Blood in the Marsh (38 page)

She opened her mouth to answer but Nick cut her off. “I’m afraid Lyra’s right. You shouldn’t have come, Michael.”

Michael frowned. “What’s with you two?”

Nick smiled and pushed Lyra behind him. “I’m sorry, Michael, but I cannot allow you to live.”

Michael’s mouth fell open in surprise. “You what?”

Nick laughed. “You haven’t figured it out, have you? But then you always were a little dense, Michael. You never could see what was in front of you. You were too busy being good and seeing the best in everyone to recognize the truth.”

“Nick, let him go,” Lyra pleaded as she took his arm.

“You know I can’t do that,” he replied. “Michael would feel duty bound to come after us and sooner or later I would have to dispose of him.”

“Nick please!” she pleaded.

He shook her off and took a step toward Michael. Michael’s eyes widened as the truth dawned on him. “It’s you! It was you all along!”

Nick laughed at him. “Well, better late than never. At least you realized the truth before you died.”

Michael rushed at Nick. “You bastard!”

Nick blocked the punch and slammed his fist into Michael’s stomach, making him double over. Michael gasped and straightened up, lashing out once more.

His fist made contact with Nick’s chest. But it was like hitting a wall. Nick didn’t even waver. He laughed and grabbed Michael by the throat, lifting him up off his feet.

“You pathetic fool, you can’t defeat me.”

He tossed Michael like a rag doll. Lyra’s mind cleared somewhat as she watched and she screamed for Nick to stop. But he ignored her. Michael’s back slammed up against the side rail and before he could move, Nick was on him, hammering blows down on him.

Michael couldn’t fight against Nick’s demonic strength. He collapsed to the deck and Nick laughed as he kicked him in the abdomen repeatedly. Finally, he grew bored and turned to Lyra.

She looked at Michael and their eyes met. Then Nick took hold of her arm and yanked her to him. “Wait!” Michael gasped. “Please!”

Nick turned to him and Michael looked up at him. “Why?”

“Why?” Nick asked in return.

“Yes!” Michael rasped. “Why? Why do you want Lyra and why did you have to kill so many people to get what you wanted? Just what is it you want, Nick?”

Nick’s face took on a thoughtful expression then hardened. Michael stiffened as a current of energy ran through his body. Lyra screamed and broke free to run to Michael but Nick grabbed her and slung her away. Michael tried to move but found that he could not. Nick smiled and walked over to kick him again.

“You want answers, Michael? Very well. I will give them to you, and then you will take them to your grave.”

“Nick, no!” Lyra pulled on his arm. “You can’t kill him, Nick! He’s your friend!”

Nick grabbed her and pulled her close to his face. “Listen carefully to me. You will not interfere. Is that clear?”

Lyra started to argue but was overcome with a feeling so intense she gasped. Her legs collapsed from under her and she sagged in his grasp. Nick lowered her to the deck then turned to Michael.

“Now, your answers, Michael. Since the beginning, I have known that something was missing from my existence—that I was incomplete. For centuries I searched for the answer and at last, thanks to our friends within the Apologists, I discovered it.”

“The Apologists?” Michael asked.

“Yes,” Nick said. “A rather annoying little organization devoted to ridding the world of me and my kind. But back to my point. I discovered that what I lacked was a mate. Not just any mate, you understand but a woman as extraordinary as myself. It took me countless generations of searching before I realized who I was looking for.”

“For Lyra?” Michael asked. “But she wasn’t even alive centuries ago.”

“That is true, in part,” Nick replied. “But only in part. You see, in the beginning there existed two forces, we shall call them. Within each force was contained the opposite of the other. So, for everything that existed in one, there existed an opposite in the other. For darkness there was light, for high there was low. Neither could reign supreme over the other because of a third force, that which contained some of both and acted as a balance.”

“I am the summation, the epitome of one of those forces. Therefore, what I required was a mate who was as powerful in the opposite forces. There was one such entity. She had lived many lifetimes and had never taken a mate. She was considered a goddess, possessed of extraordinary powers. I knew that she was the one for me and so I set out to find her.

“I searched the world over, the passage of time like a thorn in my heart as I waited for her. And at last, I found her. You see, when Lyra’s parents died in that crash, she died as well. And that was when the goddess inhabited her body. parents died, the goddess chose to inhabit Michael shook his head. “I think you’ve gone over the edge, man.”

Nick laughed. “Hardly. But your disbelief is understandable.”

“So, for the sake of argument, let’s say I believe you,” Michael said. “What happens next?”

Nick turned and looked at Lyra. “When we join as one, the powers of the goddess will be mine. I will be omnipotent.”

“That’s impossible!” Michael exclaimed.

“Is it?” Nick laughed. “Then perhaps we should find out. Lyra, come here.”

Lyra felt her strength return and stood. Nick’s eyes seemed to hold her prisoner in their depths as she walked to him. He smiled down at her. “Are you prepared to join with me, Lyra? Will you be mine for eternity?”

A moment of indecision claimed her. She was aware of Michael pleading with her to say no. She looked over at him then Nick put his hand on her shoulder and she saw her path. “Yes,” she whispered. “But I don’t want an audience, Nick. This is just between you and me. Let Michael go and then we can be alone. We can join as one.”

Nick stared at her for a long time with a hard look. She caressed his face and pressed her body against his. “Please, let it be just us. Send him away.”

Nick’s face broke in a smile and his hand tightened on her shoulder. “Very well.” He turned to Michael. “Take the speedboat and go.”

Michael struggled to stand. “No.” He shook his head, trying not to gasp from the pain in his ribs. “I won’t leave without Lyra.”

Nick smirked and looked at Lyra and she turned to Michael. “Go away, Michael. Leave us alone. I’m where I’m supposed to be and I’m not leaving. Just go.”

“You can’t mean that!” He insisted, stumbling as he took a step toward them.

“Yes, I do mean it.” Her face and voice were hard and cold. “Leave now!”

Michael stared at her for a moment then his shoulders slumped in defeat. Without a word, he turned and stumbled to the stern of the yacht and falteringly climbed down to the speedboat. Moments later the boat pulled away from the yacht and disappeared into the darkness.

Lyra looked up at Nick and he took her in his arms. Her lips parted as he lowered his head to kiss her. She wound her arms around his neck and pressed up against him, feeling his hardness against her belly.

A hot wind blew around them and the yacht began to pitch and toss as the waves rose and pounded against it. Lightning the color of fire slashed the sky while thunder shook them.

Nick’s breath was hot against her face as he pulled back from the kiss and ripped her robe open. Lyra cried out in pain as his hands closed on her breasts and his lips followed. His touch was like fire, branding her skin.

Nick drew back long enough to strip off his clothes. Then he pushed her robe off her shoulders and lowered her to the deck. Lyra cried out as he stabbed inside her. The pain was too much.

But suddenly a new feeling intruded. Lyra’s eyes flew open wide. She looked up into the sky and gasped in surprise. A face took shape in her mind and she seemed to see eyes staring down at her in the stars. She felt the love that shone down on her and felt the pain. Those feelings were echoed inside her own heart and they fueled the new sensation that was growing within her. All at once, as if coming out of a dark tunnel into the sunlight, she saw the truth.

Soft blue-white light cut through the darkness and fiery tongues of lightning, descending down in a pure beam to illuminate the two figures twined on the deck. Lyra felt as if she were merging with the light, becoming part of it. Nick looked down at her, oblivious to everything but his desire and she smiled. “Now,” she whispered seductively. “Please, now.”

He grinned and pounded against her. She met his thrusts with her own, exciting him with her abandon. She felt his body tense and wrapped her legs around him. Her hand sought the silver medallion suspended around his neck.

In the moment her hand closed around it, their lips met and his orgasm erupted. Lyra clung to him tightly, refusing to let go even though he tried to pull back. She was catapulted into another dimension. Reality shifted and she hurtled through time and space, emerging at last in a place her mind could not begin to comprehend. Then a vortex sucked her back to send her tumbling through chaos back to her own reality.

The light exploded, obliterating the fiery tongues that lashed down from the sky and sending showers of dancing lights over the water. The wind died and the sea calmed.

Lyra felt Nick’s body grow slack and she released him. He rolled off her and lay on the deck, breathing heavily. She sat up and looked up at the sky. Nick raised his hand and touched her arm and she turned to him.

“It’s over,” he whispered. “All the centuries of waiting are over. Now I have everything I’ve ever wished for.”

She gave him a sad smile and looked back up at the sky. “Well, you know what they say about wishes, Nick. Be careful what you wish for ‘cause you just might get it.”

Chapter Thirteen

Two Months Later — Brunswick, Georgia

Michael sat at his desk staring out of the window. The last two months he had felt like an empty shell. After leaving Lyra and Nick on the yacht he had made it back to shore and that was the last thing he remembered until he woke up in a hospital. Lyra and Nick had disappeared without a trace and no one had heard anything from or about them.

All of Nick’s followers had been rounded up and were awaiting trial for the deaths of the missing girls. Michael had been disappointed to discover that Chelsey had been part of that group all along. It was Chelsey who had arranged for Lyra to meet Nick in the first place.

It turned out that Chelsey had met Nick when she was just a teenager and had been under his power ever since, just like her stepfather and all the others.

But it was not Chelsey’s betrayal that bothered him. It was losing Lyra. He sighed and closed his eyes. The phone rang and interrupted his thoughts. He picked it up. “Detective Santera.”

“Hello there,” his uncle said. “I was wondering if you could stop by after work.”

“Is everything okay?” Michael asked immediately.

“Everything’s fine,” his uncle assured him. “Just thought it’d be nice to have a family dinner. Can you make it?”

“Sure,” Michael replied. “I’ll see you in about an hour.”

He hung up the phone and turned his attention to the paperwork on his desk. Half an hour later, he left the station and headed for his uncle’s farm.

He parked the car and got out. Every time he had been here the last few months, he’d been reminded of the day he‘d brought Lyra there.

Let it go, he told himself. She’s gone and you’re just going to have to accept it.

But he knew he couldn’t do that. With a sigh, he walked to the house, staring down at his feet. He heard the front door open but didn’t look up until he started up the steps.

Then he stopped dead in his tracks. Lyra stood on the front porch. “Lyra!”

“Hi,” she said softly.

“You’re back!” he exclaimed. “But why—I mean what are you doing here? Where’s Nick?”

“He’s gone,” she said as she walked over and stopped on the step in front of him. “And I came back because of you

“Because of me?” he asked, looking into her eyes.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I love you, Michael. I think I always have and I was hoping maybe we could find a way to…”

“You love me?” he asked in astonishment.

“Yes, very much,” she replied. “Do you think we can…?”

Michael grabbed her up in a hug before she could finish. “God, Lyra, I was afraid I wasn’t ever going to see you again.”

“Well, I’m here now,” she whispered. “And I don’t plan on ever leaving again.”

He looked in her eyes then claimed her lips with his. She returned the kiss enthusiastically, holding onto him tightly. He could feel her love and desire in the kiss and his heart swelled.

They parted and looked around at the sound of someone clearing his throat. Michael’s uncle stood at the door grinning at them. “So are you two gonna stand out here all night making out on the porch or are we gonna have that family dinner?”

Lyra smiled and took Michael’s hand. He smiled at his uncle then looked at her. “What do you think? Make out or eat?”

She laughed and hugged him. “Let’s go inside.”

They went into the house laughing but Michael suddenly stopped as a man rose from his seat on the couch. Lyra saw the confused expression on his face and smiled.

“Michael, I’d like you to meet my godfather, Lucius Abubakar.”

Michael looked from her to Lucius. “But I thought you were dead.”

Lucius laughed. “My dear boy, true magic never dies.”

Michael shook his head and looked down at Lyra. “You have any more surprises lined up for me?”

She looked at his uncle. “How long ‘til dinner?”

“About an hour, I guess,” he replied with a smile.

“Would you mind excusing us for a little while, then?” she asked.

“Of course,” Lucius smiled and nodded as he sat down.

Miquel chuckled and took a seat across from Lucius. “Sure, you take your time. Luc and I got lots of catching up to do.”

Lyra took Michael’s hand and pulled him outside. “My uncle knows Lucius?” he asked as she tugged him along.

“Yeah,” she smiled. “They’re old friends. Come on!”

“Where’re you taking me?”

“You’ll see,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

She led him to the barn and scrambled up the ladder to the loft. Michael climbed up behind her and found her sitting on a blanket that covered a small mound of hay.

“What’s this?” he asked.

She held out her hand to him and after a moment, he took it and let her pull him down beside her. “Remember the first time you brought me up here?” she asked.

“Yes,” he smiled. “I remember thinking that you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I think that’s when I fell in love with you.”

“And I remember wondering what it would be like to make love in a hay loft,” she said.

“You did not!” he said in disbelief.

“Well, I should have,” she teased then grew serious. “Michael, a lot has happened to both of us and most of it wasn’t very pleasant. Looking back on it, it was like a nightmare. I’ve done nothing but think about it for two months and talk to Lucius about it, and in that entire time, one thing kept dominating my thoughts. You. I realized that even though it was horrible, something wonderful came out of it. And that’s finding you. I love you, Michael, and I have for a long time.”

“But you told me to leave!” he said in a confused tone. “You sent me away so you could be with him!”

“I had to,” she said softly. “Please, let me explain.”

Michael nodded and looked at her intently. Lyra took a deep breath and began to explain.

“After you left, Nick and I…” She stopped and looked down. “Well, we had sex. You see, he thought that was the way he was going to gain the power he sought. But he didn’t know that what he was seeking he couldn’t get from me. What he needed was not my body but my heart. And that already belonged to someone else.”

She saw the confused look on Michael’s face and took his hand. “Michael, it wasn’t love. It was an act of violation. Nick couldn’t get what he needed from me. We finished and then…” Her eyes assumed a faraway look as her memories took her back to that night.

Two Months Earlier

Nick gave Lyra a strange look. “What do you mean by that? You’re mine and now I have everything I wished for.”

Lyra turned to him and sighed. “Do you, Nick?”

Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Yes! I have you and I have the power…” His face paled and he grabbed her arm. “What have you done to me?” he rasped.

She put her hand on his chest as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “I’ve given you what you wanted from me.”

“No!” He looked at her with wide, frightened eyes. “What have you done?”

“What you wanted,” she said sadly. “I gave you myself.”

He threw his head back and screamed. The power he sought wasn’t within him. He felt no surge of strength. In fact, he felt as if he were getting weaker by the moment.

Lyra watched as he raised his hands and looked at them. The skin was spotted and thin. Nick screamed as he saw his hands draw into gnarled, arthritic claws.

He pushed Lyra away from him and tried to stand but his strength failed him.. He was still screaming and his body seemed to be aging years in mere moments. Lyra remained on the deck beside Nick as he screamed and writhed. His once-beautiful features were now old and withered, the flesh loose and gray like the skin of a corpse. She watched in silence as his voice gave out and he fell back, staring up at her with filmy blue eyes.

“Why have you done this to me?” His voice was cracked and feeble.

Lyra stroked the disintegrating flesh of his face. “You were right all along, Nick. There must be only one.. But it isn’t what you think. One means a balance of all things. The universe can’t exist if there isn’t a balance and there can’t be if evil holds sway over goodness. You could never hold the power because of the evil that consumes you. You don’t know how to let goodness touch your heart so there could never be a balance. That’s what it’s all about—the eternal opposites. You just didn’t understand.

“I didn’t realize it until tonight. There’s something inside me. A presence. Whoever she is, she’s the one you’ve wanted for so long. I’m just a vessel. It’s because she’s inside me that made me special to you. Otherwise I’d be no different than all the other women you’ve raped and killed.

“You wanted her. You’ve always wanted her. . When you realized she was part of me, you saw your chance to finally possess her, force her to belong to you and take her power. If you made me love you, you could force me into being your accomplice and help you destroy her.

“Only I didn’t love you. You’re an evil person who doesn’t understand love. She made me realize that I couldn’t win if I played by your rules. Love was the only weapon we had. And so I used your love and turned it against you. I’m sorry. I hope there’s redemption for you…somewhere… sometime.”

He tried to reach up to touch her face but didn’t have the strength. Lyra watched as he gasped his final breath and then stood up and walked to the rail, staring out at the dark water. She didn’t know how long she had stood there before she saw lights moving toward her.

The speedboat pulled alongside the boat. Lyra waved to the driver then went to the engine room and loosened the fuel lines. Letting fuel spill out onto the floor, she picked up a flare gun and a can of oil. Pouring the oil in a line, she walked back up on deck, emptying the last of the oil on Nick’s withered body.

After one final look, she walked to the stern of the boat. The speedboat was waiting. She fired the flare once at Nick’s body. It flared brightly and she dropped the flare gun and climbed down into the waiting speedboat.

They were less than half a mile from the yacht when it exploded. Lyra turned and looked at the fire that lit the sky. Tears streamed down her face. “Lucius, what have I done?”

Lucius put his hand on her shoulder and she turned to him. “You did what had to be done,” he said softly. “Because of you there will be no more blood in the marsh. At least not from that fiend. I’m very proud of you, Lyra.”

“I wish I could be proud of myself,” she whispered miserably. “But I feel…”

Lucius patted her shoulder. “Time will ease the pain.”

Lyra looked back at the burning boat. “I don’t think all the time in the world is going to ease this. I’ve lost the only man I’ve ever loved and I’ve become a killer. How do you ease that?”

Lyra sighed and stood up to look out of the doors at the end of the loft. “Lucius took me away. We went to Europe for a while. But I didn’t forget you, Michael. Every day the pain and loneliness just got worse and I knew I had to come back, to explain things to you, and beg you to forgive me. To let me explain.”

“I think you just did,” he said from behind her.

“Not entirely.”

“There’s more?”

Lyra laughed nervously. “Yeah, afraid so.”

“So tell me.” Michael turned her to face him.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to destroy Nick.”

“You want to run that by me again?”

“As unbelievable as it sounds, we’ve battled Nick before—you and I. In another life.”

“I think we’re wandering into realms I can’t tread, Lyra. Another life?”

She nodded. “And in that life, Lucius saved me. Saved us. But it came with a price. I lost you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It took me a while,” she admitted. “And I think once you talk with Lucius it will make sense. But for now, I’m just going to say that I destroyed the Adversary in the only way we knew how. But the only reason I was able to was you. I want you, Michael. I want to share everything with you. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us and I want us to be able to start over. If that’s possible. But that’s up to you.”

Michael was silent for a moment. “When you disappeared I felt like someone whose heart had been ripped out. I wanted so much to tell you that I loved you. But I thought you’d realized that you loved Nick. I really wanted to hate you but I couldn’t. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you but I did. And I want you, Lyra, more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I never thought I could love someone after my wife and daughter died but then you came along and made me realize I was wrong. I love you so much it scares me. But do you think either of us can forget?”

Lyra stared at him solemnly for a long time then smiled and walked back to the blanket spread on the hay.

She gestured to him and he took a seat on the blanket. Lyra dropped down on her knees beside him. She pushed him down on the blanket and straddled his body. “Let’s find out.”

Michael didn’t resist as she lowered her face down close and breathed softly in his face. “Do you believe in magic, Michael?”

He didn’t reply as she lowered her lips to his. The feel of her body pressed against his caused a fire in his veins. His arms went around her and crushed her to him. The kiss deepened as their hands fumbled with buttons and zippers and at last, bare skin met bare skin.