by Cecy Robson
“Taran,” Gemini says slowly. “What is he doing?”
“He’s not masturbating,” I rasp.
He grunts. “Good to know.”
“He’s painting.”
His eyebrows lift briefly. “This place is a painting? As are the creatures?”
My body shudders. “Yeah.”
“That’s not possible,” he argues. “Johnny can’t do this.”
I hold my stomach certain I’ll be sick. “He can if he’s not only drinking shifter blood but painting with it.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Remember that day we found Johnny in his suite at the Den, when he was under pack protection and on lockdown?”
Gemini stops his growling and pacing just to look my way. “Yes.”
“Johnny had broken a vase and was using the shards to cut himself. We initially thought it was self-mutilation, but it wasn’t. He used the pieces to create that peacock on his abs that came to life. What if it’s not Johnny’s skin that’s the source of his creations? What if it’s the blood he releases when he creates the tats that are the link?”
Gemini rubs his jaw, swearing some more. He’s still not as creative as me, but he gets an A for trying. “You think the shifter blood is not just making him stronger, but mixing with his blood to make his Nytes as strong and plentiful as they are.”
“That’s exactly what I’m getting at,” I reply.
“Taran, there’s only so much blood a being can consume and so much blood within his body. Given the amount of Nytes we’ve killed, Fate should be dead by now.”
It’s what he claims, but he can’t deny there’s something to my theory. “You’re forgetting. Destiny almost died. When she came back, she became something more. Maybe Johnny is something more now, too. If so, he doesn’t need all his blood to raise and create these freaks. He just needs enough to give them life and allow them to multiply.”
“It’s still a lot of blood,” Gemini insists.
“I know, and it’s cost him. I told you how Johnny doesn’t quite seem real. The muscles seem too outrageous for him. I’ll bet my savings he’s only trying to give the appearance of strength. He’s getting weaker. Despite all his power and what he’s earned kissing shifter ass, he’s running out of juice.”
Gemini places his hands on his hips, staring hard at the ground. “Or in this case blood,” he says. “He’s the last sacrifice.”
“What?” I question.
“To the shapeshifters.” Gemini straightens. “To become a shifter, it’s not just how many sacrifices you make for the deity, it’s the quality. Children are worth more than a strong, grown man because of their purity and innocence. Weres, vamps, witches—any being of magic is that much more due to the magic they possess. Every death that has occurred in the manor, combined with the sacrifices of his former fans, have given Fate the leverage dark witches spend decades earning for the chance to become a shifter.”
I wish I could argue, but he’s right. “Add his own blood and the sacrifice he’s making to his own body.” I shake my head. “If he survives his bloodletting, he’ll be a shifter for certain.” The muscles along my jaw tighten to the point they hurt. “And like Uri said, unstoppable.”
“We have to get out of here and tell the others,” he says. “Fate knows he’s running out of time. He’s going to throw everything he has left into the spells and his Nytes.”
I clutch his arm. “Can’t you make your twin keep everyone in the house?” I ask. “If he’s this weak, this close to death, they may be able to outlast him.”
“Taran,” he says. “From what we’ve gathered, he’s become part of the house. If he dies, the entire manor will collapse with him.”
“But if Johnny lives, we won’t stand a chance.” I motion around. “He’s created all this with his Fate power and a few gulps of shifter blood. What’s he going to do when shifter blood is the only blood running through his veins?”
The rage that surrounds my mate is only matched by mine. “We have to stop him while he remains weak. Try another circle, another link, something,” he urges.
I do, putting everything I have left into each chant and circle I create. I start out large, thinking I could leech some of Johnny’s power from the soil beneath. It doesn’t work.
When will I be lucky enough to encounter a stupid foe? I debate dropping in my blood or Gemini’s to strengthen the circle, except I can’t risk our power giving Johnny the boost he needs.
I’m seconds from collapsing when he draws me closer and leads me to the fire.
“This sucks donkey balls,” I mutter.
“I’ll take your word for it,” he says.
He’s trying to make me laugh. I’m too tired, managing barely more than a smile. “How’s it going with your twin?”
Gemini scoffs. “Not great. Shayna drew out letters, but my brother can’t spell worth a damn. He was able to convey urgency and that Johnny is weak. They also know we’re alive. I can’t explain where we are, not through him. All I know is, if Bren makes one more Lassie and Timmy fell in the well joke, my wolf will rip his throat out.”
This time, I do laugh. As I settle against Gemini, the reality we’re in hits me hard. My body shivers. It’s cold now, for real. I think it has to do with Johnny’s growing weakness and not any power he’s putting into this realm.
Gemini keeps me close as we lay against the fire. He strokes my back in long, languid motions. I start to fall asleep. But when he stops, I stir awake, certain something is wrong.
I glance up at him. “What is it?” I ask.
He smiles gently, the adoration in his eyes a welcomed beauty in this abysmal place. The fingertips of his hand stroke my jaw slowly, barely tracing the length. “Will you marry me?”
Gemini straightens along with me. I cover my mouth. “Are you serious?”
He nods. “I’m not giving up on our duties or on us. But if we don’t survive, I want to die fighting and knowing I married the most beautiful woman in the world.”
I swallow the lump threatening to choke me as my tears build. I’m wearing the same white dress I wore since this fiasco began. All its elegance has been ripped off and tainted with evil and body fluids better left to a supernatural hazmat team. Gemini is in sweats, and we’re both filthy.
But he’s still my love.
I’m still in white.
And I’m the luckiest woman in the mystical world to have found him.
Gemini strokes the tear away that escapes with his thumb. It probably leaves a nasty streak. He doesn’t seem to care, his smile widening. He already knows my answer.
“From the time when weres first roamed the earth and ran through high grassy fields, they dreamed of their mates. Some searched the world and never found their match. Those who did didn’t need a gathering of friends or pack. They didn’t need clothing that sparkled, hides of their kill, or objects of prestige. They just needed each other and their promise to love for eternity.”
I smile as I laugh, listening closely.
“I need you, Taran. Need to feel your scent when my lips graze your neck, need your heat as we fall asleep, need your heart to help me through the darkness.”
This is the point where I say something equally romantic. Except even a mouthy and loud individual like me often needs to listen and hear what some wait a lifetime for.
“You turn my worst times into my best. You are my passion, the one who provokes my growls both good and bad, and the one I will love forever.”
“Thank you,” I stammer when he stops. “Thank you for all that you say, do, and make me feel.”
He lifts me up, laughing. “Is that a yes?”
I cry into his shoulder. “Yes, yes!”
“They didn’t need much, those weres,” Destiny says. “But, they did need one thing you failed to mention.”
Gemini eases me to the ground, placing me behind him. He’s not positive she’s here. Not right away. I am.
Destiny’s long black hair falls ar
ound her paling face. She was always on the petite side, but the energy she’s expended to help us has cost her. For the small amount of time that has supposedly passed, she looks unbearably thin and frail.
Destiny walks forward, the limbs of her octopus dress dragging behind her. She smiles. It’s so like her. She’s sick and weak, but here she is, giving it her all.
I approach her, hugging her close. Her head falls against my shoulders. She seems to need my embrace as much as I need to give it to her. “You’re a smart cookie, Taran,” she tells me. “I don’t care what they say about you.”
I laugh. “I’m sure they say a lot.”
She inches away from me, her smile fading. “I told the others what you said about Johnny, and you’re right. All this comes from him, his spirit, his magic, and his blood that now mixes with the shifters.”
“Did you find him, Destiny?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. It took me a long time to find this. But it’s like you said, he’s close, and only stronger than me because of the side he chose to take.”
My heart breaks a little. I know where she’s going. “If he lives, I won’t make it this time. He’ll be too powerful, and there won’t be enough left of me to save.”
Every part of me starts to rage. I keep my voice soft just for her. “Then how ’bout we make sure the little bitch goes first?”
“It’s what we’re hoping for.” She wrinkles her nose. “Besides, I paid a lot for this dress, and I was hoping to wear it to a christening next week.”
I give her a once-over. “Ah, yes, that would be lovely.”
Gemini gathers me to him, placing one arm around my shoulder and nodding respectfully. “How are the others?”
“They’re planning to fight their way out. It’s best. I can’t hold the wards much longer.”
“Will they make it?” I ask. Damn it, she’s Destiny after all. She should know how this shit goes down.
“Fate and destiny have been altered as a result of Johnny’s deeds. I can’t see anything past the present, and neither can he. It’s why he’s determined to complete his task.”
“So, regardless of that vision I had long ago, the one where Celia and Aric hold their son, they may not survive it?”
“Nope,” Destiny replies. “We could all be slaughtered for all I know.”
There’s the pick me up we all needed.
She brushes herself off as I just gawk at her.
Gemini clears his throat. “You were saying about the weres?”
Destiny fluffs her hair. What’s left of her colorful plumage fluttering to the ground. “Hmm?”
More throat-clearing. My man is really working hard to keep his patience. “When I told Taran about the weres, and how they didn’t need much to marry their mates, just a promise, you mentioned they did need something more.”
“Oh. Yes. Yes, yes, yes.” She spins, the octopus limbs scraping up debris as she does. “They needed me.”
I glance at Gemini. “They needed Destiny?”
She laughs. At me. “No. They needed someone of magic and status to marry them under the full moon.”
She spins again, this time with more flare. “I’m here for you. To marry you.” She stops smiling, appearing just a little sad. “That is, if you’ll honor me with the task.”
When Celia and Aric were married, she was in a beautiful white gown on the beach. She said her vows as the sun set and those she most loved in the world gathered around her.
I’m standing in dirty Converse All Star sneakers that are too big for me, beside my half-naked lover, and a makeshift Justice of the Peace wearing an octopus gown mere yards away from a vampire corpse. This is my life, how I was meant to get married, and I’m ready to do it.
Gemini and I smile at each other. “It would be our great privilege to have you,” he says.
Light shines down on us as a full moon rises over the canyon, illuminating a midnight blue sky. Fake Misha disappears as grass sprouts from the mud, growing until the tips skim my waist.
Destiny steps forward, sighing from the effort this extra boost of magic cost her.
Gemini’s sweats are gone, replaced with traditional Japanese wedding attire. My tattered and dirty dress elongates into the now beautiful fabric hugging my curves and erupting with sparkles.
It’s not real, any of it. But our love is.
Beneath the rays of the moon, in a valley of long ago, we exchange vows.
“I, Tomo Hamamatsu, take you, my beautiful Taran, to love as long as my wolf calls to the moon and the birds serenade to the first rays of the sun. In life and in death, I will love you forever.”
I blink several times and sniff. “You took all the good lines,” I tell him.
He laughs, the happiness behind his dark eyes, helping me to find the right words regardless of all the wrong ones I spent a lifetime speaking.
“I, Taran Wird, take you, my beloved Tomo. You’ve taught me kindness through your compassion, cunning through your strategy, and love with your heart. I am a better person today because you bless me with your presence and honor me with your devotion. I’ll only know reason if you’re present to gift it and happiness as long as you remain at my side. I love you, Tomo. You are my mate and my world.”
Destiny places her hands over ours. “Love has joined two souls as one. From this day forth, and through eternity, the beasts will protect the mates, the light and fire will fortify the union, and no one will break them apart.”
Gemini bends to kiss me. I welcome him with all my being.
Fate stole many moments. But he couldn’t stop this.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
We spend what feels like the remainder of the night making love beneath the full moon and against the soft grass. Gemini wraps his arms around me to keep me warm and safe in the now very cold and eerie quiet.
I’m dreaming of home, how the warm covers gather around us in our bed, and the comfort familiar surroundings bring. But then our bed starts shaking, and I’m reminded we’re nowhere near home.
“Taran, wake up,” Gemini urges. “Something is happening.”
No, “something” is not happening. All hell is breaking loose.
The valley succumbs to what feels like a massive earthquake. That tall, green grass we slept on crumbles into powder, and rocks and pieces of broken trees bounce along the soil, brutalizing our shins and feet.
That familiar magic I’ve grown to hate gives me a shove. “It’s Johnny,” I say. “He’s losing control of his realm.”
The beautiful midnight sky we were married beneath turns a frightening red, its color bleeding across the horizon and into the soil. As Johnny’s world falls apart, we pay the price. Giant boulders and overturning trees bombard us as they push down the incline. Gemini lifts me in his arms and races across the valley, avoiding the pieces of Johnny’s broken creation.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Somewhere else. We can’t stay here.”
I just about keel over when Destiny’s face presses against the image of the moon, her features distorted as up against glass. “It’s happening,” she says. “Johnny’s power is falling apart. We’re abandoning the manor. You need to get out of here.”
“How?” we ask at the same time.
“Up, and out through the top of the gorge…I think,” she says.
“You think?” I ask.
“My view is distorted. You’re all backwards and stuff. Hurry. As soon as you’re out, I’m releasing my hold and blowing this popsicle stand.”
“Destiny, where are my sisters?” I ask.
“Almost out,” Destiny replies. “Aric and the others are trying to get her to the breach the witches created. But they’re not going to make it. Fate is throwing everything he has at them.”
It’s all Gemini needs to hear to amp up his already neck-breaking speed. Destiny’s image fades, and she’s gone.
Dirt and hunks of broken trees pelt us from every direction. I press into Gemini. He c
urls his body, sparing me from most of it. He bites back a curse when something hard, followed by a harder something else, nails him in the head and back.
“Are you all right?” I yell over the clamor.
“I’m Fine. Just keep your head down,” he says. “I’ll keep you safe.”
The canvas to this painted realm tears open; the raucousness paining my ears.
“Do you think you’re headed the right way?” I ask.
“I don’t know. There’s no way to tell.” Gemini’s body quakes as maliciously as the earth. “Destiny told us to head up this side of the gorge, and that’s what we need to do.”
The ground once full of mud dries to dust. I choke on it and blink several times to clear my vision. My eyes fly open despite it all when I catch sight of the steep hill we have to climb. There aren’t just boulders spinning downward but whole uprooted trees sliding in every direction.
Gemini leaps, racing the length of a large birch and using the slapping limbs to catapult him over the next course of tumbling wreckage.
The side of the gorge dismantles the faster the realm decomposes, turning more perpendicular as pieces drop away. I couldn’t possibly maneuver this on my own. Thank God my brave and agile lover is carrying me, and I don’t have to climb this alone.
“You’re going to have to climb this alone,” my brave and agile lover tells me. “I can’t carry you.”
“What the fuck, Fate?” I shout.
“I got you, baby,” he tells me. “I just need my hands free to get us out.”
I duck when more shit comes flying at us. “Can’t I just hang on to your neck or something?”
We’re going to die, and Gemini chokes back a laugh. “We all know you can’t hang on to me, love.”
I cough up the cloud of dirt caking my throat. “I will if the other choice is death.”
“It’s all right,” he assures me when I curse some more. “We just got married. You’re not getting rid of me yet.”
More rubble rains down. More evidence that we’re going to die. The good Catholic Agnes told me I’m too stubborn to die. True. And my mate is too loyal to let me.
“Okay, I trust—”