Awakened (32 page)

“Okay, I think I get that. I get to pick something, but once I pick it I’m pretty much on my own?”

“With my blessing,” she added.

Heath grinned. “Well, I hope so.”

The Goddess didn’t return his smile. Instead she met his gaze, and he saw all humor was gone from her expression. “I give you my blessing, but only if you find my path. I cannot bless a future in which you choose Darkness.”

“Why would I do that? It doesn’t even make sense,” Heath said.

“Hear me out, my son, and consider the choices I offer you; you will understand then.”

“Okay,” he said, but something about the tone of her voice made his gut tighten.

“Choice one is that you stay here in this realm. You will be content, as you have been. You will frolic eternally with my other joy-filled children.”

“Content doesn’t mean happy,” Heath said slowly. “I’m a jock, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

“Of course it doesn’t,” said the Goddess. “Choice two: you fulfill your original intent and are reborn. That may mean you stay here and frolic for a century or more, but you will eventually leap from this precipice and return to the mortal realm to be reborn as a human who will eventually find his soul mate again.”

“Zoey!” He spoke the one word that filled his mind, and as he spoke her name Heath wondered why it had taken him so long. What was wrong with him? Why had he forgotten her? Why hadn’t he—

Nyx’s hand touched his arm gently. “Do not punish yourself. The Otherworld can be intoxicating. You did not truly forget your love—you never could. You simply allowed the child within you to rule for a time. He would, eventually, have given way to the adult, and you would have remembered Zoey and your love for her. Under normal circumstances that is the way of things. But the world today is not normal, nor are our circumstances. So, I’m going to ask the child within you to grow up a little more quickly, if you so choose.”

“If it has to do with Zo, then I say yes.”

“Then hear me out, Heath Luck. You can find your Zoey again if you choose to be reborn as a human; I give you my promise on that. You and she are destined to be together, whether it is as vampyre and mate, or vampyre and consort. It will happen, and you can choose to make it happen in this lifetime.”

“Then I—”

Her upraised hand silenced him. “There is a third option from which you may choose. As I speak to you the mortal world is shifting and turning. The great shadow of Darkness in the form of the white bull has gained an unexpected foothold. Good and evil are no longer balanced because of it.”

“Well, can’t you just zap something and fix that?”

“I could if I hadn’t gifted my children with free will.”

“You know, sometimes folks are stupid and they need to be told what to do,” Heath said.

Nyx’s expression remained serious, but her dark eyes sparkled. “If I begin taking away free will and controlling the decisions of my sons and daughters, when does it end? Will I not simply become puppet master, and my children marionettes?”

Heath sighed. “I guess you’re right. I mean, you are a goddess and all, so I’m pretty sure you know what you’re talkin’ about, but it does sound easier.”

“Easier is rarely better,” she said.

“Yeah, I know. And that sucks,” Heath said. “So what about my third choice? Are you trying to tell me it has something to do with good and evil?”

“I am. Neferet has become an immortal, a creature of Darkness. This night she has allied herself with the purest evil that can manifest in the mortal realm, that of the white bull.”

“I know about that. I saw something like that try to get to us when I was first dead.”

Nyx nodded. “Yes, the white bull was awakened by the shifts of good and evil in the mortal world. It has been eons since he roamed between realms as he is doing today.” Heath was disturbed to see the Goddess shiver.

“What’s going on? What’s happening down there?”

“Neferet is being gifted with a Vessel, an empty, golem-type creature, created by Darkness through a terrible sacrifice and lust and greed and hatred and pain—that she can control completely. He will be her ultimate weapon, or at least that is what she desires. Had her sacrifice been more perfect, the Vessel would be the perfect weapon of Darkness, but there is a flaw in his creation, and that is where your choice comes in, Heath.”

“I don’t get it,” Heath said.

“The Vessel is meant to be a soulless machine, but because the sacrifice that fed his creation went awry, I am able to touch him.”

“Like he has an Achilles’ heel?”

“Yes, a little like that. Should you choose this option I would use the flaw in the creature’s creation, and through that weakness I would insert your soul into an otherwise empty Vessel.”

Heath blinked, trying to take in the enormity of what the Goddess was saying. “Would I know I’m me?”

“You would only know that which all reborn souls know—the most refined essence of what you are. That never fades, no matter how many lifetimes you circle through.” Nyx paused, smiled, and added, “And, of course, should you choose, you will also know love. That, too, never fades. It is only suppressed or missed or set aside to circle back around.”

“Wait, hang on. This creature is in Zoey’s world? Right now?”

“He is being created this night in Zoey’s modern world, yes.”

“By Neferet, Zo’s enemy?”

“Yes.”

“So Neferet is gonna use this guy against my Zo?” Heath felt totally pissed.

“I am quite sure that is her intent,” Nyx said.

“Huh,” he snorted. “With me inside him, she can try, but she’s not gonna get very far.”

“Before you make your final choice, you must understand: you will not know yourself. Heath will be gone. Only your essence will remain—not your memories. And you will be dwelling within a being created to destroy that which you love most. You may very well succumb to Darkness.”

“Nyx, bottom line: does Zo need me?”

“She does,” the Goddess said.

“Then I pick the third choice. I want to be put in the Vessel,” Heath said.

Nyx’s smile was radiant. “I am proud of you, my son. Know that you return to the modern world with my very special blessing.”

From the air above her, the Goddess plucked a single strand of something that Heath thought looked like a shimmering thread of silver so bright and shining and beautiful that it made him gasp. She circled her fingers, so that the strand grew to a quarter-sized orb that glistened and glowed with an ancient, special light like a moonstone illuminated from within.

“That’s so totally cool! What is it?”

“Magick of the oldest kind. It is rarely present in the modern world; it does not suffer civilization well. But the white bull’s ancient magick created the Vessel, so it is only right that
my
ancient magick be there, too.”

As Nyx continued to speak, her voice took on a singsong tone that seemed to mix with and complement the beauty of the orb.

A window within the soul to see

Light and Magick I send with thee

Be strong, be brave, make the right choice

Though Darkness shouts with a terrible voice

Know that I am watching from above

And that always, always, the answer is love!

The Goddess flung the glowing orb at him and it filled Heath’s eyes, blinding him with its magick light and causing him to stagger backward so that he felt himself toppling over the edge of the gorge and falling, falling …

Her body ached, but Neferet didn’t mind. The truth was, she enjoyed the pain. She drew in a deep breath, automatically pulling to her the remnants of the white bull’s power that slithered in the shadows forming in the gloaming of predawn. Darkness strengthened her. Neferet ignored the gore that covered her skin. She stood.

The bull had left her on the balcony of her penthouse suite. Kalona was not within. But that mattered little to her. She didn’t want him anymore because after tonight she wouldn’t need him.

Neferet faced north, the direction allied with the element earth. She raised her arms and began weaving her fingers through the air, combing invisible, powerful, ancient threads of magick and Darkness. Then, in a voice devoid of all emotion, Neferet spoke the incantation as the bull had instructed her.

From earth and blood you have been born

A pact with Darkness I have sworn

Filled with power you’ll hear only my voice

Your life is mine; you have no choice

Complete the bull’s pledge this night

And always, always revel in his terrible Dark light!

The Tsi Sgili flung the inferno of Darkness that had swarmed to her hands down before her. It hit the stone balcony floor and pillar-like erupted up, swirling, writhing, changing …

Neferet watched, mesmerized, as the Vessel took form, its body coalescing from the pillar of brilliance that reminded her so much of the white bull’s pearl-colored coat. Finally it stood there—
he
stood before her. Neferet shook her head in wonder.

He was beautiful, an utterly gorgeous young male. Tall, and strong, and perfectly formed. The average person would see no hint of Darkness about him. The skin that covered his mighty muscles was smooth and blemish-free. His hair was long and thick and the blond of summer wheat. His features were perfect—he was flawless in his façade.

“Kneel to me, and I will give you your name.”

The Vessel obeyed instantly, dropping to one knee before her.

Neferet smiled and put her blood-spattered hand on the top of his silky blond head. “I shall call you Aurox, after the ancient bulls of old.”

“Yes, mistress. I am Aurox,” the Vessel said.

Neferet began to laugh and laugh and laugh, not caring that hysteria and madness tinged her voice, not caring that she left Aurox kneeling on the stone rooftop awaiting her next command, and not caring that as she walked away the Vessel watched her with eyes that glistened and glowed with an ancient, special light like moonstones illuminated from within …

“Yeah, I know Nyx forgave him and turned him into a kid. Kinda, ’cause I don’t know about you, but I don’t know any other kid who turns into a bird during the day.” Stark sounded super tired, but not super tired enough to stop worrying.

“That’s his consequence for all the bad stuff he’s done,” I told Stark, curling up against him and trying to ignore the Jessica Alba poster on the wall. Stark and I had taken over Dallas’s room in the tunnels under the depot. I’d done some elemental zapping, and everyone had done a lot of good old-fashioned cleaning. We still had quite a way to go, but at least the place was habitable and a Neferet-Free Zone.

“Right, but it’s still weird that up until just a little while ago he was Kalona’s favorite son, and a Raven Mocker,” Stark continued.

“Hey, I’m not disagreeing with you. It’s weird for me, too, but I trust Stevie Rae and she loves him.” I squinched up my face, making Stark smile. “Even before he got rid of that beak and those feathers. Jeesh, eew. I gotta get the whole story from her.” I paused, thinking. “I wonder what’s happening right now between them.”

“Not much. The sun just came up. He’s a bird. Hey, did Stevie Rae say she was going to put him in a cage, or what?”

I smacked him. “She didn’t say anything like that and you know it!”

“Makes sense to me.” Stark yawned hugely. “But whatever she does, you’ll have to wait till sunset to hear about it.”

“Past your bedtime, little boy?” I asked, grinning up at him.

“Little boy? Are you sassing me, girl?”

“Sassing?” I giggled. “Yeah, of course. Heehees!”

“Come here, wumman!”

Stark started to tickle me like crazy and I tried to retaliate by pulling the hairs on his arms. He yelped (like a little girl) and then the whole thing turned into a wrestling match where I, somehow, ended up being pinned.

“Do you give?” Stark asked me. With one hand he had both of my wrists and was holding my arms over my head, tickling my ear with his panting breath.

“No way; you’re not the boss of me.” I struggled (futilely). Okay, so I admit I didn’t struggle very hard. I mean, he was pressed against me and totally not hurting me—like Stark would
ever
hurt me—and he was super hot, and I loved him. “Actually, I’m going easy on you. All I have to do is call my mega cool element powers and your cute butt will be kicked.”

“Cute, huh? You think my butt is cute?”

“Maybe,” I told him, trying not to smile. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t call the elements to kick it.”

“Well then I better keep your mouth busy so you can’t do that,” he said.

When he started kissing me I thought about what a strange and wonderful thing it was that something so simple, just a kiss, could make me feel so much. His lips against mine were soft, and an amazing contrast to his hard body. As he kept kissing me I quit thinking about how wonderful it was because he made me stop thinking. All I did was feel: his body, my body, our pleasure.

So I hadn’t really been thinking about the fact that he was still holding my arms by my wrists, trapped over my head. I didn’t think about it when his free hand slid up the extra-large Superman T-shirt I was using as pj’s. I still didn’t think about it when his hand moved from under my shirt to the top of my panties. I only started to think about it when his kiss changed. It went from soft and deep to hard. Too hard. It was like he’d suddenly become starving, and I was the meal that ended his famine.

I tried to pull my wrists from his hand, but his grip was solid.

I turned my head and his lips left my mouth to make a hot trail down my neck. I was trying to get my head together—trying to figure out what was bothering me so much—when he bit me. Hard.