into knots.
“Got it in one, love. The temple is over there.”
I eyed the bridge. “Surely this can’t possibly be safe. Why didn’t we teleport straight to the temple, or at least to the other side?”
“Been a while since I’ve been there and we don’t know what we’ll find. Popping in willy-nilly has its disadvantages, you know that—don’t ever forget it. Once, I teleported to this massive gathering of Simons at a music concert, and the in-between stole time. Was supposed to arrive before the crowd, but wound up smack bang in the middle of the concert. People around me got hurt. Anyway, don’t worry, the Incas were masters of engineering.” He gripped the railing on the bridge and shook. The bridge swung a little. “Sturdy as a ship. The temple ruins are just on the other side. Plus, if you fall, you can always teleport before you go splat in the water, yeah?”
There was that scream again. Female. Definitely. Something about it seemed familiar.
We had to get moving. Cash would have to catch up.
“Sturdy as a ship,” I murmured. The brown river was so far down. I gulped. “So the Incas built this? Are we going to have to deal with tourists as well as Urser?” All those auras I sensed—not all of them were gritty.
“No, love, this temple has been hidden from the likes of men. My cabin isn’t the only one around the jungle neighborhood. Since we had the Incas build the temple to hide the gate, we’ve rotated security duties amongst the Houses and kept it from being discovered for centuries. As far as the modern world is concerned, this is just jungle.”
“Good,” I said. “ Let’s go.”
“That’s my girl.” Marc took the lead and went onto the bridge. It swayed and moved with every step until he was half way. He flashed a grin over his shoulder. “You know this can hold an elephant? You can come on at the same time as me. It won’t break.”
I eyed off the rope with suspicion. Was that green and black residue jungle rot?
“Love, if you must, just teleport to the other side, but then you’ll have to wait to dress again.”
My dress would hold, but it wouldn’t last long.
“I’m coming.” I held my breath and stepped out. Don’t look down. Don’t look down. I kept my gaze firmly ahead and routinely put one foot in front of the other at a snail’s pace. Think of the scream. Someone needed help. All those auras. For crying out loud, I could do this. After all, I was about to walk into battle with a god who could wither life with his touch, and another who could… what could Jed do? He could push his dark soul out of his body and spy on people, but there must me more to him. People were afraid of the myth when they spoke about the prince who ruined the world. Maybe he was the one who controlled the darklings, and Urser was the enabler. Maybe Jed had been pulling the strings all along, I mean, he had to be pretty manipulative to masquerade as a friendly police officer all these years.
My rambling thoughts were enough to distract me until I got to the other side, safely on solid ground. I pushed my awareness forward, as though looking at a satellite heat map, and I honed in our targets with my mind’s eye. Not just head on, but all around us. Hiding. Waiting. But the strongest were beyond the next break of trees in the direction Marc said the temple ruins were. Had they noticed us?
A sense of doubt washed over me. If all of Cash’s backup was gone, then it was just us until the other gods arrived with Jacine. By our calculations, the in-between robbed us of half a day. Not entirely enough to allow for a plane ride from Europe, but closer. Could Marc, Cash and I be enough to handle the enemy? An answering gust of wind and tickle at my feet told me the earth was by my side. Lives depended on it. Grow a thick skin, Roo. Keep walking.
The mud, rocks and debris at our feet increased the further we walked into the hilly forest, down an overgrown path. Wary about the proximity of auras I felt coalescing around us, I failed to watch in front of me. I stumbled over the leg of a dead body sticking out from the bushes at the side. Another soldier. Sickness rolled in my gut as I surveyed ahead. Body after body littered the pathway. We were too late. Cash would be devastated—these were his men. Employees at his security business, human and Nephilim alike. The consequences for their deaths would be grave.
I glanced at Marc and recognized my own determination painted on his face. We would avenge this. We would seek justice. I armed myself with energy, felt power crackle at my fingertips and urged myself onward, after him through the mud.
Through it all I had the distinct feeling of foreboding. The energies around us knew we were here and they did nothing, just watched. Waited.
“No hesitation, love,” Marc whispered by my side. “Ready?”
Chapter 38
We emerged from the trees to a clearing. I glimpsed rocky Incan ruins covered in moss and exposed roots, and then we were besieged. A swarm of darklings came at us from all sides, but we’d been expecting them. My instincts snapped into motion and I threw power in a deadly arc that cleaved bodies in two. Guilt stabbed me in the chest, and I knew I shouldn’t, but I mourned the souls I destroyed, for each darkling death meant an end to their forever soul. For some stupid reason, I’d hoped I’d be able to help them. No time now. Marc winked out of existence and appeared besides another darkling with a hand gripped around its throat. A second later they were both gone. Marc appeared a few feet away, hands empty only to do the same with a third darkling. The fourth he shot fire at. The flaming body kept coming toward us, unperturbed, so Marc took him through the in-between.
The ruins loomed up high like a primitive pyramid, but it’s rocky walls had crumbled with age, and vines wrapped like a mummy’s shredded shroud. There was something beyond the dark gaping hole at its entrance. More gods, and a frequency that pulsed with unnatural energy. Could it be the gate, switched on?
As if looking at the empty entrance summoned attention, a small group of five or so came out of the doorway. They had virulent auras so were most likely Watchers teamed up with Urser. My suspicion was confirmed when I recognized a particular dark skinned woman and man—Ava’s parents from Epsilon House. Pontius and Octavia. Pontius wore his black Epsilon blazer, as though he still held onto the structure of the Game, but Octavia had foregone her Tribunal white and instead wore a khaki green pant suit. Both were among the first to sacrifice their progenies to the dark serum. They glared at me with animosity then cast a glance to Marc who stood to the right of me, fists clenching, muscles in his arms wreathing. Pontius and Octavia stayed on the steps. Behind them, Urser appeared.
“So nice of you to finally join us.” He sneered and left the group at the door to step down the temple stairs to another stony level. “To be honest, I expected you to be here a little earlier, I mean”—he squinted redundantly at the gray sky—“It’s just gone noon. But here you are. Just you and the Gamekeeper.” He laughed incredulously. “Against all of us. It’s like you’re not even trying.”
So he had no idea C
ash was here. Good. At least that part was good. Mistaking my silence for doubt, he added, “Your hunter’s men are all gone. We considered adding them to our dark army, but as you can see, we’re quite overcrowded as it is.”
The auras hiding in the forest began to emerge. Some dressed in rags and were more monster than man. Some were clothed in a uniform as though Urser had raided an army surplus store. These seemed to have their wits about them and more like the Nephilim I’d purged in Margaret River. Whatever they were, whoever they were, they were many.
“You won’t get away with this,” Marc said simply.
“We already have,” came a voice behind me. There had been no aura there before. I whirled around.
Jed.
Like a ghost, he’d appeared behind us to block our exit. He was the face of someone so familiar yet he felt foreign. The notion forced me to question my beliefs. My brain struggled to put names to my rising emotions—this was my friend of more than three years. It was the same face tanned from the Australian sun, the same light dusting of freckles across the nose, and the same ears sticking out from under dark auburn curls. But, no, in this shadowed light, the auburn was now black. Another illusion. Perhaps it had always been black and I’d been a fool.
“Why are you doing this, Jed?” I asked, desperation and hope leeching into my voice. My friends were the one constant I had in this world. And he had broken that idea, shattered it to pieces.
“You know that’s not my name, mother.”
“It’s the only name I’ve known for you.”
“Not true.” He cocked his head to the side studying me. “Alkiemon, Al, Son. Take your pick.”
The Game of Gods: Series Box Set Page 98