Goddess Rising, page 21
My magic thrummed and pulsed around me, pulling tight into a shield. My senses weren’t as sharp as they should’ve been, but the smell of hot metals, sulfur, and steam registered well enough.
“It speaks.” My eyes were drawn to something in the corner, a thing there yet not. It was a discordant mass, moving in all directions so that it held no shape or identifying features. “I did not think it would have the intelligence to speak in our presence.” The voice was decidedly male, as was the attitude, making me stand straighter and pull my power tighter.
“Hush, Son. Don’t be rude to our guest. She is still forming into something,” the old man said, scowling at a point deep within the heap of particles that was the voice.
“Do You Need Another Mate?” the rocks boomed as if unable to modulate his tone.
“Uh, no. Thanks. One is quite enough. What’s going on, why am I here?” I looked at my wrists, where the shadow of the bracelets remained, confusing me. I wore the same clothes I’d gone to sleep in and decided I was in a fever dream. Too much had happened for it not to be.
“It’s no dream,” the void grumbled. “You are here and there.” The huff of his words was unmistakable, and I felt his disdain to my toes. “This was a mistake, Father,” he said, and I felt his attention turn to the old man.
“Silence, Chaos,” he said, turning to me. “I am Chronos,” he added. “Tartarus.” He pointed to the not-so-humanoid rock pile. “We brought you because you’re in a situation. A situation that cannot stand.”
I nodded, knowing what he meant, partially anyway.
“Let me start from the beginning,” he sighed. “Make yourself comfortable.”
A rock appeared behind me at the perfect height of my knees, and keeping my eyes on the creatures in front of me, I sat since I was in no position to argue.
“Before Danue was Dani, she was Gaia; before that, she was the stars. Even before that, she was the essence that made the universe. She was atoms, neutrons, and particles. She just Was. She floated until the concept of time was created, and I was born. Together, we created Chaos, and all things have grown from the two of us.
“She may have created me, but I was the father of her first child and not a child to her myself. We made many creations after that. Once the souls came, We made Tartarus to deal with them, and so on and so on.” He paused, meeting my eyes.
And I knew where I was. These were the Primordials that Dani had threatened, begged, and cautioned never to get the attention of, and here I was, at the center of it. She considered these things a great danger to me, but I didn’t feel endangered. This was her family. Her original family. Still, the power levels in the room were uncharted, so there was that. I held my breath as he continued.
“The thing you know as Dani went from something incomprehensible, enigmatic, and omnipotent to what she is now, a,” he paused, looking for the right word. “Person,” he sneered. “She has limitless power and does not use it. She makes children with creatures below her. She casts small nets on smaller ponds when she could pull the strings of the universe and make it dance to her will.” He stopped, staring at me for a full minute before continuing as he rubbed a hand down his face in a very human gesture. “She’s tired.”
“Then there’s you. You,” Tartarus ground out.
“You are a primordial; act like it,” the vortex growled. “Take her place. The Universe Primordial is ineffective. It needs replaced.”
“Don’t talk about your mother that way,” Chronos threatened, giving his attention to the mass in the corner before sighing like an annoyed parent, a sound I recognized well.
“You are the enigma. You were created to replace her, yet you started as a human and are rising in opposition to her descent. You must understand what you are and are not. You are limitless in that you decide the limits.”
“You are not Fae,” Chaos scoffed, spitting on the floor as the center vortex of his mass changed directions, causing my ears to pop.
“You are not human,” Tartarus added.
“You are The New Universe, the New Particles, the New Creator,” Chronos picked up the thread.
“There is stasis in the absence of creation. A stasis that will not stand static for long. Vacuums are abhorred, and something will fill it. Even I cannot stand for that,” Choas said, their words one coherent message.
“You can only be what you allow yourself to be. In all things. Mother has told you what you are, but perhaps not as succinctly as she should. She has not explained your role.
“Do not allow the scourage of humanity to know our secrets. They grow too powerful as it is. They are too numerous to ascend to levels that would make them happy, for it will accelerate the end of their plane,” he added, and I could feel his glare ignite my skin.
“You are The Creator. You are what you make yourself. Don’t be a puppet,” Chronos finished.
“Dani said I have time to grow. I’m not ready,” I whispered, wind whipping my hair so it lashed my cheeks.
“You have Time,” Chronos answered. A millennia or so, maybe more, but not the countless, endless eons we’ve had. Time waits for no one; it always moves forward.”
I watched the sand fall from the top of the hourglass, one grain at a time. Still, more sand was on the bottom than the top, and I understood what that meant. I lowered my eyes, letting one tear fall. It hit the ground with a thunk, and I was surprised to see a glittering diamond where saltwater should be.
“It is now how it will be. As Below, so Above,” Tartarus soothed. At least, I thought that was his intention since his voice was softer than I’d heard.
I was thinking about Coi and losing him to the stars, and as these Gods seemed to read my thoughts, I hoped that’s what the rock pile meant. I knew Coi’s worries, and he wasn’t wrong to have them. But there was time. Time to figure it out and hope that the God before me was telling the truth. As Above, So Below. As Below, so Above. I would take Coi with me because we wouldn’t survive apart. We could be stars together.
I nodded in understanding. I’d known. Dani told me where my future lay from the beginning, and the Primordials weren’t changing anything or moving up a timeline. It just…it was hard to hear because it was true that I wasn’t ready. Would I be in a thousand years? Two thousand? Who’s to say.
“You are what you wish to be. Do Not Forget,” Tartarus grunted as all three watched me silently until I disappeared into nothing.
Chapter 29
Coimeadai
Australia had no travel ways, and the ones we used to travel through South America became fewer and fewer. We were wasting time. However, we managed to rule out many locations. Even in the southernmost part of South America, the Huntsmen continued to point deeper into the Pacific Ocean.
Still, I seethed. “I will sift with a Hunstman,” I argued, unwilling and unable to be without my wife for another moment.
“We have a treaty with the Australians,” Airmed countered.
“You have a treaty with the Australians. I do not.” I vibrated on a dangerous level, nearly coming apart where I was fused together.
“They have detection technology, Aedan,” she started, and my growl deepened so that her mates slid in front of her as a unit.
They had reason to fear me because the face I showed the world was not my true face. I cared nothing for treaties, niceties, or politics. I would rip through it all to get to my wife. White-blue flames licked across my hands, traveling up my arms because I was The Flame Keeper for a reason. Fire is my oldest magic.
In another lifetime, my fae magic had been taken. Stolen. Rendered inoperable by the twisted curse Lara’s grandmother forced upon me. My wife had given it all back. And more. If they thought for a second I cared about anything other than getting her back, they could fuck right off. I cared nothing for anyone but her.
“Son.” My Mother walked to me, placing a tiny hand on flames rising from my arm, and the flames extinguished. However, the room remained silent as I fought to breathe through my desire to put an end to anyone who stayed my hand. But my wife would be unhappy to come home and find her parents dead.
The silence continued. It was not often that I showed such power, and few knew I had full use of my fae magic. My in-laws forget or choose not to acknowledge such things. They think of me as a son and don’t remember I am millennia older. In the ways of fae, they are still very young. I am not and care nothing for stepping on governmental toes.
Those loose constructs of authority weren’t around when I was born, and they will cease to exist long before I am gone. They meant nothing.
“What about New Zealand,” Airmed asked, turning to the map spread between us on a table. “Its further south. We have one Way in, and they don’t have an express moratorium on sifting.
“Excellent idea,” my mother said. “If she’s there, we’ll know, but if she’s just north in Australia, we should also know.”
“Take Seal and meet us at the Way. You’ll get there well ahead of us and should have made a determination before we arrive. We’ll regroup.”
I took Seal by the elbow and sifted without acknowledging their plan. Our feet touched down in Bluff, near one of my smaller properties, and I let go of Seal’s arm.
Bluff was a seaport town with a population of less than two thousand. I’d once used this place as a rustic getaway from vampire politics, but those days were gone. Lara made a Way when we’d briefly visited once. Quaint and cozy, the place was little more than a cottage I mostly forgot about until I needed to remember.
“We want her back, too,” Seal said, pushing past me to open the cottage door. “You’re not the only one who loves her,” he finished, moving to the brazier to light the dry kindling to chase away the damp chill.
I sighed. “What if it was your wife?” I challenged, already knowing the answer, before he turned haunted eyes to mine.
Running from an attack orchestrated by her mother, Airmed had fallen through a forgotten Way and had been trapped in the New World for weeks. Before the Ways were repaired and traveled, most fae hadn’t known of their existence, and the New World and Old remained separated. Lara had changed that, too.
She will not admit it, but she has changed many things in her short life, likely not even understanding her impact.
Most gave up on Airmed ever returning or believed she died in the attack. But Seal almost died Hunting her, as his magic demands.
Unable to take it anymore, he tried to kill himself by jumping off the cliff where she had last been seen. That’s not the story he tells, oh no. But it is the story Airmed’s other mates repeat on nights when too much alcohol loosens their tongues.
That is the curse of a Huntsman.
They cannot stop until they find their prey or die.
“You’re right,” he acknowledged. “I would destroy it all. I almost did.” His eyes went distant as if those memories were not so far away, and I knew he understood.
We might be alpha assholes, as Lara says. The lot of us. We might be overbearing and protective on the best days, but we loved our women, and there was nothing we would not do for them.
I nodded and grasped his forearm in the old way as understanding settled between us. “Then let us focus.”
Seal closed his eyes, his body swinging to the right. “She is very close. What is south of this point?” he asked.
“Hmmm,” I paused. “To the southeast is Ruapuke Island, and the southwest is Stewart Island. Ruapuke is uninhabited, whereas Stewart has a thriving tourist industry and many places to hide someone.”
“That’s where she is,” he said, his body sagging with relief as he turned toward the desolate Ruapuke. His quarry might not be in front of us, but the answer eased the chokehold of the magic driving him.
“There’s nothing there but penguins and rocks. Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes. It clicked. Lara is there.”
The door to the cottage opened, and the rest of our group trailed in.
“Well?” Airmed demanded.
“She’s on Ruapuke Island,” I answered.
“Then let’s get a boat. Sifting in will take too many trips, and we have no idea what awaits us there,” she said, taking over and showing why she was Queen of the Fae.
“The island is supposed to be uninhabited,” I started. “The seas around it are barely navigable, and they would spot us and possibly hurt Lara before we can extract her,” I finished, the hair on my arms standing at the thought.
The room warmed by degrees as the fire burned, scenting the air with woodsmoke and disuse. But the smell lessened the stronger scent of the sea, and once we rescued my wife, she would have a warm place to return to and recoup if needed.
“I will go as a bird and recon. It’s safer for everyone, especially Lara.” And where my dainty mother, who is also The Great Goddess of The Universe and The Maker of All Things once stood, an oversized Scarlett Heron fluttered, her violet, all-seeing eyes eerie on a feathered face.
This family was nothing if not powerful.
With a squawk, she flew away.
“Whiskey?” I offered, going to the wet bar where a selection of old, single malt choices awaited. I poured glasses and passed them around.
I eyed the raven-haired boy who dared step close to my daughter as he sipped his whiskey. I should kill him now. The need to end him for the possessive way he looked at my child was overwhelming. How dare he insinuate that my daughter needed protecting from me? I would never touch a hair on her head. Still, he reminded me of Ravena, who was like an aunt to Lara and a sister to Airmed, so I held my blade. For now. Not forever.
He met my eyes and held them over the rim of his glass, and my estimation of the boy increased by one point, but just the one. He had strong magic; I could feel it simmering under his skin like slow-boiled tea. Still, he looked away first, and I smirked because he was brave but not stupid. My impression of the boy inched a tad higher.
After what seemed like an eternity but was only a short time, my mother returned, shifting effortlessly into her humanoid form. “The island is deserted. There’s nothing but rocks, birds, and marshland. The fields are overgrown, the birds fat, and the bones dusty,” she started, holding her hand up when I started to protest.
“But upon deeper investigation, there’s evidence of an underground compound. There’s a hidden ventilation system and a rickety dock on the island's far side that’s not quite rickety enough. There’s a path to shockingly even more rocks that isn’t overused but used enough to indicate the occupants must stay for extended periods. Lots of security thingys and whatnots, but it looks easy enough to bypass with enough muscle. I commandeered a boat.” She smirked as the silence dragged on a beat longer than was polite.
Seal started toward the door, and Ravena’s boy followed along with the others while I brought up the rear.
“We need a plan,” Airmed said as the boat launched. “We can’t just bang on the door or knock it down.”
“Whyever not?” Seal asked, crossing his arms and staring at the horizon.
“We need a little time,” the boy said. I should have learned his name, but that suggested he would survive this trip.
“I have birds sitting on the cameras that monitor the dock. That’s all the time we should spare,” Mother added.
“Then we go in hard with the element of surprise,” I suggested because that was the only plan I would get on board with.
Chapter 30
I awoke with a start, the scent of burnt umber and ozone stinging my nose and eyes. My wrists ached from the bracelets. I could chalk it all up to a dream, but I could only pretend so much ignorance. The Primordials were real, and they were right.
The atmosphere was charged and ready to ignite. Something was coming; I could feel it. The air had weight to it that anticipation brings, and I wondered what changed. It’s true that I was what I allowed myself to be, and I wouldn’t be a prisoner anymore, but this heaviness was more than that.
Sitting up, I looked at the bands of metal on my arms and willed them gone. They dissipated like powder in a strong wind, leaving no trace that they’d been there. I walked to the door twisting the knob and demanding it open, and it did. I wasn’t surprised, not really. I’d known what I was.
Still, I’d let others take advantage of me so I could cling to something that was always an illusion. An intricate glamour. A farce meant to protect me from my grandmother. Maybe I’d had zero point something human DNA, but that gene died during yet another time someone had tried to control me. And I agreed with the Primordials that it had to end.
I walked down the hall, feeling the urge to sift away and ignoring it. These people had research they shouldn’t. They’d taken things that didn’t belong to them. I passed a wide-eyed staffer, and it was comical how fast he flung his papers in the air and took off running, his scream something from a horror movie. The papers fluttered to the ground one at a time like falling snowflakes not hurried by the wind.
The scream elicited running footsteps, and a small army of men stood to block my way, guns raised. They froze with a wave of my hand, and I walked through them like so many little GI Joe figurines.
I passed a closed door, then another. Stretching my senses, I found a shifter female and a dhampir male. The product of a turned vampire and human mating, dhampirs were rare, and I can’t believe I didn’t feel these people earlier. Somehow, the floor was warded and warded well. With a flick of my wrist, I tore it down.
After reaching out with my senses with the ward down, I found a few more creatures hidden away in the bowels of the place, the scent of desperation and fear followed them into the hall ahead of me when their doors flew open, and I encouraged them to come with promises and soft words. I threw a bubble of protection around them before we climbed the stairs and fell into the lab as one.
I checked one more time, ripping down wards and obliterating every biological sample, shred of paper, and electronic trace with a thought. I was who I wanted to be, and I wanted to be the thing to destroy this place and protect others.
