by Cara Lake
“On Ophiuchus, after the battle.”
“Oh yeah, I remember.” Tani smiled. “He was kissing everyone.”
“Thanks for rubbing that in,” said Cassi. “There’s got to be some mistake. I have no attraction to him whatsoever. He’s a great guy, good-looking, but chemistry? Nada!”
“Well join the club!” laughed Tani. “Looks like you’re one of us now!”
Cassi scowled. “This is unbelievable. Usually potential Esseni are identified when young. I’m two thousand years old! Surely my mother would have mentioned it before now?”
Irina couldn’t help laughing at Cassi’s confusion. “Maybe you should ask her?” she said.
“Right,” said Cassi, “that’s it. I need to get to Auriga. Mother-daughter conference.”
“We’re going anyway,” Irina reminded her, “for the bonding ceremony.”
“Let’s get a move on then—no time to waste!”
* * * * *
“But how can I be an Esseni?” Cassi stared at her parents, utterly confused by their lack of reaction to her news. They were in the family home on Auriga surrounded by familiar comforts from Cassi’s childhood, yet everything appeared surreal to Cassi as she watched her parents sitting impassively on the other side of the room. Her mother glanced surreptitiously at her father’s face. “Mother!” Cassi looked accusingly at her. “Did you know about this?”
Terra stood up and slowly walked to stand in front of her. “Cassi.” She paused, taking hold of Cassi’s hands. “We did know.” Cassi’s jaw dropped. They had known about this! And said nothing!
“For how long and why didn’t you tell me?”
Her father spoke. “Since you were a child, but there was something unusual about your Esseni signature, something we’ve never come across before.” Cassi frowned, eyes flicking between her parents. “What do you mean? I don’t understand.”
“We knew you had the potential but we couldn’t tell which essence you might be holding.”
“But that’s often the case,” said Cassi. “We don’t yet know what essence Luc is holding.”
“True, but I expect you have some idea by matching his signature with previous Esseni.”
“Well yes, but what’s so strange about mine?”
“Your signature has no equivalent. We have literally never seen anything like it before.”
“How is it that no one else noticed my signature?” asked Cassi. It was odd. Surely someone would have mentioned it. Terra pointed to the necklace Cassi always wore. “I gave you that necklace on your eighth birthday.” Cassi nodded, remembering her delight in the small black diamond-shaped pendant.
“It’s made from chemosh shell. Even a piece that small can block an Esseni signature.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We didn’t want you to feel pressured—or to be constantly looking over your shoulder for your partner duality.” Terra paused. “We didn’t want it to affect your relationships—for you to feel you couldn’t have relationships with others.”
Cassi drew her brows together. She understood that her parents had been protecting her. She knew how hard it had been for Tani knowing that there was someone out there that she was fated to be with. Even so… “Do you still have no idea what essence I’m holding?”
Tellurus’ eyes flew to her mother’s again and a strange look passed between them. “Tell her, Terra.”
“We have investigated your signature over the years, eliminating all the dualities that have been identified. There is really only one conclusion.”
“And that is?”
“You are perfect balance…Harmony. Your aura has manifested as white-gold, Cassi. You hold the essence of Gaia herself.” Cassi had never been so shocked. It was the most insane thing she’d ever heard.
“But…but that would mean my other half is pure…Chaos!”
“I believe so,” replied her mother calmly.
“Who the hell is Chaos? It can’t be Antares.”
“Why Antares?” asked Tellurus.
“Well he was the last person to kiss me, on Ophiuchus, but it was just a quick ‘thank god you’re still alive kiss’ after a battle.”
“Has he a Taijitu?” asked her father.
“I can’t check. He’s been sent on an undercover mission.”
Tellurus took Cassi’s hand. “It’s unlikely to be Antares,” he said. “I know him well enough and he’s never been identified as a potential. But then it is also possible. If an Esseni dies, the essence they hold will move on to someone else. It could be that Antares was a potential but a very faint one.”
Cassi sighed in frustration. “But I haven’t kissed anyone else recently.”
Her mother spoke. “You may have had the Taijitu for longer than you think. Perhaps it was someone before Antares?”
Cassi flushed with embarrassment. What a conversation to be having with your parents! “Mother, I really haven’t kissed anyone in a long, long time.”
“How long?”
Cassi shrugged. Better get it over with. “A few hundred years.”
Her mother’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh! Are you sure? It must have been more recent than that. You would have noticed it sooner if it had been there that long.”
“What do I do?” asked Cassi helplessly.
“I think the best thing is to continue as if nothing has happened. Live your life as always, Cassi. If it’s meant to be, it will happen.”
“But Chaos! That’s just…”
“Scary?”
“Crazy!”
“I know.” Her mother hugged her close. “But Tyr is War and he’s not so bad, is he?”
“No he’s not, but he loves Irina. I mean he really loves her.”
“And who is to say that Chaos won’t love you?”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“Ready?” Tyr turned his head and beheld the best view in the universe. Irina. Gorgeous, beautiful, sexy Irina. Standing by his side, her small hand in his, she beamed at him, her impish grin making his heart skip as it always did whenever those molten amber eyes locked onto his. That grin took his breath away. Every time. God only knew what he’d done to deserve her, but he was never letting her go.
They were in the portal hall on Auriga waiting to return to Vega, having completed the public part of the Realignment ceremony. Now all that was left to complete Realignment and ensure the balance of their essences was the final private bonding between them. And Tyr couldn’t wait.
The last hour during the ceremony had been torture, standing so close to Irina and her luscious curves but unable to touch. The ceremony itself had been beautiful and emotional. Tyr had never felt so close to a person in all his life. Had never expected to. After a lifetime alone on the streets holding himself apart from others, never opening up fully, even with Sal and his family, he had found the one person who could breach his defenses. They had stood together, surrounded by friends and that was another thing he had never expected. He suddenly had friends, people who were happy he was alive, were glad he had survived and some like Borealis and now Antares who even seemed to like him.
Irina could feel the permanent smile etched on her face. In her wildest dreams she could not have imagined a more perfect ceremony and Tyr; well he was just breathtaking. Even now, the butterflies in her chest were causing that aching sensation as she gazed up at his strong stubborn jaw, desperate for a taste of him. How did he have the power to melt her bones like this? She forced herself to think other thoughts. There was no way she was going to make fool of herself going through the starportal with him, even if they were bonded now!
Swallowing, her throat dry, Irina focused on her memories of the ceremony. It was something precious she would remember forever. Her first glimpse of the ceremonial circle had been awe inspiring.
The circle sat, like most things on Auriga, at the top of a high peak above the city of Magellania, open to the golden light of the sun’s rays. Although it was a public ceremony, they had been
told to choose only eight people to stand with them as witnesses, including Tellurus who was to officiate.
Shaped like an eight-spoked wheel, the ceremonial circle was cut deep into the rock. The center of the wheel could be reached only by accessing one of the eight spokes that formed bridges across the gaping chasms in between. The inner circular floor of obsidian and white marble carried the Taijitu symbol, the half-black, half-white design, sparkling in the glow of the three Aurigan suns. The boundary edge was surrounded by a circle of eight alternate black and white columns, crossed by lintels that created a doorway to each of the bridges.
Two cylindrical plinths rose out of the black and white circles that represented the yin and yang energies. Irina had been led by Tellurus to the white half of the floor and told to place her pendant on the black yin plinth. She was clothed in white, a form of balance, representing the opposite yang part of herself.
Tyr stood across from her, magnificent in black silk, a perfect complement to the inky darkness of his hair that had lengthened and hung loosely, curling against broad shoulders. She watched, her heart full with pride, as he removed his own pendant from around his neck and laid it on the white yang plinth. How she longed to run her fingers through those tousled locks while pressing soft kisses on his throat! She blinked to focus her attention on the ceremony. Damn Tyr for being just too sexy!
Tellurus had taken his place at the entrance to one of the bridges and Irina tried to focus on the seven chosen witnesses, smiling at each of them as they filed across the remaining bridges to stand for them. Cassiopeia, Luc, Merak, Terra, Cerri, Tegid and Tani. Friends and relations. Family. Most important of all, Tyr, her love. Now her life. Tellurus began.
“We meet within the circle that binds us together to align the balance of all things. The universe is infinite and precious containing the yin and yang of existence. Ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang. They achieve harmony by combining these forces. I ask each witness here to swear in blood to the truth of this alignment.”
Tellurus then withdrew a small bowl and knife. He sliced the knife across his palm curling his hand into a fist so that his blood dripped cleanly into the container. The same process was repeated by each of the witnesses as they mingled their own blood together, a symbol of unity.
Tyr and Irina then cut into their own palms. With one hand they clasped their pendants over their respective plinths and then, reaching across the space that divided them, each took the other’s bleeding hand, warm blood mingling, sending electrical pulses shooting through their veins. The connection was intense. Irina could feel the draw of Tyr’s blood, a magnet to her soul. Tellurus walked to each plinth adding half the blood in his container to the hands that held the pendants.
“Do you as Esseni of War and Peace also swear to the truth of this alignment?”
“We so swear.”
“As yin so embraces yang and yang encircles yin, let the truth be witnessed.”
At these words, Irina felt a tremendous surge of power circulate through her, the electrical pulses that had tingled before now pulsed with an indescribable fire that flamed white hot, lighting her up from the inside. The heat radiated outward through her palm to her own pendant and through the hand that held Tyr’s toward his. As the energy found its target, the empty chamber of her crystal filled with a red essence that matched Tyr’s own. The opposite took place in his, Irina’s blue essence taking the place of the void.
The energy began to pulse and throb, creating ripples that began a journey outward, radiating from the center of the circle, a continuous oscillation spreading far beyond the confines of the ceremonial circle. Irina watched in awe as the luminescence spiraled away, washing waves across the Aurigan landscape. Tellurus had told her it would continue its path, extending across the whole galaxy to realign the essence of War and Peace, now intermingled and joined as one in a continuous relationship of balance and harmony.
They each took their own pendant and placed it around the neck of the other, knowing that the final affirmation of their joining was to be a much more private affair.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Ready?” Tyr repeated waking Irina from her daydream.
Irina swayed into him, her shoulder bumping his. She knew she had a sappy grin on her face but was unable to wipe it away. “Always.”
“We’re up after Luc and Tani,” he said, reminding her of where they were. Irina gave Luc a wave glad that he had agreed to attend the ceremony and stand as a witness. She felt it meant that he had accepted the reality and come to terms with her relationship with Tyr. To have both Luc and Cassi present meant the world to her.
Irina waited as Luc and Tani disappeared into the starportal vortex and Tyr held her hand more tightly, the electrical buzz sizzling in her palm. The connection was such an intrinsic part of her now she could not imagine how she had survived before Tyr. His presence as necessary as the air she breathed.
They stepped forward together. She waited for Tyr to access the portal. His skill as a portal traveler was an innate ability the Eunomi had found amazing, and Borealis predicted that as he trained, Tyr would access other powers and abilities as yet untapped.
As the vortex shimmered before them and Tyr spoke the summoning phrase, Irina took a deep breath and stepped in. While the vortex spun around them wildly, they stood together in the calm center of the storm and a bubbling excitement fluttered in her chest. She would never be alone again.
A sudden wrenching pull to her left and Irina was struggling to keep contact with Tyr, two hands grabbing her left shoulder tugging violently, nails gouging into her flesh. Her fingers slipped from Tyr’s grasp, cold air rushing by as a howling wind ripped them apart and Irina found herself plunging into a whirlwind that sent her spinning helplessly, arms flailing wildly.
Sudden impact as her body slammed into the ground. Her eyes fluttered open. A face swam into focus in front of her eyes.
“I hope it hurt,” a voice sneered. Alcina! Irina was lacerated by the acid sting in her tone. “And if it didn’t, then don’t worry because I intend to make sure you suffer.” As Irina struggled to pull herself up, Alcina’s booted foot smashed into her stomach, leaving her gasping for breath.
“Why are you doing this?”
“You know why.”
“Because of a man? That’s just so pathetic. Get over it!”
Alcina bent her face closer, viciously adding more pressure on her foot. “You silly little bitch!” Her voice grated like cut glass the jagged shards slicing into Irina’s skin. “You know nothing. I want you to experience the pain of loss like I did.”
“I already have. You took my family away from me! Murdered them! All for spite, jealousy!”
“Yes and I’d do it again!” Alcina spat. “But you haven’t yet experienced the pain of losing the love of your life like I did.” A chill raced through Irina.
“What have you done to Tyr?”
“Nothing. Yet.” Alcina lifted her boot and kicked Irina in the side, leaving an agonizing pain in her ribs. “But soon. We have a few minutes to kill before you find out.”
Grabbing Irina by the hair, Alcina dragged her up. She snaked calloused hands around Irina’s aching limbs, pulling them behind her back, and roughly bound her wrists together, leather fibers cutting into her flesh. It hurt but Irina forced herself to ignore the pain and instead focus on her surroundings.
The landscape was a rocky bare desolation. Great chasms of garish green smoke spewed from yellow sulphurous mounds, the foul stench causing her to gag. Irina guessed that this was Chthonia. Cassi had described it as hell and it seemed fitting.
She was then dragged over to a rock embedded with a metal chain. Locking her into place, Alcina wound the chain across her chest and pulled it tight. Once the chain was secured, Alcina stepped back admiring her handiwork, a wild light glimmering in her eyes, which shone bright red.
“Let’s see if your lover can get you out of this.” Alcina jerked the chain, causing the link
s to tighten. The pain was excruciating, but even worse was the foul smoke from the pits that invaded her lungs, burning her eyes as hot fumes seared her flesh.
“What do you hope to gain from this?” Irina asked, choking, tears washing down her cheeks.
“You’ll see,” Alcina sneered, her mouth twisted in an ugly smile, and Irina wondered how she could have missed the coldness in her eyes.
“Let her go, Alcina!” The rough familiar growl warmed Irina’s heart. She turned her head, the only part of her that could move, to see Tyr striding toward them, a dark angel of deliverance. Alcina didn’t flinch, her smile growing more evil, her stance belligerent as she held a knife to Irina’s throat.
“You made it here more quickly than I thought,” she said.
“I’m a natural when it comes to portals, but I guess you were banking on that.”
“Oh yes definitely,” she replied smoothly. “You’re so predictable.”
“Really?” he said. “What do you predict I’ll do now?”
“You’re going to tell me to let her go again.”
“Do it then!” he ordered.
“You know I won’t.”
“So we have a stalemate.”
“It appears so.”
Tyr paused in the midst of the rapid-fire conversation, his eyes meeting Irina’s. He could see she was afraid although she refused to show it. He took a deep breath, knowing he needed to stall his adversary, keep her busy. “What do you really want, Alcina?”
“That’s easy. I want to see Irina suffer like I suffered all these years.”
“How will you do that?”
“By killing you and making her watch.” Alcina’s lips curled in twisted madness.
“Is that how you get your kicks?”
“Definitely. I’ve done it before, and it was very satisfying. Did I tell you, Tyr, how your mother suffered?”
“What are you talking about?” Tyr frowned at the reference to his family, his mother.
“You didn’t really think her death was an accident, did you?”