by Lynne Ewing
She eased closer, putting her hands on his hips, his jeans rough against her palms. Fear heightened her desire for his kiss. "Please," she whispered, willing his head to bend down to hers.
"We'd better hurry." He grasped her hand and started across a gloomy field toward a large lake. A dank, mossy smell grew stronger.
Willow trees lined the banks, their branches brushing lazily over the water. Crickets chirped, and night birds sang, in ghostly imitation of earth's nocturnal songs.
Kyle led her onto a wharf. Their footsteps pounded hollowly.
A small boat bobbed at the end of the dock, its elegantly carved prow surging above the water. A tiny lantern swung from the tip. The flame inside burned lavender. Within the small vessel, a stout man sat stone-still, his face hidden in the shadow of a hood. His large hands rested on the oars.
"Grab on to his robe before you let go of me," Kyle warned as he helped her down a small ladder and into the boat.
She stepped on board and turned back. "Aren't you coming?"
"You're safe," Kyle reassured her. "I'll wait here for you."
Catty settled on the plank seat, then grasped the hem of the man’s robe as she released Kyle's hand. He untied the rope from the piling and threw it on the deck.
Without speaking the man rowed out, the oars lapping the water with a soothing, soft rhythm. Soon the boat drifted into a bed of pink lotus blossoms; the air was heavy with their pungent fragrance. The broad, rounded leaves brushed against the hull of the boat.
The monk stopped rowing, and the boat tipped gently back and forth. He took a lantern and set it on the middle seat. Sparks shot from his fingertips, lighting a purple flame inside the glass, and then, slowly, he removed his hood.
Catty inhaled sharply and stared into the face of her father.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
A G A S P E S C A P E D C A T T Y ' Slips, and she looked at her father with respect. "You're the monk." Hope rose inside her, making her dizzy with happiness. She gripped the side of the boat, using her free hand to brace herself. Warm waves washed over the tips of her fingers.
"I'm not that treasonous monk," her father said harshly. "I was forced into this stupid charade to convince Kyle to bring you to me again."
"You're not . . . then, why . . . ?" Panic seize her, and she sat back, clutching her hands to her chest, expecting Regulators to bob up from the lake and pull her overboard.
When she dropped her hold on the robe, the landscape shifted back to the bewildering clouds. Cold penetrated her skin, and she began to shiver, teeth chattering, fearful she would be imprisoned in the frigid mists again.
"Use your power!" her father scolded, the force of his voice scattering the vapors.
"My powers don't work here," she shouted back, sensing his eyes on her but unable to see him in the murky haze.
"The ones you inherited from me do," he yelled as he locked his icy fingers around her wrist.
The fog vanished, and her father's face came back into fierce focus. His thinning hair seemed alive, writhing snakelike about his head as if expressing his anger, his eyes no longer gentle but dangerous, sly, and spellbinding .
She flinched at the needle-like feel of his thoughts sliding into her head, but she was prepared this time and barred his mental hold. She breathed deeply, summoning all her strength to fight him.
His grip tightened in response, sending a spasm of energy through her blood.
"You're not an outsider, Catty," he said with commanding force. "You can see in Nefandus without my help."
"I can't," she yelled back, glaring at him in anger.
"Stop suppressing your evil," he ordered, and took his hand away.
The foggy landscape returned, but the bitterly cold clouds didn't concern her this time. She was struggling to hold back the primitive force building inside her. She could feel it pacing, testing her control. Her father's touch had awakened her evil birthright. She had always sensed it deep within her, waiting, but now it became restless, pulsing with an ancient rhythm and demanding release .
At last it broke free, raw and excited, consuming her with savage need. Silver light shimmered over the haze. The clouds evaporated, and Nefandus burst back, vivid and clear.
A breeze whispered across the lake, tickling her skin and bringing with it the sweet fragrance of night. Croaking frogs circled the shore, and even though her eyes could not see the tiny amphibians, her mental vision caught each bulging eye and webbed foot.
She felt the predator inside her growing strong and dangerous, and if she leaned back, she knew she could release her body and become a phantom shadow gliding sinuously beneath the willow trees, hunting like a fox. The desire to do so grew inside her, but she was afraid that if she gave in to the impulse, she would never return to what she had been born to be, a goddess. She sat motionless, tears welling up in her eyes, and dug her fingers into the bench, straining against the new urges.
Suddenly her moon amulet felt too heavy to wear. Her hand twitched as if, with a will of its own, it wanted to tear the talisman from her neck arid throw it into the still, black waters. Her amulet began to thrum as if it sensed her intention, its power seeping into her, fighting those she had inherited from her father.
"Now you understand what you are," he said.
"I'm also a Daughter," she answered in a slow, silky voice that didn't feel like her own.
"Your mother was a fallen goddess," he said, as if he were proud of the fact. "That trait also resides within you."
"I've vowed to destroy the evil you worship."
But even as she spoke, she felt an unbearable pressure to give in, join her father, and align herself with the Atrox.
Her father smiled, his eyes fiery with satisfaction, as if he had already won. "All this time you've been hunting evil, all you ever had to do was look in the mirror to find it."
"I'm here to protect my world from your kind," she argued.
"My kind?" He waved his hand through the water, guiding the boat deeper into the lotus flowers. Then he pulled a red-lacquered canister and a brass teakettle from under the middle seat and set them next to the lantern. "Perhaps you find it so easy to fight Followers and Regulators because you're really fighting what you know exists inside you. I think we sometimes see ourselves most clearly if we look at what we hate in other people."
She nodded with understanding, but another worry had settled over her. She needed to leave Nefandus before her willpower abandoned her and she remained stuck there forever. "Why did you send for me?" she asked abruptly.
"I need your help." He opened the red canister, and the rich scent of tea leaves filled the air between them. "I have a favor to ask."
"And if I refuse you'll call the Regulators again," she remarked matter-of-factly .
"I didn't call the Regulators the last time you visited me." He leaned over the side of the boat and grasped a flower, then gently opened the lotus bud, pinched tea from the canister, and dropped it inside the blossom.
"Right," she answered, not believing him .
"Do you think you had the power to escape the Regulators without my help?" He pulled a red ribbon from his sleeve and tied the flower shut.
She didn't answer, but she sensed he was telling the truth. Her goddess power didn't work in Nefandus, but why would he help her and risk displeasing the Atrox?
"I manipulated the Regulator's mind to loosen his grip." Her father placed his hand in the water and guided the boat to the next flower.
"And why would you do that?" Catty still couldn't bring herself to trust him completely. "Besides, I broke loose on my on."
"You don't believe me. You think you did it with your prayer?" He stared at her as if her stubbornness fascinated him. "Would my servus have helped you to escape without being ordered to do so by me?"
Catty hesitated. "Then why didn't he help me leave Nefandus?"
"You weren't supposed to panic and run," he said "I had assumed you were braver."
"I'm brave enough
," she answered, swallowing hard. She needed to hurry. Her evil inheritance was becoming stronger than her will to hold it back, and she knew intuitively it would be easier to control in earth's realm.
Her father glanced at her as if he enjoyed her struggle, then tossed the last bit of tea into a flower and tied it shut. The ribbon's ends dangled in the water.
"By dawn the scent of the lotus flower will have permeated the tea leaves. I'll brew you a cup. Now, help me gather the dew for our water." He folded a leaf, letting the dew flow into the tea kettle.
Catty understood at once. Her father was trying to keep her here until her dark side overcame her goddess energy. She glanced at the shore. She could swim the distance, but what creatures lay beneath the glossy surface? She stared at the water, determined to dive in if he stalled any longer. "What favor do you need from me?"
Her father frowned, as if he had grasped her resolve. "I want you to bring me the Scroll."
She smiled, at last understanding. "So you can win a place beside the Atrox?"
"I have that already. Look deeper," he challenged.
She studied his eyes and knew. "You want to replace the Atrox."
"With you beside me," he whispered.
"Never. There's nothing you can do to convince me to surrender the Scroll to you."
"Nothing?" Her father seemed amused. "If you still care for the Keeper, then you'll do as I say."
Her stomach clenched. "Do you know where Chris is?"
He waved his hand, and white smoke hissed into the air. A perfect image of Chris formed in the thick haze. His hair looked longer than the last time Catty had seen him, and he had the haunted look of someone who was unbearably tired. Her heart ached for him.
"Chris!" She jumped up, rocking the boat. Water rushed over the sides, soaking through her sneakers .
Her father continued rowing with a soft, slow rhythm, moving her away from the likeness of Chris. "Unless you bring me the Scroll, he will remain here, my slave."
"Chris!" she shouted again.
Suddenly, Chris looked around as if he had heard her. "Catty, where are you? There's something important I need to tell you."
But then Chris's image fell apart, cascading through the air like fine sand.
She slumped back into her seat, defeated. "Where is he?"
"Safely imprisoned in my home, bound by magic." Her father stopped rowing, and the boat continued to drift forward, then bumped softly into a piling.
"I'll bring you the Scroll." She looked up, expecting to see Kyle waiting for her on the wharf, but he was not there.
Abruptly, the darkness shifted, and instinct told her that Regulators were near.
"Careful," her father whispered, as if he also sensed their approach. "Don't do anything foolish."
But Catty had no intention of waiting passively to see what would happen next. She grabbed on to the first rung of the ladder and climbed up, hoping to run and hide beneath the willow trees before the Regulators could catch her. She bounded onto the dock, took two strides, and began to sprint, her feet pounding, arms pumping at her sides.
The night trembled around her. Shadows gathered and grew denser. Veins of electricity crackled over the churning darkness. She dashed through the twirling shadows. A hand shot out and grabbed her neck, fingers dripping a foul slime down her throat. Within seconds a Regulator formed, connecting to the arm.
Her breath caught, strangling her scream. She glanced back. Her father stood at the end of the pier, still dressed like a monk. What would happen if the Regulators thought he was the one who had been helping the servi escape? Maybe Kyle had deceived them both after all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
S U D D E N L Y, T H E R E G U L AT O Rdropped Catty and stepped over her, stumbling back and joining the others.
Catty landed on her stomach and lay sprawled on the splintered wood, dazed and breathing in the scent of the tar-brushed beams. Cautiously she touched her neck. The liquid clinging to her skin felt like warm honey. She grabbed the edge of her sweater and wiped the mucus away, her stomach churning with nausea. Then she glanced up, looking for a way to flee.
Regulators stood behind her in a solid wall, hovering together, terror distorting their terrible faces. She wondered what had frightened them; then she saw, and her heart skipped a beat.
Her father loomed over them, grinning. He squinted in concentration, and the night thrummed with his energy. Without warning his arm shot out, and he hurled a burst of power at them.
The Regulators shrieked, their hellish cries resounding in the air. Their bodies wiggled and squirmed, trying to break free and transform themselves into shadows, but the force circled them, tightening. Their mangled bodies writhed, their ogreish faces twisted in pain, and then their eyes went hollow and dead. They froze, lifeless half-shadow, half-freak.
Catty's breath stopped, unable to grasp what she had just witnessed.
Her father grinned triumphantly and stepped forward. He paused in front of the Regulators' silent forms. In the odd light, his features looked barbaric and cruel, his cheekbones sharp, and his thin smile ruthless.
"Stupid beasts," he muttered, not bothering to hide his contempt. He whistled, and they vanished. Catty knew intuitively that every trace of them had been destroyed. Fear leaped through her. Her father's strength was astonishing. She smoothed her trembling hand over the place where the Regulators had stood moments before. It still felt warm. She glanced back at her father, and the joy on his face made her queasy.
Her nerves were taut with the need to jump up and run, but she continued to stare at him, wondering what evil he had committed in order to receive such power. It was greater than any she had witnessed before. Was this her heritage? Part of her longed to embrace his magic, but a stronger part felt terrified by what she had witnessed.
Her father seemed to sense her fear. "Leave now, and bring me the Scroll."
Still she hesitated. Even if she brought him the Scroll, she had no guarantee that he would release Chris.
"Go quickly," her father urged. "You have only minutes before the door between the worlds closes, and if you stay, I have no promise of your safety. The Atrox will soon discover that five of its Regulators have vanished, and you'll be suspected, not I!"
"Three days have passed already?" she asked.
"Must you always question everything?" His fingers trembled as if power were building in his hands. "Go, before I lose my patience."
Catty pulled herself slowly to her feet and took an awkward step backward. Her legs felt too shaky to hold her.
"Hurry," he yelled, a scowl creasing his forehead. "Do you want to be trapped here?"
Obediently she turned and ran clumsily beneath the long line of willow trees, the branches brushing against her face. She turned and darted across the field, clutching her moon amulet for encouragement. The dew on the grass wet her ankles, and she slipped but continued forward, scrambling on her hands and knees up the steepest part of the hill, wanting nothing more than to be safely back in earth's realm. She kept picturing her friends and her mother, knowing that if she thought about how far she had to go to get home, she would break down and cry.
Soon, the grinding music of unfamiliar instruments burst into the air. She rushed along the flowering bushes, to the edge of the park, then darted down the cobblestone road, staying clear of shadows, fearing what might be lurking in the dark.
At last, she turned the corner and saw the portal in front of her, but footsteps pounded behind her. Immediately she changed direction and started up another path back into the park, hoping the person behind her was only a servus out on an errand.
She lunged forward, muscles straining. Shadows spread across the field, trees bending in a cold breeze. Leaves tumbled about, clinging to her jeans and sweater. She glanced over her shoulder, frantically trying to see behind her, but a sudden gust blew her hair into her eyes. The trailing footfalls sounded again. Whoever was chasing after her was closing the gap between them. She tried to
quiet her fears and concentrated on getting home.
At last she sped up another hill, heading for the cliff and trying desperately to remember the point from which she had jumped before.
Something tramped in the grass behind her, gaining on her. This time she didn't glance back to see who was after her. Turning around even briefly would have slowed her pace, and she was too close now. She surged forward, arms and legs thrashing, then hit the air hard and screamed, her stomach lurching as she tumbled downward at an impossible speed. Had she leaped from the wrong place?
Wind lashed against her, ripping the air from her lungs. Then everything stopped. Silence surrounded her, and the filmy membrane locked itself about her. She gasped for air, but before she could breathe, her body became deadened, paralyzed as before .
Slow pain finally awakened her senses, and she rolled forward, stumbling into Los Angeles in the middle of Chinatown. Catty started to lean against the wall and to gaze up at the moon and the crystal-white stars, grateful to be back home. Suddenly, something pushed against her back, and someone broke through the brick wall, joining her in this world.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
"CA T T Y , D I D N ' T Y O U H E A Rme calling you?" Kyle stepped through the portal and joined her, his breath coming in gasps, hair falling into his eyes.
"You were the one chasing me?" The tension in her back eased, and she rested her cheek against his chest, relieved to see him.
He placed his arms around her. "As soon as I realized your father had deceived me, I hid. I figured Regulators were going to show up, and I'd need to rescue you, but your father—"
Kyle stopped as if the memory of what he had seen had come back to him unexpectedly and in horrifying detail. "I've never seen anyone destroy Regulators so easily," he continued finally.
"I know." She pulled away from him and started toward his car.
The winds had settled, and quiet claimed the night. People were out enjoying the clear skies.
