Cursed (Warriors of Light Book 6)
Page 9
Holly watched Demaratus’s retreating back and sighed. “God, I love that man more and more every single day. I love the bond.” She knew Mercury understood just what she was saying. He understood it because it was what he was looking for as well. “Now, I need to find her for you.”
“If you can get your mind back on task after that display. Frankly you still look more than a little flustered and out of sorts. Perhaps a cold shower might assist you,” he suggested. He still looked vaguely amused, so she didn’t take his words to heart.
She laughed. “Look at you cracking jokes. Silly man. I’m good. In two hours you might want to ensure that no one is anywhere near my cave here, because I fully intend on jumping my man’s bones as quickly as I can,” she confessed. “Now, if you aren’t going to help me, go and play with your Marines.”
“I could do with shooting something,” he muttered. Sighing, he pushed to his feet and headed for the door. He turned back to look at her. “You will keep me updated, right?” he asked quietly.
“You know I will. I will find her.” She needed to find this woman for Mercury. He of all of the guardians deserved happiness. Finally deserved peace. “Anything I find, any leads that I find, I will tell you.”
“You find her for me, and anything you want will be yours,” he said. He gave her a low bow before leaving the room. The door slid shut behind him with a quiet sound, leaving her alone in the room with only her thoughts.
“I just want you happy, big man,” she said to the door and sighed. “Now, let’s see if we can’t find you, shall we, mystery lady?” Holly was once more back at her computers and doing what she did so well. Hacking into every single database known to man—and a few that some men didn’t want to be known.
Epilogue
Five years later…
The years had been both good to them and bad for them. They had lost more than one guardian, but they had also found the VV’s for the guardians that they had left. They found them, some of them walking right into the Mountain, or as close to it as they could. It had been shocking, surreal, and it had pissed Mercury off time and time again because the one woman that he was looking for was hiding far better than they’d ever dreamed possible.
For five long years they’d searched for her and couldn’t find her. Krista looked to Eric, then Mercury. “Why is he just sitting there?” she asked with a frown and watched their leader as he sat completely still before the entrance to the Mountain. He had dragged a chair to the entrance a day earlier and hadn’t moved a single muscle since. It was freaking all of them the hell out. “You need to talk to him. He’s not eaten, drank, or even taken a piss since he sat there yesterday. Please, talk to him?”
“What the hell am I supposed to say?” he asked. “He’s Mercury. The guy does weird shit on a regular basis. It’s part of who he is. Hell, he’s run this place on instinct guided by a long-dead goddess for years. Technically, this really isn’t that bizarre when you consider the length of time he’s been alive and all he’s done in that time.”
“No, this is seriously weird. It’s like he’s sitting there waiting for something or someone. It’s freaking me out. And the latest VV’s that are here are all walking around as if they know something is coming but don’t really. Did you see the look on the last VV’s face? She’s freaked because there is something that’s going on and she knows it but can’t figure it out. Does that make sense?”
He was staring out at nothing with a growing frown on his face. When she went to ask, he actually shushed her. Eric, shushed her. The nerve of the man. Then he grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him closer to the monitors. “There,” he breathed out, lifting his arm to point at a spot in the distance.
She looked at the screen that Eric was pointing to. “Why is that car just stopped there?” she whispered and watched Mercury stand suddenly, the chair going flying behind him. She heard Mercury call for the men to move out to protect the road and everything around it. “Who would just stop there? It’s as if they are waiting for the Marines and guardians to come forward.” She tilted her head to the side, watching as spirits materialized all around her. “She’s here.” Her eyes were wide. Krista watched as the dead alternated between joy and absolute fear. It was as if they didn’t know which emotion to have and were all coming out of the woodwork to appear there and let Krista know just exactly what a momentous occasion this was. “Oh shit. The dead are freaking out because she’s here but the ones that followed Billy—and now this new man—are out there as well. It’s going to be a fight, huge. Go.” She looked to Eric and nodded. “The dead will help you.” They had been practicing and were fairly smooth at him being able to use her ability as well.
He whipped around to look at her and cupped her face. “Stay inside. We don’t know what else is out there beyond the dead, sweetheart. While the shields might not be where we truly would prefer them, it’s better than nothing. For me, stay safe,” he said. Lowering his head, he kissed her hard and fast. Then he was gone. She watched his progress through the base as he ran at full speed through the corridors, then down the stairs to the main parking bay, where the others were starting to gather.
Krista watched the monitors in fascination, then knew where she needed to be. She pulled back and ran toward the cave, where she was sure Holly would have more information. She passed many guardians as they filed past with weapons heavy and armor on the Marines who fought alongside them. “What the ever-loving name of hell is happening?” Krista asked Holly.
“It’s her.” Krista noticed that Holly was just sitting in front of her computers with the video camera zoomed in on the woman that was sitting in the car. “I couldn’t find her. For five years I’ve looked and yet there she is. What the ever-loving name of hell?”
“Who her?” She saw the look that Holly shot her and glanced at the woman. “Her?” Holy hell, that was so not happening. Was it? “You serious?”
“As a heart attack. That’s her. I only know because she was on the video feed five years ago.”
“That’s why they are calling a code red, because if she’s here they are likely bringing the darkness down as well. Right?”
Holly just nodded dumbly and watched the men and the battle that began. “We can only hope this ends well, or we will lose Mercury. You know that, right?”
“I know. Christ, we all know,” Krista replied, watching the dead as even they seemed to be holding their breaths in wait. “They have to win this battle. If we are to win the war, we have to win this battle, right?”
Holly sighed. “Yeah. We have to win this battle, or all will be lost.”
Both women then turned to watch the battle as it played out before them on the monitors.
The End
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