The Pearl of Paradise

by Jean Brashear

  Red silken wrappings still covered the contents, and he opened them with unnatural calm. Finally, he smiled, glancing at Damon in triumph.

  “The Pearl of Paradise. Soon to be the key to my kingdom.”

  “Will it be worth it, Kwan?”

  Kwan glanced at him sideways. “Worth what?”

  “Having the murder of a holy man on your soul. Knowing that you entered sacred ground and spilled blood to satisfy your greed.” Damon stopped, knowing it was futile. “You have no honor. You never did.”

  Kwan’s eyes blazed. To the man behind him, he barked. “Take the child away.”

  “You got what you wanted, Kwan. Let him go.” Damon took a step in his direction, and the men around him closed in.

  Damon had too many directions to look; Kwan was very near, his men almost as close. Yet he heard the sounds of a scuffle—Gregory crying out, “Aunt Lily!” and Lily screaming, the sounds of fighting erupting.

  Feel the beat, Fan Lee had said.

  Damon felt, rather than saw, the man behind him make his move. He whirled, striking out with a quick liver kite, and the man expelled air in a gust of pained breath. The other two moved in, and Kwan stepped away.

  Damon could barely catch a glimpse of Lily clawing and scratching, defending her child.

  He sensed the man coming at him from the side, leg extended, going for his groin. Falling into an X-block, he deflected the blow, then raised his arms upwards to unbalance the man and turn his momentum against him. The man fell heavily to the floor. The man on his left struck out, and Damon used the open hand to deflect the blow, then closed into a fist to deliver several quick body blows of his own.

  Closing his eyes for critical seconds, Damon felt the first man’s energy seeking him out from behind. He whirled and delivered a powerful kick to the side of the man’s knee. The man dropped to the ground, screaming.

  Gregory’s screams sounded in his ears, and Damon whirled back around to locate him. Kwan’s henchman delivered a blow to Lily’s head, and she lost her grip on the child, falling heavily to the pillows. The man snatched Gregory out of her hands and headed toward the door.

  Gregory’s hands and feet pummeled the man, and Damon felt a surge of pride at his young cub’s courage.

  The moment’s distraction cost him. Damon saw from the corner of his eye that the second man was rising from the floor. When he turned to meet the man’s blow, he was grabbed from behind.

  The man he’d been turning to meet aimed a vicious kite to Damon’s solar plexus, and air exploded from his lungs. He struggled against the two sets of arms holding him from behind; they held him immobile. Kwan nodded, and the man in front took pleasure in paying Damon back. The first blow snapped his head to the side, and light exploded behind Damon’s eyes. Two more body blows followed, and Damon’s lungs seized, his body sagging.

  “No!” he faintly heard Lily scream. He couldn’t focus well, but he thought he saw her rising unsteadily from the pillows.

  “No, Lily,” he mumbled around the blood in his mouth. His head dropped to his chest, and he struggled to keep his footing.

  Lily rushed at Kwan’s back, fear clawing into her soul. These men looked like they’d gladly kill Damon. Fear for Gregory and Damon both compelled her toward their tormentor. If she could seize him or the Pearl, maybe they’d recover some bargaining chips. All the thugs were occupied, most holding Damon and the last one with Gregory. She summoned her muscles to cooperate and leapt on Kwan’s back, extending her nails and raking his face, wrapping her legs around him from behind.

  Kwan grunted, and the Pearl flew from his hand, shattering on the floor. He roared in outrage and threw her off his back. She hit the floor so hard she expelled all the air in her lungs.

  The room closed in on Lily, darkness eating away at the edges. She shook her head, desperate to get back up and defend her child, but the room spun before her.

  The man punching Damon stepped away and moved toward her, grabbing her roughly off the floor. Lily’s stomach lurched, and her vision blurred.

  “Stop!” a voice cried out. “I have the real Pearl.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Damon felt the shock run through him. He stopped struggling and tore his gaze from Lily, turning to look toward the door.

  “Callie,” he groaned. How had she found it? What the hell was she doing?

  Everyone in the room stood as though frozen. Even Kwan appeared to be shocked by the small woman’s appearance.

  Callie glanced over at him, her gaze soft and warm. “I’m sorry, Damon, but I can’t let you sacrifice yourself. We all need you too much.” Swallowing heavily, her voice strengthened. Turning to Kwan, she continued. “Let them go, and I’ll give you the Pearl.”

  Lily moaned, “Callie, you don’t understand.”

  Callie shot her a glance. “All I need to understand is that Damon has given up too much for this piece of ivory.”

  Kwan smiled at her. “You did the right thing. Let me see it.”

  Callie hesitated.

  “Don’t trust him, Callie. He won’t let us go, and he’ll kill you, too,” Damon warned.

  Gnawing her lip, she straightened slightly. “Let them go first.”

  Kwan hedged. “I will let the woman and child go, but not Alexander.”

  “No!” Lily cried out.

  “Lily,” Damon turned his head toward her, his arms still tightly gripped from behind. “Lily, listen to me.”

  She raised tear-swollen eyes. “I can’t leave you here, Damon.”

  “You have to, sweetheart.” He pressed. “Take Gregory away from here, far away.”

  Tears poured down her cheeks. “Damon, no.”

  “Tell him about me, Lily. If you can—” his throat tightened. He cleared it. “If you can look past what I’ve cost you, please tell him how much I wanted to—” He looked away, then ground out. “Go, Lily. Take him now.”

  The man holding Gregory let him go and edged toward Callie. Gregory shot across the floor, throwing himself against Lily. At Kwan’s nod, the man holding her let go. She dropped to the floor, wrapping Gregory tightly in her arms.

  Eyes squeezed tightly shut, she clasped Gregory’s head to her shoulder. Gregory sobbed, wrapping his arms around her neck.

  Lily stood up slowly, still a bit unsteady and burdened by Gregory’s weight. She stood facing Damon, her heart in her eyes. Then defying Kwan, she walked toward Damon.

  He tried to warn her off, though he ached to touch her, just one more time. “Lily,” he grated, but his voice softened on the last syllable.

  He struggled against his bonds, and the hands on his arms tightened. Finally, he could only watch her, hoping somehow she’d know all the things that were too private for him to say in front of Kwan.

  Stopping right in front of him, she urged Gregory’s head up. “Gregory,” she said softly, “I want you to meet your father.”

  Damon’s eyes burned. So generous, after all he’d done. As he waited for his child to face him, Damon gazed into the eyes of the woman he’d love for all time.

  Gregory turned and stared for a long, pregnant moment. His hand reached out and touched Damon’s cheek. Damon wanted to sink to the ground and howl. The pain was exquisite, knowing this was goodbye, yet gratitude for the blessing of his child’s touch swelled his heart.

  “You have blue eyes, too.”

  Damon could barely smile. He nodded. “Just like yours.”

  Gregory leaned toward him, and Damon tried to close the distance, his shoulder joints straining against his captor. His heart pounded so hard he could barely hear.

  Then Gregory leaned just a little further and laid his head on Damon’s shoulder. Damon closed his eyes at the sweetness of it, the hot press of tears trying to escape his lids.

  “I love you, Gregory.” Thank God he’d been allowed the chance to say it.

  “I’ll be brave like Aunt Lily said,” Gregory whispered in his ear.

  Damon saw the tears scouring Lily’s che
eks. His heart was going to explode. “Thank you, Lily.”

  She nodded. “I love you, Damon. I always have—I always will.” Suddenly, rage rose again. “Damn you, Damon. I can’t—”

  Leaning his head against Gregory’s, Damon soaked in the touch of his child, then moved slightly away, feeling his heart pulled away with them, as Lily settled Gregory against her hip. “You can, Lily. That’s just one of the reasons I’ve loved you for so long.”

  “So touching,” Kwan drawled.

  Damon stiffened, giving Gregory his best imitation of a smile, sending one last caressing glance to Lily.

  “Damon—” Lily called out, reaching out one hand. Then, with a visible effort, she straightened and lifted her head, tucking Gregory close. Without another glance, she walked toward the door.

  Taking Damon’s heart with her.

  “Now, the Pearl,” Kwan demanded. Turning to one of his men, he snapped, “Bring the Dragon and set it here,” pointing to the table.

  “You,” he gestured to Callie. “Give me the Pearl.”

  Damon watched as Callie’s face turned mutinous. “Not until you let Damon go.”

  “Callie—” Damon pleaded. “He’ll never let me go—there’s too much between us. Give him the Pearl and get out of here.”

  “But, Damon—”

  “Callie, damn it, the women back there need you. Now go on.”

  “Enough of this foolishness,” Kwan snapped. “Grab her.”

  The remaining man materialized at Callie’s side, grabbing her roughly.

  “There’s no call for that, Kwan. She’ll give it to you.”

  “I tire of her games.” He nodded, and the man slapped Callie hard.

  She came up fighting; she’d lived through this scene too many times to crumple. The man aimed a blow at her head, and Callie went down in a heap. Roughly, the henchman pawed at her clothes, emerging victorious with a silken bundle.

  Kwan’s eyes lit up, and he shot a smile of triumph at Damon, then turned to unwrap his treasure. His eyes glowed when the Pearl peered out from its nest. Glancing back, he nodded. “Not a bad replica you created, but the difference is impressive, once you’ve seen the real thing.”

  Damon focused his energies, feeling for the pulse of the room.

  Kwan knelt before the Dragon, reaching to touch the Pearl for the first time, ready to place it back in the home it had lacked for centuries.

  When his skin touched the Pearl, the room rocked in a blast of light and noise. Ozone crackled in the air.

  Damon jerked away from his surprised captors and charged through the cloud of smoke straight for Kwan, who’d been thrown to the floor. Yanking him up, Damon wrapped one arm tightly around his throat, squeezing him until Kwan gasped for air.

  Damon placed his other hand to the side of Kwan’s neck, ready to snap it. As Kwan’s men rose from the floor, Damon nodded toward them. “Get over here where I can see you.” To the side, he motioned, “You, too, amah.” The old woman obeyed. The man beside Callie hesitated.

  “I’ll snap his neck and never look back.” Nodding at Callie, he continued. “Get Chang, Callie.”

  She inclined her head and moved unsteadily toward the door.

  As the men assembled, Damon tried to forestall the encroaching rage. His arm tightened, and Kwan gasped. “Do not act in anger, but with deliberation,” Fan Lee’s voice urged.

  Not so easy, Master. He hurt my son and my woman.

  “You whoreson dog,” he gritted out. “You entered holy ground and killed an old man who’d never done anything to harm you.”

  Kwan grunted.

  “And don’t try to tell me you didn’t enjoy it. You sick bastard, you always took pleasure in dealing pain.”

  Kwan gasped out. “He proved surprisingly tough.” No remorse, not one speck.

  Red rage scoured Damon’s mind at the thought of the old man who’d been like a father. “I will show you the same mercy,” he ground out, despair stealing through him.

  “Damon, don’t.”

  His head came up. “Lily—” He glanced around. “Where is the boy?”

  “Callie has taken him away.”

  “Get out, Lily.”

  “Damon, you don’t want to do this. You know what happened before, the toll it took each time you had to kill.”

  His eyes narrowed. “He hurt you.”

  She glanced around. “What just happened?”

  “I’m not sure. You were close outside?”

  She nodded.

  “It must be as we guessed. Somehow, our union protected the Pearl, even away from sacred ground.”

  “Where is it?”

  Damon had spared no thought for the Pearl. Kwan squirmed, and Damon tightened his grip, flexing his fingers in anticipation of the snap of Kwan’s neck.

  Lily knelt beside the table on which sat the Dragon. Spying the Pearl, apparently unharmed, lying on the floor, she reached out, pausing at the last second.

  Every breath in the room was suspended.

  Glancing up at Damon, she smiled. He swallowed heavily, waiting.

  Lily reached out and picked up the Pearl, and the room pulsed with quiet. Cradling it in her hand, she lifted it toward the Dragon, stopping just before settling it in its proper place.

  She glanced up and met Damon’s gaze. “The Dragon and his Pearl are one.” No marriage vow had ever been more binding than the look that passed between them.

  Slowly, she lowered the Pearl between the Dragon’s paws.

  Damon felt it run through his body, and by the widening of Lily’s eyes, she felt it, too. Warmth, and sense of completion, suffusing them both.

  He could swear the statue glowed from within.

  When he relaxed his arm slightly, Kwan stirred, and Damon’s attention snapped back to his prisoner.

  Somehow, he couldn’t feel the rage anymore. He was so tired of killing, so tired of the warrior’s life. The sense of coming home that he’d experienced when the Dragon’s Pearl was reunited, somehow robbed him of the last vestiges of hate.

  But Kwan was still a deadly enemy. This had to be finished.

  Lily saw the battle going on within Damon. She could not allow him to harm his soul again. He might remove the threat of Kwan, but he would never recover the lost piece of himself that murder would scatter to the winds.

  “Damon, let him go. Don’t take this upon yourself. We can seek the authorities to help us, but beyond that, remember the legend.”

  He glanced up at her, hope warring with doubt.

  “‘In the hands of a virtuous man, the Dragon’s Pearl will strengthen his virtue and make him a powerful force for good.’”

  He didn’t respond, but she could see him thinking.

  “Don’t do this to yourself. It will diminish your soul if you kill him with your own hands. The Dragon’s Pearl will protect us from Kwan, Damon. Look what the Pearl did by itself.”

  She saw the wish to be done with killing displayed on his face, but seeds of doubt remained.

  “We’ll come back with you, Gregory and I, and live with you at the temple, if you wish. We’ll take the Dragon’s Pearl, and we’ll live there always, if that’s what it takes.”

  A noise at the door startled them both. Chang stood in the entry, police at his side, the outer sentry held in custody.

  Damon looked at Chang. “Gregory?”

  “Safe with Callie.”

  Damon tightened his grip, seeing once again Kwan’s hands on a drugged Lily, Callie knocked to the ground, Gregory’s terror.

  “We’ve been looking for this man for a long time, son,” a grizzled cop spoke. “We’ve got a bookload of charges to lay on him, if you’ll just let him go.”

  Damon met Lily’s gaze, realizing that he wanted a life with Lily and his son, and he was tired to death of killing. He dropped his arm, and Lily dropped her head into her hands.

  Kwan whirled and snarled, “You always had a woman’s heart, Alexander.” He leapt for Lily, out of Damon’s reach. “Y
ou’ve stolen too much that should have been mine,” he wrapped one hand around Lily’s throat, beginning to squeeze. “But I’ll take what you love most.”

  Gasping for air, Lily stomped at his foot, and Damon cleared the distance between them in one bound, lashing out with a foot aimed at the side of Kwan’s head.

  Kwan dropped his hand from Lily’s throat, and she staggered away, but he recovered and went after her again, this time with a knife in his hand.

  A shot rang out, and Kwan dropped to the ground. The room exploded into motion.

  Damon closed the gap and yanked Lily into his arms roughly, pulling her away from the action. Placing his body between them and the chaos, he gentled his hold, feeling the tremble running through Lily rock him, too.

  Lily’s arms closed tightly around his waist.

  The room quieted around them, and Damon saw the grizzled veteran feel for Kwan’s pulse and shake his head. The others were rounded up, including the old woman.

  “Aunt Lily!” Gregory’s voice rang out, thin and reedy. Escaping Callie’s hand, he headed straight for them, skidding to a stop and looking up. His eyes huge and dark, his lower lip trembled, but he didn’t crumple; he didn’t cry. Damon’s pride in him surged, as did his craving to wipe from Gregory’s mind what he’d had to endure.

  “Are you really my dad?” His gaze fastened on Damon.

  Not letting Lily go, almost desperate to touch her, Damon reached down with one arm and lifted Gregory to their level.

  The child’s gaze traveled between them, from Lily’s watery smile, to Damon’s bone-deep longing. Then he reached up and wrapped both arms around Damon’s neck. A piercing ache stole through Damon’s heart.

  Damon looked to Lily for permission to tell their child about them both. Lily shook her head slightly, mouthing, “Not yet—it’s too much.” Damon nodded, grateful that now they would have time… time to put their family back together, the way it should always have been.

  “Yes, son, I am.” He pulled Lily closer, feeling both her arms around his waist, one hand rubbing Gregory’s back.