CHAPTER 12

 

 

 

Reality was a bitch.

He knew it, lived it every morning when he returned to the mortal plane. It tugged him forward now, his insubstantial self fading. He returned to the cold in a snap. The transition was easy for him—one he’d done millions of times over the years—yet it had never been this hard to leave. Especially when there was something—someone—he desperately wanted on the other side.

He shook the ice from his hair and wiggled his toes to get the blood pumping in his extremities again. “Damn this cold weather. I think when this is over, we’ll take an extended vacation. Someplace warm and inviting. Maybe St. Thomas.”

Karsia remained unconscious in his embrace, though she wouldn’t stay so for long. He was taking a chance by leaving her in a deep comatose state. But it would be better for all involved if she stayed that way while he figured this out. More’s the pity.

“Time to get you back to your family, my dear.” Morgan struggled to rise.

He drew away from the alley and glanced down the street, right and then left. He’d never been to Chicago before, which made navigating the streets somewhat difficult. He’d followed Karsia into the city on foot, a feat even for an immortal, as whatever power inside of her made her inhumanly fast. The kind of fast that made thirty miles of distance pass in the blink of an eye. If he were any other kind of creature, he would have lost her, unable to follow at such high speeds.

As it was, he cut the time by slipping through the dream world and coming out on the other side. He wished he wasn’t rusty. Doing the same for the return trip would be the easiest solution. He just didn’t think he could accomplish it with Karsia in tow. Who knew what would happen if the thing woke up mid trip.

“Still. There has to be an easier way to do this.”

Morgan closed his eyes and shielded them from view, drawing on his inherent power of invisibility. It took only a thought to take them both out of sight. Another thought and a pair of large black wings burst from his back. Feathers flapped in the winter wind, eyes shifting color to an unearthly green as he lifted his head and caught the scent of a cross breeze.

He sought the threads spreading across the land, the links between every single living organism under the sky. Drew his brows together when he saw nothing.

“Damn it.” He closed his eyes and drew in a steadying breath. Don’t be so hasty, Morpheus, he admonished. Still, it was odd when two minutes went by and he only then caught wind of Karsia’s energy signature, a wan shade, winding from the area of impact back the way they came. Leading directly to the large house in Lake Forest, on the verge of fading.

“There you are, you rascal.”

Must have been too much excitement. He was a little rusty. Morgan grinned devilishly and flexed his knees for takeoff. It had been a long time since he’d flown for the fun of it, and longer since he’d done it outside of dreams. It was exhilarating. Another deep breath filled his lungs. His blood came alive, each cell and nerve lighting.

He shot toward the clouds, wings expanding, joints near his shoulders working overtime to support the weight of two people. Cricking his neck, he made sure the others were still sleeping where he’d left them on the street. They were in for a rude awakening, literally, the instant he left the scene. The pun made him chuckle.

Trying to focus, he followed the energy outside of the city.

Seeing Karsia—the real Karsia—had been a wonderful experience. Seeing her without barriers was a marvel to behold. He enjoyed her company and could listen to the rolling lilt of her voice for ages.

He was likely to stay in overdrive for hours to come because of their kiss. But responsibilities beckoned, and Morgan had never been one to shy away from duty no matter how he wanted otherwise.

Their trip was over in minutes. Exhaustion swamped him when he landed, two foot-shaped indents forming in the snow. Yes, too long since his last real aeronautical journey. Maybe he wouldn’t need the treadmill or gym membership if he took his damn wings out for a joy ride every now and then.

Sweat beaded his brow and froze while he walked to the house. Bypassing the front, Morgan moved around to the back, using his foot to open the door.

“Hello everyone, we’re home,” he called out, listening to the echo of his voice. The kitchen was empty, the remnants of their food and drink left on the counter for someone else to clean. Heading down the hallway, Morgan peered around corners and into unused rooms until he found a small den with a fireplace and wood ready to be used.

“Hello?”

Morgan carefully laid Karsia down on the lounge, ready for her to wake any minute. Honestly, she should have been up by that point, though she must have needed sleep. Her body’s way of returning to homeostasis. He highly doubted she got much rest.

He grabbed a blanket from an armchair and spread it over her, tucking it in gently, then settled next to her and took a moment to prop up his feet. The cushions softened his weight, much better than the cold concrete of downtown. He’d take a nap himself if he could.

Astix crept into the room without announcement. The instant she saw them, her shoulders dropped. “Yahoo, there you are,” she said, relieved. “I’ve been wondering. You were gone for almost four hours.”

“Four hours? I’m surprised it didn’t take longer. And I’d rather answer to Morgan instead of Yahoo, in case you’re wondering.”

“You were gone long enough,” Astix insisted.

Morgan rose and ignored any awkwardness. “It’s fine. She’s fine, so try not to worry. You’ve had a hard enough day.”

“I think you mean month. Longer.” Astix pushed her hair from her face and grimaced, biting her lip to hold back the tears. “I’m sorry you had to be here for this, although I can’t say it’s much better any other day. You kind of arrived during crisis mode. We’re not normally—” She broke off to draw in a shaky breath. “We’re not normally this fucked up.”

“Lady, you should see my family.” He crossed the fireplace to arrange some kindling amongst the logs. It was a good day for a fire, he thought as he reached for a long match.

“Too much to handle right now. Mister.” Astix shot the label back at him as she moved toward her little sister. She used gentle fingertips to rearrange the girl’s hair and examine her face for marks. Though she saw nothing, it did little to ease her worry. “What happened?”

“She thought she could take on the world by herself. Some place called the Claddium?”

Fear flashed across the other woman’s face. “She didn’t. She wouldn’t!” A second glance at Karsia, and Astix’s expression changed. “Yes, she would, especially now. Please tell me no one was hurt. We don’t need to make bigger enemies than we already have.”

“Don’t worry. Like I said, everything is fine.”

Astix sank to the floor and rested her back on the lounger. Her pale skin stood out against the dark leather. “What happened? If you have to make something up to protect my feelings, tell me nothing happened.”

The fire sprang to life and ate up the paper and twigs with an orange-red glow. Heat came later, almost an afterthought. “Nothing happened. Really. I stopped her before she did something foolish. Although I was nearly too late. She took down one building and was gunning for another. We almost had a mob situation on our hands, but I…ah, this is awkward. I put them to sleep.”

“Was there a man with light-colored hair and blue eyes? Shitty attitude? Please tell me he was there, and please tell me you put him to sleep like a rabid dog.”

“I do remember a particularly grotesque fellow matching your description. I left him in the middle of a dreamless nap. I can’t promise he won’t have a little frostbite on his toes.”

Astix sent him an appraising look. “Thank you for being there. For keeping Karsia from doing something stupid.”

Morgan nodded curtly. “Where are the others?”

“I’m not sure if she told you. We’re wanted women,” Astix explained, the words sounding like the beginning of a bad joke. She kicked off her boots, setting them to the side and stretching out her legs. “We’re public enemy number one for the Claddium. We took a risk by being here today.”

“You’re on the lam?”

“Until we find the Harbinger witch and restore the veil before the eclipse, we’re not safe. Aisanna attacked my soon to be father-in-law, along with the head of the Great Lakes fire elementals, destroying her own shop and the neighboring buildings in the process. Needless to say, Orestes was not too pleased. He’s holding my twin in custody and has been gunning for me since day one. I’ve been banished since my Awakening.”

Morgan understood then. “You’re the one with your father’s magic.” He saw the embarrassment she tried to hide, then caught a sudden flash of a face in his mind’s eye. The cold-eyed man who confronted them in the street. “Wait a minute. Did you say father-in-law? You want to willingly tie yourself to that thug? Takes a lot of guts.”

“Yeah, well, love makes idiots of us all. Turns us completely insane.” Astix quirked her lips.

“I’ve heard that the best people are.”

She continued to speak, playing with a loose thread hanging from her shirt. “Leo and I have a cabin. Our little blank spot warded to the point where no one can find us. We’ve been living there until we find a way to deal with this mess. Christ.” The underside of her arm boasted lines of ink rippling over her skin in patterns. “It’s ridiculous.”

“I don’t know you, but if you don’t mind me saying this, it appears you’re holding up very well. You’re a strong woman, like her.” Morgan gestured toward Karsia.

“I’m not holding up well at all,” Astix admitted. “I feel dead inside. None of this should have ever happened, and somehow I can’t shake the feeling it’s my fault.”

“Funny, Karsia said the same thing. How do you figure?”

“I’m going to assume she told a bit about me and my history. You should know, most days, I wish I hadn’t come back. If I’d stayed away then they might not have become a target. But then I wouldn’t have met Leo and found the love of my life. I’m selfish.”

“You are not selfish,” Morgan countered. “It’s the sadness talking. Your family needs you to be here.”

They were a family of self-sacrificing women, he concluded. Each one willing to fall on the sword for the other and take the lion’s share of blame for herself.

“Like you said, you don’t know me,” Astix said sadly. “I appreciate the sentiment and I wish I could believe you, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.” She rubbed her eyes again, the corners raw from a sleepless night. “Although I can see why Karsia likes you so much. She wouldn’t have brought you here if she didn’t.”

“I’m a good listener, if you need to talk.”

“I’m better at action.”

Morgan settled in an armchair and made himself comfortable. There was tension in her shoulders, he noted, watching her with a professor’s critical gaze. He saw bits and pieces of Karsia in her, their soft rounded lips and upturned eyes similar. Where the youngest was full of sunny optimism, Astix was a realist. A woman shaped by circumstances and made hard on the outside. Capable of doing what needed to be done without complaint.

He felt his expression soften when he remembered her dreams. The dreams he’d given her to make up for those same circumstances. She might have a hard shell, but a good and decent heart lay underneath. She deserved more than life had given her.

“Do you think you’ll need to resort to violence?” he asked.

“I’ll do what I have to, to protect my family. My first priority is finding the one person who can put an end to this mess.”

“The Harbinger witch. I’ve heard.”

Astix nodded. “I don’t know why I feel comfortable telling you this. I don’t even know you. My mother’s grandfather was an oracle. A seer. His prophecy had to do with the lunar eclipse and the coming of the Harbinger witch.” She played with her fingers. “My mother seemed to think it was me.”

Morgan opened his mouth to answer when a scream cut through the room. Bloodcurdling. Terrified.

Morgan and Astix were on their feet instantly. Karsia sat bolt upright on the couch, eyes as wide as two moons and mouth open wide.

 

**

 

She watched them watching her. Felt the heat of their gaze and the weight of their intentions. They wanted to keep her there for observation, like a mental patient or a prisoner waiting for sentencing.

“What…the hell…did you do to me?” she demanded. Her finger pointed at Morgan’s face. “You.”

He held his hands in front and tried to ignore her scowl. “I did what anyone else in my position would do. You were out of control and needed to be stopped.”

“I don’t need shit from you. You think you can do whatever you want and touch me when you please?” Morgan was, Karsia vowed, a dead man. She bared her teeth.

“Why not?” he countered. “You do.”

She thrust the blanket aside and stood. “Fuck this!” She sent him the vilest look she could muster, then turned to Astix. “You guys suck.”

“I had nothing to do with this, so don’t look at me,” Astix said.

“I’ll take the blame. You needed to be dealt with.” The instant Morgan said it, Astix sucked in a breath and Karsia went wild.

“Dealt with?”

He held his hands in front of him. “That was the wrong thing to say,” Morgan backtracked. “I meant, you wanted me to help you and I intervened on your behalf. You weren’t yourself.”

Her fist went toward his chest and missed by mere inches as he dodged the blow. “You had no right to interfere.”

“I wouldn’t call it interfering. I would call it assisting.”

Astix’s eyes volleyed back and forth between them, fearful for one or both to explode. Happy when neither did. “Ooh, boy.”

“Whatever you did to me before won’t work this time. I’m on to you.” Karsia shook her finger in his direction. “You won’t get the drop on me again. They will pay for what they did to her. All of them will.” She slowly rocked forward and scratched her arms. “All of them.”

Astix let out a singular bark of laughter. “This is insane.”

“You’re damn right it is. And I can fix it if you let me out of here right now.”

“Absolutely not. You aren’t thinking straight. I’d like to speak to my sister, please. The one I know is down below.” She shifted on the balls of her feet, starting toward the lounge.

“You’re already speaking to her,” Karsia snapped.

“I know exactly who I’m speaking to and it’s not the person I want.” Astix calmly sat back down and crossed her legs, putting on a façade for the sake of everyone in the room. “I will shove more gemstones into your chest if you refuse to listen to reason.”

“What is there to be reasonable about? Tell me!”

Astix narrowed her eyes. “I refuse to talk to you when you act like this. This person I don’t know. Because my sister wouldn’t have even thought about trying to burn down the building where my fiancé works.”

“I didn’t do a damn thing, thanks to this asshole.” Karsia jerked a finger over her shoulder. “Who needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut and his nose out of other people’s business. And you better back away from me right now, Astix, before you get hurt. I have no interest in teaching you a lesson but I will if you force me.”

“Both of you need to calm down so we can talk rationally,” Morgan interjected.

Karsia made a rude gesture. “Shove your rational talk where the sun don’t shine.”

Astix huffed. “You could have killed Leo, Karsia.”

“So what?”

Her words hung tensely in the air. The den filled with heavy silence.

At last, Morgan spoke. “Let’s table our conversation for later, shall we? I took care of those few people, the Claddium members, right?” He looked to Astix for approval. “I left them sleeping on the sidewalk before anyone could get hurt. But when they wake up, they will come for her.”

“Nothing new.” Astix’s eyes tightened at the corners. “Never a moment’s peace with those guys. How long do you think we’ll have?”

“Who’s to say? It could be hours or minutes.”

“Why didn’t I think about this sooner? Orestes will definitely be gunning for us now. It doesn’t give us a lot of time to prepare.” Astix glanced around the room, once a physical reminder of the vast separation between her and her family. That time seemed like it had happened to a different person. She had a whole new life to plan, and she hoped, when the battle was won, she would be able to come back to her family and feel whole. It had taken too long to feel comfortable again. She would be damn sure to make up for lost time if she had the opportunity.

“I brought him here to help me find a way to push Darkness out of me,” Karsia said of Morgan. She sat next to Astix, perched on the edge of the lounge cushions, eyes round in zealous fervor. “But let me use it! This power. I can use it to avenge the wrongs and to save our asses. To get Orestes to leave us alone.”

“You can’t use it, Karsia,” Astix said.

“Mom is barely hanging on. We’re alive and so are the people responsible. Use me to punish them. Then we’ll find a way to fix me.”

If I want to be fixed.

“No. It’s wrong and you know it. Or rather, you used to know it.” Astix tried to think logically. She tended to go off at the mouth for no reason without regard to the consequences. Leo was much better equipped for diplomacy, and she wished desperately for him to be there. To guide her.

Karsia got to her feet with a snigger. “You’re weak. All of you. To think any of this is going to stop once I’m back to normal. I’m the only one who can go up against these people and come out unscathed. What do you think you can do? With your piddling magic?”

“Aren’t these people your governing body? Are you sure you want to start a war with them?” Morgan asked.

“I’ll start a war with whomever I please. I’m more than capable.”

Astix bristled. “You better stop right there.”

“Stop what? Telling the truth?” Karsia waved her arms dramatically. “You want me to stop because you can’t handle it. You’ve always been—”

Astix raised an arm and in the blink of an eye, purple light surrounded Karsia, pinning her in place with arms splayed to the side.

Her black gaze swept violently over them as she fought against the hold.

Morgan jolted and fell back against the bookshelf. “What the shit?” The glow from several spheres of black obsidian and amethyst around the room caught his attention.

Astix approached her sister until they were a breath apart. “Do not mistake my compassion for weakness. I am not afraid to get nasty if it’s for your own good. We are getting this thing out of you.” She leaned in closer. “Tonight.”

Her fingers snapped and she whipped around toward Morgan. “Professor, with me.”

“What are you two going to do? Fuck?” Karsia laughed maniacally. She tested the invisible restraints and found them strong. “Take him, I don’t care. I don’t care what you do! I’m the only one with enough balls to follow through with anything meaningful. You’re weak. Weak!”

Morgan ignored the harsh words and followed Astix to the corner of the room. She drew on more gemstones to surround them with a partial barrier no sound could penetrate.

“Are you—” he began.

She shushed him until she completed the spell and let out a breath of air. “Anything you can remember about the tablet you found, you need to tell me now,” Astix told him in a hushed whisper. “I can’t go off half-cocked when I don’t have all the information.”

“I’ve been looking,” he insisted quietly. “I haven’t found anything so far.” He wished he had better news for her. “There’s nothing written about a reversal. Once two people take up the position it seems to be permanent until another takes their place. It’s dependent on free will. The stone merely retells the details of the story hundreds of years after it actually happened. It’s not like we’re talking about a first-hand account.”

Astix blinked rapidly. “Would it help if I took you there? To the stone?”

At once he focused his full attention on her. “You know where it is?” Morgan’s heart fluttered and he looked down at the small woman with a new respect. She seemed too young to have such weight on her.

“Yes. Will it help? You’re clearly more than you appear. I’m not sure what you are, man or god or somewhere in between. But I can recognize the bigger picture and a far greater power at work here. What do you need from me?”

He considered the possibilities. The tablet he’d helped translate mentioned the stone as part of a story. A key component too fantastical to be real. The possibility of seeing it now…it was better than the best Christmas present.

“It may help. I’m still not sure what to do.”

“We’ve been working on gathering research since the incident, Aisanna and me. And we think we’ve found a way to force Darkness back into the stone. I wasn’t sure about it, too many missing pieces in the picture.” Astix cracked her knuckles and glanced around Morgan toward Karsia. Though they heard nothing she saw the girl’s mouth moving, forming creative and horrible obscenities.

“How will you do it?”

“I have to keep a few things up my sleeve until we know more. Can’t have you telling her accidentally and spoiling it.”

“I would never!”

“And I can’t take chances. Please understand.”

“Seems fair,” Morgan amended.

“It’s getting worse so we need to hurry. Do you think you can help?”

“I’ll do what I can, though I make no promises.” He spared a glance at Karsia. “For some reason, I find myself willing to do anything for her.”

Astix shrugged the collar of her coat higher. “Join the club.”