“And what would a power-hungry diabolical bitch of a leader do if she found one that could survive into maturity? She’d either bind you as an Oracle so she could control what you see to keep you under her thumb or kill you. Since she can’t do one, she’s going to do the other,” Evan pipes up from the circle of West’s arms.
“And by getting into my head she accomplishes what?” My head hurts now.
“She gets to torture you. She gets to make you crazy. She gets to turn that strong-willed, beautiful girl I fell in love with into a freaking hermit. She gets to twist the knife in my gut because I’m the reason she’s doing this, and I know it,” Rhys says miserably.
“But if I’m an Aegis, not that I believe you, wouldn’t she have come after me anyway?” I ask Nicola.
“It is possible but unlikely. Your full potential was not known to us when you left. Or more accurately, I did not tell Iva the full scope of your potential. By that time, I had begun to make moves to remove Oracles from her numbers.”
“Well aren’t you Mother Theresa,” I sneer sarcastically.
“You know, child, I am supremely fed up with your cheek. May I remind you, I am your elder, your Secondary, and your bloody savior. Show me some respect, or I will let your impertinent hide swing in the wind.”
“Look, lady. I don’t owe you a fucking thing. The way I see it, either Iva wants something from me or you do. I’m not sure what it is yet, but I gotta tell ya, I’m disinclined to give it to you. Now you can take that savior shit and shove it right next to the stick rammed up your ass.”
“Aurelia, dear, let’s not piss off the only person who can save our collective asses,” John tries to interject.
“She’s not going to save shit. And I’m sorry if this screws with your plan, but I’m not about to make a deal with the devil and get fuck-all in return. I’m leaving, and I’m taking Rhys with me. Anyone else staying, I suggest you get ready because Soldiers are coming and as far as I can see, no one but Carver makes it,” I say as I cut my eyes to Carver.
His arm is thrown over the shorter Javier’s shoulder, holding him in a loose embrace. Javier looks worried, and if the darkening of his eyes is any indication, he’s about two steps away from phasing.
“Oh, and Carver?” his eyes cut to me, furious and worried and blackening into an almost full phase.
“Yes, ma’am?” he mumbles through lengthening fangs.
“The next time you have the grand plan to hand me over to the enemy to save your ass? Don’t.”
12
This Woman Is Going to Kill Me
RHYS
I’m sitting here on our bed. The same bed that only a few hours ago was perhaps my favorite place in this whole grand world, and I’m probably going to ruin it. I don’t want to, but I have to stop my woman from doing something stupid out of spite.
Dear sweet mother of all that’s holy, this woman is going to kill me.
Aurelia is furiously packing, shoving articles of clothing and toiletries into her bag with enough force to split the seams of the duffle. She’s quick and efficient, and if I don’t hurry, she’ll be out the door before I can stop her. As much as it hurts me to think, we have to hear Nicola out.
“Gorgeous,” I call, but she doesn’t stop moving, she doesn’t even look at me. She takes a thick stack of bills and throws it in the duffle, and then gathers up the next and the next.
“Aurelia, stop,” I murmur as I catch her hand as she passes, reeling her into the space between my knees. My fingers span her denim-clad hips, and I look into her beautiful pale eyes. Her face is wrenched in worry and anger. I reach up, cupping her jaw and bring her face to mine. She tries to give me a quick peck, but my tongue sweeps the seam of her lips, and she opens her mouth, giving me a begrudging moan in response.
I lean back, pulling her on top of me as I go and quickly flip us, so I’m resting my weight on my forearms, and I’m between the legs of my reluctant beauty. In a lust-filled haze, I sadly part from her lips, resting my forehead against hers for a moment before pulling my head away. I’ve got to get my dick under control, or I’ll forget what I was going to say.
“Baby, we have to talk before we do something we can’t take back. I think we need to listen to Nicola for a little bit before we go. We at least need to find out if she knows if Soldiers are coming.”
“Because my visions are unreliable,” she says with a rueful twist to her mouth.
“Given what we now know, I don’t think we can trust them one hundred percent, Gorgeous,” I say gently as I massage her scalp with the tips of my fingers.
“You are so good to me,” she breathes on a sigh.
“One other thing, babe,” I say reluctantly.
“I knew you were buttering me up for something. What now?” she grouses.
“I think she is telling the truth about the Aegis. I’ve seen you. Evan’s seen you. You use an electrified shield, darling. Just because you can’t always control it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. And who’s to say that the others wouldn’t have lived? I don’t put it past Iva to exterminate an entire faction of Phoenixes to secure her throne. Do you?” I ask.
“No. I wouldn’t put it past her. How many of those children did she kill?” she ponders.
“If I’m going with my gut? All of them,” I mutter.
“Jesus. How long has she been Primary? Has she been killing Aegis children this whole time? Why hasn’t anyone noticed or done something about it?” she questions, raising her voice.
“I think she covers her tracks well. As far as I can tell, no one has ever objected to her rule. Or if they have, they didn’t live to tell the tale. And the Aegis stuff has been happening for a long time. Even I’ve always assumed those kids were time bombs, especially since they fucking exploded, but if that’s not the case…”
“Then she’s most likely killed them her entire reign,” Aurelia says as she gulps back tears.
“Yeah.”
“She’s been Primary for the last six hundred years. There have been at least two Aegis deaths a year sometimes more, so at bare minimum twelve hundred children have died. She’s a goddamn mass murderer,” she says through tears.
“So instead of running from this bitch, we should probably fight,” I suggest trying to rally my girl.
“Probably. Fine,” she pouts as she sniffs back her tears, “Let’s go talk to Nicola, but I’m doing it under protest and only for those children, got it?”
“You aren’t doing it for me? I think I’m offended.”
“No, you’re not. Now, let’s go before we all get slaughtered in our beds,” she says darkly.
“You are a ray of sunshine, you know that?” I say sarcastically.
“Yes, it’s why you love me.”
“That I do, Gorgeous. That I do.”
I reluctantly climb away from Aurelia’s warmth and pull her to standing. She readjusts her sleeveless olive green blouse, securing a wayward button that popped loose in our tussle.
A knock comes at the door, but before I can move to open it, Carver pops into our room in a swath of black smoke.
I’m positive the look on my face tells him this intrusion is not welcome.
“What? I knocked first,” Carver shrugs.
“What are you doing here?” Aurelia asks. Her hands are crackling with electricity, and I’m a little afraid she’s going to kill first and worry about the consequences later.
“I need to know what you saw,” Carver says irritably.
“Why? So you can stab me in the chest sooner? No thanks,” Aurelia growls.
“Look. I don’t know what you saw or what you think of me, but I wouldn’t do something like that,” he explains.
“Sure you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t lie to me either, would you?” Aurelia accuses, as her eyes start to glow.
“Damn it. Am I going to be judged for trying to keep the fucking peace? Fine. Yes, I lied when I said I forgot why Asher and Cam were fighting. I wanted you to feel safe here, and I didn�
�t want you to hate Cam, okay? Cam is a good guy; he’s just a little pissed right now. He has family in Cortez, or he had family in Cortez. He lost contact with them about a week ago, and when he went to check on them, he found the whole place burned to the fucking ground. Cam doesn’t want you here. He doesn’t want Iva here. He sure as shit doesn’t want any more war. He was rather vocal about it, and Asher shut him down.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t have felt safe here, and for good reason,” Aurelia says.
“And there’s no way we would have stayed,” I interject, finishing Aurelia’s thought. “Is there some reason you want us here, Carver?”
“Yes, there’s a reason. In case you haven’t realized this yet, Iva is having us exterminated like we’re fucking roaches. Like several millennia of truce means nothing. And I know what you Phoenixes think of us, okay? I know most of you think Wraiths are worse than dog shit on the bottom of your boot, but goddamn, we are people, too. And we serve a purpose, it might be awful, but it is necessary. I’m not going to be ashamed of how I was born,” he says, his chest heaving in anger.
Wraiths are the trash collectors, so to speak, of the supernatural community. They ferry deceased evil souls to hell, supernatural and human alike. To do that, they must consume them. It’s a nasty process that no one wants to witness, or be a part of for that matter.
Phoenixes, in turn, are supposed to ferry all other souls to be reborn. There is obviously a rift between the two species when there shouldn’t be. Why people give a shit who does what, I can’t fathom, but it's common for Phoenixes to be stuck-up snobs.
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘you Phoenixes’? My best friend in the whole world is a Wraith. I understand your purpose, and I commend you for it. I know I couldn’t do what you do. I couldn’t consume that much evil and not go crazy. I cannot imagine what you must go through to do that job,” Aurelia says incredulously.
“So not the point. I want to know what you saw,” he says.
“Come with us to talk to Nicola. I’ll tell you both at the same time.”
“Fine,” he says and smokes out.
“Why do they do that? It’s not that far of a walk,” I ask because the whole ‘poofing’ thing is fucking annoying.
“I don’t know. Because they can, I guess.”
I grab Aurelia’s duffel, and we head down the hallway to the bottom level game room. John is sitting in his comfortable leather armchair, half-sprawled with his head in his hands. He looks to be either trying to rip his hair out or squish his own skull. Cam and Asher are on either side of his chair, standing like sentries. Nicola is perched on his right with a glass of iced tea in her hand appearing as calm as you please. She looks at ease either because she knew we were coming or because she has little to fear with Kyle at her side. Kyle is lounging on the couch next to Nicola with his arm thrown over the back near her shoulders. He looks confident and smug.
I make a mental note to kick his ass in the near future.
Aidan and Ian are sitting at the bar, looking haggard, worried and spoiling for a fight. Evan and West are sitting on the loveseat next to the pool table. Evan has her hand entwined with West’s and is squeezing it hard enough I can hear his bones creak from here.
“Come to ask me for forgiveness?” Nicola asks, and I suppress a growl.
“Fuck, no. I came to ask you if Iva’s been killing the Aegis her whole reign. I also want to know if Soldiers are coming tonight during a thunderstorm. And finally I want to know if old Carver here, is going to stab me in the fucking lung,” Aurelia says just as Carver comes through the hidden basement door.
Javier is on his heels and goes from a smiley, good-natured guy to half-phased in less than a second.
“Carver wouldn’t do something like that,” he growls.
“Yes, he would. If it meant that you would live, he would do anything. And you know that,” Nicola says to him. Her eyes drift in our direction.
“I am – what’s the word you used earlier? Oh, yes. I am disinclined to answer your questions.”
“Look, you catty little bitch, I’ve had about enough of you. I didn’t like you one hundred and sixty years ago and I sure as shit don’t like you now. But I am happy to know you’re showing your true colors in front of the people who could be killed if you hesitate. I love how you are hesitant to stop mass murder. I love how fucking cruel you’re being right now. Because you can’t see the look on their faces, but I can. And it’s just dawning on them that you’re no better than Iva. You’re just in a different package,” Aurelia says with a cruel twist of her mouth.
“Do. Not. Compare me to that bloody woman,” Nicola snarls as she abruptly rises to her feet. The glass in her hand shatters from the force of her grip.
“Then don’t act like her,” I say. “Jesus, what’s your problem? You came to us. Just talk to us without the ridiculous hierarchy you have made up in your head. We’re not going to bow to you. Get over it.”
“Right. Just answer your questions, because that’s all I’m bloody well good for. Absolutely,” Nicola says bitterly, “I don’t know if Iva has killed the Aegis children. She has shielded herself from my abilities, more so over the last year. She is an expert at hiding herself. Based on the atrocities she has committed over the last three centuries I have been with her, it is within her character. I don’t know if Soldiers are coming here today. My future is unclear to me and has been for the last three weeks. I can see other peoples near future, but past a few days… I don’t know. And yes, Carver would stab his best friend in the back to save his husband. But you knew that already.”
“Great. You know exactly dick. Awesome,” Aurelia quips.
“Oh, I know a few things. Your future just isn’t one of them. I know Iva is sending out Soldiers away from their charges to go exterminate Wraiths. I know she has sequestered the Scholars away from their families. I know the Oracle population has grown over thirty percent in the last century, and their numbers have grown to the highest our race has ever had. I know she has revoked the exile covenant, and any Seer who refuses the transition to Oracle is put to death. And the Gentry have been called back from their posts. They are no longer collecting souls to send on. As I said, I know plenty. I just don’t know what happens today,” Nicola ends on a harrumph.
“Are the head families just letting this happen?” I ask.
“Yes. All four of the original families have several Oracles under Iva’s care. She can do whatever she wants. And their Soldiers are not there to protect them,” she answers back matter-of-factly.
“Well, fuck. So we can’t leave, and we have to stop the bitch. John, how do you want to play this?” I turn to John with my eyebrows scrunched betraying my worry on my face.
“We have plenty of weapons in the house, and there is a bunker hidden under the basement gym. I think a few people who cannot fight should be taken to safety,” John says, most likely referring to Nicola and Evan, even though Evan can hold her own in a fight.
“John, I think you should go. And I saw Asher and Cam ripped to shreds in my vision. Can they go as your guard? I don’t know who wants to stay, but those two need to leave,” Aurelia says.
“I must go as well. But I won’t go far. I am of little use in combat,” Nicola says, her face almost appearing sheepish at the confession of her inability. I remember the days when Aurelia could not fight. It makes me want to watch her in action.
“I’ll go with you,” Kyle says gruffly. Nicola’s head turns to the side toward his voice. She reluctantly nods.
“Okay, who’s staying?” I ask as a roaring clap of thunder shakes the house, and the lights flicker out.
“Everyone. It’s too late,” Aurelia whispers.
13
Too Late
AURELIA
I turn to Kyle. “Can you take her out of here?” I ask, referring to Nicola. I’m not exactly sure if he can travel with a passenger or not, but I know the big man isn’t letting her out of his sight.
“Yes. I c
an,” he says as he grabs her up from the couch, surrounding her with his thick arms. “I’ll be back as soon as I have her safe,” he says and promptly smokes out of the room.
Now that I think about it, all the Wraiths could leave us here to die. The dread growing in my stomach swells so big, I think I’ll drown in it. I look over to Evan, and it’s as if she can read my mind. She shakes her head at me. She won’t leave us. No matter what.
I take a huge breath, my anxiety cooling for a second.
Rhys has already drawn his Ruger, his eyes scanning the room for threats. He has positioned his body, so he is between me and the glass French doors leading to the bottom deck. A slight amount of ambient light is filtering through the glass, but it’s quickly fading as the storm picks up.
“We need weapons. Lots and lots of weapons,” Evan whispers. “I’m going downstairs. Dad, I want you with me.”
John looks reluctant. Moreover, he seems kind of off. He has circles under his eyes, his hair is disheveled, and his lips are drawn, his face lined with fatigue. And come to think of it, no one has mentioned his wife, Olivia. We’ve been here two days, and I haven’t seen her once. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Olivia in months. I’ve talked to Evan about her in passing, but I haven’t seen her. Even when I sparred with John at their house, I didn’t see her…
Have I been such a selfish asshole that I didn’t notice?
Yes. Yes, I have. The pit in my stomach turns into a boulder, and it’s hard to keep the hurt off my face. I am an awful friend.
West is hovering at Evan’s left and looks like he’s two seconds away from dragging her to the sub-basement bunker and chaining her there. Finally, he breaks and interrupts the father-daughter stare down that has been going on for some time by grabbing Evan by the waist and hauling her to the open basement stairwell. They have little worry about the failing power; Wraiths have superb night vision. Sometimes I wish Phoenixes were more bird-like in that regard.
Scattered Ashes Page 11
