Secret Worlds (295 page)

Moros stared up at me with Serenity’s eyes, which should have been gold, but were a dull brown instead. I let out a long breath, and the heat pulsing through my body dissipated. I’d almost fallen for their trick. If I’d given into my rage and the anguish sitting in the pit of my stomach, the ker would have seized control, leaving me only a passenger as it consumed my soul. Hermes might take out both of them, but he will have lost both of us while they escaped to find new hosts.

I gazed into Serenity’s eyes. “I seem to be saying I’m sorry to the people I care about. I’ll fix this.”

Better to sacrifice one instead of two, right? Besides, this had always been my destiny.

Moros smirked. “How noble.”

I planted my fingers on Serenity’s brow and pulled with all my inner might, not that I needed to. Moros leapt into me, jerking Serenity’s body in the process. A gray haze filled my vision as he slithered around my mind, leaving a trail of gloom in his wake. I toppled off of Serenity and curled into a ball, clutching my head with a whimper.

This was a part of Fate. I was doomed to exist as a puppet of the daimones, as so many other pandorans, as my mother had. I sobbed and curled tighter. Why should I be the only one to suffer? The world needed to feel the inevitability of pain. No matter what anyone did, in the end, we were all doomed. If I brought it about sooner, all the better. The ker’s laughter filled my head again. And in the most violent way possible.

“Cassi?” Serenity sat up and touched my shoulder.

I slapped her hand and put my back to her. “Don’t.”

I took a deep breath. I needed to regain control from the monsters inside of me. How long could I hold out? It was only a matter of time before the both of them would overpower me. My heart plummeted in my stomach as another wave passed over me. What was the point of all of this? I was a failure after all. I had known that years ago, when I’d run away. Fighting this prolonged the agony.

Just give in,
Moros’s voice whispered.
Let us take care of everything. You don’t even have to think, to feel anymore.

Yes. I could just drift away to nothing.

“Cassi, listen to me.” Hermes gripped my shoulders as he rolled me on my back. “You need to resist.”

I blinked at his obscure form. “Why? This is how it’s supposed to go.”

He leaned closer as he tilted up my chin. “I told you, the Fates aren’t that powerful, and neither is he.”

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m giving you hope.”

His lips closed over mine and the taste of olives filled my mouth, but that wasn’t the only thing that filled me. His power flowed into me, blowing away the shadows trying to eat away at my soul. Moros and the Ker shuddered, trying to regain their lost ground. Nope. With a mental blast, I sent them tumbling back into the box in the back of my head. The locks clicked with a resounding echo.

I let out a breath and gazed at the beautiful face of the god I’d lost myself to all those weeks ago.

I stuffed the last pair of jeans into my suitcase, shut it, and climbed on top so I could close the metal latches. I slid off to the floor and rolled over on my back with a huff. That was it. All my favorite things in life crammed into an old plastic relic that existed before my mother’s time.

Serenity knocked on the door frame. “Packed already?”

I tilted my head back for a better view of her. “Yeah. My flight leaves in a few hours you know.”

She sat beside me with a small sigh. “I was kind of hoping you’d miss it.”

“Me too. Why do you think it took me so long to pack?”

She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “Do you really have to go?”

“It’s already been a week,” I said. “Even with the power that Hermes’s gave me, I can’t hold them back forever. I need to go home and lock them away.”

“What will I do without you?”

She stared at the floor as she played with the hem of her jeans. She still hadn’t completely recovered from her possession. The shadows under her eyes weren’t as deep as the ones that hung in her golden irises. Over the past week, she’d stuck close to me, barely going out, even to classes. They were something both of us had avoided.

I patted her on the arm. “It’ll only be for a little while. Besides, you’ll have Hermes here.”

She rolled her eyes. “What’s going on between the two of you?’

I shrugged. “I don’t know. He saved my life when he didn’t have to, so he’s not evil like I’ve been taught. But to love a god …”

“Never works out well.” She smiled at me sadly. “But you’re stronger than my mother. Maybe things will be better.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you giving me your approval?”

“Not really. It’s still weird, but he’s a god, and they do what they want.”

I stood and stretched. “I should get going. It takes forever to get through DFW airport.”

She rose to her feet and hugged me. I stiffened with my eyes widening before returning the embrace. Here was Serenity, the girl who tried to avoid physical displays of affection when she could, actually seeking it out. This ordeal had changed both of us, and maybe not all in bad ways.

I pulled away and took the urn containing my aunt’s remains from my dresser. Thanks to Hermes, the police had finally stopped questioning me about my possible involvement in the events at the hospital and had finally released her remains to me.

“One last trip home,” I said softly.

With my luggage in one hand and the urn in the other, I left the place I’d come to know as home for the last three years and the girl that had become my soul sister. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. This wasn’t forever. I’d be in and out, and to Hades with whatever other plans my family had. My life was mine and I was going to take control the right way this time. I would stand up to Aunt Dahlia and let her know how I felt. I marched down the steppes with my chest lifted and found Hermes leaning against his car with his arms crossed.

“I figured you would need a ride,” he said.

I glanced around at the other parked cars. “I should have had a taxi waiting.”

“Yeah.” He grinned. “I sent him away.”

I set my case down. “All right then.”

I stared out the window as we rode in silence along the highway toward the airport. All the words I wanted to say jumbled in my head the minute I would open my mouth. After a while, I couldn’t stand it and flipped on the radio. The melody of a string quartet filled the car. I glanced at him with a rueful smile.

“I should have taken you up on that concert,” I said.

He chuckled. “When you come back, I’ll take you to all the concerts in the world.”

I rested my hand on his knee, and he threaded his fingers through mine. His touch sent a tingle through my arm, but I’d come to love the feeling of touching him. All too soon, the toll booths of the airport appeared. I sat up straighter, the tendons in my back tightening as he pulled up beside the three story terminal that lead to a place I hadn’t thought of as home long before I left it.

“I could come with you,” he said.

“No,” I said. “They would all be after you. Besides, I need to do this on my own.”

He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close to him over the console. “I finally got you in my arms and now you’re leaving.”

“I’ll come back and we will see what this is and where we can take it.”

“Even if we have to fight the Fates?”

“To Tartarus with the Fates.”

His lips closed over mine and our breaths became one. Whatever the future held, whatever my family had in store for me, I would always treasure this moment.

Cursed with Immortality; surrounded by Madness. A Prescription for Delirium.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AFL4JF6

USA Today Bestselling author, Noree Cosper loves writing about magic in the modern world. While growing up in Texas she constantly searched for mystical elements in the mundane. She buried her nose in both fiction and books about Wicca, Religion, and Mythology. Everyday became an adventure as she joined a group of role-players, acting out her fantasies of vampires, demons, and monsters living in the world.

She embraced her nerdom wholeheartedly.

Noree grew, but never left her love for fantasy and horror. Her dreams pushed her and her hand itched to write the visions she saw. So, with her fingers on the keys, she did what her heart had been telling her to do since childhood. She wrote.

Visit Noree’s Website at
http://www.noreecosper.com/

Frigid air burned my throat with each gulp I took. I forced my legs to pump faster, desperate for my escape. They ached with resistance, burning with a need to cease movement. But the Balai were behind me, rapidly closing the gap between us. Their armor clanked and pounded in uneven rhythms echoing through the alley. I pushed myself harder, not wanting to be caught, because this time, I would be sent to the Cyr Gypsies.

I struggled to remain on my feet as I made my way through the garbage-ridden passage. Propelled by fear and the sting of betrayal made that goal more difficult. Fear, because I know what the Cyrs do to girls, and the sting, because I trusted someone and got burned. For someone I considered my best friend, he found it easy to frame me for stealing. I never thought it was possible.

Yet, I reached the end of the alley, searching for an easy slip-through amongst the crowd of townsfolk doing their daily shopping. Their loud bartering with the merchants overwhelmed the sound of my chase. I’ve never been more grateful for the busiest time in the square. With no easy way through, I rushed into the crowd, knocking over a few unsuspecting customers in the process. Their angry shouts fell on deaf ears as I ran along the cobblestone road that stretched through the heart and length of Hafton toward the woods that surrounded the town.

As I weaved through the small clusters of people in the crowded marketplace, a loud roar of more disgruntled shoppers behind me signaled the Balai’s appearance. Judging by the commotion, they caused more of a mess and surprise than I did. They shouted halts and tried to call the crowd to catch me, but I was too fast for them.

The woods were so close I could taste the sweetness of freedom on my tongue. Once I crossed into them, the chase would be over. The guard would be forced to give up. They’d have no hope of catching me and I would be free. Forever.

Prompted the quieting of the commotion behind me, I risked a turn to see if the Balai had given up. They had slowed but still made their way toward me. I turned back around to continue my run to freedom as I slammed into someone. Firm hands grabbed a hold of me, stilling my heart with the shock of icy fear that jolted through my body. The fact we didn’t fall to the ground with the force of the hit surprised me. Yet, he stood strong, and I watched with silent horror as the hood slid off his head, revealing long black hair that curled at the tips in soft ringlets. The color matched his eyes which were like gazing into black orbs that pierced into my soul.

Ask any woman and she would tell you he’s perfect. Any one besides me, of course. I saw the flaws that made him otherwise. The arches of his eyebrows, for example, were too wide and too high. The length of his nose was too long and squared—not to mention that it ended with an abrupt point. And his lips? Although they may appear perfect from a distance, they were, in fact, uneven and tilted slightly to the left. Clearly imperfect.

“In a bit of trouble again?” he asked, then smiled. Any other girl would swoon, but not me. Luckily, I’m immune to such atrocities. I rolled my eyes as he released his grip on my arms.

“Marren,” I forced out between breaths, “if you’ll excuse me, I need to go…”

I stepped to the side, attempting to continue my short jaunt into the woods of my protection, but stopped when he grabbed my arm again, spinning me around to face the guard, now closer to me than was comfortable.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Relena.” He started toward the guard. I struggled against him, but he tightened his grip.

“I’ve been set up,” I added, hoping for…anything other than to be handed to the Balai.

He chuckled. The musical sound of it caught me off guard, faltering my step. My heart did an erratic flip, flushing my cheeks with warmth, furthering my insult to injury. I hoped Marren didn’t see and struggled more as he tightened his grip.

“You’re hurting my arm,” I said with a clip in my tone.

“Now, now, Relena, your temper is going to get you into more trouble.” His teasing tone saturated his words. It angered me to the point my blood boiled.

“I’m not buying your poor shot at charm. You’ve got me mistaken with the rest of the town,” I said.

His smile faded.

The Balai finally met us, still struggling to regain their breath while I breathed with ease. Every single one of them had sweat pouring from them. These men protected Hafton? The pitiful excuses for guards.

“Relena,” Head Guard Lawrence said, red in the face. His features were scrunched as he panted. His obvious love for spice cakes and ale were the biggest contribution to it, no doubt.

“You’ve done it now.” He panted a few more times then removed a red cloth from under his cuirass and wiped his brow, replacing it when he finished. “Take her.”

Two guards emerged from the back of the group. They slowly stepped closer to me. My lips curled at the caution that widened their eyes and each one’s hand stationed directly above the hilts of their swords.

“Thank you, Marren,” Head Guard Lawrence said.

“My pleasure.” The thickness of flattery in his voice made me glance over my shoulder as he bowed his head.

I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breath, “Arrogant bastard.”

Marren loosened his grip on my arm as the two guards approached, ready to take me into custody. I took the last chance to make my escape, dashing for the border of trees. This time I didn’t stop or look back until safely hidden in the shelter of the woods and deep enough they wouldn’t dare follow.