Embrace the Desire

by Spring Stevens

  Gyth moved so fast, she couldn’t keep up. Their bodies became blurs as they rolled around, fists thundering into one another’s faces. One second Lysander was on his feet, the next he was flung against Tortured Soul’s wall with Gyth all up in his grill.

  Varick pulled her to her feet just as Lysander fell to his knees before Gyth. Pointing to the display, Chanta heard herself say. “Someone help him.”

  Varick turned, his eyes widening as Gyth bent down and retrieved Lysander’s sword. Chanta stepped forward, intent on stopping her father until Lysander spoke. Gold blood dripped from the Angel’s mouth and nose, his eyes glowing with an illuminating light.

  “There will be consequences for killing an Angel.” Lysander bowed his head, his eyes peering at Chanta. “But I release you from blame or guilt, I knew my death was but a moment away when I materialized on this earth.”

  Lysander spoke again, softly and Chanta’s heart chilled in her chest. “Your mother erased yours and Payne’s destinies from Jaiden’s books. She wanted you to die, knew it would cause Varick to destroy Gyth so that she could take your father’s throne and condemn all humanity. All because your father refused to have her as his queen.”

  Chanta screamed as Gyth raised Lysander’s sword and brought it down, slicing the angel through his neck. She turned to her father as Lysander’s head rolled toward her. “Why did you kill him?” Her voice rumbled inside her head as she rushed forward and beat her fists into Gyth’s chest. “He didn’t deserve to die.”

  “He tried to kill you.” Gyth turned on his heel, his body dematerializing. “And your mother will pay the price also.”

  Varick grabbed Chanta’s arms and turned her around to face him. “I would have done the same.”

  “No.” Chanta pulled away as she heard a growl erupt from Payne’s throat. “This isn’t happening.” She grabbed her head as a dull roar echoed around her brain, Payne’s emotions ripping through her. “Make them stop, Varick.”

  “He needs to do this, Chanta. He has to. This is where his destiny has been leading him his entire life.”

  “You don’t understand.” She grabbed her chest, felt Payne’s misery and rage. “He’s standing on the edge of good and evil.”

  He shook his head. “We all know this is what Payne needs. He has to face his father.”

  “We?” She looked around, countless Destroyers emerged from the buildings, the dark streets, and some appeared out of thin air.

  “Yes, we all have been waiting for Payne to face Damon.” Varick pointed to Payne. “Let him make his own destiny.”

  Payne and Damon were fighting, each holding their own. The air was cold, the temperature dropping the longer she stood there with the Destroyers and Varick all lining up behind her. The rumble inside her head grew louder, like a train in the distance getting closer with each passing second.

  With each impact of fists, Chanta’s heart thundered louder and louder. She watched, not because she wanted to, but because she couldn’t tear her eyes away from Payne. Somehow, he had become more than just important to her, he had stolen her heart, her very soul. And as she watched the man she loved fight with such vengeance and menace, his agony became hers.

  Payne landed on his back, his roar filled with anger, menace, and vengeance. Damon towered over him, laughing as Bastilla came out of the shadows at a sprinters pace. In her hand, Chanta saw the dagger, saw the evil twist of her full lips as Bastilla came right straight at her.

  Chanta felt Payne look at her, felt his sudden fear, something she knew Payne had never experienced. Chanta understood in that moment what Bastilla had wanted from Payne, not his love, but his power. She had used Payne all those years ago and was trying to do it again.

  And then the air stilled. The roar in Chanta’s mind overtook her thoughts and actions. There was only one thing she knew she had to do, protect Payne.

  Bastilla launched herself at Chanta, the knife coming up and slicing downwards. Chanta stood still, her eyes narrowing as time seemed to slow. She watched as if she alone held the remote, Bastilla’s face twisted in rage, her eyes so full of hate. From the corner of her eye, she saw Varick step forward, but with a slight push of her hand, Chanta sent him sprawling backwards.

  She felt her powers rise, they pulled together in the center of her chest as her wings split out from her back. Tiny black flames danced along her skin as her body lifted into the air.

  Looking down at Payne, Chanta smiled as she raised her hands and lightning streaked across the sky, came together and blasted the ground in front of Bastilla. Bastilla’s body flew backwards landing with a thump against a parked bus. On her hands and knees, she screamed in anger.

  “You’re no match for me.” Bastilla stood, her eyes glowing green as she reached to the sky and started chanting.

  Chanta gritted her teeth as Bastilla lunged forward again, this time with clawed hands held out and glittering sharp teeth emerging from her lips. With a bitter laugh, Chanta crouched and leapt forward meeting her head on.

  Between blows and curses, Chanta calmly said, “All you need is a pointed hat and a broom.”

  “And all you need to do is die.” Bastilla punched Chanta in the stomach. “And when you die, Payne will once more be mine.”

  Doubled over, Chanta saw red. Literally. Her vision hazed over. When she spoke, Chanta didn’t recognize her own voice. It was warped and twisted.

  “FYI, I’m a demi-goddess, you two-bit worthless bitch. And not just any demi-goddess.” Chanta raised up and grabbed Bastilla by the throat. “And Payne is mine.”

  With all she had, Chanta flung Bastilla backwards. Charon stepped out of the shadows and swung his scythe as Bastilla landed in front of him on her stomach. Chanta didn’t turn away as his scythe cut deep and to the bone.

  Bastilla’s screams caught Damon’s attention and he turned with a grin. Charon nodded at him as he vanished. Chanta didn’t think, she ran toward Payne.

  • • •

  Damon’s snakes poured from his body and attacked Chanta taking her to the ground. Payne breathed in deep as Chanta blasted the snakes away and was on her feet in the blink of an eye. Varick was grabbing her and pulling her away as Payne turned his attention back to his father.

  Payne rolled to his left as Damon manifested a pair of swords and swung down at him. With a vicious kick, he knocked Damon backwards, the swords clattering to the asphalt. In a blur of black leather, Damon charged at him. They battered and rammed each other, banging into parked cars, shattering windshields, and knocking down light poles.

  On one knee, Payne struggled to stand when something hot pierced his stomach. Looking down, he saw blood and lots of it as well as a dagger protruding from his stomach. Damon was laughing as he circled him.

  “Son of mine.” Damon stopped in front of him as a wall of blue fire encircled them both blocking out the Destroyers. Blocking out Chanta. “Join me. Come to the Underworld and rule at my side.”

  Payne shook his head as he stood and pulled the dagger out. “Why don’t you go back down there and rot for two thousand more years?”

  Damon threw his head back and laughed. “Come with me. Accept that power inside of you, feel the desire that courses through your soul to be my true son. Rule the Underworld with me as you were meant to.”

  “Why would I rule with you when I could rule alone?” Payne snarled, his thoughts bending and twisting. “There’s only one thing I have desired most of my life.”

  “Tell me what it is and we can make it happen. Together, we can rule this pathetic world.” He paced back and forth. “We can conquer Gyth and take the Heavens to its knees.”

  “Your death. I have wanted it for so long, it’s all I have ever known.” Payne saw Chanta through the flames, the worry and the fear written on her face as she tried to see him. “But no longer do I desire it. I no longer wish for those things.”

  Damon stilled. “I can give you anything you desire or wish for.” He stepped toe to toe with Payne. “Look deeper into that
black mass of a heart. We both know what you truly want. Power, more and more power to conquer your fears, to get everything you ever wanted.”

  Payne stepped back, his powers and the Underworld pulling at him from every emotion he had ever felt. He could rule, he could destroy both his father and Gyth. He could stop the insanity by losing his own. And lose Chanta in the process.

  Payne shook his head in an attempt to clear the thought his god powers were conjuring up. “No, father. There is one thing that I want, that I desire, that I need that you can never give me.”

  Blue flames raced up Payne’s arms as he lunged at Damon. Burying the dagger to the hilt in Damon’s chest, Payne watched his father’s surprised expression. The flames on his arms covered Damon and swirled around them both.

  Jerking backwards, Damon jerked the dagger out. “There is nothing I can’t give you.”

  With a mighty roar, Payne slammed his fist into Damon’s wound. “You can never love me. Now, go back to hell and stay there.”

  Damon fell forward and grabbed Payne’s arms, disbelief filling his eyes as blood spurted from his mouth. “Then why not kill me, son of mine?”

  “Because you’re my father.” Payne pulled out of Damon’s grasp. “And because I’m nothing like you.”

  The flames burned brighter and swirled out of control as Damon vanished with a roar. As the circle of blue flames died, Payne’s eyes sought out Chanta, found her, and devoured her. Without doubt, she was the only thing that had kept him from destroying his father, kept him from becoming his father.

  Epilogue

  Charon stood before the Tree of Life, his thoughts scattered and confused. The instant he had crossed the threshold of disobeying Isten’s orders, he had become a traitor . . . to his own grandfather, his own blood. And now, there was no turning back. Not that he wanted to.

  No, he didn’t want to turn back to that pantheon and watch as the universe imploded around him. No, he didn’t want to be on the losing side of any battle that may loom in the future. And most of all, he didn’t want to be subservient to a god that was imprisoned on an Isle dependent on others. He wanted emotions, free will, and the ability to refuse any bargain. What Charon wanted was his freedom.

  In human form, with his black robes covering his entire body, the only thing that stood out were his eyes, which he knew were glowing with his reaper powers. Odd that the red tint to his vision plagued him now, after all the countless centuries he had been looking through these eyes.

  Without warning, the hair on Charon’s neck stood to attention, his senses suddenly on high alert. Then the smell of earth after a thunderstorm curled inside his nose, instantly relaxing his muscles. Like a cobra swaying to hypnotize its prey before it struck. Jaiden was here. Or more appropriately, Jaiden’s apparition.

  At one time, Jaiden had been the top of the food chain, his powers almost unstoppable, his presence leaving one awestruck for days. Perhaps, those powers were unstoppable, after all Jaiden was here in visual yet incorporeal form, his power growing with each passing visit.

  “How many souls do you require?” Charon tried not to bite out the question.

  Staring at the books he had collected, he held out his large hand. A small glass jar appeared in his palm, Bastilla’s soul swirling inside its temporary prison.

  Jaiden’s form stepped between Charon and the Tree of Life. No longer was his hair flaming red, now it was the color of the deepest ocean, and his eerie eyes as green as emeralds. Those eyes, changing from green to purple watched as Charon lifted the lid of the jar.

  “Enough to harness the energy I require.” Jaiden’s eyebrow rose as Bastilla’s soul darted across the Isle and screeched. He glanced at Charon as he took out Lysander’s jar. “I sense your frustration. Explain.”

  Jaiden’s wraith, yes, his wraith Charon thought because his very presence screamed war, threatened the very air surrounding him. And there was only one option when in his presence, bow down to him because he was the higher power. But that was the way with Jaiden; he ordered and you simply obeyed.

  Charon gritted his teeth, felt his fangs scraping against his lips. “I do not enjoy killing nor do I enjoy these bargains.” He paused as Bastilla’s soul careened about the Isle realizing it was in yet another prison surrounded by the invisible waters of the River Styx. “I want freedom, free will, and to be able to make my own destiny.”

  “Think of it in its simplest form according to your grandfather’s, Isten’s greater plans. Everything must remain balanced.” Jaiden’s lips twisted into a cynical smile as he held out his hand and Bastilla’s soul suddenly stopped in its tracks. “The souls I need you to collect have all been fated to be forever tormented, forever lost in the abyss of the Underworld. These bargains ensure that doesn’t happen to them.”

  Bastilla’s soul swirled into a ball, slowly made its way to Jaiden’s hand. Long black nails emerged from his fingertips. Jaiden grabbed her soul, those black claws digging into the soft mist until it solidified into his palm. His eerie eyes darkened, his black pupils eating up all the color and then the whites of his eyes until nothing remained except two black fathomless holes.

  He spoke and a million voices echoed around the isle. “I am simply relieving these souls of a tormented future.”

  “I know not what you are planning but in exchange for my free will, I will pledge my allegiance to you.”

  Jaiden’s smile lifted one corner of his mouth as he held out his free hand and pointed to Lysander’s jar. “An angel’s soul?”

  Charon nodded as he lifted the lid and watched the soul float to Jaiden’s free hand. “One witch and one angel just as the Book of Creation demanded.”

  Jaiden’s smile widened. “No, Charon, not as the book commanded, as I commanded.”

  Charon bowed his head as Jaiden absorbed the souls. It wasn’t something he wanted to witness. When he looked up again, Jaiden was standing by the books of knowledge, his black fingernails softly tapping on the Book of Light’s cover.

  “I will need all of my books.” Jaiden’s voice had returned to normal, yet now it sounded more grounded. “First, find the remainder of them that are on earth.”

  “It would be most helpful to know who has them or at least where they are located.”

  Jaiden closed his eyes, his head tilting to the right. “Seek out the one called Alexander, a descendant of Amay. He will lead you to the next book and to the next soul I will require. ”

  “The Destroyer?” Charon bowed his head as Jaiden nodded. “And if he stands in my way?”

  Jaiden’s eyes flashed. “Persuasion will go a long way and if he refuses, do whatever you need to do to retrieve the book and the soul of someone lost, but never forgotten.”

  Charon bowed his head. “As you command.”

  • • •

  Payne materialized inside Isten’s throne room to a thunderous roar. The walls shook, a fine shower of dust and small pieces of black marble cluttering the air. In front of the throne, Gyth stood with his hand firmly on Elena’s shoulder, holding her in place on her knees before Isten. Varick stood to the right of Gyth, his head bowed, but with his fists clenched behind his back. Payne couldn’t help but notice his knuckles were white and his jaw was jerking.

  Isten stood as Payne cleared his throat to announce his presence. Isten’s hand tightened around the hilt of the sword hanging at his side as he descended from the steps to stand before Elena.

  “Where are Jaiden’s bones?”

  Elena laughed, her lip dripping with gold blood. Her wings fluttered, their soft glow shedding light on Isten’s cold, dark throne room. Anyone would have taken the situation at hand differently than it actually was. She looked the saintly victim.

  Without pause, Isten drew his sword, pointed it at her throat. “Speak the truth, Angel. Tell me where his bones are and tell me where that forsaken book is.”

  “Which book are you referring to?” Elena spat out as Gyth shoved her down, pinning her shoulders to the floor.

>   “Tell him, Elena. You have done far too much damage as it is.” Gyth eased his hold. “Where are the books that were in your possession?”

  Slowly, she sat up, her arms shaking. Isten walked in a circle around her as she tried to regain her composure pulling her wings closer to her body.

  When she spoke, there was venom dripping from her words. “You shall all reap what has been sowed.”

  Isten kicked her forward, stepped onto her spine, and grabbed both wings in one hand. With one swing of his sword, her wings were cut off at the shoulder blades. Elena screamed, the sound reverberating off of the walls. Her blood glittered as it spurted into the air, droplets splashing across Isten’s armor. She scrambled and jerked, her body contorting with pain.

  Gyth grabbed her, turned her onto her back as her blood pooled beneath her. Payne swallowed hard, regardless of what the Angel had done, this was torture and he knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of it.

  “Where are those books?” Gyth’s face was emotionless. “Where are they?”

  “In hell.” She spit in Gyth’s face. “Kill me now.”

  “No.” Isten replaced his sword. “What say you, Gyth? What fate should she receive?”

  Gyth jerked Elena up as Isten turned to Payne and motioned him forward. Gritting his teeth, Payne stepped forward trying to keep the pity he felt for Chanta’s mother smothered in his chest. Regardless of the fact that Isten and Gyth were gods, the ruling powers that be, wrong was still wrong.

  “Life renewed.” Gyth ushered her toward Isten. “As human. To live as one who she would have condemned.”

  “No.” Elena twisted, tried to break free of Gyth’s grasp. “I cannot live as those mongrels do.”

  Isten grabbed her mop of sunny blonde curls and brought her to his chest. In a blur, Isten buried his fingers into her ribs. Instantly, she slumped into his arms, her scream fading as he took her powers. Payne watched as her dripping blood lost its glitter, turned orange, and then ran red.

  Tightening his fists, Payne put a leash on his emotions. “Jaiden’s bones and the books are in Charon’s possession. He is your traitor.”