Genesis (The Legend of Glory Book 3) (10 page)

Erica took a deep breath and shot back the whiskey.

“What do you usually do for fun?” Zane asked her.

She wiped away her tears. “Read, computer games, we have some movies here, and our own
TV
station where they air mostly news and documentaries.”

“Do you ever go to the fairs in the parks?” Zane asked.

Erica’s eyes widened. “Certainly not. Those are run by the grunts. Not acceptable company for a scientist.”

An assistant to a scientist, Zane wanted to point out. Instead, he said, “So you’re a snob.”

“I take offended ... offensiveness ... offense at that.” Erica’s hand flew to her head. “What the—?” She emitted a sudden giggle, said “Oh,” and the ice in her eyes thawed.

“You okay?” Kate asked.

“Wow. I’ve never felt like this before. I can understand the appeal. I....” She started to slide off her chair.

Zane caught her. “Whoa there. Easy now.”

As he set her on the floor, Erica grasped his biceps and squeezed. “You’re so strong.”

He grinned. “It comes in handy when taming wild horses.”

Kate gathered pillows and scattered them on the floor. They all sat in a circle, each with their own bottle of whiskey. While Kate was getting the move organized, Zane noticed that she surreptitiously hid the bug jar in the cupboard.

Kate plopped his hat back onto his head. “It’s just so you,” she said with approval.

He tugged on its brim. “Breaking in a new one. Last one died a sad death.”

“This is fun. I like this.” Erica refilled her shot glass.

“Everybody who gets drunk together has to sing together,” Kate said. “Those are the rules.”

“Whose rules?” Erica asked.

Kate looked at Zane, he looked at Erica, and he tried not to stumble. “The drinking rules go so far back in time no one knows where the tradition began.”

“But I don’t want to sing.”

“You like being part of the collective, Erica. Therefore, you must comply,” Kate said.

Zane grinned. He really liked Kate.

Erica shook her finger at him. “If you tell me to cowboy up again, I swear—”

He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Erica said, “I don’t know many songs.”

“What ones do you know?” Zane asked.

“Really only those Dad sang to us when I was little. All patriotic ones:
God Bless America
because my name is America.
Battle Hymn of the Republic
, for Glory. And, well,
When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again
because it welcomes heroes home.”

Zane snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “That was a popular drinking song long before they changed the lyrics during the Civil War.”

Kate threw up her hands. “Well, there we are. It is spirited, that’s for sure.”

Erica scrunched up her face as she considered. “I did like that song when they used it in the movie
Die Hard With a Vengeance
.”

“You’ve seen
Die Hard With a Vengeance
?” Zane asked.

Her eyes opened wide and she said, “Oops. Well, the
Die Hard
movies aren’t officially sanctioned. Um, actually, they’re sort of banned. There’s a subversive element in Wonderland who somehow bootlegged copies. I thought I should watch them because I’m important and felt it was my duty.” She sighed and took a swig of whiskey straight from her bottle.

Zane considered her words. So, Wonderland did have a renegade underground movement.
A deep rabbit hole indeed
.

“Let’s do it, kids,” Kate said, and began belting out the song, her voice strong and lusty.

After a moment, Zane joined in.

Kate punched his shoulder. “
Nice
voice.”

Zane sometimes lent his baritone to songs sung by the Goth Girls. He was comfortable singing.

Erica sang hesitantly at first, but really got into the
Hurrahs!
after a while.

“When Johnny comes marching home again,

Hurrah! Hurrah!

We’ll give him a hearty welcome then,

Hurrah! Hurrah!”

If Glory did marry him, this would be his family, Zane realized. He enjoyed Kate’s company and might even learn to tolerate Erica’s. He allowed himself to fantasize building a family of his own on the foundation of this one. For countless decades, he had kept an eye on the descendents of Jeremiah, his son with Hope. From a distance, he watched their Fourth of July picnics in the parks, observed weddings, christenings, graduations, and funerals. But he had never been a part of any of it.

“Get ready for the Jubilee,

Hurrah! Hurrah!

We’ll give the hero three times three,

Hurrah! Hurrah!”

“I’ve never had so much fun before,” Erica said.

Kate grinned. “I’m glad.”

“I love you,” Erica told her.

“That’s the booze talking, honey.”

“Oh? Well, maybe I
want
to love you.”

Zane chose to believe that sometimes, if a person wanted something long and hard enough, the dream really might come true.

“Let each one perform some part,

To fill with joy the warrior’s heart,

And we’ll all feel gay

When Johnny comes marching home.”

Like Johnny, Zane wanted to be welcomed home after the long, hard war he’d fought. He wanted to die an old man in Glory’s arms, loved to the end.

For a time, he allowed himself to dream.

CHAPTER EIGHT

)o(       )o(       )o(

Kaia picked up Rory for their trip to see White Bear who lived in Sedona, Arizona. She arrived in Evan’s plush
BMW
. Since Rory’s shoulder was still messed up from the vampire’s bite, Kaia loaded the girl’s bags into the trunk for her.

Rory didn’t like being helpless. “Vamp bites are a son of a bitch to heal.”

“I’m sorry you got hurt,” Kaia said.

Rory shrugged. “Hazard of the profession.”

While Kaia started the car and pulled away from Haven, Rory settled into the comfy leather seat, turned on the seat warmer, and sighed. “I love this car. Isn’t Evan going to need it?”

“He’s at the Vatican covering the attempted assassination of the Pope.”

“Strange times.”

“What’s strange are all the religious apparitions happening everywhere,” Kaia said. “Various gods and goddesses, Jesus, Virgin Mary, Imam Mahdi, Krishna, Buddha. Hell, even Kachinas out in Hopiland. What’s it all about?”

It hadn’t escaped Rory that her own vision had happened at the same time as all the others. “Maybe the veil between the worlds is thinning?”

Kaia shook her head. “If the visions were inspiring peace, love, and all things groovy, maybe. But they’re instigating violence. There’s something wrong.”

You have to kill Kaia before she can kill me,
Gaia had said. Until that moment, Rory hadn’t made the connection between the massive religious violence and Gaia’s words.

Why am I not seeing clearly?

Was the Gaia who appeared to her an imposter, as Bridget claimed? But she had known things. The
UN
bombing, Kaia’s lineage. Things that Rory hadn’t known and couldn’t have injected into the vision herself.

“Do you know much about your mother’s relatives?” Rory asked.

Kaia looked at her. “No, nothing. Why do you ask?”

Rory worked to send out a casual vibe. “Just been thinking of my own momma’s family and how I don’t know a thing about them. It makes you wonder what’s being hidden and why.”

“Every time I’ve asked, people change the subject. Still do. I don’t press anymore because I’ve got enough to stew about without adding more to the pot.”

“What’s been troubling you lately?” Rory asked. “Your marriage okay?”

She nodded. “I love Evan. Always have. It’s just we’re so different. And you know how he adores me, although I think he’s put me up on a pedestal I don’t deserve.”

“Why would you say that? You’re, like, perfect.”

“Hardly.”

“You said something about things being more complicated in the city. What’s that about?” Rory could feel Kaia wrestling with the decision to open up. After a moment, she added, “If you can’t talk to me, who can you talk to? We’re soul sisters.”

Tentatively, Kaia let her walls fall away. “I was raised at the Moonstone covenstead up in Crestone. You know that Crestone is one of the most sacred places on this planet. And so isolated. I pretty much only left to work at the Renaissance Fairs, and there my coven members always surrounded me. Like you, I’m ultra sensitive to the energy of others. Living in Atlanta, I’m bombarded by so much. Despite my shields, I can’t seem to keep out the ocean of negativity. I’m tempted to do things I never even imagined.” She shuddered.

“Like what?” Rory prompted.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why? Because I’m thirteen? Sweetie, you damn well know I’m thirteen going on thirty. Just spit it out.”

Kaia tensed. “I struggle with desires I’ve never felt. I’m tempted to misuse my body, my sexuality, my powers.”

Kaia’s panic hit Rory like a tsunami.

After a few moments of silence, Rory said, “We need to work at making your shields stronger. We’ll figure it out. Have you told White Bear?”

Kaia shook her head. “I haven’t told anyone. I’m too ashamed.”

“The shame is in not getting help where you can. White Bear is crazy powerful. He’s your magical guardian, your guide. If anyone can figure it out, he can.”

So is this how Kaia goes darkside?
Rory wondered. Opening her heart to Kaia for the first time since the Gaia incident, she said, “I’m not going to let this beat you. Not on my watch.”

Kaia laughed. “I love you, kid.”

“I love you, too.”
Oh, Gods, please don’t make me have to kill you.

)o(       )o(       )o(

Outside of Macon, Kaia and Rory stopped at a convenience store to pick up some food and drinks for the road. As they got back into the
BMW
, a red van pulled up close to the driver’s side, and a silver Ford Taurus blocked Kaia’s ability to back up. The girls’ car faced the store, and a retaining wall blocked them on the right. They were boxed in. In a flash, men appeared at their open windows.

“The witch hunters from last summer!” Kaia said as a fat man reached in and pressed a stun gun to her neck. There was a harsh electrical snap, and her body went limp.

Rory pulled the switchblade from her boot just as she felt a searing pain in her own neck. The knife flew from her hand, and the lights went out.

)o(       )o(       )o(

At the height of the pandemic, a band of witch hunters led by the notorious Galen Bane kidnapped Kaia and Zane. In a stunning show of heroism, Glory, Dominic, and Hallelujah had rescued them before they were burned at the stake. However, as Rory returned to consciousness and an open window revealed how low in the sky the sun rode, her first thought was that there would be no heroes to save them today. The two young witches would burn at sundown. This was the end of their road.

“Crap,” she said and struggled to sit up. Pain shot through her shoulder as she realized the wrist on her wounded side was handcuffed to a bedpost above her head.

Next to her on the bed, Kaia had been cuffed to the other post. She was crying. “I’m so sorry I got you into this. I should have known they would never lose my scent.”

“Well, old age is overrated anyway.”

Her words only made Kaia cry harder. “It’s not funny.”

Rory shrugged. “I’m not laughing.” She reached out and clutched Kaia’s free hand. “I always wanted a good death. The only way I can see to make this good is to not let them break my spirit.”

The bedroom door burst open and a fat, ugly man stepped into the room.

“Galen,” Kaia said.

His smile reeked of victory. “My little wildcat witch. I always knew the hunt would end like this. It’s open season on witches for me all year round.” His gloat fell on Rory. “And the kill will be twice as sweet now we can fire up this young’un here.” He sniffed the air like a dog. “Never caught me such a young witch before. I bet her baby fat will make the fire sizzle so fine.”

“Don’t you understand that not all witches are bad?” Kaia asked.

Galen issued a bark of a laugh. “Right. If y’all were good, God wouldn’t have created us.”

“Are you sure it was God who created you?” Rory asked.

Galen’s humor dissolved in an instant. “Don’t you just have a sassy mouth?” He stalked over to her and slapped her face, splitting her lip. “Why don’t you spend the last minutes of your evil little life pondering your many sins. I’m going to go down to the lake and lay the fire that’ll send your soul straight to Hell.”

On his way out the door, he stopped at a
DVD
player and punched up some music. “This here’s my hunting music. I’ve got it on a long-playing loop to set the mood.” The door slammed shut behind him.

Donovan’s
Season of the Witch
emerged from the stereo speakers, and Rory groaned. “Seriously? Is that his anthem? What a whack job.” She swiped at the blood dripping down her chin.

Kaia sighed. “My biggest regret is that I never vanquished Nyx. After she killed my parents, I vowed I’d slay her before I died.”

“Well, you had your chance and used it to redeem the soul of a fallen angel instead. Do you regret that?”

“Saving Micah? No. It actually might have been the best thing I did with my life. It was a risk, but it turned out okay. Better than okay. Save a soul or destroy one? I made the right call.”

“You two sure had a connection.”

“Well, that’ll happen when you’re possessed.”

“Do you remember what it was like when he possessed you?”

“I remember every hellish moment.”

“Then I still don’t get why you wanted to help him.”

“I understood him. When he possessed me, our connection was intense. More intimate than sex. As intimate as it gets, really.”

“Intimate how?”

“We merged. I understood why he fell. I experienced compassion for his struggle. I could relate to him. I didn’t want to see his soul damned, and I didn’t want to destroy it. When witches and demons made their pact at the beginning of time, the deal was when they killed each other their souls were extinguished. Nyx I could slay and not bat an eye. Vanquishing Micah would have broken my heart.”

“Kaia, he was a demon.”

“Well, technically a fallen angel is as high class as it gets on the demonic scale. Remember Lucifer is a fallen angel. They’re powerful. So very powerful.” Her voice sounded wistful.

Rory shivered. Well, silver lining to the whole being burned at the stake thing? At least Kaia’s fate was totally out of her hands now.

Rory wiped away more blood from her face, rubbed her aching shoulder, and tried unsuccessfully to tune out Donovan. “This is so not how I planned to spend my golden years.”

Kaia smiled. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

“Yeah. Let’s hold that thought because right now I want us to harness all that love energy to reach out and touch someone. Anyone. They won’t be able to save us, but maybe they can help us cross over with some class.”

Kaia groaned. “Our powers are totally useless here. The hunters neutralized them.”

“The witch hunters take away our witchy powers, but our minds and hearts still work.”

“I don’t understand what—”

“
Pray
, Kaia. Pray to the Goddess, pray to the Caretakers, just say a friggin’ prayer. They’re not going to rescue us, but they can give us strength to walk through the flames with our heads held high.”

After a moment, Kaia asked, “Was Davina the Caretaker who called you to be a light warrior?”

Rory nodded. “As far as I can tell, she’s the recruiter for them, the one who calls individuals from various species to the mission. Zane, Glory, Dominic, Sasha, Hallelujah, you, me. Hell, I even heard she finally appeared to the Goth Girls. Go figure that.”

“Caretakers of the World are supposed to be ranked higher than all the species that inhabit this world, but I don’t see them doing much in the way of fighting for any of us.” Kaia’s bitterness was thick.

“Best I can figure, they’re like chess masters trying to position the white pieces on the board.”

“Who do you think is in charge of the black chessmen?” Kaia asked.

“That’s the best question I’ve heard all day. No clue. But for every action there’s an equal, and all that. Wish we had time to figure it out.”

Kaia yanked violently at the handcuff. “I don’t want to die.”

“Me neither. But I wouldn’t change a thing. I chose the life, I lived it well, and if there’s anything worth dying for, it’s the integrity of my mission.”

“Wow. Did you just say that?”

“Gods, I did, didn’t I? Just ignore me. Don’t want to ruin my well-practiced, but sincere, obnoxious image.”

That made Kaia laugh.

Rory squeezed her hand. “Let’s pray to the Caretakers. Let’s ask them to maybe make our deaths count for something in the end, okay? They can figure that part out.”

Kaia nodded and bowed her head.

Rory joined her.

Silently, they reached out with hearts and minds to ask for grace to face their final moments. Rory could feel Kaia’s desperation. For herself, she just felt sadness about all the work left undone.

)o(       )o(       )o(

Through her closed lids, a blazing flash burned into Rory’s eyes. Her first thought was that she had fallen asleep and been thrown onto the fiery pyre, but then felt her handcuffs and—when the brilliance dimmed—she opened her eyes. The angel Micah stood at the foot of the bed, apparently returned to all his former divine glory. No war-paint tattoos adorned his face anymore, no dark energy radiated, and no eerie cackle emerged.

Micah grinned at Rory. “The cackle was hideous, wasn’t it? It’s an initial giddy reaction to that crazy evil power surge.” He looked at Kaia, and his expression became tender. “I got you into this mess, so I figured I should get you out.” He waved his hand, and the cuffs on both girls vanished.

“I don’t understand,” Kaia said.