Demon's Web

by Laura Hawks

  “And mine. On you being safe, I mean. I won’t let anything happen to you. Faefardom has some sort of natural ability to block the call of the stone. Jaz will be with us and I so want you to get to know her better. She is so anxious to spend time with you.”

  “She isn’t upset with me for hurting her?”

  Both the men shook their heads. “No,” Logan stated firmly. “She knows you were only doing what you were told to do. She realizes none of it was your fault or doing. She has been as concerned as the rest of us in just getting you home again, and she is so thrilled we have achieved such an accomplishment.”

  “Then where is she?”

  “Actually, Jazzy is already there waiting for us and making a picnic lunch for us to enjoy. The weather is beautifully warm and sunny, which is normal for us. She is making some sandwiches and salads to bring with us for some of our sightseeing adventures,” Tyler replied, taking her hand once again. “Please, say you have changed your mind and will go to my magical realm.” Tyler’s eyes beseeched hers. He had told Logan he would use his wings if he needed to in order to get her to be calm enough to want to go with them, but he was hoping his own enamoring, personable self would suffice.

  Trinity hesitated. Tyler certainly made some charming and convincing arguments and really seemed to want her to go. However, it was Logan who seemed to be silently pleading, which altered her original resolve. “Okay,” she said rather reluctantly. “I’ll go, but only on the condition that when I am ready to return, I am allowed to do so.”

  “Of course,” Tyler said.

  “Sure, Sis. You say the word and we are back here. But let’s give it a chance and really see it.”

  Clarissa nodded from the doorway. “I’ll be waiting for your return. Just have a good time and don’t worry about anything.” ‘I’ll be doing enough of that for five people as it is,’ she added silently.

  Clarissa walked down to the reception room with them and watched the three leave through the portal to the Faefardom Realm. As she continued to stare at the doorway, she felt iron bands wrap around her shoulders. She didn’t think, just reacted. She elbowed her assailant, stomping on his foot. When the hold weakened with his grunt of surprised pain, she twisted and flipped him over her shoulder. It was only when he landed at her feet, staring wide-eyed up at her, that she realized who had placed his arm around her. She let his wrist go, taking a step back in abject horror.

  “Mel! I’m so sorry. I hadn’t realized!”

  “I figured that one out myself. Thanks, darling. Love you, too.” He stood and brushed off his suit. “Been a long while since you were that kinky.”

  She laughed as she swatted his belly. “Very funny. I was just mentally lost.”

  “I assume, then, the kids left on their field trip.”

  “Yes. Just minutes ago.”

  “They will be fine. Come on. I need you at the council. Coyote is going to be sentenced and I am sure you wish to be there for that bit of entertainment.”

  Clarissa nodded. “Yes. I hope he pays dearly for what he has done: taking our daughter, keeping her from us, tricking her by being this Nathan and deceiving her into trying to find the Gem of Avarice.”

  “I highly doubt the punishment would be as severe as we would like, but, something is better than nothing.” Mel took her hand and they opened the portal to go to the council chambers where several of the gods were waiting for Nana and Coyote to return. Mel led Clarissa to the side area, pulling her chair out as she sat.

  They had barely gotten situated when Coyote was led in, wearing a gilded armband which negated his powers. He glowered at Mel while sporting a relatively new black eye and split lip. Clarissa gave a questioning look to Mel who simply nodded, taking personal satisfaction on Coyote’s injuries. Mel leaned over to her and added quietly, “He’s lucky that was all I got a chance to give him. He’s also lucky he didn’t get two minutes alone with you. I think you would have done far worse.” He rubbed his stomach where she elbowed him to make his point.

  Nana entered the chambers before she got a chance to respond, but she continued to glare at Coyote in the meantime. Nana called the council back in session. He gave Clarissa a nod in acknowledgement of her presence before turning his full attention on Coyote.

  “You have done many despicable things in your millennia of a lifetime, but never anything like this. Your search for the Gem of Avarice has exposed the treacheries committed, the least of which was arranging for the murders of Clarissa’s family, conspiring with Jes to send Xon and others to obtain the stone and, finally, in the kidnapping of a child. You took the daughter of your friend, knowing they were worried for her safety. Your ambition to acquire the artifact has caused a callousness within you. The fact you didn’t sexually touch her or physically harm her is your only saving grace.”

  Coyote grinned, almost as if in triumph, then frowned when he heard Nana’s next words.

  “However, that said, your crimes will not go unpunished. You have been spared the death penalty, but you will be incarcerated for one hundred years times how many years she was in your custody.”

  “Five hundred years? And just where do you plan on locking me up?”

  “I’m so glad you asked. The Maurepas Realm has a wonderful detention camp. We know how much you love that realm and how you were able to get the Rougarou to work for you. However, you should be warned, it won’t be the Rougarou who will be guarding you: it will be the Vacherie. To make sure you cannot influence the Rougarou or anyone else, you will be mostly kept in isolation in order to reflect upon your greedy transgressions.”

  Coyote visibly cringed. Clarissa had learned quite a bit during her years of searching the Maurepas Swamps to find her daughter, and she had come across the Vacherie in the process. She was pleased with the sentence. The Vacherie were even more fierce than the Rougarou. They were distant cousins to the winged Waia demons. The Vacherie were known for siphoning powers and using those powers as a form of punishment to the one they were siphoned from. Since Coyote was a god, his powers were virtually limitless. They all knew he would be tortured relentlessly with his own magic, whether in solitary confinement or not.

  Once the sentence had been delivered, the other gods and goddesses began to move over to Mel and Clarissa, congratulating them on the safe return of Trinity, checking on her well-being and asking a myriad of other questions. Mel and Clarissa were polite enough to answer some of them before Mel extracted his wife and led her to Nana’s chambers, knocking on his door.

  “Come in, come in,” they heard from inside. Mel opened the door for Clarissa, shutting it behind himself. Nana moved over to her and gave her a brief hug before shaking Mel’s hand, then offering for them to sit.

  “I called you in because we still have the issue of the shard of stone in Jasmine.”

  “I assumed we would be having a discussion about that,” Clarissa said softly. This was not Mel’s forte so he sat back, holding Rissa’s hand to give her a silent strength. Before any could continue, a soft knocking came again.

  “Enter Archanidou,” Nana called out, just as she opened the door.

  Spiderwoman greeted Clarissa and Mel before she moved to stand by Nana’s chair.

  “I feel like I’m in the principal’s office,” Clarissa said, looking back and forth between the two of them. She felt Mel squeeze her hand but it only reassured her slightly.

  “We have been discussing Jasmine’s predicament, as well as Trinity being used as she was,” Nana started.

  “Our children should not have to suffer for the greed of others. Your daughter will always be at risk, just as you were, Clarissa. Being hunted in order to be used to find any speck of the stone still in existence. My granddaughter will always be hunted for having a shard buried within her.”

  “What are you proposing?” Mel asked, totally unsure where this was leading. The fact that both his youngest child and his wife were being discussed had him a bit concerned.

  Clarissa shifted uncomfortab
ly in her chair, waiting for them to make their points.

  Nana spoke. “We believe all of the pieces are safe from being found, with the exception of this one within Jasmine. Clarissa, you have been into almost all the realms but the human and Faefardom, and the only piece in the latter, we are already familiar with where it ended up. None were kept within the former since it could no longer be protected by you due to your circumstances.” Nana didn’t wish to bring up the fact she was killed specifically, knowing she would be well aware of what circumstances he was referring to. “Since you have not heard a calling anywhere else, we can safely assume the rest of the pieces, which were hidden by Archanidou’s children, were successfully concealed.”

  “Agreed. However, I don’t see the point you are trying to make other than pointing out the fairly obvious,” Clarissa asserted, still skeptical.

  “The point is, Clarissa, you can eliminate the last bit of stone without harming either of our families, but protecting them instead.”

  Mel and Clarissa looked at each other, surprise clearly on their faces. “What do you mean?” Mel asked the question, which was prominent with both of them.

  Nana leaned forward, his elbows on his desk, his hands steepled in front of him, almost as if searching for the right words. When he finally spoke, he concentrated solely on Clarissa.

  “As you are aware, your maternal lineage was given the responsibility for protecting the Gem of Avarice. You multi-great grandmother was chosen for her loyalty, her faithfulness, her fierceness and because she could not be swayed to use the power the gem offered. We knew her line of descendants would have the same attributes. We were also aware her special ability with the stone would also be passed down to each protector. Before you ask, no, it is not the ability to hear the stone when it calls, although it certainly helped, but that endowment didn’t occur until the gem trusted its guardian and they developed a symbiotic relationship.”

  “So, then, what are you referring to? What power did she have, which has, supposedly, been passed genetically down to me?”

  “You have the ability to absorb the power and quell it,” Spiderwoman announced.

  Clarissa’s mouth dropped open and hung ajar for several moments. Mel appeared just as shocked. “Why didn’t anyone know this?” he asked. “Why hadn’t her line ever used it in order to stop being hunted and have some semblance of a normal life?”

  “Mostly because they didn’t know themselves,” Nana responded. “As a leader of the pantheon, I’ve been privy to information unknown by others. Only the heads of the Elders Council were aware of her ability, which we discovered quite by accident.”

  “So why didn’t you tell her and have her end such a threatening artifact?” Clarissa asked, still not fully believing what she was being told.

  “It was not the gem’s time, nor the time of the guardian,” Nana replied cryptically.

  “Explain,” Mel growled softly, knowing to still be respectful to this man.

  Although, it was Archanidou who answered. “It was prophesied eons ago of a precious gem which was begotten from the birth of the cosmos. It stated one protector would bear witness to the gem being dismantled when none would believe it possible. The power the artifact contained within would then be released into the atmosphere and rejoin with the cosmos.”

  Nana added, “However, there was a second possible outcome where the power sought would still exist. Therefore, the guardian needed to be chosen, not only from those candidates who would resist the call, but also be willing to sacrifice themselves to absorb it, should such a dire solution become necessary.”

  Mel stood up and leaned on Nana’s desk, a deep furrow on his features. “Are you telling me, Rissa has to give up her life again to keep Trinity and Jasmine safe? If so, then our answer is fuck no! We will figure out something else.”

  Clarissa was on her feet almost as quickly, but instead of confronting Nana and Archanidou, she laid a gentle hand on Mel’s arm. “No, Mel. No. If it keeps Trinity safe, and even Jasmine. If it keeps our daughter from ever being kidnapped or used by others like Coyote, then I will do it. For our daughter. For our family.”

  Before Mel could respond that he wouldn’t have a family if not for her, and he was not about to lose her a second time, Nana spoke. “No. That’s not what I am saying.”

  Both Mel and Clarissa turned to give him their full attention. Nana didn’t speak until they both backed up and retook their seats. Once he knew they were calm enough to listen, he continued. “You are correct in your assumption. Clarissa would have perished if she or any of her ancestors had absorbed the gem’s powers, for it would have been like taking a part of the creation of the cosmos within her body. She would not have been able to handle it. None of them could have, which is why we never let them know. Life is sacred and is never taken so lightly.”

  He could tell Mel was about to say something so held his hand up to keep him quiet. Once Mel settled down again he continued.

  “The point being, this is not a whole gem we are talking about. It’s only a sliver. An amount which should be able to be handled easily.”

  “You couldn’t have started with that tidbit of info?” Mel grumbled.

  “This is good news, babe.” Clarissa reached over to him, taking his hand in hers. “I’ll do it, but I am not sure how.”

  “I’ll guide you,” Archanidou stated confidently. “It sounds more difficult than it will be. We just have a few things to set up and then we will be ready for Jasmine.”

  “Does she know about this solution?” Clarissa asked.

  “No. Not yet. I, myself, only learned of it just a short while ago,” Spiderwoman responded.

  “And I have been dealing with Coyote’s culpability in this whole affair. I put it off until that venue had been completed,” Nana added quietly.

  “What if she says no?” Mel asked.

  “Why would she?” Archanidou answered. “Regardless, she will see reason. It is for her protection and it will allow her the freedom she has always dreamed of. She won’t say no.”

  Clarissa stood. “So when do we do this?”

  “Tomorrow at noon. The sun must be at its apex for the day in the Human Realm.”

  Clarissa frowned. “Maybe you have forgotten, but I cannot go to the human world.”

  “True, but you can go to the Maurepas Realm. At noon, the barriers between the worlds will be down enough for you to siphon the cosmic energy you will need.”

  Clarissa nodded as Archanidou held out her hand. “Come with me to my home tonight. We have some practicing to do.”

  Clarissa stood and kissed Mel, leaving the men behind as she headed to Archanidou’s residence to start the process of keeping Trinity and Jasmine safe.

  While Clarissa was with Archanidou, Azamel headed back to his office. He needed a quiet moment to just think over everything which had occurred over the past months, the revelations exposed during the trial and more. He was glad he had warned Clarissa of Coyote’s involvement with her family’s deaths. It was already a tremendous shock coming from him, he couldn’t imagine what would have happened had she been at the summoning to hear it first-hand. Mel rubbed his brow. The whole thing was fucked up.

  When a soft knock came, he lifted his head and straightened his back to his normal regal pose. “Come.”

  Shara walked in, shutting the door behind her.

  “How did things go?” she asked softly.

  Mel shrugged. “Not as well as I would have hoped, but good enough. He is being locked in solitary for a few hundred years. Personally, I would rather have hung him by his fingernails for all he has suffered upon my family.”

  “Dying would have been too good for him, but sometimes, when one is used to having others around them, as well as coming and going as they please, having those things taken away is harsh indeed and more torturous than any physical pain.”

  “I suppose you are correct. Still, I would have loved to extract a pound of his flesh.” He sat back and steepled his f
ingers in front of him. “However, I suspect that is not the full reason you are here.”

  It always unnerved her that Mel could read her so easily when no one else could. Probably because she has been with him so long, little idiosyncrasies even she didn’t realize she had showed were like neon beacons to him.

  “I was curious. After all, Trinity and Logan are almost like my own kids. I helped to raise them, have been with them almost every day of their lives. However, you are correct. I came for something else as well.”

  “Out with it.”

  “I wish to explore the possibility of…” She couldn’t even say it. This had been her home for so long. To consider resigning her position and leaving was tumultuous at best.

  “It’s Mani. You want to leave and start a new life with him.” Mel didn’t ask, he stated. And, even though she shouldn’t have been surprised, she was.

  “Yes,” she said softly.

  “However, you also don’t want to leave here. You feel safe.”

  Shara nodded. “Yes. But, I want to be with him.”

  “Is he around? Summon him here.”

  Shara paled then sent a mental link to have him visit Mel’s office. Within moments, another knocked on the door. “Come,” Mel commanded.

  Mani stepped in, giving a quick glance to Shara before approaching Mel. He didn’t say a word.

  Mel gave Mani an appraisal before he spoke. “Where are you going to live?”

  “Not sure. I was thinking we would look for a place in one of the other realms. Maybe the human one.”

  “How will you support her?”

  Mani frowned. “I’ll manage. I’ll do what needs to be done to make sure she is taken care of. We just want to be together.”