by Mikayla Lane
“What does it mean?” Nik asked.
“On this world, we are also called angel, Valkyrie, Anubis, Thanatos, Viduus, Yama . . . there are so many, but on Valendra we’re called Natakina,” Rolantro said, seeing the dawning comprehension come over Blade and Nik.
“Oh gods,” Nik whispered, staring at them in fear.
“That is the one thing we are not,” Rolantro said with a chuckle. “Although, we would be considered demi-gods.”
Grai struggled to control his raging emotions and the fight or flight feeling coursing through him. Nik, on the other hand felt like he was going to hyperventilate, and he turned accusing eyes to BJ.
“You’re soul reapers?” he growled in anger and betrayal.
“Calm yourself!” Rolantro’s voice boomed through the cavern, making Nik turn to him immediately. “She is not one of us, although she retains her immortality through her mother. Only the Qur bak’ Taq, are charged with the protection of the souls who pass.”
“You reap them!” Nik accused.
“You fool! We take them to the realm of their gods! We have nothing to do with the time or manner of death,” Rolantro shot back. “In those cases, where evil intervenes in the Forefather’s design, we protect those who are not meant to pass to the after. Like Illiatrona did with Grai and his brother, Koda.”
Nik ran his hands over his head and glared at BJ, furious that she wouldn’t tell him something of that magnitude. This wasn’t like lying about your weight or original hair color-she was an immortal being descended from demigods.
“Thank you for your intervention in both situations,” Grai said to Illiatrona, bowing slightly.
“You are welcome. We hope that it will be many more years before we are called to come for you,” Illiatrona said with a smile.
Grai chuckled, then the whole situation seemed to hit him at once, and he started laughing harder. Nik and Blade stared at him like he’d finally lost his mind until he finally calmed himself.
“I apologize . . .” Grai paused and snickered again. “I just realized the absurdity of the situation. That we’re standing before the demigods of death. I can see why Bess laughed at any help we could give her people. Which brings me to the question of what can we do to help you? You’re demigods!”
Nik shook his head and refused to look at BJ again. The sense of betrayal he felt went deep, much deeper than he thought it would. His mind refused to even consider what kind of cosmic joke it was to mate him to the child of a demigod.
Nik felt like he was suffocating in the cavern as his thoughts consumed him, and he stopped paying attention to the others. Without a word to anyone, he left through the passage, uncaring what anyone thought as he tried to process just what BJ was and why the hell she was chosen to be his.
Chapter Fourteen
Grai and Blade remained in the cavern, too curious and awestruck by the demigods standing before them to even consider following Nik. Both men could well understand Nik’s upset. It was hard enough for Valendrans to adjust to their mates and unique abilities, and Nik just found out his was an immortal demigod, and that was overwhelming for all of them-including Grai.
Grai had just remembered Bess telling them Mojo and BJ would be going with him, and he had no idea what he was going to do with demigods amongst his people.
How the hell is everyone going to react to twin demigods? Grai wondered.
“You are uncertain. That is understandable,” Rolantro admitted with a small smile. “We would not have taken these extraordinary means if the situation wasn’t as serious as it is.”
Grai struggled to control his racing thoughts and nodded to the elder demigod.
A demigod! Dozens of demigods! Grai thought in absolute awe before he reined in his emotions and remembered his duty to his people.
“What can we do to help?” Grai asked.
Rolantro grinned broadly as the other demigods chuckled and smirked.
“We plan on showing them exactly what they can expect to see when it is their time to pass,” Bess explained.
“What?” Blade asked as he whipped his head around to Bess and shuddered at the thought that popped into his head. “You’re going to show them the death realm of their god?”
“Sort of,” Illiatrona admitted. “It will be a little more complicated than that.”
“What do you need us to do?” Grai asked nervously, unsure what demigods would need the mere beast species for.
“You will be part of the chaos,” Rolantro stated.
Grai had no idea what they meant, but he wasn’t about to tell a couple of dozen demigods that he was going to pass on keeping BJ and the others protected.
“Chaos?” Blade asked.
Bess cackled with laughter before turning her eerie gaze to Blade.
“Don’t worry, your unique skills are going to come in real handy,” Bess replied, not making Blade or Grai feel any better about their evasive answers.
“How is chaos going to prevent them from taking BJ into custody and wrecking the town looking for us?” Grai asked.
He was hoping the question would prompt them to be more specific about what role the demigods expected his people to play while they tried to get rid of the major and the military in town. He had to admit he was uneasy in their presence, and their ambiguity wasn’t helping.
“BJ will be turning herself over to them in the morning,” Rolantro began, then quickly added, “Do not fear for her. The story she will tell will be believable.”
Grai looked over at BJ and saw that she was keeping her head down and her eyes on the floor. There was nothing about her posture that gave away her thoughts on the situation, but it was obvious that she was hurt by Nik’s rejection, and he decided to leave the woman alone and turn his attention to the leader of the demigods.
“Are you sure that this is a good time to rely so heavily on her? There is a lot of . . . turmoil and misunderstanding right now,” Grai stated, trying to avoid saying he didn’t think she was emotionally fit to play a starring role in the latest plot.
“Do not concern yourself with the immortal one; she is stronger than you think, and her family will be beside her,” Rolantro stated in a booming voice while roughly two dozen demigods nodded their heads.
It left no doubt in Grai and Blade’s minds that the demigods were going to make sure that BJ was protected.
That answered that question, Grai thought.
“How many and which of my people will you need?” he asked.
“We only need Blade and the spirit walker, Discorian, on the ground with us,” Rolantro said, surprising Grai that he knew about Disc.
Why the hell am I surprised? Grai thought.
Then it finally dawned on him what they had in mind for the military unit.
“You’re going to mind fuck them,” Grai whispered aloud.
The laughter that erupted among the demigods told Grai and Blade that he was correct in his assessment. Blade grinned broadly, liking the plan already without even knowing the details.
“I prefer to call it a mental readjustment,” Bess added causing another round of laughter.
“We cannot harm them. We are not allowed to step outside of our duties as soul keepers, but we can give warnings and glimpses into their future,” Rolantro explained. “I must warn you now, Grai T’Alq, there are no souls due for keeping among those gathered. You must not upset the natural order by interfering with that. The consequences would be immediate and not in your best interests. Do you understand?”
The warning in the leader’s voice echoed loudly through Grai and his beast, and he nodded his head.
“I understand. I will not intervene,” Grai agreed.
He didn’t know what the consequences would be if he did, and he didn’t want to know. He wasn’t about to defy the advice of the demigods and incur their wrath.
*****
Nik had just left the cave entrance and was heading towards the house and the field out front when he heard the heavy steps behind
him on the covered path. He turned to see Dennis and Irwin coming towards him. Hoping they were smart enough to leave him alone, he turned back towards the house and kept walking.
“I would suggest you stop right there, young man!” Dennis boomed out.
The intensity of the sound caused Nik to skip a step in his stride before he continued towards the house. Suddenly he was frozen mid-step, and the only thing he could move were his eyes. He saw both men approach him on either side before they stood in front of him with their arms crossed over their chests.
“I have to say, I expected you to handle this better,” Dennis said, disappointment heavy in his voice.
“Let him go, Dennis, so we can go in the kitchen and have some tea. Maybe it’ll knock some sense into the fool,” Irwin said with a disgusted shake of his head before he stormed down the path to the kitchen door.
Nik watched as Irwin left the door open and pleaded with Dennis with his eyes to release him from the paralyzing hold.
“I suggest you have a chat with us over tea, or you may find yourself porting somewhere other than that ship you keep trying to contact,” Dennis warned.
With a wave of his hand, Nik was free and left standing in the middle of the path while Dennis headed towards the kitchen. Nik trudged to the kitchen door, too afraid of what Dennis would do if he didn’t listen.
He sat down across from Dennis while Irwin set water on the stove to boil. For some reason it struck Nik as funny and he laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Irwin asked as he shook tea into small mesh ball.
“You. Why don’t you just magically heat the water instead of boiling it?” Nik asked with a grin.
Irwin looked at him oddly for a moment.
“I’m human. I have no abilities like the hybrids or powers like the demigods, so I use the stove,” he admitted.
“You’re human? And you see the demigods and know of the hybrids?” Nik asked incredulously as he looked at Dennis, wondering what he was.
Dennis only smiled and transformed himself in front of Nik’s eyes. Like the other demigods, he stood over seven feet tall, and although his hair and beard color remained the same vivid red, he was much larger than the normal form he appeared to take on.
“In some cultures, the change we can invoke is called glamour, shapeshifting, or morphing, blah, blah. I prefer to walk among the humans when I am not called for duty and find it easier to blend in while in this form,” Dennis admitted.
Nik watched with wide eyes as Dennis shifted back into the form he was used to seeing.
“How does a human know of you and can see you? Why would you take humans into your confidence like that?” Nik asked, still stunned.
Irwin just waved his hand distractedly and chuckled.
“The whole town knows of them,” Irwin replied. “We all grew up with the soul keepers and the hybrids. As children, they were the magical fairies in the woods or invisible playmates. Dennis here has been my best friend since the day I was born.”
“Isn’t it dangerous for humans to know? Aren’t they more likely to out you to the world?” Nik asked Dennis.
“Oh, please,” Dennis said with a laugh. “Who would they tell? Who would believe them? How many humans throughout history were believed? And these days . . . humanity has lost more than their beliefs. Besides, why do you think most people in areas that we inhabit never leave?”
“There’s many more of you?” Nik asked, trying to swallow the lump in his throat at the thought.
“You probably don’t know much about Earth history, being from Valendra, but there’s a few places that are commonly thought of as ‘mysterious’ where we can be found. Besides, there are a lot of humans on this planet, and we may be good at what we do, but there are times it takes all of us,” Dennis answered with a chuckle.
“Here, this is Bess’s best tea. Don’t worry, I didn’t put anything in it. Neither did Bess. It’s just a blend of local herbs and leaves,” Irwin said as he set cups in front of Nik and Dennis before taking a seat beside Nik.
“How can you see them?” Nik asked Irwin.
“We raise our children not to be afraid of the things that go bump in the night, but we don’t discount their existence either. We know they are real, so our children remain open minded enough to see and understand the things around them that normal children don’t,” Irwin explained.
“That’s the problem with most humans. Parents pound into their children that nothing exists, and after a while the children can no longer see the magic that lives all around them,” Dennis added with a sad shake of his head.
“It is a little hard to take in,” Nik admitted, thinking of BJ.
“Because you’re looking at it wrong,” Irwin replied, taking a sip of tea.
Nik looked at him with a raised brow, unable to believe that the man didn’t understand where he was coming from.
Irwin raised his hands up in surrender.
“I’m not saying it isn’t difficult to wrap your mind around,” the mayor admitted. “I’d be a little freaked out too.”
Dennis shot Irwin a chastising glare before he turned back to Nik.
“BJ isn’t a demigod. She’s nothing more than an immortal hybrid,” Dennis admitted with a shrug.
Nik nearly choked on his tea. When he knew he wasn’t going to gag he glared at Dennis.
“Oh, is that all? Just an immortal?” he asked sarcastically.
“Don’t give me that shit,” Dennis chastised. “You were against finding your mate so early in your life to begin with. You’re just using this as an excuse to justify your position. She is no more than any other hybrid with gifts if you ignore her immortality.”
Nik snorted and shook his head. He didn’t believe for a second that they were this dense.
“You know damn well that the whole immortality thing is pretty damn big. And don’t forget the ‘descended from gods’ part either. Or that all of my new family would be soul gods. Yeah, that’s not intimidating at all,” he shot back.
“Demi . . .” Irwin began before Nik cut him off.
“Gods! Demi or not there is a ‘god’ in that damn title! So don’t pretend like it’s not the elephant in the room,” Nik growled.
“Let’s break it down. What about her being immortal bothers you so much?” Dennis calmly asked.
Nik truly wondered if they were stupid. He couldn’t imagine why the hell the demigod speaking to him couldn’t understand why it bothered him so much.
“I would think it would be a relief,” Irwin said with a shrug. “You don’t have to worry about protecting her because she can’t die on you. Her abilities make her an asset to your mission here on the planet, and she’s beautiful to boot. Yeah, not seeing the problem.”
“She can get hurt! She ended up in the hospital over that beating in St. Louis. Where the hell were you guys then?” Nik demanded.
“Bullshit excuses,” Dennis scoffed. “So she can be hurt just like you can, and so can her beast. Her beast took that beating, and it took a few days for it to recover. By the time we knew about it, she was already almost healed and just pretending to still be hurt so no one would be suspicious over her recovery.”
Nik ran a hand over his head as his mind spun with the information.
“An immortal with a beast . . .” Nik whispered, trying to process it all.
“And she’s not really immortal. Well, she is right now. Once she mates, she can choose to move to the next realm with you when you pass,” Dennis added.
“What? Why the hell would she do that?” Nik asked, surprised it could even be done.
“Why would the soul wish to remain without it’s other half? That is what Queen Lamoratri chose when her own mate passed, leaving the mantle of leadership to fall on the council of elders. If it had not been deemed as appropriate, the Forefather would not have given them the ability to do it,” Dennis explained.
“All of you can do that? Are there many of you with mates?” Nik asked, incredulous that it was e
ven possible.
“No,” Dennis said with a shake of his head. “There have only been a handful since the beginning of our duties here, but it is possible if the Forefather wills it to be so.”
“In other words, if the Forefather wills it to be, then it happens. Like with you and BJ,” Irwin added.
Nik didn’t mistake what Irwin was trying to tell him. The man was as subtle as a neon billboard. The One God chose BJ specifically for him, and Nik would be defying Him if he didn’t accept her. He felt sick to his stomach over how he was being manipulated into a corner.
“Damn, you’re a real asshole,” Dennis suddenly erupted. “What the hell is wrong with you? And don’t give me that look, even Irwin could read your thoughts with that expression on your face!”
“Ain’t no one holding a gun to your head,” Irwin said with a sad shake of his head. “You can go run and hide on your ship. We can handle things down here just fine.”
Nik was surprised at Irwin’s change of attitude and looked over at Dennis, wondering if it was safe to leave. The large man wouldn’t even look at him. Suddenly Nik felt like the ass they accused him of being. He put his head in his hands and sighed.
“Why can’t you understand my side in this?” Nik groaned in frustration.
“We can,” Dennis admitted. “We just think it’s stupid because you’re intentionally looking only at what you think are the downsides in order to justify leaving your mate.”
Nik snorted and shook his head.
“OK, I’m game. Tell me what the good side is?”
Dennis and Irwin exchanged glances and Irwin shrugged.
“No,” Irwin replied.
“What?” Nik asked, surprised at the response.
“I said no,” Irwin repeated, more forcefully this time.
Nik looked over at Dennis, hoping he’d shed some light on Irwin’s sudden attitude change. Dennis only shrugged.
“We’re not ‘game,’ as you call it. This isn’t a game. We’re talking about the life and happiness of someone we love dearly. Not because she’s family or even because she’s part of our community. We love her because, unlike you, we’ve taken the time to get to know her and see the beautiful soul and spirit inside of her,” Dennis explained, clearly disgusted that he had to.