Zen stops and pulls his hand away.
“Zen, it’s okay. Close it,” Mia says, reaching for his hand.
Their hands become warm and the beating of Mia’s heart increases. This can’t be. How can I be ready to bond with someone else so quickly? My heart still calls for Noah yet it begs for Zen. I don’t understand how this is possible, Mia thinks. Zen slowly removes his hand from hers.
“I don’t know if I can believe that Shadow is Aria,” Mia says softly, trying to ignore the feelings she just had for Zen.
“I know, but just because you don’t believe it, doesn’t mean it isn’t so. We know you and Noah hid the fact that she was alive. Noah died so that Aria could be destroyed. She is no longer your daughter. I’m so sorry,” he says.
Mia knows he is right, but she struggles to come to terms with the fact that her daughter is the one they will have to kill.
“Mia, as the first twins to ever be born to our kind, Aria and Nora are the strongest of all Vilmo. Aria is feeding on Vilmo souls making her stronger than even a young Szion. She knows only Nora can kill her. She won’t stop—Dumont won't stop until Nora is dead,” Zen says.
Mia can’t wrap her mind around the fact that her baby is the cause of this destruction.
“If this is what Noah died for, then this is what I will live for,” Mia says. ‘It is time we fight for our right to live,’ she hears Noah say in her head. It was a common phrase he used just before a battle.
“There are no borders in this life,” Mia says.
“We kill or be killed, there is no other way,” Zen finishes.
Mia smiles, surprised.
“How do you know that saying?”
“Noah was one of my best friends,” he says.
Mia looks deeply into his eyes, it is then she realizes that she has seen him before. She can’t remember the exact time and place, but she is certain that they have met before.
“Why is it that you and I have never met through Noah?” she asks him.
Zen smiles but never answers.
“So, now what? We wait?” Mia asks, changing the subject.
“Robbie contacted me earlier. He will let us know when the time is right.”
“Okay, until then, can you fill me in on all you know so that I can be ready? I don’t think I can handle any more surprises. Start with how Robbie knew to contact you,” Mia says.
“First things first. We must close your bond before we are swarming with Shadows. It may already be too late,” he says.
“Wait, wasn’t that what you just did?” Mia asks
“No, I pulled away. That was something else,” he says, staring at her.
“So, it wasn’t just me,” Mia whispers.
Zen shakes his head and strokes her hand. The touch of his hand brushing her flesh has her body calling for more. She closes her eyes and absorbs every feeling Zen’s touch blesses her with. That one touch embraces her soul, changing everything she knew love to be. Their eyes meet with intensity. Mia then reverts her eyes to the table. Zen pats her hand supportively and slowly slides away.
“Robbie has blocked all links to Nora. He put out a Szion call for help in finding you. I am the one that answered his call. We have been tracking you for weeks now,” Zen says.
“What? Why?”
“Mia the moment Noah decided to end his life, you were an open target for Aria. He knew Robbie would die before letting anything happen to Nora, and Noah asked me to look after you.”
Mia says nothing to object. She knew Noah would only do what is best for her.
“Rod, Robert, and Noah gave their lives that night,” Zen says.
“I understand why Robert and Noah would give their lives for their children, but why Rod? Who was he protecting?” Mia asks.
“Nora is pregnant. But there is something Robbie is not saying,” Zen says, waiting for Mia’s reaction.
“Oh my god, Zen! Think about it. When a regular Vilmo and a Szion have a child, they get stronger. When a Vilmo and a Szion has twins the Vilmo is almost as strong as a young Szion. What happens when a twin Vilmo blessed with the life of a Szion, and a Szion blessed with a stronger Szion has twins? Zen, Nora is pregnant with twins!” Mia says excitedly.
“They become the strongest beings alive. Yes! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. They are to become the gods of this world,” Zen says jumping to his feet.
“Do you know what this means, Mia?”
“Yeah, I’m going to be a Grandma!” Mia yells in excitement.
Zen smiles. Marina walks over and hugs Mia.
“Yes that, but it means we have a chance,” Marina says.
Zen’s smile fades. Mia jumps to her feet, tense with anticipation.
“If they get to her before she gives birth, all will be lost,” Zen says.
Mia suddenly feels sick and clenches her stomach.
“Not to worry, Mia. Robbie is a smart boy. He knows how to protect her. Besides, she’s also got us,” Dave says, giving Mia a reassuring pat on the back.
Mia’s worry for Nora turns to anger when the feeling of Light fills her stomach. Just as if Noah were alive the feeling is subtle. Mia looks over at Zen, he smiles and gives her a charming wink. A burst of wind caused by an explosion outside the house causes the candles to go out. Zen wraps his arm around Mia’s waist, they vanish and arrive on the porch of another house. Instead of entering the house through the front door, they walk across the porch that leads to a side door. Mia searches for the rest of Zen’s crew and begins to panic when she doesn’t see them. Zen smiles.
“Mia, they are safe,” says leading her into the house by the hand.
“This is a nice place. Is it yours?
Zen nods.
“Thank you, make yourself at home,” he says disappearing into another room.
The house is undeniably comfortable. The brown colored connecting sofa that sits in the middle of the living room went perfectly with the rust colored carpet that lay under it. A fire blazed with intensity as if someone had been home all night, sending the aroma of fresh oak throughout the house.
“Not bad for a bachelor,” she mutters, sitting on the corner of the sofa.
“You should relax, Mia. I’ll make dinner,” he says, pulling out multiple items from his icebox.
“Zen, we were just attacked and we left, why?”
“Wouldn’t you rather we be at our best to defend Nora, or would you rather take the chance of being killed before you see your grandkids?” he asks, in the most controlled tone.
Stunned, Mia sits in silence. A warm smile crosses Zen’s lips.
“Come sit with me.”
Zen motions her to the kitchen stool. Mia sits with her fingers laced in front of her.
“Mia, that explosion was just a Shadow's way of letting us know they were there. They may have intended on attacking when they felt a Vilmo, but when they felt the presence of so many Szion, they set the explosion out of frustration. A Shadow can defeat a Szion, but only an inexperienced one. It would take a few of them for one of us older ones. Aria will only fight a Szion if she has to.”
Mia’s head began to throb. It is hard for her to think of her child as the enemy, but it is even harder to think about her wanting to kill her sister. Mia wants to curl up in a corner somewhere and cry until she can no more. She wants to scream for death to take her so that she didn't have to watch the death of her daughter. She wants Noah to appear and wrap his arms around her, but now every time she thinks of Noah she sees Zen’s face. Every look brings her closer to Zen as if she were being introduced to her very first Szion. As if they were meant to be.
“May I use your bathroom?” Mia asks, jumping from her seat.
“Sure, through the bedroom on the right.”
Even his bedroom warms her. His king size bed with silk maroon bedding, calls to her. It takes a lot for her to walk passed it without touching it.
In the bathroom, her eyes lock on the large garden tub.
“Oh, what I wou
ldn’t give for a warm bath,” she mumbles, as she washes her hands.
She looks herself over in the full-length mirror on the wall. The battles have really taken a toll on her. Blood still covers her pink shirt and her leather jacket has a rip in the left shoulder. Although her body still glows even with dirt smudged on her face, the light circles under her eyes from lack of sleep makes her look as if she has aged. Mia drenches her face and short dark hair with cold water, washing the dirt from her face, before returning to the kitchen.
“Robbie says we can meet tonight, he has spent time with the gods. They have made Nora and Robbie the new gods of this world, but only if they can save it. If Robbie cannot find a way to save this world the gods will destroy it. I have informed him that I and my crew will fight at his side. He needs time to prepare Nora for our visit,” Zen says.
Mia’s blood runs cold. She too needs time to prepare for the visit. Mia goes into a silent state of panic. Will she hate me? She thinks. Many times over the years she has practiced what she would say to Nora, but as she sits there she can’t think of one thing that she can tell her daughter that would make up for lost time. Mia doesn’t fear Nora’s hate. She fears her rejection.
Mia gets lost in memories, thinking about the nights she rocked her girls in her rocking chair until they fell asleep to the sound of the lullaby she sang. Mia jumps at the sound of Zen calling her name.
“Mia. Mia, you okay?”
“What? Oh, yeah. That’s great.”
“Everything will be okay,” he says.
Mia nods, meeting the hope in his dreamy eyes.
At that moment, things looked brighter. Her heart is fuller, and happiness creeps out from its hiding place. All of her life she thought only one destiny had been written for her. She thought her life would start and end with Noah, never thinking it would be possible for her to fall for another. Could it be possible my destiny has changed just as our world has or did destiny have more than one plan for me? Mia thinks. As Zen and Mia stare at each other, many questions flow through Mia’s mind. All she wants is to be as lost in his heart as she is in his eyes. Although he is not Noah’s replacement Mia knows at that moment Zen is her Szion.
“You weren’t sent here for me?”
Zen smiles.
“No, but I want to be here for you.”
Mia grins bashfully.
Nora climbs out of bed realizing that she is not in her house. The room was filled with her things, but this is definitely not her house. Instantaneous flashes of Mr. Hingi sends panic through her. The door opens. Her heart almost jumps out of her chest. There he stands, holding breakfast, just as she remembers him.
“Robbie,” she whispers.
Once again, her legs grow weak, but as always she never hits the floor. Robbie gently holds her as she sobs into his chest as he places the tray of breakfast on the dresser. He kisses her and sits her on the bed. Although they have a lot to talk about, words are not what Nora wants. Nora pulls him into bed, they wrap around each other and make love. With each stroke, they see only the most beautiful parts of the world. Robbie once promised Nora the world, but she never imagined he could actually give it to her.
Nora clings to Robbie all day. Neither of them leaves the bed, except for the occasional trips to the bathroom. Most of the day, they lay in silence embracing each other, watching TV, grateful to have another chance to make their time together count. Evening comes fast and Nora’s stomach starts yelling for nourishment.
“Let's eat,” she says, wrapping a sheet around her body.
“Good idea, I’m starving. By the way, I have something I need to talk to you about,” Robbie says.
“Haven’t you noticed, Robbie? I really don’t want to talk about anything. I spent the whole day trying not to think about what happened. Which reminds me, don’t you ever make me sleep that way again!”
They stop in the hall and Robbie laughs.
“That was for your own good. You wouldn’t listen to me.”
“You were a stranger, hitting on me. What did you think I would do? Jump into your arms? Well, maybe I should have—you did look good and that Mr. Hingi sure had me going,” Nora joked.
Robbie smiles and wraps his arms around her waist.
“If you like that look better, I can change back,” he says kissing her.
Nora touches his face and smiles.
“No, there is no better look than this one right here. I love you, Robbie.”
“I love you,” he says, lifting her from her feet.
He sits her on a stool at the Kitchen Island.
“I know you are hurting, Nora. I am too. But we can’t stop. There is a lot more I have to tell you, and it can’t wait until tomorrow,” he says sliding her a bowl of grapes.
“What am I going to turn into a flying monster? I’m good with that as long as I’m not a hideous monster,” Nora says.
Robbie laughs.
“You never know you might, and you could never be hideous,” he says, putting the grapes in her lap and spinning her around on the stool until she faces the living room. “First, I want you to see your new house.”
Nora hadn’t even noticed the huge kitchen, she sat in. It has large stainless steel appliances, with a huge island with black marble countertop and six wooden stools.
“Robbie, whose house are we in? Where are we? Are we in Boligon? Earth doesn’t have stuff like this,” Nora says, walking into the huge family room. It's just as amazing as the kitchen. It’s loaded with the same charming ivory leather furniture and glass tables from the other house. The floors are covered with soft white carpet that brightens the ivory walls. Heat rises from the lit wicks of the candles sitting all around the house. The fire blazes brighter as a log shifts in the large marble fireplace, giving off no heat, just beauty.
Nora roams the rest of the house moving slowly from room to room. On the far side of the house were three extra rooms. Nora peeks her head in the first two. Both rooms have full bathrooms and are perfectly furnished like a high-class hotel room. She smiles and heads back to the living-room and stands by the fire.
Nora inhales deeply and smiles as the aroma of garlic and butter mixed with the scent of lilac scented candles hits her face. Her hunger kicks into overdrive and her stomach growls. Curiously, she holds out her hand, wondering if she got close enough, would she feel the warmth of the beautiful flames that sway softly from side to side in almost a hypnotic motion? Nora gasps when she notices the huge diamond ring on her finger. The sparkling two-carat diamond ring makes her promise ring look like a toy.
Before she can say anything to Robbie, he wraps his arms around her from behind.
“Well, Mrs. Hingi. What do you think of our new home? It was a wedding gift from the gods.”
His words echo (Mrs. Hingi … a gift from the gods?)
“Did I sleep through something?”
Robbie smiles.
“Come Nora, sit down.”
He starts to explain fast to diffuse the awkwardness that obviously shows in Nora’s facial expression.
“The final stage of our bond, was marriage. This happened the first time we made love. This is our home in Canada.”
Nora laughs.
“Oh, you almost had me,” she says.
She pretends to misunderstand to hide her fear, but Robbie sees right through it.
“We are married?” she whispers.
Her smile fades.
“Yes,” he answers.
“We’re in Canada? Our home was given to us by gods? I don’t get the wedding or the dress. Man—I really wanted a dress.”
“You can have as many dresses as you like. We can go today and get you a dress,” Robbie says.
“Why? Why would gods give us anything?”
“Listen, Nora,” Robbie says getting to his feet.
He prepares their dinner plates as he explains. Nora sits silently, not in disbelieve, only in fear. She knew Robbie wouldn’t lie to her, but this is one of those times she wished all
that he was saying was untrue.
Robbie explains what happened in the cave.
“There is no easy way to explain all of this insanity, so I will explain it the fastest way I can. Nora, your father was the strongest Szion alive. You and your sister gave him and your mother great strength when you were born. There is no way that he could have been killed by a Light or a Shadow—unless he surrendered his life. Our fathers gave their lives to us so that we could end Dumont. They gave us endless powers by leaving us. That feeling of life being sucked from your body, moments before you died, was Aria. She was trying to take your soul and gain your powers. She succeeded in taking the old Nora’s powers, but your soul and new powers were protected by our bond and the gift of life from your father.”
Nora understood completely. She remembered the strength she felt when she awoke in that cave. Now that she knew where it came from she wished her father would have just let her die. She would have gladly given her life for his.
“Nora, we died that night, we had to in order to accept our father’s gift. On that night, the gods wanted to destroy this world. I asked for them to give it to me—to us,” Robbie says with a worried look on his face.
He didn’t know how Nora would react and feared she couldn’t handle it.
Nora’s chest hurt with confusion. She fights the anger that sets in. Just thinking about that night enrages her.
“What? Why would you do that? Robbie, we know nothing about … Where did you go? Why the other look?” she asks, still trying not to lose her temper.
“I’m sorry. When a Szion is killed, we are taken home. Normally that means our time on earth is over and we can no longer return, but just as my birth and childhood, rules do not work the same for me. It wasn’t until I went home that I found out why. I found out something your father knew the moment it happened. It is what drove him to do what he did.
“I was only to come back for true love. I was only to be with you in this second life if you were strong enough to feel our bond even after death or thinking about my life before your own. Normally after a Szion’s death their Vilmo will no longer feel their bond and can love another. I told them you would, but you even surprised me. The disguise was for safety, you were not supposed to be able to feel me while in that disguise, but you did at first glance. Hingi is the name we start our new life with.”
Vilmo's Wrath: Deglon Blood Page 10