This joining was different. More than her passion, Amina was gifting him her love.
12
“Mina.”
* * *
Amina’s mind wandered aimlessly in a dark void, searching for the voice that summoned her. It was familiar, known to her yet she couldn’t name it. She was puzzled by her inability to anchor her thoughts. The voice called her again, its frantic tone piercing the strange fog clouding her mind. She pushed her awareness in the direction of the sound.
Asiya.
Her sister’s name floated across the empty space. Was it her twin’s voice reaching out to her? If so, why couldn’t she see or feel Asiya? Her awareness was open, but darkness shrouded her mind, an unyielding emptiness waiting to claim her. In her mind, her brow creased in a frown. Where was Michael? Had her son been born? Was that the reason for her strangeness?
She searched her body, seeking the bond between herself and her child. She focused on his life thread. It lacked the twined colors of her and Drake’s threads. Her child was dying.
Amina screamed for Drake and her sister, but her cries dissolved in the insidious blackness enclosing her anguished mind.
* * *
“What is wrong with her, Asiya? Why won’t she awaken?”
Asiya lifted her amber eyes to Drake’s face. The softly worded questions did not fool her. He was as alarmed as she was. For nearly two days, Amina had lain in a lethargic sleep, her body not even responding to the fierce agitations of her son.
Drake’s concern was warranted. Whatever held her twin in this state was not natural. Asiya’s gaze returned to her sister’s listless body. Not even the child she carried stirred.
“Despite all our safeguards, a demon or its creature must have found a path to her. It is the only explanation.”
Drake reached out to touch his life mate and Asiya grabbed his wrist. “No. Don’t touch her until we know what has been done and who is responsible. I cannot enter her mind, but you can. Examine her and find what does not belong to Amina or your son. If there is another essence inside my sister, it will not share the colors of her life thread or that of your son.”
He inhaled and forced his mind to calm. He closed his eyes and stealthily entered Amina’s consciousness. At first, she resisted violently, then stilled when she recognized his touch. His awareness swept her mind. Her emotions were erratic. He could see she was puzzled by what was happening to her. Her distress for their child was painful to bear, and wave after wave of fear jolted him. He started to reach for her and then recalled Asiya’s warning.
Stilling his emotions, Drake examined Amina thoroughly. Nothing seemed untoward, except the sluggish movement of her blood through her veins and the dull color of her life thread. He turned his thoughts to his son. His child’s life thread was as dull as his mother’s. Whatever infected Amina was causing harm to his son.
A faint pulsation caught Drake’s awareness and he focused on it as a curious worm-like creature slithered from a vein near Amina’s stomach. It entered another vein, one that carried blood to her leg. Drake’s mind followed the creature as Amina’s blood swept it to a vein in her knee. The creature attached itself to the vein’s wall. Liquid boiled and what appeared to be tiny black maggots gathered. In an orderly procession, the maggots slipped into the upward-flowing vein, one that ended at Amina’s womb.
He recoiled when a slashing pain pushed him to withdraw from Amina’s awareness. Drake recognized the imprint of her power. She was protecting him. As he started to retreat, vestiges of Amina and their child’s discomfort washed over him. It tore at his heart to be caught helpless while his life mate and their son writhed in agony. Rage coiled inside him and just as he was about to strike whatever held Amina and his son, a fiery wall intruded between his power and the creatures.
Release me.
Your son’s danger is not as great as his mother. If Amina dies, he will die. As long as she lives, he exists. She fights, but is weakened by the forces that attack her. Leave her now.
Drake heard Raphael’s words even as he struggled against the archangel’s power.
They will die if I don’t do something, archangel.
She can be saved, along with your son. Leave now.
With a frustrated curse, Drake withdrew from Amina’s mind. Raphael stood beside the bed. The angel’s stern countenance was marked with worry. Drake’s rage dissipated, to be replaced by a heart-stopping realization. Whatever moved inside Amina was not just demonic.
Belial.
He hadn’t realized he had given voice to his thought until he saw Raphael nod. Drake’s hand scrubbed his face. “If Belial is responsible, how do we save Amina and my son?”
The archangel looked at Asiya. “Tamahaq, you must shift. Become air. It is the only way to give your twin the strength she will need to fight this evil.” He saw the inquisitorial look in Asiya’s eyes. “I will protect your children.”
The archangel’s gray eyes returned to Drake. “The Fallen do not take rejection well.”
Drake’s fists clenched. “I don’t care. Amina is mine, and the demon king cannot have her.”
Asiya touched his mind. Drake stared at her.
My sister has suffered more at the hands of demons than either of us, Drake. She will not choose death unless it is the only way to protect your child. Do not let your temper overrule your reason. Amina loves you and will fight to stay among the living. Our gifts will help her.
Asiya’s gaze went to her husband, Christopher. Worry was carved on his handsome face at what Raphael suggested. Walking over to her life mate, she slipped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down. Her mouth captured his in a passionate kiss. “I love you, husband. Too much to allow these idiots to harm me. Raphael guards your daughter and son.”
Asiya abruptly shifted, hearing the startled gasps of both Christopher and Drake when she disappeared from sight.
“I am still here,” she said with a giggle. “Just don’t breathe.”
Asiya experienced the strangest sensation across her nerve endings when Raphael’s breath gently stirred the air, of which she was an invisible particle. She relaxed against the forced movement toward Amina’s slack mouth. She hovered over the dark opening until her sister took a shallow breath, and she fell.
Disorientation sent her mind reeling as she was sucked into her twin’s lungs. Blood swirled in a desperate frenzy to claim the life-sustaining particles of air. She marveled at what she witnessed when she was taken up by a single drop of blood to become part of the steady ebb and flow as the droplet moved away from Amina’s lungs.
Asiya shielded her presence and went in search of the tiny creatures she’d seen in Drake’s mind. It didn’t take her long to find the cause of the deadly invasion. The vermin were nothing more than ensorcelled drops of some liquid easily manipulated by demonic power. Her sister somehow had ingested the liquid, probably water, and infected both her and her unborn child.
Pain spiked across Asiya’s awareness. The source was her nephew, his agony briefly overwhelming her. She eased his discomfort while she studied the deadly invader. The creatures’ frenzy slowed whenever they neared the tiny bubbles of air in Amina’s blood. In fact, the tiny worms actively avoided the bubbles. A silent joyous squeal rippled through her and Asiya realized how she could save her sister.
Quelling her excitement, she reached out to Raphael and Drake’s minds. She described what was needed. Her awareness stumbled when Drake’s opposition to her plan slammed into her thoughts.
I will protect Amina. You look to my son.
Mina was right to name him dragon, Asiya mused, before she sent him a mental slap. Don’t be daft, Englishman. If my twin knows you protect her son’s life, she will defend herself. The next thought came on an exasperated huff. Silence, Captain, and look to your son.
Raphael and Christopher laughed at Drake’s astonishment at the harsh tone from the usually gentle Asiya. “You are behaving rather daft, cousin,” Christopher said.
> Asiya marveled when Drake’s power flared into existence. This was what her twin experienced whenever she and Drake connected. The sight was beautiful to behold, as green and blue bands pulsed and collided to form an inviolable cocoon around his child. The babe’s mind reached out to touch the protective wall, recognizing his father’s love and touch.
Well done, Drake, she thought, before sending a small powerful jolt against the barrier. It held and, satisfied that Drake cared for his son, Asiya spoke to her sister.
Mina. Let me in.
Amina’s body tensed. How can I be certain you are who you appear to be?
Asiya understood the fear gripping her sister; demons were skilled at illusions. There is a small bird. I will send you its name.
The name was more sound than image or letters. What she had given her sister was a Tahaggart utterance only she and Amina knew. The utterance could not be mimicked, its genesis tied to the uniqueness of their voices. It was a sign that had protected their lives over the years.
A thin crack surfaced in Amina’s mind and Asiya leapt into the abyss, her awareness tumbling into a maelstrom of emotions: pain, hate, fear, vulnerability, and sorrow. Images of Saria and Daoud, driven by her twin’s overwhelming guilt and grief, cascaded over Asiya. Her heart ached with each memory of the deadly game the demon king and the Fallen played with Amina’s life. What knifed through Asiya was the blackness that fringed every one of Amina’s emotions and bled across her usual silver.
Asiya tried to calm her sister and failed. Raphael.
Focus Amina’s attention on her son.
Amina’s silence was profound and heartbreaking as Asiya heeded Raphael’s instructions. Terror ate at her sister, making it difficult for Asiya to penetrate her twin’s mental shield.
Your son is in his father’s care, Tamahaq. You must protect yourself, and help me purge the demon’s poison from your blood. The evil will not harm you, but the longer it remains in your body, the easier it is for Mephistopheles to control your will.
Amina’s consciousness brightened at the reassurance about her child. Asiya followed her thoughts as her twin peeked at her child cocooned in Drake’s strength. Love for both shown in Amina’s mind before she pulled her thoughts from the child huddled in her womb.
Siya?
Asiya joined her awareness to Amina’s, creating an impenetrable barrier around their conjoined minds.
I am here, sister. Look inside my mind. Asiya waited until she sensed Amina’s understanding. We have defeated the demon king before, Mina. Take my strength and live.
Amina embraced Asiya’s love and strength as she felt her twin’s calmness flow into her thoughts. It had always been this way between them. Her turbulent nature eased by Asiya’s gentle loving spirit. Her twin’s compassion was born of Asiya’s ability to become another living creature and know their existence. Once she had quizzed Siya about what she saw and experienced when she assumed another form. Asiya had gazed at her, as if intrigued by the question.
A beatific, yet sad smile caressed her lips before she had replied. “It is a very powerful sensation, and terrifying because it is my gift. There are times, Mina, when I would give all to be a normal human, an ungifted woman loved by an ordinary man.”
Pain slashed across Amina’s womb, dragging her thoughts back to her body. She heard Drake’s voice in her mind as he soothed their child.
I’m here, hawk. No one will harm our son.
Her love for both her son and her dragon flowed outward before she turned her focus to the maggot-like creatures encircling her womb like a voracious infestation of locusts. The creatures relentlessly battered at Drake’s protective cocoon. The strength of his power was astonishing and she marveled at her recklessness aboard the Spanish galleon.
A furtive motion drew her attention as one of the creatures broke away and scurried into the flow of blood coursing down a vein in her leg. She followed and watched the maggot become absorbed in a small group gathered near her left hipbone. A second later, the creature separated and continued its journey, clearly heading for her ankle. She had to act quickly, if Asiya’s plan was to work.
Amina imagined a small transparent bubble and pushed it directly into the creature’s path. A silver thread pulsed inside the airless bubble, a lure to draw the creature inside. Amina held her breath while the creature studied the thread and slowly entered the globe, which sealed itself around the invader. The bubble’s walls were impenetrable. Nothing could escape or enter.
She smiled inwardly, a sense of justice washing over her as the demonic creation thrashed about. The lack of air inside the bubble sent the maggot into a convulsive frenzy. Its body metamorphosed several times, but to no avail. After a few seconds, the creature no longer existed.
The leader would not be as easily fooled so Amina created an illusion of the creature and sent it along the path leading to her ankle. Not certain what she’d find, she proceeded with great care. Then she spied it. The dark malignancy that had to be the genesis of the deadly invasion.
The evil burrowed in a tiny sac attached to a muscle near her heel. She saw the creature’s body undulating, an action triggering movement in nearby maggots. There was no doubt the sac held a demon’s thread.
She quickly spun a bubble around the sac. Sharp pricks slammed into her brain. The demon had become aware of what she was doing. Amina ignored the pain and sealed the globe, leaching air from it as she did so. All demonic motion inside her halted, the deadly plague frozen in place. Bubbles surfaced to encase the motionless creatures. Asiya’s doing.
Amina seized the demon’s will. Your name. The creature resisted. Her anger flared and burned white. Your name. The demon’s tortured cry flooded her awareness. She ignored it. Your name, djinn. Its mind contorted with pain as it finally pushed its name into her thoughts.
Egon.
She had his name and a path to his masters. Driven by rage, she began to dissolve the demon’s existence strand by strand. She’d make him suffer as he made her child suffer. A burst of pain spiked inside her, becoming more excruciating as the first thread unraveled. She battled the agony, and continued her methodical undoing of the demon’s existence. When only two strands remained, she reached for them.
Mina stop. Examine the thread.
Amina halted and scanned the threads, her mind’s eye recoiling at what it saw. The final two strands were intertwined with her son’s. Had her sister not warned her, she would have ended her child’s life along with the demon’s. Smothering the anger boiling inside her, Amina forced herself to calm.
Raphael.
The archangel’s sympathy and regret touched her mind before he spoke. I cannot interfere, warrior. To do so would reveal secrets that must be kept from Satan.
I understand.
Despite her disappointment, she refused to be deterred from her revenge. Her mind worked feverishly to unlock a means to destroy the demon without harm to her child. Frustration and despair tumbled over each other inside her. There had to be a way.
The gentle presence of the child safely cocooned in his father’s love drew her. Drake’s essence was everywhere, inside the protective shell of power as well as outside, and her son basked in his father’s warmth.
An idea formed and she called to Drake. Dragon, come to me.
She created an entrance only he could use. The second he entered her mind, Amina shared her thoughts. After he left, she focused on the demonic strands. Instead of dissolving them, she carefully sorted the demon’s strands so they were distinct from her son’s. She then encased the demon’s life thread in silver, bleeding the green and blue from its essence. Egon’s thread paled, becoming a lifeless gray.
She had only a moment to destroy it.
A white spark erupted and the thread ignited. The demon’s agony tore at her awareness, the pain excruciating. Her child thrashed inside her womb as the demon fought to survive. Abruptly, her son stilled. She sensed Drake’s presence, his love swaddling their child and easing his discom
fort.
Her son’s life thread slowly returned to match the vivid colors of his mother and father. The demon’s death ended the bond between it and her child, and she was free to seek her revenge.
Before she went after her enemies, Amina purged the remnants of demonic invasion from her blood. She shielded her mind to prevent Drake from knowing her plans and raced along the demon’s link to its creator. She paused some distance from the demon king. At his side was Belial. She didn’t bother to hide her satisfaction at their reaction to her sudden appearance.
Again you have failed, Mephistopheles. When will you accept I am not destined to be your consort? Do not send your minions again. Be a warrior and come yourself. Face me with courage, not cowardice.
Amina formed an image of a beautiful silver hawk and sent it soaring above the demon’s head before the bird launched a vicious attack. Mephistopheles’ anguished howl reverberated around her. Satisfied she had caused him pain, she turned to face Belial.
Lilith was the genesis of the Tamahaq’s life, and the powers and gifts the Tamahaq hold in trust for the one who is Consort to your master’s brother. Return to Satan and tell him I have chosen my mate. The Seraphim cannot change what Fate has set into motion.
She retraced her path and settled into her mind. Drake’s anxiety pushed at her thoughts, but she held him at bay while she spoke to Raphael. When the archangel left her awareness, Amina opened her mind to her life mate. His sigh of relief caressed her and she lifted her eyelashes.
Drake stood over her. He opened his mouth to speak and no sound emerged. His teeth gripped his bottom lip, emerald-hued eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“I thought I would lose you, hawk,” he stammered. “Lose our son. It would have destroyed me. I love you, Amina.”
Fate's Match Page 14
