“Take me there, Akil. I need to know what happened to Akina. All this stuff you’ve told me doesn’t make any sense. Immortals don’t die, so why is she dead? Please, I need to know.”
“Are you sure, Maya? You need to be certain.”
“I am. I’m sure.” Actually, I was totally scared out of my mind. But the memories didn’t seem to be coming back on their own. Maybe they never would. Was I just supposed to wait around and hope they did? Hardly. “Please, Akil.”
“All right. This time, as you move from memory to memory, just let them play out. Remember that these are shadows of long ago events. There is no way to change them.”
“Got it.” I said.
He nodded and gently put two fingers to my forehead.
~ ~ ~
“Tell us more, tell us more!”
“Please, please, Nasrin!”
I was sitting with a group of young gods. I felt disoriented at first, until I felt a tug on my hair. I turned to look behind me, and there sat Akil. He couldn’t have been more than twelve years old, well, whatever that was in god time. He smiled that smile at me and when the smile met his eyes, I couldn’t help but grin back. Then his face became suddenly serious. I looked next to me and there was a young Akina. She was so beautiful, even then. Even while giving Akil a look that could kill.
“Well,” the goddess named Nasrin said, “I suppose I could tell you a bit more. But if you all die of fright, leave my name out of it.”
Everyone giggled at this. I looked at Akina. She smiled and gave me a wink. Just past her I noticed a boy about our age staring at her. His hair was disheveled, and he seemed somehow out of place among us. I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Keep your eyes to yourself,” I heard Akil say suddenly.
Startled, I turned around to see him looking at the other boy as he tossed a fireball in his hand.
Nasrin looked from one to the other. “Akil? Bane?” she said.
“Sorry,” Akil said. But he never took his eyes off the other boy.
I looked back to Nasrin, as she continued her story.
“The Manticores live in tribes on the far side of the Otherworld. They are half-breed savages, cursed by nature to have the heads and torsos of humans and the bodies of lions. They will not cross the Great River, as they cannot swim. They fear the water, and this keeps us safe.”
~ ~ ~
For a moment, I felt as though I was floating, and then I was alone. I looked around and saw that I was sitting on the floor in the middle of a great round hall made of some kind of stone that looked like white marble. On every wall, there were books on shelves that went from floor to ceiling. The highest shelf must have been thirty feet up! The floor all around me was littered with books. There were books on every topic imaginable: science, the arts, history. But none of them were written by gods. These books were from earth. They were all written by humans!
I heard bare feet slapping up the steps, and Akina came running through the great arch that served as the doorway. The moment I saw her, I knew that this was much later in god time. Akina looked as she had when I first saw her in the field.
“Maya! Maya! Come quickly!”
“What is it? Is it Akil?”
“No! No, he’s off somewhere. Please, Maya, I need your help!” At this, she grabbed my hand, yanked me up, and started pulling me toward the door.
“Where are we going?”
“Shh.” She pulled me around to the back of the building. “We cannot run there. It’s too far. We must gleam.”
“Where is there a place in our world that we can’t run to?”
“Please, just trust me. I know the way. Here, take my hand. We’ll go together.”
Moments later I opened my eyes and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. At the edge of the Great River lay a beast.
“Akina, what is—”
“It’s a Manticore, a real one.”
My heart leapt into my throat. “We shouldn’t be here.”
“He’s not going to hurt us. He’s injured. I’ve spoken with him.”
“What!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Had she lost her mind?
“His name is Rancor.”
“You know his name?” She had lost her mind. “Listen to me,” I said. “We have to go. We must leave here and never come back.”
“No, Maya, he’s injured. He needs our help.”
“Oh, no, no, no. Tell me you didn’t bring me here to heal him! Akina, you’re empathizing with him because of your empathic abilities!”
“Maya, please. He’s in such pain. His people have cast him out. He braved the river to seek asylum on our side. We can’t abandon him.” She took my hand and slowly brought me to the river’s edge.
I looked down at the pitiful man-beast that lay on the ground. He was all torn up and his breathing was shallow. He was moaning softly. When he opened his eyes and saw me, he gave a great start.
“No, hush. It’s all right,” Akina told him. “This is Maya. The friend that I told you could heal you.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, friend to Akina.” That was all he managed before he fell back in exhaustion. At first I thought he was wet from the river, but then I saw he was covered with sweat.
“We shouldn’t be doing this.” But even as I said it, I knew that I would. I loved Akina too much to deny her anything. And so I cautiously stepped forward. “Stay as still as you can,” I said to him, and I felt his body stiffen as soon as I touched him. “This won’t hurt you.”
I laid one hand on his brow and the other on his side, then closed my eyes. I could feel the power building within me. At first, it felt like it usually did, but then it became so great, I thought it might kill me. I had never felt so much power, not even at Chichen Itza. At last I felt it drop off. I opened my eyes to see Rancor starting to sit up.
He bowed his head to me. “Thank you…Maya. You had no reason to trust me, much less heal me. I’m grateful.”
“You’re welcome.” I turned to Akina. “Let’s go now.”
“But we can’t just abandon him!”
“He’s well now. He can fend for himself,” I said.
Rancor nodded. “Your friend is right, Akina. You can’t be seen here, by my side or yours.”
I pulled at her gown. Thankfully, she followed me back to the library, and I rushed back inside.
Akina followed me. “Thank you, Maya.”
“Shh. I’ve done what you asked. Now there’s no reason for either of us to mention it again.”
“Please, don’t be angry with me. I don’t think I could take it.”
“I’m not angry. I understand you far too well for that. Your powers are both a blessing and a burden to you, I know.” I put my arms around her. “But for the safety of us both, we must never speak of this again.”
~ ~ ~
Once more, the floating sensation came, and then I was standing next to Akil in what looked like a great plaza. Suddenly, I was stricken with panic. There, in the center of the plaza, was Akina. And she was standing next to Rancor, who was somehow immobilized.
“Akil,” I squeaked. I couldn’t find my breath. My chest felt too tight.
Akil took my hand and continued to watch the proceedings.
“Akina,” said a booming voice, “you stand accused of harboring and aiding this half breed.”
“She did no such thing!” Rancor spat.
“I strongly advise you to remain silent or I will gag you as well,” said the voice. “We have a witness, do we not?”
I couldn’t believe my eyes! The circle broke momentarily, and from the middle of the standing crowd came Bane! He walked into the ring.
I watched Akina’s eyes as they came to rest on Bane. Her expression was imploring and so helpless. I could feel tears begin to run down my cheeks.
But Bane only puffed out his chest and stood taller. “I saw them together. Twice. She was bringing him food and provisions.”
“Akina, is this true?” the voi
ce asked.
I wanted her to stand up for herself. I wanted her to tell them that Rancor was not what they thought. That he had needed help and we gave it to him. I went to step forward, but Akil grabbed my arm.
“No,” he hissed.
Akina looked down again. She stood there shaking, and at that point, I realized that she wasn’t going to try to defend herself at all. She merely nodded.
“Then Akina, Daughter of Uriel and Rayna, I sentence you to the Final Death.”
“NO!” I heard myself scream. Akil held me back again, but when I looked up at him, tears streamed down his face.
The Elder Gods moved to create an inner circle around Akina and Rancor. All at once, they held up their hands. Power streamed from their palms, and there was a great flash of light. Akina was gone.
~ ~ ~
I couldn’t breathe. Somehow I found my voice.
“AKINA!” I screamed. I grabbed at Akil’s shirt and banged on his chest with my fists. “Why? Why didn’t you just let me die with her! Why?” I yelled. I looked up into his face. Tears were falling from his eyes as he grabbed my wrists and pulled me into his chest.
“Because I couldn’t lose you both.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Damian sat through breakfast without really listening to the conversation going on around him. He’d given up on it. It seemed like all anyone could talk about was that the demons were back and how incredible it was that Maya had healed Lyssa. Why wasn’t anyone else freaked out by the fact his twin almost died? Cesar seemed to have moved back into normal life. What was wrong with these people?
Even Lyssa had bounced back in record time. It was in her nature. For some reason, he just couldn’t seem to shake it. He couldn’t even get himself to lower his psychic wall and let her in. He just felt so raw, so vulnerable. If everyone else was fine and he wasn’t, the only logical conclusion was that there must be something wrong with him.
“Yo! Damian!” Lyssa said.
He nearly jumped out of his chair. “What?”
“Alma wants to know if you want seconds.”
The best he could do was, “Uh, no. Thanks.”
“Hey, little bro, are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, sure, I’m fine. Hey, I gotta go grab my books before Nate gets here.”
He got up from the table, set his plate in the sink, and headed to his room. Nate. There was another issue he didn’t want to think about. Sure, he knew he had feelings for him, but they were probably just a schoolboy crush. At least that’s what he kept telling himself. The truth was he had never had a crush. Not a real one, anyway. So he had nothing to compare this feeling to. Well, it didn’t matter. Nate was clearly off limits. The only one who didn’t seem to think so was Lyssa. She didn’t always have the best judgment in these kinds of situations.
Like an idiot, he had let his twin get to him and now he’d ended up dooming himself to extra tutoring sessions with the guy. It wasn’t like him to do something so irrational. Lyssa was the one who acted on the fly. The truth was that he often admired her for it. Since they were little, she had dared to do things he would never even consider doing. He’d always needed more time than she did to think things out. Or maybe that was his problem. Ugh! If his head didn’t shut up, he was going to scream.
Damian sat down at the table with Matt and Lyssa. A few moments later, when Nate arrived, Damian’s stomach started to do somersaults. Nate was really cute, so intelligent, and the British accent just made those other two qualities even more annoyingly apparent. What was he thinking? He reminded himself for the billionth time that Nate was his tutor. It wasn’t even remotely appropriate. Period.
Nate broke into his thoughts. “Damian? Did you hear me?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Would you do problem five while Matt does six?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks.”
Nate sat down beside Lyssa to go over her math problems. At least that had worked out for the best today. He knew she’d be annoyed if he kept his wall up all morning, but he just couldn’t go there right now. He couldn’t chitchat with her about Nate. Not even about math. He couldn’t deal with having her that close. And that made him feel even worse.
“Damian, what’d you come up with for number five?”
Damian looked up at Nate and then back down at his paper. Oh, no! He hadn’t even done the problem. He stared at his blank paper, wishing he could somehow will the problem to be there. This had never happened to him in his whole entire life! As Matt coughed the answer at him, he flushed from neck to forehead.
Nate smiled. “Why don’t I give you two more minutes to see what you can come up with?”
“I’m sorry. I’ll do it right now.”
As the group tutoring session ended, Damian got to move on to his own personal hell. He went into the living room with Nate so that the big kitchen table could be set for lunch.
“Okay, let’s look at Rolle’s Theorem,” Nate said.
At least that wouldn’t be too bad. It was new, so Nate would do most of the talking. Damian was actually beginning to concentrate when a group of shifters decided to show up early and hang out while they waited for lunch.
“Hey, dude, seriously, I’ll phase and kick your ass any day!” Ryan. God, that kid drove him crazy. He was so cocky. And if there was one thing Damian hated, it was cocky. Not to mention he was talking about phasing with Nate there? Ohmygod.
“Nate, do you want to go down to my room?” Damian said. “It’s way too loud in here to learn something new.”
“That’s probably a good idea.”
They got all of their things together and headed down the hall. Damian thought Lyssa’s head was going to pop off her shoulders as he passed the kitchen. It was worth it just for that.
They went into his room and pulled out two chairs from the study table in the middle of the room. With all the research he’d been doing lately, the desk hadn’t been big enough, so he’d asked Richard to find him something he could spread out on.
“Mayan history,” Nate said, picking up a book and leafing through it. “Interesting subject. Complicated. Is this an interest of yours?” He picked up more books, helping Damian clear space at the table.
“Um, yeah, just in my spare time. That kind of thing.” Damian flushed again. He really needed to stop doing that. “Okay, so which problem should I start with?”
“I’m easy.”
“You’re…er…what?”
“I mean, I’m laid back about it. Either problem. Sorry, it’s a British thing.” This time it was Nate’s turn to blush.
“Right! I can see how that would be an easy thing to do.”
“Damian, could I ask you something?” Nate’s voice suddenly sounded different.
“Sure.”
“Did we just move in here because you’re under the impression that I don’t know they’re shifters?”
Damian practically had to pick his chin up off the table. “You mean, Richard told you?”
“Of course. It would hardly have been fair of him not to.”
Damian thought about this for a few seconds. “You’re right. I guess I hadn’t really thought about it. What did he say?”
“Not very much. He asked me if I minded and I said no, as long as you all didn’t mind that I’m gay.”
Damian almost choked on his own saliva.
Nate looked at him appraisingly. “There’s something up with you today.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you couldn’t concentrate during our lesson, and that’s not at all like you. In fact, it’s probably never happened to you before. Am I right?”
“Probably.”
Nate shifted in his chair. “We don’t have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“It’s not that, it’s just…uh…I dunno. It’s one thing to tell you that there are shifters here, but if I told you what happened yesterday, you probably wouldn’t want to come back.”
“T
ry me.”
“Lyssa and I, we share telepathy. We can…um, read each other’s thoughts. I mean, not all the time. Just if the other one allows it.”
“Really? My mum’s a parapsychologist. She’d love to get her hands on you two.”
“And I’ll bet you don’t believe in it.”
“Oh, no…I’ve seen it.”
“You have?”
“Many times and in more than one form.” He chuckled. “Although the brother-sister thing is new.”
“Well, I…something really bad happened to Lyssa. She got hurt and she almost died.”
“Yesterday?”
Damian swallowed a sob. “Yeah. And it just feels like no one here even cares, you know? Like they just got over it in a day and…what is wrong with me? Why can’t I just forget about it like everyone else?”
“Damian, why would you? You’re not everyone else. You’re her brother, her twin, no less. And you share a bond besides. You almost lost the person you’re closest to in the world. You can’t force yourself to get over it. It’s going to take some time. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Cesar is over it. And he’s her mate.”
“And I bet they’ve hardly been apart since it happened. They’ve been getting over it together. You’ve been dealing with it all on your own. That’s different.”
Damian burst into tears. “I just feel so alone.”
Nate moved over and put his arms around him and held him while he cried. He didn’t begin to move away until Damian was calming down.
“How are you?” he asked.
“I…I feel a lot better, actually. I didn’t realize how much things had changed between Lyssa and me lately. I guess I was starting to feel like everyone has someone here. I think it all kind of hit me when she got hurt yesterday. I really do miss her sometimes.”
“I know how you feel, actually. I’ve been traveling so much that I haven’t really had a chance to make new friends. It can get lonely.”
Jaguar Moon (Jaguar Sun Series Book 2) Page 10
