Dominion 4 - Ascendance

by Lissa Kasey

  Bryar’s face scrunched up in thought before he finally said, “A firefighter.” I blinked at him. “Like a guy who runs in burning buildings to save people?”

  “Yes.” He smiled wide enough to make my face hurt.

  “Okay, sure. Once we get home, we’ll see if we can find a department that is looking for help and offers training.” Who would have thought, a firefighting fairy?

  Gabe got up from the bed and pulled some clothes out of my suitcase for me. He handed me a pair of soft trousers in gray and a beige cashmere sweater. Dressy for a normal evening.

  “It’s Solstice,” Gabe said quietly while I pulled on the clothes. I stopped. “But we were going to go home. I was going to invite everyone to a big meal that I made and give everyone Solstice wishes.”

  Gabe helped me button my pants and tugged on my sweater. “You might want to comb that mossy mess of yours before we go down and meet everyone for dinner. I think there may just be enough time for you to make a Yule cake.”

  Bryar looked away, popped into his tiny form, and flew back to curl up in the oversized collar of my sweater. “Mossy mess?” I asked and stomped to the bathroom. Flicking the light on, I had to rub away the brightness before finally seeing it. My scream echoed off the walls.

  Chapter 23

  BY the time I descended the steps and found my way to the kitchen, Bryar had styled my dark-green—yes, dark-green— hair on top of my head and made it look fairly nice despite the color. I really hoped it wasn’t permanent. The other hair on my body was still black, so there was good reason to believe the odd color would fade. If not, there was always hair dye.

  Jamie and Kelly were in the kitchen, both mixing and checking on things that would make up Solstice dinner. They held hands when they could, but both turned when I entered the room. In seconds I was engulfed in their embrace. Jamie stifled a sob and Kelly squeezed tighter than he normally did and petted my hair. “Green’s a good color for you.”

  “Argh! I hope it fades.” Jamie laughed. “Truly the GreenMan, fertility, earth, and life. If you really don’t like it, I know a really good colorist.”

  I growled at him. He shook his head at me, not intimidated at all. Kelly separated us and took me to a corner of the counter that had been cleared. “We need a Yule cake, Sei. I was beginning to think I’d have to make one. You know what a disaster that would be.”

  Somehow I didn’t think he’d do wrong with it at all. I checked all the ingredients and threw together a red velvet cake, cream cheese frosting, and a chocolate ganache layer for the top. Gabe found me there and wrapped his arms around me from behind, moving to a tune I couldn’t hear. We danced together slowly while the Yule cake baked. Hanna, Ally, Sam, and Timothy appeared in the kitchen just as Jamie was taking the turkey and honey-glazed ham from the ovens. Both smelled amazing.

  “Everything is almost done. Maybe we should share Solstice wishes?” Kelly suggested. A murmured assent rumbled through the room. Kelly spoke first. “My wish is for you all to have peace and strength of heart for the new season and beyond.”

  “I wish for you all to find and hold on to love for the new season and beyond,” Jamie told us.

  “I wish for you all to feel hope for the new season and beyond,” Timothy stated.

  “I wish for health for everyone for the new season and beyond,” Ally whispered, holding on to Hanna tight. “I wish for family to be drawn closer for the new season and beyond,” Hanna said, smiling at me.

  “I wish for vitality to everyone for the new season and beyond,” Gabe said.

  Sam frowned. “So I just wish for something? This is so not like Christmas.”

  Gabe nudged him. “You share a wish for everyone.” “Okay.” He sighed heavily and thought for a moment. “I wish for good friends for everyone for the new season and beyond?” He looked at Gabe, who nodded his approval.

  I wish for lots of chicken for everyone! Bryar told me, making me laugh. I shared the joke with them. “For myself I have no wishes, because I am forever grateful for the amazing family and friends I have. For all of you, however, I wish for the protection of the earth to guide you each day for the new season and beyond,” I told them all.

  Now can we eat?

  I laughed.

  Everyone began talking: Kelly and Jamie discussing ideas on how to make the house a retreat for young witches; Timothy about how Lily would be arriving for dinner and probably grilling me for the interview afterward; Hanna and Ally rambling about the babies and their new house. Sam had broken away, pushing himself into a corner of the room, where it seemed like he was part of the group, but not. We couldn’t have that now, could we?

  I tugged him to me, and he reluctantly followed me back to the counter, where I was working on the cake. “Help me get the frosting in so I can roll it, okay?”

  He frowned at the cake. “I don’t want to ruin it.” “Wouldn’t matter if you did, we’d all still eat it, but it’s pretty easy. Just spread the frosting across here.” I dumped all the white mix out in a big glob onto the cake and handed him the spatula. He took on the task with laser-focused concentration.

  Gabe snagged my hand and pulled me into his embrace. “I was going to wait until Christmas, but I can’t wait another moment.”

  “For what?” We were in a room full of people. Did he think we could just run away and do the funky monkey without anyone noticing?

  He kissed me, his tongue plunging inside my mouth with the skill of a deep-sea diver. His body pressed to mine, waves of power naturally flowing through us, and my heartbeat against his couldn’t have been more perfect. He finally let me go and stepped away to hold a small box out to me. I blinked at it a few times, knowing it was a jewelry box, but it was the wrong size for earrings, which were the only jewelry I wore. It was even too small for nipple rings. I’d left the only pair I had of those at home in my rush to escape my personal demons.

  Gabe released me and dropped to his knees as he opened the box. The room fell deadly silent, but he didn’t hesitate. “Seiran Rou, will you marry me?”

  I gulped. The room spun for a second or two. I actually felt Bryar shift into his other form to hold me up. My vision narrowed down to Gabe’s face and the ring, which was white gold with an onyx stone set in the middle and a crescent moon made out of tiny diamonds. It was like looking at the midnight sky just days before the new moon.

  When I found my voice it came out as a croak at first, and I had to say it three times before it came out understandable. “Yes.”

  The smile that lit up Gabe’s face reminded me so much of the first smile that drew me to him that I threw myself into his arms and covered his faces with kisses. We were already as bonded as two people could ever be. This, however, would display our love to the world. He really wanted to keep me, forever keep me.

  “Did someone say something about a wedding?” Lily appeared in the doorway to the kitchen from the foyer. “I would love to plan a wedding.”

  “Now can we eat?” Bryar demanded. We all laughed.

  Epilogue

  NO ONE’S first day at work should be walking into the

  bowels of a Dominion prison. My actual job description of Magic Investigations Research Analyst mentioned nothing about interviewing prisoners, but Caleb Bentley, or whoever was impersonating the dead man, vowed to speak only to me.

  The witches who acted as guards barely spared me a glance while they opened doors for me. Gray brick walls settled deep within the earth enhanced the gloomy atmosphere. The titanium bars with nullification artifacts embedded dampened even my power. If Caleb tried something, most witches would be powerless to stop him.

  However, in the past three weeks Kelly had intensified my defensive training. He praised me for how easily I picked up all the moves and flowed with them. I would never mention to him that I spent hours practicing with Bryar or Gabe just to keep my mind and body in fluid motion. The new control infiltrated every aspect of my life, my magic, my anxiety, and even my cooking.

 
; Gabe and I set aside time each night just to talk about whatever we were feeling or worried us. At first it was awkward; now I looked forward to getting all that crap off my chest and hearing about my lover’s insecurities. Knowing his troubles actually helped me sort through mine faster. Unfortunately, he couldn’t come with me today, as vampires were not allowed inside the prison.

  The final door loomed before me to a small, secure conference room where Caleb would be waiting. The guard at the door gave me a ghost of a smile. “We’ll be watching, so if he tries anything we’ll be in there in seconds. Don’t worry.”

  The room looked like a hospital and a TV cop-show interrogation room had a baby: sterile, barren, with black glass surrounding all sides except the door. Caleb sat chained to the wall, on a bench made of steel. His jumpsuit was a calming but ugly shade of seafoam green. The dark bags surrounding his eyes and gaunt slant to his cheeks made him look starved.

  I sat down in the chair behind a table across the room, both also steel and bolted to the floor. The room felt like a dead zone, strong with nullification power. “Hello, Caleb,” I whispered, not really sure what to say. “Don’t suppose you’ll tell me your real name?”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he replied.

  The Dominion had given me a list of questions to ask. I glanced at it and then back up to him. “Who’s your master?” The corner of his lips turned up slightly. “God.” “Whose god?” I waited for a few seconds, but he didn’t reply. “I want to help you. Do you know the Dominion has sentenced you to death? By fire?” The mere idea of it made me shudder. I’d been asked to attend and refused. “Don’t you have family you want to speak to? Someone who will miss you? I can get a message to them. Bring them before….”

  He laughed. “I’ve been around for seven centuries, Rou. Family is all dead. You’ll understand soon enough since you’re bound to Santini. That burly brother of yours, those babies on the way, they’ll all be dead before you realize it. It will hurt less if you let them go now.”

  I swallowed back a reply. Gabe and I had spoken about what the bond truly meant, why Caleb hadn’t died, and how long I would likely live. The decision we’d come up with was that we would love our family as long and as much as we could until they were gone. Beyond that, we would only learn with time. “Is that why you attacked me? Destroyed the tree? Why would you need all that power?”

  He wouldn’t look at me, but his grief was tangible. We both sat in silence for a minute or two. I drew a breath in, channeling the earth. Despite the nullification, it came so easily. The power rolled to the surface of me, making my skin glow and hair curl in bright-green waves. I crossed the room, caressing his pain away with gentle non-corporal fingers.

  “Tell me your real name,” I whispered.

  He resisted, but his soul echoed a reply without any such indecision. Jonahs McLaurien. “Hello, Jonahs.” I paced the room slowly. Flowers and grass bloomed around my feet as I moved, leaving a trail of green wherever I walked. Since the other question had caused him pain, I decided to rephrase what the Dominion wanted me to ask. “Who is your lover?”

  He sighed and shook his head, unwilling to give him up. I ran my fingers down his cheek, adding to the subtle magic touch that revived him a little. After all, earth was life and death in one beautiful package. “Companion? Best friend? What is he to you now? Simply a master?”

  “No.” His grief intensified, and tears filled his eyes. I felt awful but wanted him to have some closure before he was put to death. How would I feel sitting there? Would I die protecting Gabe? The answer was an instant yes. “Will you tell me why?”

  “He doesn’t know.” I didn’t try to ask who again. “What do you want me to tell him?”

  “I’m sorry I failed. I wanted to give him all he wanted.” Jonahs glared at the wall. “I thought I could get him back if I gave him the power he craved. Even if it was the last thing I did.”

  “You were going to give all the power to him? From the tree and from those who died at the ring?” Sacrifice his own life to direct the power to someone else, his master, who obviously craved it.

  “Yes.” He finally looked back at me, his eyes meeting mine, and the flood of knowledge poured into me. I saw Jonahs, the man he called master, and others, many others I didn’t recognize, and a few I did, like Max and Tresler. Jonahs had been impersonating a member of the Ascendance Council to learn how to use the ring, only to find out they hesitated to use it after Andrew Roman died. I’d have to notify Luca that someone was missing.

  Jonahs’s master was a fond memory for him. Friends first, then lovers, he treasured the times they spent together. As time progressed, his master began to pull away, which confused and angered Jonahs. I watched the memories replay and ached for all the times they had together in sweet romance, only to lose it over passing years.

  The vampire had beautiful blond hair and pale-green eyes, a lot like Gabe, but the recollections of him were nothing like my man. Jonahs’s vampire had lost the light in his eyes, choosing instead to fade into the darkness, a skeleton of fear, pain, and loneliness. The image of him deteriorating from lack of will had me anxious to get this terrible interview over and back to Gabe. Was this what Gabe would have become if he hadn’t met me? Sweet Gaea!

  “It’s better that I go before him. Prepare for him,” Jonahs said quietly.

  “The earth will make a home for both of you.” He looked up at me, the image of Caleb fading away to reveal a young man who wasn’t all that different from myself. His history had been just as jaded, life tainted by people who only sought to hurt him. He’d survived clinging to his master, and now that his master had lost his will to live, so had Jonahs.

  “Destroy him,” he whispered. “So he can follow me. Please?”

  “If it’s what he wants.”

  Jonahs closed his eyes and relaxed against the wall. “Thanks, Rou. Blessed be to you and all of yours.” I nodded to his words and reined my power back in, restoring the room to what it was meant to be. Reeling in the power was so much easier now that I had control of it. Would the Dominion fear the power I had? Likely if they had just watched the display I’d offered them, but they could only dream of coming against me and mine.

  I left Jonahs with a final breezy touch and whispered a spell to release his spirit back to the earth from which it came. He could let go of his body whenever he was ready, before or after they killed him. I needed to go home and spend time with my family.

  The guards walked me out, keeping a more than polite distance between me and them, likely out of fear of what they’d seen in the interview room. What they thought of me mattered little.

  In the parking lot, Gabe’s black sedan idled in the noparking zone. I opened the door and then slid into the passenger seat. He leaned over and kissed me lightly, likely tasting the tears I finally set free to drip down my cheeks. I didn’t want Jonahs McLaurien’s memories, even if they might hold future truths. I just wanted to discover what Gabe and I had together one day at a time.

  “Nicholas Galloway isn’t dead yet,” I told the love of my life.

  Gabe gripped my hand, sharing the memories with me. “He won’t survive the death of his focus. He should have held on with everything he had.”

  I couldn’t have agreed more.

  About the Author

  LISSA KASEYlives in St. Paul, MN, has a bachelor’s degree

  in creative writing, and collects Asian ball joint dolls that look like her characters. She has two cats who enjoy waking her up an hour before her alarm every morning and sitting on her lap to help her write. She can often be found at anime conventions masquerading as random characters when she’s not writing about boy romance.

  Visit Lissa at her web site: http://lissakasey.com

  Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/parisbvamp

  Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4904 483.Lissa_Kasey

  as well as Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php? id=1186894710

  and her blog: http://li
ssakasey.blogspot.com/.

  THE DOMINION SERIES by Lissa Kasey

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  Copyright

  Ascendance ©Copyright Lissa Kasey, 2012 Published by

  Dreamspinner Press

  5032 Capital Circle SW

  Ste 2, PMB# 279

  Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Art by Reese Dante http://www.reesedante.com This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the Publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 5032 Capital Circle SW Ste 2, PMB# 279 Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

  Released in the United States of America November 2012

  eBook Edition

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-62380-014-7