Aequitas Betrayal

by Mason, a. c.

“How clever of her.” Pasiphae smirked.

  He marched toward the child as she took a seat in the grass. Auria’s voice echoed in his mind that the ground here was sacred. No one who wished to harm them could be on this land.

  “You belong over here with me.” Pasiphae patted the grass next to her.

  He shook his head, confused. “I don’t see how? I’m not here to hurt myself, nor would I ever harm Auria.”

  Pasiphae covered her mouth with her hands and giggled. “Gabriel and the others will be here soon. Then we can exterminate all of them, just as you’d planned.”

  “I.” He pointed at his chest. “I planned no such thing.”

  “The time has come for you to remember who you truly are.” The words came on a whisper carried by the wind.

  He backed away from her, rushed his way into the house. Once inside, he entered the room where Auria lay and locked the door. What was with this conspiracy talk? He knew who he was.

  Leaning against the door, he looked at her face.

  Chapter 13

  A banging behind Etienne startled him. Someone knocked on the door with considerable force.

  “What?” he shouted, keeping his gaze fixed on Auria. Why was he anxious?

  “Etienne, is everything okay?” Fear tinged Taj’s voice coming through the door.

  “Yes.” How dare she question him?

  “Ah, um. I’m sorry. I...just...” The decline in her self-confidence as each word left her mouth made his skin crawl.

  “Etienne.” He heard Pasiphae’s voice. “Remember.”

  Maybe he didn’t want to. Did it matter who he was before, now?

  Time was up. He’d served his purpose.

  He grabbed the handle and opened the door. Taj stood a foot in front of him and Jutee cleaned Deimos’s wounds in the kitchen, but watched. The door swung closed behind him.

  “Taj, you have to get everyone out of here. None of you are safe.” A sharp pain in his gut caused him to hold his stomach and wince.

  Taj advanced to help him.

  Warding her off with one hand, he moved away. “All of you must leave. Choose a few to stay and fight to buy time for the bulk of you to escape.”

  Jutee entered the hall. “Why?”

  “Pasiphae said the others are coming.” The wrenching pain twisted inside him. “Please, I cannot be responsible for a massacre.”

  Taj moved towards him. “Let me help you.”

  “Trust me. I have nothing to fear.”

  The ache grew into his chest as anger and loathing mixed in his core.

  Jutee’s telepathic touch attempted to enter his mind.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He spoke in a slow, deliberate manner. “I’d be concerned with the safety of our people. You don’t have much time.”

  Jutee gawked, then he shifted, directing his attention to Taj.

  He reentered the room and closed the door behind him. Pain tightened his body around him.

  The room appeared to shrink as his breathing became shallow, and he struggled for the next gulp of air. He slid down the door until he knelt on the floor. Auria lay peacefully a few feet from him.

  As the pain subsided, he crawled over to her and buried his face in her abdomen. The rise and fall of her chest calmed the anxiety in him.

  “Auria, I’m afraid.” The heat of her still body beneath his lips warmed him.

  A presence entered the space with him. Definitely angelic, and not Gabriel.

  “Who are you, and what do you want?” he snapped, lifted his head and stared at the vacant corner of the room. Someone was there, just not in physical form.

  No response came, not surprising. “That’s all you do, isn’t it? Watch? Like when Auria was raped or during my mother’s murder?” The swirl of heat just beneath his skin engulfed his insides.

  A deep-seated rage bloomed within his core.

  The energy beneath his skin built, turned his body in the direction he felt the being and raised his arms.

  “Don’t bother,” a melodic voice said.

  He lowered his arms. An angelic creature formed before him, and calmness like he’d never felt before flooded his being. The creature appeared male but not overly masculine. No wings were present.

  “Who are you?” He took hold of Auria’s hand.

  The creature’s soft blue eyes stared at her, then back to his face. “Michael.”

  “Are you the first of his creations as in ‘son’ or the greeter of the dead?”

  Michael’s thoughtful expression bothered him. “Both,” he replied in a bland tone.

  He shook his head in disbelief. So the Bible wasn’t so far off after all. “Why are you here?”

  “I am here for Auria.” Michael stepped closer.

  “Well, you can’t have her.”

  “I do not wish to take her. I’m here to greet those who shall die.” Michael’s gaze lingered on Auria’s face.

  “I won’t allow it.”

  “If she is freed of her body, she will be beyond the reach of even your abilities. You cannot stop death.”

  “I won’t let anyone hurt her.” He glanced at the door, then the window. If anyone came for her, they’d be sealing their own death.

  “Do not search externally. The only threat to her kneels next to her.” Michael’s voice sounded sad.

  “You must all be in on this together. I wouldn’t hurt her.”

  “Then why have you forced yourself to forget who you truly are in order to seduce her? Why did you suppress your hatred for all these years to carefully craft a man she could be fooled by? A man in my image. Ever since you killed the john who beat your mother, you’ve craved delivering others to their last breath.”

  As the words left Michael’s mouth and infiltrated his psyche, the memories flooded him. His mother knew what he had done and from that moment, she’d feared him.

  “No. You’re planting those memories. I-I...”

  “You bring to her only more suffering, and for what?” Michael sat on the bed facing him, next to Auria’s legs. “Because she took your father from you? Haith wanted nothing to do with you. He was horrified that you existed.” Michael took hold of Auria’s other hand. “For many years, Auria helped your mother stay hidden from those who wanted you both destroyed. Those same beings you have as your loyal followers.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve spent over half my life saving people. If I was evil, why would I have devoted myself to helping people?”

  “Revenge.”

  “Come out, come out,” came from outside, definitely Gabriel’s voice. “Michael, are you here too? Don’t hesitate to come on out and play.”

  Michael stood and stared out the window. “Well, you’re surrounded.”

  “Help me.” He rose to his feet. “I don’t want to remember who I was. I love her. And she feels something for me. I don’t want to lose that. Until now, I’ve never had that.”

  “Can you trust in her feelings? If you don’t want to face who you are, how can she?” Michael sighed. “By facing who you are, you can come to peace with the choices you made and use your free will to make different ones.”

  He moved toward the door. “You don’t understand. I feel like I’m forcing the lid down, but once what is inside comes out, I can never be me again. I won’t be a man she can love.”

  As he took hold of the door handle, everything came back to him as clearly as though time had stood still since the day he’d created the façade of Etienne. For nearly two decades he had endured a pathetic existence.

  He opened the door to the room. To save the woman he loved from the man he truly was, he needed to walk out on her.

  As he fought the inner turmoil to take his prize, he flashed a smirk Deimos’s way. “Keep her safe from me.”

  With each painful step, the man inside him grew stronger and resisted their parting. Jutee and Asmodai watched him as he strolled by, opened the front door and stepped through.

  ****
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  Auria’s eyes fluttered open in the dim room. Streaks of light shone in from the cracks along the edge of the door to the side of her. She reached for her chest, but found no wound. Moving her hand further down, she felt the rise of her tummy and lifted onto her elbows. Tender muscles trembled as she tried to keep herself up, and she looked down at her rounded belly. “Etienne,” she called out. “Etienne.”

  Telepathically she tried to reach out to him. Though the vicinity held no trace of his scent, she hoped he was near. Her mind searched him out, but felt nothing.

  The door to the room swung open, and Deimos rushed in. His mouth dropped open at the site of her. “Auria?”

  “Where is Etienne? I can’t sense him.”

  Deimos lowered his head as he closed the door behind him. “He’s dead.”

  Even in the dim lighting, she could see tears shimmering in his ice blue eyes. She wanted to feel something from his words. Etienne was dead. Free. She remained trapped here. No. Untrue, though he believed his words to be true. If Etienne were dead, then so would she be. Wherever he might be, she could not reach him. “How many months was I out?”

  “Five,” he whispered. “I did not give up hope that you’d wake.” He knelt down in front of her.

  The smell of lush green vegetation saturated the air, mixing with his musky male scent. They were on Earth.

  The movement in her body unsettled her. She frowned while her hand moved over the roundness of her belly. Two.

  Deimos flashed his white teeth. “You radiate.”

  He reached a hand toward her, brushed a few fallen locks from her face. His touch on her skin stirred memories she could not bear. What was wrong with her? Uneasiness crept through the core of her being. She darted her gaze to his lush lips, wanting to feel something. Anything.

  “Please, don’t gawk at me in such an awkward way.” Why did she push everyone away, hurt them with her words?

  Her body felt weak, but she wanted to rise to her feet.

  “Well, at least you retained your good humor.” As Deimos held out his arm for her, his face moved into the light and revealed deep scarring.

  She skimmed along the edges of the gouges in his flesh with her fingertips. “Deimos.” Pain crushed her chest.

  “War is never pretty.” His arm swooped around her, lifted her with ease. “The others will want to see you.”

  “No. I don’t want to see anyone just yet. Please.”

  Deimos paused. “For now.”

  Guided to the small bed by his strong hand, she lay back and he covered her with a cotton sheet.

  ****

  A devilish smirk graced Grant’s mouth. “Gabriel, my wife has woken from her slumber.”

  “How do you know this?” A spark of curiosity flared in Gabriel’s eyes.

  “She tried to seek Etienne, but that man doesn’t exist anymore.” He laughed. He’d destroyed any semblance of him. Weak. “You will look after things in my absence.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Good.” Grant made his way to the rear of the coliseum room. “I’m to be left undisturbed. I will need time to prepare to go to her,” he said as he exited the room.

  Chapter 14

  A few weeks had passed, and Auria had regained much of her strength but tired easily. Today she sat nestled in a field of golden hay beneath a maple tree, studying the intriguing colors of the leaves above her head. The warm season was coming to an end, and she gave a quick adjustment to the blanket around her shoulders for warmth. Temperature used to have little effect on her, but now the chill reminded her of her frailty.

  No longer a General.

  They were frequently relocating, and the others told her nothing of the battles. She only saw fresh injuries and overheard them talking, but when they noticed her, they quickly changed the subject.

  Deimos spoke with a young woman by the house, an interaction that appeared genuine and affectionate, and she smiled with hope. How she wanted him to be happy, for him to feel his affections returned. All she had offered him was a shared poison.

  The cool evening breeze brushed over her skin, and using the tree for support, she stood. She walked to the house with a glance to him, and recognized the dark haired female. Leona. The one who’d prepared her for the wedding ceremony.

  Etienne. Why did she think of him so much? She entered, then walked through the house to her room located at the back.

  “Sneaking in.”

  Deimos’s voice startled her.

  “No.” She stopped and closed the door.

  “Auria.” He moved forward, pressed his hand to the door. “Do not try and lie to me. You’ve been withdrawn and are avoiding me.”

  Not just him. She wanted away from everyone. They all gawked and whispered about her with mistrust. She didn’t blame them, didn’t recognize herself either. The vulnerable eyes that stared back at her in the mirror didn’t belong to the great General she’d once been. “I have a lot on my mind.” The battle namely, and being forced to watch as they trained and strategized. An enemy led by a man so brutal that when she overheard them speak of his tactics, tears stung her eyes and her stomach betrayed her disgust.

  “The babies.”

  Moving to the window, she turned her back to him. How could she not think of the lives growing inside of her? How she pitied them for having her as a mother.

  “Etienne?”

  “Please don’t speak of him.” The sound of his name hurt. Everything she thought of found a connection back to him now. Why? They’d only been together a short time. One night of bliss couldn’t change a heart made of stone. And yet she’d been transformed and evaluated the centuries of her life with a critical eye. The truth of her actions were now painfully evident as the behavior of a frightened girl. Etienne would make a better parent than she ever could. He’d know how to care for their babies.

  “You need to mourn.”

  How could she explain to him she had no reason to mourn? With her savior lost out there somewhere, and she not knowing how to go after him, she was a failure. The inability to face him, or herself, remained a question in her mind. She too was a coward like Jehoel. After what she’d awakened with Etienne, she hadn’t meant to live to have to face the challenge. No, she would not mourn. Though suffocated by the neediness growing inside her without Etienne, she refused to break down. Her role had been to balance him, so why did it appear she needed him?

  “Auria.”

  “Please, I’m tired. Leave me.”

  “No.” He slammed the door shut, and the sound frightened her.

  She hated how edgy and emotional she’d become. The idea of the others seeing her this way, undone, terrified her so she avoided everyone.

  “I’ve been more than patient. I’ve let you have space, but I won’t watch you partner with another male. Not a second time.” Deimos’s voice remained calm.

  She searched through the sparks of anger in his eyes. “What are you talking about?” The thought of another’s touch repulsed her. Even a lustful gaze from a male chilled her soul.

  “You need a partner, a male to help guide and raise your sons. I won’t watch you pair with someone else. I will kill any male who gets between us.”

  “Do you hear what you’re saying?” Her hands shook as the thought of him imposing himself on her took root in her mind, her stomach protested. She inhaled a breath to calm her fear.

  “Yes.” He moved closer. “Are you clear on what I am telling you?”

  “Please go.” If she sent him away for good, she’d need to raise her young alone. Could she?

  “Don’t worry! I won’t command you to my bed.” Deimos smiled. “In time, you’ll come on your own.”

  She turned her back to him. The man knew all too well his effect on her. Now when she feared for her children’s future, he knew she would eventually come to him. He would be a nurturing parent to her sons and treat them as his own.

  “I will make it clear to the others. They put themselves in grave danger i
f they find themselves alone with you.”

  “Right.” She shook her head. “But you can be alone with other females.”

  The shine of his teeth reflected in the window glass as he flashed a grin. “No, only you, from this moment on. I will even stay here in this room with you.”

  The comment hadn’t been a jealous one, just a statement of fact, but he’d taken her words as displeasure of seeing him with another female.

  A light knock at the door broke the tension.

  “Not now, Leona,” Deimos bit out.

  “But you’re needed.” The timid voice spoke through the door.

  The light from the doorway shone onto the window. Deimos looked back, and the gleam in his eyes reflected at her.

  “Auria isn’t to be left alone when I am absent. Understood?”

  “Yes,” Leona said.

  Deimos’s scent lingered in the air hours after his departure. Ignoring Leona, she lay on the bed and finally drifted off to sleep.

  ****

  The smell of fresh blood woke Auria from her sleep. Even in the groggy state, aware of Deimos’s return, she clutched the blankets.

  “Err,” he groaned while disrobing by the basin.

  The blood-soaked material hit the floor, making a splat. The sight forced bile to the back of her throat as she pushed up to her elbows.

  “Deimos.” Her voice sounded strange to her, tinny and distant. She dreaded the coming conversation, but she couldn’t have him believing she’d agreed to his arrangement.

  “Please, Auria, I haven’t the energy to argue with you.”

  As her eyes adjusted to the lighting, she rose. The floor felt cold against her bare feet. She made her way over to him, dunked her hand into the warm water, pulled out the sea sponge and squeezed some of the water from it. The moonlight cast on him from the window revealed the true battered state of his body as he knelt before her, which put them eye to eye. A swell of tears threatened her veneer of calm. Now, as the very warriors she had trained to fight came back injured or didn’t return at all, she couldn’t assist.

  He examined her as she brought the sponge to his forehead and wiped the debris from his skin. She rinsed off the dirt then moved on to his nose and cheeks, and followed that with a gentle pat of a towel.