“I can do that.” Rory settled back into the plush leather seat, closed her eyes, and let go. A moment later, she landed in a chair at a table on which a chessboard was set up. Nyx sat across from her, controlling the black chess pieces.
Rory had faced Nyx in a fight the year before, when her coven had summoned the demoness in an effort to save Kaia’s life. Nyx’s beauty and powerful presence remained the same. However, instead of wearing long robes, this time she had on blue jeans and a tee shirt that read, TIME IS THE MOTHER OF INFINITE DIMENSIONS.
“Chess is an interesting game, don’t you think?” Nyx said.
Rory instinctively knew this wasn’t a dream, but she refused to allow herself to feel fear. Figuring there might be something to learn, she kept her eye on the prize. “Some think winning the game is all about skill. I believe it’s more about being a badass.”
Nyx laughed and her breath, sweetened by wine and spices, blew across the table and filled Rory. “Just think, if I had killed you when I killed your mother, I would have missed witnessing your clever wit.”
“What do you want?”
“I overheard you and Kaia talking about chess recently and thought I’d address the question she brought up.”
“About who controls the black pieces?”
“The problem with Kaia’s question, and the problem with your entire light warrior philosophy, is your basic premise that there is only white and black, light and dark, good and evil.” Nyx’s hand made a casual gesture toward the chessboard. It shimmered, and suddenly, rather than being a flat board set up with white pieces on one side and black on the other, it morphed into a multi-dimensional board constructed of multiple levels and intersecting spaces. Then Nyx’s hand flicked again and chess pieces of many colors took to the battlefield.
Rory blinked.
“Very Star Treky, isn’t it?” Nyx asked.
Rory glanced at Nyx’s tee shirt again.
“Time is the Mother I worship,” Nyx said. “Not your Mother Earth. This is just one little planet, in one little universe, in a sea of multiple dimensions and multiverses.”
“But you serve Lucifer,” Rory said.
“He’s the black king I protect, but—” Nyx reached into the board to locate the white king and tipped it over. “Checkmate, darling.”
Rory peered into the depths of the shimmer. “What about the red king, and the blue king, and the yellow king?”
“See, here’s the thing about multiple dimensions—they all exist here and now. The inhabitants of those realms each have their own agenda. Gods, goddesses, angels, demons, humans, fae, and caretakers of the various dimensions each believe their color is the right one and that they have the only king worth saving. Well, unless alliances are formed.”
Rory struggled to understand the metaphysics of it all.
“You’d be surprised at some of the alliances.”
Rory shifted on the hard chair and tried to see the entire picture. She remembered what White Bear had told her about the shadow government and demons being in cahoots. If the NWO was the source of the religious apparitions, why did Gaia tell her to take Kaia out? “Riddle me this, Nyx. Is there a reason the New World Order would want Kaia dead?”
“What?”
“They told me she was dancing with the dark and tried to get me to kill her.”
Nyx stared at her.
Rory tried to read her mind, but couldn’t. However, she did pick up feelings of betrayal. “Sweetie, I think that hooking up with them might not have been in your side’s best interest. I think they have their own agenda and are using your alliance with them in ways you didn’t expect.”
“It’s true that Kaia is destined to serve a dark king. So, why would the NWO want you to kill her? What advantage would that bring them?”
“You tell me.”
Nyx grew pensive. “Perhaps they consider you a threat? Maybe they wanted to distract you from something else right now?”
Rory glanced at the chessboard and then back at her. “Be wary of one-night stands. Hookups aren’t always what you expect.”
Nyx’s eyes flashed fire.
Rory liked to unsettle the enemy. It made them careless.
“And it’s because you’re such a smart little firecracker that we needed to take you out of the game for a while. That’s what this quantum physics lesson has been about.”
Rory suddenly saw clearly and summoned every ounce of her will to return to her body. The last thing she witnessed before awakening in the BMW was Nyx’s startled expression.
“Never underestimate me, bitch,” Rory mumbled as she swam through the fog of consciousness and assessed the scene around her.
Now dark, the car was surrounded by forest, and Kaia stood in the headlights of the BMW facing two men and two women Rory didn’t recognize. Another car was across from theirs, its light shining on Kaia who stood frozen like the proverbial deer. Rory removed the switchblade from her boot, palmed it, and stepped outside to join them.
Nearly knocked over by the force of Kaia’s terror, Rory quickly took a protective stance in front of her friend. “Seems I wasn’t invited to the party.”
A small woman stepped forward. “This is a private conversation. You were supposed to be distracted longer.”
“Kaia?”
“They forced my car off the road.”
Rory flicked open her switchblade and held it up for all to see. “You have no clue who you’re messing with. Move on.”
The spokeswoman burst out laughing, raised her hand, and a bolt of energy blew Rory’s knife away.
“Crap,” Rory mumbled. Well, it had been worth a try.
The woman’s grin was impish. “My name’s Delaney.” She gestured toward the other three in her group. “Brian, Cassidy, and Finn. We’re the Flanagans. Kaia is a long lost cousin. We wanted to introduce ourselves.”
Rory made a quick study of them. Like Kaia, they were all tiny, copper haired, and shared a certain pixie-like appearance. Blue tattoos covered faces, hands, arms. Unlike Kaia, they exuded bad mojo. Rory did her best to throw a mantle of magical protection around Kaia, but her energy reserves were virtually nonexistent.
“Let me guess,” Rory said. “From Kaia’s mysterious maternal lineage.”
Cassidy tossed a long braid back over her shoulder. “Good guess.”
The men approached Rory and Kaia, grabbed each one by an arm, and yanked them toward their vehicle.
“Kaia Flanagan-Moonstone-Killian, your lineage isn’t all White Goddess and silver moonbeams,” Brian said. “It’s time to learn what happens when a light warrior embraces her dark side. We’ve just been waiting until you were primed.”
Rory struggled to shake off Finn, and he responded by practically wrenching her arm out of its socket.
“You weren’t supposed to be part of this, but I guess we’ll improvise,” he told her. “Love your pretty, pouty lips. A child bride might be fun.”
“I’d eat you alive,” Rory said. She kicked him in the nuts and broke free.
Finn doubled over and howled, and then the night air shattered with other howls that were way more terrifying.
A large mountain lion streaked through the shadows, jumped on Brian’s back, and bit his neck. He shrieked and twisted in a desperate effort to get away, and Kaia sprawled onto the ground. Two other lions charged Delaney and Cassidy. Fierce growls and shrieks filled the air, blood splattered, and energy balls flew wild. Rory dove for her knife and moved to cover Kaia, but no cats attacked them. Rory looked at Kaia and saw she was smiling. Her chin jutted toward the smallest lion. “It’s Annie. Seems she’s made some friends.”
Annie. The orphan cub Kaia had raised.
Rory grasped Kaia’s hand and tugged her toward their car. “Let’s get out of here fast.”
As they pulled away from the mayhem, Rory said, “Next time you dream up a sisterhood of the traveling psychics’ road trip, definitely count me out.”
† † †
By n
ightfall, Zane’s battle wounds had healed and he was itching to ride the cure. White Bear and Kate set up the guest room as a medical suite. White Bear provided Kate with the syringes, blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, and other equipment she needed.
White Bear set up his medicine bundle and a clay chiminea fire pit on the bedroom’s balcony so he could support the scientific effort with his own magical one. He lit a fire, threw handfuls of herbs into it, and called for the blessing of spirits.
“How long will it take?” Zane asked Kate.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It’ll start rewriting your DNA right away. You’re going to get awfully sick.”
“I can handle it.”
“The pain will be beyond anything you’ve experienced.”
“I’ll push through.”
“I’m uncertain about so many things. There have been no clinical trials. It might kill you.”
“If that happens, I just hope it’ll turn me human first. I’d like to die human.”
White Bear studied him from the doorway to the balcony. “Tell me, are you doing this for yourself or someone else?”
Zane removed his hat and hung it on a bedpost, took off his shirt and boots, then settled onto the bed. “I’m doing it for me and a lot of someone elses.” He thought about Glory, Joy, his family, the Goth Girls, and all the other vampires he’d met over the decades.
“Do you have any concerns about becoming human again?” White Bear asked.
Zane thought about it. “My friend Jade once said that most humans are asleep, dreaming of themselves. From what I remember, and what I’ve witnessed over time, that’s true. Being a vampire is about being totally awake. I don’t want to lose that.”
White Bear’s eyes twinkled. “I predict you’ll be one of the rare, awakened humans.”
Kate sat on the edge of the bed, loaded syringe in hand.
“Are you ready?”
“I always pray before a battle,” Zane said. He bowed his head and asked for strength.
† † †
Zane’s stomach had been stomped on once by a bull while rodeoing, which produced an injury so severe that if he hadn’t been a vampire he would have died. The first symptom that hit instantly upon receiving the injection felt exactly like that. Kate had a bowl ready for him to vomit into, and he did so until blood came up.
Then it felt like his head was stomped on by that very same bull. Despite every bit of grit he could summon, he cried out with anguish. Kate sat down next to him, pulled his head into her lap, and cradled it until his cries settled into moans.
“I’m not sure I can get through this,” Zane whispered, fearful for the first time in forever.
Kate picked up her small volume of Rumi poetry and read aloud.
“Your body is woven
from the light of Heaven.
Are you aware
that its purity and swiftness
is the envy of angels
and its courage
keeps even devils away?”
Zane thought of the light from Heaven and imagined it filling his body. It helped. But then his eyes went blind.
“It’ll pass,” Kate assured him.
“If light is in your heart,
you will find your way home.
Darkness may hide the trees
and the flowers from the eyes
but it cannot hide
love from the soul.”
Zane remembered Kate telling him that her husband had read her poetry when she suffered a horrible case of the flu. He surrendered to her kindness as waves of pain, fever, and weakness wracked his body.
“Limp along until your legs are spent,
and you fall flat and your energy is drained.
Then the grace of the Divine will lift you.”
No, Zane believed he was beyond Divine grace, but maybe he wasn’t beyond Glory’s love. Perhaps that would be his ultimate salvation.
“I was dead, then alive.
Weeping, then laughing.
The power of love came into me,
and I became fierce like a lion,
then tender like the evening star.”
The hallucinations began, and monsters attacked Zane. The horrors of all the years arose in his mind and threatened to consume him. Would this treatment leave him insane? His arms flailed at the devils only he could see. Kate held him tighter and kept reading.
“Love is an emerald.
Its brilliant light wards off dragons
on this treacherous path.”
“Do you want me to take over so you don’t get hurt?” White Bear asked Kate.
“No, it’s my duty to bring him home.”
“Why?”
“He’s the other half of my daughter’s soul.”
“Gamble everything for love
if you’re a true human being.
Love is the bridge
between you and everything.”
“It seems as if Glory and Zane have always had a star-crossed love. Do you think they’ll finally find each other?” White Bear asked.
Kate quoted Rumi once more.
“The minute I heard my first love story
I started looking for you
not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
* * *
I woke in Jesse’s arms. Ever since I had tried to kill him, he wouldn’t let me sleep outside his room. He preferred the total control over me that being in his bed provided. He didn’t try to force himself on me, he didn’t even kiss me anymore, but I would often wake in his arms—and for just a moment before reality crashed—I’d feel safe.
He whispered in my ear. “You feel like innocence. We’re going to have to change that. I’ll wear you down. I will. Being good in this world only brings a person pain.”
I turned my back to him, but he lay on his side and pulled our bodies closer. I felt even more trapped.
He threw his leg over mine and caressed my hip. “You ready to invite me in?”
“Not going to happen.”
“You’ll surrender in time.”
“You used to be awesome. Now you’re awful.”
“Well, that just sucked all the romance out of the moment.” He wrapped me up in his arms more tightly and patted my belly. “I’ll show you my sins if you show me yours. You’ve obviously had some experience I’d like to benefit from.”
“The irony of you going darkside, Jesse, is that you were the one who taught me about doing the right thing, no matter the consequences.”
“And look where that got me.”
Time was different here. I had no clue how long it had really been, but the experience seemed interminable. I was suffocating. “I miss the earth, the trees. Fresh air.”
“Can’t go outside until you submit to me. Those are the rules of my fight club.”
“Oh, Jesse. What happened to having my back? What happened to promises made?”
“Don’t you see? This is having your back. Belle is better off dead where she can’t be hurt anymore—she was too good for this world. You are, too. If I didn’t have your back I’d simply put you down like I did her. But if I toughen you up, give you Supergirl powers, no one will ever hurt you again. Not even me. Don’t you see?”
For a moment, that seemed appealing. No more pain. No more helplessness. Perhaps a way to save Genesis. “If I submit and agree to stay with you, could I keep my baby?”
“Can’t do that. A demon’s only as good as his deals. I have to honor mine.”
I had never felt so hopeless. “Damn you, Jesse.”
“Yes, I am most certainly damned.”
Genesis was growing fast, and it seemed likely she would be born soon. I had decided to tell him about the importance of Genesis’ DNA, but was saving that revelation for the eleventh hour because I had a bad feeling that it would go worse for her if
the demons knew. It was the only card I had left to play. “You can’t expect a woman to not want her baby.”
I felt him tense. “If you need inspiration, consider my mother.”
“Please, Jesse. Oh, please. I’ve never asked you for anything.”
“Don’t beg. It makes you weak.”
I hadn’t cried since my first night here, and the rising storm was hurricane force. I disentangled myself from him and tried to get up, but he yanked me back. Overcome by grief and rage, I screamed and pummeled him wildly with my fists. “I ... can’t ... do ... this!” The retaining walls burst, and my storm surged.
He sat up, pulled me against his bare chest, and tipped my head onto his shoulder. “Let it out, Glory. Let go of all the tears. I’ll hold you like you held your parents when they cried about Erica.” He stroked my hair. “I know you never had anyone to comfort you—and I arrived too late in the game to be much use—but I’ve got you now. Let go. Give me your pain.”
I sobbed harder. My mind rebelled at his tender tone and words. How could he be at once so good and so bad?
“I know you think I’m a monster,” he whispered. “But I’m just doing the best I can with what life gave me. Let me help you. Let me make you strong, too.”
Even though I understood how dangerous giving him even an inch could be, at that moment Jesse had my back again, and so I clung to him and surrendered my pain.
* * *
After I rode out the storm, I took a shower in the master bathroom and dressed in clothes Jesse had given me: maternity jeans, comfortable sweater, thick socks. I didn’t need shoes around the place, and he had confiscated my knives, but I still had my pearl rosary. I hung it around my neck and hid it beneath my sweater, not sure if he would take away the only thing I still had from my old life.
Demons, like angels, didn’t need to bathe. So when I came back into the bedroom, towel-drying my hair, all Jesse had to do was put on a clean shirt—he always slept in jeans—and we went out to greet the new day. And Nyx.
Genesis (The Legend of Glory Book 3) Page 15