by Sarra Cannon
“Might be hard to do from there, but maybe we could help?” A set of keys jingled from Talon’s belt.
A high-pitched screech echoed through the room. Talon struggled not to clap his hands to his head, and subtlety shifted his inner ear canal to lessen the sting. The phage bastard continued to wail, until his eyes popped back into his head and his teeth returned to normal human size. He grinned. “Nice try, but I won’t be conned that easily. I’ll take that lawyer now.”
Shit. Talon cursed inwardly and slid from his seat. “Of course.” He rose with gun still in hand, sensing no amount of threats would get the bastard talking further. “I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here. Overcrowding in the cells. And since it’s the middle of the night, I doubt we’ll be able to get a lawyer down here for you for at least,” he checked his watch, “oh I don’t know, how long do you think it would take, Drake?”
“Easily twelve hours.” The vamp’s wolfish grin showed his elongated fangs.
“If not longer. Ah well, enjoy, Matt.” Talon tapped on the door and it slid open. He ushered Drake out, before turning to wink at their prisoner. He stepped to the hallway and slammed the door shut. The locks clicked into place. He eyed Drake. “Now, tell me about this Adriana. What do you know?”
“Strife told me to get the dirt on her. She’s the bitch from the TV report.” Drake paused as Talon bristled at the vampire’s name. “Veritas is not the enemy here, chief. I’ve told you before.”
“We’ll deal with that later.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and started walking down the hall. “Just tell me.”
“The woman’s name is Adriana Farrington. She’s a supposed advocate for phage rights, but she’s got ties in all sorts of politics.” He moved closer, halting Talon’s strides. “And she’s most likely a general for the phage queen.”
“What in seven hells are you talking about?”
“I tried to tell you about the phage, Talon. They’re not some new SUB group. They’ve been around for a long time and they’re led by this quote queen unquote, Reyna.” He ran a hand through his spiky blond hair sending the locks flying. “Look it’s complicated, but long story short—they’re bad, plain and simple. And if this Adriana chick is working for the queen, Sera’s in real trouble.”
“Then, where do we find this Adriana?”
“Not a clue. Think it’s time you touched base with your tech gal. I’ll go tell Val what we’ve got so far.” Drake made to go.
“Drake.” Talon caught him by the arm and stopped him a moment longer. “Thanks.”
He nodded and disappeared down the hall.
Digging his cell out of his pocket, he called Meg. When he heard her greeting on the other end, he didn’t give her anytime to breathe and launched into a rundown of Adriana, the phage, Matt, and most important, finding Sera.
When the call ended, he paced the hall. Visions of his time with Sera occupied his head. He tried to shut them out, but couldn’t shake the fear that gripped him and the question that lingered. Where is she?
Chapter 28
APARTMENT COMPLEX, CALGARY, ALBERTA
Sera? Sera? Guy nagged and interrupted her wallowing. Oh come on now, pet. Don’t be that way.
“What do you want?” Sera rested against vertical bars. Well, at least, she suspected they were bars. Her eyes still stung like a dozen beestings. So far, everything she’d been able to find out about her new accommodations fired her nerves. The room took eight steps to crawl across and drowned her in light that burned her sensitive eyes. It didn’t have any tangible exit she could discern without her vision, although she knew one door existed since Adriana smashed it in her face.
So touchy. Her pest continued talking. No matter. I’ll still help.
“Help?” She rubbed her cheeks where the poisonous spray had touched, but it only made the irritation worse. “How are you going to help?”
Simple. This phage wants to know how to contact the Luminarium. We’ll show her.
“Wh-What’re you babbling on about?” A strange tingling started in the base of her neck. She massaged the spot. “You think she was telling the truth about these creatures?”
Luminari, or collectively, the Luminarium. Sera felt Guy bristle like a weird shimmy across her mind. She may be insane, pet. But she wasn’t lying.
“Oh, please. You’re as crazy as she is.”
That’s possible, but that’d make you a nutcase too. He laughed, a low gurgling that made her want to tear her hair out. Besides, it’s not that difficult. All you have to do is contact your grandfather.
“My grandfather? What does he have to do with this?”
Geez, pet. I thought you’d have put two and two together by now, you being a journalist and all. He sighed. The dramatic gesture swept over her psyche. Ah well. I’ll spell it out. Your grandfather is a Luminari. Hate to break it to you, but the phage told you the truth. The Luminarium, the collective, are real.
“As soon as I get out of here, I’m having myself committed to the psych ward.” She blinked away tears as her eyes flushed out the spray’s chemicals. “Maybe the docs will be able to figure out how to get rid of you.”
There’s no getting rid of me, pet. I’m part of you. He paused as if waiting for her response. She refused to rise to his bait. Don’t believe me? Call to your grandfather. Let go and initiate the connection. You’ve already embraced your fire. You aren’t afraid of it anymore, so it’s possible to reach him now.
“If she wasn’t lying, then my grandfather is some immortal god.” Her fingers shook as she pulled at an amber strand.
Don’t listen to half-truths, pet. You’re better than that.
The lights grew brighter when her vision cleared. The stinging subsided, but the white fluorescents almost blinded her anew. She shook her head, questioning if she was indeed “better than that” as Guy implied. The room appeared even smaller than she imagined and the walls seemed to move closer with each passing second.
She took a deep breath and said, “Fine, what do I do?”
You’ve talked with him before. Close your eyes, stop fighting, and embrace who you are. Who we are, pet.
“I don’t know how to do it.”
You’ve already done it. It’s how your grandfather was able to make contact with you in the first place, when you accepted the fire and attacked those phage in Buckhorn. A subtle breeze seemed to sweep across her mind. Breathe, pet and let go. He imitated a cricket’s hum. Now go, grasshopper.
“Idiot,” she murmured, closing her eyes. She focused on resisting the urge to crank up some heavy metal to block out Guy’s annoying voice. Warmth encircled her heart as she took cleansing breaths. All this time, she’d imagine it’d be difficult. She’d fought so hard to keep it away—Guy, her past, the fire, the pain. But, letting go, it was...freeing, easy, as simple as taking a breath. She sighed, using the inhale and exhale to center her energy. After a few minutes, she heard it.
“Hello Sera.”
She opened her eyes and gasped. The room swam with a hazy glow. Before her, a man appeared impossibly bright. He blazed with golden rays, challenging the harsh overhead bulbs. The light radiated from his core out through his body and coated him like a second skin. “Grandfather?”
“Yes, child. I’m here.”
“Where am I?” Twisting this way and that, she tried to get a sense of direction. The room distorted, bending and fracturing the air around her.
“This is the space I told you of, the place between. It’s what our kind use to travel through the planes of existence. In truth, we come from a similar place.”
“Don’t gods come from the heavens?”
His laughter exuded a rich bass that eased her troubles. “It may be so. But, thankfully, we’re not gods.”
“What about your—” Sera almost said crimes, but stopped. “The rest? Is the rest true?” Her heart sank as she recalled the phage’s words. She had to know the truth, so she took a steadying pause, then asked, “Are you what she said you are? Did
you violate human women?”
“I am Luminari, Sera. We’re an ancient people, older than humans, who’ve lived for many millennia. You are a direct descendent.” Her grandfather spoke with a voice that rung like musical notes on a heavenly instrument. “But I have never harmed a female—human or otherwise—in my life. And that life has been very long.” He exhaled and the breath carried a somber note. “I loved your grandmother, and the birth of our daughter, your mother, was the happiest day of my life. For the first time, I knew true joy. And when you came into the world, it was both the best and worst day. I lost your mother, but I gained a granddaughter.”
She pushed away the rising emotions in favor of a cool head. “What about the rest? Adriana mentioned something about supernatural beings manipulated by you. What does she mean?”
“I am the youngest of four brothers, Sera. To understand, I must tell you of your granduncles.” His light dimmed to a mustard yellow hue. “I fear you will not like the telling.”
“No more lies. I’m tired of living that way. Tell me.” She settled into the strange space, ready to hear the tale.
“Long ago, my kind sprang from the core of the Earth, from its depths and warmth, from its fire. We were many and we thrived for millions of years.” His light shone in vivid detail like the rays of the sun. “The human race grew over time from Earth’s roots, from rock and stone, from a single organism to the beings you know today.” His voice lowered, dropping a full octave to a deep timber. “But as humanity thrived, my people died. Without the fires of below and with the planet cooling from above, we dwindled until my brothers, sisters, and I alone remained.”
“The Luminarium,” she muttered.
“Yes. Two thousand years ago, the situation became desperate. Luminari are children of the Earth’s core. We cannot reproduce with one another.” His hand waved at the haze, parting it and shooting a clear path to the side.
Her eyes narrowed on the far white wall. It shimmered as if alive, transforming into a moving picture.
“With extinction coming fast upon us, my eldest brother, Aurean, decreed we must mate with humans.” The image of a soaring golden figure sharpened on the wall. His confidence showed in his firm step and unyielding stance. Wide shoulders and a broad chest revealed his strength. His dark eyes peered forth and seemed to see into Sera’s soul.
She gasped. “What happened?”
“Aurean took on the task first as an example for the rest of us. He found a human female, more exquisite than any of us had seen before.” The picture changed once more to reveal a woman. Her long black hair, pale skin, and lush red lips revealed a beauty beyond measure. She stood tall and proud, smiling at the man by her side. “Such perfection could not last. As a human, she was susceptible to illness and age. Death came to claim her far before her time.” He swallowed and some of the radiance of his face left him. “My brother planned to mate with her. He never expected to fall in love. But love he did, and when she lay dying, his heart died with her.”
Sera waited, staring at the couple’s image with baited breath.
“For one who has lived so long, death did not seem a strong opponent. He cursed the keeper of death and fought it with all his power.” The wall showed Aurean holding the woman in his arms and cutting a mark across his chest. He cradled the woman’s head to the wound and bade her drink. His light flowed into her, illuminating her body, and pumping new blood through her veins. “He shared part of his essence with her, using her blood as a catalyst for life. But it could not sustain her. She died, then rose again as the creature you call, vampire. Her need for blood, human blood, and the one thing he could not give her, now the instrument of her survival.”
“That’s awful.” She splayed her hand across the pulse at her neck.
“Yes. And that I’m afraid is only the beginning.” His features solidified, while the hue softened. The act made him appear far more human, but did not quite achieve the full effect. When he sat on the floor cross-legged and slouched, she hid a smile behind her hand. “Will you sit with me and hear the rest?”
She bit her bottom lip, uncertain whether she wanted to hear more.
Geez, are you the worst reporter on the planet? Guy’s retort to her doubts made her sweep them right under the rug. No matter her personal feelings, she’d hear the whole story.
Adapting his appearance, she sat on the floor, crossed her legs, and tried to relax. “Tell me.”
He smiled at her and whispered, “My brave girl.” Then his features fell, a frown forming on his face. “The next in line, my brother, Zelus, never could abide his place as second. When Aurean found his mate and love despite the pain it cost him, Zelus was determined to have the same.” The couple faded from view and a new man appeared. His striking black hair and golden eyes blazed as hot as hellfire. A firm jaw and high cheekbones, coupled with thick brows, gave him the look of an ancient aristocrat. The light that poured off his skin drowned her vision, and marked him as other.
“He’s...” She struggled to find the word to pinpoint her unease. Her grandfather and his eldest brother didn’t cause her insides to twist in a knot like this one. “Different.”
“Yes, he is.” Her grandfather wiggled his fingers and the image shifted. Another woman appeared, similar in size and appearance to the first. Her black hair curled around her high cheeks, where the other woman’s hair had been straight. Though her lips were full and red, they didn’t possess the same depth of color. The most obvious difference lay in this new woman’s skin. Warm, rich honey undertones brightened her complexion, giving her the gift of sun kissed skin.
The woman spun in circles, her arms splayed wide. Her full skirt billowed like a sail in the wind. Gold bracelets jingled on her arms and large hoops hung from her ears. She breathed deep as a breeze blew long strands of hair around her face. Her smile gave her cheeks a gentle glow. “Reyna,” her grandfather whispered.
“Who is she?” Sera stared in wonder.
“The female my brother destroyed.” His face hardened and his light grew cold and dark. An icy chill wafted off his body. On the wall, a figure stood by a tree, observing the woman. With her back turned, she couldn’t see the man snake from the shadows and creep up behind her. As the man leapt at the woman and pinned her to the ground, her grandfather curled his fingers into a fist and the picture disappeared. “Zelus attacked the female, Reyna, and violated her. When he finished, she begged him to kill her. She didn’t want to live with the pain of his brutality.” Her grandfather’s eyes filled with tears. “But Zelus would not be denied. He forced his essence into her living flesh. The light consumed her body and morphed her into the creature called phage.”
“Phage? The same things that came after me? The same as that crazy woman, Adriana?” Her eyes widened.
“Yes. Reyna survived, but craved flesh to sustain her life.” His lips twisted. “Zelus took so much from her, but he suffered for his cruelty. He gave away too much of his light and weakened, while Reyna grew stronger. Her abilities increased in both strength and knowledge. When she took Zelus as prisoner, my siblings and I didn’t stop her.” He cast his eyes to the floor. “We believed he deserved his fate.”
She couldn’t help but think the same. “What happened then?”
“Not long after, the females discovered their gifts and curses. Both would not age, but no longer could they stand the sun’s rays. With so much of the Luminari light flowing through them, any additional light caused their bodies to burn.” He rested his head against the wall and crossed his arms. His golden rays dimmed so much Sera reached toward him and patted his arm out of concern. He blinked. “Fear not, my child. Within fifty years, the light faded enough to allow them to see the sun again. And then the true nightmare began.”
Her muscles cried out for reprieve. The night had dragged on far too long and she paid for it now. Adapting her grandfather’s posture, she leaned against the opposite wall, stretched her long legs, and rested her hands at her sides. “I’m afraid you’ll h
ave to give me the short version.” She yawned.
To her surprise, he laughed. “My apologies, my dear. You shine so bright, I sometimes forget your human side.” He squeezed her ankle in a reassuring gesture. “I’ll be brief.”
“As the years dragged on the women learned how to expand their lines. In short, how to breed. The vampire needed to share blood, infusing a part of her light into the human by a blood exchange.” His voice deepened as he spoke of the other. “The phage, however, needed to bite and impart the light in the human’s flesh. Not every bite would accomplish the transition. The phage must willingly force the light into the body.”
She shuddered at the graphic picture her grandfather’s words painted.
“Within centuries, the population of both got out of hand. Humans suffered as nothing more than food for the phage. And battles between the phage and vampires spiraled into full scale war.” The room grew darker and a wave of sadness emanated from her grandfather.
She frowned as he grew quiet, then she shook his leg. “Go on.”
He looked at her under half-closed eyes and nodded. “My last brother, Paxus, believed the failure to achieve our original goal of mating with humans brought us to this end. He was determined to make it right.” He flicked his wrist and the wall showed another man’s portrait. Wavy caramel hair ran to his shoulders and framed his noble face. Gentle brown eyes and a tender smile warmed her spirit. “He sought out a human widow heavy with twin babes and appeared to her with an offer. He would bless her children with special gifts, if she would but let him place his hand over her womb.” He inhaled sharply through his nose and snorted. “She thought him an angel and agreed. He imparted parts of his essence into the fragile bones of the boy child and into the forming mind of the girl child.”
“Shifters and psykes,” Sera said. Her thoughts drifted to Talon, but she pushed it away, determined to stay in the moment and discover the rest of the story.