Divine Encounter

by JoAnna Grace

  “I know. But I…” She closed her eyes and more tears fell. “I was so afraid. I feared you were gone forever. That you were a figment of my imagination.”

  He held out his hand. “Will you not come to me?”

  She stared at him, mesmerized. Please, gods, let him be real.

  “You have to find me.” She didn’t move from her position. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how desperate she was for him, how horribly she needed him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Piper closed her eyes for a moment. Then she crossed her arms, hugging herself close. Her heart couldn’t take it any longer. “You’re not real. I’m going crazy. They all think I’m crazy.”

  “Sweetheart, please, let me hold you.” He took one more step. “Take my hand.”

  What if Keona was right? What if it all turned out to be nothing more than dreams? “I can’t do this anymore. If you’re real, find me. I can’t keep living in a dream.”

  He took a final step and wrapped his arms around her. Oh! Such solid strength, such heat from his body.

  This was real.

  “I will find you. I swear my life on it. I will use every means necessary. I won’t give up.” He tilted her chin up so she could see his eyes. “Don’t lose faith. I’ll find you, and when I do, nothing will keep us apart.”

  Piper gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled his lips slowly to hers. She had to taste him again, she desperately wanted to wake up with his taste on her lips.

  “I need you,” she whispered.

  “I promise, my love. Soon. I have a tracker, the best in the world. Can you tell me anything about where you are?”

  “We’ve moved in with—damn it.” She let out a heavy breath. “My sister is dating this man. We moved in with him. I didn’t want to leave that awful place in case it was somehow linked to you.”

  “Do you know him?” He cupped her cheek and kept her close.

  “He’s one of us. Powerful.”

  “Is he good to you?” The tone of his voice was low and slightly abrasive. Was he jealous? Worried?

  “Oh, yes.” She touched his face, nodding. “Yes, don’t misunderstand me. He’s a good man. Honorable. My sister is crazy about him, and that makes me very happy. I’m only worried about being somewhere you can’t find me.”

  “Don’t. I’ll find you. If you’re with a powerful Olympian, I have something to go on. Can you tell me what his power is?”

  She said the word, but no sound came from her lips. She sighed in frustration; her head fell to his chest. “Why can’t the gods ignore us for one minute?”

  “Does he live in a major city?”

  “Yes. He has guards.”

  “Thracians?” His voice rose with excitement. Now they might be getting somewhere.

  “Yes. They are massive and well-trained.” Piper tried to say their names, but again, no sound came out.

  The wheels in his head turned. His eyes focused on her but he was deep in thought. “Is it near an ocean?”

  “No. Lakes.” Those two words took great effort for her to speak. Smoke filled the garden and her vision faded in and out. “I’m waking up.” No! Not yet, please.

  “I’ll find you.” He kissed her with passion, promising over and over to search.

  She believed him. If he kept his word about coming back to her, he would keep his word to search, too. Patience, however, was not something she had when it came to this man.

  Bright sunlight woke her. Piper felt stiff and heavy, like she’d eaten concrete and it was settling in her gut.

  “Good morning, milady.” Cain still sat leaned against the wall in his chair. “You must be well rested for sure.”

  “I had a good night’s rest.” Piper rolled on her side to face him, oddly comfortable with him there not five feet from her bed.

  “You had more than a night’s rest, milady. You slept for two days.”

  She popped up. “What?” Piper looked around for any indication of what day it was. Cain held up his cell phone and right on the screen was the date and time. Sure enough, two days had passed. “Holy mother of Zeus. I bet Evander is about to kill me for not coming to the clinic.” She threw the covers back, and stood—only to fall right back on the mattress. “Whoa.” Her head spun, and for a moment she thought she might be sick.

  “Easy, milady.” Cain steadied her shoulders. “You’re not going anywhere today. Evander has come to check on you several times. You needed the rest, your mind needed to recover. Do you recall what happened?”

  The pain. Boy did she ever recall the pain that burned into her skull. “Something was in my head. It was like they were using a hammer and chisel to hack away at my brain.” She rubbed her forehead. It was so vivid, that it ached just to think about it.

  “Do you still feel the pain?”

  Piper shook her head. “I would be screaming if I did. That’s not something I want to ever experience again.”

  Cain stood and shook out his legs. “If it is acceptable to you, I’d like to bring in Nicholas and take a quick break. I can bring back food, if you’re hungry.”

  At the mention of food, her stomach growled. If she’d slept for two days, she needed to eat something. “Have you been in that chair the entire time?”

  “Of course. You needed rest and I made sure you were not disturbed. I will get your food, then I must show you something.”

  Cain left as Nicholas came in. He wasn’t as friendly as Cain, but he was just as respectful and courteous. He waited outside the door of her room while she showered. Piper leaned her head against the shower wall and let the water cascade over her stiff muscles, loosening and soothing them until she sighed. Images of her dream man filled her thoughts.

  She nearly missed the gunfire over the sound of the shower.

  “Piper!” Keona came screaming into the bathroom. She yanked open the shower curtain and wrapped a towel around her. “Hurry and dress, now! The compound is under attack, we have to get you out of here.”

  Another quick round of pop, pop, pop had Piper racing to get her pants over her wet legs.

  “What’s going on?”

  Keona peeked outside the bedroom down. She, too, held a gun. “While you were sleeping, the gods held an execution for the traitors, one of whom was the European Princess, Salina Avondale. All her followers—Rogues—are causing fights to break out everywhere.”

  Piper slid into a hoodie and put her shoes on without socks. She looked up to see Keona and Nicholas diving for her. The instant her sister’s hand touched her leg, they were out of the mansion.

  Keona dropped them down in the park at a place they scouted months as an emergency meeting spot. “Stay here, I have to go get Evander.”

  “We must go back,” Nicholas yelled in between heavy panting.

  “I’ll get him. Just protect her.”

  “Get Cain!” Piper couldn’t breathe, what if they were dead?

  “Don’t move. Stay hidden and keep your aura tighter than you ever have, do you hear me?” Keona shook her, hard.

  Piper nodded and in a blink, Keona was gone. Instinctively, she turned to Nicholas and latched on to his arm.

  “I’m here, little one. It’s going to be alri—” Nicholas’s eyes widened and he coughed. Piper followed his eyes downward…to the giant sword sticking through his torso. Blood dripped from the end, then the blade retreated.

  “No,” Piper screamed out and tried to catch the massive man as he fell. She buried her hands into the bleeding wound, trying to heal him as fast as she could. Nicholas moaned and coughed from the blood pooling in his mouth.

  Behind Nicholas stood a man in red pants and a red shirt with a gold insignia on the chest. He glared at her and lifted his sword over her head.

  Nicholas rose up to cover Piper and shot the other man just as the blade swooped down and sliced his neck open. Both men fell to the ground in a spray of blood. More men shouted, and the pounding of boots were closing in.

  Piper took off running as
fast as she could. She was familiar enough with the park to know where to hide.

  A familiar aura washed over her and brought with it a terror she hadn’t felt since childhood. The muscles in her body froze mid-stride. Her legs and arms were stiff and unmoving. It was the same power that had stunned her, Keona, and her mother years ago, the same feeling of being out of control of her body.

  “Well, well, well.” A blond man circled her. His icy blue eyes were full of anger and hatred. “I would know the daughter of Marlaina Nadal anywhere.”

  The British accent had bile rising in her throat. If Piper could scream, she would’ve called him a bastard. She had just enough control to keep her aura boxed up.

  The man crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down. “You’re running, so you’re clearly not the teleporter.” A smug grin crossed his face. “But I’ll use you as bait once more, little girl. I have no doubt that she will want to bargain for your life just like your mother did.” Sick victory sparkled in his eyes. “Bring her, we can use her and the Thracian.”

  Thracian?

  A black bag came up over the back of her head and she could hear the duct tape unroll as they wound it around her neck. Fear smothered her until she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think about what to do. She called out for the one person who didn’t require sound.

  Keona!

  KEONA BLINKED BACK to the mansion and ducked just in time to avoid a bullet that embedded into the wall. She took a running leap and kicked the shooter right in his throat. He went down with a gurgle and a spray of bullets from his machine gun.

  Men in red uniforms flooded the mansion, and as soon as she arrived, they turned their attention to her. Scanning the room, she didn’t find Evander or Cain. She blinked to another area of the house. Then another, and another. Every room was void of people except men in red uniforms. They were searching the closets, the furniture, the mattresses. What did they want? Or who? There was no sign of Evander anywhere.

  Where would he go?

  The clinic. Evander would worry over his patients. She blinked to the clinic and the middle of a fight.

  “Keona!” Evander called out. He was back-to-back with Tomar, fighting the uniforms.

  Keona jumped into the fray and pulled the knife from her boot. Years of martial arts came into play and she fought her way to Evander. She punched one guy in the face and followed with a quick slice to his throat. Spinning on an advancing uniform, she planted her blade in his gut and kicked him over.

  “What the hell are you doing here? Cain just went to find you!” Evander screamed, he grabbed a man’s head and brought his knee up, busting the Rogue’s face. “Get out. Get Ryse. Go! Tomar and I will hold them off.”

  “I’m not leaving you, even to go to Ryse!” Keona’s heart was about to explode from the adrenaline.

  Tomar was wiping out the Rogues almost singlehandedly. He snapped one man’s neck with his bare hands and kicked another man so hard his chest bones broke with an audible crack.

  “Damn it, woman, get out of here. Get Piper to Ryse. Now!” Evander pushed Keona so hard she fell to the floor. Evander looked down at her and his expression softened and he whispered, “I love you. Go.”

  Keona! Piper’s voice sounded in her mind.

  Keona shook her head. She couldn’t leave him, but she couldn’t abandon her sister either. Her heart tore in half at having to choose. The man she loved or her twin. Evander had soldiers, Piper didn’t. “I love you,” she said before blinking back to the park. She landed on her ass, right next to Nicholas’s dead body.

  “Oh my god.” She scrambled away and searched frantically for her sister, calling mentally and outloud. “Piper! Piper, where are you?” Keona ran around the area calling for her, but she never answered, not even through their mental bond. “Shit. Piper.”

  Tears streamed down her face and she couldn’t stop them. Piper was gone, there were multiple boot prints around Nicholas. Oh gods, what if Piper was dead?

  Her worst fear was coming true and the one place she had to go was the last place she ever wanted to be.

  Keona stood motionless. She focused on the pictures Evander had showed her. She thought about the entrance of the castle and every detail she could recall. The marble floors and stone walls, the gigantic crystal chandelier hanging above. Keona willed herself to go there, to cross from the human realm and into the Haven of the Deities.

  “Who the hell are you and how’d you get here?” A female with a strong southern accent got her attention.

  She’d done it. She was in the castle. Keona turned to see a woman with a head full of dark red hair and an aura so bright and powerful it was akin to looking at the sun. She wore black pants and had various weapons at her side. What was truly impressive was the ball of flames that popped up from the palm of her hand.

  “You, I need you.” Keona reached for her. Beside the lady were three men. One was void of any aura at all, but he was built like a Thracian. One was wide with muscle, a Thracian for sure, and based on his aura, he was different from the others. He had a round, baby face, complete with big blue eyes but his power was strong.

  The third man was fierce with hard angles and a scruffy, unshaven jaw. He was nearly bald, with angry eyes, and an aura so dark it could steal your breath. That man headed straight for her with a knife.

  “A volunteer, great.”

  Keona grabbed the lady with one hand, the baby-faced blond with another and allowed the guy with the knife to get his hand around her arm. Using all her strength and concentration, Keona pictured Evander’s clinic, the last place she’d seen him. The four of them blinked out of the palace and into a room full of Rogues.

  “What in the blue blazes have you done?” The woman’s mouth hung open. Her green eyes widened and there was a tense moment when all the Rogues stared at them with the same oh-dear-god expression.

  Then all Hades broke loose. The Rogues attacked.

  “Where the fuck are we?” The guy with the dark aura pushed Keona behind him, protecting her though she was a stranger.

  “I have to find my…someone, just hold off the Rogues.”

  The warriors didn’t hesitate. They saw the men in red uniforms and knew it was time to fight. Keona swung her fist at the first guy that came at her and blinked over to the side of the room where a gun lay on the floor. If these Olympian Rogues could fight dirty, so could she. She aimed the gun and pulled the trigger. In a matter of seconds, the Rogues realized exactly what kind of warriors had arrived. The woman took out man after man with her fire, her entire body blazing like a torch. The baby-faced guy transformed his hands into animal claws, shredding the enemy with one swipe. The third guy fought with lightning speed, so fast Keona could barely keep up with where he was. Men in red dropped like flies and the rest retreated as fast as possible.

  Keona blinked to the park once more, gun in hand. There was no sign of Piper and now Nicholas’s corpse was gone. Sweet mother of Zeus, where is my sister? Only when she knew in her heart that Piper wasn’t there did she blink back to the clinic. The warriors had finished off the Rogues and now checked others for signs of life.

  “Are you going to tell us what kind of hell you just dropped us into?” The baby-faced blond stepped into her face.

  She wouldn’t back down. Keona lifted her chin and stared him right in the eyes. “This is the Ralpha Clinic for Olympians. It’s run by—”

  “Evander Castille.” Mr. Rough-N-Tough joined the conversation and crossed his arms over his chest. “We know that. Tell us what we don’t know.”

  “The Rogues invaded and—”

  “That’s pretty evident.”

  Keona turned on him and put one finger right in his chest. “Will you shut up long enough to let me answer your questions?”

  His eyes narrowed into slits and he spoke through a clenched jaw. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “I’m Keona Nadal.”

  There was a moment of pure, shocking s
ilence.

  “I’m the daughter of Marlaina Nadal. I met Evander about two months ago and he took us in. My sister is a Divine Grace and she’s missing. Now can we please skip the rest of the introductions and look for Evander and my sister?”

  “Spread out.” The woman gave the command. “Brenden, come with me. Yankee, stay with Keona. We’ll take the east corridor, you guys search the west.”

  Evander was nowhere to be found. They checked the patient rooms only to find the defenseless slaughtered in their beds. Men, women, children. All of them, executed for no reason.

  Dread coursed through her veins. Where was Evander? Where was Cain and Tomar? Did they escape? She didn’t think that Evander would leave his people and run to save his own skin. But in the back of her mind, she wished he would’ve. She prayed that for once he did something selfish and saved himself.

  The putrid, copper stench of blood made her gag, and she covered her mouth twice to hold it in. In her life of chaos, she’d seen murder, she had blood on her hands even now. But there was something about seeing a child with a dozen bullet holes in her chest that broke Keona like nothing else could.

  She shuddered and bent to close the eyes of a little girl who still held on to her stuffed bear.

  “Why?” She looked up at the Thracian next to her, desperately trying to contain her tears. “Why would anyone kill a child? This little girl did nothing to deserve this.”

  The man called Yankee showed no emotion on his face. His eyes bored into hers and she could sense the chill of his heart.

  “These bastards don’t care about anything or anyone. They say they have a cause, that they care about the greater good of our people. But they don’t. If they took your sister, you better pray they just kill her. She’s better off dead than alive with them.” He walked off, leaving her crouching over the girl.

  It took a moment for her to gather her composure and think. Where would Evander go?

  “The safe room.” Keona blinked into the hall and called out to Yankee. “I’m going back to the mansion. He had a safe room.” She blinked out alone and into the bathroom. The hidden door stood open and a trail of blood led the way through the passage.