Upon the Midnight Clear

Upon the Midnight Clear Page 9

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

CHAPTER EIGHT

 

  Aidan came awake with the taste of rage bitter on his tongue. As he heard the fighting outside his bedroom, his anger built to a stellar level.

  "Leta," he snarled, throwing himself toward the door. He snatched it open to see her on the floor at Donnie's feet.

  Without stopping, he dove at his brother, catching him about the shoulders before they fell to the ground. His gaze turning red, Aidan slugged him with everything he was worth, over and over again. Donnie tried to throw him off, but he was having none of it. He was through with his brother's crap.

  "I hate you," Donnie shouted.

  "Feeling's mutual," Aidan said an instant before he slammed Donnie's head against the slate floor as hard as he could. Blood exploded over the hardwood floor. His brother's blood should have appeased him. It didn't.

  And as he looked into his brother's dilated eyes that were an exact match to the shade of his own, Aidan wanted to weep.

  How had they come to this? How?

  That moment of weakness cost him as Donnie kicked him back. His brother grabbed him by the shoulders and rolled until Aidan was pinned to the floor. There was no mercy in Donnie's eyes as he rained blows on Aidan.

  "How could you?" Aidan demanded furiously as he blocked most of the hits.

  "Because I hate you, you piece of shit. You got everything that should have been mine. Everything! The looks, the money, the hot girlfriend. It's not fair for you to have so much and for me to have so little. "

  That was so not true. Donnie had been even better looking than Aidan when he'd been younger. Where Aidan had been lean and had to work for muscle tone, Donnie had always been naturally muscled. Donnie had been the one to get married and have a family. Tracy had only left him because he'd cheated on her. As for the money, Donnie could have had that too, but rather than start a business for himself, he'd been content to make the steady salary of a cable installer. Good money that he'd spent on drugs, alcohol, and strippers-which had also caused the break-up of his marriage. "You're insane. "

  "Yeah and you're a dick. Do you have any idea what it's like to watch your wife lust after your kid brother? To listen to her sing your brother's praises and tell you how you don't measure up?"

  What was he talking about? Tracy had never seen him as anything more than a little brother. Donnie's wife had barely even spoken to him the handful of times he'd been around her.

  "Youstole Heather from me. "

  "No," Donnie said bitterly. "The bitch still loved you even after we hooked up. All she could talk about was you and how good-looking you were. How much money you made and all the great places you'd taken her when you dated. How you couldn't go out without being mobbed by people who loved you. She was as obsessed with you as Tracy was. It's why I offered her soul to Dolor first. "

  Aidan was so stunned by the words that he allowed Donnie to land a solid punch on his jaw. He tasted blood before he kicked him back. "What?"

  Donnie caught himself. He stood before Aidan with twisted lips, clenching and unclenching his fists. "Whiny fucking bitch. The only reason she even went with me was to hurt you. She didn't care about me. She just wanted you to think there was someone out there who didn't find you irresistible. She thought you'd come crawling back to her, begging for her to take you back. So I broke out of jail, cut her throat, and used her blood to wake Dolor. "

  Aidan cursed. His heart bleak, he rushed at Donnie and caught him in a headlock. He glanced to Leta on the floor who appeared to be breathing easier than she had before. He wanted to check on her, but knew better than to try. Donnie wouldn't let him near her until he was down for the count.

  Aidan tightened his hold on Donnie's neck. "How could you kill Ronald? He was your son!"

  "He may have been my blood," he said in a raspy tone, "but he wasn't my son. He loved you more than me. He always did. My house wasn't as fancy as Uncle Aidan's. My money wasn't as good. He wanted to apologize to you. Tell you how sorry he was for everything we'd done. He said we had no right to hurt you, so I told Dolor to take him out and use his body to get to you. "

  Aidan felt sick at the words. How could his brother be reduced to this? "I loved you, Donnie. I would have done anything in the world for you. " His grip loosened as he tried to reach through the hatred to find the brother he'd once known and loved.

  "Then die. " Donnie spun on him with a kick that landed hard on Aidan's ribs.

  Aidan grunted as he caught his balance.

  Donnie pulled a knife out of his pocket and flipped it open. Aidan caught his wrist before Donnie could plunge it into him. He wrenched Donnie's hand and sent the knife flying before he backhanded him and kicked him down.

  Aidan sneered at him. "I never once in my life thought I was better than you until now. I could never have hurt my family the way you have. Loyalty is everything to me. It always has been and always will be. But you. . . you don't know how to love. Your jealousy won't even let you recognize it when you have it. I can't hate you anymore, you wretched excuse for a human. All I can do is feel sorry for you. "

  Donnie shrieked before he ran at him.

  Aidan caught him and slung him back to the ground.

  "You're pathetic. "

  Donnie pushed himself up. "You're the one who's pathetic. You got nothing now. "

  "Not true. I have my dignity and a million people in this world who love me. The only thing you have in your life is anger, bitterness, and a mistrust that you'll never overcome. All you know how to do is envy other people. You'll never have anything. Your hatred and greed won't let you. "

  Donnie launched himself at Aidan, but before he could reach him, Leta was there between them. She kicked Donnie back.

  Aidan kissed her hand before he stepped around her. "Thank you, Donnie, for allowing me to recognize and appreciate real friendship. Had you not screwed me over, I would have married Heather and allowed her to make me miserable for the rest of my life, because unlike you, I don't walk away from important relationships. I don't turn my back on the people I love. Hell, I was even one step away from signing my entire estate over to her before we married. More than that, you flushed all the snakes out of my garden and set me free. "

  He looked at Leta and Deimos. "Now I know who I can depend on. I understand what real love is and what it means to put someone else above my own pettiness. I'm grateful to God that you're wretched and in trying to ruin me, all you did was make my life a hell of a lot better. Thank you. "

  He screamed and Aidan laughed.

  The minute he did, Dolor looked up with a frown.

  Donnie gestured toward the god. "Kill the bastard!"

  Aidan braced himself for the fight, but didn't feel his anger rekindle. All he felt was pity for the brother who'd allowed his petty jealousy to ruin his entire life. More than that, Donnie's jealousy had caused him to kill the very people who loved him most.

  His stomach wrenched at the thought of what Donnie had done to himself.

  There was no more pain inside him now. No bitterness or hatred. Aidan felt nothing except gratitude that he wasn't Donnie. More than that, he was grateful that Leta had kept him from becoming his brother's shadow.

  Dolor, who looked exactly like Donnie had when Aidan had left home to seek his fortune, stepped forward. Aidan wanted to weep over the fact that his nephew was dead. But there were no tears. Again, it was pity he felt for Donnie. For the first time since Donnie had turned on him, he didn't want revenge.

  He was through with it.

  "You're not fighting me," Dolor growled.

  Aidan shook his head slowly. "I'll fight only for what matters. " He looked over his shoulder at Leta. "Her safety. "

  Dolor's gaze followed his until it rested on Leta. Rage darkened his brow. He stepped forward, then froze.

  Aidan frowned as he saw the god struggle, as if held in place by some invisible force. Dolor reached for him, then shattered into a shimmery dust that drift

ed down to the ground where it sparkled against the floor.

  He looked around the room, expecting the god to rematerialize.

  Dolor didn't.

  Confused, Aidan turned to Leta. "What happened?"

  "He's gone," Deimos said, brushing his hands against his pants. "You defeated him. "

  "How?"

  Leta spoke in a quiet tone. " 'Pain is here,

  " 'sharp and clear.

  " 'Even so, it must fade,

  "And a new way should he made'"She stepped forward. "That's what Lyssa was trying to tell us. You released the pain and betrayal inside you. . . the fear. . . and it left him powerless to fight you. "

  "No!" Donnie shouted, rushing at Aidan.

  Aidan turned to face him, but before he could he felt a sharp, stinging pain in his shoulder. He flipped his brother over his arm, and pinned him to the ground. It was only then he saw the knife in Donnie's hand. With a feral grimace, Aidan disarmed him.

  Fury gripped him, but it didn't stay. Donnie wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth anything.

  Deimos picked the knife up from the floor. "You want me to kill him for you?"

  Aidan shook his head. "I want him to live with the knowledge that he destroyed everything and everyone in his life who loved him. " He caught Donnie's hand as he tried to hit him and held it in his fist.

  Donnie tried to spit, but Aidan dodged it.

  Aidan swallowed against the lump in his throat that choked him. Even after everything that had gone on between them, there was still a part of him that wanted to love Donnie. . . to forgive him.

  But in the end, he couldn't. Donnie would never allow that and he knew it.

  "You were my brother, Donnie. I would have died for you. Done anything in this world you asked. But the problem is, you weren't satisfied with that. You had to take. May God have mercy on you. "

  "I don't need your pity, you prick. "

  Those words squelched any mercy that was left inside him where his brother was concerned. There were people out there that no amount of compassion or love could save and it was time he faced the fact that Donnie was a lost cause. "And I don't need trash in my life. " He glanced to Leta. "Any chance the cell phone will work?"

  "Yes, why?"

  "Because I want to call the cops to come get this sack of shit out of my house. "

  "This isn't over!" Donnie snarled.

  Aidan shook his head. "Oh, yes it is. You're going to leave here in a few minutes and I will never again think about you and what you've done. I really don't care about you. You're not worth the salt in my tears or the brain power it would take me to even conjure your face. "

  "I won't let you rest. "

  Aidan snorted. "Believe me, I will sleep well at night. I have the resources and the drive to fight you to the bitter end for what matters most-my life and"-he looked at Leta-"my heart. . . I'm through with you. "

  "You-"

  Deimos ended his words with a swift kick to his head that rendered Donnie unconscious. "Anyone else getting bored with his crap?"

  Leta raised her hand.

  Aidan stood up. "Did you kill him?"

  "Nah. Against my better judgment, he's breathing. Still say you should let me cut a few parts off his body. "

  "No. I want him intact so that the only thing he'll focus on is what he's done to himself. Sooner or later his lies will fade and he will see the truth. I'm not the one who hurt him. He is. "

  Deimos looked disappointed by the fact he couldn't kill Donnie. "Since this appears to be over, I'm going to head back and force Phobos to play another round with me. Later. " He vanished.

  Aidan let out an irritated breath at his abrupt departure. "I didn't have a chance to thank him. "

  "Don't worry about it. Demon hates thank-yous. "

  "Really?"

  She nodded. "Like someone else I know, he gets uncomfortable whenever he's praised. "

  Aidan felt one corner of his mouth lift as he pulled her closer to him. "I think I'm getting over that. "

  "Are you?"

  "Yeah, but only when it comes from you. "

  She returned his smile with one that left him weak in his knees. "I summoned the police a second ago. They'll be here in a few minutes. "

  "Cool. " At least that was his thought until he realized something. "What happens to you now that Dolor's gone?"

  "I have to leave. "

  His stomach shrank as a sick feeling went through him. "Leave?"

  She glanced away as if unable to meet his gaze. "I'm a goddess, Aidan. I can't stay in the human realm. I don't belong here. "

  He wanted to beg her to stay with him, but he couldn't. She'd already told him why she couldn't stay. All begging would do was make her feel bad for something neither of them could help.

  As she said, she was a goddess.

  Maybe she could become mortal. But he didn't want that. She would grow old and die.

  How could he ask that of someone who was forever young and beautiful? It would be selfish. "I'm going to miss you. "

  Leta swallowed at the pain she heard in his voice. He was trying so hard to be strong, but inside he was shattered. She could feel it.

  Fear marked his brow. "Will Dolor be there, waiting for you?"

  "No. When he failed to kill you and his human body disintegrated, he was rendered powerless. He's back in stasis now. It'll take another human sacrifice to reawaken him. " At least that was what she believed had happened to him. The truth was, she didn't know and wouldn't know for sure until she returned home.

  Aidan scowled. "Why does he have to have a human sacrifice to appear as a human when you don't?"

  "With the help of Hades, I cursed him to it. My thought was that no one would be vicious enough to kill someone they loved in order to set him free. I thought I'd found a way to lock him out of the human world for all eternity. "

  Aidan looked to his brother, who was still unconscious on the floor. "I guess we both overestimated Donnie's humanity. "

  "Perhaps, but remember, not everyone else in the world is as sick as he is. "

  "But you're not really in this world, are you?"

  "Aidan-"

  He silenced her words by placing one finger over her lips. "Don't prolong the hurt, Leta. Just rip the Band-Aid off my skin and let the burn remind me that for one day, I had something more than misery. I told you earlier that I'd rather have one moment of incredible bliss than a lifetime of nothing. " He placed a tender kiss to her forehead. "Now go. Just leave. "

  The problem was, she didn't want to leave him. She wanted to stay, but there was no way she could. Her temporary body wouldn't last in this plane of existence. "I'll visit you in your dreams. "

  "No," he said, his voice catching. "That would only make it worse. I couldn't stand seeing you there, knowing that I'm not really touching you. Let the wound heal. Let me be able to think back on this day and remember the woman who saved my life. "

  He was right, and it was killing her to admit it. "I won't forget you, Aidan. "

  Aidan didn't respond verbally, but the tormented light in those green eyes said more than words ever could.

  He would remember her too.

  The sound of police sirens pierced the air.

  "Go, Leta. "

  She stepped back with her heart in her throat. All she wanted was to be with him. If only it could be. But the gods had decreed a different fate for them. There was no need to fight a battle they couldn't win.

  "I love you, Aidan," she said before she flashed herself back to the Vanishing Isle.

  Aidan stood there in the center of his cabin, staring at the space where Leta had been. It was only then that he let the tears he felt surface. The pain of them burned in his chest and choked him.

  Eventually she would have betrayed you too. Everyone betrays you.

  Perhaps, but he no longer believed that. Leta had taught him better.

  He heard the thunder of the police running onto his porch. "Put your hands behind your head! Get down on your knees!"

  Aidan didn't flinch as the cops flooded through his broken door with their weapons drawn. He obeyed their orders and knelt on the floor while one of the officers ran behind him and cuffed his hands together.

  "For the record, I'm the victim. "

  But since they didn't know for sure, they followed standard protocol of securing him before they called an ambulance for Donnie.

  Once they realized Donnie was an escaped felon and Aidan did in fact live in the cabin and was the one who'd been attacked, they removed his handcuffs and let him get a cold towel to clean some of the blood off his face and shoulder.

  "You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" one of the male officers asked.

  Aidan shook his head as he watched them haul a semiconscious Donnie out of his living room. There was no helping what really hurt him. Only Leta could do that. "I'll be all right. "

  "You sure?"

  For the first time in years, he actually was. "Yeah. That which doesn't kill us-"

  "Requires a lot of therapy to deal with. "

  Aidan gave a small laugh as the police officer shrugged.

  "Hey, in my business, it's really true. " The officer suddenly looked awkward as he glanced at the mantel where Aidan kept his Oscars. It was a bashful stance Aidan knew extremely well.

  "You want an autograph?"

  The officer's face brightened. "I didn't want to ask with you bleeding and all, but my wife's a really big fan of yours and this would score me some major points with her. If I could put that under the tree, I know it would make her Christmas. "

  Aidan smiled even though it hurt his split lip. "Hang on. " He went into his office and pulled out a stack of publicity photos Mori had sent that he'd ignored and a Sharpie before he returned to the living room. "What's her name?"

  "Tammy. "

  Another officer stepped forward. "Oh, man, can I have one too? I loved that movieAlabaster . You kicked major butt in it and the chick who was in it with you. . . Was she as hot in real life?"

  "No, she was even better. "

  The officer laughed.

  Aidan hesitated as the old joy he used to feel came flooding back. He could still remember the first time someone had asked for his autograph all those years ago. The first time someone had stopped him on the street to tell him how much they loved his work. There was nothing else like it. No matter when or where, he loved to be stopped by his fans. To share a few minutes chatting with them.

  Donnie and Heather had tainted it with their poison. "Those people don't care about you. They're just hanger-ons wanting to touch something they'll never be. God, I hate it whenever they come up to us. I can't even eat a meal in peace. Why don't you tell them to go away and leave us alone?"

  But Aidan had never minded. Even when it got to the point he couldn't drive on the street with his windows down or the times he had the press climbing into his backyard, he hadn't minded it. He was glad he did something that other people enjoyed, and if talking to him made them happy. . . There was no greater feeling than knowing he'd touched their lives and brought a smile to their faces, even if it was only for a few minutes.

  This was what he'd wanted since he was a kid. What he'd fought his ass off to achieve. He'd suffered through enough slings and arrows to make Shakespeare proud.

  And he loved every minute of it.

  He handed the signed photo for Tammy to the officer before he looked at the other one. "What's your name?"

  "Ricky. . . and can you make one out for my girlfriend, Tiffany? She'd just die if I came home with that. Oh, and my mom, Sara. She's been a fan of yours since that weird horror movie you did. I loved that too, but it was a major mind scrambler. "

  Aidan laughed at the man's enthusiasm. "It'd be my pleasure. "

  Before it was over, Aidan signed a total of twenty photos for the police and paramedics. Donnie was screaming in outrage from the ambulance, but no one cared.

  "You have a Merry Christmas," Ricky said as he trailed the others out of Aidan's cabin. He hesitated at the splintered door. "You probably need to call someone to fix this. I don't think you should be up here without a good door, given what happened today. "

  "Thanks. I'll take care of it. "

  Ricky held his hand out. "You're a decent man, Mr. O'Conner. Thanks so much for the autographs. "

  "My pleasure, and call me Aidan. "

  Ricky grinned. "Aidan. It was a pleasure meeting you. I just wish the circumstances were better. "

  "Yeah, me too. You have a good Christmas and tell your mom and Tiffany I said hi. "

  "Will do. Thanks. "

  Aidan followed him out to the porch where he watched Ricky walk out to his car before all of them drove off. He could still hear Donnie's muffled voice cursing him as they pulled onto the road. Pity welled up inside him, but then again, maybe it was a good thing Donnie was still being eaten with hatred. One day Donnie would realize exactly what his jealousy had cost him-that in trying to ruin Aidan, he'd destroyed his entire life.

  God help his brother then.

  The pain of Donnie's betrayal rolled off his shoulders now. He really didn't care. "I am the last man standing. "

  The problem was, he was standing alone and for the first time in years that bothered him.

  Closing his eyes, he felt the bite of the cold against him as he summoned an image of Leta in his mind. "I miss you, baby. " But there was nothing to be done about it.

  Life was what it was.

  Defeated, he turned to enter his house and saw that his door had been replaced. "Leta?" he asked with a hopeful note in his voice.

  It wasn't her. Deimos was standing inside the living room, watching him.

  Aidan couldn't understand his presence. "I thought you were playing chess. "

  "I was going to, but. . . " He hesitated as if there were something on his mind.

  "But?" Aidan prompted.

  Deimos indicated the door with a tilt of his head. "I remembered you had a broken door. "

  "Thanks for repairing it. "

  "No problem. "

  Aidan paused, waiting for Deimos to speak or do something. When he didn't, Aidan arched a brow. "Is there something I can help you with?"

  "Not really. It's more along the lines of something I can help you with. "

  Now he had Aidan's full attention. "And that is?"

  Deimos's gaze bored into him. "What would you give to have Leta with you?"

  Aidan didn't hesitate. "Everything. "

  "You sure?"

  "Yes. " Suddenly, everything went black. Aidan jerked around, trying to get his bearings, but he couldn't see, feel, or hear anything. It was just dark. "Leta?"

  This time she didn't respond. There was no kind hand to ground him. No words of encouragement and he missed that even more.

  When the light returned, he saw himself as a kid near a Christmas tree. He was eleven and at his uncle's house. Aidan frowned as he tried to remember the exact event, but he couldn't. He only remembered the setting.

  "What did you get?" Donnie asked as he came over to where Aidan was playing.

  Aidan held up his action figure. "G. I. Joe and some candy. "

  Donnie curled his lip. "That's not fair. I wanted a G. I. Joe. "

  Aidan was baffled by his anger. "No you didn't. You said you wanted Optimus Prime and Grimlock, which you got. "

  Donnie reached for the toy in Aidan's hand and snatched it away.

  "Give that back!"

  Donnie refused, and when Aidan tried even harder, he punched him with everything he had. Aidan shouted in fury which woke his uncle up from the nap he was taking on the plaid couch a few feet away from them.

  Two seconds later, with insults ringing in their ears, all the toys were in the garbage and both of them were grounded. Not to mention bruised from their uncle's anger.