by Nina Bangs
He stood naked in the middle of the courtyard, every muscle taut, power flowing from him in waves that squeezed the breath from Edge’s lungs even at this distance. But Ganymede still had his claws and his cat eyes.
He held his arms outstretched, his fingers spread and tipped by fully extended, lethal-looking claws. His cat eyes shone with a maniacal need to destroy. The wind created by his power lifted his long hair from his shoulders. Every strand was touched by flame, and even the air around him was glowing. Nothing remained of the snarky, ice-cream-eating troublemaker Edge knew. This was the horror that hid behind the chubby gray cat’s image.
This was the chaos bringer—destroyer of planets, source of some of earth’s most horrific disasters. Over time and with the Big Boss reining Ganymede in, everyone had sort of taken for granted that the destroyer would never ride again. They’d all been wrong.
Behind Edge and Passion, a TV blared. A news flash warned that an earthquake had hit the Gulf Coast, and a tsunami warning had been issued.
Edge turned to Passion. “Stay here. Don’t even think about coming out to help.”
Her eyes were wide with fear. “But I have to find Hope.”
“No.” He had to make this clear. “Hope must know we need her. She’ll find us if she can. But if you wander off, Bain might not be able to get to you in time.”
She glanced at where Bain had taken one agonized step toward Ganymede. The demon’s face was chalk-white and lined with agony, but he was still trying to help.
“What if Ganymede destroys Bain?” Left unsaid was, What if Ganymede destroys you?
Edge had to go now, before it was too late to save any of the people trying to flee the island. Traffic would come to a standstill on all the escape routes, and then the giant wave would wash all of them away. Ganymede could stop the tsunami.
Where the hell was the Big Boss while all this was happening? He could control Ganymede. For a moment, he thought of Hope. No, he couldn’t count on outside help.
Somewhere in the castle alarms wailed their warning. Edge had to shout over the noise. “Then go with Dacian or…” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Crap. Dacian is vampire. He’s still sleeping. His wife could wake him, but she’s away at some plant symposium. He’ll be trapped when the wave hits.”
“I’ll get him.” And then she was gone.
He couldn’t follow Passion. If he didn’t stop Ganymede now, she’d be as vulnerable as anyone here. Sure, she might be an angel like she claimed, but she might not. He’d only seen one sign of unusual powers. He’d have to assume she could die.
Edge ran toward Ganymede, and with each step he pictured Passion being swept away, dying because he’d failed. He clenched his fists. He couldn’t fail.
Ganymede’s power slammed him, searing his skin wherever it touched. Nightmare images filled his mind—Earth dying, exploding, becoming only a cloud of space dust. And Edge knew those pictures were coming from Ganymede’s crazed thoughts, his plans for Earth’s future.
The closer he drew to Ganymede, the tougher it got to even move. The wind, the burning, the images that pounded at his mind gripped him with claws that ripped and shredded. The agony made him want to fall to his knees and never get up.
He stopped beside Bain. The demon didn’t look good. Edge shouted to be heard above the wind. “You have to help me.”
Bain shuddered and turned to look at Edge. Even that much movement made him curl his lips from his teeth in an agonized snarl. “Trying here. He’s blocking everything I throw at him. I’ve put out a call to a…friend.”
Edge nodded. The motion made him feel as though his brain was inside a cocktail shaker. “Let me draw from your power. Together we might stop him.” Even if they neutralized Ganymede, they couldn’t stop the tsunami from reaching the coast. None of them could multitask at this level.
Bain didn’t say anything, but Edge gasped at the massive infusion of pure power that surged into him with incredible force. It amazed Edge that the demon still had this much left after battling Ganymede for who knows how long.
Edge didn’t hesitate. He drew all their combined power into his mind and then called forth the image of the giant squid that lived there.
He knew the moment Ganymede felt his presence, because he turned those terrible eyes on Edge. Ganymede smiled, a smile that Edge had never seen on his face. It was filled with insane joy and anticipation. Edge readied himself for either instant extinction or the battle of his life.
Even as Ganymede unleashed his power, Edge mentally drew a protective wall around himself and Bain, and hoped to God it held. Then he released the squid. Not as a physical reality, but as a mental attacker that would wrap its tentacles around Ganymede’s mind and hold him immobile long enough to stop the destruction until they could figure out how to bring him back.
Ganymede’s power exploded into his wall and brought Edge to his knees. His mind was a crushed grape. He was sure of it. Beside him, Bain was flung across the courtyard. He landed close to where Sparkle was just sitting up.
Edge shut his eyes and concentrated. He pictured the tentacles closing, cutting off all thought, squeezing Ganymede’s power–to–destroy tighter and tighter until…Edge opened his eyes.
Ganymede stood immobile, his eyes strangely blank.
He’d done it. But Edge didn’t have time to celebrate. He had to keep feeding his power to the squid or else Ganymede would just pick up where he’d left off. The question was, how long would Edge’s power last? And did it even matter if no one stopped the tsunami?
Edge couldn’t take his eyes off Ganymede long enough to look around for help. And what about Passion? Where was she? What was she doing? He ground his teeth in frustration.
Passion raced down the stairs to Dacian’s apartment. Thank God he’d given her a key. Once inside, she flung open his bedroom door. He lay sprawled across his bed. Beside him, the phone was ringing.
She picked up the receiver at the same time she grabbed Dacian’s shoulder and started to shake him.
A woman’s voice shouted his name against her ear.
“This isn’t Dacian. I’m Passion. I’m trying to wake him. Any ideas?” Because Dacian wasn’t budging.
The woman didn’t even question why someone named Passion was in his bedroom. “Ohmigod, ohmigod, I saw what was happening on TV. You have to get him out of there. Put the receiver next to his ear.”
The woman hadn’t introduced herself, but Passion figured it was his wife. She did what the woman said. Passion could hear the woman screaming into Dacian’s ear.
“Dacian, wake up, damn it! Wake. The. Hell. Up.” She was sobbing between words. “I’m in danger. Wake up so you can save me.”
The woman was lying, but Passion believed in white lies. She exhaled in relief when Dacian stirred. Passion renewed her shaking. And as Dacian sat up groggily, Passion put the receiver to her ear. “He’s up. I’ll take care of him.”
She hung up to the sound of the woman’s fervent thanks. Then she turned to Dacian.
His eyes were wide and confused. “Cinn? Where’s Cinn? She’s in danger.”
“No, she’s fine. She was talking to you on the phone. She only said that to get you out of the bed.”
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them the fear had disappeared. “What’s happening? Why are you here?”
“We need to get you upstairs right now. Ganymede’s gone crazy. He’s created a tsunami that should be reaching us soon, and he’s…” She shook her head. “I don’t have time to explain everything. Edge is out in the courtyard with the others trying to contain him.”
Dacian looked more alert now. “Where’s Hope?”
“I don’t know. It’s a mob scene everywhere. Thousands of people are trying to escape the island before the wave reaches here.” She raked her fingers through her hair. “Can you leave the castle while it’s still light?”
He shrugged. “You go. I’ll be right up as soon as I throw on some pants.” He tried to grin. “Not eve
n a tsunami would get me up there naked.”
“Right. No naked vampires.” She headed for the door. “I have to find Hope.”
Passion purposely ignored his shouted orders that she stay close to all of them. She couldn’t stop the tsunami, but she could find Hope.
Once back in the great hall, she fought her way into the hotel lobby. Some of the hotel employees hadn’t fled like everyone else and were trying to make sure the guests got out of the hotel safely. Passion saw Bill from the registration desk guiding the old woman who’d slammed her door in their faces.
Passion rushed up to them. She ignored the woman’s horrified expression. “Have you seen the lady who was with me earlier?”
The old woman fluttered her hands as though she were trying to shoo Passion away. “I saw her a bit before this horrible thing happened. She was going out the door with a man with long blond hair.” She looked up pleadingly at Bill. “Please, you said one of the guests would take me in their car. I want to leave now.”
“Certainly.” Bill glanced at Passion. His expression said the woman’s attempt to run from the island would be doomed, but what else could he do but lead her to the car.
Passion pushed her way out the door. Where had Hope gone, and who had been with her? A man with long blond hair. Murmur? Passion almost dismissed the possibility. Hope wouldn’t go off with a demon. But then she remembered the angel saying she liked Murmur.
That wasn’t important right now. What was important was where had they gone? She gazed across Seawall Boulevard and its bumper–to–bumper traffic crawling along. The beach? Passion had nowhere else to look.
The cars were pretty much stopped, so she wove her way around them as she crossed the street. Then she took the steps down to the beach. Frantically, she glanced both ways. There. A man stood on the beach gazing out at the vast expanse of sand exposed by the retreating tide.
She’d almost reached him when he turned to look at her. She froze. His long black coat flapped around his legs, and he’d pulled the hood over his head. All that she could see were those pale blue eyes watching her.
“Zane? What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be trying to get away from Galveston?” No, no, that’s not what she wanted to say. What he was doing on the beach was his business. “Have you seen Hope, the woman who was with me?”
“She was here with the demon for a little while, but they went back to the hotel in a hurry about ten minutes ago.” Zane paused. “They were dancing on the beach.”
Wait. How did he know Murmur was a demon? Now wasn’t the time to ask.
Passion nodded. She’d worry about the dancing thing later. If there was a later. “Thanks.” She started to turn away, but stopped. She should at least try to save him. “Maybe you should get off the beach.” His stare made her uneasy.
“I have something to do. Besides, it’s too late to run.” He pointed toward the Gulf.
She tore her gaze from his eyes and looked. What she saw closed her throat and froze all thought for a moment. Terror. Panic. Emotions—like so many others—that she’d never experienced before coming to the castle. They would probably be her final ones before she died.
The tsunami loomed on the horizon. A wall of water that seemed to reach into the sky rushed toward the shore at a frightening speed. No time to run. She’d never make it back to Edge before it swept her away. Funny that Edge, a virtual stranger, was the one person she’d choose to die with. Of course, he was immortal, so maybe he’d survive. Unless Ganymede has already destroyed him. No, she had to believe he still lived.
The shrieks from the people on the road above who’d just spotted the wave blended with the mad honking of horns. Where did those poor souls think they could go now?
She looked back at Zane. “I guess it’s just you, me, and the wave.” Fatalistic, that’s me. Would Hope survive? She’d have some report for Ted tonight. Not that any of it mattered. Passion had wanted to experience what it meant to be human—the emotions, all the senses—and she’d certainly more than fulfilled her wish. No, you haven’t. You’re dying a virgin. Somehow, that was really important.
And then there was Edge. What had he been to her? A possibility? An experience that would have ended in disaster? She sighed. Passion would like to have found out.
The wave swept nearer and nearer, picking up speed, seeming to grow higher and higher. She moved closer to Zane. In her final moments, she wanted to be near another living being.
The sorcerer’s soft chuckle snapped her out of her pensive mood. “Something funny about dying?”
“You won’t be dying unless the ones back in the castle don’t get Ganymede under control.”
Okay, he was crazy. “Uh, big wave coming our way?” She glanced at the massive wall of water. It was almost here. And no matter how calmly she wanted to meet her end, she couldn’t control the mad pounding of her heart, the need to try to run from death.
Zane looked away from her to face the incoming wave. He didn’t lift his arms, he didn’t chant, he didn’t do anything she’d expect a sorcerer to do in a last-ditch effort to survive. He just stood there. But even in her human state, Passion could feel the immense something flowing from him.
She looked up, up, up at the towering wave about to break over them, over all of Galveston.
Then…
The wave went away. It freaking just went away! One minute it was there, and then only a few gentle swells reached their feet. It was as though the wave had never been.
Passion breathed out on a shocked hiss. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath. “What?” Words weren’t coming easily. “What did you just do?”
He didn’t answer her. He started to walk away.
She ran after him. “Oh, no, you don’t. You don’t get to be Mr. Mysterious this time. What. Did. You. Do?”
Zane didn’t stop walking, and he didn’t look at her, but he did give her an answer.
“I made the wave go away.”
“How?
“Magic.”
“You’re human. Humans can’t do stuff like that.” Even black magic shouldn’t have that kind of power.
His laughter was soft and mocking. “You’re right. I couldn’t have stopped the wave. So I guess you didn’t just see what you thought you saw.” He glanced at her one last time. “Oh, and I suppose I also didn’t wipe the minds of everyone who saw Ganymede doing his thing back at the castle.”
“Why?” Her question was only a whisper.
But he heard her. “I have another two weeks of vacation time. I didn’t feel like finding someplace else to stay.”
Passion stood frozen in place as she watched him climb the steps, weave his way between the cars, and disappear toward the castle.
Then she was running. She would live! They all would live. Please, please let Edge be okay.
• • •
Edge felt like a dry husk, the last of his power draining away. Any minute now the squid’s tentacles would fall away from Ganymede’s mind, freeing him to destroy again.
Someone must’ve taken care of the tsunami, because it hadn’t swept everyone and everything away yet. He didn’t have the energy to figure out who would have that power.
The gargoyles had stopped roaring, but he hadn’t heard shrieks of agony as they annihilated people. So that must mean Holgarth had succeeded in shutting them down.
Where the hell was Hope? And more importantly, to him, where was Passion?
He almost lost his focus as someone stepped to his side. Dacian spoke quietly.
“I finished helping Holgarth put the gargoyles back to sleep. Figured you’d need a shot of power about now. Bain looks done for the day.”
“Yes. Now.” Edge felt the instant relief as Dacian’s power flowed into him. It wasn’t much. Taming the gargoyles would’ve drained some of it, but he needed everything he could get. “Have you seen Hope or Passion?”
“Yeah. Passion woke me, and then she ran off looking for Hope.”
; “Damn. I told her to stay close by so that one of you could keep her safe.” From the edge of his vision, he saw Dacian wrapped in a blanket. The vampire had pulled it forward over his head so it shadowed his face.
“Oh, and Hope is standing in the doorway.”
“What?” Edge risked a glance toward the great-hall door. Sure enough, Hope stood there looking worried. “Why the hell isn’t she out here trying to help?”
Dacian shrugged. “That’s what I asked her. She gave me some story about Archangel Ted forbidding her to help any of the cosmic troublemakers. So there she stands.”
“I never killed an archangel. Maybe it’s time to experience the thrill.” Edge couldn’t believe Hope would allow thousands to die rather than disobey dickhead Ted.
God, he’d gone through Dacian’s power fast. Edge could already feel himself fading again.
“Bain said you needed help.”
For a moment, Edge didn’t recognize the voice behind him. Then the man stepped up beside him even as Dacian moved away.
“Murmur?” He only hesitated for a moment. He didn’t know why the demon was willing to help, but without a shot of something powerful, Edge was done. He nodded.
Murmur put his hand on Edge’s shoulder, and the surge of power was like nothing he’d ever felt. Somewhere in the part of his mind responsible for keeping track of things, Edge made a note that the demon just might be powerful enough to twist the minds of cosmic troublemakers.
“Passion’s here. She’s arguing with Hope.”
Dacian sounded relieved to see Passion. Edge must not be the only one worried about her. He suppressed a flicker of jealousy. Stupid emotion.
Just the thought that Passion was near kick-started his morale, which was at low tide right now. He’d always thought he had a shot at taking Ganymede in a fight. Not now. Ganymede’s power was a roiling cloud around him, just waiting until Edge’s strength gave out.
“Wow. Passion just knocked Hope on her ass. Now Passion is on her way over here.” Dacian laughed. “Angels are more fun than I thought they’d be.”
