BumperWillow trotted along beside them with her tail wagging and tongue hanging out. Selyn led them through the main room and down the hall to the quarters Dawson had prepared.
She kept glancing back, shocked to see that the one who had destroyed so many lives was nothing more than a tall, gray-haired man who didn’t appear at all big and strong or even particularly dangerous.
No, he just looked like a slightly inebriated older man in a wrinkled robe who needed to fix his messy hair. She stepped aside when they reached the room. Dax and Eddy walked Artigos inside and then helped him lie down on the big bed. Eddy carefully removed his sandals, while Dax helped center him so he wouldn’t fall off.
Even knowing what evil he had done, they treated him with respect. Confused, Selyn stayed back, out of their way.
Dawson left a cup of water beside the bed and checked to make sure there was cool air circulating from an overhead fan. He stopped Dax with the light touch of his hand. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”
Dax nodded. “He should be. The longer he’s out, the better. He’ll need to be well rested before we try removing the demon from him.”
Dawson paused and stared intently at Dax. “You’re positive he’s possessed?”
Dax shrugged, staring at the chancellor. “I can definitely sense demonkind in him. It’s difficult to tell how powerful it is. Its presence is subtle, as if it consciously hides itself, which makes it inherently more dangerous. I fear it has become more deeply entrenched—a part of him, like a parasite feeding off his soul. Rather than fighting for absolute control of a man’s mind, some demons are capable of melding entirely to the host’s consciousness. They control in a more passive manner, but over time, they control completely.”
Dawson glanced at Selyn, then again at Dax. His eyes looked haunted. “That doesn’t sound good. Does Alton know?”
“Not yet. He’s supposed to call later. I’ll tell him then. It wasn’t until I’d spent time with his father that I could be certain.” Dax opened the door, but he gave Artigos one final look. Then he stepped out of the room with Eddy behind him.
“How long do you expect him to be out like this?” Dawson carefully locked the door. He handed the key to Selyn, folding her fingers around it, before following Eddy and Dax down the hallway. Selyn stared at the key for a moment, surprised at the trust Dawson placed in her. He’d said she would control the key, but she really hadn’t expected him to follow through.
He hadn’t even hesitated. Bemused, she stuck the key in her pocket and walked with him.
Eddy glanced over her shoulder. “Alton wasn’t sure, but he expects his father’ll be pretty loopy, at least until tomorrow.”
“Loopy?” Selyn glanced at Dawson.
“In a trance,” he said, laughing softly. “Must be one of those untranslatable words.”
She returned his smile without even thinking about it, and then she realized she couldn’t recall ever smiling as much as she had today. Not in her entire life.
Definitely a day of firsts, and so far, especially now that the chancellor was out of Lemuria and no longer in control of the council, all of them good.
By the time he’d organized a meeting of the council for later in the evening and gone back to Bell Rock where he could use his cell phone to call Dax and check on his father, Alton was beginning to think the coup was actually going to work as planned.
The phone call had settled one of the big issues—Dax confirmed demon possession in Artigos. After speaking with him, Alton agreed that Dax and Eddy should wait before attempting to remove the entity until Ginny could come with DarkFire. Her sword had already displayed more specialized skills. Hopefully, removing demons was one of them.
For now, Artigos was locked safely away at Dawson Buck’s with both Dawson and Selyn watching over him.
It was time to face the citizens of Lemuria. Alton returned to his mother’s quarters. She and Ginny were sitting in the small kitchen area, sipping tea and chatting like old friends. He kissed his mother’s cheek and then leaned close and kissed Ginny’s soft lips. He wanted to grab her up in his arms and take her away from all this, but all he could do was kiss her again. “Is everything okay?”
She smiled at him, and her eyes were twinkling. “Everything is fine. Your mom and I’ve been talking. I know all your secrets.”
“Oh, crap.” He smiled at his mother. “All of them?”
She leaned her head against his side, and looked up at him playfully, the way he remembered from his youth, as if she were just another playmate and not actually his mother. “Well, I didn’t tell her about the blanket you hauled everywhere with you until we had to burn the filthy thing.”
“Gee, thanks.” He blinked suspiciously. “You burned it?”
Gaia winked. Then her expression sobered. “What did you learn of Artigos?”
“There is definitely a demon lodged within his soul. It won’t be easy, but we think we can remove it.”
“And I will have my husband again.” She closed her eyes, almost as if she prayed. Then she stood and shot a sharp glance at each of them. “It’s time. We will install you in your father’s place, and then we can see about making things right.”
Those were the words that kept Alton going through the long night ahead. That, and Ginny’s steady presence beside him. The council members questioned his abilities when they met with them first in private, but he answered their concerns and faced up to their disbelief. When they referred to their leader’s public declaration that Alton was no longer his son, his mother stood proudly and blamed it on her husband’s strange, unexplainable illness. She bravely countered anyone who questioned her son’s ability to lead.
And steadfastly, Ginny stayed beside him. Tall and lean in her black jeans and boots with the purple hoodie that barely covered her slim belly, she stood proudly with DarkFire clasped in both hands. It was impossible to deny Alton’s ability to lead when he carried a sentient sword. Impossible when the woman beside him carried one with the spirit of the Crone, a crystal blade presented to Ginny in a most public yet personal fashion.
The people of Lemuria still spoke of that amazing event, and probably would for many years to come. Ginny’s instant popularity and her dark crystal blade reflected well on Alton.
Long hours later, he took his place as temporary chancellor of the Council of Nine and faced the citizens of Lemuria from the same dais where Ginny had received DarkFire just a few days ago. Though some of the council members disputed Alton’s right, they were overruled by their peers and the overwhelming public approval both Gaia’s and Ginny’s presence had ensured.
The crowd dispersed. Alton and Ginny walked his mother back to her quarters and left her there. She assured them she was fine by herself—essentially she’d lived alone most of her life.
Finally, well into the early morning hours of the day to come, they headed through the maze of tunnels to Alton’s private quarters and a chance for some much-needed sleep.
Roland’s voice slipped into Alton’s mind.
I’ve spoken to Taron. The rest of the swords should be ready by tomorrow, but he has an unusual sword with an even more unusual demand.
The sword has spoken?
Alton clutched Ginny’s hand tightly and stopped in his tracks.
It has, and it’s made a specific request. It said, “You will take me to Artigos the Just.”
My grandfather? He’s been dead for thousands of years. Ever since the move to Mount Shasta.
Roland’s soft laughter was impossible to ignore.
Not according to the very large sword I now have in my possession. The one with the golden hilt and the ruby crystal blade.
Alton glanced at Ginny. She was practically stumbling from exhaustion, but time was growing short.
Where can we meet?
I’ll be at your quarters in two minutes. I’m headed that way now.
So am I, Roland.
He squeezed Ginny’s shoulders as she leaned against him.
So am I.
Chapter Six
“Ginny, putting the swords together was a brilliant idea.”
Ginny stood back, watching as Alton carefully sheathed the strange ruby and gold sword in Taron’s old scabbard. He didn’t touch any part of the weapon, instead holding it with an edge of the blanket Roland had used to hide it. Once it was firmly sheathed, he carefully wrapped the scabbard and sword in the blanket until it was entirely hidden within the soft folds. There was power in this sword—a great and terrible power. They’d all felt it—no one wanted to risk actually touching the thing.
Finally, Alton tucked the wrapped blade under his arm and kissed Ginny much too quickly. “I had no idea they’d actually be able to talk to each other. That was amazing. C’mon.”
Ginny adjusted the sheath holding DarkFire and followed Alton through the portal leading from his quarters. At least now they had an idea where to begin on their search for Artigos the Just. Ginny looped her fingers around Alton’s arm. “I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. Now we know where to start asking questions.”
“We start with Selyn. I wonder what she can tell us?” He kissed Ginny again. “Hurry. Before citizens fill the passages.” Alton took off down the wide tunnel with his usual long strides. Ginny stretched her legs to keep up with him, but she didn’t try to slow him down. There was so much to be done, and so very little time to do it before all hell broke loose.
Literally.
But what an amazing morning. They’d stared at that damned ruby sword the night before until Roland had finally headed back to his quarters and Ginny’d fallen asleep. It had been a startlingly clear dream that had her lining up all three crystal blades on the bed in the early morning hours.
When HellFire and DarkFire had not only acknowledged the ruby sword, but had pledged allegiance, both she and Alton had been totally blown away. The ruby sword had remained mute, though the crystal glowed like fire.
Whatever the swords said afterward, though, had remained private. The blades had glowed and then faded. DarkFire had been the one to utter the name of the woman Roland had rescued.
At least they knew exactly how to find Selyn, which made her the perfect point to begin their search.
Suddenly, Alton grabbed Ginny’s arm and pulled her into a dark alcove. A moment later, a group of guardsmen marched by. Their footsteps echoed against the cavern walls until the measured sound finally faded into the distance. Alton poked his head out of the opening, looked both ways, and then grabbed Ginny’s hand and tugged her along with him.
He glanced over his shoulder, but he didn’t slow his stride a bit. “That’s really weird. I didn’t recognize any of those men. We’ve a fairly small population. I know most of the guards, at least by sight if not by name.”
Ginny scrambled to keep up. “They’re Lemurian though, aren’t they?” They were big men, though. Really big. Taller and heavier even than Roland or the other guards she’d met.
“They are, but where have they served before now? Why don’t I know them?” He tightened his grasp on Ginny’s hand and picked up the pace. She glanced at him, but he was frowning and staring ahead, along the passage, so she raced beside him, running now for all she was worth. Quietly, without further interruptions, they raced toward the vortex.
Ginny wasn’t all that sure of her way around within Lemuria, but she didn’t think they were all that far from the energy veil that separated this world from the portals in the vortex. At this pace, they should be there really soon. But why were they running? Why was Alton so concerned about discovery? “You’re the new chancellor,” Ginny whispered. “Why’d we hide?”
He wasn’t even breathing hard when he answered her. “Roland said not everyone accepts the change of leadership. We don’t have time to convince some hardheaded guard I’m no longer a wanted man for breaking Dax and Eddy out of jail.”
“Good point.” She glanced at the tall, strikingly beautiful man running purposefully beside her and decided that anyone who didn’t admire and respect Alton of Artigos was an absolute idiot. But he was so terribly conflicted right now. She knew how badly he wanted to help his father, to regain the man he barely remembered—the one who had loved the child Alton had once been.
Even stronger was his desire to protect both his world and hers from demonkind. There were so many forces against them, so many things that could go wrong. She hoped like hell they’d all find the happy ending that seemed so impossible at this point.
Ginny was breathing hard and fighting a stitch in her side when the golden veil marking Lemuria’s boundary came into view. Alton wasn’t even winded. She looked at him, and a sense of destiny swept over her, a feeling that maybe, if they could pull everything together, this whole convoluted plan might work.
Though right now, a lot hinged on Selyn’s willingness to help. Ginny hoped the woman didn’t harbor too much anger and too great a need for revenge. Selyn had suffered terribly because of Artigos. Why would she ever want to help them find the man’s father?
Selyn sipped her cup of coffee and tried to decide whether or not she liked the strange brew. Eddy had added some sugar and a squirt of foamy white cream out of a can, and the flavor had been much improved, but now Eddy was gone, and somehow the coffee and cream no longer tasted as good.
Everything seemed different since Eddy and Dax had left, though they’d only been gone a short time. Selyn wondered if it was the fact that her mother’s spirit was no longer here. Not that she’d spoken to Elda again since that one time, but just knowing she was nearby and happy had given Selyn peace.
That, and having another woman around. Now it was just Selyn, Dawson, and Artigos. And BumperWillow, of course, though Selyn found it difficult to count her as an actual woman—not when she barked and chased her tail and liked to stalk rabbits in the yard.
She sipped her cooling cup of coffee and thought of how it had been this morning, waking up in Dawson’s home, seeing him with his eyes sleepy and his hair mussed. She’d felt strange sleeping alone in a big bed in a room by herself, having her own bathing room and private facilities after a lifetime of living in the slaves’ barracks—a hundred women sharing everything.
All of this felt strange. This world, her life. Everything.
She glanced at Dawson. He’d been on the phone, talking to someone at his clinic, whatever that was. She knew he dealt with the health of animals like BumperWillow, but she wasn’t at all certain exactly what he did.
Whatever it was, it seemed to make him smile. Of course, a lot of things made Dawson smile. Often, when she looked up and caught him watching her, he was smiling … or frowning. He frowned, too. He was a confusing man, but maybe all men were confusing. She had so little knowledge of the gender, and none at all of the men of Earth.
This particular man was more fascinating than any she’d ever met. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Why he watched her with so many different expressions.
Earlier, he’d taken Eddy and Dax to the vortex at a place called Red Rock Crossing so they could go back to Eddy’s home in Evergreen. Eddy had decided to leave BumperWillow behind, and that had actually made Dawson laugh out loud. He’d said something about taking his talking dog to the clinic and surprising his staff.
Of course, Selyn knew he wouldn’t actually do anything like that. He wasn’t about to give away the existence of demons or Lemurians or talking dogs. He’d tried to explain it all to her last night, the fact that, as far as his world knew, she didn’t exist. Demons didn’t exist, and dogs hosting talkative spirits were absolutely impossible.
Just like the man locked in the back room. He couldn’t exist either, at least by human beliefs. Selyn knew better. Her hatred refused to allow her to forget his existence. He was awake this morning. She sensed his anger, his desire to escape his prison. He’d kicked the door a couple of times, but now he appeared to be sulking.
She sensed it. All of it: his anger, his frustration—and his demon. There was no denying the fact the man harbored a demon. Dax wasn’t the only one able to feel the evil surrounding Artigos, the deposed Lemurian Chancellor of the Council of Nine.
He was evil all the way through. And he was the one who had condemned her mother to death, the one who had decreed that the Forgotten Ones should never be free of enslavement in the mines.
He really needed to die, and she, quite literally, held the key to his prison. Dawson had no idea what power he’d handed to her when he put Selyn in charge of the key. When he trusted her.
Selyn took another sip of her coffee and studied Dawson over the rim of the cup. Of course, it wasn’t like she could just march back there and kill the chancellor. Not when Dawson had sworn to protect the bastard. Selyn owed Dawson her life.
Somehow, she needed to work through this conflict without compromising Dawson’s honor—or her own.
But how? She had sworn to avenge her mother’s life of slavery and her untimely death. Not only for herself, but for all the other Forgotten Ones who toiled below. But how could she kill Artigos without putting Dawson’s honor at risk?
Something nudged her leg. Selyn glanced down, into the deep brown eyes of that silly looking dog. It was impossible to plot a murderer’s death when a creature like this one was staring at you. “Did you want something, BumperWillow?”
The dog blinked. Then she sighed.
I feel your anger, Selyn. And I must apologize, but I couldn’t help but hear your thoughts. You are conflicted, and rightly so. Artigos has done terrible things, but he does not command himself. Truly, he is not to blame. He is ruled by a demon that has controlled him for many years. The death of Artigos would not avenge the Forgotten Ones, nor would it avenge your mother. It would only hurt Alton and Dawson—two good men who have risked much to help you—and it would destroy the life of a man who is as much a victim as any of the warrior women who died, as much as the women who toil in the mines. Please, think of that when you plot your revenge.
Selyn didn’t answer. She couldn’t. What could she say? Was the spirit within the dog right? Was that old man merely one more victim of demonkind?
She’d have to think about that. Better to be sure before taking a life, especially one everybody seemed so worried about saving. She stared into her cup of cold coffee and realized the person she hated to hurt the most was the man standing across the room.
“Ginny just called.”
Surprised by his nearness, Selyn blinked and spun around on the tall stool. Dawson was no longer across the room. He was right beside her. She hadn’t even realized he was there.
He was so close she had to blink and refocus her eyes to see him, yet she felt no need to back away. He smiled with just the corners of his lips as he stuck his phone in his pocket, and she had the odd feeling he was laughing at himself.
That made no sense. No more than the fact he’d reached for her and now lightly ran his fingers down a long curl of the black hair hanging loosely over her shoulder. His gaze shifted from her eyes to his fingers. He seemed mesmerized by the lock of hair he now curled around his hand and slowly rubbed between his thumb and forefinger.
“What did she want?”
He blinked and raised his head. “What? Who?”
Selyn covered his fingers with hers. Wrapped her hand around his. “Ginny. You said she called. What does she want?”
“Oh.” He laughed, and his face flushed. It appeared humans blushed exactly the same way Lemurians did.
Interesting.
“She called to tell me they’re at the portal and need a ride here. Alton has something he wants to show you.” He shrugged. “No idea what. She didn’t say. The thing is, I’m not comfortable leaving Artigos here alone, even locked away, and while I hate to leave you again, I’d feel better if you were here to keep an eye on things. Do you mind guarding the fort for a few minutes?”
She shook her head, still bemused by his blush. What could it mean? “I was fine when you took Eddy and Dax,” she said. She turned his hand loose. His fingers dropped away from her hair.
“You were hardly gone long at all,” she added. “I’ve got BumperWillow to keep me company.”
He laughed and ran his hand over the dog’s curly head. “That you do. I’m glad she decided to stay.”
“Together we will guard your fort.” She watched the way his long fingers slipped through the dog’s curls and felt a strange yearning inside. So much she didn’t understand. So many odd feelings, so much about this man.
He glanced up and stared at her for a long moment. Then, almost as if he were as bespelled as the old man in the other room, he slowly straightened, reached out, and cupped her jaw in his hand.
His touch surprised her. The other had been almost accidental, as if he’d touched her hair without thinking, but this time, the intimacy of his hand cupping her face so carefully was a more conscious act. He was very gentle for a man. Surprisingly gentle, though she’d known that from the beginning. Still, she wondered if she would ever be totally comfortable when a man touched her, knowing what violence they were capable of.