Authors: Stacie Simpson
Wheeling around I saw Adan backhand Angela across her cheek
and she went flying into the wall. As he stalked towards her again I reached
out with my power and stopped him in his tracks. If it had only been the two of
us he would be dead in seconds. I had more than enough power saved up from the
time I spent in Mystique with Angela to take care of Adan.
But we weren’t alone.
There were five Elder time demons in the room who had
managed to freeze Dragon and his flames in place just inches before it reached
them. On top of that, they were still draining my power at an increasingly
alarming rate.
Fury and fear warred in my mind. What could I do to stop
this from happening?
Stumbling as I struggled to hold Adan in place while the
Elders siphoned more of my reserves I landed on my knees in front of Angela.
Grasping her arms I pulled her up from the ground and begged, “You must say the
words Angela. You must leave this place while you still can and take Dragon
with you.”
Despite his actions or his threats, I didn’t think the
Elders would harm Dragon for fear of the repercussions, but there was no sense
in taking chances.
Angela’s eyes blinked a few times then cleared and her lips
parted but instead of the words I expected to hear the ancient words of the
anai
ritual spilled from her mouth. Her soul burst wide open shining bright like a
beacon of hope.
Say the words, your soul burns bright. Gather the
strength, to make things right. Nothing to lose, so much to gain. Feel the
wrath, release the pain.
I repeated the ancient words and my soul burned bright as it
merged with hers, but when I tried to shift us into the ether between times the
Elders blocked me. The ritual could not be completed unless I found a way to
circumvent their hold over me.
My powers waned and I’d all but given up when the most
amazing thing happened. Angela looked right into my eyes and smiled, a brilliant
smile that was both satisfied and comforting. Only as I gazed into those
swirling silver eyes I knew it wasn’t Angela looking back at me. With hope
filling my heart I tried one more time and moved us easily between times where
our souls were finally, irrevocably, bound together as one.
The instant the bond snapped into place I felt the power of
the River rush over me. So fast and strong, the current nearly swept me away,
but once I got a handle on it, I pulled it faster, faster still, until nothing
could stop the River of Time from breaking through the dam the Elders built all
those centuries ago. I felt it the moment the spell broke and the River ran
free.
Coming back to the present I laid Angela gently on the
chamber floor and turned on the Elders. Stark terror stared back at me as I
ripped their power from their bodies leaving them weak and utterly defenseless.
With their power gone Dragon and his stream of fire were
released from their hold and they fell to the floor rolling and smacking their
clothes to put out the flames.
Dragon glanced around ready for action, but stepped back
when I raised my hand asking him to stand down.
“I will no longer stand by and watch our people suffer under
the tyranny of leaders tainted by greed and corruption,” I told the Elders as
they struggled to their feet.
“Who would lead our people in our place? You?” Esja asked
with a venomous sneer.
I shrugged. “In time, the Goddess will reveal which path our
people should follow. In the meantime we will no longer live in fear of using
our powers for good. But you Esja, have no need to worry about the future of
our people.”
“And why is that Sa’jon?” she asked, still so sure of
herself.
I knew they were all pulling power from the River as fast as
they could, but it wouldn’t matter. I no longer needed to reach out to the
River for power, I was the River, or rather Angela was, and since our souls
were bound as one her power was my power.
“Because Esja, you won’t be here to see it,” I told her in a
low menacing voice letting her hear the contempt and rage that filled me when I
thought of the sins she and the others were guilty of.
She took a step back but her chin came up in a brave attempt
at saving face.
“Goodbye Esja,” I said, making her eyes finally widen with
fear.
With a thought I drained every last drop of power from her
body and thrust her into the Netherworld between times. A nightmare realm where
the River did not flow and she had no hope of ever breaking out with only her
inherent abilities to draw on. She was doomed to live an eternity of torment
enslaved by the demented demons who inhabit that dimension.
The rest of the Elders started inching towards the exit but
froze when I said, “Don’t.”
“Will you banish us all Sa’jon?” Kalen asked.
“No Kalen,” I answered shaking my head slowly.
His shoulders relaxed but the other Elders remained tense,
watchful, as I moved closer to where they huddled together.
When I came to a stop just in front of them I said, “For you
Pius and Taico I offer a choice - banishment or death.”
Taico held my gaze for a moment then quietly said, “Make it
quick.”
Aside from Kalen, the Elders were so confident in their
power that they had little to no combat training. Using the fail-safe
programmed into our DNA to help parents protect their children, they relied on
their ability to drain weaker demons that they could then hold helpless for the
slaughter.
Before Taico could blink I reached out and snapped his neck.
His body crumpled to the floor and I turned to Pius.
“Have you no mercy Sa’jon?” he asked, his eyes wild with
panic.
I gave him cold, dead eyes and asked, “Where was your mercy
Pius, when you sentenced me to a fate worse than death? At least I offered you
a choice. That is all the mercy you will get from me. Now decide.”
His eyes darted around the room searching for any means of
escape. When he found none he fell to his knees and begged my forgiveness. His
life ended just as swiftly as Taico’s had.
Drawing in a deep breath I faced the remaining two Elders. “Our
people will need guidance in this new era of freedom and I’m trusting you to
provide that through good leadership.”
Kalen and Ka’ja looked at each other then back to me.
“Are you up to the task?”
Ka’ja bowed her head. “Yes, Sa’jon Ruk. I look forward to
the journey we begin today, may it be blessed by the Goddess.”
I inclined my head to her then asked, “And you Kalen?”
One side of his mouth curved up in a grin. “I can’t wait to
get started.”
Kalen had always been a good mentor and a close friend of
mine. I knew he would do his best to help our people learn how to balance the
power and responsibility we would all share now that the River flowed freely
once again.
Dragon cleared his throat behind me and I turned to see him
standing with Angela across the room. Gesturing towards Adan, who was still
frozen in place, he asked, “What do you plan to do with him?”
Focusing on Adan I let myself feel the wrath burning through
my veins then I released the pain I felt for what he did to Angela and for the
life of the child I would never know.
“Keep Angela safe,” I told him.
“Rook?” she asked.
I met her worried eyes and said, “I need to do this Angela,
for you and for our son.”
After a moment she nodded her head and followed Dragon to
the other side of the room. Once she was a safe distance away I released my
hold on Adan.
He spun in place and glared at me.
“Not feeling so almighty now are you?” I asked with a smirk.
I felt him trying to freeze time around me and what do you
know... He was reaching for the River even though he had no way of knowing it
now ran freely.
“The Elders gave you access to the River.”
His eyes widened and I felt him trying to drain my power.
I took a few steps closer to him and we started circling
each other looking for an opening to strike.
“It’s a shame you’re not nearly strong enough to handle all
that power. That’s why it won’t come to you when you call it. Do you want to
know what it feels like, just once before you die?”
His whole body jerked as I flooded his body with the River
then yanked it right back out of him.
He staggered, then braced his hands on his thighs panting
for breath.
Stopping in front of him I waited for him to make the first
move. When he did I sidestepped his lunge and backhanded him just like he had
Angela before.
He fell back but caught himself before he went down. Tilting
his head to the side rubbing his jaw he watched me closely as I circled around
him.
“Not so cocky now are you Adan? What’s wrong? Not
interested in a fair fight. I promise, I won’t do anything to affect time. This
will just be me and you using our bodies and whatever weapons you might be
carrying.” I hadn’t been allowed to bring any weapons since I’d been the one on
trial.
He lunged at me again and we trade blows until he spun
around and tried to land a kick to my head. Catching his leg, I shoved him back
into the wall where his head hit hard with a loud crack.
Shaking himself, he came at me again. Too late I saw the
glint of metal in his hand as his arm swiped across my chest. Pain lanced
through me but I kept my focus on Adan. His hands came fast, jabbing and
stabbing. It was all I could do to block his assault.
His knife sliced my side open and his lips curved with a
triumphant sneer. “Look who’s not so cocky now.”
It was all the distraction I needed. That one moment of
gloating allowed me to move in and take the knife from his hand. Before he even
knew what happened I had one arm wrapped around Adan holding him up while my
other hand held the knife buried in his gut. Twisting the knife, I dragged it
up ripping him wide open to inflict more pain while he screamed in agony. Then
I pulled it out and plunged it into his black heart.
I watched the knowledge of his impending death seep into his
face as he stared back at me in shock. Holding his gaze, satisfaction filled me
as the light faded from his eyes and his life slipped away. Adan would never
take an innocent life again. I prayed to the Goddess asking her to watch over
my son and let him know he would never be forgotten.
Angela called my name as Adan’s body fell to the ground at
my feet. Turning to her voice I knew I’d never hear a sweeter sound or see a
more beautiful sight than Angela running into my arms. I held her close,
feeling her warmth and rejoicing in the knowledge that she was mine and I was
hers. Nothing would ever come between us again. We were one, one heart, one
soul, we were
anai
.
“So what you’re saying is you’re mated to a Goddess,” Doyle
chortled making Dragon and Solomon laugh.
We were sitting on the back deck at Mike’s listening to the
band inside and drinking beer. In the four months since Angela and I bonded,
Solomon had slowly gone from bad to worse. He still took care of business but
socially he was quickly becoming a recluse. None of us could figure out what
was going on with him, but we knew something needed to be done, and soon. This
was our attempt at bringing him back out of his shell.
“I’m only telling you what the Goddess showed me when I
looked into her eyes through Angela’s in the Elders’ chamber. I didn’t really
believe it then, but once Angela started shifting time on her own I knew I wasn’t
mistaken. Angela and all the other conduits out there are direct descendants of
the Goddess herself.”
“Does that mean Rachel is a conduit?” Solomon asked. He
still spent a lot of time with Rachel but her presence no longer seemed to have
the calming effect it once did.
I sipped my beer before responding. This was one question I
dreaded too many people asking for fear that other time demons might react the
way Adan did with Angela. “I believe she is, but unless she meets the right
time demon her powers will never be awakened.”
“You really believe a conduit’s power can only be awakened
by love?” Doyle asked.
“I do,” I told him. “It’s the only explanation that makes
any sense when you look at all the facts. Besides, the Goddess would want a way
to protect her decedents and ensure they weren’t misused for the wrong reasons.
If conduits can only channel the River for demons who love them, there is less
chance that the power they unleash will be used for evil.”
“I think he’s right,” Dragon agreed, then added, “And I
think we should spread the word about his theory. That way when the time demons
find out we might have another conduit living under our roof, they’ll come to
court Rachel rather than abduct and rape her. The River of Time might be
flowing freely once again, but not every time demon is strong enough to access
it or wield its power. Many of them would still be interested in finding a
conduit.”
“Of course now that Rook is an Elder and Angela is a time
cop, other time demons might think twice about messing with Rachel, conduit or
not,” Doyle remarked.
I snorted. “Time cop?”
“She does help you track down time demons that get out of
line. At first I thought it was a bad idea, what with her lacking supernatural
speed and strength, but then I sparred with her a few times.” Doyle just shook
his head. “Her ability to slow us down gives her just the edge she needs to
come out on top, or at least get away unscathed if she gets in over her head.”
“Does she miss her job on the police force?” Solomon asked,
picking at the label on his beer bottle.
“Sometimes I think she does, but with the River flowing
there are enough time demons getting into trouble to keep all of us busy. The
other Elders and I are actually talking about enlisting help to keep things
from getting out of hand. Our laws are no longer as stringent as they used to
be, but we can’t have people going back to save Hitler’s life, or making sure
he was never even born for that matter.”
“I’m sure you and the other Elders will find a suitable
solution to the problem,” Dragon said.
The waitress came outside then with another round of beer
and snacks, which Dragon had been quickly devouring. She was young with her
blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail, and she was wearing short denim shorts and
a Mike’s T-shirt stretched over her ample breasts. As she collected the empty
bottles she batted her eyelashes and flaunted her cleavage in an attempt to get
Solomon’s attention. When it was clear he wasn’t paying her any attention she
shrugged her shoulders and went back inside to check on her other tables.
Doyle shook his head in disbelief. “Okay, enough is enough.
What is going on with you Solomon?”
Solomon looked up at him in confusion.
“Did you even notice that hot piece of ass practically
shaking her tits in your face?” Doyle asked sitting forward.
Solomon glanced towards the back entrance to the bar and
shook his head.
“Again I ask, what is going on with you Solomon. A few
months ago you would’ve already had that girl twice with the way she’s
practically begging for it. Now, you never go out, you never place bets, and
you don’t even look at women. What gives?”
Solomon looked down at the beer bottle in his hand for a moment
then set it on the table and said, “I haven’t had sex since Travali’s spell
broke and our beasts were returned.”
Talk about your
what the fuck
moments.
Dragon leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. “Why
not Solomon? Why would you go from having sex with at least four different
women every night to not having sex at all?”
Solomon looked up at the sky like he was searching for
answers, then he scrubbed his hands over his face and looked at Doyle. “Not a
fucking word. Not to me or to anyone else. Promise me Doyle or I won’t say
another word.”
Doyle considered him for a moment then agreed, “You have my
word. I will not speak of this to anyone, not even you, unless you change your
mind and decide you need someone to talk to.”
Solomon took a deep breath then said, “I’m not physically
able to have sex anymore.”
“What?” Me and Dragon exclaimed at the same time that Doyle
asked, “Are you saying you can’t get it up?”
“Shh, keep it down, would you?” Solomon demanded, looking
around to make sure no one could overhear our conversation. “Look, I don’t know
what’s going. Every time I get close to a woman my dick gets hard so that’s not
the problem. I can have all the foreplay I want as long as the clothes stay on.
Once the clothes start coming off though, my fox goes ape-shit, my dick goes
limp and all my hopes of actually having sex fly right out the window.”
We all looked at each other for a moment then Dragon asked, “Have
you met anyone that might be your mate?”
Solomon shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of. Nobody
stands out in my mind and my fox certainly hasn’t let me know he finds anyone
particularly attractive.”
Dragon leaned back and sipped his beer. “Have you dreamed of
any females? Sometimes our beasts find our mates and lead us to them through
our dreams.”
“I’ve been having the same dream every night for months. It
always feels like there’s something I’m supposed to do or find, but I never see
any females in the dream.”
“Do you see any males?” Doyle asked with a grin. “You wouldn’t
be the first shifter to mate someone of the same sex.”
Solomon glared at Doyle who just shrugged while Dragon and I
tried not to laugh. We all knew it was possible for shifters to mate the same
sex, but that only happened when the shifter involved already leaned in that
direction to begin with.
“We’ll take that as a no,” Dragon said after a moment. “I
believe your fox senses your mate and is trying to lead you to her. Why it’s
taking so long...” He trailed off and shrugged his shoulder. “I would advise
you to focus on your dreams looking closely at every detail no matter how
insignificant it might seem. You could also try letting your fox have the reins
for a while. Maybe he needs his freedom to hone his instincts.”
“I’ll give it a try, thank you for the advice My Lord,”
Solomon said fisting his hand over his heart and bowing his upper body to
Dragon.
Just then the band went on break making it possible for
anyone with supernatural senses to hear the TVs spread around the bar. The TV
closest to us caught all our attention when a reporter asked, “Can you tell us
what happen Lieutenant Vaccaro?”
After weeding out the cops that had already been corrupted
by vampires we decided Detective Vaccaro was the best person to take over
Lieutenant Taggert’s old position. Since she had no family or close friends to
speak of, we faked her death and moved her across the country to start a new
life free of vampire mind control. From now on we would keep a better eye on
the local police to avoid problems like this in the future.
“Late last night Quentin Andrews, the man convicted on all
counts in the Red Light Vampire case was found dead in his cell having
apparently hanged himself. He was due to be transferred upstate to the
Mississippi State Penitentiary this morning...”
As the newscast continued Doyle snorted. “Yeah, like we’d
let scum like Quen live the life of luxury in a human prison. They don’t
torture their prisoners nearly enough.”
Setting my empty bottle down on the table I shook my head. “I
still can’t believe he knew all about us and he was working for Travali the
whole time he was partners with Angela. If it hadn’t been for him Rachel never
would have met Kaleb or Danarius.”
When Dragon looked inside Quen’s mind he discovered that
Quen knew all about our world and was hoping to become a vampire someday. He’d
been cozying up to Travali for years by supplying him with girls for his
brothels through Kaleb. On top of that he’d been grooming Rachel to be a
prostitute since the first day he met her. Once she turned eighteen he began
personally training her to please men sexually and planned to have her work for
him at an escort service he operated here in the local area. His plans were spoiled
however, when Kaleb met Rachel and thought she would be perfect for Danarius.
“He wanted to be a vampire, now he’ll get his wish. Too bad
for him he’ll be locked in our dungeon for the rest of eternity,” Solomon said.
The venom in his voice and the vicious glint in his eyes were both
uncharacteristic, but Solomon took Rachel’s well-being very seriously. In the
time they’d spent together he truly had come to see her as a little sister and
he would make sure Quen paid for every second that Rachel suffered because of
him.
Suddenly my body tensed with the feeling that someone was
watching us. Sitting forward I focused my attention on the tree line not too
far from the deck. The others noticed my distraction and began reaching out
with all their senses searching for trouble like I was.
“A fitting end for a man of Quen’s moral fiber,” Danarius
commented, coming out of the shadows where I’d been concentrating my search.
“Damn vampire,” Doyle swore. “Always the party crasher.”
Danarius came closer then walked up the stairs and leaned
back against the wooden railing across from Dragon. The need to spill his blood
burned through me like wildfire. I wanted nothing more than his death but I had
to look at the bigger picture. Since Travali’s death there hadn’t been one body
dumped on the beaches behind Myths and Legends. There had also been fewer
attacks on our people worldwide from vampires and not even Doyle could find
trouble in New Orleans.
“This is starting to become a bad habit for you Danarius,”
Dragon told the vampire.
“It’s difficult to approach you in that castle you call
home. Your sorcerer’s wards are nearly impenetrable. Out here or even in
Forbidden Fantasies you are more readily accessible.”
“You could try calling, or I’m sure you could find some other
way to contact me and set up a meeting if you wanted to talk.”
“Perhaps,” Danarius agreed. “I’ll consider that next time.
For now I’ve come to give you a peace offering.” He gestured to the trees and
another vampire materialized with Ivanna bound and gagged at his side.
The closer they came I expected to feel the effects of her
pheromones, knowing she had to be terrified of what Dragon would do to her, but
there was nothing. Not even when she was pushed to her knees at Dragon’s feet
did I feel a single twinge of lust in the air.
Raising an eyebrow I looked at Danarius who grinned back at
me and said, “She will never incite lust again.”
Dragon stared at her for a moment with fire in his eyes then
asked Solomon to open a portal into one of our cells. Once Ivanna was pushed
through the portal and it closed behind her Dragon asked Danarius, “What do you
want?”
Danarius looked back at him and shrewdly said, “I want
continued peace between our people. Beyond that, I want to be part of the new
leadership I see forming in our world. I am not the only one who thought
Travali went too far with his plans. There is a growing consensus that some
form of ruling body is needed to prevent the type of catastrophe he would have
caused. From what I hear, many of the old councilors who sided with you on
important matters plan to attend the annual tournament scheduled to take place
at Supernova next month. I want to be there as well.”
Dragon and I had already discussed this possibility. Neither
of us liked Danarius, but he was now the leader of the largest group of
vampires in all the worlds combined. Dragon glanced at me, asking what I wanted
him to do. Even knowing it was the right thing to do for his people, he would
tell Danarius to go fuck himself if I didn’t agree to this.
“Where do we stand Danarius?” I asked the vampire.
“As far as I am concerned our business is finished. Your
insult has been repaid and unless you wish to have further hostilities between
us, I have no quarrel with you Sa’jon Ruk.”
I held his gaze for a moment measuring his sincerity then
inclined my head to Dragon. I would rather see Danarius dead, but he had the
strength and intelligence to make a good leader. We needed someone like him in
charge of the vampires if we wanted continued peace in our world.
“We’ll plan on you being there. We can work out the details
once you’ve made an appointment through my secretary.” Dragon told Danarius,
grinning when the vampire’s eyes flashed black for a moment.
Danarius left without any further discussion and the band
came back on stage. Before they started playing again the singer announced, “Diane
is in the house again!”