by Irina Argo
No reply for a moment, and then his gruff voice in her head: What do you want? She could feel him freaking out; somehow he’d come to believe that she would leave him alone, and now he was terrified. Arianna’s lips curled into a smile of contempt. It’s payback time, Khay. This is just the beginning.
She projected another image, this one of Antar. Find Antar and let him know that I’m in Brussels, in the basement of an old mansion where Anock lives. Tell him that I ask to reenter Sanctuary. If you do this, I will spare your life.
At least for a while, she added to herself.
Bitch, he replied, but she knew he’d do what she had ordered him to.
It was her first victory. She’d given a vampire an order and he would obey. Goddess, it felt addictive. Now she understood the vampires’ struggle for superiority and control.
A plan began to form in her head. If she escaped from this trap, as the Queen and the Keeper of Balance, she’d find a way to turn the tide. The Amiti would become the master race and the vampires would serve them, forced into submission through the blood-bond.
After all, hadn’t that been the plan from the very beginning?
Chapter 74
Anock had food delivered to his apartment and tried, really tried, to focus on his meal, but his mind kept stubbornly returning to Arianna. What was in store for the girl was beyond unfair.
All things considered, his world was totally unmanageable right now, and he couldn’t stop thinking about everything that was happening and his own role in it all. It was wearing him out, and if he didn’t get a break, he’d lose his mind.
He put the dish aside and went to find Riona, who was currently the most accessible of his regular lovers. After her tragic encounter with her blood-bond, the traumatized priestess had needed time to recover in a place where she felt safe, so she’d been staying in one of the Guardians’ guest apartments.
Riona was just stepping out of the shower when Anock entered her bedroom. She smiled encouragingly and dropped her towel. He lunged at her, stripping off his clothes on the way. Grabbing her by the waist, he swung her onto her bed.
After twenty minutes of mindlessly, mechanically using each other’s bodies, they lay exhausted, staring at the ceiling. They’d brought each other to climax, but Anock could tell that neither of them had achieved the release they’d both been seeking.
“So, what’s it like being burned by your blood-bond?” asked Anock, avoiding looking at her, needing to know but feeling her distress.
“It hurts.”
“Tell me more about it.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’ve been contemplating a blood-bond and at the moment, she hates me.”
“Then why would you want to blood-bond with her?”
“Well, why did you blood-bond with yours?”
There was a long pause, and Anock knew she was crying.
Finally she spoke. “I loved Erec. You won’t believe me, but even though he tried to kill me, I think I actually still love him. I really doubt my sanity when it comes to this ... but there’s a bond that occurs when you fall in love with an Amiti, like your two hearts become one. One doesn’t exist without the other. When you lose your loved one, you lose your heart and there’s just a dark hole in your life. If you’ve never had an Amiti lover, you wouldn’t understand. It’s like nothing else in the universe.”
“They become your obsession, they invade your dreams and your thoughts. They’re so much a part of you that there’s no way to rid yourself of them.”
“How do you know?”
“I have an Amiti lover. Or rather, I had one.”
“And? What happened?” Riona turned to look at him, her tears still flowing.
“I can’t talk about it.”
“I still want him back. How can that be? He tried to kill me and I still believed he loved me. But it was all a lie. He’s an Avenger; love doesn’t exist in their world. It didn’t exist in mine, either, until I met Erec. He turned my entire universe inside out; I became a different person. He evoked something hidden deep, deep inside me, something primordial. For the first time in my life, I learned to feel. Before him, I was like a robot, aimlessly going about my business. Now I want to die, Anock, I can’t go back to my old existence. And live feeding ... Once you’ve experienced it, it’s impossible to go back and feed on bloodstock blood. It’s not a life. If I can’t have my Amiti mate, I just want to die.”
Anock remained silent, reflecting on Riona’s disclosure. Cara had the same power over him. She’d ripped him apart. Anock existed now as two separate entities engaged in an ongoing battle. The clash left him frazzled, but how to find a resolution or a compromise—or even a truce between the two opposing parts of his personality—Anock had no idea. But there was one person who might be able to help him.
He got up and started to pull on his clothes. “I need to go. Thank you for sharing, Riona. Remember, this too shall pass.” That last part was more for himself than for Riona. If only it was true.
He left Riona’s apartment and took an elevator downstairs to the bloodstock cells.
“Tell me, do you use some sort of spell to captivate us?” he asked Arianna as he sat in the chair in the farthest corner of her cell.
“What do you mean?” She leaned on her elbow, puzzled.
“It has to be a spell. It seems that everyone I know who loses an Amiti they love also loses themselves. You’re bewitching us, right?”
She shook her head. “No, Anock. There are no spells.” She pulled herself up and sat on her bed, leaning against the wall. As she gazed at Anock, she looked astonishingly wise, as if she had lived a long, long life. It couldn’t possibly be a twenty-two year old girl sitting in front of him.
She sighed and continued. “We evoke the love buried inside you, and you suffer because the Sekhmi part of you rejects it. Our two races are each other’s opposites. We act as if we have nothing in common, but in reality, what’s on the surface of one is hidden deep within the unconscious of the other and vice versa. It’s just like the Lioness was chained within Hathor, and Hathor within the Lioness.”
“So you’re telling me that I, a Sekhmi, have Hathor within me?”
“Yes, and because you refuse to accept this loving part of yourself, you suffer. You feel as if you’ve been torn apart, and there’s a never-ending battle raging within you. The love in your heart demands to be acknowledged. It has the right to exist. I understand it’s hard to admit that you can be tender, nurturing, and compassionate. In Sekhmi society, it’s probably even harder to admit that than it is to acknowledge that you’re hurting innocent people for your own selfish purposes.”
Anock stared at his watch as if mesmerized by its long hand rhythmically counting off the seconds. The qualities she was talking about were what had brought her race to their knees. That wasn’t what Anock wanted for himself or his people.
“What about you?” he asked. “According to your theory, the Lioness is hiding deep within the Amiti, and we Sekhmi must be evoking Her.”
“Yes. By abusing us. You’re playing with fire. Do you remember what happened when the Lioness broke free from Hathor?”
Oh yes, Anock knew the old legends. The Lioness had come very close to destroying the world. Could it be true that the Amiti held this power within them? If it was, they didn’t even need to turn the Key; the Great Destroyer was already there.
It dawned on him that only being drained prevented the Lioness from emerging within the Amiti, and that those Amiti who were free were lethal; the Lioness’s wrath began to consume them. Now he understood the Avengers and some of the blood-bonds who killed indiscriminately.
With that revelation, all his doubts about the rightness of his mission evaporated.
“I need to go. Thank you for the consultation.” He got up and walked quickly to the door.
“My pleasure. Come again, Anock. It’s so lonely here in this cell.”
An
ock stopped, regarding Arianna thoughtfully.
“Tell me, Arianna. If Tor walked through that door right now, begging to take you back, would you forgive him?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I have to know.”
“Why?”
“Because I made a stupid mistake and I don’t know if it can be corrected.”
“Will my answer help you?”
“Yes, but please don’t lie. I need an honest answer.”
“No. I would not.”
“So: you also prefer Sekhmet’s rage and power to Hathor’s love and forgiveness?”
“Hathor brought me here; Sekhmet will set me free.”
“I understand.” He left her cell.
Arianna’s confession was worth pondering. There was destruction and death within the Amiti. And Cara would not forgive him. Both races had chosen the Lioness and forsaken Hathor. If it went on like this, they were doomed forever to continue their bloody run—until they totally annihilated each other.
Anock reached for his phone and opened the photo album he kept stored on it. He spent a few minutes looking into the faces of his friends who’d been killed in this war, remembering them, focusing on his mission. Then he went through the heavy doors to the high-security wing of the basement. He was almost finished. Just one more thing to deal with: Oberon.
Chapter 75
Two of the Guardians were just leaving the secure wing of the basement. “So how is our guest?” Anock asked them.
“I think he’s had better days.”
Anock approached Oberon’s cage. The once handsome and powerful Keeper of the Hidden was barely recognizable, his motionless body a pile of bruised flesh. Blood pooled around his head and his face had been battered and swollen, his eyes reduced to slits, his lips split and three times their natural size. His arms and legs lay in unnatural positions, with fractured bones breaking through the flesh.
“Nice job,” Anock said to Blade, who stood over Oberon’s form. He turned to Etain and Crian, stationed just outside the bars of the cage. “I apologize for this unsightly view, ma’am, and thank you for coming. We couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“I’m also doing it for myself. I will never forgive the Amiti for the death of my two grandchildren. I lowered the shield several hours ago and just put it back into place. I hope it was enough time for whoever is seeking him.”
“We’ve taken all necessary precautions,” Blade reported. “Oberon was bled prior to his beating, and, as you can see, is helpless. And, of course, the silver-steel chain and cage bars will help keep him in place.”
“Very good.” Anock’s phone rang; he picked it up and listened. “Perfect.” He tucked the phone into his pocket. “Our plan has worked. Simone’s here.”
* * *
Simone parked at the front entrance to the Guardians’ mansion. A few hours earlier she’d become aware of her blood-bond with Oberon. Tuning into it, she saw him lying unconscious and bloodied on the floor in a dark place. She went ballistic when she saw his condition. Zooming out, she discovered that he was being kept as a prisoner at the Guardians’ headquarters in Brussels—and she went even more ballistic. She hauled ass out to the pride’s airfield, calling the pilot on the way and demanding that he prepare the jet and take her to Europe. She had a rental car waiting for her at the Brussels airport, and after about an hour’s drive at eighty-five miles an hour she was at the Guardians’ mansion. She blared her horn at the gates; the guards recognized her and let her in. She skidded to a stop in front of the mansion and shot out of the car and into the building. The guard at the door ran after her.
“Sorry, Princess, how can I help you?”
“I want to see Anock.”
She knew the Guardians wouldn’t just let her stroll in to see Oberon, and she had no power to fight them. The only person who could really help her to get to Oberon was her former lover and current enemy, the filthy pig Anock Sabe.
“Please, if you will, wait just a moment,” the guard asked, making a call to announce Princess Simone’s arrival. He listened for a minute, then said politely, “The commander will be right with you. Would you like to take a seat while you wait?”
Simone bit her tongue. How dare he? A princess had to wait for him, her father’s bodyguard. Outrageous! She was furious, but it didn’t matter. She’d survive the indignation; what mattered was that she needed to save Oberon.
“Simone.” Anock was coming down the stairs with a broad, welcoming smile on his face. “Nice to see you again, Princess. I hope you’re feeling better than the last time we met. What brings you here today? Something I can help you with?”
“Don’t pretend to be surprised. You know exactly why I’m here. Take me to Oberon. I know he’s here.”
“Okay. Follow me.” He headed toward an elevator.
That’s it? He was just going to take her to Oberon without argument or even negotiation? Something was seriously out of whack here.
In the elevator, neither spoke, engaged in some sort of silent duel. Having known each other for many years, they easily felt the other’s animosity. At the lower level, the elevator stopped and Anock stepped out and signaled Simone to follow him. He led her to a pair of massive metal doors. He dialed a code and the doors separated, revealing not the long corridor Simone had expected but a vast underground room containing several large cages.
Simone spotted him immediately. Oberon was in the central cage, prostrate, seemingly lifeless, in a pool of coagulating blood. The strong, grassy, unforgettable scent of his blood filled the air. Terrified that he might be dead, Simone rushed to the cage.
“Open it!” she yelled.
Anock nodded and one of the Guardians unlocked the cage. Simone dropped to her knees in front of Oberon’s brutalized body. Shuddering, she raised his head and turned his face toward hers, choking on her own breath. If she hadn’t known it was Oberon, she would have never recognized him. Never had she seen anyone so severely beaten. Stroking his cheek, she brushed the blood-soaked hair from his face and was deluged with his unbearable physical pain, deep sorrow, overwhelming grief and self-reproach.
She was reading him. For the first time in her life, Simone had completely entered another person’s essence, felt what they were feeling. She felt empathy for another living being. It was life-altering. At that moment she was ready to do anything to relieve his pain.
One of Oberon’s eyes opened a fraction of an inch. “Simone.” His voice was so low that she barely heard him.
She tilted her head and lightly brushed her lips across his forehead. She flashed back to the white sands of the ocean coast where he’d often taken her, her fingers running through his straw-blond hair, damp with ocean water. She blinked and was back in the cell. Oberon’s hair was saturated, but it was with blood.
“I feel your power, Sim. You’ve completed your quest.” Oberon coughed, spitting out blood.
“I have?” Simone asked, astounded. She went motionless, sensing, ancient knowledge welling within her and reaching her conscious mind from a deep, indefinable source. He was right; she had just gone through the Third Door and claimed her powers as Keeper of the Mystery of Life.
But what were those powers? Were they enough to free Oberon? She tuned into them, but other than knowing that she was now a Keeper, she didn’t feel any different.
“I feel nothing,” she murmured, disappointed.
“You unlocked the powers; they’ll begin unfolding one at a time. It takes time to explore them and master them. But you don’t have time. Listen to me, Simone.” He raised his head, his hand clutching her arm with surprising strength. “You have to surrender your powers as Keeper to the Queen. Your life is in danger.”
“Surrender the powers? Never.” She had just tapped into a force unparalleled in the entire universe, and before she even knew what it was, he was asking her to renounce it? Not going to happen. She had always dreamed of being exceptionally powerful. Thi
s was her golden opportunity to finally experience it. Yes, Oberon had explained the situation with the Order to her. But still ...
“I don’t care about your fucking Order. They can’t do anything to me.”
“Simone ... “
“Don’t argue with me, Oberon. Keep your mouth shut. You’re too weak to be talking. Now we are getting out of here.” She rose from the floor and cast Anock a black look. “I’m taking Oberon with me. Have one of your warriors carry him to my car.”
Anock grinned. “Well, I think we need to discuss that. Let’s go to my office and talk.”
“There’s nothing to discuss, Anock. You will do what I command.”
“Let me remind you, your highness, that this is my territory and I am the one who gives the orders here.” Anock’s tone cut through her like a knife. “Now, if you want to help your blood-bond, be a good girl and follow me.”
Simone scowled at Anock with raw hatred and then glanced back at Oberon. What choice did she have? None. This was the Guardians’ headquarters and Anock was God here. A little humility would be a better strategy. Maybe if she played nice she could manage to negotiate Oberon’s freedom?
She knelt down again to address Oberon. “I’ll be back soon, and get you out of here.”
He slid a weak hand toward her and touched her cheek, bleak hopelessness reflected in his eyes.
“Please, Simone. I’m begging you: don’t be so stubborn. Surrender your powers to Arianna. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for everybody who loves you ... do it for me, Sim.”
Nobody loves me but you, Oberon. That’s why I’ll fight for you to the end. To what end she didn’t know, but she was determined not to give up.
As she reached the door, Oberon quietly called to her.
“Please don’t reveal anything. You’re half Amiti. Have mercy on them. Don’t destroy them.”
Reveal? What was he talking about?
Simone went very still as it came to her: she knew who the Keepers were and where to find them! All of them but Arianna, whose energies were still inaccessible to her, probably because Arianna still hadn’t completed her quest.
