-25-
We appeared in a hallway, and the Kris Dagger buzzed and started to glow. I willed it to behave. These were my people, after all, including the dark lords. “Hermonite Lodge, Private Club and Restaurant” was written in white on a dark gray wall. Bran stopped outside a set of double doors.
“About this outfit,” Bran whispered.
The appreciative gleam in his eyes said he liked it. Still, I had to ask, “You like?”
He made a face. “No, hate it.”
If we were alone, I would have elbowed him hard. “It was meant to make a statement.”
“It’s loud and clear—majestic, don’t-mess-with-me-or-else leader. The Guardians now know who they’re dealing with.”
I glanced over his shoulder. The senior Cardinal Guardians weren’t too happy. The younger ones were having a serious discussion about the way I had changed. Dante stood apart from them.
“The new policy of no killing, did you plan it before you left the island?”
“Yes. I didn’t really believe they had Father.”
Bran’s eyes roamed my face, then a gentle smile tugged the corner of his mouth and his dimples flashed. “So, what’s the plan?”
“The Guardians cannot come inside with us. Sir Malax and Lady Nemea made their move when they left the island. But being seen with the Guardians will seem like I’ve rejoined them. I want the people to understand it is us against the dark lords before we can bring the Guardians into the equation.”
“That’s a good idea,” Cardinal Moira said, and I looked up. They’d all moved closer while I was talking and I hadn’t even realized it.
“Thank you, Cardinal Moira. There are dark lords inside mingling with regular Hermonites, and they are not above telling everyone I’ve switched sides when I’m supposed to be neutral.”
“Supposed?” Cardinal Seth pounced again.
“Eventually I will be, but right now my people need me. They are divided and it’ll be easy for them to lose faith in me and my father. Chances are a few dark lords will teleport to tell their leaders that I am in town. You guys follow them.” My eyes met Lottius’s. “You stay with the Guardians.” I nodded at the sisters and Locke. “You three, come with me.”
Bran squeezed my hand and stepped back. He was planning on staying with the Guardians. “Your place is with me.”
“I know. We’ll sort that out later. Right now, you need to go and do your thing inside so we can find your family.”
You are my family, too.
And proud of it, he said.
I was sure the others overheard us, but I didn’t care. My gaze swept the Guardians’ as I repeated. “No vanquishing.”
“As long as we kick ass,” Sykes said as he elbowed Remy.
Remy didn’t react. He had been watching me with a pensive expression since they’d appeared. Kim and Izzy didn’t like the changes in me, but they nodded, as did Cardinals Moira and Janelle. Cardinal Seth studied me as though trying to separate the girl he once knew from the woman I was becoming. His emotions were easy to read. He didn’t know what to think of me, which was good in my book. As long as I kept him off-balance, he wouldn’t go against my wishes.
My eyes met with Lottius’s, then Dante’s. Keep an eye on Cardinal Seth.
My place is with you, Princess, Dante said.
I’m asking you to help find my father.
He didn’t like it, but he nodded.
I turned and willed the doors open. Time seemed to slow down as I entered the restaurant. The Kris Dagger vibrated again, but I willed it to behave.
The entryway had chest-high walls to my left and right. Everything was familiar—the heavy curtains and paneled ceiling, the comfortable leather seats, the wraparound bar dominating the center of the room. The customers ranged from powerful Hermonites in their expensive suits and dresses to Subsixer laborers. I guessed Gavyn’s club welcomed all Hermonites, not just his snooty, power-hungry buddies.
“The princess,” someone said.
People got to their feet and bowed. I recognized a few from Lord Zhane’s party. I did my princess thing, nodding, waving, and smiling. The bartender watched us warily. Gavyn appeared beside him before we reached the bar.
You shouldn’t be here, Lilith, he said.
Yet here we are. Could we get my friends drinks? I turned and faced the room, still waving. A few tables were empty when they’d been occupied seconds ago. Yeah, go ahead, traitors. Lead the Guardians to your leaders, I thought. Two guys built like pro wrestlers left their table and approached us. One had a long hair and beard, and the other wore a Mohawk. I didn’t get negative vibes from them, and the Kris Dagger stayed calm.
They bowed and did the hand-to-chest thing. “We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you to show you our loyalty is with Lord Valafar and the House of Neteru,” Mohawk said.
“You’re not from the island?”
“We are, but we work on an oil rig off the Gulf of Mexico and just came into town to listen to your father’s speech and grand ideas. Everyone’s been talking about it,” Long Beard said.
I’d bet Lady Nemea and Sir Malax had started that rumor. What grand ideas? “You should come home and listen to him.”
“I plan to, Princess,” Mohawk said. “In a couple of weeks.”
“Good. Make sure you stop by the castle for a visit and ask for Sir Callum.”
“My sister told me about you, Princess,” Long Beard said. His gray eyes were familiar. A quick mind read and I knew he was.
“You’re Ruby’s brother,” I said.
“Yes, ma’am, uh, Princess,” he said, his neck turning red. Despite the beard, he looked young. Mid to late twenties. “I apologize.”
I touched his arm. “You don’t need to. I hope you’re going home to visit, too. We need more able people helping out around the island.”
He nodded. “Yes, Princess.”
As though their courage had opened a floodgate, more people got up and came to shake my hand, ask about things at home. Subsixers and regular Hermonites all cared. The dark lords stayed back.
We found them, Lil, Bran telepathed me. Their energies are low, but they’re alive.
Any casualties?
Not yet. We’re plowing through them. He humphed and I felt a sharp pain on my arm.
He had just gotten hit on his arm. Be careful.
Always. I should be done in five minutes. Ten, tops. How are things?
Okay. I’m talking to people. Focus. I’m feeling every hit.
He chuckled. Then quit talking to me, woman. Sum it up and meet us at Keiran’s.
I stopped the flow of people with a raised hand. “I want a chance to sit down with all of you and talk. But tonight, I came to meet my father, and then we’re going back home. He’s asked me to convey to you a message. He needs you. Our people need you. If you haven’t heard, Sir Malax left with half the guards and all the knights, leaving us vulnerable. Most of our guards are trainees. Most of them are just like you.”
“Liar,” a familiar voice called from the back of the room, and people turned. Lady Nemea. She was dressed all in black, including a trench coat, like a hunter. Around her waist was a belt with a dagger. I could see the gilded pommel and a green stone in the center of the hilt. It looked like a replica of the Kris Dagger. “Lord Valafar has forged an alliance with the Guardians and plans to destroy us all.”
Everyone turned to see my response. She might be right about my father and grandfather coming to an understanding, but she would twist the truth to make their association seem evil.
“That is a lie,” I said. “I asked Father to talk to my grandfather, who you all know is a Guardian. It is time to bring our people together and stop the endless raids and wars. Are you tired of Guardians hunting you down?”
“Yes.” Their response was slow in coming.
“Are you tired of losing your brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters?”
“Yes!” The response was better.
“Do you want to live peacefully, watch your children grow, prosper, and grow old with the woman or man you love?”
“YES!” they hollered.
“Then we will do it, but only if we work together as a people and stop killing each other.”
“That sounds nice, Lilith,” Lady Nemea spat, and heads turned to look at her. “Where are we going to live in peace when the Guardians don’t want us here on earth?”
The focus shifted to me. I had thought about this long and hard.
“We will go back to Xenith where we belong,” I said. “The land Goddess Xenia built for us all.”
Lady Nemea laughed. “The Guardians will never allow us back there.”
“It is not a matter of allowing us. It is about reclaiming what is ours. We belong there as much as they do. I am the Chosen One, the voice of Goddess Xenia and the Principalities, and I give you my solemn promise that we will go home.” I was pushing it, but I had to calm the anxiety bubbling from these people.
“Just because she carries the Kris Dagger doesn’t make her the Chosen One,” Lady Nemea said, lifting up a replica of the Kris Dagger, except her blade glowed. Gasps filled the room. “Anyone can be the Chosen One.”
How did she do that?
The people moved back, fear replacing their curiosity, eyes volleying between me and Lady Nemea. I wanted to reach for my dagger and pull it out, but I refused to play her game.
“Don’t be afraid,” I reassured the people, my eyes not leaving Lady Nemea. “She will not hurt you.”
“That’s right,” Lady Nemea said. “I will not, but she will. How, you may ask? She’s a fake, a Guardian plant supported by a father desperate to have his child with him. Follow her, and the Guardians will destroy you the way they did your families. Follow me, and together we will stop the Guardians.” She raised the dagger in the air. The blade glowed bright.
This was bad. The people were becoming confused.
Do something, Lilith, Gavyn snarled from behind me.
I’m thinking, I snapped.
Then I saw a flash of red in the tear-drop green gem in the middle of the guard and knew how she’d done it. That wasn’t a replica of the Kris Dagger. It was Solange’s dagger, Queen Coronis’s Athame. How could Lady Nemea wield it? Why was the red gem looking like a jadeite? Maybe the dagger wasn’t tailor-made for one wielder like my dagger.
I focused on Lady Nemea’s Psi energy. I’d seen it often enough to know it was red with dark spots. Tonight, an aura of brilliant energy covered it. I didn’t need to connect with it to know it was my own energy. She must have absorbed the drained energy she’d stolen from me and was using it to control the blade. I glanced at the sisters and Locke. They nodded encouragingly. At least I had their support.
“Prove to them you’re the Chosen One,” Lady Nemea yelled. “Show them what your dagger can do.”
No one spoke. Instead, they moved back, leaving a clear path between us across the restaurant floor, their eyes on me.
I knew what she was trying to do. If I attacked her, the people would always see me as a killer. That was not the kind of leader I wanted to be. “No.”
Hatred flashed in her eyes. “See? I told you she wasn’t the Chosen One. She’s just a Special with more powers than the others. The Chosen One is a myth, a story our fathers and grandfathers told us so we could feel better every time the Guardians attacked us. The thought of someone, one person, changing our lives is an illusion. The future is in our hands, not controlled by some chosen person with a special dagger.”
Silence followed.
“Then get rid of me,” I said. “Right here, right now, blast me with your dagger.” Gasps filled the room. The twins moved closer. “I won’t resist and I won’t fight back. I swore I’d never raise a hand against my people again, and I won’t raise it against you.”
Lady Nemea laughed. The demented light in her eyes said she planned to kill me. Fight me, you stupid kid, she snarled, or your entire family is dead. I have your sister, father, and grandfather.
I smiled. My father and grandfather are safe.
She angled her head and asked, Malax, is everything okay there?
No response.
Malax, she screeched.
They took them and trapped us in light cages, he said.
Who took them?
The Guardians.
Lady Nemea’s face contorted with rage. She pointed the Athame at me and green light shot toward me. I teleported out of the way.
“Get out of here,” I yelled to the people, but they only moved, and closer to the walls. No one left. “She’ll hurt you. She has Coronis’s Athame.”
The green light hit me that time, and the impact threw me over the bar and into one of the glass cases. The glass surface exploded and shards rained down on me. Then I realized something when they bounced off me without making contact. The Kris Dagger had created a shield around me. It glowed bright in its sheath.
“Stop this before you hurt someone, Lady Nemea,” I called out, jumping to my feet.
“I don’t care. Fight me, you silly girl. Show these people your true colors. You’re not a peace-loving person. You are a killing machine, a product of the Guardians’ training.” Light shot from the blade again and cut across the room, hitting the counter to my right and leaving a large hole.
A blast of energy shot past me, and the next second, she was flying backwards. She spun, her shrieks filling the room. I looked over my shoulder and my eyes met Locke’s.
“No, Locke. You could hurt her.”
“She attacked you, Princess,” he protested.
“She can’t hurt me. The Kris Dagger is protecting me. See?” The blade was vibrating and glowing in its sheath, but I held it in place. “Get these people out of here.”
“Leave!” Locke and the sisters yelled to the people, but their morbid fascination with the showdown, or maybe their need for proof, kept them rooted in place. Some stared at my dagger, noticing the glow shooting through the sheath and around the hilt. I had to force them to leave before they got hurt. Time to use persuasion.
I order you to teleport—
“I have Solange,” Lady Nemea screeched. “If you don’t fight me, I will give the order and my friends will kill her.”
I stopped trying to persuade the people.
“Got your attention, didn’t I?” she sneered.
Part of me wanted to tell her to go ahead and kill Solange, but another part knew I couldn’t. My father would be devastated if anything happened to her. Besides, she was my sister, crazy and messed up as she was. And this woman was a big part of the reason Solange was like that.
“Fine. But we don’t use the daggers and they”—I pointed at the people in the restaurant—“must leave. I don’t want them hurt.”
“No. They stay so they can see you for who you are.”
A sudden surge of energy sizzled near meand I knew Bran and the Guardians had arrived. They must have gotten tired of waiting for me at Keiran’s.
“Fine. Go ahead and use your dag—”
A shaft of red light mixed with green shot from her blade before I finished speaking. She must have been running short on her stolen energy. Part of me wanted to just stand there and let the shield protect me, but I wanted to smack her. No, beat the crap out of her.
I teleported and appeared behind her. A well-placed jab between her neck and shoulder sent her to her knees. She recovered and turned with a roundhouse kick. I caught her leg and threw her away from me. She landed on a table, plates and utensils flying. She managed to send a blast of the red light my way. I stood my ground this time and it bounced off the green shield the Kris Dagger had created around me. The air displacement pushed me backwards and I nearly tripped on the hem of my dress.
“Use your dagger!” she screamed.
I got inside her head. Do not order Solange’s execution and stop— Her body and features sagged like a cartoon character, the edges shifting and blurring as she shifted into smoke form. The cloying sulfur scent filled the air, making it hard to focus. I tried to lock onto her energy, but it wasn’t easy.
Fully in smoke form, she coiled around my legs like a giant snake. Tendrils curled from the swirling black mass and crept up my body. It was like being touched by thousands of writhing worms.
Okay, this was bad. There had to be a way to stop her without killing her, but I could not let her possess me. Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw the omni energy balls zipping toward her.
“Nooo!” I screamed, my hand extending toward them. They froze above smoke Nemea. If she lifted off the floor, the sizzling red orbs would kill her.
I bent down toward the floor. Go ahead, Lady Nemea. I give you permission to possess me.
Good, she gurgled, sounding like water bubbling through a pipe. I’ve wanted to do this for a very long time.
“No, Lil,” Bran yelled. I glanced at him. He stood with the junior Guardians by the counter. They didn’t look like they’d fought demons. Except for looking slightly disheveled, they were unharmed. He shook his head. I knew what he’d told me about a possession by Lazari.
Did he really think I’d willingly agree to be a host to a Lazarus? I moved closer to the omni balls. Tendrils curled from the mass and crept toward my face. I closed my hands on the energy balls and they hissed into smoke as though I’d dropped them in the water.
Smoky Lady Nemea crept past my mouth and into my nostrils. A chill crawled under my skin and my senses dulled. I grabbed the hilt of the Kris Dagger and the surge of energy packed quite a punch. I sucked in a breath, taking more of Lady Nemea into me.
Damn it, Lil. Don’t let her possess you.
I know. Catch me. I ejected the little of her inside me, locked onto the destructive energy of the Athame, and teleported into Bran’s arms.
My arm shot out. The Athame jetted from the gray, wiggling mass into my hand and burst into flame. A keening sound came from the rippling mass on the floor as it coalesced back to the Lady Nemea I knew.
“My dagger,” she whimpered.
The people in the restaurant closed in on her, their murderous thoughts obvious.
“No. Leave her alone.” They stopped and looked at me in shock. “She’s lost, but when she finds her way, we’ll welcome her back.”
“You are going to be the death of me,” Bran whispered, his arms tightening around me. I closed my eyes tight and exhaled. Then my eyes flew open as a cackle filled the room.
Across the room, Lady Nemea staggered to her feet. “I’ll never crawl back to you, Princess. It is our destiny to go after human souls. More of our people will realize that and join us.” Then she teleported.
“Don’t listen to her,” Bran whispered.
Unfortunately, she was right. Some would join them, but I was determined to lead as many as I could away from the path she’d chosen.
“I want to see my father and grandfather.”
I noticed the weak psi energies of Father and Grandfather before we appeared inside Keiran’s. They were in different corners of the room, divided like the Guardians and Hermonites. Somehow, I had to bring them together. They had already taken the first step because of me. They were going to have to go the extra mile for the sake of the entire Nephilim race.
Grampa was surrounded by Cardinals Seth, Moira, and Janelle, while Father had Lottius. Both were on the floor, still out. I glanced at one corner, then the other. The sisters hurried to my father’s side, the junior Cardinal Guardians to my grandfather’s. Bran stayed by my side.
“Do you want me to take care of Lord Valafar’s psi energy?” Locke asked.
“No, I’ll do it.”
He frowned. He didn’t understand, and I didn’t have the time to explain that I was the link between these two powerful men. I couldn’t favor one over the other.
“Stay with them,” I told Locke, and then my eyes locked with Dante’s. He stood apart from everyone. I moved away from Bran and approached him. I warned the Kris Dagger to keep behaving. “Thank you. You didn’t have to go.”
He bowed, his fist pressing on his chest. “Anything for you, Princess.”
“I’m sorry about the dungeons. I don’t know what my father was thinking.”
He smiled, which made his face look even more gaunt. “It wasn’t your fault. If you want me to do anything else, just send the Llyr boy.”
I nodded. “Visit us on the island sometime, okay?”
He made a face. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s an open invite.” Then I blindsided him with a hug. He stood stiffly for a few seconds, then put his arms around me. I stepped back and studied his face. “Keep an eye out for Solange, okay?”
He nodded, then teleported. I joined Bran and started across the restaurant toward the Guardians. “Solange wasn’t with them?”
“No. Does she need rescuing?”
“In more ways than you know, but we’ll have to find her first. Just not tonight. The people on the island need to see my father.”
I skirted around the chairs to where the Guardians were gathered. The senior ones moved out of the way as I approached. My heart pounded so hard it hurt to breathe. I had faced Evil Nemea without breaking a sweat, yet the thought that my grandfather would hate the changes in me, maybe even look at me the way the Guardians had earlier, scared me.
I studied his pale, lined face. The gray beard and hair. He looked older. As though someone had superimposed a different image on his face, I saw a younger Grampa laughing at something. I smiled. Then the image was replaced with another one of him pushing me on a swing while I squealed. I couldn’t be more than five. I saw Grampa taking pictures while I blew out candles, watching me with pride as I wielded a wooden sword.
The images flooded my head like water busting through a dam. Grampa showing me how to drive our old RV, doing a trick for terminally ill kids at a hospital, on stage at the circus…
The memories rushed back—every forgotten laugh and smile, disapproval, tears, and fears. My chest hurt and I realized I had stopped breathing. I gulped in air, tears filling my eyes. Familiar arms wrapped around me from behind and I leaned against the familiar broad, hard chest.
“You remembered,” Bran said.
I nodded, laughing through my tears. “Everything.”
“I knew you would.” He pressed a kiss against my temple. Take care of him. Your other people are getting antsy.
I knelt by my grandfather’s side, took his hand in my left hand, and grasped the Kris Dagger with my right. His energy was so low that I had to replenish mine as I fed him.
“You mean her memories were gone all this time?” Izzy asked, but I didn’t listen to the response Bran gave her.
Closing my eyes, I linked our energies, tears still racing down my face. I could feel him grow stronger, as though I was infusing him with the will to live. His fingers twitched and my eyes flew open. After another ten minutes, he squeezed my hand, and then his eyelids fluttered and finally opened.
I smiled. “Hey, Grampa.”
“Sweetheart,” he whispered. He sat up, reached up, and wiped my cheeks. “Are you crying over this old geezer?”
“No, I have soap in my eyes.”
He laughed. “Come here.”
I put my arms around him and pressed my cheek on the top of his head. His hair had grown longer and he was a little frailer, or maybe I just wanted to believe he’d missed me and not eaten well. I leaned back and studied his face. Tears shimmered in his eyes.
“Come on.” I helped him up, kissed his cheek, and hugged him properly. “I missed you, Grampa.”
“And now you’re squeezing the life out of me.” He leaned back and grinned. “Look at you. You’ve gone and grown up on me.”
“I still need my grandfather to tell me everything will be okay.”
“I think our roles are reversed now. I”—he glanced at the others—“we are going to depend on you, and not just to tell us everything will be okay.” He cupped my cheek. “You’ll make sure everything is okay.”
I laughed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I glanced over at the Hermonites. “I have to go now. I’ll visit. We have a lot to talk about and make it all right.” I glanced at the others.
We hugged again, and then he pressed a kiss to my temple. I love you, kiddo.
Love you too, Grampa. It wasn’t hard to walk away this time. This was one journey I was making willingly.
When I reached my father and the Hermonites, I waved to the Guardians and knelt by my father’s side. Bran sat on a chair behind me, his warmth comforting.
I took my father’s hand. He looked so peaceful. I brushed the hair from his forehead and smiled. His energy was reddish with dark spots. I knew what that meant now. He’d done terrible things in the past. Over a century of bad things. But he was making amends. Maybe his energy would be purified. Maybe not. It didn’t matter. He was my father and I loved him.
I linked my energy with his and slowly revived him.
He opened his eyes, saw me, and smiled. I grinned back. “You gave me quite a scare, Daddy.”
“I didn’t mean to.” I helped him up. He pressed a kiss to my temple. Not the side Grampa had kissed, or that would have been weird. Then we hugged. “Somehow, I knew you’d find me,” he whispered.
“Not without help.”
Keeping an arm around my shoulders, he turned and thanked the sisters, Locke, and Lottius before studying Bran. I couldn’t tell whether he was pleased or disappointed by his presence. Then he surprised me by shaking Bran’s hand. “Thank you.”
“We couldn’t have done it without her, sire,” Bran said.
Finally, Father turned his attention to the Guardians, who hadn’t left. though they kept their distance. He gave a stiff bow and Grampa responded. I didn’t know what that bow meant, but it filled me with optimism. I waved to the Guardians and watched them teleport. Father’s eyes were narrowed on me when I glanced at him.
“Your memories…”
“…are back,” I finished.
A flicker of something flashed in his eyes. Wariness or fear, I couldn’t tell. To reassure him, I reached up and kissed his cheek. “We’ll talk later, Dad. Right now, we need to go home. I promised our people we’d be back tonight.”
A spasm crossed his face, but then he pressed another kiss on my forehead. “Yes, daughter. Let’s go home.” His eyes went to Bran. “I take it he’s coming, too.”
I hid a smile. “I don’t know. Are you?”
Bran shot me a look that said try and stop me. “If it’s okay with you, sire.”
“Somehow, I have a feeling the decision is not up to me,” Father said. “Come on, children. Let’s go home.”
Bran reached for my hand and the two of us led the way back to the island.