She sat at her little pink table with her tea set and her dolls dressed in their finest as her heart and breathing slowed. When she died, so would her tormentor.
Tell me what you desire, child, and I will make it so.
“I want you to go away.”
That is not possible.
“You’re a liar.” The Goddess had left her alone for months at a time. It could be done. She just didn’t want to.
I do not lie!
“Liar! Liar! Liar!” She threw her teacup against the smooth barrier, shattered the delicate butterfly design.
I speak the truth. I am bonded to your soul. I cannot leave you, Ember. We are one until your twentieth natal day.
Tears slid down her cheeks. “Why?”
It is the way of things and it is much too complicated to explain while your body lies in this bed maliciously dying. Child, you will obey me—
Ember’s hair whipped back and forth. She clutched Bluebell, her blue teddy bear, and whispered, “No! I won’t.” Her eyes drifted shut. Her breathing hitched while her heart sputtered. Ember dropped to her knees and tipped over.
All right! I concede! I will retreat.
Ember gathered her waning strength and curled in on herself. This was her only trump card. She had to use it. “Forever,” she mumbled.
That is not possible.
She knew the Goddess would say that and continued her slide towards death. The thuds between Ember’s heartbeats stretched…lengthened...nearly stopped.
I have underestimated you, child. You are much too clever for your age and have taught me a valuable lesson. What do you want?
“Leave me alone until my twentieth birthday, then you can leave forever. Or we can both die now.”
Silence. Then—
You have my word. The bargain is struck. Nu’s voice faded to a whisper. I will leave you until your twentieth natal day.
“And then?”
Everything will be over.
Twelve years. Ember’s heartbeat picked up. That was forever. She took a deep breath and opened the door to her playhouse. The glittery woman entered. She called her that because fairy dust coated her. But she wasn’t a fairy. Fairies were good and Nu wasn’t. Ember backed up until her legs banged into the toy chest and she plopped down on the lid. Nu floated, following her.
I leave you now.
“Where will you go?” She tried to hide her eagerness. Nu’s gold-colored eyes narrowed and Ember braced for a hit, slap, punch, perhaps all of them, but definitely one would be delivered.
I will still reside within you, submerged. My presence will no longer offend but know this. With every victory, there are consequences. You have won the day, Ember. Enjoy the moment, because it will not last.
The fairy dust scattered along with Ember’s playroom.
Stay safe, Ember. Both of our lives reside in your hands. The whispered words floated in the air.
Ember opened her eyes and glanced at the familiar surroundings. Back in the hospital again. Images of the ambulance flashed in her mind and the noise of the siren rung in her ears.
The curtain pulled back and a head with tousled black hair and bright blue eyes peered around the edge. “Wake up, little girl. You’ve been found out.”
It was the boy who’d pulled her out of the lake. If not for her bargain with Nu, she’d give him the scowl he deserved. “What’ve you found out?” she croaked.
“You are a Nicolis. Not born to it, though you could pass for one of us with your dark hair and—” He leaned closer. “Greenish, blue eyes. You’re one of us by marriage, sister to Roman’s wife.”
She propped herself up on her elbows. “I don’t have a sister and I don’t know those people.” Though through Nu, Ember had filtered the information about all of them.
“Yeah, you do. Your three uncles are here to take you home to RockGate.”
She glanced at the curtain surrounding her bed, weighing her escape options, though she doubted she could make it far before someone caught her. She remembered glimpses of a cabin where the boy had taken her. “Can’t I stay with you?”
The boy smiled and chuckled a little. “Sorry. The old man can’t stand children running around. He barely tolerates me.”
“Who’s the old man?” Maybe she could talk to him.
“My father.”
“What’s your name?” she asked, sitting up in bed. She winced as the IV in her arm shifted.
“Careful with that.” He adjusted her arm and pulled the IV pole closer to the bed. “Jackson Nicolis Grayfield.”
“I’m Ember Walker.”
“Nope, you're Ember Nicolis, or will be after the adoption.”
That name sounded strange, like another person. Not like her. “I don’t want to be adopted.”
“Neither did I, kid. I better tell everyone you’re awake.” Jackson tucked her in.
Her stomach rumbled.
Jackson chuckled. “You need a dozen happy meals. No toys, just crammed with food.”
“I like Happy Meals. McNuggets. Not hamburgers.” Her stomach growled, complaining. She giggled and was startled by the sound.
The curtain parted again and two men stood in the opening. Oh, boy! They were huge. Not fat huge. Muscly ginormous.
“Time to meet your posse,” Jackson said.
“P-posse?” They lynched people. Maybe she shouldn’t have gotten rid of Nu. She shrank in the stretcher and pulled the blanket over her head.
Jackson pulled the covers back and took her hand. “Hey, why are you trembling? You’re the girl that trekked through the woods and jumped into a lake. Now you’re afraid? Why did you do that, by the way?”
She shrugged. No one would believe her anyway.
The taller of the two men waved. He had red hair cut low, shaved on the sides, and a squarish head. “Hi there. EJ here. I like XBOX and pizza. I don’t do tea parties, or Ken and Barbie, though I do like those Bratz dolls with the big freaky eyes. Oh, and just so you know, I hate Justin Bieber.” EJ said everything really fast and with a wide smile that made the corner of his icy blue eyes wrinkle.
“Hola, sobrina. I am Quin,” said the one with the dark hair and goatee. He had the softest brown eyes and nicest smile.
“My name is Ember, not Sabrina.”
He chuckled. “Sobrina means niece. I’ll teach you Spanish and we’ll have our own private conversations. Esta bien? Okay?”
She shrugged.
“And ignore EJ, he loves Bieber,” Quin said. EJ reached out to smack him, but Quin ducked.
“These are two of your new uncles,” Jackson pointed to the two men.
“And I’m your sister, Stella.”
EJ and Quin moved out of the way and a woman stopped next to the bed.
“Thank God you're all right,” Stella said.
She seemed sincere, then why were her eyes so sad, Ember thought. She’d been around enough adults who said one thing and did the opposite. “I don’t know you.”
“I know, sweetheart. We have—had the same Daddy. I remember when they brought you home and let me hold you.”
“I don’t remember him…or you.” It would’ve been nice, though, to have some memories of family.
A tear rolled down Stella’s cheek.
“Why did you go away?” Ember asked.
Stella sucked in a slow breath and more tears sprang from her eyes. “Daddy died and I went to live somewhere else.”
She knew what somewhere else meant. “Foster home?” Ember whispered.
Stella nodded. “Yeah.”
“I hate foster homes.”
“Me too, but you don’t have to worry about that anymore. You have me, and I have you.” Stella leaned over the bedrail and pulled Ember into her arms.
Stella hugged her tight, almost too tight, but Ember liked it. She shifted her head and caught EJ whispering to Quin, their expressions worried. Her stomach fluttered, something was wrong. Her heart kicked into a gallop, just when she almost let her guard down.
Nu?
She called to the goddess inside her, hoping for an answer and received none. At times like this, when something set her on edge and made her heart race, the Goddess would emerge and take care of things. Not anymore. The bargain had been struck, the goddess said.
Now everything was up to her.
***
Following behind Thane in a car he borrowed from Judge Grayfield, Avery’s gut churned with a nauseating stew of clashing emotions, confusion being primary. His thoughts wouldn’t relinquish seeing Emeline at the hospital and the image of the woman/creature/thing in the water. A tug of war had ensued. The phantom had won. He kept calling her a phantom though she had a name. Khuket. She wasn’t a figment of his overstressed brain. Her clammy embrace had been real. She clung to him, and he’d been powerless to remove her. Not an easy thing to admit.
Yet, somehow, a sliver of him wanted more of the…chaos, yes that word suited best. The chaos she had created within him.
A dark river ran through his body. The same current had surfaced previously at the tender age of ten. Avery rolled down the window, glad for the wind pounding his face. By force, he wrenched his mind away from thoughts of the past, but they followed him, keeping pace with the car as they drove back to the mansion.
Soon, his ghosts were sitting beside him, a long lost buddy along for a joyride. He flexed his shoulder and his burn pulled tight. A dull ache flared. That night wasn’t just in his mind. It was on his flesh, a reminder of the fury which had swept through him and placed him on a deadly path. Ten years old and already a killer. Good enough to escape justice.
A laugh burst from his throat.
“You okay over there?”
Avery had forgotten EJ sitting in the passenger seat next to him. Without looking, Avery knew his brother’s icy stare had zeroed on him.
“You groaned,” EJ added.
He thought he’d laughed. “I’m good.”
The car coasted to a stop near the garage. He shoved his thoughts aside and climbed out. The late afternoon sun did nothing to chase away the November chill, the low-hanging clouds, and only reminded him of the weariness chewing its way through his bones. Thane carried Ember, with Stella close behind and Quin and Jackson trailing. The child was asleep, nestled against Thane’s chest. With all of her tests normal, the hospital released her into their care. Hector met them before they’d crossed the threshold. Impeccable in a Brooks Brothers suit, the strain of the evening showed on his aged features.
Stella was a strong woman. She would have to be to survive an attack by Daniel and Alamut when Daniel transformed into the monster. Though witnessing Roman’s death…nothing beats seeing the love of your life murdered, and by his twin, no less. Only time would tell how she would handle the twist her life had taken.
The group went upstairs while Avery turned left, a large drink his first priority. He filled a tumbler with Macallan, from the bar in the game room, and downed it in two gulps.
EJ snatched the bottle, filled a shot glass, and tossed it to the back of his throat. “What happened at the lake?”
Good question. “I fell in and swam to shore.” He met his brother’s steady gaze, daring him to contradict the statement.
“You didn’t swim, you sank, when you know how to swim. Hell, you taught me.”
Part of Avery wanted to share what he saw, what he felt…No. He wouldn’t have EJ questioning his sanity when he already questioned it. Another drink was needed, but EJ held the Macallan like a jealous lover. That’s okay. Jim Beam would do. A soothing level of numbness was his objective. He grabbed a bottle from the mirrored shelf behind him and caught his image. The haggard man staring back at him didn’t need another drink.
Six hours had passed since he tracked the blood into the woods. Getting drunk, possibly losing control... Avery returned the Jim Beam to the shelf and scrubbed a hand over his weary face. Maybe he could close his eyes for a few precious minutes. He headed toward the rear staircase when a movement on the back lawn halted him.
He drew his gun. EJ was next to him when he exited a side door and rounded the corner of the house. The streaming black hair and white coat gave Stella away. She stood not far from the spot where Thane said Roman had vanished. Her face, tear-stained. Her eyes puffy and red. But she was on her feet, braced against the wind with her arms banded around her waist. She’d kept it together long enough to get Ember home….
Thane moved around Avery and went to her. Their murmured words were lost, but not the emotion when her shoulders trembled. Thane took her in his arms and held her close.
“He’s gone! Just gone.” Her voice had deepened to a low growl. Stella shoved away from Thane. She whipped around and nailed everyone with a hard stare. “Leave me.”
The hysterical woman Avery had found earlier had vanished, replaced by someone with a cold voice and a granite stare. This was the woman who had killed a hybrid beast hell-bent on slaying her and Roman. After a few weeks of wedded bliss, he had forgotten her alter ego existed. He’d never make that mistake again.
Avery met Thane’s and EJ’s gazes and tilted his head toward the house. She wanted privacy and he would give her that. He retreated to the house with the two flanking him.
From a pinpoint to as bright as a beam glaring out of a lighthouse dissecting a foggy night, light flared a few feet from them. Avery whirled, his guns drawn, though he couldn’t see a damn thing beyond his gun sight.
A spatial distortion warped the air. A vortex formed, shoved them back a yard and pushed Stella into his body. He caught her before she hit the ground. The light pulsed and expanded in successive waves, coming closer to their spot. Suddenly, the beam crested and burst. A wave of incandescent heat baked them and disappeared as quickly as it appeared, leaving a numbing vacuum. The abrupt absence of light blinded him for precious seconds. When his sight returned, he didn’t trust it.
A man kneeled where the light had been.
He looked like Roman, same massive build, dark, clipped hair, yet his eyes glowed white. In his hand, a sword straight out of some sci-fi movie. The damn thing shone as bright as the sun. He stood. A wave of energy pulsed from him and spread in every direction.
Avery dropped to the grass. Pain knotted his insides. Survival his only thought because his body was no longer his own. He glanced at Thane who had also dropped to his knees but didn’t seem to be in the same anguish.
Then, he looked at Stella, who lay nearby. Her startled face held no trace of despair as she climbed to her feet. Relief had replaced her grief. As she dashed between him and Thane, they both reached for her. And missed. She ran straight into the man’s arms, planted her lips on his, and they both vanished.
Chapter Seven
Safe. That was the word Roman thought when he saw Stella. Then her arms wrapped around him and her lips pressed against his. Next, they were upstate at the cabin.
“You're alive. You're alive.” She repeated between kisses. “I knew you weren’t dead! I thought I was crazy, but I felt it in my soul.”
He kissed her, poured his love into her as he drew her essence into him. It wasn’t enough.
Fear. He’d tasted the emotion before, but never in such a sickening dose as when Nu’s power slammed into him and his atoms scattered. The seconds it took to transport him from the Egyptian realm to here seemed to stretch into years. He had no idea where Nu was sending him. The hurt and despair on her face when he denied her, tweaked his heart, pulled at his conscience. If he’d been rational, he wouldn’t have verbally denounced her and kept his thoughts to himself.
Two thousand years roaming the earth had taught him diplomacy. Having your brother eviscerate you in front of your wife, and your forgotten mother return from the dead as an Egyptian deity was too much for any diplomat to process.
“What happened? I saw you die. Reign g-gutted you and you died.” Stella’s voice wavered. Her knees buckled. Roman swung her into his arms. He carried her to the sofa and sat her on his lap. She clung to him, molded her body to his.
�
��Tell me,” she pleaded.
He gave her the short version. She didn’t need to know the agony of the blade roasting him from within or the battle afterward with SET and Reign. Nu, he couldn’t form the correct words to explain the woman—goddess. He told her of the dungeon and the moving hieroglyphics. He told her of the cell at the end of the corridor, the presence behind the opaque barrier and how the blade appeared.
“Why did Reign do it, betray us? Especially after you welcomed him into the family?” She shook her head. “I want him dead. You don’t betray us and live to tell the tale.”
He stared deep into her eyes. The need for retaliation turned her always stormy orbs into a tornado of swirling emotions. She wanted to kill their enemies and dance in their blood. He understood because he needed that too. And they would have it. Soon.
Stella jerked away and leaped out of his lap. “Roman…your eyes. W-what’s wrong with them?”
Damn. He remembered how Reign looked as he battled SET, and had a good idea how he must look now. He strode to the nearest mirror. The reflection didn’t invoke the terror it would have if his brother hadn’t slain and transported him to the realm of the Gods. His eyes glowed, not golden like Stella’s when he found her, but white light. Much like staring into the sun too long.
She is your Mother, Alexis said.
Open your eyes, Reign ordered.
Roman pulled the distant image of his mother from the recess of his memory. He compared the flat, one-dimensional tiled mural in his father’s home with the woman he’d met. The structure of the face and features, wavy hair–yes, there was a resemblance, but a kite resembled a plane, that didn’t mean it could break the sound barrier. At every turn, his brother lied. Reign deceived everyone about his imprisonment, his purpose for coming to New York, his powers. There was no reason he hadn’t conspired to deceive him about this.
“Roman! Stop!” Stella shielded her eyes with her forearms. The mirror reflected the blazing light, transforming it into a beam. He turned away and squeezed his eyes closed. The intensity pushed against his lids, straining to be free.
Arms circled his waist. Hands stroked up his back and her head rested on his chest. Heat radiated from her body, warming his coldness. Her presence dialed his anger down.
Evermore (Descendants of Ra: Book 3) Page 5
