"You look terrible."
Barry Stephens appeared by the bed where Eshe had been.
Geist.
"Yeah, well…" I shifted my head, and it hurt. "I got in a fight with a Dominion."
"I heard." He tilted his head to the right as he walked around the bed and looked at the foot. Then he went to the door and opened it to pull my chart out of a wall slot. He came back inside, flipping through it. "Concussion, cracked jaw, cracked collarbone, broken left femur, three broken ribs, broken ankle…"
Damn!
I didn't feel any of that…but then again, I did have two drips feeding in through two tubes.
"I do not believe you will be moving soon." He waved his hand and the clipboard disappeared. I frowned at that. Had Geist always been able to manipulate the Physical Plane before? Maybe this was a new thing, or I just wasn't remembering it right.
"Not unless I spontaneously heal." I looked at him. He looked thoughtful. "You seen Joe?"
"He is downstairs. Recently released from jail. He made bail."
Yay. He was going to be in a good mood.
Something twisted deep inside of my gut, followed by the most serious stomach growl I'd ever heard. "I need food."
"I do not think solid food is on your doctor's menu."
"Geist…" More growls. Yikes. "Why are you here? I hope it's not to gloat?"
"No. I was thinking of the situation as it stands now. You must do something to retrieve the Guardian."
"Duh? Tell me something I don't know. I'm a little idea-broke at the moment." I tried to shift, and moved my shoulder. Owch! Hey, Inanna, how do Revenants usually recover from shit like this?
No answer.
Inanna?
She was just here….
"Zoë." Geist put his hands on the railing. "Do you think the Guardian would give up the Grimoire if you were in trouble? If he knew you were in such bad shape? Or possibly dying?"
I made a rude noise. "No. Sorry, Geist. You of all people should know he's not that into me anymore. He'd be more willing, I think, if Rhonda were in dire straits." I watched him for a minute. "By the way, what the hell kind of question is that? You want me to be in worse shape than what you just rattled off?"
"No. I do not. I am simply attempting to find a way to facilitate your finding the Guardian."
Mmhm… "Well, that's the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question. Unfortunately, they took my Eidolon. Gabriel did."
Geist's expression shifted into one of that looked like anger and a bit of surprise. "She did?"
"Yeah. Got the Banishing stone. Zach and his posse got the Creation one. Joe's got the Destruction stone, and we have no idea where the other two are."
"I was not aware of that. I believed they were in the Society House."
"No, not there."
"With Nona?"
"No, she doesn't have them, either. Which is why she is in the hospital. We're not doing too good, Geist. We're zero for two right now. I'm not sure how this is going to get fixed." That pain came again, and I actually doubled up on the bed which just triggered all kinds of hell all over my body. IVs be damned, this hurt! I was starving. And it was a pretty painful hunger.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah…why do you ask?"
"Because twice now you have shifted from human to Wraith and back again. So I repeat, are you all right?"
"I…I don't know." And there it was again. This stabbing, awful, worse-than-a-period-cramp pain in my gut. It felt kind of like hunger, but it was twenty-million times worse. "Oh hell…I think something's wrong…"
"Perhaps I should get—"
But that was all I heard before I was in the air and shifted. It was that fast. I hovered there, my claws and bunny slippers out, but then I doubled over again and wrapped my arms around my middle. Oh geez, this was fucking awful. But I couldn't tell if the pain wracking my body was from hunger, or me just throwing caution to the wind by shifting and moving with that list of injuries Geist read off.
"You…" Geist's eyes were wide…again. "You have a First Born…"
"Yeah, tell me about it—" Oh fuckin' shit. That's right. Oh no…was that why I was so hungry? Was it the Revenant part of me? Was it making not-nice with the Wraith part of me? Was that why Inanna wasn't answering me?
Geist vanished the second the door opened. I looked in that direction and saw Joe standing there, door open, his eyes as big as goose eggs and his jaw open.
We stared at each other for a full beat before he hissed, "Get down from up there! You're hurt!"
"I'm hungry," I hissed back, but I did lower myself to the bed. My wings folded on my back and then vanished, but I didn't shift back to human. Oh no…I could see my angry bunny slippers as I folded my legs under me and held my stomach. "Oh, damn, I'm hungry. I need a burger or fries or something…."
Joe shut the door and hesitantly came closer. "Zoë, you need to un-Wraith, like, right now. If one of the nurses comes in here and sees you like that—"
"Don't you think I know that?" I hissed. Only it all sort of ran together. I was freaking out, stressing out, and totally not happy.
The door opened again, and this time Umayma and Jason stepped in. When they saw me, both of them did what I'd call a Revenant-Out moment. Black eyes, slightly different look, and, well…teeth.
"Get down this instant!" Umayma hissed up at me, her voice dripping with that of the First Born Freyja.
Jason moved to stand in front of Joe as Mephistopheles spoke directly to me. This was why we would never have agreed to such a union.
What do you mean? Was there a committee I didn't know about?
She bonded with you—made you her First—we knew it the moment it happened, Zoë. And now Inanna has powers we can't imagine, because no one has ever thoroughly tested you.
That made me sound like a brood mare, didn't it?
"Joe," Frejya/Umayma began. "Have you heard Inanna filter through as I am coming through Umayma? Has she taken control?"
"No. I just got here. Guys, what's going on? Why does she look like that?"
"It's the combination of Wraith and First Born," Mephistopheles/Jason said. "She's hungry. Very hungry. I can sense it from here."
"Look, you all just need to get out of my way." I heard myself speaking, but I didn't remember actually preparing that threat. I was thinking it, yeah. Was that Inanna? Hello? Are you in there?
It's…very difficult… came a small but familiar voice.
How so? You were in control in the park.
That was so brief…and I was still tied to Daniel. But now it's so…overwhelming. My sorrow, plus your own… Zoë…how do you live like this?
I felt even more exposed than usual. Inanna, what are they talking about not agreeing to this?
"I'm afraid you have to come with us to the Society House. There is a facility there to contain you and to rectify this situation," Freyja/Umayma said.
"Rectify what?" Joe looked very confused.
He didn't know! Of course he didn't know!
I needed to eat…but the truth was, I didn't know what that would be. Was it my Wraith that wanted to snack on a soul…or was it the Revenant that wanted a taste of human blood? Both of them sounded like a lobster-with-butter dinner at that moment. Mm….with a Sara Lee coconut cake for desert….
Inanna's voice was small and very weak but what she told me was… "NO FUCKING WAY!" I blurted out at near-Scream capacity.
Everyone held their ears, and Umayma pointed at me and then looked at Jason. "Do you see? She cannot be allowed to have that kind of power. She's always—always—been the one to choose her hosts based on their ability to give her strength. But this is the first time she's found one that has a power she can manipulate." She took a step toward Jason. "You can't really believe she tried to stop Daniel's young soul from feeding off of a Wraith! She probably goaded him to do it!"
"That's a lie!" Whoa…tone it down there, Wraith-pire. I caught sight of Joe just behind Jason, and he had his hands
smashed against his head. Of all the people in the world I didn't want to hurt, Joe was number one. I pointed at Umayma. "I was there. I heard Inanna telling me to run, forbidding me to allow Daniel to drink from me. It was my idea, not Inanna's—and regardless of that, what you plan on doing is despicable and I will not allow it."
Mm…yeah, that was half me and half her. Because I'm not sure I've ever used the word despicable in any kind of context. Ever.
"Wait a second…" Joe moved from behind Jason and looked at each of us. "What the hell is going on? Doing what? And when—" he looked at me "—have you ever used the word despicable?"
See?
Jason pointed at me. "Inanna is now Zoë's First Born."
Joe's expression didn't go where I thought it would. Instead of looking shocked, he looked…intrigued? "I didn't know that was possible. Wouldn't the present Abysmal essence screw around with Inanna's own Abysmal being?"
"We honestly don't know," Jason said. "What we can see right now is that Inanna and Zoë are both hungry. But we're not sure if that's going to be Wraith food or Revenant food."
Jason was right there with me wondering the same thing.
And it was evident that now Joe was wondering this. "And, well…I have both, so I'm not sure I should be in here—"
"They want to perform that exorcism ritual," I blurted out. I didn't want him to go, 'cause I didn't want to be alone with either of them—and because he smelled really good.
Me mentioning that yanked Joe into gear. He stepped out from behind them and put himself between them and me. Holding out his hands, he looked at Umayma and then Jason. "That's not going to happen. And, Jason, having nearly been killed like that—why would you ever agree to such a thing?"
"I didn't." He was looking at Umayma. "I'm not sure that was a unanimous decision."
"That ritual is the only way to separate a First Born and a Revenant."
"Uh uh!" I gave her my best sixth-grader defending herself against the bullies impression. "The Banishing Eidolon works just fine. It's how she got here to begin with."
Joe turned to look at me. "Exactly what happened?"
I told him, and the other two listened. I honestly didn't think they knew the specifics to begin with, even before they came in here declaring Inanna's a bad First Born and needs to be exorcised. Hey, let's not even go into what happens to the human host in that ritual.
"So it's possible, if we can get that Eidolon back to banish her…" Frejya/Umayma said as if in deep thought.
"No one's banishing Inanna," Joe said.
"I second that. Frejya, you're going to have to put your personal feelings aside when it comes to your sister—"Jason began.
"This has nothing to do with my personal feelings." She pointed at me. "Look what she's done, Mephistopheles! We made an agreement never to seek possession of things stronger than ourselves. Now the one that stayed behind is inside the body of a Wraith! Don't you remember how terrified Sophia had been of the possibility Azrael had inadvertently created one?"
I wasn't really listening. My attention had refocused on Joe the second he came closer to me. Now I could smell him, hear the rush of his blood through his veins, feel the warmth of his soul against my cold, ashen skin. Mm…he was like a Little Debbie Snack Cake all unwrapped and ready to be eaten.
Sneaking up behind him was pretty easy, since he was interested in the argument between Jason and Umayma and they were interested in themselves. My upper jaw started aching the closer I got.
We have to feed, Zoë…I seem to be consuming your energy at an alarming rate.
I had to agree. When I woke up I was tired and sore and stiff and—wait a minute. I thought back over the list of owies that Geist rattled off and looked down at myself. None of those things were showing up on me.
Your injuries weren't life threatening but needed to be fixed. I repaired what I could, but it took so much out of me. Now, Zoë…you can't take Joe. If you do, you won't be able to stop. You could kill him.
Oh.
I didn't want that.
But I was soo hungreeeee….
I stopped my cat-like stalk on the bed toward Joe when he spun around and caught me. I froze and then grinned. His eyes widened again and he backed up.
"Shit, Zoë, don't do that. You look…" He made a weird face like a chipmunk and rubbed at his front teeth. "You've got…"
I ran my tongue over my teeth—
AH! No! My teeth were all sharp and pointy!
Umayma ran up and pulled Joe away. "Do you see how dangerous she is now?"
"And when we're wounded and in need of blood," Jason said as he approached me, "aren't we dangerous?" He removed his suit jacket and tossed it on the bed, then rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. When he held his arm up to me, I was mesmerized by the smell and the feel of him. I could actually sense Jason and Mephistopheles' souls inside of the one body. They were in perfect sync. "Zoë, drink what you need. I'll be fine, but you're going to have to keep an eye on that Wraith part of you."
I looked into his eyes and then back down at his arm….
SNACK!!
And then it was all over. I was on him like cute on a puppy. I grabbed his arm and he pulled me to him, my back to his chest as he wrapped his free arm around my face so my teeth could crack that thick skin and sink deep into the vein beneath. I was already good at this because it wasn't me anymore. I felt the shift as I fell back and Inanna came forward. She took control and I slipped back…and then out…to see Jason and myself. He'd sat on the bed and had me in his arms. It looked as if he were cuddling a child, and he kissed the top of my head.
"Zoë?" Joe moved to the left of Jason and became visible on my right. "Are you…"
I smiled at him. "Yeah, we found this out earlier. I can OOB again. And so can Inanna."
Chapter Thirty-One
I'm not sure Joe was completely comfortable with what was happening. He didn't move any closer to me, and kept looking from the scene on the bed and then back to me. I was more worried about what those little monitors were going to show. If my heart rate or temperature fluctuated, then I'd have a nurse in here.
And I wasn't sure I wanted that…just yet.
I also wasn't too happy about the look on Umayma's face. She was doing that "watching us but not really seeing us" thing. And I wondered if her First Born was actually talking to Mephistopheles or Inanna.
Abruptly I was yanked back into my body, and an awesome surge of happy warmed every inch of my body. The heart monitor did its alarm thing, and so did the temperature gauge as I felt myself grow much warmer.
Jason let go and stood as the door opened and Nick ran in. He was at Jason's side in an instant and caught him under the shoulder. "What the hell did you just do?" Nick hissed.
"He chose sides," Umayma said in a very scary voice. Frejya was in the house.
But it didn't really matter—not when I took in a deep breath and spread my wings out as wide as the small room would allow. I felt…free! And something else.
Something I hadn't felt since Daddy Dearest abandoned me in the Abysmal Plane.
Empowered.
It wasn't just a physical empowerment—I could feel that as well. That was something I sort of had all along. As a Wraith, I was physically more than the Revenants. But I always felt…how am I going to explain this…
I felt…confident. I knew now there wasn't much either an Abysmal creature or an Ethereal one could do to me. But there was a shitload I could do to them. And knowing that—knowing I now had what I needed to seek revenge on them for what they did to Daniel—I could forget my own responsibility because I didn't strip that wall away from him by banishing Inanna….
Ignoring Umayma and her really harsh glare, I slipped off the bed and shifted back to human me. Hospital gowns were never a fashion statement, so I decided I should wear something else, so I remolded it into jeans and a shirt.
"Zoë," Joe began as he took a step toward me. "How…what did you just do?"
"She
did something only a First Choir can do," Umayma said.
I frowned at her, but it was Nick who answered what was in my head. He was still supporting Jason, who looked really pale. Damn…how much did Inanna drink? "First Choir is an Ethereal distinction, Frejya. Zoë is a Revenant, which is Abysmal."
"Her birth is a combination of Ethereal and that of a human soul, Nickolas." Umayma took a single step forward and allowed Frejya to have full access to the host. "She was born half Ethereal, and the touch with Abysmal because of our brother created a trifecta of energies. She possessed all three of the facets of creation, as well as the catalyst of a physical body. Something from the universe's beginning we call a Wraith. When Inanna entered and bonded with her, she created something even newer, something that now has power on the same level as that of an Ethereal Choir."
I swallowed. Loudly. I knew my own history to a point, and it seemed every time one of these damned First Borns opened their mouths, I learned even more. I really wanted to sit one of them down and get the full story all at once.
But I didn't have time right now. I had within my power the ability to rescue Dags and possibly return his memories to him. I didn't care what happened to Rhonda. I didn't care about anything else. They'd taken Daniel from me. He'd died beside me and I was mad at what I'd done to him.
Joe held out his hand. "Is this a bad thing?" He looked at Umayma. "'Cause the look on your face says this is a bad thing. I mean…I never figured a First Born could actually bond with Zoë. I see it's possible. But if the fusion has given her power to equal that of a First Choir—" he looked at me and then back at Umayma "—then isn't that good? Doesn't that mean we have a chance against the rogue Dominion and Gabriel?"
I opened my mouth to say yes, but Umayma butted in. "And after that? What happens next, witch? What if she succeeds in rescuing the Grimoire and we are able to keep it safe? What do you think this creature is capable of?" She started a slow pace around the room. "Inanna chose to remain with Sophia after she destroyed our father, with the story she was going to protect our little brother—and yet he came under Sophia's influence regardless. Inanna was the one who began her diaries, her journals, which eventually found their way into the Physical Plane because Sophia turned her out. Inanna chose hosts, not to help them or save their lives or because they were worthy, but because they could give her power. Alchemists, scientists, magicians…she chose the ones who could give her what she wanted." She stopped and pointed at me, but I was pretty sure she was pointing at Inanna, who was being very quiet. "And she did the one thing we all agreed we couldn't do—she wrote it all down in a physical form. We knew such a collection of spells, of magic, would eventually bind to itself and that binding could become dangerous."
Dominion: Zoë Martinique Investigation, Book 6 Page 20
