19
Rayne opened her eyes, aware that the quality of light coming from the window could only mean one thing; a storm coming. She stretched and sat up, pushing the blanket off of her body. She felt oddly...energized. At full battery power as Wynn would put it. After the night she'd just gone through, she found that thought amazing. By all rights she should be sleeping like a rock.
She glanced to her left, taking in Mark's sleeping form. He was the one being lazy today, apparently. He looked...different. Rayne frowned, studying his face. It was as if something had changed, some of his edges had softened...she shook her head. Anybody could look soft when they were sleeping. It didn't mean anything.
She carefully got out of bed, not wanting to disturb him. She picked up some clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. While the water ran, she dug through the cabinet and pulled out her cell phone. Turning on the power, she punched in the number to her voice mail. There was one new message waiting for her.
"Hey..." there was a rush of static. "Club...doing...later!" That was all she could make out. Wynn's voice was so distorted, Rayne had trouble with even that much. So the cell was useless. Shit. She stuffed it indifferently into the pocket of her jeans. She'd figure out what to do with it later.
She took a quick shower, letting the hot water soothe her sore muscles, then got dressed. Leaving the bathroom, she spared Mark one last glance before slipping downstairs. She could hear movement in the kitchen. Randy had made his return.
He grinned at her from his seat at the table where he was reading a worn looking book. "You're up early..." The words seemed to die out and he gave her a confused look. Rayne just stared back at him, wondering if she'd grown a second head. He shook his head as if he needed to clear it.
"Uh...gonna go have a smoke." She finally said. He was unnerving her with that look. She didn't really want a cigarette but...it was a good excuse to go out on the porch.
She slipped through the door and stood there, looking up at the gray sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Looked like they were in for some rotten weather. It would be a good day to sleep in.
Laughing at herself, Rayne pulled her cigarettes from her pocket and lit one, inhaling the smoke. The old nicotine rush did not happen. Smoking it was more habit than necessity. Like a link back to normal life. She moved to the edge of the porch and leaned against the rail.
Bringing her cigarette to her lips, she took a drag and got...nothing. "Shit..." She muttered. Damn thing had burned out. She dug in her pocket for her lighter, staring at the tip of the cigarette. And saw it flare up in red flames.
Gasping, she dropped it and looked around. That was one of Mark's little tricks, he'd shown her that the other day. But he wasn't around, presumably he was still sleeping.
She bent down and gingerly picked up the cigarette, watching the smoke float from the tip. Without taking a puff, she tossed it out into the yard. The she pulled the pack out and chose another one.
She held it out and concentrated on it, willing it to burn. And to her surprise she actually felt something leave her, some invisible force. The tip of the cigarette smoldered then caught fire in one quick blaze of red.
"What...the...fuck..."
What else was it he had done? She wracked her mind, trying to remember. Oh yes, that little trick where it went from his hand to hers. She looked around, picked a spot on the porch rail about ten feet from her, then concentrated once again on the cigarette.
And nearly passed out as it slowly dissolved in her fingers, fading out, disappearing, leaving only a thin rill of smoke in its wake. She turned slowly, in shock, trying to process it, seeing the cigarette lying on the rail, still burning.
She went to it, picked it up, and sent it flying to join the one she'd tossed before. "I have his...powers..." She whispered, not realizing she had spoken out loud. She backed toward the door to the kitchen, staring at the smoldering cigarette that was lying on the ground.
Randy was still sitting at the table, with the same puzzled expression on his face. Rayne ignored him. She broke into a run and took the stairs two at a time, throwing open the bedroom door, not caring anymore if she woke Mark up or not.
She clambered up onto the bed, on her knees, and shook his arm. "Mark!"
He muttered and blinked his eyes, trying to focus on her. Rayne impatiently shook him again. "Mark!"
"What the hell is going..." Randy appeared in the doorway, still looking confused, then his gaze landed on Mark. His mouth dropped open and he took a staggering step backward, as if he'd been punched.
"What's wrong?" Mark was sitting up slowly, rubbing his hand over his face, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep.
"Something happened...I don't know what it is...my cigarette...fire..." Rayne was babbling but couldn't seem to help herself.
"Whoa..." Mark held a hand up. "Slow down. What happened?"
"I was outside, I was smoking..."
She didn't get a chance to finish.
"What the hell?" Randy's voice again. He'd recovered himself and had come into the room. He was now standing by the bed, staring down at Rayne's back. She was leaning forward and had not realized that her shirt had ridden up.
"What is it?" Mark was more alert now. He pulled Rayne forward so that she was almost sprawled across his blanket covered lap. She felt him moving her shirt aside but did not protest it, not this time. "I..."
"That's your mark. Yours." Randy said in wonder, staring at Mark, his eyes wide.
Mark frowned at her back, then looked up at Randy. His eyes were solemn. "I...do not see it. There is no mark."
"What?" Randy and Rayne both said it in unison. Under other circumstances it might have struck them as funny. Rayne twisted in Mark's lap, sitting up and righting her shirt.
"What do you mean, you can't?" She asked, forgetting for the moment why she'd come running.
"I mean I can't see it." His voice was strange sounding. "There is nothing there. Just bare skin."
"Oh no..." Randy muttered. He put his hand against his head. "Mark...this is not..."
"Rayne...tell me what you wanted to tell me." Mark was looking at her. Rayne swallowed and cast a glance in Randy's direction, then sighed.
"I was outside, I was smoking. And I...lit my cigarette the way you did the other day. No lighter. That mind trick thing. And then I made it disappear and reappear somewhere else."
"I can't believe this..." Randy was still muttering under his breath.
"My powers. You have my powers." Mark echoed Rayne's thoughts. "Give me a cigarette." Rayne did not question, she reached for the pack and handed it over to him. Mark pulled one out and studied it for several long seconds. A look of intense concentration crossed his face. Rayne opened her mouth to speak when...something...happened. The end of the cigarette did not flair up as hers had, but it smoldered, a thin wisp of smoke rising from it.
Mark blew out a labored breath. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead. "I can still do it but...It took a lot out of me," He looked at the cigarette, then leaned over to crush it out against the floor.
Thunder rumbled, closer this time, making all three of them jump. Rayne's eyes caught Mark's. "What does this mean? Tell me..." She resisted the urge to grab him and shake him, to jar him into thinking faster. What the hell was wrong with him?
"I'm not really sure..." He shared a look with Randy. Randy nodded and stood up.
"I'm going to leave you two to talk. But I want to just say...Mark, I can read you now. I can hear your thoughts. I've never been able to do that before." It seemed to trouble him. He did not wait for Mark to answer, he quickly ducked out the door and went downstairs.
Rayne looked at Mark expectantly. He sighed. "I think...we might have made one huge mistake last night."
"Oh...really?" She couldn't keep the sarcasm from her voice.
He chose to ignore it. "When a demon...mates...with a human, he invariably transfers to that person some of his power. The human will need it if they are to survive a trip to a deeper realm. What would be the use of hunting up a plaything and then killing them on the journey home?" He asked rhetorically.
"Realm?" Rayne said the word, confused. "What, like...a different world?"
"Basically." Mark nodded. "There are many different levels to this world. Each realm represents a different world. The older the demon, the deeper, the darker, the realm they call home. I am...was...part human. The human world was my home because I had my choice. Dominic's realm is deep, ancient. To get you there he'd have to give up a hell of a lot of his power to you. That is, if you were weak. At his age, as a full demon, that would not hurt him. He'd just rest and regain his strength. But without that power, you'd die on the trip to his home. What you'd see, what you'd feel...it would drive you insane and ultimately kill you."
Rayne shivered at his words, then frowned. "What did you mean...you were part human? I thought you were half and half..."
"I think..." Mark met her eyes. "I think being with you, I gave up too much of my power. I gave in to the human side of me that wanted to be with you, instead of balancing the two halves."
"So...what does that mean?"
"It means...for all intents and purposes, I am a full human now."
His words stunned her. "How can that be? How can you just lose something that is a part of you?"
"Because..." he stopped, thinking. "I gave in to things last night, things I should have just left alone. My dream that you entered...it is the price that I pay for living a mostly human existence in the daytime. I controlled those urges inside me while I'm awake, then go to sleep and let my demon side run wild. No one gets hurt that way. But it was a balance, you see..."
"And that woman yesterday?" Rayne had a feeling she already knew the answer.
"Pandora is a former...lover. Another way to let the demon side of me get what it wants. As a full demon she cannot draw on my power. Neither can I hurt her..."
Rayne bit her lip. "And last night...?"
"Last night I did not even spare the demon half of me a thought. I made love to you. It was not just sex. It was not using you to get what I wanted. For the first time in my life I was completely and totally following my human instincts."
"What does that mean?" She was no closer to understanding. Maybe just a little, but it wasn't enough.
"It means that..." He shook his head. "All of my life I have had to control both sides, to keep one from taking over the other. Last night I did not do that...I could not do that."
"So this...power...got passed on to me and now you're...human?" Rayne asked. "Does that make me some kind of half-demon now?"
"No. You are still human. I might still have demon blood in me, but it is weakened because I chose a side. When I...when we..." he did not seem to have the words. "I gave you everything. Everything." He repeated it slowly, looking at her. "You were willing, you accepted it."
"Oh...God..." Rayne lifted her hand and covered her mouth. "That woman, Pandora. She said...she said I would destroy you. Is this what she meant?"
Mark nodded solemnly. "Not all humans would absorb the power. Only specific humans. Which is why Dominic wanted you so badly. He needed someone strong to take his power and go with him. To a demon you are both an amazement...and something to be feared. Because with the powers you gain, you can fight them. It is a risk that demons are willing to kill to get rid of. Or kill to gain."
"Your mother didn't know any of this." Rayne said softly. Mark shook his head.
"She denied the power from the beginning. She stayed true to her humanity. She refused to willingly accept the powers that Dominic had given her. In the end it almost drove her insane. If not for Randy's parents..." He trailed off, looking at the darkening sky through the window. His brow furrowed in a frown.
"What is it? Mark?" He was getting up from the bed and striding to the window, oblivious to the fact that he was naked.
"Rain. It's coming." His voice sounded hollow. "The demon line will be erased. The house...won't be safe."
Rayne stood up and joined him, looking out at the sky. The trees were swaying a bit as the wind picked up. Lightening flashed in the distance. She could see the gray membrane that marked the start of the rainfall. "Mark...what are we going to do?" She touched his arm.
"I am going to protect you." He looked down at her. "I made you. It is what I am sworn to do now."
"Wait...can't I just...give you back this power?" She asked him, nodding in the direction of the bed. He smiled sadly.
"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way." His eyes clouded over, got darker. "As much as I would like to try."
"Randy." Rayne said, ignoring the way he was looking at her. "He's still a demon. He can still help, right?"
"Randy is young compared to Pandora, to Dominic he is a baby. He might be able to hold them off, but he wouldn't be enough."
"This is all my fault..." Rayne said softly. She turned and went to the bed, sinking onto the mattress. "I just wanted...I wanted..."
"I know." Mark came to her, crouching down in front of her and pulling her into his arms. "It's all right. You got what you wanted to."
"No...I didn't want...this..." She made a gesture with her hands.
"But you did. You have my protection now, my power. You can protect yourself even if I can't." He used his hand, tilting her chin so she was looking at him. "You'll have to accept it. I will do what I can against them but you have to be ready."
Rayne nodded slowly. "Uh...your father..."
Mark sighed and released her chin. "Will be coming, either with them or not far behind. All bets are off." He cocked his head, listening. "Let's go downstairs. Randy needs to know what's going on. And I have a feeling that time is about to run out."