by Jill Sanders
“You don’t know what you’re asking of us,” Jacob said.
Xtina touched his arm and moved slowly forward. “In order to do this, a Hecate must be locked up with him.” Xtina glanced at her friend. “Jessica will have to sacrifice herself to slumber with him, eternally. Her mother made that sacrifice last time and took her place.”
“I can’t.” Jessica’s tears slipped down her face. “Reed. I can’t leave him or Jacob.”
Joleen moved forward. “You won’t have to,” she said softly. “There’s already a Hecate there, waiting.”
“I…” Jessica shook her head. “Then how did Thanatos get away?”
“He hasn’t been sent there yet. The Hecate that’s waiting is one of your first ancestors. His time, this Thanatos, is from before the one you sent away. He was trapped on my world, he was banished there, tied there by the first Hecate.” She felt the power growing inside her. “Called there by the birth of my powers.” She smiled. “Just as he will be called here by my power now. I have to open the portal below our feet, to send him back to his prison.”
“Promise me that she won’t be taken.” Jacob stepped forward again.
“No one will be leaving tonight, except for Thanatos,” she promised.
“How do you know he’ll come?” Michael asked.
“He’s already here. He came back with us.” She turned to Mason. “See,” she said, lifting her eyes to the darkness above them. “Jessica, would you be so kind as to open those doors?”
Jessica frowned at first, but then lifted her arms in the air and said, “Patentibus.”
They all watched as the heavy metal silo door opened smoothly, exposing a very dark sky, with the bright full moon overhead.
“Circle up,” Joleen said, feeling her brother’s power getting closer. She moved to the center of the circle as everyone spaced themselves out around her. Just as she’d seen in her dream.
Mason stood off in the distance and when she turned her eyes to him, he nodded his encouragement.
“Well,” she smiled, “this is it.”
“Whatever happens…” he promised.
“Do what you do best.” She motioned to him. “Science stuff. Record it if you want.”
He pulled out his phone and began recording everything. “I love you,” he said clearly.
“I love you too,” she replied.
“Oh, isn’t this sweet?” A deep voice echoed in the massive space. “My little sister falling for a mere mortal?”
“Thanatos,” Joleen said in a calm voice, turning towards the figure she knew would be stepping out of the shadows. As in her dream, he was rail thin with long arms that dragged on the floor. His legs were bent backwards and his glowing green eyes zoned in on only her. “You can’t have this world,” she said in a strong voice.
“Who are you to tell me what I can and can’t have?” The figure stepped forward. Seeing those glowing eyes had her swallowing her fear.
“As you said before, I’m your sister. Only we matter and you have swallowed up your last world.” She spoke clearly.
“You are nothing!” The figure grew in size, as black mist began swirling around the entire group. Someone screamed and, temporarily, Joleen’s focus shifted to Mason’s safety. To the safety of everyone she was connected to. To everyone she cared for. Then Thanatos was inside the circle, less than two feet from her and she regained her focus.
“What is it you seek to do this day, sister?” he spat out, his face becoming extremely clear for the first time.
She’d heard stories of gods being beautiful beings, but thus far, all Thanatos had shown her was darkness and a figure to fear. Now, however, as the blackness engulfed her, she glimpsed his true form.
To say he was beautiful would have been an extreme understatement. The man was perfection, chiseled from everything that made up the perfect specimen of humanity. His long flowing hair glowed golden. His crystal blue eyes were like shiny gemstones, and she was almost unable to look away from them.
“Sister,” he said in a rich warm voice as he moved closer to her and the black mist swirled around them, leaving out everything but the two of them. “Leave these worthless creatures behind. Take your rightful place among your brothers and sisters in the heavens.”
“Why?” she asked. “Why is it so important for me to follow you?”
His smile grew. “You have yet to tap into the power which you hold. Time and space are yours to command. I can teach you…” He moved forward. “I can make you remember what it is you are.” He reached up and touched her forehead.
Suddenly, her mind was filled with scene after scene. Years of living with her mother that she had forgotten, tucked away in a safe place deep inside her mind. Then the scene went beyond her life, into the darkness of space as she traveled on the comet, broken off from a much larger piece where her family had lived, thrived, where they had been gods. She watched as she broke off and floated away from them, lonely, desperate to return to those she loved, only to be thrust into darkness and broken into a million pieces traveling into separate planes of existence.
“You are much more,” Thanatos said. “The power you wield is greater than anything you know.” He dropped his arm. “Time and worlds bend to your will.”
“So, that’s it? You wish to train me? Why? So that you can control me?” She narrowed her eyes. “First you use fear. You remove everything I hold dear to myself, then you try and bargain with me? I know a bully when I see one. I’m not falling for it.”
She watched as her brother’s beauty melted away, and he turned once again into darkness and death, a figure to be feared.
“So be it. Then you will witness the destruction of another world.” He raised his hands, but nothing happened. Frowning, he raised his hands again and shouted, only to be stopped as she held up her own hand.
“See, that’s where you made your mistake, dear brother,” she said with a smile. “Enlightening me to my own powers, to my own potential was your undoing. You’re correct. I do hold great power. I have the benefit of time and space, something you desired above all other things. You wish to control me, to control it, but you never will. You could never wield this power.” She held up her hand and a glowing green ball formed in her palm. “That is why I was sent away from you. To be hidden amongst the vastness of time and space. I am but just a shard of that power, split off from the rest. My power will never be yours.” She raised up her hand and, with a smile, split open the ground underneath them with a twist of her wrist.
The cement cracked under their feet, exposing the blackness of the Proxinium hidden below. She didn’t even flinch when she realized the two of them were hovering hundreds of feet above the darkness below them. With another twist of her wrist, the dark rocks rose and broke into smaller pieces, then into even smaller shards still, until it was nothing but a fine dust of powder that circled them, engulfing Thanatos.
“No!” he cried out when he noticed the darkness surrounding him.
“You will never again step foot on another planet. Your tomb awaits you,” she said.
“I will never go back!” he hissed.
She lowered her wrist and the rocks stopped moving, floating still in the air around them.
“See”—she leaned closer to the figure—“that’s where you’re wrong. You don’t have to go back there because you’re already there.” She smiled and lifting her hand in front of his face. She snapped her fingers, sending the black dust to engulf him in a tight sphere. Then she watched as the black sphere lifted, floating higher and higher into the night air. The moon was blacked out completely for a brief moment before the sphere disappeared completely into the night.
Turning, she looked back down at the group of people still holding the circle around the now-exposed ground. She and Thanatos had floated to the very top of the silo. As she made her way back to the ground, Mason’s eyes were glued to hers. She set down a few feet in front of him.
He was the reason she was anchored to th
is planet. To this plane of existence. Beyond any world, beyond any time, he was the reason she remained.
Chapter Twenty
When the dust settled, Mason was unsure what had just transpired. He was thankful, however, that he’d had enough brains to record everything on his phone, since his brain was working overtime trying to make sense of it all.
“What the hell just happened?” Jacob asked when the sound of the wind died down.
Joleen stood just in front of Mason, smiling at him.
“I sent him away once and for all,” she replied.
“How?” Jessica asked.
Joleen shrugged. “You saw…”
“All we saw was black smoke swirling around you then grow into a ball and—bam—to the moon,” Jessica responded, motioning towards the sky. She chuckled nervously.
“You know,” Xtina broke in, “I need to sit down.” She glanced around.
Michael rushed over to his wife and picked her up. “Let’s take this back to our place. My wife needs to rest.”
Mason walked over to engulf Joleen in his arms. He held onto her until he felt like everything was going to be better. Then he took her hand in his and followed the rest of the group out of the massive compound.
“We’ll swing into town and grab us all some pizzas. Carla has Reed for a few more hours,” Jacob said, looking over at his wife. “But I think we want to grab him and bring him back with us.”
Jessica nodded and wrapped her arms around Jacob. “We’ll see you all there. Don’t start the party until we get there. Okay?”
Joleen walked over and hugged Jessica. “Thank you for tonight.”
Jessica laughed and hugged her back. “I don’t really know what we did, but you’re welcome.”
They drove the short distance to the big house in silence. When she parked next to the other cars, Mason stopped her from exiting the vehicle by pulling her into a hug.
“I thought I was going to lose you,” he said softly into her hair.
“It was never an option.” She smiled and held onto him.
So much was clearer to her now. It was as if Thanatos’s touch had awoken all her past memories from beyond this world.
“So,” Mason said as he pulled back from her, “you can fly now. You really are a god.”
She laughed. “Yes and no, we’re not...” She thought of how to explain it and figured there were no possible words to do so. She sighed. “I’m just a woman who’s in love.” She touched his face and kissed him. “Let’s go in. I’ll try to explain everything all at once.”
The entire gang shuffled back into the living room. Stinky settled down on the front porch with Xtina and Michael’s dog Rose. The pair had sniffed each other at first and then acted as if they’d known one another all their lives.
Drinks were handed out, and he sipped on a cold beer to wait for Jacob and Jessica to return with their son and the food.
“I seriously am having a hard time waiting,” Xtina groaned as she sat with her feet up in the big recliner.
“Me too.” Breanna groaned and pulled out her phone. “Where are you?” she said into the phone as she glanced around the room. After hanging up, she told the room. “Five minutes out.”
“I’ve noticed a change in the two of you.” Xtina turned to them, her eyes going between the pair of them. “You know, last night I was extremely tired. Tonight, if it’s okay, I’d like to try reading you again? Both of you.”
“Are you sure you’re up for it?” Michael asked.
Xtina glanced at him. “Yes.”
Since Mason was very interested in seeing Xtina in action again, he agreed to it, for scientific study.
“I’d love to spend some time studying what it is you’re capable of. All of you.” He glanced around the room.
Several glances were exchanged, so he jumped back in.
“I’m not going to expose you and your secrets. But it would be nice to have a better understanding. Wouldn’t all of you like answers as to why your abilities presented themselves?”
“I, for one, would,” Breanna chimed in. She turned towards Ethan and took his hand. “We’ve talked about it. We both would.”
Just then the front door opened, and Jessica walked in holding Reed, who was fast asleep. Jacob followed with an armful of pizza boxes.
“I’ll just head up and lay him down,” Jessica said as she headed up the stairs.
Moments later, when everyone had food and they were all settled in the living area, every eye turned to Joleen.
“Want to tell us what happened?” Jacob asked them.
Joleen hadn’t picked up a slice of pizza. She took a sip of the wine she’d been given and then set the glass down.
“Thanatos and my kind are not gods,” she began. “Yes, they are what you would deem celestial beings. They are immortal, to a degree. They have been around for hundreds of thousands of years and will most likely be around for even longer.”
“What are they, if not gods?” Breanna asked.
“The best way to describe them, and myself, is original beings that came from the first stardust, after the big bang.” She shifted and glanced at him. “We are the originals, the origins of all other life in the universes. Humans, to be blunt, are copies of copies of copies of us. Millions of years of breeding that has thinned out the bloodlines, which has turned you mortal and fragile.”
“Are you saying that you’re immortal? That you’re one of them?” Jessica asked.
“No, I’m something else.” She shook her head. “My mother was human.”
“But not your father?” Jacob asked.
“No.” Jessica smiled. “My mother was a scientist. They discovered some of the material on a comet. In the process of studying it, she was infected, if you want to call it that, with origin DNA, and she ended up giving birth to me.”
“You’re saying the Hugheses aren’t your parents?” Jacob asked. “If not, who is she?”
“No.” She shook her head. “My mother wasn’t from this world.”
Mason sat back and listened to Joleen explain everything that had happened to them over the past few days. When everyone turned to him to confirm the story, he added a few pertinent details.
“So, this all explains where you came from, but not what just happened back there,” Jacob said when Joleen grew quiet.
“I sent my brother away,” Joleen answered.
“Where?” Jessica asked.
Joleen smiled. “Where our father imprisoned him long ago.”
“You mean the moon?” Michael asked.
“It’s not…” Joleen shook her head “It’s a different realm, a different plane of existence. Think of it as a different world.”
“Like where you came from?” Xtina asked.
“Yes, sort of,” Joleen answered.
“Why did my mother sacrifice herself last year then?” Jessica asked. “Are you saying she didn’t have to do that?”
“No.” Joleen shook her head. “There is more than even I understand. Our father—”
“Who is?” Jacob interrupted.
Joleen sighed. “He is father to everything.”
“So, god?” Breanna asked.
“If you want to describe him as such. He’s not the god of religion, but yes, he is the beginning of all creation. The origin of every living thing. He deemed it necessary that Thanatos have a mate, someone to keep him company and keep him locked away. A mortal witch.” Joleen glanced at Jessica. “Your family, being from one of the first bloodlines, was chosen. Sorry.” She cringed.
“Hey.” Jessica chuckled. “It’s not like you had any say in it. But why could you banish him this time without sending me along?”
“Because someone from your family is still there. Time works… differently. The Thanatos we saw today came before the one you banished last year. By sending him away today, we set in motion the events that took place last year. Your mother was already there last year, correct?”
“No,” Breanna broke in,
frowning. “My aunt Misty was trapped there.”
“My mother took her place when we brought Misty back last year,” Jessica added.
“Oh.” Joleen frowned. “I’m so sorry.”
“My aunt is fine. She’s moved in with my father,” Breanna said with a smile.
“The cycle was broken when I gave birth to our son,” Jessica added. “Thanatos can’t escape anymore.”
“Yes.” Joleen nodded. “He’s once more secure.”
“And you?” Xtina asked. “That means, that you’re half… god or origin?”
“Yes.” She frowned. “Now that my brother has awoken that side of me, I could be as dangerous as he was.” Joleen’s eyes turned to his. “Which means, I must leave.”
“No,” Mason said clearly.
Joleen took his hand. “I’m afraid that now that I’ve uncovered the Proxinium, more will come to seek me.”
“Proxinium?” Jessica asked.
“Think of it as the God particle,” Joleen answered.
“Is that why you tore up the cement floor?” Jacob asked.
“It’s why the silo is so powerful. There’s an undiscovered amount below the surface there.” She turned back to Mason. “My mother would have loved to know that.”
“Does that mean you can travel to see her? I mean, if I could recreate her ring?” he asked.
“You might get it to work, but at this point, I no longer need any help to travel between worlds.” She smiled. “Which is why you would be safer if I leave.”
“I’m not letting you go.” Mason stood up and pulled her up with him.
His heart ached at the thought of losing her now.
“You would be safer.”
“I don’t give a damn.” He tightened his hold on her. “I love you,” he said softly into her hair. “Wherever you go, I’m going.”
Joleen smiled. “Are you sure?”
“Very.”
Joleen smiled and hugged him back.
“You may not really have to leave, you know,” Xtina said as she held out her hands for them. “I can see if you’d be safe here.”
Mason took Joleen’s hand, and they both took Xtina’s outstretched hands.