"So Rhonda hasn't been in control at all," TC said. "Not since you disappeared from the Society House."
She turned to look at him. "When it was obvious that Rhonda and Nona were going to destroy each other, I took command and shut Dags down so I could take him and her away from there."
"I didn't know you could do that," I said as I reached into the box again and pulled out the two stones.
"Geist did it, not me. Unfortunately, not long after we got away, Zacharel took a stronger hold over Rhonda and since there was no access to the Grimoire, then we were at hers and Zacharel's mercy. In a sense, Dags just woke up."
I felt awful for him. And my heart, in its own way, ached. The poor guy didn't have a clue what was going on. But at the mention of Alice and Geist, I got the feeling Maureen had filled him a bit, or Jason and Nick had when they took him away from the house.
Something touched my wrist and I looked down to see Joe's hand. His full hand. My gaze traveled up to his face. His eyes were open and dull, but he was alive.
He was alive!
"Hey…" he croaked.
"Sshh," I said as I crawled back to him and ran my fingers through his hair. "You need to rest. I'm going to take you out of here."
"Oh no, you mean like before?"
"Yes. I need to get you to a hospital."
He blinked at me. "I dreamed you kissed me."
"Yes, I did."
"Can I dream it again?"
I smiled. "Later."
With a quick kiss to Joe's cheek, I grabbed hold of the nearby cell wall and pulled myself up on my feet. I was still Wraith, and I held the stones in my hand. Possession, Creation, and Command. Their colors were bright against my ashen skin.
"Those are Eidolons."
Everyone turned to see that Rhonda had moved to the cell wall. She stood near TC, but not beside him. He stepped back to give her room.
Zoë, are you sure about this? TC's voice echoed in my mind.
"Are you reading my mind?"
You kind of think out loud.
"I'm sure."
I looked at her and found nothing but hate. "I figured out what these are, and where they came from. They're me, Rhonda. They're all facets of me that my father removed and hid from my great-uncle after I was born. He tried so hard to protect me in the only way he knew how. These are the parts of me that Domas wanted to keep apart, the things he's afraid of. He's not terrified of the Grimoire.
"He's terrified of me." With that, I held out the Command and Possession stones, closed my eyes, and accepted, once again, who and what I am.
Light filled the world on the other side of my lids as I felt confidence envelope my soul. For the first time since this whole thing began, I had the most overwhelming sense of purpose.
"That's not possible," Rhonda whispered.
"It is," TC answered. "They were stolen and separated. And now they're nearly whole."
I took in a deep breath and opened my eyes. "TC, I'm probably about to do a serious fade-out. Can you take Joe to a hospital?"
"I'd like to take him to the Society House. As crazy as they are there, the infirmary is state of the art. And I can watch over him."
"Thanks. After he's settled in—"
"I'll be back for you, Luv." TC moved past me, Dags, and Rhonda, and lifted Joe into his arms.
"No funny ideas," Joe mumbled before he passed out again.
TC laughed and looked at me. "You know what you have to do. Do it quickly."
I nodded as he vanished.
When I faced the others, Maureen assumed a fighting position. "What did he mean? What do you have to do?"
"Don't worry, Maureen. I need you to take care of Dags a bit longer on your own. Can you get him out of here before the Ethereals try to take him again? They now have a means of doing serious damage to the Grimoire and I'd be happier if he was safely back at the Society House."
"Yeah, but what are you going to do now?" She looked at me and then at Rhonda.
Before I could answer her, Gabriel appeared in the small space between Maureen and Dags.
The Cherubim held the page in her right hand. I reached out to Maureen, to warn her what was about to happen.
Gabriel grabbed Dags's hair and yanked him to her before she shoved the page into and through his chest. Apparently the Cherubim didn't need anyone to open the book—or she didn't care. Her only concern was getting that page in.
Maureen screamed just as a brilliant light blotted out everything else. I heard Dags screaming as well and I tried to get to him. I shouted for Gabriel to stop but I couldn't move.
I couldn't see.
The light took everything away. I closed my eyes tight, felt the magic as heat against my skin. Rhonda was yelling as well and her panic was a palpable wave of regret and fear. I knew she realized in that instant what Gabriel was doing, but she didn't know about Inanna's spell.
When the light vanished Gabriel was gone. So was Maureen. It was just me, Dags, and Rhonda.
He was on his knees, his face blank, his eyes unfocused. Rhonda ran to him and put her hands on the sides of his face. "Dags? Say something. Please…baby…look at me."
Several seconds passed before he focused on her. I didn't see recognition in his eyes. In fact, I didn't see anything.
She was up and in my face in two beats. "What did she do to him?" Rhonda demanded. "Tell me!"
Truth was I didn't know. I knew what spell Inanna wrote on the paper. And the date I'd given her when he first told me he loved me, the first time he and I made love. He should know Rhonda's face. He should know mine.
But he looked…blank.
Did the spell not work?
Zoë…it is possible Gabriel rewrote it.
No…
And then as I held my breath he refocused on me. His eyes widened and I thought I caught the hint of a smile. "Zoë? Did…did we stop the Shadow People?"
The Shadow People.
That was last December. A year ago. Daniel had been in the hospital when Dags contacted me through email about Shadow People in the bar he worked in. That was how we'd met.
The date was months before the one Inanna wrote down, but it was enough.
It was enough.
"Yes Dags…" I smiled at him. "We got them."
"I swear by your fucking mother's grave I'll fix whatever it is that bitch did to him!" Rhonda's face was red with anger, frustration. She put her finger in my face. "You don't scare me, you damned freak."
I grabbed her wrist. "I should." When she tried to pull free I didn't let go. In fact, I squeezed as hard as I could until I heard bone crack.
She tried to run when I released her. And I let her try, for a short second. I let her think she could get away from me.
Until she rounded a corner and I was there. I unfurled my wings as I reached out to her. "I banish your magic, Rhonda Orly. For now and always."
Chapter Forty-Three
"You can't rush him, Zoë." Mom put her hands on mine. Who knew this woman could look so commanding from a hospital bed? We weren't in a state hospital, but the infirmary of the Society of Ishmael. "The boy's had his life so scrambled since that book was first opened by Maureen. I think it's reasonable to honor this request."
If the whole thing wasn't so intertwined with my heart I'd agree her, and with the Society Elders. I'd been stupid to let my heart hope for just one second that this whole mess—this disaster that bitch created—could be fixed with just a simple spell.
Zoë, Inanna said gently. We talked about this.
I know.
Apparently you don't, and you're not listening. I warned you. We had no idea what was already on that page. And we don't know what Gabriel wrote.
I know. Mash all that up and you get…
You get…a very confused young man with a memory like Swiss Cheese.
Three weeks since that day and Dags and I had spoken a handful of times. Most of those moments consisted of him asking me about something, wanting to know if it happened, a
nd me telling him yes or no. My first impression had been right. He'd been taken back to when we first met.
What I'd believed would be a triumph, was still a failure. He remembered me, but only as an acquaintance. I longed to see that look in his eyes—the one of adoration and love. But this Dags didn't feel that for me. My plan had been to take some time together. Maybe a trip somewhere in the Society's RV. But when I suggested this to him he backed away from the idea. He was polite. Always polite and well mannered.
But he didn't want to do that. So when he took that idea to Nona and the Elders, the one of taking a vehicle and spending time on his own for a while, I was surprised they agreed.
Why surprised?
Because even though he had a lot of holes in his memory—including those pertaining to the Grimoire—the book was still there. They'd tested him several times and his subconscious had accessed those spells. Consciously, he had no idea how.
Truth was they couldn't detain him. Nor were they worried about any minions from the Ethereal Plane swooping in and taking him. Gabriel had done something and dad said the Seraphim was satisfied.
But neither he or I or anyone in the Society knew what was on that page, or could hazard a guess at what Gabriel did to him. Dags refused to allow anyone near him and threatened to go to the press if they didn't let him leave.
"What're you thinking?" Mom squeezed my hand.
"Alice and Maureen." I chewed on my lower lip. "The book rolled Dags's memories back, his experiences, but it didn't change time. That much we all know. Maureen and Alice did exist."
"Yes."
"So, where are they?"
I didn't like the look on her face. I remembered where they'd been before Bonville pulled them into the portals in Dags's palms. So when she didn't answer, I had to ask because I'd been wondering it ever since. "They're still Shadow People, aren't they?"
"We just don't know, Luv," TC said from where he stood in the corner of the room.
Mom agreed. "They're not in the Abysmal Plane, you haven't seen them in the Astral, and your dad hasn't found them in the Ethereal."
"Then how can you believe they're still Shadow People?"
Mom looked so sad. "Because the alternative is that they don't exist at all. That, perhaps the spells on that page, the ones Inanna couldn't see, were spells to banish the Familiars. Something prevented them from manifesting after Rhonda slipped that page in. When that page came out, Maureen gained control." She pursed her lips. "We just don't really know, Zoë."
I didn't say anything. I didn't know how to make it better. She was right—I'd looked all over the Astral. Called out to them back at the Livery where we'd first found them. Dad assured me he'd tried to find them as well.
Nothing.
Dags knew them only as a former girlfriend and the wife of the Chief of Surgery. Nothing more.
I checked my watch. "He's late."
"You need to be good to him."
"I want to. He just won't let me." Nothing was the way I'd dreamed it would be.
Again.
But you know me–I still had hope. Until this morning, when Joe told me Dags was going to leave today, with no assurance of ever returning. I assumed I would have more time to talk to him. I hoped…wished…he'd bring me with him.
Someone knocked at the door to Mom's room. When I turned, I expected to see Joe.
Dags stood in the doorframe, the telltale strap of a backpack on his shoulder. He looked—incredible. His hair was shorter and he'd dressed in jeans, tee-shirt and denim jacket.
My heart ached.
"Hello, Darren. Are you ready?" Mom greeted.
He nodded and slung the backpack to the floor before he went to her and gave her a long, tight hug. She kissed his forehead before he pulled back, and they held hands. "Thanks for everything, Nona."
"I would do anything for you, Darren. You're like the son I never had."
He smiled but didn't respond. Instead, he turned to face TC. The two shook hands. "Thanks, Azrael."
"Be careful, book-boy," the Phantasm said. "You know how to call me. But don't, if you can help it. I got more than I can handle these days."
Dags smiled.
And then he faced me.
I froze in place. Deer in the headlights.
"Can we go some place to talk?"
He wanted to talk to me in private. My heart thundered against my chest.
I'd wanted to talk to him privately for a week, but someone was always around. To calm my anxiety I took small jobs here and there. Read more of Domas's Dioscuri Files. And I had a long talk with my father after Mom was completely out of danger. I'd even had a few meetings with Geist to answer questions about the union between Inanna and me. I was more than Wraith now, and more than what many denizens of the Abysmal and Ethereal planes were comfortable with.
He was still waiting for my answer. "Sure." I shrugged, trying to look all non-chalant, and followed him out of Mom's room after he grabbed his backpack again.
Dags led the way to the garage where the Society cars were parked. A van, a limo, two SUVs, and an ambulance. All here in this semi-underground hangar.
He would be taking one of the SUVs. The back door was open to show some serious supplies. Brown bags filled with groceries, cartons of water bottles, blankets, three suitcases. He tossed his backpack in before he turned and sat on the bumper. "I felt like I needed to air a few things."
"Sure." I stood with my hands in my pockets. My heart continued pounding against my chest. It was so loud I to strain to hear him. I wanted to grab him and make him tell him he loved me, that he wanted to get married, that we were perfect together.
Please…know me.
"I'm sure you know that between Azrael, Joe, Jason, Nick, and Geist—so many—that I've gotten the whole story about what happened. With Rhonda."
I nodded.
"First, I want to tell you I'm sorry about what she did. She had no right to mess with our lives like that. It's despicable, and I honestly hope to never see her again."
"Yeah, well, I doubt any of us will ever see her again." Since I'd taken away her magic, I hadn't seen her. Neither had Mom or the Society. Her apartment was cleaned out; her rather large bank account and her car were gone.
"Zoë, what did you do. To Rhonda? No one will tell me."
"I—took away the one thing she loved above everything else. Just like she did to me."
He looked down at his hands. "You mean me."
"Us."
"So she's alive."
"As far as I know. Alive and very, very normal. She won't be able to open up the Grimoire again."
"Ah. Good. That's really nice to know. And Jason? Where are he and Nick? I haven't seen Umayma, either."
Ooh. Wow. They really hadn't filled him in. "Jason and Nick aren't here—they flew out of town back to Canada a few days ago. Seems there's a rift forming in the Revenant group—which I'm the cause of, or mine and Inanna's bonding is—and they're all hashing it out. I don't know why it's such a big deal. I mean, she's here." I put my hand on my chest. "And she's staying."
"Is Daniel there, too?"
I started to speak but closed my mouth. "Yes. He is. It's one of the blessings of having her with me, because she can show me his thoughts, his feelings, his hopes and dreams. And it feels like he's still here with me."
"You still love him."
"I will always love Daniel." I narrowed my eyes at him. "What's this about? I mean…if everyone filled you in, then you know what I've been going through having lost you like that. You know what we did to try and set the Grimoire right. I'm just glad you remember me at all." That wasn't really true. I'd be happier if things were the way they were supposed to be.
He and I together. In love.
Dags nodded. "Yes I do. In fact I remember you more than anyone. You burn brighter in my memories than my family. The past few weeks the doctors have brought back a few things here and there—snippets really. They think my memories are all there in the Grimoire an
d what I've been able to see are some of them bleeding through…" he sighed. "What they want to do is open up the book and see the pages themselves. Find the page Gabriel put in and take it out. Take a fine tooth comb and study it. But…I can't do that. I can't allow anything else to be done to that book, Zoë."
"I'm sorry."
"My life—all of it—is crystal clear until after I met you at your mom's shop. Then things start fading out. Do you know what it's like to be told you've missed an entire year? That you've been attacked, kidnapped, beaten, tortured almost to death, and the only thing that saved your life was having a witch shove some magic book into your soul?"
I noticed his voice getting a little tense. He was angry. I hadn't even considered he'd be upset, but it made sense.
I took a step toward him and stopped when he held up his hand. My expression fell and I put my hands to my chest. "Dags?"
"One of the nurses in the infirmary was married to a former S.W.A.T. officer. Three years before he was shot on the job. The incident was questionable and he made the decision to quit instead of face an IAB audit of the event. He'd been out of work since then with no job prospects when the Society hired him to lead their new security detail. She got the job as nurse. They were trying to have their first child."
Oh God.
I realized whom he was talking about and my heart dropped into my stomach.
"Until you ripped his arm off."
My hands covered my face. "Dags—"
"She said they're not even going to arrest you, or punish you, because you're some demonic abomination."
Demonic…abomination? Was that what they thought of me?
Air rushed from the room. My ears popped when I heard the disdain in his voice. I couldn't speak. Yes I'd noticed the looks and the whispers of people as I walked in the House, the strange looks. But I'd assumed they were all sad for me, for having lost my love again.
It…didn't occur to me that what I'd done to that guy would be viewed so…
Good God. They saw me as a monster.
Realization hit me in my stomach. I had no memory of ripping that guy's arms off—but they'd seen it. They'd all seen me do it.
Mom had been the one to break the news to me, about the man I'd maimed. About his wife.
Dominion: Zoë Martinique Investigation, Book 6 Page 27
