by Ciana Stone
“Stop it!” she barked. “Don’t you get it? It’s over. You’ve lost. I’ll never join with you. I hate you! You and all those like you! You’re a plague on humanity and I wish you were dead!”
“Lyra, it’s not me!” He reached out to her. “Please, try to listen for just one moment. I am not the Adversary!”
She snorted. “Yeah right! Then who is?”
“I am,” Nick said quietly.
Lyra felt her heart jump in her chest. Why would be admit to it? She whirled around to face him. “That’s not funny.”
“No, it wasn’t meant to be,” he said with a smile.
“Then why did you say it?”
“Because it’s the truth,” he replied nonchalantly.
Lyra shook her head and stepped back from him. Maybe he was playing her. She had to keep up the ruse. “No, this can’t be true!” she whispered hoarsely. “It can’t be you. It’s Leopold! I saw him at the grove. He was going to kill the girl. And what about what I heard at Lexi’s? I heard you talking. He offered you twenty million dollars!”
Nick laughed and shook his head. “It seems you were wrong,” he said then looked at Leo. “Just like you were. Did you think you could fool me? I knew you were with the Apologists long ago.”
Leopold looked at Nick in surprise. “But you took me in and…but what about South America? You let me see the transference take place!”
“What?” Lyra looked from Leopold to Nick.
Nick shrugged. “The CIA was getting much to close for comfort. I couldn’t let them know that I was involved in the drug operation. Nor could I let them know of my affiliation with Rameriz. Also, the Apologists were sending in what they like to refer to as their little exterminators. It was necessary to give them what they were looking for and our friend here provided me with that opportunity.”
Lyra stumbled back, feeling suddenly very weak. Leo had been telling the truth. He wasn’t the Adversary. Nick was.
“Wait, you took Nick’s body while he was in South America?”
Nick shook his head. “No, that was done long ago.”
“Then what happened in South America and why is this Rameriz significant?”
He smiled indulgently at her. “Rameriz was a being such as me—a very ambitious man on top of that. Leo and his little friends led me to him. Oh yes, don’t look so surprised. You see, they have known for a long time that my kind is in competition, and since their mission is to eradicate us, they thought they had a perfect plan. Leo came to me and told me the location of several of my kind. Together, he and I eliminated them. Rameriz was one of those we disposed of. So, you see, they got their trophy and I eliminated one more obstacle from my way. Leo was afraid he would blow his cover, so he pretended to remain loyal to me and came here to hatch his little scheme. Only he and his people underestimated me. I knew all about their little schemes. But it fit so well into my plans that I let them think they were getting away with it.”
Lyra sat down on the bed and stared at him with her mouth hanging open. “I don’t understand. What about all those things you told me? And what about the murders on the ship and Michael’s wife? What about those people who were after me?”
“The incident in the marsh was orchestrated under my direction,” he said. “You see, I had to know if you were untouched, Lyra. The others were attempts to thwart my plans by my competitors. However, they have been dealt with permanently.”
He smiled at her then looked at Leo. “You have outlived your usefulness. Goodbye.”
Leo screamed as a fiery red energy shot from Nick’s eyes to envelope him.
Lyra screamed as she watched him writhe and fall to the floor. He looked like he was dissolving. His howls of agony filled the room and she turned away from the gruesome sight.
She felt a weight settle beside her and she looked up. Nick smiled at her In his hand was the pendant Leo had worn. She felt the pendant lying against her chest vibrate and energy spike from it to pierce her skin.
The pendants were either calling to one another or in contention. Which was it?
Nick smiled “Now, where were we? Ah, yes. You are confused. Let me clarify.
“You see, I first found this body when Austin was in the service. He was on leave in the West Indies when I spotted him. He seemed like a wonderful candidate so I took his body.
“It was quiet exciting, the life he led. And I filled his shoes quite well. You see, I am very good at killing and that is essentially what he was—a human killing machine. And it was no real loss for the world for the real Nick Austin to die. He was an unhappy, bitter man who could not come to terms with what he had become. In a way, I did him a favor.”
Lyra stared at him for a moment, trying to keep track of his story while wrestling with something fluttering softly at the edge of her mind. Something about the pendants. But what?
“So why did you kill that man on the ship? Was he like you?”
“Like me?” Nick raised his eyebrows. “Hardly. He was inferior. But essentially, he was a being like me. He thought he was strong enough to take me on. Obviously he was wrong.”
“And did you kill Michael’s wife?”
Nick shook his head. “No. She was killed as a kind of warning.”
“A warning?”
“Yes, you see, as you have learned, there are others like me, although not nearly so strong. And like me, they crave the power that comes to the victor—to the one of us who stands alone at the end.”
“Only one will remain.” Lyra said, feeling the pendant at her neck.
Nick smiled. “Yes, and thanks to you, that one will be me.” He ripped open the dark shirt he wore and she saw the glint of silver on his chest.
At the sight, something swelled in her mind, blinding her to everything around her. Images bombarded her mind, feelings overwhelmed her. It was chaos. It was…her dreams, she realized. Or parts of the dreams. But there was more, so much more. If only she could make sense of it, but it was too much to comprehend.
She felt Nick’s hand on the side of her face and his touch made her fell physically ill. Tears gathered in her eyes and spilled over. Nick brushed them away and pushed her back on the bed. “Tell me you love me, Lyra. Tell me that you are mine.”
His? Never. It’s what she’d spent lifetimes trying to avoid. That thought ripped through her with such force that a sob erupted from her throat. How did she know that? She put her hands over her face. “I don’t love you. You’re a monster and I hate you.”
“That’s not true,” he said as he pulled her hands away from her face. “You can’t hate me. You love me with every fiber of your being and you want me so much you ache for me.”
Lyra looked up into his dark eyes and saw him for what he was. She saw him in another time and place, another battle, one she had lost. She couldn’t lose again. But how was she going to defeat him? He started to part the robe she wore when there was a roar of an engine and the sound of gunfire outside. Both of them jumped. Men were shouting and screaming on deck.
Nick ran out of the stateroom and up the stairs with Lyra on his heels. The foredeck was littered with the bodies of the crew. A helicopter hovered above the yacht and Michael was perched on one of the runners with an M-16 in his hands.
Nick waved up at him and Michael smiled in relief then motioned for the pilot to lower him down. Nick stood watching as the cable lowered Michael to the deck. The helicopter rose up into the air and Michael gave them the thumbs-up to leave.
“God, am I glad to see you!” he exclaimed in relief. “How did you get here?”
Nick shrugged and Michael laughed. “I guess it doesn’t matter. What’s important is you’re here. Where’s Leo?”
“Dead,” Nick said shortly.
“Michael.” Lyra finally found her voice. The pieces were starting to come together to form a terrifying picture. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I had to find you,” he said as he turned to her.
“But you don’t understand,” she
cut a look at Nick. “You have to leave. Take the speedboat, it’s tied to the platform.”
He gave her a puzzled look and she stepped toward him. Nick grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Michael, please,” she begged. “Please leave.”
“Lyra, what’s wrong?” He looked from her to Nick.
She opened her mouth to answer but Nick cut her off. “I’m afraid Lyra’s right. You shouldn’t have come, Michael.”
Michael frowned. “What’s with you two?”
Nick smiled and pushed Lyra behind him. “I’m sorry, Michael, but I cannot allow you to live.”
Michael’s mouth fell open in surprise. “You what?”
Nick laughed. “You haven’t figured it out, have you? But then you always were a little dense, Michael. You never could see what was in front of you. You were too busy being good and seeing the best in everyone to recognize the truth.”
“Nick, let him go,” Lyra pleaded as she took his arm.
“You know I can’t do that,” he replied. “Michael would feel duty bound to come after us and sooner or later I would have to dispose of him.”
“Nick please!” she pleaded.
He shook her off and took a step toward Michael. Michael’s eyes widened as the truth dawned on him. “It’s you! It was you all along!”
Nick laughed at him. “Well, better late than never. At least you realized the truth before you died.”
Michael rushed at Nick. “You bastard!”
Nick blocked the punch and slammed his fist into Michael’s stomach, making him double over. Michael gasped and straightened up, lashing out once more.
His fist made contact with Nick’s chest. But it was like hitting a wall. Nick didn’t even waver. He laughed and grabbed Michael by the throat, lifting him up off his feet.
“You pathetic fool, you can’t defeat me.”
He tossed Michael like a rag doll. Lyra’s mind cleared somewhat as she watched and she screamed for Nick to stop. But he ignored her. Michael’s back slammed up against the side rail and before he could move, Nick was on him, hammering blows down on him.
Michael couldn’t fight against Nick’s demonic strength. He collapsed to the deck and Nick laughed as he kicked him in the abdomen repeatedly. Finally, he grew bored and turned to Lyra.
She looked at Michael and their eyes met. Then Nick took hold of her arm and yanked her to him. “Wait!” Michael gasped. “Please!”
Nick turned to him and Michael looked up at him. “Why?”
“Why?” Nick asked in return.
“Yes!” Michael rasped. “Why? Why do you want Lyra and why did you have to kill so many people to get what you wanted? Just what is it you want, Nick?”
Nick’s face took on a thoughtful expression then hardened. Michael stiffened as a current of energy ran through his body. Lyra screamed and broke free to run to Michael but Nick grabbed her and slung her away. Michael tried to move but found that he could not. Nick smiled and walked over to kick him again.
“You want answers, Michael? Very well. I will give them to you, and then you will take them to your grave.”
“Nick, no!” Lyra pulled on his arm. “You can’t kill him, Nick! He’s your friend!”
Nick grabbed her and pulled her close to his face. “Listen carefully to me. You will not interfere. Is that clear?”
Lyra started to argue but was overcome with a feeling so intense she gasped. Her legs collapsed from under her and she sagged in his grasp. Nick lowered her to the deck then turned to Michael.
“Now, your answers, Michael. Since the beginning, I have known that something was missing from my existence—that I was incomplete. For centuries I searched for the answer and at last, thanks to our friends within the Apologists, I discovered it.”
“The Apologists?” Michael asked.
“Yes,” Nick said. “A rather annoying little organization devoted to ridding the world of me and my kind. But back to my point. I discovered that what I lacked was a mate. Not just any mate, you understand but a woman as extraordinary as myself. It took me countless generations of searching before I realized who I was looking for.”
“For Lyra?” Michael asked. “But she wasn’t even alive centuries ago.”
“That is true, in part,” Nick replied. “But only in part. You see, in the beginning there existed two forces, we shall call them. Within each force was contained the opposite of the other. So, for everything that existed in one, there existed an opposite in the other. For darkness there was light, for high there was low. Neither could reign supreme over the other because of a third force, that which contained some of both and acted as a balance.”
“I am the summation, the epitome of one of those forces. Therefore, what I required was a mate who was as powerful in the opposite forces. There was one such entity. She had lived many lifetimes and had never taken a mate. She was considered a goddess, possessed of extraordinary powers. I knew that she was the one for me and so I set out to find her.
“I searched the world over, the passage of time like a thorn in my heart as I waited for her. And at last, I found her. You see, when Lyra’s parents died in that crash, she died as well. And that was when the goddess inhabited her body. parents died, the goddess chose to inhabit Michael shook his head. “I think you’ve gone over the edge, man.”
Nick laughed. “Hardly. But your disbelief is understandable.”
“So, for the sake of argument, let’s say I believe you,” Michael said. “What happens next?”
Nick turned and looked at Lyra. “When we join as one, the powers of the goddess will be mine. I will be omnipotent.”
“That’s impossible!” Michael exclaimed.
“Is it?” Nick laughed. “Then perhaps we should find out. Lyra, come here.”
Lyra felt her strength return and stood. Nick’s eyes seemed to hold her prisoner in their depths as she walked to him. He smiled down at her. “Are you prepared to join with me, Lyra? Will you be mine for eternity?”
A moment of indecision claimed her. She was aware of Michael pleading with her to say no. She looked over at him then Nick put his hand on her shoulder and she saw her path. “Yes,” she whispered. “But I don’t want an audience, Nick. This is just between you and me. Let Michael go and then we can be alone. We can join as one.”
Nick stared at her for a long time with a hard look. She caressed his face and pressed her body against his. “Please, let it be just us. Send him away.”
Nick’s face broke in a smile and his hand tightened on her shoulder. “Very well.” He turned to Michael. “Take the speedboat and go.”
Michael struggled to stand. “No.” He shook his head, trying not to gasp from the pain in his ribs. “I won’t leave without Lyra.”
Nick smirked and looked at Lyra and she turned to Michael. “Go away, Michael. Leave us alone. I’m where I’m supposed to be and I’m not leaving. Just go.”
“You can’t mean that!” He insisted, stumbling as he took a step toward them.
“Yes, I do mean it.” Her face and voice were hard and cold. “Leave now!”
Michael stared at her for a moment then his shoulders slumped in defeat. Without a word, he turned and stumbled to the stern of the yacht and falteringly climbed down to the speedboat. Moments later the boat pulled away from the yacht and disappeared into the darkness.
Lyra looked up at Nick and he took her in his arms. Her lips parted as he lowered his head to kiss her. She wound her arms around his neck and pressed up against him, feeling his hardness against her belly.
A hot wind blew around them and the yacht began to pitch and toss as the waves rose and pounded against it. Lightning the color of fire slashed the sky while thunder shook them.
Nick’s breath was hot against her face as he pulled back from the kiss and ripped her robe open. Lyra cried out in pain as his hands closed on her breasts and his lips followed. His touch was like fire, branding her skin.
Nick drew back long enough to strip off his clothes. Then he pu
shed her robe off her shoulders and lowered her to the deck. Lyra cried out as he stabbed inside her. The pain was too much.
But suddenly a new feeling intruded. Lyra’s eyes flew open wide. She looked up into the sky and gasped in surprise. A face took shape in her mind and she seemed to see eyes staring down at her in the stars. She felt the love that shone down on her and felt the pain. Those feelings were echoed inside her own heart and they fueled the new sensation that was growing within her. All at once, as if coming out of a dark tunnel into the sunlight, she saw the truth.
Soft blue-white light cut through the darkness and fiery tongues of lightning, descending down in a pure beam to illuminate the two figures twined on the deck. Lyra felt as if she were merging with the light, becoming part of it. Nick looked down at her, oblivious to everything but his desire and she smiled. “Now,” she whispered seductively. “Please, now.”
He grinned and pounded against her. She met his thrusts with her own, exciting him with her abandon. She felt his body tense and wrapped her legs around him. Her hand sought the silver medallion suspended around his neck.
In the moment her hand closed around it, their lips met and his orgasm erupted. Lyra clung to him tightly, refusing to let go even though he tried to pull back. She was catapulted into another dimension. Reality shifted and she hurtled through time and space, emerging at last in a place her mind could not begin to comprehend. Then a vortex sucked her back to send her tumbling through chaos back to her own reality.
The light exploded, obliterating the fiery tongues that lashed down from the sky and sending showers of dancing lights over the water. The wind died and the sea calmed.
Lyra felt Nick’s body grow slack and she released him. He rolled off her and lay on the deck, breathing heavily. She sat up and looked up at the sky. Nick raised his hand and touched her arm and she turned to him.
“It’s over,” he whispered. “All the centuries of waiting are over. Now I have everything I’ve ever wished for.”
She gave him a sad smile and looked back up at the sky. “Well, you know what they say about wishes, Nick. Be careful what you wish for ‘cause you just might get it.”