Vengeance Moon

by Lee Roland

  I sobbed in despair. “Don’t. No.”

  Aiakós stared at him for a very long time. All I could do was lie there and watch. Would he give up some unknown thing for Michael’s loyalty? How much did he value his son? Then he smiled, showing those jagged teeth. “I accept your offer, my son.” He stood and stalked away. I did notice his leg still oozed blood where the bronze knife had cut so deep.

  I cried out long and loud, but then Michael had me in his arms.

  Abigail was there. “Let me . . .” She paused to catch her breath. “No, I don’t think I can do it. I’m too weak. I might kill her. Get her to a hospital.”

  I cried when Michael lifted me.

  “Michael, if you love me, please do as I say,” I begged.

  “I need to get you to a hospital.” His face was a grim mask, but tears leaked from his eyes nonetheless.

  “No. No. Take me to that building on the left. Take me inside. Please.”

  “You have to get help.” He pleaded. “Not go running around the Barrows.”

  “Do as she says, pretty Drow.” Eunice stood close. “She’s earned it.”

  “There isn’t much time. Please,” I begged again.

  He started toward the building. Every step was agony for me, but I kept my teeth clamped shut. The instant we entered the room, my Drows surrounded me.

  And Kyros came.

  Michael’s eyes widened, his mouth open in surprise.

  “Greetings, nephew,” Kyros said to Michael.

  Kyros turned to me. “Forgive me, I only just arrived. I had to gather a few of my people. If I’d come earlier . . .”

  “He’d have killed you,” I cut in. “Set me on my feet, Michael.”

  Michael, apparently still surprised by Kyros, did as I asked. I moaned, but hung on to him. It required both hands. “Kyros, the stone. In my pocket. Get it.”

  “Now, wait a minute,” Eunice grumbled.

  “As long as it is here, witches will be tempted, Eunice. He can take it to another place.”

  “What place?” Michael demanded. He tried to pull me back, but one of the Beheras stood behind him and would not budge.

  “Your family home, young prince.” Kyros deftly retrieved the Portal. “I am sorry. We must go. There are only minutes.”

  Kyros kissed me on the forehead. He smiled at Michael. “Forgive me. I see now I should have contacted you before. I wish we’d had more time to talk, but perhaps someday I can return.”

  He hurried to the door, and the others followed him. The comparatively diminutive Tektos clung to the Beheras’s scaled shoulders.

  Termas came to me with Spot. I was overwhelmed with happiness to see that Termas had recovered from his encounter with Aiakós.

  For a few moments I was able to force the pain down and say my good-byes.

  “Spot.” I reached out my hand to touch him. He barked and licked my fingers. I turned to Termas. “Take care of that little one of yours.” I think he smiled, but it was hard to tell.

  “Stand back from us,” Kyros said. He marched out the door, taking his people in a great cluster behind him.

  Michael lifted me in his arms again and carried me out to where I could see. He remained strangely silent.

  A golden glow filled the plaza in a warm circle of light. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aiakós approach the plaza again. He hadn’t gone far. He stopped short of the glowing circle’s edge, then quickly stepped back as if it presented a danger.

  Kyros laughed at him. Then he spoke in a language I didn’t understand, but I heard, or perhaps I imagined, pity in his voice.

  The circle grew brighter.

  Kyros turned to us. “You have a family, Michael. Make him tell you about us.”

  With that, the light grew incredibly brilliant and covered Kyros and the surviving Drows, consuming them. It vanished, leaving only darkness and silence—until Aiakós’s scream of pure rage filled the night.

  “Uh, I think we should go now.” Eunice, woman of few words, had stated the obvious.

  We went back into the building and made our way out to the other side, where the cars were parked. We’d survived the dark moon solstice—and I was going into shock.

  I was shivering and sweating at the same time. My mind went to black and then drifted back. The conscious world moved in and out as it had that night the Custos bit me.

  As we left the Barrows and crossed that magical ward, she arrived.

  The world fell silent. Pain faded away.

  “Daughter, you have exceeded my hopes for you. You did a great thing, giving the stone to Kyros. You assessed that he was no threat and aided him. That was wise.”

  “Yeah, wise. Sure. Am I dead?”

  “No. Your immunity to earth magic remains. I may not heal you, but I will sustain you until you receive aid. You will live.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “It amuses me. And will irritate Aiakós immensely.”

  “Sure. Right before he kills me.”

  “He will not. He values Michael and what he has offered. This game is not over, but you need battle no more. Sleep now.”

  I did sleep. Five days later, I woke up.

  Chapter 40

  June 30

  The pain eased in a fog of drugs. Eunice, Michael, and Hildy appeared as I went in and out of consciousness. I opened my eyes once in those five days to find Mother Evelyn at my bedside. The word shock didn’t begin to cover my surprise.

  “I am proud of you, darling,” Mother Evelyn said. “You cannot know how much it hurt me to send you out as I did. Your mother was my only child. I’ve longed to tell you all these years, but the Earth Mother forbade it until your training and mission were over.”

  “You’re my grandmother? I thought Sisters of Justice didn’t have kids.”

  She smiled. “For the most part, we don’t. But we aren’t celibate, and your grandfather was a most compelling man. I wish I could have told you before. If the Earth Mother grants my wish, I’ll see you again.” She bent over and kissed me, and her cool hand smoothed my forehead.

  I must have fallen back to sleep, because she was gone when I opened my eyes. Sunlight filtered through a window, illuminating the spare hospital room in which I lay. Eunice was there. “Where did Mother Evelyn go? She was just here. Who brought her?”

  Eunice stared at me for a long time. Then she said, “Mother Evelyn died five nights ago. On the solstice, while we were in battle. Old age. Went in her sleep. A rare thing for a Sister of Justice.”

  “No, she was here. She kissed me and . . .” I trailed off. If she had died, then I had been touched after her death. I decided to let it go. I was glad she’d come, even if I’d never know how and why. Sisters of Justice were all about secrets anyway.

  Eunice came to stand over me.

  “What did you tell the doctors about my injuries?” I asked.

  “You went camping and were attacked by a mountain lion.”

  “And they believed it? Are there mountain lions in Missouri?”

  “I don’t know, but they didn’t have any other answers.” Her mouth twisted. “We have a problem.”

  “Of course we do.”

  She grunted. “While I was unconscious, someone stole the Morié and the Solaire off me.”

  I moved—and regretted it. “Maybe Michael can help us find it.”

  “He’d better. If his royal nastiness gets hold of them, he just might be immune to earth magic, too.”

  I rubbed my hands over my face. “I’ll work on it when I get out.”

  “There’s another thing.” Eunice grinned. “Your scar is gone. It went away when the Portal did. I saw it. It faded.” Her tone was matter-of-fact. “Your eyes are dark, not blue. And if you want to keep white hair, you’d better get your roots done.”

  I insisted on a mirror then. I had no idea what had happened. I’d have to talk to Abigail. Maybe she would know something.

  “Did you take Lillian back to Justice?” I asked.

&
nbsp; “No, the witch buried her in her garden. It seemed a nice enough place.”

  * * *

  Michael came later that evening. He kissed me, long and sweet, and drew a chair close to the bed. “How are you?”

  I reached out and patted his beautiful cheek. “Still here. What’s been happening? Was there anything in the news about the fight?”

  “No. There’s never anything in the news about the Barrows.” He kissed my hand. “I’ve been cleaning up. There was extensive damage. And I was soothing the savage beast. He raged for a while, but he’s calmed down now.”

  I remained silent. Aiakós was the last thing I wanted to deal with.

  He rubbed my hand against his cheek. “I love you.”

  “Even now? I think I look a little different.” I ran a finger across my smooth cheek.

  “Even more. I love your eyes, so deep and dark.”

  He kissed me again, and only pain stopped me from crawling out of that bed and into his arms.

  Two days later, I was permitted to go home. My legs were still in bandages. The puncture wounds from Aiakós’s claws were not healing quickly. I’d need a lot of physical therapy to walk properly again.

  Michael came for me, but he couldn’t shake Hildy and Eunice.

  “I want to go to Abigail’s house first,” I said to him as he placed me in the Jag.

  Abigail greeted me joyfully as Michael carried me into her kitchen. She welcomed Eunice and Hildy with enthusiasm, too. I guess her attitude about the Sisters of Justice had changed a bit. Michael, Eunice, and Hildy were a bit put out when I asked to talk to Abigail alone, but they did go outside.

  I sipped the tea she placed in front of me. Not healing, but it tasted good. I told Abigail the complete story of the scar and how it appeared on my face.

  She listened carefully, then said, “You say your mother was wearing the Portal when she died?”

  I nodded.

  “This is conjecture, but I think your mother, in fear and anger, unintentionally cast that spell, crying for vengeance through the Portal. When you touched her body, the spell was released. The Portal left this world, and I feel certain that the spell dissipated with it.”

  For the first time since the battle, my heart soared with hope. “It’s done. I’m done. With vengeance, anyway.”

  “That is something you are well rid of, Madeline. I wish you love and peace.”

  Something about the way she said it sounded a little off. “What’s wrong?”

  Abigail hesitated a moment before continuing. “I’m concerned. At the point you staged your surprising little coup and the Portal left this world, something else came in. I felt its emergence into our world. I spoke to the Mother, but I’ve heard nothing yet.”

  I remembered Eunice’s words about the missing Morié and Solaire. “I suppose there will always be trouble in the Barrows.”

  She smiled. “Perhaps you can help to curb it. Will it be your home?”

  I leaned forward, trying to stretch my back without causing major pain. “I’m committed to Michael and he’s committed to Aiakós, so I guess it will be.”

  I remembered then what Eunice told me in the hospital. “Abigail, will you show me Lillian’s grave?”

  She took my hand. “Of course.”

  Abigail had buried Lillian in the woods behind her home. It was a pretty spot. Eunice, Hildy, Michael, and I mourned. As we stood there, I remembered Sister Sarah, an old warrior who told me wild tales of Drow battles around the world. She had died in her sleep. Apparently an amazing event, since most Sisters died fighting. Or so I was told. The Sisters of Justice were rarely burdened with humility.

  Rules at Justice had forbidden me to go into the administration building without express permission, but I could visit other places on the grounds—as long as I didn’t cross that invisible line that marked my prison walls.

  One such place was the cemetery. A small path led to it from the gardens. I’d been there several times as I explored the confines of my prison. The Sisters’ graves were all marked by a single granite stone carved with a single name and date—the date of death. No family members ever came to visit from the outside. Sister Lillian once said that the Sisters of Justice were the ultimate orphans. Having grown up in a loving family, it made me sad to think that those few Sisters I did like had only their fellow assassins to mourn them.

  They always held the funerals at sunrise. I had watched, and when I saw them leave with Sarah’s body, I had followed at a distance. The cool predawn mist had swirled across the ground and the air had a hint of fall.

  A younger Sister had carried Sarah. She’d shrunken in her last days and was no burden. They’d wrapped her in a white shroud. No coffin, for she would go to the earth to become a part of its history, not the history of men. I had stood back, certain I’d be punished, but wanting to see, to know. Sister Eunice turned and beckoned me to stand by her. Of course, she’d known I was there.

  They had lowered Sister Sarah gently into the grave. I didn’t know what to expect. They shocked me. They consigned her to the Mother with a prayer that when she returned, it would not be as a Sister.

  Then each had spoken in a solemn voice and given a personal memory of Sister Sarah. The mist had seemed to dampen those voices and bring them low to the earth. I had strained to hear them. After Eunice spoke, she had pushed me slightly forward.

  “Speak.”

  I had memories, too. “Thank you, Sister Sarah, for your tales of great adventures and exciting places. I will remember them, and you, always.”

  Eunice had laid a hand on my shoulder. “Our lives are not our own. We are servants of the Earth Mother, and her commands are grievous and incomprehensible at times. Death is our freedom.”

  “Hush, Eunice.” Sister Lillian had joined us.

  Eunice had walked away. I didn’t know why, but that event fundamentally changed how I looked at the Sisters—and for some reason, how they looked at me.

  Then they had handed me a shovel and told me to cover the grave. For the next two hours, as I always had, I paid in sweat and toil for the lessons I received at Justice.

  I did not have the strength to speak the words to thank her for her lessons and her ultimate sacrifice for me, so I silently prayed that Lillian would not return as a Sister of Justice.

  After that, Michael lifted me again. He seemed to enjoy it, and of course, with his super strength, I wasn’t a burden.

  “I’ll start physical therapy soon,” I said. “Then I can walk on my own.”

  “Oh, good.” He carried me toward the car. “In that case, I have plans for those legs.”

  * * *

  Three weeks after the eventful dark moon solstice, I had one of Michael’s employees drive me to the Armory. Michael had hired a private physical therapist at the Archangel for me to work on walking again. I was doing so, but not well and not far.

  To my surprise, the word pawn had been removed from the front of the store. So what was it now? Just the Armory? First thing I noticed when I hobbled in was the fresh smell. Pine, I thought. The glass counter was gone, replaced by a couple of desks. Eunice sat at one and Hildy at the other. As usual, they glared at each other.

  “So, what’s argument of the day, ladies?”

  Eunice muttered under her breath, but she immediately stood and brought me her chair. “We’re going to start this school. Self-defense for women—and girls. Might pick a few girls off the streets and send them to Justice. But Hildy’s stupid idea . . .” She threw up her hands. “No one is going to want to learn sword fighting.”

  Hildy bared her teeth. “What do you think, Madeline?”

  “Oh . . .” Now, how did I answer that? I couldn’t run. “Self-defense is good. Sword fighting isn’t practical for everyday purposes, but maybe good for the curious. It’s exercise, at least.” I wanted to change the subject. “So, you’re going to stay here, Eunice?”

  She stood behind me and laid her hands on my shoulders.

  “Yeah. I’ll
stay. Good place for a fight. Me and Hildy are getting too old to do some things, but there’s plenty of action here.”

  I was pleased that Eunice was staying, though the plenty of action here concerned me.

  The next day, I ventured into the Barrows again with Michael so he could talk to Aiakós. I wasn’t ready to confront the creature that had crippled me and bound my lover to him. I casually searched the plaza. It wasn’t likely that Eunice would have lost the Solaire and Morié. She’s a large woman and getting them off would’ve been difficult.

  An SUV pulled up and Étienne stepped out. He gave me that same go-to-hell smile I knew so well. He’d lost weight, his face had thinned, but other than that, he seemed the same.

  “What are you doing here?” I said. “I thought you were dead.”

  “It takes more than that to kill me. I was injured, and playing dead seemed like a good idea at the time.” He grinned. “I’m working for Aiakós again.” He slipped an arm around me and hugged me close. “He doesn’t trust me, of course, but he saw the job I did with my men. Impressed him.”

  Etienne was a survivor, one of those people who managed to come out of a deadly situation on top.

  He reached out and brushed his fingers through my dark hair. “I love your hair now.”

  “Do I look much different? Without the scar?”

  “Beautiful. But you were always that.”

  Michael approached us, and Étienne made a quick departure. I had a feeling it would take more than Aiakós’s favor to make Michael forgive Étienne for kidnapping him and locking him up.

  Michael ran his hand through his hair. “Have you ever tried to convince someone from another world that you can’t have everything you see on television?”

  I laughed. “He’s the only thing from another world I know. What does he want?”

  Michael snarled. “A casino and a luxury hotel.”

  “Illegal. Right?”

  “It is here.”

  “What do you propose?” I asked.

  “Commercial and residential, starting at River Street and moving east. It’s too slow for him.”

  “Has he mentioned Kyros?”