Chapter Fourteen
Reya sat on the floor, dipped the cloth in the bowl of holy water, and drew the wet cloth against Thane’s skin. She leaned over him on the bed, careful not to disturb his sleep. The priest stood at the end of the mattress, his hand on the open Bible and praying in murmurs over Thane’s tormented body and soul.
She’d gotten him back, but at what cost? He might never recover. He might be like this forever, trapped between dimensions, and doomed to suffer until his human body succumbed.
Guilt racked her. It was her fault for leaving him alone to begin with. She’d underestimated Darcy and Surt. She’d failed to protect her charge. She’d put the entire mission at risk for a moment of selfishness and pity.
The priest closed the Bible and made the sign of the cross as Reya spread out the cloth on Thane’s chest. She sat back, feeling exhausted. “Do you think he’ll come back?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
He was honest. She liked him for that. She needed that. “I killed a woman today.”
He blinked at her a few times, but there was no condemnation. “Did you mean to?”
She nodded. “Yes. I knew if I didn’t, Thane would never be safe. Never fulfill his contract. The world…This world…” She stopped. It didn’t matter. She’d killed Darcy. “I had to kill her to stop her.”
The priest nodded, clutching his Bible to his chest. “Are you sorry?”
“Yes,” she said. “And no.”
“I understand.” He walked over to her and placed his hand on her head. She felt a surge of power and light, and accepted it, even though she didn’t deserve it.
“You know where to find me if you need to talk,” he said before turning to leave. She stared at the spot where he disappeared up the stairs.
Exhaustion surged over her. She thought back over her many lives and deaths that she could recall. The things she’s said and done—good and bad. Flashes of laughter and tears replayed. Moments in time played out like a video. Weddings, funerals, births, family, and all the emotions we are bound to learn on this little rock speeding through space.
The weight of it all was too much to bear. Reya put her head in her hands and cried. Tears flowed in a trail of pain and sorrow. She cried for her soul and all that she’d been through, all the chances she’d been given, and the people who’d sacrificed to make those chances possible. She cried for the past, the present, and the future of the people she’d loved. Mostly, she cried for this planet and the other souls trying to survive another lifetime. What was the point of it all?
She looked up at the ceiling. “What more do you want? What more can I give?”
There was no answer, not even a whisper.
She wouldn’t call Orson. He couldn’t help her, not with a crisis of faith. Reya sobbed until the tears no longer flowed, and her chest ached.
When she was finally done, she slipped onto the mattress next to Thane, and placed the crystal on his chest. It glowed with an energy of its own, and she hoped it would be enough to save him. She pulled a blanket over both of them and threw her leg over his. If someone wanted him, they’d have to go through her first.
* * *
Surt listened to the report with simmering wrath. Reya had used the crystal’s power to rescue Driscoll and take him back. In the process, she’d managed to send thousands of his people back to the soul world, including Darcy. He was not having a good day.
“Everyone is scared shitless. No one wants to tangle with her,” Courbet said. He was a heavy man, lopsided and lumpy with too much weight and too many chins. His suit was oversized, but not in the right places.
“She’s just a woman,” Surt said, tapping his phone, pretending that he wasn’t worried. “I find it hard to believe we can’t find one brave soul among the billions willing to face her.”
Courbet screwed up his mouth. “They want guarantees.”
He looked up from the phone. “What kind of guarantees?”
“Incentives, you know?” Courbet said with a shrug. “The usual.”
Indeed. For a world that ran on greed and fear, he would expect no less. “Fine. They can be my second in command.”
Courbet blanched. “I’m your second in command.”
“Then I suggest you find yourself a good little army to follow them.”
For a moment, Courbet appeared relieved. “That’s it. Just watch them?”
Darcy may have overestimated her abilities, but she had been right about one thing. Surt didn’t know the location, and he didn’t have the time or energy or even people, apparently, to find out. He might as well let Reya and Driscoll figure it out for him. “Since none of you appear to be able to actually capture them, yes.”
There was a beat of silence. “What are we watching for?”
He was getting really low on intelligent minions. “They need the location for the crystal.”
“Oh,” Courbet said.
Surt waited. Didn’t take long.
“Location for the crystal for what?”
The grid point. The place where Surt would take control of it. But he decided to keep that nugget to himself. Small words were in order. “The crystal’s home. That’s what they are looking for.”
“Oh.” Courbet nodded a few times. “But what if they don’t?”
“Don’t what?” Surt snapped, his patience gone long ago.
He shrugged. “They could just hold on to the crystal and not look for the home.”
It was something Surt hadn’t thought of, and it pissed him off that an idiot of Courbet’s caliber would bring it up when he hadn’t prepared for it. “Because they think we have the location. That’s why we want the crystal. They think they need to find the location before we do.”
“Oh,” Courbet said, not sounding sure. “But we don’t have either one.”
“An astute observation,” Surt said. “That we don’t want anyone to know.”
“Right.” The big man gave a short laugh. “So how will we know when they have the location?”
Did Surt have to do everything himself? “I suggest you find someone to infiltrate their tiny circle. A confidante. Perhaps his police partner.”
Courbet’s face brightened, and he nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
Surt glared as the man blinked in thought for a few moments. Little thoughts, no doubt.
“Today!” Surt hissed.
The fat man leapt back with surprising agility. “Yes, sir.” And exited with haste, leaving Surt to ponder the wisdom of this plan in the hands of morons.
On the other hand, Courbet’s one contribution was to ask a question that Surt had not anticipated.
Two of his best people had failed—Maurice and Darcy. Maurice was intelligent but dispensable. Darcy was different though, with a unique set of skills that he’d miss. She was the best servant he’d ever had. Finding good people took time, and he was working on a replacement for Courbet as fast as he could. His communication avenues were limited. He hoped to rectify that situation permanently.
Until then, he’d have to take a more hands-on approach to this game. He needed a way to push Reya to the next level, to move the game forward with a new urgency, and to further weaken the grid. He needed to show the people of this city their next leader. Perhaps it was time for an introduction.
* * *
Thane stirred. Every movement sent a ripple of pain through his body. Muscles protested. Joints ached. Everything hurt. It felt like the worst flu he’d ever had times ten.
Gingerly, he opened his eyes enough to find out where he was. Bare pipes and smooth white ceilings gleamed overhead. He was back in the church.
Maybe.
Or maybe he was still in whatever netherworld he’d been sucked into. Bits and pieces came to him—reality, dreams, and everything in between, but he had no idea what was what.
Had Darcy really cloned Reya? Had his father really spoken to him, or was it just wishful thinking? Had he died and gone to Hell, or was that just his imagination? He had felt heat so intense, he thought he was burning alive.
Slowly, he noted a warm body next to his. With great effort, he turned his head to find Reya curled up next to him. Her hand was on his chest, holding the crystal.
He remembered her getting him out of Hell. A Hell she’d already escaped from once. Not many people would do that, especially for him. He owed her his life, and probably his immortal soul as well. The voices had swallowed him, dragging him down into the darkness. It was only her voice that had given him the will to fight.
Otherwise, he would have stayed in the darkness. He knew he was going to end up there anyway after he killed Surt. Maybe they’d make him king or something.
Reya stirred and shifted. He could feel her breast against his arm and realized fairly quickly that he was feeling better. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked at her. It was her through and through. He brushed her black hair out of her face, and his gaze dropped to her lips. They were full and beautiful. Perfection.
He didn’t think, he leaned down and kissed her. Soft, firm, and warm. Not like Darcy, not like any other woman. She breathed deeply and kissed him back lightly. He wanted more, but he could tell she wasn’t waking up. He pulled back and looked her over. Was she okay?
“She saved you,” a voice said out loud.
“Jesus Christ!” Thane said and sat up quickly, searching for his gun, which wasn’t there. Pain roared in his skull, radiating through every cell in his body. Then he realized it was only Orson. He was sitting on a folding chair ten feet from the mattress. Thane could see him.
Reya moaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket around her. Thane couldn’t believe he hadn’t woken her. “Is she all right?”
“She will be. It took a lot out of her,” Orson said. He was a short man, elderly with clear blue eyes and an impish smile. He had a notebook on his lap.
Thane moved off the mattress carefully so as not to jar Reya and stood up. His body revolted but held before finally succumbing to the fact that he was up.
While he glanced around for his gun, he asked, “So what’s with you showing yourself to me? Don’t tell me you finally trust me.”
“No, nothing like that,” Orson said.
Then Thane looked at him quickly. “We’re not dead, are we?”
Orson chuckled. “No. Although as you know, dead is a relative state of being.”
“No shit,” Thane said, and realized his gun was nowhere to be found. Must have left it in Hell.
“Where was I?” he asked, even though he didn’t really want to know.
“The fourth dimension,” Orson said. “I’m amazed you survived the journey back. Not many human bodies could tolerate that. I suspect your legacy powers are growing.”
He felt like shit to prove it. “How did I get there?”
Orson shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand if I told you. Did you learn anything from your experience?”
Thane put his hands on his hips. He needed a gun. He wondered if the priest had one.
“Darcy’s dead,” he said. That much he knew. “Dead dead.”
Orson nodded. “Yes, but she’ll be back someday.”
He didn’t want to think about that. He’d had enough of this world and this life, and if he never came back again, that’d be fine with him. “Not any time soon though.”
“No. She’ll need to recover from the violence she experienced and inflicted upon others.”
Thane looked down at Reya. “Will Darcy burn in Hell?”
“No,” Orson said with a small laugh. “She’ll get a chance to choose her path.”
“Even after kidnapping me and trying to kill Reya?”
Orson’s eyebrows rose. “Yes. There is no judge and jury on the other side, Thane.”
What the f*ck kind of system was that? “Then what is the point of trying to be good if there are no rewards in it? Or being a monster if there are no repercussions to worry about?”
Orson smiled. “Everyone screws up. It’s expected. It is how you learn and grow and evolve into a loving being.”
He had a hard time believing that Darcy would ever be a loving being, no matter how many opportunities they gave her. “What about Surt?”
“He’ll get his chance as well.”
Well, f*ck that. Thane better kill him while he was still on this plane.
“So will you,” Orson said.
Thane eyed him. “What if I don’t want another chance?”
“Then you don’t have to take it,” Orson replied as he stood up. “No one is going to force you into the light.”
Good. He wasn’t all that impressed with the light so far. “What about Reya?”
The old man hobbled over to him and looked down at her. “She is finding her way. It’s not easy. It never is.”
“Then why do it?” Thane asked.
Orson peered up at him in surprise. His expression softened. “For love. What else?”
The words sank in slowly but with great weight. Was that why she came for him? Or was it to save her own soul?
“What do you think?” Orson asked.
Thane realized the old man had been reading his mind all along. “None of your damn business.”
Orson laughed. Then he ripped a sheet of paper out of his notebook and handed it to Thane. “This should help.”
The old man turned and started walking toward the stairs.
Thane scanned it, and felt his mood sink. “This is not good news. How can it help?”
“At least you know what kind of trouble you’re dealing with,” Orson said and faded away before he reached the first step.
* * *
Reya was a ball of light floating through space. There was no pain, no worries. No fragile human appendages or lungs or eyes to protect from the elements. She knew and understood everything, but didn’t care to examine it. She could be in one place one moment, and then far away in a flash. Or in both at the same time. There was no beginning, no end, no clock, no here, no there. It was all one universe, all at once. But it wasn’t overwhelming. It was amazing and beautiful.
It was home.
She moved freely, weaving and spinning along a river of light and song, a thousand beautiful voices merging with hers in perfect harmony. A current of love enveloped and held her, buoyed her, and carried her along an endless journey. Emotion welled up inside her, and she didn’t fight it. Instead, she let the love fill her, accepting and relishing it. She was one with the light and the song. With others who knew and loved her.
A discordant note disrupted the flow, and she felt the river shudder around her. No. For a moment, all was calm. Then another discordant note fractured the light.
Stop. She grabbed at the stream, trying to hold it together. Strains of light simply slipped through her grasp, and she felt herself grow cold as the light and song left her.
She awoke with a gasp. It was dark in the basement. She reached over and found Thane asleep beside her. Relief was replaced by sadness as the dream dissipated and reality returned.
“Why?” she whispered to the ceiling. Why show her that, and then take it away? For a long time, she lay there wondering. What would Orson say? He’d tell her it was a gift of truth. Of light and love.
Maybe she’d earned it. Or maybe it was like a carrot on a string. She got up and went into the bathroom to wash up. Her reflection in the mirror was tired and drained.
Hell of a job she had.
She took a long, hot shower, leaning back against the shower with the spray on her shoulders and chest. It felt good. Not as good as floating through space and time, but it would have to do.
When she got out, there were clean clothes stacked neatly by the door. Odd. Reya dressed quickly and exited the bathroom to find Thane waiting for her. He looked no worse for wear after taking a stroll through a few dimensions. He wore a black T-shirt and jeans. The only thing missing was the gun. She liked him better without it, but she understood.
She was tired and discouraged, but she wasn’t alone. This was different than any type of relationship she’d had before. They were as close to partners as she’d ever been with anyone, equals despite the differences between them.
It registered slowly just how much she’d come to rely on him. How much she looked forward to being with him. She didn’t want to be lonely anymore. She realized she wanted him. In every sense, emotionally, mentally, and physically. But would that be interference? Would she further doom him? Could she take that chance for her own selfish needs? She’d already done that and almost lost him. No. This would have to be his decision.
“Hi,” she said, wondering if he’d regained his senses or remembered anything that happened.
“Hi,” he said with a weary smile. “Appreciate the rescue.”
She gave a laugh and waved him off. “Oh, that. Do it all the time.”
He watched her for a moment. “I seriously doubt that. There’s food.” He hitched his head toward the table, and she bolted for it like the starving woman she was.
Ham sandwiches, chips, and bottled water. It was perfect.
“Your gun is under the mattress,” she said as she pulled up a chair and dug in.
“How’d you know I was looking for it?”
Because you want to kill Surt. “Mind reader.”
“I’m beginning to believe you,” he said as he retrieved the gun and tucked into the small of his back. Then he sat across from her, and laid a piece of paper on the table. “Orson was here.”
Hmm, she must have missed that and wondered what else she missed. Nothing good, she hoped. “What did he want?”
Thane slid the paper across the table. “He brought this. And he said Surt was killing all the Gridworkers in the city. Our burn victims.”
She stopped midchew and spun the paper around to face her. It noted that the grid over New York City was weakening at an alarming rate, and accelerating by the minute. Too few grid workers left and too much fear fueling the degradation. No solution was given.
Her eyes met Thane’s. “Son of a bitch.”
“My thoughts exactly. What happens if the grid fails?”
She shook her head and brushed crumbs from her fingers. “Nothing good. The last time the grid broke—”
Thane raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“An entire continent sank to the bottom of the ocean,” she said. “Atlantis. They were once close to ascending, but the dark ones took control and ruined an entire civilization.” He leaned forward. “What are the odds Atlantis could happen again?”
She didn’t want to think about it, let alone say it out loud. “Looks like we’re both going to find out.”