by M J Marstens
“What about his essence?” I query in a rush, the words nearly jumbling in my excitement.
“I don’t know Zahra. . . I just know I can’t feel my connection to him. And his was the strongest since he was the most powerful.”
Kane runs a hand over his head and I take in his massive body. Even in this form, I’m reminded of his human beauty. I understand why he chose to be an Islander. His domicile is so reminiscent of the tropical paradises back home. It’s while studying him that I notice a faint luminescence to his skin. . . similar to mine. . . and Nyam’s. . . and Bitchhole’s. . .
“Kane, why are you glowing?”
Another sigh.
“So much for subduing it. I guess its light and power can’t truly be suppressed.”
“That was a terrible answer,” I retort.
Another shrug.
Out of all the eight men, I never thought Kane would be the first I accidentally on purpose killed.
“This is the song that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on my friends. Somebody started singing it, not knowing-”
“What are you doing?” He interrupts.
“Just warbling out a tune. It’s from Lamb Chops, the jam of my long-forgotten youth. Where was I? Oh yes, somebody started singing it, not knowing what it was and they’ll continue singing it forever just because this is the song that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on my friends. Somebody started singing it, not knowing what it was and they’ll continue singing it forever just because. . .”
I continue singing it for another minute until I feel Kane’s hand clamp over my mouth.
“You win, lahela’iki.”
Damn straight I do.
“I’m waiting,” I sing in the same obnoxious voice.
I’m so endearing, aren’t I?
“I want to give you something.”
Not really the answer I am looking for, but I’m torn between needing answers and getting a gift. I mean, I like gifts, so enough said.
“What is it?”
“I have this theory,” he murmurs distractedly.
“Dude! What is going on?!”
A charming, crooked smile graces his mouth, “I don’t think I’ve been ‘duded’ in all my centuries of living.”
“You grew up on an island and were never ‘duded’?!”
He chuckles, “Not that I can recall. I’ve gotten ‘bruh’ pretty liberally though.”
“Ok bruh, I don’t really know where to go from here. . . my gift or your theory. . .”
“They’re entwined.”
CHAPTER 2
JUPITER
“Can we soul-bond?” she suddenly asks me.
I feel my whole face twist into a grimace.
“Why?”
“So I can know what you’re thinking and save us the hassle of this conversation that is going nowhere.”
“You don’t just soul-bond for convenience, lahela’iki, it’s formed out of love.”
“What if I already love you?”
My heart stops beating.
“You don’t,” I respond with absolute assurance.
She goes to speak, but I cut her off, “Or you won’t. Trust me. Let’s get back to my theory. And giving you something.”
The disappointment on her face guts me. I know she thinks I am rejecting her, but we can’t form a bond.
Not now.
Not with the choices I have made.
But it was for the greater good.
For her and my brothers.
I just hope she sees it that way. . .
She sighs sadly. The news about Sunny and my refusal to soul-bond weigh her down.
“I’ve been thinking for a while. . . since I felt Sunny transfer his power to you. What would happen if we could expand that power? If you could expand it, that is. And if you had more.”
“Still not following you one hundred percent. Not even like thirty percent.”
A small laugh escapes, unbidden.
Only this woman could get that reaction from me.
I love her so much, it hurts.
“Zahra, I am going to feed you some of my power.”
Her eyebrows raise and then she waggles them suggestively.
“How are you going to share, sir?”
Another wistful laugh escapes me.
“Not like that, unfortunately.”
She won’t even look at me, let alone touch me when I finally tell her the truth.
“I want you to close your eyes and open yourself up.”
She promptly sits down, closes her eyes. . . and spreads her legs.
“Jesus, Zahra, your mind. Open your mind!”
“Oops,” she giggles playfully.
Little brat.
She readjusts herself to sitting cross-legged and I feel her aura unfold and bloom wider. In return, I do the same and the subtle glow of my skin that she spoke of earlier becomes a brighter radiance. I slowly start feeding her my power.
And Lina’s.
I see her energy expand and ripple outward. She must feel the power surge because her eyes fly open in shock. She takes in my shining form and I know the time has come.
The moment I have been dreading has arrived.
“You have luminary powers,” she breathes, looking confused.
With a heavy heart, I answer her unspoken question.
“They were Lina’s. . . I took them. . . .”
Like a coward, I don’t finish, prolonging my agony.
Zahra pushes to her feet lithely and her eyes narrow to slits, “Took them how?”
There is a dangerous tone to her voice.
I’m a dead man standing.
“Exactly how you think,” I finally grind out.
She staggers back like I have physically backhanded her.
“Why? Why would you-” Her voice cracks and she is unable to finish her sentence.
I feel like a monster.
I am a monster, to hurt her so. . .
“I know this is no excuse and you will probably not believe me, but it was the only way. Lina. . . trusts me. She thinks I’m weak,” I say bitterly. “Craven. The spineless, gentle giant. She equates my neutrality for-”
“Stupidity,” Zahra finishes for me.
My brows arch in surprise, “Yes.”
She shrugs, “I get it. People treat me the same way.”
That she is even still talking to me is astounding.
“Lina still thinks I love her. That I am loyal only to her. . .well, she did. Until I stole her powers while she was in the throes of an orgasm.”
“Is she gone then?” Zahra asks in wonder.
I know she is referring to what happened to Sunny.
“No, I took her luminescence, but she escaped before I could take her powers fully. She realized what I was doing and fled, using the dwindling light power to jump dimensions. Her lunar powers are still fully intact, unlike Sun, who completely drained his when he gave you his energy. Remember, Lina was so powerful because she had her own powers and then some of Sunny’s.”
She swallows hard, “Where is she now?”
“My guess, probably her domicile to regain her strength. But she’s stuck now, wherever she went. Without her luminary powers, she cannot jump realms.”
“You actually fucked her?” She asks, derailing back to that.
I flinch.
Not that it isn’t an important detail. . . but what I said about Lina is big. I basically stripped her most used powers and fixed her in time and space.
I almost relish thinking about Lina fuming over my betrayal.
The self-absorbed bitch never saw it coming either, until it was too late.
“Yes,” I finally acknowledge. “And I wasn’t done giving you more juice. Sit back down,” I command.
She eyes me warily, but does as I ask.
She reopens herself, and I start feeding her my power once more.
“Do you regret it?” Her question interrupts my concentration.
“No,” I answe
r truthfully.
I hurry to explain before I can crush her spirit anymore today.
“Trust me when I say it was the only way. When Sun gave Lina his power, he only gave her half. Before, he was so strong he didn’t need to feed when realm jumping. His own energy could sustain him until he got back to his domicile. When he shared with Lina, it obviously weakened him. Although still powerful, he needed to feed when visiting different dimensions. I knew if I could get you Lina’s luminary powers, you would be unstoppable. . . . coupled with my expansion powers, you should be able to materialize with the others, regardless of whether they are all direct or not.”
I stop speaking and focus on completely channeling myself into her. I feel my life force flow outward and latch onto her soul. Brighter and brighter her aura glows until it is nearly blinding, my expansion power tripling the pure luminary power. I give and give until there is nothing left inside of me.
Tired and drained, I slump to my knees. Feebly, I grab the pink goddess who claimed my heart. She is still too drunk on her newly magnified powers to take me in fully and I use this opportunity to place a gentle kiss on her lips.
“I love you, lahela’iki.”
I feel my body slowly begin to dissolve into particles of nonexistence.
As I turn into pure essence and become one with the universe once more, I look at Zahra. Her eyes shine with horror and something more. . .
Forgiveness.
I am undone.
And then I am nothing.
CHAPTER 3
ZAHRA
Power consumes me until I’m high on its light.
I have never felt anything so potent.
So electrifying.
I can feel it expanding outside of my body until I am formless in its thrall.
I am light.
Pure, unaltered energy.
Nothing can take me from this moment.
Until I feel something cool against my lips.
My eyes fly open, and I see Kane kissing me.
Just as quickly, he releases me. His skin is an ashy color and is reminiscent of Nyam’s. . . after he gave me his powers.
“I love you, lahela’iki,” he says as his body starts to disintegrate.
I suck in a petrified breath.
What has he done?
But in my heart, I already know the answer.
He tricked me.
Betraying me worse than when he fucked Lina.
He gave me her powers.
But also his.
As I watch his body slowly evaporate away, I catch his eyes. My mouth cannot form the words my heart wishes to say. My only hope is that he can read them in my gaze.
My fear.
My hurt.
My love.
And even my forgiveness.
His eyes acknowledge it all, and then. . .
He’s gone.
Just like that and just that quickly.
The only thing that remains is shimmering specks of. . . something. . .
Kane’s essence!
The little flecks slowly start to spread apart and float away and I go into panic mode. No one gave me any info about essence care. . . I mean, really, no one gave me any info at all. . . in general. . . I’m operating on pure guesswork. . .
Do I put it in a container?
Do I need to manifest a special type of container or will any ol’ Tupperware work?
Can essence even be contained?!
Realizing I am wasting precious time arguing with myself, I leap forward and on pure instinct, take a deep breath, siphoning in the glittering particles.
I steadily draw in more and more of Kane’s essence with every inhale, until I have consumed it completely.
My mind blanks at this realization. . .
I. Just. Ate. Kane.
IjustfuckingateKane!
Gagging, I slam to my knees and try regurgitating him back out. . .
Five minutes later and my dry heaving has done nothing but cramp my stomach. I roll into a ball and hug my aching midsection, trying not to bawl like a baby.
Oh god. . . does this mean I’m going to shit out Kane now?!
Am I going to be like a kid who swallowed their tooth and have to check my crap every time?!
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I raise my hands with the intention of making a portal and one just appears. Just pop, here ya go style. What’s more, I immediately know it is for the eighth realm, and I can feel Caed there. Kane’s expansion powers make it almost like a map to Caed’s location through our soul bond. I reach my arm in through the hole and fish the man-god right out.
The look on his face would be comical if I weren’t so out of sorts.
“Zahra?! How the hell-”
“Kane’s gone!” I interrupt. “He stole Lina’s luminary power and gave it to me and also all of his powers. AND THEN I ATE HIM!” I wail.
“Zahra, I don’t-” Caed starts, but again, I cut him off.
“Quick! We need a container for me to shit in!”
“Zahra-” he tries.
“But don’t watch! We’re not at the level in our relationship. . . I mean, do people actually get to that level?! Did my mom watch my dad-”
“ZAHRA!”
I startle at Caed’s shout.
“What?!”
“Would you please calm the fuck down!”
Did this ass-salad just ask me to calm down?!
“Yeah, I did,” he says, reading my thoughts.
Well read this, you fuckstick-
He cuts me off by pulling me close and kissing me fiercely. Of course, I shut up and participate because I am emotionally needy right now.
Also horny. . . which is the guys’ faults, anyway.
All too soon, he breaks off and whispers, “You ingested Jupiter’s essence?”
I nod sadly, my eyes filling with tears.
“Please tell me there is something we can do. I. . . panicked. I didn’t know what to do. Honestly, it’s like I acted on some weird instinct. . .”
I trail off, remembering the urge to pull Kane’s spirit into myself.
Caed runs a hand through his hair, clearly agitated.
“Zahra love, Jupiter. . . Kane, I mean. . . he’s gone. I’m. . . I’m so sorry.”
First Nyam and now Kane.
I crumble into Caed’s arms and let his strength cradle and soothe me.
I am filled with a deep sorrow, not only for myself, but for the others. I know how much the guys love one another. With a heavy heart, I tell Caed about Nyam. He is much better at masking his emotions than I am, but I feel his grief through our soul bond.
And beneath the grief. . . a raging hatred so raw it takes my breath away.
But I soak it all in though.
I let it form a hardened wall around my heart.
That fucking cum-guzzling kumquat has a lot to answer for when I get my hands on her again.
I can’t fucking wait.
CHAPTER 4
MARS
I hug Zahra’s pastel softness to my chest, rocking slightly, like this might help alleviate some of her pain.
In truth, I hope it alleviates some of mine.
It wasn’t until Zahra told me Sun and Jupiter were gone that I realized I already knew.
I could feel the emptiness inside me; I simply didn’t know what it was at the time.
Two of my brothers are dead.
Well. . .
I quickly put up a mental wall between Zahra and me.
I don’t want her to find out that Jupiter could be saved. . . at the expense of her life. See, the Universe doesn’t do shit for free. It has a pretty strict exchange policy in place. Either you make a fair trade or. . . the Universe makes one for you.
At which point, you wish you had done it in the first place because the Universe takes more than its pound of flesh.
So, I hadn’t lied when I said Jupiter is gone.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I know he would never want Zahra to give up her e
ssence for his.
I mull over everything Zahra has told me. I shudder to think how Jupiter gained Lina’s powers. The foolish, vain woman always did think Jupiter less than the rest of us because his first inclination never was to use his fists.
Or even his words.
Jupiter thought before he spoke.
A rarity in all the Universe, really.
“We need to get Khal,” Zahra pipes up, breaking into my thoughts.
I nod my head in agreement, my emotions still too close to the surface for me to speak. I know she can feel my anger, my pain, my hate. But I don’t want her to feel my truth.
If it means saving herself from herself, then the lie justifies itself.
Zahra pulls out of my arms and stands gracefully. She raises her arms and a portal just opens. Being connected, I can easily access her thought patterns, as she has yet to learn how to block me. When she manifested the opening, there was barely any intention, if any at all.
Her mind processed that she needed to get to Khal and acted involuntarily. I am in awe. . . her powers are beyond description. With pure luminary energy added to Jupiter’s gift of expansion, she has become almighty. . . nigh unstoppable.
I make a mental note not to piss her off.
I also note her newly combined powers allow her to defy our retrograde status.
Fascinating.
“Found him,” Zahra announces.
She grabs my hand and we leap into the dark hole. Seconds later, it spits us out into my dimension, the Realm of Faunae. I’m not an emotional man, but tears prick my eyes. I have not seen my home for so long. Lina did not just cut us off from our powers, but also from where our souls belong.
I look around in fond amusement when I see Saturn surrounded by a pack of Squatches. The big, hairy animals must remind him of those intolerable fuckers back in his dimension. Of course, like the Ice Enforcers, the Squatches are trying to kill Saturn for intruding in their domain.
I let out a shrill whistle, and every creature within a five-mile radius comes to attention.
Their beloved creator has finally returned.
In seconds, I am tackled by animals, both big and small, familiar and unheard of on earth.
I see Zahra watch in wonderment. . .
Or maybe unease.
I reach out to her with my mind.
“Be at ease, little girl, they are under my control and will never harm you.”