“So, what are we going to do?” Layla asked. She saw that Pax was walking towards her, and she knew that this would be an interesting lunch conversation.
“I could sense your prana from the house,” Pax said, amazement visible in her expression. “You’re the visitor from the future who came to warn us about the comet. Good Sakra! Nyssa? You’re taller than me!”
Nyssa smiled through her tears, pulling away from her mother to hug her mentor. “Auntie Pax! You look exactly the same.”
“Good to know. Whoa, kid, you’re huge.” Pax hugged the young woman, noticing the odd kiwi-colored jumpsuit. “Is this fire resistant?” Pax emitted a few flames from her fingertips, scorching Nyssa’s shoulder. “Wow, durable clothes! I need to get me some—in a less garish color, of course.”
“You were wearing a red one the last time I saw you,” Nyssa told her. She sighed. “I want to talk to Aunt Amara. I think we girls should make a plan, and secure a nice, comfortable bomb shelter deep underground. A place where we can take all the devas; all our friends and family.”
“What?” Pax frowned. “No way. The comet isn’t going to hit the planet. Vince is going to find a way to stop it from happening.”
“We need a solid contingency plan,” Nyssa said.
“A what?” Pax shouted. “Failure isn’t an option here. We can’t afford to waste time planning to run and hide…”
“Auntie Pax…”
The look on the young woman’s face was so dejected, her voice so demoralized compared to the energetic young girl who was only a few feet away in the house. Pax knew she would have to put aside Para’s hijinks for the time being and focus on the bigger picture. Her friends and family needed her.
Layla sighed. “Ladies—let’s discuss this over lunch.”
Chapter 26: Normal Human Life
“Good,” said Vincent, nodding in approval as they returned to the Kalgren Compound. “Your teleportation will be sufficient.”
Pax was dizzy, but she would not allow herself to simply release Vincent’s arm and slip down to the sofa. She had spent the past ten hours teleporting her teacher to random locations all over the globe, and even throughout the solar system. She learned that the more distance traveled, the greater physical toll was taken on her. Vincent had tested her technique for precision and speed, occasionally attacking her with various prana techniques or physical blows so that she was forced to perform the technique under duress. “Glad I pass the test,” she muttered, trying to keep herself standing. She knew that if it had not been for the years of practice in the vector zone, her skill would have been seriously underdeveloped.
“We have one more technique to study today,” Vincent said firmly. Sensing her exhaustion, he pushed her forward so that she collapsed into the sofa. “Rest for a minute. This final technique will require much mental focus and memory work—then you may return to your normal human life for a few hours while I train with the earth deva.”
“You think I still have a normal life?” Pax asked in amusement. The past several weeks seemed to pass by in slow motion; the man had been working her to the bone. The only frivolous thing she had done was merge to become Para and go out on a few dates with Asher for Amara’s sake—but of course, that amounted to one or two half-hour periods per week.
After meeting Nyssa and hearing her story, Pax had adamantly refused to be part of any ‘contingency plan.’ While Amara and Layla directed their efforts into establishing a fortified bunker (and, in Amara’s case, making sure that her bomb shelter was fully equipped with all her modern luxuries,) Pax had aligned herself with Vincent’s strategy, declaring that she had complete faith in the man and his methods. Most of the devas had flocked to Vincent’s corner, requiring that he divide his attentions—but the most significant portion of his efforts focused on Pax. Raymond and Asher also participated heavily in the training process, but Thornton was largely absent. He had been commandeered by his mother’s methods, and he was still quite upset with Pax—too angry to train alongside her.
“You can’t spend all your time practicing and preparing,” Vincent said decisively. “If you don’t relax and have a normal life, you won’t have anything deeply personal to fight for.”
“I don’t need anything to fight for,” Pax answered. “If anything, I’ll fight for the sake of fighting itself. I’ll fight to win.”
“Pax, I am giving you an order; after this next technique, you will go home and do something normal until the next time we meet. Indulge your human side.”
She felt a little bit lost as she tried to imagine what she would do. Unless Amara wanted to join bodies and stir up some trouble… “Fine,” she said. “What’s the technique?”
“One that you must promise me never to use.”
“Why bother teaching it to me if I can’t use it?” Pax asked with a frown.
“Because it is the most formidable attack ever created by devas—the most critical assault of which we are capable.” Vincent paused, giving her a grave look to make sure she understood the severity of his words. “Promise me.”
She leaned her head back in the sofa, so exhausted with all of Vincent’s promises and demands. “I solemnly vow never to use your ultimate attack.”
“Good,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her. “The instructions to perform this technique are not written anywhere; the knowledge only exists in my mind. That is the safest place for it to be concealed. The information has been passed down to me by my father, King of Devas, and his father before him. Now that we have come upon a potentially crucial point in history, I would request that you also guard this information safely in your own mind.”
Pax straightened her posture in the sofa, blown away by these words. Vincent was honoring her with a secret meant for his son! She felt so privileged and grateful that the demigod had taken such an interest in her, valuing her potential and her talents as much as his own flesh and blood. She was momentarily too stunned to respond.
“Someday you will teach this technique to your best student,” he told her. “It seems we already know that you will become the mentor of Nyssa Solyst. Sometimes our rightful heir is not the best person to carry on our legacy. Sometimes we need to seek a devoted kindred spirit.”
Pax smiled at this, feeling her chest bursting with the warmth of pride. Vincent truly was more attentive to her than her own father. A thought occurred to her. “But Amara is telepathic—if I think about this attack, she will hear my thoughts and easily discover how to use it.”
“No—you will govern your thoughts closely. It is fine to think of the attack, but you will never think about the particulars required to perform the technique—do you understand?”
“Yes,” she answered curiously. She rose to her feet, suddenly no longer tired. “So what is it?”
“My trump card,” Vincent answered. “A self-sacrificing strike that causes complete annihilation to anything in close range.”
“A kamikaze suicide-bomb deal?” Pax asked with excitement. “A blitzkrieg using prana!”
“No. It is far more than that—girl, you must take this seriously!” Vincent roared. “The technique is so powerful that it creates an explosion similar to a supernova—but concentrated, concentrated just around your body. The real damage occurs in the moments after the explosion when there is a small, but inescapable black hole in the space where your body used to be.”
“A black hole,” Pax repeated in wonder. “That would surely suck the comet away, right?”
“Absolutely,” Vincent answered, “but this is hypothetical, remember? You are not permitted to attempt this. To create the black hole, you must condense your energy as much as possible. Essentially, you are crushing yourself into a tiny, inexorable weapon.” Vincent reached out and struck Pax in the abdomen; it was the same spot she needed to touch in order to begin her teleportation. “Here. Here in the center of your prana, is where the black hole would be created.”
She nodded, thrilled by the prospect. Vincent seemed to know
all the secrets of the universe; listening to his lectures, and even suffering through his brutal lessons, was heavenly for her. “How will you teach me this attack without demonstrating it and killing us both?” Pax asked with a grin.
Vincent smirked too. “Consider this the first and last purely hypothetical lesson I will ever give you. You will need to memorize every word of the incantation and every facet of the technique. First, the supernova-strike would need to be performed at point-blank range. The black hole created is very small. In this instance, the person would need to have their body pressed against the comet. They would need to be touching it, do you understand?”
“Okay,” Pax answered. “Point-blank range. Got it.”
Vincent grabbed her shoulders brutally. “Do you see this? This is not point-blank range. This is arm’s length. Before using the attack, you must be…”
“Father,” came an angry voice from the doorway. Vincent and Pax turned to see the stormy look on Thornton’s face as the younger man glared daggers at them both. It was the first time that Pax had seen him in the weeks since she had left him at her condo. She remembered the broken coffee table and the sensation of his lips and hands on her body. She remembered both of them in tears. Her cheeks flushed with heat as she stared awkwardly at his angry face.
Thornton clenched one of his fists, sending a vicious look at his father. “Mom sent me to tell you that the comet has been sighted. She’s about to issue a press release and launch four rockets. She needs your help—that is, when you’re finished putting your hands all over Pax.”
He turned to leave, and Pax flinched. “Thorn!” she shouted after him angrily, but the man had disappeared. “What the hell!” she yelled.
“Ignore him,” Vincent said softly. “He sees only what he wishes to see. That is why I am training you right now, and not that imbecile.”
Pax had ripped herself away from Vincent and fallen back into the sofa. She felt all of her excitement for learning the new technique, and all of her strength suddenly sapped. She placed her face in her hands, thinking about the wounded expression on Thornton’s face. She felt like she had done something wrong, even though she had not. At least not in this moment—her mind drifted back to Suja.
Vincent was about to yell at Pax to get up and get back to their training, when he realized how emotional she was. “What’s wrong with you?” he barked.
“I’m sorry,” Pax said, hating to disappoint her teacher. She rose to her feet immediately, standing at attention. “I just needed a second. Let’s get back to work—I’m ready.”
Shaking his head, Vincent knew that she was too upset to focus on a technique that required a calm mind. Plus, his wife needed him. “Go home, Pax. Go do something human, and come back tomorrow—I’ll finish teaching you how to kill yourself stylishly then.”
* * *
Pax had left the Kalgren Compound and was soaring through the night sky, propelling her body in giant sweeping circles around the seaside. For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to head home to Amara’s house. She had flown over to Burnson Grove and stared down at the old Victorian manor, briefly considering visiting her grandmother. It was not that she did not want to see Amelia, but she did not want to stop flying around. She was addicted to the movement, the same way she was addicted to driving around in her Jeep. She flew over to her old apartment, and considered strolling around from room to room. Maybe she would gaze at the giant map in her living room and try to find a spot on the planet that she hadn’t explored. She should use the opportunity to do so before the planet was destroyed.
She forced these negative thoughts away, and flew away from her apartment. She couldn’t stand the place—especially not after breaking up with Thornton there. She considered flying to Sakra in India—or just teleporting there, but she was too exhausted from teleporting all over the planet to cover that much distance. Also, she knew that once she got there, she would want to leave again.
There were a lot of places where she was welcome; she knew she should be grateful for this. She could stay in a spare room at the Kalgren Compound or Amara’s house, her own rooms in Burnson Grove and her condo, or at the gorgeous mountaintop temple in India—but not one of these places felt like home. Not without Thornton beside her.
When her phone buzzed against her hip, distracting her from the serene night sky, Pax frowned. She dug into her pants to retrieve the little machine, and her heart leapt into her throat when she saw that the message was from Thornton. She was immediately disappointed to see that the message was not meant for her. It was for Para.
Hey, Medea. Sorry to message you so late at night, but I know that doctors have weird hours. It’s been a while, but I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for coffee? I’m having a really bad day.
“Yes!” Pax shouted into the night sky. She did a little somersault and a few acrobatic flips before quieting down and pumping her fist in the air. Then she remembered that she couldn’t use Para without permission. Zooming towards Amara’s house at a speed approaching the sound barrier, she burst through the front door and stormed directly to Amara’s bedroom. The blonde woman was fast asleep, and Pax jumped on her, shaking her breathlessly.
“Date with Thorn! Date with Thorn!” Pax shouted. “Please, Mara, can we go?”
Amara groaned loudly, pulling a pillow over her head. “At this hour?”
“Please, please, please. I want to see him so badly. He pissed me off today—he implied that I was doing more than training with your dad.”
“What?” Amara grumbled. “That’s insane. Dad is like seventy. I mean, he looks good for his age, but…”
“Mara, will you help me? Vincent said I needed to do something normal and human.”
The blonde woman paused, staring at her friend through one open eye. “But we can’t… Para’s dating Ash.”
“Ash said no-strings attached.”
“Oh, yeah.” Amara shrugged. “Fine, whatever. Get the tranquilizer—like I really need to be more sedated right now.”
Chapter 27: Very Intimate Acquaintance
Para stood at the exit of the hospital emergency area, wearing a stylish taupe trench coat. When Thornton pulled up in his limo, she sighed. Walking forward, she allowed the driver to open the door for her.
“This is really low-key,” she joked as she slipped into the seat beside him. “I only have a twenty-minute break from work…”
“Have you heard about the comet?” Thornton asked immediately. “It was spotted a few hours ago, and my mother sent out a press release. We’ve got some substantial media coverage already…”
“I saw a news report,” she answered, although she had seen no such thing. “Is it seriously going to hit us?”
“No, Medea,” Thornton answered firmly. He looked forward as the limo began moving. “My company is going to stop it.”
“I thought you said you were fired,” Para answered.
“I was… until we learned about the comet. Now, instead of acting as the CEO, I’m acting as the CEO’s little bitch.”
She chuckled at this. “Your mom sounds like an impressive lady.”
“She really is. She expressed an interest in meeting you,” Thornton said, “when she saw the photo of us together in the newspaper.”
“Oh,” Para said. “Those were some pictures—I was really embarrassed.”
“Yeah.” Thornton sighed and put a hand in his hair. “Thanks for meeting up with me. I really needed to see someone and get away from all this madness. I feel like the whole world is against me right now.”
Para reached out and rested a hand gently on his knee. “You’re working too hard.”
He looked at her thankfully, placing his hand on hers and gently squeezing her fingers. Para felt a rush of warmth run through her, and she knew that this was where she needed to be. Even if he didn’t know who she was, she felt at ease to be near him—in any form. Even if she was fuming mad at him.
The limo stopped, arriving at the nearest caf�
� which happened to be open around the clock. When the driver walked around to open the door for them, Para chewed her lip, counting the precious seconds that had been wasted by not opening the door herself. She quickly exited the limo and smiled at the old-school décor of the café, with its retro red-leather seats. She felt that it was the kind of place where it was a mortal sin not to order a milkshake, but with two tired girls and a body pumped full of tranquilizer, coffee was compulsory.
Giving the impression of being in a rush, she declined Thornton’s offer to take her trench coat and get more comfortable in their little booth. She ordered the strongest coffee with three shots of espresso on the side.
“Wow,” Thornton remarked. “Take no prisoners! And I thought I was overworked.”
Para gave him a weak smile. “It’s a rough time. I’m really glad you asked to meet up tonight. This is just what I needed.”
“Would you like to do this more often?” Thornton asked, his forehead slightly creasing. “I know you’ve been seeing Ash now and then, but let’s face it, Medea—the man doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life. If you’d like, I have an opening for a real, honest-to-goodness girlfriend, and you’re my prime candidate.”
“Girlfriend?” Para asked in surprise. She felt like a syringe had been jabbed into her chest. She peered inside his mind and listen to his thoughts.
This will be perfect, Thornton thought to himself. The perfect thing I need to make Pax jealous.
Para’s face broke into a huge smile. This is rich! I’m using a disguised body to mess around with him, and he’s trying to use me to make me jealous… if only he knew!
“You’re smiling, but you’re not saying anything,” Thornton observed with anxiety. “Sorry—I haven’t done this in a while and I don’t remember the words I’m supposed to use.”
“Those words were fine,” she assured him, trying to hide her devious smirk. “What would my job description be?”
Thirty Minutes to Heartbreak Box Set (Books 1-3) Page 53
