Kissed by Eternity (16 page)

He nodded. "I agree."

I drew him away from the others. "To change the subject, have you ever heard of our father purchasing a plot of land in Michigan?"

He stared at me like I'd sprouted wings. "Seriously? You're looking for, what, a vacation home now? Weren't you trying to save the world two minutes ago?"

I snorted. "Don't be an idiot. Inigo and I found a deed to some land our father purchased before I was born. Do you know anything about it?"

"No." He sounded curious. "Is it important?"

"I think so. The land is in my name, too, but he died before I was born and my mother chose my name. How did he know?"

"How strange. Maybe Tommy knows?" He waved Tommy over.

I repeated my question for Tommy. "Nope," he said thoughtfully. "Your father never spoke of it."

My father never spoke of it. Interesting turn of phrase. "I didn't ask if my father had spoken of it, I asked if you knew about it."

Tommy's expression didn't change. The man was an enigma. "So you finally found the connection."

"The connection?"

"Well, if you're asking about Michigan, you must've found the connection. Your father never mentioned land there, but I once saw it in his memory. I knew it was important, I just didn't know how."

I stared at him. "You didn't think to mention this before?"

He shrugged. "Wasn't the right time."

Tommy and his mystical whatsis was enough to drive me crazy. "Fine. Anything else about it?"

"Just that one day you would need to go there."

"Well, I'm going there now that things are under control here. Apparently that's where Alister went."

He pondered that. "Interesting."

"I guess."

"Keep me posted in any case," Trevor said.

"I will."

He walked back to join his men, and I turned to Kabita. "Time to head back to Portland. It's time to go after Alister and finish this once and for all."

Chapter 20

I was surrounded on every side by swirling masses of dark, ominous clouds. Lightning streaked across my vision, nearly blinding me. My heart beat so loud, it was a wonder it didn't deafen me. Inside, my powers roiled, pushing at my insides like they wanted to destroy me in order to get free.

Why was this trip so much worse than the last? I pushed my powers down and moved on, ignoring my trepidation. Emory had assured me the portal system was safe. Once it was opened by a witch, anyone could pass through, including a Hunter with far too many powers for her own good. I'd managed it once, I could do it again.

In my mind's eye, I saw the path Alister had taken. Of course, I couldn't retrace his steps from Area 51, but Emory had assured me her portal would open into the first branch he'd taken. From there I retraced his steps as I remembered them from the ritual. At last I came to the final branch. Right or left?

Alister had taken right, so that's where I went. The portal shimmered in front of me, and beyond I saw the tall evergreens, grasses waving in the breeze, and farther on, a large body of water. It was the lake of the Amazons, the place of the last colony of Atlantis. This was definitely the right portal.

As I stepped out, wind swirled around me, lifting my hair from my cheeks. I smelled the trees, the fresh green of the grass, and the tangy scent of lake water. Behind me, the portal closed.

Oddly, I felt none of the disorientation or nausea I'd experienced traveling through the queen's portal. I wondered why? I'd have to ask Emory later. Maybe it had something to do with how the system worked, or the fact that it opened onto my own plane of existence rather than the Otherworld. It wasn't important at the moment.

I glanced around. As far as I could see, there wasn't a sign of civilization. No power lines, no houses, not even a picnic table. Had I gone back in time?

I heard an odd rumbling and looked up. Far overhead was the outline of an airplane. Still in my time. I admit I felt a little relief at that.

There wasn't a sign of Alister. I had no idea where to go, so I headed toward the lake. After all, it was where the Amazons had set up camp how many thousands of years ago. This was where they'd come, so clearly this place was important. This lake meant something.

Sand crunched under my feet as I stood at the edge of the lake. Water lapped at the tip of my boots. Still no sign of Alister, nor was there any sign a camp had ever been built here. It had been long ago, so that was no surprise.

I wandered slowly along the shore, scanning for anything that might show me where Alister was or what he was up to. Suddenly my amulet started burning. With a hiss, I yanked it from under my shirt. The stone glowed brilliant blue against the bright sun. Earth magic was nearby. Was it one of the Sidhe? Had they followed me?

Something a few feet out from shore caught my eye. A partially submerged stone, about the size of an apple crate, was glowing with a faint blue halo, identical to my amulet. Not Sidhe, then. Atlantean magic.

I kicked off my boots, peeled off my socks, and waded into the lake. Brushing moss and dirt from the stone, I could make out deep etchings within the rock beneath. They looked almost prehistoric. I frowned as I recognized the symbols. Ancient Atlantean. This was definitely the spot I'd dreamt about.

Recognition shivered through me as I realized that on this spot, millennia ago, my ancestors had created something, a colony they'd hoped would be a foothold in this new world. How and why they'd vanished I might never know, but they'd come here for a reason. The Amazons had followed for an even more important one. And Alister? He was here somewhere. I could feel it in my bones.

I waffled with what to do. On the one hand, I didn't want more years of washing by water to wear away the symbols on the stone. But to move it was like an archaeologist's nightmare. But what archaeologist in their right mind would ever believe the symbols were from an ancient alien race that had once visited our planet? A race whose DNA now lived inside of me, Jack, Trevor, and countless others. No, they'd lock me up. And then the SRA would find out the truth about Trevor and me. I couldn't have that.

Bracing myself, I tugged at the rock. It didn't budge. I boosted my Hunter strength with a touch of the Darkness. Still nothing. The rock must go deeper into the ground than I realized. I'd have to bring out some equipment later and move it properly. In the meantime, I needed a record of the stone and the markings.

I slipped my cell phone out of my pocket and snapped several photos. I made sure to get close-ups of the markings and wider shots of the stone with the surrounding area. My best guess was that this was some kind of marker for travelers in search of the colony.

Satisfied I had enough pictorial evidence, I waded back to shore, dried my feet on the grass, and pulled my socks and boots back on. I moved along the shoreline, searching for any sign of Alister. There were no footprints, broken grasses, or tree limbs to show me which way he'd gone. The man was the master escape artist.

As I walked around the curve of the lake several hundred yards from the portal, I stumbled upon what looked like an old campsite. Not Amazon old, but perhaps a couple of decades old. Someone had clearly been camping here for many years. And it wasn't my father or anyone else who belonged on this land. My father had been dead longer than I'd been alive, and I hadn't even known about the place. I reached for the knife on my belt.

"And so at last, the prodigal daughter has arrived." Alister stepped out from behind a thicket of trees. The smirk on his face sent my blood boiling. "I wondered when you'd get here. Let the fun begin." He rubbed his hands together in glee.

"This isn't a game, Alister," I said. The knife's hilt was warm in my hands. I couldn't see the grimoire anywhere. Probably he'd hidden it somewhere nearby.

"Oh, but it is," he said, taking a step closer. "And I'm about to win it." His expression was one of happiness, but there was something in his eyes that wasn't quite right.

"Don't come any closer," I said, holding out my hand, palm facing him. I needed him not to be near me. I didn't know what I would do if he attacked. I didn't want to kill him, but I was a Hunter. I couldn't help myself. The Darkness inside me rose, spreading to my eyes. My vision started to tunnel down. I tried to push it back, but the Darkness would have none of it. It was in control, not me.

"Oh, there you are," Alister said, as if greeting an old friend. I swear to gods he giggled.

Images barraged my brain. Images of my father and Alister. Of my father fighting demons and vampires, and laughing while he did it. A shiver went down my spine. I recognized that laugh. It was the Darkness let loose to do what it loved best: kill. More images flooded my memories until one final one burned bright in my brain. Alister thrusting a knife into my father's chest.

I gasped, clasping a hand over my heart. I felt the pain as if it was my own. I half expected blood to seep through my fingers.

"Ah, so you can feel it. Very good." He seemed thrilled by the fact, his aristocratic features twisted in a parody of a smile. There was definitely something off about him. More than usual.

"My father had this? These powers?"

"I don't know what powers you're talking about," Alister said tauntingly. "But your father did have something inside him he called the Darkness. It gave him more strength and power than anyone I'd ever seen. I wanted it. But even in death, he would not tell me the secret. Perhaps you will."

"If there is a secret," I said, "I can't tell you. I don't know what it is."

"Pity. I've been so hoping that you did. But that's all right. I can still accomplish all of my goals without it."

"And what are your goals?" Keep him talking. Keep him talking.

He smirked as he stalked toward me "That would be telling, wouldn't it? Let's just say I have a few party tricks planned."

"You mean you and the Queen of the Sidhe," I said.

His expression grew stiff. "I don't know what you're talking about." But it was clear he did.

I snorted. "Oh, please. You know as well as I do there's no way you could've opened the portal into Darroch's cell on your own. And since there isn't a witch alive who would help you, there's only one other person who could do it."

"Besides yourself, you mean."

How did he know that? "You've been working with the queen. She's the one who helped you kill Brent Darroch. Why?"

"Oh, just tying up loose ends, as it were. We didn't want anything getting in the way of our plans."

"So you admit you're planning something."

"Oh little girl, I'm always planning something." And with that he attacked. I was so distracted, I hadn't seen the gun in his hands until the bullet was tearing through my shoulder.

The scream that ripped from my throat was one of pure rage. I didn't even felt the pain. The Darkness rushed to the surface, pushing it out. I dropped the knife, and it stuck hilt up in the soft soil. Reaching inside myself, I pulled my powers out, running on anger and adrenaline. Icicles flew toward his chest before I'd even formed a thought. Unfortunately, while the ice was fast, it wasn't bullet fast. He dodged, and it splintered against the trunk of a tree. I threw another, this time managing to scrape the side of his cheek raw. A third whistled over his head as he ducked. I was out of ice.

I needed a new tactic. This time I went with fireballs, lobbing them one after another toward my target. He kept well out of the way, ducking and dodging behind trees and shrubbery. At least one of them gave him a good scorching as it passed by, though not enough to cause permanent damage. He started to run, but I sent out tendrils of Earth power, which wrapped around one of his ankles, yanking him to the ground. I strode toward him like a lioness stalking her prey. This was it. I was going to end this. Now.

Chapter 21

I walked toward Alister with a loose-limbed stride I usually associated with much more graceful people. I knew the Darkness shone in my eyes, or whatever the opposite of shining was. I felt it in me, writhing around, saturating every pore. It owned me. And in that moment, I didn't care.

Blood slid from the wound down my arm in a warm trickle. It dripped to the ground, and where it fell, tiny red flowers sprouted. Guess that's what I got for channeling Earth magic while bleeding all over the place.

Alister lay on the ground, pinned by my magic. I stepped closer, and one of his legs lashed out and caught me in the ankle. I went down like a sack of potatoes, pain lancing through my arm as the fall reopened the already healing bullet wound. So much for grace. I could feel that the Darkness was surprised. Maybe I wasn't as arrogant as the Darkness. Or maybe I understood human nature better. Magic or no magic, Alister wasn't going to lie down and give up. He'd fought his entire life pursuing an insane ideal of purity among the races. Or maybe, I should say, purity among humans by the destruction of anyone with magic. He wouldn't give up that easily.

I hit the ground with a jarring thud. It rattled me enough that I lost concentration. The tendrils of magic holding Alister to the ground dissipated, and next thing I knew he was on top me, pinning my legs. He punched me in the face. I turned my head and caught the blow on my cheekbone. It hurt like hell, and I'd have a nasty bruise, but at least he didn't break my nose.

I didn't have enough leverage to punch back, and besides, my right arm hurt like hell. So I clawed at his eyes with my left hand, hoping to blind him. My nails raked a bloody furrow down his forehead and cheek, and he howled in anger and pain. He raised his fist to punch again, but this time I caught it. Channeling my Hunter strength boosted by the Darkness, I pushed his arm back, away from me.

Alister slid a long hunting knife from his boot and raised it above his head. It slashed out, bright against the sunny sky. I threw up my left arm to avoid getting my throat cut. A wide slice opened up on my arm, followed by white hot pain. Bright blood welled in the wound, slowly spilling out of the cut to slide down my arm. The Darkness was fascinated by the red. It wanted to stare at it. Taste it.