Immortal Destiny
Chapter 28.
The lightning flashed across the sky and a sonic boom echoed across the air directly above them. Kaye screamed and buried her head into Kento's chest. Her heart raced as she felt the car spin wildly out of control.
Kento kept his arms wrapped around her as he shut his eyes tightly. Fighting the Dynasty had excited him. Fighting Mukula was a challenge. But to know you were closer to death than ever before simply terrified him. Would they make it through this? Would they crash and be injured? What about Kaye and their unborn child? He couldn't bear the thought of losing either one of them.
Cye did his best to keep control of the car, but it was nigh impossible. His first instinct was to put his foot on the brake, and he started to do just that when he heard a voice speak to him. 'Do not put your foot on the brake.'
Cye was nonplussed. His heart raced as the car careened across four lanes, causing other vehicles to dodge. Horns blaring filled his ears, and he nearly felt nauseated. When would this end?
Kaye trembled. This was happening too fast, and it seemed never ending. She wanted the car to stop, but not be placed into a more hazardous situation than the one they were in now. She wrapped her arms around her stomach as the thought her unborn child flashed in her mind. Would he survive?
Kento dared to peek open his eyes. Even through the sudden downpour of rain, he could see. The car was still spinning in a careening circle across the highway. It spun across a patch of a divider strip, and was heading directly for a guardrail on the other side. His eyes widened and he quickly closed them again. 'We're going to die,' he thought fearfully to himself.
Cye's heart stopped at once and all color drained from his face. They were going to go through the guardrail and over the embankment and there was nothing he could do about it. If they lived through this, he would be utterly surprised.
The car zoomed along, skidding on the side, fishtailing wildly, then double looping back around, facing the other direction. Sparks flew as fiberglass made contact with aluminum. The car traveled at ninety miles an hour, careening backwards as if some powerful force had suddenly gripped it. When it came to a gap in the guardrail and the tail of the car went over the edge, everyone inside the car screamed. But suddenly, the car lurched upward and propelled itself up over the embankment. It landed twenty five feet away, resting directly onto the divider strip, facing the opposite direction. The car had finally come to a stop.
Silence loomed in the car for several moments. When realization hit, they opened their eyes, feeling amazed.
"How did we live through that?" Kento wondered as his heart still pounded.
"I… I don't know," Kaye gasped. "But I've never been so scared in my life. We came close to dying."
"I thought so too," Cye said quietly. "I was frightened out of my mind like you. I wanted to do everything I could to stop the car, and I was about to put my foot down on the brake. But a voice told me not to. Afterward, I couldn't move my foot."
"Cye, did this voice sound like…. Sadie?" Kaye ventured a guess.
Cye was silent as he considered the tone of the voice, and the way it sounded. He finally nodded. "Yes, now that you mentioned it, it did sound a lot like him."
Kaye nodded in gratitude, closed her eyes, and laid her head against Kento's shoulders.
"Well, that makes me feel a lot better," Kento said. "It's nice to know we have someone divine on our side."
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Ryo felt antsy. Rowen had tried calling Cye two hours after he had last called, dialing all three cell numbers, but receiving no answer from any of them. Where could they be? He kept watch out the window, watching the storm.
"We should have heard something by now," Flash pointed out as she looked out the window too.
"This storm could have something to do with their delay though," Scorpio pointed out. His aura was glowing yellow from the rain and he felt empowered by it. But it was too bad he could do nothing to help his friends.
"Scorpio has a point, Ryo," Rowen said as he looked up from his laptop. The lights suddenly flickered and everyone became still, watching them with apprehension.
"We better get the candles and flashlights," Ryo said dryly.
"I'll get them," Flash offered. "You just keep put and see if you see them or anything." She left the living room and walked out to the kitchen where she found the extra candlesticks and four flashlights. After checking the batteries, she returned.
"Okay, three flashlights work. I put the other back as there are no spare batteries," she said as she lit the candles and put them up high, then set the flashlights in near reach.
"This will work," Ryo said with a nod.
"You know, if the power does go out, we could probably use Scorpio to get by too," Rowen said with a smile.
"Oh, har har."
Ryo continued to look out the window, wishing the storm would let up. If it was the cause of their delay, he hoped they had found a safe place to be until it stopped. He rubbed his temples. Why on earth was this happening? If only they had teleportation powers, or something.
Rowen kept himself busy. He was worried, but agonizing over the situation wasn't going to help anything. He accessed a few web sites and browsed through information of mythical dark creatures, such as vampires and werewolves. Only vampires were not mythical. He was tempted to correct the web mistress.
Vampires were fascinating creatures, capable of great speeds, strengths, agilities. They could even cohabit with humans, but chose not to. However, some were willing to cohabit with half breeds, though it was unusual and looked down upon by members of the higher society.
Even more interesting were who the enemies of the vampires were. Angels were the number one enemy, followed by wolves, and finally werewolves. This information could come in handy. Perhaps this was why Blaze was gathering an army of wolves.
He read further. The vampires had made their home in the Dynasty and took it over completely after Talpa was vanquished according to the dates given on the web site. Then two years later, the half breeds came into existence, overtaking the realm from the original vampires.
Rowen rubbed his eyes. The information seemed to be partly thorough, but the web mistress did not know that Talpa had come back the year before. So what happened to the vampires and half breeds during those times? Was it possible they were forced to exile and returned when they learned of Talpa's destruction? Or did the Tao had something to do with their return before it was cast away?
Flash watched Rowen for a few minutes before she started to head to the kitchen. She paused and looked back at the others. "Anyone want something to drink while I'm in the kitchen?" she asked.
"Water," Scorpio said.
"Tea," Ryo answered.
"Lemonade," Rowen said as he continued to browse the internet.
"Alright." Flash headed into the kitchen.
Getting the drinks did not take long and Flash soon returned to the living room. She handed the water to Scorpio, the tea to Ryo, the lemonade to Rowen, and she kept the orange juice for herself.
Time seemed to pass too slowly for them, and now and then Ryo fidgeted. Where could they be? He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Kento's number. The cell rang and rang. There was no answer.
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Duncan had trouble going back to sleep. Tossing and turning was the only way to express his unease. His father had abandoned him by turning against him. Was it his fault that he had turned out like this? Damn this curse. Duncan clutched the sheets with tightening fingers as he cussed in the darkness.
"Cussing is the way of showing one how angry you are inside," Meiji's voice came from outside his door.
Duncan smirked as he sat up. "You would know, wouldn't you?"
"I haven't cussed in nearly five years to be frank."
Duncan exited the room and came to sit with Meiji in the small living room. Meiji sat on his recliner, smoking some type of long pipe. The aroma was sweet and immediately Duncan found himself relaxing as he sat opposite of Meiji.
"So, you couldn't sleep either?" Duncan asked pointedly.
"It really isn't any of your business," Meiji said with disgust. "But if you must know, no I could not sleep."
Duncan smirked to himself. "Care to tell why?"
"Why? You honestly wouldn't care, now would you?"
"You're right. I probably wouldn't care."
"Then I shall not tell you."
Duncan shrugged to himself and continued to sit there in the semi darkness. The glow from the two candle lights cast their shadows upon the walls, and the two men sat in silence. A piercing howl suddenly echoed through the night time air, and Duncan immediately stiffened.
'Blaze', he thought to himself, feeling the pull to obey the great prince of the wolves.
Meiji listened half briefly to the howling, then glanced toward Duncan. The man was sweating and twitching nervously. "Problems?" he stated with a half look.
"You wouldn't care," Duncan said.
"I just might." Meiji had noticed Duncan's peculiar behavior since the howl of the wolf. There was something strangely different about his unwelcome guest.
Duncan rolled his eyes and shook his head. The howling continued, this time followed by more howling by different wolves. The sweating increased and Duncan's muscles began to twitch and bulge. He covered his ears.
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Mia laid in bed staring at the high vaulted ceiling above her. Beside her, Faros slept. She glanced toward him with a semi smile on her face. There had been no doubt their love making had been incredible, but still she could not get that distraught face out of her mind.
Why was she so enticed by his face? She did not care about Sage. He was nothing more than sustenance for her. So why did her heart quicken its beat every time she thought about him?
She rolled over onto her side, facing her husband. How handsome he was with his smooth pale white skin, those long eyelashes, the thin eyebrows, the perfect chiseled features that was his face. His long red hair flowed over his shoulders and framed a part of his face. She moved some of his bangs aside and smiled. Without him, she would be a monster only knowing killing and surviving. Here with him, she had power, and a beautiful place to call home, servants even. She was served here, instead of being a server.
So, why wasn't she completely happy here? She growled to herself. She should have killed Sage without warning. She was letting him get to her as usual. There had to be a way to prevent herself from falling under the power of Halo, but how?
Mia did not know, but she could not allow herself to be controlled by these thoughts. There had to be a way to get some sleep. She snuggled closer to her husband, and felt comforted when he put his arm around her, drawing her against him. Even in his sleep, he loved her.
Mia closed her eyes and settled in. Soon, she would have Sage, either dead or alive. Soon, she would know the full extent of his power of light, and use that against him. Her breathing deepened and she drifted off to sleep, content in the arms of Faros.
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Sage continued to stare at the ceiling above him, his every thought whispering and lamenting over Mia. Mia, the woman he loved with no denying. Mia, the woman who had brought the Ronins together and took care of them. The very first woman outside their own families who accepted them for who they were.
Downstairs, he heard the others talking. He was worried about Kento, Kaye, and Cye too, but he couldn't bring himself to share in the grief. They were still free weren't they? But Mia was not. Mia, Mia, Mia!
And the tears erupted from Sage's eyes as he buried his face into his pillow, his body shaking great sobs of inner torment. Outside, the storm was finally over, but the storm within Sage continued.
