by Mina Carter
I wanted to verify for myself that she was ok and I wanted to check on my brother, too.
I’d found an iridescent blood stain on my hands after he took off. I knew he could probably heal like I could, but what if the wound had been caused by something worse than obsidian?
A sudden banging at my door had me snapping my neck in that direction. After the night I’d spent, I can guaran-damn-tee you that I checked the peephole first. No way was I inviting Paul Leon Johnson back inside Thyme’s apartment again.
“What the hell?” I popped open the lock and threw open the door. “Arla. I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.” I ran one hand through my hair and wiped the blood stain from the other on the underside of my untucked shirt.
“I gathered that. You’ve been busy making a name for yourself kicking butt and taking names in the In Between, haven’t you?”
“What?” I tried to play dumb. I didn’t feel like I had a firm enough grip on the rules yet to be sure what I could and couldn’t say. And though I’d always trusted Arla before, a seed of doubt had been planted because of what Apollyon had said. Had Arla really been using me like a pawn by giving me the harmonica? Why had he not revealed himself to me? And why did I have to find out with a knife to my neck, wielded by an evil maniac?
“You know what I mean.” Arla raised a brow. “Can I come in? We need to talk.”
“Sure.” I stepped to the side closing the door after him. “Make yourself at home.” I gestured to the sofa. “Can I get you a beer? How did your business turn out?”
“Stop it, Billy. Doan try to redirect a Cajun. This ain’t no social call. You got to know by now that your business is my business, no? I saw the Dream Falcon take off ten minutes ago. News travels fast in the immortal community. Word’s leaked out what you done to Ole Hoof Feet.” He came closer eyes narrowing, nose twitching. “You’ve got a mark on your neck and blood on your shirt. You alright? Morpheus ok?”
“I’m fine. Morpheus I’m not so sure.” I sat my ass down on the chair next to the sofa. Even if he didn’t want to take a load off, I needed to sit. The night had been one big energy drain. The things Arla was saying were significant but I was having difficulty assimilating it all. I think I sort of got what Thyme had been taking about. Using magic, my gift, whatever you wanted to call what I could do with the ghosts, twice in a row, plus going up against the Prince of Darkness. That shit can wear a brother out.
Beaming proud vibes Arla slapped my shoulder before sitting on the sofa and leaning toward me. “Always knew you had it in you. Knew you’d be the one able to use his harmonica, too. Out of the three, you’re the one who’s the most like your père.”
I gave him a speculative look. “You’re not talking about my adopted father are you?”
“Hell, no. Though he’s a good one to take after. That’s why I put you with him. I meant your immortal father. And Morpheus’ and Shane’s.”
“What the hell?” My brows met my hairline. “Shane Lamar was my brother, too?”
“Yes. You hadn’t figured that out yet?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I just found out about Morpheus.” But back at the canyon house Morpheus had wanted to talk before everything got turned upside down. I thought it was about who our parents were. That woman I remembered with the shining hair had been a Light Immortal I was certain, but maybe there had been more.
I would never have guessed about Shane.
No frickin’ way.
And then my world got worse than turned upside down. It got blown to complete smithereens.
“I thought we’d lost Shane for good when Apollyon took him and his girl. He went dormant for nearly a year from his injuries. Duality Demons are unpredictable. It took him a while to regenerate his tissue and the internal damage. His face is still a wreck, though…Hey, what’s wrong? You’re as white as a sheet.”
“Shane Lamar is alive?” I didn’t want to believe it.
“For true. Though, he only resurfaced recently.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked Arla suspicion making my tone harsh. And did Thyme know? Would she go back to him? Would I lose her before I ever had her? “Dammit to hell!” I stood and started for the door. I certainly wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing. I’d just have to be careful, find a way into the underground that wasn’t monitored by Apollyon’s spies.
“Whoa, podna.” Arla put his hand on my tense shoulder. “Come back and sit down. Since you have been down to the underground with Morpheus, I assumed you knew much more than you apparently do. There’s much to say. Much you need to know. Much to decide on the eve of carne vale, the one time in the year when most of the rules do not apply. The best time for us to plead our case with the Heirs and Progeny who might be persuaded to take our side.”
In a haze I let him lead me back to the sofa.
“Stay with me. I’ll start at the beginning. Your real father and I were best friends. You are so much like him. He felt things deeply like you do. A little impulsive too, maybe, but a more loyal friend I’ve never known…until you.”
“Who was he? What happened to him? I don’t understand.”
“Nyx was a Dark Progeny. A direct descendent of Hades. One of the Favored. On the Council. He was the god of Night. He and I understood each other. We were both disappointments to our fathers, for different reasons. I suppose that’s why we bonded. Nyx had many liaisons but most never really meant anything to him. He was always lonely. Until your mère. Hemera was the Day, the opposite of him in every way and totally forbidden. But he caught one glimpse of her and it was over for him. It was the same for her. She was all goodness and light. He was dark and brooding. They could only be together in secret but it was enough for them. For a long time. But then they got caught. Nyx was tried by the Council and cast into the eternal fire for consummating his love with your mère. Even though there wasn’t anything I could have done to prevent his death, I still regret keeping silent. Being Progeny, my life had never been touched by a loss like dat for true.” His brown eyes glowed steadily. “It made me rethink a lot of things. Winning my father’s approval ain’t my priority no more. Protecting my friends, taking care of those I love is.” He let out a breath. “Hemera let your father put Shane up for adoption when he was born, to keep him safe, but it nearly killed her to give him up. When she got pregnant with Morpheus and then you, she insisted on raising you both herself. It made it harder for Nyx to hide all of you.” The light went out in his eyes. He gave me a sad look. “Ain’t never seen a more devoted couple. Never understood it or experienced anything like it on that level myself except for…” He coughed into his hand. “But I digress. Maybe I will take that beer. I think better when I imbibe.”
“Alright.” My head was spinning. I’m surprised I didn’t walk into the kitchen column. I got two cold ones out of the fridge, popped the lids and handed one to him, keeping the other for myself. We both took long swigs as if the courage we sought lay at the bottom of our bottles.
“Before they took him away I promised your father that I would watch over Hemera and you boys. But I failed.” He took another long pull. “After her death I hid you among the humans. The way Nyx had done all those years before with Shane. Morpheus being what he is that wasn’t an option for him. I had to leave him in the underground. Even so young, he was good at taking care of himself, thank the Creator, and he has done well keeping his secret. No one has questioned his parentage once I burned off the identifier with the obsidian brand. You know the rest. I’ve been waiting for you to come into your immortality. I didn’t see any definite signs until you told me about what was happening when you played his harmonica. I’ve been busy since then. I’ve started pulling in favors, working alliances and bargaining with those who can be bought. With you using your gift so publicly against Apollyon we’re going to have to move fast. Introduce you to some Progeny I hope will support our cause. It’ll be dangerous. There ain’t no doubt. We’ll have to be careful. But it’s time to put an end t
o the old ways. Light and Dark should not have to be segregated. It’s time we evolved. I think you three boys could be the beginning of a new cycle for all of us.”
“Apollyon said you would try to use me as a pawn for your own purposes.”
“And you believe him?” He looked hurt.
“Why didn’t you tell me who I was? About my brothers?”
“I was trying to protect you. Keep you out of harm’s way until you were strong enough to decide for yourself, no?” He gave me a sad look. “I thought I was doing what was best. Maybe I was wrong.”
“I don’t know, Arla. I just don’t know.” As far as I was concerned there was only one real priority in this. A violet eyed girl who I wanted to give my heart to. But Arla was right about one thing, I had to be strong enough to protect her. I wouldn’t want her to be in danger just because of who I was. If she’d be with me. Maybe she already knew about Shane and had gone to be with him instead.
“This is so messed up.” I dropped my pounding head into my hands.
Chapter 39
And join new vows to old perjuries but dare not call it loving. - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Thyme
We barely made it out of Hyde’s annex without the roof collapsing down on us. I tried to talk Morpheus into going to a healer for his wound but he refused. His reasons were valid. No one would want to stick their neck out to help two fugitives Apollyon was hunting.
Unable to go back to our home, Morpheus found us a remote perch up high up near the boundary of the Desolate Lands. He wrapped his soft wings around me and ordered me to sleep. I thought it would be impossible because I was so keyed up after Hyde and so anxious to see Billy, but as soon as we got settled my eyelids began to droop. Though one question kept niggling at the back of my mind keeping me from regenerative slumber.
“Who’s Hyde? He seemed to know you.”
“Hyde?”
“The chained guy back in the cave.”
“Stubborn bastard didn’t tell you?
I shook my head.
“Even now after all these years,” he muttered. “It boggles the mind.”
“What didn’t he tell me?”
“Hyde is Shane, Thyme.”
“What? No! It can’t be.” I tried to break free from his careful grip. “Take me back to him,” I insisted desperately when he continued to restrain me. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you want me to believe he’d gone on? I trusted you.” I wanted to cry. Frustration, anger and shock warred for preeminence inside of me.
“I only discovered his existence recently.” He sighed. “When you mentioned our scars being so similar I wondered if maybe I had been looking in the wrong place for him. I started asking questions, heard rumors about a duality demon in the Desolate Lands. So I hunted him down.”
“He’s not…” I trailed off my eyes growing wide as a possibility I hadn’t even considered began to coalesce within my mind. “Is he related to you, too?”
“Yes, he’s my brother. He’s older than me and Billy. Our father and mother placed him with the humans before we were even born.”
“Why?”
“It’s safer if you remain ignorant.”
“I’ve already got Apollyon after me. I don’t think one more enemy’s going to make much difference, do you? Besides, it affects you.” And Billy and Shane. Our lives all seemed to be intertwined for some reason. “Therefore, it affects me.”
“Very well. Our parents were Nyx and Hemera.”
I inhaled sharply. A tragic love story everyone knew though their deaths happened long before I came to the underground. The joining of a Light Progeny with a Dark Progeny was never tolerated.
“You see now why I hesitated to tell you. My parents paid the ultimate price for their love. No one is ever spared who breaks that rule. The three of us are considered abominations. A friend of my father risked his own life to help hide Billy and me, otherwise we’d probably be dead, too.”
“He was a good friend then, and a courageous man. I’m glad you have someone like that on your side. All of you. But I still don’t get why you didn’t tell me about Shane. You know I wouldn’t have told anyone. Surely, I deserved to know.”
“It was Shane’s choice and I understand his reasoning. But since you and Billy are Fated I thought it was time for you to know the truth. You need to abandon your romantic notions where it concerns Shane.”
“How can you say that? What gives you that right?”
“He’s a duality demon, Thyme.”
“But…”
“No buts. He kills people, Thyme. When he’s in his wild phase he loses all inhibition. Life and love mean nothing to him in those times. He thought he could control it when he was with you. He even developed a serum in medical school that suppressed his symptoms. With no one to explain to him what he was, he assumed that he was cursed. In the end, the drugs only delayed the inevitable with his demon nature.”
Each word was like a little dose of truth that I didn’t want to swallow. I started to shake. There had been hints. Things that fit together. It made sense now why he had wanted to wait to take our relationship further. Why he sometimes disappeared and wouldn’t explain. Those words he had spoken before the end. But still. “I loved him, Morpheus.”
“I know, Thyme. I know.”
After Morpheus’ confession, I sat in his arms listening to his breathing, running my fingers through his feathers while my mind raced. I realized the world I thought I knew had already started unraveling even before Leon told me what I was. Long before he ripped the ribbon of my immortality from me. But one thing I decided for certain, after verifying that the wound Morpheus had was already healing. I was going back to talk to Hyde slash Shane.
Relying on ghostly power I rarely used because it seemed as if I were somehow succumbing to my fate and the limitations of my unearthly form, I slipped out of Morpheus’ arms, stepped closer to the ledge, closed my eyes and jumped. I drifted downward at a rapid clip imagining my heart arresting from fear as I fell. Afraid maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe a shade could die if they plummeted from a high enough height.
I admit it wasn’t my most brilliant plan. Thanks to the changes my shape had undergone since Billy, my ankles twisted back at an odd angle hurting more than I’d imagined they could when I landed jarringly at the bottom.
Maybe I should have waited and convinced Morpheus to take me to Shane when he awakened. But I was afraid it might be too late by then. I’d waited ten years hoping to be reunited with him. I wasn’t going to delay any longer.
With that in mind and because of my ankles, I didn’t employ my usual method of getting around. I glided over the ground like the shade I was, but didn’t like to acknowledge. Whatever I had to do. Anything for him. But had Shane ever really felt the same way about me?
Floating was definitely faster, but I felt so weighted down by emotion that I couldn’t summon the strength I needed to de-materialize. Chest a burning void, eyes that I knew were blazing violet fire, I had to duck into hiding several times to avoid search parties until I finally reached his ravine.
I turned the corner and stopped short, letting out a frightened gasp as a shadow darker than the blackness that surrounded it suddenly cut off my path.
“Go away, Thyme.” Hyde. His voice was gruff. So very different from the gentle one I’d always known. I didn’t understand his shape, either. How could this be Shane? The shoulders were too wide and his head had to be seven or eight feet from the ground.
“I won’t,” I stated determinedly squinting my eyes. He was so large, but I couldn’t make out details. It was like my night vision didn’t work on him. Or maybe this was what a duality demon looked like. I had never met one before. Not many did and lived to talk about it from what I had heard. But that wasn’t a concern for me. I overcame my trepidation and moved closer. “I know who you are. Morpheus told me.”
“He shouldn’t have.” He backed away from me, rocks cascading down the slope beneath the black shad
ow’s feet.
“You don’t sound right.” My fingers formed tight fists of frustration.
Look right. Feel right. Or act right.
There was a long pause. He didn’t move but I could hear his heavy breathing. “I’m not right. Nothing’s right with either of us, is it?” There was definitely pain directly beneath the blatant sarcasm of those words, but I wasn’t going to feel guilty that he knew about Billy. Not when he had been alive all this time and hidden himself from me. “I’m not the man you knew anymore. I’ve done too many horrific things. Things I can never atone for.” His voice broke. “Shane’s gone. Accept it. He doesn’t exist anymore.”
“You lie. You’re here right now.” Detached. Emotionless. Hurting me so badly. Did he not remember the love we had shared? I did. I was drowning in memories. My legs felt wobbly. My arms burned. I longed for the comfort he’d always provided. I needed to be reassured that what we had at one time had been real. Did he not want to touch me? Not even a little bit after all this time? Maybe he didn’t want me anymore because I was just a shade. Bitterness and resentment made my next words sharp. “I don’t understand you. How could you do this to me? You were my life. I loved you. I let Marie desecrate my body just for a chance to be with you. I can never cross the River.” My voice rose with the force of my accusations. “Mr. Hill crossed. Did you know that?” He didn’t answer. I plowed on. “I couldn’t even speak to him. I can’t speak to any that I love without sullying them by association. Do you have any idea how hard that is?”
This time he did say something, but it was mumbled, and I couldn’t hear it over the roar of anger in my ears.