Age of Aquarius

by Tawdra Kandle

  “Righteous.” She smiled, looking up at me through her eyelashes. “You know, I’m feeling the vibe, being here in San Francisco. Isn’t this the city that rocks, the city that never sleeps?”

  “Apparently.” I glanced up, concentrating on the street outside, waiting to feel Rafe coming closer. Instead, I felt something else—something terrifyingly familiar and ominous. “Shit. We need to get out of here. We need to move fast.” I swiveled, scanning the entire room. A door in the rear probably led to the kitchen, and while it might be unorthodox, it also might get us out of danger. “Come on.”

  Gripping Julia’s hand, I pulled her through the crowd, pushing into anyone who stood in my way. When we shoved at the swinging door, two heads turned our way in surprise. The cooks were not pleased with us barging into their kitchen.

  “Hey! What’s the matter with you—you’re not supposed to be back here.” The oldest man was also the angriest.

  “Just passing through. Sorry! Her ex-boyfriend just came in, and the dude’s bad news.” I wasn’t sure how the lies flowed so glibly from my tongue, but for now, I was going with it. We skirted the cooks, rounded a countertop and burst through the door that led outside into a dark alley.

  Julia was laughing, gasping as she held her side. “Oh, my God, Nell, what the hell? Was there really someone after us? Because, like, that was the wildest exit I’ve ever made from a bar and I’ve had a few doozies.”

  “Shhh.” I clenched my jaw. “We’re not safe. We need to link up with the guys and get the hell out of here before she finds us.”

  “Would it be horribly trite if my opening line were ‘You’re too late’?”

  The voice, clear and amused, cut through the cool of the night and rooted my feet to the pavement. Filled with dread, I lifted my eyes up to the brick wall that bordered the alley, where my mother stood, hands on her hips as she stared down at us.

  “Nell, darling. This is the least likely place for a warm mommy-daughter moment, isn’t it?” She leaped nimbly to the ground. “And yet here we are. It’s been a long time, sweetheart. Much too long.”

  Julia turned to me, her eyes wide with amazement. “This is your mother, Nell? Wow. Yeah, I see the resemblance.”

  “I’m nothing like her,” I whispered, hoping with every fiber of my body that what I said was true. “Nothing. She’s filled with dark, and she works for evil.” I reached for Julia’s arm and pulled her behind me. “Don’t look at her. Put up your blocks.”

  For the first time, real fear shone in Julia’s eyes. “Seriously? Are we in trouble?”

  “You don’t have to be, dear.” My mother flickered her eyes to the necroloquitar. “This isn’t an attack, after all. It’s more of a recruiting trip. I’m here to bring you and my lovely, talented daughter into the fold of the community where you belong. We want you to be with people who will help you cultivate your gifts and talents, make them as strong as they can be.” She stretched out her hand. “Come now. With us, you’ll be safe. Without us, you’ll burn. There’s no question of that.”

  “You’re awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?” My voice sounded hollow, and I cleared my throat. “If you’re so certain that you’re going to win the day, why are you here? And don’t pretend it’s out of some sense of love or loyalty to me. You’d watch me die as fast as you would anyone else.”

  “You wound me, Nell.” She laid her hand over her heart—or more likely, where her heart used to be. “I’m your mother. I gave birth to you. I nursed you at my breast, and I passed on to you the powers and secrets of our family. We are connected forever, and so of course, I’d do anything to keep you safe. The only way I can do that is for you to join the Hive.”

  “Bullshit.” I’d come close, once upon a time, to believing her lies, because I’d so wanted them to be true. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. Not now, not ever. “You need us. You need me. Or you’re afraid that I’ve got enough power to defeat you, and you want to neutralize me. Those are the only truths here, Mother.”

  “Nell!” At the end of the alley, Lucas appeared. He glanced at my mother, and I saw his stance change. In a manner of moments, he went from the mild-mannered professor to a full-fledged vampire. With a single leap, he was standing next to me, placing himself between the threat and me. I heard a growl deep in his chest.

  “Look at what we have here,” my mother cooed. “Someone fancies himself powerful now. Run away, little death broker. Or I’ll make you wish you had.”

  “Get away from them.” I’d never seen Lucas like this. His eyes were gleaming, and I was pretty sure they’d changed color, too. When he snarled, as he just had, I could see that he had fangs. I was suddenly extremely grateful that he was on our side.

  “On the contrary, dear boy. I’m taking them with me. And there’s not a thing you can do to stop that from happening.”

  With a roar of fury, Lucas lunged toward my mother, one arm swiping for her as though he were a grizzly bear. She sidestepped him with grace, and moving so fast that she was only a blur, she shoved me out of the way and tugged Julia close to her body.

  “No!” I regained my footing and instinctively went to the power. I could feel it buzzing in my hands, ready for me to shoot at our attacker. Next to me Lucas fairly vibrated with fury.

  “Careful, darling.” Julia’s back was pressed into my mother’s front. My mother forced the necroloquitar’s head back, exposing her long white neck and caressing it with her fingers. “Just one movement of my fingers, and I can have enough blood flowing for your vampire here to have himself a feast. Be very cautious about your movements just now. I believe I hold what they call the upper hand.”

  “Let her go.” I choked out the words. Julia’s eyes were huge with terror, pleading silently with me to save her. She was just a kid. She’d signed on with Carruthers because we were the people who understood her gift and allowed her to use it to help others. I remembered that she’d once confided in me that we were the only ones who didn’t see her as a freak. But she hadn’t asked for this. She’d never volunteered for danger or deranged witches.

  “Come with me.” My mother’s reply was short and clipped. “Come with me, Nell, and fight with the Hive. Help us with the ritual that’s going to save this rotten world. Be on the right side for once. Claim the power. Claim your birthright. Join me.” She brushed back Julia’s hair. “And I’ll let her go. You know what to do now. You know what you must do.”

  My heart was pounding, and suddenly, I was back in Pennsylvania, in that field, in the center of the vortex where only my mother and I existed, as she explained that together, we could take over and watch the world burn around us. The temptation that day had been so great, because for too long I’d been wanting my mother. I’d felt her loss so keenly, and I’d been alone for too many years.

  But the temptation no longer existed. Now, I had friends who were closer than any family. I had work I loved. I had power that I used to make the world a better place. And I had a love so deep and so rich that it eclipsed any other lacking in my life.

  I wasn’t alone anymore.

  “I don’t want to go with you.” There was freedom and release in saying it aloud. “I won’t work for the Hive. I won’t be part of their plan to end the world. Know that now, and understand it. You’ll have to kill me to prevent me from stopping you. But I’ll go with you. Release Julia, let her leave here with Lucas, and I’ll walk away with you.” I slid Lucas a glance, praying that he understood what I was saying. “Let her go now.”

  My mother stared into my eyes, hers probing and distrustful. The tip of her tongue darted out to skim over her lips, and then those lips stretched into a hideous parody of a smile. “It occurs to me that I lost you more than once, Nell. I lost you to your father when you were a child, and he locked me up in the mental asylum. I lost you in Pennsylvania when you refused to join us then, when we might have had a real shot at taking over the Hive for the two of us. But I believe that just now, I’ve finally realized that I�
�ll never have you. You’re not the daughter I hoped I’d have. You’re a bitter disappointment to me, and a betrayal of the legacy I gave you.” She loosened her hold on Julia just a little, just enough that a spark of hope rose in me.

  “Other women might handle loss gracefully, with dignity and class. As you might remember, Nell, I’ve never been one of those women.”

  With a swiftness that seemed impossible, she lifted her hands to either side of Julia’s head and turned it violently. A sickening crack sliced through the night, and I had one last glimpse of my friend’s terrified eyes before her body crumpled to the damp cement under our feet.

  “No!” I screamed, leaping forward to stop her nanoseconds too late. My mother spun away from me, shrieking as Lucas slashed at her arm. She kicked once at him and then unleashed a spell that knocked both of us away from her. I sent one back at her, hoping to disable her long enough that together, Lucas and I could gain the upper hand and take her with us, but she was gone, disappearing into the night.

  And then there was silence, a quiet so complete that at first I thought I’d gone deaf. The sounds of traffic, the noise of the bar behind us, the voices of people passing by . . . it was all muted. I realized with numb surprise that I’d conjured a bubble around the three of us: Lucas, who was still crouched and ready to spring, myself kneeling on the ground, and the lifeless body of our friend, whose eyes were still open, staring sightlessly into the starry sky above us.

  “Nell.” Lucas grabbed my arm and shook me, and the bubble dissipated. The noise of the city came rushing back over me as I cringed. “Nell, listen to me. We have to get out of here. Rafe’s going to be coming back around the corner, and we need to get in the car and get the hell away from this place.”

  “We can’t leave Julia.” I bent over her, and with shaking fingers, I closed her eyes. I couldn’t bear seeing them anymore.

  “We won’t.” Lucas gentled his voice and leaned down, scooping her up as carefully as though she were a tiny baby. “Come on now, honey. Hold onto my arm and stay with me.”

  I stumbled alongside him through the darkness of the alley. By the time we reached the street, Rafe was slowing down at the curb. I saw his face when he took in Lucas carrying Julia.

  “Get in the car, Nell. I can’t open the door, so you’re going to have to do it. Get in.”

  Somehow, I managed to grip the handle and make it work. But before I climbed into the backseat, I pointed at Lucas.

  “Lay Julia on the seat. I’ll sit next to her.”

  “Nell.” Lucas shook his head. “No. You can’t do that. She’s gone. You know that.”

  “What are you going to do, Lucas? Put our friend in the fucking trunk? No. No way in hell. Put her in the backseat with me. And do it fast. Standing out here arguing isn’t helping anyone.”

  Muttering under his breath, Lucas finally did as I’d told him. Once Julia was safely on the seat, I slid in and took her head onto my lap, stroking her hair.

  The minute Lucas was in the front seat, Rafe skidded away from the curb. None of us spoke until we were on the bridge out of the city, and then he said in a raw, hoarse voice, “What the hell happened?”

  I stared out the window at the passing lights, but all I could see was the void of death in Julia’s eyes.

  “My mother. She was what happened.”

  Tasmyn

  Pink beams of sunlight were just beginning to fall over the bed where I lay next to Michael. If I closed my eyes and tried real hard, I could pretend that it was any other morning, and my husband was sleeping next to me. The alarm would go off in a few minutes, but Michael never needed a reminder to wake up; somehow, he had internalized his wake-up time.

  Every morning, he would gather me close to him before his phone began to buzz. And he’d kiss my neck and whisper that opening his eyes to find me in his bed was still his favorite dream come true. His hands would wander over my body, and together we’d begin the day the best way we knew how.

  Now I pressed my cheek against his shoulder, relieved that he was still warm and that I could hear the steady sounds of his breathing. Seeing him lie so still was foreign and painful, and I didn’t like it. Cillian, who was a nearly-constant presence at Michael’s bedside, assured me that he was healing—slowly but surely. He told me that he was positive Michael wasn’t in pain. For those two things, I chose to be grateful.

  The youngest Irish brother and I had gotten to know each other well over the last thirty-six hours. I never left Michael unless I was dragged away, as I’d been last night when Cathryn had insisted that I help them manifest Joss again. It had been an easier process than I’d anticipated, and Joss hadn’t seemed to have suffered any ill-effects from her time residing in a pendant around Nell’s neck.

  The only unpleasant part of reconstituting Joss, as Jackie called it, had been that Marica had been in the room, too, waiting in the shadows. I’d heard her begging Cathryn to let her help me, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit that avoiding her touch had been what had pushed me into releasing a burst of power that had finally done the trick.

  It was annoying, this subconscious reticence to use what I had. I tried hard not to blame my parents, who had spent the better part of my growing up years telling me to hide what I could do. I knew that they’d had my best interest at heart, but now, overcoming that automatic tendency to shove the powers down was difficult to combat. I thought I’d figured this out years before. Working with Aline had helped me to understand that the gifts I had were not evil, and that the choices I made were what determined who I was. Clearly, though, years of ignoring my abilities had made me complacent.

  The door opened, and Marly slipped inside. Her room was just down the hall from where Michael and I slept, and she’d spent most of the last few days sitting with us, too. I could see the shadow of worry beneath her eyes.

  “How is he?” she whispered, as though speaking aloud might disturb her son in some way.

  “The same, I think.” I whispered, too. “Cillian hasn’t been in yet, of course, but Michael seems to have slept . . . peacefully.” I sighed. “I’m ready for him to wake up now, though.”

  “I know, sweetie.” She took my hand and squeezed it. “He will. He’s going to be fine, I just know it.”

  We both sat quietly for a few moments, watching the man in question as he slumbered on.

  “Did you sleep well?” Marly sat down in the chair she’d left by the bedside the night before. “I guess that’s a stupid question. I’m not sure how any of us closed our eyes after what happened last night.”

  I sighed. “I dozed off and on, but every time I did, I dreamed of . . . bad stuff.” I shuddered. “It was so horrible, Marly. I know I tried to tell you, but . . . I can’t get it out of my head. First Veronica rushing in to tell us that something was going wrong . . . and then that hour of not knowing who was hurt, or if they would come back at all . . . Jackie was a mess.” That wasn’t strictly true; Jackie had just gone completely silent. She’d sat still, ignoring the rest of us, her gaze fastened on the doorway, until Lucas had walked through, carrying Julia’s body.

  At the sight of her boyfriend, alive and present, she’d cried out and begun sobbing, covering her face with her hands, while the rest of us had stood in shock. Lucas had begun telling the story, but he couldn’t seem to choke out the words, and Nell had withdrawn into herself. She hadn’t answered any questions until I’d ventured to touch her arm. She’d lifted anguished eyes to me and begun to speak in a low voice, detailing everything that had happened from the minute she’d left the car until her mother had murdered Julia and then gotten away.

  I’d never met Julia, the necroloquitar. But still, I could feel her loss, because those around me were suffering through it. Lucas had laid her body on the sofa where, a few moments before, I’d been sitting with Sionnach and Jackie, and although we all knew she was gone, Cathryn had sent Seamus to bring down Cillian. He’d taken one look at her still form and shook his head.

  “I can sometime
s mend the living, but I cannot raise the dead.” His harsh words were softened by the pain in his voice. “Poor soul. She was gone before she knew it.”

  “That’s true.” Lucas had spoken. “I sent her on, you know. She didn’t suffer. She didn’t know pain. And she went to a reward.”

  Nell had frowned at him. “How can you know that?”

  Lucas had smiled a little and touched her cheek. “You were in shock. And you couldn’t have seen anything, anyway. But I’m a death broker, Nell. I helped her across. She moved on immediately.”

  Finally, there had been nothing left to say. Veronica directed Lucas to carry Julia’s body to a bedroom that wasn’t occupied—I imagined it was the room Julia would have stayed in, had she arrived alive. Her voice replete with grief and exhaustion, Cathryn had informed us that our meeting to discuss plans would wait until the morning, at which time we would also come up with a way to pay our final respects to Julia.

  “Tasmyn . . .” Marly’s face was troubled now, and I knew what she was going to say before she began to speak. I was particularly sensitive to hearing her thoughts. “I was aware that this was going to be dangerous, but with Michael hurt and now this girl killed . . . I guess it’s really hit home with me. I can’t help wondering if we should stay here. Maybe we should take Michael back to Florida.”

  “I can’t leave.” I wanted to do exactly as she said and go running back to Sawood, where life was simple and happy and made sense. But I wasn’t stupid, and I knew that if I let down my friends, and we lost this battle, the sweet existence I’d come to treasure would be destroyed, too. If I was fighting for anything, it was so that I had the right to keep living that life. “They need me, Marly. And I don’t think moving Michael is an option at this point. I want Cillian close by to make sure he heals.”