Pandora's Box (17 page)

Chapter Thirty-Two

A year of learning how to hunt down evil bastards, and all of their successes could be placed at Amos’s feet. Madison simply pulled up a computer-generated map, put it in front of Amos, and he would point and click on the exact location of evil. Ghosts, vampires, shifters—both cat and wolf breeds—and, of course, all races of demons.

Easy as pie, sending them back to Hell!

Sometimes thoughts from Pandora’s Box leaked free. Horrified by what it wanted—power, world domination, mass murder—she struggled every day to keep the lid locked tight.

Worrying about keeping Amos on the side of good kept her awake at night, not the mutterings of Pandora’s Box.

Amos feared nothing in their new life. Madison was petrified of everything. Most of all, she dreaded the final battle with Micah. Surviving the fight wasn’t the biggest of her worries, rather, not bowing to Micah’s demonic ambition. Would she be strong enough to resist the temptation he would offer? Would she be strong enough to resist what he offered, if Amos ultimately turned as well?

These questions barraged her at night, when she couldn’t escape the actual act of thinking. Knowing there wouldn’t be answers until the final showdown didn’t make them any easier to bear.

Now, after two months of collecting all the necessary spelunking equipment, they’d driven to the Naica region near Chihuahua, Mexico and descended into the Cave of Crystal Giants. More than one local referred to the cave as the Highway to Hell because of the oppressive heat, temperatures in excess of one hundred twenty degrees Fahrenheit, and humidity at one-hundred percent. No human could withstand the environment of the cave without special equipment, and even then only for very short periods of time.

She and Amos were extraordinary, or so he said. They wouldn’t need the special equipment to withstand the furnace of the Cave of Crystal Giants. They would only need to get into the cave undetected, equipped with good sets of hiking boots and helmets with lights, and they’d be set. Thankfully, rappelling wouldn’t be required. Vertical drops weren’t Madison’s thing.

It had been necessary to wait until evening after the last of the scientists exited the cave. Once inside and beyond the ‘Do Not Cross’ boundary, the heat of the cave hit her like a blast of swirling air from a newly-opened oven. This heat could blister the skin and clog the lungs with excessive moisture. That much moisture would suffocate a ‘normal’ person. Thanks to their genetic makeup, she and Amos would forever be abnormal. Their easy acclimation to the environment proved—at least in her mind—their kinship with Hell.

They squeezed through a two-foot wide opening at the very back of the cave to go where Amos indicated. No easy feat for a five-foot-nine and a half-inch woman. She managed, scraping her arms on the crystal though that seemed the least of her concerns the deeper they descended.

Shifting from foot to foot, Amos’s hiking boots creaked as he waited for her to squeeze through the crack. No time to waste, she caught up to him at the back of the tiny cave, the walls and crystals bearing down on them in such tight confines it felt like a stifling coffin.

“Lead the way,” she said, rubbing at the stinging scratch on her arm.

For an hour, they descended deeper into the earth, going into holes no mortal likely ever ventured through. Their headgear provided insufficient illumination to aid their adventure, but a plethora of phosphorescent plants brightened the underground cavern and grew thicker the further they penetrated, easing their passage.

They climbed over clear selenite gypsum crystals. Other types were milky, and no less fascinating. Amazing creations, leaving her spellbound and in awe of Mother Nature’s random beauty. The crystals formed natural angles and bursts of brilliance to rival any manmade cathedral. Superman’s Fortress of Solitude hideout couldn’t compete with this wonder.

Sparkling formations as round as she was tall made for dangerous conditions. Climbing over the bigger ones proved impossible, and they were forced to backtrack long distances on hands and knees to get around a handful of them. Some of the more massive crystals measured one-hundred yards before disappearing inside the opposite walls. Slow going for her. Amos traversed it with ease, often waiting on her to make it through a tight squeeze or pick her way around a broad-based spire.

Ah, the joy of nimble youth!

At least her body tamped down the temperature to nothing more bothersome than a southern heat wave. Now, at least, she understood why a sweltering summer day rarely bothered her the way it affected other southerners. Mix a little demonic blood in with her DNA and a person developed heat tolerance.

After nearly two hours of hiking through the “Crystal Jungle,” Amos came to a halt, staring at the biggest selenite they’d seen thus far. Easily six feet wide and a football field in length, this particular gypsum beam didn’t protrude at the odd angles of all the others. Positioned in a perfect, vertical line, it spiked and disappeared into both the ceiling and floor of the cave. No telling what its true dimensions were.

Beneath their feet, the earth vibrated. Instinct divulged they stood directly over a magma chamber. In theory, even with all their ice suits and the oxygen masks filling their lungs with cool air, no human could withstand the humid atmosphere long enough to get this far. A very small thanks for their demon blood, otherwise she and Amos would be dead.

The sight of a man frozen inside the perpendicular beam staggered Madison. No mortal being could survive like that. She knew he lived, because his frantic eyes, apparently the only parts of him not in stasis, followed their movement.

What creature generated enough strength to trap him inside? Had he been placed there because he posed a danger to humanity? Or maybe he threatened the supernatural community?

Instinct propelled her backward, away from the male and his intense stare. Nothing about him seemed imposing. Hands curled into fists at his sides, as if frozen just before he executed a release of the power he channeled. Short for a man, no taller than five-nine, a half inch shorter than her maybe. A lithe, runner-like frame without an impressive muscular build. Nix outshined him in sex appeal.

Black hair, a bit too shaggy, and a scruffy five o’clock shadow. A scowl ridged his forehead and created deep gouges between the slashes of his eyebrows. Eyes the color of high-polished silver, magnificent…yet stark, stony, and terrifying, convinced her he would be pitiless enough to kill without emotion. The eerie sensation tickling up her spine prickled the hair on her neck.

No, nothing physically imposing about him caused her to backpedal. Rather, the taste of harsh metals hitting her tongue, suggestive of magnificent, uncontrollable power.

“Amos, are you sure about this? I don’t think he likes us very much.”

“He thinks we’re here to kill him.” Amos waved at the trapped male. No wave back from him, of course. “He’s good.”

She took a deep breath, released it slowly. Now wasn’t the time to start questioning him, or his visions.

Amos’s prophesies were always right.

“So, how are you getting him out?”

“I can’t. You are.”

Madison swiveled toward Amos. “No time for jokes, angel.” She tapped her foot against the cave floor. The subsequent echo reminded her how deep they were. Unnerved by the reminder, she quit. “I’m not the one with the power. You are.”

If he wanted a man enslaved for life, or the life force sucked out of him during the act of sex, she was his go-to person. Whatever would be required to break him free wasn’t her forte.

Amos ran a finger over the crystal containing the frozen entity. “Daddy created this place with Pandora power just to hold him.”

Great! Freaking great! She guessed that nixed the theory the Cave of Crystal Giants dated back more than four hundred million years. At least she didn’t think Micah was that old. It did answer her question about who put him there.

“Only Pandora power can bust him free.”

Even better! Forced to use the demonic box she despised to break a preternatural creature from a colossal gypsum crystal. Nothing out of the ordinary about that!

Amos kicked the beam, and a hollow sound reverberated around them. “Neat!” His eyes glowed with excitement. Only a child would find this adventure thrilling.

“How do I do this?”

He shrugged. “Dunno.”

Yeah, she didn’t know either. Unsure where to begin to tap into the power of Pandora’s Box, she grew uncomfortable thinking about it.

No demons loose. Please don’t set any demons loose
.

Pandora thoughts moved greasily through her, making her feel dirty. A good reminder that whatever lay within the Box wanted freedom and would fight to gain its liberty.

Knees shaky, she stepped up to the crystal and stared into the eyes of the trapped creature. He returned her stare, or could that be her imagination? She wished she knew more about him. Releasing him without knowing what creature he called kin felt like she jumped into dark waters blindly. Amos’s visions were of little reassurance to her at that moment.

Madison closed her eyes, focused on the Box, and visualized it opening. The lid cracked, and she jerked ramrod straight, her teeth jarred together—maybe fracturing, they impacted so hard. The explosive power she unleashed violated her nervous system worse than a Blackbird jet at speeds in excess of Mach 3.2. The G-force of this would rip the average soul loose from its body.

Can’t…hold onto…power…long
.

She placed her left hand on the crystal and focused the movement of the power to race through her body and channel into her left hand.

Too much…too much
…

She feared exploding into a gazillion pieces and bringing the house of crystals down with her. Gritting her teeth hard, she was surprised when they weren’t pulverized from the force rocketing through her.

The crystal vibrated beneath her fingertips, yet held strong.

She flung her head back and yelled, “More!”

Needles of power screeched through her veins, attacking her head in pinpricks of explosive agony, forcing her to her knees, her kneecaps burning in painful abuse. Her body shook like an uncontrolled grand mal seizure as power coalesced into her left hand. Madison screamed. The cave floor shook, rolled, and buckled beneath them. All around them, gypsum crystals chimed.

Blackness tunneled her vision, blocking out everything except the trapped male. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her heart pounded too fast in her ears. She convulsed, braced both hands on the crystal, and jerked straight up. A shriek ripped from her lungs hard enough she feared her vocal chords would be permanently affected. Power shot from her fingertips, the crystal rippled…rippled again. Another scream, hoarse this time, and the gypsum shattered, giving up the fight and releasing its prisoner.

Madison crumpled on jagged selenite as the spray of shattered shards spewed forth. Muscle cramps abducted her body, rendering her helpless as she retched.

She expected crystal stasis to render the man’s movements lethargic. Wrong! He moved faster than her eye could follow, snatched her gun off her belt, and pressed the barrel to her temple.

So hot the barrel had grown warm. She’d seriously lost her mind if those were the type of thoughts she suffered when a supernatural creature pressed a pistol to her temple.

“Amos,” she whispered, hoping he could handle this new situation.

“Can’t hurt him,” Amos said, a bit too chirpily. “He’s immortal, and we need him.”

What an oxymoron, because she couldn’t harm him or anything right now. Steeling her spine, she forced her cramping arms to push her over onto her butt. She peered at the immortal and infused as much attitude as she could into her voice. “Busting your murderous ass out of your crystal prison wasn’t a fucking picnic. So, do whatever you’re going to do, just do it fast and put me out of my misery.”

As they engaged in a battle of wills, the immortal stared unblinking into her eyes. “Why would the succubus wife of the demon who put me here release me? Or his spawn, for that matter?”

Well, isn’t he just a know-it-all!

“I hate the motherfucker. I would do almost anything to thwart him,” she said, in a level tone. Forehead creasing, he seemed surprised by her admission. “Just for the record, my spawn is named Amos. We prefer ‘son’ over the insensitive word ‘spawn,’ if you please.”

“You could be lying.”

She snorted. “I don’t have the energy.” She studied her shredded hands. Blood covered her to her elbows. “So what’s your name?”

“I don’t have a name. I’m a Zennyo Ryuo.”

“Right. Congrats. I’m a…succubus-human.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes at the bizarre conversation. “I’ll just call you Zennyo—or Zen—when I can dredge up the energy, that is.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Instead of “Hello,” she received a gruff, “Nix,” when he answered his cell.

“Hey, sexy,” Madison said, forcing cheerfulness into her tone. She leaned her elbows on the rail of the balcony, phone tucked beneath her chin.

“Mads?” She thought he sat up.

“Yeah.” At times like this, she wished she smoked. Any nasty addiction to turn to for comfort would suffice.

“What’s wrong?” He definitely sat up this time, the rustling of covers and the squeaking of bedsprings loud through their connection.

“Nothing.”
Everything!

“Mads….” He whispered furiously, the sound of a door opening and clicking closed coming through on his end, loud and clear. “You didn’t call me at two a.m. to tell me nothing was wrong.”

Madison expelled a long, shaky breath. “I think we made a mistake tonight.”

Concern tensed his voice, “What’d you do?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just released a genie from its crystal prison.”
And used Pandora’s Box to bust him out
. Oh, and let’s not forget how dirty she felt now with the magic still thrumming through her, hard, rendering sleep impossible.

He whistled low. “Sounds diabolical.”

She laughed. Nix could lighten any situation. “He had to be trapped for a good reason, right?”

“Depends.”
On what?
“Where are you, Mads?”

“Mexico.” She scanned the Mexican city, poverty stark in every direction. “You?”

“South Beach, Miami.” The sound of his husky voice said enough; she didn’t have to see his expression. “The news said a level six earthquake struck Chihuahua, Mexico today.”

Yeah, that earthquake was little ole’ me channeling the awesome power of Pandora’s Box
. “South Beach, huh?”

“Yeah, beautiful beaches.”

Skirt-chasing Nix would be in his element there. Jealousy made more vibrant by Pandora’s magic hit her hard. She hoped her phone call interrupted something naughty before it happened. “I guess there aren’t any hot babes there.”

“None as smoking hot as you.”

“Flirt.” The corners of her mouth turned up at his compliment anyway.

“Guilty.” From his end came the honking of horns and the revving of engines. “Tell me exactly where in Mexico you are, and I’ll be on the next flight.”

“No.”

“You need me, or you wouldn’t have called.” His voice turned a shade darker. Agitation, maybe—hard to tell without seeing his expression.

“I don’t need you here.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. She shouldn’t have called Nix. No need for him to worry along with her.

“What do you need?”

Loaded question.

“I don’t know.” She tapped her fingernails on the rail. “Someone to tell me we made the right decision.”

“Okay.” A long pause screamed between them. “Why’d Amos break out this…this crystal genie?”

“I broke him out, not Amos.” Sirens blared in the background, fitting for their conversation, and probably his reaction. “With the power from Pandora’s Box.”

A sharp intake of breath. “You think that was safe? Or wise?”

“Most likely not.”
Definitely not.
“No other options were available. Amos couldn’t break the crystal. Only the power of Pandora’s Box could.”

“Uh huh.” She could picture him rubbing his eyes, deep in thought over her disturbing news. “Why’d you break this crystal genie out?”

“Amos’s idea.”

“You do everything he tells you to do?”

“Pretty much. He’s always right on these supernatural things.” She jerked toward the door as a hard bang rattled the lamp beside the bed. “Hold on….”

She peeked around the door from the balcony. Amos lay on his side, facing her, sleeping peacefully. A quick glance about the room exposed nothing lurking in the shadows. Silence, too loud, pulsed in her ears; her breathing grew ragged as she moved across the room and peeked out the window.

“Mads?” Nix’s voice expressed his alarm. “Mads?

“Sorry,” she whispered, stepping quickly through the hotel room and out onto the balcony. She tugged hard on the sliding glass door. The irritating thing kept sticking. “I thought I heard something.”

“Next time, keep me at your freaking ear.”

Madison laughed. “What would you have me do, Nix, hand the phone to my attacker so you can talk him to death?”

“Not amused, Mads.”

He would be if he realized how protected she’d become from supernatural entities. They all scrambled to get away from her and Amos. She bet the Birminghams never engineered such reactions.

“Phoenix, are you coming back to bed?” Madison went brittle still at the sound of the faint, female voice coming through the receiver.

The fumbling noise led her to think he covered the mouth piece of his cell phone. “Business call,” he whispered furiously.

“Oh, God.” She squinted her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead. She should have asked if he were alone. “I’m interrupting.” She gulped, but couldn’t bring herself to utter the word ‘sorry.’ It’d be a lie if she said it.

Kill the bitch!
The green-eyed monster surged through her system fast, and she stumbled, managing to catch her fall against the banister. Stark evidence the lid on Pandora’s Box remained ajar. She hoped she could eventually replace the airtight seal. Never, never would she tap into the diabolical power again.

Pain as sharp as a scalpel cut without anesthesia through her breastbone. How long would it take before she wrestled the power back under control?

“No…um…we’re finish—erm…it’s over….” It sounded like he pulled the phone away from his ear. “Shit!” she heard distinctly, even though the word was muted. “Mads, I’m always here for you. Regardless.”

Regardless he might be screwing someone else silly?
Dear God
.

“I shouldn’t have called.”

A threesome. A threesome would work.
Madison bent over and pounded her forehead on the railing. She knew it wouldn’t eliminate Pandora’s manic thoughts. It never hurt to try. A threesome would never be an option. Not with any man.

Nix’s voice elevated a fraction. “Don’t you dare hang up on me!” She faced the door to the hotel room, as he prompted her with, “Tell me about your crystal genie.”

A dark shadow walked toward her. Fear should have propelled her into fighting action.

Killkillkill…. Fightfightfight
….

With Micah’s unwanted protection, she guessed the shadow posed little threat. The figure stepped into a beam of moonlight.

Zennyo Ryuo. Her crystal genie.

“He’s not mine.” No one would ever own this crystal genie. The power she sensed coming from him in the cave was magnified in his direct presence. “I gotta go.”

“Mads, don’t hang up. Mads—”

She disconnected the call. Zen stepped into the doorway and braced his hands on the frame.

“How much of the conversation did you hear?”

“All of it.”

“Sorry.” Sorry he heard her, but not regretting any of the words she said.

“Why? I haven’t decided if I should let you or Amos live either.”

Madison swallowed. Nothing demonic would dare harm them, but she’d gleaned from Amos that Zen wasn’t demonic or angelic. His moral system rested on a plane she couldn’t begin to comprehend. Why would Amos insist they needed him?

“Comforting,” she drawled. “A thank you isn’t necessary for busting you out of your crystal crypt. Veiled threats express gratitude so much better, don’t ya think?”

Zen stared at her, the wind ruffling his bangs and resettling them over his forehead. “I don’t understand the translation of your words. I will assume you were being sarcastic.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “You think?”

“I could kill you without lifting a finger, and still you speak to me this way?” He cocked his head to the side as if she were a curious bug he inspected. “Your brazenness amuses me.”

It would have made her feel better if he appeared amused. He displayed no emotion. Freaky! And disconcerting.

“You’re injured,” he said.

“No.” Amos had healed her palms before they left the cave. Minor injuries, he could take care of.

“I know your head is hurting.”

Her head felt like it would combust and at the moment, she welcomed the outcome just to stop the pain.

“A very different thing from being injured. But, yes.” She rubbed her temples. “Opening Pandora’s Box to shatter your crystal home was more taxing than I expected.”

“Yes.” He stepped onto the balcony. “You’re having trouble keeping the lid closed.”

“How do you know that?” She frowned. “You reading my mind or something?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?” She flinched when he took her left hand, cocooning it between both of his. “To which part? Reading my mind? Or something?”

“I read minds.”

“Great.”

Warmth pulsed against her hand as his eyes grew bright. His forefinger circled the emblem of Pandora’s Box. “I turn it off most of the time. Your pain and worry were screeching too loud to tune out.”

“Sorry?”

He stared at her and shrugged. “Think about closing and latching the lid.”

“Okay.” She closed her eyes. Unbidden images of Nix and some naked, sweaty floozy rose behind her lids. The floozy’s legs anchored around Nix’s hips and…Madison gasped, snapping her eyes open.

“No! No!” Zen said. “Focus! Close and latch the lid.”

“Okay…okay.” The erotic images tried to rise again. She tamped them down and called up the image of Pandora’s Box. She slammed the lid down with a mental shove and gave a dramatic flick of her wrist to latch it tight.

“Good.” Zen sounded pleased by her success. “You learn fast. There may be hope for you yet.”

Lucky her
. She’d live to fight her battle with Micah after all. If Zen didn’t change his mind and kill her.

“What did you do while you were holding my hand?”

“Trapped the power in one place, making it easier for you to concentrate.”

“Thanks.”

“Sure.” His eyes returned to their normal silver.

He stared until she began to fidget. “What?”

“You torment yourself with sexual images of Phoenix Birmingham. Why?”

“We’re just friends.”

A black eyebrow arched. “You see images of your friends copulating often?”

Thankfully, no. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Indeed. You mortals have confused me for centuries.” He turned, pushed the glass door open. “You should sleep. Get some rest before morning.”

“What about you?”

“Zennyo Ryuos don’t need sleep. We meditate to recharge.”

She guessed he wouldn’t need any more meditation right away. He’d been meditating every day since his imprisonment. However long that might’ve been.