The Healer Series: The Complete Set, Books 1-4

by C. J. Anaya

  “I still love you, Hope. That’s not the point I’m arguing here.”

  “Do you love me enough to stay once this is all over?”

  “No, I love you enough to leave so you can find someone better.”

  I swallowed back my tears and glared at him.

  “I hate you,” I whispered.

  Tie ran a finger along my jaw-line, drinking in my features with despair settling heavy in his gaze.

  “You should.”

  He stood and exited the room without a backward glance. The silence he left in his wake made me want to bury myself in the nearest hole and wallow in defeat.

  “Your boy toy’s an idiot,” Angie muttered.

  I turned and gave her a disgruntled snort.

  “What?” she said.

  “I thought you were sleeping.”

  “My radar goes off when deliciously interesting conversations are about to take place. It’s mighty convenient.”

  I laid back down next to Angie. We both stared up at the ceiling. I wasn’t about to ask for more of her opinions since I knew she’d offer them unsolicited.

  She didn’t disappoint.

  “He’s scared,” she said.

  “He should be. The next time I see him, he’s getting decked in the head.”

  “He’s afraid of losing you.”

  “So his solution is to leave me in the end and lose me anyway?”

  “I didn’t say his reasoning made any sense.”

  “It makes zero sense.”

  “He’s just protecting you and himself by protecting you from himself.”

  “Now you’re making zero sense.”

  “I’m simply trying to expound upon the complexities of the male mind.”

  My smile was cynical.

  “How’s that panning out for you?”

  “Like diving down the rabbit hole.”

  I puffed up my cheeks and blew out an angry breath. “After all these centuries, he’s still so aggravating. Of all the ridiculous, insensitive, frustratingly self-destructive…” I sighed. “What can I do?”

  Angie turned her head and gave me a wicked grin.

  “Lay one on him every chance you get.”

  I started to giggle. Then I let out a big belly laugh. A full-blown cackle was hovering in my not-so-distant future. There was no hope for it. Being wound as tightly as I’d been was bound to make me crazy sooner or later. I’d officially cracked, and Angie cracked right along with me. We laughed until our sides hurt and tears streamed down our cheeks. Once we finally got ourselves under control, I decided it was time to confront Angie with a topic I knew would shut her up in a heartbeat, thus giving me a brief reprieve from her useless advice concerning my relationship with Tie.

  “Speaking of random acts of public displays of affection,” I said. “Once Bishu is human again, are you planning on making him your boy toy?”

  Angie stared at me in surprise and then turned over onto her side with her back facing me. “We better try to get a little more sleep in before Victor comes to wake us up. The man is such a kill joy.”

  Her total avoidance of my pointed question did my heart some good. It was just so Angie.

  At least some things in my life were one hundred percent predictable.

  ***

  There was something truly wrong with the enchantments surrounding the temple and its grounds. Unless of course I was having an actual dream and not facing Amatsu at this very moment as he grabbed at my shoulders only to be thwarted by how insubstantial my form remained. The full force of my desire for him hit me squarely in the chest. I gritted my teeth and prepared to wait out the emotional storm that followed.

  He opened his mouth and looked to be communicating something of great importance based on his feelings of alarm and worry on my behalf, but I couldn’t make out much of what he said. It was like listening to speech under several layers of water.

  My eyebrows narrowed and I pointed to my ears, trying to help him understand my dilemma. I couldn’t make out anything he said to me. Despair overrode worry and his words came out in a low rumble as he paced back and forth, eying me one moment and then standing right in front of me the next, attempting to use hand signals to convey his meaning.

  He finally gave up at my bewildered expression and grabbed for me again only to come away empty handed. He screamed in frustration, but all I heard was a muffled sound. He sent a blast of power from his hand to the stone floor, creating a green light that cut through the rock and left a glowing message in its wake.

  They have arrived, and they are no longer mine. You must wake up. Now.

  I didn’t know who he referred to, but I understood the demon god feared for my life. I closed my eyes and visualized my small room within the temple. I had no idea how the bond worked. I didn’t think I could just think about where I wanted to be and then, poof, arrive at my desired destination. I’d never once been in control of this before. I opened my eyes and shook my head.

  “How do I wake up?” I shouted, but my words sounded hollow within the cavern. I wasn’t certain Amatsu had even heard me.

  He lifted his hand, flat palm facing me and sent a burst of green power at my chest. For the most part, the power went right through me, but the residual effects of it managed to send a burning pain in my chest, which promptly woke me. As far as desperate moves went, that one had worked out fairly well.

  A loud crashing sound below brought me from drowsy to fully alert in less than two seconds. I blinked my eyes to get my bearings, but the late afternoon sunlight was tinged in green. A familiar voice sounded within my head.

  “Hope, my generals have informed me that a group of zealots have managed to breach the enchantments surrounding Kagami,” Amtasu said. “These nekomata will not bring you to me alive. They want you dead. You must protect yourself.”

  “I can do that,” I said as Angie stood from the mattress and reached for the small dagger at her waist.

  “Who are you talking to?” she hissed.

  A loud crash reverberated down the hall. She flinched and moved into a crouched position, ready to spring forward if anyone entered the room.

  “Amatsu,” I said as I joined her side and assumed the same position.

  “What? Are you half asleep or something?”

  I was about to tell her I had no idea—everything was still tinged with green—when the window behind us shattered and a large, black form catapulted into the room right next to me. My reaction time was too slow. The overgrown cat surrounded me with its massive arms and threw us both out the window. I barely had time to register our fall before he gracefully landed on his feet. He still held me in his arms but the jarring motion knocked the wind out of me. I was far too pliant as he threw me over his shoulder and took off at a dead run.

  I tried to shift in his hold, but this beast wasn’t about to make escape easy for me. He was also just as stupid as the rest of them. I began the process of connecting with his ki, but hit a wall, the kind of wall I usually ran into whenever I tried to breach the veil. I tried to clear the green hue from my gaze and reached for the beast’s ki, but that wall blocked me one more time. Trees whirred by us now as the creatures super human speed picked up even more momentum. I was probably several miles away from the temple with every moment adding a mile or two to the distance. I frantically forced my ki to make some kind of connection with the nekomata’s, but all I got for my efforts was some mental whiplash from the strength of the wall and a low chuckle of disdain from my captor.

  “What’s so funny?” I shouted.

  “You can’t connect with my ki, Healer. It isn’t possible.”

  Not possible? There wasn’t a single being on the planet I couldn’t connect to if I actually wanted to. Either this animal had no ki, which was impossible, or he had found a way to block me, an idea that deeply disturbed me, and not just because it meant I would have to take him down in physical combat. How many other nekomata had found a way to block my abilities?

  I didn�
�t put up a fight after that. I thought it better to lull the beast into a false sense of security and then go all samurai on him once he put me down. He must have assumed that’s exactly what I would do because the minute he slowed to a stop and set me on my feet he leveled me with one killer punch to my abdomen that brought tears to my eyes and left me gasping for air. I sank to my knees with my arms wrapped around my stomach, positive I was about to vomit.

  “Connect with him,” Amatsu said. His voice sounded like the rush of ocean waves as it echoed within my head.

  “Already…tried that,” I said. I gasped in between words.

  “Already tried what?” the beast asked. He leered over me. Smug satisfaction worked its way through his system.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked the beast. “Why kill me when I’m bonded to your master?”

  He snorted and shook his mangy head. “You’re under the impression that everyone in the Underworld will go free once the veil is destroyed, but Amatsu is the only one who plans to leave that hell hole.”

  “Everyone will be able to leave it once the veil fails.”

  “In theory,” he growled, “but Amatsu is not stupid enough to believe that the land of the dead cannot exist. There must be a place for wicked souls to dwell, and it must be separate from the living. He intends to free himself, but leave us all to rot in hell.”

  “I thought he needed all of you to accomplish his plans. I thought by merging the living and the dead he would be capable of ruling the world.”

  “This is bigger than ruling the world. The Earth is not enough.”

  My stomach plummeted at the thought that I might be headed for another twist in this already precarious road. The nekomata pulled a slim black knife from a sheath at his hip and held it over me.

  “With you dead, the veil will eventually fail, and you won’t be around to strengthen it or force us all back into the Underworld for eternity. We’re all getting out. Not just Amatsu.”

  I scooted back on the balls of my feet, getting ready to spring into action. I studied the way his weight was distributed forward on his right foot.

  “And with you dead, Amatsu’s other plans will fail.”

  More plans?

  The Earth is not enough.

  Amatsu was interested in permanently taking on the role of our First Parents and assumed I was somehow the key to his end game.

  He gave me far too much credit. I was in no way capable of taking on our First Parents, and I had absolutely no desire to.

  The nekomata dove forward on his left foot, but I was prepared for that. I darted to my own left and grabbed the beast’s wrist as it came snaking down in an arch. I torqued it at an angle and smiled at the satisfying sound of cracking bone. The knife dropped from its hand, but the nekomata was hardly incapacitated. With its other fist it threw a punch to my jaw which I deftly shifted from, bringing my left leg up and kicking him right in the balls.

  Old school. Not exactly something Tie ever taught me, but it had the desired affect. I moved out of its reach as the pain momentarily paralyzed it. I should have moved in with an upper cut to the jaw, but I hadn’t planned on the beast’s quick recovery time or its inhuman speed. It had me by the throat and dangling from its hand, strangling the life out of me. I struggled and fought, kicking my legs against its thick body, and yanking on its hands, but my vision blurred and black dots pebbled my green-tinged view. I had a sudden flashback to all of the many times the emperor had drowned me, only to revive me and start the process over. My fear and panic barred all rational thought.

  A tiny voice of reason suggested I simply wait it out until Tie reached me. He always sensed me. He knew my exact location and was probably on his way to help. I would survive being strangled. I just didn’t know if I would wake up fast enough to prevent the nekomata from stabbing me with its knife.

  Let me in, Amatsu said. I can help you.

  No. I can fight this on my own, and Tie will be here soon.

  Your one true love is busy saving the others. At this very moment, Kirby and Angie are in grave danger. Your father is fighting two nekomata at once. Tie cannot save them all and come for you. He will not make it in time.

  With the fog settling in, I didn’t have the capacity to reason through what seemed a very valid, logical argument. Tie couldn’t save everyone and come save me. How could I expect that of him.

  He probably has no idea where you are. The bond between you two has grown weaker. At this very moment he is fighting to discover your whereabouts.

  My fear spiraled out of control. If Tie had no idea where I was then this nekomata would kill me the moment I passed out.

  Let me in. The insistence in his tone urged me to comply.

  I don’t know how, I thought as the darkness began to settle in.

  I’m already within you, a small spot within the chambers of your heart. Locate me and focus on me. I will do the rest.

  I barely managed to hold on to conscious thought as I focused internally on the darkness within my heart and allowed my ki to accept it as part of me instead of constantly rejecting it as some foreign entity. There were a few wisps of golden light preventing the darkness to spread, but I quickly pushed past those and broke open the dam, allowing the darkness to spread through me unchecked.

  A surge of power, more tempting and heady than anything I had every experienced built within my core. My body was no longer my own as Amatsu’s presence took over my reason, my will, and even my physical form. My eyes opened and my right arm lifted palm forward and landed on the beast’s chest. The green hue intensified and burst from eyes and hand, slicing through the nekomata and burning him where he stood. The creature immediately released me, screaming and shrieking in agony as his body incinerated, bathed in green flames. Within moments its charred remains rested motionless on the forest floor.

  You saved me.

  The thought hadn’t truly been directed at him, so I was surprised when he responded.

  You are mine, Hope. I will always save you.

  I didn’t want to feel gratitude for the demon of the Underworld, but I did. I did, and I knew it was wrong. I knew what I felt for him was unnatural and evil, and I knew what I had allowed him to do with my body would have severe consequences, but I wasn’t sure there had been any other choice.

  “Hope!”

  I turned my attention to the woods ahead as Tie came bursting through a thick brush. I nearly sagged in relief. Turning toward him I made to take a step, but my feet refused to comply.

  “What—”

  Tie stopped a few feet in front of me, his eyes widened, his jaw slack in horror.

  “Your eyes are green, Hope.”

  “Amatsu, what is happening? What have you done to me?” I yelled it aloud which made Tie take a step back, even more stunned than before.

  I helped you, my love. You allowed me to help you. It has strengthened our bond.

  Hachiman broke through the thicket of trees, and came to a standstill next to Tie.

  “Hope,” he said in a cautious hush. “You’ve allowed the demon access to your ki. He has control over your body now.”

  Tie’s anguish was palpable and my guilt just as severe.

  “I’m sorry.” I tried to reach for him, but Amatsu forbade any such movement. My anger spiked, but my body was no longer my own. A single tear slid down my cheek.

  “I was coming, Hope. I would have helped you.” Tie sucked in a sharp breath, the pain in his voice conveyed sincere heartbreak.

  “You still can,” I said.

  Tie’s face melted in relief. I wondered if he assumed that I was so far gone, I wouldn’t want him anymore. He took a step forward, but my hand lifted without my permission and shot a blast of green fire in his direction. Tie jumped to the side, barely avoiding it as I screamed out a warning in my head.

  Stop, Amatsu!

  A soft chuckle filtered through my senses.

  Please, Amatsu. Please stop this. Stop hurting the people I love.

&
nbsp; The laughter abruptly broke off. I could almost sense him weighing the pros and cons of his next utterance. A quiet sigh escaped the silence and his hold on me lessened to the point where I could take a step without his will impeding my progress.

  For you, Hope, I will stop, but the god of love must understand that you belong to me now. I don’t want him touching what is mine. Not now. Not ever.

  Tie recovered and took another wary step forward.

  “Don’t come any closer,” I warned. The tears kept coming, treading a silent path of despair as I said these next words. “Amatsu doesn’t want you to touch me.”

  Tie’s anger spiked. His jaw tightened, and that scary look he gets when he decides to do something no matter the consequences took hold of him. I knew that look and didn’t know what I might do to prevent this disaster from escalating into something more tragic.

  I stepped back and lifted my hand to warn him away. My hand flickered between the physical and spiritual pulling my attention from Tie.

  Amatsu chuckled.

  Not that it matters either way. Within a day, you’ll disappear from them completely and become mine forever.

  The distraction was enough for Tie to reach me before Amatsu or I knew he was there.

  He pulled me close and looked me square in the eyes. Amatsu’s frantic attempts to take control of my body caused me to jerk in Tie’s arms, but his ki had already connected to mine and his presence overrode the demon god’s commands.

  With his eyes locked on me he said, “I’ll touch Hope any damn time I want to.”

  His mouth descended and took control, administering a kiss filled with anger, desperation, and a possessiveness that did little to calm the frantic beating of my heart. It wasn’t a lover’s kiss but more of a call to arms as the golden strands of light became thick cords of fire and wrapped around the darkness that had spread throughout my system. They choked the inky essence and burned through it as Amatsu raged in anger within my head. His cries soon faded into nothing as Tie’s ki fixed the damage. Soon the kiss he gave me took on a whole new level of meaning.

  It was still possessive, but this time his love, his need, and his longing for me took precedence. His relief that I still belonged to him, that I was still here with him poured into every ounce of his kiss. Our need for each other’s souls generated a heat and power so strong I felt certain it would expunge the darkness once and for all, but once that small spot of black was the only thing that remained we soon realized we’d gone as far as we could go. There was nothing left to do and no way to find the root of the darkness and pluck it out.