Goddess Rising, page 20
My senses filled with the smell, feel, and cosmic vibrations of weres, vampires, fae, and more. My samples were relegated to the one table currently at the center of George’s attention, and I took just a moment to twist them into something incomprehensible.
It wouldn’t stop what they were doing, but it would slow them down. Humans were motivated and innovative regarding this type of thing, so they’d plow forward. I reached as deep as my senses went, twisting and untwisting until their samples were a jumbled mess. I was too late for the DNA report, but I’d seen it many times and wasn’t worried. It was inconclusive and messy. Once it had actual question marks on it. Technology hadn’t caught up with the intricacies of supernatural DNA.
“Rerun it,” George said, not yet looking up. “Your husband’s genetic material may have made a hybrid prototype, but I’m not sure how,” he started, turning to face me. “Without access to their notes, it’s a guess. We’ve tried multiple approaches but haven’t had anything survive beyond the Petrie dish.” He shook his head as I kept silent.
I knew the initial attempt to make supernatural soldiers involved full-grown adults, not cells on a slide. Of course, I said nothing.
“Your daughter seems unimpressive, no offense,” he continued. My attention swung to him because I would kill him if he said much more about Sephone. I could give him a one hundred percent blockage of his Widowmaker vessel that no cath lab could fix, and no one would be the wiser.
“She’s simply fae with a little bit of human far down her family tree, and like most modern fae, seems to have little or no magic. That’s why we need you, Mrs. Hennessey. You’re a throwback to when the fae were great. Powerful. All-knowing. We’re not sure how or why, but those recessive genes thrive in you.”
“How did you get my daughter’s DNA?” I asked, keeping the question as innocent as possible while my blood boiled and I plotted the man’s death.
This anger. This fury is why the US government worried. I could go nuclear. In fact, I would go nuclear if some asshole like this went after my family.
“The same as any law enforcement agency. She threw a cup away. We took it. The sample is only enough to test, of course. But don’t worry, unlike you, she’s not interesting to us.” He smiled like his words would bring me comfort.
And this is how hubris got you killed.
There were so many good things about being drugged and dragged here that I settled back to let him keep flapping his gums. They thought modern fae were weak, putting them squarely in a humanoid box. That was a good thing. They hadn’t managed to recreate the monsters made from Coi’s blood over two decades ago. That was another good thing.
Sephone was uninteresting to them. That was a very good thing. They’d stalked my family, which was a very bad thing. For them.
I’d learned they made a serum that could take me down. That was a good and a bad thing. The way my body worked, the poison would likely be ineffective if used again, but that didn’t mean others couldn’t be affected. Others like my children, parents, and possibly even Dani. Knowledge is power.
This particular group’s knowledge was outdated, but surely they shared it with other fringe groups, which meant the fae were doing an excellent job of keeping their strengthening powers a secret. That was another good thing.
But what if they shared Godlantium with others? What if, as humans do, they kept innovating? We were in danger, but at least I knew that now. Knowledge is protection and power.
As pissed off as Aedan would be about this, it was a successful little side trip I hadn’t known I needed to take. And on top of it all, I’d destroyed what I could of their research. It was a win-win all around.
“Back to your husband,” he droned on, making me smile a little to look impressed. “The Godlantium comes from his blood. We’ve heard the rumors. Heard the stories. Aedan Hennessey is a fae-vampire hybrid created by the Gods. His DNA is unlike any we’ve ever seen. Vampires, by nature, are simply altered humans. Take away the vampirism, and their genome is human. Mr. Hennessey started as a fae. Old fae. He was never a standard vampire because his DNA was altered at a most foundational level. He’s always been something more.
“We may not’ve replicated the prototype, but we did make Godlantium. His blood is the basis, though, and we have a very short supply, hence the second reason you’re here. The one thing we know for sure is how protective he is of you. He’ll come, and then we’ll have you both. That will change everything,” he finished, clasping his hands in front of him as he waited.
And I was speechless.
All in all, it wasn’t a terrible plan. Not taking into account that Coi would rip them to shreds. As I’d grown, so had he. The metal on my wrists was nothing. Maybe it would hold a witch. Maybe a weaker fae, but not Coi. Not me.
I had to escape before he found me, killed these people, and ripped apart their Fischer-Price lab set. I mean, the last part was okay by me, but it would be hard to cover up so many deaths. There were a lot of people in the building, some of whom might be innocent.
I reached out with my senses one more time, looking for stray building blocks of the universe that didn’t belong, and destroyed them with a thought. I couldn’t sense any caged beings, but I wanted to make sure before I escaped.
“As enlightening as this conversation is, I have to pee and am quite starved,” I added.
He sighed, showing his irritation that I wasn’t as impressed as he’d hoped. Maybe he wanted tears and begging but wouldn’t get that from me. I’d heard enough, though. “Take our guest to her room,” he said.
Four men stepped from corners I hadn’t known they’d hidden in. Gas seeped into the box around me, and I caught a hint of Coi’s smell beneath the scent of chemicals. How? How could his blood affect me when I sometimes drank it? How?
But it did. I tried to sift away, but I couldn’t. Nothing happened when I focused on my Irish home or any other. My head dropped, and I felt my strength leave, realizing my situation might be more complicated than I thought. My vision dimmed, and awareness narrowed until I only knew that I smelled blood, honey, and fall leaves until I knew nothing.
Chapter 27
Coimeadai
For a moment, I felt her, and that feeling pulled my head to the south as if on a tether. But the feel was gone as fast as it came, replaced by gauze and only the faint knowledge that Lara was alive. I felt the veins pop on my forehead, and my eyes bleed impossibly light. My fangs lengthened to their entirety, and the room went still as the barometric pressure dropped as it will before a storm.
Oh, and it would storm.
This desire to rend my wife’s enemies would break over her foes like a tsunami, ruining all in its path.
Seal glanced at me, giving me a silent command to control myself, but I didn’t think that was possible. My growl echoed through the throne room, making hairs rise and primal instincts scream. They may be kings, but I was the apex predator, and they knew it.
The males at my daughter’s side stepped toward her, not away. Seeing the movement, my reticulated gaze turned to them, venomous and ready to strike.
“Daddy?” she said, her sweet scent turning sour with fear. “Daddy, stop,” she demanded, stepping forward and away from the boys. “This isn’t helping.”
And just like that, the growl stopped, and my fangs retracted. “You will not tell me when enough is enough, Princess. You may be my world, but your mother is my life. Careful,” I warned, but the wildness receded with her warning, and the storm calmed a degree, if just one.
Papers I hadn’t known were swirling settled, and the temperature in the room rose a few degrees. My mother-in-law rose to her feet, her gaze wary and sharp. My family had no occasion to see the stretch of my power as our life was mostly peaceful, and they forget. Everyone forgets.
They forget I am the born son of one Goddess and the mate of another. They forget I was the most powerful Fae ever made before my DNA was twisted. After the Twist?
Well, I was more.
“Let today be a reminder,” I snarled, giving the fae queen and kings my back as I stormed away.
Once upon a time, a different fae queen threw the lifeless body of my first wife and unborn child at my feet.
Once upon a time, I destroyed that empire, almost eradicating the Fae race in my anger, for they’d tortured and abused me. Raped me. Chained me. Changed me. That change had made something the world had never seen, and I almost destroyed it because they’d taken my family.
Now?
Oh, now it would be so much worse because I was so much worse.
I did not pity whoever held my wife now. They would die. They would all die. How dare they take her from me?
“Coi. Stop.” My mother’s whisper and sad gaze brought my eyes to her as I flew across the pavers toward the Inn to regroup. “We’ll find her.” Her hand touched my arm, quenching my anger from molten metal to a honed blade.”
“And I will burn the world to ensure it,” I replied, sifting away. Let them hunt their way. I would hunt mine.
Jeremy startled when I entered his rooms at The Warehouse. “Someone has Lara. I need to know who.”
“On it, Dad.” He was on his feet in moments, no questions asked. I followed him to the office, where his fingers flew over the keyboard on a sleek, state-of-the-art machine.
His eyes watched multiple monitors, scanning information as it scrolled across their screens. “This may take a minute,” he said, never looking my way.
I poured myself a drink, sitting in a deep leather chair. Jeremy was incredibly good with computers and the internet, and there was nothing he couldn’t find. He had hacked into so many systems as a teenager that the government tried to recruit him; only his parents and I had kept him free of their clutches.
Knowing what I know now about their long-range plans, they had likely wanted an insider from our family as well, and I was more grateful than ever that we’d kept him free of it.
“I’m following a trail,” he commented, not to me, more to himself. “It’s deep.”
I had every faith and confidence in him. Lara had saved his life as a child, and they had bonded as close as any parent-child might. He loved her.
“She’ll be fine, Dad,” he added, not taking his eyes off the screens. “She’s a badass.”
“She should not have to be,” I sighed, rubbing a hand down my face. I was tired, weary more like, but sleep would not come until my wife was by my side.
“You’re right. She shouldn’t, but she is. We’ll get her back if she doesn’t save herself first. Not much can hold her.” His head jerked vampire-fast between screens and words as his fingers typed far faster than any robot could. It was eery and unsettling to see.
“That is what worries me. Nothing should be capable of holding her. Why hasn’t she simply sifted back to us?” I admitted, finally sharing my worry because Jeremy was as much a son to me as Sephone was a daughter.
“Then there’s a reason she’s staying. We’ll figure it out, Dad. Don’t worry.” His breath hitched, and his fingers sped up until I could not see their movements.
“All I do is worry,” I mumbled, knowing he would hear anyway.
“Gotcha!” he said, slinging himself backward and turning to face me. “Deep, deep on the dark web, there is mention of a “corporation acquiring an asset.”
My eyes bled a shade lighter, and I felt my fangs itch in their desire to draw blood. I no longer fed from anyone but my wife, but I made exceptions for whoever harmed her. They would die, same as all the others.
He returned to the computer, his head moving like a snake’s when it sights prey. “Testing is so far inconclusive,” he continued. “Godlantium worked.”
“That’s what pops. It’s all encrypted, but they didn’t try to bury that as deep. I’ll work on the rest of it.” Attention riveted to his screens, he hummed as he worked.
“Can you trace the IP address?” I asked, finishing my whiskey in one sip.
“Of course I can. I’ll need a few minutes. I can text or call when I get it.” He did not stop working to answer, but I knew when I was dismissed.
“Thank you,” I said as I set the glass on the bar.
“Anything for either of you, always,” he responded as I sifted away.
The throne room was empty save for my mother and Airmed, who had their heads together over a map.
“The Huntsmen are in the New World and being pulled south,” Mother said without looking from the map.
“South where?” I asked, remembering the way my head turned for one brief moment.
“South in the New World,” she answered, making me smile at her delineation.
“We don’t have many travel Ways in the Southern Hemisphere, but Dani sifted us to the US briefly, which was not far south enough.
“How could they travel so fast?” I asked. “Are they using magic? Possibly opening portals?”
“Possibly,” Airmed answered. “Maybe they have a private jet. They may not be on the ground yet. All I know is Seal’s pull is far, far South. Ravena’s boy and another strong Huntsman are with him, and they all agree.
I nodded. “Jeremy has found information on the dark web pointing to an asset acquisition, testing, and something called Godlantium. I believe they are speaking about Lara. He is chasing the IP address and will let me know.”
My mother-in-law growled, and I wanted to join her in the sentiment.
“We’ll find her,” Mother said, placing her hand on my arm.
“Oh, I know. We will most assuredly find her and make them pay.” My fangs lengthened at the prospect and what semblance of control I held to fled.
Chapter 28
I woke slowly, my head throbbing as I struggled to sit. I lay in a bed, on top of the covers, cringing at the thought that someone put me there. I hated it. Hated being touched like that. It was intimate and personal to place someone on a bed, especially when unconscious. Even though I was untouched, I was still very much offended.
The room I opened my eyes to was clean and devoid of personality. No windows looked to the exterior, so I had no reference to where I might be. The bracelets still decorated my wrists, and I tried to pull them off. Tried to sift away. Tried to do anything other than get angrier.
The last time I woke up from the Godlantium, it had taken a bit for my power to return, so maybe all I needed was patience. I hated how the drug made me feel and knew in my bones that more was involved than Coi’s blood. However, he had the blood of a Goddess in his veins, two actually, and who can say how that could be twisted.
My headache eased, and I took a second to map the room. An open door led to a tiled floor and what I assumed was a bathroom. Another open door showcased clothing that appeared to be my size. The number of clothes revealed that they never intended to let me go.
I couldn’t see cameras but could feel them in my soul. The room smelled like disuse and loneliness. Those things would not be my life. I’d see to that. Power trickled through the bracelets, but not enough to help. Human slow, I made my way to the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.
I couldn’t see or feel cameras and felt a little better about drinking my fill from the faucet before emptying my bladder. The shower was large enough to be inviting, and I decided to take advantage.
I turned the water on hotter than Georgia asphalt hot and let steam blur the room's corners before going to the closet and grabbing a pair of jeans with the tags still on and a tee shirt. Let them think I would comply, but what I needed was out of that dress and into something comfortable. Embodying Grace Kelly couldn’t help me now.
The door had a lock, so I turned it and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water soothe me. I washed everything quickly, feeling power trickle in despite the metal on my wrists.
How could we not have known about something like this? Dani was The Great Goddess of the Universe and The Maker of All Things, how had she missed a substance that would disable her? I didn’t know, and it bothered me.
I rubbed soap on my wrists and tried to wiggle them off, but they were too tight. I sighed, frustrated, and continued my shower until the only thing left to do was get out. I toweled off, dressed, and ran my fingers through my hair before calling it done and exiting the room.
A tray of food waited on the dresser, but I worried it was laced with more drugs and ignored it. Pacing the room once before lying on the bed, where my eyes drifted shut almost immediately.
My eyes opened faster this time, but the disorientation was no better because I wasn’t where I’d fallen asleep.
“There’s our newest kin,” the voice was so gravelly as to be hard to understand. “We were wondering when you’d find us. Danue keeps you away.” My head slow-turned toward the sound to find something incomprehensible. The power levels in the room were enough to crush me had I not had magic to hold myself up.
A pile of gray stone that I realized was flesh sat on yet another pile of gray stone so that it looked like one thing. Its, or his, eyes popped open, redder than the fires of hell, and I stopped breathing. Two sets of horns graced the sides of his head, the second pair more prominent than the first. They were gray like his exterior, the only color being his eyes. Two smaller horns reminiscent of a traditional Halloween devil’s costume curved from his forehead, only this was no holiday.
“You’ve scared the girl, Tartarus,” my head craned toward the words to find a withered old man sitting on the same colorless rocks. He had a giant hourglass around his neck like some musician’s fashion statement, and I wondered for the second time what the fuck?
“Where am I?” I asked, pulling myself to my feet before I noticed that I wasn’t quite right. It was like a part of me had sifted here but left another part behind. I wasn’t precisely corporeal, more not there than there. It was disconcerting.
