Blood Life Page 16

  Devendra kissed her all over her face and tenderly on the mouth. Alethea felt immense warmth in her embrace.

  Roman led the women into a grove of Redwood trees. They gathered around in a circle, enjoying the silence and peace of the scenery within the blanket of towering trees. Alethea looked over at Roman who massaged at his temples.

  “Roman, I would have come to you,” Devendra started. She called to a distant wolf with mind magic to join them at her side. She rubbed the wolf’s ears affectionately. “This is Sagebrush. She is the leader of her pack and an immortal wolf.”

  Devendra crouched down to give Sagebrush a more decent welcome.

  “Most of the witches who are burned are sent to Nothingness,” she explained. “From there, Lillith takes the souls of as many as She can hold, those who are most deserving of Her mercy. They go to Her lair where She grants them the ability to come back as the animal of their choice or as a mortal.”

  Alethea, intrigued by the story, studied the wolf fearlessly. She bent down to her knee and put her hand out. Sagebrush moved up to her bravely, sniffing her hand before moving to let Alethea pet her. After getting a few good rubs in, Sagebrush fell to her side and offered her belly.

  Devendra laughed. “She knows an animal lover when she sees one.”

  Alethea obliged delightedly. “Please, go on.”

  Devendra looked over at Roman, smoothing her expression. “If these souls choose mortal life, they must wait for a new shell on earth that needs a soul and repeat their sentence of life. They also cannot choose immortality along with their human shells; it must come to them one way or another in life.

  “When they choose animal forms, they are given the choice of immortality right off. If they choose it, so be it. If not, they live a normal life span for the animal they choose. Sagebrush here chose to be an immortal wolf and she has been with me for many years; since before I met you, Roman.”

  Roman raised his eyebrows and looked at the wolf who sat up and watched Devendra pace in front of them as she spoke. “Sagebrush can be thoroughly trusted.”

  Sagebrush was monstrous, terrifying to look at and imagine biting at your throat, but soft, cuddly and beautiful to the eye. Alethea stood up suddenly.

  Devendra smiled at her. “No, Alethea, not my wolves. Never. They still contain the soul of the human they were in life, but also the soul of a wolf. She can understand you, but she chooses not to speak.”

  “Speak? As in English?” Alethea asked, taken aback by such an idea.

  “Yes. I had a wolf once who liked to speak very much. Too much, as a matter of fact.” Devendra laughed softly, then frowned. “He died protecting me. His name was Xraetheos.”

  “I’m sorry,” Alethea said, sadly.

  “Thank you. He could have been saved; I had the ability, but he refused. He was tired. It was his time to go.”

  Alethea nodded respectfully. Roman bowed his head.

  Devendra collected herself and continued. “With Sagebrush, I receive her thoughts in pictures which explain what she is trying to communicate. She will never show aggression unless aggression is due—just like us.” Devendra smiled, warmly, at her wolf. Sagebrush jogged over to her mistress and stood in front of her. “They are protectors, don’t get me wrong, but the hostility is directed precisely, not randomly.”

  Alethea grinned, feeling absolutely out of touch with the mind-reading act. Then Roman’s serious voice broke her insecurity. “Devendra, he’s here,” he blurted to her. “The calls have already begun. He wants Alethea, and if I remember correctly, not for her life.”

  “Yes, I know,” she moved to Alethea, reaching out and running the back of her fingers across her cheek.

  Alethea blushed. Devendra had her in complete awe, everything about her. Her movements, her draping clothes, her dark, silken hair, her sapphire, feline-shaped eyes, her pouty, meaningful lips, her tiny, elegant fingers, her . . .

  “Alethea,” Roman said, snapping Alethea back to the situation before them, “explain your dreams to Devendra.”

  “I already know of them,” Devendra replied, “but if it would make you feel better to get them out of your mind, Alethea, go ahead.” She looked at her softly, studying her as she thought about it.

  They were both staring at Alethea, waiting for her to say something. She opened her mouth to apologize, but was cut off by Roman saying, “Are you all right?”

  Alethea just looked at him, wondering if things would turn out all right. Her gut was not really that concerned about it anymore. With Devendra there, she felt unusually safe and at ease. There was no fear. No terror. She could feel power seeping from Devendra’s energy. It cloaked them like a shield against the outside world.

  “Alethea?” Devendra questioned politely, but Alethea knew she was fully aware of what was going on in her mind.

  “Well,” Alethea managed, “he has threatened me more than once.”

  “Yes.” Devendra sounded sorrowful. She bowed her head and walked away from trees and toward the open land. Sagebrush kept an even pace at her side.

  Roman looked quickly from Alethea to Devendra, and then started running after her. “What do you think?” he asked when he reached her, grabbing her shoulders and twirling her around to face him.

  “Roman, there is something you do not know about me,” she was trying to break away from him. Her expression was tight and full of tension. “I was so ashamed. I didn’t have the courage to admit this to you before, but time is getting short. I know that I have no choice but to do so now.”

  “What is it?” he whispered dangerously, pulling her closer to him by the elbows. Sagebrush stiffened, crouching with her mohawk growing. Roman, hearing a faint growl, looked down. The wolf locked eyes with him as if to warn him not to go any further.

  Devendra whispered to the animal in a foreign tongue. Sagebrush immediately backed away. He hugged Devendra to his chest, wanting to hug away her pain and grief, but feeling a stab of anxiety about what she was about to reveal to them.

  “Roman,” she sighed, wiggling herself from his hold. She turned and gestured for Alethea to join them. “You need to know this. As much as I am afraid you will not be able to accept what I am about to tell you, please bear in mind that it was a terrible mistake that I have paid for time and time again.”

  “Go on,” Roman pushed, his heart rate rising at the ideas that flowed through his mind.

  “Lokee is—” A dark cloud swept over the sky, devouring the moon. Alethea looked up at the clouds as the wind picked up. Her hair blew into her eyes.

  “Devendra, what’s going on,” Roman asked, resting his hands on her shoulders. “You must say it now!” He squeezed his hands on her skin, looked up at the sky, then at Alethea, the ground, and back at Devendra, uneasily. The wind continued to gust, knocking them slightly off balance.

  Devendra grew nervous, anxiety washing through her in waves. She collected all of her hair into her hands, biding time, stalling for as long as possible. Then she decided to let it out, the truth she had held inside for fear of losing Roman’s trust forever and never fulfilling Fate.

  With absolute dread and a stricken face, she yelled as loud as she could, chasing some of the wind away. Nature quieted her creatures, leaving an eerie silence behind in anticipation of Devendra’s confession.

  “He is my son!” she cried, running away in horror of what had escaped her lips. Overhead, the clouds burst into a heavy rain. Devendra stopped when the first drops caressed her face. She stopped and turned back toward the two very confused faces staring back at her.

  Slowly, Roman and Alethea walked toward her, shocked at the news, but eager for her to stay with them and explain herself. What a tale she would have to tell; Roman and Alethea weren’t angry with her, only engrossed in the possibilities.

  What now? Roman thought to himself. What would happen next? Was Devendra trying to save Lokee because he was her natural born son, or was she restless to destroy him? Could she still be trusted with their lives? Wh
at did this mean?

  The trio made the long walk to one of Roman’s Bleu cottages in perfect silence, thoughts running wild and at obscene speeds in each of their minds. When they reached the door, Roman broke the awkward silence.

  “I don’t understand how it’s possible,” he admitted, after drying himself off with a towel and passing it over to Alethea. She went through her own ritual of drying herself, and then tried to hand the towel over to Devendra.

  With her arm outstretched, Alethea motioned for Devendra to take the opportunity to be dry before they started, but Devendra’s response was to wave the attempt away and begin the story, dripping wet and in obvious turmoil.

  She went over the tale with them. She explained her struggles with the Mother Goddess and the treachery of creating Lokee despite Her wishes. Roman paled at the lack of respect and fought himself not to slap her hard across the face and banish her from their existence.

  It sickened him that Lokee had any ties with Devendra; he felt there was nothing she could ever say to make the idea settle with him. He’d always view her differently, and in turn, find it difficult to remember the love and trust he had felt for her for so long.

  “No, Roman,” Devendra pleaded with tears welling in her eyes. “Please . . . you know me! I have had nothing to do with his hatred. He brought sorrow to all that crossed his path and finally we have the chance to destroy him.”

  No longer able to keep her tears at bay, they spilled over the edges of her eyes and streamed down her face as she spoke. “Lillith chose you,” she insisted, and pausing for a moment to collect herself, she glanced at Alethea. “And Fate chose you. I believe you are the key to saving our race, Alethea. I don’t know how yet, but I know it in my heart of hearts.”

  Alethea, shocked at the innuendo, could only open her mouth.

  Devendra continued, trying to explain better what little she knew of the role Alethea would play in the drama. “It was known long before I even knew you existed that you would, in the future, hold the key to saving our kind, the Combined, from the imposters, the Kriestos.”

  Resting her hands at her sides, Devendra turned her focus to Roman. He shook his head in disapproval. Alethea found it hard to breathe suddenly.

  Devendra moved closer to Roman, wringing her hands and fighting to manage her irregular heartbeat. “The key you held, Roman, all this time, which existed through lifetimes before, was the beacon for Alethea’s soul to return to,” she finished, glancing over at her again, full of respect. “But it is Alethea who holds the vital means to save us. How that will come to pass, I do not know, but it will happen soon and we must act fast!”

  Alethea cowered at the thought of Fate and the control It had on every situation in every circumstance. Life was a play written by Fate, and only Fate could alter history naturally. She could not. She wasn’t even a vampire long; she couldn’t even read minds. What could she possibly give to the situation except grief? Fate wasn’t necessarily a force to be reckoned with.

  “Lokee is of your blood, Devendra.” Roman’s angry voice broke in. “How can we trust you now?”

  “No,” Devendra said quietly. “Please don’t say that.”

  Without intention, Alethea’s eyes burned into Devendra’s distraught expression. The more she toyed with the new information, the more Alethea felt used, like bait to catch a great big fish in frigid, white-capped waters.

  Devendra shot Alethea a new look, one of apprehension and contempt.

  “Darling, Alethea, you must try to understand what I have gone through.” Her eyebrows rose and she took a few steps closer to her debater. “Yes, I did make him; in fact, I bore him from my own self. From a union with whom I believed to be my ‘one’ for a few hours in time. I was seduced!” She pounded her fist into her chest, leaving a pink mark behind on her alabaster skin. “After realizing the devastation of my mistakes with Lokee, I was offered no help in correcting it and destroying him. Until now, it didn’t even seem possible. But the two of you can assist me.” She paused, dropping her head and rubbing her forehead agitatedly. “I want nothing but his death, believe me, I do,” she insisted.

  Roman faltered, unable to truly turn his back on Devendra, despite her past. She had been good to him. He loved her no matter what, even though he was hurt by her admission to them, and the fact that she had waited until now to tell him this very important piece of information. But he did love her unconditionally. He needed to remember that now.

  He drew in a deep breath, checking his temper. “I have always believed in you, Devendra, but you have to understand that this news is like a dagger in my back. I would have never guessed you were capable of any mistakes, let alone one as detrimental as this.” Roman explained his feelings with a gentler tone than he had been using on her, but still, it was forced. “I’m going to need some time to digest this and see where it takes me. Hopefully it is by your side.”

  Devendra turned her back to them both. Roman’s words pounded her like a million stones. She felt like a whore for a moment; like Mary Magdalene getting stoned by her own people, people who themselves apparently enjoyed her, for the “sin” of bodily pleasures.

  Alethea felt Devendra’s sadness and it broke her heart. She walked over and placed her hand gently on Devendra’s shoulder. “We will do all we can for you. It is us who needs your help, and we have no right to point fingers, make assumptions, or place blame of any kind on you. It happened a long, long time ago, and now we will come together in order to fix it. No more harsh words, Roman,” Alethea said, taking his hand. “We must be strong and become one. If we do not, we will die, not Lokee.”

  “The face is the mirror of the mind,

  and eyes without speaking confess

  the secrets of the heart.”

  –St. Jerome

  Thirty Five

  Devendra left them for a while, so that they could come to terms with her confession. Alethea could see that Roman was clearly having a hard time accepting the news, but doing his best to deal with it in his own way.

  She figured he was partly in shock about Lokee being Devendra’s son, but also the fact that she had only just admitted the whole thing to him. In the centuries that passed, Devendra never led him even to consider the possibility. But now, looking back, he remembered surefire hints.

  There was a time when they had located Lokee and Devendra said it was especially hard to kill your own and they needed to prepare themselves for it more. Roman released that as her meaning one of their own kind, not one she had herself birthed or created. Thinking back on the look in her eyes, the reluctance in her heart, he understood what she had meant.

  The connection between Roman and Devendra was precious and unbreakable, but he was afraid, for the first time, that he would not be able to fully trust her anymore, although he wanted more than anything to be able to.

  To Roman, Lokee had always been the evil one; incomparable to any mutants he had come across. Devendra was a Saint, an Angel of Light on the vampires’ dark side of reality. To believe she could be any part of Lokee’s iniquity was sacrilege. Inconceivable.

  Blasphemy!

  Alethea tried to explain that in Devendra’s heart, she was no part of Lokee, not to any degree. Devendra wanted him destroyed as much as anyone. In immortal death, Lokee was cursed and would undoubtedly pay. But Roman wanted to know the price. Would Devendra protect her son in the end or would she choose to save them all? Unfortunately, the doubt now existed in the depths of his mind.

  “Roman,” Alethea attempted, but the quick wave of his hand cut her off.

  “No,” Alethea persisted, “you cannot shut me out! I have feelings about this and you must listen to them.”

  He made no attempt to budge or acknowledge her in any way.

  “Roman, for Christ’s sake, will you please—”

  “Christ? Now you’re about to bring him into this? Who is he? Where is he?” He mimicked hunting for somebody that wasn’t there. “No, Alethea, not now. Just leave me alone for a whi
le.” His sarcasm cut deep, too harsh for him.

  “I won’t,” she insisted as she stomped across the floor and swung him around to face her. She took his face into her hands, forcing him to look directly into her deep emerald pools. “Look,” she snapped, needing him to let her in, “please don’t resist me. Just listen for a moment. That’s all I ask.” She barely waited for him to nod. “Thank you,” she sighed.

  Alethea let go of his face and stood casually beside him at the bay window. His cottage sat on a spectacular cliff that overlooked the dazzling shores of outer Bleu. Alethea remained silent for an instant, now that she had Roman’s partial attention, and watched the waves crash violently against the rocks below.

  It was marvelous how the waves receded for only a second, waiting for the next surge of energy to push them up into the air again. Then with incredible force, they would crash down, spraying water up into the air, spilling luxuriously over the rocks. The sight filled her with serenity even though her heart picked up speed and pounded dangerously in her chest from the overwhelming anxiety.

  Knowing she would lose Roman’s concentration if she did not tell him what she so badly needed to, Alethea turned from the view and rested her bottom against the windowsill.

  “Roman, Devendra has done nothing wrong,” Alethea started, speaking slowly and quietly. “She is our savior, our heroine. To think you hold anything against her is what you should be ashamed of. She bears the shame of her deeds, and the grave mistake she made centuries ago has been paid for three-fold. Fate has forgiven her and now wants her to make things right. We are here to assist. Don’t you see that?”

  Alethea waited for a response, but could only read deeper thought in his eyes. She crossed her legs and folded her arms across her chest. “Devendra has done nothing wrong by teaching him about his gift. She only did what was natural for a mother to do!”

  She felt her face flush at her own words, spoken firmly, yet with the utmost respect. “She has been against him for years, Roman. Devendra has no domination over him and he holds none over her. They are two completely different individuals now. There is no bond or the slightest love left between them; only pure, insatiable loathing.”