Immortal Dreams (81 page)

I laugh ridiculously hard at her motherly tone that surpasses my actual mother's tone.

"I'm with Devin."

I tense, waiting for Clara's angry reaction that's sure to follow.

"What?  You're kidding?  After that piece of shit dumped you?" she gasps.

"It's a long story, but yes, we're back together.  We decided to get away for a few days."

"No.  Get home now, and get away from that... guy.  He's bad news.  What happened to your no second chances rule?  I happen to be rather fond of it."

"My no second chances rule seems to have a blind spot for him.  Anyways, I'm happy.  Please don't be mad at me."

She sighs out, and I know I've just won her over.

"Fine.  Be warned though, Jerry heard about your breakup, and he's been stalking your apartment.  He's probably going to be waiting on you when you get home."

"I'll be fine.  Devin can handle Jerry if he has to," I chuckle.

That would be fun to watch.  I'm so cruel.

"Okay.  I'm going to expect a call soon and a visit sooner," she insists.

"I'll do my best.  I'll talk to you later," I murmur just before hanging up.

I look out at the beautiful lake, and a cup of coffee is suddenly in front of me.  I turn to see the tantalizing, dark- not swirling - blue eyes staring into mine.

"Thanks," I say with a very girly hue.

He nods and smirks as he props against the railing beside me.

"So, I need to take care of Jerry?" he asks with an excited spark in his eyes.

"Easy boy," I chuckle.  "It was a joke.  Clara said he's been scoping out my place because he heard about our breakup.  I told her we were back together, so maybe he'll get the message."

"I'll be glad to deliver the message personally," he says dangerously.

I move over to straddle his slanted body, and his free hand pulls me closer while his other holds his coffee steady.

"Not necessary, though it's hot knowing you want to," I seduce.

He pulls me tighter while his eyes dance with more menace.

"I think I like your turn-ons."

My lips lightly graze his as I strain to keep the goddess in check.  My tongue parts his lips, and his grip tightens in response.

Pulling back, I smile deviously and see my blue eyes glow green in the reflective surface of the remaining window.  I gasp slightly at the unexpected glow that seems so much brighter than it did earlier.  I never even felt the burn this time.

"Whoa.  Do they always do that?"

Devin tucks my hair behind my ears as he turns my face around, and then he kisses my shoulder.

"It's becoming more pronounced now.  It just started after we... reconciled.  Before, it was a little harder to tell when you were completely you."

"Great.  Now there's proof I have more than just me in here," I mumble distastefully.

"Yep, and I get to be with both.  It's like having two women for the price of one," he teases.

I shove him playfully for his crude remark while shaking my head.  Then I lean back and stare into his perfect eyes.

"I'm kidding, you know?  You're just you.  She's just the entity that guides your power.  Eventually she'll cease to have any control," he adds.

"I know you're kidding, but it's good to know I don't have to share you forever," I murmur with a blushing color stinging my face.

"Forever, eh?" he says with a menacing, teasing grin.

Oh fuck
.  The red floods my face from my accidental insinuation, and I almost fall off of him while trying to recover.

"I meant that figuratively," I quickly correct, and he just laughs while strumming my lips with his.

"Sure you did," he chuckles out, and his lips dare mine to get even closer.

"Vices?" I murmur through the brush of a kiss we're sharing, and it's more of a desperate attempt to break away from the embarrassing conversation I hadn't meant to start.

He pulls back to look at me curiously.

"Vices?" he asks with bemusement.

"Yes.  Name yours."

"Oh.  Coffee, scotch, and the occasional cigar.  What about you?"

"Chocolate, coffee, and bad boys," I snicker out.

He smirks in response, and then his eyes dare me to come closer.

"Bad
boy
- singular from now on, I hope," he says with a seductive tone that sends chills all over me.

I almost dissolve under his liquefying gaze. 
Mmm.

"Definitely singular.  I don't cheat, and I can't seem to stay away from you."

"I can't tell you how happy that makes me to hear," he murmurs, and it's in a way that sends my body spiraling into full blown goddess.

The wind stirs and runs its fingers through my hair as it gently whirls it around me.  The clouds begin to darken, and Devin cringes as the lightning starts to threaten the sky.

"Baby, you have to control this.  Persia can't keep helping you.  Come on, do this.  You can do this."

The wicked grin on my face doesn't give him the relief he seeks, and more lightning jerks down as I press my lips to his.

He kisses me for a moment, but then he pulls me back.  I tilt my head in confusion, and the goddess inside me grows angry from the recoiled intimacy.

"Baby, please.  Adisia, you have to control this," he pleads.

Then a new voice interjects itself into our private conversation.

"Adisia, think about Devin needing you to stop.  Think about how he'll be injured if you don't.  Think about how this affects him when the goddess controls you," Persia yells.

I tilt my head at her, and I see a beautiful goddess inside her begging to be set free.

"You stay too locked up," my voice echoes.

"Adisia, this isn't you.  Calm the goddess.  You have to learn to control her.  Devin needs you to control her if you ever want to be together," she cautions.

Slowly the wind stalls its gust, and then stops all together.  The lightning whimpers as it's forced back into the clouds.  The clouds are trembling instead of thundering as they disperse and make room for the sunshine.

I sigh out loudly, and Devin wraps his arms around my waist to steady me.  He looks discouraged as he speaks to Persia.

"I thought she was getting control.  What happened?"

"She's growing stronger.  I can't pull the storm away from her anymore.  It's up to her already.  I wasn't expecting it to happen today, and Aphrodite shouldn't be so dominant within her.  I've never seen such a hold," she murmurs meekly.  "I knew Aphrodite would have presence, but not this strongly."

Devin kisses the top of my head just as Theia walks out.

"The storm started and stopped.  That's progress, right?" she asks Persia.

"In one respect, yes," Persia mutters unconvincingly.

Theia seems as displeased by that answer as I am.  Drat.  I thought I was getting this under control.

Persia stares expectantly.  I'm sure she would love for me to ask her what I'm doing wrong, especially since I haven't listened to a single thing she's been trying to tell me.

She finally realizes I'm not going to give her an inch, so she skulks off to the edge of the lake.  I feel a gentle breeze stirring as she tosses a leaf out in front of her.  I watch her float the leaf around like a feather in the wind.

She lets it get almost to the surface of the lake, and then she blows it back into the air to reset the cycle.  It's so relaxing to watch the gentle, repetitive motion.

"How does she do that?" I whisper almost too low.

"I don't know.  I don't have that power," Devin says in the same whisper.

"What can you do?  I mean besides your ripple thingy."

He laughs a little at my pitiful, ill-informed characterization of his ability.

"Well, besides my 'ripple thingy,' I can call to the water."

I smirk a little.  "I've always enjoyed show more than tell."

He snickers slightly, and then he pulls me into his arms.  He kisses me gently, and I can almost hear the ocean inside of me.

I pull back to see the tide rushing in his eyes, and I gasp loudly as he turns me around to see the lake forming spirals of water into the air.

The magnificent display draws me in as I gaze at the wonder dancing to a well choreographed melody only he can hear.

He kisses me on the back of the head, and the water slowly begins to descend without disturbing the surface below with a splash.

I smile, and now I'm wishing I hadn't asked him what else he could do.  I'm so flushed, hot, and burning for him right now.

"That was a bad idea," I mumble as the goddess begins to return.  "I can't control her at all."

He stares into my bright green eyes that have replaced the blue.

"There's only one person who can show you how to control the goddess and the storm.  I know you don't want to talk to her, but it's proving to be a necessary evil."

"I can't," I whisper.

He kisses me softly, and then whispers back, "You never get answers until you ask questions."

I stare at her as she continues on in her tranquil release, never having even acknowledged Devin's display of power behind her, and I sigh with begrudged acceptance for what I know I have to do.

Devin's right.  I do have questions, but not all of them are about the immortal world I've been dropped into.

"Okay."

He pecks me on the lips, and my hand trails down his chest as I walk away.

I'm slowly losing my nerve with each step.  She starts to turn when she hears me but returns to her leaf dance instead.  She's probably worried she'll spook me.  She's probably right.

I need to ask her how to subdue Aphrodite or at least rein in her power.  I need her to show me how she exercises such control.  The only thing she's told me to do that I've done is have sex, and well, obviously that wasn't exactly a difficult order to follow.

I have to ask her how she got it under control, even though that means I'm going to have to listen.  I almost want to hold my nose before diving into the deep end of the conversation I've avoided.

"Why did you leave me twice?  Why didn't you just leave me alone the first time you dumped me?  Why did you come back?"

The tears that flow from my eyes are just as unexpected as my outburst.  I never meant to touch such a personal, devastating subject.

The leaf she's been toying with surrenders to gravity and plummets to the lake's surface.  She cringes slightly, having been caught off guard by the same unexpected confrontation.

She sits down on the edge of the dock and lets her feet dangle just above the water's surface.

"I left you the first time because there was a gang of huntresses after me - Athena's daughters most likely.  I don't know how they knew who I was, where I was, or even what I was, but they did.

"Kahl had died just a few months before during another unprovoked battle, and I had been on the run with a child in my arms the whole time.  I didn't know they had found me until I felt the stinging of fire against my cheek.

"A fire wielder had caught me off guard, and I grabbed you up from the sandbox you were playing in.  From there, I did what I do best - I ran.  It's ingrained in our kind to run away when all else fails.  Something you'll learn if you haven't already.

"I made it to the hospital before they caught up with me, but I knew they were close, and I had to get you to safety.  There was a chained door that led to the basement.  I ripped the chains off and tucked you inside.  I ran for miles and miles with every intention of returning.  I couldn't shake them though.  I managed to get to a phone, and I called the hospital.  I told them where you were, and I almost fell apart when I heard on the news five days later that you had just been found.

"They never went to look for you.  I told them where you were, and they never went to look for you.  I don't even... I simply-"

Her sobbing ramble is interrupted by the sound of Devin's panicked footsteps.  Persia's eyes widen, as she
sees
something he's apparently
seen
.

"What?" I prompt, since all I can
see
is the present, not the future.

"We've got to go.  Now," Devin demands as he grabs my hand and rushes me to the car.

He scoops me up and places me over the door, and then he leaps into his seat.  The car slams into reverse, and Persia jumps in the backseat.

"I see at least ten," she whispers.

"Same here," he says in an almost inaudible tone.

He pulls out his phone, and now I can hear both whispered conversations as he wedges the phone between his ear and shoulder to enable him to shift his gears violently.

"Devin?" Theia asks in bemusement.

"Mom, there're at least five coming in from the east, two from the west, and three from the north.  They'll be there in less than ten minutes.  Persia and I are getting Adisia out of here."

"We'll handle things here.  Keep her calm, and keep her safe."

Calm?  Really?  Is anyone else here seeing this craziness, or am I alone in finding this all bizarre?

"Tell Kry to grab our stuff and meet us at the rally point when it's safe."

"I'll call you when we've resolved the issue."

He puts the phone down, and his hand reaches over to grab my trembling one.  The clouds over head begin to rumble, and lightning flickers above.

"I'm here.  Don't panic.  Just hold it back," he murmurs softly.

I look at him and try to focus on my adoration and my deep, concentrated emotion for him, but I'm derailed in my attempt as suddenly a man crashes to the road in front of us.

I scream as Devin jerks the wheel and uses the emergency brake to drift around him with professional precision.

I turn back to see the guy pounding the road with his fist, and the thunderous cracking as the road crumbles, breaks apart, and collapses behind us in a ripple.  I hear the roar of the engine as my head bobs from the ferocious acceleration when Devin outruns the destruction behind us.

My eyes lose the man as the car squeals around a sharp curve, and my hair slaps me in the face.  Persia stands to her feet, despite the wild ride, and focuses her energy behind us just as the guy emerges from around the curve.