“Stella, I’m afraid I can’t let you read the words,” Mark said as she took a step towards Ben. “Provided he’s not affected by it all, he should be able to tell you the story, but I can’t take the risk of the human side of you being affected.”
Stella gave a mute nod, but stared on, still suspicious. “And what if he is affected?”
Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose we’ll deal with that if the situation arises.”
“Worse comes to worse, you kill me,” Ben said plainly.
“I would never let that happen,” Stella argued.
“You’ll do what you have to, Stella,” Ben barked at her, still not taking his eyes off of the closed case sitting across his lap. “But right now we don’t need to think like that. I’m tired. I’ve mourned my sister, buried her, brought her back from the dead, and I’ve left her in their hands once again. They still have the upper hand, and it’s time for me to use everything I have to try and figure out how to stop them. Step one is to understand what the hell is going on with Mark and Judas. If step one fails, shoot me in the head, find my sister’s body, take her out, and do whatever it takes to banish Nike from this plane.”
“That seems a bit rash,” Stella said with a slight, sardonic laugh. “I’m just not sure you’re thinking straight.”
Mark opened his mouth to answer, but Ben beat him to it. “I’m probably not,” he admitted. He looked up, first at Mark, and then at the woman standing near him. “I’m probably completely insane, but we’ve reached a critical point, and right now I’m going with my gut on this. I’m going read Mark’s story, and then we’re going to try and figure out how to kill that Greek bitch once and for all.”
Letting himself smile just a bit, Mark put his arm on Stella’s but she wrenched away from him, glaring. “If something happens to him, I’m holding you personally responsible.”
“As well you should,” Mark said a little sadly, trying to ignore the fear of the what-if. Ben could be affected, he could be taken over, and Mark was afraid to lose yet another person in this war against the goddess. But he saw Ben’s point, and he couldn’t come up with any reason to deny him this request. “You need to go.”
Stella shook her head. “No. I’m going to stay in here with him just in case.”
“No,” Ben said. “You’re going to leave me alone to read this, and when I’m done, we’ll talk.”
There was absolutely no room for argument, Ben made that clear. With a last glare at Mark, Stella pressed a kiss to the side of Ben’s face and excused herself from the room, slamming the door behind her. When they were finally alone, Ben opened the case and took out the stack of papers and tapped them to even the pages on the lid.
“Just for the sake of asking, if this is going to affect me, how long will it take for the crazy to set in?” Ben asked.
“It has always varied. The last time it happened, it was only a few sheets of paper. They changed from paper to these plaques, his eyes started to glow and I knew almost instantly that I’d lost him. That was two centuries ago, and the last time I ever dared write a word down. I suppose, with writing this long, it may take until the last word, but I can’t be sure.”
“Would it be better if you stayed with me?” Ben met Mark’s eyes with honest curiosity and a hint of trepidation as he fingered the bottom of the pages.
Mark shook his head and let out the breath he’d been holding. “Perhaps, but I don’t think I can watch you. As it is, I’m struggling to let you read them, and I think it’s best that you stay in the room alone until you’re finished. I’ll be down the hall with Jude I think, waiting. I’ll know when you’ve come to the end, I’ll be able to feel it, and I’ll check on you then.”
Ben hesitated and then, as Mark watched with surprise, Ben pulled his gun out from his holster and handed it over. “Whether you want to or not, you may not have a choice. If it takes me, if your curse takes me, use it. We can’t let Nike win, and this may be exactly what she wanted.”
Mark nodded, hating that it may have come to this, but understanding exactly what he might have to do if Ben was affected. He held the gun down at his side and moved toward the door, hesitant to leave, but knowing he had to do so.
“If you need anything. If you feel anything alarming or different…”
“I’ll call for you,” Ben said with a wry grin and he let out a breath, “if I can. Wish me luck.”
But Mark couldn’t do that, because this was beyond luck. This was beyond prayer or well wishes, or church blessings. If Ben walked away from this, it would be more than a miracle, and any doubt Mark had about whether or not Ben was special would be erased. Only one person in Mark’s history had ever been strong enough to escape the pull of his words.
It was Mark’s greatest triumph and greatest tragedy. The absolute love of his life and she’d been able to read what he’d written. Unfortunately the damage had been done, and hours after the others had been affected, she’d been flayed alive and burned as the great Library of Alexandria burned. Hypatia. The most amazing woman, a genius in her own right, and she would have conquered the world with philosophy, beauty, reason and poetry. But it was not to be. His curse had taken her from him, and with it any hope that he could ever be truly happy.
Mark didn’t want to think about that now. He couldn’t let himself. He was terrified of what awaited Ben, and he needed to be close to Jude. Jude, the only one who could possibly understand how any of this felt. Finally leaving Ben to it, Mark walked down the hall almost silently to where Jude lay.
He was still in physical pain, he realized as he reached for the door handle, and he wished for a moment that Jude’s powers could touch him and take away the pain, but he supposed this was all part of the curse. Pushing the door to the bedroom open, he walked in and in the dim light of the desk lamp, he saw Jude on the bed, his eyes open, chest rising and falling evenly with his breath.
Jude let out a little cough as he attempted to make his voice heard. “Where are we?”
“Somewhere north; I’m not entirely sure,” Mark confessed. He shut the door behind him and took a seat at the edge of Jude’s bed. He looked better, the blood washed away from his face, and he’d started to get some of his color back. Both men were in desperate need of a shower and restful sleep as they healed from the burns and the torture Nike had inflicted upon them.
But they were safe for now, and the little comforts of normal life could wait. Mark glanced out the window and saw the sun dipping low into the western sky, to where the ocean met shore, though they were far from the coast.
“You’re letting him read it,” Jude said after a moment, his voice sounding stronger by the minute.
“I didn’t really have a choice,” Mark replied, still not looking away from the window.
“I suppose not. He took a lot of power from me, more than any human has ever managed to. Even that boy who took me to the compound could only steal little pieces here and there. He’s going to be in danger if that woman ever finds out what he can do.”
“I know,” Mark breathed. He rubbed his tender face with his hands, pleased to find that his skin was healing very nicely. Even his eyebrows had almost grown completely back, which surprised him as his hair didn’t usually repair itself the way his skin could. “I need you, Yehuda. I hope you realize that. I respect your apathy but I need you now. I need your fight. I can’t protect us alone anymore, and even with help, I’m fighting a losing battle. I won’t let her take you again, but I’m not so sure I can stop her if she’s able to find us.”
Jude sat up on the bed, wincing at his still- stiff muscles, and he grimaced as he shifted to sit nearer to Mark. He forced his arms into a stretch and groaned from the pain. “Forgive me. I never meant to cause harm like this. I was just so tired. I’m bombarded by their voices when I grow weak, and they’re so hurtful. So angry and so lost, and it’s overwhelming. I forget, sometimes, that I’m here for a reason.”
Mark gave a hollow laugh and shook his head. “Two
thousand years and we know we’re here for a reason, but we’re still lost. Still without our own reason. If only I could go mad, Yehuda. I envy you so often.”
Jude chuckled and rose from the bed, stretching his body and shuffling around. His movements were growing less stiff as time passed, and he paused at the window looking out over the hills. “It’s beautiful here. Too bad we can’t stay.”
Mark hummed in agreement as he stretched out his mind, making sure that the energy surrounding the house was still protecting them from prying eyes. The shield, whatever it was, wouldn’t hold, but it would hold long enough for them to get some rest and come up with a plan. They were going to have to leave, but first they needed a starting point. Going back to San Francisco would be a death trap for Ben, and it would only start the cycle all over.
What Mark really needed to know was, what was Nike after? Why did she need to corrupt humans into a religious movement? What did she hope to accomplish. Mark’s words had never morphed into a belief in the old gods, quite the opposite in fact. New, careless, zealous movements were carried out in his twisted words, taking people far away from the old traditions and beliefs. So what could she want with him?
“Someone’s here,” Jude said, interrupting Mark’s train of thought.
“Who?”
“One of them,” Jude replied with a shrug and he headed for the bedroom door. “The good ones, like the boy in the kitchen.”
Mark felt self-conscious suddenly, their bodies and clothes in tatters. He wanted to be comfortable again, clean, fed, warm and healed. He didn’t really want to face a houseguest looking like this, but right now he had no choice.
His body cracked and popped as they descended down to the ground level, and as they padded across the tiled floor, through the sparsely furnished living room, Mark could hear voices. One was the boy from the kitchen, Andrew someone had called him, the other was a deeper male voice, cheerful and light, almost soothing.
They walked into the kitchen and by the fridge stood a very tall man, broad shouldered, salt and pepper hair that was trimmed neatly and styled with a dollop of scented gel. He wore a casual suit, a light blue shirt open at the collar, and a crisp charcoal coat to match the pants.
His skin was pleasantly tanned, like a man who saw the sun for recreation more than he saw the inside of an office, and his impossibly white teeth shone beyond his thin-lipped smile. He held out his hand as Mark walked forward, and Mark took it, exchanging a short, firm shake.
“It’s good to see you, and in one piece. I was thrown from that body in the room and wasn’t sure that you were going to get away okay,” he said, his voice so deep it rumbled through Mark’s chest.
“Ah, so you were in that woman,” Mark said. He pushed a chair out for himself, and one for Jude who hovered close behind.
“I was, yes. I do trust she got home safely?” he asked, popping the top of a sparkling water and taking a long drink.
“We took her back to her home. It’s likely she won’t remember a lot, though I’m not sure how your kind works with humans. You’re different than the Greek gods, yes?”
He gave a nod. “We are able to co-exist with a human consciousness for a period of time. They go into a dream state, and when I was excised her, the body had already gone unconscious from lack of oxygen. How injured is she?” There was genuine concern in his voice that touched Mark, and he found he instantly liked this man.
“Not injured at all. Ben was able to acquire Jude’s powers and heal both her and his sister. Abby, unfortunately, was left behind.”
“Yes, I saw that,” he said, a small frown spreading across his mouth. “Well there’s time to get her back, isn’t there.”
“We can hope,” Mark replied, not commenting on whether or not there was an Abby to save.
The man then looked over at Jude with a small smile and then gave him a respectful nod. “Good to see you up and about yourself. I’m Alex, by the way. I think I forgot to introduce myself.”
Mark looked behind Alex at Andrew who was watching them all with a look of intense concentration. He gave a sudden shiver and then let out a breath loudly. “We’re definitely safe for now,” he said, coming up to Alex’s side. “Nike’s looking for us, but she won’t be able to track us. Whatever power Ben used to heal Nike has taken an effect on her own. She’s got men with her, but they aren’t very strong. We’re in luck and it’s a good time to move.”
Mark frowned as he listened to this. He had no idea that Jude’s powers were able to do that, but it was something to go on. If they could weaken her, it was possible they could stop her.
“I know what you’re thinking, but it has little effect on her true nature. It only impedes her ability to manipulate matter in human form. It’ll wear off,” Alex said. “What we really need to do is find a way to banish her from this plane.”
“Would that even be possible?” Jude asked, speaking up for the first time.
“It would,” Alex said with a shrug. “Provided we can find an exit portal. Last time I checked, all of the ones on this continent had faded down to mirrors. Even the one in good old Greg’s office can’t hold much of a charge.”
Mark was slightly lost, but able to follow the conversation enough to get the basic idea. “Is there any way for you to sense or track down an… what did you call it, exit portal?”
“Yes, and honestly they’re difficult to sense.” He gave a shrug and finished off his bubbling water, tossing the bottle across the kitchen and landing it directly in the basket. He placed his hands on top of the counter and looked at Mark for a long time. “There’s something in you, in you both, related to one of our kind.”
Mark sat back and glanced at Jude quickly, frightened by that sudden announcement. What could he possibly mean? Something inside of them related to what? The Gods? The very idea made Mark feel ill. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No, you wouldn’t would you?” Alex said with a sigh. “Whatever gave you your immortality and your unique abilities is far older than I could ever hope to be. For the very simple fact that it was able to bestow immortality and abilities on human beings alone, that tells me that it’s very old. Older than anything existing today in this realm. But why you? And what the hell for?”
Mark’s face was hot with fear and curiosity. It was the first time in two thousand years that anyone had any idea of what he could be, of why they were the way they were. He was desperate to know more, but it was obvious that Alex knew next to nothing about it.
“Nike is after power,” Alex said after a pregnant pause. He stepped back and gave a short shrug. “Your power, to be specific. From what I’ve been able to glean from my sources… and by sources I mean little Greek shits I was able to torture information out of… she’s looking to let something in.”
“What do you mean something in?” Jude asked. His voice was tight with worry, and he glanced over at Mark. “In where?”
“Into this realm of existence,” Alex explained. “I’m not sure what, or why, for that matter. Anything she could let in would likely devour and destroy everything, our kind included, so it wouldn’t really serve her purposes. The Greek I got my hands on earlier only knew a little about what she was after. Somehow she thinks your power would be able to make her strong enough to let something come through. Her biggest problem is the strongest portal in our realm would only let something out. There’s not enough power here anymore to open the portal wide enough. She’s obviously got something up her sleeve that involves the two of you. I just can’t imagine what.”
Mark let that sink in, trying to ignore the fear it caused. Truthfully, it was beyond his comprehension. It made sense, why she was relentless in her pursuit of them, but he still couldn’t work out what the humans had to do with it. Did she think she could manipulate the power into having the humans worship the entity she was trying to let in?
There were far too many unanswered questions for Mark’s liking. He rose and helped himself to some water and
a small bowl of fruit. He offered it to Jude, who picked up an apple and bit into it ravenously. Their bodies were starved, tired, and Mark was ready for some respite. They’d been through a lot, and there was a dark storm on the horizon.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A few hours passed by, and the eclectic group of gods and immortal humans moved to the living room. Alex turned on the television, complaining every time an advertisement came on, explaining to Mark that his day job was making commercials for companies.
It was odd to Mark, to see a god like Alex so enamored with the human condition, but it gave Mark confidence that they had a true ally in him. Andrew sat by, quiet and still, in obvious discomfort, saying very little but it was clear he had no intention of leaving.
Stella joined them, but spent most of her time pacing behind the sofa, looking up at the ceiling ever so often, her desire to speak with Ben overwhelming the mood in the room. Still, she kept still and quiet until Mark felt the power shift, telling him that Ben was reaching the end of the pages.
Tension raced through his body and he didn’t turn Stella away when she insisted on following him up the stairs. They reached the landing, the hum of power strong, pulling and tugging at Mark. There was a shift happening, and Mark wanted to make sure he was there when Ben’s eyes moved over the last word.
Mark turned the handle and let himself into the room. Ben was there, bent over his crooked legs, eyes glued to the last page. His body was tense, the light in the room too dim for anyone to really read properly, but Ben was doing it.
He didn’t look up when Mark and Stella entered, but their presence caused a shift in the power flowing from those pages. Mark approached hesitantly, sitting on the edge of the bed, and with his hands folded, he waited patiently. He gestured for Stella to stay back, to keep as far away from the pages as possible, and she didn’t argue with him, hovering right near the door.
2 The Judas Kiss Page 28