Skeletons.
A wall of them. Marching through the trees right for us.
Chapter Ten
I helped Charity to her feet and we held hands—our fingers twined tight. Animals raced passed us. An owl, its white feathers almost the same bleached color as the bones, soared above, letting out a screech of warning. They gained on us, and yet we just stood there staring at them.
"How are they walking?" I asked. "I thought they couldn't keep going after they ran out of food."
"It must be a spell," Charity said.
"Suki?"
"You think she is sending them after you?" Charity asked.
The horror of it mesmerized me—the scale, the deafening sound, the complete lack of humanity and yet the evidence of life, the marching. Like soldiers. I let go of Charity's hand and stepped toward them.
"What are you doing? We need to run." Charity grabbed for me.
“Wait.” I felt them. "Give me a second."
"We don't have a second."
I lifted my hand, the palm burning as power welled in my body. I drew it from the ground, from the fear of the animals fleeing around me. There was immense power in this intense fear…in this much death. But why could I draw from it?
The ground shook, leaves floated around me, the skeletons marched. I closed my eyes. A sparkling purple cloud of power drew them forward. I felt it through my palm, it was... "My God," I said. "It's Emmanuel."
"What do you mean?"
"It's his power drawing them. His anger. His...sadness."
"Can you stop them?"
"I don't know." The lines of power led behind me, strings drawing the skeletons forward. I reached out with my own influence, caressing the line. It was taut and riddled with pain. It didn't notice me; nothing could distract it from the grief radiating along that line, pulling those decayed bodies to it. "I don't think he knows he is doing it."
"Let's find him then."
We ran toward the town, following the threads of power that drew the creatures closer. We were faster than them, and by the time we reached the square, we could no longer see the skeletons, but the ground still shook.
"They are coming from all sides," I said, seeing the lines spreading from the center of the square in all directions.
The square was full of people. I pushed through them. They held onto each other, terrified, with nowhere to run. Did they understand what was coming?
I fought my way to the center and stopped short, my breath leaving my body in a rush of horror and surprise.
Suki was tied to a large stake, her head limp, chin resting on her chest. Her dress was in shreds, exposing smooth, dark skin. Dried rivulets of blood ran down her face.
Her eyes were closed, lips white with dried skin. Emmanuel sat at the base of the poll, his head in his hands.
I dropped to my knees in front of him. "Emmanuel." I touched his shoulder. The buildings shook. The wooden stake vibrated. Suki made no noise, but her aura circled slowly.
Emmanuel lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot and shadowed by dark circles. "Darling?"
"Yes.” I caressed his neck.
He reached out, cupping my face. "You're here," he said.
"Yes, I'm here."
"You're alive." He scooted closer.
"Yes."
"I thought you were dead." His other hand came up and he held my face, staring at me.
"I'm here. I'm right here."
His eyes narrowed with distrust, and he turned over his shoulder to look up at Suki. "Is this a trick?" Anger rippled around him, tightening the cords that drew the skeletons.
Suki didn't answer.
"Emmanuel, you have to stop." I stroked his jaw, bringing his attention back to me.
"Stop what?" he asked.
"The zombies, the skeletons. That's what's making the world shake."
Emmanuel's brow furrowed. "What?"
"Baby, you're bringing them here. With your sadness. They are coming to you. Stop them."
He blinked several times.
The lines of purple power continued to twist out of him. The pain wasn't gone because I'd returned. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"She betrayed me," he said, his voice low, angry on the surface but infused with a deep hurt, a pain that only the betrayal of a multi-century friendship could contain.
"She thought she was helping you."
"Helping me? By throwing you into a world where I could not follow? By trying to destroy you?”
"She didn't. I'm fine. I'm here. Please. Baby, you have to stop."
Screaming rose from the edge of the square. It spread and people ran, crashing into each other, hurrying inside. Would that save them?
A woman wearing a long skirt and loose blouse, her hair wrapped in a brightly dyed scarf, stood stock still, watching the skeletons approach.
She waited alone, trembling, the rest of the towns people inside their homes.
"Run!" I screamed at her. She didn't even turn in my direction. The zombies were barely ten feet from her now. Their bones clattered against each other, their jaws opened wide as they hurried toward the lone woman, desperation in every faltering step.
The first one reached her and she fell back, letting out a startled cry. On her back, she pushed away from it, choking out screams as she scuttled away. The others crashed forward like a wave, piling on top of each other, reaching for her.
A man raced out of a house bearing a long pipe. He hit the first skeleton in the head, knocking the skull off the neck, sending it flying into the sea of zombies. He grabbed the woman by the arm and hauled her to her feet.
As they turned to run, another skeleton grabbed the man's shirt, its finger bones tangling into the material and pulling flesh toward the creature's snapping mouth.
I could not let Emmanuel's grief destroy this community and kill all these innocent people—demolish the last vestige of humanity in this dimension. “No," I said, feeling the injustice of it welling in my system.
I could stop it.
I'd stopped a zombie. I’d stopped Senil.
This was an entire army.
I closed my eyes and let my power swell. I formed it into a thin stream, releasing it slowly from my fingertips, focusing on the lines pulsing out of Emmanuel.
Bringing my own lines of power up, I imagined slicing through his cords, cutting the connection, and I watched the red of my chi run up against the purple strength of his.
Sweat broke out all over my body as I pushed forward, feeling the chi draining from that diamond-hard center of me. The red light I never let anyone touch, that very special part of me, I used it now.
I heard more yelling, the deep grunts of a fight as the couple fought to free themselves from the army of skeletons. More footsteps, as others raced to help, but I kept my eyes closed, concentrating on trying to break the ties that snaked out of Emmanuel.
The cords held.
I pushed against them harder, the earth shook beneath my feet, and I struggled to stay on my feet.
I can’t fight him.
I stopped trying to slice through his cords of power. Instead I caressed them. I intertwined with them, wrapping my own energy around his, melting them together. And slowly, easily, he let go of the monsters surrounding us and turned his attention to me.
The world steadied. The skeletons dropped—a great clattering of bones.
Emmanuel’s hands met my hips, his breath brushed my hair. "Darling," he said, his voice familiar, musical…mine.
I turned into his arms, opening my eyes. His dark brown curls fell around his face in that way…just the two of us in the whole world. In all the worlds.
He smiled, small and sweet, before bending down to place his lips softly against mine.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling our powers descending from the reaches and folding back into us, mingling between our two bodies, tying us up in each other. Our lips stayed pressed together, the most intimate kiss of my life. It wasn't an exchange of power, a feeding, o
r even a passionate embrace. It was a promise, an intertwining. Emmanuel's hands held my cheeks, and he broke the connection to speak. "Don't ever leave me again."
I wanted to agree. To promise that we'd be together, in each other's arms for all time, but I couldn't. Tears welled in my eyes. "I have to go," I said. "I can't abandon my world."
Emmanuel's eyes held my gaze. "I can't let you go. Look what happens when you leave."
"I didn't leave," I said. "Suki threw me out."
He grimaced. "I know, but I can't let you go. It's too dangerous."
"I can't stay. I have to help."
"Help who?"
"The billions of humans I left behind in my world. The billions upon billions across all the dimensions who are suffering under this plague."
"But it is as it should be," Emmanuel said. "Can't you see that?"
"No," I shook my head. "I don't believe that. I think it can be stopped. It's a curse, not destiny."
Emmanuel's hands dropped from my face, and he stepped back, looking at the ground. The separation of our bodies felt like a tearing apart. "Please!" I reached for him, grasping at his hand. "Understand why I have to do this."
He looked up at me, his eyes filled with pain. My leaving hurt. It radiated out of him and animated skeletons. "Don't," I pleaded. "Don't raise them again."
"It's not me doing it," he said. "It's you."
"No, Emmanuel," Anger rose in my chest. "It's you. Don't blame me for your behavior."
He shook his head. "I waited centuries for you. And now you won't stay with me."
"We discussed this before Suki threw me out. You were fine with it. You taught me to leave."
He stepped back into me, his hands at my waist again, holding me tight, his eyes boring into mine. "That's before I knew what it was like to lose you. I can't. I can't be without you."
"Yes, you can!" I yelled up into his face.
"I can’t.” His nostril’s flared. “I love you."
"That's not love,” I shook my head. “That's addiction. You are holding me hostage, threatening to destroy everyone in this world if I don't stay with you. I won't be manipulated like that."
“Manipulated?” His brows jumped. “You think that's what I'm doing? Can't you feel my pain?” It bleed into his voice, roughening it.
"Yes, I feel it. And it's all about you." His jaw dropped. "You're a selfish bastard.” Anger sharpened my tongue.
"I've died a thousand times for others. For all their sins. I have lived my entire existence for others,” he said it quiet, like he didn’t want to talk about it.
"So what the fuck are you doing now then?"
"You are mine. I was promised you.” His fingers dug into my hips almost painfully.
"I. Am. Mine." I said it slow, steady, so I was sure he could hear me.
Emmanuel glared at me. Neither of us spoke.
Breaking my gaze from Emmanuel, I looked around. Charity stood nearby, her eyes wide, watching us. Skeletons lined the edge of the square and stretched back into the woods as far as I could see. If they got a taste of flesh, they'd raise again.
About ten people, all armed with bats, stood around the woman who'd fallen. She was on the ground, sobbing, while another woman stroked her arm.
"Where are Dimitri and Megan?" I asked, turning back to Emmanuel. His hands loosened on my hips.
"I have not seen them since you left. They never came back that night."
I looked up at Suki. She had not moved. "Let's get her down," I said. Sadness welled in him again. "Come on," I said, laying a hand on his chest. "Help me."
Emmanuel raised a hand off my hip and waved it at Suki. The ropes tying her to the stake unraveled and fell to the earth. Suki slid to the ground, landing in a heap.
Charity crossed to her and placed a hand on her neck. "She is still alive."
"She kept you away from me," Emmanuel said. "Even up there, even half dead, she fought your return."
"I know, but I made it back. And she knows things. She is important. And I know you care about her."
Emmanuel didn't answer for a moment. "Do what you want with her," he said, gazing at the pile of bones that edged the square.
Faces peered from the windows of house. I motioned to them, calling them back into the square. The doors opened and people approached. "Help her," I said to the first woman who reached me.
She nodded and hurried to Suki's side. Soon a whole group had gathered around her and they lifted Suki, carrying her into one of the houses. "Come," Emmanuel said, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me toward his house. "I want you."
"Hold on," I said, turning in his embrace to Charity. "We have to help her return to her world."
Emmanuel looked at Charity, apparently noticing her for the first time. "This is Charity," I said in introduction. "She helped me get back. I could not have done it without her."
Charity blushed under Emmanuel's gaze. "Thank you," he said to her. "What can I do for you?"
"I just need to rest," she said.
"You will be my guest. Come," he started toward his house again.
"I need to find Dimitri and Megan," I said even as I followed him.
"They will be fine for a little longer without you."
"I just want to make sure they are okay."
Emmanuel stopped and turned to me, running his hand through his wild curls. They flopped right back into place. "Can't you do anything I ask?"
"You just nearly destroyed the last vestiges of humanity in this dimension because your friend betrayed your wishes, and yet you question my need to make sure that my friends are alive?”
Emmanuel pursed his lips. "Fine," he said. "I see your point. But the sun is rising. We will not be able to find them until dark. Will you come with me and do as I ask until nightfall?" Sunlight warmed the eastern horizon.
"What about all the skeletons?"
"They can wait."
"But if a kid gets too close—"
"The people here understand the danger those creatures pose. They won't go near them."
"How are we going to get rid of them?"
"We?" Emmanuel said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were leaving."
"I am. But, I'll help if I can."
"We can discuss it all later. Right now I need you. And from the weakness I can sense in you, I can tell that you need me too."
I nodded. "Okay."
Emmanuel dipped down and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder. I yelped. "What are you doing?" I asked, grabbing onto his hips to steady myself.
Emmanuel didn't answer. I craned my neck and saw Charity following us. She shrugged at me. I let my head fall and watched the ground pass under us. Emmanuel pushed open the door to his house and turning to Charity. “The kitchen.” He pointed toward it. “Help yourself to anything you like. There is a guest room down the hall. Don't come upstairs." And then he turned and started up the stairs, me still on his shoulder.
Emmanuel’s version of hospitality…
Chapter Eleven
Emmanuel dropped me on his bed, and not exactly gently. "Hey!" I said, but there wasn't time to protest more than that. His lips were on mine, his body pushing me into the mattress, his hands discarding my clothing.
The conversation was over.
Who belonged to who was no longer a question. We belonged to each other. I might be mine, but I had to admit that I was his as well. And he was mine.
Strange, but in that moment, I thought of my father. I always knew he loved my mother. Not just because he told me all the time, but because I felt the emptiness inside of him—the hole she'd blown through him. Emmanuel's touch held a note of desperation, like he had witnessed that abyss, the vast nothingness that a great love leaves behind.
Emmanuel, the son of a god, in his pain, had pulled the dead from their graves. What would happen if I ever lost him?
But with him here right now, his lips running down my body, his hands caressing my bare skin, I didn't need to worry about that. I
had him. And I would enjoy him.
Emmanuel stilled, his hands wrapped in my hair, eyes locked with mine. He held me like that for a moment, just staring at me. When I reached my lips toward him, he shook his head just the slightest little bit. "Do you understand how beautiful you are?" he asked.
I looked at his refined features. Felt his incredible body underneath my hands. "Only as beautiful as you," I said.
He smiled, his lips slightly bruised from our passionate kissing. He held my head and kissed my chin, my jaw, my neck, sliding toward my collarbone, kissing down between my breasts, holding my head the entire time.
His chi wrapped around me, caressing me, sliding up and down my body, in between my legs and fluttering across my nipples. His mouth reached my stomach and his hands followed.
I arched into his touch, letting out a low moan.
Reaching out with my influence, I ran it over the contours of his back, feeling each muscle, the power within its tissue, the blood, the life force inside of him. I moaned again, enthralled not only with the way he touched me but also with the way I'd discovered I could touch him.
He kissed my inner thigh, and his warm lips smiled against my skin as my influence traveled slowly toward his throbbing center.
"You're getting better at using your power," he said, his breath whispering against me.
"I'm figuring some things out," I said.
"I like it.” His hands moved to my thighs, holding me steady while he tasted me. Emmanuel’s chi put my hands above my head, and I scrunched the pillow between my fingers, squeezing my eyes shut, lost in the pleasure of his touch.
Power pounded through my veins. My eyes flew open as it crested, and I cried out Emmanuel's name.
Before the final shivers passed he was over me, pushing the hair back from my face, eyes bright in the low-lit room. "Look at me," he commanded. I did, my body shuddering under him. "We belong together," he said as he spread my legs with his, pushing between them, pausing there, hovering at my entrance. "You must see that." His voice was tight, a vein in his neck pulsing. "Say it."
"We belong together," I said, my hands reaching for his hips and pulling him into me. His eyes closed, a soft sigh escaping his lips.
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