Sebastian seized her wrist and pulled her towards him. His voice was low and harsh. “Kiera, your outlook is beautiful, but we are alone. Hopelessly alone. That knowledge has driven me to seek out the other solitary souls that possess this blood. You know what we’re building. It seems that everything is finally within my grasp.” His other hand touched the back of her neck. “But still, it’s you that I need.” He pressed his lips against her forehead, and lingered there before seeking her mouth.
Kiera let her tears fall, and accepted his kiss. He rose up onto his knees and leaned into her, and although his pressure was soft, she pulled away from the hungry insistence that threatened to drag her in. “I’m…not ready.” Her limbs shook, but her voice was even.
He closed his eyes for a moment, his lips frozen in a tight smile. Sebastian rested his hand on her head, and let it slide down her hair before standing and walking into an adjoining room. As Kiera moved to the window, Kayla strained against the body she shared with her. She broke through, feeling it first in her fingertips, and then quickly followed by the rest of her being weightlessly sliding towards Sebastian. Something wasn’t right, and she was determined to witness what he would do next. She passed through a door, but didn’t understand why she collided hard with his form. Kayla reeled, holding on to his shoulder for support, and at the same time, cringing away from him. She craned her neck to see his profile as he bowed his head. Sebastian spit into a little glass jar, snapped the lid shut, and although he wiped his lips, his satisfied smile couldn’t be smeared away. Kayla cried out, unsure of why she was so horrified, as the world around her dissolved into dull white vastness.
When color began to return to her sight, she thought at first that she was floating above her body, but it was Kiera below her in the morning sun.
“I’ve changed my mind. I’m not doing this, Sebastian.” The resolve on her face didn’t match the fear in her voice.
They were joined at both palms by their Intercessors, blood trickling down their arms. “You no longer want to make this world Heaven?” Sebastian looked far away and blissful, as if he didn’t care to hear the answer to his question.
“No, that can’t be it! The Angels are gone, Heaven is gone. Only the Nephilim remain — you’ve said so yourself! If we call down the void that once was Heaven, it could, it could… Don’t you see what would happen to the world?” As she watched his smile widen, she screamed, desperately fighting to free her hands.
“I already accepted the disappointment that you wouldn’t have the vision to see this through with full knowledge. But really, Kiera, what a time to come to a realization. It’s too late, you know.” The sky was beginning to darken.
“No!” Kiera yanked herself back, hard, and though she fell alone to the ground, her Intercessor was still lodged in his hand. She held her bleeding palm, no longer able to keep her tears inside. “How did you…? Give that back!”
“What a waste.” Sebastian brought his palms together, the marks on his bare torso and limbs glowing in the gathering darkness. He seemed to expand, and the light between his hands was like a new Sun.
Kiera collapsed in the grass, clutching her right wrist as the symbol on her shoulder shined brighter, while she grew pale and still. A boy with shaggy, brown hair ran to her from somewhere beyond Kayla’s limited vision. He tried to pull her away from the light that swelled towards her threateningly, but he stumbled in its brilliance. “Kiera, get up!” he yelled in between hard breaths, only able to drag her a few feet before falling, unconscious, atop her body.
“Not anymore, Za’in. I’m not going to take your word for it anymore. Drop her Intercessor. You have no right to take that. You have no right to do this.” A man emerged from the darkness, his angelic weapon trained on Sebastian like a gun. A few locks of his shoulder-length red hair hung in his face, casting shadows over his hard-boned features and his determined, narrowed eyes. He looked as if he had just been roused from sleep, wearing only some loose, thin pants.
Surprise was expressed on Sebastian’s face as only a momentary spasm, but his eyes stayed fixed on the cross that adorned the intruder’s bare chest. “Steelryn, I trust that you won’t do anything foolish. This is what we both worked towards.”
Michael was close; the backs of his fingers almost brushed against the unearthly light. “Drop it. I’m not going to tell you again.”
“I know.” The radiance that surrounded Sebastian flared up and suddenly burst out further, engulfing Michael as he fired his Intercessor repeatedly.
The blistering light scorched Kayla’s vision, slamming her back into the banyan tree and waking her with a choked cry. She trembled from the cold that stung her skin from within and without. She stood on wobbling legs, holding on to the tree as her sleep-clouded eyes searched her surroundings. It was so much like the setting for her dream. Could she have imagined it all?
“I wouldn’t be surprised by anything you saw in that tree.” Kayla jumped at the sound of Asher’s voice, turning to see him leaning against a large concrete tube lying in the dirt. Their eyes met. “You saw her,” he said softly.
Kayla tried to run to him, her legs weakening halfway through the short journey. Asher was there before she fell, raising her up in his arms. “You all survived that day, somehow,” she whispered. “If someone took your Intercessor, what would happen to you?” She let Asher support her, but she spoke to the sky, her arms aching and restless.
“You would never be the same.” His grip on her tightened.
“You were very brave to stay by her side.” Kayla’s voice was almost inaudible.
“They say it was a miracle that I lived, that no ordinary human could have withstood being so close to that energy. There were times that I wished I had died that day. There were times that I tried to make up for my sin of existing, and moments when I wanted to set the universe right by letting it finish the job it started. My survival didn’t make sense then, but now it does. If I had got my wish, I wouldn’t be here with you.”
Kayla held her breath; his words felt like blows to the chest. Neither one of them moved for a long while, until he set her down on the ground, both of them resting their backs against the concrete tube.
“You must be more conflicted than I ever was,” he said softly. “Za’in trained you, nurtured you. You have no memories of a world he didn’t construct, you have no memories of Michael and Kiera, and…you love his Arch. But your unique ancestry makes you a weapon. I can’t deny that you might be the only one that can prevent this coming disaster or make it possible.”
She turned her face to the sky, and she could almost see the stars through her closed lids. Jeremy told her that she wasn’t a weapon, and although she didn’t understand it then, she knew he didn’t believe his own words. Did he realize what Za’in had planned for her? “This next Eclipse…we can’t avoid the darkness, but we have to stop whatever he intends to bring with it. I know that now. But I feel like a loaded gun, waved around by a child. How can I live up to the expectations created by my blood? Where do I even begin?”
They sat beside each other in silence, drawing comfort from the gentle sound of each other’s breathing. After some time, Kayla could no longer ignore the pain in her left arm that had arisen when her last question left her lips. She felt as if the only thing that could relieve the burning pressure was to release her father’s Intercessor. She freed the hilt, letting gravity pull it down to touch the dirt at her feet. She held the bone in her palm, but the heavy sensation didn’t subside. His Intercessor stirred in her grip, dragging its edge through the soil. Where do I even begin? The question kept repeating in her mind, driving out all other thoughts, even her attention on the hilt. When it became motionless again, the sudden break in movement brought her gaze down involuntarily. The words Look up were etched in the ground. Where do I even begin? This was her answer. Above her, Orion’s belt shone brightly.
15
The pirates stared longingly at the television in the corner while Fec frantically
tried to pull a nail out of the wall. “There’s got to be a penny in tha’ sofa!” he cried out. “Viiic! C’mon, look!”
The broad-shouldered pirate sighed. “You can’t make a battery. You don’t even have lemon,” he droned as he half-heartedly rummaged through the cushions.
“That’s where yer wrong!” Fec abandoned the nail, drawing three lemons out of the deep pockets inside his calf-length coat. “An’ there’s more where tha’ came from. I found a’tree!” he cried out gleefully, letting the fruit drop to the floor as he brought his attention back to the nail again.
Vic handed a few copper coins to the pirate with the heavy dreadlocks. “Give these to him, Kerif. It’ll keep him distracted for a little while at least. Not like it would power a TV…”
Kerif offered his hand absently, his gaze fixed at the blank screen. “There aren’t any stations left to watch anyways,” he sighed with regret. He passed the pennies along to his left, into Bruno’s hands.
“It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?” His blue eye was hopeful.
Kayla lingered in the doorway watching them, while Kittie sat on the floor with her eyes shut tight and her face strained, searching for Jeremy with her unusual viewing ability. Bruno and Fec were busy piercing lemons with nails and pennies, pulling wires out of their pockets and abandoned appliances in the room, and then stringing it all to the television. She couldn’t help but laugh at their antics, but she still felt uneasy, remembering when Jeremy stood between them in the swamp. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
A hand on her shoulder made her breath catch, but when she felt its weight and stability, she knew it was Asher, and she relaxed.
“They’re harmless,” he said, his voice low and staid, as always. “I’d rather do this without them, but they’ve seen to it that they enmeshed themselves.” When Kayla turned to see his face, she was almost sure there was a smile beneath his stoic composure.
Her gaze followed him as he moved to the window and stared out. The light shone on Asher’s straight, assured form and pensive face. He tightened and unclenched his fists before brushing strands of his hair from his face and rubbing his jaw. She could tell he was making a decision he wasn’t satisfied with. Kayla felt weighted to the ground, unable to look away and unwilling to move forward. She was afraid of what would come next. At this moment, nothing seemed more constant than the man beside the window, but she also knew that Sebastian once held that place in her mind. The past month seemed like an endless circle of searching for trust and crashing against betrayal. Kayla couldn’t hold on to a sense of wounded superiority; the thought only deepened her guilt and served to sharpen the memory of Jeremy’s face as he stepped away from her under those flickering lights.
“Kayla. Kayla?” She shook her head, fighting to find the voice that called her. Asher was watching her from the window. “We don’t have to do this now,” he said softly.
“No…we can’t stay here long, right?” She didn’t understand why she suddenly felt so weak again.
“That’s right.”
She turned to Kittie, who looked up to meet her gaze. The small girl’s face was pinched anxiously. “He’s too far away,” the child whispered brokenly.
Kayla sat down beside her on the floor, letting Kittie crawl into her arms, both girls holding on to each other for comfort. “Asher, please begin.” She spoke with her head bowed.
The pirates had all fallen silent, their eyes darting between the disconsolate pair and their expressionless leader. “This’s awkward,” Fec whispered loudly, wiping lemon juice from his face.
From his place on the couch, Kerif kicked him in the back. “Shut up! Let Serafin say what he has to!”
Asher closed his eyes for a moment, his brow furrowing, and took a deep breath. “We have a little less than a month before the next Eclipse occurs,” he announced gravely, his eyes fixed on some point outside the window. “There’s no more time. It’s certain that Za’in is going to use that moment of power to commit an even more heinous crime against this world. He has to be stopped.” He looked to Kayla. “This is not how I wanted it to be, but I’ve found you a place as safe as any, and you’ll have four capable guards. I promise to come back for you.”
“What? No!” Kayla halfway rose up, gripping Kittie tightly.
“We swore to follow you, Serafin!” Bruno fought to stand amid the tangled wires. “Didn’t we prove ourselves back there?”
Asher turned from Kayla. “I never asked you to follow me!” he growled quietly at the pirates. “I foolishly assumed you’d eventually scatter. You have nothing to do with this, but if you insist on holding some unnatural attachment to me, then at least honor my wishes and protect her when I go.” He paused, holding his breath briefly, as he clutched his side where Za’in’s weapon caught him. The other four men were silent, as if they couldn’t release their breath until Asher did. He noticed, and that knowledge only increased his agitation.
Kayla dragged Kittie along with her as she made her way to stand before Asher. “I don’t understand. Last night you said it was my mother he needed last time and now I was the one — that the outcome depended on me. Please, I have to go with you.”
“That’s precisely the problem, Kayla. He needs you. But this time the goal is different, and I can’t guess at his method. He may have already taken from you what he wanted, but if he hasn’t, then I don’t want to deliver you back into his hands.” He turned his head, his eyes distant, and spoke quietly, as if to himself alone. “He may have what he needs already. Is that why we were able to leave that tower alive? He had to know his Ophan wasn’t acting on orders. I didn’t realize it then, but he had to have known…”
Kittie drew herself up, no longer limp and despondent. She tore at her clothing, pulling off every article of Za’in’s uniform she was wearing, and stood before Asher in her green striped underclothes. “I’m not his Ophan! Not anymore. This wasn’t some sort of game for any of us. I lost my best friend. It’s true we survived on Za’in’s arrogance. It happens at surprising times, doesn’t it?” She dropped her head, letting her angry tears fall. “I never took his mark, but I was able to make him believe it for a while. It was a risk. He doesn’t miss much, but he’s not infallible. And he was drunk on Kayla. By his estimations, he had already won. But he misread her too.”
Asher laid his hand lightly on her shoulder. “Kittie, I’m forever in your debt for bringing Kayla back to me. My intentions have never really been lost on you.”
They exchanged a tense look before Kittie lowered her eyes, a regretful smile pulling on her face. “I know. Za’in must be stopped. It’s simple. We can’t let anything else move us now. Not our pride, not our grief, not our desire. If we don’t stand now, there will really be nothing left this time. Only abominations. I know.” The tears standing in her eyes weren’t those of a wailing child any longer. “But Kayla should go with you. I know there’s a risk of recapture, but didn’t you notice that your kukris had no effect on him? If you want to strike down the most powerful of the Nephilim, you’ll need one of their own.”
“I can’t allow myself to risk Kayla that way.”
“You want me to…kill Sebastian?” Kayla’s whisper rose louder, her voice lost somewhere between fear and resentment. “Just because I don’t want to be his pawn doesn’t mean that I’ll be yours.”
Kittie looked at her dispassionately. “Without that threat of violence, Asher is just walking to his own death. You wanted to go with him. What did you think you’d do?”
Kayla matched her cold stare. “I’m a part of this. I’m not going to hide.”
“Well, that settles it then.” Kittie turned back to Asher. “You feel she’s safer with these guys? If Za’in finds where you hide her, do you think they can stop him from taking what he wants?”
“Hey!” Bruno cried out, while Kerif muttered, “uh, we’re sitting right here…” Before Fec could protest, Vic rolled his eyes at him. “He’d kill us.”
Asher looked momentarily defeated
. “I suppose you all want to come. And you think we’ll sneak by as an army of seven?”
“It was Vic’s strength and my illusion that got us into Za’in’s,” Kerif chimed in.
“An’ if it wasn’t for me an’ the Cap’n, you’d be without yer precious Inte’cesser,” Fec mumbled dejectedly.
Asher rubbed his jaw again, glancing down at Kittie’s discarded uniform. “Collect yourselves then. We need to put some distance between us and this place by nightfall.”
The pirates were already celebrating their victory with lemon slices as Asher stalked out of the room. Kayla ran after him, meeting him in the hall. She grabbed his forearm, and he froze, his back to her, waiting calmly for her words. “Please, don’t be angry with me,” was all she could think to say.
“I’m not. You have reason to go. I can’t deny that.”
“But still, I’m sorry if I made anything worse. I can see that you don’t want to continue your companionship with those pirates. I thought, that day on the shore, that you had been working together.”
He breathed a quiet laugh, turning to face her. “No, they were looking for you on their own. We both caught up to you at the same time, but it seems that Saros had easily defeated them in an earlier battle. He had really put some fear into them. They watched me fight him and close in for victory, until you entered the fray. They were excessively impressed and I’ve been unable to shake them since. The way they idolize me is maddening.” He looked exhausted, his bent spine giving away the wound in his side.
Kayla couldn’t ignore his injury. “It was an Intercessor that hurt you. Do you think that I might have the power to ease your pain?”
Asher’s body tensed slightly. “Your mother did have the gift of healing.”
“Would you let me try?”
“Save your strength for the journey. I’ve traveled further distances in worse conditions.” He looked at her with kind eyes before turning and continuing to walk down the hallway.
Dominion of the Star (Descendants of the Fallen Book 1) Page 11